Eliza Jane Schneider Voice Expert Of “South Park” Fame To Perform At O’Neill
One Woman Show Initiates O’Neill Artist In Residence Series

Waterford, CT, July 23, 2004 — Eliza Jane Schneider, whose many characters can be heard on Comedy Central’s hit animated series “South Park” brings her one-woman show, Freedom of Speech to the O’Neill August 6 and 7 at 8:00 pm. The work, which was featured at New York City’s Fringe Festival in the summer of 2003, is one woman’s journey across the U.S. that began in search of dialects but eventually discovers the true character of America. Schneider herself has traveled more than 300,000 miles across the country collecting and taping Americans from all walks of life. The play, which utilizes more than 30 of these people, is continuing its development at the O’Neill.

Freedom of Speech becomes the first project of the O’Neill’s Artist in Residence program which was recently created to foster and develop new works, new voices and new theatrical avenues. Designed to complement the existing programs of the O’Neill Center this innovative new program will provide opportunities for artists year round. Future projects in the series will be announced at a later date.

In addition to voicing most of the female characters on “South Park,” Eliza Jane Schneider’s work has been heard in Disney/PIXAR’s blockbuster “Finding Nemo”, the Mel Gibson film “What Women Want” and in numerous Saturday morning animated series and specials.

Tickets for the show are $15.00 and may be purchase in advance or by calling the O’Neill box office at (860) 443-1238. Performances will be held in the Dina Merrill Theater on the grounds of the O’Neill Theater Center which is located at 305 Great Neck Road in Waterford, CT.

The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, founded in 1964 and based in Waterford CT, is a learning community dedicated to advancing the American Theater through programs that encourage creative excellence and develop diverse voices and new work. These include the Puppetry Conference, the Playwrights and Musical Theater Conferences, the Critics Institute and the National Theater Institute, a college-accredited training program for theater artists. The O’Neill also owns and operates the Monte Cristo Cottage, childhood home of America’s only Nobel Prize-winning playwright, Eugene O’Neill, and holds an annual celebration honoring the life and works of its namesake every October.