Profiles Theatre's SWEET AND SAD Features Co-Artistic Director Darrell W. Cox, 8/17-10/7

JOE JAHRAUS (Director) is the founder and Co-Artistic Director of Profiles Theatre. He most recently directed Profiles' American premiere of In a Forest, Dark and Deep by Neil LaBute and the World premiere of Assisted Living by Deirdre O'Connor. Previously, he directed the Midwest premiere of Fifty Words by Michael Weller, the World premiere of Kid Sister by Will Kern, and the Midwest premieres of Jailbait by Deirdre O'Connor, The Mercy Seat by Neil LaBute, Great Falls by Lee Blessing and The Thugs by Adam Bock. Joe also directed the Midwest premieres of Neil LaBute's In a Dark Dark House, Some Girl(s) and Fat Pig, for which he received a Jeff Award Nomination for Outstanding Director. Other directing credits for Profiles include the American premiere of Apple by Vern Thiessen, the award-winning Midwest premiere of Blackbird by Adam Rapp, Babylon Gardens by Timothy Mason, The Water Engine and Sexual Perversity in Chicago by David Mamet, and the award-winning Midwest premiere of Carnal Knowledge by Jules Fieffer, among others.

Robert Breuler (Uncle Benjamin) has been a member Actor's Equity Association for over forty years and is a member of the Steppenwolf Acting Ensemble. He has performed in regional theatres, Broadway, London, Canada and Australia but mostly in Minneapolis and Chicago. Favorite roles include Andre Botvinnik in A Walk In The Woods, Pa Joad in The Grapes of Wrath, Uncle Ben in Death of a Salesman, Baylor in A Lie of the Mind and the Old Armenian in The Time of Your Life. Robert has appeared in more than twenty feature films and various television series, including his favorite roles as Judge Hawthorne in The Crucible and Detective Walker in NYPD Blue. He has written five plays and numerous ten minute shorts. Robert has received a Jeff Award in Chicago, a Kudos Award in Minneapolis as well as grants from CAAP, Illinois Arts Council, a Rockefeller and a William and Eva Fox grant to visit numerous theatres in Northern Europe. He is married to Suzanne Petri and they are currently working on preparing a musical duo 1 is 1; 2 Is Math with a book by Bill C. Thomas and music composed by Elizabeth Doyle premiering in the spring of 2013

ERIC BURGER (Tim) was most recently seen in Profiles' Midwest premiere of Bachelorette by Leslye Headland. Prior to that he appeared in Profiles' Midwest premiere of A Behanding in Spokane by Martin McDonagh for which he received a Jeff Award Nomination for Supporting Actor, as well as the World premiere of A Beautiful Spell by Greg Kalleres, with Rare Terra Theatre at the Royal George. Other recent Profiles productions include the Midwest premiere of Jailbait by Deirdre O'Connor, and the World premiere of Kid Sister by Will Kern. Eric's previous appearances at Profiles include Fat Pig, Graceland, This is How It Goes, Body Awareness, "Land of the Dead" as part of Profiles' Midwest premiere of LaBute shorts,Things We Said Today, autobahn, The Glory of Living, The Radiant Abyss and Noise. Heis an Adjunct Faculty member at Columbia College Chicago where he teaches acting.

DARRELL W. COX (Richard) is Co-Artistic Director of Profiles Theatre where he most recently appeared in the American premiere of In a Forest Dark and Deep by Neil LaBute. Prior to that, he appeared in Profiles' Midwest premiere of A Behanding in Spokane by Martin McDonagh, as well as Profiles' Midwest premiere of Fifty Words by Michael Weller. Darrell received his fourth Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Principal Role for his performance as Joe Cooper in Profiles production of Killer Joe by Tracy Letts. Darrell has appeared at Steppenwolf in the World premiere of Men of Tortuga (where he originated the role of Taggart), the Midwest premiere of Orange Flower Water (which traveled to the Galway Arts Festival), and the World premiere of Wendall Greene. He has also been seen at the Goodman in The Shawl and Home as part of the David Mamet Festival, American Theatre Company's Speed the Plow and Oleanna as part of the Mamet Repertory, as well as Jim Jones in the Midwest premiere of The People's Temple, and the World premiere of Martin Furey's Shot at TimeLine, among others. He has won four Joseph Jefferson Awards for Principal Actor for his work in Profiles' productions of Killer Joe, Blackbird, Some Voices, and Eye of God. In addition, he has received two After Dark Awards for Outstanding Performance for Profiles' productions of Popcorn, and Carnal Knowledge.

KRISTIN FORD (Marian) is making her Profiles and Chicago debut with Sweet and Sad. Last season, she was understudy for Anne in Profiles production of Assisted Living. Kristin's New York credits include Macbeth and The Private Life of the Master Race with Roust Theatre Company Off-Broadway, Lizzie Borden's Tempest at The NYC Fringe Festival and Beirut Off-Broadway at Altered Stages. Regionally she has also appeared in The Boyfriend, Chicago, Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma, Nunsense II and Man of La Mancha.

Harmony France (Jane) is making her Profiles debut in Sweet and Sad. Most recently she was seen in Next Stop: A New Musical with Route 66 Theatre Company, Rise of the Numberless with The New Colony, and Violet: A Musical with Bailiwick Chicago for which she received a Joseph Jefferson nomination and a Broadway World Award for Leading Actress. She has also appeared in A Little Night Music with Peninsula Players, Man of La Mancha with Theatre at the Center, Meet John Doe with Porchlight Music Theatre, Bernarda Alba and Songs for a New World with Bohemian Theatre Ensemble, Oh Boy! and Wind in the Willows with City Lit Theatre, Reefer Madness and Trogg! A Musical with Hell in a Handbag Productions, Secret Garden with Light Opera Works, and Tell Me on a Sunday and Jerry Springer: The Opera with Bailiwick Repertory.

KATE HARRIS (Barbara) is appearing with Profiles Theatre for the first time. In Chicago, she has worked with Steppenwolf, The Hypocrites, LifeLine, and Pyewacket where she served as Artistic Director for nine years. Regionally she has appeared with St. Louis Repertory Theatre, Lyceum Repertory Theatre, Play Makers Repertory Theatre and Off-Broadway at The Duplex, and 29th Street Repertory. Kate received four Joseph Jefferson nominations and won a Joseph Jefferson Award for Outstanding Actress for her work as Annie Wilkes in Pyewacket's Misery and Outstanding Supporting Actress as Frau Schneider in The Hypocrites production of Cabaret. Her adapted production of Francis Ford Coppola's screenplay The Conversation enjoyed a successful run Off-Broadway. She has an M.F.A. from UNC/Chapel Hill Professional Training School for Actors and a B.A. from Webster College Conservatory of Theatre Arts.

Profiles Theatre, founded in 1988 by Artistic Director Joe Jahraus, joined shortly thereafter by Artistic Director Darrell W. Cox, was formed as an actor-driven theatre ensemble dedicated to creating provocative and emotionally truthful productions. Passionate about shaping an original vision for new works, they focused on performing World, American and Midwest premieres as well as rarely performed plays. Critically acclaimed hits, such as BLACKBIRD, FAT PIG, GRACELAND and the multiple Jeff Award-winning KILLER JOE, established Profiles as a destination for challenging and edgy theatre. Their unique collaboration with playwright Neil LaBute led the ensemble to perform an entire season of his plays in 2007-2008. Now a Resident Artist at Profiles, LaBute remains an unequivocal artistic influence on the ensemble.

After performing at 4147 North Broadway for more than two decades, Profiles acquired an adjacent theatre at 4139 North Broadway in 2012. Profiles' new theatre, The Main Stage, with its larger seating capacity, increased performance space and higher ceilings, accommodates more ambitious and technically demanding productions. Their long-time venue, renamed The Alley Stage, continues as the home for plays strengthened by a more intimate staging. Driven by an undiminished appetite for creating honest and resonant theatre, Profiles still seeks to present work that illuminates the determination and resiliency of the human spirit.

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