Geva Guide, Fall 2014

LIGHTS OUT

Director David Ira Goldstein returns for Wait Until Dark

THE WRITERS’ STUDIO Inside the Festival of New Theatre

DRESSED FOR SUCCESS

Meet Costume Designer Devon Painter

STIRRING UP A HORNETS’ NEST Hot Topics. Your Community. Your Voice.

HABIT FORMING

“Sister” Colleen Moore has a brand new Catechism

WHO IS SCROOGE?

Examining the iconic Christmas character

DISCOVER LEARN CONNECT DO SEPTEMBER 2014 - JANUARY 2015 www.GevaTheatre.org | (585) 232-4382

DO SOMETHING

FUN!

COMEDY FAVORITE NOV 4 - NOV 30

BROADWAY HIT OCT 21 - NOV 16

People HOLIDAY CLASSIC NOV 26 - DEC 27

FAMILY MUSICAL JAN 13 - FEB 15

DO GEVA www.GevaTheatre.org | (585) 232-4382

Patrons and artists are at the core of Geva Theatre Center, and this fall there are many ways for you to connect with and enjoy the work of the country’s top professional theatre artists. Whether you are a long-time patron or new to the theatre, you can create a customized and entertaining journey that will fill you with joy, surprise, curiosity, excitement and pride in the quality of professional theatre made right here in Rochester.

Geva is most known for its stage productions. This fall, we kick off our 42nd Season of making great theatre with the Rochester community with the classic stage thriller, Wait Until Dark. You can then sample “theatrical tapas” in the Rochester Fringe Festival, which takes over the Fielding Nextstage with exceptional offerings of dance, theatre, magic, family shows and comedy. During the Festival of New Theatre, meet and join with playwrights working on their newest plays during two weeks of free play readings and discussions. This fall, you’ll also find one of best and most produced contemporary plays, Good People; a hilarious exploration of the catechism and the sacraments of marriage and last rights in ‘Til Death Do Us Part: Late Nite Catechism 3; and a chance to make special holiday memories at A Christmas Carol, Rochester’s holiday tradition.

Mark Cuddy

In addition to seeing great theatre, you can learn how theatre is made, connect with friends new and old, or find a platform to speak your mind in one of the many community engagement programs. Go behind-the-scenes to explore backstage or the creative process. Network with other theatre lovers or have a special night out with yours.

From new friendships and lifelong romances to lasting memories of happiness and wonder for youth and adults, Geva Theatre Center is here for you to nurture relationships, expand horizons and create unique experiences. There is something for everyone, so we encourage you to do something dramatic: Do Geva. Explore your theatre, home grown.

Mark Cuddy Artistic Director

Tom Parrish Executive Director

Festival of New Theatre

About this guide

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Step into the writers’ studio and Geva Theatre Center is more than just a venue be part of the creative process. for live entertainment. In addition to over 450 performances each year, Geva offers many other October 20- November 2 ways that you can connect with artists and your community. Throughout this guide, we’ve Free, but reservations are required highlighted some upcoming events, grouped them with other offerings that might interest you, and noted some of the key aspects with a icon key like the one you see below.

As always, if you have any questions about an event, you can get more information at www.GevaTheatre.org, or by calling the Box Office at (585) 232-4382. We’d love for you to discover a new way to engage with your theatre!

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Tom Parrish

Reservation Required

Discussion

Nextstage Performance

Free Event

Donor Exclusive

Mainstage Performance

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Director David Ira Goldstein returns to direct Wait Until Dark after having directed the premiere of A Marvelous Party at Geva in 2005. He is the Artistic Director of Arizona Theatre Company in Phoenix and Tuscon.

More of this interview can be found at www.gevajournal.wordpress.com.

Wait Until Dark is a classic thriller, but many people are probably more familiar with the film starring Audrey Hepburn than they are with the play. Has that impacted your vision for the production?

DIG: I have been careful not to watch the film more than once, and that was several months before rehearsals. It is a very fine film, but after all, it came out in 1967, and I find that many people have a vague recollection at most. Over the last six months, as I told people I was doing the play, the response was generally, “Oh, that’s the one with Audrey Hepburn as the blind girl.” Unless someone has watched it recently, they don’t really remember the details or the surprises. Plus, we are doing a brand new adaptation that will have some surprises even for those who know the film or original play intimately. It is the same situations and characters, but beat by beat and line by line it is a different animal.

Do you find that your approach to directing a thriller is different from your approach to other kinds of dramas?

DIG: There are certain universals that are important to me as a director no matter what the material: drama, comedy,

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Costume sketches by designer Marcia Dixcy Jory musical, classic. The key for me is always honesty. Audiences can smell untrue acting a mile away no matter how far-fetched or unrealistic the action of the play. That is what distinguishes the theatre from all other media like movies or TV. The actors are living, complex people in the room with us. It is the basis of the theatrical experience and what draws me into a theatrical event even over spectacle or other elements. Those six people onstage in Wait Until Dark aren’t CGI, they are breathing with us in the room. Whether I am directing The Kite Runner or The Pajama Game, I always talk to the company about honesty in the acting. But there are different aspects to thrillers and mysteries that have to come to the fore. You must be absolutely committed to clarity of story-telling, you have to be patient with exposition and not short-change the set-up, and you can’t let the action go slack in the end.

This play, even when you’re reading the script, is full of danger and suspense. You find yourself wanting to yell at the characters, to warn them. Do you have a sense about why we like suspense-filled plays and movies?

LEARN

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HOW THEATRE IS MADE

Get the inside scoop on the creation of live theatre, and engage directly with the playwrights, directors, designers, actors and technicians who make the art you see onstage.

TECH TALK

The Author’s Voice

MEET AND GREET

Watch director, designers & actors work onstage before opening.

Get to know Women in Jeopardy! playwright Wendy Macleod, her work and inspirations.

Meet the cast and director on their first day of rehearsal.

October 24 at 7pm

To get involved contact the Development Department

Reserve at www.GevaTheatre.org

(585) 420-2049

MAGIC IN THE MAKING

Prologue

Sunday Salon

Take a tour and ask questions at Geva’s annual open house.

Meet an actor and hear a lively, informative pre-show talk.

Discuss the play with the cast after select performances.

January 19, 6pm-8pm No reservations required

Prologue starts 1 hour before each Mainstage show

Following the Second and Fourth Sunday Matinees

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More info: www.GevaTheatre.org

More info: www.GevaTheatre.org

For donors of $100+

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Donate now at www.GevaTheatre.org

DIG: Thrillers get a bad rap. The bestseller list is always full of them. Yet they aren’t often considered literary in the same way that classic mysteries have gained critical respect. They don’t often get to Broadway, yet when they do, it is usually for a nice long run. Whenever we do one at Arizona Theatre Company, which is too infrequently, audiences flock to them. They do tend to get more critical respect in the movies, but that is certainly due in large part to the legacy of Alfred Hitchcock.

As I have been working on Wait Until Dark, I am struck again and again by how Hitchcockian it is – and Hitchcock actually made the film of Frederick Knott’s other major play Dial M for Murder. A woman in peril (Susan), the sudden importance of a mundane prop (the refrigerator), the use of a McGuffin (the doll…!) are all Hitchcockian tropes that work on us in a psychologically insinuating way. And a good scare also has a physiological pay-off – we actually release adrenalin into our systems which gives us a physical jolt.

September 9 - October 5

14/15 WILSON MAINSTAGE SERIES

By Frederick Knott | Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher Directed by David Ira Goldstein

A suspenseful game of cat and mouse unfolds in one of the greatest thrillers written for the stage.

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Supported by

Reservation Required

Discussion

Nextstage Performance

Free Event

Donor Exclusive

Mainstage Performance

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Identify 20 Rochesterians of varied ages, races and socio-economic standings. These people will become a part of the process of creating theatre right here in Rochester through observing the rehearsal and production process, and conversations with the artistic team. This year’s Cohort Club runs December 19 through February 28.

The Cohort Club, a nationally recognized innovative program entering its third year, is hoping you’ll be a part of taking it to the next level this December. Receive unprecedented access to the artistic process of the Geva productions of Little Shop of Horrors and Women in Jeopardy! – and access to learning opportunities (chats with staff, tours, behind-the-scenes events, etc).

OUR PART You’ll be welcome at all rehearsals, technical rehearsals, previews and opening night. Each member of the club receives daily rehearsal and performance reports.

You’ll have scheduled opportunities to chat with the director, playwrights (when possible), designers and actors, to gain a deeper level of understanding.

You’ll have a scheduled time to watch us add in the technical elements - first time with the set, adding in lights, costumes and special effects - and meet the many local artists who build our sets, make our costumes and keep the place running.

We’ll find a few post-rehearsal nights for everyone to go for drinks to allow for conversation amongst artists and audiences outside the rehearsal room.

Who are we looking for? A high school kid next to a soccer mom, next to a donor, next to someone who has never been before, next to a member of the local orchestra. Ideally, this group looks like Rochester.

YOUR PART You agree to attend a pre-rehearsal event at the theatre, where the process will be explained and any and all questions answered. Snacks will be eaten, drinks imbibed, friends will be made.

You agree to read the scripts in advance of the projects.

You agree to attend at least 2 rehearsals a week when we are in rehearsal. The length of time you spend at each is up to you. We’ll send you a schedule in advance and a daily email with the following day’s schedule on it.

You agree to journal about your experience in whatever medium you find the most exciting (blog, pen and paper, twitter, facebook), and then repost your writing on Geva’s blog, gevajournal.wordpress. com, or e-mail it to us so that we can repost it on the gevajournal.

And now, you’re wondering, “Great, so how do I get in?” If you’re interested in being one of the twenty, just email Director of Artistic Engagement Sean Daniels (sdaniels@gevatheatre.org) with a short paragraph about why you are interested in such a project – do you think you have the time to commit to be part of the process? We can’t wait to hear from you!

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www.GevaTheatre.org | (585) 232-4382

With over 380 performances of 180 different shows crammed into just 10 days, the Rochester Fringe Festival can be overwhelming. How do you choose what to see from that daunting list of options, many of which are so new – or so, well, fringe-y – that you’ve never heard of them before?

The great thing about Fringe is you can’t possibly see everything. You will miss something great. You can’t help it, so the pressure’s off! Your decisions can be as methodical or as haphazard as you want.

Biodance performing Merged II

SEPTEMBER 18 - SEPTEMBER 27

THE FRINGE AT GEVA Sand Mandalas 9/18 - 9/27 A Little Business at the Big Top 9/18 - 9/21 The Little Vikings ROC the Fringe 9/18 - 9/27 Geva Comedy Improv 9/19 - 9/27 01 X 9/19 - 9/20 INTREPID 9/20 Amazing Magic Joe 9/20 - 9/21 The Tales of Custard the Dragon 9/20 - 9/21 Merged II 9/20 - 9/24 BIODANCE 9/24 - 9/27 Diaghilesque 9/24 - 9/27 The Scientists 9/25 - 9/27 For complete listings, descriptions and tickets, visit www.RochesterFringe.com

Browse through all the offerings and pick the very best one.

Realize you have an hour to kill and see what’s playing right then. Wander around downtown and check out some outdoor performances. Anything goes.

The other great thing about Fringe is there’s almost nothing to lose! The top ticket price is only $16, with most shows costing less than that – or nothing at all – so there’s not much money on the line. And with most shows only lasting about an hour, you’re not investing much of your time, either. (Unless you get hooked and buy a Fringe Fanatic pass, and spend the rest of the festival rushing from show to show – which really wouldn’t be so bad.)

One more great thing about this Fringe in particular is how the shows are selected. Geva’s Fringe shows were selected by the same staff that puts together the Mainstage and Nextstage series each season. Many of the applications received were for shows that weren’t completely written, choreographed or composed yet. Still, the strongest ones stood out thanks to their compelling ideas, talented performers and artists with great track records.

Eventually, out of over 125 applications, Geva picked the eleven shows – and one art installation – that we were the most excited to see. It’s an eclectic bunch that includes dance, clowning, instrumental music, improv, sand art, video, magic and, yes, some acting. But even when they don’t use words, these artists have stories to tell. And we think they’re going to be pretty cool.

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Your Invitation to the Writers’ Studio From Jenni Werner Literary Director and Resident Dramaturg Each time I talk with a playwright or participate in a workshop of a new play, or even hear a play read aloud in a staged reading, I am reminded of what I learned the first time I spoke with a living writer: playwrights are fierce artists, worthy of our deepest respect.

You see, sharing your writing with others, your vision of the world through a collection of characters you have created, is an intimate, scary, beautiful experiment.

F.O.N.T. at a glance Oct 20

Katherine’s Colored Lieutenant

Oct 24

Author’s Voice: Wendy MacLeod

Every play or musical you see onstage has been through a creation process – plays don’t just spring to life, like Athena from her father’s head, fully formed. They begin as an idea, the spark of a story, in the mind of a writer. Even those great classic plays were considered “new plays” once upon a time. And yet, the writer is the artist that audiences see the least, and often know the least about.

Oct 25

Young Writers Showcase

Oct 26

Young Writers Showcase

Oct 26

Rochester “Bake-Off”

The Festival of New Theatre is your opportunity to change that. Geva invites you into the writers’ studio for two weeks, as playwrights hear their words in front of an audience, sometimes for the first time. Geva presents “concert readings” of plays – professional actors reading plays at music stands – followed by a conversation with the playwright. Sometimes the writer will be interested in an audience’s reaction to a specific question, sometimes they just need to watch as an audience responds to the play, but their work as a writer cannot be complete until an audience is in the room with the work, responding to the actors as they speak the writers’ words.

Oct 27

Project ROC

Oct 28

Amid Purpleheart

Oct 29

Far From the Trees

Nov 1

The Cell

Nov 2

Son House Stories

When you get a glimpse of the process of making theatre, when you know who the artists are that make the work onstage, you get a clearer picture of who “Geva” really is. And when Geva’s staff and artists get to know our audiences, when we work together, laugh together, maybe even cry together, we create community. And when we have a community, we all belong in the room together, making and talking about art.

Join us this October as we make new theatre together.

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7pm

7pm

3pm

3pm

7pm 7pm 7pm 7pm 7pm 7pm

Geva’s New Works programming is made possible with support from The Shubert Foundation, the Mary S. Mulligan Trust, Jack & Barbara Kraushaar, Don & Janet Charles, the Dramatists Guild and Geva Annual Fund donors.

Nora Cole and Geva Theatre Center are participants in the Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowships, funded by the William & Eva Fox Foundation and administered by Theatre Communications Group.

The Son House Project is supported in part by:

Katherine’s Colored Lieutenant is supported in part by:

Geva’s Literary and Theatre programs are made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

DISCOVER

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SOMETHING NEW

Check out something you’ve never seen before.

It might just be the next big thing – and if it is, you saw it here first!

THE Fringe AT GEVA

Festival of New Theatre

Sunday Salon Discuss the play with the cast after select performances.

This 10-day festival features diverse performances in the Nextstage.

Step into the writers’ studio and be part of the creative process.

September 18-27

October 20 - November 2

Follows Second and Fourth Sunday Matinees

Tickets at www.RochesterFringe.com

Free, but reservations are required

More info: www.GevaTheatre.org

FESTIVAL

OCTOBER 27, 7pm

Project ROC We’re looking for your stories, your tales about Rochester, about what makes life here unique. Sean Daniels and Jenni Werner will curate the responses we receive into a new event called Project ROC. Submit your story online at www.GevaTheatre.org.

SCHEDULE

OCTOBER 28, 7pm

Amid Purpleheart by Victor Lesniewski Derrick reluctantly returns to his Minnesota hometown to check on his father, whose illustrious NFL career may have left him with progressive brain degeneration. But in order to evaluate his father’s memory, Derrick has to confront the past he’s been trying to forget.

OCTOBER 20, 7pm

Katherine’s Colored Lieutenant by Nora Cole A work-in-progress reading of the play that Geva will premiere in February 2015. The personal and moving love story of Nora Cole’s aunt and uncle: a Louisville schoolteacher and a Tuskegee airman. The reading will be followed by a conversation with the playwright and a light reception.

OCTOBER 29, 7pm

OCTOBER 24, 7pm

Far From the Trees by Christina Gorman An Oregon widower spends his days unearthing the forest of petrified trees he’s discovered on his land. But a botany student arrives with unimaginable news: the beloved trees are priceless.

All the family has to do is sell. Why then can’t they let go?

The Author’s Voice: Wendy MacLeod Join playwright Wendy MacLeod (Women in Jeopardy!) in a conversation about her work. Join us for an evening of art and laughter! The conversation will be followed by an informal reception.

NOV 1, 7pm | Regional Writers Showcase

OCTOBER 25 - 26, 3pm

The Cell by Maria Brandt Lisa and Harry launch an affair while following the trail of a twenty-year-old environmental crime. In the process, they both must decide whether or not it’s possible to let go of the past and—even more important—to change the future.

Young Writers Showcase The young writers who participate gain a greater understanding of the process of moving a play from page to stage in a collaborative process. Join us as we celebrate these young artists and see how their plays have changed since their first reading.

NOV 2, 7pm

Son House Stories Geva has commissioned a play based on the life of Son House, often referred to as the Father of the Delta Blues. Join us for the launch of this thrilling new project, and celebrate the life and impact of this tremendous musician.

OCTOBER 26, 7pm

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Rochester “Bake-Off” Geva challenges five writers to create a new work in three days inspired by Rochester. The pieces, which could be scenes, songs, monologues, etc., will be read after a light reception.

Reservation Required

Discussion

Nextstage Performance

Free Event

Donor Exclusive

Mainstage Performance

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EVENTS CALENDAR SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

JUL 31

SEP 1

2

7

8

9

14 DARK 2pm DARK 7pm Stylist Sunday Rochester Town Night

15

21 DARK 2pm Sunday Salon DARK 7pm East Side Town Night 3 Fringe - see website

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

3

4

5

6

10 DARK 7:30pm West Side Town Night

11 DARK 7:30pm YoPro Night 6pm

12 DARK 8pm

13 DARK 2pm Open Captioning DARK 8pm

16 DARK 6pm

17 DARK 7:30pm East Side Town Night 1

18 DARK 7:30pm OUT at Geva 6pm East Side Town Night 2 Fringe - see website

19 DARK 8pm GCI 10:30pm Fringe - see website

20 DARK 4pm DARK 8:30pm GCI 10:30pm Fringe - see website

22 Business Ethics Event

23 DARK 7:30pm Fringe - see website

24 DARK Student Matinee DARK 7:30pm Fringe - see website

25 DARK 7:30pm Fringe - see website

26 GOOD Meet+Greet DARK 8pm GCI 10:30pm Fringe - see website

27 DARK 2pm DARK 8:30pm GCI 10:30pm Fringe - see website

28 DARK 2pm Senior Sunday Social Audio Description DARK 7pm

29 SIS Event

30 DARK 7:30pm

OCT 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17 GCI 8:30pm

18 GCI 8:30pm

19

20

21 GOOD 7:30pm

22 GOOD 7:30pm West Side Town Night

23 GOOD 7:30pm YoPro Night 6pm

24

25

26 GOOD 2pm Young Writers 3pm GOOD 7pm Stylist Sunday Rochester Town Night FONT 7pm

27

28 GOOD 6pm FONT 7pm

29 GOOD Student Matinee GOOD 7:30pm East Side Town Night 1 FONT 7pm

30 GOOD 7:30pm OUT at Geva 6pm East Side Town Night 2

31 GOOD 8pm

NOV 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

DARK 2pm Sunday Salon Producer Circle Dinner

GOOD 2pm Sunday Salon East Side Town Night 3 Son House 7pm GOOD 7pm GOOD 2pm Senior Sunday Social Audio Description LNC3 3pm GOOD 7pm

9

Dramatist Guild 7pm

10

ACC One Day Sale 8am-8pm

FONT 7pm

FONT 7pm

Hornets’ Nest 7pm

DARK 7:30pm

LNC3 7pm GOOD 7:30pm

11

ACC Meet+Greet LNC3 7pm GOOD 7:30pm

www.GevaTheatre.org | (585) 232-4382

DARK 2pm DARK 7:30pm

Business Member Event

LNC3 7pm GOOD 7:30pm

12 GOOD 2pm LNC3 7pm GOOD 7:30pm

DARK 7:30pm Sign Interpreted

LNC3 7pm GOOD 7:30pm

13 LNC3 7pm GOOD 7:30pm Sign Interpreted

DARK 8pm

FONT 7pm GOOD 8pm

LNC3 7pm GOOD 8pm

14 LNC3 7pm GOOD 8pm

DARK Tech Talk

DARK 4pm DARK 8:30pm

Young Writers 3pm GOOD 2pm Open Captioning GOOD 8pm GOOD 4pm FONT 7pm GOOD 8:30pm

LNC3 3pm GOOD 4pm LNC3 7pm GOOD 8:30pm

15 LNC3 3pm GOOD 4pm LNC3 7pm GOOD 8:30pm

Dates, times, shows and artists subject to change.

Visit www.GevaTheatre.org for the most up to date information.

SEP 2014 - JAN 2015 SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

NOV 16 GOOD 2pm Sunday Salon LNC3 3pm Mark Cuddy Event

17

18 LNC3 7pm

19 LNC3 7pm

20 LNC3 7pm Sign Interpreted

21 LNC3 7pm GCI 10:30pm

22 LNC3 3pm LNC3 7pm GCI 10:30pm

23 LNC3 3pm

24

25 LNC3 7pm

26 LNC3 7pm ACC 7:30pm

27

28 LNC3 7pm ACC 7:30pm

29 ACC 2pm LNC3 3pm LNC3 7pm ACC 7:30pm

30 ACC 2pm Open Captioned LNC3 3pm ACC 7pm

DEC 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 ACC Student Matinee ACC 7pm Actor Apt. Open House

11 ACC Student Matinee ACC 7pm

12 ACC 7:30pm

13 ACC 2pm ACC 7:30pm

ACC 12pm ACC 4:30pm

Director’s Forum Lunch W.Irondequoit Event

ACC 7pm

ACC Student Matinee

ACC Student Matinee ACC 7pm

ACC 7:30pm

ACC Hillside ACC 7:30pm

14 ACC 12pm Audio Description ACC 4:30pm

15

16 ACC Student Matinee ACC 7pm

17 ACC Student Matinee ACC 7pm

18 ACC 7pm Sign Interpreted

19

20 ACC 2pm ACC 7:30pm

21 ACC 12pm ACC 4:30pm

22 ACC 7pm

23 ACC 2pm ACC 7pm

24 ACC 12pm ACC 4:30pm

25

26 ACC 7:30pm

27 ACC 2pm Home 4 Holidays 7pm

28

29

30

31 GCI 7:30pm GCI 10:30pm

JAN 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12 Blood Drive 7am-2pm Hornets’ Nest 7pm

13 SHOP 7:30pm

14 SHOP 7:30pm West Side Town Night

15 SHOP 7:30pm YoPro Night

16 SHOP 8pm

17 SHOP 2pm Open Captioning SHOP 8pm

18 SHOP 2pm SHOP 7pm Stylist Sunday Rochester Town Night

19 The Mountaintop Sale VIP Tour Open House 6pm-8pm

20 SHOP 6pm

21 SHOP Student Matinee SHOP 7:30pm East Side Town Night 1

22 SHOP 7:30pm OUT at Geva Night East Side Town Night 2

23 SHOP 8pm GCI 8:30pm

24 SHOP 4pm GCI 8:30pm SHOP 8:30pm

25 SHOP 2pm Sunday Salon SHOP 7pm East Side Town Night 3

26

27 SHOP 7:30pm

28 SHOP Student Matinee SHOP 7:30pm

29 SHOP 7:30pm

30

31 SHOP 4pm SHOP 8:30pm

Town Nights SAVE 10% ON TICKETS* To these select performances For more info call (585) 232-4382

West Side Night Rochester Night East Side Night 1 East Side Night 2 East Side Night 3

First Wednesdays, 7:30pm First Sundays, 7pm Second Wednesdays, 7:30pm First Thursdays, 7:30pm Second Sundays, 7pm

SHOP Meet+Greet ACC 7:30pm

JEP Meet+Greet SHOP 8pm

SHOP Tech Talk

Greece, Chili, Spencerport, Hilton Rochester, Henrietta, Irondequoit Pittsford, Webster East Rochester, Victor, Mendon, Honeoye Falls Penfield, Brighton, Perinton

*Cannot be combined with other discounts, call for details.

Show Opening Night EE

ACC | A Christmas Carol SHOP | Little Shop of Horrors GCI | Geva Comedy Improv JEP | Women in Jeopardy!

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DARK | Wait Until Dark GOOD | Good People FONT | Festival of New Theatre LNC3 | Late Nite Catechism 3

Reservation Required

Discussion

Nextstage Performance

Free Event

Donor Exclusive

Mainstage Performance

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Good People marks the fifth Geva production for Costume Designer Devon Painter.

Devon shares her take on working at Geva and creating a look for the characters in this funny and moving drama.

You’ve designed the costumes for quite a few productions here at Geva. Do you have a favorite?

theatres all over the country. In fact, in the last two years, it is one of America’s most produced plays. What makes the play so popular?

DP: If I had to pick one, I would have to say I enjoyed Sweeney Todd, mainly because that was my introduction to working with the talented artisans at Geva. It has become such a true friendship and a mutually respectful, energetic and inventive collaboration. So much so, I’ve designed costumes for both Five Course Love and A Christmas Carol that I did not even know how to build myself! I knew, though, that the Geva Costume Shop would have ideas about how to build them to get the desired effect. It’s an amazing experience when the design of a costume goes beyond my own imagination!

DP: It is popular because it’s a surprising play and raises interesting questions. We go through this world thinking we know the answers to why things work or don’t; who are “good people,” who aren’t--then we discover that the answers to those questions aren’t clear at all, and people who seem “good” may or may not have our interests or well-being in mind and may not be “good” after all....and isn’t that relative, anyway? Is good for one person always good for another? Hard questions--no easy answers. This play is a great example of that.

What is guiding your decisions about the costumes for Good People?

OCTOBER 21 - NOVEMBER 16

DP: My initial thoughts about Good People have to do with how to strip away artifice - how do you visually strip a character down to his/her most raw form? Is there a way to really do that?

14/15 WILSON MAINSTAGE SERIES

Does a play like Good People have any special requirements, as you approach your design? Would you say that contemporary plays are harder or easier to design than a play set in a historic period?

DP: Contemporary plays are challenging in that the collaboration with the actor becomes even more present.

Everyone has tastes about what people look like in their own economic environment, and cultures across our country have similarities and distinctions that I need to make visible and present.

Good People has been produced on Broadway and at

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By David Lindsay-Abaire Directed by Mark Cuddy

A South Boston woman risks what little she has left in this Broadway hit about class, culture and luck.

Supported by

CONNECT

WITH YOUR COMMUNITY

Attending the theatre can be a great opportunity to share an experience with friends or make new ones.

Meet, mix and mingle!

Out at Geva

Sunday Senior Social

Party with other Young Professionals at a special pre-show reception.

Mingle with the LGBTQ community in a pre-show reception.

Stay after the show for a dessert reception just for seniors.

First Thursday of each ESL Mainstage Series production

Second Thursday of each ESL Mainstage Series production

Third Sunday matinee of each ESL Mainstage Series production

Mention “YoPro” when you call.

Mention “Out at Geva” when you call.

Mention “Senior Social” when you call.

Business Member Night

Home for the Holidays

Director’s Forum Lunch

Network with other business members at a local eatery.

Military families enjoy a free performance of A Christmas Carol.

Get to know the actors while enjoying lunch on stage.

Become a Business Member for as little as $500

December 27, 2014

Make a donation of $1,500+ to join

For more information, call (585) 420-2011

For tickets, call (585) 232-4382

For more information, call (585) 420-2013

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YoPro Night

Connect with Geva

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Stage Door Project Rush-Henrietta students perform their own Little Shop of Horrors in the Mainstage.

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Students perform Almost, Maine during the 2009 Stage Door Project

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February 10, 2015

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“Because I am a white woman, I’ve never walked in the shoes of a black man, or an Asian person, or a Jewish person. But through the theatre I can experience that in some fashion – maybe not the same way, maybe not identically – but I CAN experience it, and through those experiences I can change. I think it’s so important that we have theatre that allows us to walk in someone else’s shoes.”

Retired Judge Marilyn O’Connor, following a Hornets’ Nest reading Several years ago, Geva’s production of Doubt, a play by John Patrick Shanley, caused an amazing reaction from audience members. Geva produced the play in 2007, and the film hit the silver screen the following year. After select performances, Geva staff gave the audience an opportunity to discuss the play, and found that it was next to impossible to end the conversation. There was a hunger to talk about the experience of seeing the play, and about the issues and feelings it raised.

Director of Education/Artist in Residence Skip Greer and former Literary Manager Marge Betley recognized a need. “It was clear to us that our audience was hungry to talk about current ethical and political topics—and move beyond the spin of entrenched positions—and that theatre was the perfect venue for such conversation,” Betley said, in an interview in American Theatre magazine.

As an answer to this need, Geva created The Hornets’ Nest – a series of play readings which are springboards for conversation. Three times a year, you can attend the Nextstage, listen to a play reading, consider the questions it raises, and share your responses with other members of the community. A few people with experience central to the play’s topics serve as “instigators,” to help provoke conversation.

The conversation, however, is really among audience members. We want to hear your thoughts on the issues.

This season’s Hornets’ Nest returns November 10 with a reading of Carter Lewis’ play, Hit-Story. In the play, Harry suffers from bouts of “furies,” his name for an uncontrollable arm flailing so forceful and unpredictable that he has moved permanently into a boxing ring. Is it a disease of rage, or is it a cure for a country in decline? How do we combat the fear, cynicism and anger that are the typical responses to news today? How do we mend the political divides an election cycle typically results in?

Join us November 10 at 7pm for a reading of Hit-Story and engage in a critical dialogue about our world today.

Hot Topics. Your Community. Your Voice.

Leadership support for the Hornet’s Nest is provided by Jack and Barbara Kraushaar, the Mary S. Mulligan Charitable Trust and the Shubert Foundation.

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YOUR MIND THE HORNETS’ NEST Debate polarizing questions raised by a play reading.

November 10, 7pm January 12, 7pm Free, but reservations are required

PRODUCER’s CIRCLE DINNER

Geva comedy improv Inspire a story and laugh out loud as it comes to life!

Dine and converse with America’s top artists

For donors of $5,000+

Tickets are $10

Donate now at www.GevaTheatre.org

www.GevaComedyImprov.org

Since 2003, Geva Comedy Improv has developed a reputation for producing hilarious and innovative on-the-fly theatre that leaves audiences sometimes crying, often salivating, and always entertained.

If there’s a limit to how silly things can get at a GCI show, we haven’t seen it. The troupe boasts an aggressively vibrant cast of local actors and a warmly inviting atmosphere that is a cross between a rock concert, sporting event, and a neighborhood party about to be busted by the cops.

December 31 | 7:30pm & 10:30pm New Year’s Eve Spectacular!

January 23 | 8:30pm January 24 | 8:30pm February 27 | 8:30pm February 28 | 8:30pm March 20 | 10:30pm March 21 | 10:30pm April 10 | 8:30pm April 11 | 8:30pm May 29 | 8:30pm May 30 | 8:30pm

Photo by Nate Miller

comedy to all citizens of Western NY. Wherever there is sorrow, sadness, and soul-crushing office jobs, GCI will be there - quick with wit and heavy with humor to bring joy through the science of funny make-em-ups. The tickets are cheap, but the laughter is priceless.

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Now in their 12th Season, the dashing lads and lasses of GCI will stop at nothing to bring their brand of irreverent and contagious

September 19 - 27 | 10:30pm October 17 | 8:30pm October 18 | 8:30pm November 21 | 10:30pm November 22 | 10:30pm

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Show formats feature a variety of improv styles, ranging from energetic short-form sketches to daring full-length improvised plays.

Check the GCI web page before your visit to see what type of show awaits, and prepare for an evening of madcap fun, as your suggestions are turned inside out and upside down to create hilarious instant theatre.

GCI SEASON XII

Most shows are $10

www.GevaComedyImprov.org

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This November, Colleen Moore returns as Sister, in the third installment of the Late Nite Catechism series. Literary Director Jenni Werner spoke with her about her Catholic school upbringing, and how that impacts her performance.

What’s it like, after having been schooled by nuns to now play a nun onstage?

Colleen Moore: Oh, I take huge inspiration from my knowledge of the nuns. And everybody I know who went to Catholic school has one nun that they adored, and one nun that just scared the daylights out of them – sometimes more than one. And had they told me, back when I was at St. Mary’s Academy that I would be playing a nun for a living, I would have rolled around on the ground laughing, saying “never in a million years!

It would not happen!” I could never have imagined this. And yet, in many ways, it is a perfect fit. Because I have always known I was going to be an actor. Always, always, always.

So you grew up going to shows…

CM: Ever since I was young – theatre, ballet, theatre, ballet. I took a little dance, but I had to be in the theatre. I’m a character actor.

I’ve known that forever. I’m almost six feet tall. I have a fairly deep voice, although it’s even deeper now and as the show goes on I will turn into more of a bass baritone… because I’m working all these muscles a lot.

And when I get a day off, it’s all about vocal rest. But I’ve been doing character acting forever – from Davy Crockett to the Jolly Green Giant! (laughter) and I admit to it!

Can you tell me about your nuns? Who did you adore? Who scared you to death?

CM: I adored Sister Mary Baptiste who taught

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Colleen Moore | Photos by Entertainment Events

me Latin for two years at St. Mary’s Academy in Alexandria, VA. She was tall, thin, gaunt and ancient, and I think she appreciated me. She knew the constellations well and could pick out three leaf clovers from her height. Also at St. Mary’s, Sister Dorothy Ann was a presence. She did scare me a bit. She could look at me, and I felt like she could see right through me and I’d cry.

On the spot. She was a wise and loving woman.

Where does Sister fall in that continuum for you?

CM: My Sister doesn’t fall there with those two Sisters as much as this other nun whose name I don’t recall but I do see her face. She caught me and one of my best friends spitting out the girls’ bathroom window at St. Mary’s one day. We were enjoying sending loud hockers out the window at the girls below. She came up behind us as we were spitting and when she

realized what we were doing she burst out laughing. I always loved her for that.

So, what’s the best part about performing?

CM: Oh, man. When you get a house full of people laughing. It’s just the best. It’s a tonic. It’s the best ambrosia in the world. You just think, “Wow…I made all those people laugh!” It’s my job. I’ve done dramatic roles, but comedy…It requires a balancing act.

NOVEMBER 4 - NOVEMBER 30

LATE NITE CATECHISM 3

By Maripat Donovan

Colleen Moore returns as ‘Sister’ in this hilarious new lesson on the Sacraments of Marriage and Last Rites.

Supported by

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Geva’s A Christmas Carol has become a holiday tradition in Rochester, and the Geva staff is filled with the Christmas spirit as soon as rehearsals begin each year! We think about Scrooge at the end of the show, and are filled with warmth. But that’s not how the story begins – Scrooge’s transformation over the course of the play is large and complex. We asked some members of the creative team to talk about what makes Scrooge so fascinating.

Adapter and Director Mark Cuddy

Guy Paul and Megan Mueller | Photos by Ken Huth

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“Charles Dickens wrote a number of indelible characters, but Scrooge! He is someone who will last and last and last, because there’s always a part of Scrooge in everybody. He is a character so seemingly apart from the human race, but that people really love; you really do want to be in the theatre with him.Thinking about Scrooge at the center of this story, I had to ask why, what was it that caused him to shut the world away, and for me, it was abandonment – which is very Dickensian, actually. When he gets sent away to school, he just never recovers, and clearly he had a tough relationship with his father, with family. That scar was there, and I think he was always trying to compensate for that, to over-compensate, perhaps. So he moved toward achieving importance and stature, very much like you hear about some of those who lived through the Great Depression: he became focused on making money, the safety

The cast of A Christmas Carol | Photo by Ken Huth

have even less personal time than ever before. I think in many ways Scrooge is living like that at the beginning of the story; he has allowed his work to completely replace any personal connections.”

Composer and Lyricist Gregg Coffin Guy Paul | Photo by Ken Huth

of having it. He was determined to never go through that again, never feel vulnerable, but be in charge and in control.

But of course you can’t control your heart.”

“The heart of this story is in the reclamation of a man’s life, selfinduced, on Christmas Eve. A man removes himself from his own life and from the lives of everyone around him. He becomes ‘secret and self-contained and solitary as an oyster.’ And after the course of one night’s passing, he re-enters the land of the living with real vigor.”

Scenic Designer Adam Koch

“As Mark astutely pointed out from the get-go, there is no surprise or satisfaction in A Christmas Carol if we the audience are just watching an (inexplicably) greedy cantankerous gentleman be grouchy all evening. We are all, no doubt, (for better and sometimes worse) the sum total of our own bizarre and deeply personal life experiences. Ebenezer, who of course wasn’t born a “humbug” as a newborn infant, has, as a result of intense traumatic abandonment and emotional neglect from his father, loss of his first young love, and gradual obsession with financial earthly gain, literally become a half-dead man walking amongst the living.”

Lighting Designer Paul Hackenmueller

“Scrooge has been ‘nickel and dime-ing’ his life, controlling and counting rather than connecting. He’s missing the emotional part of life. I actually think so many of us can fall into that today without realizing it. We’re working all the time: it’s like we get on the treadmill and just go as fast as we can.

You can think of all the technology and devices we have to get things done faster, and how the result is that people seem to

NOVEMBER 26 - DECEMBER 27

By Charles Dickens | Adapted and directed by Mark Cuddy Music and Lyrics by Gregg Coffin

The sparkling classic returns, full of spectacular magic, heartwarming music and holiday tradition.

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