Mint Theater Company Staff Jonathan Bank Sherri Kotimsky Toni Anita Hull
Artistic Director General Manager Box Office Manager Board of Trustees
Geoffrey Chinn, President Elsa A. Solender, Secretary Sari Anthony Jonathan Bank Linda Calandra Carol Chinn
Jon Clark Toehl Harding Eleanor Reissa Tina Rieger Gary Schonwald M. Elisabeth Swerz
“When it comes to the library,” our 2001 Obie citation states, “there’s no theater more adventurous.”
In 2002 the Mint was awarded a special Drama Desk Award for “unearthing, presenting and preserving forgotten plays of merit.” MINT THEATER COMPANY commits to bringing new vitality to neglected plays. We excavate buried theatrical treasures; reclaiming them for our time through research, dramaturgy, production, publication and a variety of enrichment programs; and we advocate for their ongoing life in theaters across the world. Mint has a keen interest in timeless but timely plays that make us feel and think about the moral quality of our lives and the world in which we live. Our aim is to use the engaging power of the theater to excite, provoke, influence and inspire audiences and artists alike.
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Staff for John Ferguson Technical Director Associate Costume Designer Assistant Sound Designer Master Electrician Wardrobe Supervisor Board Operator Carpenters Electricians Scenic Artists House Manager Box Office Associates
Evan Schlossberg Randi Fowler Will Pickens Michael S. Swan Randi Fowler Angela Wall Justin Hollinger, Kyle Jordan, Dennis Luczak, Thomas Luczak, Steve Wargos, Philippe Bachy, Shannon Dougherty, Reid Hall, Benjamin Tevelow Yana Babaev, Julia Hahn Adam Branson Jean-Marie Catlett, Janel Cooke
The Producers would like to thank the following: Goodspeed Musicals Costume Rental Division and the tdf Costume Collection for its assistance in this production. Lighting equipment provided by the Technical Upgrade Project of the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York through the generous support of the New York City Council and the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs. Ricola Natural Herb Cough Drops - Courtesy of Ricola USA, Inc
Mint Theater Company Jonathan Bank, Artistic Director presents
John Ferguson by St. John Ervine
This list represents donations made from January 2005 through August 2006. Every effort is made to insure its accuracy. Please contact us regarding any mistakes.
If you would like to see your name in our next program, and would like all of the other benefits that come with supporting Mint, please use the envelope that is included with your program and become a First Priority Club Member today!
Next at the Mint The Madras House by Harley Granville-Barker Directed by Gus Kaikkonen From February 2nd through March 11th, 2007 Priority club members can order now. Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning October 30th
and One night only ! The reunion reading of the Mint 1999-2000 production of The Voysey Inheritance by Harley Granville-Barker. October 23, 2006. Order your tickets now for this not-to-be-missed event. $25 for the reading alone or $85 for the reading, dinner at Le Madeleine and a pre-show conversation.
with
Robertson Carricart, Joyce Cohen John Keating, Terrence Markovich Mark Saturno, Justin Schultz, Greg Thornton, Marion Wood Sets
Lights
Costumes
Sound
Bill Clarke
Jeff Nellis
Mattie Ullrich
Lindsay Jones
Props
Production Stage Manager
Assistant Stage Manager
Dialects and Dramaturgy
Judi Guralnick Heather Prince
Kimberly Ann McCann
Amy Stoller
Casting
Press Representation
General Manager
Stuart Howard, Amy Schecter & Paul Hardt
David Gersten & Associates
Sherri Kotimsky
Directed by
Martin Platt Opening night September 25, 2006 Mint Theater gratefully acknowledges public support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency.
John Ferguson by St. John Ervine CAST
in order of appearance
SARAH FERGUSON JOHN FERGUSON HANNAH FERGUSON JAMES CAESAR HENRY WITHEROW “CLUTIE” JOHN MCGRATH ANDREW FERGUSON SAM MAWHINNEY SERGEANT KERNIGHAN CONSTABLE
Joyce Cohen Robertson Carricart Marion Woods Mark Saturno Greg Thornton John Keating Justin Schultz Terrence Markovich Terrence Markovich Adam Branson
This story takes place in the kitchen of John Ferguson, in Ulster County in 188Act One: The afternoon of a warm day in late summer Act Two: More than an hour later intermission Act Three:Early in the morning of the following day Act Four: Late afternoon of a day a fortnight later
The Director is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, an independent national labor union
Phyllis Schwartz Susan Scott Dr. Jerome S. & Harriet Seiler Richard Sheely Joseph & Janet Sherman Rebecca & Philip Siekevitz Martin & Kayla Silberberg Dorothy Smith Lili N. L. Smith Philip Smith Dr. Norman Solomon Jerry Spitzer Stephen Stancell Frank Stark Suzanne Stassevitch Peter Stearn & Caroline Sokoroff Lee Steelman Bob & Sherry Steinberg Frances Sternhagen Ulrich & Elaine Strauss Pamela Stubing Kathrin Perutz & Michael StuddertKennedy Isabel Stuebe Larry Sullivan Kathryn Swintek Gerda Taranow Douglas Tarrs The Gramercy Park Foundation Bryan & Mary Thomas Thomson Tax & Accounting Ken & Linda Treitel Alan & Susan Tuck Jan L. Vinokour Robert & Joan Volin Edith & Gordon Wallace Henry & Lucille Warner Robb & Pat Webb Saul Wechter Richard Weisman Howard & Patricia Weiss Robert Wilkens & Walter Rummenie Maurice & Frieda Willey Robert Williams Ralph M. Wynn, MD Burton & Susan Zwick Anonymous
Our Donors
Actors’ Equity Association was founded in 1913. It is the labor union representing over 40,000 American actors and stage managers working in the professional theatre. For 89 years, Equity has negotiated minimum wages and working conditions, administered contracts, and enforced the provisions of its various agreements with theatrical employers across the country.
George W. Mayer, Jr. Betsy McKenny Martin & Martha Meisel Richard Mellor, Jr. Ivan & Leila Metzger Radley Metzger Susan and Ronald Michelow Bernard Milch Vera Miller Judith K. Mohl Elaine & Richard Montag Elaine Montgomery Rosemary Moukad Doreen & Larry Morales Theodore & Carole Mucha Janet Murnick Egan & Florence Neuberger Dorinda Oliver Brigitta Ortner Richard & Dorothy Oswald Satoko Parker Edwin Partikian & Camille Infranco Bruce Pasquale Gerald & Naomi Patlis Albert & Cleo Pearl Paula Phelan William Pike Jack & Ina Polak Irwin & Sheila Polishook Maria Proctor Barbara & Joseph Psotka David & Phyllis Quickel Lila Leigh Raben Clayton S Reynolds James Reynolds Arleigh Richards Howard & Tina Rieger Earl S. & Phyllis Roberts Seymour & Renee Rogoff Sylvia Rosen Barbara Rosenthal Alma J. Rosenthal Beth Ross Mark Rossier Isaiah & Enid Rubin Carol Rusoff & Steve Cogan Joan & Herb Saltzman Anita Sanford Anne Kaufman Schneider Stanley & Sue Schneider Irwin Schwartz
Our Donors
Anthony & Ruth Demarco Bernard & Katherine Dick M. Burton Drexler Sally Dudley Constance Duhamel Monte Engler Rachel & Melvin Epstein Donald I. & Grace Eremin Sharon Esakoff Judith Eschweiler H. Read Evans Bruce & Adele Fader Marlene Rosen Fine & Michael J Fine Angela T. Fiore Raymond & Jean Firestone Eva & Norman Fleischer Barbara Fleischman Fred Forrest Donald Fowle Nancy Fowler Jessica Franken & David Korr Mio Fredland Monroe Freedman Robert Freedman Sandra & Burton Freeman Mary Ann & John Garland Ellen Gibbs James Giblin David & Sue-Ellen Globus Ruth Golbin Joyce & Maurice Goldberg Joyce Golden Charles & Jane Goldman Seth & Marjorie Goldstein Carolyn Goodman Gordon & Mary Gould Anna Grabarits Ilse W. Grafman Gramercy Park Foundation Anita & Edward Greenbaum Greenwich House Senior Center Pat Griffith Marta Gross & Richard Barnes Lois & Stewart Gross James C & Julia Hall Katherine Halmi Robert Hanson & Lynne Alfred Brian & Darlene Heidtke Carol Hekimian William & Elizabeth Henn Reily Hendrickson
Mari-Lyn Henry Anita Highton Ellen & Harvey Hirsch Eleanor Hodges Milton Horowitz Alfred Hubay Harriet & Elihu Inselbuch Joseph Iseman Jocelyn Jacknis Edgar & Renee Jackson Eleanor Jacob Irwin & Ann Jacobs Peter & Ellen Jakobson Roberta A. Jones Ronald Jones JP Morgan Matching Gifts Eleanor Munro Kahn Jane Kapsales Ursula & Frank Karelsen Regina Kelly Kathleen Kelly David H. Kirkwood & Annie Thomas Kaori Kitao Caral G Klein Barbara Klett Judith & Jonathan Kolker Milton & Fradie Kramer Karl Kroeber Leonard Kreynin Carmel Kuperman Lester Kushner & Harold I. Levine Richard Laster Raymond & Lyette Lavoie Gordon Leavitt Ira & Gloria Leeds Eliot & Jane Leibowitz Al & Sally Leizman Ronald Lemoncelli Barbara & Herbert Levy Stanley & Carol Levy Sheldon & Lucille Lichtblau Allon Lifshitz Vincent & Beth Lima Ross Lipman Joel & Diane Lipset Steven Lorch & Susanna KochanLorch Mary Ellen Low Barry Margolius Gaspar Marino Joan & Robert Matloff
Glossary Clutie: Left-handed. Collie: Coward. Corn: Any cereal grain, such as wheat, rye, barley, or oats. Coup (pronounced “cope�): To overturn or be overturned. Fair-day: Market day, when farmers in the general area meet to trade goods in the marketplace by day, and gossip in the tavern by night. Fornent: Opposite to, facing. Let(ting) on: To pretend; To disclose, reveal. Loanie: A lane. path, or private road leading to a house, or between fields on a farm. Mind: To remember; To pay attention to. Moidhered: Worried, bothered, confused, stupefied, bemused, bewildered, fatigued, harrassed. Nor: Than. Peelers: Police. The development of the Irish police force (the Royal Irish Constabulary) owes much to Sir Robert Peel, who first formulated plans for a uniformed, civil police force while he was Chief Secretary in Ireland, 1812-18. He reintroduced these plans when he became Home Secretary of Great Britain in 1822, thus establishing the first organized police force in the British Isles. (He is more usually remembered for his role in the creation a few years later of the London Metropolitan Police, also called peelers, or bobbies, after their founder.) At the local level, the RIC maintained a number of barracks in each district, usually housing four constables and their sergeant. Quare: Great, perfect. Also queer or rare. Sally-rod: Willow rod. Sang (in sang, by my sang): A mild expletive, such as By jingo!, My word! From the French sang, meaning blood. Sweet milk: Fresh milk, not buttermilk. Used to distinguish between the two in the days before refrigeration, when people churned their own butter and always had buttermilk on hand. Union workhouse, or Poor-house: Established through the Irish Poor Law of 1838, Irish poorhouses, were, if anything, even more miserable than their English counterparts, as excoriated by Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol. Married couples would be separated, to sleep in cramped, unsanitary dormitories, on hard plank beds. Food was generally inadequate and to be eaten in total silence. Toilet facilities were primitive, and bathing without supervision usually not permitted. Inmates were typically put to unskilled hard physical labor, such as crushing bones. Conditions were altogether dehumanizing, and it would be difficult to exagger ate the horrific nature of the prospect, particularly for once well-off farmers like the Fergusons. Wheen: A few, a number. Whinbush: A thorny evergreen shrub with yellow flowers, also called a gorse bush, or furzebush.
The Theater Guild 1918 - 1978 John Ferguson was produced by the Theatre Guild, a young organization determined to produce plays of artistic merit and save the American theater from the forces of commercialism which threatened an art form that had no real tradition in this country. The six directors of the Guild were determined to produce only “plays which it believed had something to say and which said it well.” It may be said that John Ferguson helped to reinvent American theater. On opening night of JOHN FERGUSON the Guild had less than $20 left in their bank account, but the success of the play saved the Theatre Guild from bankruptcy, paving the way for the Guild’s landmark work . From its inception in 1918 to the 1960’s, the Guild provided a home for ground-breaking writers, directors, actors and designers. Eugene O’Neill, the Lunts, Katherine Hepburn, Broadway designer Jo Mielziner and director Philip Moeller all honed their craft with the Guild. The Guild set new standards for professionalism and experimentation. It was among the first theaters to raise income through subscriptions. It pioneered the use of lobby cards to advertise shows. It ventured into radio and television before either medium was commonplace. In short, the Guild helped change the landscape of American theater, and its innovations reverberate to this day. It began with an idea and little else. The Introduction to the Theater Guild Anthology, the only published collection of its plays, describes the Guild’s beginnings this way:
It was a philosophy descended from experimental “art theaters” like the Washington Square Players and new university training programs like George Pierce Baker’s 47 Workshop. The Guild intended to a place for emerging artists to practice their craft. In an era when American theater was still dismissed as inferior to its European counterpart, the Guild’s founders wanted to foster homegrown talent. By producing challenging plays and
Dennis & Katherine Swanson Caroline Thompson & Steve Allen Jill Tran Ltisa Tsitsera John Walsh Kathleen & Seymour Weingarten Reny Weigert $100 - $249 (First Priority Club) Alvin & Leila Achenbaum Lisa Ackerman Marilyn & Meyer Ackerman Eleanor Aitken Laura Altschuler Stephen Anderson & Amy Cohn Carmen Anthony Earl Bailey Judith Barlow Robert Beach Larry Beers Robert & Ellie Berlin Victor Besso Elizabeth Bicknell Mary Bijur Evelyn Bishop David M. Blank Steven Blier Allan & Joan Blumenthal Constance Boardman Edgar Bodiford Rose-Marie Boller & Webb Turner Jeffrey S. Borer Lynn Brenner Stephen Brown Ann Butera Elaine B Bye Richard Carroll Andrew H Chapman Nancy Ford Charles Marc & Rona Cherno Robert Chlebowski Stephen Chopek Herbert & Phyllis Cohen Grover Connell Brian Colbath & Bill Vivic Kathleen Corcoran Samuel Costello Penelope & Peter Costigan Horace Bruce Deal Patricia & Charles Debrovner
Our Donors
“The Theatre Guild was founded on December 19, 1918 without a theatre, without a play, without an actor and without a scrap of scenery. Its sole artistic asset was an idea. The idea is simple. It is merely that the theatre itself is bigger than any of the workers in it and that it should be employed for the creation of the finest drama of the time, drama definitely and honestly reflecting the author’s vision of life or sense of style and beauty.”
$250 - $499 (First Priority Gold Club) Bank of America Ezra Barnes Bernice & Frederick Block Virginia Brody Jeffrey Compton & Norma Ellen Foote Cory & Bob Donnally Charitable Fund Robert & Ruth Diefenbach ExxonMobil Foundation Edward & Joan Franklin Virginia Gray Antonia & George Grumbach Mimi Halpern Barbara Hill Edward & Dorothy Hoffner Anna B. Iacucci Linda Irenegreen & Martin Kesselman James & Jacqueline Johnson Joan Kedziora. MD Mildred C. Kuner Kent Lawson & Carol Tambor Susan Linder Samuel & Gabrielle Lurie Mary Rose Main John & Vivian Majeski Robert & Marcia Marafioti Lloyd & Mary McAulay Deborah & Jason McManus John D. Metcalfe Eleanor S. Meyerhoff Joseph Morello George S. Morfogen Peter & Marilyn Oswald Toni Aronsohn Perlberg Susan D. Ralston Joe Regan, Jr. Henry Anthony Reilly Carole Shaffer-Koros & Robert M. Koros William & Earlyne S Seaver Robert Sinacore David Stenn
The following generous Individuals, Foundations and Corporations support Mint Theater , and we honor their contributions: $10,000 - and above The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Robert Brenner JP Morgan Chase Foundation Lucille Lortel Foundation National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts The Shubert Foundation, Inc. anonymous $5,000 - $9,999 Barbara Bell Cumming Foundation Geoffrey & Carol Chinn Mary Rodgers Guettel Jean and Louis Dreyfus Foundation DJ McManus Foundation New York City Department of Cultural Affairs The Dorothy Strelsin Foundation Mary Elisabeth Swerz The Ted Snowden Foundation Kathleen & Seymour Weingarten
Our Donors
$2,500 - $4,999 American Theater Wing Axe-Houghton Foundation John Q. & Karen E. Smith Sukenik Family Foundation The Edith Lutyens & Norman Bel Geddes Foundation The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation The James B. Oswald Co. Michael Tuch Foundation anonymous $1,000 - $2,499 American Friends of Theatre Inc Jonathan Bank Adam D. & Linda Chinn Jon Clark Edith C. Blum Foundation Guild Family Foundation Toehl Harding
Kendal at Oberlin Karl Lunde Pfizer Foundation Prospect Hill Foundation Jeffrey & Judith Prussin Eleanor Reissa & Roman Dworecki Theodore Rogers Rubin Foundation Gary A. Schonwald Stephen D & Elsa A Solender The Luedtke Agency The New York Times Company Foundation Fund for Midsize Theaters, a project of A.R.T./New York anonymous $500 - $999 Sari Anthony Michi Barall Andre Bishop Linda Calandra Cory & Bob Donnally Charitable Fund Benjamin Feldman & Frances Stern Fine Family Foundation Edward Forstein Phyllis Fox & George Sternlieb Foundation Burry Fredrik Ruth Friendly Hickrill Foundation Polly Holliday Joseph Family Charitable Trust Peter Judd Levenstein Family Foundation Richard Frankel Productions George Robb Herbert & Ruth Schimmel Wallace Schroeder Anne Teshima The Gordon Foundation The Martin E Segal Revocable Trust The New York Times Company Foundation
encouraging new writers, the Guild hoped to establish a new standard of excellence. It also hoped to educate audiences with “entertaining plays of quality.” The Guild intended to prove that “art theatre” could attract the public. Although the Guild wanted to develop American talent, it was international in scope. Its first season (1919) featured only two plays, both of which were European—the poetic romance Bonds of Interest by Jacinto Benavente and John Ferguson by St. John Ervine. Bonds of Interest nearly bankrupted them; John Ferguson made enough money to keep them afloat for the next season. European plays continued to dominate the Guild’s early years. Highlights included new works by Shaw (Heartbreak House, Back to Methuselah) and A.A. Milne’s genteel comedy Mr. Pim Passes By (revived by the Mint in 1997 and 2003). St. John Ervine, whose John Ferguson and Jane Clegg were produced by the Guild with great success, hoped that these imported plays would inspire young American writers. He wrote: “If I could feel that I had cleared the way for that young American dramatist whom I imagine a remote village or in some college hall to express himself greatly in drama, I should feel proud and happy.” Ervine took note of a playwright, Eugene O’Neill, whose plays with the Provincetown Players were the talk of New York. In 1928, O’Neill collaborated with the Theater Guild for the first time, writing Marco Millions and Strange Interlude. The Guild went on to produce some O’Neill’s most memorable work, including Mourning Becomes Electra. By 1929, the Guild was among the most successful theaters in New York, it had several touring companies throughout America. It had to scale back during the Depression, but the innovation continued. It branched out into musical theatre, eventually helping to develop Porgy and Bess, Oklahoma! and Carousel. Mint’s production of John Ferguson begins a multi-year exploration of the work of this important American institution. Stay tuned for details about future productions and readings highlighting the work of the Theatre Guild.
Biographys
ROBERTSON CARRICART (John Ferguson) Broadway credits include On The Waterfront, Zoya's Apartment, Marriage Of Figaro (with Christopher Reeve), Design For Living (directed by George C. Scott) and Oklahoma!. Among his favorite roles Off-Broadway and regionally are: Billy Budd, Last Night Of Ballyhoo, A Touch Of The Poet, Treasure Island, Our Town, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Moon For The Misbegotten, Sleuth, Hamlet, Midsummer Night's Dream. Most recently on television he has been seen in 3 episodes of Law and Order. He has worked with Lauren Bacall, Anthony Quinn, Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason, Bill Cosby, James Gandolfini, and Robin Williams and beeen directed by George C. Scott, Andrei Serban, Michael Blakemore, Adrian Hall and Michael Kahn.
McGrath) Off Broadway credits include Juno And The Paycock (Roundabout), Belize and The Cat And The Moon (La Mama), Pigtown and A Life (Irish Rep). Regional: world premier of A Mother by Constance Congdon and Three Sisters (American Conservatory Theatre): world premiere of Raw Boys by Dael Orlandersmith (Wilma Theater, 2005 Barrymore nomination for Best Actor): The Tempest and The School For Scandal (McCarter Theater): Under Milk Wood (Hartford Stage); David Copperfield and Streets of New York (Westport Playhouse); What The Butler Saw (Two River Theater). Film: “The Street” and the upcoming “Finding Fate”. Numerous audio-book narrations include Three Junes (National Book Award winner) and The Last Crossing (Audie nominee). Proud Member of Actor’s Equity.
JOYCE COHEN (Sarah Ferguson) Broadway: Once A Catholic. OffBroadway: Diamond Studs, Living At Home, Happy Birthday Wanda June. Regional Theatre: Cincinnati Playhousein-the-Park, People's Light and Theatre Company, Peterborough Players (18 seasons), Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, Salt Lake Acting Co.(10 seasons) and Pioneer Theatre Co. (21 seasons). Favorite productions include Copenhagen, A Streetcar Named Desire, Humble Boy, Enchanted April, The Real Thing, Arcadia, King Lear, Twelfth Night, Dancing At Lughnasa, Molly Sweeney, Swimming In The Shallows, Beauty Queen Of Leenane, Hay Fever. TV: “High School Musical”, “Read It And Weep”, “Touched By An Angel”, “Everwood”, “Unabomber : The True Story”, “The President's Child”, “Archie Bunkers Place” (recurring role). Film: “Pirates Of The Great Salt Lake”, “The Dance”, “Independence Day”, “SLC Punk”, “Invasion Of Privacy”. Member of Sundance Playwrights Lab and Sundance Film Lab. Proud member of AEA.
TERRENCE MARKOVICH (Sam Mawhinney, Sergeant Kernaghan) OffBroadway and Regional: American Place (Little Victories with Jim Smits, Linda Hunt); York Theater (Summer Hotel with Carrie Nye) Williamstown (Peer Gynt, Slides); Actors Theatre of Louisville (Bus Stop); Alliance in Atlanta (Great Expectations); Whole Theatre, N.J. (Ghosts with Olympia Dukakis, Sorrows of Frederick with Austin Pendelton); Merrimack (Price) and Missouri Repertory (Scrooge in Christmas Carol, 3 years and Richard III). Feature film roles: “Made in Heaven”, “CBS Civil War Movie - Special Friendship”, and “Slipping into Darkness”. TV: Occasional principals on soaps “One Life”, “All My Children”, “As The World Turns”, “Loving”. Musicals and classical roles in stock: Tevya, Fagin, Professor Higgins, Capt Andy, Julian: 42nd Street and Shakespeare’s Scottish King. Member of performance unions Equity, SAG and AFTRA. Originally from Calumet, Minnesota in the northern lakes and mining region. MARK SATURNO (James Caesar) On Broadway, Mark covered Ben Chaplin
JOHN
KEATING
(Clutie
John
ST. JOHN GREER ERVINE was born in 1883 in Ballymacarrett, a suburb of Belfast. He developed an early interest in theatre despite the objections of his family. In 1900, aged 17, Ervine moved to London, where he found work as an insurance clerk. He joined the Fabian Society and developed an interest in socialism. George Bernard Shaw, a fellow Fabian, encouraged him to write. Ervine penned novels and short stories, but it would be his plays that would bring him the most fame. His first produced play, Mixed Marriage (1911) dramatized the religious tension he had experienced growing up Protestant in a largely Catholic neighborhood. The play’s gritty portrayal of working class life caused a sensation at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Ervine kept his day job, but it would not be for long. Critics heralded Ervine’s frank realism and emotional honesty, a style which contrasted with the dreamlike symbolism many associated with Irish drama. Ervine’s plays presented an unflinching look at Belfast life and tackled issues such as religious conflict, workers’ rights, and the changing roles of women. In 1915, Ervine returned to Dublin to manage the Abbey Theatre, which was the center of new Irish drama. Ervine’s indifference to the burgeoning Irish Renaissance offended the company. He lasted only eight months. Nevertheless, during his brief tenure there, he produced several of his own plays, including John Ferguson (1915), later regarded as his masterpiece. Ervine had hoped John Ferguson would transfer to London, but the escalation of World War postponed his dream. Disappointed, Ervine decided to enlist in the Household Battalion. A battle at Nieppe left him so badly wounded that his right leg was amputated. After the war, Ervine attacked theatre managers for spoon-feeding audiences “decadent” frivolity. In his new role as drama critic for the London Observer (and later, the New York World), he campaigned for more “intelligent and sincere drama,” arguing that postwar audiences sought genuine sentiment which mirrored their own experience. He was vindicated by the unexpected success of John Ferguson in New York in 1919. The theatre sold out every night. Ervine’s play saved the newly established Theater Guild from bankruptcy. In 1920, as a direct result of the play’s New York success, John Ferguson finally opened in London. Ervine had become a trans-Atlantic phenomenon. He continued his success as a playwright, scoring several West End hits throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Stylistically, he shifted away from Irish themes to write comedies and issue-defined “problem plays.” The First Mrs. Fraser (1929) provided a farcical vehicle for Marie Tempest, while the controversial drama Robert’s Wife (1936), proved he had kept his political edge. In 1937, Ervine was made President of the League of British Dramatists. By the 1940’s, Ervine’s popularity was waning as audiences sought more escapist fare. He wrote his last play, My Brother Tom, in 1952. In his the final years, he received many honors, including membership in the Irish Academy. After his wife’s death, Ervine retired to a Sussex nursing home. He died in 1971.
Museum Theatre, Court Theatre (Chicago). Founding artistic director Alabama Shakespeare Festival and Santa Fe Stages. General director, Birmingham Opera Theatre. As a producer: NY: Here Lies Jenny, Shylock, Treason, An Oak Tree (upcoming), In The Continuum (Obie and Outer Critics Circle winner). UK and World Tour: Gumboots. UK: Over 50 productions. Mr. Platt is native of Beverly Hills California, attended Carnegie Mellon University, and resides in New York City. STUART HOWARD, AMY SCHECTER & PAUL HARDT (Casting) have cast hundreds of shows over the past 25 years. Among their favorites are: Broadway: Gypsy (Tyne Daly), Chicago (Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking), Sly Fox (Richard Dreyfuss), Fortune's Fool (Alan Bates, Frank Langella) & the original La Cage Aux Folles. Off Broadway: I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change & The Normal Heart. At the Mint: The Skin Game, Walking Down Broadway, Soldier's Wife. and Susan and God.
Biographys
SHERRI KOTIMSKY (General Manager) Produced for Naked Angels: Meshugah, Tape, Shyster, Omnium Gatherum, Fear: The Issues Project and several
JONATHAN BANK (Artistic Director) Bank has been the artistic director of Mint since 1996 where he has unearthed and produced more than two dozen lost or neglected plays. Bank adapted and directed Arthur Schnitzler's Far and Wide and The Lonely Way which he also co-translated (with Margaret Schaefer). These two plays were published in a volume entitled Arthur Schnitzler Reclaimed which Bank edited. He is also the editor of Worthy But Neglected: Plays of the Mint Theater Company which includes his adaptations of Thomas Wolfe's Welcome to Our City and Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, both of which he directed, along with five other Mint rediscoveries. Bank also directed The Truth about Blayds and Mr. Pim Passes By both by A.A. Milne and performed in rotating repertory with a single group of actors under the title Milne at the Mint. Other directing credits include critically acclaimed productions of Ivanov and Othello for the National Asian American Theater Company, John Brown's Body, The Double Bass and Three Days of Rain for the Miniature Theater of Chester and Candida and Mr. Pim Passes By for the Peterborough Players. This spring Bank taught directing in the graduate program of The New School for Drama. He earned his M.F.A. from Case Western Reserve University in his hometown of Cleveland, OH.
in The Retreat from Moscow, which he also performed at Hartford Theatreworks. Recently he performed I Am My Own Wife at the Pittsburgh Public Theatre where he also starred opposite Brian Murray as Ariel in The Tempest. Off-Broadway credits include Comedy of Errors (Aquila/Classic Stage Co.), Trainspotting (Players Theatre), Ancestral Voices (Lincoln Centre Theatre), Gone Missing (The Gate Theatre, London/ St.Ann’s Warehouse). Region credits include, Wintertime (Long Wharf), King Lear, Much Ado, King John, Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare & Co.), The Illiad, The Tempest (Aquila Theatre Co.), Edward II (Tremont Theatre, Boston), Sweet Phoebe (NY Fringe). TV and film credits include, “Law & Order”, “All My Children”, “Spin City”, “PBS Great Books”, “Heaven’s Burning” (with Russell Crowe), Alchemy. Mark is a native Australian where he trained and worked in theatre’s across the country. JUSTIN SCHULTZ (Andrew Ferguson) – NEW YORK: The Beard of Avon (NYTW); Elvis and Juliet (Abingdon Theatre); Sodom: the Musical (The Kraine); Anatomy:1968 (Summer Play Festival); Shakedown Street (NYC Fringe Festival). REGIONAL: The Drawer Boy, Beautiful Thing (Human Race Theatre Co.); Caught in the Net (Coconut Grove Playhouse). Justin is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and is a proud member of the Actor’s Equity Association. GREG THORNTON (Henry Witherow) Mr. Thornton has been a resident actor with the McCarter Theatre, the GeVa Theatre, and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. He has worked extensively with the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and the Cincinnati Playhouse, as well as the Cleveland Playhouse, the Old Globe, the Pioneer Theatre, and Playmakers Rep. He played the leading role of Col. Manly in “The Contrast”, winner of the Fringe First award at the Edinburgh
Festival. His roles have ranged from Amundsen in Terra Nova to Cyrano to Gallimard in M.Butterfly to Lopakhin in The Cherry Orchard to Macbeth to Shannon in The Night Of The Iguana to Valmont in Les Liasons Dangereuses. His film and television credits include “Marathon Man”, “The Neighborhood”, “Law & Order”, “Tales from the Darkside”, “Another World”, and “One Life to Live”. MARION WOOD (Hannah Ferguson) , proud AEA member since 2001, is excited and honoured to join the Mint Theatre in bringing St. John Ervine's John Ferguson back to life. Other recent honored credits include the role of Nicole in the New York Premiere of Michael Weller's comedy, Help! Life time favorite roles include: Zillah in A Bright Room Called Day, Harpo Marx (Moth) in Love's Labor's Lost, Agnes in Dancing at Lughnasa, Rosalind in As You Like It, and Lady MacBeth in MacBeth. Marion is also a member of the Niall O'Leary Irish Dance Company of Manhattan with whom she has danced in shows and tours around the world and the US. Marion holds an MFA in Acting from A.R.T. /Harvard University. A humble thank you goes out to all of those who have been and continue to be her support. Gracias Ya'll! ADAM BRANSON (Constable) is excited to be joining the cast of John Ferguson. A Stephens College graduate, he hails from Jefferson City, MO. Some credits include, Adam Pontipee, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (National Tour): Will, The Will Rogers Follies (Okoboji Summer Theatre) Cliff, Cabaret (Stephens College) He would like to thank The Mint Theatre for this opportunity. BILL CLARKE (Set Design) is happy to return to the Mint after 2003’s The Daughter-In-Law, also directed by Martin Platt. He designed A Walk In The Woods on Broadway, abroad in Moscow
Biographys
DAVID GERSTEN & ASSOCIATES (Press Representatives) is proud to continue our relationship with Mint. DGA currently represents the Off-Broadway hits Altar Boyz (NYC and National Tour), Naked Boys Singing! and The Awesome 80s Prom (NYC, Minneapolis, Chicago). Other current clients include New World Stages (the Clinton entertainment complex formerly known as Dodger Stages), Stage Holdings Group, York Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Lucille Lortel Foundation, and The League of Off-Broadway Theatres & Producers' annual Lortel Awards, which David also writes and co-produces. Upcoming: Sister’s Christmas Catechism, One Heart at a Time, The Irish Curse and Jewsical –the Chosen Musical
seasons of workshops and readings. As Naked Angels Managing Director, managed Hesh and Snakebit. Also produced Only the End of the World and Blood Orange. For two years Theatre Manager for the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts at Pace University, home to National Actors Theatre, Tribeca Film and Theatre Festivals, River to River Festival and the Carol Tambor Awards 2005 productions, amongst many others.
Biographys
(Vineyard Theatre), dir. and writer Christopher Shinn, Roar (The New Group) dir, Marion McClinton; The Mysteries (CSC) dir. Brian Kulick, The Fourth Sister (Vineyard), dir. Lisa Peterson; What the Butler Saw (The New Group), dir. Scott Elliott; La Ronde (Williamstown Theater Festival), dir. Joanne Woodward. Other venues include, Opera Ireland, The Promenade, Epic Theater Center, Florida Stage, Opera Colorado, Goodspeed Musicals, Huntington Theatre Co., Classic Stage Company, Vineyard Theater, The New Group, Playwrights Horizons, Cherry Lane Theater, Manhattan Theater Club, Opera Colorado and Philadelphia Opera Company. Film: “Shoplifting Chanel” (dir. Marya Cohn) and “Year of the Fish” (dir. David Kaplan) Upcoming: La Cenerentola, Wiesbaden, Germany (dir. Thaddeus Strassberger).
JEFF NELLIS (Lighting Design) Mint: The Daughter-In-Law, Dianna of Dobson, Rutherford and Son. Broadway: Prymate. Off Broadway: Tryst (Outer Critics Circle Nomination), Treason, Flight, Shylock, From Door to Door, Zanna Don't!, One Shot One Kill, Cobb, Our Sinatra, Songs of Paradise, The Devils Music, The It Girl, and My Italy Story. Regional: Hartford Stage, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Alley Theatre, North Shore Musical Theatre, Bay Street Theatre, Florida Stage, Madison Rep, City Theatre Company, Trinity Repertory Theatre, Adirondack Theatre Festival, Los Angeles Opera, Connecticut Grand Opera.
LINDSAY JONES, (Sound Design) Off-Broadway: The God Of Hell, Dedication Or The Stuff Of Dreams, In The Continuum, Luminescence Dating, O Jerusalem, Beautiful Thing and Closet Land. Regional credits include: Center Stage, American Conservatory Theatre, Hartford Stage, South Coast Repertory, Alliance, Ford’s Theatre, Goodman, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Kansas City Repertory, The Old Globe, Chicago Shakespeare, Pasadena Playhouse, Steppenwolf, Milwaukee Repertory, Lookingglass, as well as many others. International credits include: productions in Austria, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Scotland and The Royal Shakespeare Company of England. Lindsay has received three Joseph Jefferson Awards and nine nominations, an Ovation Award, two ASCAP Plus Awards, nominations for a Barrymore Award, NAACP Theatre Award and Austin Critics Table Award, and was the first sound designer to win the Michael Maggio Emerging Designer Award. His most recent film score was “A Note Of Triumph” (2006 Academy Award winner, Best Short Documen-
MATTIE ULLRICH (Costume Design) Favorite projects include Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and…(Zipper Theater) dir. Gordon Greenberg, Massacre (LAByrinth Theater) dir. Kate Whoriskey, People Are Wrong (Vineyard Theatre) dir. David Herskovitz; 9 Parts of Desire (Manhattan Ensemble), Bad Dates (Playwrights Horizons) dir. John Benjamin Hickey; Where Do We Live
tary) for HBO Films.
visit www.stollersystem.com.
JUDI GURALNICK (Prop Design) Judi Guralnick is the Prop Shop Supervisor for the Conservatory of Theater Arts and Film at Purchase College working in the Design/technology program. She has spent five years as Props Specialist at the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia, and many summers at Maine State Music Theater. Some of her favorite props created: carousel animals for “Joseph…”, lamb for Winter’s Tale and Ezra Pound’s head for a production of Treason. She has worked in several New York theaters, including The Mint, Perry Street, and Pearl Theaters, as well as Shakespeare on the Sound in Connecticut. She has designed sets for small theaters from Maine to Washington DC and in Israel, where she was part of the Arad Arts Project. Judi is happy to be back at the Mint Theater.
HEATHER PRINCE (Production Stage Manger) Off Broadway: The world premiere’s of: The Little Dog Laughed at Second Stage Theatre; Jose Rivera’s Massacre (Sing to Your Children) with LAByrinth Theater Co. at the Public Theater; Carey Perloff’s Luminescence Dating, A.R. Gurney’s O Jerusalem; The Loyal Opposition and Glow at New York Theatre Workshop and Disconnect for the Working Theatre Co. Also Sore Throats with Theatre for a New Audience; Hamlet, Antigone and The First Look Festival 2004 at Classic Stage Company. Regional: Lee Blessing’s The Winning Streak at The George Street Playhouse; See Rock City; Voice of the Dragon; Bombitty of Errors and the 2002 and 2003 seasons at Penguin Repertory Co.
AMY STOLLER (Dialect Coach, Dramaturge) With Martin Platt at the Mint: The Daughter-in-Law. Other Mint credits: Soldier’s Wife (dramaturgy), The Skin Game, Echoes of the War, Milne at the Mint, The Charity That Began at Home, Rutherford & Son, Diana of Dobson’s, The Voysey Inheritance, and Mr. Pim Passes By. Recent projects include Hobson’s Choice at Peterborough Players, directed by Jonathan Bank, and In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer for Keen Company. Other clients include Theatreworks/USA, Pearl Theatre Company, Drama League DirectorFest, FringeNYC, Arielle Tepper’s Summer Play Festival, Hypothetical Theatre, and Distilled Spirits Theatre (for whose Northanger Abbey Amy won an OOBR Award). Amy is also Co-Director of Karen Eterovich’s solo play, Cheer From Chawton: A Jane Austen Family Theatrical, making its UK debut this September at the Jane Austen Festival in Bath. For more information, please
KIMBERLY ANN McCANN (Assistant Stage Manager) Credits include Curtains with David Hyde Pierce, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (San Francisco), The Listener directed by Mark Wing-Davey, Edward II, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Pericles (The Juilliard School), The Winter’s Tail, and Romeo & Juliet (Colorado Shakespeare Festival). Graduated from Illinois State University’s School of Theatre. MARTIN PLATT (Director) NY: The Daughter in Law (Mint Theatre), Irrationals (ATA), Treason (Perry Street Theatre), I’ll Never See The Starts Again (Artek). INTERNATIONAL: Doubt (Vienna); Don Juan Flamenco (Sevilla); Miss Evers Boys (London); Lady Day at Emersons Bar and Grill (London); El Flamenco Es Vida (Sevilla) US: Huntington Theatre Company (Boston), Cincinnati Playhouse, Repertory Theatre of St Louis, Merrimack Rep, Pioneer Theatre, Santa Fe Stages, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Alliance Theatre (Atlanta), Virginia
Biographys
and Vilnius, and on television for American Playhouse; at City Center he designed the new musical Abby's Song. Off-Broadway work includes the recent Perry Street Theater production of Treason, Drama Dept's June Moon, Queens Blvd, Disappearing Act, Ann Magnuson's You Could Be Home Now (NYSF), Keith Reddin's The Innocents Crusade (MTC), Alan Havis' Morocco (WPA), and The Cherry Orchard (Juilliard). He works extensively in regional theaters including Seattle Rep, Old Globe, Denver Center, the Huntington, A.R.T., Coconut Grove, Pittsburgh Public, Berkshire Theater Festival, McCarter, Milwaukee Rep, Cleveland Playhouse and Cincinnati Playhouse. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and a recipient of a Hollywood Drama-Logue Award and a San Diego Theater Critics Circle Award.