Live From the Edge

FROMTHE

CREATED&PERFORMEDBY

Jacob G. Padrón ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Kit Ingui MANAGING DIRECTOR

BY UNIVERSES

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We acknowledge that indigenous peoples and nations have for generations stewarded the lands and waterways of what we now call the state of Connecticut. We honor and respect the enduring relationship that exists between these peoples and nations and this land. This production is taking place on the unceded territory of the Quinnipiac and Wappinger peoples. We remind ourselves that along with stolen land came stolen people. It is our responsibility to the future to know our past.

PERFORMERS IN ALPHA ORDER

ASIA MARK (she/they)

NATE JOHN MARK

NSANGOU NJIKAM (he/him)

SOPHIA RAMOS (she/her)

MILDRED RUIZ-SAPP (she/her)

STEVEN SAPP (he/him)

DIANE HEALY* (she/her)

STAGE MANAGER

CREATIVE

TIM PLUMMER (he/him)

LIGHTING DESIGNER

FOR THIS PRODUCTION

ERIN PETER (she/her) COVID COMPLIANCE OFFICER

OLGA MIKHAILOVNA SHEVELKINA (she/her)

WARDROBE SUPERVISOR

ALYSSA LEGATO (she/her)

SPACE BALLROOM HOUSE MANAGER

PAT DALTON (he/him)

SPACE BALLROOM FRONT OF HOUSE ENGINEER

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association

ROM T E ARTISTIC DIR CTOR

Dear Friends –

LIVE FROM THE EDGE is here!

It gives me immense joy to welcome you to what promises to be a thrilling theatrical experience. When we talk about Long Wharf Theatre being an artistic home for boundary-breaking artists, look no further than UNIVERSES—a performance troupe founded by the visionary artists Mildred Ruiz-Sapp and Steven Sapp.

Over the years, UNIVERSES has created an extraordinary body of work, rooted in a commitment to using storytelling as a catalyst for justice and understanding. Their work is always in conversation with the state of the world, and they use their musical gifts to amplify both the joy and experiences of communities of color. Though their work has a specific focus, there’s a universality to the conversation they invite all of us into. Theirs is a theatre of connection.

I first met Mildred and Steven when I was just starting out as a young producer at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. They were commissioned to write a new musical about the legacy of the Black Panthers and the Young Lords. The result was the thrilling piece called PARTY PEOPLE, which has gone on to have life in theaters across the country. When I began my tenure at Long Wharf Theatre, I asked Mildred and Steven if they would be interested in joining me in New Haven as our playwrights-in-residence. Thanks to the visionary support of the Mellon Foundation, Mils and Steve have been on staff for the last three years. Of course, the pandemic kept most of their residency virtual, but their impact was immense, and this production is such a powerful culmination of their time with us.

This production is also a homecoming. In UNIVERSES’ early years, one of their first stops out of New York City was right here in New Haven, thanks to Rafael Ramos who invited Mildred and Steven to share their gifts with our neighbors. They performed in the adjacent room of what is now Bar Pizza and the rest, as they say, is history. Given UNIVERSES’ commitment to creating theatre that reaches all people, LIVE FROM THE EDGE is the right offering for our first show, in our new model.

With their fellow performers—Asia Mark, Nate John Mark, Nsangou Njikam, and Sophia Ramos—this LIVE FROM THE EDGE promises to be like nothing you’ve seen before. Tell your family, return with your friends, and let us celebrate this new chapter in Long Wharf Theatre’s illustrious history. With all of you by our side, we are ushering in a new era and we’re just getting started.

With gratitude,

Jacob G. Padrón

BI S

UNIVERSES (Creator) is a national Ensemble Theater Company, of multi-disciplined writers and performers of color, who fuse theater, poetry, dance, jazz, hip hop, politics, down home blues and Spanish boleros to create moving, challenging and entertaining works for the stage. The group breaks the traditional theatrical bounds to create its own brand of theater. Founded in The Bronx, New York in 1995, the members of UNIVERSES came together in the urban poetry and music scene of the late 1990s; quickly moving through the “down town” performance scene to built a home for themselves in American Theatre. In their 28 years, UNIVERSES has performed at venues throughout the United States and toured extensively worldwide.

Asia Mark (she|they) (Performer) is an interdisciplinary artist from Detroit, MI. BFA: Theatre Performance (Western Michigan University) Asia seeks to tell diverse stories through directing, photography, writing, music and theatre. As a member of UNIVERSES Theatre Ensemble and the Co-Resident Teaching Artist of The Acting Ensemble at The Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, Asia is excited about bringing new work and experiences into the American Theatre. They are passionate about using various art forms to spread light, artistry and love. As a director and teaching artist, she is excited to simultaneously be a part of and support the next generation of theatre artists that will shape the American Theatre to reflect our reality. Acting credits Include: Oregon Shakespeare Festival: UniSon (Robert O’Hara—The Apprentice), Shakespeare In Love (Christopher Liam Moore—Lady in Waiting / Ensemble),  Julius Caesar (Shana Cooper—Artemidorous / Ensemble);  AmeriCUS (Joan Herrington-Playwright/Sunny); OSF PlayOn/Shakespeare In Detroit’s Twelfth Night (JaMeeka Halloway—Viola); Hook & Eye Theatre’s She She She (Off, Off Broadway—Cornelia);  Ruined (Awoye Timpo—Josephine); Ameriville (UNIVERSES—Marie Laveau). Awards: NAACP ACT-SO National Gold medalist (Acting). Instagram: Asiamaybay

Nate John Mark (Performer) Actor at Shakespeare in Detroit; Actor/Writer at UNIVERSES; Actor at Idaho Shakespeare Festival; School Visit Tour—Actor at Oregon Shakespeare Festival; (FAIR) Audience Development Assistant in Marketing and Communications at Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Paraprofessional at Kalamazoo Public Schools. From Grand Rapids, Michigan.

BI S

Nsangou Njikam (he|him) (Performer) is an actor, playwright and Hip Hop Theatre artist originally from Baltimore, MD. His writing credits include  Syncing Ink, Re:Definition, When We Left parts 1 & 2,  Freaky Dee, Baby, I.D., 21 STRINGS and he is one of seven writers of  Hands Up: Seven Plays; Seven Testimonials. Acting credits include  Syncing Ink  (Alley Theatre/Flea Theater),  Re:Definition (LaMama),  Henry V (Classical Theatre of Harlem),  Deep Azure  (Congo Square Theatre).  NSangou’s play  Re:Definition (Hip Hop Theatre Festival reading) was developed by Chadwick Boseman. His work in Hands Up has been performed around the country, including the 2021 production at The Alliance Theater. NSangou has also written for and collaborated with Grammy Award winner Common, specifically on his Audible.com project “BlueBird Memories,” the 2020 NBA All Star Game and the Audible interview series “Mindpower Mixtape.” NSangou’s latest piece, Freaky Dee, Baby, was recently performed at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. His Hip Hop Theatre play, I.D. (commission by Penn State University) premiered at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa. NSangou is a member of the 2015 Emerging Writers Group at the Public Theater as well as a member of UNIVERSES. He received his BFA in Acting from Howard University. After tracing his African ancestry, he received his name from the Bamum King in Cameroon. He is represented by A3 Agency. He currently resides in New York City.

Sophia Ramos (she|her) (Performer) is an award-winning Rock n Roll singer/songwriter. Her hard rock band Sophia’s Toy signed to Sony/Epic Records and toured extensively. Sophia was named “Best Undiscovered Artist” by VH1, and was awarded the Abe Olman Excellence in Songwriting from The National Academy of Popular Music. She has collaborated with the likes of Metallica’s Jason Newstead, Joey Ramone, performed with an incredible variety of artists, who include Rod Stewart, Government Mule, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson, Jefferson Starship, Soundgarden and Big Brother and The Holding Company. Sophia is a veteran live and studio vocalist and voiceover artist whose talents you’ve heard in countless commercials and jingles. Theater work includes  PARTY PEOPLE created/produced by UNIVERSES, directed by Liesl Tommy. Other credits: Live From the Edge by UNIVERSES, City Theatre Pittsburgh; The Tattooed Lady at PTC.

BI S

Mildred Ruiz-Sapp (she|her) (Performer) is a co-founder/core member of UNIVERSES Theater Company. Playwriting/Acting credits include: AmericUS; UNISON;  PARTY PEOPLE; AMERIVILLE; The Denver Project;  One Shot in Lotus Position;  BLUE SUITE;  RHYTHMICITY;  SLANGUAGE;  THE RIDE. Acting-only credits include: DJ Latinidad; The Comedy of Errors; The Unfortunates; Alfred Jarry’s  UBU: Enchained. Director:  The Tempest. Filmmaker credit:  Rising (2022 Smithsonian and Ashland Independent Film Festival). Awards/Affiliations: 2020 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation National Playwright Residency Program recipient; 2015 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award (Theatre); Oregon Shakespeare Festival Acting Company Member ( 2012-2017) and Ensemble in Residence; 2008 U.S. Cultural Ambassador w/ the U.S. State Dept./Jazz at Lincoln Center—Rhythm Road Tour; 2008 TCG Peter Zeisler Award; 2006 Career Advancement Fellowship from the Ford Foundation through Pregones Theater; 2002-2004 and 1999-2001 TCG National Theater Artist Residency Program Award; BRIO Awards (Bronx Recognizes its own-Singing); Co-Founder of The Point CDC; Former Board Member (National Performance Network—NPN) and (Network of Ensemble Theaters-NET); New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspect; Bard College, BA ’92 (Literature/Language). Publications:  SLANGUAGE in The Fire This Time (TCG Books); BLUE SUITE in The Goodman Theatre’s Festival Latino—Six Plays (Northwestern University Press); PARTY PEOPLE in  The Manifesto Anthology  (Rain City Projects- Fall 2014); Featured on the covers of American Theatre Magazine 2004 and The Source Magazine 2000. Member: Actors Equity Association (AEA).

Steven Sapp (he|him) (Performer) is a co-founder/core member of UNIVERSES Theater Company. Playwriting/Acting credits include:  AmericUS;  UNISON;  PARTY PEOPLE;  AMERIVILLE;  The Denver Project;  One Shot in Lotus Position; BLUE SUITE; SLANGUAGE; RHYTHMICITY; THE RIDE. Acting-only credits include: The Comedy of Errors. Directing-only credits include:  Serious Money;  Thanksgiving Play;  Fireflies;  Passover;  SWOPERA;  Metamorphoses;  The Seven; Alfred Jarry’s  UBU: Enchained. Awards/ Affiliations: 2020 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation National Playwright Residency Program recipient; 2015 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award (Theatre); Oregon Shakespeare Festival Acting Company Member (3 Seasons:’12-‘14); 2008 U.S. Cultural Ambassador w/ the U.S. State Dept./Jazz at Lincoln Center—Rhythm Road Tour; 2008 TCG Peter Zeisler Award; 2002 TCG National Directors Award; 2002-2004 and 1999-2001 TCG National Theater

BI S

Artist Residency Program Award; 1998 and 2002 BRIO Awards (Bronx Recognizes its own-Performance); Van Lier Fellowship w/ New Dramatists; Co-Founder of The Point CDC; New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspect; Bard College, BA ’89—Theater. Publications:  SLANGUAGE in The Fire This Time (TCG Books); BLUE SUITE in The Goodman Theatre’s  Festival Latino—Six Plays (Northwestern University Press); PARTY PEOPLE in  The Manifesto Anthology (Rain City Projects—Fall 2014); Featured on the covers of American Theater Magazine 2004 and The Source Magazine 2000. Member: Actors Equity Association (AEA)

Diane Healy (she/her) (Stage Manager) is an NYCbased SM. She has worked extensively with BEDLAM. Fall River Fishing, The Winter’s Tale, Hedda Gabler, The Crucible, Sense & Sensibility, Saint Joan, Hamlet, Pygmalion, Peter Pan, Cry Havoc!, Twelfth Night/ What You Will. Has SM’d in NY with: Theatre For A New Audience, Playwrights Horizons, Atlantic Theatre Co., Primary Stages; NAATCO, Clubbed Thumb, Radical Evolution/WP Theatre, Mabou Mines; Playwrights Realm; Barrow Street Theatre; LCT3, LaMama, The Civilians. Regionally: Baltimore Center Stage, McCarter Theatre, Folger Theatre, Shakespeare & Company, Oldcastle Theatre Company.

Tim Plummer (he/him) (Lighting Designer) has worked as a lighting designer, programmer, and production electrician on stage and TV for 30 years. 90-Day Fiance (TLC), Legendary (HBO), Puppy Bowl (Animal Planet), Kitten Bowl (Hallmark), NFL Draft (ESPN), Clinton Global Initiative, The Center for Action and Contemplation. Locally, he was the Lighting Supervisor and Associate Production Manager for New Haven’s International Festival of Arts and Ideas from 1996 through 2021, and lit last year’s Big Tent Party gala for Long Wharf Theatre. His wife, Nicole, and daughters, Sophia and Violet, are the lights of his life.

BI S

About Long Wharf Theatre

Founded in 1965, Long Wharf Theatre (Jacob G. Padrón, Artistic Director; Kit Ingui, Managing Director) is a Tony Award-winning company of international renown. It was founded with the mission of creating an accessible theatre culture unique to the Greater New Haven community. Recognized for a historic commitment to commissioning, developing, and producing new plays to expand the legacy of storytelling in the American theatre, more than 30 of its productions have transferred to successful Broadway or Off-Broadway runs and countless others have inspired artists and audiences at theatres across the country. Guided by three core pillars of artistic innovation, radical inclusion, and kaleidoscopic partnerships, the company aspires to nurture and produce boundary-breaking theater. Long Wharf Theatre is entering a bold new chapter, moving beyond its home for nearly 60 years to activate venues, neighborhoods, and public spaces throughout Greater New Haven, underscoring its commitment to equity, inclusion and belonging in every aspect of its work.

Allow us to introduce ourselves: We are the Founders/Directors/Core Playwrights of UNIVERSES, a poetic musical theater ensemble now celebratyear. Since our artistic beginnings, we have been dedicated to creating and supporting works that are rooted in a collective humanity. We channel the myriad of voices that speak to us on this journey, voices that too often drown in the dialogue of race, class, gender, and identity.

As UNIVERSES, we share a personal/collaborative journey that started in 1988. In 1993, while teaching in the NYC Department of Education’s (D.O.E.) LEAP Program in the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx, we understood that we had a greater role to play. Having grown up as inner city “housing project kids,” we were well aware that, if it hadn’t been for our art, we would never have found our ways to where our paths would intersect. We believed that working with the D.O.E was not enough for our Bronx community or our artistic journey, so we set out to create our own cultural/economic development institution, right in the heart of Hunts Point. With two collaborators to envision this behemoth project, we secured a 12,000 square foot abandoned factory building and co-founded THE POINT Community Development Corporation.

At THE POINT, we built a theater, dance studio, art gallery, computer labs, the Bronx satellite of the International Center of Photography, and a business incubator where fledgling neighborhood businesses could thrive. Artists from all walks of life taught and practiced their craft in that same space with us, at our invitation—from Sarah Jones to Dael Orlandersmith, Reg.e.gaines to Danny Hoch, and many more. These brilliant artists joined in to make art where art was deemed impossible. In only two years, we were able to purchase the facility and launch a successful capital campaign that ensured the long-term sustainability or THE POINT, which remains a vibrant arts and business incubator today.

IN TH IR WN WORDS

In that very space and time, we continued to develop our artistic craft. In 1995, we named ourselves UNIVERSES (universesonstage.com). With UNIVERSES, we have honed our unique musical theater aesthetic, one that has moved us from the streets of the South Bronx to the poetry scene, to the New York performance scene to university theaters, to Off-Broadway theaters and national and international stages. We have made homes in the many communities across the country that required our expertise—from the Bronx all the way to Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), which commissioned UNIVERSES in 2009 to write a new play for their American Revolutions’ History Cycle. The result was PARTY PEOPLE, a musical about the Black Panther Party and the Young Lords Party. It premiered at OSF in 2012 and toured to Berkeley Rep (2014) and The Public Theater (2016) where we worked with Jacob as a producer. Funded by the Ford Foundation, we became the first-ever Resident Ensemble at OSF (2013-2018). In 2014, OSF commissioned us to write UNISON, a music-filled work using August Wilson’s poetry (2017 OSF premiere). Throughout the years, we have created lifelong relationships with likeminded artistic directors and theater makers who have bravely joined us to support our work of heart and soul.

Our relationship with the City of New Haven started in the late nineties when the International Festival of Arts and Ideas (IFAI) invited us to perform a concert on the City Green. We returned years later to interview former members of New Haven’s Black Panther Party for PARTY PEOPLE. After the PARTY PEOPLE premiere, we returned to IFAI to present a PARTY PEOPLE salon/town hall/performance.

Even then, our Black and Puerto Rican roots invited us to continue building our relationship with this complicatedly vibrant city. We deepened these roots with New Haven and the greater community as Mellon Foundation playwrights-in-residence at Long Wharf Theatre beginning in 2020. Now, with LIVE FROM THE EDGE, we’re excited to introduce greater New Haven to the deeper UNIVERSES aesthetic and philosophy: to explore and further deepen the dialogue of the intersectionality of art and activism, the historical power of theater as a tool for social justice, and the reimagining of American theater, by and for the people.

– Mildred Ruiz-Sapp and Steven Sapp

FOR EVERYONE

A SEASON IN THREE ACTS

ACT 1

New Play Readings // Virtual Black Trans Women at the Center

Directed & Co-Produced by Dane Figueroa Edidi

August 3, 2022

In its third year, Dane Figueroa Edidi led this annual festival of new work by Black trans women, featuring plays by Andrea Jenkins, Bl3ssing

Oshun Ra, Danielle Davis, and Davia Spain.

A Work-in-Process Comedy // 222 Sargent Drive, New Haven Dignity, Always Dignity

By Bryce Pinkham, Zack Fine, Rona Siddiqui, & Kirya Traber

Music & Lyrics by Rona Siddiqui

Directed by Zack Fine

Performed by Bryce Pinkham

Dramaturgy by Kirya Traber

September 10 – 11, 2022

Stranded alone on an island, a former Broadway star sets his sights on performing one last show before the waters swallow him up.

A Concert Reading of an Iconic Musical // September 17 – 18, 2022

Jelly’s Last Jam

Book by George C. Wolfe

Music by Jelly Roll Morton

Lyrics by Susan Birkenhead

Musical Adaptation & Additional Music Composed by Luther Henderson

Directed by Dennis Whitehead Darling

Creative Consultation by Patricia McGregor

Choreographed by Chris Bell

Music Direction by David Freeman Coleman

At the birth of jazz in the early 20th century, one man led the band. The legendary Jelly Roll Morton revolutionized American music like no one before him. His life—the dizzying heights and inconceivable lows—becomes a thrilling theatrical ride in Jelly’s Last Jam. With an electrifying cast and a red-hot band, this concert reading spotlights the story of a trailblazing artist and celebrates New Haven’s love of jazz.

A Play Reading // October 22 – 23, 2022

Flying Bird’s Diary

By Melissa Tantaquidgeon

Zobel // Directed by Madeline Sayet

The story of a true Connecticut hero, Flying Bird aka Fidelia Fielding/Jeets Bodernosh shor (1827-1908). We first encounter

Flying Bird, as a young Mohegan girl, in the 1800s, in a world attempting to erase everything she believes in. As the years pass, Flying Bird faces seemingly impossible obstacles but never loses sight of her goal: to save her language and culture against all odds.

ACT 2

A Community Event // October 14 + 15, 2022

Home(coming): Farewell + Block Party

Conceived and directed by Jenny Koons

222 Sargent Drive + Audubon Street, New Haven

Together we said goodbye to our home at 222 Sargent Drive with a series of festive communal rituals and micro-performances and then collectively moved forward into New Haven to celebrate all that is to come.

New Haven Play Project // 2023

I AM: Muslim/American a film

By Aaliyah Miller

Directed by Halima Flynn

This season’s offering of New Haven Play Project, I AM: Muslim/American, is a community-centered film inspired by interviews with Muslim Americans from Connecticut. Shot on location in New Haven with local actors, the film celebrates the “Muslim mosaic” and will be used as a jumping off point for meaningful dialogue with partners around the state, bridging Muslim and non-Muslim communities. Supported by the Doris Duke Foundation.

ACT 3

Production // Space Ballroom

April 27 – May 21, 2023

Live From the Edge

By UNIVERSES

A production by Long Wharf Theatre’s Mellon Foundation Playwrights-inResidence, UNIVERSES, Live From the Edge showcases the ensemble’s special brand of fusion theatre in a “best of” evening that tracks the evolution of their poetic language from childhood rhymes and community rituals, to poetry and theater, hip-hop and gospel. Redefining what theatre is and who it speaks to, Live From the Edge is a unique performance event that turns the poem into a communal act.

TH STAFF

EXECUTIVE

Jacob G. Padrón (he/him) Artistic Director

ARTISTIC & COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

Rachel Alderman (she/her)

Associate Artistic Director

Kate Moore

Heaney (she/her) Artistic Associate, Literary

Vanessa Soto (she/her) Company Manager

Jessica Durdock-Moreno (she/any) Executive Coordinator

Mildred RuizSapp (she/her)

Mellon Foundation

Playwright-inResidence

Steven Sapp (he/him)

Mellon Foundation Playwright-inResidence

ARTISTIC ENSEMBLE

Awoye Timpo (she/her)

Bryce Pinkham (he/him)

Dane Figueroa Edidi (she/her)

Dexter J. Singleton (he/him)

Kit Ingui (she/her) Managing Director

Jenny Koons (she/her)

Mason Alexander Park (they/them)

Madeline Sayet (she/her)

Ryan J. Haddad (he/him)

AUDIENCE SERVICES

Carolyn Stockage (she/her) Patron Services Manager

Peython Echelson-Russell (he/him) Box Office Supervisor/ Assistant Front of House Manager

Maig Smith (she/her) Box Office Supervisor

Griffin Kulp (he/him) Box Office Supervisor

Sam Lundstrom (she/her) Patron Services Associate/Front of House

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Nancy Meguerditchian (she/her) Director of Finance

Emily Goeler (she/her) General Manager

Geoffrey Molloy (he/him) AP/AR Manager

Michele Greenwood (she/her) Payroll & Accounting Assistant

Katy Gonzalez (she/her) Program Payables Assistant

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

Jill H. Coulter (she/her) Marketing Operations Manager

Nicole Makos (she/her) Development & Events Manager

Kelly Brown (she/her) Creative Content Manager

Jazmine Williamson (she/her) Audience Development Coordinator

Kenneth Murray (he/him) Membership Coordinator

Ann M.K. McLaughlin (she/her) Institutional Giving Consultant

PRODUCTION

Nicole Bouclier (she/her) Director of Production

Dylan Callery (he/him) Technical Director

Allison M.J. Backhaus (she/her) Charge Artist & Rental Manager

SERVICE PARTNERS

Auditor

Karen Kowgios / WithumSmith+ Brown, PC

Banking Services

KeyBank

Employee Benefits

Tzedakah House, LLC

Insurance Risk Strategies Company | DeWitt Stern

IT Support EBM, Inc.

Legal Elliot Kaiman / Wiggin & Dana LLP

Performance Venue Space Ballroom

Real Estate Advisor Carl Russell / H. Pearce Real Estate Company

Rehearsal Space Bregamos Community Theatre

Website Madeo

B ARD OF DIR CTORS

Nancy Alexander Chair

William J. Aseltyne, Esq. Vice-Chair

Babz Rawls Ivy Secretary

Jenny Carrillo, PhD Treasurer

HONORARY COUNCIL

Robert Alvine

Arvin Brown

Anne Calabresi

William Curran

Elwood B. Davis

Barbara DeBaptiste

Charles D. Ellis

Richard A. Ferguson

Ruth E. Gitlin

Sally Glick

Beverly J. Hodgson

D. Terence Jones

Nicholas S. Lamont

John S. Lapides

Curly Lieber

Kenneth Boroson

Gail Brekke

Diane Brown

Lee Cruz

Robert Esposito

Barbara Franke

James D. Horwitz

Jacqueline Koral

Treneé McGee

Ruby H. Melton

Victor Padilla-Taylor

Joseph Roach

John Rose, Jr. Esq.

Constance Royster, JD

Errol C. Saunders II

Anita Sharif-Hyder

Ex Officio Kit Ingui

Jacob G. Padrón

Anne Schenck, Honorary Founder Trustee

Donald Margulies

Phyllis McGrath

Sandy Milles

Ginger More

David I. Newton

George O’Brien

Karen Pritzker

Robin Sauerteig

Pietrina L. Saxton

Michael Schaffer

Carol T. Schreiber

Leonardo H. Suzio

Pamela Tatge

Cheryl Wiesenfeld

A. Tappan Wilder

COUNCIL OF PAST CHAIRS

Charles C. Kingsley

Jerome H. Meyer

Laura Pappano

Barbara L. Pearce

Mary L. Pepe

R. Sanford Stoddard

Support Long Wharf Theatre Today!

Our 58th season is a pioneering year for our institution. We are bringing live performance, without barriers, to Greater New Haven audiences. We are welcoming our many communities—including you—by producing new work that authentically and joyfully reflects lived experiences on our stages. And we are centering Artistic Innovation in three groundbreaking ways, each leaning into the abundance found in partnership and collaboration.

• Our Artistic Ensemble is a collective of eight nationally respected artists who inform and inspire our daily work. Four members, including Madeline Sayet, brought their talents to our stages this past fall.

• We are creating new ways to discover talent through our Artistic Caucus, a collective of national artists who support the Literary Offices at four regional theatres, including ours. They serve as thought partners and help us identify a new generation of artists while sparking new collaborations among our companies.

• We are strengthening our roots of deeply investing in new work for the American stage. With 12 projects in development, upcoming seasons will bring premiere plays and musicals from this roster of diverse, national artists.

Please consider making a tax-deductible gift today—in celebration of our nearly 60 years of history and to help ensure we are here for 60 more.

Bryan Terrell Clark (L), Sydney James Harcourt (R), and the cast of Jelly’s Last Jam, September 2022. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.

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Alice B. Colonna

Eden & Allan Fisher

Mary-Christy Fisher & Harold Koh

Nancy Noyes Foss

Barbara Gaab

Sandi & Jeff Garfield

Henry P. Gates

Gary Goodridge

Mark Bauer & Joe Gordon

Sarah B. Greenblatt

Mr. and Mrs. E. Hadjimichael

Judi Hahn

Judith Hamilton

Mr. John Hamlin

Douglas Hansen & Elisabeth Travers

Ms Merrie Harrison

Ron & Pat Hensley

Dr. Nkemakonam Ikekpeazu

Elizabeth Jonas & Tom Eisen

Susan Kerley

Alvin K. Klevorick & Susan E. Bender

Barbara J. Lamb

Gary Leibowitz

Janet A. Madigan, MD

Anita P. Madzik

Susan B. Matheson & J. J. Pollitt

Ann & Chad McLaughlin

Betty & Dave Monz

Jim & Marcia Morley

Joyce Narden & Girin Munshi

Kenneth & Susie Ng

Althea Norcott

William & Barbara Nordhaus

David Norman-Schiff

Michelle Olortegui

Arlene O’Tell

Ann Palmieri

Alan Plattus & Nancy Berliner

Leslie Pollack

Barbara Possick

Alec Purves

Shelley Quiala

Peggy & Peter Rae

Charlotte Rea & Robert Fricker

Norman Redlich

Barbara & David Reif

Constance Royster, JD

Nina & John Ruckes

Errol C. Saunders, II

Paul & Fern Schwartz

Lisa Sclan Cooper

Anita Sharif-Hyder

Judith & Mark Sklarz

William & Betsy

Sledge

Raina Sotsky

Lisa Stanger & Gregory Colodner

Sandra Stein

Joan Steitz

Adam Stern

Elsa Stone & Steven Wolfson

Leonardo H. Suzio

Dr. Matthew Tanico

Matt Tepper

Theatre Development Fund

Thimble Island Brewing Company

Mina West

Sandra White

The Wilder Family

John & Virginia Wilkinson

Brendan Woo & Annie Lin

Art & Ann Yost

Richard & Barbara

Franke

Toddie & Chris Getman

Charles & Gretchen Kingsley

Jacqueline Koral

Henry Lord

LEGACY CIRCLE : ESTATE GIFTS

Cynthia Kellogg

Barrington

James T. Brown, Jr.

Louise W. Dimond

James D. English

Robert Evans

Mary C. Hallenbeck

Gilbert Kenna

Ruby Melton & Gail McAvay

R. Lee Stump

Jean Routt & Richard Shanahan

Liana & David Snyderman

Pamela Tatge & Jerry Zinser

Patsy R. Taylor

Dr. & Mrs. Thomas

J. Tinghitella

Frank P. Villani

Ruth Lord

M. Carol Mihalik

June M. Rosenblatt

Paula L. Schiller

Joan H. Scranton

Martin Shubik

Charitable Remainder Unitrust

For more information on how you can join the Long Wharf Theatre Legacy Circle through bequests, retirement plan designations, life income gifts, and other deferred gifts, please contact development@longwharf.org.

T ANK YOU TO OUR DONORS

IN HONOR OF...

Adela H. French by Rob Overdeck

Sheila Hickey Garvey, Ph.D. by Rita A. Landino, Ph.D.

Kit Ingui by Lorraine Sutliff

IN MEMORY OF...

Katherine A. Berman by Christopher J. Berman

Maggie C. Free by Rev. Hiram & Dr. Pat Brett

Nicole Makos by Christopher Rivera

Betty Monz by Stuart Warner & A. David Paltiel

Jacob G. Padrón by Nancy Alexander & Phillip Bernstein

Elba Ramirez by Rodney Brooks

Newton Schenck by Anne F.Schenck

Mark Simon by Rabbi Jeff & Mindy Glickman

Eileen Wiseman by The Tow Foundation

Jack Abraham Huttner by Sharon G. Huttner

Dr. Robert Levine by Jeralea Hesse

MATCHING GIFT ORGANIZATIONS

Aetna Foundation, Inc.

Bank of America

Matching Gifts Program

Bristol Myers Squibb Matching Gift Program

Casey Matching Gift Programs

GIFT-IN-KIND SUPPORT

The Blossom Shop Ideal Printing Company, Inc.

IKEA

Madeo Studio Thimble Island Brewing Company

BUSINESS & MEDIA SPONSORS

Francis D. & Marcella A. Moran by Michael J. Moran

Lewis A. Swyer by Susan & David Earle

GE Foundation IBM Corporation

Pfizer Foundation

State Street Matching Gift Program

UBS Foundation United Technologies

WithumSmith+Brown, PC, Karen Kowgios

To make a gift to Long Wharf Theatre in support of our vision to produce Theatre for Everyone, visit longwharf.org/donate or text LWT to 44321.

Donor listing current as of March 17, 2023.

T ANK YOU TO OUR MEMBERS

Anonymous (9)

Nina Adams & Moreson Kaplan

David Addams & Zanetta AddamsPilgrim

Rachel & Ian Alderman

Nancy Alexander & Phillip Bernstein

Mark Ammann & Linda Taylor

Nancy H. Apfel

Donna Arbas

Roger & Linda Astmann

Jan Attridge

Sara-Ann & Hillel Auerbach

Karen Baar

George Bajalia

Raymond Baldelli & Ronald Nicholes

Robert & Katalin Baltimore

Michael Shea & Candace Barrington

Laurel Miller Barrows

Aboud Bashy

Tim & Debbie Bates

Bill & Donna Batsford

Beth Bauer

Richard & Alice Baxter

Janice Beeghly

Doris Bens

Eric & Ethel Berger

Christopher J. Berman

Douglas Black

Ann L. Bodurtha & Gregory S. Fitzpatrick

Nicole Bouclier

Michael & Maryann Bracken

Mr. Peter Brandt & Ms. Laura Burwick

Dorothea Brennan

Rev. Hiram & Dr. Pat Brett

Anna Broker

Beth Brooks

Rodney Brooks

Donald & Mary Brown

Peggy Bull

James Bundy & Anne Tofflemire

Emily Byrne

Victoria Cairl

Anne & Guido Calabresi

Linda & Vincent Calarco

Thomas G. Campbell

Mary Cannata

Michael Caplan

Margaret Carl

Jenny Carrillo, Ph.D.

Victor & Marilyn Cassella

Jean Cayer

Jenny Chan

Harriet Chessman

Peter Colburn

Audrey Conrad

Cynthia D. Conrad

Jill H. Coulter

Craig Crews & Katherine McKenzie

Vicki & David Crompton

Jennifer Crookes

Carpenter

Lee Cruz

Phyllis CummingsTexeira

Ann Dallavalle

Bob & Priscilla Dannies

Elizabeth Darling

Timothy Davidson

Elwood & Catherine Davis

Denese Deeds & David Gioiello

Francis & Helen Degnan

Barbara & George Delmhorst

Maureen Derbacher

Bernadette DiGiulian & Leo Christofar

Linda DiVicino

Marialina Dominguez

Toni Dorfman

Jackie Downing

John Downs

Julia Downs

Bari Dworken

Elizabeth East

Cathy Edwards & Mike Wishnie

Linda Lorimer & Charley Ellis

Alice Engbith

Amy Eppler-Epstein

Ellen Erway

Robert & Vandelina Esposito

Sally Esposito

Frank & Ellen Estes

Kevin Ewing

Dick & Marissa Ferguson

Andy & Polly Fiddler

Eden & Allan Fisher

Steven & Susan Floman

Bernadette Forget

Nancy Noyes Foss

Kathleen Fox

Barbara Franke

David & Leslie French

Annis Fusaris

Barbara Gaab

Marie Gallagher

Sandi & Jeff Garfield

Henry P. Gates

Anonymous

Lindy Lee Gold

Carol R. Goldberg

Donna L. Golden

Noah Golden

Robin Golden & David Berg

Bernardo Gonzalez

Linda Goodman

Mark Bauer & Joe Gordon

Kathryn Gould & Douglas Coffin

Lyn & Robert Gradoville

Sarah B. Greenblatt

Sally & Barclay Griffiths

Stephen & Frances Grodzinsky

Mr. and Mrs. E. Hadjimichael

Douglas Hansen & Elisabeth Travers

Roni & Howard Harmetz

Sandra Harris

Ron & Pat Hensley

Barbara Hentschel

Jeralea Hesse

June & George Higgins

Jay Hirsch

Emily Horning

Sandy Allison & Jim Horwitz

Charisse Hutton

Nkemakonam

Ikekpeazu, MD

Kit Ingui & Geoffrey Molloy

Priscilla Jencks

Susan Johns

Tom Eisen & Elizabeth Jonas

Dr. Jay & Kathy Kaplan

Beth Kaufman

Donna & Paul Kazmercyk

Susan Kerley

Charles & Gretchen Kingsley

Susan Kintner

Don & Mimi Kirk

Ruth Kleinfeld

Jacqueline Koral

Kim Taylor & Bruce Kueffner

Barbara J. Lamb

Bj Lambert

Jean & Nick Lamont

Rita A. Landino, Ph.D.

J & J Lange

Mary Brett Lee

Gary Leibowitz

Ivonne Leon

Karen & Bill Longa

Lois Longwell

Dwight Lopes

Carol & Robert Lyons

John & Erin MacDonnell

Scott Macdowall

Janet A. Madigan, MD

Anita P. Madzik

James Maroney

Michael Martin

Susan B. Matheson & J. J. Pollitt

Ariel Mayer

Drs. Rowland & Stephanie Mayor

Paul A. McCraven

Nicole McDonough

Ann & Chad McLaughlin

Marilyn Lord & James Meisner

Ruby Melton & Gail McAvay

Joyce Mercer

Josephine Merck

Gwen Milone

Lisa Milone

Ellen & Leonard Milstone

Mary S. Mitchell

Oliver Kai Molloy

Betty & Dave Monz

Leila Moore

Ginger More

Sandra & Brechin Morgan

Patricia Morris

Elise Morrison

Patricia Morrison

Jeff O’Donnell & Dorothy Muller

Kevin Muzin

Joyce Narden & Girin Munshi

David I. Newton

Kenneth & Susie Ng

Robert Nixon

Mr. & Mrs. William D. Nordhaus

David Norman-Schiff

Eileen O’Donnell

Sara Ohly

Mary O’Leary

Michelle Olortegui

Arlene O’Tell

Victor Padilla-Taylor

Steven Padla

Ellen Page

Judith Paniccia

Laura Pappano & Thomas Lynch

Mary L. Pepe

Jim Perakis

James M. Perlotto, M.D. & Thomas Masse

Allie Perry & Charlie Pillsbury

Philip Pivawer & Linda Hewlett

Nancy Berliner & Alan Plattus

Carol & Wesley H. Poling

Leslie Pollack

T ANK YOU TO OUR MEMBERS

Dr. George Puerschner & Dr.

Susan Danberg

Shelley Quiala

Patricia Ann Reese

Barbara & David

Reif

Sandra Resnick

Cynthia Rider

Joseph Roach, Ph.D. & Janice Carlisle

Marie & Earl Robert

Katherine Roberts

Leslie Robinson

John Rose, Jr. Esq.

Samuel & Ellen Rost

Sheilah B. Rostow

Constance Royster, JD

John Ruckes

Nina & John Ruckes

Karl Ruling

Marta Elisa Moret & Peter Salovey

Mr. Robert D.

Sandine & Dr.

Irene Kitzman

Errol C. Saunders, II

Linda R. Savitsky

Ted & Deb Schaffer

Anne F. Schenck

Rebecca & Alan Scheps

Pauline Scherer

Eileen Schuman & Robert J. Snyder

Paul & Fern Schwartz

Fiona Scott Morton

Florie Seery

Edwin Selden

Sarah Shampnois

Anita Sharif-Hyder

Phyllis McGrath & Patrick Sheehan

Gretchen Shugart & John Maurer

D. Ellen Shuman & Douglas Rae

Alix Simonetti

Carol Sirot

Judith & Mark Sklarz

William & Betsy Sledge

Geoff & Vicki Smith

J. Philip & Loretta K. Smith

Jill Snyder

Veronica & Dieter Soell

Raina Sotsky

Lisa Stanger & Gregory Colodner

Edward Stannard & Patricia CarlStannard

Sandra Stein

Joan Steitz

Carolyn Stockage

Peter & Lee Stolzman

Elsa Stone & Steven Wolfson

Leonardo H. Suzio

Larue & Capleton Swanson

Matt Tepper

Kathleen Tereb

Sally Tomiko & David Taraskevich

Mary Ann Turner

Harrison Valante

Kathie Ventura

Marc Wallman & Cynthia Carr

Barbara Wareck

Stuart Warner & A. David Paltiel

Kalman L. Watsky & Deborah Fried

Mina West

Sandra White

A. Tappan Wilder

John & Virginia Wilkinson

Judith Wilson

Annie Lin & Brendan Woo

Tim Yergeau

Art & Ann Yost

Rolan Joni Young

Sheila Zinn

Long Wharf Theatre is Member-supported theatre. Visit longwharf.org/membership or scan with your camera app to join our boundary-breaking community of Sustaining Members with a gift of $10 a month or a one-time annual gift of $120 or higher.

To make a gift to Long Wharf Theatre in support of our Everywhere for Everyone season, visit longwharf.org/donate or text LWT to 44321.

Member listing current as of March 17, 2023.

$100,000 and Above Bank of America

Hearst Foundations

$50,000-$99,999

Citi

$25,000-$49,999

The Augustine Foundation

BNY Mellon

Pamela Farr & Buford Alexander

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Hearst

MetLife Foundation

Morgan Stanley

Lisa Orberg

Prudential Financial

The Schloss Family Foundation

Daniel A. Simkowitz & Mari Nakachi

Wells Fargo

$15,000-$24,999

Mitchell J. Auslander & Kimberlee

Abraham

Bloomberg

Paula A. Dominick

Lucy Hardison

Donna Kalajian

Lagani

Gretchen Shugart & Jonathan Maurer

Pfizer, Inc.

TD Bank

$10,000-$14,999

Judy R. Bartlett

Steven & Joy Bunson

Dorsey & Whitney

LLP

Ernst & Young

Bruce & Tracey Ewing

Roe Green*

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.

The Maurer Family Foundation

RBC

S&P Global Travelers

$5,000-$9,999

Anonymous

Michelle Cenis

Richard K. Greene

Nancy Hancock Griffith*

KLDiscovery

Susan & John Major

Donor Advised Fund at Rancho

Santa Fe Foundation

Robin & Bob

Paulson Donor

Advised Fund at Rancho Santa Fe Foundation

Playbill †

The Patti & Rusty Rueff Foundation

Michelle Schwartz

Raja Sengupta

George & Pamela Smith*

John Thomopoulos

Evelyn Mack Truitt

James S. & Lynne P. Turley*

Joseph Yurcik*

$2,500-$4,999

Joseph Baio*

Yvonne Bell*

BOND Theatrical

Robin Cohen*

Concord Theatricals

Lucy Fato & Matt Detmer*

Fischer Jordan LLC

Ari & Shimona Katz*

Louise Moriarty & Patrick Stack*

Elliott Sernel & Larry Falconio*

The Shubert Organization

Mary Beth Winslow & Bill Darby*

Wolters Kluwer

$1,500-$2,499

Cindy Black

John R. Dutt*

Christ Economos*

Debi Feinman

Kamilah Forbes

Sanderson Family

Donor Advised Fund at Rancho

Santa Fe Foundation

Daryl Roth Productions

Roundabout

Theatre Company

Stephanie Scott

Darren Sussman

Carl Sylvestre & Robert Kennedy

Elenora Walczak

Walnut Street

Theatre

Michael A. Wall

ZIN Technologies, Inc.

List as of July 2022.

Theatre Forward and our theatres are most grateful to all the funders.

*National Society Membership † Includes In-kind Support

Long Wharf Theatre is a proud recipient of a 2022 Bank of America ACTivate Award through Theatre Forward.

The Bank of America ACTivate Awards seek to foster and accelerate a theatre’s efforts to become more equitable, diverse, welcoming, and inclusive to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals and groups.

Theatres receiving these grants in 2022 are Actors Theatre of Louisville (Louisville, KY), Alley Theatre (Houston, TX), Alliance Theatre (Atlanta, GA), Center Theatre Group (Los Angeles, CA), Long Wharf Theatre (New Haven, CT), and The Old Globe (San Diego, CA).

WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM THESE FUNDERS:

Long Wharf Theatre is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Long Wharf Theatre programs are made possible, in part, with the support of Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts.

Support has been provided to Long Wharf Theatre from CT Humanities (CTH), with funding provided by the Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development/Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) from the Connecticut State Legislature.

Long Wharf Theatre is a member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre.

WE INVITE YOU TO BECOME A LONG WHARF THEATRE MEMBER TODAY!

Members champion our vision to create Theatre for Everyone through boundary-breaking investments in artists and new work for the new American theatre. You are making an important commitment that energizes our capacity to welcome, center, and celebrate a multitude of communities in our daily work.

For as little as $10 a month or a one-time $120 annual gift, you gain:

• First access to tickets for our 2022-23 season

• Discounted admission to Long Wharf Theatre productions

• Invitations to special events, including Play Club, a book club for plays with members of our Artistic staff

• Monthly Member email newsletters with behind-thescenes news, and

• Unique opportunities to be in community with Long Wharf Theatre’s staff, artists & collaborators

Want to make a monthly recurring gift at a higher level? Or give the gift of a Membership to a friend or neighbor so they too can be among Long Wharf Theatre’s closest supporters?

We can help! Contact our friendly Box Office at (203) 693-1486 or boxoffice@longwharf.org.

longwharf.org/membership