Stupid F***ing Bird Program by Syracuse Stage

STUPID FUCKING BIRD JAN 20 - FEB 7

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L E T T E R F R O M T H E P R O D U C I N G A R T I S T I C D I R E C TO R DEAR FRIENDS, Happy New Year! Welcome to . . . I said the title of this play a couple of weeks ago prior to a performance of The Santaland Diaries and a few people in the audience gasped. Once I explained that the title was a joke based on Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, the gasps gave way to laughter. That’s the wonder of this terrific remix of a play, this mash-up of a modern classic. It’s edgy, funny, irreverent, contemporary, and wholly true in spirit to the source material. I am so thrilled to welcome Howard Shalwitz and the Woolly Mammoth Theatre to Syracuse Stage. Woolly Mammoth has been a vibrant part of the Washington, D.C. theatre scene since 1980. It is a theatre dedicated to developing and producing new plays and Howard has been the only artistic director. Plays that have premiered at Woolly Mammoth have been produced at more than 200 theatres in 39 states and 12 countries. It has earned a reputation as “Washing-

ton’s most daring theatre company,” as The New York Times once noted. I am equally thrilled to present the work of Aaron Posner on our stage for the first time. Aaron is a gifted playwright and director whose work has been seen at major theatres around the country. Aaron recently collaborated with the magician Teller (of Penn and Teller fame) for an inspired and magical adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. He is a Helen Hayes and Barrymore Award winner whose sense of theatrical fun is worth sharing. As we move into the New Year, I am looking forward to sharing To Kill a Mockingbird and The Christians with you. As Mockingbird is the next show I will direct, it has been much on my mind. It seems we are in a time particularly appropriate for a re-exploration of this classic story. I am thinking in particular of Atticus’ line: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk

around in it.” What a refreshing perspective at this moment of xenophobia and racial injustice. When you think for a moment, the idea that Atticus articulates is at the core of theatre. A good play allows us to step into someone else’s shoes, someone else’s life, and gain a perspective otherwise lost to us. And in that context, as I begin the New Year, it seems we need theatre more than ever, in Syracuse, and in Washington as well.

WARM REGARDS,

Timothy Bond Producing Artistic Director

SEASON

15.16 STEVE MARTIN’S

THE UNDERPANTS BY STEVE MARTIN ADAPTED FROM CARL STERNHEIM

OCTOBER 21 – NOVEMBER 8

PETER PAN

LYRICS BY CAROLYN LEIGH MUSIC BY MORRIS "MOOSE" CHARLAP ADDITIONAL LYRICS BY BETTY COMDEN AND ADOLPH GREEN ADDITIONAL MUSIC BY JULE STYNE BASED ON THE PLAY BY SIR JAMES M. BARRIE FLYING EFFECTS PROVIDED BY ZFX, INC. CO-PRODUCED WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA

THE SANTALAND DIARIES

THE CHRISTIANS

BY DAVID SEDARIS ADAPTED BY JOE MANTELLO

APRIL 6 – 24

DECEMBER 9 – JANUARY 3

KEN LUDWIG’S

STUPID FUC#ING BIRD

BY AARON POSNER SORT OF ADAPTED FROM CHEKHOV’S THE SEAGULL

BY LUCAS HNATH

BASKERVILLE: A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY BASED ON A NOVEL BY ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE

JANUARY 20 – FEBRUARY 7

MAY 11 – 29

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

TICKETS AND SEASON PACKAGES BOX OFFICE: 315.443.3275 GROUP SERVICES: 314.443.9844 WWW.SYRACUSESTAGE.ORG

ADAPTED BY CHRISTOPHER SERGEL FROM THE NOVEL BY HARPER LEE

FEBRUARY 24 – MARCH 26

Lila Coogan, Aurelia Williams, and Mary DiGangi in Hairspray. Marc Safran Photography.

NOVEMBER 28 – JANUARY 3

SEASON SPONSOR:

PRESENTS T H E W O O L LY M A M M O T H T H E AT R E C O M PA N Y P R O D U C T I O N O F

STUPID FUCKING BIRD BY

Aaron Posner SORT OF ADAPTED FROM

Chekhov’s The Seagull DIRECTED BY

Howard Shalwitz A CO-PRODUCTION WITH

Portland Center Stage SCENIC DESIGNER

COSTUME DESIGNER

LIGHTING DESIGNER

SOUND DESIGNER

Misha Kachman

Laree Lentz

Colin K. Bills

James Sugg

S TA G E M A N A G E R

CASTING

Laura Jane Collins

Harriet Bass

Timothy Bond

Diana C. Coles

Chris Coleman

Producing Artistic Director

Interim Managing Director

Portland Center Stage Artistic Director

SPONSOR

MEDIA SPONSOR

SEASON SPONSOR

Original Music: James Sugg. Stupid Fuc#ing Bird was developed and world premiered in June 2013 at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Washington, D.C.; Howard Shalwitz, Artistic Director and Jeffrey Hermann, Managing Director. Stupid Fuc#ing Bird is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.

January 20 - February 7, 2016

CAST

CONRAD ARKADINA, a theatre artist..............................................Ian Holcomb EMMA ARKADINA, Conrad’s mother, a famous actress..........Kate Eastwood Norris DOYLE TRIGORIN, Emma’s boyfriend, a famous writer......................Cody Nickell EUGENE SORN, Emma’s brother, a doctor........................................Rick Foucheux NINA, Conrad’s girlfriend, an aspiring actress..........................................Katie deBuys DEV, Conrad’s best friend, a tutor..........................................................Darius Pierce MASH, in love with Conrad, a cook................................................Kimberly Gilbert

There is a 15-minute intermission between Acts I and II. Between Acts II and III, there is a brief interlude during which you are requested to remain in the theatre.

P L AY S P O N S O R S H I P Jack Mannion & Mayor Stephanie Miner, Evening, January 27

ADDITIONAL CREDITS Stage Management Apprentice: Marisa M. Andrews Run Crew: Basil Allen, Chris Green, Brian McBurney Electrics Apprentice: Laura Gisondi Sound Apprentice: Ryan Johnson Wardrobe Supervisor: Sarah Stark Official Hotels for Guest Artists: The Genesee Grande Hotel, Parkview Hotel

Stupid Fuc#ing Bird is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The actors and stage manager in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

FROM THE DIRECTOR STUPID FUCKING BIRD is not a “translation” and hardly even an “adaptation” of Anton Chekhov’s 1895 classic, The Seagull. It is a wholly original work built on the bones of the older play. The cast of characters has been compressed from fourteen to seven, the four acts have been reduced to three, most of the scenes have been invented from scratch, and the dialogue is irreverently contemporary. Yet the core remains: the struggle of an aspiring playwright, son of a famous actress, to fulfill his revolutionary dreams of art and love. All the Russian social and historical context of The Seagull has been eliminated, but the story resonates because the theme is nearly universal – the clash between the dreams of our youth and the sharp realities of our adult lives. The Seagull holds a special place in theatre history. Its 1896 premiere in St. Petersburg was greeted with

hostility, prompting Chekhov to say he would give up writing for the theatre. But the 1898 production at the Moscow Art Theatre was a triumph, launching a 4-play collaboration between Chekhov and director Konstantin Stanislavsky, whose revolutionary ideas about acting would inspire a worldwide shift toward deeper “realism” on the stage. Chekhov’s focus on the details of character development, rather than plot, provided the perfect platform for Stanislavsky’s emphasis on the emotional “inner life” and unspoken “subtext” of the characters. When the Moscow Art Theatre presented their work in New York in 1923, they inspired a whole generation of American theatre makers. To this day, Stanislavsky’s ideas remain at the core of the curriculum in university theatre departments across the US, and Chekhov’s four major plays (The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three

 Howard Shalwitz

gives a wink to our most common contemporary expectations about Chekhovian design. The second act cheekily comments on so-called “kitchen sink realism.” And the third act transports us to a purely theatrical landscape that reminds us of a rehearsal hall or backstage area. As Aaron’s script becomes increasingly self-referential, so does Misha’s scenery.

Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard) remain widely produced around the world. An art deco illustration of a seagull remains today the emblem of the Moscow Art Theatre. With Stupid Fucking Bird, Aaron Posner undertakes his own revolutionary dialogue with Chekhov. He upends the famous Chekhovian subtext by allowing the characters to express their inner thoughts directly through songs, monologues, and choral interludes. And he draws out

the latent meta-theatricality of the original – which is, after all, a play about a playwright – by allowing the characters to talk openly about the play itself, even to solicit advice from the audience. The proverbial “fourth wall” of theatrical realism is shattered from the very first line. Misha Kachman’s scenic design adds to this dialogue with Chekhovian tradition. The first act, with its portraits of Chekhov, table with samovar, and other intentional signposts,

This script and this production had a year-long gestation at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company throughout the 2012-13 season, with the playwright, director, actors, and designers all working together in a robust collaboration that drew out, I hope, the best in everyone. We are proud that Stupid Fucking Bird is now being tackled by many other theatre artists across the country. But it is a special honor to bring our original production to audiences at two great theatres in Syracuse and Portland. On behalf of the entire company, we’re grateful for the opportunity to continue to share and deepen our work. –Howard Shalwitz

IRREVERENT AND FUNNY AND NOTHING LIKE CHEKHOV AN INTERVIEW WITH PLAYWRIGHT AARON POSNER BY TIONGE JOHNSON TJ: What was the inspiration behind the title? AP: It is irreverent. It is funny. It establishes the connection to Chekhov’s play but also lets you know it is not going to be anything like Chekhov’s play. The title actually came first. It was a joke I made. But then I fell in love with it. TJ: What attracted you to Chekhov’s work? And, specifically, why adapt The Seagull? AP: It is a great story that deals with big questions and issues that were a part of Chekhov’s life and were and are a part of my

life: Why do we make art? Can theatre be vital and worthwhile? Why do we fall in love with the people we fall in love with? What do you do when those we love don’t love us back? How do you keep going when your life is falling to shit? What is our authentic self? Chekhov was asking the biggest, hardest questions there are about life. I am doing my best to follow suit. TJ: What was your writing process for the show? Did you start by re-imagining the characters? Did you start by updating their circumstances? AP: I started by just div-

ing right in and wondering how I would tell this rough story from my own perspective, today. I found the worst possible literal translation of The Seagull on line, and I worked from that so I would not be influenced by anyone else’s good writing. And I just started thinking about the story and the characters and the ideas and how they all felt to me. And I wrote the play. TJ: What excited you the most while working on it?

AP: Seeing it take shape. Beginning to “hear” the characters speak in ways that I found interesting or funny or odd or engaging. It was fun to see myself refracted into all these different people. It was fun and exciting to write about things I had been thinking about for a very long time… and then it was great to begin to see and hear other people respond positively to it and find what I was talking about interesting or moving or engaging or whatever. That is a crazy big thrill.

 Aaron Posner

 Katie deBuys and Cody Nickell in the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company production of Stupid Fuc#ing Bird. Photo: Stan Barouh.

“THE TITLE ACTUALLY CAME FIRST. IT WAS A JOKE I MADE. BUT THEN I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT.” TJ: What essential qualities of The Seagull did you retain? AP: The core characters and relationships. The basic story. The themes. TJ: How would you describe your collaboration with Howard Shalwitz? AP: Fun. Hard. Great. Challenging. Inspiring. Frustrating. Excellent. Effective. But I tend to think most of those are

the words one would use to describe any really strong, really worthwhile collaboration. It can’t all be fun and easy or nothing is being gained, nothing is being worked out. It is delightful when we agree, but that gets us very little. The real value is found in the friction, in the difficulties and complexities, and the rough and raw place. Howard read SFB for the first time when it was just about seven

random scenes. He committed to producing and directing it very early, before it was really complete. That was an extraordinary gift and I will be forever grateful to him for that. And he directed a really smart, strong, great production of the play. I will always be deeply grateful to him for that, too. TJ: Were there differences in your respective visions for the play?

 Darius Pierce, Cody Nickell, Rick Foucheux, Kimberly Gilbert, and Katie deBuys in the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company production of Stupid Fuc#ing Bird. Photo: Stan Barouh.

AP: Absolutely. Inevitably. TJ: How did you reconcile them? AP: Amicably. We talked. We discussed. We learned from each other. We found common ground and we found compromise. It does not mean that he loves everything in the play or I love everything in the production. But we are both, I think, very proud of what we built together. I think we both take great satisfaction from the fact that SFB will be one of the ten most produced plays in the country this year. That is extraordinary. And I owe a huge part of that to him…

TJ: Did you learn anything in the rehearsal and production process? Were there things there you hadn’t noticed when writing? AP: I could write a book in answer to that question. The answer, of course, is yes, I did nothing but learn and learn and learn, and re-write and re-imagine and reshape. And that process did not stop with the original production at Woolly Mammoth. I am still working on the play. It goes into rehearsals in New York at the Pearl Theatre in February. I will keep working on it then, even though it will have had maybe

30 productions by then. But they say plays are never really finished, just abandoned. I will keep it with me through NYC and likely through a production at the Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia next fall where I will be directing it myself for the first time. Then I think I will call it a day and lock it down. TJ: Did you think Chekhov resonates with a contemporary audience? AP: I do. And I hope my work does as well. In very different ways. Hopefully both enjoyable, moving, surprising, engaging and, ultimately, worthwhile.

STUPID FUC#ING FAILURE BY JOSEPH WHELAN  [Facing, left] Anton Chekhov in 1908. [Facing, right] M.L. Roksanova as Nina and K.S. Stanislavsky as Trigorin in The Seagull, Moscow Art Theatre.

The first performance of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull at the Alexandrinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on October 17, 1896 was a dismal failure. “The play fell flat and flopped with a bang,” Chekhov wrote his nephew Mikhail. Chekhov watched the first two acts from the audience, who “acted as if they were ashamed to be in the theatre.” He then moved to the wings for the final two acts. Despite the hiss-

ing and jeering that accompanied the performance, Chekhov stuck it out. Afterward, he disappeared into the St. Petersburg night, ate a late dinner alone at Ramanov’s, then returned to the home of his friend and publisher Alexei Suvorin where he climbed into bed and pulled the covers over his head. “You can call me [an expletive unfortunately forever lost to history] if I ever write anything for the stage again. If I live another 700 years, I won’t

IF I LIVE ANOTHER 700 YEARS, I WON’T LET THE THEATRE HAVE ANOTHER PLAY.” let the theatre have another play,” he told Suvorin.

before the wrong audience.”

What had gone wrong?

Chekhov specified other problems. To the writer, Elena Shavrova, he wrote: “I did not see everything at the first performance, but what I did see was vague, dingy, dreary and wooden. I had no hand in assigning the parts, I wasn’t given

Chekhov biographer Donald Rayfield put it this way: “The play had been put on in the wrong city, in the wrong month, at the wrong theatre, with the wrong cast, and above all

any new scenery, there were only two rehearsals, the actors didn’t know their parts--and the result was general panic, utter depression of spirit . . .” A letter to Suvorin carried this minor correction: “Actually there was only one genuine rehearsal, at which it was

“CREATING A PLAY IS LIKE WADING INTO A MINERAL BATH, CERTAIN THAT IT WILL BE WARM, AND THEN BEING SHOCKED BY THE FACT THAT IT IS COLD.” 24

impossible to tell what was going on; the play was completely lost in a fog of vile acting.” And to the lawyer Anatoli Koni, he expanded: “The night of the performance and the day after people asserted I had created nothing but idiots, that my play was clumsy from the standpoint of staging, fatuous, unintelligible, even senseless, etc., etc. You can imagine my situation–it was a flop worse than a nightmare! I was

 Chekhov with members of the cast of The Seagull, Moscow Art Theatre (1899).

ashamed and annoyed and left St. Petersburg brimming with doubts. I figured that if I had written and staged a play so obviously crammed with monstrous defects, I had lost all my senses and my machinery had apparently broken down for good.” The experience confirmed an observation he shared with Elena Shavrova: “Creating a play is like wading into a mineral bath, certain that it will be warm, and

then being shocked by the fact that it is cold.” Fortunately, for Chekhov and for the course of theatre history, subsequent performances met with infinitely more positive responses. On the following night, the second performance in St. Petersburg was deemed a crowning success. Chekhov had already left the city. In December 1898, The Seagull was produced by Vladimir Nemirovich-

Danchenko and Konstantin Stanislavski’s Moscow Art Theatre. It was in NemirovichDanchenko’s words a “colossal success” and helped establish the new company’s reputation for cutting edge “realism”. The Seagull is considered Chekhov’s first mature play, the first full-flowering of the talent that would produce Uncle Vanya, The Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard before the playwright’s untimely death at 41 from tuberculosis. If Chekhov had an inkling that the play would ever assume such an esteemed position in the theatre canon, he certainly never let on. In an earlier letter to Elena Shavrova, he wrote: “I have finished my play. It is called ‘The Seagull.’ It is nothing to ooh and ah about.” To Suvorin, he famously wrote: “The comedy has three female roles, six male roles, four acts, a landscape (a view of a lake), much conversation about literature, little action and five tons of love.”

CAST Katie deBuys (Nina) is very happy to make her Syracuse Stage debut with Stupid Fuc#ing Bird in the role she originated at Woolly Mammoth. Based in Washington, DC, her area credits there include The Night Alive, Fool for Love, and Seminar (Helen Hayes Nomination) at Round House Theatre; two runs of SFB and In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play at Woolly Mammoth; Henry V, The Conference of the Birds, and The Gaming Table at Folger Shakespeare Theatre; and Measure for Measure at The Shakespeare Theatre Company. She has performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Tchaikovsky: Mad But for Music. Regional credits include The Giver at Indiana Repertory Theatre, Bug (B. Iden Payne Award) and Killer Joe at Capital T Theatre in Austin, Texas, and Twelfth Night and Julius Caesar at the Texas Shakespeare Festival. Ms. deBuys received a BS in Theatre from Northwestern University and an MFA in Acting from The University of Texas at Austin.

in Ah, Wilderness!, Teach in American Buffalo, Freud in Freud’s Last Session, Levine in Glengarry Glen Ross, Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, and Schultz in Cabaret. Other regional appearances include The McCarter Theatre, and, off-Broadway, the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York City. In 2008, Mr. Foucheux played Willy Loman in the Arena Stage revival of Death of a Salesman, directed by Timothy Bond. He teaches acting at George Washington University. Mr. Foucheux is a Lunt-Fontanne Fellow of the Ten Chimneys Foundation and a four-time Helen Hayes Awardee. Kimberly Gilbert (Mash) originated this role at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in 2013 and is very happy to be back with her here in Syracuse. She has for the past 15 years rocked the stages of Washington, DC, most recently at Woolly in the world premiere of Sheila Callaghan’s Women Laughing Alone with Salad. She has been a company member with Woolly since 2006. This year she won the Helen Hayes Outstanding Lead Actress award for her turn as the title role in David Adjmi’s Marie Antoinette. In DC, she has also played on the stages of The Kennedy Center, Ford’s, Folger, Studio, Round House, Theater J, Forum, and Taffety Punk (of which she is also a company member). She is a proud graduate of DC’s Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting.

Rick Foucheux (Eugene Sorn) has been a mainstay of the Washington, DC theatre scene since 1983. He is a company member at Woolly Mammoth and has appeared regularly in Washington’s many fine regional theatres. Among his many roles there are Nat Miller

CAST Ian Holcomb (Conrad Arkadina) Television/ Web Series: CoExisting (pilot in postproduction), Land of Kings (668 Productions), The Onion News Network (IFC); Off-Broadway: It’s A Wonderful Life, Ernest In Love (The Irish Repertory Theatre), Murder In The First (The Directors Company), The Broken Heart, Macbeth (Theatre For A New Audience), Transport (The Irish Arts Center), Eightythree Down (Under St Marks, NYIT Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor); NYC Readings and Workshops: Spill (New York Theatre Workshop, written and directed by Leigh Fondakowski), Eyes Wide Open (The Actors Studio, written and directed by Michael Cristofer), Twelfth Night (Theatre For A New Audience, directed by Julie Taymor); Regional Theatre: The Great Gatsby (Virginia Stage), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Geva Theater Center), Dial ‘M’ For Murder (Dorset Theatre Festival), Dying City (The Bottling Company), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Guthrie Theater); Training: University of MN/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program, The Royal National Theatre Studio, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

in the world premiere of Animal at Studio Theatre, and in The Folger Theatre’s production of Mary Stuart. He has performed at theatres all over the country, including Woolly Mammoth, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Portland Center Stage, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Barrington Stage, Two River Theatre, The Wilma, The Arden Theatre, PlayMakers Rep, and San Jose Rep. For the three seasons prior to this one, Cody was the artistic associate at Gulfshore Playhouse where he directed and acted in over 12 productions. Recipient of the Connecticut Critics Circle Award for Best Actor, and nominated three times for The Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Cody’s work extends beyond the theatre to films, television, and voiceovers. Cody is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama. Kate Eastwood Norris (Emma Arkadina) is delighted to make her debut at Syracuse Stage. Favorite regional theatre credits include productions at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, Studio Theatre, Folger Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Round House Theatre, The Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville - 2011 and 2012, Florida Stage, Two River Theatre, Delaware Theatre, Arden Theatre, Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre, Gulfshore Playhouse, The Wilma Theater, and special appearances with the Alaskan and Baltimore Symphonies. Kate is a com-

Cody Nickell (Doyle Trigorin) is thrilled to be making his debut at Syracuse Stage. Cody was most recently seen for a third time in the one-man show Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol at Gulfshore Playhouse,

CAST pany member at Woolly Mammoth Theatre, and has received two Helen Hayes Awards and Philadelphia’s Barrymore Award for her acting. Kate is also a teacher of Shakespeare, Performance, and Clown for students of all ages. She recently completed a Masters in Humanities and the Creative Life with an emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. Find out more about Kate at www.kateeastwoodnorris.com

Night, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The 39 Steps, Frost/Nixon, Cyrano, How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found, Misalliance, The Santaland Diaries, A Christmas Story, and A Christmas Carol (Portland Center Stage); Stupid Fuc#ing Bird (Woolly Mammoth Theatre); The Gaming Table and Comedy of Errors (Folger Theatre); Lips Together, Teeth Apart (Profile Theatre); As You Like It (Portland Shakespeare Project); My Fair Lady and Les Misérables (Broadway Rose); Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Portland Playhouse); and The Long Christmas Ride Home (Theatre Vertigo). Darius is company member at Third Rail Repertory Theatre and a co-founder of the Anonymous Theatre Company. Thank you all for spending a couple of hours with us!

Darius Pierce (Dev) is thrilled to be with his Stupid Bird family again and to be in Syracuse for the first time! Past productions include Beard of Avon (Drammy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor), Twelfth

A R T I S T I C S TA F F Misha Kachman (Scenic Designer) has worked at Arena Stage, Center Stage, Signature Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Round House Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, The Kennedy Center, Wilma Theater, Maryland Opera Studio, Theater J, Opera Lafayette, Skylight Music Theatre, Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, and Milwaukee Shakespeare, among many other companies in the United States and abroad. Misha is a recipient of the 2013 Helen Hayes Award for his design for The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Woolly. He is a Woolly Mammoth Theatre company member and a graduate of the St. Petersburg Theatre Arts Academy.

Mr. Kachman serves as the associate professor of Scene and Costume Design and head of MFA in Design at University of Maryland. Laree Lentz (Costume Designer) Regional: Ford’s Theatre: The Guard; Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences: The Gift of Nothing; Folger Theatre: Romeo and Juliet; Signature Theatre: Tender Napalm; Woolly Mammoth Theatre: Stupid Fuc#ing Bird; Studio Theatre: Murder Ballad, An Iliad, Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven (2ndStage); 1st Stage Theatre: Never the Sinner; Spooky Action Theater: Optimism! Or Voltaire’s Candide; Synetic Theater: Home of the Soldier; UNC Charlotte: The 31

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A R T I S T I C S TA F F Purple Flower; Central Piedmont Community College: Legally Blonde, Will Roger’s Follies, Hairspray. International: The National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, Beijing: A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Training: MFA in Costume Design, The University of Maryland.

James Sugg (Sound Designer) is a member of Pig Iron Theatre Company with whom he has created 18 original pieces. He has also worked with Actors Theater of Louisville, Milwaukee Rep, Arena Stage, Seattle Rep, The Wilma, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, The Arden Theatre, Folger Theatre, Headlong Dance Theater, Rainpan 43, Stein | Holum Projects, and Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental. He is the composer of the musicals A Murder, a Mystery & a Marriage (book and lyrics by Aaron Posner), James Joyce is Dead and So is Paris (Pig Iron), The Sea (a one man electric chamber opera), and Cherry Bomb (book and lyrics by Jen Childs). His work has been recognized with two Obies, four Barrymores for Outstanding Sound Design, the F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist, and a Pew Fellowship.

Colin K. Bills (Lighting Designer) is pleased to be making his Syracuse Stage debut. He is a company member at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company where he has designed over forty productions, including the original production of Stupid Fuc#ing Bird, Clybourne Park, and The Convert. As a Conspirator with the devising company, dog & pony dc, he has collaborated in the writing, direction, and design of A Killing Game and Beertown. His designs have been seen at Arena Stage, The Berkshire Theater Festival, Center Stage, Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Dallas Theater Center, Everyman Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, Forum Theatre, Imagination Stage, Intiman Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Marin Theatre Company, Metro Stage, Olney Theatre Center, Opera Lafayette, Opéra Royal Versailles, Portland Center Stage, Round House Theatre, The Smithsonian, Signature Theatre, Studio Theatre, Synetic Theatre, Theater J, The Washington Revels, The Wilma Theater, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Colin has won three Helen Hayes Awards and is a recipient of a Princess Grace Fellowship in Theater. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College.

Laura Jane Collins (Stage Manager) continues her sixth season with Syracuse Stage, having just completed stage management for The Santaland Diaries and Steve Martin’s The Underpants. She spends the majority of her time in Central New York with Syracuse Stage and Hangar Theatre in Ithaca. Regional credits include: In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play, The Piano Lesson, Chinglish, Scorched, Good People, Two Trains Running, Moby Dick, Red, The Boys Next Door, and No Child... (Syracuse Stage); The Hound of the Baskervilles, God of Carnage, Around the World in 80 Days, 4000 Miles, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, and Lend Me

A R T I S T I C S TA F F A Tenor (Hangar Theatre). New York credits include: Hillary: A Modern Greek Tragedy with a Somewhat Happy Ending (New Georges). Dance production credits include: The Who’s TOMMY: A Rock Ballet (Christopher Fleming). LJ is a graduate of the Stage Management program in Syracuse University’s Department of Drama, and she’s now based on Long Island.

ing productions of Radio Golf, the Broadway production of Gem of the Ocean, and the Off-Broadway production of Jitney. Selected regional casting credits include: Syracuse Stage, Mark Taper Forum, Hartford Stage, Arena Stage, Trinity Repertory Theatre, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Geva Theatre Center, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Pittsburgh Public, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Longwharf Theatre, Alliance Theatre Company, The Goodman Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, Huntington Theatre Company, Virginia Stage Company, Dallas Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage, and PlayMakers Repertory Theatre. Feature film credits include: Pushing Hands, directed by Ang Lee; Underheat, starring Lee Grant; First We Take Manhattan, produced by Golden Harvest Inc.; and Graves End, directed by Sal Stabile.

Harriet Bass (Casting) has been an independent New York casting director since 1989, casting for theatre, film, and television. In New York City, Harriet has cast for ABC/ TV, Fox Television Studios, Joseph Papp’s Public Theatre: NEW WORK NOW, The Minetta Lane Theatre, The Women’s Project, La MaMa, E.T.C., New York Women in Film and Television, and The Jewish Repertory Theatre. She has cast the last three of the late August Wilson’s ten part play series: the original and tour-

W O O L LY M A M M O T H T H E AT R E C O M PA N Y style and human experience, and by implementing new ways to use the artistry of theatre to serve the people of Greater Washington, DC.” Many Woolly world and regional premieres have moved on to productions at theatres across America and around the world, including Bruce Norris’ Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Clybourne Park (2010); Robert O’Hara’s Bootycandy (2011); Anne Washburn’s Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play (2012); and Danai Gurira’s Eclipsed (2009), which is playing on Broadway this Spring.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Howard Shalwitz, Founding Artistic Director and Meghan Pressman, Managing Director) was founded in Washington, DC in 1980. Over the past 36 seasons Woolly has developed a national reputation for producing challenging and provocative new plays that push the boundaries of content, language, and style. Woolly’s mission is “to ignite an explosive engagement between theatre artists and the community by developing, producing, and promoting new plays that explore the edges of theatrical

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P O R T L A N D C E N T E R S TA G E Portland Center Stage exists to inspire its community by bringing stories to life in unexpected ways. Established in 1988 as a branch of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, PCS became an independent theater in 1994 and has been under the leadership of Artistic Director Chris Coleman since May, 2000. PCS is Portland, Oregon’s leading professional theatre company and one of the top 20 largest regional theatre companies in the United States. PCS attracts more than 150,000 theatre-

goers annually with its blend of classical, contemporary, and world premiere productions, along with its annual summer playwrights festival, JAW. PCS also offers a variety of education and community programs tailored for patrons of all ages. Its home, the Gerding Theater at the Armory, was the first building on the National Register of Historic Places – and the first performing arts venue – to achieve a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification.

P L AY W R I G H T Aaron Posner is a Helen Hayes and Barrymore Award-winning director and playwright. He is a founder and former artistic director of Philadelphia’s Arden Theatre, is an associate artist at both the Folger Theatre and Milwaukee Repertoy Theatre, and has directed at major regional theatres from coast to coast including the Folger, Seattle Rep, Portland Center Stage, The Alliance, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Arizona Theatre Company, Milwaukee Rep, California Shakespeare Theatre, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Roundhouse Theatre, Studio Theatre, Signature Theatre, Theatre J, American Player’s Theatre

and many more. His adaptations include Chaim Potok’s The Chosen and My Name is Asher Lev (both of which have enjoyed successful runs at more than 50 other theatres across the country), Ken Kesey’s Sometimes a Great Notion, Mark Twain’s A Murder, A Mystery and A Marriage, an adaptation of three Kurt Vonnegut short stories, entitled Who am I This Time? (& Other Conundrums of Love) and Stupid Fuc#ing Bird, a variation on Chekhov’s Seagull. Aaron was raised in Eugene, Oregon, graduated from Northwestern University, is an Eisenhower Fellow, and lives near Washington, DC.

PROGRAM BOOK Publications Director: Joseph Whelan, Graphic Designer: Jonathan Hudak, Advertising: Katherine Keeney, Cover: Katie DeBuys and Cody Nickell in the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company production of Stupid Fuc#ing Bird. Photo: Stan Barouh.

Stupid Fuc#ing Bird published January 20, 2016 The Syracuse Stage program is published seven times a year. For advertising rates and information contact the development office at 315.443.2709. Printed by Midstate Printing Corporation.

DIRECTOR Howard Shalwitz is co-founder and artistic director of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, DC, one of the nation’s most influential producers of innovative, provocative new plays. Howard was the recipient of the 2014 Margo Jones Award in recognition of his 35-year commitment to new American plays, as well as the 2012 Distinguished Finalist for the Zelda Fichandler Award for Outstanding Regional Director. He received the 2011 Helen Hayes

Award for Outstanding Director for Clybourne Park, and was nominated for the same award in 2014 for the world premiere of Stupid Fuc#ing Bird. In addition to nearly forty plays at Woolly Mammoth, Howard has directed for other leading American companies including New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights Horizons, Arena Stage, A Contemporary Theatre, and Milwaukee Rep. He received his BA in Philosophy from Wesleyan University and his MA in Teaching from Brown University before launching his career as an actor and director in 1976.

PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Timothy Bond is in his ninth season as producing artistic director of Syracuse Stage where he has directed Other Desert Cities, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, The Whipping Man, Two Trains Running, The Brothers Size, The Boys Next Door, Radio Golf, No Child..., Fences, The Price, The Diary of Anne Frank, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. He has 27 years experience in leading regional theatres throughout the country. Previously, he served for 11 years as associate artistic director of the famed Oregon Shakespeare Festival where he directed 12 productions, including works by Shakespeare, August Wilson, Suzan-Lori Parks, Edward Albee, Lorraine Hansberry, Lynn Nottage, Octavio Soliz, and Pearl Cleage. Prior to that, Bond spent 13 years with

the Seattle Group Theatre, serving as artistic director from 1991 – 1996. While there, he directed more than 20 plays including a number of world and West Coast premieres, and he oversaw the largest capital campaign in the company’s history, culminating in the completion of a new theatre complex in the Seattle Center. Bond has also directed at such prestigious theatres as The Guthrie, Arena Stage, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, The Cleveland Play House, A Contemporary Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, and Geva Theatre. Bond received a Theatre Communications Group/ National Endowment for the Arts Directing Fellowship Award and has twice won Backstage West’s Garland Award for Outstanding Direction for Les Blancs (1998) and Blues for an

EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING SPONSORS FOR THEIR SUPPORT OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS. WITH YOUR HELP, SYRACUSE STAGE WILL ENGAGE OVER 21,000 STUDENTS IN CENTRAL NEW YORK DURING THE 15/16 SEASON. The John Ben Snow Foundation, Inc.

PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Alabama Sky (1997). He served on the board of directors of the Theatre Communications Group from 1993 to

1997. Bond holds a BFA from Howard University and an MFA in directing from the University of Washington.

INTERIM MANAGING DIRECTOR Diana Coles is in her 31st season with Syracuse Stage and had planned to retire from her position as administrative director this past July. However, she was asked to fill in as interim managing director until the search is completed for that position. She is doing so gladly and enjoying “topping off” her career serving the theatre she loves and cares about. Prior to coming to Syracuse Stage, she had been business manager at Missouri Repertory Theatre (now Kansas City Rep) following many years as concert and tour manager of the Office of Cultural Events for the University of MissouriKansas City. In that capacity, she managed the annual seven state tour of MRT and also sponsored residencies of major dance and theatre companies such as Stars of the American Ballet, Pilobolus, Alvin Ailey Dancers, The Joffrey Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, St.

Louis Symphony Orchestra, Newport Jazz Festival, Guthrie Theatre, and The Acting Company. She served as assistant to the project director during construction for the UMKC Performing Arts Center, which housed the Conservatory of Music and the Spencer Theatre. In addition to having worked on the management side of over 280 LORT theatre productions in 50 years, she was a panelist for the New York State Council on the Arts, Missouri Arts Council, Nebraska Arts Council Year Long Program Panel, and the Mid-America Assembly on the Future of the Performing Arts. She has been a consultant for MerryGo-Round Playhouse, Kansas City Ballet, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Avila College, Missouri Dance Theatre, Association of Community Arts Councils of Kansas, and the Unicorn Theatre.

Angel Appeal 2015/16 ANNUAL GIVING

TOP THREE REASONS TO MAKE YOUR ANNUAL GIFT TODAY. #3 Make a community-wide

impact. Did you know upwards of 21,000 CNY students will participate in this year’s Stage Educational Programs?

#2 Support CNY’s only fully

professional theatre. Stage is a member of the League of Resident Theaters (LORT), the largest professional theatre association of its kind in the US. There are only 72 LORT theatres nationwide.

#1 Double your dollars!

Production photo courtesy of ZFX Flying Effects.

All new and increased gifts to Syracuse Stage will be matched dollar for dollar by The Richard Mather Fund. Thank you for helping Stage reach new heights. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL MEGGAN MADDEN AT 315-443-9848 OR GIVE ONLINE AT WWW.SYRACUSESTAGE.ORG

PRESENTS

15 16 SEASON

KISS ME, KATE MUSIC AND LYRICS BY COLE PORTER BOOK BY SAM AND BELLA SPEWACK DIRECTED BY DAVID LOWENSTEIN MUSICAL DIRECTION BY BRIAN CIMMET CHOREOGRAPHY BY ANDREA LEIGH-SMITH PERFORMED IN THE ARCHBOLD THEATRE OCTOBER 2 - 10 OPENING NIGHT: OCTOBER 3

AGAMEMNON BY AESCHYLUS DIRECTED BY RODNEY HUDSON NOVEMBER 6 - 15 OPENING NIGHT: NOVEMBER 7

PETER PAN CO-PRODUCED WITH SYRACUSE STAGE LYRICS BY CAROLYN LEI GH • MUSIC BY MORRIS "MOOSE" CHARLAP • ADDITIONAL LYRICS BY BETTY COMDEN AND ADOLPH GREEN • ADDITIONAL MUSIC BY JULE STYNE • BASED ON THE PLAY BY SIR JAMES M. BARRIE • DIRECTED BY PAUL BARNES • MUSICAL DIRECTION BY BRIAN CIMMET CHOREOGRAPHED BY ANTHONY SALATINO • FLYING EFFECTS PROVIDED BY ZFX, INC. • PERFORMED IN THE ARCHBOLD THEATRE • NOVEMBER 28 – JANUARY 3 • OPENING NIGHT: DECEMBER 4

PUNK ROCK BY SIMON STEPHENS DIRECTED BY ROBERT MOSS FEBRUARY 19 - 28 OPENING NIGHT: FEBRUARY 20

THE SPITFIRE GRILL A MUSICAL MUSIC AND BOOK BY JAMES VALCQ LYRICS AND BOOK BY FRED ALLEY BASED ON THE FILM BY LEE DAVID ZLOTOFF DIRECTED BY RALPH ZITO MUSICAL DIRECTION BY BRIAN CIMMET CHOREOGRAPHY BY ANDREA LEIGH-SMITH APRIL 1 - 10 OPENING NIGHT: APRIL 2

A FLEA IN HER EAR A NEW VERSION OF GEORGES FEYDEAU’S FARCE BY DAVID IVES DIRECTED BY STEPHEN CROSS MAY 6 - 14 OPENING NIGHT: MAY 7 *DRAMA SUBSCRIBERS WILL RECEIVE VOUCHERS REDEEMABLE FOR TICKETS TO PETER PAN . ETHAN SAVIET AND ANA MARCU IN PARADE. DIRECTED BY MARIE KEMP. MUSICAL DIRECTOR: BRIAN CIMMET. CHOREOGRAPHER: ANDREA LEIGH-SMITH. SCENIC DESIGNER: ALEX PETERSEN. COSTUME DESIGNER: VICKI R. DAVIS. LIGHTING DESIGNER: EMILY STORK. PHOTO: MICHAEL DAVIS.

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SERVICE

MISSION/VISION Mission: Syracuse Stage is a global village

turous, and entertaining productions of new plays, classics, and musicals, and offer interactive education and outreach programs in Central New York.

square where renowned artists and audiences of all ages gather to celebrate our cultural richness, witness the many truths of our common humanity, and explore the transformative power of live theatre. Celebrating our 43rd season as a professional theatre in residence at Syracuse University, we create innovative, adven-

Vision: Syracuse Stage illuminates the

many truths of our common humanity through the transformative power of live theatre.

A B O U T S Y R A C U S E S TA G E Syracuse Stage is Central New York’s

Chong. These visiting artists are supported by a staff of artisans, technicians, educators, and administrators who are responsible for all facets of the theatre from building sets, props, and costumes to marketing, development, and box office. A solid core of subscribers and supporters helps keep Syracuse Stage a vibrant artistic presence in Central New York. Year after year their support and patronage contribute to the success of the theatre. Additional support from government, foundations, corporations, and Syracuse University helps to ensure the continued role of Syracuse Stage as a valued cultural resource for the community. Syracuse Stage is a constituent of the Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, and a member of the Arts and Cultural Leadership Alliance (ACLA), the University Hill Corporation, and the East Genesee Regent Association.

premier professional theatre. Founded in 1974, Stage has produced more than 300 plays in 42 seasons including a number of world, American, and East Coast premieres. Each season 70,000 patrons enjoy an adventurous mix of new plays and bold interpretations of classics and musicals featuring the finest theatre artists. In addition, Stage maintains a vital educational outreach program that annually serves over 15,000 students throughout Central New York. Syracuse Stage is a member of The League of Resident Theatres (LORT), the largest professional theatre association in the country. America’s leading actors, directors and designers work and/or have worked at Stage including: Tony Award-winners Lillias White, Chuck Cooper, and Elizabeth Franz, Emmy recipient Jean Stapleton, Sam Waterston, John Cullum, James Whitmore, Ben Gazzara, and Ping

IN THE COMMUNITY An important aspect of the Syracuse Stage mission is to be an active partner and resource in the Central New York community. Each season Syracuse Stage is pleased to partner with a diverse group of community organizations in sponsoring and facilitating various programs, benefits, and events. Ongoing and past partnerships include Arc of Onondaga, The

Burton Blatt Institute, ARISE, InterFaith Works of Central New York, Hospice of CNY, SUNY Upstate Medical/St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Onondaga County, The Learning Place, AIDS Community Resources, Syracuse Homes, The Chadwick Residence, The Child Care Council of Onondaga County, and Vera House, among others.

N E X T AT S Y R A C U S E S TA G E

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

THE CHRISTIANS

To Kill A Mockingbird

The Christians

Harper Lee’s classic American story of courage and justice. In a small Alabama town, a black man, Tom Robinson, stands falsely accused of raping a white woman. Many townspeople would see him condemned, but attorney Atticus Finch defends Tom and demands justice. Through the trial, Atticus’ children, Scout and Jem, and their friend Dill come face to face with the reality of racism in their small town. Dr. Martin Luther King reminds us, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” This inspiring truth underlies To Kill a Mockingbird.

Do you have the courage to change your heart? Pastor Paul is much-loved and much-respected, but he has a difficult sermon to deliver. What will be the impact of his words on his loyal congregation? What consequences for his family? For himself? Playwright-to-watch Lucas Hnath invites people of all faiths, believers and non-believers, to engage in a conversation about the seemingly insurmountable distance between us. Set in a contemporary mega-church and performed as a Sunday service with sermons, scripture, and a full choir, The Christians has quickly become one of the most talked about new plays in the country.

By Lucas Hnath directed by Timothy Bond Co-Produced With the Wilma Theatre April 6 - 24

Adapted by Christopher Sergel From the Novel by Harper Lee Directed by Timothy Bond February 24 - March 26

N E X T AT T H E D E PA R T M E N T O F D R A M A

Punk Rock

The Spitfire Grill: A Musical

By Simon Stephens Directed by Robert Moss February 19 - 28 Opening Night: February 20

Music and Book by James Valcq Lyrics and Book by Fred Alley Based on the film by Lee David Zlotoff Directed by Ralph Zito Musical Direction by Brian Cimmet Choreography by Andrea Leigh-Smith April 1 - 10 Opening Night: April 2

Propelled by an anxious momentum, Punk Rock is an honest and unnerving chronicle of contemporary adolescence at the breaking point. In a private school outside of Manchester, England, a group of highly articulate seventeen year-olds flirt and posture their way through the day while preparing for their A-Level mock exams. With hormones raging and minimal adult supervision, nothing can forestall the underlying tension that becomes increasingly pronounced as the play moves from comic beginnings to a serious and troubling conclusion. Playwright Simon Stephens’ (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) ear for teen conversations, shifting alliances, and fundamental fears is spot-on. Gripping, insightful, and excitingly theatrical. For mature audiences.

A soul-satisfying, country-flavored work of theatrical imagination, The Spitfire Grill glows with an abundance of warmth, spirit, and goodwill. A feisty parolee named Percy follows her dreams to a small town in Wisconsin and finds a place for herself working at Hannah’s Spitfire Grill. Aged and troubled, Hannah would like to sell the Grill, but there are no takers in the forgotten town of Gilead. A simple idea proposed by Percy brings new life to the Grill and renewed hope to the people of the town, including one long gone but not so far away. A graceful and compelling story buoyed by soaring and instantly infectious melodies.

S Y R A C U S E S TA G E B O A R D O F T R U S T E E S CHAIR

Brian Cimmet Professor of Practice/Music Director SU Department of Drama

PRESIDENT

Ann Clarke* Dean, College of Visual and Performing Arts Syracuse University

Robert Pomfrey* President & CEO POMCO Group Louis G. Marcoccia* Executive VP & Chief Financial Officer Syracuse University CHAIR-ELECT

Fran Nichols* Vice Chairman Emeritus Eric Mower + Associates VICE CHAIR

Richard Shirtz* Regional President NBT Bank VICE CHAIR

Melvin T. Stith* Dean Emeritus, Whitman School of Management Syracuse University TREASURER

Bea Gonzalez* Dean, University College Syracuse University SECRETARY

Samantha Millier* Associate Attorney Mackenzie Hughes LLP Janet Audunson Senior Counsel National Grid Dan Berman Partner HancockEstabrook, LLP Timothy J. Bond** Producing Artistic Director Syracuse Stage Lorraine Branham Dean/Professor, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications Syracuse University Sandra Brown President Grandma Brown’s Beans, Inc. Nancy Byrne Community Volunteer Steve Chase Senior Vice President Harbridge Consulting Group

Rocco Mangano Partner Mangano, Lucchesi and Collins Kevin R. McAuliffe Partner Barclay Damon Suzanne McAuliffe Retired Educator

Pat Colabufo Human Resource Manager Wegmans Food Markets

Rod McDonald Bond, Schoeneck & King

Diana Coles** Interim Managing Director Syracuse Stage

Kevin O’Connor Sr. Resident Director & Sr. VP Investments Merrill Lynch

Richard Driscoll* Sr. Commercial Banking Relationship Manager Commercial Banking Division NBT Bank

Sharon Owens CEO Syracuse Model Neighborhood Facility Southwest Community Center

Sandra Fenske VP & General Counsel Lockheed Martin Corporation Helene Gold Private Voice & Piano Instructor Nancy Green* Investment Advisor Edward S. Green & Associates Larry Harris EVP and CFO Saab Defense and Security, USA Jeffrey Hoone Executive Director, Coalition of Museum & Arts Centers Syracuse University John Huhtala Relationship Manager Middle Market Commercial Banking Chase Gregg Lambert Dean’s Professor of the Humanities Syracuse University Larry Leatherman Retired Bristol-Myers Squibb, MOST Daniel D. Lent VP, Sr. Relationship Manager Key Bank Sara Lowengard Syracuse Stage Guild President Attorney Macht, Brenizer & Gingold, P.C.

Virginia Parker* Retired Educator Annette Peters Marketing Director Syracuse Media Group James Reed Regional President Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Michelle Schultz Senior Director, HR Business Partner Human Resources AXA L. John Steigerwald IV Marketing and Sales Representative Cathedral Candle Company Sharon Sullivan* Community Volunteer Wanda Thompson Sr. VP of Operations Upstate Medical University Phil Turner Pastor Bethany Baptist Church Ralph Zito** Chair Syracuse University Department of Drama Michael Zoanetti VP Senior Wealth Advisor Tompkins Financial Advisors *Executive Committee **Ex-Officio

S Y R A C U S E S TA G E E M E R I T U S C I R C L E We are grateful to the following individuals who have served as Members of the Stage Board of Trustees and continue to support Syracuse Stage at the Circle level. Jim Breuer Mary Beth Carmen Eddie Green Joan Green Elizabeth Hartnett

Claude Incaudo Howard C. Johnson Jack Mannion Margaret Martin Eric Mower

Judy Mower Michael Shende Jack Webb

S Y R A C U S E S TA G E G U I L D B O A R D PRESIDENT

RECORDING SECRETARY

Sara Lowengard

Mary O'Hara

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY

Julia Joyce Martin

Gretchen Goldstein

VICE PRESIDENT, MEMBERSHIP

Deborah Trent VICE PRESIDENT, FUNDRAISING

Jacki Goldberg VICE PRESIDENT, PUBLICITY

Melissa Vassenilli TREASURER

Ellen Lautz

Ray Abdella Elaine Cardone Roxanna Carpenter Sandi DiBianco Grace Flusche Kelly Gardner Donna Green Jessica Humphreville

Barbara Ianuzi Mary O’Hara Maryam Wasmund Ginny Yerdon Margaret Shirtz Stefan Berg Linda Lowengard Rosalind Schwartz Sheila Gangemi

SYRACUSE STAGE EDUCATION ADVOCACY BOARD Sara Bambino

David Fisselbrand

Jennifer Sabatino

CICERO-NORTH SYRACUSE

AUBURN HIGH SCHOOL

CATO-MERIDIAN MIDDLE SCHOOL

HIGH SCHOOL

Matthew Phillips

Todd Benware

JAMESVILLE-DEWITT HIGH SCHOOL

CHRISTIAN BROTHERS ACADEMY

Elizabeth Defurio

Kathleen Pickard BAKER HIGH SCHOOL

NOTTINGHAM HIGH SCHOOL

Y O U N G A D U LT C O U N C I L Kristina Bell

Brennan Carman

Olivia Moffa

11TH GRADE, JAMESVILLE-DEWITT

12TH GRADE, CHRISTIAN BROTHERS

10TH GRADE, CHRISTIAN BROTHERS

HIGH SCHOOL

ACADEMY

Katherine Benware

Rose Collins

Geraldine Wason

12TH GRADE, CHRISTIAN BROTHERS

11TH GRADE, JAMESVILLE-DEWITT

ACADEMY

HIGH SCHOOL

Lily Byrne

Marcus Johnson

Owen Volk

11TH GRADE, CHRISTIAN BROTHERS

10TH GRADE, CATO-MERIDIAN

10TH GRADE, JAMESVILLE-DEWITT

HIGH SCHOOL

Anna Capria

Michael Mankiewicz

12TH GRADE, BAKER HIGH SCHOOL

12TH GRADE, JAMESVILLE-DEWITT HIGH SCHOOL

1OTH GRADE, G. RAY BODLEY HIGH SCHOOL

STUPID FUC#ING BIRD SPONSOR

The Syracuse Stage Guild is thrilled to support Syracuse Stage's production of Stupid Fuc#ing Bird. We applaud Syracuse Stage for presenting a wide variety of quality plays to our region–from dramas to comedies to musicals–classic plays and new plays. They enrich our spirit and cause us to want more. Thank you for sharing this wonderful play with us. We hope everyone enjoys it!

CORPORATE, FOUNDATION, AND GOVERNMENT SUPPORTERS*

The John Ben Snow Memorial Trust

Richard Mather Fund

*Corporate, Foundation and Government support received in the last 12 months from $3,000 - $100,000 and above.

S Y R A C U S E S TA G E A N N U A L G I F T S Syracuse Stage depends on the generosity of contributions from individuals, corporations, businesses, foundations and government agencies. It is with much gratitude that we recognize the following donors to our annual campaign. Contributors listed below represent donations received in the past twelve months. For information regarding levels of contribution and benefits of each please contact the Development office at 315.443.3931 or visit syracusestage.org

C O R P O R AT E H O N O R R O L L $100,000+ Syracuse University $50,000 - $99,999 Genesee Grande Syracuse Media Group $14,000 - $24,999 M&T Bank POMCO Group $7,500 - $13,999 Bank of America – Children’s Tour Business Journal News Network Barclay Damon Chase iHeart Media KeyBank N.A. Lockheed Martin MST NBT Bank Syracuse New Times Syracuse Stage Board of Trustees WAER WRVO

 = INCREASED GIFT,

$5,000 - $7,499 Carrier Corporation Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Lockheed Martin Employees Federated Fund Scherzi Photography + Video The SU Humanities Center presents as part of the 2015 Syracuse Symposium™ on Networks Syracuse Stage Guild Tompkins Financial Advisors Wegmans $2,800 - $4,999 Phoebe’s Urban CNY $1,500 - $2,799 McIntosh Box & Pallet Co., Inc. Syracuse Blue Print $1,000 - $1,499 Action Printwear, Inc.  Cooper Crouse - Hinds

$500 - $999 Anoplate Corp. Eastern Security Service Heritage Masonry Restoration Merrill Lynch Law Office of Keith D. Miller L. & J.G. Stickley $250 - $499 ACLS Mailing & Fulfillment Freeman Interiors Geddes Federal Savings Hebert Financial Strategies/ Dennis & Judy Hebert Reeves Farms Smith Contemporary Furniture/Smith Interiors Ltd The Mid-York Press, Inc. $75 - $249 Brady System Fulton Savings Bank Giarrusso Building Supplies Sheats & Bailey PLLC Urist Financial & Retirement Planning Visual Technologies Ann Wolfson Associates

* = STAGE BOARD MEMBER, STAGE EMERITUS BOARD MEMBER, as of December 29, 2015

n = IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION

F O U N D AT I O N & G O V E R N M E N T H O N O R R O L L $75,000+ County of Onondaga, Administered by CNY Arts The Dorothy and Marshall M. Reisman Foundation $25,000 - $74,999 Central New York Community Foundation, Inc. John F. Marsellus Fund The Richard Mather Fund New York State Council on the Arts Shubert Foundation

$14,000 - $24,999 The John Ben Snow Memorial Trust Allyn Foundation $7,500 - $13,999 AXA Foundation The Gifford Foundation $2,800 - $7,499 The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation Melvin & Mildred Eggers Family Charitable Foundation

$1,500 - $2,799 Bristol-Meyers Squibb Foundation Frank & Frances Revoir Foundation Theatre Development Fund, Inc. $1,000 - $1,499 Henry A. Panasci, Jr. Charitable Trust $250 - $999 The Horowitch Family Foundation Price Chopper’s Golub Foundation

ENDOWMENT & PLANNED GIFT DONORS $100,000 - $124,999 In Honor and Memory of Sheldon P. Peterfreund and Josephine A. Peterfreund

$5,000 - $7,499 Mary Louise Dunn Fund

$2,500 - $4,999 Dr. William J. Clark, Jr. Fund

INDIVIDUAL GIFTS All new and increased gifts this season are matched dollar for dollar by the Richard Mather Fund. Founders’ Circle $7,500 - $24,999 Paul Phillips, MD & Sharon* Sullivan Playwrights’ Circle $5,000 - $7,499 Daniel Bingham & Gail Hamner Bill & Nancy* Byrne Mary & Larry* Leatherman Judy & Eric Mower* Sandra Lee Fenske* & Joe Silberlicht Elinor Spring-Mills & Darvin Varon

Producers’ Circle $2,800 - $4,999 George Bain Pete & Mary Beth* Carmen Margaret, Amy & Bob Currier Helene* & Neil Gold Louis* & Susan Marcoccia Suzanne* & Kevin* McAuliffe Judith Sayles & David Murray Sally Lou & Fran* Nichols Frederick & Virginia* Parker Bob* & Kellie Pomfrey Mrs. Sherwin Radin The Spina Family Dr. & Mrs. Thomas R. Welch

Directors’ Circle $1,500 - $2,799 Janet* Audunson & David Youlen Joan Christy & Thomas Bersani Nancy Seward & Tim Bond Cathy & Jim Breuer Sandra* L. Brown Laurie Clark Kristin & Sidney Cominsky Ed and Susan Downing Therese & Richard* Driscoll Dana & Peggy Dudarchik Barbara & Michael Flintrop Joan & Eddie Green* Winifred E. Greenberg

Ann & Larry* Harris Betsy Hartnett* Mr. & Mrs. Claude* Incaudo Peter Cannavo & Helen Jacoby Mr. & Mrs. Dudley Johnson Dr. & Mrs. Howard C. Johnson Randy & Elizabeth Kalish Bea Gonzalez* & Michael Leonard Roberta & Rocco* Mangano Mr. John F.X. Mannion* & Mayor Stephanie A. Miner Nancy Green* & Tony Marschall Margaret* & Don Martin Kevin* & Michelle O’Connor Sheila R. Parker & John F. Parker, M.D. William & Rosemary Pooler Dene A. Sarason Elaine & Michael* Shende Leslie Kohman & Jeffrey Smith Dr. & Mrs. Sam Spalding Patricia & Melvin* Stith Cindy Sutton & Family Cherry & Peter Thun Linda & Jack* Webb Glenda & Larry Wetzel Laurie & Michael* Zoanetti Benefactors $1,000 - $1,499 Anonymous Maria & Paul Badami Marya & John Frantz and Sutton Real Estate Company, LLC Ann & Dan* Lent Linda & Dan Lowengard Susan Beth Burgess & Michael S. Nilan Jan & David Panasci Sandra Hurd & Joel Potash Margaret & Richard* Shirtz George & Rita Soufleris Raymond & Linda Straub Stars $500 - $999 Daniel* & Sarah Berman Jeffrey Bogart Rachel May & Tom Brockelman Drs. Alexander* & Margaret Charters Steven* & Seanne Chase

Diana Coles Frank N. Decker Jim & Patty Dungey Karen & Nat Dunn John Druke Lew & Elaine Dubroff Clay & Dora Elliott Mary Ann Finn Grace & Michael Flusche Sylvia & David Fry Allan & Nirelle Galson Michael & Jacki Goldberg Donna Graber Marie & Joseph E. Grasso David Jacobs & Douglas Goldschmidt Deborah Haines David Heisig & Donna Mahar Theodore Hansen John & Gloria Kennedy Penelope J.M. & Stephen M. Klein John MacAllister & Laurel Moranz Kim & Phillip Mazza Barbara Beckos & Arthur McDonald John P. & Elizabeth Y. McKinnell Jane Merrill Anne Morford Dorothea P. Nelson Nancy & Steve Rogers Tina Press & David Rubin Gracia & Rick Sears Corinne & Lynn Smith James & Vicki Smith H. Paul Steiner Nancy Kramer & Doug Sutherland Wanda* Thompson Lorraine* Branham & Melvin Williams Angels $250 - $499 Mr. Timothy Atseff & Ms. Margaret G. Ogden Joanne & Jim Beckman Donna Marie & Michael F. Bocketti Dr. Sharon Brangman & Charlie Lester Susan & Thomas Brett Walter & Angel Broadnax Mark & Maren Brown Marlene A. Brown Marion L. Burke Craig & Kathy Byrum

In Tribute Contributions have been made to Syracuse Stage to honor someone, celebrate a special occasion or offer an expression of sympathy in memory of a loved one.

Dr. & Mrs. Mark Adelson in memory of Laura Edell Sarah B. Alden in memory of Jacqueline Coley In Memory of Arlene Alpaugh Rose Erma Angotti in tribute of 43 years in real estate Juanita Balamut in tribute of Marion A. Sevier Mrs. Gwynne Bellos in honor of Dr. Neal S. Bellos Carrie Berse in memory of Betty Lourie Carol Bryant in honor of Virginia Parker Marion L. Burke in honor of Barbara B. Liptak Jim Clark and Sharon Gordon In Honor of Betty Lourie and Lou Kempton The Central New York Community Foundation in memory of Betty Lourie Vicki and David Dansky in memory of Betty Lourie Susan G. Dorn in memory of Phillip K. Dorn Barbara Genton in honor of Donna Perricone Peggy Ginniff in honor of my parents Harold & Mildred Ginniff Jacki & Michael Goldberg - in tribute of Natalie Goldberg Syracuse MT Student

Ann* Clarke Pat Colabufo* Goodwin Cooke Mr. W. Carroll Coyne Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Dannible Bill & Terry Delevan Sandra Marie DiBianco Alan B. Dolmatch Walter & Linda Dudas Jonathan & Rosanne Ecker Anita & Allen Frank Philip & Marilyn Frankel Charles R. Gallagher Ernest Giraud Penny & Ernie Giraud Jerry & Beth Groff Dr. & Mrs. Donald M. Haswell Drs. Joe & Paula Himmelsbach Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Holstein Joyce Homan Randall LaLonde & Patricia Homer Carrie Mae Weems & Jeffrey* Hoone Elaine & Steven Jacobs Lex & Helen Joseph Norma Kelley Stephen & Janet Kimatian Mary Rose Kott Ellen & Terry Lautz Marlene & Scott MacFarlane Candace & John Marsellus Albert Marshall Samantha* Millier Anne Morford John Palmer & Liz Morgenthein Betty Jane & Larry Myers Linda & Donald Napier Maria Maniscalco & James Nellis Dorothea & Douglas Nelson John & Joan Nicholson* Michael & Maggie O’Connor Phyllis & Chuck Olmsted David & Susan Palen Ralph and Mary Lou Penner Robert & Jane Pickett Marilyn Pinsky Rissa & Michael Ratner James* & Theresa Reed Arnie & Libby Rubenstein Jane Burkhead & Robert Sarason Lois & Ted Schroeder

Ellen Schwartz Marilyn & Mike Sees James W. Shults Rhoda Sikes Carol & Dirk Sonneborn Laurence Sovik Helene & George Starr L. John* Steigerwald IV Tiso Family Cynthia G. Tracy Anita Wagner Linda Webb – in support of Audio-Described Performances Lynda & Terry Wheat John & Mitzi Wolf Mary Jane Woodward Supporting Cast $100 - $249 George & Sandra Abbott Dr. & Mrs. Jerrold Abraham Judy & Bud Adams Judith Adams Dr. George P. Adams and Mrs. Beverly C. Adams Sally Alden Kal Alston Robert & Jeanne Anderson Nathan Andrews Tony Antonello & Danielle Quintus Holmes & Sarah Bailey Gail and Dennis Baldwin Ed & Joan Bangel Theresa & Dennis Bardenett Nancy Barnum Joseph & Linda Barry Andrew & Margot Baxter Gwynne Bellos Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Berger Roslyn Bilford Nicki Bisson Gerald & Barbara Black Gary & Fran Bockus Richard Bowman Virginia Brennan Jenifer Breyer Caroline and Nicholas Brust Jennifer Bryer Helen Buck Mary & Bill Butler Naomi and Jim Cannon Joan Carlon Tom & Maryann Carranti Timothy McLaughlin & Diane Cass Dr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Cassady

Tom & Christine Hafner in tribute of Peter Hafner Kip & Terri Hargrave in honor of Gus Hargrave & Rick Menke Kelly and Colleen Harrison in honor of Kathleen D. Harrig Kathlyn Heaton in honor of Sharon Waletzko Heidi Holtz in memory of Betty Lourie Doris King in memory of Austin Hoffman II Richard & Joan Kollgaard in honor of Don Buschmann & Tracey White Lorraine LaDuke in honor of Mrs. Cecile LaDuke Janet W. Lowe in honor of Bob Moss Gerald Mager in tribute of Thomas A. Brisk John Huppertz & Diane Mastin in honor of Fran & Sally Lou Nichols Carl Peterson & Margaret Maurer in memory of Jacqueline Coley Mr. Wallace J. McDonald in memory of Betty Lourie Richard Midlam in tribute of Barbara Midlam Lyn Morsillo & Vanessa Kalette in honor of Tracey White & Mary Kennett Janice Nelson in honor of Bea & Irving Solomon Brenda Neuss in tribute of Christine Lightcap In honor of Kathryn Mulligan Joy & Al Oliver in honor of Rebecca Oliver & Hillary Gale Susan A. Parker in honor of Virginia B. Parker

Susan Chappuis Joseph L. & Janice L. Charles Ann and Steve Chase Anthony & Carolyn Cimino Joan Cincotta Malcolm Clark Carolyn & Sam Clemence Dr. & Mrs. Paul S. Cohen Sylvia & William Cohen Martha Cole Mr. and Mrs. Robert Colley Michele Combs Margaret and David Compton Mr. and Mrs. Robert Congel Joan & Robert D. Conine William and Julia Consroe Orazio & Genevieve Covelli Elizabeth Cowan George Curry Jamie and Julie Cyr Peter & Margaret Darby Clive & Sandra Davis Carol Decker Paula A. Dendis Delores R. Dixon Susan Dorn Cynthia & Mark Dowd Greene Sharry Doyle Elizabeth & Evan Dreyfuss David & Robin Drucker Karen Dunn Nancy & Tony Ebersole S. Emerick Richard Ernst Susan Estabrook Cissie Fairchilds Lori & Christopher Farrell Tom & Jane Ferguson James & Barbara Finlon Karen & William Fisher Molly Fitzpatrick Katherine Flack Robert & Terry Flower Geraldine Forbes & Sidney Greenblatt Len Fonte Kathleen Forrest Judith Fox Philip & Marilyn Frankel Jeff & Tess Freedman Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Freer Melanie & Mark Fullerton Carolyn and Sean Garner David & Bernice Gaynor Margaret Gelfuso

Barbara W. Genton Michele & Carl Gildemeyer Frank & Anne Girardi Peggy Ginniff James Godleski Phyllis Goldman Robert & Karen Goldman Mrs. Lewis H. Goodman Linda Fabian Goodrich & Dennis Goodrich Lawrence & Dorothy Gordon Judith & Samuel Gorovitz Joseph & Marie Grasso William J. Gray Stephen & Julia Graziano Dr. Roger & Vicki Greenberg Jerry and Beth Groff James M. Hahn Patricia Haggerty Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Halsey Mrs. Stuart Hancock, Jr. Carole & Mark Hansen Milena Hansen Margaret Harding & Joseph Whelan Bill & Kathy Harmand David & Lib Hayes Nancy & Bud Haylor Lionel Lee Hector Alan & Dorothy Heller Mary Hershberger Celaine & Victor Hershdorfer Jacqueline Hicks Camille & Mark Hill David & Sally Hootnick Marcia Hayden-Horan & Philip Horan Mr. & Mrs. Richard Hovey Guy & Patricia Howard John Huppertz & Diane Mastin Dr. Harold Husovsky & Dr. Susan E. Stred Jim & Sherri Hyla Virginia Jacob Richard Jaeger Janet Jaffe Anne Jamison & Peter Vanable Susan and Theodore Jarosz Mr. & Mrs. Jastrzab Sisters Janet & Joan James Aiello & Pam Johnson Pamela Johnson Mr. & Mrs. Stephen L. Johnson Thomas and Corinne Johnston

Dr. Paul E. Phillips & Ms. Sharon Sullivan in memory of Betty Lourie David Relyea in honor of Paula Relyea Nancy Remchuk in honor of Timothy Bond Erica Rube in honor of Jackie Goldberg cochairing the Gala Elaine Rubenstein in memory of Betty Lourie Lorne & Ellen Runge in tribute of Betty Lourie Lois & Mike Schaffer in memory of Betty Lourie Nancy Scheutziw in tribute of Syracuse Stage Staff/Volunteers Mr. & Mrs. Jacob H. Schuhle in memory of William Whiting Mansukh J. Shah in memory of Indira M. Shah Mel Shindler in honor of Tracey White Corrine and Lynn Smith in support of Open Captioning H. Paul Steiner in honor of Renée & Ben & Tracey White Union Bank and Trust in Honor of Betty Lourie Carol Bryant & Richard Ward in honor of Virginia & Fritz Parker Lynda & Terry Wheat in memory of Betty Lourie JoAnne Wickman in honor of Arlene Alpaugh

Michael & Lynette Jozefczyk Marjorie T. & Joseph V. Julian Kankus Family Dr. and Mrs. Allan Kanter

Jan & James Kaplan Robin & Mark Kasowitz Carolyn & Gregory Keefe Jane & John Keegan Joan & Alexander Keilen David & Noel Keith Jean Kimber Barbara & Richard Kimm Doris King Russell & Joan King Sally and Dick Kinsey Theresa and Stephen Kline Richard & Joan Kollgaard Dr. Sylvia Betcher & Martin Korn Kathy & Scott Krell Jill Ladd Hume & Peggy Laidman Jay & Linda Land L. Lardy & E. Pennington Phyllis & Harlan LaVine Mark & Jeannette Levinsohn Bonnie Levy Elizabeth D. Liddy Edward & Carol Lipson Joanne Lloyd K.B. Lloyd Harlan London, Ph.D. Betsy Long John & Marian Loosmann Nicholas and Cathy Lozoponi Tom Miller & Mary MacBlane James and Patricia MacKillop John & Janet Mallan J.R. Manier Louis & Nancy Maresca Rick Manier Ann Marshall Frederick & Virginia Marty Mary K. Massad Michael Mattson Mr. & Mrs. Peter Mazzaferro William and Pamela McGarry Pat McGrath Brian & Cheryl McIntyre Bev & Dave McKay Marilyn McKnight Brian McLane Diane Cass & Tim McLaughlin Nancy & M. James McPherson Nancy and M. James McPherson Dr. and Mrs. James L. Megna

Mary & Eckart Meisterfeld Clifford & Marjorie Mellor Ann R. Melvin Ben & Julie Merchant Sis Merrell Elizabeth & Walter Merriam David Michelo & Peggy Ruzzie Dan & Terry Miller Merrill L. Miller, M.D. Beth & David Mitchell June M. Mitchell James Mitscher Robert & Barbara Moore Kathleen and James Muldoon Dr. & Mrs. Charles Muniak Mary Jane & Stephen Nathan Richard & Barbara Natoli Nancy Needham Brenda Neuss Cathryn Newton Dennis & Doren Norfleet Neil Novelli Brenda Neuss Robert & Beth Oddy Howard McLaughlin & Mary O’Hara Sally O’Herin Albert & Joy Oliver Donna & Richard O’Neil Timothy & JoDean Orcutt Deborah O’Shea Peter and Constance Palumb Susan Parker Kenn & Annette* Peters David & Susan Pickard Richard & Neva Pilgrim David & Linda Pitonzo Ann and Howard Port Kathy and Dan Rabuzzi Jean Raper Mark Re & Nancy Pasquale Robert & Christina Rhinehart Brian & Chris Rieger Julie and Boyd Rimel Michael Rogan & Cindy Wheeler Howard J. Rose Elaine Rubenstein Ellen and Lorne Runge Maria & Richard A. Russell Linda & Bob Ryan Don & Florence Saleh Richard & Jill Sargent Jeffrey & Abby Scheer

Robert Scheer Nancy Mudrick & Eric Schiff George & Sharon Schmit Mr. & Mrs. Jacob H. Schuhle Margaret Schuhle Ruth Seaman Thelie Trotty-Selzer and Jon Selzer Rick & Betsy Severance Craig & Martha Smith Debbie & David Smith Judith B. Smith Robert & Sheila Smith Harold & Ruth Smulyan Gwen Kay & Jef Sneider Marcene Sonneborn Helen E. Stacy Anne Stagnitti Deirdre & David Stam John Steinburg & Karl Crossman Dr. Lawrence Stewart Jill & Ron Stratton Myrna Sullivan Thomas Talbot Laura M. Terpening Christine & Richard Thomas Marguerite Conan & James A. Traver Charles F. Tremper Gregg Tripoli Jean & John Tromans Lennie Elizabeth Turner Dina & Gershon Vincow Meghan & T.J. Vitale Fred & Patricia von Mechow Frank & Alice Vreeland Ann Vaccaro Kashi & Kameshwar Wali Mrs. Barbara Wanamaker Larry Volan & Sara Warner Dr. & Mrs. Donald Washburn Linda Webb--Audio Description Ruth S. Weinstock Anna Giacobbe & Peter Welge Peter Wells Evelyn D. White Elizabeth & James Wiggins Garrett Wikoff Pauline & Robert Williamson Alex & Lola Winter Tina Winter

Lori Ott & Jeffrey Woodward Kelly Wypych Friends $75 - $99 Rose Erma Angotti John & Mary Ann Baichi Gail & Dennis Baldwin Jon & Trish Booth G. Martin and Kathleen Brogan Bob & Kathy Brown Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Brust Dr. & Mrs. Deane Cady Tim Cassidy Joseph Cerroni and Linda Tassa Rosa and Lou Clark Mike & LaRae Cottrell Mr. and Mrs. D. Devendorf Charles & Kimberly Driscoll Mary M. Duffin

Ronald Ferguson Cliff & Jane Forstadt David and Nancy Grant N. Gordon Gray Milena Hansen Julia and Daniel Harris Miriam Hudecheck Elizabeth B. Humphreys Nancy Freeborough-Kaczmar Linda & Bob Kashdin Lois M. Easterday & Susan J. Lamanna Joanne Lloyd Susan Loevenguth Louisa & Carlos Lopez Gerald M. Mager Robert Moore Janet S. Munro Deirdre Neilen Kathy Palm Anita Pisano Steve & Kate Pynn Brian Silfer & Amy Romano John P. Ronan

Matching Gift Program The following companies will match gifts of their employees, retirees and spouses with a gift of their own to Syracuse Stage. Ask your personnel office for a matching gift form, send the completed form with your gift – and we’ll do the rest! AT&T Allied-Signal, Inc. American Express Company Avon Products, Inc. AXA Equitable Bank of America Borden, Inc. Bristol-Meyers Squibb Foundation CIGNA Corporation CNA Foundation Chemical Bank Chubb Group of Insurance Companies Citicorp & Citibank, N.A. Coopers Industries Foundation Crouse Hinds Co. – Cooper

Industries Deluxe Corporation Digital Equipment Corporation Emerson Electric Co. Equitable Life Assurance Society Farmer & Traders Life Ins. Co. Fireman’s Fund Insurance GE Foundation General Foods Corporation GlaxoSmithKline John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance The Home Depot Foundation Honeywell IBM Corporation J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.

Contact Us We endeavor to provide a complete listing of all donors in all individual giving categories. However, if your gift is not listed or is listed incorrectly, please accept our apologies, and contact the Development Office. at (315) 443-9848.

Terry and Marilyn Ryan Joseph Serroni & Linda Tassa JoAnn Wallace Mark Watkins and Brenda Silverman Dianne D. Webb

Johnson & Johnson Kemper National P&C Co. Key Foundation Lever Brothers Company Marine Midland Bank, N.A. McDonald’s Corporation Merrill Lynch Mobil Oil Corporation The MONY Group Mutual Life Insurance Co. NCR Corporation National Grange New York Telephone Niagara Mohawk Foundation Owens-Illinois, Inc. Pitney Bowes The Prudential Foundation Charles Schwab Radio Shack Rockwell Automation Trust SmithKline Beecham Labs The St. Paul’s Companies The Travelers Companies United Parcel Service United Technologies Corp. Verizon Welch Allyn Xerox Corporation

S Y R A C U S E S TA G E G A L A 2 0 1 5

UNDERWRITERS

Michael & Jacki Goldberg POMCO Group The Dorothy and Marshall M. Reisman Foundation AMERICANA BLUES TABLES

Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC Harbridge Consulting Group Helene & Neil Gold National Grid Sharon Sullivan & Paul Phillips, MD

S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications Syracuse University University College of Syracuse University

DELTA BLUES TABLES

The Allyn Foundation Bank of America Barclay Damon, LLP Bousquet Holstein PLLC Faculy & Staff of Color Connection Group @ SU Hancock Estabrook, LLP David Katleski Ken Kavajecv & Verda Blythe

KeyBank KPMG LLP Mackenzie Hughes LLP ERIC MOWER + ASSOCIATES Ginny & Fritz Parker Rockacres Veterinary Hospital Sack and Associates Syracuse Stage Guild Upstate Medical University

GALA SPONSORS

Mary Beth & Pete Carmen M&T Bank NBT Bank Drs. Melvin & Patricia Stith Syracuse Media Group Austin, Alesandro & Josephson Group at UBS Financial Services Inc. GALA SUPPORTERS

Lynda & Terry Wheat

as of OCTOBER 1, 2015

S Y R A C U S E S TA G E S TA F F A R T I S T I C S TA F F

Producing Artistic Director..........................................................................................Timothy Bond Interim Managing Director.........................................................................................Diana C. Coles Resident Dramaturg.............................................................................................................Kyle Bass Dramaturgy Intern...................................................................................................Maggie Gilroy Artistic Assistant...............................................................................................................Chris Botek Director of Educational Outreach...........................................................................Lauren Unbekant Education Outreach Manager.......................................................................................Kate Laissle Education Assistant.........................................................................................................Len Fonte In-School Arts Coordinator................................................................................Emmett Van Slyke Lead Teaching Artist....................................................................................................Corinne Tyo Teaching Artists.........................Megan Barbour, Jessica Bland, Caitlin Friedberg, Allison Popieski P R O D U C T I O N S TA F F

Director of Production Operations...........................................................................Don Buschmann Assistant Production Manager..................................................................................Dianna Angell Company Manager/Production Management Assistant...............................................Brian Crotty Student Work Study..............................................................................Bianca Boller, Leola Powell Technical Director.......................................................................................................Randall Steffen Assistant Technical Director...................................................................................Rebecca Schuetz Scene Shop Foreman..................................................................................................Michael King Master Carpenter......................................................................................................Simone Scalici Carpenters.......................................................................................Phillip Dyke, Jordan Michaud Graduate Assistant.....................................................................................................Eric Charlton Student Work Study...............................................................................................Emma Antenen Scenic Charge Artist................................................................................................Holly K. LaGrow Assistant Scenic Artist..............................................................................Kristen Prescott-Ezickson Scenic Painter........................................................................................................Jennifer Lemcke Graduate Assistant.................................................................................................Loren Bartnicke Properties Coordinator................................................................................................Mary Houston Props Carpenter.....................................................................................................Tammy Goetsch Props Artisan.................................................................................................................Lisa Letson Graduate Assistant.....................................................................................................Chelsea Jones Student Work Study................................Jessica Crawford, Ashley Kyker, Emily Mae Timmerman Assistant Prop Master......................................................................................................Ryan Ross Additional Props Carpenter/Artisan......................................................................Brian McBurney Costumer.....................................................................................................Gretchen Darrow-Crotty Assistant Costumer..................................................................................................Meggan Camp Cutter-Drapers...........................................................................Catherine Hennessy, Jennifer Peet First Hand...............................................................................................................Victoria Lillich Stitchers............................................................................................Nicole Long, Katelyn Yonkers Craftsperson/Shopper................................................................................................Sandra Knapp Wardrobe and Wig Supervisor.......................................................................................Sarah Stark Hair Stylist.............................................................................................................Kristina Scalone Student Work Study................................Kathryn Bailey, Kiersten Kozbial-Wu, Charity Van Tassel Master Electrician.................................................................................................David M. Bowman Assistant Master Electrician....................................................................................Miles Dudgeon Electrics Apprentice..................................................................................................Laura Gisondi Student Assistants.......................................................Greg Folsom, Anna LiDestri, Roslyn Palmer Resident Sound Designer/Audio Engineer............................................................Jonathan R. Herter Assistant Audio Engineer......................................................................................Kevin O’Connor Sound Apprentice......................................................................................................Ryan Johnson 64

S Y R A C U S E S TA G E S TA F F

Graduate Assistant......................................................................................................Stefan Zoller Production Stage Manager........................................................................................Stuart Plymesser Stage Manager....................................................................................................Laura Jane Collins Stage Management Journeyman..................................................................................Erin C Brett Stage Management Apprentice...............................................................................Marisa Andrews A D M I N I S T R AT I V E S TA F F

General Manager...............................................................................................................Jon Wilson Comptroller...............................................................................................Mary Kennett Morreale Human Resources Manager/Business Associate....................................................Kathy Zappala Business Office Work Study Assistant...........................................................Emily Buonsignore Director of Information Management & Technology....................................Garrett Wheeler-Diaz Student Assistant....................................................................................................Justin Ramer Director of Ticketing & Subscription Services..........................................................Miguel Tarrats Assistant Director of Ticketing and Subscription Services.........................Courtney Richardson Assistant Box Office Manager...................................................................................Lisa Doerle Patron Sales and Services.......................................Brian Balamut, Jasmin Fink, Dennis Lennox Box Office Assistants.......................................Phelicia Ball, Danielle Bertolini, Sophia Blayney Jalina Brown-Omar, Stephanie Burnham, Elizabeth Carson Tatiana Fenner, Elizabeth Gardner, Troy Hussmann Rupert Krueger, Michael Roach, Adam Segrave Director of Audience Services........................................................................Wayne E. Yaddow, Jr. Evening House Manager......................................................................................Donna Stuccio Substitute House Manager...............................................................................Patricia Condello Student Assistant House Managers.......................Drew Deal, Matthew Mueller, Natalie Oliver Bartenders...................................................................................Meg Pusey Anthis, Hero Scott Work Study Ushers..................................Mallory Astrow, McKenna Batterson, Sophia Blayney Michael Bodomov, Tucker Breder, Ezekiel Edmonds Allisha Edwards Madelyn Geltch, Caleb Grochalski, Collin Hotchkiss, Sarah Hubner Lauren Hughes, Aliana Kilmer-Setrakian, Melissa Lawson Alexander Aranyi Low, Jenna Najjar, Devina Sabnis, Hannah Schaffer Director of Development...............................................................................................Tina Morgan Assistant Director of Development.................................................................Katherine Keeney Development Assistant.....................................................................................Meggan Madden Development Consultant....................................................................................Barbara Beckos Angel Appeal Telefunding Manager.....................................................................Kathy Zappala Graduate Intern...............................................................................................Kimberly Grader Development Intern...........................................................................................Rebecca Yaciuk Director of Marketing and Communications..............................................................Joseph Whelan Group/Corporate Sales Manager............................................................................Tracey White Group Sales Assistants....................................................................Amanda Kurey, Kyra Button Public Relations Manager................................................................................Kristina Starowitz Graphic Designers...................................................................Jonathan Hudak, Brenna Merritt Marketing Interns.............................................Molly Goldberg, Tionge Johnson, Ashley Judge Interpreters for the Deaf.....................Brenda Brown, Angelo Coppola, Mikki Evans Sue Freeman Joanne Jackowski, Sarah Korcz, Zenna Preli, Shaun Standford Open Captioning.........................................................................................................Chris Botek Audio Description.........................................................................Kate M. Laissle, Joseph Whelan Community Services Officer..................................................................................Stacey Emmons Custodians.........................................................................Kitty Ashby, Les Edwards, Tony Rogers 65

ACCESSIBILITY PERFORMANCES 2015/16

STUPID FUC#ING BIRD

THE CHRISTIANS

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

BASKERVILLE: A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY

Sat. Jan. 30, 3:00 S Sat. Feb. 6, 3:00 AD Wed. Feb. 3, 2:00 O Sun. Feb. 7, 2:00 O

Sat. Mar. 5, 3:00 S Sat. Mar. 12, 3:00 AD Wed. Mar. 9, 2:00 O Sun. Mar. 13, 2:00 O

Sat. Apr. 16, 3:00 S Sat. Apr. 23, 3:00 AD Wed. Apr. 20, 2:00 O Sun. Apr. 24, 2:00 O

Sat. May. 21, 3:00 S Sat. May. 21, 3:00 AD Wed. May. 25, 2:00 O Sun. May. 29, 2:00 O

American Sign Language = S Sign Language Interpreted Performance Series supported in part by Welch Allyn, in memory of Susan Thompson. An American Sign Language Interpreted performance is offered for every production. For the most advantageous viewing, be sure to mention your interest in sign interpretation when reserving tickets. Open Captioned Performances = O Open Captioning is provided for two matinee performances of every production. A small screen, placed to the side of the stage, displays text corresponding to the play’s dialogue and other sounds. Open Captioning can be viewed from most seats in the theatre. However, for the most advantageous viewing, please contact the Box Office. Open Captioning is supported by grants from Theatre Development Fund’s TAP Plus Praagram, NYSCA and donations from individuals and corporations. Audio-Described Performances = AD Simultaneous live narration and pre-show description for blind and visually impaired patrons. Please call the Box Office in advance to reserve headsets. Audio Enhancement: Syracuse Stage offers an infrared hearing system for patrons with up to 70% hearing loss. Headsets can be reserved free of charge through the Box Office or at the Coat Room before curtain. Wheelchair Seating and Accessibility: Syracuse Stage is wheelchair accessible. Please call the Box Office at 315-443-3275 to arrange wheelchair seating.

G E N E R A L I N F O R M AT I O N SYRACUSE STAGE 820 East Genesee Street Syracuse, NY 13210-1508 Administration: 315/443-4008 Box Office: 315/443-3275 www.SyracuseStage.org SINGLE TICKET PRICES Evenings: Fri., Sat.: $50, $46, $30 Sun., Tues., Wed., Thurs.: $41, $38, $30 Matinees: Wed., Sat., Sun.: $48, $45, $30 Previews: $36, $33, $30 All tickets can be purchased at the Syracuse Stage Box Office or online anytime at www.SyracuseStage.org. Prices may vary for opening nights, Peter Pan, and The Santaland Diaries. DISCOUNTS Available for senior citizens and students. Call the Box Office for prices. GROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE Available for groups of 10 or more; additional discounts for student/senior citizen groups. Call Tracey White: 315/443-9844. RUSH TICKETS Rush tickets are available for purchase at a discounted rate on the day of the show for all performances. Limited availability. BOX OFFICE HOURS The Box Office is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. noon to 6 p.m., and two hours before each performance. Box Office phone: 315/443-3275. Box Office fax: 315/443-1408. GIFT CERTIFICATES Call the Box Office or visit us online at SyracuseStage.org PARKING Entrance to the enclosed parking garage on Irving Avenue is on the corner of Madison Street and Irving, next to the Madison-Irving Medical Building. For hours of operation and parking costs, call (315) 475-4742. There is an open parking lot between Phoebe’s Garden Cafe and the garage maintained by Syracuse University. BEEPERS AND CELL PHONES For the actors’ safety and in consideration of the audience please turn off all cell phones; check your beeper and leave your seat number with an usher at the Coat Room prior to the performance. They will monitor your beeper and notify you if there is an emergency. FIRE NOTICE The exit indicated by a red sign nearest the seat you occupy is the shortest route to the street. In the event of an emergency, walk to that exit and follow the house staff’s directions. SMOKING POLICY The Syracuse Stage/Drama Complex is proud to be tobacco- and smoke-free. To help ensure a healthy and respectful environment, the use of all tobacco and tobacco-related products is prohibited on the property, including buildings, sidewalks, and parking areas. For more information visit: wellness.syr.edu/tobacco-free QUIET CHILDREN Quiet children over the age of five are welcome at Syracuse Stage performances. We do ask that adults remove disruptive children to the lobby.

TICKET EXCHANGE All tickets may be exchanged. Please call the Box Office 24 hours prior to the earliest performance involved in the exchange. Single ticket exchanges carry a $5 fee per ticket. Flex Pack holders may make one free exchange per show. Subscribers may make unlimited free exchanges; upgrade charges may apply. Subscribers who missed a scheduled performance and did not exchange may use their Extra Value Coupon or purchase a missed performance pass for $5. LATECOMERS In order to ensure the safety and concentration of the actors and the uninterrupted enjoyment of our patrons, latecomers will be seated at the earliest, appropriate break in the performance in the closest available seats. BUY IT IF YOU LIKE IT! Many of the items featured in our productions are available for purchase. For information contact Mary Houston, Props Master: (315) 443-2437. TO VOLUNTEER AS AN USHER If you would like to get a backstage view of Syracuse Stage, or would like to expand your social circle, this is the ideal opportunity for you. All we ask for is a positive attitude, a smiling face and the willingness to commit a few hours a month. Please call our House Manager at (315) 443-3219 for more information. OPEN CAPTIONING We are pleased to offer two open captioned performances for each mainstage play. Open captioning provides a simultaneous display of the play’s dialogue on a screen to the right of the stage. AUDIO-DESCRIBED PERFORMANCES Simultaneous live narration and pre-show description for blind and visually impaired patrons. Please contact Box Office in advance to reserve headsets. AUDIO ENHANCEMENT We offer an infrared listening system for patrons with up to a 70% hearing loss. Headsets can be reserved free of charge at the Coat Room before curtain. SIGNED INTERPRETED PERFORMANCES Tuesday evenings, the third or fourth week of each production, we offer performances for the hearing impaired. WHEELCHAIR ACCOMMODATIONS Syracuse Stage is wheelchair accessible. Please call the Box Office to arrange wheelchair seating. EMERGENCY TELEPHONE CONTACT To be reached in an emergency, please leave your name and seat location at the Coat Room when you arrive. This is the only way we can locate you. In case of an emergency you may be reached at (315) 443-9922. WWW.SYRACUSESTAGE.ORG Subscribe, purchase Flex Packs, gift certificates, and single tickets 24-7. Information, schedules, reviews and more. PLEASE . . . The use of cameras and recording devices is not permitted. Please do not bring food into the theatre. Drinks in Syracuse Stage’s Approved Theatre Containers may be brought into the theatre. Those containers are available for purchase at the Gift Shop in the Coyne Lobby. ADVERTISER SUPPORT Syracuse Stage encourages audience members to support the businesses advertised in our program.

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2-STORY SHOWROOM - Corner of Wolf & Park St. Syracuse | 471-7856 | Mon, Wed, Fri 8-5; Tues, Thur 8-6; Sat 8-3 74