Adjunct Assistant Professor Justin Scribner will be the Production Stage Manager for Jane Wagner’s one-woman show, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles this fall. Previews begin September 21, and the show runs September 28–October 23.
The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe premiered on Broadway in 1985 and has been hailed as a timeless play that, more than anything, is about what makes us human. The lively cast of characters, all performed by the same actress, explore themes of identity, power, art, and the struggles of the feminist movement in the United States. This new production is the product of Wagner’s revisitation of the material. She has updated the original 1985 work to fit into our 2022 world—specifically, the world that has emerged after the pandemic pause. The show stars Saturday Night Live cast member Cecily Strong, and it is directed by former Adjunct Assistant Professor Leigh Silverman. Scribner has been with this production since its premiere at The Shed in New York City, where it ran December 21, 2021–February 6, 2022.
Justin Scribner, who has worked most recently as the Production Stage Manager for Into the Woods on Broadway, is a stage manager, producer, playwright, and poet. His stage management experience spans more than twenty years and includes numerous Broadway productions, such as: Once on This Island, The Crucible, Rock of Ages, God of Carnage, The American Plan, A Chorus Line, RENT, The Times They Are A-Changin’, Lennon, Pacific Overtures, Jumpers, Little Shop of Horrors, and Nine. Scribner also served as the Associate Director of the National Tour of Once on This Island. His freelance stage management work extends to corporate events, meetings, conferences, festivals, charity galas, award shows, concerts, staged readings, workshops, and developmental labs for new plays and musicals. He is the Producing Director of The Forest of Arden, a company of multi-disciplinary artists dedicated to devising immersive theatrical experiences that serve local communities, with particular emphasis on site-specific work and innovative technologies. Scribner’s first collection of poetry and short stories, every grain of sand, was published in November 2020.
