Welcome to Bald Sisters by Vichet Chum. This incredible play came to my attention through a series of excited emails about a play extending from Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago. It got my attention because we were still in or coming out of a pandemic, and plays weren’t extending. To my delight, this play was written by Vichet Chum, who is no stranger to SLAC. He was an actor in our Playwright’s Lab. Celebrating Vichet as a playwright with his remarkable play is an honor.
With love and gratitude ~ Cynthia, Executive Artistic Director
A NOTE FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT
Hello, fellow audience member. Whatever brings you to this particular performance, this day, in this moment, please know how grateful I am for your presence. You made a choice to be here, and in crafting this story, I honor that.
I wrote this story as a love letter to the Cambodian women in my life. They raised me. They fed me. They instructed me when I was being foolish. They laughed with and at me when I was being funny. They taught me about survival before I even understood its meaning or its value. How hard it is do so. But how necessary it is. To love in spite of. To love because.
I implore you, audience member, to not think of this as just a Cambodian story (though it very much is!), but a story about you. The ways you fight to be witnessed. The ways you are being called to witness another. The ways you love because.
And not to quote my own play (but I’m gonna): “You are here, and that matters.”
Cheers,
Vichet
Lighting Designer
Presents
Bald Sisters
By Vichet Chum DirectorSeonjae
KimScenic Designer Costume Designer
Jesse Portillo** Gage Williams** Alicia Kondrick
Sound Designer
Props Designer
Cultural Consultant
Jennifer Jackson Erika Ahlin Sokuntinary Svay
Anna Blaes
Dialect Coach
Intimacy Director EDI Dramaturg
Adrianne Moore Adriana Lemke Latoya Cameron
Production Stage Manager Stage Manager
Assistant Stage Manager
Jennie Sant* Tahra Veasley* Bridgette Lehman
Professional Theatre Program for Emerging Artists
Assistant Director
Assistant Sound Design
Jordan Reynosa Elliot Moore
April 10th - May 5th, 2024
The world premiere of Bald Sisters was produced and presented at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, IL; Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis, Artistic Directors and E. Brooke Flanagan, Executive Director.
Bald Sisters was developed by Steppenwolf Theatre Company as part of its new play development initiative, SCOUT; Anna D. Shapiro, Artistic Director, David Schmitz, Executive Director.
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
**The Set and Lighting Designer for BALD SISTERS is represented by United Scenic Artists Local USA 829 of the IATSE.
Salt Lake Acting Company gratefully acknowledges the following foundations and government agencies for their very generous sponsorship . Their support is truly essential to SLAC’s vitality and success .
FOUNDATION AND GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
SALT LAKE COUNTY ZOO, ARTS & PARKS PROGRAM
THE SHUBERT FOUNDATION
NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS
UTAH DIVISION OF ARTS AND MUSEUMS | UTAH LEGISLATURE
GEORGE S. & DOLORES DORÉ ECCLES FOUNDATION
TERENCE KEARNS STEPHENS CHARITABLE FUND
S.J. & JESSIE E. QUINNEY FOUNDATION
ANONYMOUS
B.W. BASTIAN FOUNDATION
JOHN & MARCIA PRICE FAMILY FOUNDATION
SALT LAKE CITY ARTS COUNCIL
MARRINER S. ECCLES FOUNDATION
NATIONAL NEW PLAY NETWORK
MCCARTHEY FAMILY FOUNDATION
LAWRENCE T. & JANET T. DEE FOUNDATION
JARVIS & CONSTANCE DOCTOROW FAMILY FOUNDATION
SEMNANI FAMILY FOUNDATION
Salt Lake Acting Company sincerely thanks the following Corporate Partners who make the 2023/2024 season possible: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
1WIRE
ALBION FINANCIAL GROUP
ASSIST INC. COMMUNITY DESIGN CENTER
BEEHIVE DISTILLERY
CITYHOMECOLLECTIVE
MAGICSPACE ENTERTAINMENT MAZZA
MILLS PUBLISHING, INC
RED ROCK BREWING COMPANY
SALT LAKE ROASTING COMPANY
SMITH’S FOOD & DRUG STORES
SUGAR FIX
TEA ZAANTI
THIRD SUN PRODUCTIONS
VETERINARY ORTHOPEDIC SERVICES
This project is supported in part by Salt Lake County’s Zoo, Arts and Parks program, Utah Division of Arts and Museums, with funding from the State of Utah and the Salt Lake City Arts Council.
Place: Carrollton, Texas Time: Spring of 2017, Backwards and Forwards
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
The Asian Association of Utah (AAU), a 45-year-old non-profit which began to assist Southeast Asian refugees resettle to Utah, now helps victims of human trafficking, refugees, and asylum seekers from any nation achieve outcomes of substantive improvement, self-sufficiency, and thriving .
AAU is a Utah-licensed Mental Health Outpatient clinic that specializes in traumainformed, culturally, and linguistically responsive mental health services for refugees, immigrants, and human trafficking survivors. Trauma-informed care creates opportunities to rebuild a survivor’s sense of empowerment by prioritizing restoring the survivor’s feelings of safety, choice, and control.
AAU is in the process of expanding our trauma-informed therapy capacity to serve more youth and underserved adults. If you would like to support AAU in their efforts, please scan the QR code.
SunnyintheDark
by Elaine JarvikApril 22 at 7 pm
WENDY DANG (Him) is pleased to return to SLAC.
She has numerous film and theater credits, and is an instructor for Época: An Acting Class for People of Color. She is the owner of The Dang Bakery. Wendy also published her first novel last year and is excited to continue on her artistic journey. She thanks her Husband, Tyson, and two dog sons, Theo and Zeus, for their continued support.
ALEC KALLED (Seth) is a Utah theatre artist originally from New Hampshire making his acting debut with Salt Lake Acting Company. Alec moved to SLC in 2014 to pursue his BFA in theatre from Westminster College. After graduating, he then moved to Southern Florida and earned his MFA in acting from Florida Atlantic University. Since moving back in 2021 Alec has worked regionally with companies such as Sting & Honey, Plan-b Theatre, and Good Co Theatre in addition to working as a voice, speech, and dialect coach. Alec is also currently touring with Plan-b Theatre’s Squeak - part of the company’s annual Free Elementary School Tour as Squeak. His recent credits include: Sleeping Beauty’s Dream (Siegfried/Kephalos), As You Like It (Oliver), Fremont Junior High Is Not Doing Oklahoma (Jack), Richard III (Richard), Urinetown (Bobby), and The Provok’d Wife (Constant). Check out his website at: www.aleckalled.com
DAVID KNOELL* (Nate) is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, and this is his third production at SLAC; he was on stage last year in Hairy and Sherri, and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Other acting credits include, Small Box with a Revolver, and One Man, One Guitar, Superstar (Great Salt Lake Fringe). Any Other Name, The Goldilocks Zone (Equity Library Theatre – Chicago), Romeo and Juliet (Oak Park Festival Theatre). Everyman, Bus Stop, Major Barbara, An Inspector Calls,
Amadeus (Mad Cow Theatre). Treasure Island, Robin Hood (Orlando Repertory Theatre), The Glass Menagerie (Sands Theatre) Tony ‘n Tina’s Wedding (TNT Orlando). The Little Prince, Crimes of the Heart (Nebraska Repertory Theatre). MFA - University of Central Florida, BA - University of Nebraska. Special thanks to Cheryl-Ann Cluff and Jerry Rapier
AUDREY PAN (Sophea) is a 3rd-year student in the Actor Training Program and a double major in Political Science at the University of Utah. She is over the moon excited to make her SLAC debut! Audrey’s recent University production roles include The Narrator in You on the Moors Now (Studio 115), Le Beau in As You Like It (Studio 115), and The Tempest (Babcock Theatre). Prior to attending the U, Audrey graduated from Summit Academy High School and was a character performer at Evermore Park (Pleasant Grove). She would like to thank everyone for supporting her journey, especially Julie Fox, and the Fools for their constant support in her theatre career.
KEIKO SHIMOSATO
CARREIRO* (Ma) AEA, SAG/AFTRA , is a Collective Member, actor, designer, co-writer, and director with the Tony Award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe. Most recently, Carreiro appeared in SF Playhouses’ West Coast Premiere of My Home on the Moon, by Minna Lee, A.C.T. ‘s West Coast premiere of Chris Chens’ Headlands, and as “Ma” in San Jose Stages’ production of Vichet Chum’s Bald Sisters. She has performed at American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory, The Magic Theater, The Aurora Theater, Word for Word, Oakland Theater Project and Center Rep. In 2020 Keiko Co-founded Kunoichi Productions (Female Ninja productions) innovative, multidisciplinary theater combining Eastern and Western Theater Traditions. Carreiro is passionate about Theater as a vehicle for opening discussions towards social
change and to that end loves teaching. She is a visiting professor at Hollins University, Roanoke Virginia, in their Summer Graduate Playwrighting Program. Recent films include, The Truer History of the Chan Family by Eugenie Chan and Kinstukuroi by Kerwin Berk. Keiko is thrilled to be a part of the “Bald Sisters” Metaverse, bringing it to life in Salt Lake City and grateful to Salt Lake Acting Company for making this adventure possible.
VICHET CHUM (Playwright) is an award-winning playwright, theater maker, actor, writer, queer Cambodian Sagittarius, originally from Dallas, Texas and now living in New York City. His plays have been workshopped at Steppenwolf Theatre, Ars Nova, Page 73 Productions, Cleveland Play House, the Magic Theater, the Alley Theatre, the UCROSS Foundation, Fault Line Theatre, Crowded Outlet, Second Generation Productions, Weston Playhouse, Cleveland Public Theatre, All For One Theater, Amios, Florida State University, Merrimack
Repertory Theatre, South Carolina New Play Festival and the New Harmony Project. He received the 2018 Princess Grace Award in Playwriting with New Dramatists, the 2021 Laurents/Hatcher Award and a 2021 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award for the world premiere of his play Bald Sisters which premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre in 2022 and a special state citation from the Massachusetts House of Representatives for his play KNYUM at Merrimack Repertory Theatre in 2018. He currently serves as a curator for Space on Ryder Farm, as a board member for the New Harmony Project, and as a steering committee member for the Obie Award and Tony Award-winning organization, AAPAC (The Asian American Performers Action Coalition). Past notable writers’ groups include: the Resident Working Farm Group at Space on Ryder Farm, the Interstate 73 Writer’s Group at Page 73 and the Ars Nova Play Group. He is currently working on commissions for Audible, Steppenwolf Theatre,
Seattle Children’s Theatre and Merrimack Repertory Theatre. He is a proud graduate of the University of Evansville (BFA) and Brown University/Trinity Repertory Company (MFA). Vichet’s debut YA novel “Kween” was released this last fall with Quill Tree Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. vichetchum.com
SEONJAE KIM (sun in the sky + letter j)
Director- is honored to helm Vichet Chum’s beautiful play for the Salt Lake City community. An NYC-based director from Seoul, South Korea, her favorite recent credits include KPOP (Associate, Broadway), Wild Goose Dreams (SpeakEasy Stage Company), The Wolves (Atlantic Acting School), Jar of Fat (Ma-Yi), Shrek: The Musical (Associate, National Tour), and Hot Asian Doctor Husband (Theater Mu). Seonjae created Riot Antigone, the viral Riot Grrrl musical with sold-out runs at La MaMa ETC and Ars Nova, and went on to be published in the Routledge anthology Reclaiming Greek Drama for Diverse Audiences, becoming a part of academia around the world. Seonjae has also worked at Joe’s Pub, Bushwick Starr, Rattlestick Theater, The New Group, and has received prestigious fellowships from New York Theatre Workshop, Drama League, Asian American Arts Alliance, Van Lier Foundation, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, and Playwrights Horizons. Seonjae’s short film Good Taste premiered at the Oscar-qualifying Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival before embarking on a national festival tour. Recently, Seonjae was named one of Broadway Women Fund’s 2024 list of “Women to Watch.” NYTW Usual Suspect. BA: Northwestern. Find her at @sunintheskyletterj or seonjaekim.com
GAGE WILLIAMS** (Set Design) previously The Yoga Play, SLAC Cabaret, Down The Rabbit Hole, Pete Cat, Pinkalicious, Mercury, Hand To God. THEATRE: Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Theatre, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Actors Theatre of Phoenix, Childsplay, Pioneer Theatre Company, and Utah Opera.
TELEVISION: ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, HBO, MTV, VH-1, ESPN, and DISNEY. CableACE award for Art Direction on the Showtime film Mastergate. Prague Quadrennial Design Expo ‘95,’99,’19,’23, World Stage Design ‘22. The 2016 United States
Institute for Theatre Technology conference in SLC presented a retrospective of his theatre design work. He is a Professor of Theatre in the Department of Theatre at the University of Utah where he served as department chair from 2009-18
JESSE PORTILLO** (Light Design) – Jesse
Portillo is lighting designer based in Los Angeles, and an Associate Professor of Theatre at Cal Poly Pomona. Previous SLAC credits include SLACabaret 2021, Pete The Cat, Saturday’s Voyuer, Climbing with Tigers, and Harbur Gate Additional credits include productions for South Coast Rep, Pioneer Theatre Company, Arizona Broadway Theatre, Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, Ancram Opera House, LOOK Musicals, New Century Dance, Repertory Dance Theater, Samba Fogo, PURE Theatre, Mobile Opera and Plan-B Theatre Company. He holds an MFA from Indiana University, and has previously served on the faculty of the University of Utah and the College of Charleston. He is a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829, and an active member of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, where he is the Co- Commissioner for Lighting Design and Technology. He is a founding member of La Gente: The Latinx Design Network, and works to make all aspects of live entertainment more diverse, equitable and inclusive by deploying anti-racist approaches in all aspects of his work.
JENNIFER JACKSON (Composer/Sound Designer) is excited to return for another season with SLAC. Previous design and/or original music credits include Gold Mountain (Utah Shakespeare Festival); Lifespan of a Fact (Pioneer Theatre); Egress, Alabaster, Form of a Girl Unknown, Silent Dancer, The Wolves, Hir, Hand to God, Harbur Gate, Bull Shark Attack, Streetlight Woodpecker, Blackberry Winter, Two Stories (Salt Lake Acting Company); Radio Slam (Plan-B Theatre); Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry IV Part I (Salt Lake Shakespeare); Ion (Westminster College). Her sound art installations have been exhibited at the Yale University Art Gallery and the University of Utah. Jennifer is an associate professor of Sound Design for the University of Utah Department of Theatre where her credits
include The Tempest, Storm Still, The Odyssey, The Two Noble Kinsmen (with OSF Play On!), and School for Lies.
ALICIA KONDRICK (Costume Designer)- most recent credits are West Side Story & Into the Woods at West Valley Arts and Wild Party at Hart Theatre Company. She is thrilled to be working on her first show for SLAC. Alicia has her BFA from Weber State University.
ERIKA AHLIN (Properties Designer) is so excited to be on the creative team for this beautiful production. She has designed previously at SLAC for You Will Get Sick, SLAC’s Summer Show: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, and was Assistant Props designer for Yoga Play. She has been working administratively with the organization since 2012, and is currently serving as Director of Development. In her free time, Erika plays bass in SLC based band, NADEZHDA.
ANNA BLAES (Properties Designer) is proud to be working with SLAC again after having done Assistant Props for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and Props Co-Design for A Year With Frog and Toad. She has previously done Props/Set Dressing for Enactment through the University of Utah Department of Film, and Props/Set Design for A Night to Dismember at the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival. Graduate of the University of Utah Department of Theatre, BFA Performing Arts Design. ablaesdesign.com.
JORDAN REYNOSA (Asst. Director) graduated from Westminster University (‘21) with a BFA in acting and a minor in dance. He is the founder and artistic director of Beyond the Line Theatre Company, and since its creation in 2019, they have performed three new works/devised shows titled, Fictitious People (2019), The Lady with the Dog (2021, won Outstanding Student Production), Clown House (2022, won Best of F Fringe Award),
and Ubu Roi by Alfred Jarry at the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival. He has been the director for all of the company’s shows thus far. He has also directed a staged reading of The Fifty Fourth Step at An Other Theatre Company and Possessive! at Wasatch Theater Company. Aside from directing, he is also an actor and a dancer. Instagram: @beyondthelinetheatreco, beyondthelinetheatrecompany.org
ADRIANNE MOORE (Dialect and Voice Coach) has served as dialect coach on many previous SLAC productions including Silent Dancer, The Cake, Hand to God, Surely Goodness And Mercy, Streetlight Woodpecker, Tribes, Good People, Venus In Fur, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Red, Angels In America, Charm, The Caretaker, Skin In Flames, I Am My Own Wife, Polish Joke, and Memory Of Water. Directing credits for SLAC include Rapture, Blister, Burn, 4,000 Miles, How to Make a Rope Swing, Circle Mirror Transformation and Hold Please. Adrianne has also coached dialects for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, American Players Theatre, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Pioneer Theatre Company (most recently Murder on The Orient Express), Utah Contemporary Theatre, Pygmalion Theatre, Old Lyric Repertory Company, and Tuacahn Center for the Performing Arts. Film and TV includes The Corps (Netflix) Galyntine (AMC pilot) and the film The Saving of Sarah Cain. Adrianne is a member of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association.
ADRIANA LEMKE (Intimacy Director) is a Salt Lake City based theatre-artist and movement professional. Previous Salt Lake Acting Company productions include Hairy & Sherri, Sleeping Giant, Surely Goodness & Mercy, and The Wolves. Most recently, she was intimacy/fight director for The Sweet Science of Bruising (UofU) and As You Like It (UofU). Other fight direction credits include At the Bottom (Pinnacle Acting Company), Ion (The Classical Greek Theatre Festival), Twelfth Night (Salt Lake Shakespeare), Man and the Moon (Good Company Theatre), Julius Caesar (UofU), Hamlet (Sun Valley Shakespeare).
JENNIE SANT* (Production Manager/AEA
Production Stage Manager) is currently the Production Manager as well as the Production Stage Manager at Salt Lake Acting Company. She has worked over 30 shows at SLAC. Previous favorite’s include You Will Get Sick, SLAC’s Summer Show 2023, Sleeping Giant, Passing Strange, Elephant & Piggie, Pete The Cat, Saturday’s Voyeur 2019, Form Of A Girl Unknown, Surly Goodness and Mercy, Harbor Gate, and Stupid Fucking Bird. She also has Stage Managed NPSS readings and SLAC’s Playwrights Labs. Upcoming shows include Bald Sisters and SLAC’s Summer Show 2024. Other credits include, Golden Spike 150, Gold Mountain, Odyssey Dance Company’s, Thriller, The Petite Palace Wonderland and Princess Wendy, Copa Theatre, Annie, Pioneer Theatre Company (AEA ASM) Next To Normal, (1st ASM) Les Misérables, The Producers, Paint Your Wagon, Doubt, A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Foreigner and Vertical Hour. She has also worked for Salt Lake Shakespeare and Utah Contemporary Theatre.
TAHRA VEASLEY* (Stage Manager) Tahra has been professionally Stage Managing in Salt Lake City for the past four years. She is excited to be back at SLAC for another show! Favorite Stage Management credits include Can I Say Yes To That Dress?, Whitelisted, Sankofa This Journey (SLAC), Senior Stages Play Tour Series ( Plan B Theatre Company), Noises Off (The Grand Theatre), & Eclipsed (Studio 115/KCACTF). Favorite Assistant Stage Management credits include Elephant & Piggie, Hairy & Sherri, Frog & Toad (SLAC), Once on This Island, Mamma Mia, Cagney, & Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Pioneer Theatre Company).
BRIDGETTE LEHMAN (Assistant Stage Manager) is happy to be at Salt Lake Acting Company, where her previous productions include You Will Get Sick, Elephant and Piggie’s We’re in a Play!, SLAC’s Summer Show ’23, Hairy and Sherri, and A Year with Frog and Toad! Other recent credits include Plan-B Theatre and KUER’s Radio Hour Sherlock Holmes and the Final Problem. A Weber State alumna. She would like to thank her family and friends for supporting her!
ELLIOTT MOORE (Assistant Sound Designer) is a young Sound Designer and Engineer studying Sound and Light Design under the Performing Arts Design Program at the University of Utah. He is excited to join Salt Lake Acting Company in this production as part of their PTP Internship. Recent credits include: Sound Engineering Into The Woods, and Sound Designing Town Hall at the University of Utah. Additionally, he has Sound Designed & Engineered various productions at Backstage Performing Arts Utah, including: Shrek Jr, Finding Nemo Kids, Frozen Kids, and Matilda Jr
CYNTHIA FLEMING (Executive Artistic Director) has been on the administrative staff at Salt Lake Acting Company since 1998. During this time, she has overseen multiple departments including Marketing, Communications, Development, Production, and Audience Services. In 2015, Cynthia was named to her current role as Executive Artistic Director. Prior to arriving at Salt Lake Acting Company, Cynthia performed in the Broadway, National, and International companies of the original run of A Chorus Line, directed by Michael Bennett. Cynthia remains a working artist in the theatre and continues to direct and choreograph works both at SLAC and elsewhere. Those credits include S:AC’s Summer Show: A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, SLACabaret: Down the Rabbit Hole, SLACabaret 2021, Silent Dancer, Saturday’s Voyeur (16 years as Choreographer, 7 as Director/Choreographer), Bat Boy, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, as well as guest directing the MFA Playwrights’ Workshop—a partnership with the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival, Stanford University, and the National New Play Network. She has also served as a visiting professor for the University of Utah’s Musical
Theatre program. Outside of her theatrerelated pursuits, Cynthia is a member of the Women’s Democratic Club of Utah, as well as 100 Women Who Care SLC. Cynthia is proud to serve SLAC and its mission to engage and enrich the community through brave, contemporary theatre.
SALT LAKE ACTING COMPANY (SLAC)’s mission is to engage and enrich the community through brave, contemporary theatre. Founded in 1970 by Edward Gryska, SLAC is a not-forprofit 501(c) 3 professional theatre dedicated to producing, commissioning, and developing new works and to supporting a community of professional artists. SLAC has been nationally recognized by the Shubert Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Edgerton Foundation, among others. SLAC operates under an SPT Actors Equity Association contract and is a proud member of the National New Play Network (a national alliance of nonprofit professional theatres that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays). For more information, visit SaltLakeActingCompany.org.
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
** Lighting Designer is represented by United Scenic Artists Local USA 829 of the IATSE.
