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Vivien Leigh: The Last Press Conference

In this living biography of a fading star, actress Jen Danby will portray Vivien Leigh taking questions from members of the press in 1967. Reflecting on the five stages of an actress' professional life and the serendipitous details of her rise to fame, the production details everything from the impossible landing of the role of Scarlett O'Hara and love life in and out of the arms of Laurence Olivier, to behind-the-scenes at Gone with the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire to the torturous lifelong physical and mental illnesses. VIVIEN LEIGH: THE LAST PRESS CONFERENCE is a living biography of a theatrical icon and a motion picture legend that captures the woman behind the mask: a courageous, funny and frank performer who continues to fascinate.

Jen Danby (Vivien Leigh) is a native Long Islander and the founder and artistic director of Mississippi Mud Productions, a New York City based theatre company. Select acting credits include Vivien Leigh in the upcoming New York revival of Orson's Shadow by Austin Pendleton, Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire, Helena in Maria Irene Fornes's Lust, Hedda in Hedda Gabler, Delfina Treadwell in Valparaiso, Melinda in the film True Hollywood Sitter, and a fashion stylist opposite Susan Lucci in All My Children. Jen holds her BA in Drama from the University of Texas at Austin, her Master's in Acting from CW Post, Long Island University, and her Ph.D. in Theatre with a focus on Acting Studies from the City University of New York. She is a member of AEA, SAG, and AFTRA.

Austin Pendleton (Director) met Vivien Leigh in 1963 when he was in Oh Dad, Poor Dad.... on Broadway and she was in Tovarich. Mr. Pendleton's numerous acting roles in theatre, film, and television include Mother Courage with Meryl Streep and My Cousin Vinny. This fall, Mr. Pendleton will direct Detroit on Broadway, which he directed with Steppenwolf in Chicago. He also directed The Little Foxes on Broadway, starring Elizabeth Taylor, and Three Sisters at Classic Stage Company, among his many credits. In April 2011, Lincoln Center Theater presented the New York premiere of A Minister's Wife, Mr. Pendleton's musical adaptation (with Josh Schmidt and Jan Tranen) of Shaw's Candida. He coached and co-directed (with Brian Lady) Mississippi Mud Productions' A Streetcar Named Desire, with Jen Danby as Blanche DuBois and Toshiji Takeshima as Stanley at the Cherry Pit of NYC's Cherry Lane Theatre in summer 2010.