2021–2022 THEATRE AND MUSIC FALL THEATRE SEASON
Passage By Christopher Chen Directed by Bonnie Metzgar and Ashley O’Neill SCENIC DESIGN COSTUME DESIGN
Collette Pollard*
Myron Elliot*
LIGHTING DESIGN
Jackie Fox
SOUND DESIGN PROPERTIES MASTER VOICE AND DIALECTS DIRECTOR MOVEMENT DIRECTOR STAGE MANAGER
Nathan LaBranche Nina D’Agier Jason Martin Rachelle Tsachor Cecilia Aguirre
Run time: 2 hours including a 5-10 minute intermission
*Denotes U.S.A. Member
CAST G
Q B
H
Lauren Littlejohn
F
Rose Mozier Jack Welshons
Mosquito/Gecko/J/D
Sol Fuller Vibyana Sacluti
R O
Melody Lou
Tyler Sherrod Francisco Rodriguez
UNDERSTUDIES
H and Q
Subira Mitchell
O and F
Townes Genovese
R
B G
Mosquito/Gecko/J/D
Stephen Decker
Aileen Moreno
Ashley O’Neill Francisco Rodriguez
ARTISTIC & DESIGN STAFF DANCE & MOVEMENT CAPTAINS HOOP-OGRAPHY
Rose Mozier & Tyler Sherrod
Ashley O’Neill
PRODUCTION STAFF PRODUCTION MANAGER TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Erin Freeman* Hannah Holmes-Robbins
COSTUME SHOP MANAGER
Stephanie Cluggish*
MASTER ELECTRICIAN
Michael Trudeau
AUDIO SUPERVISOR
Ryan Ingebritsen
SCENIC CHARGE ARTIST
Rebecca Thompson
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER LIGHTING PROGRAMMER & BOARD OPERATOR
Isa Pardilla
Molly Garrison
AUDIO ENGINEER Jared Ortega A2 & BOARD OPERATOR DECK & PROPERTIES CREW WARDROBE CREW
Anna Marek Angelina Davila, Paloma Lozanzo, Alyssa Morales, Jordan Montgomery Lace Burwell, Chastity Garland, Elizabeth Nahulak, Britany Pearson
DECK ELECTRICIANS
Reagan Stevenson, Abigail Stott
*Denotes U.S.A. Member
PRODUCTION STAFF (Cont.) CARPENTER Bobby Noe STUDENT CARPENTERS & PAINTERS Maddie Abelson, Jacob Clinkscales, Danny Dobrowolski, Jeff Donnan, Rachel Hawkins, Bryan Martinez, Subira Mitchell, Tyler Sherrod, Tseela Sokolin-Maimon, Fernando Rosales PRODUCTION ELECTRICIANS
Michael Barahura, Molly Garrison, Jonah White, Duncan Hon
FIRST HAND
Colleen Taylor
MILLINERY & E-WIRE SCULPTING COSTUME SHOP ASSISTANTS STUDENT STITCHERS
Hannah Bledstein Eabha Dunne, Jocelyn Garcia
Jocelyn Arrieta, Jin Bai, Youjin Chun, Jackie McBride, Jesse Wiesenthal
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF COORDINATOR OF THEATRE OPERATIONS BOX OFFICE ASST. MANAGERS HOUSE MANAGERS
Neal J. McCollam
Olivia MacGowan, Teri Lopez Michael Fletcher, Jeff Donnan
BOX OFFICE AND FOH STAFF Anna Bernhardsgruetter, Jeff Donnan, Izareza Rodriguez, Emma Sheffey, Mila Sweeny
Jocelyn Arrieta,
PLEASE JOIN US FOR A POST-SHOW TALK PANEL DISCUSSIONS Join us for free post-show panel discussions with the artists and special guests curated by UIC faculty member Richard Corley. Discussions will be held on our east courtyard, near Morgan street and Harrison. See post show topics and dates below. Hunchback of Seville Date 10/10 Topics Colonialism, Comedy, and the Madcap Nightmare of History. Passage Date 10/17 Topics Journeys Across Borders, Meditations on Power and Xenophobia.
PASSAGE is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York. PASSAGE had its New York Premiere at Soho Rep (Sarah Benson, Artistic Director; Cynthia Flowers, Executive Director) Originally produced by the Wilma Theater, Philadelphia, PA (Blanka Zizka, Artistic Director) PASSAGE was presented as part of the Contemporary American Voices Festival at Long Wharf Theatre, 2017 Developed with support from The Ground Floor at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Berkeley, CA
Directors’ Note The history of humans on Planet Earth reveals the lust for power over one another. Since the dawn of time, humans have attacked and conquered their neighbors, stolen their land, their food, their children, their dignity. The attackers take over and force the original inhabitants to bend to their rule. This is called colonization. We can tell American history through the lens of colonization. The United States started as colonies – lands stolen from Native Americans by monarchies in Europe, then settled by white Europeans, many of them commoners. What we call “the American Revolution” is really first, second and third generation European commoners throwing off their European monarchs – but are the Native Americans free of their colonizers? Colonization is complicated. In the play PASSAGE, Country X has been colonized by Country Y for years. There are safe, Y-gentrified “mainstream” neighborhoods where many Y tourists choose to stay, but inevitably, X-ers and Y-ers have to mix – at work, in restaurants, in chance encounters. But can two people from different cultures ever really be friends? With different biases and levels of privilege, can we ever truly trust each other, or love one another? And what about on your worst day, confronted by your worst fears? Would you stay with me? And what if you had to risk your own body, your own safety, when I was threatened? Would you stay with me still? Why the hula hoop, you might ask? The eternal circle? There’s the earthly landscape and then there’s the inner topography. How does it feel to be colonized? And what does it do to your relationships beyond other humans, to the cosmos and to the spirit? When the Greeks would watch a play outside at night, they were surrounded by what they understood to be “the Cosmos”. The harmonious workings of the universe. They believed that first there was chaos, and then the cosmos was born. So no matter what terrible tragedy would befall the
humans onstage, the universe would continue, the plan-
ets would spin, the cycles would persist, forever giving all bodies, heavenly and human, the chance to begin anew. Ashley O’Neill and Bonnie Metzgar
Land Acknowledgment The UIC School of Theatre and Music sits on the traditional homeland of the original peoples of the area: the Three Fires Confederacy - the Potawatomi, Odawa, and Ojibwe Nations as well as the Menominee and Ho-Chunk who—along with many Indigenous people—were among its first inhabitants. With respect and gratitude, The School of Theatre and Music honors the many Native Americans who have, do, and will call this land their home. STM acknowledges that we have benefited from the repeated attacks on Native Americans that forced tribal representatives to sign the 1816 Treaty of St Louis, relinquishing to the U.S. all claims of the land from Lake Michigan to the Illinois River. This land seizure led to the era of economic development and rapid growth that made Chicago the metropolis that it is today. We have an obligation to our students and the nearly 65,000 Native Americans now living in Chicago to do no further harm, to amplify Native voices, and to fight for equity and inclusion by engaging in anti-racism policies and practices. For us, this work begins with this statement, and must be followed by actions that immediately affect our work and life on campus.
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Don’t Miss The Hunchback of Seville By Charise Castro Smith Directed by Yasen Peyankov and David Hernandez
Colonialism, Comedy, and a Madcap Nightmare 10/8
10/10
10/14
10/16
10/20
10/22
7pm
7pm
7pm
7pm
7pm
7pm
Charise Castro Smith is a Cuban-American writer from Miami, Florida. She has written for theatre, television and film, and is known for her unique style of thriller-comedy, or as she calls it “Thrillody.” UIC Students/Staff (with valid icard): $5 High School Students: $5 Seniors: $10 General: $15 UIC Theatre 1044 W Harrison Chicago, IL 60607 Join the Conversation! Review us on Facebook #UIC Theatre
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