Kevin Glaccum Producing Artistic Director
Louis Bluver Honorary Producer
AZUKA THEATRE presents
by JACQUELINE GOLDFINGER Starring NATHAN HOLT DRUCIE MCDANIEL* AMANDA SCHOONOVER* MAUREEN TORSNEY-WEIR* Scenic Design DIRK DUROSSETTE Sound Design DANIEL KONTZ
Lighting Design CHRIS HALLENBECK Dramaturg SALLY OLLOVE
Costume Design KATHERINE FRITZ Production Manager MICHAEL KERNS
Production Stage Manager LAUREN TRACY Directed by ALLISON HEISHMAN
World Premiere!
March 5 – 23, 2014 Azuka Theatre is a 501(c)(3) Not for profit organization
CAST Midge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Maureen Torsney-Weir* Madge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Drucie McDaniel* Emma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Amanda Schoonover* Ronnie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nathan Holt *Member of Actors’ Equity Association
Time & Place: 1990’s. Transfer, Florida. There will be no intermission. Please turn OFF all electronic devices prior to the performance. Photography or recording of this production, including cell phones, is strictly prohibited.
The noted Actors in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
Proud member of Off-Broad Street. Celebrating Philadelphia Independent Theater!
Azuka Theatre is a member of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance (GPCA).
A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR “She would have been a good woman,” The Misfit said, “if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.” - Flannery O’Connor, A Good Man Is Hard To Find
Tennessee Williams described Southern Gothic as a style that captured “an intuition, of an underlying dreadfulness in modern experience.” It’s a style of writing practiced by many writers of the American South including Williams, O’Connor, William Faulkner and Truman Capote. Their stories are frequently characterized by grotesque, macabre, or fantastic incidents.
In the terrible girls, part one of Jacqueline Goldfinger’s Southern Gothic trilogy, we were introduced to the small town of Transfer, Fl. located right off the barren I-10 in Northern Florida. Our return trip in Skin & Bone lands us in the once welcoming sitting room of a now abandoned Bed and Breakfast run by “older than middle aged” twin sisters Midge and Madge. They have traditions, old family traditions. And secrets. Secrets that must be protected at any cost.
I love working on Jackie’s plays. I love that I get to work on Jackie’s plays with such an amazing team of artists onstage and off. I love that there’s at least one more adventure after this to look forward to. But mostly, I love discovering what lies beneath the surface and between the cracks. I hope you will too.
– Allison Heishman
A NOTE FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT I like complicated, bizarre, unwieldy people both in fiction and in life. A little more in fiction. But also in life. I began writing this play because there’s something alternatively beautiful and horrifying in a character’s complete certainty that their experience is the only one that matters, that it’s inherently right because it is their tradition and traditions are always sacred and immutable. There is beauty in the strength of their certainty, and a horror in the cold inflexibility that comes with that sure beauty. I began writing this play because I see people that I love in a deep and abiding struggle with themselves to reconcile what they see in the world and what they’ve been taught to see. And I wondered, how far will someone go to stay selectively blind? To remain comfortably clothed in absolute certainty? I began writing this play to be funny. (I began writing this play because I promised Allison Heishman that I would.) I began writing this play to share it with You. And You. And that Guy in the back corner, too. Thank you for bringing your laughter and light to our dark little corner of the world.
– Jacqueline Goldfinger
WHO’S WHO Nathan Holt (Ronnie) Nathan is a Philly-based actor, writer, video producer, and improv comedian. This is his second show with Azuka. He’s honored that Jackie & Allison have a role for him after they bludgeoned him with a frying pan in the terrible girls. He also produces a web series called “Walking the Planes,” which is a blend of sketch comedy and documentary filmmaking about the wide world of the fantasy card game Magic: The Gathering. Just search “Walking the Planes” on YouTube. Other favorite theater credits include the Fire Chief in Brat Productions’ The 24 Hour Bald Soprano and “Nathan” in Philly Shakes’ The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged. Drucie McDaniel (Madge) Drucie is delighted to make her Azuka debut! Area audiences may remember her from Lantern’s extension of Beauty Queen of Leenane, and 1812’s Barrymore nominated It’s My Party: The Women and Comedy Project. Other appearances include Brat, New City Stage, The Wilma, InterAct, Delaware Theatre Company, Women’s Theatre Ensemble, The Abbey Theatre (Dublin, Ireland) and Walnut Street Theatre. Film: Girl Interrupted, Fallen, Twelve Monkeys, Explicit Ills, The Narrows, Rounding First, Edge City, and the forthcoming Unreachable by Conventional Means. Television: Law and Order and L&O SVU, HBO’s You Don’t Know Jack, The Onion News Network, The Adversaries, and All My Children, as well as several national commercials. Her voice can be heard internationally in educational videos. Drucie has also directed for TV (PBS and Nickelodeon), industrial and documentary film (US Dept. of Defense, Dept. of Energy, Ski Industries America, AT&T) and music videos. For ten years, as Artistic Director for The Philadelphia Theatre Caravan, Drucie wrote and/or directed over thirty productions for national tour. Other stage direction includes Walnut Street, The Smithsonian Institution, National Constitution Center, Theatre Ariel, Project Arts Center in Dublin, Ireland, and The Rosenbach Museum, where she can be seen every Bloomsday on June 16th in a much-lauded portrayal of James Joyce’s Molly Bloom. Drucie is an Associate Professor of Acting at The University of the Arts; she also coaches privately, teaches at Walnut Street Theatre, and has recently opened her own studio, The Actors CrossRoads. She sings and plays multiple instruments with her Irish Band, The Connemara Codfish Company. Proud member of Actors Equity. Love to MMCG. Amanda Schoonover (Emma) Amanda is thrilled to be working with Azuka on their 9th production together! Amanda is a six-time Barrymore Award nominee, winning two awards for her work as Dottie in Theatre Exile’s Killer Joe, as well as receiving a special award from Pig Iron for her work on Pay Up and being a 2010 F. Otto Haas Emerging Artist finalist. She has worked with many theaters in the Philadelphia area including The Arden, People’s Light, Theatre Horizon, Bristol Riverside, Pig Iron, New City, and the Lantern. Amanda is a company member at the National Constitution Center where she has performed in The Living News and Freedom Rising. She has appeared in film and television, most notably opposite Phylicia Rashad on NBC’s Do No Harm. Favorite roles include Lucy in Mr. Marmalade (Exile), Minnie in the terrible girls (Azuka), Sara in Grace (Luna) and Moll in Kid Simple (Azuka). Thank you to Allison and Jackie for inviting me back to the wilds of Florida! Maureen Torsney-Weir (Midge) Maureen is so happy to be working at Azuka! Maureen’s worked steadily since moving to Philly from NY. Most recently, she was Gillian in the revival of Permanent Collection at InterAct, Duchess in To Fool the Eye co-produced by Drexel and 1812, and Kay in Little Gem at Inis Nua. Other favorites: Amelia Pickles in The Uneasy Chair and Lizzie in Cherry Bomb (1812). Kimberly in Kimberly Akimbo (Theatre Horizon), Old Lady in Sunday in the Park… , Mrs. Lintott in History Boys (Arden), Signora Nacarelli in Light in the Piazza (PTC). Notable NY roles are Grace in Faith Healer, Ouisa in Six Degrees of Separation among many others. Maureen is grateful for continuing and varied collaborations with directors: Terry Nolen (Arden Theatre), Seth Rozin (InterAct Theatre), Jen Childs (1812), Joe Calarco (PTC), Matt Decker (Kimberly Akimbo), Matt Pfeiffer (Two River Theatre), James J. Christy (Villanova), Harriet Power (Villanova, Venture, InterAct), David Bradley (People’s Light), Robert Smythe (MumPuppet & Act 2), Richard Parison (Walnut Street), KC Nocero (Inis Nua) among others, and now Allison Heishman. Favorite film/tv include roles in: Silver Linings Playbook directed by David O. Russell, In Her Shoes directed by Curtis Hanson and the USA TVseries Political Animals. She’s done a number of TV and Radio commercials and voiceovers. She is also a model at QVC for the great Joan Rivers and other products. Barrymore winner for Best Supporting Actress in Angels in America, and Equus at MumPuppettheatre. Thanks to Allison, Kevin, the wonderful cast and crew, and most especially the brilliant Jackie Goldfinger! Big thank you to my family who make everything worthwhile.
Jacqueline Goldfinger (Playwright) Jacqueline is a Philadelphia-based playwright who is an Adjunct Professor of Playwriting at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of the Arts. She’s a co-Founder of The Foundry, an organization that supports the development of emerging playwrights in the Philadelpha-area. Her new play, which is currently untitled, will world premiere at the 2015 national Women’s Theater Festival in Washington DC. Her recent play, Slip/Shot, won the 2012 Barrymore Award for Outstanding New Play and the Brown Martin Award. Slip/Shot was also nominated for the Weissberger Award, developed at PlayPenn and the Lark’s Playwrights’ Week, and featured in American Theatre Magazine. Her 11 full-length plays include the terrible girls which premiered at Azuka and was nominated for a Barrymore Award for Outstanding New Play. Seven of her plays have been published. For more information, please visit her online: www.jacquelinegoldfinger.com Allison Heishman (Director) Allison is the Artistic Associate at Azuka Theater, as well as a freelance director. With Azuka she has directed the World Premiere of the terrible girls, by Azuka Playwright in Residence, Jacqueline Goldfinger and is thrilled to be bringing you Skin & Bone the second play in our Southern Gothic trilogy. Also with Azuka: Hazard County, Failure: A Love Story, Azuka One Acts. She has worked for some of the best young companies in Philly including: Tiny Dynamite, Flashpoint Theatre, Madhouse Theatre, Quince Productions, Secret Room Theatre, and Philadelphia Young Playwrights, as well as assisting Blanka Zizka on the Wilma Theatre’s production of Angels in America. This season she directed Rabbit Hole at Arcadia University, and the World Premiere of the holiday farce No Reservations (PNAA Productions). She has written and directed for Theatre Programs at the National Constitution Center, where she worked for four years as the Theatre Programs Manager. Recently she collaborated with Chef Walter Staib of City Tavern and the Kimmel Center to present the one-night PIFA event A Taste of History: An Evening with Chef Staib. Up Next: Pinkalicious (Walnut Street Theater, Kids’ Series). Dirk Durossette (Scenic Designer) Credits include Amaryllis Theater Company, Azuka Theatre, Act II Playhouse (Any Given Monday-World Premiere), Enchantment Theater Company, Theater Exile, 1812 Productions (First Day of School-Philadelphia Premiere), Freedom Theater, InterAct Theater Company, Lantern Theater (Barrymore Nomination- Skylight), Painted Bird Productions (A Few Small Repairs-World Premiere), The Wilma Theater ( Leaving— Associate Designer-American Premiere), Temple Opera Theater, University of the Arts, Peabody Institute (Baltimore), West Chester University, Villanova University. M.F.A Temple University. Chris Hallenbeck (Lighting Designer) Chris is very pleased to be continuing his collaboration with Azuka Theater. He is a Philadelphia based Lighting Designer whose work has also been seen at the Walnut Street Theatre, Plays & Players, and will be seen at People’s Light & Theatre. Love to his family, L&D, Lauren, & the Bug. Katherine Fritz (Costume Designer) Recent and upcoming designs at Arden Theatre, 1812 Productions, InterAct, Theatre Exile, Lantern Theatre Company, Walnut Street Studio Three, Theatre Horizon, Drexel University, Inis Nua, Passage Theatre, Applied Mechanics, Riot Group, and the Philadelphia Artists' Collective, where she is a proud Artistic Associate. In her secret double life as a writer, she is the woman behind "I Am Begging My Mother Not To Read This Blog." Her words have been published on the Huffington Post and in the New York Times. www.katherinefritz.com. Daniel Kontz (Sound Designer) Daniel is a Multimedia Designer from London, England, based in Philadelphia, PA. He graduated from West Chester University in 2011 with a B.A. in Theatre Arts, the JP Adler Award for Excellence in Theatre, and the Maverick Award for Excellence in Theatre. His Sound Design credits in Philadelphia include productions with InterAct Theatre Company, The National Constitution Center, Simpatico Theatre Project, Azuka Theatre, Plays & Players, The Renegade Company, and Matchbox Theatre. He is also the Art Director for Revolution Shakespeare. Outside of Philadelphia, his work has been seen and heard in the VI São Carlos Videodance Festival in Brazil, Columbia University’s New Plays Now Festival, the NYC Fringe Festival, The Left Out Festival, and the American College Dance Festival. www.danielkontzdesign.com Avista Custom Theatrical, LLC (Properties) Avista was founded in 2007 as a properties design and construction firm. Avista specializes in custom construction, upholstery, soft goods construction, and also owns a 7,000 square foot rental house in Norristown filled with props and lighting equipment. Avista’s work has been seen at Azuka Theatre, Flashpoint Theatre, Theatre Horizon, Mauckingbird, Act II Playhouse Theatre Exile, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Burlington County College and Drexel University. Avista is in its third season as resident prop team at 1812 Productions and its sixth season at InterAct Theatre. Please visit http://avistacustom.com.
Sally Ollove (Dramaturg) Sally is the Resident Dramaturg at Azuka Theatre. She has dramaturged locally for Arden Theatre Company, The Bearded Ladies Cabaret, Gas & Electric Arts, and Theatre Exile and nationally at the American Repertory Theatre, Signature Theatre Company in New York, and Untitled Theatre Company #61 among others. Sally also teaches at Rowan University and holds an MFA in Dramaturgy from the MXAT/ART Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University. Thanks to Kevin and the Azuka family. Lauren Tracy (Stage Manager) Lauren is thrilled to be returning to Azuka for her fourth season. She has stage managed Dutch Masters, Everyone & I, Pooking Goes Grenading, Hope Street and Other Lonely Places, Act A Lady, the terrible girls, and Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom for Azuka. Other local credits include The Disappearing Quarterback, Marcus, and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Plays & Players), Les Miserables and West Side Story (Wyoming Seminary’s PAI), A Christmas Carol (Walnut Street Theatre), No Reservations (PNAA), and Glass:Shattered and Hamlet Machine / Medeaplays (Renegade Classic Theatre). Up next she’ll be working on Cloud Tectonics for Plays & Players. She also serves at the Production Manager for Plays & Players Theatre and Cheltenham High School. She’s a graduate of Syracuse University’s Stage Management program. Thank you to her friends, family, and Andrew for all of their support. Michael Kerns (Production Manager) This is Michael’s second collaboration with Azuka. He currently manages the theater facilities at Germantown Friends School. His Philadelphia credits include: Technical Director for Basil Twist’s Petrushka at the Annenburg Center, 2011; Master Carpenter for The Devil and Mr. Punch, as part of the 2011 Live Arts Festival; Technical Director for Mazeppa Productions’ Avenue Q in July 2013; and Production Manager for Azuka’s Dutch Masters, as part of the 2013 Fringe. From 2011-2013 Michael was the Production Manager and Managing Director of Arcadia University’s Theater Arts Department, designing 7 main stage sets and receiving recognition from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival for his design of Garcia Lorca’s, House of Bernarda Alba. Michael transitioned to Philadelphia from NYC, where he worked as a Set Designer and Technical Director and had the distinct privilege to work with great companies and artists such as The Metropolitan Opera, Mabou Mines, Lee Breuer, Julian Crouch and Basil Twist. As Technical Director for Basil’s puppet theater company, Tandem Otter Productions, he toured many shows around the world and helped to create puppets for Broadway productions of Addams Family: The Musical and The Pee Wee Herman Show. Michael would like to thank his beautiful wife, Connor, for her constant love, support and thoughtfulness. Jessica Schwartz (Assistant Director) Jessica is a freelance director and producer. She graduated from University of the Arts with a BFA in Directing, Playwriting, and Producing with a Directing Focus. After graduation, she was the Executive Intern at Atlantic Theater Company. Assistant Directing credits include: The Walls directed by Amy Feinberg (Philly Fringe), The House of Bernarda Alba directed by Rosey Hay, Top Girls Directed by Jackson Gay, and Our Lady of 121st Street Directed by Ernest Wiggins. Favorite Directing Credits: Modern Playground (Philly Fringe), Crumble (Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake), and The Vagina Monologues (A Fundraiser for Women Against Abuse.) Many thanks to Allison, Jackie, everyone at Azuka, and her family for their love and support. For more information check out her website www.jesssicaschwartzdirector.com. Lena Barnard (Assistant Stage Manager) Lena is originally from the Pacific Northwest. She is a recent graduate of Bryn Mawr College where she studied creative writing with a focus in playwriting. She got into theater by accident and has been an assistant stage manager for Plays & Players (America Play; Marcus, or the Secret of Sweet), Azuka (Failure: A Love Story), and Commonwealth Classic Theater. She is a member of the Foundry. Johanna Austin (Production Photographer) Johanna of AustinArt has had the pleasure of working with Azuka since she fell in love with them and their Nerve (April 2010 production). For 14 years Johanna has been exploring her perceptions of the world through photography. She hones her sense of composition by focusing on the essence of what she sees, and presents it with a fresh eye. Johanna specializes in creating dynamic, vibrant images in low-light atmospheres of performance venues of all kinds. Although she shoots everything, her photography is inspired by a desire to create a still life out of performance art. She thrives on constructing images that would otherwise be forgotten, and often, not even seen at all. With her calm, unobtrusive presence, clients find her to be a joy to work with as she captures the energy and spirit of the moment. Check out her portfolio here: http://www.austinart.org
STAFF & CREDITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2013-2014 Tamanya Garza – President Natalie Diener – Vice-President Andrea Sheaffer – Treasurer Roz DeKett – Secretary Mark H. Andrews Heather Evans Jason Evans David Fedor Kevin Glaccum Lee Porter AZUKA THEATRE STAFF Producing Artistic Director Kevin Glaccum Director of Marketing Mark H. Andrews Artistic Associate Allison Heishman Production Manager Mike Troncone Playwrights in Residence Jacqueline Goldfinger Doug Williams
PRODUCTION CREW & CREDITS Assistant Director Jessica Schwartz Technical Director Rob Klimowski Master Electrician Eric Baker Electrician Trevor Foehl Carpenters Nick Rossi Brian Hook Scenic Painter Radha Vakharia Photo Credits Johanna Austin Graphic Design Mark H. Andrews & Derek Carnegie IT, Website Design & Maintenance Andrew Nelson Printing Quaker Printing
Resident Dramaturg Sally Ollove PR Coordinator Carrie Gorn, Perpetual Motion PR Administrative Interns Emily Acker Greg Nanni
AZUKA THEATRE 1636 Sansom Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 215.563.1100 AzukaTheatre.org
SPECIAL THANKS People’s Light and Theatre Company Eagle Theater Michael Cosenza Roy Harker, Pete Wool, Tanya Morris & First Baptist Church
SUPPORT FOUNDATION SUPPORT William Penn Foundation The Wyncote Foundation Independence Foundation Charlotte Cushman Foundation The Lida Foundation Suzanne Roberts Cultural Fund June & Steve Wolfson Family Foundation
PRODUCERS CIRCLE Honorary Producer Louis Bluver Executive Producers Dr. & Mrs. Joel Porter Pat & Robin Tracy Producers Mr. & Mrs. Jon Harmelin Karen & David Jones Associate Producer Stephen & Pamela Heishman Kevin Lyons Michael Norris & Matt Varrato
INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT Dreamer ($1000 - $2499) Ken & Annie Goldenberg Andi Sheaffer
Optimist ($500 - $999) Mark H. Andrews & Derek Carnegie Roz DeKett David Fedor David & Gayle Smith Idealist ($100 - $499) Robert & Mary Anne Andrews Patrick Bell Jane Biberman Thomas Bissinger Martin Bodtmann Dan Kern & Nancy Boykin
Joseph & Helene Dees Natalie Diener & Michael Cosenza Heather Evans Michael & Jill Feighan Dan Gannon Gloria & Rudy Garza Tamanya M. Garza Greg Gephart Bryan & Kathleen Glaccum Maureen Glaccum & David Spears Theodore & Betsy Hershberg Steve & Jane Heumann Aaron Ron Hunter Drs.Ken & Julie Kendall Thomas Korman & Ann Kirschner Brent Kreiser Noris W. Malvey Susan Mock Clifford Pearlman Matthew Pettigrew Lee Porter Noreen & Eric Tarr Ed Tettemer John Tobin
Realist (up to $99) Judy Adamson & Fred Jackes S. Adelizzi Suzanne Allaire & Sophia Cupper Ashley Altman Alice Antonelli Johanna Austin Smith Alan & Sherry Blumenthal Cara Blouin Tony Braithwaite Gail Byrne Timothy P. Carey J. Dominic Chacon Chris & Peggy Cline Phyllis Cohen Marie Conti Aisha Crellin Philip Dawkins Emily Dickert Kate Dowling Jason Evans Anthony & Susan Faillace Julie Fialkow Ellen Foley Mary Frantz Donald M. Friedman
John Frisbee & Jill Garland Allison Frisbee & Charlie Reed Flo Gardner Carrie Gorn Terry & Paul Guerin Derek Hachkowski Brett Haymaker Johnnie Hobbs, Jr. Meghan Jones Eric & Carol Ann Kinsey James Kirby Roger Kropp Debby Lau Kendra Lawton & Obi Ajuba Michael & Eva Leeds Ruth Levikoff Dana Marcus Francis R. Matherly Christopher McCarrick Paul Mesejian Genne Murphy Gigi Naglak Brian Norris Tom O'Leary Dan Perelstein Patty Q. Ross W. Radish Matthew Ricciotti Alison Roberts Jen Schaaf Megan Slater Terry & Kristy Smith Marilyn L. Steinbright Matt & Kelly Tallman Annemarie Vaeni & Scott Case Robert Weinberg Crystal White Douglas Williams Meghann Williams Candice Yarde Dan & Ralph Anonymous (5) (List complete as of February 25, 2014) Azuka Theatre thanks all of our donors for their continued support of the work we do. If you have questions about supporting Azuka, please call Kevin Glaccum at 215.563.1100
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