DIRECTED BY SYLVIA
CERVANTES BLUSH
WRITTEN BY KAREN ZACARÍAS
KALITA HUMPHREYS THEATER FEB 9-26
CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF S A L L Y N Y S T U E N V A H L E #MARVAHLEOUSMOMENTS Thank you, Sally
WELCOME FROM KEVIN MORIARTY
Executive Director, Dallas Theater Center
Dear friends,
Welcome to Native Gardens
Karen Zacarías’ open-hearted comedy is a wonderful way for us to start 2023. This play, in which strangers become neighbors, and in which people of different ages, genders and backgrounds ultimately see their common humanity, manages to capture so much of what I love about Dallas Theater Center.
At our best, DTC serves as a communal town square. Yes, we are a Tony Awardwinning professional theater – the only one in North Texas. But we are more than
that. We are a place where all are welcome. A place where stories are shared, laughter rings out, and people Stay Late to share their experience of the play with the artists and with each other.
We are a company that recognizes the artistry inherent in everyone. For instance, our department of Public Works produces award winning programs, like Project Discovery, which provides hundreds of high school students with free subscriptions and transportation to see our entire season of plays, as well free pre-show workshops and post-show conversations with professional artists, resulting in an amazing breadth and depth of artistic experiences. One of the leading actors in tonight’s production, Chris Ramirez, saw his first play at DTC when he was a student in our Project Discovery program. Years later, Chris is a member of our Brierley Resident Acting Company, sharing his talent with a new generation of theater-goers, as those artists of a previous generation did for him.
As I think about DTC’s unique role in the community and the legacy of artistry that we have created on our stages since 1959, I think of Sally Vahle. This season, Sally is celebrating her 30th anniversary as a leading actor at Dallas Theater Center. From Angels in America to Native Gardens, Sally has acted in a parade of DTC’s greatest hits. Her portrayal of Medea is one of my personal favorites, in a list that ranges from the wacky comedy of Clue to the dramatic intensity of Miller, Mississippi. Remarkably, with her portrayal of Jacob Marley in December, Sally has become the only actor in DTC history to play every adult role in A Christmas Carol! In a time of so much change, Sally’s artistry in tonight’s play both connects us to the past and shines a light into the future.
Speaking of milestones, on January 1st I stepped down from my role as DTC’s Enloe/Rose Artistic Director to become the theater’s first Executive Director. After fifteen years of producing and directing plays (starting with The Who’s Tommy on the Kalita stage in 2008), I’m now partnering with the DTC Board to lead a search for a new artistic director, whose artistic vision I will nurture and celebrate, as so many others have done for me.
In my new leadership role, I am turning my daily focus away from the rehearsal room and toward Dallas itself. I’m joining our board and staff to identify bold new ways to bring DTC’s artists into the community, and to welcome the community into our theaters. Rather than creating the art, I’ll be focused on connecting the community with the art that others create. Whether advocating for the passage of a visionary master plan for the future of the Kalita Humphreys Theater, raising funds to expand DTC’s essential work in schools and community centers throughout Dallas, or exploring new models for how audiences will be drawn to the theater in a post-pandemic world, I’m blessed to be able to bring my creativity to a new set of possibilities. If all the world’s a stage, then the stage I’m focused on just got a bit bigger.
As you experience the play this evening, I hope you have endless moments of laughter. But I also hope that you have the transformational experience of entering into the heart of someone else’s experience. A moment of empathy. The joy of human connection. I’ve been blessed to have that experience as a theater-maker and theater-goer for many years. In my new role, it’s a privilege to be able to join each of you in nurturing and supporting that vision for DTC and for Dallas for many years to come.
I’ll see you in the lobby.
WELCOME
WITH
Christina Austin Lopez
Olivia de Guzman
Stacia Goad-Malone
Bob Hess
SCENIC DESIGN
Sara Ryung Clement
COSTUME, HAIR, WIG & MAKEUP DESIGN
Carolyn Mazuca
LIGHTING DESIGN
Carolina Ortiz Herrera
SOUND DESIGN
David Lanza
KAREN ZACARÍAS DIRECTED BY SYLVIA CERVANTES BLUSH
Rudy Lopez
Alex Organ
Christopher Llewyn Ramirez
Tiffany Solano
FIGHT DIRECTOR
Ashley White
PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER
Stephen Ravet
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Ashley Oliver
DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION
Andrew J. Brown
Sally Nystuen Vahle
Esteban Vilchez
ARTISTIC PRODUCER
Sarahbeth Grossman
CASTING
Eisenberg/Beans Casting
Ally Beans, CSA
Daryl Eisenberg, CSA
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Kevin Moriarty
ASSOCIATE PRODUCING PARTNER
(214) 522-8499 - DALLASTHEATERCENTER.ORG
Dallas Theater Center’s Production Staff is responsible for the sets, costumes, lighting, props, furniture, scenic painting, sound, special effects and wigs used in this production.
The video or audio recording of this performance by any means is strictly prohibited.
NATIVE GARDENS was commissioned and first produced by Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park under Blake Robison (Artistic Director) and Buzz Ward (Managing Director). “Native
STAY LATE SPONSOR
ASSISTANT PRODUCING SPONSORS
Gardens” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com
CAST & CHARACTERS
In Order of Appearance
Pablo Del Valle CHRISTOPHER LLEWYN RAMIREZ*+
Tania Del Valle TIFFANY SOLANO*+
Frank Butley ...........................................................................................................................................................................BOB HESS*+
Virginia Butley• SALLY NYSTUEN VAHLE*+
Surveyor, Building Inspector OLIVIA DE GUZMAN*+ °
Landscaper CHRISTINA AUSTIN LOPEZ*+
Landscaper RUDY LOPEZ
Landscaper ESTEBAN VILCHEZ
Understudies
Virginia Butley STACIA GOAD-MALONE
Tania Del Valle..................................................................................................................................CHRISTINA AUSTIN LOPEZ*+
Frank Butley ALEX ORGAN*+
Pablo Del Valle ESTEBAN VILCHEZ
Native Gardens will be performed without an intermission. Setting: The suburbs of Washington D.C. Time: September 2022
CREATIVE SUPPORT & CREW
Assistant Director ASA FRIS
Assistant Costume Design ............................................................................................................................. AZUCENA DOMINGUEZ
Assistant Lighting Design LANDRY STRICKLAND
Assistant Sound Design ....................................................................................................................................................... PAULA GARCIA
Production Stage Manager STEPHEN RAVET*
Assistant Stage Manager ........................................................................................................................................ LEAH FITZGERALD*
Production Assistant DERICK LONGORIA
Fight Captain OLIVIA DE GUZMAN
Covid Compliance Officer GABRIELA LEODIOU
Scenic Carpenters KAT DEMITH
Stage Ops Manager SQUEAK HENDERSON
Deck Crew BRIANA ABBOTT, CRAIG ELAM, KEITH GILLESPIE
Wardrobe Supervisor REBECCA HOLT
Assistant Wardrobe Supervisor EMILY NEWCOMB
Dresser GABRIELLE TREVINO
Wig, Hair & Makeup Technician TIINIA AULER
Wig Colorist LOGAN COLEY BROKER
Stitchers JAMIE ADAMS, SUZANNA TANKSLEY
Light Board Operator CAROLINE HODGE, IMANI MCCANTS
Electricians ANDREA BIGGINS, RYAN BURKLE, AMADEO FONSECA, JUAN MIGUEL JIMENEZ AND LANDRY STRICKLAND
A1 Audio Engineer DEVIN MULBERY
Audio Technician ...............................................................................................................................................................ETHAN CRUMRINE
Scenic Painter LAURENCE BOYLES
This theater operates under an agreement with Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. Dallas Theater Center is a member of the League of Resident Theaters; a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the nonprofit professional theater; and Visit Dallas.
+ Member of Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company.
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
° Linda and Bill Custard SMU Meadows Actor
• This role is underwritten by the Dallas Theater Center Guild
The Director is a member of the STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS SOCIETY, a national theatrical labor union
The scenic, costume, lighting sound and projection designers in LORT Theatres are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE.
All Are Welcome.
DALLAS THEATER CENTER EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION STATEMENT
ALL ARE WELCOME! At Dallas Theater Center, we want to be the best place to work and see theater, and to be a positive and transformational force in Dallas and beyond. We stand-up for equity, diversity, and inclusion across our company and community. As a leading national theater, we recognize that building an equitable, diverse, and inclusive environment is central to our relevance and sustainability in the community we serve and love.
DALLAS THEATER CENTER LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We acknowledge the land beneath our feet as the ancestral home of many Indigenous Peoples including the Caddo, Wichita, Tawakoni, and Kiikaapoi, as well as the tribes that may have lived here and roamed the area –including Comanche, Kiowa and Apache – and those indigenous people whose names we don’t know anymore. We honor, revere and respect those who were stewards of this land long before we made it our home. We also acknowledge the neighborhood we inhabit as one of the original Freedman’s towns of Dallas built by those who were enslaved by European colonization.
Please help us to maintain a safe and inclusive space while you are with us. DTC has a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment in any form including the use of racist, sexual or ethnic slurs - be it verbal, physical, or virtual. If you need assistance or witness an instance of harassment, please notify the House Manager immediately.
WELCOME
SYLVIA CERVANTES BLUSH
Welcome to the suburbs of Washington D.C. It is September 2022 and life is beginning to resemble the before times; the only difference is we, the collective audience, are not the same.
For a variety of reasons, each of us have experienced a shift in the way we think, live, and breathe. There is an unspoken newness of how we navigate connecting with family, friends, co-workers, and even our neighbors.
This production of Native Gardens was created for you with love and ambitious faith that it can plant seeds to nurture our yearning to communicate and need to be heard. I believe there is power in witnessing a fictional story that not only resonates thematically with our times, but literally reflects characters who look and sound like us or people we know.
I was especially curious to look through the lens of a hearty sitcom as an invitation for us to explore how good people can behave questionably.
Maybe, just maybe, we can acknowledge what we were truly missing from the before times and rewrite the script of a new today and better tomorrow.
FROM THE DIRECTOR
2022-2023 SEASON SPONSORS
We celebrate our years of partnership with the Dallas Theater Centers and their commitment to bringing extraordinary theater to Dallas for the past 63 years. Receive 15% off with your evening theatre ticket 4152 Cole Avenue, Ste. 103 Dallas, Texas 75204 214.252.9604 | salumrestaurant.com
An evening of artistry and celebration featuring entertainment from the Brierley Resident Acting Company Entertainment directed by Sally Nystuen Vahle & Bob Hess Music directed by Gary Adler CENTERSTAGE Renaissance 2 0 2 3 Contact donorhelp@dallastheatercenter.org for more information
Tiana Kaye Blair, photo by Luis Martinez
CAST
RUDY LOPEZ
CHRISTOPHER LLEWYN RAMIREZ
SALLY NYSTUEN VAHLE ESTEBAN VILCHEZ
TIFFANY SOLANO
ALEX ORGAN
STACIA GOAD-MALONE
BOB HESS
CHRISTINA AUSTIN LOPEZ
OLIVIA DE GUZMAN
Linda and Bill Custard SMU Meadows Actor
CHRISTINA AUSTIN LOPEZ (Landscaper, Understudy Tania Del Valle) is a member of DTC’s Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company. DTC: A Christmas Carol, Clue, Our Town, The Sound of Music, Tiny Beautiful Things, In the Heights and The Odyssey. Regional: The Music Man (Theatre Three), 72 Miles to Go (Alley Theatre), West Side Story (A.D. Players), Christmas at Pemberley (MST Houston), Rapture Blister Burn (4th Wall Theatre), A Christmas Carol (Zach Theatre), In the Heights (NCT), and The House on Mango Street (CaraMia Theatre). Lopez is a graduate of Baylor University where she performed in Fiddler on the Roof, Crazy for You, and Spring Awakening. TikTok: @xtina_lopez christinaaustinlopez.com Luke 1:37
OLIVIA DE GUZMAN (Surveyor, Building Inspector) is a proud member of the Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company with support from the Custard Family Foundation Fund and Linda and Bill Custard as the SMU Meadows Actor at Dallas Theater Center. is a proud member of the Brierley Resident Acting Company and has previously appeared in DTC’s Clue as Miss Scarlet and two productions of A Christmas Carol. Previously with Dallas Theater Center, she taught classes in the Adult Acting program, SummerStage, and Public Works Dallas. Olivia has performed on many stages in DFW, NYC, and on tour. Love to Jeff. oliviadeguzman.com
STACIA GOAD-MALONE (Understudy Virginia Butley) is thrilled to be back at DTC after appearing in South Pacific Stacia has appeared on Broadway in Starlight Express, replacing Andrea McArdle as Ashley, the smoking car, toured Europe in Jesus Christ Superstar and the United States in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Local audiences may remember her from principal roles at WaterTower Theater, Theater Three, Casa Manana, Uptown Players, Circle Theater and Lyric Stage. Recent roles include: Dorothy Brock in 42nd STREET (Garland Summer Musicals), Carol Strong in Catch Me if You Can, Deb in Elf and Mama Murphy in Bright Star (Firehouse Theater). She was featured in LIFE and TIME magazine for her work with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and has been a guest artist with the Plano and Irving Symphony.
BOB HESS (Frank Butley) is a member of DTC’s Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company, last appearing on the DTC stage in Trouble In Mind, The Odyssey, The Sound of Music, Our Town/Nuestro Pueblo, A Christmas Carol, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, he has appeared on nearly every stage in the Metroplex over the last 40 years, most recently in WaterTower Theatre’s I Am My Own Wife and Stage West’s regional premiere of The Children. The recipient of numerous awards from DFW Critics’ Forum and Broadway World Award, Bob is represented by The Mary Collins Agency and is proud to serve as an Assistant Professor of Theatre at University of North Texas.
RUDY LOPEZ (Landscaper) appears in his debut production with Dallas Theater Center. Noteball roles include, Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare Dallas). Mr. Beaver in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Dallas Children’s Theater), Cheché in Anna in the Tropics. Mr. Mushnik in Little Shop of Horrors and Bless Me, Ultima as Narciso (Cara Mia) He would like to give thanks to his amazing cast and crew for being a wonderful team and creating the best environment to make such wonderful art. He also gives the greatest gratitude to his director Sylvia, “for putting her trust in him, always guiding him and showcasing the best of his ability.” Lopez is appreciative of his friends for their support but most importantly, “muchas gracias a ti padre, madre, y hermana por ese apoyo y amor eterno.” @therudylopez
CAST BIOS
ALEX ORGAN (Understudy Frank Butley) is a member of Dallas Theater Center’s Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company where he most recently directed this season’s A Christmas Carol. His prior acting credits at DTC include: Clue, The Odyssey, The Sound of Music, Our Town/Nuestro Pueblo, Cake Ladies, Working: A Musical, Little Women, Twelfth Night, White Rabbit Red Rabbit, The Trials of Sam Houston, Frankenstein, Miller, Mississippi, Inherit the Wind, Electra, Constellations, Dreamgirls, All The Way, Sense and Sensibility, The Rocky Horror Show, Les Misérables, The Fortress of Solitude, Fly By Night, eight productions of A Christmas Carol, and three Public Works Dallas pageants. Local/Regional: Second Thought Theatre; Undermain Theatre; Theatre Three; WaterTower Theatre; Trinity Shakespeare Festival; Shakespeare Dallas; Lyric Stage; Epic Theater Ensemble; Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Alley Theatre. Alex was the Artistic Director at Second Thought Theater from 2015-2020, and holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.
CHRISTOPHER LLEWYN RAMIREZ (Pablo Del Valle) is a member of Dallas Theater Center’s Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company, where his credits include: Public Works Dallas’ The Odyssey; Working: A Musical; In the Heights; Public Works Dallas’ As You Like It, Twelfth Night; Sweat; White Rabbit Red Rabbit; Hair, Hood: The Robin Hood Musical Adventure. Regional: American Mariachi (Goodman Theatre). Last Summer, Chris co-created and directed a pro-wrestling play, Lucha Teotl, which sold out its entire run in the 2021 AT&T Elevator Project. Other directing credits include: Luchadora! (Cara Mia Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors (Junior Players and UTD) and assistant director of A Christmas Carol (Dallas Theater Center). @chrisllewynramirez
TIFFANY SOLANO (Tania Del Valle) joined Dallas Theater Center’s Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company in 2018. Favorite roles at Dallas Theater Center include: The Sound of Music (Maria) and In the Heights (Nina). She has performed at theaters nationwide including The Goodman, The Mark Taper Forum, Denver Center Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Mixed Blood Theatre and Will & Company. Locally, she’s worked with Theatre Three, Dallas Children’s Theater, Cara Mía Theatre Co. and Dallas Museum of Art / Arts & Letters Live. She has also appeared in numerous commercials, television, and film productions. Recently she began her anime voice-over journey at Crunchyroll. She is represented by Kim Dawson Agency. For my family: Sofia, Nolan & Steve. @tiffanyesolano
SALLY NYSTUEN VAHLE (Virginia Butley) is a member of the Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company. The 2022-2023 season marks Sally’s 30th year acting on the stages at Dallas Theater Center. Some of Sally’s favorite DTC roles include: Steel Magnolias (Ouiser); Miller, Mississippi (Mildred); A Christmas Carol (Scrooge); Cabaret (Fraulein Kost); Clybourne Park (Bev/Kathy); Medea (Medea); Electra (Clytemnestra); Sweat (Tracey); and Clue (Mrs. White). Sally is Professor of Acting at the University of North Texas, Department of Dance and Theater. Representation: The Mary Collins Agency. www.sallyvahle.com and www.sallyvahlevoiceover.com Thanks to Tim, Kala and Hanna for their love and support.
ESTEBAN VILCHEZ (Landscaper) is joining Dallas Theater Center for his second production. Notable roles include Young Scrooge in last year’s production of A Christmas Carol, Edward Bloom in Big Fish (Firehouse), and Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (TWH). Esteban thanks DTC, Eisenberg and Beans Casting, and the production team for this incredible opportunity. He is grateful to his father “who is the backbone to [his] performance and who taught [him] and pushed [him] to learn everything he knows” And to his wife, his “biggest cheerleader and support system.”
CAST BIOS
SYLVIA CERVANTES BLUSH (Director) In May 2020, Sylvia joined artists across the globe to demonstrate theater’s resilience over a virtual platform. Through the shutdown of in person performances, she worked on eleven projects including S.H.E.L. Silverstein News, a filmed play connecting 46 participants across 27 households which she wrote, produced, directed, and edited. Her stage direction of Don Carlos: Prince of Asturias was filmed at Company of Angels and streamed for La Escena, a festival which included artists from Spain, New York and México City. Miss Most Pressing Issue was staged to give the illusion of actors being in the same location during a live stream. Determined to make the Zoom experience engaging, Sylvia explored movement and music within the constraints of physically distanced readings on Concerned Citizen, Los Angeles; Atonement with Abbu; I Kissed Chavela Vargas; Pilar and Paloma; This Bitch and G.I.P.S. Homecoming, a live improv show co - directed with Forrest Hartl. In the before times, Sylvia directed The Refugee Hotel, The Long Road Today (AD & choreo), Fuenteovejuna, Medea, Mala Hierba, Electricidad, The Vagina Monologues, and Bill’s Shorts. Workshop direction SYLVIA CERVANTES BLUSH includes ENOF: Ya Basta and Dream Hou$e by Eliana Pipes for Arizona Theatre Co. She was a finalist for the 2022-23 Denham fellowship, a Mellon Fellow for the 2014 Encuentro at LATC and an assistant director to Marcela Lorca under the Oregon Shakespeare Festival FAIR program. Sylvia is a proud Mexican-American, first gen UCLA M.F.A. artist from Bell Gardens, CA. She is shifting her role as company member to Associate Producer for PlayGround - LA’s 2022-23 season and recently closed a world premiere with Native Voices at the Autry and The Latino Theater Company in Los Angeles. This is her first adventure with the Dallas Theater Center and she is an Associate Member with SDC.
SARA RYUNG CLEMENT (Scenic Design) has extensive experience in creative design including Off-Broadway costume designer for Somebody’s Daughter (Second Stage Uptown); Fruiting Bodies (Ma-Yi Theatre). Regional credits include the Guthrie Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, South Coast Repertory, Denver Center Theatre Company, Asolo Repertory, Geffen Playhouse, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Folger Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, Seattle Rep, Mixed Blood, TheatreWorks, Center Stage Baltimore, Boston Court, Perseverance Theatre, East West Players, Cornerstone Theater Company, A Noise Within, Yale Repertory Theatre, and others. Upcoming projects include the world premiere of Fake it Til You Make It at the Mark Taper Forum and Madama Butterfly at Boston Lyric Opera. Set design faculty at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. MFA, Yale School of Drama; AB Princeton University. sararyungclement.com
CAROLYN MAZUCA (Costume, Hair, Wig, and Makeup Design) is a Texas born and Los Angeles based Costume Designer. Her theatrical designs have most recently decorated productions of Cashed Out at San Francisco Playhouse and Alma at Center Theatre Group. She is the Costume Designer for upcoming productions of Gruesome Playground Injuries at The Repertory Theater of St. Louis and Kiss of the Spider Woman at A Noise Within. Her work has appeared on the stages of Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory, and South Coast Repertory. Carolyn is an active member of the IATSE Costume Designers Guild 892. She is the Costume Designer of films Body Language, Merry Kiss Cam, What? and Esmerelda (Short). She recently worked as an Assistant Costume Designer on “Perry Mason” Season 2 and “The L Word: Generation Q” Season 2. Carolyn earned her BFA in Costume Design from Carnegie Mellon University. Carolyn can’t wait to see what amazing future projects await her!
CAROLINA ORTIZ HERRERA (Lighting Design) is a Mexican-born and New York-based Lighting Designer for theatre, opera, and dance. Regional: Good Night, Oscar (Goodman Theatre); Doubt, A Parable, 4000 Miles (Westport Country Playhouse); A Woman of the World, Until the Flood, Macbeth (Merrimack Theatre Repertory); All’s Well That Ends Well (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); American Mariachi (Arizona Theatre Company), I & You (Bristol Riverside Theatre); The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Northern Stage) Seven Guitars (Yale Repertory Theatre). Other theatre: Yellowman, an Audelco Awards Best Lighting Design Nominee (Billie Holiday Theatre); She Persisted (Atlantic Theatre Company); Sweeney Todd (Yale Dramat); Titus Andronicus, Some Bodies Travel, Women Beware Women, and The Skin of Our Teeth (Yale University Theatre). Opera: Florencia en el Amazonas (Shubert Theatre); The Silent Lyre (Lighten Theatre); Trouble in Tahiti (New Jersey University); and The Cunning Little Vixen (Opera Theatre of Yale). She is a member of La Gente Network and USA Local 829. Education: MFA, Yale School of Drama. www.carolinaeortiz.com
DAVID LANZA (Sound Design) is a freelance audio engineer and sound designer based in Fort Worth TX. In addition to working as resident sound designer for Amphibian Stage and Kids Who Care, David has worked with various organizations including Jubilee Theatre, Stage West, Dallas Theater Center, Booker T Washington HSPVA, All Saints Episcopal School, Keller High School, The Littlest Wiseman, Shiny Box Productions, Watertower Theatre, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts, UNT Theatre, TCC Theatre, and TCU Theatre. David has also acted as production sound operator for national tours of Menopause The Musical, A Tuna Christmas and Tuna Does Vegas, as well as the annual Dance Salad dance festival in Houston, TX. Additionally David has sound designed and mixed animated media projects produced for and by companies including Nickelodeon, Alfalfa Studios, Kate Spade, and The Ford Foundation. David holds a Bachelor of Science in Audio Engineering Technology from Belmont University. www.DavidLanzaAudio.com
CREATIVE BIOS
ASHLEY WHITE (Fight Director) is pleased to join DTC for the sixth time! She is an award-winning director, fight & intimacy director, and teaching artist, with international credits and nearly two decades of experience. She is an accomplished Fight Director and is a Certified Teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors. She has provided Fight Direction for more than fifty productions across the country. She is a certified Intimacy Director with IDC Professionals. As an ID, she has worked across the U.S, in addition to on film & television, where her intimacy coordination work can be seen on Amazon, The CW, Paramount+, among other networks and studios. She is a sought-after educator and is the creator of The Cycle of Consent – an approach to building and navigating safe creative spaces, which she has taught internationally. She is the recipient of 5 DFW Critics Forum Awards for Outstanding Direction as well as special recognitions from the Critics Forum for her Fight & Intimacy work. Ashley is a proud member of SDC, and has received nominations for the SDC Zelda Fischander and SDC Barbara Whitman awards for innovation in directing. www.ashleyhwhite.com
STEPHEN RAVET (Production Stage Manager) DTC: Clue, The Sound of Music, A Christmas Carol ‘22, The Odyssey. Broadway: Marvin’s Room, Les Misérables, King Charles III, Airline Highway, The Elephant Man, The Assembled Parties. Off-Broadway (Select): The Perplexed, The Cake, Avenue Q, The Threepenny Opera, Peter and the Starcatcher, RENT, Angels in America Regional (Select): Williamstown Theatre Festival, Bucks County Playhouse, The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse. TV: “America’s Got Talent.” Education: UC Santa Barbara & University of Kent. Thanks to Leah & Derick!
LEAH FITZGERALD (Assistant Stage Manager) is excited to return to Dallas Theater Center. Previous DTC credits include: A Christmas Carol ’22 & Tiny Beautiful Things (ASM), The Sound of Music, Public Works’ The Odyssey & As You Like It, A Christmas Carol ‘19 & ’21 (PA) Other credits: Maytag Virgin at Theater3, MAMMA MIA! at Lyric Stage and Harvey at WaterTower Theater. She graduated in 2019 from St. Edward’s University with a BA in Theater Management. She would like to thank Jake and her friends for all their support and encouragement. Extra thank you to her mom, love you always!
ASA FRIS (Assistant. Director) is a Senior at Southern Methodist University and will soon graduate with a B.F.A in Theatre having earned his B.A. in Psychology from the institution. Native Gardens is his second production with Dallas Theater Center after serving as an Ensemble Captain for The Odyssey this past summer. Asa would like to thank Sylvia, SMU, and DTC for providing him with this opportunity to serve and learn on Native Gardens. He sends love to his family, friends, and all those who have already, and continue to, support him.
ASHLEY OLIVER (Production Manager) is an Actor, Stage Manager and Director from Arlington,TX. She holds a BA in Drama from Prairie View A&M University. And though she has over 15 years of experience in the DFW Metroplex, Native Gardens is Oliver’s debut at DTC Production Manager. Ashley was Interim PM on DTC’s The Odyssey, Clue, and Trouble In Mind and Stage Manager on Dallas Theater Center’s popular Cake Ladies, Little Women, Ann, Fetch Clay Make Man Additionally, Amazing Grace, Hurt Village, Dot, Do No Harm (Soul Rep Theatre), Marie Antoinette (Amphibian Stage) Bootycandy, Mr. Burns Post-Electric Play, Deer (Stage West), Shakin the Mess Outta Misery, Flight (Jubilee Theater) and Erykah Badu’s One (Hu)man show (TBAAL). “A word equal a thought, a thought an idea, an idea an action, an action can change the world.”-Claude
McKay
ANDREW J. BROWN (Director of Production) has been with Dallas Theater Center since March of 2020. He served as lead Production Manager on recent productions including Public Works Dallas’ 2022 production of The Odyssey, The Sound Of Music, Our Town/Nuestro Pueblo, and Tiny Beautiful Things, as well as the world premiere productions of The Supreme Leader and Cake Ladies. Previously Andrew worked with Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma (Oklahoma City, OK), Huntington Theatre Company (Boston, MA) and the Cape Playhouse (Cape Cod, MA). He holds an MFA in Production Management from Boston University and a BFA in Scene Design from the University of Oklahoma. he/him
SARAHBETH GROSSMAN (Artistic Producer) is a Tony Award®-nominated and Olivier Award-winning producer. Her credits include Broadway: Indecent; An American in Paris (Broadway, West End National Tour); Come From Away (West End); Dames At Sea; Ann and Stick Fly. Off-Broadway: The Irish Curse. A graduate of the Commercial Theater Institute, Sarahbeth holds a BA from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (2015 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient) and an MFA in Theater Management from the Yale School of Drama where she served as Associate Managing Director of Yale Rep. She is a proud member of the Broadway League, Theater Communications Group, National Alliance for Musical Theatre and the Producer’s Guild of America.
EISENBERG/BEANS CASTING (Casting) Daryl Eisenberg, CSA & Ally Beans, CSA. NYC Theater: Gettin’ The Band Back Together (Broadway); Bedlam, WP Theatre, Baghdaddy, Cherry Lane’s Mentor Project, Altar Boyz, and more. Regional/Other: Florida Georgia Line’s May We All (TPAC), Heartbreak Hotel (Broadway in Chicago), Dallas Theater Center, Folger Theatre, Cape Cod Theatre Project, WaterTower Theatre, Norwegian Cruise Line, Ivoryton Playhouse, Tenors of Rock, Wheelhouse Theatre Co, countless NYMF/Fringe. Film: “The Cathedral” (Sundance), “Menorah in the Middle” (Hulu), “The MisEducation of Bindu” (Peacock), “Shadows” (HBO), “Hands That Bind”, “Project Pay Day”, “Kendra and Beth”. Podcasts/New Media: Both seasons of the critically acclaimed series Limetown, Shipworm, City of Ghosts, Falling in Love With Mr. Dellamort, Verdict.
CREATIVE BIOS
GETTING NEIGHBORLY WITH KAREN ZACARÍAS
Karen Zacarías speaks with DTC Playwright in Residence Jonathan Norton about the genesis of her play Native Gardens, crazy neighbors, and childhood bullies.
JONATHAN NORTON: Writers are always told to write what you know. But I read that you’re not a gardener and don’t have a green thumb at all. But the play explores the worlds of competitive gardens and eco-friendly gardening in vivid and funny detail. So, I’m so curious about what sparked Native Gardens for you.
KAREN ZACARÍAS: I was trying to find a subject to write about and I was at a dinner party and friends of ours said “Oh you should write about me. I'm having a fight with my neighbor.” And I said, “Oh, what are you fighting about?” He said the hedges and then someone else was like “Oh my parents are in a fight with their neighbors about their mailboxes.” I mean they were all of these absurd things, but the fights were very real. In fact, I have a friend who told me that one of their parents was stabbed by their neighbor over plants. And that got me thinking, wow, it's interesting how fights about property are kind of primal. It's about ownership and it's about cultural aesthetics, right? And the fight between neighbors is always so vicious. It’s like a fight between siblings when you have to live so close to each other, and you're fighting. It's very, very stressful. And I started thinking, well, what happens if I explore this as a comedy?
JN: Laughter really brings people together and Native Gardens really brings people together. It’s enjoyed a healthy life around the country. It was even on American Theatre magazine’s 10 most produced plays of 2018-19. What do you think it is about the play that resonates so deeply with audiences and also with theaters?
KZ: I think there's two different answers on it. One is that I was lucky, and I hit a zeitgeist of a moment in time about a nation divided over walls and fences and borders. And that idea of being able to talk about it without people getting defensive was something the theaters and audience members seem to want. The other thing is the niche of also being a play that brings audiences in touch with a couple they're used to seeing onstage and also a couple they're not used to seeing onstage. Oh, and a third thing, it’s a four-person comedy. It's the American theater unicorn.
JN: I appreciate that it’s incredibly funny, yet it’s also smart social commentary. One of the places we see this is in the landscapers. Can you speak a bit about their function in the play?
KZ: So, the way the play is structured the gardeners come in and change the fence and do all of the landscaping work. And all of the scene changes are actually done by the landscapers. The landscapers don't have any words but in a sense, they're tasked with the burden of changing how everything looks. But they don't have a voice. And on the other side of this is these two couples – one is an up-and-coming family, the other is established, but both represent a different class than the workers. And another part that was exciting for me was having a Latina with a Ph.D., and a rising Latino lawyer. People you see in real life, but you don't see on stage very often. And while they’re moving up the class echelon there’s still this other group of people who are actually holding the country up and doing the work. People who don't have a voice on stage, but we see them doing all the heavy lifting in a sense. So that's a subtle or not subtle thing, but that's the thing that's going on in the story, and it's a fun way to just show without telling.
JN: I love to hear you speak about class in regard to your play. And it reminds me that one of the things I love most about Native Gardens is that it deals with all isms – racism, classism, sexism, ageism. But you find fun and surprising ways to subvert those conversations.
KZ: Yeah, Virginia comes from a working-class background. And yet she's the one who kind of wears the pants in the family, and he's the gardener. So, all of it was trying to say – OK – how can you tell the story? How has this story been told? How can we tell it a little bit different that you see a point of view that's not been had. And even the microaggressions that are happening throughout the play – they even happen between spouses, right? Like he talks about the lawyer, and he keeps calling the lawyer “HE” And she’s like, “SHE!” But it's like everybody has learning to do. Everybody has growth to do in some way. And the younger couple, they might have the legal right, but they're also brash and unthinking of how quickly it has to happen.
GETTING NEIGHBORLY WITH KAREN ZACARÍAS
JN: There’s so much disconnect happening. It’s rendered in such hilarious ways, but it’s still disconnect. And you’ve chosen to set this feud in Washington, DC, where you live. How does living in DC impact your work?
KZ: I love living in DC. Also, as a woman who was born in Mexico, grew up in Mexico and then moved here, I like that it's like a local small village but also the capital of the United States and also internationally has resonance. I love the three different levels of DC – local, national, and international. And I guess because of that I'm always aware of audiences and audiences in DC are very smart and also very punditry. So, if you have a mistake in your play, they’re going to let you know. So, there’s always an awareness of who's watching my work. And DC has made me not underestimate audiences.
JN: And speaking of audiences, I understand that audiences will soon have a new way to experience Native Gardens.
KZ: Yes. They’re making a podcast right now interviewing the 28 young Latinas who have played Tania to talk about their experiences doing the play. Because for a lot of them it was their first big regional job. Natalie Camunas who was Tania in the Cleveland Playhouse production is putting together this podcast. And I don't know if you know her, but Sabina Zúñiga Varela who has done a lot of work at Dallas Theater Center –
JN: Yes. She was in Oedipus El Rey and A Christmas Carol here.
KZ: Yes. Sabina was my first Tania. I wrote it for her. But anyway, the idea is even though it looks like a simple comedy it's broken barriers in so many different ways. You know there are some theaters that are like – this is the first time we ever had Latino actors on stage. This is the first time we ever had a Latino designer on stage. This is the first time we had an Afro Latino director on stage. It pushed the conversation, but it also pushed the theaters into hiring new people. Like Sylvia Cervantes Blush coming to Dallas Theater Center. It’s a win-win.
JN: Yes! And thank you for the recommendation. We’re so happy for it. Sylvia is wonderful.
KZ: Yeah, everyone loves working with Sylvia. She's just great. She's great with students. And she's innovative and interesting and very thoughtful with her work. I've been dying to work with this director for a long time.
JN: It’s wonderful to learn how Native Gardens has been so groundbreaking in that way. But in addition to Native Gardens, you’ve written many more wonderful plays that have gone on to great success. But how did you come to playwriting?
KZ: When I was ten years old, living in Boston, coming from Mexico, I had a bully. A really mean boy that would say really mean things to me after school. I was always so surprised and so hurt and I could never think of anything to say back to him. So, I decided one day that I was going to come up with a script. So, the next time he said something to me I was going to be all ready with a really snappy American comeback. But I started writing it and then I was like, why is this boy mean to me? And I thought, well, maybe his dad's not very nice to him. Maybe his dad drinks and is mean to him when he drinks. I started making things up. And so, by the time I ran into this boy again, I had created such a back story for him, that I had so much compassion for him. I didn't even want to put him down anymore. And playwriting became my way as an immigrant of becoming better in English and understanding the way dialogue works as both a bridge and a wall between people, and that's how I started writing. I became a playwright by necessity, writing little dialogues with people in my head who were not being nice to me.
JN: What do you hope audiences will take away from Native Gardens?
KZ: Well, the idea is that you keep judging both couples, but at the end of the day the person you're really judging is yourself. What would you do? What do you do to be a better neighbor to the people around you?
The Tanias podcast which is being produced with the help of HowlRound will launch Sept/Oct 2024. Dallas Theater Center will keep you posted. We can’t wait for the first episode.
***
Scan the QR code to read the extended interview with Karen Zacarias.
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APRIL 7 - 30 • WYLY THEATRE
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Lapine
Originally Directed on Broadway by James Lapine
Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
Directed and Choreographed by Joel Ferrell
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