In Pigeon House-Seanachai

Presents The World Premiere of

In Pigeon House By Honor Molloy Directed by Brian Shaw

Co-Artistic Directors

Executive Director

Production Stage Manager

Stage Manager

Original Music Composition

Scenic and Props Design

Props Master

Lighting Design

Pianist and Musical Consultant Sound Design and Engineering

Costume Design

Dialect Design

Vocal Coach

Video Design

Dramaturg

Graphic Design

Sarah Wellington+ and Michael Grant+* Dane Bolinger Erin Diener+* Anna Lafontant Paul Loesel Patrick McGee Ashley Irons Garvin Jellison Andrew Blendermann Ian Garrett Beth Laske-Miller Susan Gosdick Andra Velis Simon Mark Comiskey Jeri Frederickson+ Ian Miller

This program is partially supported by grants from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, the City Arts I Program of the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Richard H. Dreihaus Foundation, and the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation. *Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association +Denotes member of Seanachaí Theatre Company In Pigeon House

1

CAST

in order of appearance

Rasher................................................................................................................................................ Ira Amyx+ Dolly.................................................................................................................................Katherine Schwartz Masher..................................................................................................................................Barbara Figgins+ Basher.....................................................................................................................................John Mossman* The play will be performed with one ten-minute intermission.

T H E S E A N AC H A Í E N S E M B L E Ira Amyx, Brad Armacost*, Jeff Christian*, Erin Diener*, Jeff Duhigg, Barbara Figgins, Jacquelyn Flaherty, Jeri Frederickson, Coburn Goss*, Michael Grant*, Robert Kauzlaric, Shane Kenyon, Carolyn Klein, Mary Rose O’Connor, Anne Sunseri, Kevin Theis*, Dan Waller* and Sarah Wellington S E A N AC H A Í W E S T Mac Brandt, Thomas Vincent Kelly, Ann Noble, Catherine O’Connor and Andrew Turner S E A N AC H A Í E N S E M B L E E M E R I T U S Dan Michel

2

Seanachaí Theatre Company

T H E S E A N AC H A Í B OA R D O F D I R E C TO R S Amie Marks (President), Marlena Ascher, Jack Blakey, Michael Cox, Michael Grant, Sam Harrod and Leslie Spiller SPECIAL THANKS Honor Molloy, Mike Nussbaum, Ora Jones, Noel Rice and the Academy of Irish Music, John Halliburton, all the folks at The Den Theatre, Cyd Smillie, John and Jill Arena, the Office of the Alderman John Arena, the Old Irving Park Association, Julie Pope, Kurt Pickleman, Lloyd’s Chicago, Catch 35, Stuart Ritter, Jim Hoban and the Four Corners Tavern Group, The Artistic Home, Joe Schermoly, Mikolai Lasczewski, Ian Miller, Jackie Jasperson, Mrs. Murphy & Son’s Irish Bistro, The Copernicus Center, Shokran restaurant, the Gale Street Inn, Hot Woks Cool Sushi, Sabatino’s restaurant, Poretta’s restaurant, Eli’s Cheesecake, Smoque, Alibi Fine Art, Adam Holtzman, Erika Cespedes Photography and Design, Heather and John Aitken, George and Pat Clark, Paul Robertson, Sarah Steedman, Prisana Saengduan, Maria Martinez, Laura Marie Sanchez, Danny Fogarty, Donny Smutz, T.J. Hine, Bobbie Bolociuch, Judith Querciagrossa, Andi Steinberg, John Grant, Lynne Jordan, The Shivers, Columbia College Theatre Department, Stephanie Spencer, Nicholas and Linus Shaw, Joe Cerqua, Columbia College Music Department, Joe Szaday, Peter McDermott, Susi Kennedy, Stephanie Arnett, Karen Anderson, Sam Martorina, A 2 B Rentals, Jay Neander, Dan Dreesen, Scott Coleman, Propabilities, Vince Cook, Jack Callahan, Bill Rogers, Walt & Fran Sunseri, John & Dawn Palmer, Al Wyatt, Jetpack Advertising, Utopic, Jim Hoffman, the City Arts Program and the City of Chicago, the Illinois Arts Council, the Driehaus Foundation, Charles River Associates, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Kathy O’Neill, the staff of the Fifth Province pub and all those who supported us in our years at the Irish American Heritage Center. And to all those who have fit up a curtain and put on a show.

D I R E C TO R ’ S N O T E In Pigeon House dives into the world of performance like no other play I know. It bumps and grinds and deadpans its way through several generations of performers all built around the same basic ensemble of ingénue, soubrette, old leading man and young leading moron. As these generations replay a cycle of relationships as human beings and fellow performers, the world around them begins to change. While performance conditions don’t really ‘improve,’ they are altered—and the cycle is eventually broken. What are we left with? The life of a performer is not an easy one. But it beats “washing bokkles” …and the costumes are terrific.

CAST Ira Amyx+ (Rasher) In Pigeon House marks Ira’s first performance as a Seanachaí Ensemble member, most recently performing the role of Noel in That Was Then, for which he received a Joseph Jefferson nomination (Supporting Actor). He co-designed Seanachaí’s spring production of A Moon For The Misbegotten,

(Jeff Nomination - Scenic Design). Ira can currently be seen on stage, on screen, in WildClaw Theater’s The Life of Death. He directed and co-produced the world premiere of Shakespeare’s King Phycus at The Building Stage in 2010 (winner of the Non-Equity Jeff Award - Best Ensemble).

He performed for five seasons at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival; other favorite credits include Chris in All My Sons, Vladimir in Waiting For Godot, Owen in Translations, In Pigeon House

3

CAST

c o n t.

and James Tyrone Jr. in A Moon For the Misbegotten. He holds a B.A. in Dramatic Writing and Acting from Boise State University and an M.F.A. in acting from Indiana University.

Barbara Figgins+ (Masher) became an ensemble member with Seanachaí in 2005 and has appeared in The Shadow of a Gunman, Dancing at Lughnasa, Our Father, Scenes From the Big Picture, War and Bold Girls. Most recently, she appeared as The Duchess of York in Richard III at Oak Park Festival Theatre and is also known for strutting her stuff as Elfina in Rudolph the Red-Hosed Reindeer with Hell in a Handbag Productions. Other Chicago credits include the Jeff Awarding winning production of The History Boys (Timeline), Cherrywood (Mary-Arrchie), Iphigenia at Aulis (Lights Out), Twelfth Night (City Lit), Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Taming of the Shrew, Julius Caesar (A Crew of Patches), What’s Wrong with Angry, Nine (Circle Theatre), Sin: A Cardinal Deposed, Southern Baptist Sissies (Bailiwick). Barbara has also worked with Victory Gardens, Remy Bumppo, Next Theatre, Collaboraction, Provision, Backstage Theatre, Chicago Jewish Theatre, and Infamous Commonwealth. Regionally, Barbara has worked with Kenley Players in Ohio, The MUNY in St. Louis and the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. Special thanks to the Darlin, Darlins and, as always, luv to Mum and Dad! John Mossman* (Basher) most recently appeared in the role of Colonel Teack in The March at Steppenwolf.

Other local credits include Mr. Antrobus in The Skin Of Our Teeth, the title roles in Modigliani and Peer Gynt (Jeff Nomination, Chicago Stage Talk Award), Al Manners in Trouble In Mind, Alan Squire in 4

Seanachaí Theatre Company

Petrified Forest, and Quentin in After The Fall, all at The Artistic Home, where he is associate artistic director. Regional credits include Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet at the Actors Theater of Louisville, A Walk In The Woods at Madison Rep, The Quick Change Room at Pacific Resident Theater in LA, and Macbeth and Two Gentlemen of Verona for Lakeside Shakespeare company. Other roles include Chicken in Kingdom of Earth, Dickon in The Scarecrow, Claudio in Measure for Measure, the title role in Tom Jones and the Gentleman Caller in The Glass Menagerie with Celeste Holm.

Television and film credits include, The Beast, JAG, Models Inc, Confessions, and the feature film Into The Wake. He recently directed the acclaimed Seanachaí revival of The Shadow Of A Gunman, as well as numerous productions for The Artistic Home, including Juno and the Paycock, Riders To The Sea, and Natural Affection.

John is also a filmmaker and is currently an instructor at The Artistic Home and the Columbia College film department.

Katherine Schwartz (Dolly) Katherine is thrilled to be joining the cast of In Pigeon House as Dolly in her Seanachaí Theatre debut! Most recently, Katherine could be seen performing with Shattered Globe Theatre in Orpheus Descending and with Factory Theater as the title character in The Gray Girl. Recent credits include The Women with Circle Theatre, The Book of Liz with Chemically Imbalanced Comedy, and Cherrywood with Mary-Arrchie Theatre. She has also performed with Navy Pier, Piper’s Alley, and around the city in various interactive theatre projects, staged readings and sketch shows. Katherine is a proud graduate of the Conservatory at Act One Studios and holds a B.A. in English Literature and Communication Studies from the University of Michigan. Many thanks to the talented cast, Seanachaí Theatre, and Brian Shaw for this amazing adventure.

401(k)s | Asset Management | Banking Services | Bonds Cash Management | College Planning | Estate Planning Financial Planning | Insurance & Annuities | IRAs | Money Market Funds Mutual Funds | Pension & Profit Sharing Plans | Research Retirement Planning | Stocks | Tax Planning | UITs Take your business and your personal life to the next level of success with total investment and retirement plans. As a Raymond James Financial Advisor, I will Listen closely to your needs and provide personalized answers for which you’re looking – for both your business and your personal life. For more information about investment strategies and how I can serve your financial needs, call me today Amie E. Marks Registered Principal / Financial Advisor

PRODUCTION TEA M Honor Molloy (Playwright) Author of Maiden Voyages (with Bronagh Murphy), Madame Killer (with Diana Kane), Crackskull Row, Murphy and Kick, Ms. Molloy has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard. An alumna of New Dramatists, her plays have been produced in NYC by Clubbed Thumb, New Georges, the Public Theatre’s New Works, HERE, Sydney’s Mardi Gras Arts Festival and the Inisbofin Arts Festival. She has performed stories from her autobiographical novel Smarty Girl - Dublin Savage (GemmaMedia/Simon & Schuster Audio 2012) at Lincoln Center Outdoors (OurLand Festival), NYC’s Irish Arts Center, Barnes & Noble on the Upper East Side, Brooklyn Public Library and at the Dublin City Library and Archive.

Brian Shaw (Director) Brian is a founding member of the physical theater company Plasticene, with whom he created and performed original work for 17 years. He has directed plays by Maria Irene Fornes,

6

Seanachaí Theatre Company

Büchner, Ionesco, von Hörvath, Ping Chong, Aram Saroyan and Mac Wellman. Brian has performed with numerous theaters in Chicago, the Festival of the Americas in Montreal, the Hispanic Theater Festival in Miami, and the INFANT Festival in Serbia. He appeared off-Broadway at the Barrow Street Theatre in The Strangerer by Mickle Maher.

He has appeared in a number of independent films, including the leading role in The Defiled, an official selection of the 2010 Chicago International Film Festival. He was nominated for a 2012 Movie Maverick Award for his supporting role in the short film Birth of a White Boy. Brian is a Professor in the Theater Department at Columbia College, where he teaches acting, physical theater and theater history. He is the recipient of the 2003 Excellence in Teaching Award from Columbia College.

Erin Diener+* (Production Stage Manager) Erin is excited to be with the Pigeonz on this crazy ride. Previous stage managing credits with STC: A Moon for the Misbegotten,

PRODUCTION TEA M

c o n t.

That Was Then, Dancing at Lughnasa, Mojo Mickybo and ensemble member since April 2010. Other stage managing credits: Buffalo Theatre Ensemble - Shining City, Private Lives, The Mystery of Irma Vep and On Golden Pond; Chicago Shakespeare - The Emperor’s New Clothes; Lakeside Shakespeare - Henry V and Loves Labours Lost; Next Theatre Company The Overwhelming, Dying City and Well. Prior to joining Actor’s Equity in October of 2008, Erin, a well rounded member of the theatre industry, has taken on a variety of positions all over the city and with summer stock from box office to carpentry overhire and from house managing/concessions to assistant stage managing. She hopes you enjoy the show, thanks you for continuing to support live theatre and would like to thank all the crazy pigeonz in her life for all of their love and support - you know who you are!

Anna Lafontant (Stage Manager) Anna Lafontant is a recent graduate of Columbia College Chicago’s technical theater program. Most recently she has stage-managed the main stage show of National Pastime Theater’s Naked July Festival, References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot. Anna would like to note that she would be nowhere without the support of her friends and family as she ventures forth into the professional world of theater. She would especially like to thank her mother for helping fund her dreams and keeping the “starving” out of “starving artist.”

Paul Loesel (Original Music Composition) Paul’s songs, along with lyricist Scott Burkell, have been performed in such venues as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Birdland, and the Chicago Humanities Festival.

Their songs have been premiered by Kristin Chenoweth, Rebecca Luker, Marin Mazzie, Jason Danieley, Stephanie J. Block, Susan Egan, and Liz Callaway. Recordings of their songs appear on Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley’s album, Opposite You, Stephanie J. Block’s This Place I Know, and Rebecca Luker’s Greenwich Time, and their own CD, Sorta Love Songs (ShK-Boom Records). Their musical, Six of One, (Jonathan Larson Foundation Grant, ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop, CAP21 workshop, Philly Fringe Festival), re-titled The Extraordinary Ordinary, played the Clurman Theatre/

Theatre Row in NYC. Musical Revues include Love Songs and Other Crap (MAC Award nomination) and Sorta Love Songs (Birdland). Their new musical, Ella Minnow Pea, based on the popular novel by Mark Dunn, received a production at the University of Michigan and will receive an NYC workshop this fall. Paul also collaborated with Honor Molloy on Madame Killer. He is the recipient of the 2010 Theatre Hall Of Fame Burton Lane Award. For more information, visit www.scottandpaul.com.

Patrick McGee (Scenic and Props Designer) is a Chicago based artist and production designer for film and television. His recent credits include: Reds and Blues, a film by Clara Alcott; Just Like A Women, a film by Oscar nominated, Rachid Bouchareb; and the film projections for Wild Claw Theater’s production of Life of Death, an adaptation of a Clive Barker short story directed by Seanachaí ensemble member Carolyn Klein. He is a graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, and his sculptures and paintings have been shown throughout the US and Europe. He holds the honor, along with collaborator, Adelheid Mers, of being the only local artists permanently represented in Chicago’s Millennium Park. In his spare time he makes kites, which he flies in nearby Humboldt Park.

Ashley Irons (Props Master) graduated from Columbia College in 2011 with a Fine Arts Degree. She has been working in the film industry for 2 years making props and decorating sets. Her interests include making little creatures and taking her pet hedgehog, Peekul to the park.

Garvin Jellison (Lighting Designer) Garvin is a freelance lighting designer. He has worked around Chicago in different capacities with The Artistic Home, Honey Pot Performance, Seanachaí Theater Company, Lookingglass Theater Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, ProudKate Theater Project, Links Hall, Chicago Flamenco and the Joffrey Ballet. Most recently, Garvin designed a new piece titled Knowest Not for the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago.

Beth Laske-Miller (Costume Designer) Beth is thrilled to return for her fourth production In Pigeon House

7

PRODUCTION TEA M

c o n t.

with Seanachaí. She previously designed costumes for A Moon for the Misbegotten, The Shadow of a Gunman and That Was Then.

Other recent design credits include Take Her to See the Maco Lights at Prologue Theatre Co. and the short film boy.girl.drum, which will premiere at The Sundance Film Festival. Other favorites include the short film Citizen in the Temple for TenWing Films; Clue, A Funny Thing Happened… and Jekyll & Hyde for Greenroom Productions; Hercules, Pridelands, Fiddler on the Roof for Spotlight Youth Theatre. Beth received a BA in Costume/Fashion Design from Indiana University Bloomington and an MFA in Costume Design from CalArts.

Andrew Blendermann (Pianist and Musical Consultant) mostly hangs out in piano bars (as a performer, not as a barfly), where his repertoire spans over 1800 songs. He entertains regularly at several clubs in the Chicagoland area. He spent a decade banging on grand pianos at Howl at the Moon in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Cleveland. Andrew has also been involved in the theater: onstage (“L.M.” in Pump Boys & Dinettes - twice), offstage (music-directing Five Guys Named Moe at Drury Lane Evergreen Park), and in the orchestra pit. As a vocalist, Andrew has directed several a cappella groups and is currently singing with Chicago Voice Exchange, three-time winners of the Chicago Harmony Sweepstakes. Andrew also has produced the Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival (Chicago Regional) since 2001.

Ian Garrett (Sound Design and Engineer) Ian is pleased to be making his sound design debut in the great city of Chicago.

He has been active in technical theatre for the past ten years in his native St. Louis and in Chicago. Currently, he is finishing up his degree in audio arts and acoustics at Columbia College Chicago.

Susan Gosdick (Dialect Designer) As a dialect coach, Susan has worked with Light Opera Works (Camelot, Secret Garden, Brigadoon), Mystery Writers’ Festival (Panic, Chimneys),

8

Seanachaí Theatre Company

Berkshire Theatre Festival, and Fordham University, among others. As a performer: with Paramount Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook, Artists’ Ensemble, The Old Globe Theatre, Lincoln Center Institute, Ma-Yi Theatre, and The Shakespeare Project, and others. She also teaches voice and dialects at Columbia College Chicago.

Andra Velis Simon (Vocal Coach) Andra is a music director, vocal director, arranger and accompanist. In addition to serving as the Musical Director for the Theatre Department at Columbia College Chicago, she has had the pleasure of working with dozens of companies in and around town. Recent highlights include Camino Real and The Iceman Cometh with The Goodman Theatre, The Hundred Dresses and Goodnight Moon with Chicago Children’s Theatre, Violet with Bailiwick and Pirates of Penzance with The Hypocrites.

Mark Comiskey (Video Designer) Mark Comiskey has been producing, designing and performing theater and music on Chicago stages since 1989. From 1997-2012, he was an ensemble member of Plasticene, Chicago’s premiere physical theater ensemble. With a focus on original work, he has premiered over 100 productions with The Curious Theater Branch, Theatre Oobleck, Red Moon, the Neo Futurists, Collaboraction, Greasy Joan, Local Infinities, Maestro-matic, Bread & Puppet, Prop Theater and the Jellyeye Drum Ensemble. He is currently the Video Supervisor of Blue Man Group, Chicago.

Jeri Frederickson+ (Dramaturg) Jeri Frederickson is a proud member of Seanachaí’s ensemble and delighted to be working here again. Seanachaí credits: The Shadow of a Gunman, St. Nicholas, A Moon for the Misbegotten. Stage Management credits: Dr. Ruth, All the Way (BSC, East Coast), Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed (Lifeline), Romeo and Juliet (First Folio), The Landmark Project, Water Engine (Theatre Seven).