Wisconsin Lutheran-Last Train

Last Train to Nibroc

By Arlene Hutton Directed By Jacqueline Gardner Produced by special arrangement with Dramatist’s Play Service, Inc.Â

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SET TING Scene One: December 28, 1940. A train, somewhere west of Chicago.

Scene Two: Summer 1942, A park bench near the woods.

Scene Three: Spring 1943, May’s front porch.

CAST Raleigh................................................................................................................ Benjamin Adickes May........................................................................................................................... Octavia Morton S TA F F Director.............................................................................................................Jacqueline Gardner Scene /Lighting Designer............................................ Andrew Sierszyn & Kristen Kraklow Costume Design............................................................................................... Vincent Pelligrino Costume Staff..................................................................................... Bryce Clark, Brenda Kolell Stage Manager........................................................................................................Laura Hartman Assistant Stage Manager/ Props..............................................................MaryFran Stefanich Dramaturgy Advisor................................................................................... Christine Thompson Student Dramaturg...............................................................................................Alycia Johnson Dialect Coach............................................................................................................... Ken Williams Board Operator........................................................................................................Renee Pottorff Shop Manager.............................................................................................................. Dana Fralick Theatre Department Technical/Shop Staff ........................... Blake Miller, Sean Gogerty, MaryFran Stefanich, Amanda Schumacher, Christine Wilde Faculty................................................................................................. Jan Gompper, Jay Sierszyn ABOUT THE TRILOGY We are pleased to start our 2010-11 season with the first of a three-play trilogy by Arlene Hutton. The story of May and Raleigh continues in SEE ROCK CITY (Feb. 12-18) and concludes in GULF VIEW DRIVE (Mar. 3-6). All three will be performed here in the Blackbox, with completely different casts. The first and third segments are under the direction of seniors, Jacqueline Gardner and Kristen Kraklow, the middle play has alumna, Rachel Williams at the helm. Senior Andrew Sierszyn serves as designer for the series and in addition to current students, various alumni are being tapped for other roles, on and off stage. While each of the plays can “stand on their own” as an individual, complete evening of theatre, we hope that a through-line of characters and theme can be enjoyed by those who take in the entire trilogy.

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D I R E C TO R ’ S N O T E Last Train to Nibroc is a funny show for me to be directing. Whatever the reason (blame it on being first born or an aggressive member of the high school debate team), I always wanted to direct a production brimful of intrigue, controversy, and weighty subject matter. Since I view theatre as a vehicle for discussion as well as expression, I thought my final theatre project should prompt all kinds of serious debate on campus. Well. Along comes Last Train to Nibroc. The literal antithesis of controversy. And in a twist of irony, I fell in love with the script. The other funny thing you should know? Little miss controversy over here is a sucker for a love story.

At its essence, Last Train to Nibroc is purely that—a story. There are only two characters, no extravagant scene changes, and no overly dramatic plot twists and turns. Characterized by simplicity of movement (actual action) but depth of dialogue (dramatic action), the script is a dynamic, brilliantly-penned conversation between two very different individuals who coincidentally find out how much they have in common.

The exchanges between May and Raleigh are filled with familiar subtext, desires, and fears. They are honest and candid. They remind us of ourselves. They remind us of people that we know. I’ve often said that watching this show is like turning the clock back a few decades to watch your grandparents fall in love. Consequently, working on this production inspired some nostalgia as I found myself paging through old diary entries and sifting through black and white photographs from the past.

Ultimately, Raleigh and May are ordinary people who meet in ordinary circumstances through impeccable timing. I’ve heard that phenomenon referred to as “synchronicity”—a series of coincidences that seem unlikely to have happened by chance. I like to think that synchronicity is our opportunity—as ordinary people in ordinary circumstances—to see how our little stories might just be part of the bigger Story. “It’s funny, what puts people on trains together.”

In one last twist of irony, I guess Last Train to Nibroc really is about controversy. In a way that is endearing and heartwarming, it is a play about the conflict between what we want to say and what we actually say; between what we want to do and what we think should do. It is about the internal controversy between our deepest fears and our bravest intentions. That type of conflict is the essence of story. And although it might have been fun to spark some debate, I am almost happier to be ending my time here on a quiet note. I am a storyteller. And Last Train to Nibroc is a sweet story worth telling.

Thanks for listening.

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B I O G R A P H I E S ( c o n t .)

As an incoming freshman, Benjamin Adickes (Raleigh) Ben was excited to hear about WLC’s lively theatre scene. After spending the five previous years of his life intensely devoted to productions—whether in them, behind them, or both—it’s no surprise that he dove right into auditions with not much of a second thought. The stakes are higher and the competition more fierce in college auditions, but winning two awards for excellence in Theatre Arts and attending three International Cultural Conventions has helped shape him as an actor and prepare (if only slightly) for the rigors of college drama.

At age six, Jacqueline Gardner (Director) officially directed her first production, recruiting less-thanwilling actors from her sibling pool and building the set from an old refrigerator box. Thankfully, she’s refined her skills a bit since then. Jacqueline has tackled a variety of roles in the last four years. Memorable productions include Dead Man Walking (dramaturg/ensemble), A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur (props), Hecuba (stage manager), and The American Clock (costume design/ Edie), the latter of which earned her an ACTF Irene Ryan Scholarship nomination. She graduates this December with a Communicative Arts degree and a Theatre minor, and is anticipating the future with bright eyes and an unwavering spirit. Warmest thanks and bittersweet goodbyes: To those who have become my friends—for being with me and for me. To Jay—for letting me tell stories that are important. To Jan—for teaching me what it means to be different and to be better. I am. And I will miss this place.

Laura Hartman (Stage Manager) This is Laura’s seventh show at WLC and one of her last. She has had a blast working with these amazing theatre fanatics. She would like to thank her roommates for their insanity, her friends for their hilarity, her parents for their support, and her goldfish for their sanity.

Christine Marmor Thompson (Dramaturgy Advisor) is a WLC theatre alumna (2003) who received her Master’s in Theatre Arts from the University of Minnesota, Mankato (2009). Besides having a love for dramaturgy, Christine is also a writer and her stage adaptation of G. K. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare will be getting work shopped at WLC in the Spring of this year.

Octavia Morton (May) is diving headfirst into her sophomore year and couldn’t be happier to kick off the season with such a touching story. Octavia was last seen in The American Clock, and before that she became a damsel in distress in The Curse of an Aching Heart. She would like to thank her amazing friends and wonderfully supportive family for always being there. Octavia hopes this show helps to remind everyone that love can bloom in the most unlikely places, like on a train. After all you “never know what’ll happen on a train.”

COV E R S P OT L I G H T Cover photo

by Mark Frohna, Fro Photo.

In Tandem Theatre’s SCROOGE IN ROUGE set. Set design by Linda Freund, December 2009.

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B I O G R A P H I E S ( c o n t .)

Vincent Pelligrino (Costume Designer) graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran College in 2010 with a BA in Theatre.

Within the last few years, Vincent has taken an interest in costuming and is happy to be gaining more experience at WLC this fall. While pursuing costuming as a side ambition, he continues to work professionally as an actor, recently completing a contract with RWS and Associates Entertainment Inc. He hopes to put his acting and costuming skills into further study in a graduate program someday.

Andrew Sierszyn (Scene Design) is a senior Theatre and Art double major. His most recent scene design collaboration was showcased in the 2010 WLC Theatre production of The Curse of an Aching Heart. This past summer, he interned with Alley Stage Theatre in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. When not designing for theatre, he considers himself a carpenter at heart. He is

looking forward to going to grad school next fall and following wherever God guides him.

MaryFran Stefanich (ASM/Props) A junior Theatre Major, MaryFran Stefanich is trying her hand as the ASM for a change.

Previous show credits include: Mrs. Harcourt in Anything Goes, Mrs. Abernathy in The Curse of an Aching Heart and Fanny in The American Clock which earned her an Irene Ryan Scholarship Nomination. She would LOVE to thank her family and friends for their constant love and support.

Ken Williams (Dialect Coach) is a local actor/educator who has had the pleasure of working with many exciting companies including Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, First Stage Children’s Theatre, Optimist Theatre Company, Summer Stage of Delafield, Cedar Creek Repertory, Boulevard Ensemble, Windfall Theatre, Cornerstone and Bunny Gumbo. He is glad to see that there are places like WLC where theatre is an important art form and is impressed by the students’ dedication to it.

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