One day, on the bus to the Geffen, a leaf flew into the window. It scared most passengers, including me. The surprise of the leaf gave little time to recognize the object as foliage and not something dangerous. Some ducked and covered. Some called it a bad omen. I wished my stop was closer.
One woman sat still, smiling. I found peace in her witnessing.
Waiting on anything, bus stop or God, can bring about full panic in things as harmless as a leaf. And let’s be honest: we are all waiting. Waiting to see what will be next in these “uncharted, unprecedented” times. Waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting.
Meantime, we look to those brave enough (or funny enough) to consider that while the leaf is just a leaf, our reactions to and expectations of it—violent or holy—are extraordinary. Artists
dare to witness our collective breath-holding tactics and reflect them back. It gives us air, a sigh of relief, to laugh at our own wild ways of waiting.
This production began with Rainn Wilson, who waited for the right time to do this play. When director Judy Hegarty Lovett and Gare St Lazare Ireland joined the conversation, the project took flight. What has borne out is a hilarious and harrowing production of Waiting for Godot. My hope is that by witnessing Estragon and Vladimir’s hyper-focused idling on the Gil Cates Theater stage, we will together, for a moment, find much-needed joy, peace, and a space to consider the leaves. Welcome.
Tarell Alvin McCraney Artistic Director
PHOTO BY JEFF LORCH
GIL CATES, JR.
Welcome to the Geffen Playhouse production of Waiting for Godot! We are thrilled to welcome back Geffen alum Rainn Wilson (Thom Pain) along with this incredible cast, director, and group of designers. We are also proud to be partnering with Gare St Lazare Ireland on this production. Through the co-leadership of director Judy Hegarty Lovett and actor Conor Lovett, Gare St Lazare Ireland has established themselves as a premier leader on all things Beckett, and we are honored to be in collaboration with them.
This production also continues the Geffen’s newest initiative by Artistic Director Tarell Alvin McCraney: Theater as a Lens for Justice, which provides access to world class theater, education, and outreach programs for populations impacted by incarceration. The initiative launched with our 2024/2025 Season in partnership with UCLA’s Center for Justice and ManifestWorks.
Theater as a Lens for Justice further expands our longstanding affiliation with UCLA, complementing our relationship with UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television, as we forge ahead fostering and uplifting the next generation of theater makers, patrons, and lovers of the arts.
Our ongoing and robust education and community engagement programs continue to thrive, and I invite you to visit our website at geffenplayhouse.org to learn more about the numerous ways Geffen Playhouse is working right here in our own community.
Thank you for being here and sharing in this moment. Enjoy the show!
Gil Cates, Jr.
Executive Director / CEO
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Adi Greenberg CHAIR
Gil Cates, Jr.
Executive Director / CEO
Mary Ann Cloyd Vice Chair
Merle Dandridge
Dr. Brad Edgerton
Bonnie E. Eskenazi
Mark Fleischer
Susan Nahley Fleishman
Brenda Garcia
Patricia L. Glaser
Noble M. Hansen III
Eric Heer
Carla Malden
Brian Mann
Tiffany Mayberry
Tarell Alvin McCraney Artistic Director
Mary Osako
Danny Passman
Holly Rice
Linda Bernstein Rubin
Matt Shakman
Richard Sherman
Cynthia P. Stafford
Howard Tenenbaum Chair Emeritus
Miranda Tollman
JaHan Wang
Marc Weinstock
FOUNDING TRUSTEES
Harold A. Brown
Kirsten Combs
Robert A. Daly
David Geffen
Herbert M. Gelfand Chair Emeritus
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Glorya Kaufman
Frank G. Mancuso Chair Emeritus
Ron Meyer
Bruce M. Ramer Founding Chair
Victoria Mann Simms
Andy Spahn
Steven Spielberg
Steve Tisch IN MEMORIAM
Gilbert Cates Founder
Marcia Israel-Curley
Quincy Jones
Audrey Skirball Kenis
Charles Kenis
Karl Malden
Ginny Mancini
Jerry Moss
Jerry Perenchio
Edie Wasserman
Lew Wasserman
Dr. Charles E. Young
LEGAL COUNSEL
Nikki Kerman Venable LLP
PHOTO BY JEFF LORCH
THEATER AS A LENS FOR JUSTICE
“For many Californians the concept of justice feels deeply out of reach. According to Prison Policy Initiative, nearly 200,000 individuals are incarcerated at any given time in our state with about 35,000 incarcerated people released each year. Those numbers are sobering. They are made worse when we remember that the families connected to those individuals are not counted in those statistics. But their lives too are affected by incarceration.
—TARELL ALVIN McCRANEY
Established by playwright and Artistic Director Tarell Alvin McCraney, whose own work has been profoundly influenced by his family’s experiences with the justice system, Theater as a Lens for Justice provides access to theater at Geffen Playhouse for populations impacted by incarceration, beginning with the 2024/2025 Season. This initiative provides individuals and their families the opportunity to experience performances throughout the season, supplemented with talkbacks and workshops by theater staff and artistic leaders.
To begin this work, Geffen Playhouse has partnered with UCLA’s Center for Justice and ManifestWorks. In addition to access to theater productions, Geffen Playhouse will provide space and support for the UCLA Prison Education Program’s Hip Hop Theater course to create and workshop a new play in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater in fall 2024.
This initiative also aims to create employment pathways into the theater industry for formerly incarcerated individuals—in all aspects of theater making including technical, artistic, and administrative—through internships, mentorships, and professional development.
Theater as a Lens for Justice is supported, in part, by Jayne Baron Sherman.
OUR PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
WAITING FOR GODOT
WRITTEN BY
SAMUEL BECKETT
DIRECTED BY
JUDY HEGARTY LOVETT
PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH GARE ST LAZARE IRELAND
SCENIC & COSTUME DESIGNER KAYE VOYCE
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR VELANI DIBBA
PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER ALYSSA ESCALANTE
LIGHTING DESIGNER SIMON BENNISON
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER MIRIAM E. MENDOZA
OPENING NIGHT
SOUND DESIGN COMPOSITION BY MEL MERCIER
FIGHT DIRECTOR STEVE RANKIN
CASTING DIRECTOR PHYLLIS SCHURINGA, CSA
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2024
OPENING NIGHT SPONSOR
Waiting for Godot is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com
Geffen Playhouse’s Theater as a Lens for Justice initiative provides access to this production and supplementary programs for populations impacted by incarceration and is supported, in part, by Jayne Baron Sherman.
This production is also supported by:
Boy*
WAITING FOR GODOT
CAST OF CHARACTERS
(IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
LINCOLN BONILLA Pozzo CONOR LOVETT
Estragon AASIF MANDVI
Boy* .................................................................................... JACK M c SHERRY
Lucky .......................................................................................... ADAM STEIN
Vladimir .................................................................................. RAINN WILSON
*The role of "Boy" will be alternately performed by Lincoln Bonilla and Jack McSherry.
UNDERSTUDIES
Vladimir TIMOTHY PAUL BROWN Pozzo / Lucky ANDREW BRIAN CARTER † Estragon BOISE HOLMES
Understudies never substitute for listed players unless specified.
†Fight Captain
The Actors and Stage Managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
SETTING/TIME
A country road. A tree. A stone. Evening.
RUNNING TIME 2 hours and 30 mintues, including one intermission.
PLEASE NOTE
There is no photography or filming of any kind allowed during the performance. Please turn off all electronic devices, including cell phones. Thank you!
Gare St Lazare Ireland
Associate Producer
Maura O'Keeffe
Casting Consultant
Jamila Webb
Studio Teacher
Laurel Geare
Assistant Costume Designer
Jennifer Deck
Associate Fight Director
Bobby C. King
Stage Manager Swing
Iliana Solorzano
Production Assistant
Juliet Park
On-Book Production Assistant
John R. Colley
Deck Crew
Enrique Garcia, Sierra Haworth, Mason Irwin, Sam Sully
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Deck Crew Swing
Kelden Downs, Juliet Park
Wardrobe Supervisor
Michayla Van Treeck
Dresser
Kassidy Klinesmith
Wardrobe Swing
Kiko Cheyenne, Haley Ruby
Light Board Operator
Jesús Cambero Elias
A1
Bob Gilmartin
A2
Michael Svolos
Audio Playback Programmer
John Nobori
Lead Scenic Carpenter
Philip Rossi
Scenery Built & Painted By F&D Scene Changes
Black Soft Goods Built By Gerriets International, Inc.
White Soft Goods Built By Rose Brand
Carpenters
Alexandra Blowers, Oliver Brink, Enrique Garcia, Ryan Howard, Mason Irwin, Shadow LaValley, Chris Martoccia, Greg Mueller, Sam Sully, Eiden Weissblum
Properties Artisans & Carpenters
Sigourney Chin, Ryan Howard
Stitchers
Trustin Adams, Kiko Cheyenne, Kassidy Klinesmith, Michayla Van Treeck
Lighting Programmer
Spencer Doughtie
Electricians
Erica Ammerman, Shannon Barondeau, Bianca Bishop, Ezra Fisher, Lucas Guazelli, Miri Henerson, Justin Kelley-Cahill, Ezra Muthiah, Christiana Saldibar, James Tatsch
Sound Technicians
Michael Svolos
PRODUCTION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Lighting Equipment Provided By Kinetic Lighting
Sound Equipment Provided By DnB Design, Jon Sound Inc., Launch
Production Photographer
Jeff Lorch
SPECIAL THANKS
Media Filming
Ramon Garcia
Design + Art Direction
Base Design
Photography
Justin Bettman
UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television Scene, Prop, Sound, and Costume Shops
RECORDING NOTICE
The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production and distributing recordings or streams in any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited, a violation of the author(s)’s rights and actionable under United States copyright law. For more information, please visit: https://concordtheatricals.com/resources/protecting-artists
This theater operates under agreement between the League of Resident Theaters and Actors Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.
The Stage Managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
This theater operates under agreement between the League of Resident Theaters and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, an independent national labor union.
The Director and Fight Director are Members of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.
The scenic, costume, lighting, and sound designers in LORT theaters are represented by United Scenic Artists Local USA-829, IATSE.
Geffen Playhouse is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts and Culture, and as part of Creative Recovery LA, an initiative funded by the American Rescue Plan.
Geffen Playhouse, a not-for-profit theater company, is proudly affiliated with the University of California at Los Angeles.
LINCOLN BONILLA (he/him)
Boy
Lincoln Bonilla is a rising young actor who discovered his passion for performing early, landing his first role at age 2 on Jane the Virgin (The CW). Since then, his career has spanned to television, film, and stage, with notable roles in Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures (Disney+), That Girl Lay Lay (Nickelodeon), Life By Ella (Apple TV+), Women Is Losers (Max), and Station 19 (ABC). In 2024, Lincoln made his theater debut in the acclaimed Young Playwrights Festival, showcasing his range and dedication to live performance. With a gift for understanding emotions and a fearless approach to acting, Lincoln is an emerging talent to watch across screen and stage. When he’s not acting, Lincoln enjoys playing soccer, building with LEGO, swimming, and learning new songs on his guitar. Excited for this next adventure, he’s thankful for the support from his friends and family, and his team at CESD Talent Agency and Rothman Andrés.
CONOR LOVETT (he/him) Pozzo
With over twenty Beckett roles to his credit, Conor is considered one of the foremost Beckett actors. In addition to over thirty years working with director Judy Hegarty Lovett, he was twice directed by German director Walter D. Asmus, who worked as Beckett’s assistant in Berlin in the 1970s. Conor trained with movement master Jacques Lecoq in Paris. He and Judy Hegarty Lovett founded Gare St Lazare Ireland in 1996 with their production of Beckett’s Molloy. The company’s subsequent staging of over twenty-five Beckett titles affirms it among the most prolific Beckett interpreters. Conor has also performed with Rubicon Theatre Company and Signature Theatre in the US and with Gate Theatre and Druid Theatre in Ireland. US playwright Will Eno wrote Title and Deed for Conor (directed by Judy Hegarty Lovett). Conor has been recognized for his work with awards in Edinburgh, Dublin, London, New York, Santa Barbara, and Shanghai. Film and TV credits include I’ll Find You, Marie Antoinette, Endeavour, Versailles, and Father Ted.
AASIF MANDVI Estragon
Aasif Mandvi is an award-winning actor, writer, and producer. He can currently be seen starring on the Paramount+/Netflix drama Evil and the Channel 4/Hulu comedy This Way Up Known for his decade-long work as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s Emmy Award–winning The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he was also a writer, producer, and co-star on the HBO series THE BRINK, and host of the CW comedy panel show Would I Lie to You? Other film and TV credits include: Mother’s Day, Million Dollar Arm, The Internship, The Dictator, Spider-Man 2, The Proposal, The Last Airbender, Ghost Town, A Series of Unfortunate Events (Netflix), Blue Bloods (CBS), Younger (TV Land), and Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO). Aasif will next be seen in the upcoming AMC anthology series The Terror: Devil in Silver. Notable theatre credits include: “Ali Hakim” in the National Theatre/ Broadway production of Oklahoma!, Lincoln Center’s premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Disgraced (Lucille Lortel Award nomination), and his solo show Sakina’s Restaurant (Obie
Award). Mandvi is the recipient of a Peabody Award for co-creating and starring in the web series Halal in the Family, which addressed anti-Muslim bigotry through humor.
JACK M c SHERRY Boy
Jack McSherry is delighted to be making his debut with Geffen Playhouse! A Los Angeles native, Jack has been acting most of his life, from commercials and print to children’s theater. Jack trains with his acting coach Anthony Ocasio at David Gray Studios. Outside of acting, he enjoys playing travel baseball and soccer. An avid reader and war historian, Jack is an academic at heart, with a zest to learn. He is an expert LEGO builder and a budding stop motion director. Jack couldn’t do any of this without his loving, supportive family, little sister included. He’d love to thank his agent, McKenna Murdock and everyone at DDO for their belief in him! Jack cannot wait to captivate audiences in Waiting for Godot!
ADAM STEIN
Lucky
In his New York days, Adam Stein appeared both off- and on Broadway, including a year-long stint in Julie Taymor’s The Lion King, in which he assayed the officious role of Zazu. He has performed in theaters around the country, including Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Old Globe, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Seattle Rep, Alley Theatre, McCarter Theatre Center, and others. Some favorite parts include the title role in Stephen Wadsworth’s adaptation of Molière’s Don Juan, “Parolles” in Darko Tresnjak’s production of All’s Well That Ends Well, and the “Son” in Adam Rapp’s Nocturne, directed by Matt Shakman. At the Geffen, he also appeared in Mr. Shakman’s Wait Until Dark. He received a B.A. in English from Yale and his M.F.A. from NYU’s Graduate Acting Program. When not acting, he writes for television, having recently served as an executive producer on two shows for HBO Max (or just Max), Our Flag Means Death and Tokyo Vice.
RAINN WILSON
Vladimir
Rainn Wilson is an Emmy–nominated and SAG Award–winning actor best known for playing the inimitable “Dwight Schrute” for nine seasons on NBC’s The Office. His diverse career includes dozens of roles in television, movies, unscripted series, animation, and podcasts. He attended NYU’s Graduate Acting Program and spent many years on stage before moving to LA—working on and off-Broadway as well as at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Guthrie Theater, Arena Stage, The Old Globe, and The Acting Company, among others. In addition, he is a New York Times Bestselling author, having written The Bassoon King, SoulPancake: Chew on Life’s Big Questions, and his latest book Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution. Rainn founded digital media company SoulPancake and co-founded Lidè Haiti, an education non-profit that empowers women and girls through arts and literacy in rural Haiti.
TIMOTHY PAUL BROWN (he/him)
u/s Vladimir
Thrilled to make his Geffen debut! Theatre: The City of Conversation (Ensemble Theatre Company); All the Way (Dallas Theater Center); Twelfth Night (PCPA). Television: Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s hit show Power Book III: Raising Kanan (Starz); and recurred on Jim Carrey’s I’m Dying Up Here (Showtime). Film: Eddie Murphy’s Dolemite Is My Name (Netflix). M.F.A. SMU. Represented by Nevername Artists Agency and Endorse Management Group. Thank you to my wife “Beautiful” for her love and support. IG: @iamtpbrown
ANDREW BRIAN CARTER (he/him)
u/s Pozzo / Lucky
Andrew Brian Carter makes his Geffen Playhouse debut. Los Angeles: Die, Mommie, Die! (Celebration Theatre/ Center Theatre Group); BLISS (or Emily Post is Dead!) (Moving
Arts); Never Ever Land (Theatre Unleashed); Around the World in 80 Days (Actors Co-op Theatre Company); No Wake (Vs. Theatre Company). Regional: Frost/ Nixon, The Pitmen Painters, The History Boys, This Happy Breed, Pravda (TimeLine Theatre Company); The Internationalist (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); A True History of the Jonestown Flood (Goodman Theatre); Rose Rage, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Once in a Lifetime, Yentl, Fallen Angels (Asolo Repertory Theatre). TV: The Neighborhood, Beef, Minx, Chad, 2 Broke Girls, New Girl, For All Mankind, Truth Be Told, Agent Carter, Lopez, Fresh Off the Boat, Real Husbands of Hollywood, Castle, Pretty Little Liars. Film: Off the Menu; The Mother, the Menacer, and Me; First Day Back; Bertie the Brilliant. Watch him in action at www.abcisme.com and @_abcisme_
BOISE HOLMES (he/him) u/s Estragon
Boise Holmes recently starred as “Dr. Dillamond” in the Broadway National Tour of Wicked. He also starred as “Tonton Julian” in the Tony Award–winning revival
of Once on This Island both on Broadway and the National Tour. Boise spent years in Germany starring as “Mufasa” in the German speaking cast of Disney’s The Lion King. A lover of God and humanity, Boise also serves as Associate Pastor at Grand Central Collective in Santa Clarita, CA. Numerous commercials, voiceovers, and TV/film credits include: recurring on Days of Our Lives, Chicago Fire, Grey’s Anatomy, Law & Order, Ant-Man and the Wasp, “Mr. Supremium” for ExxonMobil Fuels, and Toyota. Boise performed as “Othello” at Lincoln Center for which he was awarded a full scholarship to study abroad at The Oxford School of Drama. Thanks to Brenner Management. Love to his wife and their children.
@boiseholmes 1 John 4:8
JUDY HEGARTY LOVETT (she/her) Director
Judy Hegarty Lovett is an awarding winning director and has directed over twenty three Beckett productions for Gare St. Lazare Ireland. Titles include Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable, Lessness, Enough, Worstward Ho, Texts For Nothing, First Love, The End, The Calmative, Ill Seen Ill Said, How
It Is, Here All Night, Waiting for Godot, Rockaby, and all six Beckett radio plays. She has presented in over eighty-five cities worldwide at venues including Lincoln Center Theater, Signature Theatre Company (NYC), UCLA Live, National Theatre (London), Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre, and Abbey Theatre (Dublin). In 2021 Judy directed a six-hour film of Beckett’s novel How It Is and was awarded a Ph.D. on the staging of Beckett’s prose at University of Reading, UK. She has a postgraduate degree in Dramatherapy and a degree in Fine Art/mixed media. Judy won Best Director at The Irish Times Irish Theater Awards in 2022 for The Realistic Jones by Will Eno and was nominated for Best Director at The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards in 2019 for How It Is (Part 2) and for Best Production in 2018 for How It Is (Part 1)
SAMUEL BECKETT Playwright
Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) is widely recognized as one of the greatest dramatists of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969. Beckett is most renowned
for his play Waiting for Godot, which launched his career in theatre. He then went on to write numerous successful full-length plays, including Endgame in 1957, Krapp’s Last Tape in 1958, and Happy Days in 1960. Beckett received his first commission for radio from the BBC in 1956 for All That Fall. This was followed by a further five plays for radio, including Embers, Words and Music, and Cascando. Like no other dramatist before him, Beckett’s works capture the pathos and ironies of modern life yet still maintain his faith in man’s capacity for compassion and survival, no matter how challenging his environment may have become.
KAYE VOYCE (she/her)
Scenic & Costume Designer
Ms. Voyce is based in NYC and her work for theater, dance, and opera has been seen on stages around the country and around the world. Selected recent credits include costume design for the opera/dance/orchestral event Stranger Love (LA Philharmonic), Uncle Vanya (Broadway, directed by Lila Neugebauer and starring Steve Carrell), the world premiere of Missy Mazzoli’s opera The Listeners (Den Norske Opera & Ballet, Opera Philadelphia, Lyric Opera of Chicago), and set and costume design for the world premiere of the Philip Glass opera double bill Mud/ Drowning (Days and Nights Festival, Mabou Mines, directed
by JoAnne Akalaitis). Upcoming projects include the set design for a play with music based on Show Boat, costume design for Sarah Silverman’s musical based on her memoir The Bedwetter, and a dance project with LA-based choreographer Zoe Scofield and the band Xiu Xiu.
SIMON BENNISON
Lighting Designer
British lighting designer Simon Bennison is from Manchester and has trained in lighting, architecture, and music at UCL, Surrey, Yale, RADA, and Salford and was Lighting Associate for the Royal Opera House until 2022. Recent designs include Anemoi and The Winter’s Tale (The Royal Ballet), Inferno: Pilgrim/The Dante Project (The Royal Ballet & The Danish Royal Ballet), Woolf Works (American Ballet Theatre), Shades Through a Shade and The Realistic Joneses (Gare St Lazare Ireland), Die Zauberflöte (Sofia Opera and Ballet), and Carlos at 50 (Royal Opera House). Scenes from an Execution (Dundee Repertory Theatre) and In a Minor Key (Mikhailovsky Ballet), were both nominated for best lighting awards. Scherzo and Anemoi each received best new dance piece awards from the South Bank Sky Arts Awards and Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards in 2021 and The Dante Project won best dance work in 2022.
MEL MERCIER
Sound Design Composition
Mel Mercier is a multi-disciplinary, award-winning, Tony–nominated artist with an international reputation as a performer, composer, and sound designer. He received an M.F.A. in World Music from CalArts in 1992 and a Ph.D. in Music from University of Limerick, Ireland, in 2011. He was inaugural Chair of Performing Arts at the Irish World Academy of Music & Dance, University of Limerick, Ireland from 2016 to 2022. He is director of the Irish Gamelan Orchestra, MÓNCKK new music ensemble, and PULSUS, the first Irish traditional percussion ensemble. Mel’s father, Peadar Mercier, a member of The Chieftains from 1966-76, taught him to play the Irish bodhrán and bones. Throughout the 1980s, Mel and his father performed with John Cage and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Mel has created music for theatre in Ireland and internationally for 25 years, during which time he has worked with some of the world’s most respected theatre artists, including Fiona Shaw, Deborah Warner, and Gare St Lazare Ireland.
VELANI DIBBA (she/her) Associate Director
Velani Dibba is an LA-based director and multidisciplinary artist. Her work focuses on the collision of cultures through design-focused and ensemble-driven pieces. Select credits
include Pride and Prejudice (The Dramat at Yale Repertory Theatre), we need your listening (New Ohio Theatre Ice Factory Festival), Apologies to the Bengali Lady (Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Tank NYC, The Gathering), I Pledge Allegiance (UNESCO International Theatre Festival and World Congress, TCG National Conference), Space Odyssey (Columbia School of the Arts). She is an Inaugural Fellow at the Laboratory for Global Performance & Politics in Washington D.C., a former Global Cultural Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, and a former SITI Company Artistic Associate. Her work has been reported on by The New York Times, Vulture, The Scotsman, and various other outlets.
M.F.A. Columbia University, B.S.F.S. Georgetown School of Foreign Service. Upcoming: Don’t Touch My Hair at IAMA Theatre Company.
STEVE RANKIN
Fight Director
Most recently at Geffen Playhouse: The First Deep Breath, King Liz, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Paradise Blue, Key Largo, Witch, Big Sky Broadway: Carousel (Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Fight Choreography), Ain’t Too Proud, All My Sons, Summer, Memphis, Jersey Boys, Henry IV, Twelfth Night, The Who’s Tommy, Anna Christie, The Real Inspector Hound, Macbeth, The
Farnsworth Invention, Guys and Dolls, Dracula, Doctor Zhivago, Bonnie and Clyde, Getting Away With Murder, Two Shakespearean Actors. Off-Broadway: Pig Farm, The Third Story, The Night Hank Williams Died, Below the Belt. Public Theater: CORIOLANUS. Shakespeare Los Angeles: Henry IV (with Tom Hanks).
Stratford Shakespeare Festival: Romeo and Juliet, Caesar and Cleopatra, The Who’s Tommy, Macbeth, Henry V. Metropolitan Opera: Faust, Rodelinda, Boris Godunov, Iphegenie at Tauride. Regional: The Kennedy Center, Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, The Old Globe (Associate Artist), La Jolla Playhouse, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Actors Theater of Louisville, et al. Mr. Rankin also plays mandolin and guitar with The Susie Glaze New Folk Ensemble. Steve is a proud member of SDC.
ALYSSA ESCALANTE (she/her) Production Stage Manager
Alyssa is a Los Angeles-based stage manager and proud graduate of Occidental College. This year she joined the Geffen full time as Production Coordinator & Resident Production Stage Manager. Her Geffen credits include: Fat Ham, The Mountaintop, The First Deep Breath, A Wicked Soul in Cherry Hill. As a freelancer, she has worked at many of the regional and small theatre companies in Southern California such as The Old Globe, South Coast
Repertory, Pasadena Playhouse, Boston Court Pasadena, Troubadour Theater Company, and Musical Theatre West. Additionally, Alyssa worked with SITI Company on their production of The Bacchae at the Guthrie Theater and was an in-town substitute on Hamilton with its Eliza Company at the Pantages Theatre.
MIRIAM E. MENDOZA (she/her)
Assistant Stage Manager
Miriam is extremely excited to be joining the Geffen Playhouse team for the first time! Credits include Jelly’s Last Jam, Inherit the Wind, and world premiere of One of the Good Ones (Pasadena Playhouse); world premiere of Alma, Tambo & Bones (Center Theatre Group— Kirk Douglas Theatre); 2:22–A Ghost Story, The Secret Garden (Center Theatre Group—Ahmanson Theatre); world premiere of A Transparent Musical (Center Theatre Group—Mark Taper Forum); The Half Life of Marie Curie (Theatre SilCo). An El Paso, Texas native, Miriam teaches and works around the Los Angeles area. She is a company member of New Swan Shakespeare Festival and has worked for the Walt Disney Company’s Imagination Campus (formerly known as Disney Performing Arts). M.F.A. in Stage Management from the University of California, Irvine. Many thanks to Abel and my family for their support!
PHYLLIS SCHURINGA, CSA (she/her)
Casting Director
Phyllis is an Artistic Associate and the Casting Director for Geffen Playhouse. Recent productions include: The Inheritance: Part 1 & Part 2 (Artios Award), Every Brilliant Thing, The Power of Sail, Witch, and Barbecue. Before joining the Geffen, she cast for Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago where her favorites include Frank Galati’s adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath (also La Jolla Playhouse, National Theatre in London, and Broadway, where it received the Tony Award for Best Play) and the original production of Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile Broadway transfers include One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Tony Award for Best Revival), The Song of Jacob Zulu, and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
GARE ST LAZARE IRELAND
Producer
Gare St Lazare Ireland is dedicated to the staging of Samuel Beckett’s work with an emphasis on his prose works. It has staged over twenty-four Beckett titles spanning his prose, drama, and radio plays and tours around the world and the US performing at Lincoln Center Theater, Signature Theatre, ArtsEmerson, Rubicon Theatre Company, Laguna Playhouse, and at UCLA’s Royce Hall during the 2006 Beckett Centenary. Co-produced a
new production of The Realistic Joneses by Will Eno, which toured to the West Coast in 2023; Eno also wrote the solo play Title and Deed for Conor Lovett to perform and Judy Hegarty Lovett to direct in 2011. In Ireland, the company has toured to over sixty venues and recently performed at Abbey Theatre, Dublin and The Everyman, Cork. In 2023, Gare St Lazare set up Atelier Samuel Beckett in France to offer residential stays for artists of all disciplines to take time and space to develop their own work while considering the work of Samuel Beckett. www.garestlazareireland.com Gare St Lazare are grateful to Culture Ireland for supporting this collaboration with Geffen Playhouse.
MAURA O'KEEFFE
Gare St Lazare Ireland Associate Producer
Described by The Irish Times as “the lateral-thinking producer,” Maura O’Keeffe has over thirty years of experience managing innovative projects of all scales both nationally and internationally in diverse areas of theatre and across the performing arts. She is an Associate Producer with Gare St Lazare Ireland, working closely with the Artistic Directors on strategic development as well as providing producing support on the company’s extensive Irish and international activities. She is also Artistic Director/Creative Producer with Once Off Produc-
tions, a creative, flexible, and supportive producing platform for a wide range of independent artists working across theatre, dance, opera, and music. Once Off Productions is a key part of the performing arts landscape in Ireland, nurturing artists and fostering the development of innovative, collaborative, courageous, and ambitious projects while marrying this work with the needs of presenters to serve audiences across the island of Ireland and internationally.
TARELL ALVIN M c CRANEY (he/him)
Artistic Director
Tarell Alvin McCraney is Artistic Director of Geffen Playhouse. In this role, he is responsible for identifying, developing, and programming new works and re-envisioned classics. He sets the strategic artistic course for the Geffen’s Gil Cates and Audrey Skirball Kenis Theaters. McCraney is an award-winning writer, producer, and educator, best known for his acclaimed trilogy, The Brother/Sister Plays. His script In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue is the basis for the Oscar–winning film Moonlight directed by Barry Jenkins, for which McCraney and Jenkins also won
a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar. He is an ensemble member at Steppenwolf Theatre and a member of Teo Castellanos D-Projects in Miami, a graduate of New World School of the Arts, The Theatre School at DePaul University, and the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Warwick. He was recently Co-Chair of Playwriting at the David Geffen School of Drama, where he remains on faculty. He is an associate at the Royal Shakespeare Company, London, and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Writers Branch).
GIL CATES, JR. Executive Director / CEO
Gil Cates, Jr. is Executive Director / CEO of Geffen Playhouse. In this role, he is responsible for managing the Geffen’s dayto-day operations; developing new, ongoing theater partnerships and leading its mission to inform, entertain and inspire diverse audiences with live theater of the highest caliber. Prior to being named Executive Director in 2015, Cates served as Geffen Playhouse Board Vice Chairman since 2012 and served as a
producer and director in theater, film and television. His theater credits include the award-winning Names (Matrix Theatre Company) and Three Sisters and David Mamet’s A Life in the Theatre (both at Syracuse Stage). Cates’ film credits include The Surface (starring Sean Astin and Geffen Playhouse alumnus Chris Mulkey), Jobs (starring Ashton Kutcher, Josh Gad, Dermot Mulroney, as well as Geffen Playhouse alumni Matthew Modine and Ron Eldard) and the 2011 feature film Lucky (starring Colin Hanks, Ari Graynor and Ann-Margret). In addition, Cates co-produced and co-directed the critically acclaimed Life After Tomorrow, featuring Sarah Jessica Parker, which premiered on Showtime. His other films include Deal (starring Burt Reynolds, Bret Harrison and Charles Durning) and The Mesmerist (starring Jessica Capshaw and Geffen Playhouse alumnus Neil Patrick Harris). Cates’ television directorial debut was an episode of the NBC comedy Joey, starring Emmy winner Matt LeBlanc. He recently directed Displaced, a documentary short chronicling the journey of one of the first refugee families to flee Ukraine and arrive in the U.S. after escaping the Russian invasion. He studied at the National Theatre Institute in Waterford, Connecticut, and holds a B.F.A. in Drama from Syracuse University.
GEFFEN AT A GLANCE
CONTACT
Geffen Playhouse
10886 Le Conte Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90024
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES
310.208.6500
Monday–Friday, 10:00am–6:00pm
AUDIENCE SERVICES
310.208.2028
Tuesday–Sunday, 12:00pm–6:00pm
Please visit geffenplayhouse.org for hours, parking and more information.
BOX OFFICE WINDOW
Tuesday–Sunday, 12:00pm–6:00pm, as well as on performance days up until 15 minutes after curtain.
Please note: the box office window is unable to process exchanges or future sales one hour prior to curtain time on performance days.
ACCESSIBILITY
Geffen Playhouse is fully committed to providing access to patrons with mobility, visual and hearing impairments. Parking spaces directly outside the theater are zoned for drop off and pick up, as well as disabled parking spots for patrons with appropriate placards and plates. For more information, visit geffenplayhouse.org/access or call Audience Services.
LATE SEATING
Should you arrive late to the theater or vacate your seat during the performance, please expect to be held in the lobby until an appropriate pause in the action on stage. Some productions or circumstances may not allow for late or return seating. To minimize disturbances to other patrons, you may be seated in the first available location by the house staff even if it is different from your assigned seat.
NO PHOTOGRAPHY
There is no photography or filming of any kind allowed during the performance. Please turn off all electronic devices, including cell phones.
UCLA SCHOOL OF THEATER, FILM AND TELEVISION
Geffen Playhouse is affiliated with the University of California at Los Angeles, specifically the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Geffen Playhouse values its role as an important educational resource by providing students with master classes, workshops and internships. Students are also able to work and learn from distinguished visiting Geffen artists in areas of directing, playwriting, acting, design, dramaturgy, management and production. Geffen Playhouse also draws upon the distinguished experts in the university to enhance the theater’s programs and research.
THE NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Supporting artists is central to the mission of the Geffen Playhouse, and play commissions are a cornerstone of that support. To commission a playwright to write a play means making a commitment to their voice, craft, and vision, with the hope of sharing the fruits of their work on our stage.
We are proud to have the following artists under commission:
LUIS ALFARO
COLMAN DOMINGO
MICHAEL GOLAMCO
MEGHAN KENNEDY
KATIE LINDSAY, TOVA KATZ & ALEXANDRA KALINOWSKI
MATTHEW LÓPEZ
MARTYNA MAJOK Co-Commission with Atlantic Theater Company
TARELL ALVIN M c CRANEY
QUI NGUYEN Co-Commission with Manhattan Theatre Club
STACY OSEI-KUFFOUR
JIEHAE PARK
JOHN POLLONO
ROBERT SCHENKKAN
JEN SILVERMAN
N’YOMI ALLURE STEWART
Co-Commission with New York Theatre Workshop, supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation
YORK WALKER
DAVID WIENER
CRAIG WRIGHT
LAUREN YEE
For more information on this program, please visit geffenplayhouse.org/newplays.
THE WRITERS’ ROOM
A group for Los Angeles-based playwrights, The Writers’ Room is a product of the Geffen’s deep commitment to supporting new plays and specifically to fostering bold, relevant work by the vibrant artistic community of this city.
During this one-year residency, playwright members gather monthly at the Geffen to share their work and receive feedback from their peers and the Geffen’s artistic staff, culminating in a play reading series.
We are proud to have the following artists in the 2024/2025 Writers’ Room:
SUNNY DRAKE
KEIKO GREEN
ANDREW ZEPEDA KLEIN
MAATIN
SAMAH MEGHJEE
JAMES ANTHONY TYLER
The Writers’ Room is made possible through the generous support of the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.
For more information on this program, please visit geffenplayhouse.org/thewritersroom.
THEATER IN EDUCATION HAS THE POWER TO IGNITE CHANGE
Geffen Playhouse is deeply committed to creating powerful and impactful arts education and engagement experiences that amplify, inspire, and encompass our diverse Los Angeles community. Our programs provide unique, in-depth access to theater and the arts for determined and ambitious youth and adults coming from historically excluded communities. We invite all Angelenos to come home here. When you support our education and community engagement programs, you create a world of greater understanding, increased expression, and deeper compassion while enjoying your home away from home at this historic playhouse.
Above: Student Q&A with Dragon Lady star Sara Porkalob after a student matinee.
HIS WRITING SUSTAINS
AN INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR JUDY HEGARTY LOVETT ABOUT BECKETT, GODOT, AND THE GROWTH OF GARE ST LAZARE IRELAND
BY OLIVIA O’CONNOR, GEFFEN
OLIVIA O'CONNOR: You saw your first Beckett play, which was Waiting for Godot, when you were a teenager in Cork, Ireland. Do you remember your first reaction to the play?
JUDY HEGARTY LOVETT: I do. I remember it very distinctly. It was a beautiful production. It was in a very small theater called the Ivernia Theatre with a very fine cast. I was fascinated by what I saw on stage—the visual imagery and the style of the dialogue. The most incredible discovery for me was Pozzo and Lucky, and the casual manner in which a man crosses the stage tied to a rope. I was wondering, why is nobody taking any notice of the man with a rope around his neck? It was a revelatory moment for me.
OO: Since co-founding Gare St Lazare Ireland in 1996 [with co-artistic director and collaborator Conor Lovett], you’ve been directing
and adapting Beckett’s work for more than 25 years. What about Beckett’s body of work has continued to speak to you? Has your relationship to his work changed as you’ve gotten older, especially in regards to Godot?
JHL: Our company’s approach to Samuel Beckett has been particular in that we focused principally on the prose works over the plays. In fact, we began with a short audition piece from Beckett’s novel Molloy. Something clicked, and I knew this work was worth pursuing. We just kept extending the audition piece and eventually thought that it might be a good idea to present it as a work for the stage. And so it was a very simple entry in the sense of just liking the writing, reading Beckett’s work and finding a way to present it on stage. There was no plan to head into 25 years of being with the same writer. Somewhere in the middle of touring the
PLAYHOUSE LITERARY MANAGER & DRAMATURG
PHOTO BY JEFF LORCH
Director Judy Hegarty Lovett in rehearsal.
work around the world, we realized we could keep going and hopefully eventually present all the prose and plays, and here we are. Beckett’s writing feels as fresh to me today as that first day, and I expect I will never tire of it. It is exceptional writing, and writers of this caliber do not come along every day.
To answer the second part of your question: I think the way my relationship has developed to the work has less to do with my own [personal] changes and more to do with actually spending that amount of time with a single writer. Having the privilege of delving deep [has led to] a rich excavation and a deeper
understanding of the patterns, choices, and developments across Beckett’s canon.
GSLI mounted our very first production [of Godot] when we first moved to Paris in 1991. It played in a studio theater in the First Arrondissement. The theater had an English-speaking program, which, as you can imagine, had small audience turnout. I didn’t know it at the time, but this turned out to be of great benefit to my practice: it became for me a kind of a testing ground. The press weren’t watching; the estate weren’t watching. And so the company took liberties that perhaps would not be appreciated if we had been in the
spotlight at the time. We did not have a tree; we did not have a stone. We did not have a budget. We had to improvise. The cast and crew all worked voluntarily. To have that freedom at that time was a great advantage. I learned so much about the play in that context. In subsequent productions, I became very aware of Beckett’s stage directions in Godot and how important they are to the production. They are, as such, part of the play-text and are deeply woven into the integrity of the play. [And so, for a time], following every stage direction to the letter became the approach to the work. Fast forward to next productions, I now feel that it’s best to
meld, mold, and sculpt—[to find] a possibility for a freedom and an attention to the prescriptive detail of the work. Waiting For Godot is all about juxtaposition, opposites, and balance—it’s not surprising that the approach to staging it might suggest similar structures.
OO: Common misperceptions of Beckett’s work are that it’s quite serious or inaccessible. When you enter into a new process, is that notion something that you address head-on?
JHL: Waiting for Godot is a truly accessible play. I think what has happened is that, not unlike Joyce, Beckett has been kept in an academic
GARE ST LAZARE IRELAND’S PRODUCTIONS L-R: Trey Lyford and Lux Lovett in Shades Through A Shade directed by Judy Hegarty Lovett at Dublin Theatre Festival 2024. Photo by Ewa Figaszewska. Stephen Dillane and Conor Lovett in How It Is (Part 1) directed by Judy Hegarty Lovett. Photo by Grant Gee.
box. Somehow and somewhere along the way it was believed to be a play for intellectuals, and that’s a great pity, because it’s a play written for everybody. This play has been translated in multiple languages and is now seen as the most influential play of the 20th century. It’s both funny and tragic, and it asks the questions we all ask at some point. I doubt there’s a person on Earth who hasn’t sat at one point and asked, why are we here? I’ve heard children ask that question, you know what I mean? So it doesn’t take an intellectual mind to wonder what life is all about. This play asks those questions and more.
OO: Gare St Lazare Ireland founded the Atelier Samuel Beckett last year, through which artists of all disciplines are invited to residencies near your home in France. How did that program begin?
JHL: The Atelier Samuel Beckett is really a fantastic story. When Conor and I first moved to France, after being married for a number of years, we went to a very small little village in Mericourt, about 40 minutes outside of the Paris city center. A wonderful American couple gave us the possibility to look after their house in that village. It meant that as young artists, we had a possibility to build a body of work. [The house] was a rehearsal place and a place for us to work. It allowed us to create, over a number of years, a body of work that we’re still living from today.
From that beautiful village in a rehearsal room in France, we toured our work around the world. It became a signature of the company to tour internationally. Touring meant we were presenting the work in the U.S. and meeting with patrons who loved what we were doing and wanted to make sure we had support to keep going. One of those patrons, just prior to COVID, came to us and said, “We’d like to give the company a substantial gift. What would you like to do with that?”
And so we thought, as you do in mid-age: it’s a time for reflection and looking back. We had to think about the great fortune that we had up to now, and all of the support and patronage from the very first visit to Mericourt with the American couple who had given us
their home to live in. We knew the value of what it was to live in that rural village, and we thought, we need to give that back. That was the impetus and inspiration for the Atelier.
OO: After having engaged with Beckett’s work for many decades now, what still surprises you about his work?
JHL: Oh, the best surprise is people’s response. How different actors receive the work, how different collaborators respond and understand the work, how an audience reacts.
The other thing that I find fascinating is: his writing sustains. I’ve never tired of it. It always feels new. It feels modern. There are so many layers, so much to keep on discovering. Beckett’s writing is so human, so current, so rich and rewarding. And [Beckett’s] writing, in addition to just being funny or enjoyable or entertaining, can be hugely insightful. It can penetrate an understanding of the self, or at least help in understanding human behavior.
To read the full interview with Judy, visit geffenplayhouse.org/blog.
Atelier Samuel Beckett.
Photo by Giaime Meloni.
ABOUT ATELIER SAMUEL BECKETT
Atelier Samuel Beckett (ASB) was established in 2023 by Gare St Lazare Ireland to offer artists of all disciplines an invitation to consider the artistic legacy of Samuel Beckett as they focus on their own practice. Its honorary patrons are actor Ciarán Hinds and Edward Beckett (nephew of Samuel Beckett).
Artists can apply to spend three weeks sharing this newly renovated period house with stunning views of the Seine and the surrounding forest. There are also a limited number of sponsored residencies where the artist’s costs are covered. These are announced as they arise on Instagram @ateliersamuelbeckett11.
To support ASB’s mission to host artists, please contact ateliersamuelbeckett@gmail.com.
THE LIBRARY
Atelier Samuel Beckett houses an extensive library of books by and about Beckett donated by Edward Beckett, John Calder & Sheila Colvin Calder, Bill Shipsey, Conor Lovett & Judy Hegarty Lovett, and Angela Moorjani. Visitors are encouraged to gift a book to the library. Beckett
mentoring is also available to artists from Gare St Lazare Ireland’s co-artistic directors, Judy Hegarty Lovett and Conor Lovett, who live nearby.
VISITORS
Visitors to date include Edward Beckett, Ciarán Hinds (actor) and Helene Patarot (actress), Bill Irwin (actor) and Martha Roth (dancer), Kevin Barry (writer) and Olivia Smyth (editor/publisher), Kaite O’Reilly (playwright), Joo Choon Lin (multi-media artist), Benedict Schelpper-Connolly (composer), Michelle O’Rourke (singer), James McGovern (singer) and Issy Williams (designer), Ally Ni Chiarain (actress), Maura O’Keeffe (producer), David Stalling (composer) and Anthony Kelly (sound artist), Jane Coyle (playwright), Elizabeth Corbett (singer), Sean MacErlaine (musician), Faline England (actress), Joe Spano (actor), Sorcha Fox (actress), Bill Shipsey (Art for Human Rights), Patricia Hegarty & Patrick Mellett (architects), and Giaime Meloni (photographer).
“The Beckett library is comprehensive and a constant source of inspiration. The distractions of the area are gentle and undemanding, with great walks and views over the upper reaches of the Seine as the boats go by. I feel the Atelier has everything required for a dedicated period of work, and the nearby presence of the ever-obliging Judy and Conor of Gare St Lazare Ireland gives the sense of a place where the creative work is serious and devoted and always ongoing.” —Kevin Barry (Writer—Night Boat to Tangier, Beatlebone)
“Thank you for the chance to sit in this study— with the books you’ve assembled and those that others have brought and left... and to contemplate this body of work Mr. Beckett has left behind him. It’s only fed my preoccupation (which I can never really explain, much as people ask us to). I think I’m always half hoping I’ll cool off on this work—but no, it hasn’t happened. The time here has re-set my desire to work with Mr. Beckett’s language—to look at it anew as actor and storyteller—and to continue to try to see what it is to me, and what I am to it.” —Bill Irwin (Beckett actor—On Beckett, Interstellar, Endgame)
ANNUAL DONORS
Geffen Playhouse recognizes the following individuals and organizations for their generous support of our Annual Fund. Donors are listed at the Partner’s Circle level and higher for gifts made between August 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024. A full listing of our supporters can be found at geffenplayhouse.org/thankyou.
In appreciation, Annual Fund donors enjoy a host of special benefits including concierge ticketing services, complimentary drinks, receptions, and much more.
For more information, please call Anika Waco at 310.208.6500 ext. 195.
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HOSPITALITY
SPONSORS
Thank you to our year-round in-kind hospitality sponsors for their incredible generosity and support of the arts:
Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey
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CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE
The Chairman’s Circle acknowledges the historical contributions of the following individuals, whose support of Geffen Playhouse made the original vision of our founder, Gil Cates, Sr., possible:
Anonymous
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Judy & Chancellor Charles^ E. Young
If your name has been misspelled or omitted from the list in error, please contact Anika Waco, Donor Relations Coordinator at 310.208.6500 ext. 195.
Tarell
Alvin McCraney ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
ARTISTIC
Amy Levinson
Associate Artistic Director
Daniel Ionazzi
Producer
Phyllis Schuringa
Artistic Associate / Casting Director
Bella Luna
Company Manager
Olivia O’Connor
Literary Manager & Dramaturg
Lexy McAvinchey
Artistic Coordinator
Dionn Richardson
Assistant to the Artistic Director
Taylor Ybarra
Yale Artistic Fellow
PRODUCTION
Matt Sweeney
Director of Production
Alyssa Escalante
Production Coordinator / Resident Production Stage Manager
Melissa Hartman
Technical Director
Philip Rossi
Lead Scenic Carpenter
Rick Gilles
Properties Master
Audrey Lastar
Costume Supervisor
Sarah Lindsley
Costume Shop Supervisor
Spencer Doughtie
Lighting & Projection Supervisor
Jesus Cambero-Elias
Assistant Lighting Supervisor
James Grabowski
House Sound Supervisor
Bob Gilmartin
Resident A1
ADMINISTRATION
Sarah Sturdivant
Chief Financial Officer
Erick R. López
General Manager
Berenice Campos Director of Human Resources
Janice Gompers
Payroll Manager & HR Admin
Youra Kim
Accounting Manager
Jake Jones
Staff Accountant
Clay Dzygun
Office Coordinator
Chloe Shi
General Management Associate
Marguerite Harris
Receptionist
DEVELOPMENT
Sarah Weinberg
Chief Development Officer
Elizabeth Kegley
Director of Institutional Giving
Tracy Reich
Director of Individual Giving
Rachel Jacoby
Data Management Coordinator
Anika Waco
Donor Relations Coordinator
Zoila Lopez
Development Assistant
EDUCATION
Brian Allman
Director of Education & Community Engagement
Mark J. Chaitin
Manager of Education & Community Engagement
Paloma Nozicka
Education Associate
Sean Michael Boozer, Paris Clayton III, DeJuan Christopher Conner, Lyssa Deehan, Sidney Edwards, Aja Houston, BJ Lange, Tiffany Oglesby, Tara Ricasa, Gerry Tonella
Teaching Artists
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Patrick Brown
Director of Marketing
Zenon Dmytryk
Director of Communications
Karen Gutierrez
Director of Advertising & Audience Development
Brian Dunning
Director of Content & Creative
Zack Hamra
Director of Audience Services & Ticketing
Isaak Berliner
Social Media & Communications Manager
Alyssa Tyson
Audience Services Manager
Gil Cates, Jr. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR / CEO
Jacob Feller, Jon-Paul Schaut
Box Office Managers
Brianna Barrett, Tori Eriavez, Peyton Fleming, Iyanla A. Guardado-Page, Pablo Hamlin, Miranda Heath, Gabrielle Johnsen, Jeffrey Limoncelli, Kayla Page, Sophia Stiker, Dennis Woullard
Box Office Staff
Theater Direct
Outbound Sales
OPERATIONS
Jeni Pearsons
Director of Operations
Mel Yonzon
Front of House Manager
Amy Farkas
Lead Concierge
Rob Mersola
Event Manager
Sarah Chute, Anya Pryjmak, Emir Yonzon
Part Time House Managers
Vanessa Bradchulis, Marlon Campos, Savanna Chute, Stephen Johnson, Taylor McClain, Shannon Noel, Autumn Oyemade, Adam Simers
Guest Services
Brynn Allen, Luvina Arabella, Blaire Battle, Claire Booker, Lauren Curet, Enzo De Cunto, Camille Edwards, Kosi Eguchi, Sydney Fleischman, Ryan Foreman, Diane Hernandez, Keo Lacebal, Dylan La Rocque, Cassidy LeClair, Jonathan McGill, Austin Merrill, Dominique Meyer, Elena Scaringe-Peene, Marlyn Fisher Scott, Lanae Wilks Ushers
