Proudly Presents the Chicago premiere of ...
WRITTEN BY Melissa Ross DIRECTED BY John Gawlik SCENIC DESIGNER Joe Schermoly
COSTUME DESIGNER Kate Murphy
LIGHTING DESIGNER & PROJECTIONS DESIGNER Michael Stanfill
SOUND DESIGNER & ORIGINAL MUSIC Peter Storms
PROPERTIES MASTER Rita Thornton STAGE MANAGER *Sarah Luse TECHNICAL DIRECTOR David Preis * Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers The Gift Theatre Company 4802 N. Milwaukee Avenue Chicago, IL 60630 (773) 283-7071 www.thegifttheatre.org
“Come Closer.” March 27 – May 25, 2014 The Gift Theatre Company’s 2014 season is made possible, in part, by generous contributions from The Alphawood Foundation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Chairman’s Cup 2013, and an Anonymous Donor. THINNER THAN WATER
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F E AT U R I N G ( I N A L P H A B E T I C A L O R D E R ) Cassie.......................................................................................................................................+Brittany Burch Mark......................................................................................................................................*+Paul D’Addario Benjy.....................................................................................................................................+Gabriel Franken Gwen.....................................................................................................................................Donna McGough Angela...........................................................................................................................................Darci Nalepa Renee...................................................................................................................................... +Lynda Newton Gary.................................................................................................................. *+Michael Patrick Thornton Henry.................................................................................................................................. +Jay Worthington *Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers +Indicates Gift Ensemble Member Understudies do not substitute for listed players unless an announcement is made at the time of the performance.
PLACE: A Suburb Adjacent to a City TIME: The Present The play runs approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes. There will be one 15 minute intermission. As a courtesy to the actors and fellow audience members, please turn off your cell phone! The use of recording devices is strictly prohibited.
AC K N OW L E D G E M E N T S & E X T R A S P E C I A L T H A N K S ! We’d like to thank the following individuals and groups for their kind and generous contributions to The Gift’s production of Thinner Than Water: Marion Matas at Behind the Ruby, Oak Park IL Thomas C. Brennan, CPA The Chairman’s Cup 2013: George Karzas (Chairman), Rabb Family Foundation, Douglas Brown, Demetrios Kozonis, Coyle Family Foundation, Scott George, Roger & Rita Manka
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P R O D U C T I O N , A R T I S T I C , A N D A D M I N I S T R AT I V E S TA F F Artistic Director..........................................................................................*+^Michael Patrick Thornton Managing Director / House Manager..............................................................................Rita Thornton Administrative Director.......................................................................................................Martin J. Teresi Technical Director / Production Manager........................................................................... David Preis Associate Artistic Director.............................................................................................*+Paul D’Addario Casting Director.............................................................................................................. *+Hillary Clemens Publicist............................................................................................................... The Silverman Group, Inc. Box Office Assistants.....................................................................................................The Gift Ensemble Graphic Designer..........................................................................................................................Steve Juras Photographer..................................................................................................................Joshua Longbrake Subscriber Campaign Coordinator............................................................................+Gabriel Franken Production Assistant ..........................................................................................................Frank Thornton giftED Director.................................................................................................... Lindsey Barlag Thornton giftFILM Co-Directors................................................................. *+^Ed Flynn, +Benjamin Montague Natural Gas Artistic Director................................................................................................. ^Kyle Zornes giftLIT Director....................................................................................................................+Maggie Gawlik New Play Development Co-Directors............................+Maggie Gawlik, +Jenny Connell Davis THE GIF T ENSEMBLE Daniel Slaven Ahlfeld, Maggie Gawlik, Brittany Burch, *Hillary Clemens, Jenny Connell Davis, John Kelly Connolly, *Paul D’Addario, *Brendan Donaldson, *James D. Farruggio, *^Ed Flynn, Mary Fons, Gabriel Franken, *John Gawlik, Andrew Hinderaker, *Alexandra Main, Kenny Mihlfried, Benjamin Montague, William Nedved, Lynda Newton, Sheldon Patinkin, Maureen Payne-Hahner, *^Michael Patrick Thornton, and Jay Worthington N AT U R A L G A S E N S E M B L E *+Ed Flynn, James Kozyra, Joey Lesiak, Kirby Longbrake, Carly Olson, John Pantlind, Aemilia Scott, Amy Spiecken, *+Michael Patrick Thornton, and Kyle Zornes THE gif tED ENSEMBLE Corbett Baratta, Francesca Plantz, and Pat Weber T H E G I F T ’ S B OA R D O F D I R E C TO R S George Karzas (Chairman), Paul Botts (T), John Brahm (S), +Brittany Burch, Laura Gale, Shanna Karamaniolas +William Patrick Nedved, Lionel Rabb, Carrie Schloss, *+^Michael Patrick Thornton, Rita Thornton, Michael Valenti, and Shannon Wallace *Member Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers +Indicates Gift Ensemble Member ^Indicates Natural Gas Ensemble Member “Acting is a particularly thankless art. It dies with the actor. Nothing survives him but the reviews, which do not usually do him justice anyway, whether he is good or bad. So the only source of satisfaction left to him is the audience’s reactions . . . The actor, in this special process of discipline and self-sacrifice, selfpenetration and molding, is not afraid to go beyond all normally acceptable limits... The actor makes a total gift of himself.” -Jerzy Grotowski, Towards A Poor Theatre THINNER THAN WATER
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BIOGR APHIES Brittany Burch (Cassie) is extremely proud to be an ensemble member here at the Gift Theatre where she has also been seen in Oh, the Humanity and other exclamations; Absolute Hell; Northwest Highway; and The Lonesome West. Other Chicago credits include Annie Bosh Is Missing (Steppenwolf Theatre First Look); Shadow Over Innsmouth, Carmilla (WildClaw Theatre); Reverb (Redtwist Theatre); Ask Aunt Susan (Goodman Theatre New Stages Amplified); Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth (Lakeside Shakespeare Theatre). Additional credits include Black Comedy (Perseverance Theatre); House and Garden (Artists Repertory Theatre); Trip to Bountiful, Biloxi Blues, Uncommon Women and Others (Profile Theatre). Brittany is a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf. Thanks to her family for their love and support. Paul D’Addario (Mark) is an ensemble member and Associate Artistic Director of The Gift. As an actor for The Gift, Paul has appeared in over twenty shows. Favorite roles include Seth in The Language of Angels, Peter in The Pavilion (directed by John Gawlik), Eddie in Hurlyburly (Non-Equity Jeff Award-Actor in a Leading Role) and Terry in Andrew Hinderaker’s Dirty. Later this season Paul will be seen in Laura Marks’ Bethany. He has additionally worked at Steppenwolf, Griffin and Next Theatre. He is a graduate of the 2001 School at Steppenwolf and continues to study with Mary Ann Thebus. Gabriel Franken (Benjy) is an ensemble member of The Gift Theatre and has been grateful to be on stage for five shows since 2011. He moved to Chicago from Seattle to attend The School at Steppenwolf. He has taught, acted and 4
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improvised all over the US as well as in Canada, Japan, Ethiopia and on a ship that circumnavigated the globe. He has enjoyed working with The Building Stage, Griffin, Chicago Dramatists, Pavement Group, ExPats and New Leaf. See him next in Othello here at The Gift. He is represented by Grossman and Jack Talent. Much love WP10. Donna McGough (Gwen) was last seen in Coriolanus with The Hypocrites, where she is a proud company member. She returns to The Gift after last appearing in their fantastic production of Absolute Hell, where she first met many of her current talented cast mates. Other Chicago credits include The Time of Your Life (Steppenwolf ); *Death of a Salesman, *Happy Days, Angels in America and The Glass Menagerie (The Hypocrites); American Storm (Theatre Seven); The Hostage (Griffin Theatre); The Rimers of Eldritch and Frame 312 (Eclipse); The Seagull (TimeLine); Six Degrees of Separation, An Enemy of the People, and The Time of Your Life (Raven Theatre); *The Freedom of the City (Mary Arrchie Theatre). Donna is a three-time Joseph Jefferson recipient for *Actress in a Principal Role. Darci Nalepa (Angela) is excited to return to The Gift and to work with this amazing group of people. She was previously seen at The Gift in Dirty. Other Chicago credits include: Northanger Abbey (Remy Bumppo); The Drunken City (Steppenwolf Theatre); Flare Path, Company (Griffin Theatre); Love and Money (Steep Theatre); Snapshots (u/s Northlight Theatre); Reasons to Be Pretty (Profiles Theatre, Jeff Award nomination); and The Ring Cycle (The Building Stage). Darci has also appeared as an entertainment anchor for The Onion News Network. She is a graduate of The School at Steppenwolf and proudly works as an instructor at Black Box Acting.
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Lynda Newton (Renee) is another proud founding member of The Gift ensemble. She has appeared in The Gift productions of Absolute Hell; TEN.2012; Summer People; 365 Days/365 Plays: Week 2; Beauty Queen of Leenane; The Pavilion; Language of Angels; County Fair; Orestes 2.0; Alcatraz (Abbie Hoffman Festival); and Boy‘s Life. Other Chicago productions include: Griffin Theatre in Fifth of July, Theatrical Essays (u/s with performance) at Steppenwolf, and Glory of Living at Profiles. Before moving to Chicago Lynda worked as an instructor at The Actor’s Workshop in Boston and did plays there. She also did plays in Salem and some Beckett at Harvard Radcliffe Summer Theater. Studies include: School of Steppenwolf 2001, UMASS Amherst, and Mary Ann Thebus at The Artistic Home. Lynda is from Massachusetts, but a large piece of her heart stays at 4802 N. Milwaukee. Michael Patrick Thornton (Gary) is the artistic director/cofounder of The Gift Theatre. Michael was most recently seen onstage in Our Town at Actors Theatre of Louisville and here at The Gift in ensemble member Andrew Hinderaker’s JeffNominated Dirty. A Joseph Jefferson Awardwinning actor, Michael was honored with a Jeff Nomination for his performance in The Gift’s World Premiere of Hinderaker’s Suicide, Incorporated. Other acting at The Gift: Will Eno’s Brief Study of an Endless Thing and David Rabe’s It’s Just The Moon (TEN: 2013, 2012) Dirty, Absolute Hell, The Ruby Sunrise, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, The Good Thief (Joseph Jefferson Award—Solo Performance, directed by Gift ensemble member John Gawlik) and Boys’ Life. Elsewhere: Colossal (Kennedy Center/UT-Austin Cohen Fest); Will Eno’s Middletown (Steppenwolf); The Elephant Man (Steppenwolf); Cherry Docs (Next); A Skull in Connemara (Northlight); The Day Maggie Blew Off Her Head (Serendipity); Romeo and Juliet
and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Ivanhoe); Flanagan’s Wake! (Noble Fool) and Zoo Story. Michael has directed over a dozen productions with The Gift, many of them premieres. Elsewhere, Michael directed Of Mice and Men (Steppenwolf); Sean Graney’s IS N UR B1UDS7REEM…and Mark Harvey Levine’s LA 8AM (Collaboraction); Picasso At The Lapin Agile (Noble Fool); and was a very grateful assistant director on Steppenwolf’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning August: Osage County. As an improviser, Michael is a proud member of Natural Gas and regularly plays with Susan Messing in Messing With A Friend / Thornton & Messing (The Annoyance, Steppenwolf, TBS Just For Laughs). Two-person improv sets: with Kyle Zornes in Thornes; Kirby O’Connell in Mike And Kirby: No Suggestioms, Please; and Jillian Burfete in Thornton & Burfete at The Second City. Michael’s two person improv show You & Me was most recently seen at Actors Theatre of Louisville and runs at The Den. Awards/ distinctions: Tree of Life Award: Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago; Chicago Finalist: National Shakespeare Contest (Mitzi-Newhouse Theatre, Lincoln Center); 3Arts Artist Award; Northlight Theatre’s Jack Springer Award for Outstanding Performance; The Tim Meier & Helen Coburn Meier Foundation Achievement Award; The Second City Foundation’s Jim Zulevic Chicago Arts Award; The Joseph Jefferson Award for Solo Performance; and induction into The St. Patrick High School Hall of Fame. TV/Film: Dr. Gabriel Fife on ABC’s Private Practice, FOX’s The Chicago Code, Ron Howard’s The Dilemma.
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He lives blissfully in Jeff Park with his wife, performance artist Lindsey Barlag Thornton.
she is currently commissioned. (-- from the Manhattan Theatre Club website)
Jay Worthington (Henry), as an extremely proud ensemble member of The Gift, has appeared in a slew of Gift productions. Gift credits include: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the world premiere of Suicide, Incorporated, Night and Her Stars, Cloud 9, Absolute Hell, and Vigils. Jay assistant directed The Gift’s Chicago premiere of Will Eno’s Oh, The Humanity (and other exclamations). Jay also directed the GiftED ensemble in The Reformationists for TEN.2013, and most recently directed the world premiere of David Rabe’s Good for Otto for TEN.2014. Jay will also be appearing in the Gift’s upcoming summer production of Othello. When not acting, Jay can be found teaching around the city. Jay teaches for GiftED, Emerald City Theatre, and has co-taught at The School at Steppenwolf. Thinner Than Water has been a blessing to work on; it’s been a nightly fiery healing ritual. Eternal thanks to the incredible cast and crew, to my Gift family, and my extended family, for all the love and support. Thanks and gratitude to all those in attendance. Thank you for coming closer, you are The Gift, without you none of this would be possible.
John Gawlik (Director) has appeared with or helmed productions for many Chicagoland companies. Recent projects include directing the Chicago Premiere of When the Rain Stops Falling at Circle Theater (Jeff Award for Director and Production) and performing in Broadsword at The Gift Theatre. Favorite acting credits include: Bill Sykes in Oliver at Drury Lane, Blizzard ‘67 with Chicago Dramatists, The Lonesome West and Beauty Queen of Leenane with The Gift Theatre, A Skull in Connemara at Northlight (After Dark Award, Ensemble) and The Great Society with Famous Door. Additional directing credits include The Ruby Sunrise which was named one of the Top Ten shows of the year by TimeOut Chicago Magazine and the Jeff Nominated production of W;t and the Jeff Award winning The Good Thief for The Gift Theatre.
Melissa Ross (Playwright) is a graduate of Bennington College, was a Lila Acheson Wallace Playwriting Fellow at The Juilliard School, a two-time recipient of the Le Comte Du Nuoy Award, and a proud member of LAByrinth Theater Company. Ms. Ross’ plays include Crazy Little Thing, For Dear Life, Thinner Than Water, A Life Extra Ordinary, Do Something Pretty, and You are Here. Thinner Than Water was produced by LAByrinth Theater Company at the Cherry Pit Theatre in the winter of 2010 and will be published by Smith and Kraus in New Playwrights: Best Plays of 2011. Melissa has received readings and workshops at the Cherry Lane Theatre, the Juilliard School, LAByrinth Theater Company, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, and South Coast Repertory, where 6
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Joe Schermoly (Scenic Designer) is making his Gift Theatre debut with this great team and cast. Joe is a Griffin Theatre company member where he has designed and built sets for many shows including Spelling Bee, Flare Path, Punk Rock, No More Dead Dogs, Port, and The Constant Wife. Elsewhere in Chicago Joe’s set design work has been seen at Theatre Wit (Completeness); Lifeline Theatre (Tale of Two Cities, The Count of Monte Cristo, The City and The City); Sideshow Theatre (Idomeneus, The Ugly One); Strawdog Theatre (Duchess of Malfi, Master and Margarita, Richard III); Eclipse (Beyond the Horizon, The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek) and more. Joe studied set design at Northwestern University and is the Technical Director at Lifeline Theatre. He has received two After Dark Awards and two Jeff Nominations. See more of his work at www.joeschermoly.com Michael Stanfill (Lighting Designer / Projections Designer) is pleased to be returning to The Gift. He holds a BFA in Theater Design from Southern Oregon University and an MFA in Lighting Design from Northwestern University. Favorite Lighting Designs include The Glass Menagerie, Closer, Amadeus (ArtAttack Theater
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Ensemble); Forever Plaid, Five Guys Named Moe (Oregon Cabaret Theater); Becky Shaw, The Mandrake (A Red Orchid); State of the Union (Strawdog Theater Co.); Sunset Blvd., Working: The Musical, Footloose, Cabaret (Timber Lake Playhouse); The Christmas Miracle of Johnathan Toomey (Provision); Re-Spiced: A Silk Road Cabaret (Silk Road Rising); Dirty (The Gift); QED (Collaboraction); Hotel Cassiopeia, The Liar (Wheaton College). He was recently nominated for a Jeff Award for his projection design for Completeness (Theater Wit). Video/Projection Designs around the region include: The Normal Heart (TimeLine Theater); Hotel Cassiopeia (Wheaton College); Pool (no water) (Vitalist Theater); One Name Only (Black Ensemble Theater); Sunset Blvd., Children of Eden (Timber Lake Playhouse); The Gingerbread House (Red Tape); The Life and Times of Tulsa Lovechild (Roosevelt University); Enola, The Promise (Side Project). Please visit: www.michaelstanfilldesign.com Kate Murphy (Costume Designer) most recently costumed The Trip to Bountiful and Bang the Drum Slowly at Raven Theatre. Her work at The Gift includes The War of the Worlds; Oh, the Humanity and other exclamations; and Absolute Hell for which she garnered a Jeff Award Nomination; and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. She is a freelance costume designer and the Warehouse Manager for Behind the Ruby, an Oak Park vintage wholesaler. Peter Storms (Sound Designer and Original Music) is happy to be working with The Gift Theatre for the first time and to get another chance to collaborate with Mr. Gawlik. An active composer and musician, Peter is also the resident sound designer for Silk Road Rising, for whose Scorched he received a Joseph Jefferson Equity Award for Outstanding Sound Design. Peter has worked with Circle, Noble Fool Theatricals, Theatre Building Chicago, Raven, and TimeLine, among others. He serves as the accompanist for Unity Temple in Oak Park, is the touring keyboardist for Michael Londra and Beyond Celtic, and spends his days developing software. Special thanks to Juliana for her continued love and support. www.peterstorms.com
Sarah Luse (Stage Manager) is thrilled to once again be back here at The Gift and working with such a wonderful cast and crew. Some favorite past Gift credits include War of the Worlds, Lonesome West, W;t, Ruby Sunrise, and Night and Her Stars. Other recent Chicago work includes Completeness, Thom Pain (based on nothing), and Mythical Proportions (Theater Wit), and Bonhoeffer’s Cost (Provision). Sarah also dabbles in production management. Some memorable experiences include The Dead Prince and The Spirit Play (Strange Tree), Ghostbox (InFusion), and Fifth of July, Grapes of Wrath, and Escape From Happiness (Infamous Commonwealth). Sarah is also an artistic associate of Strange Tree Group. David Preis (Technical Director) has contributed his woodworking, general handyman, and all around technical expertise to The Gift since 2002, becoming Technical Director in 2006. He has worked as a luthier for over 30 years – making cellos and basses for Englehardt-Link based in Elk Grove Village. David studied theatre and design at Illinois Wesleyan and has worked as the sound engineer for “The Night Crawlers,” a Chicago area blues band. Throughout the years, he has designed, built, and/or coordinated lighting, set, and sound for a number of Chicago area productions including critically acclaimed productions of Tango and Josephine, The Mouse Singer both at Chicago Actors Ensemble, Brick/ Walls Open Spaces for Shakti Dance Company, Crying Woolf at Zebra Crossing Theatre, and Light Up the Sky at Gurnee Theatre Company.
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T H A N K S F O R G I V I N G U S A H A N D I N M O R E WA Y S T H A N O N E ! The Gift Theatre is appreciative of the support we need and receive. We humbly thank the benefactors below for their support. This list reflects gifts made from January 1, 2012 thru March 11, 2014. A special thanks goes out to our 2014 Season Subscribers - we couldn’t do it without you! Every effort is made to ensure that the information included in our program is correct. If you have a question or wish to revise your listing in any way, please call 773-283-7071. Chairman’s Cup 2013 George Karzas - Gift Chairman Rabb Family Foundation Douglas Brown Demetrios Kozonis Coyle Family Foundation Scott George Roger & Rita Manka $75,000 - $100,000 Anonymous $10,000 - $25,000 The Alphawood Foundation The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation $5,000 - $9,999 Douglas Brown & Rachel Kraft The Gale Street Inn The Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation Rabb Family Foundation Frank & Rita Thornton Mike & Tina Valenti $3,000 - $4,999 Ryan J. Christoi Ronald A. Greene Memorial Fund $1,000 - $2,999 A. Saccone & Sons Paul Botts & Heather McCowan John & Gina Brahm Brian & Geraldine Donaldson Ed & Laura Gale Maureen Gawlik Shanna Karamaniolas Gary & Elizabeth Potts Carrie Schloss Carla Scott Greg & Anne Taubeneck Family Fund at The Chicago Community Trust TCF Bank Shannon & Marc Wallace Terry & Kathy Xaverius $100 - $999 Fischman Liquors & Tavern – Natural Gas Sponsor Fred & Diane Atwill Peggy Bagley Kimberly Baratta Robert & Delores Barber Roland Batten Gary & Judy Becker Susan Bowen Susan Brown 8
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Brian Buchanan Karen Callaway Marc & Cheryl Carl Thomas Carroll Mike & Diane Christoi Dan & Carol Cyganowski Catherine Dunlap Henry & Hele Dwyer Anne Egan George & Lucia Economos Stephen Edfors Tim & Mary Erdmann Larry Fisher & Steve Weiland Mark Fitzgerald Nancy Franken Paul & Kathy Galvin Larry & Pearl Greenstein Greg George Gerald & Colleen Greenwood Marj Halperin & Alan Robinson Steve & Lucretia Hardy Larry & Judy Hicks Paul & Kathy Hinderaker Gregory & Janna Holmes Matthew & Sharon Johnston Mark Hudson BJ & Candace Jones Jeffrey Jones Keith & Katherine Kemp Molly King Jeff & Linda Kroll Brian & Kathleen Laffey Bruce & Mary Leep Linda Legner Ted & Maureen Lucore Kathy Makuh Guy Massey Natasha Matza Karen Moloney Morris & Helen Messing Foundation Nancy McDaniel Dan & Cathy McHugh Eric & Jennifer Meyers Patrick & Marietta Mullane Michael Muryn William Nedved Roy & Janis Olausson Norman Patinkin Paul & Gayle Plantz Robert Rizzo Justin Roberts Neal & Denise Robinson Joshua Rollins Tom & Gerrie Ryan Rosa M. Schloss Randy & Vicki Sellers Christa-Marie Singleton Joe & Connal Small
Dr. Joanne & Rory Smith Wendy Stetson Randolph & Barbara Thomas Cecilia Tynus Mike Villannueva Edgar Waenke & William Walker Al & Lorraine Weber Patrick & Kim Weber James Yost James & Ellen Zornes $1 - $99 Elynne Chaplik Aleskow Patricia Barrow Judith Bishop Suzanne Brown Victor Cassidy Lois Cichowski Paul D’Addario Phillip Dawkins Maureen Eisenberg Angela Franco Jesse Gomez Timothy Hughes Allen Kodish Brian & Kathleen Laffey Ron & Jane Larsen Robert Lichtenbert Kathy Makuh Keith Neagle Sheila O’Connor Edward & Margaret O’Farrell Colleen O’Malley Ronald & Karen Payne Michael Petersen Joan Porat Beth Quigley Betty Quigley Marianne Quinn Hedwig Schellbach Justine Serino Eva Skowronski Mary Smyth Donna Thorman Anne Volz Jeffrey Winter Maria Winter Mary Winter Denise Wojcik Alan Zunamon In-Kind Donald Elmi Gannon Graphics Ben Hendren Kate Murphy The Gift Ensemble