The
Laramie Project Written by
Moisés Kaufman and the Members of Tectonic Theater Project
April 29May 6, 2021
Directed by
William Cunningham
The Laramie Project Recorded in the Sophia Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts
Media Sponsor
RainbowTimes The
New eNglaNd’s largest lesbiaN, gay, bisexual aNd traNsgeNder Newspaper siNce 2006
Co-Sponsor Salem State University Alliance
THEATRE
The Salem State University Theatre and Speech Communication department presents
THE LARAMIE PROJECT by Moisés Kaufman and the Members of Tectonic Theater Project Director William Cunningham Scenic Designer Matthew Emerson Costume Designer Jerry L. Johnson Lighting Designer Hunter A. Mountz Sound Designers Topher Morris and Ben Richard Props Master Hannah Molly Ashe Stage Manager Cassie Lebeau The US West World Premiere was produced by The Denver Center Theatre Company Donovan Marley, Artistic Director in association with Tectonic Theater Project Moisés Kaufman, Artistic Director. Originally produced in New York City at the Union Square Theatre by Roy Gabay and Tectonic Theater Project in association with Gayle Francis and the Araca Group Associate Producers: Mara Isaacs and Hart Sharp Entertainment. The Laramie Project was developed in part with the support of The Sundance Theatre Laboratory. THE LARAMIE PROJECT is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York. Presented in conjunction with Salem State’s Center for Creative and Performing Arts.
CHAIRPERSON LETTER Dear Theatre Patrons, Welcome to the Salem State Theatre and Speech Department 20202021 season. As we all know, 2020 continues to be a turbulent year of pandemic, social injustices and a divided nation. We are living in uncertain times. I am so very worried about the health of our faculty and staff, our students, and our patrons. However, the theatre must strive to tell new stories, inspire and invigorate audiences. We open our season with Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s The Visit, a riveting, dark comedy about a scorned woman›s revenge, which explores the darkest depths of human nature. Adjunct professor, Sara Colon, is directing the play. The play is being presented via Vimeo. The second production of the season is Paula Vogel’s The Long Christmas Ride Home, offering a reminder that, for many people, the holidays are the most difficult time of the year. The play is directed by Professor Peter Sampieri, filmed on the Sophia Gordon’s Mainstage, and will be streamed via Vimeo. Next, for our third production, we are producing, Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal, considered one of the pinnacles of the American Expressionist theatre. The play follows the case of convicted murderer Ruth Snyder, the first woman executed by the electric chair in the country. The play is under the direction of Adjunct Professor Esme Allen and will be presented via Vimeo. Finally, we close our season with The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman and the Members of Tectonic Theater Project, a documentary style play focusing on the reaction to Matthew Shepard’s death, a student at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming. The play is directed by Prof. Bill Cunningham and is being presented via Vimeo. Please follow Salem State’s Department of Theatre and Speech’s social media, as there may be a few more surprises in store for this season! Wishing I could see you all live and in person in the theatre,
Jerry L. Johnson Chairperson Theatre and Speech Communication Department Salem State University
AUTHOR’S NOTE The Laramie Project was written through a unique collaboration by Tectonic Theater Project. During the year-and-a-half development of the play, members of the company and I traveled to Laramie six times to conduct interviews with the people of the town. We transcribed and edited the interviews, then conducted several workshops in which the members of the company presented material and acted as dramaturgs in the creation of the play. As the volume of material grew with each additional trip to Laramie, a small writers’ group from within the company began to work closely with me to further organize and edit the material, conduct additional research in Laramie, and collaborate on the writing of the play. This group was led by Leigh Fondakowski as Head Writer, with Stephen Belber and Greg Pierotti as Associate Writers. As we got closer to the play’s first production in Denver, the actors, including Stephen Belber and Greg Pierotti, turned their focus to performance, while Leigh Fondakowski continued to work with me on drafts of the play, as did Stephen Wangh, who by then had joined us as an Associate Writer and “bench coach.” Moisés Kaufman
DIRECTOR’S LETTER Due to COVID-19, Theatre has had to find a new way to reach its audiences. Although our performances cannot be live, we have tried to continue to engage our audiences as directly as we can. Our presentation of The Laramie Project is a recording of the actors performing the show from beginning to end without edits, while dropping in some pre-recorded moments in the theatre and added visuals as we go. Our hope is that this will allow you to receive the story of Matthew Shepard and the people of Laramie, Wyoming in as authentic a way as possible. 11 years after Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was beaten and left to die in Laramie, Wyoming, President Barack Obama signed into federal law The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Yet, as the 23rd anniversary of his murder happens, the state of Wyoming — “The Equality State” —still has not passed legislation to recognize or seek to prevent hate crimes. Lawmakers have said that they are still hoping for more “stakeholder input.” It is our hope that, with this performance of The Laramie Project, you will empathetically respond to the story of Matthew Shepard, the people of Laramie, and all who were impacted by his death. And we hope that the power of your empathy will help turn you into a stakeholder against the forces of hate. In 2019, there were 7,314 hate crimes involving 8,559 offences. In 2020, that number went up by almost 3%. The big difference, however, was that the crimes were more violent. As Rulon Stacey, CEO of the Poudre Valley Hospital, says in the play, “I guess, I don’t understand the magnitude with which some people hate.” The Tectonic Theatre Company created this wonderful play, to balance that hate with human decency and love. William Cunningham
DRAMATURG LETTER “The majority of people here are good people.” “You git bad apples once in a while.” When you look at news stories and online posts lately, how many times do you see people using these phrases or similar ones? Although these phrases could come from anywhere, they are lines of dialogue in The Laramie Project, taken directly from The Tectonic Theater Project’s extensive recorded interviews with the residents of Laramie, Wyoming. You could say that in some ways, not much has changed in American minds since 1998. Even when the most heinous of crimes occur, such as the death of Matthew Shepard, people are quick to defend themselves or their group. Certainly, they have not contributed to any of the wrongs that have taken place. Theatre puts a mirror up to society, and what better way to do this then to put on a play that utilizes nearly the exact words of real people in its dialogue? With this raw power, audiences see themselves, their loved ones, and their neighbors reflected back at them. Between the fallout from the recent polarized elections and the constant headlines we see regarding hate crimes, it appears as though people need to be reminded again and again of how certain mindsets can, either directly or indirectly, contribute to injustice in this country. And while this play shows people who have beliefs that they choose to never move away from, it also shows people who grow and evolve. With that comes the hope that audiences will do the same. The Tectonic Theatre Project set out to write this play using a creative technique called “Moment Work.” Company co-founder Moisés Kaufman describes “Moment Work” as a way of “writing performance as opposed to writing text”. Essentially, this technique is based on the idea of utilizing the storytelling power of visual and auditory mediums such as lights, props, sound, costumes, set, and movement work to find or write dialogue. These elements then come together to create a “moment.” After establishing these self-contained “moments,” a company can then string the story together, with one person stepping in as a leader if needed. The Laramie Project “moments” were centered around the images and ideas company members had when reflecting on the interviews they had conducted with the people of Laramie. After finding commercial success utilizing transcripts to create their play Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, the company thought that what had happened in the city of Laramie would be another opportunity to use transcripts as a way to explore what they termed “an X-Ray of contemporary American culture”. Company members were interested in discovering where American
attitudes towards homosexuality stood since the AIDS epidemic. They also wanted to observe what one of their interviewees saw as “all of the fault lines that are dividing our culture”. In the company’s book on “Moment Work” it is stressed that this technique is not exclusively meant for the creation of new plays. The actors in this production have made the story of Laramie their own under our current COVID circumstances. Prominent images have been established by the actors in ways you wouldn’t see explicitly outlined in the script, but which add new dimension to this story. It is very reflective of the flexibility of “Moment Work.” Everyone has worked as a unit in this production. Much as the original Laramie Project team were “a team of dramaturgs,” each member of the company has added something to the story. It is by staying faithful to the process of Tectonic Theatre Project, on top of the raw power of the words, that the people of Laramie come to life for you. I hope this all leads to self-reflection and growth. Stephanie Rossmeisl ’22
TIME and PLACE Laramie, Wyoming, U.S.A. 1998-1999
SCENES The play was written using a technique called “moment work,” a method to create and analyze theater from a structuralist (or “tectonic”) perspective. For that reason, there are no “scenes” in this play, only “moments.” A “moment” does not mean a change of locale or an exit or an entrance of actors or characters. It is simply a unit of theatrical time; a unit is then juxtaposed with other units to convey meaning. The play has three acts.
SPECIAL THANKS:
The Laramie, Wyoming Police Department, The Salem State University Alliance and The Rainbow Times. This production is made possible with the support of the Dembowski Family Theatre Endowment, Bernard and Sophia Gordon, and the Gordon Foundation. This production is intended for mature audiences. Content warning: Homophobia, reference to murder, assault and physical violence, coarse language, and adult situations. ©2021. This Video recording was produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service and Moisés Kaufman and the Members of Tectonic Theater Project. All rights reserved. This performance is authorized for noncommercial use only. By accepting this license, you agree not to authorize or permit the Video to be recorded, copied, distributed, broadcast, telecast or otherwise exploited, in whole or in part, in any media now known or hereafter developed. WARNING: Federal law provides severe civil and criminal penalties for the unauthorized reproduction, distribution or exhibition of copyrighted motion pictures, Audio & Videotapes or Audio & Videodiscs. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and may constitute a felony with a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and/or a $250,000.00 fine.
CAST Doug Laws, Gil Engen, Murdock Cooper, Andrew Gomez, Russell Henderson, Ensemble............................. Nick Burke Stephen Belber, Stephen Mead Johnson, Jeffrey Lockwood, E-Mail Sender, Bailiff, Gene Pratt, Conrad Miller, Ensemble................................................. Evan Carr Doc O’Connor, Bill McKinney, Matt Mickelson, Narrator, Detective Sgt. Rob DeBree, Dennis Shepard, Shannon, Ensemble.............................. Ryan Richard Doyle Waitress, Kristin Price, Tiffany Edwards, Reporter, Narrator, Juror, Ensemble..............................................Alyssa Fluet Reggie Fluty, Rebecca Hilliker, Newsperson 1, Juror, Ensemble.............................................. Caroline Forbes Matt Galloway, Aaron McKinney, Governor Geringer, Narrator, Ensemble..........................................Ben Joyall Marge Murphy, Lucy Thompson, Zackie Salmon, Shadow, Newsperson 3, Ensemble...........................................Rémani Lizana Barbara Pitts, Catherine Connolly, April Silva, Jen, Narrator, Sherry Johnson, Cal Rerucha, Foreperson......... Julia McDonough Romaine Patterson, Newsperson 4, Narrator, Ensemble..................................................................... Melissa Poirier Bill McKinney, Philip Dubois, Father Roger Schmit, Juror, Ensemble.................................. Michael Poliquin Amanda Gronich, Alison Mears, Sherry Aanenson, Newsperson, Newsperson 2, Juror, Narrator, Ensemble............... Holly Rust Eileen Engen, Trish Steger, Baptist Minister’s Wife, Kerry Drake, Narrator, Ensemble..........................................Rachael Schuster Moises Kaufman, Jedadiah Schultz, Jonas Slonaker, Anonymous Friend of Aaron McKinney, Ensemble.............. Juan Sepulveda Andy Paris, Jon Peacock, Phil Labrie, Aaron Kreifels, Harry Woods, Fred Phelps, Juror, Ensemble.............................. Devon Silsby Leigh Fondakowski, Narrator, Dr. Cantway, Judge, Ensemble.................................................................. Margaret Sweeney Greg Pierotti, Sgt. Hing, Baptist Minister, Rulon Stacey, Juror, Narrator, Ensemble.................................... Xander Viera
THE LARAMIE PROJECT
Written by Moisés Kaufman and the Members of Tectonic Theater Project
HEAD WRITER
Leigh Fondakowski
ASSOCIATE WRITERS
Stephen Belber, Greg Pierotti, Stephen Wangh
DRAMATURGS
Amanda Gronich, Sarah Lambert, John McAdams, Maude Mitchell, Andy Paris, Barbara Pitts, Kelli Simpkins
Salem State Production Personnel Assistant Directors...............................................Sarah Belley and JJ Castillo Assistant Stage Managers........Alex “Bovie” Boisvert and Clark D’Agostino Assistant Costume Designer.....................................................Lindsey Collins Company Deputy........................................................................... Xander Viera Costume Shop Supervisor............................................................Becca Jewett Assistant Costume Shop Supervisor........................................Caiden Bistany Dramaturg..........................................................................Stephanie Rossmeisl Staff Assistant Technical Director..................................................Tim O’Toole Staff Technical Director......................................................................Stu Grieve Programmer............................................................................ Hunter A. Mountz Light Board Operator....................................................................... Lily Tavares Camera Operator.......................................................................... Alecia DiCicco Sound Computer Operator............................................................... Mary Reed Video Recording and Editing.............. Matthew Emerson and Topher Morris Closed Captioning..........................................................................................REV Media Sponsor....................................................................The Rainbow Times
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Center for Creative and Performing Arts Karen Gahagan, Director Angelina Benitez, Project Manager Theatre Department House Manager and Production Coordinator Ashley Preston
CAST Nick Burke (Doug Laws, Gil Engen, Murdock Cooper, Andrew Gomez, People, Russell Henderson) is a freshman pursuing his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre performance. This is his first role at Salem State University. Previous credits include Dungarees Burgerman in the fictional online sitcom series The Gumball Shuffle. Evan Carr (Stephen Belber, Stephen Mead Johnson, Gene Pratt, Conrad Miller, Email Sender, Bailiff) is a sophomore pursuing his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre performance, as well as his Bachelor of Arts Degree in music. This is his third role at Salem State University. Previous credits include Boy/Girl (Much Ado About Nothing), Flute/Thisbe (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Puppeteer (The Long Christmas Ride Home), and Paris (Romeo and Juliet). Ryan Richard Doyle (Doc O’Connor, Matt Mickelson, Shannon, Rob Debree, and Dennis Shepard) is a senior pursuing his Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre with a concentration in performance. Previous credits include David Kolowitz (Enter Laughing), Jack (The Stand or Sal is Dead), Younger Brother (Ragtime), and Nick (Bedroom Farce). Awards: METG Doug Ingalls Scholarship Audition Honorable Mention (2017). Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region 1 Irene Ryan semifinalist (2018), KCACTF Region 1 Irene Ryan finalist (2019), KCACTF Richard Maltby Musical Theatre nominee (2020), and KCACTF Region 1 Irene Ryan nominee (2021). Alyssa Fluet (Tiffany Edwards, Kristin Price, Waitress, Reporter, Juror) is a freshman pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in performance. This is her second role at Salem State University. Previous credits include MaryPat (A Sunday), Rebecca (A More Perfect Union), Donna Sheridan (Mamma Mia), Baker’s Wife (Into the Woods), and Marmee (Little Women). Caroline Forbes (Reggie Fluty, Rebecca Hilliker, Newsperson #1, Juror) is a sophomore pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre performance. This is her third role at Salem State University. Previous credits include Head Nun (The House of Blue Leaves), Sexton (Much Ado About Nothing), Kate (The Taming of the Shrew), Ursula (The Little Mermaid), and Dragon (Shrek the Musical). Ben Joyall (Matt Galloway/Aaron McKinney/Governor Geringer/ Angel) is a senior pursuing his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre performance with a minor in English. This is his fifth production at Salem State University. Previous credits include: Ben & Kevin (Love/Sick), Ray (Lonestar), Claudio (Measure for Measure), Tom (Escape from Happiness), Gaston (Beauty and the Beast), and Shrek (Shrek the Musical). Awards: Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region 1 Irene Ryan Nominee (2016, 2017,2018), Excellence in Theatre Award (Northern Essex Community College).
Rémani Lizana (Marge Murray, Zackie Salmon, Shadow, Lucy Thompson) is in her senior year part one, pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre performance. This is her fourth role at Salem State University. Some of her previous credits include Linda Ryan (O Beautiful), Officer Lockstock (Urinetown: The Musical), Mrs. Gardner (Carrie), Matron Mama Morton (Chicago), and Dogberry (Much Ado About Nothing). Awards: Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region 1 Irene Ryan nominee (2019 and 2021), and KCACTF Region 1 Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Winner (2021). Julia McDonough (Catherine Connolly, Sherry Johnson, Barbra Pitts, Jen, April Silva, Cal Rerucha, Foreperson, Narrator) is a junior pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre performance. Previous Salem State University credits include V/Officer Edwards (Veteran’s Playwriting Festival), Jesus (O Beautiful), Angie/Dull Gret (Top Girls), Alice (Vinegar Tom), and Samantha Stewart (Uncommon Women and Others). Nominations: KCACTF nominee Angie/Dull Gret (Top Girls) 2020. METG Acting Awards: (2016) for Dr. Waller/Rita in Distracted, (2017) for Martha Dobie in The Children’s Hour, and (2018) for Rebekah Muldoon in Anatomy of Gray. Melissa Poirier (Romaine Patterson, Newsperson #4, Narrator) is a junior pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in theater performance with a dance minor. This her first show at Salem State University. Her previous credits include Mom/Jennie/Automated voice (After the Beep), Trackpad (The Recruiters), Laura (Shadows On The Wall), and Odessa/Hakumom (Water By The Spoonful). Michael Poliquin (Philip Dubois, Father Roger Schmitt, Bill Mckinney, Ensemble) is a sophomore pursuing his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre performance. Previous credits include Kevin Rosario (In the Heights), Trumpet/Ensemble (The Long Christmas Ride Home), Gomez Adams (The Addams Family), and Lendall (Almost Maine). Holly Rust (Amanda Gronich/Alison Mears/ Sherry Aanenson/ Newsperson/ Newsperson 2/ Juror/Narrator) is a sophomore pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre performance. Previous credits include Bunny Flingus (House of Blue Leaves), Second Woman/Conductor (The Visit), Farrah (She Kills Monsters), and Hope (Urinetown). Awards: Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region 1 Irene Ryan nominee (2021). Rachael Schuster (Eileen Engen/Trish Steger/Baptist Minister’s Wife/Kerry Drake/Narrator/Ensemble) is a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre performance and a Bachelor of Arts in English. This is her third production at Salem State University. Previous credits include the Stationmaster (The Visit), Female Swing (Much Ado About Nothing), Joe Harper/Young Fool (Big River), and Anybodies (West Side Story).
Juan Sepulveda (Jedadiah Schultz, Jonas Slonaker, Anonymous Friend of Aaron McKinney, Moises Kaufman, Ensemble) is a freshman pursuing his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre performance. This is his first role at Salem State University. Previous credits include Dr. Rank (A Doll’s House), Fayette (Waiting for Lefty), Mr. Collins (Memphis the Musical), and Government Soldier (Ruined). Devon Silsby (Andy Paris, Jon Peacock, Aaron Kreifels, Harry Woods, Fred Phelps, Juror) is a junior pursuing his Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre performance. Previous credits include Gordon/Dwight (Dead Man’s Cell Phone), Bottom (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), and Dev (Stupid Fucking Bird). Margaret Sweeney (Leigh Fondakowski, Dr. Cantway, Judge, Narrator) is a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre performance. This is her seventh role at Salem State University. Previous Salem State credits include Rebecca (The Long Christmas Ride Home) Margaret (Much Ado About Nothing), Marlene (Top Girls), Evelyn Nesbit (Ragtime), Zoe Kingsbury (Poison of Choice), and Dona Polissena (A Free Man of Color). Xander Viera (Greg Pierotti, Sgt. Hing, Rulon Stacey, Baptist Minister, Narrator) is a senior pursuing his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre performance. This is his fifth role at Salem State University. Previous credits include Verges (Much Ado About Nothing), Jerry/Father (Gunplay), Dr. Chumley (Harvey) and Jonathon Sparks (A Free Man of Color).
TECTONIC THEATER PROJECT Moisés Kaufman is a Tony and Emmy nominated director and playwright. His play 33 Variations, starring Jane Fonda, was nominated for five Tony awards (including one for Ms. Fonda). Previous to that, Mr. Kaufman directed the Pulitzer and Tony award-winning play I Am My Own Wife, earning him an Obie award for his direction as well as Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Lucille Lortel nominations. His plays Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde and The Laramie Project have been among the most performed plays in America over the last decade. Mr. Kaufman also directed the film adaptation of The Laramie Project for HBO, which was the opening night selection at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival and won the National Board of Review Award, the Humanitas Prize, and a Special Mention for Best First Film at the Berlin Film Festival. The film also earned Mr. Kaufman two Emmy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Writer. He is the Artistic Director of Tectonic Theater Project and a Guggenheim Fellow in Playwriting. Other credits include Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (Mark Taper Forum); Macbeth with Liev Schreiber (Public Theater); This Is How It Goes (Donmar Warehouse); One Arm by Tennessee Williams (Steppenwolf Theater Company); Master Class with Rita Moreno (Berkeley Repertory Theater); and Lady Windermere’s Fan (Williamstown Theater Festival). Leigh Fondakowski was the head writer on The Laramie Project, a cowriter of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, and an Emmy-nominated co-screenwriter for the HBO adaptation of The Laramie Project. She has been a member of Tectonic since 1994. Her original works as playwright/ director include SPILL (Swine Palace, TimeLine Theater, Ensemble Studio Theatre, 2015 Kilroy List); The People’s Temple (Berkeley Repertory Theatre, American Theater Company, the Guthrie Theater, Glickman Award for Best New Play in the Bay Area 2005); and I Think I Like Girls (Encore Theater, Bay Area Critics Circle nomination for Best Production, voted one of the top ten plays of 2002 by the Advocate). Leigh was a 2007 recipient of the NEA/TCG Theatre Residency Program for Playwrights, a 2009 MacDowell Colony Fellow, and a 2010 Distinguished Visiting Chair at the University of Minnesota, where she lectured and developed Casa Cushman, a work-inprogress about nineteenth-century American actress Charlotte Cushman. As director, she headed the national tour of The Laramie Project and Laramie: Ten Years Later, and co-directed The Laramie Cycle with Moisés Kaufman at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. She has directed and developed plays with playwrights Anne Marie Cummings, Colman Domingo, Laura Eason, Julia Jordan, Deb Margolin, Lisa Ramirez, Ellen Gordon Reeves, and Bennett Singer. In 2013, she released her first nonfiction book, “Stories from Jonestown,” and she is currently adapting it for film. Leigh is a teaching artist at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and Naropa University. Stephen Belber’s plays have been produced on Broadway and in over 25 countries. They include Match, Tape, Don’t Go Gentle, Dusk Rings a Bell, McReele, Finally, Geometry of Fire, Fault Lines, Carol Mulroney, A Small, Melodramatic Story, One Million Butterflies, The Power of Duff and The
Muscles In Our Toes. Theaters where he has been produced include Roundabout, Atlantic, MCC, Primary Stages, Naked Angels, Labyrinth, Rattlestick, The Huntington and The Geffen. He was an Associate Writer on The Laramie Project, and co-writer on The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later. Movies include Tape (directed by Richard Linklater), The Laramie Project(Associate Writer), Drifting Elegant, Management, starring Jennifer Aniston, and Match, starring Patrick Stewart, the last two of which he also directed. Television credits include Rescue Me, Law & Order SVU, and pilots for F/X, Amazon, The History Channel, FTVS and HBO. Upcoming films include O.G., starring Jeffrey Wright. Greg Pierotti joined Tectonic Theater Project as an actor in Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde in 1996. He was an actor and an associate writer on The Laramie Project. He was co-writer of the HBO teleplay The Laramie Project, for which he and fellow company members share a Humanitas Prize and an Emmy nomination. He was a co-writer on Laramie: Ten Years Later. As a writer and actor with Tectonic he has performed and developed original work at La Jolla Playhouse, Denver Center, Minetta Lane, Union Square Theater, Alice Tully Hall, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Arena Stage, The Magic, The Atlantic Theatre Company, Sundance Theater Lab, and NYTW’s lab at Dartmouth. He has been a master teacher of Moment Work since 2004. He was head writer on Leigh Fondakowski’s The People’s Temple. He has developed his plays Apology and B More at Berkeley Repertory’s Ground Floor, The Orchard Project, The University of California–Davis, and at Maison Dora Maar in Ménerbes, France, where he was a Brown Fellow. He is a nominee for the Alpert Award in the arts in the category of theater. His latest research explores cross-pollinations between theater and anthropology. He uses theatrical devising techniques to help ethnographic writers create performance or to re-engage the empirical data they have collected in field research as they write. He is an assistant professor in the MFA of generative dramaturgy at the University of Arizona. Stephen Wangh has been a playwright, director, and teacher of acting. He is the author of An Acrobat of the Heart, a physical approach to acting inspired by the work of Jerzy Grotowski (Vintage, Random House, 2000) and of The Heart of Teaching: Empowering Students in the Performing Arts (Routledge, 2012). He is the author of 15 plays, and was one of the writers of The People’s Temple (Glickman award: Best play in the Bay Area, 2005). He was Associate Writer for The Laramie Project (Emmy nomination 2002), and dramaturg of Moisés Kaufman’s Gross Indecency, the three trials of Oscar Wilde (1997). For 20 years Steve taught acting in the Experimental Theatre Wing at NYU. Then, for seven years he was Guest Faculty at the MFA Theater: Contemporary Performance program at Naropa University where he taught physical acting and pedagogy. And now? He’s mostly writing, lecturing and leading pedagogy workshops.
CREATIVE TEAM AND PRODUCTION STAFF Hannah Molly Ashe (Props Master) is a Senior pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre design. She is excited that this is her final major production credit at Salem State University as well as her Senior Project for the Bachelor of Fine Arts Program. Her recent production credits include Props Master (The Long Christmas Ride Home and Much Ado About Nothing) Assistant Props Master (Ragtime, Poison of Choice and Gunplay), Props Run Crew (Clybourne Park), Scenic Run Crew (The Cripple of Inishmaan), Costume Run Crew (A Free Man of Color), Light Board Operator (Student Theatre Ensemble’s Advance Man: Part One of the Honeycomb Trilogy), Electrics Crew (The Cripple of Inishmaan and Macbeth), and Scenic Painting (Harvey, Poison of Choice and Uncommon Woman and Others). Sarah Belley (Assistant Director) is a senior pursuing her Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre performance. This is her first assistant directing positions at Salem State University. Recent credits include Mustardseed (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and Soccer Mom (The Wolves), and wardrobe run crew for Ragtime (Salem State University). Alex “Bovie” Boisvert (Assistant Stage Manager) is a junior pursuing their Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in stage management. Their recent stage management credits are The Long Christmas Ride Home, Bedroom Farce, Gunplay, Veteran’s 10-Minute Play Festival, Ragtime (Salem State University) and Rough Crossing (Student Theatre Ensemble). Awards: Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region 1 Stage Management Nominee. JJ Castillo (Assistant Director) is a junior pursuing his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre arts with a concentration in directing. Previous directing credits include: Gunplay (Assistant Director). Acting credits include Third Man/Ensemble (The Visit) and New Rochelle Ensemble (Ragtime). Lindsey Collins (Assistant Costume Designer) is a senior pursuing her Bachelor of Science in elementary education and Bachelor of Arts in theatre design. Recent Salem State assistant design credits include Enter Laughing and Much Ado About Nothing. William Cunningham (Director) is a tenured Professor of Theatre Arts at Salem State University who holds an MFA in Playwrighting from UCLA. His plays (LifeLike2, Intimate Apparel, Right Next Door, The Do-It-Yourselfers, and Managed Care) have been produced at the Boston Playwright’s Theatre and published by Baker’s Plays. His play Poison of Choice premiered at Salem State in 2018. His play A Small Death in a Big Country premiered at Salem State in 2016 and was selected to be performed at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. His play Course Work also performed at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in 2004. For Salem State Theatre he has directed Much Ado About Nothing, The Cripple of Inishmaan, The Seagull, Spring Awakening, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Man and Superman, Our Lady of 121st Street, Red Noses, The Weir, A Doll’s House, Six Degrees of Separation, The Tempest, Bat Boy: The Musical, Bedroom Farce, and Oedipus the King.
Clark D’Agostino (Assistant Stage Manager) is a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in directing. Recent directing credits include Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Student Theatre Ensemble), and I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream (Student Theatre Ensemble). Matthew Emerson (Scenic Designer) is an Associate Professor of Lighting and Set Design. New to Salem State University, Matthew comes from North Carolina where he was active as a designer in regional theatre, film, display design, and product design. Matthew holds an MFA in Scenography from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Previous Salem State design credits include The Visit, Top Girls and Much Ado about Nothing. Stacey Horne-Harper (Faculty Props Master) is a graduate of the University of Delaware Professional Theatre Training Program. She spent seven years as the properties carpenter at the American Repertory Theater. She would like to thank her family for all of their incredible support. Cassandra Lebeau (Stage Manager) is a junior pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in stage management. Previous stage management credits include Much Ado About Nothing (Salem State University), Top Girls (Salem State University), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Student Theatre Ensemble), Uncommon Women and Others (Salem State University), Hir (Student Theatre Ensemble), and Rough Crossing (Student Theatre Ensemble). Awards: Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region 1 stage management nominee (2019). Hunter A. Mountz (Lighting Designer) is a senior pursuing his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre design at Salem State University, Hunter’s design credits include Dare to Dream, Nick @ Nite (Repertory Dance Theatre) and Bedroom Farce (Salem State University). Hunter also worked as the Associate Lighting Designer for Machinal, Assistant Lighting Designer for Top Girls and She Kills Monsters and as the Master Electrician for Uncommon Women and Others and Ragtime (Salem State University). Hunter currently serves as Student Deputy to the Salem State University theatre design/tech. students, and as the Production Manager for the Student Theatre Ensemble. Awards: Excellence in Lighting Design Award from the Region 1 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for the production Bedroom Farce (Salem State University). Benjamin Richard (Sound Designer) is a third-year student pursuing his Bachelor of fine arts in technical theatre. Recent design credits include I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream (Student Theatre Ensemble), Machinal (Salem State University), The Long Christmas Ride Home (Salem State Theatre).
Stephanie Rossmeisl (Dramaturg) is a junior pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in playwriting. Previous production credits for Salem State University include dramaturg (Top Girls), light board operator (Uncommon Women and Others), and props run crew (Harvey). Previous acting credits include Brian Ryan (O Beautiful), Patient/Silhouette (Salem Asylum), George Bailey (It’s A Wonderful Life), and Captain Walton (Frankenstein). Awards: Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region 1 LMDA/KCACTF Student Dramaturgy Award Nominee (2020).
THEATRE AND SPEECH COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT Celena Sky April Esme Allen Brianne Beatrice Bryn Boice William Cunningham Sara Conlon Matthew Emerson James J. Fallon, Professor Emeritus Myrna Finn, Professor Emerita Stuart Grieve Thomas J. Hallahan, Professor Emeritus Michael M. Harvey Elizabeth Hart, Professor Emerita Jane Hillier-Walkowiak Stacey Horne-Harper Alex Jacobs Becca Jewett Jerry L. Johnson, Chairperson Julie Kiernan Matthew Korahais Christopher Morris Tim O’Toole Ashley Preston O’Toole Peter Sampieri Vera Sheppard, Professor Emerita Richard Snee Allen Vietzke Whitney L. White, Professor Emeritus Patricia Zaido, Professor Emerita
The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, part of the Rubenstein Arts Access Program, is generously funded by David M. Rubenstein. Special Thanks to The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust for supporting the John F. Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts’ Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Additional support is provided by The Honorable Stuart Bernstein and Wilma E. Bernstein; and the Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation. Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts. This production is entered in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF). The aims of this national theater education program are to identify and promote quality in college-level theater production. To this end, each production entered is eligible for a response by a regional KCACTF representative, and selected students and faculty are invited to participate in KCACTF programs involving scholarships, internships, grants and awards for actors, directors, dramaturgs, playwrights, designers, stage managers and critics at both the regional and national levels. Productions entered on the Participating level are eligible for invitation to the KCACTF regional festival and may also be considered for national awards recognizing outstanding achievement in production, design, direction and performance. Last year more than 1,500 productions were entered in the KCACTF involving more than 200,000 students nationwide. By entering this production, our theater department is sharing in the KCACTF goals to recognize, reward, and celebrate the exemplary work produced in college and university theaters across the nation.