On Saturday, April 11 at 7:30 pm, “Churchill” will become alive in Hall-Moser Theatre at Arts Place in Portland, Indiana. Performed by Edmund Shaff and written by Andrew Edlin, this one-man play about Sir Winston Churchill. Staged in two acts during April 1955, Churchill agonizes in his wartime bunker below London whether to resign as Prime Minister.
Born and reared in San Francisco, California, Edmund Shaff made his professional stage debut at the age of 12 in Maurice Evan’s touring production of “The Devil’s Disciple”. He entered the Air Force after high school and was sent to the Army Language School to learn Russian. He was assigned to an intelligence unit in Munich, Germany. After two and a half years of working and living on the German economy, he became fluent in German.
Shaff then made his way to New York to pursue his dream as an actor, debutting on Broadway in Harold Prince and Bobby Griffiths’ production of “A Call on Kuprin” which was directed by stage legend George Abbott. He worked at John Houston’s Phoenix Theater, appearing in “Henry IV”, Part I and II, as well as “Henry V. Off-Broadway”. He also appeared in a number of productions, including,”‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore”, Maxwell Anderson’s “Joan of Arc” and the “Long Christmas Dinner.”
He left working in professional theater and became a Certified Public Accountant, but his love of theater never went away. He continued to perform with local theater companies in New Jersey and then in Los Angeles. Twenty-five years ago, he decided to plunge into the world of television and film. He has had over 150 commercials, has appeared on a great number of TV shows, this past season he was a guest star on “Desperate Housewives” and the award-heavy “Mad Men”. He was last seen on the big screen in “Evan Almighty”. His earlier films include; “Austin Powers”, “Ed Wood”, “Memoirs of an Invisible Man”, “Attack of the 50’ Woman”, “The Late Shift” and “Set It Off”. His short film, “The Transaction” won the Grand Prix du Jury at the Clermont Ferrand International Film Festival.
This show is the final performance of 2014-2015 40th Anniversary Performance Series. Tickets? Call 260.726.4809, toll-free at 866.539.9911, or www.artsland.org.