B y D i a n a Ly n n S m a ll directed By Jess Hutchinson
March 27–April 3, 2015 O s c a r G . B r o c k e t t T h e at r e T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f T e x a s a t Au s t i n + D e p a r t m e n t o f T h e a t r e a n d D a n c e
a n e w p l ay B y D i a n a Ly n n S m a l l March 27, 28, April 2, 3 at 7:30 pm March 28, 29 at 2:00 pm
Oscar G. Brockett Theatre F. Loren Winship Building
utexas.edu/finearts/tad
THIS PRO DUCTIO N WAS CREATED IN CO LLAB ORATION BY THESE ARTISTS (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER):
Rachel Alulis – Lighting Designer • Lawrence Bennett – Technical Director Jess Hutchinson – Director • Jasmine Kurys – Stage Manager • Michael Krauss – Set Designer Mercedes O’Bannion – Costume Designer • Bart Pitchford – Sound Designer Diana Lynn Small – Playwright
c ast Beard ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Jay Byrd Jessie ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Jen Coy Bullseye ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Trey Curtis Smiles ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Cosme Flores Jr. Woman ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Hollin Haley Cora ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Cassie Reveles Judah ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Gage Robinson Sara ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Rama Tchuente Ted ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Eli Weinberg Ensemble ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������Julie Bauer, Carson Campbell, Bailey Figueroa, Hannah Holub, Marian Kansas, Adolfo Lambert, Kat Lozano, Luke Mire, Reed Dryden Neal, Emily Jane Ochoa, Caitlyn Thibodeaux, Shae Tomlinson, Emily Vialpando There will be one 10 minute intermission.
note f r om t h e d i re ctor My family is on a bona-fide adventure and all I can think about is a kitten. I’m eight years old and my father returned from a 15-month remote assignment in South Korea just in time to help pack all our things in a truck. As an Air Force brat, I’m no stranger to moving, but I’ve gotten comfortable in this small Iowa town, just down the road from my mother’s parents, an hour from my father’s. So, to smooth the transition, Mom and Dad try old timey bribery: when we get to our new home in California, they tell me, we will adopt the kitten of my choice. So we say goodbye to my grandparents, all of whom will be dead before I’m 25, but all I’m thinking is “kitten kitten kitten kitten.” I see Mount Rushmore for the first – so far, only – time: “maybe an orange one with a pink nose.” The Rocky Mountains sweep up in front of me, the Grand Canyon dives down below: “we will NEVER get to California this is the worst oh my gosh her paws will be SO TINY.” In California, we find better-than-expected Base housing and a brand new litter at the no-kill shelter. There are two sisters – one black, one gray, with matching white feet. We don’t adopt a kitten that day. We adopt them both. And California reveals itself to me as a magical land of possibility, opportunity and damn fine luck. I was neither the first nor the last to feel sweet dreams of a new life pull me hypnotically, myopically across our nation. In the mid-1800’s, people from around the world with a hunger for riches, pleasure, and adventure pushed further and further into the frontier, writing our long-held mythology of the American West as a place where you can redefine yourself and live your thrilling life on your own terms. Today, if any town still holds the spirit that brought thousands to the edge of the known universe full of golden fever in 1849, it’s Austin, Texas. Who are the artists, technophiles and entrepreneurs streaming into our city each day if not a new flood of prospectors looking to strike gold and reinvent themselves? Captured in daguerreotype and letters or SnapChat and status updates, human animals will always seek the new, running to the next frontier that promises fortune, fame or glory – in golden or fur-covered form. We constantly find ourselves on the edge of the unknown. New frontiers always challenge and charge us to be honest with each other and ourselves. So, what about you? In this moment, what’s the frontier you’re faced with? What’s the thing you’d push everything else aside to grab hold of? And what would have to happen before you’d let it go?
The Department of Theatre and Dance is a world-class educational environment that serves as the ultimate creative incubator for the next generation of artists, thinkers and leaders in theatre and performance.
note fr om t h e p l ayw righ t I’m All the Qualities that Make a Good Wife Grief is neither a handicap nor a late start because our country’s not on the same page about death. We don’t know what to expect from a funeral and “a coffin or an urn?” Buried, mantled, or scattered we don’t know what to do with the body. In life too. I do not wish for my body to be an inconvenience to me. I do not wish to look at my body and imagine I’ve got a mind outside of it. I look down at my arms and I harass, “You don’t appreciate that tattoo I got you. You’re useless. Stop covering yourself with tiny melanomas and toughen up.” I wish to make a motion for more being looked at. And let me look at you, and by that I mean your body and beneath your body. My friend’s just confessed to me she’s got a monster hiding-out in her insides. I’ve got a whole village of monsters so I rush to her in Los Angeles and after enough tea and shuffles in our chairs and talking around the obvious, I say, “F**k it. Let’s take these monsters out for a walk.” And so we do. Along the boulevards, against that lemonhead sun, we pronounce: “We have monsters, on leashes, sniffing each other, healthy with strong teeth and thick hind legs.” Good God, we don’t even need to hold them tight by the collars. These devils are pleased to go to nowhere on our command. They are the figureheads on our reckless ships. Only, no— they are our monsters, taking a long, heavy piss on LA’s glittering sidewalk. I direct my monsters’ gaze towards the coast, “That ocean’s more dangerous than you.” I direct my gaze at the God who is inside me, who holes up with my monsters, You are the sunblock. You are the hot churro. You are the stain on my hands, orange like birds of paradise. . . . continued
To legs. To exodus. To the hot beating air. “Let’s cut off all our hair!” “I’ve never loved my husband!” And my friend’s monster leaps and chomps a hunk of flesh from her neck. And my friend is wincing a little. I didn’t know the monsters could do that. I had to leave Los Angeles. I do not wish for my body to be afraid. Back in Texas I feed my monsters all the good stuff— a letter to my mother, swimming holes, whole milk and let me look at you. And by that I mean things are going OK in I’m-Not-Afraid-of-Inside-Me. In Texas. Two birds land on my dusty lawn. They roll around like water about to boil.
—Diana Lynn Small
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c ast
Julia Bauer
Jay Byrd
Carson Campbell
Baylie Figueroa
Cosme Flores Jr.
Hollin Haley
Adolfo Lambert
Kat Lozano
Luke Mire
Reed Dryden Neal
Emily Jane Ochoa
Cassie Reveles
Gage Robinson
Rama Tchuente
Caitlyn Thibodeaux
Shae Tomlinson
Emily Vialpando
Jen Coy
Hannah Holub
Eli Weinberg
Trey Curtis
Marian Kansas
c r e at i v e t e a m R ac he l A lu l i s (Lighting Designer) is originally from Chicago, Illinois. She recently worked with The Moving Company in their creation of original work, Refugia, and is currently working with Diana Lynn Small on Mad & a Goat, which will be part of The Cohen New Works Festival 2015. Past credits include work with La Brigata Theatre Company, Redmoon Theatre and Prop Theatre. She received a B.A. from The College of the Holy Cross and is an M.F.A. Design and Technology candidate with a focus in lighting design, currently in her third year at The University of Texas at Austin. Law re n c e B e nne t t (Technical Director)
hails from Houston, Texas by way of Chicago, Illinois. He received his B.F.A. from the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University and his M.F.A. from The University of Wisconsin in technical direction and theatre technology, respectively. Bennett has been the technical director and lighting designer at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, as well as the technical director at the University of South Florida. He has also worked at a variety of summer stock productions across the country, including Williamstown Theatre Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival and the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Jess Hu tc h i n s on (Director) is a theatre
director and dramaturg who loves new plays and lives in Austin, Texas. She is currently pursuing her M.F.A. in Directing at The University of Texas at Austin, where she has had the pleasure of collaborating with several playwrights on projects like ‘ratio, Lyla School, 70 Secrets of Marmalade Kittens and 100 Heartbreaks. Also within the Department of Theatre and Dance, she directed A Streetcar Named Desire and Dead Man’s Cell Phone. Jess spent five years as artistic director of Chicago’s New Leaf Theatre, where her favorite productions were a mix of world premieres and re-imagined classics, including Arcadia, Burying Miss America, The Man Who Was Thursday, and The Dining Room. www.jesshutchinson.com
Jas mine Kurys (Stage Manager) is a
second-year B.A. Theatre and Dance major with a focus in stage management. Her past stage management work includes The Trojan Woman and Dance Repertory Theatre’s Kinesthetic Imperative. She has continued her mentorship with Eric Tysniger in New York City; shadowing him on Sting’s new Broadway production, The Last Ship. M ic h ael Krauss (Set Designer) is in
his second year as an M.F.A. Design and Technology candidate with a focus in scenic design. His recent works include Advance Man (UTNT), The Pillowman and Fame The Musical (Department of Theatre and Dance) and Refugia (Department of Theatre and Dance/The Moving Company). He is also working on Pirandello for The Cohen New Works Festival this spring. M erc ede s O’B a nn i on (Costume Designer) is a 2015 M.F.A. Design and Technology candidate with a focus in costume design. She has designed costumes for Our Country’s Good, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Refugia (The University of Texas at Austin). Other projects include Church of the Passionate Cat (Underbelly Theatre Company) and Bright Now Beyond (Salvage Vanguard Theatre). She is currently working on her thesis installation, This Emotional Closet, for The Cohen New Works Festival in April. Bart Pitch for d (Sound Designer) is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Theatre and Dance. His research focuses on the reimagining of citizenship and political identity through performance in Syrian refugee camps. Pitchford has worked throughout the theatre, including serving as technical director for Foothill Theatre Company in Nevada City, California and as the sound designer for performances in Louisiana, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, West Virginia and Ohio. D iana Lynn Sm a ll (Playwright) writes, acts and directs for the stage. She is
c r e at i v e t e a m a songwriter and singer. Small is an M.F.A. candidate in the Michener Center for Writers at The University of Texas at Austin, focusing on playwriting and poetry. She’s made new theatre with the Department of Theatre and Dance (Good Day, Suspicious Dinner, Be Still and Know Nothing), Westmont College (Muéveme Muévete, Beauty Bomb, They Must Be Wings, Jupiter I Love You, Songs for Girls, Hunting is for Lovers), Theatre Masters (Dogfight), the
Santa Barbara Museum of Art (We’re Still Kids), Ratatat Theater Group (Nina in the Morning), FronteraFest (Mad & a Goat) and ZACH Theatre (Dream: A Midsummer Forrest Tour). Small was an artist in residence at Tofte Lake Center in Ely, MN in 2014. She’s also a member of the Lit Moon Theatre Company. She grew up in Martinez, California three miles south of the Shell Oil Plant and three miles east of the John Muir Historic House.
DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL The Department of Theatre and Dance Director’s Council is a premier volunteer group designed to foster strong and collaborative connections between The University of Texas at Austin and the local community by supporting initiatives in marketing, public relations, student recruitment and development. As advocates for the department, this group of alumni, parents and fine arts supporters play a key role in continuing to build a professional theatre and dance training program serving thousands of talented Texans for generations.
2014–2015 Director’s Council Members: Carol Smith Adams Francesca Brockett and Jim Pedicano Barrett Bruce Jean Cheever Joanne and Jack Crosby Dee Dawson Gary Farmer JoLynn Free Pam and Edmund McIlhenny Annie McKinnon
Debbie Oliver Miriam Relyea Russ Sartain Nancy Scanlan Marc Seriff Laura Sheffield Karen Skolnik Leah Stolar Sharon Watkins
c ast Ju l ia Bau e r (Ensemble) was last seen
Baylie Figuer oa (Ensemble) is a first-
as “Lea” in DNA (Capital T Theatre). Other acting credits include “Jules” in Karlstad (UT New Theatre), “Hecuba” in The Trojan Woman (Department of Theatre and Dance) and “Horatio” in ‘ratio (UT New Theatre). She is a sophomore at The University of Texas at Austin pursuing a B.F.A. in Acting.
year B.F.A. Theatre Studies major. She was recently seen in the Round About Player’s production of When The Rain Stops Falling as “Older Elizabeth Law.”
Jay By rd (Beard) was most recently seen
in Salvage Vanguard Theater’s Thr3e Zisters (a zombie take on the classic). He has also performed with the Rude Mechs, Rubber Rep and Paper Chairs, among other local companies, as well as in several children’s shows at the Scottish Rite Theater and Pat Hazell’s A Kodachrome Christmas. C a rs on C a m p b e l l (Ensemble) is a
fourth-year student in the Department of Theatre and Dance. She graduated in May of 2014 with her B.A. in Theatre and Dance from The University of Texas at Austin with a focus in acting, and is currently pursuing a degree in Theatre Studies. Her past acting credits with the department include “Lucille” in Dearly Departed, “Jenny McGrath” in The Sparrow, “Woman” in Talk To Me Like The Rain and Let Me Listen, and as a member of the ensemble in The Trojan Women. Jen Coy (Jessie) was recently seen as “Katelyn” in Still Now and “Dogberry” in Much Ado About Nothing. Recent department performances include “Dr. Beltram” in Still Now and “Sister Alice” in River City. Coy is a five-time B. Iden Payne Award nominee for musical theatre and comedic performances. Tr e y Cur t i s (Bullseye) is a sophomore pursuing a B.F.A. in Acting at The University of Texas at Austin. His most recent performances include In The Heights as “Usnavi” and Fame The Musical as “Schlomo Metzenbaum.” He is currently working on a piece entitled Life, Love, and What I Lost for The Cohen New Works Festival 2015.
Cos me Flores J r . (Smiles) is a first-year student pursuing a B.F.A. in Acting. He was last seen at The Bridge Festival playing “Donnie” in Senor Superior and the Case of the Missing Sun Locket. Cosme will also be performing in the play The Rainbow Connection in The Cohen New Works Festival later this spring. After graduating, Flores plans to pursue a career in acting on stage and in film. Hollin Haley (Woman) is a B.A. Theatre
and Dance major with a focus in performance. Her stage credits at The University of Texas at Austin include “Helen of Troy” in The Trojan Women and “Reclaiming C*nt” in The Vagina Monologues. She has also appeared in several short films connected to the university. Hannah Holub (Ensemble) is a senior B.A. Theatre and Dance student with a focus in acting at The University of Texas at Austin. She has been acting and dancing since the age of four and has hopes to become a professional film actress. In her next project, she will be a supporting role in the Austin-based production company, Twitchy Dolphin Flix’s latest independent feature film, Last Beautiful Girl. M arian Kansas (Ensemble) is a third-
year dual major with a B.S. in Advertising and a B.A. in Theatre and Dance with a focus in directing. She has been an active member of the student organization Round About Players as an actor, director and officer. Her most recent work includes acting as the dramaturg for Refugia, a collaboration between the Department of Theatre and Dance and The Moving Company. Ado lfo Lamber t (Ensemble) is a thirdyear B.A. Theatre and Dance major from San Antonio, Texas. He has worked in several shows in
c ast San Antonio and Austin’s community and school theatres including: Macbeth (“Macbeth”) and Poor Boys’ Chorus (“Poor Boy 1”). He was recently awarded Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as “Scotty” in Evil Dead: The Musical.
Gage Rob inson (Judah) is a second-
Kat Loza no (Ensemble) is a first-year B.F.A. Acting major. She is currently working on a devised project, Kinderliminal, which will open later this spring.
Rama Tc h uente (Sara) is a first-year
Luk e M ir e (Ensemble) is a first-year B.F.A. Acting major at The University of Texas at Austin. This is his first performance with the department.
Caitlyn Th i bodeaux (Ensemble) is a fourth-year B.A. Theatre and Dance student with a second major in Business Marketing. She was recently involved in When the Rain Stops Falling by Andrew Bovell and The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh.
Reed Dryden Neal (Ensemble) Originally from Wimberley, Texas, Reed is a first-year B.A. Theatre and Dance major focusing in scenic design and performance. Recent university credits include University Theatre Guild’s The Laramie Project and The Real Thing; Round About Players’ Wildflower and The Heidi Chronicles; and Alpha Psi Omega’s No Llores and Push Up. He is also in the process of designing work for The Cohen New Works Festival, coming to campus this spring. Em ily Ja n e O c h oa (Ensemble) has been involved with community theatre since the age of seven. She performed in fall shows throughout high school and was involved with One Act Play competitions. She is currently pursuing a B.F.A. in Theatre Studies. C ass i e R e v e l e s (Cora) is a third-year
student with a focus in acting and playwriting. Her past performances include Abe Koogler’s Advance Man and Underbelly’s Church of the Passionate Cat. Reveles has also appeared on MTV and the El Paso local news. Her 10-minute play, Denmark, was also featured at this year’s Bridge Festival.
year student pursuing a B.F.A. in Acting at The University of Texas at Austin. His recent credits include Gruesome Playground Injuries, The Bedroom Plays and The Trojan Women.
student at The University of Texas at Austin pursuing a B.F.A. in Acting. This is her first mainstage show within the department.
Sh ae Tomlinson (Ensemble) is a senior B.A. Theatre and Dance student with a dual major in Radio-Television-Film. Her recent credits include “Ayla” in UTNT’s production of ‘ratio and “Tina” in the webseries Big Kids. She will also be participating in The Rainbow Connection as part of The Cohen New Works Festival later this spring. After graduating in August, she plans to pursue a career in acting and producing for film. Emily Vialpa ndo (Ensemble) is a secondyear B.F.A. Acting student at The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance. Vialpando was recently seen in When the Rain Stops Falling with Round About Players and The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood with Alpha Psi Omega. Eli We inbe r g (Ted) is a first-year student
pursuing a B.F.A. in Acting at The University of Texas at Austin, hailing from the windy city of Chicago, Illinois. Last year he performed in the University Theatre Guild’s production of The Laramie Project.
THE COHEN NEW WORKS FESTIVAL
The University of Texas at Austin/Department of Theatre and Dance
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F. LOREN WINSHIP DRAMA BUILDING
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April 13 –17 Student Works Brought to Light
30+ shows. all new. all free.
newworksfestival.org
F /utnewworks I @utnewworks L @utnewworks 04.03–04.17.2015
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Sites in and around the Winship Drama Building
crew ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERS ALLISON GARRET DACK JUSTIZ ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER YI-TAI CHUNG ASSISTANT COSTUME DESIGNER E.L. HOHN ASSISTANT SCENIC DESIGNER MADISON RUSS SCENE SHOP SUPERVISOR J.E. JOHNSON MASTER CARPENTER HANK SCHWEMMER LEAD CARPENTERS KATE VAUGHN PROPERTIES SUPERVISOR REBECCA SWITZER PROPERTIES ASSISTANT SUPERVISOR RIKKI PEREZ PROP STOCK MANAGER VICTORIA SOLORIO PROPS ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT VICTORIA SOLORIO PROPS ASSISTANT YONGMIN LEE SCENERY/PROPS CREW KEVIN AYALA NICOLAS GARZA CAMERON MELLIN COSTUME SHOP SUPERVISOR PATRICIA M. RISSER DRAPERS BETTY CHLYSTEK SARAH LANKENAU COSTUME SHOP PROJECT MANAGER DARCY WEBERG COSTUME CONSTRUCTION CREW TYLER CLARK JASMINE GROFF SAMANTHA PAVICH SARA ROBILLARD LYDIA SAENZ
WARDROBE CREW SUPERVISOR ALISON REID
AUDIO SUPERVISOR MIKE MALAK
WARDROBE CREW TINA FLORES GRAINNE MORGAN OKTAVEA WILLIAMS
AUDIO BOARD OPERATOR KEVIN JACAMAN
COSTUME CRAFTS SUPERVISOR TANYA OLALDE COSTUME CRAFT ASSISTANT E.L. HOHN
DIRECTING ADVISOR SARAH RASMUSSEN STAGE MANAGEMENT ADVISOR RUSTY CLOYES COSTUME DESIGN ADVISOR SUSAN MICKEY
COSTUME SHOP OFFICE ASSISTANTS MATTHEW HERNANDEZ MORGYN UTZMAN
COSTUME TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR JAMES GLAVAN
COSTUME STOCK SUPERVISOR PATRICIA M. RISSER
LIGHTING DESIGN ADVISOR MICHELLE HABECK
COSTUME STOCK MANAGER ANDIE DAY
INTEGRATED MEDIA DESIGN ADVISOR SVEN ORTEL
MASTER ELECTRICIANS SEB BOONE MIKELA COWAN
SCENIC DESIGN ADVISORS WILLIAM BLOODGOOD RICHARD ISACKES
LIGHTING DESIGN TEACHING ASSISTANTS ANDREW CARSON YI-TAI CHUNG KATE DUCEY LACEY ERB CHIAN-ANN LU PO-YANG SUNG
ACADEMIC PRODUCTION MANAGER DAVID STEWART
TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS LIGHTING SUPERVISOR JEFF ELLINGER TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS ELECTRICS CREW ERICA AYALA LAUREN GALLUP NOLAN THOMAS ALLIE VAN NIMAN SHIMSHON ADAM ZEEVI SAM ZUCKERMAN THEATRE AND DANCE STUDENT ELECTRICS CREW LINDSAY KELLY LUKE LINSTEADT SOMMER NEUGEBAUER SCARLET ROBERTSON
PHOTOGRAPHERS DANIEL CAVAZOS LAWRENCE PEART GRAPHIC DESIGNER MORGAN BATHE SPECIAL THANKS Bill Brands Andrew Carlson Will Davis Steven Dietz Liz EngELman Rosalind Faires Brian Kettler Kirk Lynn Arianna Nelson Madeleine Oldham Meredith Patute and the Oakland Museum of California Lindy Pearring Sarah Rasmussen Patrick Shaw Eva Suter Katie Van Winkle
LIGHT BOARD OPERATOR DANA ARISMENDEZ
WIG AND MAKEUP SPECIALIST ALLISON LOWERY
*The build and installation of this production was done in collaboration with the cast and crew.