Sender Program by Syracuse Stage

DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA

DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA PRESENTS

Ike Holter DIRECTED BY

Terrence I Mosley SCENIC DESIGNER

COSTUME DESIGNER

LIGHTING DESIGNER

SOUND DESIGNER

Malena Logan

Adeline Santello

Sarah Schultz

Kevin O’Connor

FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHER

INTIMACY CHOREOGRAPHER

DIALECT COACH

ACTING COACH

Alec Barbour

Yvonne Perry

Blake Segal

Sonita L. Surratt

CONSULTANT

DRAMATURG

STAGE MANAGER

Chuck Morris

Megan Cooper

Kiara Brown

INTERIM CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA

Holly Thuma Produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc. (www.playscripts.com) February 18 – 27, 2022

This production of Ike Holter’s Sender contains adult language and themes. There is also a brief moment of nudity. SEASON SPONSOR

è Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/SUDrama.VPA 3

CAST (Arbor Mist)

Lynx..............................................................................Suhail Kumar Tess............................................................................Eve Dillingham Cassandra ..............................................................Charlotte Bush Jordan...........................................................Dylan Knight Weaver

CAST (Peach Schnapps)

Lynx...........................................................................Sammy Haines Tess......................................................................Mary Underwood Cassandra..................................................................Morgan Perry Jordan.......................................................................Adam Forward

SETTING Rightlynd, Chicago

Sender will be performed without an intermission.

ADDITIONAL CREDITS Assistant Director: Ethan Harpole Assistant Scenic Designers: Miranda Barrick, Yuchao Zong Assistant Costume Designer: Marshall Breaux Assistant Lighting Designers: Eli Golding, Sophia O’Connor Assistant Stage Managers: Hope Allen, Maya Zepeda Casting Associate: Anthony Islam Casting Assistant: Kate Grover

SPECIAL THANKS Special thanks to Emily Hoffert, Ike Holter, Nick Ward, Fordham University, Chad McArver, Cha See, Carlos Armesto, May Adrales, Elizabeth Margid, and Syracuse Stage staff and shops

CAST Charlotte Bush (Cassandra) is a junior musical theater major from Pittsburgh, PA. At the Department of Drama, Charlotte has most recently been seen as Scary Big Kid/Miss Trunchbull understudy in Matilda The Musical (Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production) and as Ensemble/Emily understudy in The Bridge (a new musical workshop). Thank you and congratulations to all who were involved in putting on this production.

Spring Awakening (Melchior), Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat (Asher), The Outsiders (Johnny), Westside Story (A-Rab) Grease (Sonny), Rent (Gordon), Seussical the Musical (Wickersham Brother), two seasons with Theatre Calgary in A Christmas Carol, the Canadian premiere of Crossing Swords (David). TV: Super Drycleaners (Kyle) Film: Return of the Pendragon (Tristan). Voice Over: FutureCard BuddyFight Ace (Light) and FutureCard BuddyFight X (Gaito), Vanguard (Chris). Other: two seasons in the Young Company of Dirty Laundry (Serial Improv). Awards: winner Best Actor Professional Play, Broadway World Regional Awards for The Outsiders, winner Best Actor under 18 for Super Dry Cleaners, Utah Web Series Film Festival. Other: Rutgers University Summer Acting Conservatory (2018). He would like to thank the Department of Drama for this opportunity and his family, friends, and teachers for all their support over the years.

Eve Dillingham (Tess) is a junior musical theater major from Montclair, NJ. This is Eve’s mainstage debut at the Syracuse University Department of Drama and she is so excited! Other recent credits at the Department of Drama include Brittania in The Bridge (workshop) and Agnes in She Kills Monsters (sophomore project). Eve just came back from the SU abroad drama program in London where she studied Shakespeare! Huge thanks to the cast and crew for this wonderful experience!

Sammy Haines (Lynx) is a junior musical theater major from Belmont, MA. Last year Sammy was the understudy for Carl in Lonely Planet.

Adam Forward (Jordan) is a current sophomore B.F.A. acting major at Syracuse University. He is from Calgary, Canada and has grown up on stage since he was 14. Past credits include Next to Normal (Henry),

Suhail Kumar (Lynx) is a junior acting major from the Bay Area, CA. Previous Department of Drama credits include Love & Information and

CAST Mansfield Park u/s Edmund and Henry (mainstage). He hopes you enjoy the show!

Drama debut as Tess in Sender after returning from London where she studied at Shakespeare’s Globe. Her recent credits include scenes from Twelfth Night (Shakespeare’s Globe) and Antigone, Presented by the Girls of St.Catherine’s (Sophomore Projects).

Morgan Perry (Cassandra) is a sophomore musical theater major from Augusta, GA. This is her first mainstage production in the Department of Drama, and she is incredibly excited and grateful to be a part of this production. She would like to thank her “homies and fans”, and her family for supporting her on her journey. #slay.

Dylan Knight Weaver (Jordan) is a junior musical theater major from Boulder, CO. Dylan’s most recent Department of Drama credits include Working (mainstage) and Spring Awakening (Black Box Players) as Moritz. Recent credits include Dogfight, Violet, and Hunchback of Notre Dame. Dylan is excited to be back on stage and would like to thank all those who have supported him up to this point.

Mary Underwood (Tess) is a junior acting major from Fort Benning, GA. She is excited to be making her mainstage Department of

A R T I S T I C S TA F F Malena Logan (Scenic Designer) is a junior theater design and technology major, with a concentration in scenic and sound design, from Pasadena, CA. Department of Drama credits include Working (mainstage), On the Lake (mainstage), as well as the Black Box Players productions of Next to Normal and Blood At The Root. Malena is the associate production manager of Black Box Players.

and technology major with a concentration in costume design from Arlington, MA. Recent costume design credits include: Lonely Planet (Blackbox Players). Other credits also include: associate costume design for Matilda the Musical (Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama coproduction), assistant costume and scenic design for The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus (Bank of America Children’s Tour), assistant costume design for Bright Half Life, Mansfield Park, and Romeo and Juliet (De-

Adeline Santello (Costume Designer) is a junior theater design

A R T I S T I C S TA F F partment of Drama mainstage). She would like the express her sincere gratitude for her family, the Sender team, and the theater design and technology faculty and shops. AdelineSantello.com

designed Danny, King of the Basement and Miss Electricity for the Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama Children’s Tour. Besides sound design, Kevin has also worked as the A1 position, controlling the audio console/ live mixing most of the musicals over the past 12 years for both Syracuse Stage and the Department of Drama including Matilda the Musical, Disney’s Beauty and The Beast, The Last Five Years, Elf the Musical, Little Shop of Horrors, Next to Normal, The Wizard of Oz, Ring of Fire, Berlin to Broadway, 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. He was also able to work as the A1 for Thoughts of a Colored Man during its Syracuse Stage run before the show went to Broadway.

Sarah Schultz (Lighting Designer) is a junior theater design and technology student with a concentration in lighting design from the Chicago suburbs! She hopes you enjoy Sender just as much as she has enjoyed working on it. She has previously assistant lighting designed on the Syracuse Stage/ Department of Drama co-production of Matilda the Musical and for the Department of Drama on Bright Half Life and Romeo and Juliet. She wants to thank her parents for believing in her and driving 10 hours every new school year to help her move. Kevin O’Connor (Sound Designer) is currently in his 13th season working for Syracuse Stage and the Syracuse University Department of Drama. He graduated from St. Lawrence University with a B.A. in Music in 2008. Most of Kevin’s sound design credits have been with the Department of Drama over the past decade and some of his favorites were Bright Half Life (2021), Romeo & Juliet (2020), Good Kids (2019), We Are Proud to Present... (2019), The Baltimore Waltz (2018), Laura and the Sea (2016), A Flea in Her Ear (2016), The Spitfire Grill (2016), Measure for Measure (2015), and Stepping Out (2014). Kevin also

Alec Barbour (Fight Choreographer) is a Rochester, NY, based actor, fight choreographer, and playwright. He has been studying stage combat since 2005, and is a Certified Teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors. He received his M.F.A. in acting at the Hilberry Repertory Theatre at Wayne State University in Detroit, where his roles included Iago in Othello, Carson in Gross Indecency, and Charles Lomax in Major Barbara. Regional acting credits include Sir Castor (and fight captain) in Camelot at Drury Lane Theatre and Horner

A R T I S T I C S TA F F in The Country Wife at Franklin Stage. Intimacy Direction:(for Syracuse Stage) Amadeus; (for Syracuse University Department of Drama) Romeo and Juliet, Everybody, Wild Party; (for Wallbyrd Theatre Co.) Bard Bending: Fight Club Edition, Two Gentlemen of Verona; (for Utica College) Dracula. Fight Direction:(for Syracuse Stage) Amadeus, Suzette who Set to Sea, Deathtrap, Disgraced; (for Syracuse University Department of Drama) Wild Party, Kiss Me, Kate; (for University of Rochester) Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. (with J. David Brimmer); (for Nazareth College) Spring Awakening, Hayfever, Vinegar Tom; (for Le Moyne College) She Kills Monsters, Macbeth in Concert, Romeo & Juliet in Concert, The Liar; (for Hilberry Repertory Theatre) The Cripple of Inishmaan, Macbeth, The Mousetrap, Moon Over Buffalo; (for Wayne State University) Arabian Nights, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, SubUrbia; (for Wallbyrd Theatre Co) Two Gentlemen of Verona, Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Dracula. Alec teaches stage combat courses at Le Moyne College, Nazareth College, and Utica College. He is an apprentice with Intimacy Directors International, and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG/AFTRA.

summer intensive at the University of Illinois. She has continued her studies in consent-forward intimacy work with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators. (IDC) She has choreographed moments and scenes for several shows at Syracuse University (In Love and Warcraft), Sage Colleges, and Capital Rep, as well as for the short film The Middle Ages. Yvonne is an artistic associate at Capital Repertory Theatre, and serves on the board of The Greater Albany Area Liaison for Actors Equity. www.yvonneperry.com Blake Segal (Dialect Coach) is an actor and dialect coach, and he is delighted to be coaching again for the Syracuse University Department of Drama. Dialect coaching credits include NYC: Ensemble Studio Theatre, New Georges, The Araca Project, Fault Line Theatre. Regional: Syracuse Stage, Geva Theatre Center, Berkshire Theatre Group, Two River Theater, PlayMakers Rep, Cleveland Musical Theatre, Luna Stage, Passages Theatre, & Walkerspace at SoHo Rep. Educational: Yale School of Drama, Fordham, Columbia, Syracuse, Kean, and Stella Adler. Blake currently serves on the voice/ verse faculty of the Syracuse University Department of Drama. As an actor, he has performed on film and television, off-Broadway, in major regional theaters across the country, and on the national tour of Mary Poppins. M.F.A. in Acting: Yale School of Drama. www.blakesegal.com

Yvonne Perry (Intimacy Choreographer) is an actor, director, and educator who is also a graduate of the Intimacy Directors International

A R T I S T I C S TA F F Sonita L. Surratt (Acting Coach) is an award-winning classically trained vocalist, playwright, actor, director, sound designer, founder, and producer of the (Redd Opera Co.), an artist in residence at Purdue University's Black Cultural Center, the executive artistic director of the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Co., (Syracuse NY) and a member of the Stage Directors' and Choreographers' Society. Her national directorial credits include collegiate and professional stages, film, and opera. Her recent credits include In the Blood (Purdue University’s Theatre Department), Comb Your Hair (Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company), Voices of Protest (film produced by Chicago’s eta Creative Arts Foundation), and La Hija de Rappaccini (Chicago Opera Theatre). She is also an M.F.A. graduate of the Syra-

cuse University Department of Drama. She has enjoyed the opportunity to ‘play’ with you, the next generation of actors committed to the importance of ‘being them’ and telling stories that change the hearts of many. Megan Cooper (Dramaturg) is a sophomore theater management student from Seattle, WA. She would like to give thanks to Terrence Mosley and Jim Clark! Kiara Brown (Stage Manager) is a junior stage management major from Joliet, IL. Recent stage management credits include Black Box Players’ production of Next to Normal, Renne Honors Program production of ‘night Mother, The Bridge (Studio Project), and Shout! The Mod Musical (Studio Project).

A S S I S TA N T S & A S S O C I AT E S Hope Allen (Assistant Stage Manager) is a freshman theater management major from York, PA.

with a concentration in costume design from Colorado Springs, CO. Eli Golding (Assistant Lighting Designer) is a sophomore theater design and technology major with a concentration in lighting, scenic, and projection design from Baltimore, MD.

Miranda Barrick (Assistant Scenic Designer) is a sophomore theater design and technology major with a concentration in scenic design from Lancaster, PA.

Kate Grover (Casting Assistant) is a sophomore theater management student from Northern Virginia, right outside DC.

Marshall Breaux (Assistant Costume Designer) is a sophomore theater design and technology major

A S S I S TA N T S & A S S O C I AT E S Ethan Harpole (Assistant Director) is a junior theater management major with a minor in education studies from Los Angeles, CA.

concentration in lighting design from San Diego, CA. Yuchao Zong (Assistant Scenic Designer) is a junior theater design and technology major with a concentration in scenic design from Newark, DE.

Anthony Islam (Casting Associate) is a sophomore theater management major from Georgetown, Guyana.

Maya Zepeda (Assistant Stage Manager) is a freshman stage management major from Los Angeles, CA.

Sophia O’Connor (Assistant Lighting Designer) is a junior theater design and technology major with a

DIRECTOR Terrence I Mosley is a narrativebased director, writer, performer born in Chicago, Il. After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting from Syracuse University, he worked as an actor in some of Chicago’s most esteemed companies including Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Court Theatre, and Northlight Theatre. He earned an M.F.A. in directing as a John Wells Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama. Directing assignments include Everything You Love (SUNY Purchase),

Smart People (Rutgers), and Everybody (Fordham Theatre). He is the playwright of the plays One and Gilbert or Frank. He is the co-writer of Deep Killer Brown with Melody A. Betts. He’s currently a visiting assistant professor at Fordham University where he’s also serving as the interim head of directing. He is committed to exploring how collective and personal traumas shape our world. Through that exploration, he aims to build healthier, more equitable social systems.

P L AY W R I G H T Ike Holter is a 2017 winner of the Windham-Campbell Prize, one of the highest awards for playwriting in the world. Holter is a resident playwright at Victory Gardens Theater, and has been commissioned by The Kennedy

Center, South Coast Rep and The Playwrights’ Center. His work has been produced across the country from Goodman and Steppenwolf in Chicago to the Lily Tomlin Center in LA to Primary Stages off-Broadway.

I N T E R I M C H A I R , D E PA R T M E N T O F D R A M A Holly Thuma is associate professor of voice and verse in the Department of Drama and a certified associate teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework. Holly’s acting and directing credits include productions with Quantum Theatre, the Dallas Theatre Center, Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, City Theatre Company, Penn State Center Stage, and Perry Mansfield New Play Festival, as well as independent films. She has served as dialect/vocal coach for many productions at the Syracuse University De-

partment of Drama including Romeo and Juliet, The House of the Spirits, Major Barbara, and Top Girls, and for Mickey Rowe in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at Syracuse Stage. A passionate believer in arts education, Holly’s career has included development and direction of performance programs for underserved children through the Pittsburgh Public Theater and for the Hope Academy of Music and the Arts. She is a proud union member of Actors’ Equity and SAG/AFTRA.

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.

P R O D U C T I O N S TA F F & R U N C R E W

Faculty Advisors to Student Designers.......................................................................Izmir Ickbal Faculty Advisor to Stage Managers....................................................................Don Buschmann Light Board Operator.......................................................................................................Kevin Sene Sound Board Operator.................................................................................................Emily Kellner Deck...................................................................................................................Ryn Gross, Jay Korter Dressers.................................................................................Kate Grover, Katharine Stephenson Costume Maintenance.....................................................................Sarah Bottino, Micaiah John Hang and Focus Crew................................Lillian Benge, Luke Blumencranz, Madelyn Clark, Brooklyn Green, Skyler Gross, Evan Hoover, Jay Korter, Angel Lam, Mabel McPhee 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

Interim Chair....................................................................................................................Holly Thuma Business Manager.................................................................................................................Lisa Tucci Administrative Specialist...................................................................................Charlotte Santella Director, Tepper Semester in NYC...............................................................................Erica Jensen Assistant Music Director...............................................................................................Jacob Stebly Dean, VPA...................................................................................................................Michael S. Tick F U L L-T I M E FA C U LT Y

Christine Albright-Tufts Robert Andrusko Rufus Bonds, Jr. Kiira Schmidt Carper Brian Cimmet James A. Clark Stephen Cross Izmir Ickbal

Felix Ivanov Rebecca Karpoff Alex Koziara Andrea Leigh-Smith David Lowenstein Celia Madeoy Carmen Martinez Katherine McGerr

Thom Miller Ricky Pak Felipe Panama Holly Thuma Kathleen Wrinn Ralph Zito

A D J U N C T FA C U LT Y

Jill Anderson Dianna Angell Alec Barbour Kathleen Baum Bradley Beckman Kerry Bereza Dave Bowman Don Buschmann Diane Coloton Gretchen Darrow-Crotty Marina de Ratmiroff Danita Emma

Kathryn Fathers Marcus Herndon Jacqueline R. Herter Emily Holm Robert Hupp Sandra Knapp Richard Koons Nicholas Kowerko Zizi Majid Michael McCurdy Kathryn Miranda Amanda Moore A C C O M PA N I S T S

Kerry Bereza, Abel Searor, Jacob Stebly 13

Leslie Noble Whitney Pak Stuart Plymesser Rebecca Schuetz Hanni Schwarzlander Abel Searor Blake Segal Jacob Stebly Randy Steffen Bradley Stone Joseph Whelan Matthew Winning

DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA

21/22 SEASON

IN LOVE AND WARCRAFT BY MADHURI SHEKAR | DIRECTED BY MATTHEW WINNING NOV. 12 – 20 OPENING NIGHT: NOV. 13

MATILDA THE MUSICAL* BOOK BY DENNIS KELLY | MUSIC AND LYRICS BY TIM MINCHIN | BASED ON THE BOOK MATILDA BY ROALD DAHL | DIRECTED BY DONNA DRAKE MUSIC DIRECTION BY BRIAN CIMMET CHOREOGRAPHY BY ANDREA LEIGH-SMITH CO-PRODUCED WITH SYRACUSE STAGE NOV. 19 – JAN. 2 | OPENING NIGHT: NOV. 26

SENDER BY IKE HOLTER | DIRECTED BY TERRENCE I MOSLEY FEB. 18 -27 | OPENING NIGHT: FEB. 19

CYMBELINE BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE | IN A MODERN VERSE TRANSLATION BY ANDREA THOME | COMMISSIONED BY OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL AND NOW PART OF THE “PLAY ON SHAKESPEARE” PROJECT | DIRECTED BY CHRISTINE ALBRIGHT-TUFTS MAR.25 – APR. 3 | OPENING NIGHT: MAR. 26

AS YOU LIKE IT A MUSICAL ADAPTATION | ADAPTED BY SHAINA TAUB AND LAURIE WOOLERY | MUSIC AND LYRICS BY SHAINA TAUB FOR THE PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAM OF THE PUBLIC THEATER DIRECTED BY RODNEY HUDSON | MUSIC DIRECTON BY BRIAN CIMMET | CHOREOGRAPHY BY FELIPE PANAMA APR. 29 – MAY 7 | OPENING NIGHT: APR. 30 *DRAMA SUBSCRIBERS WILL RECEIVE VOUCHERS REDEEMABLE FOR TICKETS TO MATILDA THE MUSICAL

MORE TO ENJOY

TICKETS TICKETS & TICKET PACKAGES AVAILABLE VPA.SYR.EDU/DRAMATICKETS 315.443.3275 SEASON SPONSOR

NEW WORKS, NEW VOICES

DIRECTED BY RICKY PAK | FALL 2021

MARCH 1 – 6, 2022

Id is an original devised performance exploring the theme of Identity developed by the ensemble of creators. Working from a basis of Moment Work, a method of devised theater created by the Tectonic Theater Project, along with the guidance of network television writer Teresa Huang, and in collaboration with the Orange TV Network, Id will be an anthologystyle web series of short stand-alone pieces.

A new initiative at the Department of Drama, New Works, New Voices (NWNV) supports the development of musicals by writers and composers whose perspectives have been historically underrepresented in the musical theater canon. One new musical will be selected from submissions for development in spring 2022, providing an exciting opportunity for Drama students to collaborate with a professional writing team in residence.