®
from the desk of
loretta greco
WELCOME TO MAGIC and the world premiere of In Old Age by Mfoniso Udofia! It has been a minute since Mfonsio first introduced herself during our Virgin Play Series in 2014. Since then, we’ve produced the West Coast premiere of Sojourners and the world premiere of runboyrun in repertory, while supporting the development of the Ufot family cycle within Virgin in ’15 and ’16, in collaboration with New Dramatists in ’17, and again in Virgin in ’18. What began as an emerging playwright’s personal odyssey, yoking the roots of her Nigerian legacy to a fertile family tree in America, has become a formidable reality: a nine-play cycle, six of them written, the remaining three commissioned, with stunning productions popping up all over the country. This is what is possible when you make a leap of faith in supporting visionary new voices. Naturally, it is with utter joy that we find ourselves welcoming Mfoniso back home, this time in collaboration with our friends at American Conservatory Theater—where Mfoniso received her MFA—to allow us the privilege of communing with two more of her stunning cycle plays: Her Portmanteau and In Old Age. In Old Age, the fifth play of the cycle, introduces a stranger from the south into the orbit of our matriarch, Abasiama. Sent by her children to repair their family home, this unlikely gentleman caller is a catalyst for surprising self-examination and a treacherous, seemingly impossible, path towards transformation and forgiveness. We are thrilled to have Nancy Moricette and Steven Anthony Jones back at Magic to breathe life into these beautifully complex characters for the first time, and to introduce director Victor Malana Maog, who is making an auspicious Magic debut. Most of us know the rich satisfaction of following a novelist or playwright’s work throughout their careers. Albee and Shepard come to mind especially, but it is a rare gift to experience a contemporary playwright’s individual plays in relationship to each other and I relish the privilege we all have to do so here. It is my hope that as you experience In Old Age, you too will carry the residual sense memory from the plays that came before, and in post-show examination find that your Ufot vocabulary continues to deepen as you consider both the depth and scale of this epic journey— and your intimate proximity to it. This kind of ambitious and electric work can only manifest with the craft and vision of an artist such as Mfoniso Udofia paired with the support of daring theatres like Magic—and the indomitable New York Theater Workshop and Playwrights Realm on the East Coast: theatres that are willing to say YES early on. YOU make taking that risk possible through your support. Thank you for being an integral part of leading the American theatre forward. As I write this, I am in a casting studio, readying for yet another homecoming, as I complete casting for our beloved Luis Alfaro’s Oedipus el Rey. We’re also putting the final touches on Magic’s exciting 19-20 season announcement, so stay tuned! Enjoy!
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Magic Theatre presents
The world premiere of
IN OLD AGE written by Mfoniso Udofia directed by Victor Malana Maog+ Opening Night April 3, 2019 Season Producers John F. Marx and Nikki Beach Toni Rembe and Arthur Rock Clay Foundation West Sandra Hess Kathryn Kersey Larry Goldfarb Producers - In Old Age Valerie Barth Les Silverman Mike and LeaAnn Fleming
CAST Abasiama Nancy Moricette* Azell Steven Anthony Jones*
CREATIVE TEAM Set Design Costume Design Lighting Design Sound Design Stage Manager Dialect Coach Dramaturg Props Design Local Casting New York Casting
Andrew Boyce** Courtney Flores York Kennedy** Sara Huddleston Christina Hogan* Jessica Berman Kate Leary Randy Wong-Westbrooke Sonia Fernandez Elissa Myers Casting Paul Fouquet Karie Koppel
Scenery engineered and built by Cal Shakes Scene Shop
In Old Age is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. * Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.
Adopt-a-Play Parents* Alan Stewart Corky and Donna LaVallee
*Adopt-a-Play parents help to welcome the cast and production team into the Magic community by hosting welcoming events from the first day of rehearsal through the final performance.
** Member of United Scenic Artists local 829, which represents the designers and scenic painters for the American theatre. + Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SDC). The video and/or sound recording of this performance by any means whatsoever are strictly prohibited. This theatre operates under an agreement with Actor’s Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
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biographies MFONISO UDOFIA
PLAYWRIGHT is a firstgeneration Nigerian American storyteller and educator, attended Wellesley College and obtained her M.F.A. in acting from the American Conservatory Theater. During her stay in the Bay Area, she co-pioneered the groundbreaking youth theater initiative, The Nia Project, which provided artistic outlets for youth residing in the Bayview/Hunters Point district. Udofia is also currently at work on a commission from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival translating Shakespeare’s Othello, through its “Play On!” program. Her plays have been developed at and/or presented/produced by Magic Theatre, The Playwrights Realm, Dr. Barbara Ann Teer’s National Black Theatre, Hedgebrook, Sundance Theatre Lab, SPACE on Ryder Farm, NNPN New Play Showcase, Makehouse, Soul Productions, terraNOVA Collective, Interstate 73, the New Black Fest, Rising Circle Theater Collective’s INKTank, At Hand Theatre Company, the Standard Collective, American Slavery Project, Liberation Theatre Company, and more. Udofia was a finalist for the 2015 PoNY Prize, the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Many Voices Fellowship, Page73 Development Programs, the Playwrights’ Center Jerome Fellowship, New York Theatre Workshop’s 20/50 Fellowship, and the Lark Playwrights’ Week. She is the recipient of the 2017–18 McKnight National Residency and Commission at the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis. You can follow her at @mfudofia or visit mfonisoudofia.com for the latest news on her upcoming works.
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VICTOR MALANA MAOG+
DIRECTOR Named one of American Theatre Magazine’s “People to Watch,” Victor makes his Magic Theatre debut. He recently directed Mfoniso Udofia’s Her Portmanteau at A.C.T. He also has directed and developed work at The Public Theater, Williamstown Theater Festival, Hartford Stage, Signature Theatre Company, Mabou Mines, Drury Lane Theatre, 2g, The Lark, New Dramatists, ABC/Disney, and large-scale stage shows, live events, and spectaculars at Disney Parks Live Entertainment. Upcoming: Macbeth at Cal Shakes. Maog first gained notice in 2004, when he was one of six directors in the nation to receive the NEA/TCG Career Development Program. He has also been awarded the Van Lier Directing Fellowship at Second Stage, Altvater Fellowship at Cornerstone Theatre Company, and the Presidential Award with the Theatre Arts Project, and was recently chosen as an inaugural TCG SPARK Leader, spotlighting rising arts executives. B.A. in Global Leadership and Performance Studies - NYU/Gallatin. www.victormaog.com
NANCY MORICETTE*
ABASIAMA is a Haitian American actorvist whose roots lie in performance art and social justice. She has performed with Magic Theatre, The Williams Project, The Public Theater, Lookingglass Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Writer’s Theatre and Chicago Shakespeare Theatre Company. She
received a Helen Hayes nomination for Best Actress in The Convert at The Woolly Mammoth Theatre and the Philadelphia Critic’s Choice Award for Best Actress for the same production at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia. For more information about Nancy visit one of her nifty websites: www.nmoricette. wixsite.com/nancymoricette, www.asepowerconsult.com.
STEVEN ANTHONY JONES*
AZELL was the artistic director of the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. He has worked professionally on stage, television and in film for 46 years. He has performed in the works of August Wilson, (Charles) Fuller, Fugard, Stoppard, Gotanda, Beckett, Pinter, Moliere, Shakespeare, Chekhov, and others. He was in the original cast of A Soldier’s Play produced by the Negro Ensemble Company, which won an Obie Award for ensemble acting and the Pulitzer Prize for best drama. He performed, taught and directed at the American Conservatory Theater for 22 years as a member of the core acting company. Mr. Jones received his early theatre training at Karamu House in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.
ANDREW BOYCE**
SCENIC DESIGN is a multi disciplinary designer working on a variety on projects ranging from theater, opera, and live events, to film and commercial spaces. Most recently at Magic: Fool For Love; This Golden State; Buried Child. Andrew has NYC credits with: Lincoln Center Theater, Roundabout Theater Company, Atlantic Theater Company, Primary Stages, etc. Regional credits with: Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Alliance, American Conservatory Theater, Baltimore Centerstage, Berkeley Rep, Cal Shakes, Center Theater
biographies Group, The Goodman, Huntington, Long Wharf, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Rep, Philadelphia Theater Company, Portland Center Stage, Westport Playhouse, and Yale Rep, among others. Assistant Professor of Design at Northwestern University. www.andrewboycedesign.com
Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley and Gem of the Ocean (Marin Theatre Company); We Swim, We Talk, We Go to War (Golden Thread Productions); I Call My Brothers (Crowded Fire), Kiss (Shotgun Players); ANNIVERSARY! Stories from Tobias Wolff and George Saunders (Word for Word).
Comes Home from the Wars, Hamlet, Monstress, and Love and Information (American Conservatory Theatre); It Can’t Happen Here (Berkeley Repertory Theatre); Skeleton Crew and The Wolves (Marin Theatre Company). Hogan has a BA in theater arts from Saint Mary’s College of California.
YORK KENNEDY**
COURTNEY FLORES
LORETTA GRECO+
LIGHTING DESIGN York’s designs for the stage have been seen in theatres across the country and internationally including Magic Theatre, Arena Stage, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Hartford Stage, Berkeley Rep, Seattle Repertory, American Conservatory Theatre, Polish National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, The Alley Theatre, Dallas Theatre Center, Yale Repertory, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Denver Center. He has designed over 45 productions for The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, CA and spent six seasons as resident lighting designer for the company’s Shakespeare Festival. In the dance world he has collaborated with Malashock Dance, Brian Webb and Tracey Rhodes. As an architectural lighting designer, he has designed numerous themed environments, theme park, residential, retail, restaurant and museum projects. Current projects include: The 13th Child (World Premiere) for Santa Fe Opera, Gianni Schicchi for Teatro alla Scala in Milan and new architectural lighting for Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. He is a graduate of the CalArts and the Yale School of Drama.
SARA HUDDLESTON
SOUND DESIGN is pleased to return to Magic, where she most recently designed sound for the world premiere production of The Resting Place. Previous Magic credits include The Gangster of Love, Reel to Reel, Grandeur, Fool for Love, Dogeaters, Fred’s Diner, Sister Play, And I And Silence, Every Five Minutes, Hir, Arlington, Terminus, Se Llama Cristina, and Any Given Day. Other recent Bay Area credits include: Oslo,
COSTUME DESIGN is a Costume Designer based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Adjunct Lecturer at California State University East Bay in Hayward, CA. Previous Magic credits: Nogales. Recent productions include: Anna in the Tropics at Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley at Marin Theatre Company, A Raisin in the Sun at Stanford University, and El Gran Dia de la Madre at Aurora Theatre. Upcoming Productions include The House of the Spirits at U.C. Berkeley, Berkeley, CA and Native Gardens at Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville, GA. To see more of her work, visit: www.CourtneyFlores.com
KATE LEARY
DRAMATURG is a freelance dramaturg and current NNPN Producer in Residence at Magic. She previously served as Magic Theatre’s Literary Apprentice, Assistant to the Director of the Safe Harbors Indigenous Collective at La Mama Theatre (New York, NY), and is a Literary Wing member at The Play Company (New York, NY). She was most recently the dramaturg on Magic’s world premiere of The Resting Place, by Ashlin Halfnight. B.A. Penn State; MFA Columbia University.
CHRISTINA HOGAN*
STAGE MANAGER is very excited to come back to the Ufot Cycle after stage managing runboyrun in 2016. Other Magic credits include The Baltimore Waltz, And I and Silence, Hir, Arlington, Terminus, Se Llama Cristina, and Any Given Day. Other theatre credits include Men on Boats, Seascape, Father
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR is currently in her eleventh season as Magic Theatre’s Artistic Director, where she has proudly developed and premiered Taylor Mac’s Hir; Luis Alfaro’s Oedipus el Rey, Bruja, and This Golden State: Part 1: Delano; Polly Pen and Victor Lodato’s Arlington; Linda McLean’s Every Five Minutes; Sharr White’s Annapurna; Lloyd Suh’s American Hwangap and Jesus In India; Anna Zeigler’s Another Way Home; and Octavio Solis’s Se Llama Cristina; and shepherded the American premieres of Penelope Skinner’s Fred’s Diner, Linda McLean’s Any Given Day, and Mark O’Rowe’s Terminus, among many others. Ms Greco’s directing credits at Magic include Theresa Rebeck’s Mauritius, Luis Alfaro’s Oedipus el Rey, Liz Duffy Adams’ Or,, Sharr White’s The Other Place, Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters, the critically acclaimed revival of Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love, Han Ong’s Grandeur, Barbara Hammond’s The Eva Trilogy, and Jessica Hagedorn’s The Gangster of Love. Ms. Greco’s New York directing premieres include: Tracey Scott Wilson’s The Story (Kesselring), Ruben Santiago Hudson’s Lackawanna Blues (Obie), and Nilo Cruz’s Two Sisters and a Piano (Kesselring) at NYSF/ Public Theater; Katherine Walat’s Victoria Martin Math Team Queen, Karen Hartman’s Gum, Toni Press Coffman’s Touch, and Rinne Groff’s Inky at Women’s Project; Emily Mann’s Meshugah at Naked Angels; Laura Cahill’s Mercy at The Vineyard Theatre; and Nilo Cruz’s A Park in Our House at New York Theatre Workshop. Regional ARTSLANDIA.COM
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biographies directing credits include Life is a Dream at California Shakespeare Theater; Speedthe-Plow, Blackbird, Lackawanna Blues, Realistic Joneses, and Sweat at American Conservatory Theater; Romeo and Juliet and Stop Kiss at Oregon Shakespeare Festival; and productions at La Jolla Playhouse, South Coast Repertory, McCarter Theatre Center, Long Wharf Theatre, Studio Theater, Intiman Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Area Stage, Coconut Grove Playhouse, Cincinnati Playhouse, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and Playmakers Repertory Company. She directed the national tour of Emily Mann’s Having Our Say as well as the international premiere at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg, South Africa. Greco has developed work with dozens of writers at Sundance, The O’Neill, South Coast Repertory, The Mark Taper Forum, New Harmony, New York Stage and Film, The Cherry Lane, New Dramatists, and The Public. Prior to her Magic post, she served as Producing Artistic Director of New York’s Women’s Project where she produced the work of Lisa D'Amour, Katie Pearl, Dierdre Murray, Diane Paulus, Karen Hartman, Lynn Nottage, Tanya Barfield, and Rinne Groff. As the Associate Director/Resident Producer at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, Ms. Greco conceived and launched their Second Stage-On-Stage Festival of New Work where she commissioned and produced the work of Doug Wright, Jane Anderson, Nilo Cruz, Adrienne Kennedy and Joyce Carol Oates among others. Ms. Greco received her MFA from Catholic University, her BA from Loyola University, New Orleans, and is recipient of two Drama League Fellowships, Sundance Fellowship, Princess Grace Award, and the 2018 Fichandler Award.
MAGIC THEATRE
Now in its 52nd year of continuous operation, Magic Theatre is dedicated to creative risk: we cultivate new plays, playwrights, and audiences and produce bold, entertaining, and ideologicallyrobust plays that ask substantive questions about, and reflect the rich
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diversity of, the world in which we live. Magic believes that demonstrating faith in a writer’s vision by providing a safe, rigorous, and innovative artistic home, where a full body of work can be imagined, developed, and produced, allows writers to thrive. We believe that, by adding vanguard voices to the canon and expanding access to new theatergoers, we ensure the future vibrancy of the American theatre. Since the company’s founding in 1967 by regional theatre pioneer John Lion, Magic has embodied San Francisco’s innovative spirit by providing an artistic home to some of the most visionary writers in American theatre. From prolific poet-playwright Michael McClure’s 22 works written for Magic, classics of Beat counterculture staged in collaboration with Lion, to scholar Martin Esslin’s indelible influence on the field as the first resident dramaturg at an American theatre company, Magic’s early years established the company as one of the most important centers for the creation and performance of new American plays. Sam Shepard’s decade-long playwright residency at Magic cemented the company’s legacy as a preeminent new play theatre. Between 1974 and 1984, Shepard developed and premiered a body of work at Magic that changed the face of American drama, including his seminal family plays Buried Child (Pulitzer Prize, 1979), True West, and Fool for Love. Since Artistic Director Loretta Greco assumed leadership of Magic in 2008, the theatre has produced 19 world premieres and nurtured a new cohort of exceptional playwrights. Indelibly shaped by the example Shepard provides, Magic remains a national leader in new play development through Greco’s commitment to a core group of writers as they each build a groundbreaking body of work. These writers include Octavio Solis, Lloyd Suh, Taylor Mac, Linda McLean, Jessica Hagedorn, Sharr White, John Kolvenbach, Christina Anderson,
Joshua Harmon, Mfoniso Udofia, and Luis Alfaro, to name a few. Magic plays have a profound impact across the American theatre landscape. Under Greco’s leadership, Magic world premieres have entered the canon of American plays, enjoying subsequent productions at theatres across the country and around the world. In the last decade, Magic premieres have been seen in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Ashland, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Seattle, Dallas, Austin, Pasadena, Winnipeg, Portland, Washington, D.C., Tucson, Minneapolis, Vancouver, Williamstown, Edmonton, Nashville, Boulder, Omaha, Tampa, Hartford, Houston, San Diego, and Sydney, Australia, as well as in translation in Seoul, South Korea and Manila, the Philippines. In New York alone, Ma-Yi, The New Group, The Vineyard, INTAR, The Play Company, Playwrights Horizons, and The Public Theater have produced plays that originated at Magic within the past eight years.
Interested in becoming more involved with Magic? Email Magic Board Member, Alan Stewart at alans@magictheatre.org to learn more about exciting opportunities with Magic's Board and committees.
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association. AEA, founded in 1913, represents more than 45,000 actors and stage managers in the United States. Equity seeks to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions, providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO, and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performance arts unions. The Equity emblem is our mark of excellence. www.actorsequity.org. + Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SDC) ** Member of United Scenic Artists local 829. United Scenic Artists represents the designers and scenic painters for the American theatre.
THE
WORK
dramaturgy
OF
A CONVERSATION WITH MFONISO UDOFIA AND LORETTA GRECO
By Kate Leary
Artistic Director Loretta Greco and Playwright Mfoniso Udofia at Magic’s First Day Celebration. Photo by Jorden Charley-Whatley
Kate Leary: Could you share where the Ufot cycle
plays sprang from? And what has your journey been in writing them?
Mfoniso Udofia: It sprang up as The Grove. As I
was writing The Grove, I became more fascinated by Adiaha’s parents than Adiaha herself. So then The Grove became a trilogy, and that trilogy was Sojourners,
The Grove, and runboyrun. But that did not feel like a complete arcing of the parents’ lives. In Sojourners, Abasiama gives away her baby, and I wanted to see what would happen when that baby returned. And then I wanted to see what would happen in the end of Abasiama’s life, so we get Her Portmanteau and In Old Age. And after In Old Age, I’ve become ARTSLANDIA.COM
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Director Victor Malana Maog and Playwright Mfoniso Udofia at the first rehearsal of In Old Age. Photo by Jorden Charley-Whatley
MU: [Laughter]
Her Portmanteau, which is at least a fifth in another language, and not a romance language that we are used to hearing? Teaching a tonal language is truly difficult. Not only must the actors learn the foreign-language passages, but since there are no subtitles, they have to act through it for audience comprehension. A play like In Old Age is deceptive. It looks like a very small play, and potentially easy to produce. But that’s not true. There are three set changes, from the bottom up. And those poor actors are going to be exhausted every night. So that’s another issue—real production questions need to be taken into consideration. And you said three things?
KL: Or pick three.
KL: [Laughter]
MU: I think my biggest challenge is fatigue. There’s
MU: There are certain plays that are just structurally
re-fascinated by the children. These plays get to be love stories. They also get to be a critical look at how race plays upon the bodies of children who are black, without having a transatlantic history. And that’ll take us to the end. So, when you ask me what the inception was—I wanted to figure out how a Nigerian child can self-identify, when that is not a value within the Nigerian culture. Then I became fascinated by the parents, and the cycle was birthed. KL: What’s been the greatest challenge that you’ve
faced in the process of writing the whole cycle?
a cost to writing. Especially when you’re writing conjure stories, like runboyrun and In Old Age. It costs something for the body to create. I am always dancing with fatigue when writing these plays. Another challenge to writing the cycle are the specific production issues within these plays. How do you stage an eight-person play like The Grove that also has a chorus? How do you produce a play like
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harder to write. There are plays that come out of me in a flood and then I’m editing for two years, and then there are plays where, no matter how hard I’m chipping at the stone, it takes me five years to get a first draft. Each play in the cycle has a different structure. So, it’s not as if I can learn something in one play and then just take that framework into another. Sojourners was particularly difficult to write actually.
dramaturgy Loretta Greco: It’s a completely different structure. MU: Finding the framework for Sojourners busted my brain. runboyrun, however, I found in its first iteration and then lost through over-development. It took me three years to re-find that play again. And then you have In Old Age, which I actually don’t remember writing. That one was quite easy. KL: Loretta, what is it about Mfoniso’s work and
Mfoniso as a writer that drew you to this cycle?
LG: By the time we met, the aspiration had already
transcended—“oh I’m going to write a play,” and, “I’m going to write a trilogy.” It was already to the point of “no, what’s tapping me on the shoulder is this nine-play cycle.” And I just thought, as an emerging writer, that that was one of the most outlandish, amazing things one could possibly dream of. That made me want to support her more. And I knew that when Mfoniso is saying she is going to do this nine-play cycle, Nigerian/ American, bilingual, she would need some champions to say yes early on. And that’s something Magic does
well—in the hopes that our courage will be infectious to other theaters around the country! KL: In what way is In Old Age a departure from other cycle plays? MU: In Old Age is different in how love is being
expressed. It’s the first “work-of-love” story I’ve ever written. In In Old Age, both partners do the individual work they need to do, in order to experience a higher form of love. In the other love stories I’ve written, one character might sacrifice in an act of love, while the other will take that sacrifice, run with it, and leave the gift-giver in the dust. In this play, there are two people who actively work. What’s also interesting is that the love story that blooms and passes very quickly.
LG: How hard was it to approach this knowing it would
be Abasiama’s last play?
MU: It was really difficult. It was really structurally easy
to write, but when you start talking emotional cost, that’s another thing. I am not usually a sloppy writer. There’s a reason why, subconsciously, I think I’ve been
Apr 17-May 12 A.C.T.’s Geary Theater by Kate Hamill
Based on the novel by William Makepeace Thackeray
Directed by Jessica Stone A coproduction with the Shakespeare Theatre Company
act-sf.org Use code FOOTLIGHT for $35 orchestra seats at select performances!
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Magic’s first rehearsal of In Old Age. Photo by Jorden Charley-Whatley
so sloppy on dates and times within In Old Age. I’m very reluctant to make Abasiama’s death-day concrete. It’s sad that I will never write her again. I will write the memory of her through other people’s mouths, but after In Old Age, Abasiama will cease to exist in the cycle in dramatic flesh and bone. LG: It’s a big departure. MU: A big departure. I’m taking away the matriarch and
heartbeat of this cycle.
KL: Are there specific things that you hope Magic
audiences leave with after experiencing In Old Age?
LG: I believe people will recognize themselves through
the hope and pain we each carry as we get older. I hope that the action provides true catharsis for all of us.
MU: I hope the audience grapples with the work it takes
to forgive oneself. How do those who’ve been monsters in the past hold the entire scope of themselves? How does one progress to the point where one can say, “I am more good than bad.” And for those of us who have experienced pain at the hand of someone—what is it to understand and hold that history, and dare to start again clean? I hope that most of the people who leave the audience, no matter who and what they’ve been, know there is a world in which, if they do the work, they get to circle back into being good.
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LG: How did it feel to hear first day? Would you share
some of your inner monologue as Steven and Nancy were really putting those words in their mouths for the first time?
MU: I wondered whether those two bodies could do
and sustain what was being asked of them. Upon first read, I looked at Steven and Nancy and said to myself, “yes they can.” From there I very quickly went into editorial brain— “That doesn’t work, Mfoniso. That’s a textual problem, that’s a calibration problem.”
LG: That is fascinating.
You’re returning to the rehearsal hall after you’ve been a staff writer for a TV series, and you’re a consulting producer on another show. Do those newly sharpened tools in your tool kit inform at all who you are as a playwright at Magic right now? MU: Yeah. There’s a distillation in TV writing that I don’t
naturally have. I like an emotional sprawl. I am not plot heavy. I am character heavy. Working for TV, I am
dramaturgy she has taken all of Disciple’s work and made it her own. Her publication of his work makes her a success. Now the university wants more work from her, and she can’t do it. This sends her back to Nigeria on a quest. LG: …And they’re singing. MU: Yeah, they’re singing. The musical is a classic
Western form of dramatic storytelling. Part of my job is going to be disrupting how we do musicals and figuring out how I can infuse another sound. I’m really attached to exploring this form with an American child who has been presenting American, then heads back home and learns who she is. Next comes Ekong’s play. He’s the one who will really reckon with what it is to be a Black man without possessing generational memory of America’s racial history. And then you have Adia and Clora Snatch Joy. And then we’re out.
KL: And then what?
suddenly thinking, about plot—i.e. “When does the body drop?” I am now asking questions such as “When must the antagonist enter in order to incite an action that then gets me to this ultimate end?” In TV, you’re doing that in a room full of 10 people. It is a machine. So now, when editing In Old Age, I try to be really careful about my intention. There are moments where I can be a little amorphous, and that’s okay—it’s just asking: do I want to be amorphous right now or is it better to get to where I need to go? LG: Could you talk a little bit about the plays you are
writing between In Old Age and Adia and Clora—and if you’ve been able to imagine writing for theatre outside of the cycle? What might that look like?
MU: So, the first play in the between In Old Age and
Adia and Clora is Kufre’s play. Kufre is is the son of Iniabasi, who you meet in Her Portmanteau. He will be coming to New York City to move in with his Auntie Adiaha. They will be located in the Little Senegal area of NYC, and Kufre will meet many other Africans who’ve been there for at least a generation. He will be delightfully confused by how all of these African worlds live together in little Senegal. Plus he will fall in love with his first girl! It’ll be a children’s play—a coming-of-age story. Not many children’s stories are originally written for black and brown bodies. Kufre’s play will attempt to fill that gap. The next play will be Toyoima’s play, and that will be a musical. Toyoima is the middle child of Abasiama and Disciple. She is an academic, working at Stanford, and
[Laughter] MU: I am interested in writing more in-and-around
mental illness and the Black body. I am very interested by those men we see on the corner, who are screaming into the air. People might walk by them and think, “I guess that’s just San Francisco.” But no. I’m interested in what they’re seeing and why they’re seeing what they’re seeing. Is what they’re seeing real and just a place I can’t see? I’m also interested in their families. Who loved these people? Why are they on the street right now? I am also interested in—people don’t realize it, but I love Hip Hop—and I still don’t think we have enough Hip Hop theater. I want to take my stab at it. I am also interested in writing more things for Black folks that are joyous. I’m interested in sexual identity and the presentation of the Black body in joyful ways.
KL: How does it feel to be back at Magic? MU: I love it. Magic has been one of my homes.
You took a chance on me with plays that other people read and said, “well this is great, but this is too hard.” Magic Theatre, very early, said, “this is great, and this is hard, and how do we do it?”* That means the world.
KL: Loretta, how does it feel having Mfoniso back? LG: It just feels like a homecoming. MU: Loretta has an unwavering respect for me and
for the work. I’m very happy to be here. I’m happy you keep bringing me back. I am happy to keep coming. It’s good. ARTSLANDIA.COM
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“ There are so many roots to the tree of anger that sometimes the branches shatter before they bear.” —Audre Lorde, from Who Said It Was Simple
Photo by Michael Moore.
ufot family tree
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Designed by Caro Asercion.
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ufot cycle
Sojourners duty and desire
Abasiama Ekpeyoung, a Nigerian immigrant in Houston, Texas, struggles to balance the elements of her life: a thankless job as a gas station cashier, her burgeoning academic studies, her pregnancy, and her unfulfilling arranged marriage to her often absent husband, Ukpong. She forms an unlikely friendship with Moxie Wilis, a Houston native currently in between work, who provides Abasiama with friendly, if blunt, advice and support. In the wake of Ukpong’s most recent and lengthy disappearance, Abasiama goes into labor. She is helped to the hospital by a stranger: Nsikan Disciple Ufot, a fellow immigrant and scholar. Abasiama gives birth to a daughter: Iniabasi, and while in the hospital, she finds in Disciple a kindred spirit and new connection to her homeland. Upon Ukpong’s return, Abasiama learns that he has been kicked out of university and must return to Nigeria. Abasiama asks him to take Iniabasi with him so she can stay to fulfill her goal of completing college in the United States, a goal she shares with Disciple.
Top: Katherine Renee Turner as Abasiama and Jarrod Smith as Ukpong in Magic’s production of Sojourners. Photo by Jennifer Reiley. Bottom: Jamella Cross as Moxie and Katherine Renee Turner as Abasiama in Magic’s production of Sojourners. Photo by Jennifer Reiley.
The Grove
courage and cowardice Thirty-one years after the events of Sojourners, Abasiama and Disciple Ufot have settled into life in Worcester, Massachusetts. Their three children—two daughters, Adiaha and Toyoima, and their son Ekong—have come together to celebrate Adiaha's completion of her masters' degree in writing. While harboring the secret of her sexuality, Adiaha navigates her complex family relationships and increasingly volatile father, Disciple, whose religious fervor is kept in tenuous check by Abasiama. When Adiaha eventually does address her sexuality with her parents, Disciple becomes enraged. Adiaha is faced with the choice of following her own happiness, or living up to her role as the eldest child and putting her religiously conservative Nigerian parents first.
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ufot cycle
runboyrun civil war
With all three of their children moved out of the house, the strain in Disciple and Abasiama's relationship grows; Disciple spends the majority of his time in the basement, resenting Abasiama for her academic success where he has failed. He is accompanied and haunted by memories of his childhood and life back in Nigeria. Meanwhile, Abasiama has become complacent, living her life on the family couch, though she eventually gains the courage to ask Disciple for a divorce. This triggers Disciple even further, and we are launched into Disciple's flashbacks to Uyo, Nigeria, where his family lived in the shadow of the Biafran War. Disciple relives his trauma—being beaten by his protective mother, talking to his war-ravaged brother about the injuries he sustained, and watching his sister die at the hands of Biafran soldiers—as Abasiama struggles with her duty and her desire to understand what is haunting her husband.
Top: Adrian Roberts as Disciple, Katherine Renee Turner as Sister, and Rotimi Agbabiaka as Boy in Magic’s production of runboyrun. Photo by Jennifer Reiley. Right: Omoze Idehenre as Abasiama and Adrian Roberts as Disciple in Magic’s production of runboyrun. Photo by Jennifer Reiley.
Her Portmanteau legacy and forgiveness
Left: Eunice Woods as Iniabasi and Kimberly Scott as Abasiama in A.C.T.’s production of Her Portmanteau. Photo by Kevin Berne. Bottom: Kimberly Scott as Abasiama, Aneisa Hicks as Adiaha, and Eunice Woods as Iniabasi in A.C.T.’s production of Her Portmanteau. Photo by Kevin Berne.
After more than thirty years of separation, Iniabasi, the daughter of Abasiama and Ukpong, leaves Nigeria to come to live with her mother in Massachusetts—or so she believes. Instead, she is met at JFK by Adiaha, her half-sister, and brought to Adiaha’s apartment in Manhattan, where the sisters uncomfortably wait for their mother whose arrival brings not relief, but greater tension between the daughters. Now a mother herself, Iniabasi reckons with the abandonment she has long felt toward Abasiama, and juggles her own guilt in leaving her son behind in Nigeria. Upon realizing that Disciple’s mental state is preventing Abasiama from bringing Iniabasi to Massachusetts, the estranged mother and daughter are forced to confront their failings and regrets and to build a future that includes them all as one family.
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contributors PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE $100,000 +
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation San Francisco Arts Commission Public Art Trust The Shubert Foundation
LEADERSHIP CIRCLE $50,000–$99,999
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation Kathryn Kersey John F. Marx and Nikki Beach Toni Rembe and Arthur Rock San Francisco Grants for the Arts Venturous Theater Fund of Tides Foundation
SEASON PRODUCER $25,000–$49,999
Martha Heasley Cox Sandra Hess
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER $10,000–$24,999
Ian Atlas and Renu Karir Eugene Barth and Neil Barth Lucia "Lucie" Brandon Clay Foundation West Larry S. Goldfarb Carole Shorenstein Hays and Jeffrey Hays Koret Foundation Mrs. Robert B. Mayer National Endowment for the Arts National New Play Network The Bernard Osher Foundatioln Matt Sorgenfrei The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust Bennett G. Young and Molly Young Zellerbach Family Foundation
PRODUCER
$5,000–$9,999 Valerie Barth Jim Eisen and Rebecca Eisen
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February 22, 2018–February 22, 2019 We gratefully acknowledge all those that support Magic Theatre with gifts to our Annual Fund, Benefit Fundraiser, and special projects.
Mike Fleming and Lea Ann Fleming Ken Hitz and Liselott Hitz Fred Levin and Nancy Livingston William Bradley Rubenstein Leslie M. Silverman, In Memory of Irvin Govan Dr. Alan Stewart and Frank Kelly The Tournesol Project of the Barth Foundation Dr. Debra Weese-Mayer
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER $2,500–$4,999
Lisa Avallone and Mike Aguiar Karen Crommie and David Crommie Pamela Culp Lynn Ducken-Goldstein Sarah Nina Hayon Patricia Kaussen and Karl Kaussen Jeremy Kotin Susie Lampert Terry Limpert and MaryBeth Limpert Michele Ruskin and John Ruskin Voluntary Arts Contribution Fund Gerald Vurek and Lynda Vurek-Martyn Ken Wilcox and Ruth Wilcox Leigh Wolf Bob Zolli and Lynne Zolli
PLAYWRIGHT'S ANGEL $1,000–$2,499
Sara Adler Katherine Agnew Gladys Andersen Susan Beech and Bill Beech David Benjamin and Michele Benjamin Peter Boland and Lisa Wade Michelle Branch and Dale Cook The Mervn L. Brenner Foundation Judith Ciani Smith Adele Corvin Scott Corvin and Valerie Corvin Stuart Corvin and Marissa Wertheimer
Roy Curry and Helga Curry Julie Divola and Lisa Smith Wesley Duenow David Goldman and Carol Dweck Betty Gottlieb Ed Harris and Amy Madigan Betty Hoener Lorraine Honig Michael Kass and Kate Hartley Missy Kirchner Robert Klett and Linda Klett Joanne Koltnow Gyöngy Laky and Thomas Layton Peter Landsberger and Claire Noonan Courtland LaVallee and Donna LaVallee Linde – Sands Family Fund Fred Lonsdale Karl Ludwig and Ann Ludwig Jaimie Mayer and Daniel Raiffe John G. McGehee Abby McLoughlin E. Craig Moody, In Honor of Richard Moody Nick Nichols and Linda McPharlin Mike Nouaux and Sheryl Nouaux Matt Pagel and Corey Revilla David S. H. Rosenthal and Vicky Reich Arthur Roth and Lois Roth William Shea and Elizabeth Shea Jerry Smallwood and Richard Smallwood Shirley Traynor Alan Vidinsky and Joanne Vidinsky Toni K. Weingarten Harris Weinberg and Dana Corvin William Wilson and Miriam John Peter Wiley Julius Young Karen Zehring John Ziegler
NEW WORK ADVOCATE $500–$999
Joy Lian Alferness
Raymond Applebaum Nancy Baker MD, and Cathy Hauer George Bray and Marilyn Bray Bryan Burlingame and Lauren Burlingame Meagan S. Levitan and Dale Carlson Lynne Carmichael Miriam Chall Gabrielle Chapple and Craig Chapple Steven A. Chase and Andrea Sanchez Center for Cultural Innovation Terence Chu Katie Colendich David Cover Rich Deitchman and Dr. Jennifer Mayer Larry Eilenberg and Kathleen O’Hara David Fleishhacker and Vicki Fleishhacker Dave Freed and Jeanne Freed Steven Fugaro and Jill Fugaro Loretta Greco Richard Hay Roland Jadryev and Herve Duprez Martha Harriet Lawrie Walter Lehman Kathleen Leones Chris Lorway Dennis May and Karen May Rick McStravick and Jo Ann McStravick Gail Murphy Jennifer Raiser Wayne Robins and Murphy Robins Saul Rockman and Barbara Rockman Karen Rose Karen Rosenak Wylie Sheldon and Judy Sheldon Richard J. Stratton and Michelle D. Stratton Maureen Sullivan Susan Terris Joe Vasquez and Dalia Katan David Volpendesta and Barbara Paschke Julie Wainwright Robert Yoerg and Sharon Yoerg
We strive for accurate donor listings. If you have a correction or question, or would like to find out more about ways to support Magic Theatre, please contact Ciera Eis at cierae@magictheatre.org.
NEW WORK SUPPORTER $250–$499
Steve Adams and Lauren Adams Seth Ammerman Leo Berry-Lawhorn Dan Callaway and Karen Laws Marcy Coburn Geoff Dryvynsyde and Matt Porta Jeanene E. Ebert Bruce Ericson and Lisa Ericson Kirke Hasson and Nancy Hasson Donald James and Tanya James John Jimerson and Kerry Francis Richard Lapping and Dr. Carolyn Wright Dr. Jan Laskowski Henry Navas and Deborah Robbins Jeanne Newman Eddie Reynolds and Hernan Correa Ellen Richard Gregg Riehl and Tina Riehl Dorothy Schimke William Schwartz Christopher Shadix Jasmine Stirling Bob Sutton Richard Tilles and Lois Tilles Philip Waddington and Ruth Waddington Roy Zitting Frank Zwart and Julia Zwart
PATRON
$100–$249 Neil R. Ackerman Armar Archbold and Joan St. Laurent Patricia L. Akre John T. Bacon Michael Bandrowski and Elizabeth Bandrowski Lynda Beigel Jon Benjamin and Ellen Benjamin
Martin S. Berman and Deborah Sussel Robert Bergman Noel Blos Donna Brorby David Brown and Catherine Brown Howard Brownstein and Janna Ullrey Betty Bullock Thomas Burkhart and Carol Burkhart Steven Burrill and Kelli Burrill Edward Callen and Ann M. O’Connor Deborah Cardenas Barry Chauser and Millie Chauser Dr. Jon W. Churnin and Brigitte Q. Churnin Willa Crowell John Cummings Jerry Current Peter Daly Ellen Davis Debbie Degutis Peter Dell Judith Duffy Marilyn Duman and Les Duman Sonia Fernandez and Long Do Thomas Foote and Mary Foote Stewart Fox Richard Frank and Nancy Cooper Douglas Fraser and Mary Fraser Philip Frost and Velia K. Frost Ronni Garfield Gordon Griffin and Gini Griffin Julia Hansen Paul Hardwick and Linda Rae Hardwick Michael Harris and Elizabeth Foster George Heymont Terry Hill and Nancy M. Friedman Daniel Hoth and Kim Regan Dr. Gisele Huff Carolyn Jayne
Bruce W. Jenett and Nola Masterson Richard Kaplan and Susan Kaplan Paul Karlstrom and Ann Karlstrom Ashok Katdare Rory Keller John Kolvenbach Barry Livingston and Carol Livingston Pam MacKinnon Ana Maria Martel Patrick Mason and Rebecca Kurland John McIntosh Maeve Metzger Janice Mirkitani Roberta Mundie Daniel Murphy Linda Murray Dr. Walter Norton and Joan Sullivan Evan Painter David Pasta Robert Popper and Marcia Popper Wendy Porter Thomas Robinson Jeff Rodman and Adrienne Hirt Stephen Ruben and Marcia Ruben Martha Rubinson Kathy Rucker and Hal Rucker Harry Silverstein and Lorinda Silverstein Ira Simmons and Elizabeth Jewell Peter Skinner and Marie Earl Pamela Smith Robert Smith and Nancy Smith
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magic theatre staff STAFF
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Artistic Director Loretta Greco Interim Managing Director Cierra Cass Associate Artistic Director Sonia Fernandez Production Manager Jackie Hill Manager of Institutional Giving Ellen Abram NNPN Producer in Residence Kate Leary Patron Services Manager Karina Fox Development Associate Ciera Eis PR Consultant Jonathan White Bookkeeper Richard Lane Season Artistic Apprentices Caro Asercion, Jorden CharleyWhatley, Claire Ganem, Samuel Levit Community Outreach and Education Intern Christy Conway Development Volunteer Susan Boynton Administrative Volunteer Susie Lampert
Co-Chair Bennett G. Young Co-Chair John Marx Secretary Alan Stewart Treasurer Kathryn Kersey Trustees Cierra Cass, Interim Managing Director Loretta Greco, Artistic Director Ian Atlas Sarah Nina Hayon Sandra Hess Larry Goldfarb
PRODUCTION PERSONNEL Line Producer Kate Leary Assistant Director Jorden Charley-Whatley Assistant Stage Manager Amanda Marshall Production Assistant Samuel Levit Associate Dramaturg Caro Asercion Assistant Costume Designer Alexia Dominique Assistant Lighting Designer Brittney Price Master Electrician Gonzalo Suarez Sound Engineer Michael Kelly Light Board Programmer & Operator Sara Saavedra Scenery engineered and built at Cal Shakes Scene Shop in Berkeley, CA Technical Director Steven Schmidt Assistant Technical Director Heidi Voelker Shop Foreman Charlotte Wheeler Master Carpenter Sam Sheldon CNC Operator Will Gerig Scenic Charge Artist Ewa Muszynska
LITERARY COMMITTEE Caro Asercion, Jorden Charley-Whatley, Sonia Fernandez, Claire Ganem, Hal Gelb, Sandra Hess, Kate Leary, Amanda Lee, Sam Levit, Jack Miller, Patricia Reynoso, Arthur Roth
MAGIC ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP John Lion (1967–1991) Harvey Seifter (1991–1992) Larry Eilenberg (1992–1993) Mame Hunt (1993–1998) Larry Eilenberg (1998–2003) Chris Smith (2003–2008) Loretta Greco (2008–Present) The following individuals have generously provided for Magic Theatre in their estate plans: C. Edwin Baker, Martha Heasley Cox, Bob Lemon, Mike Mellor, Mary Moffatt, Julia Sommer, Bert Steinberg, Alan Stewart, Toni K. Weingarten
Magic Theatre is generously supported by:
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Become a Producer Magic Theatre is dedicated to the cultivation of bold new plays and playwrights. Your support is what makes this possible! There is still time to become a producer of Oedipus El Rey!
Allow playwrights to thrive by directly supporting their vision! Stay tuned for our 2019-2020 season announcement and more opportunities to become a producer at Magic!
Season Producer: $25,000
Producer: $5,000
Associate Producer: $2,500
By becoming a producer you get access to Exclusive Offers throughout the season! Sneak peek Tech Brunch experience with a guest pass Exclusive Opening Night invitations to the show you produce Customized benefits including private dinner experiences with playwrights Signed show artwork from cast and creative team Behind-the-scenes backstage tour and performance reports Exclusive invitation to First Day Table Read and Meet-and-Greet with cast And much more!
To become a producer contact Cierra Cass • cierrac@magictheatre.org • 415.263.9055 Magic Theatre is a nonprofit, charitable organization recognized under I.R.S Code Section 501(c)3; TIN 94-1733420
biographies
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PUBLISHER + FOUNDER
Misty Tompoles ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER + MEMBERSHIP MANAGER
Katrina Ketchum MANAGING EDITOR
Kristen Seidman MEDIA DIRECTOR
Chris Porras SALES DIRECTOR
Lindsey Ferguson DESIGNERS
Lisa Johnston-Smith Dan Le Jackie Tran ARTSLANDIA BOX MANAGER
Bella Showerman PUBLISHER'S REPRESENTATIVE
Nicole Lane PUBLISHING COORDINATOR
Sara Chavis NEW BUSINESS ASSOCIATE
Ashley Coates PHOTOGRAPHERS
Christine Dong Max McDermott PODCAST HOST
Susannah Mars
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Want to be a part of the cutting edge of theatre? Join Magic Theatre's Literary Committee, and help us shape the future of American Theatre. Interested? Email Kate Leary at katel@magictheatre.org.
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music. art. dance. performance.
magic masquerade.
y a m warhol’s factory. Magic’s First Decade.
The explosion of pop art in New York. The beginning of a new avant garde theatre in San Francisco.
Join us at our second Masquerade Gala to celebrate an era of experimentation and unbridled creativity, and to unveil the 2019 Sam Shepard Award Winners: Rebecca Eisen and Octavio Solis.
May 16. Gallery 308 at Fort Mason.
Dinner by Taste Catering
For more information or to purchase tickets visit us online at magictheatre.org or call 415.441.8822