Trinity Square - Fall 2020 Issue

FALL 2020

the trinity square

PICTURED: JOE WILSON, JR. • COSTUME BY AMANDA DOWNING CARNEY • IMAGE BY MICHAEL GUY

Southern New England’s holiday tradition moves online Streaming FREE this December

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See beloved Trinity Rep actors re-imagine the classic for an unforgettable digital experience for the whole family.

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THE TRINITY SQUARE is published quarterly and distributed free of charge by Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington St., Providence, RI, 02903.

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(401) 521-1100 • www.trinityrep.com TRINITY REPERTORY COMPANY Curt Columbus, The Arthur P. Solomon & Sally E. Lapides Artistic Director Tom Parrish, Executive Director Kate Brandt, Director of Marketing & Communications Angela Brazil, Director of Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Programs Jordan Butterfield, Director of Education & Accessibility Jen Canole, Director of Development Michelle Cruz, Director of Community Engagement Laura Smith, Production Director Gayle Ulrich, General Manager

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FALL 2020

in this issue 2

Greetings from Artistic Director Curt Columbus and Executive Director Tom Parrish

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Follow Us Online! Highlights from Our Social Media

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The Shift from Stage to Screen

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Looking Back at A Christmas Carol

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The TRAIN Keeps Rolling: Trinity Rep’s Active Imagination Network

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Welcome the Incoming MFA Class of 2023

Printed by Print Synergy Solutions

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Anti-Racism at Trinity Rep

Season Sponsors

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Meet the Staff: Creative Director Michael Guy

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Community Partner Spotlight: Tink Knit and Knitting Circle

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Rhode Island Foundation Supports Trinity Rep/

Kate Brandt, Editor Michael Guy, Creative Director Photography by Michelle Cruz, T. Charles Erickson, Anne L. Harrigan, William L. Smith, Matthew Tibbs & Mark Turek

Rhode Island Community Food Bank Partnership

Southwest is the Official Airline of Trinity Rep 21

What We’re Reading: Books Our Staff Recommends

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Many Thanks to Our Generous Donors!

ON THE COVER Angela Gonzalez’s portrait of resident acting company member Joe Wilson, Jr. is part of a mural Trinity Rep commissioned from local artists to continue the public-art-as-activism activity that began to appear on plywood-covered storefronts and businesses after Black Lives Matter protests. For more about the artists, see page 15.

Your Home for Dramatic Discoveries TRINITY REPERTORY COMPANY www.trinityrep.com • (401) 521-1100 • Box Office (401) 351-4242 201 Washington Street, Providence, RI 02903 THE TRINITY SQUARE • FALL 2020

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FROM THE ARTHUR P. SOLOMON AND SALLY E. LAPIDES ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EACH YEAR AT THIS TIME, I compose a letter welcoming our audiences to Trinity Rep’s annual production of A Christmas Carol. I always return to Dickens’ astonishingly compact and fulfilling text to find something in it that inspires me to talk about the production. In re-reading it every year, I am struck by how relevant, how contemporary it is.

In fact, in reading A Christmas Carol a couple of weeks ago, I found myself feeling lighter — despite the enormous challenges our society is facing. Dickens’s story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a man who has been diminished because he has been cut off from his fellow humans, is about the possibility of redemption and change. As he says to the Ghost of the Future as the grave opens before him, “Why show me this if I am past all hope?” There is always hope, Dickens tells us. Even Scrooge can be redeemed.

While it is hard to see beyond the present moment, there is hope for Ebenezer Scrooge, so there is hope for us. Skipping a year of telling this story is simply unthinkable. Now, more than ever, we need to find ways to come together (even if virtually), hear stories of hope, and keep treasured traditions alive. That is why we gathered some of Trinity Rep’s great actors and artists to re-imagine this tale once again. We have been gathering together in Zoom rooms throughout the fall, exploring how to tell the story as if for the first time — and in a completely new medium.

This year, we are coming to you over the internet.

(Through the internet? Along the internet? I’m one of those people who uses the internet but blissfully does not understand how it works…) The mode may be different, but we have labored to capture something theatrical, something that feels like a show you would see if you were sitting in your seat in the Chace Theater.

We wanted you to feel the connection to the actors and the story, first and foremost. Because that’s what we are all about, telling stories to people who have gathered with us.

Dickens is right. There is hope. We know that in Rhode Island better than other people, it’s in our state motto and on the state flag.

I look forward to the day when we can gather again at the theater, for stories, for community, to share an experience and be together. I wish that day could be today, but for now, please join us for this digital celebration of hope.

­Curt Columbus The Arthur P. Solomon and Sally E. Lapides Artistic Director 2

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FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WELCOME TO THE RETURN of The Trinity Square magazine. When it became clear that we wouldn’t be able to gather in-person for some time, we looked for new ways to stay connected and serve you. While Trinity Rep has been creating loads of digital content for our website and social media channels and opportunities to gather virtually (learn more in the coming pages), we acknowledge that the internet is not everyone’s go-to resource.

This quarterly magazine will provide you with behind-thescenes content on all of the exciting work still happening at Trinity Rep. Most people associate Trinity Rep with our stage productions, but the reality is that those productions only represent about half of the work of the organization. The balance of our efforts lives in education and community, both of which are very vital and vibrant, even during this pandemic. This work is not without modification during these unusual times, but it continues to advance our mission “to reinvent the public square with dramatic art that stimulates, educates, and engages our diverse community in a continuing dialogue.”

On the horizon, our free, digital production of A Christmas Carol carries forward that 40+ year tradition in a new, innovative way. By offering this production free and online, it will be viewable by anyone around the world, at any time during the holidays. Families who may not have gathered together even during pre-pandemic times can now share this story virtually.

My parents gave me my first experience in the theater as a child at a production of A Christmas Carol, and it changed my life forever, opening my mind and my heart to the world’s enormous possibilities and inspiring my curiosity in understanding different people and ideas. Many years and many productions of A Christmas Carol later, it remains an important touchstone and tradition in my life, as it does for many. Preserving that tradition is important.

Tradition is an elemental part of the theater for artists and audiences. This is an over 2,000-year-old art form, after all. It has survived plagues, natural disasters, and political censorship. For 56 years, Trinity has been producing art that unites our community through shared experiences and stories. Tradition and culture play such a critical role in defining our lives, which is why it is so important that we share them with others.

Another tradition that many have, including me, is that of year-end charitable giving.

The holidays are a time for giving and for thinking of others. I find joy in the charitable gifts I make, ever fighting “ignorance” and “want.” At this time of year, we hope you’ll support your non-profit theater by helping to underwrite our digital programming, education services, and community development work that improve the lives of thousands each year. With your charitable support, for example, this year’s A Christmas Carol will ignite the imaginations of thousands of students through Project Discovery, as it streams into classrooms throughout the region; brighten the holidays for families through our partnership with the Rhode Island Community Food Bank; and create treasured memories that will be with viewers today, tomorrow, and for years to come. Your tax-deductible gift, no matter the size, makes a difference. You may contribute online at www.TrinityRep.com.

With optimism and drive similar to what Trinity Rep’s founders must have experienced, we are embracing the opportunities created by this rare pause of in-person performances to develop, implement, and re-forge a bold new vision for theater-making, education, and community engagement in Rhode Island, centered on equity and inclusion. The work of today will ensure that when we reach the other side of the pandemic we can build Trinity Rep back as a more just and welcoming organization for our artists, employees, and community. We hope you will join and support us in this transformative work. You can read more about our commitment and plans on page 15. Thank you for being an important part of our tradition and of our future.

From all of us at Trinity Repertory Company, may you and yours have a very happy and healthy holiday season and New Year.

Tom Parrish Executive Director

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THE TRINITY SQUARE • FALL 2020

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Social Media Highlights

Throughout July and August, we highlighted the work of resident acting company members each week with photos from their impressive Trinity Rep careers. Pictured below: (l to r) Janice Duclos, Mauro Hantman, and Melissa D’Amico in Annie (2002-03 Season, photo by T. Charles Erickson); Jude Sandy and Stephen Thorne in Othello (2017-18 Season, photo by Mark Turek).

If you’re not following us on social media, you may have missed these posts. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more ways to connect to Trinity Rep during this prolonged intermission.

In October, we paid tribute to Larry Arrick who passed away in September at age 92. Larry (pictured below) directed 14 productions at Trinity Rep between 1971 and 1981 and was the first director of the Trinity Rep Conservatory which began in 1977. We shared images from some of those productions including Tom Jones from the 1973-74 Season, which remains one of the most iconic examples of the Trinity Rep style of integrating actors and audience, music, and text.

Back in the spring, followers voted in the first-ever Trinity Rep Madness bracket to determine the favorite show of the past decade.

The winners from each genre were The Mountaintop (drama), Barefoot in the Park (comedy), Ragtime (musical), and To Kill a Mockingbird (classic). These shows went into the final rounds and Ragtime came out as the big winner!

drama

TRINITY REP MADNESS 2020

The Prince of Providence 2019–20 Season

The Heidi Chronicles

The Prince of Providence

2015–16 Season

August Wilson’s Radio Golf

Oklahoma!

The Mountaintop

The Mountaintop

2016–17 Season

The Mountaintop

Barefoot in the Park

Boeing–Boeing

2011–12 Season

Native Gardens 2017–18 Season

Boeing–Boeing

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird

Barefoot in the Park

Ragtime

classic

Ragtime

2014–15 Season

2018–19 Season 2017–18 Season

Ragtime

Pride and Prejudice

Barefoot in the Park

Little Shop of Horrors

Ragtime

comedy

Oklahoma!

2015–16 Season

Ragtime

The Mountaintop

2019–20 Season

2018–19 Season

musical Oliver!

2013–14 Season

To Kill a Mockingbird Death of a Salesman

2015–16 Season

The Grapes of Wrath

2013–14 Season

Death of a Salesman

2017–18 Season

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

2016–17 Season

Also this spring, we had fun with Theme Thursdays. Inspired by a YASI (Young Actors Summer Institute) tradition, we shared photos of our staff in homemade costumes inspired by a theme, and some of our followers replied with photos of their own in the comments!

ABOVE: Tom Jones, featuring Barbara Meek, Robert J. Colonna & Robert Black. Photo by William L. Smith

In September, we got our first look at one piece of our public art project. Kendel Joseph’s portrait of Rep. John Lewis (right) with spray paint on plywood was one of our most popular posts in early September. Learn more about this project at trinityrep.com/publicart.

ABOVE: Jordan Butterfield as the Pie in Waitress: the Musical (Favorite Minor Character in a Play), Matthew Tibbs (Trashion Show)

THE TRINITY SQUARE • FALL 2020

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The Shift from

I

n early March, things were changing so quickly that plans that had been carefully laid out over many months were shifting hourly. A Tale of Two Cities was mid-way through its run, and the cast of Sweat was about ready to move from the rehearsal hall to the stage where the set was already built. The final show of the season, Sweeney Todd, was deep into the design and preparation stage, ready for the start of rehearsals in a few weeks.

Adapting to the unexpected has long been a strength of Trinity Rep, but those days and weeks pushed us to new levels of quick thinking and rapid pivots. Over the course of two weeks,

Stage to Screen arts and arts education are significantly more impactful in person, we also knew that keeping our audiences, staff, and artists safe was our number one priority.

Our education team shifted to spring online classes and developed an entirely new summer program, Summer Actors Studio (SAS) which was a huge success. Online fall classes are in session now

Your Half Hour Call with Curt Columbus and Guests

we went from business as usual to a few ticket exchanges and additional hand sanitizer, then, as state and local guidelines shifted and the scope of the pandemic became clearer, we proceeded with limited capacity before finally cancelling all remaining performances of the 2019-20 Season — 83 performances in all, plus dozens of related events, classes, and fundraising events.

As the dust settled from this monumental shift, we took a moment to mourn the loss of the season, then formulated countless budget and schedule scenarios for an uncertain future, and, like so many of you, moved our meetings online and our workstations to our dining rooms, guest rooms, and other nooks and crannies in our own homes. While we all knew that the performing 6

THE TRINITY SQUARE • FALL 2020

for students in grades K-12 and adults. Our work with schools is reduced, but our relationship with Esek Hopkins Middle School continues, as do our TRAIN program​s at Bradley Hospital, S​ even Hills RI, Sargent Rehabilitation Center, and The Autism Project, which you can read more about on page 11.

Our artistic and production teams and resident acting company members rallied and generated over 70 pieces of content — and still growing — for our The Show Goes On collection on our website (visit trinityrep.com/theshowgoeson to see it all.)

Here is a sampling of what you can enjoy until we are able to meet again at the theater.

The centerpiece of our digital content is a Facebook Live show, Your Half Hour Call with Curt. This virtual talk-show is held on the first and third Thursdays of each month at 7:30 pm and is sponsored by Washington Trust. In each episode, Curt and guests consider a new topic showcasing a different aspect of theater-making at Trinity Rep. The series includes video clips from past performances and questions from the Facebook audience. The next morning the episode is posted on our website. Past guests include resident acting company members; actor and former artistic director Richard Jenkins; production director Laura Smith; playwrights Sarah Ruhl (The Clean House, Melancholy Play: a chamber musical), Lauren Yee (The Song of Summer), and George Brant (The Mourners’ Bench, Into the Breeches!, The Prince of Providence); and young actors participating in TRAIN (Trinity Rep Active Imagination Network).

Above, Curt spoke with Marcel Mascaró (top right) about next summer’s production of Don Quixote for Teatro en El Verano, with Executive Director Tom Parrish about changes to the 2020-21 Season, and with resident actor Rebecca Gibel about this season’s production of A Christmas Carol Online.

Stories and Readings Our resident acting company members generously shared with us a treasure trove of stories in blog posts and short videos that highlight behind-the-scenes tales. Learn about how Brian McEleney’s lack of sports skills followed him to the theater, Stephen Berenson’s up-close and personal interactions with barnyard animals on stage, Rachael Warren’s costume problem in Peter Pan, Stephen Thorne seeing “devil eyes”

PHOTO BY MARK TUREK

coming from the stage management booth, Angela Brazil getting stuck in traffic, Daniel Duque-Estrada avoiding laughter during Fade, Mia Ellis getting stuck in a dressing room, and Rebecca Gibel and Charlie Thurston reminiscing about Barefoot in the Park.

The actors also gave beautiful readings o f S h a ke s p e a r e a n sonnets and other poems and stories.

New Access to Previous Productions Not everything in our online collection was created anew. We were also able to make available existing content from our archives. We’re revisiting Trinity Rep Radio Theater, a WRNI (Rhode Island Public Radio) and Trinity Rep partnership from 2006 to 2009. Seventeen hour-long episodes are available featuring short stories, poems, and monologues performed by Trinity Rep acting company members. We’ve also posted links to clips from past shows like black odyssey, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Ragtime (above).

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THE TRINITY SQUARE • FALL 2020

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Looking Back at A Christmas Carol

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or more than four decades, Trinity Rep’s production of A Christmas Carol has been a part of the holiday tradition for millions in southern New England. Though we can’t gather in person, that tradition won’t end this year. As our gift to the community, we are creating an online production of the Charles Dickens classic and offering it free to everyone. Along with a team of actors, designers, and staff, director Curt Columbus has created a wholly unique and thoroughly Trinity Rep take on the story that integrates traditional theatrical storytelling with technological possibilities only available with digital production. The cast includes Joe Wilson, Jr. as Ebenezer Scrooge and features many other familiar and beloved faces. Bring A Christmas Carol into your living room this December with an on-demand streaming video and share this holiday treat with family near and far. You can register for your free access to the show now and read more about the production at trinityrep.com/carol or call (401) 351-4242.

On these pages, we’ve asked current resident acting company members who have played Scrooge to reflect on the challenges and joys of creating this iconic character.

Anne Scurria

Playing Scrooge was one of the most amazing experiences of my career. It’s a perfect part: Scrooge goes from being really cold and barely human to being not only happy, but goofy and not caring what anyone thinks of him. A terrific journey. As a woman it was incredibly moving for me and the audience to see Scrooge at the Cratchits: seeing a woman who has forfeited having a family in order to be a business woman, something we’re still having to negotiate. Also seeing her younger self as a woman again was extremely potent, women vanish after 40, even now. I have had so many women come up to me and tell me how moving it was for them. I’ve also had kids tell me I played with them when I got giddy and it stayed with them. I think I was the first woman to play Scrooge, I played it three times, and the Dickens Society and other men’s groups got all bent out of shape!

Stephen Thorne

Anne Scurria as Scrooge and Noah Brody as Bob Cratchit with the cast, directed by Peter Sampieri, 2003 PHOTO BY T. CHARLES ERICKSON

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One of the great things about the part is that there is such a huge journey built in to the story.

So even on your tenth show of the week, you get to start at the beginning and really go somewhere.

That journey acts upon you — not that it’s a piece of cake by any means — but getting to go on that ride, with the audience, is a big gift. There is a completeness to Scrooge’s journey. And a great charge that is offered to the audience at the end of the play. Now that change has happened, now that my/our eyes are open, how will I/we live that out for the rest of my life? It is of course a question for Scrooge to consider, but more importantly, it is THE question for all of us.

PHOTO BY MARK MORELLI

PHOTO BY MARK MORELLI PHOTO BY MARK TUREK

CLOCKWISE FROM CENTER: Anne Scurria as Scrooge with Fred Sullivan, Jr. as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, directed by Brian McEleney, 1996. Timothy Crowe as Scrooge, directed by Neal Baron, 1991.

Timothy Crowe as Scrooge with Mia Ellis as the Ghost of Christmas Past, directed by Tyler Dobrowsky, 2012.

Brian McEleney as Scrooge, directed by James Dean Palmer, 2016. Brian McEleney as Scrooge with Jay Bragan & Janice Duclos as Bob & Mrs. Cratchit, directed by Mark Sutch, 2002. Timothy Crowe as Scrooge with Barbara Orson as Mrs. Partlet, directed

by Neal Baron, 1998. Stephen Thorne as Scrooge with María Gabriela Rosado González as Mrs. Crummel, directed by Mark Valdez, 2018.

Timothy Crowe

It has been a great experience to participate in such a moving and joyful story. I have been honored to have been part of it and I never tired of it.

PHOTO BY MARK TUREK

I love this role. I’ve played it five times, and every time it’s a challenge, a wonderful opportunity to explore something profound in the human experience. It’s also a big responsibility.

For a lot of children A Christmas Carol is the first piece of live theater they’ll ever see; and for a lot of adults it’s the only piece of live theater they experience in a year. So it’s up to us to make the production as lively, as truthful and as memorable as we possibly can. The greatest challenge is the final part, the “Reclamation,” after Scrooge wakes up on Christmas morning. It’s there that the whole play comes together in an extended moment of joy, of hope, and the giddy promise of a second chance at life. I love doing this section of the play the most, even though it can be the most exhausting to perform. continued on next page

continued on next page THE TRINITY SQUARE • FALL 2020

PHOTO BY MARK TUREK

PHOTO BY T. CHARLES ERICKSON

PHOTO BY T. CHARLES ERICKSON

Brian McEleney

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Most major dramatic roles take a character from joy to sorrow, for instance Romeo and Juliet.

Or the character moves from a tragic state to even greater devastation, as is the case with Hamlet and Willy Loman. I’ve played Scrooge four times, most recently in a production directed by Curt, and the greatest joy of the part is that the trajectory is exactly the opposite of most major roles. Scrooge begins in a dark, lonely place and, as an actor, you have to be prepared to inhabit that place at every performance. But by the end of the evening, Scrooge is happiness incarnate.

He’s laughing, dancing, and sharing his pleasure with all the other characters in the story. Just as wonderful, he shares his merriment with the audience, too. It’s exhilarating to finish the show feeling energized and full of the holiday spirit, although, let’s admit it, kind of exhausted, too.

Jude Sandy

I’m constantly struck by how much legacy is contained in this show as it gets renewed over and over again every year. I grew up as an actor watching these incredible artists taking on this role. I remember sitting on the benches in the audience watching Tim Crowe as Scrooge, thinking ‘I want to do what he’s doing one day’ because I was so moved by what the cast was creating - the fullness of emotion and experience and transformation that gets invoked by the story. So then to be able to enter into it, I go back to my experience as a Black, queer immigrant artist, member of this company, member of this community. You get to really relish being one point in reflecting the real richness of our community.

Mauro Hantman

I’ve been thinking a lot about Scrooge lately because he’s someone who has intentionally isolated himself from society, like we’re all doing right now, not so intentionally. As an acting challenge, you look at him as a man who has shut himself off from everything on purpose in order to avoid the pain of all the things that he’s been through and the people he’s lost, but also the joy of other human beings. So this journey, which lasts only about 90 minutes, you have to go from being totally shut down and aggressively defensive to the realization of all that you’ve missed over the course of a lifetime and how wonderful it is.

Joe Wilson Jr.

Like any great story handed down from generation to generation, we re-tell these iconic tales to remind us of common, shared humanity. These moments in the theater give us a chance to see that which is good and possible in all of us. This story teaches us that in the midst of darkness, hope can be discovered and renewed. The stories that we tell become internal sources of inspiration. A Christmas Carol is one of those stories 10

THE TRINITY SQUARE • FALL 2020

PHOTO BY T. CHARLES ERICKSON

Stephen Berenson

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Stephen Berenson as Scrooge with Barbara Orson as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, directed by Michael Baron, 2001. Mauro Hantman as Scrooge, directed by Michael Perlman, 2010. Joe Wilson, Jr. as Scrooge, directed by Angela Brazil & Stephen Thorne, 2017. Joe Wilson, Jr. as Scrooge with David O’Connell, directed by Liesl Tommy, 2008. Mauro Hantman as Scrooge with Robert Casey, Jr. as the Ghost of Christmas Present, directed by Liesl Tommy, 2008. Jude Sandy as Scrooge, directed by Kate Bergstrom, 2019. Stephen Berenson as Scrooge with Whitney White as Lucy, directed by Curt Columbus, 2015. ALL PHOTOS BY MARK TUREK UNLESS INDICATED

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The TRAIN Keeps Rolling

by Jordan Butterfield and Kate Kataja Ten years ago, Jordan Butterfield, now the Director of Education and Accessibility at Trinity Rep, and other staff members identified a need for more theater-based programming for people with disabilities, particularly those on the autism spectrum. With experience working with this population already under her belt, Jordan was well-positioned to launch the Trinity Rep Active Imagination Network (TRAIN). A decade later, this thriving program serves as a model for theaters around the country and its network of partners includes Bradley Hospital, The Bradley Center, Sargent Rehabilitation Center, Seven Hills Rhode Island, and the Autism Project.

Working with children, teens, and adults, TRAIN uses acting, improvisation, and other

theater skills to give participants the tools they need to learn, communicate, and build selfesteem. TRAIN actors develop important life skills and get to perform in plays like Charlotte’s Web, Knights of the Wholly Fail, Jurassic Parkody, and The Velveteen Rabbit.

Some programs have moved online because of the pandemic, while others have resumed meeting in-person, adhering to strict safety protocols and testing. Assistant Director of Development Kate Kataja chatted with Jordan about how TRAIN has adapted.

Kate Kataja: How has the TRAIN program been affected by the shifts caused by COVID-19?

Jordan Butterfield: This specific population has been left behind by the pandemic in so many ways: lack of resources, time, staffing. In the spring, we discovered all kinds of barriers for 12

THE TRINITY SQUARE • FALL 2020

entry, from internet connection to a lack of available devices. Some kids who were typically paired with an occupational therapist or dedicated staff member were now working with a multitasking parent.

A lot of the kids I’m working with now are middle and high schoolers, so we focus on collaboration, creativity, communication, and connection. This is infinitely harder to do online.

Even now with some classes held in person, it’s hard. This is a population who relies quite a bit on facial expressions — not to mention how expressive performance is overall. We’ve been working on a lot of eye contact, though particularly for students with comorbidities like hearing loss, it’s so tough. Eventually, I’d love to have a clear-paneled surgicalgrade mask to teach in, but they are hard to come by.

KK: What residencies are you currently doing?

JB: We have three classes at Sargent, where we are working toward writing a series of short videos and short, unscripted vignettes, which will “premiere” this December. At Seven Hills RI, a longtime TRAIN partner, we are making our first movie! We’re rehearsing over Zoom once a week with an intergenerational group on an action-adventure film based loosely on Greek gods and goddesses. We’ll film in the fall, edit, and then release in January. The intergenerational aspect allows family members to participate in ways they’ve never been able to before; we’re innovating and trying something new together, and that’s really fun.

We’re also in-person at Bradley Hospital,

which functions more like workshop sessions, as the population is always fluctuating. It’s been amazing to watch these kids, some of whom have been hospitalized for months and may also be dealing with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, or addiction, just be kids and play again. Being with them over Zoom in the spring was certainly a break from their typical day, but it wasn’t the same as in person. Bradley has some wonderful programs in fine arts, music, yoga, and even tape art, but the theater arts are so holistic. We work on the mind, body, and soul, integrating voice, and imagination.

It simply helps them to get to know themselves and each other better. For some, it provides the first inclusive environment and sense of belonging that they’ve had.

Especially right now, it’s a responsibility and a privilege to go into these hospitals and group homes. Kids are missing families, and they don’t get a lot of visitors, for obvious reasons.

The consistency of the program helps them a lot; it’s not only whole-body work, but whole imagination. Everyone reacts to being hospitalized differently, and I aim to provide laughter, comfort, and humanity.

KK: What can people who love Trinity Rep do to help support these programs?

JB: The generous philanthropic support helping to keep Trinity Rep strong helps the education department continue to do its work. Never underestimate people with disabilities and their potential.

Their contributions to art, culture, and community are invaluable.

To learn more about TRAIN, including watching the episode about Your Half Hour Call with Curt about the program, visit trinityrep.com/train.

PHOTOS BY ANNE L. HARRIGAN & MATTHEW TIBBS

Meet the first-year Brown/Trinity Rep MFA students Ross Barron, acting

THE

Class

2023

OF

Aizhaneya Carter, acting

Hometown: Boulder, CO Alma mater: Princeton University Favorite role: Pig (Disco Pigs by Enda Walsh) There are so many reasons why I chose Brown/ Trinity Rep! To name a few, auditioning for [MFA Director] Angela Brazil and [Artistic Director] Curt Columbus was an especially positive experience because of the warmth, openness, and genuine interest they showed me. Furthermore, I am a screenwriter/playwright as well as an actor so the trinity of curricular opportunities here, (acting, playwriting, and directing), aligned with my desire to grow as fully and widely as possible. Finally, I know Providence to be a beautiful city with incredible parks, warm people, and unimpeded stargazing that reminds me of home. You can find more information about my writing and acting at www.rossbarron.com.

Bianca Rosa Brockl, acting

JāQuan Malik Jones, acting

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA Alma mater: University of Pennsylvania (International Relations and Theater Arts double major, with a concentration in French) Favorite role: I haven’t played her yet. She may currently be unwritten.

I chose Brown/Trinity Rep because I wanted a container to record and illuminate the stories of Black womxn for our collective liberation, joy, and light. I am a producer of the series Gales about Black millennial nurses in Baltimore who are navigating the roller-coaster that is “adulting.” You can learn more about me www.aizhaneya.com.

Hometown: South Norfolk, VA Alma mater: Norfolk State University Favorite roles: Booth (TopDog/UnderDog by Susan-Lori Parks), Citizen Barlow (Gem of the Ocean by August Wilson) I chose to attend this program because it was the place that felt like home. I equally felt like this was the ideal place to serve as my new artistic playground. During the pandemic this summer, I had the opportunity to write a play and later publish it called Billiards. I am excited about the journey it will embark on while I’m here in Providence. I am currently a recipient of the Brown Arts Initiative Grant which will help fund a special project attached to Billiards, which will be made accessible to the public on December 19, 2020. I am indeed blessed and honored to call myself an artist during this time that we are living in.

Sophie Zmorrod Laruelle, acting

Molly Houlahan, directing

Hometown: Westchester, NY Alma mater: Columbia University Favorite role: Scheherazade (Marjana and the Forty Thieves at Target Margin Theater) Hometown: Manteca, CA Alma mater: CalArts Favorite role: Stella (A Streetcar Named Desire

by Tennessee Williams) because the actor playing Stanley was also Latinx.

I chose to attend Brown/Trinity Rep because other schools said “show me what you got” and Brown/ Trinity Rep said “show me who you are.”

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA Alma mater: Yale University Favorite role: Paulina (A Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare as a high schooler) I chose to attend Brown/Trinity Rep for the amazing and unique community of theater-makers. You can learn more about me at www.mollyhoulahan.com.

I chose to attend Brown/Trinity Rep because the curriculum is built upon the notion of the actor as a multi-dimensional artist. The opportunity to take directing, playwriting, and dramaturgy classes in addition to technique work was thrilling to me. I can already tell I am going to learn so much in collaboration with such exceptional artists! Find out more at www.sophialaruelle.com. continued on next page THE TRINITY SQUARE • FALL 2020

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Christopher Lew, acting

David Merten, acting

Padraig Sullivan, acting

Hometown: Dallas, TX Alma mater: University of Texas at Austin (studying Radio-TV-Film and Nutritional Science) Favorite roles: Doug (Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph); Miller (The Royal Society of Antarctica by Mat Smart); Ferdinand (The Tempest by William Shakespeare)

Hometown: Cincinnati, OH and Raleigh, NC Alma mater: Ball State University Favorite role: Charles Douaihy (Sons of the Prophet by Stephen Karam)

Hometown: Boston, MA Alma mater: Knox College Favorite roles: Demetrius (A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare), Jack Worthing (The Importance of Being Earnest

by Oscar Wilde), Lawrence (Home Free! By Lanford Wilson), Agamemnon (Iphigenia 2.0

by Charles Mee)

I chose to attend Brown/Trinity Rep because the idea of a debt-free arts education is revolutionary and I’m here for it. I feel called to be a versatile, collaborative actor, standing in myself all parts magic, queer, nonbinary, global majority. I’m excited about both the diversity of Brown/Trinity Rep’s recent graduate classes and continuing that transformative work. I am a co-founder of Altered Shakespeare Company and community member and supporter of Public Works Dallas.

I was the recipient of the Lizz Ketterer Memorial Trust Scholarship.

Gabby Momah, acting

Hometown: Diamond Bar, CA Alma mater: Stanford University Favorite roles: Sam (They/Them by Nick Mwaluko), Nana (Schoolgirls by Jocelyn Bioh), Angie (Top Girls by Caryl Churchill) I chose to attend Brown/Trinity Rep because I was drawn to their investment in developing my skills as a well-rounded theater-maker.

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I chose Brown/Trinity Rep because of the people.

I am a people person through and through and I believe the community we surround ourselves with has such a huge impact on our artistic vocabulary.

So in my years in New York, when I met current students, alumni, and then later meeting some of the faculty during the audition process, I had a strong gut feeling that this was a cohort and a community that I could connect and grow with, be pushed further by, and make art and mistakes with. I am so happy I followed that instinct. When I’m not doing theater, I love to cook, I love to travel, I collect vinyl records, and I consider myself a proud New Yorker.

I chose to attend Brown/Trinity Rep because I’d been working in the local theater scene in Boston for a few years, and was looking for a catalyst for a kind of artistic growth I just wasn’t finding there, and I thought grad school might be it. I had worked adjacent to Michael Hisamoto, now a second-year acting student at Brown/Trinity Rep, then a first-year, and everything he said about the program, made it sound like exactly the program I was looking for.

Madeleine Russell, acting

Andrew Watring, directing

Hometown: Pasadena, CA Alma mater: Middlebury College Favorite roles: Anna (The Baltimore Waltz by Paula Vogel); Andromache (Women of Troy

by Euripides); Claudia Roe (Enron by Lucy Prebble)

Hometown: Huntsville, AL Alma mater: American University Favorite role: Director of Hamletmachine by Heiner Müller and Jen Jourdheuil

I chose Brown/Trinity Rep because I believe this program, at its core, values ensemble and risk-taking. I feel those principles succinctly capture why I’m here: to grow as a collaborator and ensemble member, discover my artistic family, and reinvent my understanding of the word “failure.”

I chose to attend Brown/Trinity Rep because I wanted to be challenged beyond my bounds. I wanted to engage in a transformative, revolutionary process of creation that centers and brings power to the most vulnerable. I am Black. I am Trans. I am committed to using theatre as a revolutionary political education tool for the international liberation of all Black people.

W

hen Trinity Rep announced in September that all in-person performances would be postponed through fall 2021, we also announced that while our stages will be dark, we will focus on three main priorities: education, digital content production, and anti-racism work. Our commitment to anti-racism and equity, diversity, and inclusion began several years ago, but requires additional effort and focus.

As this work is so vital to our mission, we will take the time necessary to be deliberate and center the voices of BIPOC individuals in reimagining what our theater and community can be as we rebuild our organization and industry back from the destructive effects of the pandemic.

We resolve to immediately and meaningfully place anti-racism at the center of our work. We are committed to developing, sharing, and holding ourselves accountable to short- and long-term goals, with full recognition that this work has no

As our community and country grapple with the trauma of centuries of racial injustice, groups like We See You White American Theatre and our own community of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) artists have told us that our initial steps have not gone far enough and that we have caused and continue to cause harm and pain, which we acknowledge. With humility, Trinity Rep thanks them for their labor in documenting and communicating important demands for our industry and organization. Their voices have been guiding our conversations in truly meaningful ways in recent months.

Trinity Rep acknowledges our complicit and too-often active involvement in upholding and benefiting from structures of racism and oppression. We are committing now to go further and take steps toward healing in our community.

endpoint. We acknowledge that our goals and methods will evolve as we continue through this iterative process, though our intent is to complete the planning phase and foundational actions for this work by June 2021.

In September, we publicly committed to our investment in this work and chartered a non-hierarchical and representative Anti-Racism Transformation Committee to lead this effort.

Together with consultants Michaela Pommells from CORAJUS (Coalition for Racial Justice), Karla Vigil and Carlon Howard from Equity Institute, and Kelvin Dinkins from Dinkins Consulting, they are spending this fall gathering input on how Trinity Rep has contributed to systemic racism in our community. Throughout the winter and spring, they will define the steps and timeline the organization will take to develop and implement a bold new vision for theater making, education, and community engagement for Trinity Rep, founded on the principles of genuine equity and anti-racism.

ANTI-RACISM AT TRINITY REP

learning for board, artists, and staff, including cultural competency and bystander training, while committing resources for intensive initial trainings and ongoing trainings to ensure the work continues.

• Review and revise all current practices, policies, procedures, stated values, codes of conduct, systems, and structures to better align with anti-racist values. The review will include, but is not limited to recruiting, hiring, performance evaluation, and compensation; programming; funding; and the effectiveness of employee resources and benefits.

• Host an EDI/anti-racism working discussion forum for board, artists, staff, students, and community members.

• Engage all members of the board, staff, resident acting company, partners, patrons, students, and other community members in our process, including the creation and structural support of affinity groups, without placing the emotional labor of the work on our BIPOC staff and artists.

• Develop a new EDI/anti-racism strategic plan, which will include specifically defining what it means for Trinity Rep to be an antiracist organization with measurable goals, metrics, and reporting systems.

This is a living and dynamic process that will be updated and shared publicly based on our ongoing work and feedback received from within and outside the organization. We invite input on these actions from any member of our community.

We pledge to protect from retribution those who speak out or hold us accountable for this work.

Updates on our progress and specific goals and actions will be published publicly at least once each quarter at trinityrep.com/antiracism.

Specifically, we have committed to: • Establish mandatory formal anti-racism training and an expectation for continued

FROM THE COVER In June 2020, Trinity Rep commissioned local artists to continue the publicart-as-activism activity that began to appear on plywood-covered storefronts and businesses after the Black Lives Matter protests. The protests followed the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others who have yet to receive justice. Kendel Joseph’s portrait of Rep. John Lewis (left), Angela Gonzalez’s portrait of resident acting company member Joe Wilson, Jr. (right), and a work by Jess Brown will be installed at Trinity Rep. More about the artists and their work can be found at trinityrep.com/publicart.

THE TRINITY SQUARE • FALL 2020

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THE TRINITY SQUARE • FALL 2020

High School Exams: December 5 & December 12

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MEET THE STAFF

Michael Guy CREATIVE DIRECTOR Over the years, many of our audience members have gotten to know the actors, front of house staff, and box office representatives whom they see and interact with on a regular basis. Through this magazine feature and our online blog (trinityrep.com/blog), we’ll introduce you to some of the staff whose behindthe-scenes work is also critical to what makes Trinity Rep your home for dramatic discoveries.

Michael Guy is the creative director at Trinity Rep and has worked here for over 45 years! A native of Colorado Springs, CO, Michael studied painting and printmaking at Rhode Island School of Design. After being hired as Trinity Rep’s receptionist right out of college in 1975, he also worked as a scenic artistic and props artisan at Trinity Rep while gradually taking on graphic design duties for the theater starting in 1980.

His role as creative director includes creating the show art you see on posters, as well as supporting the marketing, education, community engagement, and development departments. He also mentors a graphic design intern each year and maintains the company’s archives. In addition to his work at Trinity Rep, he is also an artist whose work is shown at Woodman/Shimko Gallery in Provincetown, MA. While at Trinity Rep as the 2019-20 Season marketing intern, I sat down with Michael this

by Audrey Rowland spring, so we could all get to know him better.

Audrey Rowland: What does it mean to be the creative director at Trinity Rep? Michael Guy: As creative director, I’m responsible for all of the graphic design, the printed materials, and maintenance of the visual branding. I also create assets for social media. Another part of my job is overseeing the graphic design intern, who assists in everything I do and who does the marketing materials for Brown/Trinity Rep and for some of Trinity Rep’s educational programs.

It’s remarkable to me that I became the graphic designer at Trinity Rep — almost by accident, I’m doing exactly what I did in high school when I was on the school publicity committee and active in the drama club.

AR: You’re also a painter. How would you describe your art?

MG: I do realistic art, for the most part. I like figures, I like people. Outside of work, I do my own painting, usually of men at the beach. I paint either in oil or egg tempera.

AR: Out of all the artwork you’ve created for Trinity Rep, do you have any personal favorites?

MG: There are posters for The School for Wives (1990-91) and Rebecca (summer, 1990) that I’m very proud of. Nowadays, using computers, you know what your art is going to look like exactly

when it’s printed. Previously, I couldn’t count on the print coming out the way I wanted it to. So even though those posters aren’t perfect, they represent a lot of thought and a lot of figuring out.

AR: Speaking of art designed specifically for the theater, talk to me about the mural you designed for the lobby.

MG: In 1983, Adrian Hall, the artistic director (1964-1989), wanted a mural for the upstairs lobby and asked me to do something. I thought about it for a long time and composed it in my mind. I wanted it to be pictures of things you could find on a Trinity Rep stage. Music scores, an old sink, raw wood, spilled paint, actors, fabric, vegetables.

There was an American eagle carrying carrots.

There was a television.

A few years ago it was replaced with an extensive display of amazing productions photos curated by our wonderful production photographer, Mark Turek.

AR: What’s a piece of trivia about Trinity Rep most people wouldn’t know?

MG: There are two seventh seasons. One

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day, I was going through old subscription brochures and I noticed that there were two different brochures for season seven for different years. Adjacent years, consecutive years, but different. I think that, in season seven, they decided not to count that first season of plays before Adrian Hall was artistic director, and instead to start counting with his first season. Or someone made a mistake!

AR: If you could give a TED Talk about any topic, what would you talk about?

MG: It would be about looking at the

Cabaret

book by joe masteroff • music by john kander • lyrics by fred ebb based on the play by John van druten and stories by christopher isherwood broadway production directed by harold prince • produced for the broadway stage by harold prince

directed by curt columbus • sept. 11 – oct. 11, 2009 tickets start at just $10 • (401) 351-4242 • www.trinityrep.com 201 washington st. • providence • ri • season sponsor rachael warren photographed by mark turek • design & illustration by michael guy

trinity repertory company

decisions you make in life through the eyes of Ebenezer Scrooge. A little bit like “What Would Jesus Do,” but I would approach decisions like this: is the choice you’re making one that Scrooge would make in Stave One or Stave Five? You have these five levels of decisions you could make, ranging from despicably greedy and self-serving to generous, humanistic, and socially responsible. I think that Staves One through Five should be a way you could organize decision-making in your life. I can’t always live by it, but I keep it in mind.

AR: Do you have any secret or hidden talents?

MG: I was once a bad tap dancer. At RISD, a friend organized big shows twice a year. I was Uncle Sam with 40 Statues of Liberty tap-dancing around me one year.

I made giant foam rubber costumes of Martians and food and undersea creatures that we would dance in. We had a lot of fun.

AR: If you could go back in time and give one piece of advice to yourself as you were just starting out, what would you say?

MG: I used to have a tendency to make snap judgments as to whether or not something could be done. People don’t want to hear that. Bosses don’t want to hear, “I can’t do that.” I learned that if you look at challenges as interesting puzzles to be solved rather than problems that can’t be solved, then you’ll have a better attitude towards work and getting things done.

Thank you for helping us ensure that no one in Rhode Island goes hungry. rifoodbank.org 18

THE TRINITY SQUARE • FALL 2020

401-942-6325

COMMUNITY PARTNER SPOTLIGHT Trinity Rep first partnered with Tink Knit during last year’s production of A Christmas Carol. We instantly fell in love with the mission and the individuals behind the organization and just knew that we wanted to work with them on an ongoing basis.

Tink Knit is a six-year old nonprofit organization run by students from Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design. Students work with low-income single mothers to give them skills and tools to knit hats, and then sell their product online, at the Brown Bookstore, and at pop-up sales throughout Providence. Tink Knit provides the mothers an opportunity to earn money while still being able to spend time with their children.

Mothers receive a paycheck based on the quantity of products they make. They receive $15 per hat, with 40-50% of the retail price going directly back to the knitters. The rest of the profit is used to purchase yarn, replace looms, and cover operation costs. All knit products are made of high-quality Lion Brand yarn and tagged with a metal Tink Knit logo. Inside the hats, you can find a label signed by the knitter.

We started by selling their products alongside our Trinity Rep merchandise during the run of the 2019 holiday show. Our staff loved to tell the story about where the beautiful and cozy knit hats came from. A few months later, we produced

Tink

Knit

A Tale of Two Cities, in which knitting is featured prominently. We reached back out to our new friends at Tink Knit and partnered with them and the Providence Public Library on a knitting circle connected to the show. The first Knitting Circle was held on March 8 — International Women’s Day, and celebrated creativity and self-expression.

The Knitting Circle was such a success that plans were made to gather monthly, but soon all in-person events were postponed, cancelled, or moved online. We were delighted to find that many of our knitters were interested in a virtual knitting circle and the tradition has continued. Some crafters even joined from the West Coast — impressive considering the 11 am Eastern Time start. To get involved with the Knitting Circle, contact Michelle Cruz at mcruz@trinityrep.com.

We look forward to deepening our relationship with Tink Knit over time, especially once we resume productions and can help sell their products once again in our lobby. Find out more about Tink Knit at tink-knit.com.

BELOW L TO R: Tink Knit participants Shani & Latoya

creating hats; the Knitting Circle at Trinity Rep

PHOTO BY MICHELLE CRUZ

PROUD TO SUPPORT

Trinity Rep Federally insured by NCUA

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The missing ingredient… is you!

Trinity Rep and RI Community Food Bank Partnership Gets a Boost from Rhode Island Foundation

S

When you donate to Trinity Rep between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, the Rhode Island Foundation will match it with a gift to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.

Show your support for both organizations by making a gift at trinityrep.com/give.

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THE TRINITY SQUARE • FALL 2020

ince 2006, at the end of every performance of A Christmas Carol, the actor playing Ebenezer Scrooge steps forward and asks the audience to help support the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. As they exit the theater, audience members have looked into their hearts and pockets and dropped coins, bills, and checks into the collection coffers.

Last year, their donation totaled over $60,000 and in total, audience members have contributed over $665,000 to the Food Bank since the tradition began.

As with most things in 2020, our partnership looks a little different this year. With the shift to producing the show online, we didn’t want to lose the opportunity to raise funds and awareness for this extraordinary organization that provides such critical support for our community. Thanks to the Rhode Island Foundation, we have a new way forward.

The Rhode Island Foundation will be matching every gift made to Trinity Rep between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve with a grant to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, up to $60,000.

Thanks to the generosity and leadership of the Rhode Island Foundation, Trinity Rep patrons can support two organizations at the same time!

While contributions to Trinity Rep are always important, they are even more critical at this time when there is no ticket revenue. Likewise, demand for the Food Bank’s services are hitting unprecedented levels and their need is stronger than ever.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank has been distributing food to 68,000 struggling Rhode Islanders each month through a statewide network of 159 member agencies including food pantries, meal sites, shelters, emergency distribution programs and senior centers. This year, the Food Bank distributed 13.8 million pounds of food. The Food Bank is a member of Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. For more information, visit www.rifoodbank.org.

What We’re Reading E

ven though we can’t share plays on the stage at the moment, we are suckers for a good story and have been doing a lot of reading lately. Here are some recommendations from our staff and actors. To have your recommendations featured in a future issue, email them to communications@trinityrep.com.

Stephen Berenson, resident acting company: Although it’s been difficult for me to read plays since mid-March, I’ve been able to immerse myself in books of all kinds and have found it refreshing to hear other voices every day. Many of us are using this time to more fully unpack issues of equity and diversity. In this area, I strongly recommend Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Isabel Wilkerson. Her analogy of race in America with the caste system in India and the hierarchy in German concentration camps is brilliant anthropology beautifully written.

For anyone who has ever loved a pet, I suggest Steven Rowley’s novel, Lily and the Octopus.

This is a funny, truly touching story of a man and his dachshund, Lily, who has an octopus attached to her head. I also recommend John Boyne’s The Heart’s Invisible Furies, a laugh-out-loud epic covering sixty years about an Irishman and the endless coincidences that form the events of his life.

Kate Brandt, director of marketing and communications: Back when I was commuting to the theater, I listened to a lot of audio books.

This one made me hope for a traffic jam and extra time in the car. The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer combines a haunting World War II story of survival and love with a modern journey of a woman trying to better understand her family.

Jordan Butterfield, director of education and accessibility: I recommend The Inheritance by Matthew Lopez. This play is one of the longest I’ve ever read and I consumed it in one sitting, unable to put it down. I felt immersed in the world. It reads like a good novel (it’s based on Howards End, after all...) but with the theatricality of a well-constructed play.

Jen Canole, director of development: I recommend The Library Book (2018). Author Susan Orlean uses the entry point of the 1986 Los Angeles Public Library fire to explore how libraries

have evolved over the years. Compelling for its true crime elements (the case is still unsolved), the book beautifully captures the importance of public squares and gathering places in our society and sheds light on the less visible services and impact that cultural organizations have on their communities.

Curt Columbus, artistic director: I’ve been reading a lot of poetry, including the following collections Mary Oliver’s A Thousand Mornings, And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou, and Everyone at This Party Has Two Names by Brad Aaron Modlin.

Brad Delzer, major gifts officer: I recommend the play Dutchman by Amiri Baraka. As electric as when it premiered in 1964 (and was also a part of Trinity Rep’s 1964 summer season), this taut allegory about the state of race in America at the height of the civil rights movement — a time of political upheaval not unlike the one we’re in now - remains both resonant and terrifying.

David Mer ten, MFA acting student: My current favorite book is The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. It is a sprawling and beautifully intersectional and human story about what it means to forge community and fight for love in the face of personal tragedy. Set both in the AIDS stricken gay community of Chicago 1985 and Paris, France in 2015, this book shows us two separate, but ever-connected main characters who are devastated, but never defeated by their circumstances. It’s an incredible story of the power of chosen family and choosing life and love over death and defeat. (Editor’s Note: This book was quite popular and also appeared on other people’s lists.)

Anne Scurria, resident ac ting company: I would recommend reading August Wilson’s plays in order. Also, we just read The Bald Soprano in class and it was good fun.

The Mojo and The Sayso by Aisha Rahman was written in 1989 and could have been written yesterday.

Gayle Ulrich, general manager: This summer, I brought 17 books on vacation with me to a cabin on Moosehead Lake in Maine. I read one. Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson is a great book to read when confined because you need to go with Ms. Jackson into the world she creates. Every detail matters. Hangsaman was written in 1951 about a young woman leaving an oppressive family for the glorious freedom of attending an all-girls private college. What is real and what is her imagination continuously intermingles forcing you to stop, go back, and reread looking for clues. If you enjoy a theater experience that has you looking forward to the conversation in the car on the way home so you can all try to figure out just what it was you just saw, this book will get you.

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Helping children find their voices with an integrated arts curriculum that begins at age three

Gordon is proud of its longstanding partnership with Trinity Rep and both organizations’ shared commitment to advancing the role of the arts in education and society.

Nursery through eighth grade 26

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East Providence, RI

gordonschool.org