U T N T E H W E A T R E
_ GALACTIC ORPHANS By Megan Tabaque
U T N T
UT New Theatre Curated by Liz Engelman and Steven Dietz
03.02–03.12.2017 B. Iden Payne Theatre
GALACTIC ORPHANS By Megan Tabaque Directed by Graham Schmidt
MARCH 2, 5, 10 AT 7:30 P.M.
B. IDEN PAYNE THEATRE F. LOREN WINSHIP BUILDING
THEATREDANCE.UTEXAS.EDU UTNT (UT New Theatre) is made possible through the generous support of the Michener Center for Writers and the College of Fine Arts’ Department of Theatre and Dance.
THIS PRODUCTION WAS CREATED IN COLLABORATION BY THESE ARTISTS: Camryn de Wet – Scenic Designer . Steven Dietz – Curator . Liz Engelman – Curator Kaiwen Fa – Projection . J.E. Johnson – Technical Director . Jasmine Kurys – Production Manager Mercedes Trinidad McCleary – Lighting Designer . Roxy Mojica – Associate Scenic Designer Phillip Owen – Sound Designer . Lirit Pendell – Costume Designer Kate Proietti – Community Engagement Project Lead . Graham Schmidt – Director Joshua Secor – Stage Manager . Megan Tabaque – Playwright Ally Tufenkjian – Community Engagement Coordinator
CAST (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE) Cory �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Audrey Gerthoffer Ted �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Eli Weinberg Catara ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Emma Center Elokora ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Tori Robertson Ri ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Jose Alejandro Figueroa There will be no intermission.
NOTE FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT I started writing Galactic Orphans almost ten years ago. Although video game technology has made ground-breaking innovations since then, the fandom, escape, connection and community created through gaming has persisted. I grew up playing video games with my mother, my father, my brother and my friends. It’s something we all did together. In gaming, we fought, screamed and celebrated; felt defeat, confusion and loss; persisted through world’s that felt impossible and felt victory in dark times. In games, we lived. Galactic Orphans is a coming-of-age story set in a chapter of life where so many of us must do a lot of living for the first time. It is my love letter to a community and culture that I treasure and is filled with gratitude to my younger brother, my most beloved controller #2. Play on.
NOTE FROM THE CURATORS In this, the tenth year of UTNT (UT New Theatre), we celebrate, once again, the zest and guile of new work and its ability to feed our theatrical art form. The theatre is not a lake, it is a spring; not a finite container, but a living form in motion, filling constantly from below. These plays, by our ascendant third-year M.F.A. in Playwriting candidates, are a testament to this ongoing theatrical regeneration. Here is work that lays claim to wide swaths of our imagination and consciousness. Here are plays that do not seek to “share” something with you (they have more gristle than that) – but instead seek to delight and disrupt you; to turn the familiar inquiry of the familiar “play” on its head. What’s more, we are fiercely proud that virtually every name in this playbill is that of a student – undergraduate and graduate, from all theatrical disciplines. This diverse array of young artists and scholars have come together to bring you, here in Austin, something both new and singular: an artisanal creation, a bespoke encounter, a one-time real-time event. Lean in. Enjoy. Thank you for being here. Steven Dietz and Liz Engelman, Curators
For updates and behind the scenes access, follow us on
FACEBOOK /uttad
INSTAGRAM @uttadaustin
TWITTER @uttad
CREATIVE CAMRYN DE WET (Scenic Designer) received her B.F.A. in Production Design from Savannah College of Art and Design. After graduating, she worked as a designer and technician for theatres such as Vive Les Arts and GLOW Lyric Theatre. While continuing her work in theatre, de Wet also created the set dressing for a series of independent film projects including Blue Goggles’ Last Girl Standing. LIZ ENGELMAN (Curator) is the head of Playwriting and Directing at The Univeristy of Texas at Austin and the director of Tofte Lake Center, a creative retreat for artists of all disciplines. Engelman has worked at Hedgebrook, Mixed Blood, ACT and Intiman Theatres and Actors Theatre of Louisville. She has served as president, board chair and is a current board member of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA) as well as an ambassador-at-large for the National New Play Network (NNPN). KAIWEN FA (Projection Designer) is a first-year M.F.A. in Design and Technology candidate with a focus in integrated media for live performance. Originally from China, Fa earned a B.A. in Theatre and Dance from the Department of Theatre and Dance at The University of Texas at Austin. During his time with the department he worked on several projects including RE/ connect (The Cohen New Works Festival, 2015), Refugia (2015), Bodies & Souls (2016). He also co-designed projection designs for Pathways (2015) with Lacey Erb. Most recently he served as the assistant projection designer for Little Women The Broadway Musical (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2016). J.E. JOHNSON (Technical Director) grew up in McPherson, Kansas and has shepherded over 100 productions through one of the nation’s largest university scenic studios at Texas Performing Arts. He has adapted his apprenticebased approach to teach children how to construct functioning clocks, Rube Goldberg machines and other marvels with the DeBusk Enrichment Center for Academically Talented
Scholars and the Austin Tinkering School. In 2015, he co-founded Maker Ready, a consulting and product company that works directly with teachers to bring hands-on, project based learning into elementary classrooms. JASMINE KURYS (Production Manager) is a fourth-year B.A. in Theatre and Dance major with an emphasis in stage management and playwriting. She currently works at the Hogg Memorial Auditorium as a resident stage manager. Past productions include Little Women The Broadway Musical (stage manager, Texas Theatre and Dance, 2016), Totalitarians (assistant stage manager, The Off Center, 2016), The Orange Garden (stage manager, Texas Theatre and Dance, 2016), The Diary of Anne Frank (assistant stage manager, Texas Theatre and Dance, 2015) and Enter a Woman, Pretty Enough (stage manager, Texas Theatre and Dance, 2015). MERCEDES TRINIDAD MCCLEARY (Lighting Designer) is a M.F.A. in Design and Technology candidate with a focus in lighting design. Since coming to The University of Texas at Austin last fall, she has designed work for Dry Land and multiple pieces for Ears, Eyes + Feet. ROXY MOJICA (Associate Scenic Designer) is a first-year M.F.A. in Design and Technology candidate with a focus in scenic design at The University of Texas at Austin, originally from Las Vegas, Nevada. She received her B.A. in Theatre Arts from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Her recent work includes Dry Land, the world premiere of Brightside the Musical (Arts Square Theater, Las Vegas) and served as the scenic designer for Melody Sweet’s one-night burlesque shows in the Absinthe Las Vegas Tent (Caesars Palace). PHILLIP OWEN (Sound Designer), regional credits include: Alley All New (Alley Theatre, Houston), Outside Mullingar (Everyman Theatre, Baltimore), Anna Christie, Kingdom of Earth (Triad Stage, Greensboro), Stupid F^%#ing Bird, Dollhouse (Stages Rep, Houston), Cymbeline, Antony and Cleopatra (OHA, Maine), Notes from Underground, Rough Crossing (Yale Rep), Waking (Yale Rep);
CREATIVE Broadway: Composer’s assistant, A Steady Rain (Schoenfeld Theatre). He currently serves as a lecturer in sound design at Texas State University. M.F.A., Yale School of Drama. phillipowen.com LIRIT PENDELL (Costume Designer) is a secondyear M.F.A. in Design and Technology candidate with a focus in costume design at The University of Texas at Austin. Recent work includes Fall For Dance (Texas Theatre and Dance) and The Mikado: Reclaimed (Generic Ensemble Company, The Vortex) and Fahrenheit 451 (Different Stages). KATE PROIETTI (Community Engagement Coordinator) is a performer, teacher and producer for theatre and film. She is currently a first-year M.F.A. in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities candidate at The University of Texas at Austin. Proietti works in socially responsible practice and representation and devising performance pieces with communities in an effort to increase meaningful civic engagement. GRAHAM SCHMIDT (Director) is a theatre director from Texas. He holds an M.A. in Slavic Studies from The University of Texas at Austin and founded local theatre company Breaking String Theater in 2007, named after the mysterious stage direction in Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard. Schmidt’s productions and translations of Chekhov’s major plays have garnered numerous awards and honors. He is passionate about playwriting, dance and theatre’s unique power to transform perspectives.
JOSHUA SECOR (Stage Manager) is a third-year B.F.A. in Theatre and Dance student with an emphasis in stage management and playwriting. He recently served as the stage manager for Dance Repertory Theatre’s Bodies & Souls (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2016) and High School Hamlet / A Midsummer Night’s Macbeth (Seattle Children’s Theatre). MEGAN TABAQUE (Playwright) is a writer and actor from Clearwater, Florida. She is an M.F.A. in Playwriting candidate at the Michener Center for Writers. Tabaque is also a Kundiman Fellow for fiction and a 2016 scholarship recipient of the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Her work has been developed and produced in Chicago, Tallahassee and Austin. In 2015 her play Teen Girl FANtasies, co-written with Kimberly Belflower (The Cohen New Works Festival, 2015) was nominated for an Austin Critics’ Table Award for Best New Play. Her current writing projects include Two Sweaty, a murder thriller hatched by two sisters addicted to exercise; and Decapitation, a dark comedy exploring biracial Filipino and White identity in central Florida. megantabaque.com ALLY TUFENKJIAN (Community Engagement Coordinator) is an M.F.A. in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities candidate. Most recently, Tufenkjian worked on the community engagement team for Lost Girl (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2016). As a teaching artist and theatre practitioner, she explores issues of access, representation and social service through arts education initiatives.
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.
CAST
Audrey Gerthoffer
Eli Weinberg
Emma Center
Tori Robertson
Jose Alejandro Figueroa
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.
2016/2017 DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL MEMBERS Carol Smith Adams Francesca Brockett and Jim Pedicano Barrett Bruce Jean Cheever Joanne and Jack Crosby Dee Dawson Laura Eastman
Gary Farmer JoLynn Free Missy Grimes Pam and Edmund McIlhenny Annie McKinnon Debbie Oliver Miriam Relyea
Diane Robinson Russ Sartain Nancy Scanlan Marc Seriff Laura Sheffield Karen Skolnik Leah Stolar Sharon Watkins
CAST AUDREY GERTHOFFER (Cory) is a first-year B.F.A. in Acting major and has been acting in the Dallas area since 2012. She has been in multiple stage productions, films and commercials. This is her first production with Texas Theatre and Dance. Upon graduating she plans to move to Los Angeles to pursue acting. ELI WEINBERG (Ted) is a third-year B.F.A. in Acting major at The University of Texas at Austin. Previous credits include “Otto Frank” in The Diary of Anne Frank and “Mr. Laurence” in Little Women The Broadway Musical (Texas Theatre and Dance). Upon graduating in May 2018 he plans to pursue voice acting and film in Los Angeles. EMMA CENTER (Catara) is a third-year B.F.A. in Acting major at The University of Texas at Austin. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Center began performing at the age of five. Most recently, she performed as “Clarissa” in Little
Women The Broadway Musical and “Queenie” in The Wild Party (Texas Theatre and Dance). After graduating in May 2018 she plans to pursue a career in acting in Los Angeles. TORI ROBERTSON (Elokora) began performing as a child in the Houston Area at The Ensemble Theatre. Most recently, she was seen as “Kate” in The Wild Party (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2015). After graduating with a B.A. in Theatre and Dance in May 2018, she plans to move to Los Angeles to continue performing and working towards a law degree to become a practicing lawyer. JOSE ALEJANDRO FIGUEROA (Ri) is a secondyear B.F.A. in Acting major at The University of Texas at Austin. He was recently seen as “Curio” in Twelfth Night (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2016) and “Nicholas Chatman” in Punk Rock (Alpha Psi Omega). After graduating he plans to further pursue acting in Los Angeles and Burbank, California.
CREW ASSISTANT DIRECTOR DAVID ESTES ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER JAZMYN CASTILLO ASSISTANT SCENIC DESIGNERS JACOB CAIRE TAYLOR TRAVIS ASSISTANT COSTUME DESIGNERS JENIFER KLEMENT ARIANA SONSINO ASSISTANT SOUND DESIGNERS JAMES “WYATT” LASTER JACOB STEIN ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER JIAJING QI MEDIA ASSISTANT EMILY DUONG COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM CAROLINE STOUT SCENIC STUDIO SUPERVISOR J.E. JOHNSON SCENIC ART SUPERVISOR KAREN MANESS ASSOCIATE SCENIC STUDIO SUPERVISOR JASON HUERTA MASTER CARPENTER HANK SCHWEMMER ASSISTANT CHARGE SCENIC ARTIST KARA KONOP GRADUATE PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS ZOE ANDERSON IMAN CORBANI ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT SAMANTHA HINDERT PRODUCTION LEADS JARED HORN CHRISTINA JANSEN ASHTON MURPHY REED NEAL GOBI-KLA VONAN
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS JACOB CAIRE ARRI CAVINESS SHANE COLWELL TAYLOR COOPER LIAM DOLANHENDERSON CARLY DOLLINGER BEN MONTERO BRIAN NGUYEN CHRISTIAN SCHELLER NYLES WASHINGTON NAT WATKINS RYAN WELLMAN HENRY WHEATLEYRUTNER GABE WILLIAMSON SCENIC ART INTERNS CAROL ENDICOT TAYLOR JONES MIGUEL TAMEZ CHRISTIANA THOMAS PROPERTIES SUPERVISOR REBECCA SWITZER PROPERTIES ASSISTANT SUPERVISOR CAROLYN HARDIN PROP MASTER CAROLYN HARDIN PROP SHOP GRADUATE ASSISTANTS ZOE ANDERSEN DAVID MOLINA GARZA PROP ARTISANS JACKIE PEREZ TAYLOR TRAVIS MORGAN STUART PROP STOCK MASTER LINDSEY DENNIS PROPS ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT LINDSEY DENNIS PROPS CONSTRUCTION CREW ALÉ GARZA MADELEINE HAYES DIAMANTE MARTINEZ AMENA MASSWI ANDREW RODRIGUEZ CATHERINE SABA CARLIE SCHOULTZ SCENERY/PROPS CREW CASEY CANAMAR DARRION NGUYEN NOAH TUCKER
COSTUME SHOP SUPERVISOR PATRICIA M. RISSER
COSTUME STOCK SUPERVISOR LIRIT PENDELL
AUDIO BOARD OPERATOR ALLISON ELDER
COSTUME PROJECT MANAGER DARCY WEBERG
COSTUME STOCK ASSISTANTS RAMA TCHUENTE EMILY VIALPANDO
MEDIA BOARD SUPERVISOR MATTHEW SMITH
DRAPERS SARAH ALDRIDGE BETTY CHLYSTEK 1ST HANDS CHEN CHUN KANG AARON KUBACAK STITCHERS MIA BARRERA EVELYN BRADEY BECKY X PHUNG ALISON REID COSTUME SHOP ASSOCIATE SUPERVISOR DARCY WEBERG COSTUME PRODUCTION CREW TEACHING ASSISTANTS ANANDA KEATOR MARIKA WYNNE COSTUME CONSTRUCTION CREW MEGA BIEDIGER JILLIAN GRISKO HOPE HIGGINS EMMA HUFF JENNEFER MARTINEZ ERYN NOTHCUTT CHRISTINA POZZI CONNOR SULLIVAN WIG AND MAKEUP SPECIALIST ALLISON LOWERY WIG AND MAKEUP ASSISTANT DYLAN GIBSON WARDROBE CREW SUPERVISOR VANESSA LOPEZ WARDROBE CREW HAILEY ROBERTS KENNEDY THOMPSON COSTUME CRAFTS ARTISAN TANYA OLALDE COSTUME CRAFTS ASSISTANTS ALEXANDER GREER JACQUELINE HEIMEL COSTUME SHOP OFFICE ASSISTANTS TYLER COFIELD TORI HUSTING
324P LIGHTING FACULTY SUPERVISOR AUSTIN SHIRLEY TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS SUPERVISING ELECTRICIAN MIKELA COWAN TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS LIGHTING SUPERVISOR JEFF ELLINGER SENIOR LIGHTING TECHNICIANS YITAI CHUNG AARON CURRY ALEX HANNA CHIAN-ANN LU MERCEDES MCCLEARY JIAJING QI TEXAS THEATRE AND DANCE LIGHTING CREW KARLA ALVAREZ JACOB BRINKS HALEY BOWER ROSEANNE CARREON DAVID ESTES CLAIRE HARDWICK DAVID HERNANDEZ VICTORIA HUSTING BONNIE MCENNIS LESLY REZA OLGUIN MIRANDA PERKINS CARRINGTON QUEZADA LAURA VALDEZORANDAY TIFFANY WATSON ELIAS WEINBERG TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS LIGHTING CREW CASEY CANAMAR JESSICA FORTE ANDREW GARCIA MILLAN ALEXANDRA SANCHEZ SHIMSHON ZEEVI LIGHT BOARD OPERATOR NINA PUTLAK SPOTLIGHT OPERATOR ALEX WAYLAND AUDIO SUPERVISOR MICHAEL MALAK
MEDIA BOARD OPERATOR CALIRE DAVIS MEDIA CREW JOSHUA COLE COSME FLORES KATHERINE LOZANO LUKE MIRE KRISTEN RANEY TEODORO SANTIESTEBAN MACKINLEE WADDELL JESSE WORMINGTON STAGE MANAGEMENT ADVISOR RUSTY CLOYES COSTUME DESIGN ADVISOR SUSAN MICKEY COSTUME TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR JAMES GLAVAN LIGHTING DESIGN ADVISOR MICHELLE HABECK INTEGRATED MEDIA DESIGN ADVISOR SVEN ORTEL DRAMATURG ADVISORS ANDREW CARLSON LIZ ENGELMAN SCENIC DESIGN ADVISOR WILLIAM BLOODGOOD COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ADVISORS MEGAN ALRUTZ ANDREW CARLSON LIZ ENGELMAN ACADEMIC PRODUCTION MANAGER JEFF GRAPKO PHOTOGRAPHER LAWRENCE PEART GRAPHIC DESIGNER MORGAN BATHE