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Administration and Faculty Profiles
For Adjunct Profiles, please click.
MARIE ANNE CHIMENT - Department Chair Marie Anne Chiment has designed sets and costumes for hundreds of productions across the nation and for productions touring around the globe. Her costumes have traveled to Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain, England and the Middle East. Marie’s US design credits include national tours of GREASE! and CAROUSEL, the Broadway musical METRO, as well as numerous designs for the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the Seattle Opera, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Arena Stage, Chicago Lyric Opera, the Santa Fe Opera, Actors Theatre of Louisville and the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Last season she was awarded the Kevin Kline Award for Outstanding Costume Design for the world premiere of the musical ACE.
ROBERT HEDLEY - HEAD OF PLAYWRITING Mr. Hedley is best known for his work in developing new plays. He has served as Director of the Iowa Playwrights Workshop; mentored playwrights at the Mark Taper Forum; co founded the Philadelphia Theatre Company and West Coast Playwrights Workshop; directed a national Playwriting Conference in collaboration with The Playwrights Center, Minn; was producer of The Iowa Playwrights Festival; was Chairperson of the Playwrights Awards Committee, ACTF, region 5; was a panel Moderator for Literary Managers and Dramaturgs conference, Serving New Writing; and was a radio Interviewer of over 30 programs on playwriting. A Chapter on his work appears in Play Development, Pub. Southern Illinois Press. Among playwrights he has mentored are David Rabe, Leslie Lee, Naomi Wallace, Dorothy Louise, Heather McCutchen, Steve Feffer, Tom Gibbons, Clay Goss, David Hancock, Peter Mattaliano, Rebecca Gilman, Michael Friel, Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon, Arden Kass, Ken Prestininzi and Shem Bitterman. Among other directing assignments, he directed at The Public Theatre, New York, and at La Mama. He was Artistic Director of the Iowa Shakespeare Festival and has served as chairperson at Temple, Villanova and the University of Iowa. He was a founding member and program Director of the Avenue of the arts, Phila.; President of the Conference of Big Ten Chairpersons; Advisor, International Center for Theatre Studies, Liege, Belgium; a facilitator/panelist/moderator for the Pew Charitable Trusts’ theater initiatives; honored at the Univ. of Iowa for distinguished service to the Theatre Department; Consultant to the City of Philadelphia, Historic Philadelphia Commission; Workshop leader in Acting and Directing for The Actors and Directors Conservatory, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia; Creator and director of Theatre in the Court; and sponsor of Center City Soap. He has served as the Provost's Arts Fellow for Temple, and recently received the Alumni Award of Excellence from the University of Alberta and the Theatre Alliance's Barrymore Award for Lifetime Achievement.
JOHN HOEY - HEAD OF DESIGN John is an instructor in Lighting Design and has worked as a lighting designer at the Arden, Wilma, and People's Light, along with the Opera Company of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Ballet in Philadelphia. He has also worked with Luciano Pavarotti, Spoletto Festival, Actors' Theater of Louisville, New York City Opera, New York City Ballet and the film "Center Stage". He graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts in 1989, and Temple University (MFA in Lighting Design) in 1992. He is the recipient of a Barrymore Award for his design of "Sweeney Todd" at the Arden.
DAN KERN - HEAD OF ACTING PROGRAM Dan Kern has been honored with the Los Angeles Drama Critic’s Circle Award for his direction of "Juno and the Paycock". He also received an LA Drama Critic’s Circle award for his portrayal of Leontes in "A Winter’s Tale". He's appeared in leading roles at the Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Rep, The American Conservatory Theatre, Missouri Rep and The Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Film and TV appearances include "Frasier", "Profiler", "The President’s Man", "Star Trek: Voyagers", and the award winning short film, "Me and the Big Guy". Dan is currently serving as Head of Directing for the Dept. of Theater.
PETER REYNOLDS - HEAD OF MUSICAL THEATER / Assistant Chair Peter Reynolds has directed Damn Yankees, Into the Woods, Ragtime, Company, Pericles, Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery and Beautiful Thing for Temple Theaters. He is the Artistic Director of Philadelphia’s Mauckingbird Theatre Company (www.mauckingbirdtheatreco.org). In the Philadelphia area, he was worked with Act II Playhouse, Media Theatre, Hedgerow Theatre, Villanova Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company in their collaborations with Philadelphia Young Playwrights, and the Lenape Regional Performing Arts Center in New Jersey. Peter hails from the Midwest and for 6 years served as Artistic Director of HealthWorks Theatre-Chicago, winner of the 2000 Award of Excellence in Prevention Education presented by Mayor Daley and the Chicago Dept. of Public Health as well as the 2001 Hall of Fame After Dark Award. Regionally he has worked at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, HotCity Theatre-St. Louis, Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Theatre Building Chicago, Apollo Theatre-Chicago, Maples Repertory, Face to Face Productions, Lillian Russell Theatre, and on the stages of the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, Arcadia University, and Southern Illinois University.
DOUGLAS C. WAGER - ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, HEAD OF GRADUATE DIRECTING PROGRAM Mr. Wager came to Philadelphia in 2003 to serve as Director in Residence for the Prince Music Theater. During his time at the Prince, he staged a series of acclaimed musical and received a Barrymore Award nomination for best direction of a musical before joining Temple Theaters in 2006 as Artistic Director. Mr. Wager's long and illustrious career spans nearly three decades including more than twenty years as a resident director and producer with the renowned Arena Stage in Washington, DC. Mr. Wager served as Arena’s Artistic Director of Arena Stage for seven seasons, from 1991 to 1998, participating in over two hundred Arena productions, beginning his distinguished career there as an intern in 1974. During his tenure, he directed over fifty plays in the main season, ranging from large-scale musicals to classics and new plays, world and American premieres, and produced over sixty productions while Artistic Director. For his work as a director in Washington, DC, Mr. Wager has received three Helen Hayes awards and thirteen nominations for Outstanding Director. He also spent several years working in Los Angeles working in film and television. His copious and nationally celebrated work as a director has been seen in New York both on Broadway and off, and regionally at major theaters across the country such as The Mark Taper Forum, The Guthrie Theater, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Yale Repertory Theater and the Washington Opera. For television, Mr. Wager directed the series premier and several episodes of The Lot, a single-camera period comedy/drama produced by AMC Network. He is also currently developing an independent feature film, English Majors, for production through his LLC production company, Fat Chance Films. For fall 2007, Mr. Wager adapted and directed the highly acclaimed world premiere of In Conflict, based on the book by journalist Yvonne Latty. The show was subsequently invited to the Region II Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, as well as The Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, CT. Temple’s production of In Conflict will have its New York premiere later this season at The Culture Project.
Full-Time Faculty Profiles
DANIEL P. BOYLEN - DESIGN Mr. Boylen received an AB degree in English and History from Yale University, where he was involved with the Yale Dramat. He studied Anglo-Irish Literature for a year at UCD College, Dublin, Ireland, where he was involved with the Dramatic Society. Finally realizing the intensity of a theater calling, he committed himself to a career in design. Mr. Boylen has designed extensively for regional theater including Goodspeed Opera House, McCarter Theatre, Philadelphia Drama Guild, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Pennsylvania Ballet, GeVa and The Whole Theatre. Mr. Boylen has also spent a great deal of time working in African-American Theater.
kathy garrinella - movement for the actor, dance Ms. Garrinella has choreographed over 70 productions with both the Theater and Opera Departments. She served as choreographer for the Mask and Wig at the University of Pennsylvania for 10 years. She trained professionally with the American Ballet Theater, School of American Ballet, Jose Limon, Martha Graham, Hanya Holme and Mary Wigman in West Berlin among others. She danced professionally with the Judson Dance Theatre, Group Motion and Joan Kerr Company. Performance venues include Judson Memorial Church, Murray Hill Theatre, Jacob's Pillow, Pratt Institute, Akademie der Kunst in West Berlin, Forty-Second St. Theatre and the Academy of Music.
david ingram - acting David Ingram is an actor and director, and teaches Graduate and Undergraduate Acting and The World of the Play. At Temple, he produces New Voices, the Theater Department's annual presentation of prize-winning plays by area high school students. He also produces and directs Shakespeare Live!, the department's touring show. On Temple's mainstage, he has directed A Streetcar Named Desire, Pulie Victorious and Romeo and Juliet. David is a member of the People's Light and Theatre Company, where he directed The Foreigner, July 7, 1994, Beauty and the Beast, Distant Fires (Barrymore Nomination, Outstanding Director and Production) and My Children! My Africa! As an actor, David has appeared in many theaters in the Philadelphia area. Favorite roles include Dodo/Chandebise in A Flea in Her Ear (Barrymore Nomination, Outstanding Actor), Mitch Albom in Tuesdays With Morrie, Antrobus in The Skin of Our Teeth and the Knight in Midons, or the Object of Affection, all at People's Light; Peter in The Pavilion and Howard in Death of a Salesman at the Arden Theater; Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival; Coach Mike in Rounding Third at Theater Exile; and Marc Blitzstein in It's All True at Interact.
lynne innerst - acting, voice, speech Lynne Innerst joined the faculty at Temple in 2006, bringing with her experiences as a professional actor, acting coach, and teacher spanning twenty years. She has administered programs as Head of the Performance Program at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and as Head of Voice and Speech at the College of Performing Arts at Point Park College and California State University at Long Beach. She is a Master Teacher and founding member of The Fitzmaurice Voice Group. She has trained teachers on the faculties of ART Harvard, Yale, New York University, and Juilliard, among others, and is especially proud of the fact that many of the young actors she has trained on both the graduate and undergraduate levels are now working professionals. Lynne has worked as an actress in film, television, regional repertory theatre and voice overs. Her professional film and television credits include work with directors Sally Field in "The Christmas Tree," Lloyd Richards in "The Piano Lesson," and David Frankel in "The Pennsylvania Miners Story." She is a member of Screen Actors Guild, Actors Equity, American Federation of Television and Radio actors, and The Voice and Speech Teacher Association. She holds an MFA from the University of Southern California and a BFA from the University of New Mexico.
MELANIE JULIAN - SPEECH Melanie Julian received her Bachelor of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Kentucky where she graduated Summa cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She fulfilled a Master of Arts degree, with honors, in Theatre History, Theory and Criticism at the University of Pittsburgh. After receiving her M.A. degree, she completed a Master of Fine Arts degree in Acting from the Conservatory of Performing Arts at Point Park University in Pittsburgh. As a professional actress Ms. Julian has performed in New York, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Pittsburgh with such groups as Pangea World Theatre, Pittsburgh Playhouse, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, LIVE Theatre Company, Nada Theatre, National Theatre for Children, Penumbra Theatre, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the New York City Fringe Festival, among many others. She remains a company member with Pittsburgh’s REP Theatre. Previous teaching experiences at University of Pittsburgh, the University of Georgia, the Conservatory of Performing Arts at Point Park University, and the University of California at Davis. She is an Associate teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework.
andrew laine - technical director, technical theater Originally from Central New York, Andrew Laine began his professional theatre career in Austin, Texas, where he worked as a stagehand, rigger and technical director. During this time, he worked with IATSE Local 205, Austin Musical Theatre, Ariel Dance Theatre, Fabulous and Ridiculous Theatre Company, Sharir + Bustamante Dance Works, among others. He joined the Technical Direction program at the University of Texas at Austin in the fall of 1999 and completed his MFA in 2002. While at school, Andrew studied structural design, set and lighting design, robotic lighting technologies, taught basic stagecraft and production laboratory classes and worked with various companies and organizations outside of the university. Most recently he has been teaching at Abington Friends School in Jenkintown, PA. Andrew joined the faculty at Temple University’s Department of Theater in 2006 as the technical director. Andrew currently teaches Technical Theater Production, Propcraft and Advanced Technical Practices.
MATTHEW MILLER - PRODUCTION MANAGER, STAGE MANAGEMENT Matthew Miller teaches Stage Management and serves as the Production Manager for the TU Theater's Department productions. He has extensive experience in the areas of Production Management and Technical Direction, working in professional venues such as Utah Shakespearean Festival, Shakespeare & Company, and Santa Rosa Repertory Theatre. Matthew has most recently served as the Production Manager for Barnard College/Columbia University in New York, as well as San Francisco State University, where his teaching duties included Stage Management, Technical Methods, Computer-Aided Drafting, and Intro to Technical Theatre & Design. He is part of the People of Color Networking Project through USITT (United States Institute for Theater Technology) and served on panel discussions regarding stage management at the most recent national conference in Charlotte, NC. Matthew is also a freelance lighting and scenic designer. His work has been seen around the country, and on tour in Chile. In the next year he will design for Everyman Theatre in Baltimore and the Adirondack Theater Festival in Upstate New York. He holds an MFA from The University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill and a Masters degree in Education from Converse College.Samples of his work may be seen at www.mbmillerdesign.com
LEE KENNETH RICHARDSON - ACTING & DIRECTING Actor, director and producer, Lee is the Founding Artistic Director of the Tony award-winning Crossroads Theatre Company where he directed the original production of A COLORED MUSEUM by George C. Wolfe. Mr. Richardson directed Mr. Wolfe’s play at Joseph Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival, in London at the Royal Court and the Duke of York on the West End, and in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum where he received the NAACP Image Award for Best Director. During his eight year tenure at the Taper, Lee held several positions: Resident Director helming world premieres by Oyamo, Michael Henry Brown, Jose Rivera, Silas Jones, Lynn Manning and James Still; Founding Director of BLACKSMYTHS, a playwrights’ lab where he produced “JUNEETEENTH”, an annual festival of new plays; and Artistic Director of the National Conference entitled “THE STATE OF BLACK THEATRE TODAY” funded by AT&T. Los Angeles directing credits include THE TASK by Heiner Mueller (Production of the Year Award/LA WEEKLY), JOE LOUIS BLUES by Oliver Mayer, PRIVATE BATTLE by Lynn Manning and a multi-racial production of THE BLACKS by Jean Genet at the Evidence Room. Regional credits: Center Stage, Dallas Theatre Center, Alliance Theatre Company, Great Lakes Theatre Festival, Long Wharf, Stage West, Asolo Theatre Company, Capitol Repertory, San Diego Rep, Arena Stage, Delaware Theatre Company and the Philadelphia Theatre Company where his production of I AM A MAN by Oyamo received 5 Barrymore Nominations. Acting credits include the Broadway/National Tour of Neil Simon’s RUMORS and televisions appearances on Crossing Jordan, Law and Order, All My Children, The Martin Short Show, Fame and Parker Lewis Can’t Loose and recently co-starred in Snoop Dogg’s HOOD OF HORROR. Lee has taught theatre at Rutgers, University of South Florida, Oberlin, Spellman and Crafton Hills Community College in Yucaipa, California and holds a BA in English from Rutgers and an MFA in theatre from the Mason Gross School of the Arts.
ROBERTA SLOAN - ON FACULTY LEAVE FOR 2011-12 ACADEMIC YEAR Dr. Sloan recently served as University Faculty Arts Fellow, Chair of the Commission on the Arts, and Secretary of the Faculty Senate, as well as Head of the Theater Education Concentration and Supervisor of all Theater Department Internships. Sloan is a director, actress, teacher and administrator. As professor and former chair of the Temple University Theater Department, she was Executive Producer of all of the Temple Theaters Productions, including the recently celebrated, IN CONFLICT which received an Edinburgh Festival Fringe First Award and ran for two months OFF BROADWAY in New York City, and SHOT!, one of three productions out of 526 selected to be performed at the Kenney Center in Washington, D.C. as part of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Most recently she served as Chair of the Nominating Committee for the National Association of Schools of Theatre, was one of five faculty selected to revise the University Resident Theatre Association Membership Guidelines, is the current co-chair of Region II of the National Association of Partners of Theatre, and serves as a National Association of Schools of Theater Accreditation Evaluator. She also co-presented a session on “Leadership and Management” for new and aspiring Theater Administrators at the most the NAST conference in spring, 2010 and has been asked to do so again at the conference in spring, 2011. She received her BA from Northwestern University in Drama Education and her M.A. and Ph.D. from The University of Michigan, in Theatre. She is also a certified Fitzmaurice Voicework Associate Teacher. She has taught and served in Administrative Positions at The University of Oklahoma, The University of Central Oklahoma, Marymount University, The University of Central Florida and now, at Temple University. Sloan has directed and acted in over 200 productions. Most recently, in Philadelphia, she has performed in five professional productions, at various theaters and directed an AEA production of Visiting Mr. Green at Hedgerow Theater. Favorite roles include Ruth Steiner in Collected Stories, Golde in Fiddler on the Roof, Mrs. Vitale in Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding, and Dorothea in Eleemosynary. Directing credits include the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival award-winning productions of Angels In America, Parts I, (the first university production in the U.S.A.), Angels in America, Part II, Quilters, Bonjour! La Bonjour, and Zalman or The Madness of G-d. Most Recently, Sloan conceived, researched, co-wrote (with Dennis Moritz), and performed in a one-woman show, to rave reviews. To finance the production, she sought and received four grants. First Lady of Philadelphia; The Life and Times of Deborah Franklin, A Personal Story, explores the feisty, opinionated, strong, and feminist (before there was feminism) wife of Benjamin Franklin, Deborah Read Frankin, who though little known, helped her husband achieve success and become a national hero and founding father. To finance the production, Dr. Sloan applied for and received four grants. For more information, on the production, which is continuing to be presented, go to: www.meetdeborahfranklin.com With two other PI’s, Dr. Sloan received a $50,000 Provost’s Grant on Arts Education in the Philadelphia Public Schools. She is currently working on a School of Communications and Theater Seed Grant to develop another one-woman show on Jewish Women Immigrants and is simultaneously working on two books – the first on “Developing the Sketch Comedy Show Through Improvisation,” and the second, “Creating a Repertory Theater – the Temple University Case Study.” Her chapter “Helping the Red Team Develop It’s Role,” will be published in the book, Red Teams and Counterterrorism Training, in May, 2011 by the University of Oklahoma Press. Her chapter, which reviewers have called unique and unprecedented in this field, is a methodology for training the non-actor to portray a terrorist convincingly in simulations designed to train police and military personnel.
DONNA SNOW - ACTING, VOICE Ms. Snow teaches Voice and Acting and served as Chair of the department for three years, as well as Head of Acting. She has an M.F.A. in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater and a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in Theater from the University of Washington. She has performed Off-Broadway and regionally, playing major roles at the following theaters: Long Wharf, Arena Stage, Seattle Repertory, Syracuse Stage, The Folger, GeVa, Stage West, The Pittsburgh Public Theatre, The American Conservatory Theater, Studio Arena, San Jose Repertory, George Street Playhouse, Ford's Theater, St. Louis Repertory and The Walnut Street Theatre. Ms. Snow has taught voice and acting at The American Conservatory Theater, Circle-in-the-Square, The Public Theater, New York Shakespeare Festival and at the Institute for Renaissance and Baroque Studies at the University of Maryland. She is a Master Teacher of the Fitzmaurice Voice Technique. She has taught national workshops in this technique at Fitzmaurice Intensives, at the Voice Foundation's Annual Symposium, as well as at The Workcenter of Jerry Grotowski in Italy. For Temple Theatres, Ms. Snow has directed several productions, including Translations, Uncle Vanya, The Homecoming, The Elephant Man, The Illusion, Bloody Poetry, and On The Verge. Randall Theater Workshop productions include God, Women Beware Women, Sleeping Beauty, Scenes and Revelations, Season's Greetings and Christmas on Mars.
EDWARD SOBEL - directing, DRAMATIC LITERATURE Edward Sobel is a director and dramaturg. Prior to joining Temple, he was the Director of New Play Development at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, where he oversaw the development of over 40 new plays, including: the Pulitzer and Tony Award winner August: Osage County, the Pulitzer finalists Red Light Winter and Man from Nebraska, and Joseph Jefferson Award winner The Pain and the Itch. His Broadway credits as dramaturg include August: Osage County and the upcoming Superior Donuts. Recent Phildelphia-area work includes directing the workshop of Arden Kass’ Appetite for PlayPenn. Other recent directing credits include: the world premieres of Cadillac (5 Joseph Jefferson nominations, including best director) at Chicago Dramatists, Weapon of Mass Impact at A Red Orchid, and The Chosen and A Lesson Before Dying at Steppenwolf. Ed also created and was the director of the FIRST LOOK REPERTORY OF NEW WORK, for which he received the Elliot Hayes Award from the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas for outstanding contribution to the field of dramaturgy. He has taught directing, playwriting, and dramatic literature at DePaul University, Northwestern University, and the University of Chicago. He holds an MFA in directing from Northwestern.
kimmika williams-witherspoon - theater arts, literature, playwriting Williams is a scholar, performance artists and playwright. Winner of the Provost's Art Grant (2003); the $50,000 PEW Charitable Trusts Fellowship in the Arts for Scriptwriting (2000); the 1999, and the DaimlerChrysler "Spirit of the Word" National Poetry Competition (1999); Williams is the author of nine books, magazine and newspaper articles, has had more than 17 of her plays produced in professional theater and continues her work as a Cultural Anthropologist and Theater Historian. She holds an MA and PhD in Anthropology, MFA in Playwriting, Graduate Certificate in Women's Studies and a B.A. in Journalism.
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Theater Staff Profiles
KAREN AUSTIN - OFFICE SUPERVISOR Karen Austin has been an employee of Temple University for over thirty years. She started at the Medical School, and since then has work in various offices and schools throughout the University. Karen is a graduate of Community College of Philadelphia, and holds a B.A. in Applied Communications from Temple University.
SCOTT BRAUN - DIRECTOR OF PR & MARKETING Scott began his professional career in Los Angeles at an entertainment public relations firm specializing in film and music. Having returned to Philadelphia in 2007, Scott arrived at Temple Theaters at the launch of the 07-08 Season, and has been lucky enough to participate in the department's many recent highlights, including an Off-Broadway run in New York, as well as traveling to the UK with the company of In Conflict at the Edinburgh International Fringe in Scotland. Scott holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dramatic Writing from Temple University.
LAURA SEELEY - FIRST HAND Laura Seeley has recently returned to her native Philadelphia after several years in Boston where she made costumes for various local theaters, including Huntington Theatre Company at Boston University. Most recently she worked as a First Hand for the 2008 summer season at Shakespeare Santa Cruz.
JENNIELYNN STREED - COSTUME SHOP SUPERVISOR Since receiving her MFA in 1984, Ms. Streed has worked as a freelance artist, primarily in the Philadelphia area. She spent 15 years as the Assistant Costume Director at the Opera Company of Philadelphia. At the same time she served as the cutter/draper for numerous productions with the Pennsylvania Ballet, the Philadelphia Drama Guild, Wilma Theater, Arden Theater, Curtis Institute of Music and Villanova University. As a member of Local 52, she has worked on the films Beloved, Age of Innocence and Cast Away.
MARKA SUBER - SCENE SHOP TECHNICIAN
JULIE WATSON - HEAD CUTTER/DRAPER Julie Watson holds a B.F.A. in Fibers from Tyler School of Art and an M.F.A. in Costume Design from Temple University. For the past several years she has worked as a costume technician for the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, and various theaters in the Philadelphia area. She has also served as Assistant Wardrobe Supervisor for Pennsylvania Ballet.
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