Even Cowgirls get the Blues by Book-It Repertory Theatre

A Novel Approach to Theatre Welcome to Book-It Wow. Here we are. Nineteen years! In anticipation of our 20th anniversary season, we’ve been cleaning out files, upgrading organizational materials, working on our long-range plan and setting a clear vision for the next 20 years. As we did this we came across the first artistic statement we wrote together so many years ago now and we paused as it moves us even more today. Clearly we have felt the strength of our mission since our inception: In a world of growing automation and interactive multi-media, the bombardment of violent images and constant noise on movie, television and computer screens is robbing us of our sensitivity and our attention spans. The American Theatre is beset by the need to compete with quick-fix entertainment. Active listening is becoming an endangered skill in our society. Book-It recognizes the need to go beyond this quick-fix entertainment mentality and has garnered a devoted audience of people who love to read. More importantly, Book-It seeks to draw in people who do not or cannot read, and who might leave a performance wanting and needing to change that fact. Book-It’s vision is to be a nationallyknown theatre arts center where our partnership of theatre, literature and education nourishes literacy and the artistic vitality of our community. We are well on our way with Book-It scripts beginning to reach theatres across America and our educational program Book-It All Over reaching 75,000 students across the Northwest region. We are proud to collaborate

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with local community partners including the Frye Art Museum, Seattle Public Library, Save Darfur Washington, Bridges to Understanding, Orcas Island Center Stage, Seattle Art Museum, Washington Commission for the Humanities, Town Hall, Jewish Family Services, Timberland Regional Library, University of Washington, Cornish College for the Arts, and the list goes on and on and on. This season’s line-up promises to be our best yet. We’ll start hitch-hiking from our own salty tide flats with Tom Robbins, hop a train and cross to the Nebraska plains with Willa Cather, then sail up on the Pequod to the cape with Herman Melville, drive down to Washington, D.C.’s Logan Circle with Dinaw Mengestu, and then fly the starry skies over the Andes mountains with Antoine de St. Exupéry. Hold onto your seats. REALLY! Make sure you have your subscription pass to board this incredible journey.

Ricky Coates, Kevin McKeon, and Chiara Motley in Persuasion

Eric Ray Anderson in Peter Pan Mona Leach and Jonah Von Spreecken in Snow Falling on Cedars

We are ever grateful for your patronage and for being a part of Book-It.

Jane Jones and Myra Platt Founding Co-Artistic Directors Photos from our 07-08 Season by Erik Stuhaug

Kellan Larson in The Highest Tide

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Meet t he Author

Tom Robbins grew up a rebellious child in

North Carolina who was finally sent to military school as a last resort. After that kick in the pants, he studied journalism at Washington & Lee University, taught meteorology in South Korea for the Air Force, and received an art degree from the Richmond Professional Institute. In 1962 he moved to Seattle and became assistant features editor and, later, assistant Arts and Entertainment editor of the Seattle Times. He worked for the Times for two and a half years, before moving briefly to New York. Back in Seattle in 1965, he ran a radio show, worked for the Seattle Post-Intelliger, and wrote for The Helix (a counterculture paper). By this time, Robbins’ boot-camp reformation had long worn off, and he started the Shazam Society, an arts organization dedicated to, “the tender and loving overthrow of established culture…”. During this time he began his

first novel, Another Roadside Attraction, the offbeat ’60s anthem about a roadside zoo in Skagit Valley. When it was published in 1971, critics hailed Robbins as the Mark Twain of our generation and the quintessential author of the ’60s. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues followed in 1976 and instantly became a cult favorite. The film version starring Uma Thurman was released in 1993. Every novel since has been on the New York Times bestsellers list, but apparently not on Robbins’ personal reading list—he claims he hasn’t opened Cowgirls since. He continues to use his artistic talents by designing the covers of his books. In 1997, he received Bumbershoot’s Golden Umbrella Award for lifetime achievement in the arts—it was his first literary prize. He currently resides in La Conner, Washington. His latest book, a controversial children’s book B is for Beer, is due out this fall.

Not es From the D ir ec t o r

Howdy podners, Welcome to the Dakotas, by way of a blue Pontiac and a camel in Afghanistan. This here’s cowgirls territory! And this here’s your director’s simple take on the play. It’s about these wondrous creatures that walk the planet. Yes, women, or if you prefer, cowgirls. Now, as most anybody who knows me knows, I am a man who loves women. Not the “yuk, yuk, check out the chick on the corner” love, I mean big-time adoration, admiration and awe. They’re just so heart-stoppingly beautiful— every one of them—so mysterious, confounding, perceptive, canny, sexy, and, yes, always right. Girls rule! So why don’t we let ‘em? That’s the crux of this play and (with apologies) Dr. Tom’s conformity-busting novel. Look what men have earned at the helm these past millennia—wars, genocide, class and gender divisions … must I elaborate? Women were the shepherds of the old societies, and from what I’ve learned there was a helluva lot more fun-loving going on. It was a sad turn when man-made religions pushed the paradigm to the

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patriarchal. Time for review, I say. The play begins in the early 1960s, when girls in my first-grade class were destined to become housewives, the peculiar term of the era. It ends in the early 1970s (it was published in 1976), just as the feminist movement reared. In between is women’s struggle for identity, recognition, meaning, purpose and joy—the kind that comes when you’re truly living in the moment, the clockworks strike, and you’re attuned to the infinite possibilities of the universe. So, hitch a ride on the Sissy Hankshaw Express, strap on a holster and aim high. Watch out for the whooping cranes, though. Shit O Dear! How I do go on. This play is dedicated to the brave pioneers—to Germaine, Betty, Gloria and Rita Mae. And Dr. Tom, of course. Yours sincerely,

Rusty 9/10/2008 10:03:08 AM

Book-It Repertory Theatre proudly presents

Jane Jones & Myra Platt, Founding Co-Artistic Directors Charlotte M. Tiencken, Managing Director

Even Cowgirls Get The Blues

by Tom Robbins

Adapted by Jennifer Sue Johnson Directed by Russ Banham CAST (in alphabetical order)

Heather Collins Kate Czajkowski Ashley Flannegan Emily Grogan Julie Jamieson Barbara Lamb Samara Lerman Chris Maslen Jo Miller Hilary Pickles* Marissa Price Wesley Rice* Brian Thompson*

Betty/Heather Sissy Hankshaw Gloria Miss Adrian/Mrs. Hankshaw/Dr. Goldman Big Red/Madame Zoe Composer/Arranger/Musician Debbie Julian Gitche Dr. Robbins/Composer/Music Director Bonanza Jellybean Delores Del Ruby The Chink The Countess

Mary E. Cannon* Meg Tully

Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager

ARTISTIC & PRODUCTION STAFF Jennifer Zeyl K.D. Schill Andrew D. Smith Matt Starritt Laura Ferri Gordon Carpenter Liza Comtois Larry Rodriguez

Scenic Designer Costume Designer Lighting Designer Sound Designer Choreographer Fight Choreographer Dramaturg Technical Director

Lindsey E. Callihan Anne Gish Devorah Spadone Joseph Lambert Jeff Ringer Janessa Jayne Styck Amiya Brown Dani Prados

Co-Properties Designer Co-Properties Designer Production Stage Manager Master Carpenter Scenic Painter Costume Shop Manager Master Electrician Sound Board Operator

*Member of Actorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States Season Support provided by:

Production Support provided by:

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Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of America

Media Sponsor:

9/10/2008 10:03:13 AM

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pack i t a l l i n a n d j oi n you.’”

—Elijah Wald , Riding with Strangers

“ He re the big trucks roa red, wham, and i nside two mi nutes one of them cranked to a stop for me. I ran for it with my soul whoopeeing.

And what a driver-a great big tough truck driver with popping eyes and a hoarse raspy voice who just slammed and kicked at ever y thing and got his rig under way and paid hardly an y attention to me. So I could rest m y tired soul a little, for on e of the biggest trou bles hitchhiking is having to t alk to innumerable people, m ake them feel that they didn’ t m ake a mist ake picking you up, even enter t ain them almost, all of which is a great strain when you’re going all the way and don’ t plan to sleep in hotels.”

—Jack Kerouac, On the Road

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‘ I d o n ’ t d rink when I d r i ve,’ h e said and handed m e a p i n t . I took a drink a n d o f fe re d him on e. ‘ W h a t t h e hail,’ he said a n d d ra n k .” — J a c k Ke rouac, On the Road

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9/10/2008 10:03:16 AM

Wh o’ s Who - The Cas t Heather Collins Betty/Heather

Born and raised in Colorado, and graduated from Duke University in May, Heather is delighted to make her Seattle and Book-It debut. She has studied in London with members of the Royal Shakespeare Company, at Michael Howard Studios in NYC, and interned with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the Classic Stage Company (also NYC). Heather has recently appeared in Twelfth Night (Viola, Denver), The Vagina Monologues (University of Colorado), Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) (Desdemona, Denver), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Helena, Denver), House of Desires (Dona Ana, Duke), and the world premiere of The Great Game (Duke, directed by Wilson Milam).

Kate Czajkowski Sissy Hankshaw

Kate is excited to play this amazing role amidst such a talented group of actors and designers. Most recently, she appeared as Elizabeth in BookIt’s 2007-08 production of Persuasion. Other local stage credits include Florrie in Waiting for Lefty at CHAC, Rita in The Water Engine at Strawberry Theatre Workshop, Marina in Pericles at Seattle Shakespeare Company, and Annamae Dickie in The Louis Slotin Sonata at The Empty Space.

Ashley N. Flannegan Gloria

Ashley is excited to be joining Book-It for this wonderful production. Other local roles include Fabian in Twelfth Night with Greenstage, Abigail in Finding the Sun at Stone Soup Theatre, and Catherine in Twelfth Night Productions’ The Foreigner. Most recently, she worked with PCPA Theatrefest in California on their productions of Brigadoon, Annie, As You Like It, Oliver, Our Town, and Much Ado About Nothing. Ashley is a graduate of the Southwest Shakespeare Conservatory; she holds her BA in Theatre from the University of Arizona;

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and she completed the two-year actor training program at the Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts.

Emily Grogan Miss Adrian/ Mrs. Hankshaw/ Dr.Goldman

Emily is delighted to be with Book-It once again. Her previous Book-It credits include the anchor woman with immovable hair in The Highest Tide, Helen in Howards End, Jane in Pride and Prejudice, and Cassandra in Broken for You. Emily was also seen as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Roxanne in Cyrano de Bergerac for Seattle Shakespeare Company. She is a graduate of Cornish College of the Arts.

Julie Jamieson Big Red/Madame Zoe

Julie is very happy indeed to be back in a Book-It production. She was last seen as Carolyn Foy in Book-It’s production of The Highest Tide. Most recently, Julie performed the role of the Nurse in Wooden O’s production of Romeo and Juliet. Her favorite roles include Mrs. Bolton in Lady Chatterley’s Lover at Book-It, and Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Seattle Shakespeare Company. Julie has also performed with Montana Shakespeare, Dallas/Fort Worth Shakespeare, and Denver Center Theatre. Julie has three fabulous children of whom she is very proud.

Barbara Lamb Composer/Arranger/ Musician

Barbara Lamb is a fiddler, vocalist, composer, recording artist and producer. Born and raised in Seattle, she won the titles of state and regional junior fiddling champion and made her first record at age 15. She was a member of Northwest cowgirl band Ranch Romance. She toured with author/speaker Robert Fulghum (Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten) which included a performance at Carnegie Hall and a PBS TV special. She has recorded and toured with Asleep at the Wheel, Riders in the Sky, Laura Love, John Cowan, and has played many

times on The Grand Old Opry. Barbara has recorded five solo CDs, her latest is titled Bootsy Met a Bankrobber. She has lived in Nashville, TN since 1994. www.barbaralamb.com.

Samara Lerman Debbie

Samara is delighted to be working with Book-It. She was last seen in the world premiere of Wake by Sonya Schneider (Onward Ho! Productions). Favorite local roles include Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice, directed by Russ Banham (Wooden O), Sylvia in The Game of Love and Chance (Harlequin Productions), Viola in Twelfth Night (Centerstage) and Anna Karenina (Atlas Theatre). Samara is a company member of Theatre 9/12. Other credits include Shakespeare Santa Cruz and the Napa Valley Shakespeare Festival.

Chris Maslen Julian Gitche

Chris is all riled up to perform with Book-It. He last appeared in All’s Well That Ends Well with Seattle Shakespeare. Before that, he co-wrote, produced and starred in the play Heavenly Spirits, directed/co-written by Gavin McLean, and also received critical praise for his work with The Broadway Center in the Santaland Diaries (dir. Russ Banham). Other credits include Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice, Laertes in Hamlet, and Berowne in Love’s Labour’s Lost (Wooden O Theatre), Guildenstern in Hamlet (Rubicon Theatre Company, California), and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in ‘05. Film: Conversations with God (20th Century Fox). Chris holds a BFA in Original Works from Cornish College of the Arts and is also a singer/songwriter and stand-up comic.

Victoria McDowell Mary

Victoria McDowell has a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts, where she most recently appeared as Adele in Five Flights. Other favorite roles include Judy in This Is the Rill Speaking and an ensemble member in The New Cherry

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T he C ast

Artistic & Pro d uct io n S taf f

Sisters Modern Vaudeville Extravaganza. She is pleased to be appearing in her first role at Book-It Repertory Theatre.

Jo Miller Dr. Robbins/ Composer/Music Director

A nationally recognized musician and songwriter, Jo Miller has been performing in Northwest bands for over 25 years. Her ever-popular cowgirl band, Ranch Romance, was featured on A Prairie Home Companion, toured with k.d. lang and recorded three CDs on the Sugar Hill label. “Arizona Moon,” an original composition was performed live in the major motion picture and soundtrack of Georgia. Jo has toured and recorded with Laura Love and is working on a second release with her current band, Jo Miller and Her Burly Roughnecks.

Hilary Pickles* Bonanza Jellybean

Hilary loves being invited to collectively create live literature at Book-It! Recent shows include Persuasion, Plainsong, Rebecca, and Owen Meany’s Christmas Pageant. Hilary has also toured with Book-It All Over for the past three seasons, and will be touring the schools and libraries again with Danger: Books! this Fall. She has additionally worked with Our American Theatre Co., Taproot Theatre Co. (both on the main stage and in the touring company), Balagan, and will be seen as Curley’s Wife at Seattle Public Theatre in Spring of ‘09.

Marissa Price Delores Del Ruby

Marissa has some serious cowgirl credibility. For starters she grew up in Idaho. As a girl she enjoyed playing with My Little Pony and a rusty, springy hobbyhorse named Bullet. She also played the fiddle (and famously donned boots of the same hue while performing “Red River Valley”). Later in life she hitched up her britches and moved west, where, for a time, * Member Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

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she worked as a mechanical bull operator (those who survived will tell you it was the buck of their life). Marissa credits Book-It for adding many colorful chapters to the book of her life including: Peter Pan, The House of the Spirits, Plainsong, Don Quixote, and Dracula.

Wesley Rice* The Chink

Mr. Rice has previously appeared with Book-It as Miguel de Cervantes in Don Quixote, Harold in Plainsong, and various roles in The House of the Spirits. In New York, he studied acting with Uta Hagen and William Esper, was a featured pederdast on “Law & Order,” and a company member of Joseph Campbell’s Theatre of the Open Eye. Next, Wesley can be seen as Pantalone in Seattle Shakespeare Company’s A Servant of Two Masters, and later this season he will play Ahab in Book-It’s Moby-Dick, or The Whale.

Brian Thompson* The Countess

Brian’s previous credits with Book-It include Mr. Gradgrind in Hard Times, Mr. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, several roles in Travels With Charley and D’Evremonde and Jarvis Lorry in A Tale of Two Cities. This past season, he played Malvolio in Jane Jones’ awardwinning production of Twelfth Night at Portland Center Stage and also appeared in The Beard of Avon. Brian has worked at all of Seattle’s major theatres, spent six seasons with Berkeley Rep, and two with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has performed at the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C., Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, the Dallas Theatre Center, the Denver Center Theatre, and San Francisco’s Eureka and Marines Memorial Theatres. A graduate of Chicago’s Goodman Memorial Drama School, he was founder and first artistic director of The Bathhouse Theatre. He is a three-time recipient of Dramalogue awards and recently won Portland’s Drammy for his work in The Fantasticks.

JANE JONES Founding Co-Artistic Director

Jane is the founder of Book-It and founding co-artistic director of Book-It Repertory Theatre, with Myra Platt. In her 20 years of staging literature, she has performed and directed works by such literary giants as Charles Dickens, Eudora Welty, Edith Wharton, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Pam Houston, Raymond Carver, Frank O’Connor, Ernest Hemingway, Colette, Amy Bloom, John Irving, John Steinbeck, Daphne du Maurier and Jane Austen. A veteran actress of 25 years, she has played leading roles in many of America’s most prominent regional theatres including The Guthrie, American Conservatory Theater, The McCarter and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Locally, she has been seen at Seattle Rep, ACT Theatre, The Empty Space, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Tacoma Actors Guild, and Intiman. Film and TV credits include The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Singles, Homeward Bound, “Twin Peaks”, and Rose Red. She co-directed with Tom Hulce at the Seattle Rep, Peter Parnell’s adaptation of John Irving’s The Cider House Rules, which enjoyed successful runs here in Seattle, at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles (Backstage West Award, best director) and in New York (Drama Desk Nomination, best director). Jane recently directed Pride and Prejudice and Twelfth Night at Portland Center Stage. For Book-It, she directed The House of Mirth, Rebecca, Travels with Charley, Pride and Prejudice, Howard’s End, In a Shallow Grave, The Awakening, Owen Meany’s Christmas Pageant, and A Tale of Two Cities. Book-It performances include roles in Ethan Frome, Silver Water, Cowboys Are My Weakness, Breathing Lessons, and Rhoda: A Life in Stories.

MYRA PLATT Founding Co-Artistic Director

Myra is the founding co-artistic director of Book-It Repertory Theatre, with Jane Jones. She studied literature and theatre at Northwestern University (BS Analysis and Performance of Literature) and Circle in the Square (NYC). As actor, director, adaptor and composer, she has helped BookIt produce over 50 world-premiere stage adaptations. Most recently, Myra directed the world-premiere production of Persuasion by Jane Austen. She has also adapted and directed The House of the Spirits, Giant, Red Ranger Came Calling, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Cowboys Are My Weakness, Roman Fever, A Little Cloud (by James Joyce), A

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ART I ST I C & PRODUCTIO N S T A FF Telephone Call (by Dorothy Parker), and A Child’s Christmas in Wales. She directed Plainsong, Cry, the Beloved Country, Sweet Thursday, and Danger: Books!. She coadapted Owen Meany’s Christmas Pageant with Jane Jones and composed music for Red Ranger Came Calling (with Edd Key), Ethan Frome, Owen Meany’s Christmas Pageant, A Child’s Christmas in Wales, The Awakening, the first workshop production of The Cider House Rules, A Telephone Call, and I Am of Ireland. Performances include Margaret Schlegel in Howards End, Elaine in The Dying Gaul at Intiman, and as Edna in Book-It’s production of The Awakening (for which she received an Honorable Mention/ Backstage West Los Angeles Garland Awards). She originated the role of Candy Kendall in John Irving’s The Cider House Rules at Seattle Repertory Theatre and at the Mark Taper Forum. She is the proud mother of Wilson.

CHARLOTTE M. TIENCKEN Managing Director

Charlotte is an arts administrator, director, producer and educator who has been working in the producing and presenting fields for 20 years. Before moving back to the Seattle area in September of 2003, she was general manager at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts for four seasons. Currently, she is president of Scarlet Productions, her own consulting firm, and is an adjunct faculty member at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. Most recently she was executive director of Tacoma Actors Guild. Charlotte is a member of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and is past president of the Board of Arts Northwest, the presenting service organization for Washington, Idaho and Oregon. She has served on the board of the Pat Graney Dance Company and sat on granting panels for the Washington State Arts Commission. She most recently completed her term on the Board of Theatre Puget Sound, a regional service orga-nization for theatres in the Puget Sound area.

Jennifer Sue Johnson Adaptor

Jennifer Sue is pleased to adapt Even Cowgirls Get the Blues for Book-It, where she is a longtime company member, originating leading roles in Broken for You, The House of the Spirits, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Pride and Prejudice, and Ethan Frome. Other acting credits include Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Desdemona in Othello, Viola in Twelfth Night, and Elise in The Miser, at Seattle Shakespeare Company, where she

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will appear later this season in The Turn of the Screw. Jennifer Sue has performed at numerous area theatres, including Seattle Children’s Theatre, Tacoma Actors Guild, Village Theatre, and Seattle Repertory Theatre, where she is currently on the boards as Constance in The Three Musketeers. She also toured the West as Maggie in Lend Me a Tenor, with Montana Repertory Theatre.

Russ Banham Director

Russ is pleased to return to Book-It, where he adapted and directed Ethan Frome and Romance with Double Bass. At this theatre space, he also has directed Macbeth, Twelfth Night, and Othello for Seattle Shakespeare Company. Recent directing credits include Santaland Diaries at Tacoma’s Broadway Center for the Performance Arts, and The Merchant of Venice for Wooden O Theatre. Before moving to Seattle, Russ was the artistic director of Montana Players, Inc., overseeing 28 productions and directing nine plays, including The Speed of Darkness, The House of Blue Leaves, and Sylvia. Russ earned an MA in drama theory and criticism and an MFA in directing, and was a teaching fellow at the University of Montana, directing The Seagull and What the Butler Saw. He has directed more than 35 plays, including Loot for Spokane’s Interplayers, Hubcaps for Montana Repertory Theatre, and an assortment of musicals and farces at the Bigfork Playhouse. Next up: Of Mice and Men at the Seattle Public Theatre.

Jennifer Zeyl Scenic Designer

Jennifer is a Seattle-based set and costume designer and director. A founding coartistic director (2003-2008) of Washington Ensemble Theatre, Jennifer serves on the Board of Directors of the National Network of Ensemble Theatres (NET) and The Committee of the Whole at Smoke Farm, an interdisciplinary artist’s residency facility. The recipient of 2006 Stranger Genius Award in Theatre, she was named “Best Scenic Designer in Seattle” by Seattle Weekly in 2005 and received two 2006 Seattle Times Footlight Awards for her designs of A Winter’s Tale at Seattle Shakespeare Company and Swimming in the Shallows for The Ensemble.

K.D. Schill Costume Designer

K.D. returns to Book-It where she previously designed costumes for Don Quixote. Until recently, she has designed primarily for dance, collaborating with

Seattle’s many talented choreographers and dancers including Cheronne Wong, Maureen Whiting, 33 Fainting Spells, Foot and Mouth, Sheri Cohen, Peggy Piacenza, Degenerate Art Ensemble, and Peña Flamenca de Seattle. Theatre credits include costumes for Waiting for Lefty, Death of a Salesman, and Archangels Don’t Play Pinball at CHAC, and American Buffalo and the late-night Soap Opera Crescendo Falls for Theater Schmeater, as well as Pulp Vixens, and Greenstage. In the world of film, she worked on costumes for Guy Maddin’s Brand Upon The Brain, Lynn Shelton’s We Go Way Back, and Matt Wilkins’ Buffalo Bill is Defunct. She is currently shooting Yonder with Matt Wilkins. K.D. also collaborated with Jean Hicks on a custom clothing line, Luzfeltcouture.

Andrew D. Smith Lighting Designer

Andrew works nationally as a lighting designer for theatre and dance, having recently collaborated on Three Hotels (Our American Theater), I Am My Own Wife (ArtsWest), Three Days of Rain (Seattle Public Theatre). His designs have been seen in NYC for I, Kreon and The Private Life of the Master Race (Roust Theatre Company); Taikoza Drum (Symphony Space); a week of the Suzan-Lori Parks’ 365 Days/365 Plays (Classical Theatre of Harlem and the Public Theater). Other credits: Oliver!, Amadeus, and O Lovely Glowworm (Cardinal Stage Company); Julius Caesar and Macbeth (Cincinnati Shakespeare Company); Early Sunday Morning (On The Boards’ NWNWF); Brink (Acorn Dance at Velocity); Hallelujah Street Blues (Horizon Theatre). Andrew holds a BA from Duke University and an MFA from the University of Washington, where he is currently on faculty in the design department.

Matt Starritt Sound Designer

Matt Starritt is a freelance sound designer in the Seattle area and is a founder and the current resident sound designer of the Washington Ensemble Theatre. He is the playwright and sound designer for WET’s 2007 production of blahblahblahBANG! at On the Boards. Past designs: Laura’s Bush, Finer Noble Gases, Next Tuesday, Handcuff Girl Saves the World, Crave, Wonderful Life, Swimming in the Shallows, Museum Play, Never Swim Alone, Crumbs are Also Bread, and Iphigenia in Aulis at Washington Ensemble Theatre, Ring Round the Moon at UW, Told You Once (told you a hundred times) for Poisonous Toy Theater in the

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ART I ST I C & PRODUCTIO N S T A FF Chamber Theater, Broken for You for Book-it Rep, and In Disdress at On the Boards.

Mary E. Cannon* Stage Manager

Mary is delighted to be back piloting the booth at Book-It, where previous credits include Snow Falling on Cedars and Rhoda: A Life in Stories (ASM). Even when not working for Book-It, Mary can generally be found haunting the halls of the Center House Theatre, finding the lost and fixing the broken, having served as production assistant for Seattle Shakespeare Company since November 2005. She has also stage managed Swansong for SSC and Proof at Tacoma Actors Guild (RIP). When she is not wearing her techie hat, she can be found playing with props, devouring a good book (or several), dancing, or spending time with friends, and is proudly celebrating one year as a bicycle commuter.

Laura Ferri Choreographer

Laura is delighted to collaborate once again with Russ, having choreographed dances for his productions of Romance with Double Bass and Ethan Frome. She also staged the period dances for Book-It’s multiple productions of Pride and Prejudice in which she also played Mrs. Bennet and Lady Catherine. A company member for almost 20 years, she has adapted and directed the mainstage production of Broken for You and the touring shows, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mrs. Katz and Tush, Mirandy and Brother Wind, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as well as the annual Danger: Books! series and Literature of Champions events. She most recently adapted and directed The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears for the Seattle Public Library’s Seattle Reads program last spring.

Gordon Carpenter Fight Choreographer Gordon most recently choreographed fights for Book-It’s production of Snow Falling on Cedars and Peter Pan. Over the years he has worked as an actor for many Seattle area theaters and choreographed fights for Seattle Shakespeare Company and Montana Shakespeare In The Parks. Liza Comtois Dramaturg

Liza has served as dramaturg on the premiere adaptations of Cry the Beloved Country, Giant, Plainsong, Broken for You, The House of the Spirits, and Persuasion with

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Book-It Repertory Theatre, Watsons Go To Birmingham – 1963 for Milwaukee’s First Stage, and Tania Katan’s My One Night Stand with Cancer produced at ACT Theatre. She was production dramaturg for Strawberry Theatre Workshop’s The Life of Galileo, upstart crow’s King John, Vincent in Brixton at ACT Theatre, The Awakening at Book-It and for Intiman Theatre’s Living History program. She also assisted William Berry on Wonderful Town at The 5th Avenue. Liza is currently a script evaluator for the Sundance Theatre Program and participated in their ‘04 and ‘05 Theatre Labs as well as attending their White Oak Lab in ‘07. Her producing credits include Invisible Ink and Project X: When the Comet Comes for House of Dames Productions. Other experience includes work with ShadowCatcher Entertainment on Sherman Alexie’s Smoke Signals, the National Performance Network tour of O, Say a Sunset, written and composed by Robin Holcomb and as Intiman Theatre’s artistic associate for seven years. She is currently associate producer at The Ethereal Mutt - Limited.

Fine Arts with Dramatic Emphasis and Departmental Honors. She has studied (both in and out of school) set design, puppetry fabrication, backstage management, effects makeup, and painting, but has developed a fascination in property artistry and design. In the last five years, she has frequented various Seattle theaters with her properties design and special effects makeup design. This is her fifth appearance with Book-It as properties designer.

Larry Rodriquez Technical Director

Devorah Spadone Production Stage Manager

Larry hails from the Philippines and has been passionate about the theater since 1994. He was technical director and lighting designer for the Philippines’ pioneer theater company – The Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA). He also studied Lighting Design and Sound Engineering in Tokyo, Japan. Larry was a theater manager for three years with The Far Eastern University, which houses the Philippines’ first cultural center where early theater and vaudeville shows started during the 1940s; he was behind its ambitious 1998 renovation and refurbishing of the entire facility. He has also worked as director of photography for companies that produced television commercials and music videos. Before leaving the Philippines he was involved in over 50 productions from stage, television, and film, and represented the country in International theatre festivals. He moved to Seattle in 2005 and joined Book-It Repertory Theatre. This is his fourth season and is continually grateful for having the opportunity to work among great talents. Larry was recently brought on as the resident lighting designer of Next Stage, a newlyformed Seattle theatre company.

Lindsey E. Callihan Co-Properties Designer

Lindsey Callihan is a graduate of Seattle University with a bachelor’s degree in

Anne Gish Co-Properties Designer

Anne is very excited to return to BookIt. She has previously had the pleasure of assistant stage managing for Book-It’s second incarnation of Red Ranger Came Calling as well as co-designing props for The Highest Tide, Snow Falling on Cedars, Peter Pan, and Persuasion. Anne has been seen working professionally around Seattle since graduating from the University of Puget Sound. She has worked alongside her partner on this project, Lindsey Callihan, as a backstage manager at Teatro ZinZanni.

Devorah is proud to be the production stage manager at Book-it; Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is her 15th production with the company. Last season, she worked on The Highest Tide, Persuasion and Peter Pan, in addition to working with EMUTT on the world premiere of My One Night Stand with Cancer by Tania Katan at ACT Theatre. She has also worked for SCT, SSC, Bumbershoot, Folklife, UW, 14/48 and the Seattle International Children’s Festival.

A ffilia t ion s 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 heath and pension plans. AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO, and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. The Equity emblem is our mark.

Book-It is a proud member of THEATRE PUGET SOUND

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H onoring Book-It Co n t r i b ut o r s Book-It would like to express our gratitude to the following for their generosity in supporting our 2008-09 season: LITERARY LEGENDS ($ 50,000+) Matthew N. Clapp, Jr. The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation The William Randolph Hearst Foundation LITERARY HEROES ($ 10,000+) 4Culture â&#x20AC;˘ ArtsFund â&#x20AC;˘ Harvest Foundation Washington State Arts Commission Literary Classics $5,000+ The Boeing Company* Tom & Sonya Campion Humanities Washington Beth McCaw City of Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs The Seattle Foundation Kris & Mike Villiott Leadership Circle $2,500+ Emily Anthony & David Maymudes ArtsFund/Wells Fargo Cultural Education Enhancement Fund ArtsFund/John Brooks Williams and John H. Bauer Endowment for Theatre Audrey & Bob Hancock Mary & Carl Marino Russell Investments Rob Saunders Nobel Award Society $1000+ Steve Bull/Workshop for Architecture + Design* Mary Anne Christy & Mark Klebanoff Emily Davis Stephanie & Stuart Feldt* Ellen Hill Holland America Cruise Line* Stellman Keehnel Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of America Maureen Lee Melissa & Donald Manning Marklyn Family Foundation Whitney & Jerry Neufield-Kaiser Colette Ogle Glenna Olson Deb Prince* Lynne Reynolds

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S.B. Schaar & P.K. Whelpton Foundation Martha Sidlo Kathy & Jim Tune Weyerhaeuser Corporation Lucy Flynn & Thomas J. Zuccotti Pulitzer Award Society $500+ Babeland, Inc.* Lesley Bain & Joe Iano Linda & Peter Cappell Diana & Charles Carey Whitney & Adam Cornell Dottie Delaney Marni Gittinger Linda Gould Bonny Hill Bruce E. H. Johnson Jacqueline Kiser Sheila Lukehart Darcy & Lee MacLaren Terry McCrary Marion & George Mohler Susan Porterfield Ann Ramsey-Jenkins Vicki Goldstein Seznick & Jack Seznick Marcia Joslyn Sill & Peter Sill Adam Smith* Ron Spaulding Larry Symonds Charlotte Tiencken & Bill West Toko Asia* Audrey Watson Morton & Judy Weisman Jean & David White Tim Wood Andrew Zuccotti National Book Award Society $250+ Kim Anderson Laurie Arnold Christine & Perry Atkins Timothy Bailey Christina Wright & Luther Black

Patricia Britton Monica Clark Oliver Cobb* Deanna Dunkin-Smith Kim & Rob Entrop Liz Fitzhugh Gail Frasier Sehlhorst Susan Barley & Jim Greenfield Vicki & Gerrie Goddard Gordon & Linda Griesbach Anne Hill Robert Hovden Ken & Sasa Kirkpatrick Jean & Harris Klein Dana Trujillo & Doug Lombardi Mary Metastasio Trudy M. Baltz & Christopher Motley Marcia Nagae Cynthia & Thomas Oliver Annie Pearson H. Stewart Ross Jacqueline Scheibert Irene Strand Janice & Pat Strand Deborah Swets Laura & Emory Thomas Elizabeth J. Warman Nancy Worssam Pen/Faulkner Award Circle $100+ ACT Theatre* Agua Verde Restaurant* Mark Anderson Maxine Bailey Baillie Shafer Mansion* Belli Capelli Salon* Maribeth Berberich Barry Boone Anne Bostwick & Kira Bacon Clayton Cook Charles de Grasse Sandra and Paul Dehmer Earshot Jazz Society* Joyce Erickson Kelly Fahlman Marcia Greenberg Belinda Going Phylis Hatfield David Hecht Nan Holcomb Melissa Huther Alison Loerke Craig Lorch Ellen and Stephen Lutz Mark Spencer Hotel* Mary Anne & Chuck Martin Linda &Dean McColgan Chantal Jondall & Samuel McCormick

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Honorin g Book- It Co n t ribu t o rs Jane Mooney Lynn Murphy Don Myers Northwest African American Museum* Northwest Outdoor Center* Pacific Northwest Ballet* Janice Giles & S. Edward Parks Terry Paugh Carol & Ed Perin Profile Theatre Company* Ann Reis Richard Hugo House* Eric and Karen Richter Ann Rowberg Suzanne Rowen Jill Satran Seattle International Film Festival* Seattle Shakespeare Company* Aimee Sheridan Christina Chang & Paul J. Stucki LaJuana Swilley Gail Tanaka Top Pot Doughnuts* Lenore Waldron Richard Wesley Shannon Williams

O.Henry Award Circle $50+

Margaret Alquist • Cathy Davis • Robert & Kathleen Davis • Sarah Easterbrook • Marilyn Endriss • Paul & Elizabeth Fleming • Phyllis Hatfield • Teresa Hedges Stephanie Hilbert • Alison Inkley • Intiman Theatre* • Kathryn Lew • Don Meyers • Sara Mockett • Northwest Boychoir* • Pacific Science Center* • Elizabeth Pelham • Barbara Rollinger • Seattle Repertory Theatre* • Diane Snell • Dianna & Eric Stockdale • Helen Strickland • Kimberlee Tempel • Terrye Townley • Deborah VanDerhei • Karen Van Genderen • Volunteer Park Café* • Bill & Paula Whitham • Margaret Curtin & Jim Wilder

Additional “Round Up Your Order” Contributors

Diane & Steven Adam • Deb Bigelow • Gia Bullard • Becky Brooks • Michael & Gale Davis • Susan & Steve Gins • Marga Rose Hancock • Susan Lee & Robert Hook • Susan & Jim Hogan • Michael Johnson • Vicki & Jim King • Ann Kopischke • Laurel Lisez • Josie & Doug Manuel • Sharon McAuliffe • Katri Noid • Bonnie Thompson Norman • Ron Petrie • Bavi Rivera • B. Ann Rotermund • Earl Sedlik • Pamela Smith • Deborah Talley • Diane Turnbull *denotes In-Kind Donation Names in italics denote Guilty Pleasures donations

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!) n ll ages a o f s o ( s A Sea t For Kid3-show packages s u available now! J Save u p to 10% For the first time ever, Book-It All Over p r e s e n t s pu blic perform anc es of it s t ouring shows in t h e Cent er House Theat re.

B ook- I t Al l Ov e r’ s F a m i l y S e r i e s LA MARIPOSA by Francisco Jimén ez September 27 * 11:00 a.m. * Grades K-8 Follow Francisco’s journ ey from isolation and confusion, to freedom and friendship. Presented bilingually. CHICKEN SUNDAY by Patricia Polacco Februar y 21 * 11:00 a.m. * Grades K-8 Three best friends learn about the power of gen erosity, friendship, and tolerance. THE JUNGLE BOOKS by Rud yard Kipling April 25 * 11:00 a.m. * Grades K-6 The classic t ale of Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves in the Indian jungle, along with Baloo,Bagheera, and Shere Khan. 3-Show Packages: Children $29 * Adults $34 Family package #1 (1 adult, 2 children) $88 Family package #2 (2 adults, 2 children) $119 Single Tickets: Children (14 and under) $10 * Adults $12 Packages av ailable through the box office: 206.216.0833 Single Tickets av ailable at www.book-it.org.

Your participation

in the audience at this performance is deeply appreciated. Please tell your friends how much you enjoyed yourself. And if you are moved by the work you see on stage, we ask that you please consider making a gift to Book-It. Your gift—in any amount—makes the work we do on stage and in classrooms possible and accessible to all. Making a donation is a click away on our website at www.book-it.org, or call Marketing & Development Director Patricia Britton, 206.216.0877, ext. 100 to make your gift. Thank you. These listings reflect gifts received May 1 through September 1, 2008. Book-It makes every attempt to be accurate with our acknowledgements. Please email Development Associate Samantha Wykes, sam@book-it.org, with any changes that may be required.

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Spec i al Than ks Special thanks to the following organizations and individuals for their generous support: Joyce Degenfelder, Meg Fox and Seattle Central Community College, Dave and Nancy Hauhen, Cindy Kirham, Susanna Pugh, Louie “Black Dog” Raffloer, Riley Automotive and Jeff Ross.

B ook -It Rep er tory Th ea t re Bo a rd , S t a ff & Co m pan y BOARD OF DIRECTORS BOOK-IT STAFF COMPANY MEMBERS Jane Jones & Myra Platt — Founding Co-Artistic Directors James Dean Mary Metastasio Charlotte M. Tiencken — Managing Director Laura Ferri President Annie Lareau — Education Director Gail Frasier Gail Frasier Patricia Britton — Marketing & Development Director Heather Guiles Vice-President Andy Jensen Rachel Alquist — Box Office Manager Kris Villiott Jennifer Sue Johnson Treasurer Naomi Brodkin & Emma Kelley — Marketing Interns Jane Jones Brady Brophy-Hilton — Education Associate Lucy Flynn Zuccotti Daniel Harray Kate Godman — Grants Associate Secretary Reginald André Jackson Sara Lachman — Education Assistant Monica Alquist David Klein Alison Loerke — Events & Special Programs Assoc. Steven Bull James Lapan Susanna Pugh — House Manager & Volunteer Coordinator Mary Machala Jeff Cain Larry Rodriguez — Technical Dir./Prod. Mgr. Kevin McKeon Devorah Spadone — Production Stage Manager Mary Anne Christy Myra Platt Bill Whitham — Bookkeeper Melissa Manning David Quicksall Rachel Wilsey — Marketing Associate Lynne Reynolds Stephanie Shine Samantha Wykes — Development Associate Deborah Swets Susanna Wilson Samantha Wykes & Karen Imas — Box Office Representatives Book-It is a company of professional actors and directors who perform classic and contemporary works of fiction for the stage.

Our mission is to transform great literature into great theatre through simple and sensitive production and to inspire our audiences to read. We strive to return theatre to its roots, to the place where the spoken and the written word intersect and where the story comes alive for the audience. What you see and hear at a Book-It performance is literary prose spoken by the characters of the story as if it were dialogue in a play—often word for word in a short story and, in adaptations of larger works, selected narrative. This is the Book-It Style. We ask our audiences to use their imaginations, thereby becoming participants in a Book-It performance.

BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE Center House Theatre, Seattle Center

Administration Education Box Office Fax

305 Harrison Street

Seattle, WA 98109

206.216.0877 206.770.0880 206.216.0833 206.256.9666

info@book-it.org * boxoffice@book-it.org * education@book-it.org * www.book-it.org

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