Opening Nights Performing Arts Fall 2015 Program by Opening Nights

PERFORMING ARTS

2015-2016 SEASON

Gil

Shaham FALL 2015 | VOL. IV | ISSUE I

Sponsored by

2015 Fall Program 19

South Arts Southern Circuit Film Festival

Movement and Location Thursday 10/15 | 7:30 p.m. Challenger Learning Center IMAX Theatre PRESENTED BY OPENING NIGHTS PERFORMING ARTS AND THE CHALLENGER LEARNING CENTER

ovement and Location follows Kim Getty, an immigrant from 400 years in the future sent back to modern-day Brooklyn to live out an easier life. She’s built a nearly satisfying new identity in this time: she has a full time job, shares an apartment with a roommate, and is falling in love. But when she finds two other people from the future– a 15-year-old girl and Kim’s own long-lost husband - Kim must fight to keep the life she once had from destroying the life she built here. “The husband and wife team of Alexis and Bodine Boling have collaborated on the tender, touching drama Movement and Location...despite its sci-fi plot, Movement and Location is a gently paced, well-acted, and honest depiction of relationships and responsibility in modern-day Brooklyn.” - Mark Rifkin, This Week in New York. Continued on pg. 49

2015 Fall Program 21

Photo by Jim McGuire

Photo by R.R. Jones

Edgar Meyer & Christian McBride Saturday 10/24 | Opperman Music Hall | 7:30 p.m.

assist extraordinaire Christian McBride is one of the most omnipresent figures in the jazz world. He’s appeared in numerous musical settings throughout his career and has played with the likes of Milt Jackson, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Sting, and James Brown. Among his long list of honors, McBride is the 2014 Jazz Journalists Association’s Marian McPartland-Willis Conover Award winner for Broadcasting due to his work as the founding host of Jazz Night In America. In demand as both a performer and a composer, Edgar Meyer has formed an unparalleled role in the music realm. Meyer’s technique and musicianship, plus his gift for composition, have won him appreciation by a vast audience, and his collaborations include works with artists like Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Béla Fleck, and Zakir Hussain. Meyer is a MacArthur Fellow and won the Avery Fisher Prize in 2000. Continued on pg. 53

2015 Fall Program 23

Photo by Jay Sansone

Anaïs Mitchell Tuesday 10/27 | 7:30 p.m. The Carriage House at Goodwood Museum

naïs Mitchell is first and foremost a storyteller. As a Vermont-based singer-songwriter, Mitchell recorded for Ani Difranco’s Righteous Babe Records for several years before starting her own Wilderland label in 2012. Among her recorded works are five full-length albums, including 2010’s sensationally-reviewed Hadestown– a folk opera based on the Orpheus myth– and 2012’s Young Man in America, which was described by the UK’s Independent as “an epic tale of American becoming” and for which she received a BBC Radio Two Folk Award nomination for Best Original Song. Mitchell has headlined worldwide as well as supporting tours for Bon Iver, Ani Difranco, The Low Anthem (all of whom appear as guest singers on Hadestown), Richard Thompson, Josh Ritter and Punch Brothers. Her most recent release, Child Ballads, a collaboration with Jefferson Hamer, is a collection of traditional Celtic and British Isles ballads, and is nominated for two BBC Radio Two Folk Awards including Best Album. Continued on pg. 57

Sponsored by

2015 Fall Program 25

Ken Kato and Nan Nagy & Charles and Amy Newell Proud Supporters of Opening Nights Performing Arts AND SPONSORS OF TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE

South Arts Southern Circuit Film Festival

Orion: The Man Who Would Be King Thursday 11/5 | 7:30 p.m. Challenger Learning Center IMAX Theatre PRESENTED BY OPENING NIGHTS PERFORMING ARTS AND THE CHALLENGER LEARNING CENTER

RION tells the story of Jimmy Ellis - an unknown singer plucked from obscurity, and thrust into the spotlight as part of a crazy scheme that had him masquerade as Elvis back from the grave. With an outlandish fictional identity torn from the pages of the novel Orion by Gail Brewer Giorgio, the backing of the legendary birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll Sun Records and a voice that seemed to be the very twin of Presley’s himself, the scheme – concocted in the months after Presley’s death exploded into a cult success - and the “Elvis is alive” myth was begun. Borne by his incredible voice, Jimmy - as the masked and rhinestoned Orion - gained the success he’d always craved, the women he always desired and the adoration of screaming masses. But in the midst of a growing identity crisis, the deception of living a lie for five years became too much and he self-destructed, ripping off his mask - and thereby tearing up his ticket to fame. Our story revels in the manipulative schemes of the music industry, the truth and lies at the heart of the story, the allure of fantasy and the eternal search for identity. Orion proves that fact is indeed “stranger than fiction.” This is the story behind that story. Who was that masked man? Continued on pg. 57

2015 Fall Program 27

Kate Davis Tuesday 11/10 | 7:30 p.m. Opperman Music Hall

he music of multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Kate Davis has been turning heads in New York’s music scene since 2012. Whether she’s crooning rootsy ballads or plucking bright riffs from her bass, the gutsy songstress from Portland, Oregon puts a fresh spin on the standards and brings a canonical sensibility to her own lush tracks. Lauded by MTV as one of 2014’s “15 Fresh Females Who Will Rule Pop,” Kate grew up with an instrument in her arms and a head full of inventive lyrics and has performed at such illustrious venues as The Kennedy Center, The Bowery Ballroom, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall – as well as many noteworthy clubs in New York City. Kate recently shared the stage with a diverse list of artists like Alison Krauss, Josh Groban, Michael Feinstein, Ben Folds, Joshua Bell, Wynton Marsalis, and Renee Fleming. Kate is the 2012 recipient of the Robert Allen Award from the ASCAP Foundation, and she gave a presentation at TEDxPortland in addition to serving in the 2010 National Arts Policy Roundtable as a part of her arts advocacy work. Kate served as music director of the Sundance Festival’s tribute to Nina Simone in addition to being a featured artist, and and her cover of “All About That Bass” with PostModern Jukebox has received over 13 million YouTube views. A Silver Winner of the National YoungArts Foundation, Kate became a New York transplant when she enrolled at Manhattan School of Music in 2009. Since, she’s had the opportunity to collaborate with many of NYC’s finest musicians and artists and has become a Concord Records artist. Kate’s upcoming projects include an appearance in the Disney film The Finest Hours and her debut album, which is slated for release in spring 2016.

Sponsored by

2015 Fall Program 29

Gil Shaham Saturday 11/21 | 7:30 p.m. Ruby Diamond Concert Hall

Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003 Grave Fuga Andante Allegro

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 Allemanda Corrente Sarabanda Giga Ciaccona Intermission Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005 Adagio Fuga Largo Allegro assai Partita No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006 Preludio Loure Gavotte en Rondeau Menuet I, Menuet II BourrĂŠe Gigue

Photo by Luke Ratray

Continued on pg. 60

Sponsored by

2015 Fall Program 31

Bill Frisell Trio

Tony Scherr & Kenny Wollesen Tuesday 11/24 | Opperman Music Hall | 7:30 p.m. B I L L F R I S E L L guitar

T O N Y S C H E R R bass

K E N N Y W O L L E S E N drums

escribed as being at the very epicenter of modern American Music” (BBC), Bill Frisell’s career as a guitarist and composer has spanned more than 35 years and 250 recordings, including 40 of his own. Frisell’s recording catalog has been cited by Downbeat as “the best recorded output of the decade,” including his recent albums for Savoy - Sign of Life with the 858 Quartet, Beautiful Dreamers with his trio, and All We Are Saying, a new collection of John Lennon interpretations. Frisell’s recording, Big Sur, was his debut for Okeh/Sony Masterworks and features music commissioned by the Monterey Jazz Festival and was composed at the Glen Deven Ranch in Big Sur. Continued on pg. 61 Sponsored by

2015 Fall Program 33

Opening Nights Performing Arts

Photo by Denise Truscello

Flashdance Tuesday 12/1 | Donald L. Tucker Civic Center | 7:30 p.m. PRESENTED BY OPENING NIGHTS PERFORMING ARTS AND THE DONALD L. TUCKER CIVIC CENTER AS A PART OF THE TALLAHASSEE BROADWAY SERIES

he pop culture phenomenon of Flashdance is now live on stage. With electrifying dance at its core, Flashdance tells the inspiring and unforgettable story of Alex Owens, a Pittsburgh steel mill welder by day and a bar dancer by night with dreams of one day becoming a professional performer. When romance with her steel mill boss threatens to complicate her ambitions, Alex learns the meaning of love and its power to fuel the pursuit of her dream. Flashdance features a score that includes the biggest hit songs from the movie, including the Academy Award-winning title song “Flashdance - What a Feeling,” “Maniac,” “Gloria,” “Manhunt,” and “I Love Rock & Roll,” in addition to 16 brand new songs written for the musical with music by Robbie Roth and lyrics by Robert Cary and Roth. Continued on pg. 62 Sponsored by

2015 Fall Program 35

Urban Bush Women

scendence,” this ethereal investigation lives within multiple layers of Coltrane’s music, Coltrane’s spirituality, Coltrane’s life…

Continued from pg. 17

SIDE A: JUST A CLOSER WALK WITH ‘TRANE, is a conjuring of Coltrane’s essence, based in rooted understandings of his music and “known” traditions pushed into heightened performance “states,” from cool to hot, from ancient field hollers to gospel cadences, strange reed riffs drive a spiraling physical journey through echoes of the blues, bebop, hard bop, free jazz, scored in a dazzling array by Phillip White.

Managing Partner

NATHEA LEE Founder/Visioning Partner

JAWOLE WILLA JO ZOLLAR Producing Partner

JONATHAN D. SECOR Senior Artistic Associates

CHANON JUDSON & SAMANTHA SPEIS

Choreography by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Samantha Speis in collaboration with The Company

Associate Producer

Dramaturg Talvin Wilks

Lighting Director/Production Manager

Composer Side A: Phillip White

Company Members

Musicians Side A: Philip White, Chris Pitsiokos, Courtney Cook

LAI-LIN ROBINSON

SUSAN HAMBURGER

DU’BOIS A’KEEN, AMANDA CASTRO, COURTNEY J. COOK, CHANON JUDSON, TENDAYI KUUMBA, STEPHANIE MAS, SAMANTHA SPEIS

Walking With ‘Trane (2015) Created and Co-Choreographed by Urban Bush Women Founder/Visioning Partner Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and veteran UBW dancer Samantha Speis in collaboration with Talvin Wilks and the UBW Company.

Walking with ‘Trane was co-commissioned by the Opening Nights Performing Arts at Florida State University. WALKING WITH ‘TRANE offers two unique experiences, SIDE A and SIDE B, inspired by the musical life and spiritual journey of John Coltrane, a composer at the forefront of jazz innovation in a racially-charged America of the 50’s and 60’s. Informed by the unpredictability of the bandstand, the “Band State,” the scary, risky place that potentially extends into “tran-

Lighting Designer Russell Sandifer Projection Designer Wendall K. Harrington Projections Programmer/ Associate Projection Designer Shawn Boyle Costume Designer Helen Lucille Collen Assistant Costume Designer Troy Blackwell *** INTERMISSION *** SIDE B: FREED(OM), is a free-fall suite of “states,” exploring the artistic imprint of Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, a riff on pursuance, plunging into the depths of Coltrane’s formidable legacy with diagonal pulls, suspended silences, chaotic spirals, and ultimately, transcendence, inside of a masterful

musical composition by George Caldwell played live. Choreography by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Samantha Speis in collaboration with The Company Dramaturg Talvin Wilks Composer Side B: George Caldwell Musicians Side B: George Caldwell or Lafayette Harris Jr. Lighting Designer Russell Sandifer Projection Designer Wendall K. Harrington Projections Programmer/ Associate Projection Designer Shawn Boyle Costume Designer Helen Lucille Collen Assistant Costume Designer Troy Blackwell Program and casting subject to change. The taking of photographs during performances is strictly prohibited.

Company History Urban Bush Women (UBW) burst onto the dance scene in 1984 with bold, innovative, demanding, and exciting works that bring under-told stories to life through the art and vision of its award-winning founder Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. The company weaves contemporary dance, music, and text with the history, culture, and spiritual traditions of the African Diaspora. Under Zollar’s artistic direction, Urban Bush Women performs regularly in New York City and tours nationally and internationally. The Company has been commissioned by presenters nationwide, and includes among its honors a New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie), the 2015 Fall Program 37

Julieta Cervantes

Capezio Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance, and two 2004 Doris Duke Awards for New Work from the American Dance Festival. In March 2010, UBW toured South America as part of DanceMotion USAsm, a cultural diplomacy initiative spearheaded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Off the concert stage, Urban Bush Women has developed an extensive community engagement program called BOLD (Builders, Organizers, & Leaders through Dance). UBW’s BOLD program has a network of over 29 facilitators that travel nationally and internationally to conduct workshops that bring the histories of local communities forward through performance. UBW’s largest community engagement project is its Summer Leadership Institute (SLI), established in 1997. This 10-day intensive training program serves as the foundation for all of the company’s community engagement activities. Ultimately the SLI program connects dance professionals and community-based artists/activists in a learning experience to leverage the arts as a vehicle for civic engagement. As UBW celebrates its 30th anniversary, it continues to use dance to bring together audiences through innovative choreography, community engagement and artistic leadership development.

Who’s Who in the Company Jawole Willa Jo Zollar (Founder/Visioning Partner) From Kansas City, Missouri, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar trained with Joseph Stevenson, a student of the legendary Katherine Dunham. After earning her B.A. in dance from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, she received her M.F.A. in dance from Florida State University. In 1980 Jawole moved to New York City to study with Dianne McIntyre at Sounds in Motion. In 1984, Jawole founded Urban Bush Women (UBW) as a performance ensemble dedicated to exploring the use of cultural expression as a catalyst for social change. In addition to 34 works for UBW, she has created works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Philadanco, University of Maryland, Virginia Commonwealth University and others; and with collaborators including Compagnie Jant-Bi from Senegal and Nora Chipaumire. In 2006, Jawole received a New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie) for her work as choreographer/creator of Walking With Pearl… Southern Diaries. Featured in the PBS documentary, Free to Dance, which chronicles the African-American influence on modern dance, Jawole was designated a Master of Choreography by the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center in 2005. Her company has toured five continents and has performed

at venues including Brooklyn Academy of Music, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and The Kennedy Center. UBW was selected as one of three U.S. dance companies to inaugurate a cultural diplomacy program for the U.S. Department of State in 2010. In 2011, Jawole choreographed visible with Chipaumire, a theatrical dance piece that explores immigration and migration. In 2012, Jawole was a featured artist in the film Restaging Shelter, produced and directed by Bruce Berryhill and Martha Curtis, which is currently available to PBS stations. Jawole developed a unique approach to enable artists to strengthen effective involvement in cultural organizing and civic engagement, which evolved into UBW’s acclaimed Summer Leadership Institute. She serves as director of the Institute, founder/visioning partner of UBW, and currently holds the position of the Nancy Smith Fichter Professor of Dance and Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor at Florida State University. A former board member of Dance/USA, Jawole received a 2008 United States Artists Wynn fellowship and a 2009 fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial. Still dancing, she recently toured in a sold-out national tour presented by 651 ARTS as a leading influential dancer/ choreographer on a program that included her early mentor Dianne McIntyre, her 2015 Fall Program 39

Bernadette & Roger Luca

collaborator Germaine Acogny, Carmen de Lavallade, and Bebe Miller. As an artist whose work is geared towards building equity and diversity in the arts, Jawole was awarded the 2013 Arthur L. Johnson Memorial award by Sphinx Music at their inaugural conference on diversity in the arts. In 2013, Jawole received the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award and recently received honorary degrees from Tufts University and Rutgers University. Nathea Lee (Managing Partner) is originally from Washington, DC and has nearly 30 years of experience as an arts administrator. In 1994, she was appointed the first executive director of the U Street Theatre Foundation, which was established to operate the newly-renovated and reopened historic Lincoln Theatre. There, she co-presented Urban Bush Women with the Washington Performing Arts Society. After leaving the Lincoln, Nathea joined McKinney & Associates, a public relations firm representing social justice organizations. She left the firm in 2004 and she joined the Development staff at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts the following year, helping to raise more than $1 million during her tenure. Nathea left the Kimmel Center to become the first Director of ValleyArts, a nascent arts district in Orange, NJ and in 2007 became Deputy Director of Aljira, A Center for Contemporary Art in Newark, NJ. In 2009, she was appointed the first Managing Director of Kùlú Mèlé African Dance & Drum Ensemble in Philadelphia, where she developed the organization’s operating systems, educational programs, fundraising, and communications efforts and produced annual performances. Also in 2009, Nathea launched her photography business, Nathea Lee/PhotoBravura, which specializes in performing arts, special events, and portraiture. Nathea joined Urban Bush Women as Managing Partner in 2014. Jonathan D. Secor (Producing Partner) Prior to joining UBW, Jonathan was the founder/director of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Berkshire Cultural Resource Center, where he oversaw the creation of multiple programs including Gallery 51, Tricks of the Trade, DownStreet

Art, MCLA Presents!, BerkshireArtStart.org and the Berkshire Hills Internship Program (B-HIP). From 2005-2007, Jonathan was Artistic Director for the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, MA where he programmed over 40 productions, and oversaw the re-opening of this historic theater. From its opening until 2005, Jonathan served as the Director of Performing Arts at MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA where he was responsible for the oversight of budget, staffing, and programming of 60-75 annual events. Jonathan’s production company, Secor Productions, has produced concerts, dance, theater, large-scale site-specific performances, industrials, events and happenings, as well as serving as a design consultant. Secor Productions served as the consulting firm for the design, construction, and outfitting of the performing art spaces at the MASS MoCA. Jonathan served as General Manager for 651 ARTS in Brooklyn, NY. From the mid 1980’s until the mid 1990’s Jonathan worked as a production manager throughout the United States and Europe. Jonathan started his career as a stage manager in 1979 and has stage-managed hundreds of productions for Broadway, regional theater, opera, dance, film and television. Jonathan has taught undergraduate/ graduate courses in management at the Yale School of Drama, SUNY Purchase, and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Jonathan splits his time between Harlem, NYC and Florida Mountain, Massachusetts. Lai-Lin Robinson (Associate Producer) is an arts administrator and dancer from Washington, DC. She has played many roles at Urban Bush Women (UBW). She entered “The Bush” as an intern and then began working as UBW Marketing and Development Assistant and later as Program Assistant. Lai-Lin currently supports UBW’s programming with her work on tour with the company via in assisting the production of new work and helping the creation and operation of the Urban Bush Women Choreographic Center. She continues to deepen her knowledge of UBW’s methodology by participating and supporting the planning and production of multiple UBW Summer Leadership Institutes. Prior to joining UBW, Lai-Lin spent 18 years

training and performing pieces with the Maryland Youth Ballet and Orlando Ballet. She later completed the Certificate Program at The Ailey School and is now a freelance dancer, rehearsing and performing in New York and the Washington DC area. As a choreographer, Lai-Lin choreographed for Fordham University’s production of Young Jean Lee’s play Groundwork and created her own work called Me and My baby and Restoration. Lai-Lin graduated from Fordham University with a B.A. in Communications and Media Studies and a minor in Spanish Language after studying in Granada, Spain for a year. Lai-Lin carries many different experiences in the dance world. She works on, off, and behind the stage and continues to grow through her work and learning at Urban Bush Women. Chanon Judson (Senior Artistic Associate/Dancer) is a cum laude graduate from University at Buffalo. She began her relationship with the critically acclaimed Urban Bush Women in 2001. Chanon has had the privilege of serving the company in a number of capacities including company member, rehearsal director, BOLD facilitator, and Director for UB2 – Urban Bush Women’s performing apprentice ensemble. Chanon now deepens her work with the company as Senior Artistic Associate. Chanon was a member of Cotton Club Parade and the Tony Award-winning musical Fela! Her commercial credits include Victoria Secret Live, L’Oreal Live, the Jimmy Fallon Show, and the Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary Concert. Chanon is effectively engaged in arts education. She was a faculty member at the Urban Assembly of Music and Arts High School, instructing dance/composition, and designing arts integrated curriculum. Chanon was Site Director for Ailey Camp Kansas City, MO and a teaching artist with Alvin Ailey Arts in Education, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Co., and Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts. Additionally, Chanon is the proud founder of Preschool Rock! – which provides quality movement and art programming for the Brooklyn community. Samantha Speis (Senior Artistic Associate/Dancer) is a movement artist residing 2015 Fall Program 41

Proud Sponsor of Opening Nights Performing Arts

SNIFFEN & SPELLMAN, P.A.

Proud Annual Sponsor of Opening Nights Performing Arts Series & Festival SNIFFENLAW.COM | TALLAHASSEE , FL

Barbara & John Mahoney

in Brooklyn, New York. She has worked with Gesel Mason, The Dance Exchange, Deborah Hay (as part of Sweet Day curated by Ralph Lemon at the MoMA), Marjani Forte, Pearson/Widrig Dance Theater, and MBDance. She was the 2012 recipient of the Alvin Ailey New Directions Choreography Lab and had seven weeks to teach and explore process with Ailey students. Her work has been featured at the Kennedy Center (Millennium Stage), Long Island University, Joyce SoHo, Hollins University, Danspace Project, Dixon Place, Dance Place, and The Kelly Strayhorn Theater. Speis’ solo, The Way it Was, and Now, was commissioned by the Jerome Foundation to be performed at Danspace Project for the Parallels Platform Series and was later invited to the Kaay Fecc Dance Festival in Dakar, Senegal. Speis has been a guest artist and taught workshops throughout the United States, South America, Senegal, and Europe. Upcoming projects include Liz Lerman’s Healing Wars and Jawole Zollar and Liz Lerman’s Blood Muscle Bone: the anatomy of wealth and poverty. This is Samantha’s sixth season with UBW.

Arts where she studied under Glen Eddy of Nederlands Dans Theatre and Andre Tyson from Ailey Company. Through hard work and dedication after attaining her BFA in June ‘13, Amanda has accomplished a place from apprentice to company member in Urban Bush Women. With her heart in rhythm and soul in tap, Amanda is also a choreographer, judge, and teacher nationally and internationally including performances in London, Germany, and South Africa. She recently choreographed the 2014 National Teen Opening Number for the American Dance Awards in Boston. Starting from her hometown of New Haven, she’s thankful to the spirits that guide her, and last but never least, her family.

lethnic, Callanwolde Fine Arts, and Moving in the Spirit. Currently, Tendayi is a company member of Urban Bush Women, ASE Dance Theater Collective, and Axam Dance Theater Experience. Past works include Liberata Dance Theater, Marjani Forte of LOVE/FORTE Collective, T Lang Dance, and Nathan Trice/Rituals Performance Project StrangeLove. Tendayi performs regularly as a resident jazz vocalist at the Williamsburg Music Center with the Gerry Eastman Quartet every Friday night. She gives thanks and blessings for life, love, breath, and the pursuit of happiness. Stephanie Mas (Dancer) grew up in Miami, Florida and began her movement training at a young age. She later moved to Tallahassee, Florida to study with Florida State University’s Dance Department. She had the pleasure of working with FSU’s esteemed faculty for a few memorable years and then moved to New York City following graduation. Upon arriving in New York she really dove in, created, and collaborated with many different artists, such as Paloma McGregor, Millicent Johnnie, BODYART, Megan Bascom, Megan Kendzior, Kate Weare, and Kirstin Kapustik. She joined Urban Bush Women in June, 2013 and has found the experience to be such a fulfilling blessing. She looks forward to the many years to come of digging deep and uncovering the truth in the work.

...the Urban Bush Women are committed, triple-threat performers who dance, sing and act with a sometimes searing sense of truthfulness.

Du’Bois A’Keen (Dancer) lives a life of fierce dedication to the performing arts. His formal training began at 19 in his hometown of Albany, Georgia while studying at Darton State College. After receiving his Associate of Arts degree, Du’Bois followed his passion to Florida State University’s School of Dance where he received his B.F.A. in Dance and was later accepted as an M.F.A. candidate. Du’Bois studied and performed works by master teachers and choreographers such as Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Darrell Jones, Gerri Houlihan, and more. After working as UBW’s Production Assistant Intern he joined the company in December 2014. Coming to the conclusion of his first full year with UBW, Mr. A’Keen looks forward an illustrious career and bright future, as he is joined in New York by his beautiful new wife Camry Vonyae’. All this while being guided by his faith and life mantra, “JUST BE.” Amanda Castro (Dancer) is a graduate from the California Institute of the

– The New York Times Courtney J. Cook (Dancer) is a Virginia Native now residing in Brooklyn, NY. She began her formal dance training at the Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts. She later attended and graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University, receiving her B.F.A in Dance and Choreography. In addition to being a company member with Urban Bush Women, she also performs in projects, working with astounding choreographers and artists of the community such as Christian Von Howard, Jennifer Archibald, Brotherhood Dance, and The Indigo Artists Collective. She looks forward to continuing her journey in the Arts and community organizing with Urban Bush Women. Tendayi Kuumba (Dancer) is a graduate of North Atlanta High School of Performing Arts and Spelman College. Her training ranges from Buffalo Inner City Ballet, Bal-

Troy Blackwell (Assistant Costume Designer) is a native New Yorker and holds a BFA from NYU. Some of the companies he was privileged to be a part of are Second Avenue Dance company, Dance Theater of Harlem, Les Grands Ballets Canadians, and Riverdance on Broadway and tour, just to name a few. He is a choreographer as well. Troy’s film credits are Be Yourself with Malcolm Jamal Warner, Scent of a Woman with Al Pacino, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and Good Day New York. You can see a young Troy in Scotts and Foreman’s Geography and Our World. Behind the scenes he has worked with Moms Mabley and her Ladies, Dancing with the Stars Live in Vegas as Head Wardrobe Supervisor and the rock group 2015 Fall Program 43

Bobby Dick, Mark Webb & Michael Robinson

215 S. MONROE STREET, #300 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 (850) 599-8908

Dr. Emily Ashmore

Michael Sheridan & Judy Wilson Sheridan Proudly support Opening Nights and the performing arts in the Tallahassee community

Def Leppard. Troy thanks God and Family for their unending love and support. broadwayworld.com (Troy Blackwell Cook) Shawn Boyle (Projection Programmer/ Associate Projection Designer) recent credits include: ELEVADA (Yale Repertory Theater); The Nutcracker (Grand Rapids Ballet); The Witches of Eastwick (Ogunquit Playhouse); Bird Fire Fly and THUNDERBODIES (Yale School of Drama); Pierrot Lunaire (Yale Cabaret); La Boite a Jouxoux, Spiegel im Spiegel (Yale School of Music); City of Angels (Goodspeed Musicals); Lover’s Tale, The Who’s Tommy, K2, Red Remembers (Berkshire Theatre Festival); Singin’ in the Rain, and My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding (Merry Go Round Playhouse). BFA, Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. MFA, Yale School of Drama. Shawn is a member of United Scenic Artists 829, Projection and Lighting. ShawnBoyleDesign.com George Caldwell (Composer) has conducted shows on Broadway (Black & Blue, Play On!), played piano & keyboards for others (Bring In ‘Da Noise, The Full Monty), conducted tours in Europe (Body & Soul, Black & Blue), and served as musical director for US regional tours of original musicals (Ella, Thunder Knocking On The Door, Cookin’ At The Cookery, and Golden Boy at the Long Wharf Theatre). He toured in the Count Basie Orchestra for seven years, and in the Duke Ellington Orchestra for three years. He has performed with diverse artists, from George Benson, Dianne McIntyre, Savion Glover, the Nicholas Brothers and Bobby McFerrin to Brenda Lee, Elvis Costello and Dizzy Gillespie. Susan Hamburger (Technical Director/ Lighting Designer) has designed and production managed for Urban Bush Women for over 10 years and has worked with such notable artists as Craig Harris, Lucinda Childs, Mark Rucker, Mark Morris and other dancer and companies, including Bessie winner Nora Chipaumire, Troika Ranch, Ellis Wood, Urban Tap and Alice Farley among others. She has also designed The Mystery of Edwin Drood, On The Town, A Child’s Christ-

mas in Wales, Little Shop Of Horrors, Suddenly Last Summer, The Great Highway, West Side Story, The Cryptogram, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing and Waiting for Godot. Susan is an adjunct professor at New York University and The Juilliard School and received her MFA from Yale School of Drama. susanhamburger.com

on his next challenge – Broadway – with his breakthrough gig in the hit Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk, and subsequently the following Broadway shows: The Full Monty and The Color Purple. He has six CDs, and his next trio CD, BEND TO THE LIGHT, features Lonnie Plaxico and Willie Jones III. It is slated for release soon.

Wendall K. Harrington (Projection Designer) received the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and American Theatre Wing awards for The Who’s Tommy. Her Broadway credits include: All The Way, Grey Gardens, Putting It Together, The Capeman, Ragtime, Company, Driving Miss Daisy, The Will Rogers Follies, The Heidi Chronicles, My One and Only, and They’re Playing Our Song. Her work in Opera and Ballet includes, Werther, The Grapes of Wrath, Nixon In China, A View from the Bridge; The Photographer; The Magic Flute, Firebird, Anna Karenina, Seranata Ratmansky, Othello, and Ballet Mecanique; She is the head of the projection design concentration at the Yale School of Drama.

Russell Sandifer (Lighting Designer) is co-chairperson of the School of Dance at Florida State University. He also has designed lighting for The Suzanne Farrell Ballet (since 2001), on occasion for Urban Bush Women (since 1998), and is the lighting director for the national festival of the American College Dance Festival Association. Russell designed for Seaside Music Theater from 1984 until it closed in 2008. In his professional career, Russell has designed lighting for almost 2,000 dance works. Russell is a member of United Scenic Artists, Council of Dance Administrators, and a lifetime member of the American College Dance Festival Association.

Lafayette Harris Jr.’s (Musician) Mr. Harris’ original composition, You Can’t Lose With The Blues, and his arrangements are featured on the new release by Houston Person, The Melody Lingers On. Mr. Harris performs with the Duke Ellington Legacy Orchestra, toured for seven years with Max Roach, recorded and toured with four-time Grammy nominee Ernestine Anderson, and currently performs and records with Houston Person. He has worked with Al Grey, John Gordon, Slide Hampton, Curtis Fuller, Roswell Rudd, Chico Freeman, Cindy Blackman, and many others. Mr. Harris completed his Bachelor of Piano at Oberlin Conservatory (‘85) and his Master of Music at Rutgers University (‘90). As 2012 became history, so did Lafayette’s 10 years of hosting the open mic vocal jam at the historic and now-closed Lenox Lounge. Mr. Harris has worked in well-established downtown clubs like the Blue Note, Sweet Basil, and Fat Tuesday’s since 1985. His debut album was aptly titled Lafayette Is Here, and a second Muse recording, Happy Together, starred The Lafayette Harris Trio plus Melba Moore. After years of playing in clubs, the mid-1990s saw Mr. Harris take

Helen L. Simmons-Collen (Costume Designer) hails from Brooklyn, NY, and resides in Laguna Hills, CA. This is her 18th year as Billie Holiday Theatre’s resident costume designer. Helen received her BFA in costume design from Purchase College at S.U.N.Y.’s renowned Professional Conservatory Program of Theatrical/Film Design Technology in 1996. In 1999, she received the Vivian Robinson Audelco-‘Judy Dearing Costume Design Recognition Award for Excellence in Black Theatre’ for her costume designs in The Trial Of One Short Sighted Black Woman VS. Mammy Louise and Safreeta Mae directed by Paul Harrison Carter at the New Federal Theatre. Presently Helen has been nominated for a total of 7 Audelco Awards. Aside from designing costumes, Helen is fully credited as a wardrobe supervisor and professional photographer. She worked wardrobe for legendary talents such as Wynton Marsalis, Nona Hendryx, David Letterman, John Mellencamp, Sting, Babyface, Billy Joel, Ginuwine, Tyra Banks, Beyonce Knowles, Tony Danza, Def Leppard, Alvin Ailey Dance Troupe, The Roots, Bill T. Jones, Brian McKnight, the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, Jenni2015 Fall Program 45

Larry & Jo Deeb

Every opening is an opportunity! Professional staff positions to support our 21st century law firm

Opening Nights... A great reason to be in Tallahassee! Tallahassee Operations Center 3800 Esplanade Way, Suite 300 Tallahassee, FL 32311-7889

35 YEARS OF PASSION FOR THE STAGE PRODUCTION SUPPORT GROUP, INC. 850.562.1070 P R OD UCT I O N S U P P O R TG R O U P . C O M

www.kayescholer.com

fer Hudson, Robin Thicke and Earth, Wind and Fire, and many others. Philip White (Composer) is a composer, performer and improviser who works with electronics at the intersection of noise, jazz and contemporary concert music. Current projects include R WE WHO R WE (with Ted Hearne), Colonic Youth (with James Ilgenfritz, Kevin Shea and Dan Blake) and duos with Chris Pitsiokos, Bob Bellerue and Taylor Levine. His music has been released on New Focus Recordings, Infrequent Seams and Tape Drift Records. It has been described as “utterly gripping” (Time Out Chicago), “bona fide evocative music” (Brooklyn Rail), and a “vibrant textural tapestry” (Wall Street Journal). Talvin Wilks (Dramaturg) is a playwright, director and dramaturg. His plays include Tod, the boy, Tod, The Trial of Uncle S&M, Bread of Heaven, An American Triptych and Jimmy and Lorraine. Acclaimed directorial projects include UDU by Sekou Sundiata, The Love Space Demands by Ntozake Shange, No Black Male Show/Pagan Operetta by Carl Hancock Rux, The Ballad of Emmett Till by Ifa Bayeza and the OBIE Award winning, The Shaneequa Chronicles by Stephanie Berry. He has served as co-writer/co-director for ten productions in Ping Chong’s ongoing series of Undesirable Elements, as well as the recent premiere of Collidescope: Adventures in Pre and Post Racial America. As a dance dramaturg, he has created five world premieres with the Bebe Miller Company, Going to the Wall, the Bessie Award winning, Verge, Landing/Place for which he received a 2006 Bessie Award, Necessary Beauty and A History. Recent dramaturgical collaborations include work with Camille A. Brown and Dancers (Mr. TOL E. RaNcE), Carmen de Lavallade (As I Remember It), Darrell Jones (Hoo-Ha), Urban Bush Women (Hep Hep Sweet Sweet, Walking with ‘Trane), and baba israel (The Spinning Wheel).

Lai-Lin Robinson, Associate Producer Tahnia Belle, Office Administrator Henry Liles, Finance Manager Susan Hamburger, Technical Director/Production Manager Bennalldra Williams, Training Specialist Jonathan Gonzalez, Production Assistant Intern

Urban Bush Women Board of Directors Tammy Bormann, Chair Ashly Nikkole Davis Erik L. Hall, Treasurer Yvahn Martin Alice Sheppard Jennifer Smith, Secretary Lorrie A. Warner Jawole Willa Jo Zollar Regina Bain, UBW National Advisory Board Theodore S. Berger, UBW National Advisory Board Alicia L. B. Jean Noel, UBW Jr. Board Maria Bauman, UBW Jr. Board Simone Sneed, UBW Jr. Board

Urban Bush Women Creative Catalyst Circle The Urban Bush Women Creative Catalyst Circle invites the partnership of individuals, teams of individuals, and institutions who believe in the vision and mission of UBW and who wish to bring this vision to the stage through their philanthropic gifts. Alfred and Patricia Zollar Tracey and Phillip Riese

Urban Bush Women Staff

Major Funding for Walking With ‘Trane was Provided by: Doris Duke Charitable Fund National Endowment for the Arts New York Community Trust Fund The O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation New Music USA

Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Founder/Visioning Partner Nathea Lee, Managing Partner Jonathan D. Secor, Producing Partner

Special thanks for developmental support to New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Florida State University’s Dance Department, and Duke University.

Generous support for the creation of Walking with ‘Trane comes from Urban Bush Women’s Creative Catalyst Circle, Alfred and Patricia Zollar and Tracey and Phillip Riese. Urban Bush Women -- 30 Years Strong! To learn more about Urban Bush Women and its programs, please call Jonathan Secor, Producing Partner, at 718.398.4537 or email jsecor@urbanbushwomen.org. UBW, Inc., dba Urban Bush Women, is a not-for-profit organization located at: 138 S. Oxford St., Suite #4B Brooklyn, NY 11217 phone: 718.398.4537 fax: 718.398.2794 UBW, Inc. is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization and gratefully accepts contributions, which are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law. For booking information, please contact Matthew Bledsoe, IMG Artists at 212.994.3565 or mbledsoe@imgartists.com. urbanbushwomen.org facebook.com/ubwdance twitter.com/ubwdance instagram: ubwdance © 2015, UBW, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Barefoot Movement Continued from pg. 19

Debuting in September, 2014, their third release, “The High Road EP” showcases traditional material that has consistently been among the crowd favorites at their live performances. Crowding around a single microphone, their show is as fun to watch as it is to hear, and often begs the question, how has no one lost an eye from a collision with the fid2015 Fall Program 47

Jim & Betty Ann Rodgers

STAY TUNED WITH

OPENING NIGHTS Proudly Supporting Opening Nights

dle bow? The smiles on the faces of the band are obvious displays of the joy and excitement they feel when performing and the audience shares in the fun. With effortlessly executed transitions, the pacing between the softer and more vigorous numbers constantly has fans on the edge of their seats. The “movement” can be traced back to the teen years of singer-songwriter and fiddler Noah Wall, of Oxford, NC. Just as she had begun penning her first compositions, she met mandolinist Tommy Norris their senior year of high school. Convinced of their musical chemistry and driven by mutual ambition, they continued to build the band from the ground up throughout their college careers. While Tommy studied classical music and recording engineering at Western Carolina University, Noah chose East Tennessee State, particularly for their Bluegrass, Old-time and Country Music Program. Here, she began to shape her musical identity, under the tutelage of ETSU’s renown staff, and found an instrumental home in old time fiddling. Just before graduation, she met fellow student and lively upright bassist Hasee Ciaccio. Hailing from Myrtle Beach, SC, Hasee brought another female vocal and a solid foundation of rhythm to the group. With the addition of versatile guitarist and singer Alex Conerly of Hattiesburg, MS in 2013, the lineup was complete with all the elements that make up the Barefoot sound: lush harmonies, thoughtful instrumentation, and memorable melodies.

tival conferences and were first runners up at the 2013 Telluride Bluegrass Festival’s New Band Competition. With crowds teeming with enthusiasm at every performance, and new fans joining the fold across the nation, word is surely spreading and the message is clear: barefoot is better. Won’t you join the movement?

Movement and Location Continued from pg. 21

WINNER: Brooklyn Film Festival: Audience Award, Best Screenplay, Best Score. WINNER: Indie Memphis Film Festival: Ron Tibbett Excellence in Filmmaking Award. WINNER: Rome International Film Festival: Audience Award, Best Narrative Feature. WINNER: Alhambra Film Festival: Best Actress (Bodine Boling). OFFICIAL SELECTION: Atlanta Film Festival, Woods Hole Film Festival, Chesapeake Film Festival and Sci-Fi-London Film Festival.

Filmmaker Statement Bodine Boling (Writer): Imagine that in a few hundred years, time travel does exist, but itʼs a corporatized, one-way trip backwards. You go alone, and arenʼt able to find out when exactly or even where youʼll land. Why would anyone go? What would the future have to be like that this is an option people pay to take? And how would they survive once they got here? Alexis and I call Movement and Location “casual science fiction” because there are no special effects, and the time travel element is the context, but not the story. The film is instead about what remains when a person loses their identity, and what happens to a relationship when only one half of the couple ages twenty years, and what a good person will do, and who they will sacrifice, in order to survive. It’s about people pushed to their limits, making it work, fighting to live a life that matters.

The Creative Team Alexis Boling (Director/DP/Producer) Alexis Boling is a director, cinematographer and the founder of Harmonium Films & Music, a Brooklyn-based independent media company. Previous works include directing and shooting the narrative feature

It has now been five years since The Barefoot Movement took off their shoes and took to the stage. Hard work and talent have taken them from east coast to west, from north to south, and even across the Atlantic Ocean. They have appeared in Country Weekly Magazine, on CMT Edge, Music City Roots, and Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour. Their original music was featured on the Outdoor Channel’s program “Huntin’ the World: Southern Style” and their music video for their popular song “Second Time Around” has been seen nationally on the Zuus Country Network. They have been selected as showcase artists at both the International Bluegrass Music Association and the Americana Fes2015 Fall Program 49

Lee Hinkle Proud Supporter of Opening Nights Performing Arts

Community leaders that COUNT Tallahassee

Tampa

www.thf-cpa.com

Mikey Bestebreurtje & Wilson Baker

The Ted Haggard Monologues, written by playwright Michael Yates Crowley and the music video for Mansard Roof by Vampire Weekend. In the world of television, he directed the hit show Moonshiners for Discovery Channel and Live Free or Die for Nat Geo. Alexis was the DP on The New Public, a documentary feature that recently aired on PBS, and he is currently wrapping production on a documentary film 10 years in the making entitled French Monster Trucks. Bodine Boling (Writer/Editor/Producer) Bodine Boling is a writer, actress, voiceover artist and video editor. She has voiced hundreds of advertisements on Pandora and four novel audiobooks. Bodine edited the narrative feature The Ted Haggard Monologues and the documentary feature Sonata (1957). She has performed on stage in New York at PS122, Columbia University, Tribeca Performing Arts Center, HERE Arts Center and Rattlestick Theater and acted in many shorts, as well as the features Riders, Swimmers, and One Night. Swimmers premiered at Sundance, and both Swimmers and Riders aired on the Sundance Channel.

petition, first prize at the 2006 East Coast Jazz Festival Competition, and first prize at the 2007 competition of the American Pianists Association. His March 2013 release, Small Constructions, a co-lead album of duets with multi-reed player Ben Wendel on Sunnyside Records, has received rave reviews and extended features in the New York and Los Angeles Times. Imani Coppola (Original Song) Imani Coppola is a singer-songwriter and violinist who rose to fame at 19 with her 1997 hit “Legend of a Cowgirl.” She has released twelve albums under her own name and two as half of the pop duo Little Jackie. Imani also owns the label Plush Moon Records.

Show. Cat played Patricia Arquetteʼs daughter in the feature Vijay and I, and appears in Vacation with Ed Helms and Natural Selection with Anthony Michael Hall. Brendan Griffin (Rob) Brendan starred in Clybourne Park on Broadway, which won both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. His Off-Broadway credits include Bottom of the World and Clybourne Park and he has performed regionally in The Power of Duff, Back Back Back, Cyrano De Bergerac, Coriolanus, and Clouds. His film work includes Wolf of Wall Street, Taking Chance, The Nanny Diaries, and Return. Heʼs appeared on television in Generation Kill, Person of Interest, Pan Am, The Good Wife, Law & Order: SVU and Criminal Intent, Black Box, Blue Bloods, One Life to Live, and Guiding Light.

Movement and Location is a gently paced, well-acted, and honest depiction of relationships and responsibility in modern-day Brooklyn.

Serena Hedison (Producer) Serena Hedison got her start as a producer in Los Angeles when she worked with the NYC-based theater company, Naked Angels, on two seasons of their one-act festival, Winter Shorts. She moved to New York to attend Columbia Universityʼs Graduate School of Journalism where she earned her masters degree in documentary production. Serena has worked as a producer for The History Channel and Scripps Networks. Dan Tepfer (Original Score) Dan Tepfer has made a name for himself as a pianist-composer and is regarded as “a remarkable musician” in the words of the Washington Post and one “who refuses to set himself limits” in those of Franceʼs Télérama. Among his awards are the first prize and audience prize at the 2006 Montreux Jazz Festival Solo Piano Com-

– Mark Rifkin, This Week In New York The Cast Catherine Missal (Rachel) Catherine began her career at the age of 7 performing in several regional theatre productions and short films. She made her Broadway debut at age 9 originating the role of Little Lucie Manette in A Tale of Two Cities. Cat went on to do the national tour of 101 Dalmatians, and then starred as Jane Banks in Mary Poppins on Broadway. On the small screen, Cat has guest starred on NBCʼs Law & Order: SVU and is the host of the popular preschool series The Super Sproutlet

David Andrew MacDonald (Paul) David currently appears in Rocky on Broadway, and other Broadway credits include Mamma Mia!, Coram Boy, and Two Shakespearean Actors. Heʼs performed Off-Broadway in A Night and Her Stars and The Green Heart, plus in regional theaters across the U.S. and Canada. Television credits: Person of Interest, The Michael J. Fox Show, The Blacklist, and ten years on Guiding Light.

Anna Margaret Hollyman (Amber) Anna Margaret has performed on stage in New York at 59E59, PS 122, HERE Arts Center, Soho Playhouse, Tribeca Performing Arts Center, and the OʼNeill Center, as well as at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Some of her feature film credits include White Reindeer, Summer of Blood, The Brave One, The Romance of Loneliness, The Color Wheel, Gayby, Slacker 2011, The Ones You Love, Cult of Sincerity, Somebody Up There Likes Me, and Small, Beautifully Moving Parts. Haile Owusu (Marcel) Haile has performed on stage in New York at Tribeca Performing Arts Center, but is a theoretical physicist by training, and has twice been published in science journals. 2015 Fall Program 51

Arnold’s Oriental Rugs and Antiques

Technically, we’re in the construction business.

Proud Supporter of Opening Nights Performing Arts JOIN US FOR OUR GOING-OUT-OF-BUSINESS SALE! 850.539.8893

But really we’re in the do-whatever-it-takes-for-our-clients business.

850-878-8272 WWW.MORETHANBUILDINGS.COM CGC-018607

Along with a partner, he is credited with finding a quantum analogue to the wellknown Liouville-Arnold theorem. He is now the Chief Data Scientist at Mashable. John Dapolito (Elliot) John has directed many plays over the years, most recently Neil LaButeʼs Romance and Brian Gianciʼs Off-Broadway hit Let’s Kill Grandma This Christmas. John has written and directed his own works, including Killer Midgets, An Act of Kindness, and Augie’s Ring. His play Baptism By Fire was produced and directed by Michael Imperioli to sold-out audiences. John is the founder of the career development paradigm “Actors! Where Are You Going?” His seminars and acting workshops are offered in Los Angeles and New York City throughout the calendar year. John is also a professional acting teacher, and his Tuesday night “Master Class for the Working Actor” has been the playground of some of New Yorkʼs finest actors since 2004.

Production Notes The husband and wife team of Alexis and Bodine Boling have collaborated on short films, music videos and documentaries, but Movement and Location is their first narrative feature. They enlisted producer Serena Hedison at an early stage, and the three ran a successful fundraising campaign as a founding project on film-specific crowdfunding platform, Seed&Spark, before shooting in New York City in 18 days in February of 2013. While filming, one location burned down, another flooded, a blizzard struck when they had to shoot exteriors, and Bodine got punched by a homeless man. But with the help of credit cards and their talented, collaborative friends, they finished the film in time to premiere at the Brooklyn Film Festival, where Movement and Location sold out both screenings and picked up awards for best screenplay, best original score and the audience award for best feature. The Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers is a program of South Arts. This screening is supported in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

Edgar Meyer & Christian McBride Continued from pg. 23

Edgar Meyer In demand as both a performer and a composer, Edgar Meyer has formed a role in the music world unlike any other. Hailed by The New Yorker as “...the most remarkable virtuoso in the relatively unchronicled history of his instrument,” Mr. Meyer’s unparalleled technique and musicianship in combination with his gift for composition have brought him to the fore, where he is appreciated by a vast, varied audience. His uniqueness in the field was recognized by a MacArthur Award in 2002. As a solo classical bassist, Mr. Meyer can be heard on a concerto album with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra conducted by Hugh Wolff featuring Bottesini’s Gran Duo with Joshua Bell, Meyer’s own Double Concerto for Bass and Cello with Yo-Yo Ma, Bottesini’s Bass Concerto No. 2, and Meyer’s own Concerto in D for Bass. He has also recorded an album featuring three of Bach’s Unaccompanied Suites for Cello. In 2006, he released a self-titled solo recording on which he wrote and recorded all of the music, incorporating piano, guitar, mandolin, dobro, banjo, gamba, and double bass. In 2007, recognizing his wide-ranging recording achievements, Sony/BMG released a compilation of The Best of Edgar Meyer. In 2011 Mr. Meyer joined cellist Yo-Yo Ma, mandolinist Chris Thile, and fiddler Stuart Duncan for the Sony Masterworks recording The Goat Rodeo Sessions, which was awarded the 2012 Grammy® Award for Best Folk Album. As a composer, Mr. Meyer has carved out a remarkable and unique niche in the musical world. One of his most recent compositions is the Double Concerto for Double Bass and Violin which received its world premiere July 2012 with Joshua Bell at the Tanglewood Music Festival with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Meyer and Mr. Bell have also performed the work at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles

Philharmonic, the Aspen Music Festival, and with the Nashville and Toronto symphony orchestras. In the 2011-12 season, Mr. Meyer was composer in residence with the Alabama Symphony where he premiered his third concerto for double bass and orchestra. Mr. Meyer has collaborated with Béla Fleck and Zakir Hussain to write a triple concerto for double bass, banjo, and tabla, which was commissioned for the opening of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. The triple concerto was recorded with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin and featured on the 2009 recording The Melody of Rhythm, a collection of trio pieces all co-composed by Mr. Meyer, Mr. Fleck and Mr. Hussain. Mr. Meyer has performed his second double bass concerto with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and his first double bass concerto with Edo de Waart and the Minnesota Orchestra. Other compositions of Mr. Meyer’s include a violin/piano work which has been performed by Joshua Bell at New York’s Lincoln Center, a quintet for bass and string quartet premiered with the Emerson String Quartet and recorded on Deutsche Grammophon, a Double Concerto for Bass and Cello premiered with Yo-Yo Ma and The Boston Symphony Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa, and a violin concerto written for Hilary Hahn which was premiered and recorded by Ms. Hahn with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra led by Hugh Wolff. Collaborations are a central part of Mr. Meyer’s work. His longtime collaboration with fellow MacArthur Award recipient Chris Thile continues in 2014 with the release on Nonesuch Records a recording of all new original material by the two genre bending artists, a follow up to their very successful 2008 cd/dvd on Nonesuch. Mr. Meyer and Mr. Thile embarked on a nationwide tour in Fall 2014, and appeared in many of the major cities in the US. Mr. Meyer’s previous performing and recording collaborations include a duo with Béla Fleck; a quartet with Joshua Bell, Sam Bush and Mike Marshall; a trio with Béla Fleck and Mike Marshall; and a trio with Yo-Yo Ma and Mark O’Connor. The latter collaborated for the 1996 Appalachia Waltz 2015 Fall Program 53

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re providing two Master Classes in collaboration with the College of Music this fall to give students the opportunity to work one-on-one with artists. OCTOBER 24, 2015

NOVEMBER 21, 2015

Edgar Meyer & Christian McBride

Gil Shaham

Call 850.644.7670 to observe a Master Class. Please note: Dates are subject to change. Visit openingnights.fsu.edu or call 850.644.7670 for the most up-to-date information regarding these events.

world, he’s collaborated with the Roots, D’Angelo, and Queen Latifah. In many other specialty projects, he’s worked closely with opera legend Kathleen Battle, bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer, the Shanghai Quartet and the Sonus Quartet.

release which soared to the top of the charts and remained there for 16 weeks. Appalachia Waltz toured extensively in the U.S., and the trio was featured both on the David Letterman Show and the televised 1997 Inaugural Gala. Joining together again in 2000, the trio toured Europe, Asia and the US extensively and recorded a follow up recording to Appalachia Waltz, Appalachian Journey, which was honored with a Grammy® Award. In the 2006-2007 season, Mr. Meyer premiered a piece for double bass and piano performed with Emanuel Ax. Mr. Meyer also performs with pianist Amy Dorfman, his longtime collaborator for solo recitals featuring both classical repertoire and his own compositions, Mike Marshall in duo concerts and the trio with Béla Fleck and Zakir Hussain which has toured the US, Europe and Asia together. Mr. Meyer began studying bass at the age of five under the instruction of his father and continued further to study with Stuart Sankey. In 1994 he received the Avery Fisher Career Grant and in 2000 became the only bassist to receive the Avery Fisher Prize. Currently, he is a Visiting Professor of Double Bass at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Christian McBride Bassist extraodinaire, composer, arranger, educator, curator and administrator, Christian McBride, has been one of the most important and most omnipresent figures in the jazz world for 20 years. Sometimes that’s hard to believe, considering McBride is barely in his 40s. Beginning in 1989, this Philadelphia-born bassist moved to New York City to further his classical studies at the Juilliard School, only to be snatched up by alto saxophonist, Bobby Watson. Since then, McBride’s list of accomplishments have been nothing short of staggering. As a sideman in the jazz world alone, he’s worked with the best of the very best – Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Rollins, J.J. Johnson, Ray Brown, Milt Jackson, McCoy Tyner, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny. In the R&B world, he’s not only played with, but also arranged for Isaac Hayes, Chaka Khan, Natalie Cole, Lalah Hathaway, and the one and only Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown. In the pop/ rock world, he’s extensively collaborated with Sting, Carly Simon, Don Henley, and Bruce Hornsby. In the hip-hop/neo-soul

Away from the bass, Christian has become quite an astute and respected spokesperson for the music. In 1997, he spoke on former President Bill Clinton’s town hall meeting “Racism in the Performing Arts.” In 2000, he was named Artistic Director of the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Summer Sessions. In 2005, he was officially named the co-director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. Also in 2005, he was named the second Creative Chair for Jazz of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. In 1998, McBride composed “The Movement, Revisited,” a four-movement suite dedicated to four of the major figures of the civil rights movement – Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The piece was commissioned by the Portland (ME) Arts Society and the National Endowment for the Arts. The piece was performed throughout the New England states in the fall of 1998 with McBride’s quartet and a 30-piece gospel choir led by J.D. Steele. Ten years later in 2008, The Movement, Revisited was expanded, re-written, revamped and performed again in Los Angeles at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The updated version now featured the gospel choir, an 18-piece big-band and four actors/speakers. The Los Angeles Times claimed the Movement as, “a work that was admirable for both the content of its music and the character of its message.” Since 2000, McBride has blazed a trail as a bandleader with the Christian McBride Band. McBride’s fellow bandmates – saxophonist Ron Blake, keyboardist Geoffrey Keezer and drummer Terreon Gully – have sympathetically shared McBride’s all-inclusive, forward-thinking outlook on music. Releasing two CD’s – 2002’s Vertical Vision, and 2006’s Live at Tonic, writer Alan Leeds called McBride’s band (affectionately known as the “CMB”) “one of the most intoxicating, least predictable bands 2015 Fall Program 55

CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS Join us for these fall Creative Conversations, featuring moderated Q&A sessions, panel discussions, and more. All events are free, open to the public, and appropriate for all ages! (Dates subject to change.)

SEPTEMBER 17 | 9:00 PM

OCTOBER 20 | 6:30 PM

Challenger Learning Center

FSU Alumni Center Ballroom

South Arts Southern Circuit Film Festival: Post-film conversation with filmmaker Ian Samuels

Panel DIscussion: From Studio to Stage: The Evolution

SEPTEMBER 22 | 7:30 PM

NOVEMBER 5 | 9:00 PM

FSU Alumni Center Ballroom

Challenger Learning Center

Poetry reading and conversation with Adrian Matejka

South Arts Southern Circuit Film Festival: Post-film conversation with Orion: The Man Who Would Be King’s creative team

of Live Electronic Music

OCTOBER 15 | 9:00 PM Challenger Learning Center South Arts Southern Circuit Film Festival: Post-film conversation with Movement & Location’s creative team

NOVEMBER 24 | TIME TBA Opperman Music Hall Conversation with the Bill Frisell Trio

on the scene today.” It is a group that has mesmerizingly walked an electro-acoustic fault line with amazing results. In 2009, Christian released his quintet CD Christian McBride & Inside Straight on the Detroit-based Mack Avenue Records. the CD was a return to his undiluted “straightahead” roots featuring alto/soprano saxophonist, Steve Wilson; vibraphonist, Warren Wolf; pianist, Eric Reed and drummer, Carl Allen. His second release on the label was Conversations with Christian a recording of duets with McBride and some of his best friends and mentors – George Duke, Angelique Kidjo, Dr. Billy Taylor, Hank Jones, Chick Corea, Eddie Palmieri, Regina Carter, Ron Blake, Roy Hargrove and Russell Malone among many others. In a stellar career that continues to showcase his remarkable talents as a consummate musician, bassist Christian reaches another milestone with the 2011 release of The Good Feeling, his first big band recording as a leader and newest release for Mack Avenue Records. For over twenty years, McBride has appeared in numerous musical settings with just about any musician imaginable in the jazz as well as R&B and pop worlds. From playing with the likes of Milt Jackson, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny; to playing with and/ or arranging for the likes of Isaac Hayes, Chaka Khan, Lalah Hathaway, Sting, and the legendary James Brown– what has always been unique about McBride is his versatility. In addition to his work in the neo-soul arena with The Roots, D’Angelo, Queen Latifah and others, the Philadelphia native has also led his own ensembles: The Christian McBride Band, A Christian McBride Situation and his most recent group, Inside Straight (fresh off their critically acclaimed 2009 effort, Kind of Brown). There are many sides to the musical persona of Christian McBride, and The Good Feeling has him realizing another role: the leader, arranger and conductor of his big band. McBride’s first foray into the world of big band composing and arranging dates back

to 1995, when he was commissioned by Jazz At Lincoln Center to write Bluesin’ in Alphabet City, featured on The Good Feeling and originally debuted by Wynton Marsalis & The Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra. Since that time he has composed a number of pieces for larger ensembles including The Movement Revisited, a four movement suite dedicated to four of the major figures of the civil rights movement: Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. At McBride’s core is The Good Feeling, his first full-fledged big band recording, and it’s presented in a truly impressive fashion. A hallmark of this recording is its consistent energy, present from the opening track “Shake ‘N Blake.” With its powerful trumpet section pronouncement, the band is telling the listener, “Here we are, ready to have some fun, and we’re taking you along for the ride.” But just as important is the band’s understanding of nuance; it’s McBride’s arranging touch creates the tightly knit sound you hear throughout this recording.Putting a big band together is no easy task, but in this particular band McBride feels fortunate to work with some of the most talented musicians in the jazz world. For his part, McBride feels that this process turned out the way he had hoped, with many musicians involved with whose work he is particularly familiar. “[Trumpeter] Freddie Hendrix is one of the flagship guys in the big band, as is Frank Greene, along with trombonists Michael Dease and Steve Davis. (Steve and I go way back. He was one of my first calls). And the saxophone section was kind of a no brainer— Steve Wilson and Ron Blake, who have been the saxophonists in my last two working bands. I had to have those guys,” McBride says. “Now, one thing that seems to be my ‘Achilles heel’ with any band that I’ve had during my career is the piano chair, simply because everyone’s working all the time. But the X-Man, Xavier Davis, came in and did such a fantastic job.” The repertoire on The Good Feeling features classic, “staple” tunes along with original McBride compositions—the perfect bal-

ance and platform on which to showcase the band. The selections range from easier, in-the-pocket swing—showcased on “Broadway” and “I Should Care”—to McBride’s originals, many of which have been featured on the bassist’s earlier recordings, now rearranged for big band. These tracks include: “Brother Mister” (the opening track of Kind of Brown), “The Shade Of The Cedar Tree” and “In A Hurry” (both featured on the 1995 classic Gettin’ to It); and Science Fiction (the nucleus for McBride’s 2000 effort Sci-Fi). Additionally, the disc features tasteful renditions of “When I Fall In Love,” “The More I See You,” and “A Taste of Honey”—all featuring exceptional performances by vocalist Melissa Walker.

Anaïs Mitchell Continued from pg. 25

If there’s a common thread in Mitchell’s work– from her earliest acoustic records, to the Hadestown opera, to this new chapter– it’s that she’s as interested in the world around her as the one inside her. She has a way of tackling big themes with the same emotional intimacy most artists use to describe their inner lives. “That’s why,” as one journalist put it, “even in her most intimate moments, she never sounds like a confessional songwriter.”

Orion: The Man Who Would Be King Continued from pg. 27

Biographies Jeanie Finlay (Director/Producer) Jeanie Finlay is a British artist and filmmaker who creates intimate, funny and personal documentary films and artworks. Her focus is on creating compelling portraits and is obsessed with telling other people’s 2015 Fall Program 57

TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE TUESDAY 1/12 | 7:30 P.M. RUBY DIAMOND CONCERT HALL

FALL STUDENT RUSH TICKETS AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 29

LIMIT 2 TICKETS PER FSU ID FALL STUDENT RUSH

STUDE NT RUS H TICKET S *

PERFORMANCE TIC KETS

INCLUDES JANUARY 12’S TROMBONE SHORTY PERFORMANCE!

AVAILABLE FOR MOST PERFORMANCES

stories. Her work includes Panto! (72 mins) for BBC Storyille, The Great Hip Hop Hoax (92 mins) for BBC Scotland and BBC Storyville, Sound It Out (75 min) a documentary portrait of the very last vinyl record shop in Teesside (official film of Record Store Day), feature documentary Goth Cruise for the Independent Film Channel (USA, 75 min) which became the most downloaded title ever on IFC, critically acclaimed doc Teenland (BBC4 60 min), and award-winning interactive documentary Home-Maker. Dewi Gregory (Producer) Dewi heads up Truth Department, a production company based in Caerffili, Wales. Dewi has come to cinema documentaries from television, producing and directing for BBC, S4C & C4. Truth Department’s second cinema documentary will be released later this year and the company has two further films in development. A one-hour documentary for S4C is in the final stages of post-production. Al Morrow (Executive Producer) Al is an award-winning producer and Head of Documentary at Met Film Production. Her films have been bought and/ or co-produced by a range of international distributors and broadcasters including BBC, Channel 4, Pathe, VPRO (Netherlands), ITVS (US), PBS (US), ARTE (France), Fox (Italy), RAI (Italy), SVT (Sweden), NRK (Norway), Dr (Denmark) and ABC (Australia). metfilmproduction.co.uk

Learn More #MyOrion An online memory box that collates and displays posts from across social media relating to Jimmy “Orion” Ellis. Readers who wish to contribute need to upload a photo, a video or a memory on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and add the hashtag #MyOrion. #MyOrion automatically collect the memories and displays them on the film’s website. orionthemovie.com/myorion/memory-box I Am Orion Exploring the themes of fandom, identity and tribute, I Am Orion provides the op-

portunity to create a tribute to Jimmy “Orion” Ellis using digital and analogue masks, taken from the cover of Orion’s iconic albums. Tributes can be in photographic or video form and I Am Orion is accessed through the Orion The Movie website. orionthemovie.com/iamorion

Credits Creative England presents, in association with Ffilm Cymru Wales, BBC Storyville and Broadway. A Glimmer Films production, in association with Met Film Production and Truth Department. A film by Jeanie Finlay. ORION: The Man Who Would Be King, produced in Wales with assistance from Ffilm Cymru Wales and the Welsh Government. Director

JEANIE FINLAY Producers

Music Supervisor

GRAHAM LANGLEY Re-Recording Mixer

PIP NORTON AMPS Archive Researcher

MARISSA KEATING Additional Photography

ROGER KNOTT FAYLE NATHAN TRUESDELL JEANIE FINLAY Sound Editor

ANNA SULLEY AMPS Sound Facility Services

AIR STUDIOS, LYNDHURT Colourist

LUCAS ROCHE

JEANIE FINLAY DEWI GREGORY

Titles Design

Executive Producers

Assistant Archive Researcher

AL MORROW SUZANNE ALIZART RICHARD HOLMES CHRISTOPHER MOLL HANNAH THOMAS KATE TOWNSEND JOHN TOBIN ANDY COPPING ALEXANDER PRESTON Associate Producers

STEWART COPELAND CHARLES KENNEDY Producer of Marketing and Distribution

SALLY HODGSON Business Affairs

SUZANNE ALIZART Editor

LUCAS ROCHE Directors of Photography

STEWART COPELAND MARK BUSHNELL STEVEN SHEIL

JEANIE FINLAY

PHILIP PARKER Best Boy

DEXTER ROCHE Legal Services

SPEARING WAITE Film Accountant

NORMAN THOMAS For Creative England Production Co-ordinator

HALEY MELLOR

Business & Legal Affairs Manager

PETER HARRISON Finance Manager

SHEREENE AMER Legal Representation

RICHARD MOXON For Ffilm Cymru Wales, Chief Executive

PAULINE BURT

2015 Fall Program 59

Production and Special Projects Manager

ADAM PARTRIDGE Development Executive

KIMBERLEY WARNER

The author of “In the Shadow of a KingThe story of Jimmy Ellis”

KENNETH DOKKEBERG Sun Records

JIM ELLIS JR

Legal Services

MARY BREHONY OF BREHON & CO For BBC Storyville Executive Producer

Gil Shaham

JO LAPPING

Continued from pg. 31

Series Editor

Gil Shaham is one of the foremost violinists of our time: his flawless technique combined with his inimitable warmth and generosity of spirit has solidified his renown as an American master. The Grammy Award-winner, also named Musical America’s “Instrumentalist of the Year,” is sought after throughout the world for concerto appearances with leading orchestras and conductors, and regularly gives recitals and appears with ensembles on the world’s great concert stages and at the most prestigious festivals.

NICK FRASER For Broadway Chief Executive

STEVE MAPP

For Glimmer Films Production Assistant

ANDREW RAE

For Truth Department Production Support

JACK WYNNE-WILLIAMS Production Assistant

YASMINE BOUDIAF For Met Film Production, Co-Executive Producer

STEWART LE MAR ECHAL Film Mentors funded by Skillset, Director

MARSHALL CURRY Distribution

MARC SCHILLER Archive

PAUL GARDENER Production

AL MORROW Legal

JOHN BUCKBY International Sales

THE FILM SALES COMPANY Festival Publicist

BRIGADE MARKETING Very special thanks to the author of “Orion”

GAIL BREWER GIORGIO 60

Opening Nights Performing Arts

Long recognized as one of its finest exponents, it is with Korngold’s concerto that Shaham launches the 2015-16 season at the Berlin Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. Besides reprising John Williams’s concerto with Stéphane Denève and the Boston Symphony, where he previously recorded the concerto under the composer’s direction, he performs Bach with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel; Brahms with the Orchestre de Paris; Tchaikovsky with the Orchestra del Teatro di San Carlo and the New World, Sioux City, and Nashville Symphonies; and Mendelssohn during a Montreal Symphony residency and on a European tour with the Singapore Symphony. Shaham’s longterm exploration of “Violin Concertos of the 1930s” enters an eighth season with performances of Bartók’s Second with the Chicago Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and the Kimmel Center, Barber with the Orchestre National de Lyon and Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and Prokofiev’s Second on an extensive North American tour with The Knights to celebrate the release of Violin Concertos of the 1930s, Vol. 2. Issued on the violinist’s own Canary Clas-

sics label, this marks the project’s second title, and pairs his recordings of Prokofiev with The Knights and of Bartók with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony. As well as undertaking a tour of European capitals with Sejong and a residency at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Shaham continues touring to London’s Wigmore Hall and key North American venues with accounts of Bach’s complete unaccompanied sonatas and partitas in a special multimedia collaboration with photographer and video artist David Michalek. Last season, Shaham headlined the Seattle Symphony’s opening-night gala, before joining the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson for Prokofiev’s Second at Carnegie Hall and other stops on the orchestra’s 20th-anniversary tour. The Prokofiev was one of the works showcased in the “Violin Concertos of the 1930s” project, which also took him to the Philadelphia Orchestra for Berg and to the Berlin Radio Symphony and London Symphony Orchestra for Britten. Besides premiering David Bruce’s new concerto with the San Diego Symphony, the violinist’s orchestral highlights included Bach with the Sydney and Dallas Symphonies and Mendelssohn in Tokyo, Canada, Luxembourg, and with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. After Canary Classics released his interpretation of Bach’s complete solo sonatas and partitas on disc, Shaham gave unaccompanied Bach recitals at Chicago’s Symphony Center, L.A.’s Disney Hall, and other U.S. venues in company with David Michalek. The violinist already has more than two dozen concerto and solo CDs to his name, including bestsellers that have ascended the record charts in the U.S. and abroad. These recordings have earned prestigious awards, including multiple Grammys, a Grand Prix du Disque, Diapason d’Or, and Gramophone Editor’s Choice. His recent recordings are issued on the Canary Classics label, which he founded in 2004. They comprise 1930s Violin Concertos (Vol. 1), recorded live with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, BBC Symphony, Staatskapelle Dresden, and Sejong; Haydn Violin Con-

certos and Mendelssohn’s Octet with the Sejong Soloists; Sarasate: Virtuoso Violin Works with Adele Anthony, Akira Eguchi, and Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León; Elgar’s Violin Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and David Zinman; The Butterfly Lovers and Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the Singapore Symphony; Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A with Yefim Bronfman and cellist Truls Mork; The Prokofiev Album and Mozart in Paris, both with his sister, pianist Orli Shaham; The Fauré Album with Akira Eguchi and cellist Brinton Smith; and Nigunim: Hebrew Melodies, also recorded with Orli Shaham, which features the world premiere recording of a sonata written for the violinist by Avner Dorman. Dorman’s sonata is one of several new works commissioned for the violinist, who has also premiered and championed pieces by composers including William Bolcom, David Bruce, Julian Milone, and Bright Sheng. Shaham was born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, in 1971. He moved with his parents to Israel, where he began violin studies with Samuel Bernstein of the Rubin Academy of Music at the age of seven, receiving annual scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. In 1981, while studying with Haim Taub in Jerusalem, he made debuts with the Jerusalem Symphony and the Israel Philharmonic. That same year he began his studies with Dorothy DeLay and Jens Ellermann at Aspen. In 1982, after taking first prize in Israel’s Claremont Competition, he became a scholarship student at Juilliard, where he worked with DeLay and Hyo Kang. He also studied at Columbia University. Gil Shaham was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1990, and in 2008 he received the coveted Avery Fisher Prize. In 2012, he was named “Instrumentalist of the Year” by Musical America, which cited the “special kind of humanism” with which his performances are imbued. He plays the 1699 “Countess Polignac” Stradivarius, and lives in New York City with his wife, violinist Adele Anthony, and their three children.

Luke Ratray

Bill Frisell Trio Continued from pg. 33

The album’s unusual instrumentation of strings and drums comes alive in a newly assembled quintet comprised of long-time associates from his groups, the 858 Quartet and Beautiful Dreamers. Frisell’s Nonesuch output spans a wide range of musical expression, from original Buster Keaton film scores, to arrangements for extended ensembles with horns and strings (Blues Dream, Grammy-nominated History, Mystery and Grammy winner, Unspeakable), to collaborations

with bassist Viktor Krauss and drummer Jim Keltner (Gone, Just Like a Train). Other releases include an album with Nashville musicians (Nashville), a solo album (Ghost Town), a collection of traditional American folk songs and originals inspired by them (The Willies), and two trio albums – one with jazz legends Dave Holland and Elvin Jones, the other with Ron Carter and Paul Motian. The Grammy-nominated The Intercontinentals combines Frisell’s brand of American roots music with Brazilian, Greek, and Malian influences. Disfarmer was inspired by the work of the mid-cen2015 Fall Program 61

tury rural Arkansas photographer Mike Disfarmer. Floratone is Frisell’s cooperative group of drummer Matt Chamberlain, long-time producer Lee Townsend and Tucker Martine, with whom he has recorded two albums. Silent Comedy (Tzadik) is a solo project filled with complex harmonies, delicate phrasing, and wild noises, produced by long-time musical colleague John Zorn. Recognized as one of America’s 21 most vital and productive performing artists, Frisell was named an inaugural Doris Duke Artist in April 2012. He is also a recipient of grants from United States Artists, Meet the Composer, and National Performance Network. Currently, Frisell is the Guest Curator for the Roots of Americana series at Jazz at Lincoln Center and Resident Artistic Director at San Francisco Jazz. Always on the lookout for opportunities to “dig around for where I’m coming from,” Frisell’s next project will be an homage to the instrumental popular music made “right at the birth of the Fender Telecaster guitar” that, he recalls, “got me super fired up” about his instrument of choice. Frisell will joined by fellow guitar master Greg Leisz on electric and pedal steel guitars, and his trio partners Tony Scherr on bass and Kenny Wollesen on drums. Together they will be exploring music of the Guitar in the Space Age - Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant, Charlie Christian, B.B. King, Merle Travis, Jimi Hendrix, Link Wray, Duane Eddy, Chet Atkins, Chuck Berry, Dick Dale, The Ventures, The Astronauts, The Wrecking Crew, and more. As on all Frisell projects, the proceedings will be, he understates, “rich with possibility.”

Flashdance Continued from pg. 35

Flashdance features the book by Tom Hedley (co-writer of the original screenplay) and Robert Cary, with direction & choreography by Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys, Memphis). Cast and Creative Team members subject to change. 62

Opening Nights Performing Arts

Frisell is a revered figure among musicians – like Miles Davis and few others, his signature is built from pure sound and inflection; an anti-technique that is instantly identifiable. – The Philadelphia Inquirer

BASED ON THE BOOK BY

TOM HEDLEY AND ROBERT CARY Music by

ROBBIE ROTH Lyrics by

Scenic/Projection Design

CHRISTOPHER ASH Costume Designer

MARTHA BROMELMEIE R Lighting Design

CORY PATTAK

ROBERT CARY AND ROBBIE ROTH

Sound Design

BASED ON THE PARAMOUNT PICTURES FILM

Music Supervisor

Screenplay by TOM HEDLEY

Musical Director

AND JOE ESZTERHAS

BRIAN CANONICO KEITH LEVENSON BRENT MCGEE

Story by

Production Stage Manager

With

Company Manager

TOM HEDLEY

ARAMIE TRACY BIDLEMAN NIC CASAULA NATHAN MATEUS DUSZNY RYAN NEAL GREEN MORGAN HARRISON EMILY HIN DANA HUNTER CAROLINE LAMBERT JOHN LANGLEY JULIA MACCHIO HANNAH K MACDONALD TANISHA MOORE JUSTIN ALLEN TATE ZACH SUTTON DERRIAN TOLDEN ALEXANDRA ZETO DAVID T ZIMMERMAN

KIRSTEN UPCHURCH HEATHER MOSS Production Manager

KEITH TRUAX

Associate Choreographer

FELICIA FINLEY-STANC ATO Assistant Director

DANA IANNUZZI General Management

THEATRE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES HEATHER MOSS KEITH LEVENSON Casting

WOJCIK I SEAY CASTING

Direction and Choreography by

For Nick Hurley:

Head Lighting

CAST

For Jimmy/Harry/Joe: ZACH SUTTON

Head Sound

ALEX OWENS .. .. JULIA MACCHIO

For Tess/Kiki:

PAUL STANCATO

JOHN LANGLEY

JOEY BURBACH BARRY FRIEDMAN

MORGAN HARRISON

Head Wardrobe

NICK HURLEY .......... RYAN NEAL GREEN

For Andy: JUSTIN ALLEN TATE

Swing Technician

HARRY ..... DAVID T ZIMMERMAN

For Gloria/Ms Wilde:

TESS...................DANA HUNTER KIKI ................ TANISHA MOORE JIMMY............. ..... NIC CASAULA GLORIA.......... .......HANNAH K MACDONALD HANNAH ........ TRACY BIDLEMAN C.C................ DERRIAN TOLDEN JOE................. ... JOHN LANGLEY ANDY .............. .... ZACH SUTTON MISS WILDE ... ALEXANDRA ZETO BALLET BOY.. NATHAN MATEUS DUSZNY STREET DANCER............ ARAMIE

CAROLINE LAMBERT

AMANDA LEVENS JENNIFER ROSE IVEY Recording Supervisor

MYSTL MUSIC For Hannah:

ALEXANDRA ZETO For C.C.:

ARAMIE Dance Captain:

EMILY HIN

Production Stage Manager:

KIRSTEN UPCHURCH STAFF FOR FLASHDANCE THE MUSICAL Tour Direction Provided By

COLUMBIA ARTISTS THEATRICALS COLUMBIAARTISTSTHEATRICALS.COM Casting

WOJCIK I SEAY CASTING

QLab Supervisor

JOSHUA WEESNER, ONE MAN BAND PRODUCTIONS Props Master

JAMES THOME Payroll Services

CASTELLANA SERVICES INC Insurance

DEWITT STERN Travel Accommodations booked by

ROAD REBEL ENTERTAINMENT TOURING Trucking

STAGE CALL SPECIALIZED TRANSPORTATION Bussing

MAYO TOURS

HANNAH’S NIECE...... CAROLINE LAMBERT

Casting Directors

Lighting provided by

ENSEMBLE................... ARAMIE, NATHAN MATEUS DUSZNY MORGAN HARRISON EMILY HIN CAROLINE LAMBERT JUSTIN ALLEN TATE

Casting Associate

Sound provided by

Company Manager

Projections provided by

UNDERSTUDIES Understudies never substitute for the listed players unless a specific posting or announcement is made at the time of the performance. For Alex Owens

EMILY HIN

SCOTT WOJCIK, GAYLE SEAY

JESSICA GORDON

HEATHER MOSS Technical Director

CASEY NELLIS

THEATRICAL MEDIA SERVICES CONCERT QUALITY SOUND PRG

Set Construction by

MIND THE GAP

Production Stage Manager

This touring production of Flashdance the Musical was rehearsed at 353 Studios, NYC

Head Carpenter

For more information on the Tallahassee Broadway Series, visit tuckerciviccenter.com or call 850.583.4871.

KIRSTEN UPCHURCH

CASEY NELLIS

2015 Fall Program 63