32 minute read
Lloyd Suh
BEHIND THE STORY WITH PLAYWRIGHT LLOYD SUH
From the fascinating true story that inspired the play, Suh takes a look back at the journey behind Bina’s Six Apples
STORY BY Sally Henry Fuller
Lloyd Suh’s latest play may have had its co-premiere with a venue called “Children’s Theatre Company,” but don’t let the name fool you. Bina’s Six Apples is not exclusively for children.
“This is the second time I’ve written for that demographic,” Suh says. His previous play for young audiences, The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra Go! also premiered at Children’s Theatre Company. “The first time was very
different in that it included more things you would normally associate with children’s theatre, I suppose. It had its poignant moments and its serious moments, but it was a little more familiar in its tone and sensibility.”
With Bina’s Six Apples, he intended to create a story that would not be simply geared towards one age demographic and tolerated by another, but rather enjoyed by all ages.
“The guide for me with this play was to write something that’s truly intergenerational, something that can be as resonant to the parents and grandparents watching it as it is to the kids that they bring with them,” Suh explains. He specifically pictured the three generations in his family — from his parents to his children — to inform what this intergenerational style would look like. “It’s not a play for young audiences that adults can enjoy, but it’s more specifically for both.”
He says that in comparison to his aforementioned first play for young audiences, Bina’s Six Apples is a more earnest piece — and for good reason. “It’s rooted in some very real family lore that, I think, made me approach it with a certain sense of sincerity.”
— Lloyd Suh
A Personal Story
This family lore he mentions is a memory from his father’s childhood that inspired the play, with Bina herself inspired by Suh’s father.
“He was probably about five or six, and his memory of that time was that his family packed up in preparation of leaving their home and apple orchard to travel to Busan,” Suh shares, adding that at the time, his father was actually younger than Bina’s character. “He was the youngest of 11 children, and what he remembers is that they gave him this backpack with apples in it. It made him feel useful and special, and he really loved having that.”
Especially as a father himself now, Suh shares that he can relate to the idea of giving the littlest child something to occupy his hands.
“In retrospect, it was probably a situation where they were just giving him something to do, and maybe the contents of what he was carrying weren’t as important as maybe the things that his older siblings were carrying,” clarifies the writer. “But it always stuck with me that that moment was a happy moment for him in the midst of war.”
An Exercise in Empathy
That image of a child carrying apples is just about the only part of his father’s story that appears in the play, but Suh says this piece was still heavily influenced by his family.
“I kept very little of the literal truth in terms of — there are no characters who are based directly on my family members,” he explains. “I changed the age and the gender of the main character, and I did a lot of [those character changes] for a variety of reasons, one of them subconsciously. I didn’t realize I was doing it at the time, but I have a 10-year-old daughter, and I basically put somebody more like her into my father’s situation. It seems obvious now that that was part of the idea of creating something multi-generational and using my own family as an audience model.”
Bina’s Six Apples playwright Lloyd Suh
— Lloyd Suh
The cast of Bina’s Six Apples (Photo by Glen Stubbe Photography)
His decision to use his father’s story as a jumping-off point allowed him the flexibility to reach a broad audience while still telling a story his parents would see themselves in.
“I was definitely interested in creating a journey that wasn’t obligated to the facts of my parents, that could be just as resonant to them, but wasn’t directly literal,” he continues. “Something that’s a little sublimated and a little more rooted in imagination. The whole thing is an exercise in empathy. I think Bina’s journey is an exercise in empathy. I think the play itself is an exercise in empathy.”
As Bina’s Six Apples makes its Atlanta debut, it marks a “first” for more than just the play itself.
“This is the first show that I’ll have ever had in Atlanta. So I’m very excited,” Suh says. “I’ve spent a little bit of time in Atlanta, but this is the first time I’ve worked there directly. I’m just really, really excited to get to know the audiences. And I can’t wait. I’m very excited to share this with them!”
DESIGNING THE COSTUMES
Article courtesy of Children’s Theatre Company
Junghyun Georgia Lee designed the costumes for Bina’s Six Apples. Below, she talks about her deeply personal process for creating costumes that reflect the particular time period during the Korean War in South Korea, as well as all that goes into bringing that realism to each character’s costumes.
Tell us about your process for discovery — what research did you do to inform your costume design choices?
Junghyun Georgia Lee: I am a Korean-American immigrant. My family is in Korea and I visit my parents every summer. Last time I was with them, I spent evenings scanning their old photos for the record. There were many tiny little black-and-white photos from their childhood. They were the same age as Bina during the Korean War. So, when I was asked to design this play, I already had historical reference of the characters, which were my family members from the past. Therefore, I could focus more on each character’s journey throughout the play, not as much the naturalistic aspect of the costumes.
Which elements, or emotions, did you hope to capture with the costume design?
JGL: I wanted to portray real people from Korea full of life on stage. They are not just figures in the historic images. Growing up in Korea, my parents told me stories from the war days, mostly about how hungry they were. They also described their childhood with the fondest memories with their families and friends. Because even with hard times, they always remember the warmest time and happiest places. We encounter so many war photos from the recent history and assume the worst from what we see. A war of any time and place is a great tragedy. However, we have to recognize what they had before the war to understand the loss. Then we can truly understand and share the pain of people from a war-torn country.
Costumes by Junghyun Georgia Lee
What are some things for audiences to look for in seeing the costumes on stage?
JGL: I am getting a lot of research from an old textbook from Korea about draping traditional Hanbok [high-waisted skirt]. The only time I learned about Hanbok was in home economic classes when I was in middle school. It was quite simple but really elegant clothes we made in class, I remember. And it was much more sophisticated than the cheap ceremonial Hanbok one would buy in clothing shops. Nowadays, we are quite familiar with fashionable Hanboks through some Netflix series and other popular TV series. But I find the most beautiful clothes are less ornate garments.
How did you think about fabrics?
JGL: We looked for natural fiber fabric that we can change color and finished texture with ease. It is wonderful to treat the traditional Hanbok with widely available fabric in different colors.
What is something that our audience might not realize about designing costumes?
JGL: Costume design is about the journey to make the characters on stage. Even with the best-rendered sketches, it is not complete without the effort of change and adaptation of person in the center. Our end result may be different from the original design. I always describe my sketches and designs as “a map.” I would like our audience to see how the creative process evolves over time.
Image: Frank Preytor, Stars and Stripes
THE KOREAN WAR IN CONTEXT: A CONVERSATION WITH YEONGJU LEE
By Emory Public Humanities PhD students Margy Adams, Juan David Escobar Chacon, Iain MacKay, and Ayssa Yamaguti Norek
Yeongju Lee is a PhD Candidate in Hispanic Studies at Emory University specializing in Transpacific Latin/x American cultures and literatures. Currently, she is completing a dissertation on Mexican American and Puerto Rican experiences of the Korean War.
What was the cause of the Korean War?
The Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950, when North Korea invaded South Korea, but the division of Korea and the war have deeper roots, beginning with Japan’s colonization of the country. Korea was liberated in 1945 after Japan’s defeat in the Second World War. However, it was immediately occupied by the two superpowers — the Soviet Union and the US — under the name of trusteeship. The struggle between Korean national leaders regarding the type of political system Korea would adopt became a Cold War proxy battle between the two superpowers. In 1948, the Korean peninsula was split in two with the establishment of two different governments, one socialist supported by the Soviet Union in the North and the other liberal capitalist supported by the U.S. in the South.
What was the impact of the conflict on children and families?
The Korean War was one of the most destructive wars in history. 3 million civilians died and more than 100,000 children became orphans. Many children lost their families while fleeing from the war, like when Bina lost her family after a bombing. According to a recent statistical survey, 710,000 people living in South Korea were separated from their families and lost contact with them due to the war.
FORCED DISPLACEMENT
Refugee is a broad term for people displaced by war, violence, or persecution. As of 2021, the United Nations Refugee Agency estimates there are 84 million people who have been forcibly displaced worldwide and over half of them moved inside the borders of their country. Bina’s story is shared by 35 million children around the world, a majority of whom are from the Syrian Arab Republic, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Myanmar.
Among them, 160,000 were originally from North Korea. Many North Koreans who were staying in South Korea at the end of the war not only lost contact with their family, but also could never return to their home again due to the division of the Korean peninsula.
How did the geography of Korea influence the war and movement of people?
Since most of Korea’s territory is mountainous, movement from place to place would have been difficult. Many refugees moved to the South since combat moved from the North to the South during the initial phase of the war. For this reason, Korea’s southernmost city, Busan, the destination of Bina’s family, became a major home for refugees. By 1952, approximately half of Busan’s population was refugees.
How did the war impact other people and cultures on a global scale?
The Korean War was an international war. In addition to the well-known main combatants, many European, Latin American, African, and Asian countries participated as members of United Nations forces. In some countries, including Turkey, Puerto Rico, and Colombia, the Korean War is an important element of their national identity in relation to their role in global politics. Furthermore, the Korean War intensified the Cold War division globally, which is still present today despite the end of the Cold War period.
What stood out to you most about the play? And why is it significant?
The meanings and roles of Bina’s apples stood out most to me. In the beginning, the apples symbolize the value of family. Bina refuses to give out apples to strangers because they are for her family. But as Bina continues her journey by herself, the apples become a symbol of sacrifice she needs to make in order to reunite with her family. In the end, the apples again become a symbol of the familial bond, as the apples Bina handed out to different people play a key role at the end of her story.
KOREAN WAR AND THE ARTS
The legacy of the Korean War has been explored by writers and artists across the world. Depictions of the war and its effect on people can be seen in the poem The Korean Love Songs (USA, 1978) by Rolando Hinojasa, the novel Home (USA, 2012) by Toni Morrison, and recent works of South Korean cinema, including J.S.A. (South Korea, 2000) by Park Chan-wook and Welcome to Dongmakgol (South Korea, 2005) by Park Kwang-hyun.
What perspectives does the play feature that draw out otherwise undernoticed or overlooked aspects of the Korean War?
In the US, the Korean War is usually described ideologically, if it is ever remembered, as a war for democracy and freedom against communism. Yet the play highlights the experiences of common people who had almost no say in the nation’s destiny, but suffered most. The play shows us how the simple dream of the characters, to live happily with their family, is shattered by a war driven by ideological causes and economic interests. Unlike most war-related movies and novels which highlight the perspective of soldiers, the play foregrounds Bina’s experience and feelings. It shows us how people had to rely on each other to survive despite the war’s sudden and traumatic events.
Map and text reprinted with permission from the Children’s Theatre Company
Susan V. Booth, Jennings Hertz Artistic Director & Mike Schleifer, Managing Director
present
A World Premiere Co-Production with Children’s Theatre Company
Peter C. Brosius, Artistic Director & Kimberly Motes, Managing Director
BY LLOYD SUH
SCENIC/LIGHTING DESIGN JIYOUN CHANG
COSTUME DESIGN JUNGHYUN GEORGIA LEE
COMPOSER/SOUND DESIGN FABIAN OBISPO
CASTING JODY FELDMAN JUDY BOWMAN
STAGE MANAGER LIZ CAMPBELL*
DIRECTED BY ERIC TING
SPONSORED BY
Originally commissioned and developed by Children’s Theatre Company, Minneapolis, MN
Community Access for Bina’s Six Apples provided by The Coca-Cola Foundation. Student matinee performances of Bina’s Six Apples sponsored by Publix Super Markets Charities. This production is supported in part by the BOLD Theater Women’s Leadership Circle.
CAST ALEXANDER CHEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boy *SUN MEE CHOMET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mother/Merchant *SHELLI DELGADO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Youngsoo/Another Mother *OLIVIA LAMPERT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bina *ELIZABETH PAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hamee *ALBERT PARK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Father/Boatperson *JOSEPH PENDERGRAST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jinsoo/Soldier
UNDERSTUDIES CHLOE GIA BREMER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bina/Boy CAROLINE DONICA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mother/Merchant/Another Mother/ Youngsoo/Hamee CLAY MAN SOO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Father/Boatperson/Jinsoo/Soldier
MUSICIANS +FABIAN OBISPO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Keyboards +SOOJIN LEE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gayageum (Korean stringed instrument) +BROOKE NEWMASTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Korean percussion
STAGE MANAGERS *LIZ CAMPBELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stage Manager *SKYLAR BURKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assistant Stage Manager AMANDA PEREZ . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stage Management Production Assistant
PRODUCTION AND DESIGN ASSISTANCE RAIYON HUNTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assistant Director CHRISTOPHER MOSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Line Producer MARIE YOKOYAMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Associate Lighting Designer ILANA BREITMAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Associate Costume Designer SKYLAR BURKS, JESSENIA INGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Casting Assistants JENNY R. FRIEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Casting, Children’s Theatre Company HAYLEE SCOTT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COVID Coordinator SHELLI DELGADO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dance/Movement Captain
FOR THIS PRODUCTION KATE WALSH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Young Performer Supervisor KAREN AGUIRRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back Up Young Performer Supervisor EMMA MOULEDOUX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sound Mixer HOLLY O’REAGAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Deck Sound WILLIE PARKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stagehand VICTOR MOULEDOUX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Automation Stagehand HAUZIA CONYERS, ZACHARY MORRISON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wardrobe
SPECIAL THANKS Melissa Ferlaak Kaitlin Randolph Chris Schweiger Kenji Shoemaker Cortney Gilliam Professor Jenny Wang Medina Skye Passmore Michelle Pokopac Mrs. Yoonju Park & Pastor Park Dr. Richard M. Lee, Ph.D.
COMMUNITY PARTNERS Asian American Journalist Association Refuge Coffee Co. Re’Generation Movement VOX ATL Emory Public Humanities Seminar
* Denotes a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States +Denotes a member of the Twin Cities Musician Union, Local 30-73, AFM
The Alliance Theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States, and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, an independent national labor union. The Alliance Theatre at the Woodruff is a member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, and is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young Audiences (ASSITEJ/USA), The Atlanta Coalition of Theatres, the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Midtown Alliance.
Photos may be taken in the theater before the performance, during intermission, and following the performance. If you share your photos, please credit the designers.
Photos, videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited, is a violation of United States Copyright Law, and is an actionable Federal Offense.
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alliancetheatre.org/camps
CHLOE GIA BREMER (US Bina/Boy) is delighted to be back at the Alliance Theatre to be a part of Bina’s Six Apples! She recently played Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol at Alliance Theatre and she’s looking forward to be working with the amazing actors and productions team again. Chloe’s other Atlanta theater credits include The Music Man Jr, Annie Jr, Frozen Jr, and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Jr. She also performed in Horizon Theater’s Madeline’s Christmas in 2019. Chloe loves singing, swimming, and spending time with friends during her spare time. Chloe would like to thank her family, Greyson Chadwick, Janet Chadwick, Spring Mason, and the entire Alliance Theatre production team for giving her invaluable guidance and support.
ALEXANDER CHEN (Boy) is so thrilled to be part of the show. Before this, his professional debut, he started his theatre career two years ago, with the Atlanta Orbit Arts Academy in the ensemble in Wizard of Oz, then as the salt shaker in Beauty and Beast. Most recently he was HeiHei in Moana.
SUN MEE CHOMET
(Mother/Merchant) is happy to be a part of this project as it is close to her own birth family’s story. The experience of displacement due to war is part the story of so many people in Atlanta, the country, and the world. Sun Mee is grateful to Children’s Theatre Company and the Alliance Theatre for commissioning and producing this play, Lloyd Suh for crafting such a personal work of art, and Eric Ting for realizing its vision.
SHELLI DELGADO*
(Youngsoo/Another Mother; she/her) is happy to be sharing the Alliance stage with this cast of beautiful, brilliant people. Recent Alliance credits: A Christmas Carol, Max Makes a Million, and Tiger Style!. Other recent regional credits include work with: Aurora Theatre, Horizon Theatre Company, Warehouse Theatre, Actor’s Express, and the wonderful folks at Children’s Theatre Company. TV/Film: “The Vampire Diaries” and “Doom Patrol”. She holds a B.A. in both Theatre & English from the University of Georgia. All that is good and important to the world takes work. Let us love one another. IG: @shellidelgado
CAROLINE DONICA (US Mother/Merchant/ Another Mother/ Youngsoo/Hamee) is an actress and multidisciplinary artist whose work embraces innovation, collaboration, and diversity. She holds her MFA in Performing Arts and two BA degrees in History and Theatre Performance. Some of her past favorite shows include Dinner with Friends, Men on Boats, Sonic Life of a Giant Tortoise, Seussical, Urinetown the Musical, Eurydice, The 39 Steps, Metamorphoses, Pride and Prejudice, and Beauty and the Beast. She is represented by STW Talent Agency in Atlanta, GA.
OLIVIA LAMPERT (Bina) is making her Alliance Theatre debut as Bina after originating the role at Children’s Theatre Company! Favorite credits include The Sound of Music (Blue Water Theatre Company); Honk Jr. (Wayzata School Theatre); and Shapeshift (promotional video). Olivia has trained with Just for Kix, Stages Theatre Company, and All Things Musik
(voice, ukulele). She would love to thank everyone who supported her and hopes that you enjoy the show!
ELIZABETH PAN (Hamee; she/her) is honored to make her debut at the Alliance Theatre after originating the role at Children’s Theatre Company. Past theatre includes: Calligraphy (Theateworks Silicon Valley); Dogeaters (Center Theater Group); Film Chinois (Grove Theater Center); @thespeedofjake (Playwright’s Arena); and The Winter People (Theater@BostonCourt). Elizabeth trained at American Conservatory Theatre and the Royal National Theatre. www.elizabethpan.com; IG: @thereallizpan
ALBERT PARK (Father/ Boatperson) Select theatre credits: The Supreme Leader (Dallas Theater Center); Man of God (Geffen Playhouse); Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (South Coast Repertory); Cambodian Rock Band (City Theatre Company/Merrimack Repertory); Yoga Play (MOXIE Theatre); Vietgone (East West Players); The Oldest Boy (San Diego Repertory); The Winter’s Tale (The Old Globe); Extraordinary Chambers (Mo’olelo Performing Arts Company); The Odd Couple (North Coast Repertory); Flower Drum Song (SDAART/La Jolla Playhouse). Select film credits: Borrowed Light; Last Summer of Nathan Lee. He especially thanks the cast, and crew. Albert is eternally grateful to Jenny, Felix, Henry, and Coral. He is represented by CESD.
JOSEPH PENDERGRAST
(Jinsoo/Soldier; they/ them) is thrilled to return to the Alliance after making their Children’s Theatre Company debut in this role. They have performed in most theaters in Atlanta including Alliance Theatre (Alice Between and Ever After); Found Stages (Frankenstein’s Funeral); Aurora Theatre (In the Heights); Serenbe Playhouse (Spring Awakening); Actor’s Express (Head Over Heels); and Synchrocity Theatre (Lyle the Crocodile).
CLAY MAN SOO (US Father/Boatperson/ Jinsoo/Soldier) has performed with Guthrie Theater, Great River Shakespeare Festival, Theater Mu, Pangea World Theater, SD Shakespeare Festival, among others. Upcoming shows at Park Square Theatre and Tiger Lion Arts. He holds a B.A. at Gustavus Adolphus College. www.claymansoo.com
ERIC TING (Director; he/they) is an Obie Award-winning director and Artistic Director of California Shakespeare Theater. Recent credits include Between Two Knees (OSF); The Good Person of Szechwan (Cal Shakes); and Parable of the Sower: The Opera. Upcoming: Between Two Knees (Yale Rep); and King Lear adapted by Marcus Gardley (Cal Shakes).
LLOYD SUH (Playwright; he/him) is the author of The Chinese Lady; Charles Francis Chan Jr.’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery; American Hwangap; and more, including The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra Go!, which premiered at Children’s Theatre Company in 2013.
JIYOUN “JIJI” CHANG (Scenic & Lighting Designer; she/her) is a New York designer. Credits: Merry Wives (Delacorte Theatre); Slave Play (Nominations for Tony, Drama Desk, Henry Hewes); For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf (The
Public); and Marys Seacole (Henry Hewes Nom, LCT3). More credits at Second Stage Theater, Roundabout, ATC, NYTW, BAM (Obie Award), MCC, Signature, Guggenheim, Berkeley Rep, Cal Shakes, Guthrie Theatre, The Old Globe, OSF (Falstaff Award), Studio Theatre. She sends special thanks to David and Eva.
JUNGHYUN GEORGIA LEE (Costume Designer) is a Korean-born, NYC-based designer. She designed for New York Theatre Workshop, Ma-Yi, Public, Soho Rep, The Play Co., Alley Theatre, Hartford Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, Guthrie Theater, Huntington Theatre Company, Indiana Repertory Theater, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Alliance, and Syracuse Stage. She is a member of New Neighborhood, a multimedia and theatre group. M.F.A., Yale School of Drama. junghyungeorgialeedesign.com
FABIAN OBISPO (Sound Designer/ Composer) Recent Off-Broadway credits include his musical Felix Starro; The Chinese Lady; Sea Wall/A Life; and Teenage Dick. He recently wrote the music for the PBS documentary 20 Years of Asian American Playwriting. He is a recipient of the Barrymore and the Berkshire Theatre Critics Award.
JODY FELDMAN (Casting) began her theater career as an actress in Atlanta before moving into administration as the Assistant General Manager at Frank Wittow’s Academy Theatre. Feldman started her career at the Alliance as casting director in 1991 and added producer to her title and responsibilities in 2001. She has cast and produced more than 200 productions at the Alliance, encompassing a range of world premieres that includes The Last Night of Ballyhoo, What I Learned in Paris, Broke, Troubadour, In the Red and Brown Water, and more than 10 years of Alliance/ Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition-winning plays, plus such world and regional premiere musicals as Tuck Everlasting; Aida; The Color Purple; Sister Act: The Musical; Bring It On: The Musical; Ghost Brothers of Darkland County; Harmony, A New Musical, and The Prom. Jody is most proud of the thriving Alliance engagement activities and partnerships that recognize theatrical work as a catalyst for community conversation and connection.
LIZ CAMPBELL (Stage Manager; she/her) Recent Alliance credits include: Working: The Musical, A Christmas Carol: The Live Radio Play, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, Max Makes a Million, The Wizard of Oz, A Christmas Carol, Winnie the Pooh, The Jungle Book, Cinderella and Fella, Ugly Lies the Bone, Pancakes, Pancakes!, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical, James and the Giant Peach. Other local credits include: The Drowsy Chaperone, Camelot, The World Goes ’Round, Million Dollar Quartet, Monty Python’s Spamalot, and Ragtime (Atlanta Lyric Theatre); Book of Will and It’s a Wonderful Life (Theatrical Outfit). She has been the Stage Manager for the GHSMTA (Shuler Awards) since 2015. She holds a BFA in Theatre from Niagara University. Member of Actors’ Equity Association. Co-founder of Atlanta Theatre Artists for Justice. Love to Ali and Maggie.
SKYLAR BURKS (Assistant Stage Manager) is delighted to continue her work at the Alliance Theatre. Alliance credits include: Small Mouth Sounds, Ghost, Ride the Cyclone, Ever After, Knead, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Candide, Sheltered, Crossing Delancey, A Christmas Carol, Native Guard, The Dancing Granny, Slur, and Moby Dick. Atlanta Opera credits include: Sweeney Todd, Out of Darkness: Two Remain, and The Abduction from the Seraglio. Skylar received a BFA in Stage Management and minor in Sound Design from Boston University and is the proud co-founder of Atlanta Theatre Artists for Justice. She is forever grateful to her friends and family for their continued love and support. www.atltheatre4justice.com
AMANDA PEREZ (Stage Management Production Assistant; she/her) Alliance Theatre credits include: DREAM HOU$E, A Christmas Carol, Beautiful Blackbird Live!, A Christmas Carol. Other Atlanta credits include: Chess, Nine (Jennie T. Anderson Theatre); The Best of Broadway, Luminous, Oliver (Atlanta Lyric); Leading Ladies, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Driving Miss Daisy, Bullets Over Broadway (Georgia Ensemble Theatre). She’d like to thank her husband and daughter for all their love and support.
CHILDREN’S THEATRE COMPANY
(CTC) is the nation’s largest and most acclaimed theatre for young people and serves a multigenerational audience. It creates theatre experiences that educate, challenge, and inspire for more than 250,000 people annually. CTC is the only theatre focused on young audiences to win the coveted Tony Award® for regional theatre and is the only theatre in Minnesota to receive three Tony® nominations (for its production of A Year with Frog and Toad). CTC is committed to creating world-class productions at the highest level and to developing new works, more than 200 to date, dramatically changing the canon of work for young audiences.
SUSAN V. BOOTH (Jennings Hertz Artistic Director) joined the Alliance Theatre in 2001 and has initiated the Palefsky Collision Project, the Kendeda Playwriting Competition, the Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab, and commercial partnerships on such projects as The Prom; Tuck Everlasting; Ghost Brothers of Darkland County; The Color Purple; Bring It On: The Musical; Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away; Sister Act: The Musical; Bring in ’da Noise, Bring in ’da Funk; and Jesus Christ Superstar GOSPEL. She has directed nationally at the Goodman Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, New York Stage and Film, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and many others. She holds degrees from Denison and Northwestern Universities and was a fellow of the National Critics Institute and the Kemper Foundation. Booth’s leadership is underwritten by the BOLD Theater Women’s Leadership Circle, an initiative to support and promote women’s theater leadership funded by The Helen Gurley Brown Foundation. She is married to Max Leventhal and is the proud mother of Moira Rose Leventhal.
MIKE SCHLEIFER (Managing Director) joined the Alliance Theatre in 2014 as General Manager, and in 2016 became Managing Director. Schleifer has led the administrative team on more than 50 productions and was one of the architects of the “On the Road” season, in which the Alliance produced 12 shows at 12 venues. He started the Alliance’s Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Committee and serves on the League of Resident Theatre’s Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Initiative. Previously, he spent 13 years at Baltimore’s Center Stage, working as Associate Producer, Production Manager and Resident Stage Manager. While in Baltimore, he spent seven years as an adjunct faculty member at Towson University and guest lectured all over the East Coast. He began his career as a Stage Manager and has dozens of stage-management credits in New York and regionally. He is married to theater director and educator Laura Hackman and is the proud father of two boys, Jack and Ben.
ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION (AEA)
Founded in 1913, AEA is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional Actors and Stage Managers. Equity fosters the art of live theatre as an essential component of society and advances the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. Actors’ Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. actorsequity.org
“Grit” is the word Bina uses to describe herself. Indeed, she proves this throughout the play. Although she is ten years old and small, she is armed with grit and determination. Seeing her navigate one obstacle after another while never giving up on hope reminded me of the stories my students at Re’Generation Movement have told me of their journeys from being refugees in their home countries to finally resettling in the United States.
Khin* once shared with me the story of her escape from Myanmar when she was just about Bina’s age. Belonging to an ethnic minority, she and her family had to flee home due to ongoing persecution. She had to endure weeks of walking through forests, jumping over barbed wire fences, and hiding under a net on a fishing boat. The family had to be separated for a brief period before they reunited in Malaysia, where they were finally given the status of “Refugee” and were able to resettle in the U.S. While these were difficult circumstances to bear as a young girl, she recalls how the experiences taught her the importance of family and also gave her the grit that sustains her to this day. Now a U.S. citizen, Khin attends a prestigious university on a full scholarship.
Khin’s story is one of many stories of grit that our students carry. At Re’Gen, our mission is to empower these members of global diasporas — refugees and immigrants — like Khin to unleash their potentials as peacebuilders and changemakers in today’s world. The stories behind why they had to leave home to come to the U.S. are stories of pain and trauma; however, because of their background, they also possess unrivaled grit and broad global perspectives and identities. That is why we believe that global citizens like Khin hold the key to solving many of the problems we face in today’s evermore globalizing and pluralizing world.
With hearts that can feel the pain on the other side of the world as vividly and tangibly as the pain here; with fluidity that can understand and adapt to different cultural contexts; and with a genuine longing for a safe belonging for self and for others around the globe, our students embody the seeds of hope that will regenerate this world to be a more welcoming, more harmonious, and more equitable place.
To learn more, please visit rgmovement.com and follow us on Instagram: @regenerationmovement or Facebook: facebook.com/ReGenATL.
*Name replaced with a pseudonym to protect the student’s privacy
Jongdae Kim
Executive Director Re’Generation Movement
SYNOPSIS
Bina’s family grows the finest apples in all of Korea. But when war forces her to flee her home, Bina is alone in the world with just six precious apples to her name. Can these meager possessions help her find her family? Join Bina on her spirited journey that ranges from the heartbreaking to the humorous. Encountering new challenges at every turn, Bina is forced to rely upon her apples and their important legacy as she begins to discover the power of her own resilience. Often mesmerizing, always heartwarming, Bina will discover that she’s not the only one on a difficult quest for a place to call home.
GET SOCIAL
Connect with us and other audience members on your Alliance experience. Share your comments and photos on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter with hashtags #BinasSixApples and #AllianceTheatre. Plus, search your social media platforms with those hashtags for fun, behind-the-scenes photos from our cast, crew, and creative team.
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Do you appreciate live theatre, enjoy meeting new people and trying new things? If so, then get involved with one of the largest volunteer forces in the arts. The Alliance Theatre volunteer STARS program offers a wide range of opportunities, which includes advocating for live theatre, ushering for Alliance productions, participating in and staffing fundraising & hospitality events, and assisting Alliance staff members with daily office tasks. STARS is composed of three committees working together on fund-saving and fundraising projects to benefit the theatre. The three committees are the Theatre Advocates, the Theatre Educators, and the Theatre Ushers.
For more information on becoming a volunteer, please contact ATushers@alliancetheatre.org.
