AMERICAN GIRL’S FUND FOR CHILDREN FAMILY SERIES
Snowflake Written, Directed and Performed by: Gale LaJoye Music Composed and Recorded by: Victor Zupanc Light Design: Rebecca Fuller Jensen Stage Manager: Rob Shirlin
SAT, JAN 11, 2014 | Capitol Theater This program is part of Overture’s OnStage Series for K-12 students and Overture’s Community Ticket Program. Overture’s OnStage Series is sponsored by the American Girl’s Fund for Children. Additional funding provided by the Courtier Foundation, Kuehn Family Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Inc., the charitable arm of The Capital Times and by contributions to Overture Center for the Arts. Funding for the Community Ticket Program is provided by Dane County, the Kuehn Family Foundation and by contributions to Overture Center for the Arts. Learn how you can help make arts experiences real for hundreds of thousands of people in the greater Madison area at overturecenter.com/contribute. Snowflake | Overture Center
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Follow your
inner star
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American Girl’s Fund for Children is proud to sponsor the Family Series at Overture.
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Overture Center | Snowflake
A MESSAGE FROM GALE LAJOYE Snowflake is loosely based on a character from my hometown of Marquette Michigan. Don Stenglein, known to most of us as ‘Snowflake’, died on January 22, 1991. The production is not a story of his life but a tribute to his spirit. Some people misunderstood Don, but for those of us who took the time to get to know him, we’ll always have a story to tell, and when we do it’s with a smile. He was an honest, unselfish and compassionate person who was unhampered by society’s trappings. He was a giver, not of material things, but of himself. When ‘Snowflake’ looked at me with that child-like, impish smile, he touched my heart. I wanted to create the character ‘Snowflake’ based on Don because he possessed qualities that often get overlooked. Blessed with innocence, he had access to a deep intuitive truth that became his special providence. No one knows for sure how Don got his name. It may be because he was unique. Just as each snowflake has its own individual pattern, Don also had his sole, individual character. Perhaps Snowflake will inspire you – as he did me – to use your imagination to see life more fully.
Working together for a healthy community
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BIOGRAPHIES Gale LaJoye grew up and lives in Marquette, Michigan. It is here that LaJoye began and continues to study how people respond to situations and each other. Over time, LaJoye has learned how to integrate his observations into funny and poignant stories without words – stories that turn sorrow into joy and inspire us to embrace life.
In 1979 fate dealt Gale LaJoye a crushing blow. After a car accident, his doctors advised him he would “never walk again.” Driven to be a performer, LaJoye immediately began rebuilding his body and using humor to heal his mind and soul.
LaJoye has worked to make a difference in the lives of others his entire life. In college he enrolled in Pre-Law. When required to take a humanities or theatre’s course, LaJoye chose theater and he discovered how plays can change people’s lives. His initial dramatic roles were in Chekov’s Three Sisters and as the lead, Randle McMurphy, in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
After regaining his balance and the ability to perform physical stunts in the early 1980’s, LaJoye produced the critically acclaimed and much loved “Too Foolish for Words.” After touring this silent comedy around the globe, LaJoye set to work to produce Snowflake.
Early on, LaJoye developed a reputation for portraying complex characters - characters that rely on physical humor and non-verbal communication. After college, LaJoye attended the Valley Studio in Spring Green Wisconsin, where he studied mime, commedia dell’arte and the Japanese art of Kabuki. In 1973, LaJoye ran off to Florida to be with the greatest show on earth – Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. While with the circus, he mastered the art of gesture, silent communication, and poignant short story telling. Within four years, LaJoye became “Boss Clown” – one of the highest honors in the circus tradition.
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Overture Center | Snowflake
Today, you would never imagine LaJoye was once paralyzed.
After premiering Snowflake in 1990, LaJoye embarked on a global tour. LaJoye’s Snowflake has toured throughout Asia, Australia, Mexico, Canada Scotland, Ireland and the United States. Hailed by critics and audiences alike as “a must see,” LaJoye has performed Snowflake thousands of times. In Japan alone he toured Snowflake to 300 cities. When not on tour with Snowflake, LaJoye is developing his next tour de force. His next production is slated to premiere after this Encore Tour of Snowflake ends. Like no other, Gale LaJoye weaves different schools of theater into funny and poignant stories that help adults and children turn sorrow into joy.
BIOGRAPHIES cont. Rebecca Fuller Jensen – Lighting Design Rebecca Fuller Jensen is a lighting designer based in Minneapolis. She has designed lights for many productions at Children’s Theatre Company including Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat, Pippi Longstocking, A Wrinkle in Time, Romeo and Juliet, and Robin Hood. Her recent works also include Momentum Dance at the Southern Theatre and the Ernesto Neto exhibit at Walker Art Center. Rebecca received her M.F.A. in Design and Technical Theatre from the University of Minnesota. She is currently the Lighting, Sound and Video Director at Children’s Theatre Company. In her spare time, Rebecca enjoys sailing, gardening and spending time with her husband, Maury and their dog, Maddie Victor Zupanc – Music After entering the Royal Conservatory of Music in Canada at age 6, Victor Zupanc received his Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Victoria, British Colombia, and earned his Master’s in Music Composition at the University of California at San Diego. Zupanc has been involved in more than 150 productions as composer, musical director, sound designer and performer. He has held the position of resident Composer/Music Director since 1989 at the world-renowned Children’s Theater Company of Minneapolis. Artists that Zupanc has worked with include Des McAnuff, Robert Woodruff, Ann Bogart, Stephen Sondheim, Randy Newman and David Byme. Zupanc is a two-time recipient of The Theater Critics Circle Award for his theater scores (A man’s A Man, director Robert Woodruff; Nineteen Fifty One, director Ann Bogart) and was twice awarded a Hollywood Drama Logue Award for his work, most notably for the acclaimed New York production of Romulus Linney’s Holy Ghost!. He has been honored with numerous grants and awards from foundations, including McKnight, Otto Bremer, Jerome and Fullbright. He currently holds the position Composer-in-Residence with the internationally acclaimed a cappella vocal group The Rose Ensemble.
Rob Shirlin – Stage Manager Rob has extensive experience in all aspects of theatrical production, including acting, stage make-up, set construction, technical theatre, directing, stage combat and stage management. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Theatre / Broadcast Communications from Northern Michigan University. Rob has a passion for theater education and expertise in working with at risk youth and children with special needs. He has worked with the Youth Theatre Program at the Marquette Arts and Culture Center and for the past four years, Rob has been the Director of Lake Superior Theatre’s Drama & Dreams Playscape Camp, a summer performance program focusing on youth with special needs. In addition, he is one of the founding members of Acting Out Theatre Troupe, an improvisational theater troupe which uses performing arts as an outreach tool to educate kids, raise awareness of important issues, and cultivate the development of coping skills among area youth. Rob currently lives in Marquette and serves on the First Nighters Club Advisory Board, a booster organization for the Forest Roberts Theatre at Northern Michigan University. When not on tour with Snowflake he is employed at Pathways Community Mental Health where he works one-on-one with individuals with developmental disabilities on life skills and life enrichment activities.
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Photo Š Todd Rosenberg Photography
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Overture Center for the Arts thanks the following supporters for their generosity and partnership. PUBLIC SUPPORT
The City of Madison LEGACY SPONSORS
Dianne Christensen
LOCAL LEGENDS
Kelly Family Foundation
HISTORIC SPONSOR – $100,000
American Girl’s Fund for Children $20,000 – $99,999
CUNA Mutual Foundation Exact Sciences Madison Community Foundation Arts Access ProVideo UW Health & Unity Health Insurance $15,000 – $19,999
Bell Laboratories Food Fight, Inc. Full Compass Systems, LTD SVA Certified Public Accountants & SVA Plumb Financial $10,000 – $14,999
Capital Newspapers, Inc. Kuehn Family Foundation Madison Investment Advisors Robert W. Baird & Co. University Research Park Webcrafters – Frautschi Foundation WISC-TV $5,000 – $9,999
Alliant Energy Foundation Courtier Foundation Custer Financial Services Dane Arts
Dane County Diego’s Mexican Bistro & Icon Restaurants Evjue Foundation General Beverage Sales Company Goodman’s Jewelers John A. Johnson Fund Musicnotes.com Outrider Foundation The Madison Concourse Hotel Pepsi Cola of Madison Promega Corporation ScheduleSoft SupraNet Communications Trek Bicycle Corporation $1,000 – $4,999
Arts Midwest Axley Brynelson, LLP Badger Bimmer ChapterBMW Car Club of America BMO Harris Bank Fresco Rooftop Restaurant & Lounge Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier Kerkman Dunn Sweet DeMarb Ian’s Pizza Kilwins National Guardian Life Insurance Company New England Foundation for the Arts Preferred Title TDS Telecom Service Corporation Wilson Foundation Wisconsin Bank & Trust
Snowflake | Overture Center 7 List current as of 10.7.13
PATRON SERVICES AND INFORMATION
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Your enjoyment is important to us. Please contact an usher or the ticket office if you have any concerns about your experience here. ORDERING & INFORMATION Order online! overturecenter.com Phone orders: Call 608.258.4141 Mail or fax: online order form at overturecenter.com or in our magazine. Buy in person: Visit the ticket office located on the main floor just off the Rotunda Lobby. Ticket office hours: Mon–Fri, 11 am–5:30 pm; Sat, 11 am–2 pm; open additional hours evenings and Sundays on days of ticketed performances. Group orders: Groups of 10 or more receive a discount on most performances. Call 608.258.4159 to make reservations.
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RESIDENT ORGANIZATIONS Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society bachdancinganddynamite.org | 608.255.9866 Children’s Theater of Madison ctmtheater.org | 608.255.2080
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Li Chiao-Ping Dance lichiaopingdance.org | 608.835.6590
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Overture Center | Snowflake
Kanopy Dance Company kanopydance.org | 608.255.2211
Madison Ballet madisonballet.org | 608.278.7990 Madison Opera madisonopera.org |608.238.8085 Madison Symphony Orchestra madisonsymphony.org | 608.257.3734 Wisconsin Academy’s James Watrous Gallery wisconsinacademy.org | 608.265.2500 Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra wcoconcerts.org | 608.257.0638