TOPDOG UNDERDOG

Card Manipulation Consultant

Written by Suzan-Lori Parks

Directed by Jamil Jude

Round House Theatre- 2024

Abandoned by their parents as teenagers, brothers Lincoln and Booth learned to rely on each other. As adults, Lincoln and Booth are locked in a cycle of love and resentment, foretold by the names they were given by their father as jokes and compounded by the challenges of poverty and racism. In her “utterly mesmerizing” (Variety) Pulitzer Prize-winner—named the best American play written in the past 30 years by the New York Times and recent recipient of the 2023 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play—celebrated writer Suzan-Lori Parks asks whether we can ever really change the cards we’re dealt as the brothers’ tug-of-war for dominance builds to devastating, life-changing consequences.

Ryan was the Cards Manipulation Consultant for this production. He choreographed stylized movements of card throwing for Three Card Monte. He developed rhythmic sequences to synchronize several monologues for both characters in the play. He was the hands on instructor for both actors, teaching the proper way to handle playing cards for the street hustling con game. He provided dramaturgical notes and background for the practice of the game combining sleight of hand and psychological deception.

REVIEWS

“Two program credits hint at the artful physicality in the performance:…and card manipulation consultant Ryan Phillips. The show is solid on all creative counts. It really is a gem.” -DC Theater Arts

“The play poses the question: must we play the cards we are dealt in life? Here the cards are Three-Card Monte – the art and artifice, the shuffling cards and the patter of the street con game form the play’s backbone.”- Broadway World

“Also impressive was each actor’s prowess in portraying card hustling. I congratulate the work of card manipulation consultant, Ryan Phillips, for help making their movements mesmerizing. The click of the cards combined with winning words and smooth moves made it easy to understand why passersby would be drawn to the scam.”- MD Theatre Guide