The Foreigner-Marquette

MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY’S J. WILLIAM AND MARY DIEDERICH COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION DIGITAL MEDIA AND PERFORMING ARTS MARQUETTE THEATRE DEBRA KRAJEC, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR PRESENTS

By Larry Shue September 27 – October 7, 2012 Directed by Todd Denning Scenic Design by Stephen Hudson-Mairet Costume Design by Debra Krajec Lighting Design by Chester Loeffler-Bell The Theatre Arts Program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST).

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CAST LIST The Foreigner Charlie Baker........................................................................................................................................ Chris O’Reilly “Froggy” LeSueur......................................................................................................................................Ben Braun Rev. David Marshall Lee..........................................................................................................................Tyler Frost Betty Meeks.............................................................................................................................. Katherine Callahan Owen Musser.............................................................................................................................Armando Ronconi Catherine Simms................................................................................................................................. Lola Stanten Ellard Simms.........................................................................................................................................Jake Daggett Townspeople....................................................................................................Alexis Hamburg, Larry Lajewski,

Ava Thomann, Oliver Wolf The videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited.

CAST BIOGR APHIES Ben Braun (“Froggy” LaSueur) Ben is a junior here at Marquette University double majoring in Corporate Communications and Theater Arts (Performance). He was last seen in previous main stages as Daniel in The Beaux’ Stratagem, Lizard in A Year with Frog and Toad, and even worked as Master Electrician for The Comedy of Errors. Last year, he took an internship at Walt Disney World Resort as a character and parade performer, and is now ready to take on his role as Froggy.

Ben would like to thank his family and his brothers of the Marquette Delta Chi fraternity for all their love and support.

Thank you for coming and enjoy the show.

Katie Callahan (Betty Meeks) Katie is a junior, double majoring in Theatre Arts and Broadcast and Electronic Communication. She has previously been seen in Marquette’s productions of Holy Days, The Laramie Project, and A Year with Frog and Toad. She is so excited to be a part of The Foreigner! She would like to thank Phylis Ravel for assembling such a fun cast and Todd Denning for directing the show. She would like to thank her family and friends for all of their generous love and support. Katie hopes everyone enjoys this fun show!

Jake Daggett (Ellard Simms) Jake is incredibly thrilled to be a part of his first mainstage production at Marquette.

He has been so grateful for everyone in the 2

Marquette University

department welcoming him in last spring.

He would like to thank his supportive friends both at home in Cincinnati and here at Marquette. Thanks to his wonderful Mom and Dad, and much gratitude to Todd, Maureen, and PR for this opportunity. Enjoy the show!

Tyler Frost (Rev. David Marshall Lee) Tyler is excited to be back on the stage for The Foreigner! Tyler is a junior Theatre Arts and English Literature double major. Recent Marquette credits include various characters in Little Shop of Horrors, “Ed” in Defying Gravity, and a dancer in Dancing Through the Decades of Musicals. Tyler was also a sailor in Anything Goes this past summer with Fremont Street Theater Company in Palatine, Illinois. He would like to thank all involved with this show and his friends and family for their constant and needed support and above all, love. Enjoy the show!

Alexis Hamburg (Townsperson) Alexis, a junior double majoring in Theatre Arts and Corporate Communication, is delighted to be in her fourth mainstage production on the Helfaer stage. She was last seen in The Comedy of Errors last spring as Second Merchant and Messenger. Other credits include Ronnette in Little Shop of Horrors as well as various roles in The Laramie Project. She would like to thank Todd Denning for his hard work and dedication in directing this show, Maureen Kilmurry for sharing laughter and dialect with us, and

BIOGR APHIES

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lastly the cast and crew for being fantastic.

She is also extremely grateful for the love and support of her family, friends, and Joe. She hopes you all enjoy the show!!!

Larry Lajewski (Townsperson) This is Larry’s second Marquette mainstage play. He is excited for all of you who are about to see this incredible and hilarious show. He would also like to say thank you to his family and friends for supporting him!

Chris O’Reilly (Charlie Baker) Chris – a junior in Marquette’s College of Arts & Sciences and an English major – is elated to be a part of Marquette’s The Foreigner cast to begin the 2012-2013 mainstage season!

Though this is his first mainstage production, he appeared in Marquette’s One Act Festival during the Spring of 2012 in How Gertrude Stormed the Philosopher’s Club (Edgar) and Hello Out There! (A Man). He would like to now thank a plethora of people; firstly, the entire cast and the crew of The Foreigner, for without them, such a production would be nonexistent. Additionally, thank you to director Todd Denning for his intense dedication, vision, and will to help, and to Phylis Ravel, for the opportunity to portray such a dynamic character. Another meaningful “thank you” to his surrogate family – The Studio 013 Refugees, Marquette’s only improvisational comedy group – for being truly that: a family.

And lastly, he would like to thank his family – Mom, Dad, Nick, Katie, Mema, ‘Il Padrino’ Uncle Lar, Lucky, and Miley – for always being there, and for showing unconditional love and support. Enjoy the show, everybody!

Armando Ronconi (Owen Musser) Armando is thrilled to return to the Marquette stage. Armando made his Off West End debut this summer as William Barfée in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. His other Marquette credits include Little Shop of Horrors (Orin) and Ensemble roles in Comedy of Errors. At Green Valley High School, he performed in Thoroughly Modern Millie (Trevor Graydon), Rent (Angel Schaunard) and Willie Wonka! (Augustus Gloop). Armando wishes to thank the Marquette Performing Arts faculty for the training, support and opportunities he’s received, his fellow

cast and crew, and his friends and family (particularly his parents) for their love and unconditional support.

Lola Stanten (Catherine Simms) Lola is a sophomore at Marquette University, with a major in Theatre and a minor in Political Science. She is from Portland, Oregon. While living in Portland, Lola worked as the education intern for Portland Center Stage where she was head of their “Teen Council” program. She was also a member of Oregon Children Theatre’s ‘Young Professionals” where she portrayed Hera in their production of Dis/Troy as well as worked as a stage manager for their production of Antigone. When not working in theatre, Lola enjoys volunteering for her political party. She is also an active member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. Lola is very excited to be in her first mainstage production, and wants to thank her friends, family, and sorority sisters for all their love and support.

Ava Thomann (Townsperson) Ava is extremely excited to be a part of the first show of the 2012-2013 season! This is her first mainstage performance, and she couldn’t be more grateful. As a Theater Arts and Public Relations double major, Ava keeps herself busy within the theater.

Last year you might have seen her in MUPS productions such as A Musical Revue, King Chemo, and Bug. Ava also completed an internship at the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre this past summer. You will also be able to see her later on this season as Hattie in The Women of Lockerbie. Ava would like to thank Todd for all the hard work and effort he put into this show, the cast and crew for making this such an amazing experience, and most importantly her family and friends for their never ending love and support.

Enjoy the show!

Oliver Wolf (Townsperson) Oliver is very excited to be part of his first production at Marquette! He wants to thank all of his friends who have always had his back. Most of all, he wants to thank his Mom, because without her support, he wouldn’t be here. To all of his fellow performers, break a leg!

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SCENIC DESIGN CONCEPT

P R O D U C T I O N S TA F F B I O G R A P H I E S Alex Coddington (Assistant Stage Manager) Alex is a sophomore Theatre Arts (directing emphasis) and English Literature double major from Tacoma, Washington. This is his third show on the MU mainstage. He also directed the MUPS production of Bug and was last seen onstage in How Gertrude Stormed the Philosopher’s Club (dir. Andrea Schoening). He would like to thank Katie for her guidance, Todd for his leadership, the cast and designers for their brilliance, his parents for their love and support, and especially PR for always having faith in him.

Todd Denning (Director) Todd has been an active theatre artist for more than 20 years, working as an actor, director, teacher, fight choreographer, vocal coach and sound designer. His past Marquette productions include The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type.

He is a former adjunct faculty member at Marquette University, and is currently the CoDirector of the Young Company of the First Stage Theater Academy. This spring, Todd will also be directing Gathering Blue - a world premiere collaboration with Marquette and the Young Company. Regional credits include the Utah Shakespeare Festival, South Coast 4

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Repertory, Milwaukee Shakespeare, Tennessee Rep, Georgia Shakespeare, Willamette Rep, PCPA Theaterfest, Artpark & Co., Optimist Theatre and First Stage Children’s Theater.

Todd holds an MFA in Acting from the University of California at Irvine.

Katherine Doyle (Stage Manager) Katie is a double major in Theatre Arts and Broadcast and Electronic Communication. She will graduate in May, having had experience in many realms of theater, including acting, directing, and stage managing. Katie has previously been seen onstage at Marquette in The Laramie Project and A Year with Frog and Toad, and she will appear next in Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. She would like to thank Phylis Ravel for welcoming her to this project, Todd Denning for a wonderful experience, Stephen Hudson-Mairet and Debra Krajec for their unconditional support, and her unbelievable family and friends for making her a very lucky human being. Katie would also like to thank her terrific assistant stage managers for all of their hard work.

Raquel Garces (Assistant Stage Manager) Raquel is a senior Theatre major, and she is very excited to be beginning her final year at Marquette knowing that she has assistant

P R O D U C T I O N S TA F F B I O G R A P H I E S stage managed a mainstage show all four years. The Foreigner is one of her favorite plays since working on it in high school. She wants to thank the cast for helping her work on her abs by making her laugh every day. Enjoy this greatly entertaining show!

Stephen Hudson-Mairet (Chair/Scenic Designer) 2012-13 marks Stephen’s thirteenth season at Marquette. As chair of the Department of Digital Media and Performing Arts, Stephen is blessed to be working with a great faculty, staff, and student body, and he is happy to share their great work with you.

Stephen has completed numerous scenic or lighting designs on the Helfaer stage. This season Stephen will be completing the scenic design for The Foreigner and Gathering Blue.

Stephen is once again thrilled to be serving as the faculty advisor for all the student designers for every other show this season.

He will also be designing Collected Stories for Milwaukee Chamber Theatre and Forward Theatre in Madison. Stephen wishes to thank Todd Denning for joining us and getting up to speed in a hurry. Stephen lives quite happily in a very old house in Wauwatosa with his wife Heidi, and daughters Emma and Grace.

Maureen Kilmurry (Vocal Coach) A graduate of Marquette University, Ms. Kilmurry received her MFA from Southern Methodist University’s Professional Actor Training Program. She has acted in professional regional theatre companies in Seattle, Dallas, Kansas City, Milwaukee, and at the Oregon Shakespearean Festival. A member of Actors Equity Association, she has also appeared both “Off” and “Off-Off” Broadway. Since returning to her native Milwaukee, Ms. Kilmurry has turned her focus to directing, teaching and vocal coaching.

Directing credits include projects for Windfall Theatre, Playwrights Studio Theatre, Amethyst Productions, The Boulevard Ensemble, the John Michael Kohler Art Center and the Haggerty Museum. In her fifteenth year on the theatre faculty at Marquette, her recent directing credits include The Cherry Orchard, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Beaux’ Stratagem, and The Comedy of Errors. Ms. Kilmurry has also been the vocal or dialect coach for numerous

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productions at Marquette and in the greater Milwaukee area including Dead Man Walking, Everyman, Blood Brothers, Hekabe, Betrayal, Deathtrap, and Al McGuire.

Debra Krajec (Artistic Director/Costume Designer) This is Deb’s second time designing costumes for The Foreigner at Marquette, and this time around is even more special than the last. Deb has served as a Director as well as a Costume Designer on MU’s mainstage for the past twenty-nine years. She received her MFA from Texas Christian University, and has worked professionally as a costume designer, a director, and an actress.

In Milwaukee, Deb has designed costumes for Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, and Next Act Theatre and directed for In Tandem Productions and Playwrights’ Studio of Milwaukee. She is very active in the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, where she is a Fellow of the Institute. Deb is a member of Actors Equity Association.

Tishna Lodi (Assistant Stage Manager) Tishna is a transfer junior who just left Lake Forest College to join the wonderful community of Marquette University. She is from New York City and has been involved with theatrical arts since she was 11 years old. She has acted and done tech work and scenic work.

She hopes to focus more on stage managing as her theater career continues. The Foreigner is a hilarious play that she has the pleasure of working on her first semester at Marquette University. The cast and crew are amazing, and she hopes you all enjoy the show as much as she has enjoyed working on it.

Chester Loeffler-Bell (Technical Director/ Lighting Designer) Chester has served as lighting designer, technical director, and scene shop supervisor since joining the department in the fall of 2001. Professor Loeffler-Bell manages the scene shop, supervises and advises student lighting designers. Chester has been an active professional lighting designer for the past 20 years, having designed for In Tandem Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Theatre X, Cape Fear Shakespeare Festival, and Carroll College.

His recent artistic work includes the lighting The Foreigner

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P R O D U C T I O N S TA F F B I O G R A P H I E S design for Little Shop of Horrors and The Lion in Winter for Marquette University, Girl in the Frame for In Tandem Theatre, Poor Tom for Marquette University in collaboration with the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland, and McGuire at Hofstra University. Chester lives in Mukwonago with his wife Susan and sons Harry, Sam, and Joe. Connie Petersen (Costume Shop Manager) Connie is thrilled to return to Marquette for the beginning of her 11th Season and what an exciting season to be part of! She received her B.S. degree in theatre from Northwest Missouri State University and M.F.A. degree in Costume and Scenic Design from Southern

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Illinois University in Carbondale, IL. She has worked professionally for Central City Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Denver Center Theatre Company, and Playmakers Repertory Company at University of North CarolinaChapel Hill. Her recent designs at Marquette include Laramie Project, A Year with Frog and Toad, Putnam County Spelling Bee, Nickel and Dimed, Heidi Chronicles, Tartuffe, J.B., Bye, Bye Birdie and Fifth of July. She was excited to work with fellow colleagues, Phylis Ravel and Andrea Hill Johnson on Art to Art with Danceworks this summer. Connie enjoys her free time with her husband, Heath chasing around our 1 yr. old, Olivia and 4 yr. old, Emma!

P R O D U C T I O N S TA F F Technical Director................................................................................................................Chester Loeffler-Bell Stage Manager..............................................................................................................................Katherine Doyle Assistant Stage Managers.......................................................................................................Alex Coddington,

Raquel Garces, Tishna Lodi Lighting Designer................................................................................................................Chester Loeffler-Bell Assistant Lighting Designer...............................................................................................................Dylan Elhai Light Board Operator........................................................................................................................... Gil Vaquero Scenic Designer............................................................................................................ Stephen Hudson-Mairet Scene Shop Assistants................................................................................................Kyle Conner, Dylan Elhai,

Raquel Garces, Lex Gernon,

Brittany Green, Rory Higgins,

Hannah Klapperich-Mueller, Larry Lajewski,

Joe Packhem, Carissa Saia,

Nic Trapani, Madelyn Yee Deck Crew................................................................................................................... Dan Callahan, Kristi Keiser,

Amanda Stellberg, Katie Shanahan Props Master........................................................................................................................................... Carissa Saia Costume Designer..............................................................................................................................Debra Krajec Costume Shop Manager........................................................................................................... Connie Petersen Costume Shop Assistants...................................................................... Rachel Chrostowski, Jake Daggett,

Tyler Frost, Alexis Hamburg,

Carly Kroll, Bridget Rzymski,

Adriana Saia, Doug Soder,

Ava Thomann, Shannon Twohy Costume Shop Build...............................................................................................................................Sarah Best,

Ben Braun, Kristane Thrower Wardrobe Supervisor....................................................................................................................Yesenia Cuevas Wardrobe Crew........................................................................... Hayley Bassett, Michael Cienfuegos-Baca,

Maddie Harris, Terrence Morris Assistant to the Chair............................................................................................................................Kelly Dillon Assistant to the Artistic Director.............................................................................................Katherine Doyle Box Office Assistant........................................................................................Kaitlyn Barrett, Hannah Henkel House Manager..................................................................................................................................Grace O’Brien Ushers..........................................................................................................................Theatre Appreciation Class 6

Marquette University

T H A N K YO U The Department of Performing Arts wishes to thank: Jim Guy Diederich Scholars - Scenic Construction: Patrick Housfeld, David Tice

M ARQUET TE UNIVERSIT Y College of Communication Lori Bergen, Dean Joyce Wolburg, Associate Dean Erik Ugland, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies & Research Chioma Ugochukwu, Assistant Dean for Student Services Full - Time Faculty Chester Loeffler-Bell Connie Petersen Phylis Ravel Box Office Coordinator Kevin Wleklinski

Digital Media and Performing Arts Stephen Hudson-Mairet, Chairperson Marquette Theatre Debra Krajec, Artistic Director Part - Time Faculty Amy Brinkman-Sustache Fr. Grant Garinger, S.J. Jim Guy Andrea Johnson Roxanne Kess Maureen Kilmurry John Schneider Mark Weinberg Matthew Wickey

Digital Media and Performing Arts wishes to thank the following Donors for their 2012 – 2013 contributions: Theatre Contribution Fund Antonio Antao Margaret Blodgett & Ken Miller Margaret Callahan Delphine Cannon Terry & Diane Duffey Jean Fischer Kristina Fisher James & Joan Hagner Ronald Jodat W. Andrew Kienzle Gary & Sarah Krenz Chester Loeffler-Bell Marianna Markowetz John & Sue McArdle James McGillis Gary Meyer Paul Milakovich William O’Boyle

James Richie John & Mary Ricci Dr. Ronald & Patricia Santilli David & Sandra Shrock Tim Simmons Kathleen Smith Peter Toumanoff Donald & Mary Utech Joseph & Mary Utschig Theatre and Social Justice Fund Helen Boomsma Mary Kay Marzano John Pauly Emily Schultz Sue Yee Endowed Drama Fund The Hudson-Mairet Family

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The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival™ XLV The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education; Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation; The Honorable Stuart Bernstein and Wilma E. Bernstein; the Kennedy Center Corporate Fund; and the National Committee for the Performing Arts.

This production is entered in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF). The aims of this national theater education program are to identify and promote quality in college-level theater production. To this end, each production entered is eligible for a response by a regional KCACTF representative, and selected students and faculty are invited to participate in KCACTF programs involving scholarships, internships, grants and awards for actors, directors, dramaturgs, playwrights, designers, stage managers and critics at both the regional and national levels.

Productions entered on the Participating level are eligible for inclusion at the KCACTF regional festival and can also be considered for invitation to the KCACTF national festival at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC in the spring of 2013.

Last year more than 1,300 productions were entered in the KCACTF involving more than 200,000 students nationwide. By entering this production, our theater department is sharing in the KCACTF goals to recognize, reward, and celebrate the exemplary work produced in college and university theaters across the nation.

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Marquette University