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LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
WELCOME TO THE DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA WHY TELL THIS STORY NOW? This is a question that my faculty colleagues and I spend a great deal of time considering because it is central to the process of selecting, preparing, and presenting our performance season – not only our mainstage season, but the numerous smaller scale studio projects that augment it, as well as the partnerships with our colleagues at Syracuse Stage that further enhance it. Over the course of many months (discussions for this current season began in April of 2017!), we collectively consider a wide range of genres and titles – possible stories to tell – and we gradually narrow the field to arrive at our final decisions. As we do so, we consider the ways in which any given play will advance our students’ learning and
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challenge the creative capacities of our faculty, staff, and guest artists. Our performance season is one of our most important endeavors, second only to the daily delivery of curriculum in our classrooms and studios. That importance arises from the fact that it is through the practical application of their skills that students in all of our programs of study – theater design and technology, stage management, theater management, acting, and musical theater – deepen their knowledge and prepare themselves to embark upon professional careers in the performing arts. Additionally, it is through our productions that the artist-teachers who make up our faculty (designers, directors, choreographers, performers) have
the opportunity to expand their range of creative expression and share their knowledge in a time-honored tradition of apprenticeship-style teaching and learning.
Each of the plays and musicals in our 2018-19 mainstage season in some way examines questions that are central to the act of storytelling itself: Who owns the story? Who gets to tell it? What is the best way to tell it? And, of course: Why tell this story now? I am grateful that you have chosen to join us, and I hope you will be as engaged by these questions as we have been as we worked to bring these stories to life. And I invite you to share your thoughts about some of these questions by joining us for one or more of our free Sunday Salon Series discussions following the first Sun-
RALPH ZITO
And as we consider what plays to present, and choose what stories to tell, we consider the fundamental goal of Theater itself: to share stories of the human condition in the hope of provoking change. Sometimes, the change is as simple as a change in mood – a muchneeded lifting of the spirits. Sometimes, the change goes deeper – an expansion of knowledge, a shift in worldview, a deepening of empathy.
day matinee of each production. Join the director, members of the creative team, and experts drawn from the Syracuse University faculty and Syracuse community as we take a closer look at the creative process and the larger questions raised by each production. Once again, thank you and enjoy the show!
Ralph Zito
Chair, Department of Drama
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College of Visual and Performing Arts PRESENTS
BY
Jackie Sibblies Drury DIRECTED BY
Gilbert McCauley SCENIC DESIGNER
COSTUME DESIGNER
LIGHTING DESIGNER
SOUND DESIGNER
PROJECTIONS DESIGNER
Anya Klepikov
Felix E. Cochren
Andrew S. LiDestri
Kevin O’Connor
Nitsan Scharf
DIALECT COACH
RHYTHM AND MOVEMENT CONSULTANT
DRAMATURG
STAGE MANAGER
Thom Miller
Joshua S. Williams
Ali Whitwell
Alyssa Jaffe
CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA
Ralph Zito SEASON SPONSOR
Produced by special arrangement with The Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois. February 22 – March 3, 2019
è Enjoyed the show? Share with your friends #SUDramaProudToPresent. 5
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CAST Actor 6/Black Woman...........................Brittany Adebumola Actor 5/Sarah.........................................Amanda McCormick Actor 4/Another Black Man..............................Isaiah Brooks Actor 2/Black Man..........................Gabriel Caño-Garraway Actor 3/Another White Man..............................Alex Giganti Actor 1/White Man......................................Weston Barnwell
SETTING A large space, a gathering place, a theater And a smaller space, a private place, a rehearsal
ADDITIONAL CREDITS Associate Costume Designer: Genevieve Phanhthaly Assistant Lighting Designer: Adrian Yuen Assistant Stage Managers: Abby Bogoli, Cara Spindel Casting Associate: Wallis Dean Casting Assistant: Margot Correa
This production will be performed without an intermission.
SPECIAL THANKS Kevin Jones, Jen Onopa, Christopher Green, Neal Moeller, and The Embassy of the Republic of Namibia
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DRAMATURG'S NOTE BY ALI WHITWELL
A brief overview of the genocide of the Herero tribe of Namibia, executed by the German Government, between the years 1884 and 1915 . . . The Herero were proud cattle farmers, known as nomadic pastoralists, who made up approximately 7% of Namibia’s population in the early nineteenth century. In the 1840’s, Germans (beginning with missionaries, then settlers, then soldiers) began arriving in Namibia, then known as South West Africa, with the hopes of converting “natives” and conquering land. As the nineteenth century continued, white settlers
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began pushing tribesmen off their land with bribes and unreliable deals. German protective troops, acting as a police force, were then sent to South West Africa to combat the growing “Herero hostility”. By the late 1890’s, a cattle-virus epidemic killed many of the Herero’s cattle, and on credit, the German government offered the Herero aid, amassing huge debts. By the early 1900’s, the Herero, and other tribes such as the Namaqua, began rebelling against German rule, attacking German outposts under the leadership of Samuel Maherero. In a final effort to suppress
the tribal resistance, the German government sent Lieutenant-General Lothar von Trotha, who began slowly driving the Herero into a position where they were surrounded on three sides. The fourth side offered escape only into the Kalahari desert, where soldiers had poisoned the few water-holes. On October 2, 1904, Von Trotha issued his final extermination order, stating, “Within the German borders every Herero, with or without a gun, with or without cattle, will be shot. I will no longer accept women and children, I will drive them back to their people or I will let them be shot at. I find it most appropriate that the nation perishes instead of infecting our soldiers and diminishing their supplies of water and food. (Pool 1991:274)”. The Herero were systematically killed by the German soldiers, by disease, lynching, and starvation in the desert. Survivors were sent to labor camps,
where many women were raped and forced to act as sex slaves for soldiers. Many Herero people in the camps were also used as human subjects for lab experiments. The severed heads and skulls of many Herero people were sent back to Germany to be used in research to prove “the racial inferiority of black people”. The Germans justified their genocidal tactics by claiming that the Africans were targeting helpless white women. Just as thousands of lynchings were carried out in America because white men claimed the murders were necessary to protect white women, German propaganda declared that white women were in danger. By 1907, Von Trotha’s orders were cancelled in the face of criticism at home and abroad, and he was recalled. However, it was too late for the Herero; their population had already been violently reduced from 80,000 to
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only 15,000. South West Africa remained a German Colony until 1915, when Great Britain finally intervened during the first World War. In 1918, the British authorities announced that up to 74% of the Herero and Namaqua tribes died within the concentration camps. Most of the dead were women and children. Actors 1-6 find themselves lost due to their lack of research, clinging to the letters of white, German soldiers, their only primary source of information. As they struggle to find their own voices through the retelling of this genocide, they face one of the major questions playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury asks: What is our responsibility as artists to the stories that we tell and to the owners of those stories? On behalf of the creative team of W e are Proud to Present a Presentation . . ., we invite you to ask yourself this same question.
CAST Brittany Adebumola (Actor 6/Black Woman) is a junior acting major from Brooklyn, NY. At the Department of Drama, Brittany has been seen as Transito in The House of the Spirits (mainstage) and Paulina Andreyvna in The Seagull (mainstage). Last spring she made her musical debut as Chiffon in Little Shop of Horrors (mainstage).
Identity Theft with Arena Stage’s devised theater company (Voices of Now). Isaiah would like to thank his parents for every opportunity, Gilbert McCauley, Ralph Zito, Katie McGerr, and the cast and crew for their constant support. Gabriel Caño-Garraway(Actor2/BlackMan) is a junior acting major from Brookyn, NY. He is very excited to make his mainstage debut. Recent credits include the sophomore project The Women (Mary), the Syracuse University film Overexposed (Matt), and the Black Box Players production of I Have Loved Strangers (PT).
Weston Barnwell (Actor 1/White Man) is a junior acting major from Houston, TX. He is very excited to be making his Department of Drama mainstage debut. Previous credits include: Ensemble in Building Company Theatre’s world premiere of Prognosis: Poor, Leonato in Black Box Players’ Much Ado About Nothing, and the Duke of Buckingham in the Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production of The Three Musketeers. Weston would like to send his sincere thanks to the cast and crew of We Are Proud to Present a Presentation… as well as Ralph Zito, Rob Bundy, and his mother.
Alex Giganti (Actor 3/ Another White Man) is a sophomore acting major from Philadelphia, PA. At the Department of Drama, Alex has been seen in The Skin of Our Teeth (Sophomore Project), and he is thrilled to be making his mainstage debut in We Are Proud to Present a Presentation . . . Previous credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck), Cabaret (Emcee), and As You Like It (Touchstone). Many thanks to the cast and Gilbert!
Isaiah Brooks (Actor 4/Another Black Man) is a sophomore acting major from the Washington, D.C. area. This is Isaiah’s first production in the Department of Drama. Other credits include: Undercurrent, Carry On, and
Amanda McCormick (Actor 5/Sarah) is a junior acting major from Queens, NY. Previous credits at the Department of Drama include Karen
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CAST in The Children’s Hour (Studio Project), Hero in Much Ado About Nothing (Black Box Players), The Lost Sheep in The Second Shepherds’ Play (Independent Project), and Sylvia
in The Women (Sophomore Project). She is unbelievably thankful for the opportunity to work with such a swell cast, crew, and creative team!
A R T I S T I C S TA F F Anya Klepikov (Scenic Designer) designs spaces and clothes for live performance. Recently in theater: A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Triad Stage and Taylor Mac’s The Lily’s Revenge at UMass Amherst. Recently in opera: Hercules at the Staunton Music Festival and the fully staged revival of The Cradle Will Rock at Saratoga Opera. Upcoming: Firebird at the Miami City Ballet, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Weston Playhouse, and Entry by Tei Blow and Laurel Atwell at the Baryshnikov Arts Center. Anya has taught scenic design and lectured on color practice at Princeton, Brown, Colgate, Yale School of Drama, and most recently, University of Massachusetts Amherst. www.anyaproductiondesign.com
New Federal Theater, Billie Holiday Theater, Opera Ebony, Boys Choir of Harlem, New York Theater Workshop, the Negro Ensemble Company, Soho Rep, and the Joseph Papp Public Theater. Resident theater credits include numerous productions for Alabama Shakespeare Theater, Buffalo Studio Arena, Syracuse Stage, Geva, Alliance Theater, Philadelphia Drama Guild, Harmonie Park Playhouse, Freedom Theater, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Cleveland Play House, St. Louis Black Repertory Company, Crossroads Theater, Hartford Stage, McCarter Theater Center, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Indiana Repertory Theater, the Guthrie, the Huntington, and the Goodman. For the Indianapolis Opera and Opera Company of Philadelphia, he created sets and costumes for Porgy and Bess. His much awarded artistry has been seen in group and solo shows at Lincoln Center in New York, the Skylight Gallery in Brooklyn, and in Canada, Japan, Ireland, Poland, and the Czech Republic. In 2005 his work was included in the World Stage Design International Exhibition in Toronto. He has been
Felix E. Cochren (Costume Designer) is an award-winning designer of theater, opera, dance, concerts, and touring productions. New York credits include Broadway productions of Home, Inacent Black, and Amen Corner, and Off-Broadway productions of A Soldier’s Play, A Brief History of White Music, and Lotto. Other New York credits include designs for the
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A R T I S T I C S TA F F honored with the Black Theatre Network’s Winona Fletcher Award, six St. Louis Black Rep’s Woodie King Awards, seven AUDELCO Awards, a Cleveland Newspapers Tribute, a Detroit Free Press Award, nominations for Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Award & BTAA Award and a shared OBIE Award for Black Nativity. His design work has been featured in Black Mask magazine, Entertainment Design magazine, and Designing and Drawing for the Theatre by Lynn Pecktal. He is currently associate professor of theater design and technology at Syracuse University’s Department of Drama.
credits include the Department of Drama’s productions of The Baltimore Waltz, Crazy for You, Major Barbara, The King Stag, Laura and the Sea, A Flea in Her Ear, The Spitfire Grill, Agamemnon, Measure for Measure, Lips Together, Teeth Apart, Stepping Out, The Good Woman of Setzuan, Translations, and most recently Miss Electricity for Department of Drama’s Children’s Tour. Kevin has also worked as the A1 position, controlling the audio console/ live mixing most of the musicals in recent years for both Syracuse Stage and the Department of Drama including Elf The Musical, Little Shop of Horrors, Next to Normal, The Wizard of Oz, Ring of Fire, Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill: A Musical Voyage, Mary Poppins, Nine, The Spitfire Grill, Peter Pan, Kiss Me Kate, Avenue Q, Hairspray, Parade, Spring Awakening, Seussical, Violet, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, Merrily We Roll Along, Quilters, The Cradle Will Rock, and Cabaret.
Andrew S. LiDestri (Lighting Designer) graduated from Syracuse University with a B.F.A. in theater design and technology in May of 2017. He is from Stratford, CT. This is his fourth mainstage design for the Department of Drama. Previous Department of Drama design credits include, Berlin to Broadway (lighting designer) and Crazy for You (lighting designer). He is currently the master electrician for the Finger Lakes Music Theatre Festival at Merry Go Round Playhouse in Auburn, NY.
Nitsan Scharf (Projections Designer) is delighted to be designing his first show at the Syracuse University Department of Drama. Based in Washington, D.C., previous lead design credits include Putin on Ice (Single Carrot Theatre) and Los Gavilanes (Teatro Lirico). He has also assisted designers in the DC area at Studio Theatre, Imagination Stage, and Round House Theatre, and in NYC at Signature Theatre.
Kevin O’Connor (Sound Designer) is currently in his tenth season working for Syracuse Stage and Syracuse University Department of Drama. He graduated from St. Lawrence University with a B.A. in music in 2008. Previous sound design
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A R T I S T I C S TA F F Thom Miller (Dialect Coach) is a professor of voice and verse in the Department of Drama. In addition to being an accent/dialect coach, he also directs and continues to maintain a strong acting career. Some regional acting credits include: Company (Writers Theatre); Reasons To Be Pretty (Studio Theatre); The Last Five Years (Denver Center for the Performing Arts); Love’s Labour’s Lost, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Richard II (Illinois Shakespeare Festival); Hair (Prince Music Theater); My Fair Lady, Henry IV, and The Winter’s Tale (Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre); Macbeth and Cymbeline (Texas Shakespeare Festival); Mad Love, Boeing Boeing, Deathtrap, and Dancing at Lughnasa (Northern Stage); and The Music Man and Picasso at the Lapin Agile (New London Barn Playhouse). Off-Broadway: Camp Wanatachi (La Mama), Mental: The Musical (Cherry Lane), and Only A Lad (NY Fringe). A proud member of AEA, SAG/AFTRA, and VASTA, he has also acted in independent films, regional commercials, and skits on the David Letterman Show. He received a B.F.A. in acting from North Carolina School of the Arts and an M.F.A. in acting from the University of Illinois, where he also received the award for Departmental Distinction.
African drumming, dancing, and playing drums in church. In 2018 he joined and is now affiliated with the Wacheva Dance Crew, a dance crew which took over Eradication Squad in the year 2010. Joshua has done step-in drill throughout the community through Southwest Community Center and Syracuse University. He also teaches for SCSD and for Contact Community Services and has done classes at the Contact Community Folk Art Center. Ali Whitwell (Dramaturg) is a sophomore musical theater major from Phoenix, AZ. She was recently seen in Godspell and Ragtime at Theatre Aspen. This is Ali’s first Department of Drama production. In April, she will be portraying Amber in Actually, an independent student project in the Loft Theater. Alyssa Jaffe (Stage Manager) is a junior stage management major from San Diego, CA. Previous credits in the Department of Drama include the assistant stage manager for Nine (mainstage), as well as the stage manager for Eurydice (Black Box Players) and The Madness of Lady Bright (independent project). Other credits include the stage management intern for the 2018 Cold Read Festival (Syracuse Stage), as well as the stage management intern and a substitute run crew member for Elf The Musical (Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production). Outside of Syracuse,
Joshua S. Williams (Rhythm and Movement Consultant) started at seven years old doing the step drill
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A R T I S T I C S TA F F Alyssa has worked as the stage management intern on King Richard II (The Old Globe) and as the assistant stage manager for A Man of No Impor-
tance (Coronado Playhouse). Alyssa would like to give a special thank you to her family of non-performance majors here at the Department of Drama!
A S S I S TA N T S & A S S O C I AT E S Abby Boglioli (Assistant Stage Manager) is a freshman stage management major from the San Francisco Bay Area.
nology major with concentrations in scenic and costume design from San Diego, CA. Cara Spindel (Assistant Stage Manager) is a freshman theater design and technology major with concentrations in costume and lighting design from Portland, OR.
Margot Correa (Casting Assistant) is a sophomore theater management major from Roxbury, NJ. Wallis Dean (Casting Associate) is a sophomore theater management major from Dallas, TX.
Adrian Yuen (Assistant Lighting Designer) is a freshman theater design and technology major with a concentration in lighting design from Newton, MA.
Genevieve Kaylyn Phanhthaly (Associate Costume Designer) is a sophomore theater design and tech-
P L AY W R I G H T Jackie Sibblies Drury is a Brooklyn-based playwright. Her play We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as South West Africa, From the German Südwestafrika, Between the Years 1884-1915 had its world premiere at Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago and its New York premiere at Soho Rep in the fall of 2012. Drury’s work has been featured at PRELUDE.11, the
Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Victory Gardens’ 2010 Ignition Festival, American Theater Company’s 10 x 10 Festival, and the Magic Theatre’s Virgin Play Series. Drury received a 2012-13 Van Lier Playwriting Fellowship at New Dramatists. She was a member of the 2011-12 Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, a 201012 New York Theatre Workshop Emerging Artist of Color Fellow and a member of The Civilians’ R&D 14
P L AY W R I G H T Group. She was the dramaturg and contributing writer for Zero Cost House, a collaboration between Pig Iron Theatre Company and Japanese playwright Toshiki Okada. Drury is a New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspect and a MacDowell Colony Fellow. She is a graduate of Brown University’s M.F.A. playwriting pro-
gram, where she received the David Wickham Prize in Playwriting. Her play Social Creatures was commissioned by Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, R.I., and premiered there in March 2013. Drury is the inaugural recipient of the 2012-14 Jerome New York Fellowship at the Lark Play Development Center.
DIRECTOR Gilbert McCauley is presently a professor in the Department of Theater at the University of Massachusetts. He has served as the producing artistic director of the Oakland Ensemble Theatre, resident director at Rites and Reason Theatre, as an acting company member of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and he is a former participant in the New York Drama League’s Directors Project. He has also served on the theater faculties at University of California at Berkeley, California State University at Dominguez Hills, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Rhode Island College, and University of Rhode Island at Kingston. Mr. McCauley has directed Off-Broadway and at regional theaters around the country including Arena Stage, Arkansas Repertory Theater,
Goodman Theatre, New Century Theatre, Old Globe Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Playwrights Horizons, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and the National Theatre of Ghana. His most recent directing credits include, The Mountaintop by Katori Hall, The Call by Tanya Barfield, The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez, Gees Bend by Elyzabeth Gregory-Wilder, Hell in High Water and Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi by Marcus Gardley, Peter Morgan’s Frost/Nixon, The Piano Lesson and Fences by August Wilson, Charles Fuller’s A Soldier’s Play, and Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. He is pleased to be doing his first production for the Syracuse University Department of Drama and as always, is grateful for the support of his beloved wife Shay.
PROGRAM BOOK Publications Director Joseph Whelan Layout Jonathan Hudak Advertising Joanna Penalva
Published February 22, 2019 The Department of Drama program is published five times a year. For advertising rates and information contact the marketing office at 315.443.2636.
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D I R E C T O R / C H A I R , D E PA R T M E N T O F D R A M A Ralph Zito is in his ninth year as chair of the Department of Drama. He came to Syracuse University from the Juilliard School Drama Division, where he had been a teacher and director from 1992 to 2010 and chair of the Voice and Speech Department since 1999. He was a director and adjunct lecturer in the Barnard College Theater Department from 2006 until 2010 and has been a guest artist at training programs across the country, including the Old Globe in San Diego, The University of Texas at Austin, and the Academy for Classical Acting in Washington, DC. Directing credits for the Department of Drama include: The Spitfire Grill, As You Like It, Gruesome Playground Injuries, and The Aliens. He has served as a voice, text or dialect consultant for numerous professional productions both on and off-Broadway, including: The Light in the Piazza; Awake and Sing!; The Herbal Bed; Mrs. Klein; The Fiery Furnace; The Time of the Cuckoo (Lincoln Center Theatre); Tongue of a Bird; The Merchant of Ven-
ice (New York Shakespeare Festival); The Pitchfork Disney (Blue Light Theatre Company); Birdy (The Women’s Project); The Model Apartment (Primary Stages); the New York premiere of Tony Kushner’s SLAVS! (New York Theatre Workshop); and The African Company Presents Richard III (The Acting Company). His regional theater credits include numerous productions at The Shakespeare Theatre and Arena Stage in Washington, DC; Syracuse Stage; Baltimore CENTERSTAGE; Hartford Stage; and the McCarter Theatre, among others. A former touring member of The Acting Company, he served as artistic associate of The Chautauqua Theatre Company for seven years and was a member of the Board of Directors of The American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT) for six years. He is a graduate of Harvard University, The Juilliard School, and the American Center for the Alexander Technique. He was recently awarded the prestigious Juilliard President’s Medal in recognition of his contributions to both Juilliard and to the broader performing arts community.
A B O U T T H E D E PA R T M E N T O F D R A M A Part of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, the Syracuse University Department of Drama offers degree programs in acting, musical theater, theater design and technology, stage management, and theater management utilizing conservatory-style training in a university setting and in collaboration with Syracuse Stage. With much appre-
ciation, the Department of Drama wishes to acknowledge the valuable contribution of the Syracuse Stage staff. While students are responsible for designing the technical elements of most Drama productions, implementing these designs requires a significant contribution by the professional staff of the Syracuse Stage production department. 16
P R O D U C T I O N S TA F F & R U N C R E W
Faculty Advisor to Student Designers................................................................Felix E. Cochren Faculty Advisor to Stage Managers....................................................................Don Buschmann Light Board Operator........................................................................................Elizabeth O'Malley Sound Board Operator...........................................................................................Sam Swinnerton Projections Operator...............................................................................................Elizabeth Kallay Dressers (Run Crew)...............................................................Michael Cagnetta, Diane Cervelli Electrics.............................Ian Borowick, Brandon Eichenlaub, August Fegley, Lilly Meaker, Garett Pembrook, Cara Spindel, Allison Turlo, Adrian Yuen Costume Maintenance.............................................................Kayla Addison, Veronica Hersey Production Assistant.......................................................................................Brianna Stankiewicz S Y R A C U S E U N I V E R S I T Y D E PA R T M E N T O F D R A M A
Chair.......................................................................................................................................Ralph Zito Business Manager.................................................................................................................Lisa Tucci Administrative Specialist...................................................................................Charlotte Santella Director, Tepper Semester in NYC.............................................................................Lisa Nicholas Assistant Musical Director...........................................................................................Jacob Stebly Director, 914Works..........................................................................................................Scott Rose F U L L-T I M E FA C U LT Y
Brian Cimmet Gerardine Clark James A. Clark Felix E. Cochren Jr. Stephen Cross Rodney Hudson Felix Ivanov
Rebecca Karpoff Marie Kemp Alex Koziara Victor Lazarow Andrea Leigh-Smith David Lowenstein Celia Madeoy
Brian J. Marcum Maria Marrero Katherine McGerr Thom Miller Anthony Salatino Holly Thuma
A D J U N C T FA C U LT Y
Jill Anderson Rob Andrusko Dianna Angell Kathleen Baum Kyle Bass Bradley Beckman Dave Bowman Rob Bundy Don Buschmann Diane Coloton Richard Crawley Gretchen Darrow-Crotty Peggy Droz Danita Emma
Kathryn Fathers Len Fonte Kelley Hamilton Jacqueline R Herter Mary Houston Robert Hupp Sandra Knapp Holly K. LaGrow Victoria Lillich Karen Menter Kathryn Miranda William Morris Leslie Noble Stuart Plymesser
Rebecca Schuetz Hanni Schwarzlander Abel Searor Kevin Shumway Sarah Stark Jacob Stebly Randy Steffen Renee Storiale Joseph Whelan Karl Wildman Matthew Winning Kathleen Wrinn
A C C O M PA N I S T S
Barry Blumenthal, Kerry Dromgoole, David Sabin, Abel Searor, Jacob Stebly 17
N E X T AT T H E D E PA R T M E N T O F D R A M A
THE WILD PARTY
GOOD KIDS
B O O K , M US I C , A N D LY R I CS BY A N D R E W L I P PA | BAS E D O N T H E PO EM BY J O S E P H M O NC U R E M A RC H | DI RECT ED BY K AT H E R I NE M CG E R R | AS S O CI AT E D I R E CT E D A N D C H O R E OG RAPH ED BY A N D R E A L E I G H - S M I T H | M US I C DI RECT I O N BY B R I A N C I M M E T | M A RCH 29 – APRI L 7 O P E N I N G N I G H T : M A RC H 30
BY NAOMI IIZUKA DIRECTED BY HOLLY THUMA MAY 3 - 11 | OPENING NIGHT: MAY 4
A hard-hitting and clear-eyed look at the troubling aftermath of the sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl by members of a high school football team. Based on actual events, Good Kids examines how social media makes private lives public in ways we don’t always anticipate and can’t always control. At the same time, it sheds light on issues that are often treated as isolated incidents – but which, in truth, reflect attitudes and beliefs prevalent in the culture at large.
You’re invited to a party—a wild Hollywood party set in the Roaring 20s. Queenie and Burrs are your hosts. An intoxicating array of beverages will be served, music and dancing will raise the roof, and trouble will most certainly make an appearance. What’s a party without at least a little trouble? Based on Joseph Moncure March’s 1928 narrative poem, The Wild Party is a steamy prohibition tale driven by one of the most exciting, pulse-racing scores ever written. When you need to cut loose, how far is too far?
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N E X T AT S Y R A C U S E S TA G E
NATIVE
GARDENS
NATIVE GARDENS
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
BY KAREN ZACARÍAS | DIRECTED BY MELISSA CR E S PO | CO - P RO D UC E D WI T H G EVA THEATRE CENTER | FEBRUARY 13 - MARCH 3 O P E N I N G N I G H T : F E B R UARY 15
BY KATE HAMILL | ADAPTED FROM THE NOVEL BY JANE AUSTEN | DIRECTED BY JASON O’CONNELL | MARCH 20 - APRIL 7 OPENING NIGHT MARCH 22
Enjoy a light-hearted look at what ails us in this witty and spot-on new comedy. Take a semi-retired Washington bureaucrat and his defense contractor wife, a young Chilean lawyer and his doctoral student wife, set them cheek by jowl in a border dispute over a couple of feet of property in a Georgetown backyard, and let the laughter begin. Privilege, prejudice, and yes, a border dispute all get an equitable skewering in this punchy and playful show. The road to recovering our shared sense of decency might just begin with laughter. A winner of the National Latino Playwriting Award, Karen Zacarías is among the most produced playwrights in the nation. This satirical gem shows us why.
In the age of The Crown and Victoria, we go back to the Anglophile source with Kate Hamill’s playful adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic romance, Pride and Prejudice. The outspoken Elizabeth Bennet faces mounting pressure from her statusconscious mother to secure a suitable marriage. But is marriage suitable for a woman of Elizabeth’s intelligence and independence? Especially when the irritating, aloof, self-involved… tall, vaguely handsome, mildly amusing, and impossibly aristocratic Mr. Darcy keeps popping up at every turn? What? Why are you looking at us like that? Literature’s greatest tale of latent love has never felt so theatrical, or so full of life than it does in this effervescent new adaptation. Hey, Jane Austen could show these upstart hipsters a thing or two.
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S Y R A C U S E S TA G E S TA F F Artistic Director.............................................................................................................Robert Hupp Managing Director.....................................................................................................Jill A. Anderson Associate Artistic Director....................................................................................................Kyle Bass P R O D U C T I O N S TA F F
Director of Production Operations...........................................................................Don Buschmann Associate Director of Production Operations..........................................................Dianna Angell Company Manager/Production Management Assistant..............................................Brian Crotty Production Management Apprentice...................................................................Audrey Flynn Facilities Student Assistants..............Rachel Ackerman, Hector Aguirre and Marilyn Wechsler Technical Director..................................................................................................Randall Steffen Assistant Technical Director............................................................................Rebecca Schuetz Scene Shop Foreman...........................................................................................Michael King Carpenters.............................................Brian McBurney, Cheyenne McBurney, John Gamble Graduate Assistant................................................................................................Joshua Baker Student Assistants..........................................................................................Garett Pembrook Scenic Charge Artist...........................................................................................Holly K. LaGrow Assistant Scenic Artist...........................................................................................Phillip Dyke Graduate Assistants.......................................................................................Louise Thompson Props Supervisor.....................................................................................................Mary Houston Props Carpenter...............................................................................................Jordan Michaud Props Artisan....................................................................................................Jessica Culligan Props Graduate Assistant........................................................................................Drew Davis Student Assistants.....................................................................Shannon Bagoly, Logan Shiller Costume Shop Manager..........................................................................Gretchen Darrow-Crotty Assistant Costume Shop Manager/Drama Department Costume Coordinator.....Mallory Kay Nelson Cutter-Drapers...............................................................Catherine Hennessy, Meghan Pearson First Hand.........................................................................................................Victoria Lillich Stitchers.......................................................................................Emily King, Katelyn Yonkers Craftsperson/Shopper.........................................................................................Sandra Knapp Wardrobe and Wig Supervisor.................................................................................Sarah Stark Student Assistants......................................................................Michaela Vivona, Xinglan Yan Lighting and Projection Supervisor..................................................................David M. Bowman Electrician…….......................................................................................................Jed Daniels Electrics Journeyman........................................................................................Anastasia Sioris Electrics Apprentice/Board Operator................................................................Caitlin Weinelll Student Assistants..........................................................Ian Borowik, Aria Sivick, Adrian Yuen Resident Sound Designer/Audio Engineer......................................................Jacqueline R Herter Assistant Audio Engineer................................................................................Kevin O’Connor Sound Apprentice...........................................................................................Alexandra Brock Production Stage Manager....................................................................................Stuart Plymesser Stage Manager..............................................................................................Laura Jane Collins
Stage Management Journeymen.....................................................Erin C Brett, Em Piraino
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S Y R A C U S E S TA G E S TA F F A D M I N I S T R AT I V E S TA F F
General Manager....................................................................................................Michael McCurdy Comptroller..............................................................................................Mary Kennett Morreale Human Resources Manager/Business Associate.......................................................Kathy Zappala Student Business Office Intern................................................................Emilia Smart-Denton Director of Information Management & Technology...................................Garrett Wheeler-Diaz Box Office Managers......................................Laurie Lindsey, Courtney Richardson, A'Isha Shanes Box Office Assistants.................................Marjon Ardehali, Abby Cieslewski, Chidube Egbo, Jordan McKey, Makenzie Nickerson, Canab Sheekh Nuur, Chelsea Perez, Samoya Peters, Lexie Smuchynsky, Mary Storholm, Olivia St. Peter Box Office Intern..............................................................................................Margot Correa Audience Services Manager........................................................................................Jacob Ellison Audience Services Assistant.................................................................................Ella Lafontant Assistant House Manager......................................................Patricia Condello, Donna Stuccio Student Assistant House Managers.................Valeria Berdecia, Manda Borden, Jackson Norman Claire St. Marie, McKenna Vargas, Marilyn Wechsler Bartenders...........Daisha Abdillahi, Meg Pusey-Anthis, Michelle Cannizzo, Evan Starling-Davis Student Ushers.......................Summer Ainsworth, Gabriel Arbelo, Haley Ayers, Alana Barker, Blake Brewer, Anju Cloud, Ashley Collado, Ella Coste, Juliette Geraghty, Olivia Herz, Ellie Kallay, Calvin Keener, Clare Kenny, Dylan King, Jaelle LaGuerre, Kerri McAneney, Grace Morgan, Maria Polanco, Denise Romero, Eli Shwartz, Charles Curtis Towle III, Damon Williams, Haley Wright Director of Development...............................................................................................Tina Morgan Development Manager.......................................................................................Stefania Ianno Development Assistant.................................................................................Elizabeth Gardner Director of Education & Community Engagement.......................................................Joann Yarrow Associate Director of Education.............................................................................Kate Laissle Community Engagement and Education Assistant...................................MiKayla Hawkinson Education Assistant...................................................................................................Len Fonte Education Intern.......................................................................................Brianna Stankiewicz Director of Marketing and Communications..............................................................Joseph Whelan Group/Corporate Sales Manager..........................................................................Tracey White Marketing Manager...........................................................................................Joanna Penalva Patron Campaign Specialist.........................................................................Nori Gartner-Baca Graphic Designers.................................................................Jonathan Hudak, Brenna Merritt Group Sales Assistant........................................................................................Amanda Kurey Student Group Sales Assistant.............................................................................Lia Chapman Marketing Interns...........................................................Cara Christian, Lyle Andrew Michael Executive Assistant..................................................................................................Rebecca Li Grady Artistic Student Intern.................................................................................................Andy Jacobson Sign Language Interpreters....................Brenda Brown, Jim Brown, Aaron Burton, Angelo Coppola, Mikki Evans, Sue Freeman, Joanne Jackowski, Zenna Preli, Trisha Schwartz, Ryan Wight Open Captioning..................................................................................................Jessika Whitehouse Audio Description...................................................................................Kate Laissle, Joseph Whelan Community Services Officers.......................................................Stacey Emmons, Joseph O'Connor Custodians.............................................................................Kitty Ashby, Les Edwards, Tony Rogers 21
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College of Visual and Performing Arts
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A SEASON BURSTING with dynamic stories & vibrant characters NOISES OFF
NATIVE GARDENS
SEPTEMBER 12 - 30
FEBRUARY 13 - MARCH 3
By Michael Frayn Directed by Robert Hupp
By Karen Zacarías | Directed by Melissa Crespo | Co-produced with Geva Theatre Center & Portland Center Stage
Hailed as the funniest farce ever written . . . a festival of delirium.
POSSESSING HARRIET OCTOBER 17 - NOVEMBER 4
By Kyle Bass | Directed by Tazewell Thompson | Commissioned by the Onondaga Historical Association Presented by Nancy and Bill Byrne A world premiere inspired by the true story of Harriet Powell who escaped slavery while visiting Syracuse in 1839.
ELF THE MUSICAL NOVEMBER 23 - JANUARY 6
Book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin | Music by Matthew Sklar Lyrics by Chad Beguelin | Directed by Donna Drake | Choreography by Brian J. Marcum | Musical Direction by Brian Cimmet | Based on the New Line Cinema film by David Berenbaum Co-produced with the Syracuse University Department of Drama Great songs, great fun, and tons of holiday cheer.
Flex Packs on Sale! SAVE UP TO 30% COMPARED TO SINGLE TICKETS 315.443.3275 | SyracuseStage.org SEASON SPONSORS
A spot–on new comedy skewers walls, border disputes, and more from adjoining backyards in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE MARCH 20 - APRIL 7
By Kate Hamill Directed by Jason O’Connell Jane Austen’s classic gets a bright and lively makeover for the 21st century.
THE HUMANS APRIL 24 - MAY 12
By Stephen Karam | Directed by Mark Cuddy | Co-produced with Geva Theatre Center The 2016 Tony Award winner for Best Play.
COLD READ FESTIVAL MARCH 7 - 10
Curated by Kyle Bass Featuring Playwright Larissa FastHorse
PRESENTS
College of Visual and Performing Arts
18 19 SEASON
INTO THE WOODS BOOK BY JAMES LAPINE | MUSIC AND LYRICS BY STEPHEN SONDHEIM | DIRECTED AND CHOREOGRAPHED BY DAVID LOWENSTEIN | MUSIC DIRECTION BY BRIAN CIMMET | OCTOBER 12 21 OPENING NIGHT: OCTOBER 13
NEXT FALL BY GEOFFREY NAUFFTS | DIRECTED BY RALPH ZITO NOVEMBER 9 – 17 | OPENING NIGHT: NOVEMBER 10
ELF THE MUSICAL* BOOK BY THOMAS MEEHAN AND BOB MARTIN MUSIC BY MATTHEW SKLAR | LYRICS BY CHAD BEGUELIN | DIRECTED BY DONNA DRAKE | CHOREOGRAPHY BY BRIAN J. MARCUM | MUSIC DIRECTION BY BRIAN CIMMET | BASED ON THE NEW LINE CINEMA FILM BY DAVID BERENBAUM | CO-PRODUCED WITH SYRACUSE STAGE | NOVEMBER 23 – JANUARY 6 | OPENING NIGHT: NOVEMBER 30
WE ARE PROUD TO PRESENT A PRESENTATION ABOUT THE HERERO OF NAMIBIA, FORMERLY KNOWN AS SOUTH WEST AFRICA, FROM THE GERMAN SÜDWESTAFRIKA, BETWEEN THE YEARS 1884 - 1915 BY JACKIE SIBBLIES DRURY | DIRECTED BY GILBERT MCCAULEY | FEBRUARY 22 – MARCH 3 | OPENING NIGHT: FEBRUARY 23
THE WILD PARTY BOOK, MUSIC, AND LYRICS BY ANDREW LIPPA BASED ON THE POEM BY JOSEPH MONCURE MARCH DIRECTED BY KATHERINE MCGERR | ASSOCIATE DIRECTED AND CHOREOGRAPHED BY ANDREA LEIGH-SMITH | MUSIC DIRECTION BY BRIAN CIMMET MARCH 29 – APRIL 7 | OPENING NIGHT: MARCH 30
GOOD KIDS BY NAOMI IIZUKA | DIRECTED BY HOLLY THUMA MAY 3 -11 | OPENING NIGHT: MAY 4
*DRAMA SUBSCRIBERS WILL RECEIVE VOUCHERS REDEEMABLE FOR TICKETS TO ELF THE MUSICAL. PHOTO: (FROM RIGHT) BRITTANY ADEBUMOLA, MADELEINE INCE, AND CARLY CAVIGLIA IN THE SEAGULL. DIRECTED BY ROB BUNDY. SCENIC DESIGNER: EMMA ANTENEN. COSTUME DESIGNER: FELIX E. COCHREN. LIGHTING DESIGNER: ARIA SIVICK. PHOTOGRAPHER: MICHAEL DAVIS. RALPH ZITO, CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA
S E AS O N S PO N S O R
TICKETS AND SEASON PACKAGES AVAILABLE VPA.SYR.EDU/DRAMATICKETS 315.443.3275