by PAUL AMANDES Producer/Artistic Director Mary Pat Sieck
Director Marti Lyons
Stage Manager Catherine Connelly
Technical Director/Sound Design Stevan Saliny
Scenic and Costume Design Izumi Inaba
Lighting Design/Assistant Technical Director Josh Prisching
Props Mistress Zena McCarty Paice
Master Electrician/Rigger Ethan Kwas Fight Choreographer Laura Korn
Open Door Repertory Company is partially funded by the Oak Park Area Arts Council, in partnership with the Villages of Oak Park, Forest Park and River Forest, and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
Open Door is a member of the League of Chicago Theatres and the Oak Park Convention and Visitors Bureau THANK YOU Fall, 2012 production commissioned by Open Door Repertory Company, Mary Pat Sieck, Artistic Director Original Draft developed through the Spring 2012 Deadline Workshop of Chicago Dramatist, Russ Tutterow, Artistic Director Open Door Repertory Company wishes to acknowledge and thank Full Sky Productions for their contribution to this production. Open Door Theater 902 S. Ridgeland • OP, 60304 www.opendoorrep.org 708.342.0810 Like us on FaceBook Small
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CAST
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GWYNNETH POWELL.................................................................................................JILL KARRENBROCK DOE MCCARTHY................................................................................................................ANNIE SLIVINSKI SIOBHANN O’SHAUGNHNESSY.......................................................................................... LAURA KORN ANASTASIA LAMBROPOULOS..........................................................................MEREDITH HOGELAND EDEN TROUTER......................................................................................................................... KONA BURKS CREW BOARD OPS.............................................................................................. PAUL KERWIN, STEVAN SALINY GRAPHIC ARTIST............................................................................................................. PHILIP CAMPBELL SET CONSTRUCTION/PAINTING.............................................................IZUMI INABA, PAUL KERWIN, ETHAN KWAS, GARY PAICE, JOSH PRISCHING, STEVAN SALINY SET TING TIME Early August, 2012; a Wednesday and Thursday PLACE Most of the action takes place in The Snug in the back of Pegeen Mike’s Pub & Restaurant in Chicago’s Loop. Other scenes take place in Anastasia’ car and various other locations. CAST BIOGR APHIES KONA N. BURKS (Eden Trouter) is excited to be working at Open Door Repertory. She is a recent graduate of The School at Steppenwolf. She received a BTA Award for Best Ensemble in 2011, for The Trip as well as a Black Excellence Award for Outstanding Actress in Theater at the November 2010 ceremony for her role in A Fool Such as I, both productions at ETA Creative Arts Foundation. Some of her other credits include: Intimate Apparel, The Tree that Grew Human, It Shoudda Been Me, Crumbs From the Table of Joy, The Skin of Our Teeth, Song of Nadifa, Levee James (Best Actress Nomination BTA Awards), A Raisin in the Sun, The Laramie Project (Best Supporting Actress at the Birmingham Festival Theatre nomination), Reminiscence, Shakespeare’s Armpits, and Flyin’ West. Kona is also a member of the 2
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Screen Actors Guild (SAG). Some of her credits include Abbott Laboratories, Old Navy, Playstation, Second City, Farmer’s Insurance, Cisco, DENTSPLY, Harris Bank, Mission Impossible 3, The Lake House, Less Than Perfect, House, Ghost Whisperer, Las Vegas, and ABC Football. She attended the University of Illinois at Urbana, and received her Bachelor of Arts degree, with a minor in Theater. She also attended the University of Illinois at Chicago, and received her Master of Education degree, with an endorsement in Theatre. MEREDITH HOGELAND (Anastasia Lambropoulos) is very happy to be a part of such a wonderful team for the production of Small! She studied theatre at the University of Northern Iowa, Circle in the Square Theatre School in New
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York and has her BA in Acting from Columbia College Chicago. Along with theatre, she writes and performs sketch comedy and solo performance. This past spring she appeared in Chicago Funny Women’s Festival and in The World Still Looks Bright to Me.. (Sort of), a Second City writing 6 production. Also, seen most recently as Denise Savage in the drama Savage in Limbo by John Patrick Shanley, directed by Jeff Chaney. Special thank you to Charlie and my parents. JILL KARRENBROCK (Gwynneth Powell) makes her Open Door Theatre debut. Chicago credits include THE Architect (Chicago Circle Players) and Iphigeneology (Neapolitans Theatre Company). She attended Columbia College Chicago, where she appeared in He Who Gets Slapped, The Mirachle Worker, The Winter’s Tale, and The Space Between. She would like to deeply thank her family and friends for their staggering amount of support.
LAURA KORN (Siobhann O’Shaughnessy) is so excited to be working at Open Door Repertory for the first time, on a new play with an all female cast! A graduate of the B.F.A acting program at Columbia College Chicago, Laura has also worked with Collaboraction, Fox Valley Repertory, The Factory Theater and City Lit Theater. Want to see more of Laura? You can catch her around town doing more original work with her theater company, enSolo. Check out her web site at: www.LauraKorn.com. Thanks to the family and Joel for all of your loving support. This one’s for Grandma Carol. ANNIE SLIVINSKI (Doe McCarthy) is excited to be working with Open Door once again where she directed ART and EMMA’s CHILD and acted in SPINNING INTO BUTTER. Annie is also thrilled to be working with Paul Amandes again who directed her in LOVERS so many years ago. Annie has worked with numerous theatre companies in Chicago, including Mortar Theatre, TheatreSeven, Collaboraction, and Remy Bumppo. She advises the Studio 200 Student Directing program at Oak Park and River Forest High School.
CREW BIOGR APHIES PAUL AMANDES (Playwright) is a Chicagobased playwright-songwriter-lyricist-actordirector. SMALL is his first script produced by Open Door Repertory Theatre but he has twice directed for Open Door Rep: LOVERS (2004) and GLENGARY GLEN ROSS (2003). He performed with renowned singer/actress, Anne Hills, in his play with songs, LOCAL WONDERS, (co-written with Virginia Smith) at Chicago Dramatists in 2010-11 (produced by Full Sky Productions). They then reprised
the production for the Nebraska Repertory Theatre in 2011 and are featured on the cast album: www.localwondersmusical.com. His play,TROUBLE SHOOT (originally a one-act for Jackalope Theater ‘s Living Newspaper Festival) was commissioned by Theatre Non Nobis of Indianapolis where it ran in 2011. He wrote the book, music and lyrics for TWO-FOOLS GOLD, a western romantic musical comedy that ran at Columbia College Chicago where Paul is the current Small
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Associate Chair of the Theatre Dept. Other scripts of his include This Last Little Christmas and Instruction for the Serious Guitarist. Paul directed and performed in the acclaimed Scarlet Confessions also featuring Anne Hills, with Michael Smith, and Jamie O’Reilly at Victory Gardens Theater. Before that, he directed Hello Dali (two After Dark Awards) again with Smith and O’Reilly at Victory Gardens. Paul wrote and music directed the bluegrass-based score for Romeo and Juliet (set in the 1930s south) for Oak Park’s Festival Theatre. Paul is network playwright for Chicago Dramatists and is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. CATHERINE CONNELLY (Stage Manager) Most recently was the Assistant Stage Manager for Emerald City Theatre Company’s production of Pinkalicious. Prior to that she as the Stage Manager for Akyayit Theatre’s production of Red and Green, Fusion Theatre’s production of Big Love, Studio B’s production of Ragtime, Urban Theatre Company’s Brainpeople and was Assistant Stage Manager for Side Show Theatre’s Heddatron. IZUMI INABA(Scenic and Costume Designer) is very excited to be working with Open Door Repertory Theatre for the first time. She recently became an ensemble member at Red Tape Theatre, where she has designed costumes for Obscura, Tragedy; A Tragedy, Elephant’s Graveyard, and most recently Skriker. Other Chicago credits include works with Red Orchid, Porchlight, Chicago Shakespeare, Chicago Dramatists and About Face, Griffin, Steep, Building Stage, The Hypocrites, Side Show, MaryArrchie, etc. She is a recipient of Jeff Award 2011 for makeup design of Cats at Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre. She has an MFA in Stage Design, from Northwestern University. MARTI LYONS (Director) recently directed the world premiere of The Last Duck by Lucas Neff, the world premiere of Cities of Light at Piven Theatre Workshop, the Chicago premiere of Brainpeople by Jose Rivera. Marti also associate directed Old 4
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Times with Kimberly Senior at Strawdog Theatre Company, assistant directed and observed Chay Yew this summer on Oedipus El Rey through an SDCF Observership. Next, Marti will be directing Jason Grote’s Maria/Stuart for Sideshow Theatre Company and assistant directing for Jonathan Munby on Julius Caesar at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Marti also serves as the Literary Manager and Company Dramaturg for Lookingglass Theatre Company. ZENA MC CARTY PAICE (Props Mistress) is from a small town in West Texas that you’ve never heard of. No, really, you’ve never heard of it. After receiving a BA in Accounting from ASU, she came to her senses and studied at Ringling College of Art and Design. Zena teaches wire-work, silver-smithing, and off-loom bead weaving techniques. Coming soon to a theater near you, her props can be seen in the feature film Free Ride. Her theater credits include: Local Wonders (Full Sky Productions), Lovers (Open Door) and Two-Fools Gold (Columbia College). Zena would like to thank Beth Ann O’Reilly-Amandes for being the BOMB as a properties second! She would also like to thank her husband, Gary for his love and support and her children for being almost perfect. PAUL KERWIN (Lighting Designer/Light Board Op) This is Paul’s 10th season with Open Door. He came to the company to do the lighting for Just So and has stayed to do nearly 22 shows since then. He is a computer specialist at Triton College during the day. ETHAN KWAS (Assistant Technical Director) is employed full time outside the theater but theater is where he likes to spend his time. He started his hi-tech career in high school and has been at it ever since. With a background in electrical rigging and construction he has worked on various municipal festivals, rigging lights and sound and has been with Open Door for the past twelve years.
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JOSH PRISCHING (Lighting Design/ Assistant TD) s pleased to be working again with Open Door Rep. Past credits with Open Door have been Train Is Comin’, Bleacher Bums, Daddys Home, and Crowns. When not working with Open Door his home is the CAST company at Percy Julian Middle School as technical director. A few favorites include Peter Pan, The Wiz, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Into the Woods. A few other favorites have been Momenta dance troupe lighting designer, Proviso high school set and lighting designer for Little Shop, plus Peter Paul and the Land of Nod with Chicago Folks Operetta
Peter Pan, The Music Man, Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story, Newsies and three original Open Door music revues. His favorite musical performance was as a member of the doo-wop quartet in Smokey Joe’s Café. Favorite sets include: The Memory of Water, Spinning Into Butter, A View From The Bridge, The Sisters Rosensweig, Bleacher Bums, Crowns and Daddy’s Home! Thanks are extended to his Open Door family and, most importantly, to his wife and family for all the years of support.
MARY PAT SIECK (Producer/Artistic Director) is a founding member of the company and is the company’s Artistic and Managing Director. She has directed STEVAN SALINY (Technical Director/ 15 productions for Open Door during this Sound Design) is a founding member of time. Among her favorites are: Good, The Open Door. As Company Technical Director Laramie Project, Of Thee I Sing, A View From he over-sees sound, lights, set designs, The Bridge and Daddy’s Home!. She loves construction and decoration, along with working with the amazing people she his incredible staff of two, Paul and Ethan. meets through Open Door and would like Before becoming the company TD he acted to thank her wonderful family, especially in: To Kill a Mockingbird, Into the Woods, Bill, for always being there. FROM OPEN DOOR’S PRESIDENT Welcome to our theatre. We are very pleased and proud of our progress over this past year. We have worked hard to present diverse, interesting and enjoyable entertainment to our audiences and are looking forward to pleasing you with our new season. Thank you for your continued support Lynn Kirsch, Board President O P E N D O O R ’ S B OA R D O F D I R E C TO R S LYNN KIRSCH, PRESIDENT LEO ZINANNI, TREASURER RICHARD WHITE, SECRETARY LANCE TAYLOR, MEMBER AT LARGE STEVAN SALINY, COMPANY TECHNICAL DIRECTOR MARY PAT SIECK, ARTISTIC/MANAGING DIRECTOR F U L L S K Y P R O D U C T I O N S B OA R D O F D I R E C TO R S SUSAN CHARRETTE, PRESIDENT RICHARD WHITE, TREASURER TAMMY O’REILLY, MEMBER AT LARGE PAUL AMANDES, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Small
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A R T I S T I C D I R E C TO R ’ S N O T E S Welcome to Open Door’s 2012 – 2013 Season. It’s hard to believe we’ve been in our beautiful new home for one year! The time has flown by; the year has been amazing, awesome, unnerving and downright terrifying at times. You, the audience, are the reason we begin this new season. You were there for the plays, the music nights, our comedy/ improv evenings. You discovered what you liked and returned with others – “who just had to see this great new theater.” Thank you for your support, for your encouraging words and for spreading the word – we would not be here without you. A few thoughts on this season. When we meet someone for the first time, what expectations do we have? How do those expectations color our relationship with them? Does the person usually live up to our expectations? Surpass them? Disappoint us? And what about ourselves – what do others expect of us and what do we expect of ourselves? What does it say when we stop expecting anything of others or of ourselves? Where in these expectations – of ourselves or of others – lies the truth of who we each are and of what we are capable. The five plays in our 2012 – 2013 Season explore these questions. Some do so with humor, others with poignancy or edge; each of them with honesty. Please join us for the challenging give and take of this season. In addition to the theater season, we will continue with our Music Nights and with the Comedy/Improv Evenings. Our commitment is to offer as many performing arts/artists in our space as possible. Check our website for information on all offerings at the theater or, better yet, make sure you are on our email list. If you are, you will receive weekly updates on what’s happening at Open Door. We look forward to sharing a great year with each of you. Mary Pat Sieck P L A Y W R I G H T ’ S S TAT E M E N T & T H A N K S SMALL and Paul had avery busy summer together. A40-minute version grew out of an 8-week Deadline Workshop at Chicago Dramatist(where I’m a Network Playwright). We6 playwrights were given 5 female actors and asked to write specifically totheir gender, race, and age. We 6 wroteas bravely as possible at breakneck speed. I grabbed hold of a question I’d been mulling over regardingpeople who could never get elected in America regardless of theirqualifications. I contacted myfriend, State Senator Don Harmon, who had lots of great insights about mywriting including at times: That would never happen (thanks Don). The 3-scene reading was presented in late June and a handfulof paul-pals at ChiDra (thanks Russ) and from Oak Park seemed to think it hadlife. Mary Pat Sieck said OpenDoor was looking for a political piece for the fall and liked what she read(thanks Mary Pat). So, I tookAugust to write Act II and to secure a young powerhouse director who could handlea wild-eyed playwright dramaturgically. Luck was with me: the wonderful Marti Lyons, who’d just staged theaward-winning production of THE LAST DUCK at Jackalope Theatre, said yes! She was able to get 8 drafts out of me and put together a marvelous cast. But, the icing on the football ishaving you here to see this 5-month old play play-out on this stage! I am so grateful. -- Paul
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2 012 - 2 013 S E A S O N SMALL by Paul Amandes Comedy October 19 – November 18 (F, Sa, Su) A Play in Progress With only three months left ‘till the Illinois gubernatorial election, the current governor must drop out of the race. Doe McCarthy, exiled for a lethal electioneering error some time ago as a campaign manager, is called back to Illinois to stump for his replacement. That replacement is one of the most brilliant minds in politics, an old friend of Doe’s, and a most unlikely candidate. Quickly regaining her former chutzpah, Doe rushes to Illinois believing that landing her guy in the governor’s mansion is a mission of historical proportions – and her shot at political redemption. But politics, prejudice, and past mistakes block her path at every turn. SMALL is a topical tale about the yearning for personal significance and the compromises one is willing to make to get it. DAVID COPPERFIELD by Charles Dickens; adapted by Peter Baker December 1 – December 16 (Sa Evenings and Su Matinees) In the Bicentennial year of Dicken’s birth, Open Door brings Peter Baker’s new one-man show, David Copperfield, to the stage. This is an enthralling retelling of Dicken’s powerful story of one man’s life and the memorable characters in it. SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS by Richard Alfieri Comedy January 18 – February 24 (F, Sa, Su) Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks is a touching comedy about a formidable retired woman and her acerbic dance instructor. Lily Harrison hires Michael Minetti to give her private dance lessons —one per week for six weeks— in her gulf-front condo in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida. What begins as an antagonistic relationship blossoms into an intimate friendship as these two people from very different backgrounds reveal their secrets, fears, and joys while dancing the Swing, Tango, Waltz, Foxtrot, Cha-Cha, and Contemporary Dance. Overcoming their outward differences, Michael and Lily discover an unlikely but profound connection. By the final lesson, Lily shares her most closely guarded secret and Michael shares his greatest gifts, his loyalty and compassion. A comedy with music and dance, the play also addresses the serious issues of ageism and intolerance. SUPERIOR DONUTS by Tracy Letts Comedy-Drama April 12 – May 19 (F, Sa, Su) Earl Bitoy Series Production Arthur Przybyszewski owns a decrepit donut shop in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. Franco wicks, a black teenager who is his only employee, wants to change the shop for the better. This comedy-drama by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Letts explores the challenges of embracing the past and the redemptive power of friendship, asking the question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Small
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CLARA by McKinley Johnson Musical July 12 – August 18 (F, Sa, Su) This new musical by McKinley Johnson is inspired by true events in the life of Clara Ward of the famed Clara Ward Singers. Clara, driven by her mother’s reckless ambition, finds herself between her dreams and her mother’s goals. Amid this never-ending pressure, Clara becomes an icon of gospel music but finally must break the bond of mother and daughter permanently…to find her own peace. Familiar to many gospel aficionados, Clara has such favorites as, “How I Got Over” and “Surely, Surely He is Able”. In addition, are new toe-tapping musical theatre numbers entitled, “I Got A Plan”, “The Chocolate Shakes,” and “Tomorrow.” Filled with deep rich characters living in the forties, fifties and sixties, a time of great change for women and African-Americans, Clara goes directly to the heart of the struggle between family and personal ambition. T H A N K YO U THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE WHOSE SUPPORT REALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE Dianne/John Andrews Nancy/Richard Ball Leah/Paul Beckwith Marguerite Bloch Roberta Borst Bruce M Broerman John/Becky Brofman Margaret/Don Burk Jim/Marge Chesney Peter/Nancy Clark Jan Colliton Cucina Paradiso Mike/Annette Donlin Ed/Pam Dieschbourg Stuart Edwards Marcia/Bob Ellis Eyrie’s Restaurant Jim/Louise Gates Dale Glanzman Marie/Ira Goodkin Mike/Joan Goodrich Doris Gruskin Alan/Lynn Hoffstadter Liz Hurtig Renardo Johnson
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Peggy/Kevin Kell Paul Kerwin Jan Kieckhefer Rick/Cheryl King Lynn/Errol Kirsch Dan/Sarah Knight Jean/Ethan Kwas LaSalle Commercial Appraisal Management Co., Inc. Janet/Frank Lombardo Cynthia Maroon Mary McEnery Anthony/Dietra Millard Larry/Carole Mitchner Peter/Karen Morava Miriam Morris Mykael/Mykael Moss Rich/Priscilla Nied Cam/Jerry Niederman Elizabeth Ann O’Reilly Lorraine Owles/Phil Wagreich Lynn/Rick Palmore
Frank Pond Joan/Bob Pope Teresa Powell Donald/Dolores Register Sherlynn Reid James/Carol Scherrer Heather Saliny Melva Saliny Stevan/Sue Saliny Bruce/Julie Samuels Mary Schneider Georgeann Schulte Bill/Mary Pat Sieck Jamie/Lisa Sieck Marion Sirefman Fran Sullivan Howie/Jeanne Visteen Richard White/Susan Beach Dr./Mrs. James Williams Winberie’s Restaurant Beth Zinanni Laura Zinanni Leo/Claudia Zinanni Meredith Zinanni