U T N T E H W E A T R E
_ GONDAL By Kimberly Belflower
U T N T
UT New Theatre Curated by Liz Engelman and Steven Dietz
03.02–03.12.2017 B. Iden Payne Theatre
GONDAL By Kimberly Belflower Directed by Adam Sussman
MARCH 3, 7 AT 7:30 P.M. MARCH 11 AT 2:00 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 Alex Gendal – Projection Designer . Francesca Ghizzoni – Community Engagement Project Lead J.E. Johnson – Technical Director . Jasmine Kurys – Production Manager Mercedes Trinidad McCleary – Lighting Designer . Adam Miller-Batteau – Fight Choreographer Roxy Mojica – Associate Scenic Designer . Phillip Owen – Sound Designer Lirit Pendell – Costume Designer . Jackie Perez – Stage Manager Adam Sussman – Director . Ally Tufenkjian – Community Engagement Coordinator
CAST (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)
Kimberly Belflower ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Lina Chambers Lainey ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ Adriana Scamardi Amber ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Jade Jackson Luke ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Ismael Vallejo Vanessa ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Sophia Pollock Slender Man ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Andy Moe Emily ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Annemarie Alaniz Branwell ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Connor Barr Anne �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Carleigh Newland Charlotte �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Baylie Figueroa There will be no intermission.
NOTE FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT Where can I be wild? Where is it safe? I write this program note as Kimberly Belflower, the playwright and human. Kimberly Belflower is also a character in Gondal, a version of me who shares much of my past, my fears, my obsessions, my wildness. I’ve found that my writing is the safest place for me to be wild. On the page and stage, I can conjure my deepest daydreams and darkest nightmares. In making something out of my wildness, I can both honor and better understand it. The other young women in this play are also finding ways to channel their wildness into creation, with mixed results. They’re grappling with a tension familiar to all women – being “too much” and also never quite enough. What is the right balance? Where is the line? What do we give up in pursuit of our wildness and what do we gain?
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
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CREATIVE KIMBERLY BELFLOWER (Playwright) is a thirdyear M.F.A. in Playwriting candidate at The University of Texas at Austin. Originally from Georgia, Belflower comes to Austin by way of New York where she developed new work with Primary Stages and 54 Below, among others. Her play, Lost Girl, premiered as part of Texas Theatre and Dance’s 2016-2017 Season and Teen Girl FANtasies (co-written with Megan Tabaque) premiered at The Cohen New Works Festival (2015) and was nominated for an Austin Critics’ Table Award for Best New Play. She is currently under commission with Peppercorn Theatre in North Carolina. 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-atlarge for the National New Play Network (NNPN). ALEX GENDAL (Projection Designer) is a first-year M.F.A. in Design and Technology candidate with a focus in integrated media for live performance. He graduated from the Purchase College Conservatory of Theatre Arts with a B.F.A. in Theatre Design/Technology with a lighting design concentration. Design work includes The Laramie Project, Into the Woods, Not On This Night, Blood Wedding, Theatre Decomposed, Marat/Sade and The Canterbury Tales. FRANCESCA GHIZZONI (Community Engagement Project Lead) is a second-year B.F.A.
in Theatre Studies major at The University of Texas at Austin. Previously, she designed and executed the lobby display for Little Women The Broadway Musical and assisted with communications for Lost Girl (Texas Theatre and Dance). 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. ADAM MILLER-BATTEAU (Fight Choreographer) is a theatre artist and teacher in Austin, Texas specializing in Shakespeare performance, youth theatre and stage violence. Previous fight and violence choreography includes Wilma, Dry
CREATIVE Land, Little Women The Broadway Musical (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2016), Cyrano! (MacCallum Theatre) and She Kills Monsters (Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Center). Miller-Batteau is a certified teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors and currently teaches stage combat for the actor at The University of Texas at Austin.
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).
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).
JACKIE PEREZ (Stage Manager) is a third-year B.A. in Theatre and Dance major with an emphasis in stage management. She recently served as the assistant stage manager for Twelfth Night, Little Women The Broadway Musical (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2016) and Legally Blonde the Musical.
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); 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
ADAM L. SUSSMAN (Director) is a first-year M.F.A. in Directing candidate who has worked extensively in the Bay Area and Boston. Sussman is currently working on two pieces for The Cohen New Works Festival, When New Orleans Becomes a Brown Sea, an opera set in post-Katrina New Orleans; and Daniel/Rose, a devised piece about neurodiversity, family and theatre. 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
Lina Chambers
Adriana Scamardi
Jade Jackson
Ismael Vallejo
Sophia Pollock
Andy Moe
Annemarie Alaniz
Connor Barr
Carleigh Newland
Baylie 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 LINA CHAMBERS (Kimberly Belflower) is a first-year M.F.A. in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities candidate at The University of Texas at Austin. She was recently a featured performer in Raise the Moon, a thesis project by Becca Drew Ramsey. Regional credits include the Great Lakes Theatre Festival, Boise Contemporary Theatre and the Idaho Shakespeare Festival where she also toured with two educational performances in the area. Chambers graduated from Boise State University with a B.A. in Theatre Arts in 2011. ADRIANA SCAMARDI (Lainey) is a second-year B.F.A. in Acting major from Houston, Texas. Her recent roles include “Maria” in Twelfth Night and “Wendy” in Lost Girl (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2016). JADE JACKSON (Amber) is a second-year B.F.A. in Acting major at The University of Texas at Austin. She began performing in elementary school in Houston, Texas. She then attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSVPA). Most recently, she was seen as “Esther” in Dry Land and “Anna” in Girls in Cars Underwater (UTNT (UT New Theatre), 2016). Upon graduating she plans to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. ISMAEL VALLEJO (Luke) is a second-year B.F.A. in Acting major from Garland, Texas. Recent credits include “Judas” in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Garland Civic Center) and “Nibs/Doctor” in Lost Girl (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2016). SOPHIA POLLOCK (Vanessa) is a first-year B.F.A. in Acting major from San Antonio, Texas. She attended Douglas MacArthur High School where she performed as “Mina” in Dracula by Steven Dietz and “Kate” in The Cripple of Innishman. Pollock also performed in two UIL One Act
Play pieces, both as “Fate” in Iphigenia and “Andromache” in Women of Troy. ANDY MOE (Slender Man), born and raised in Austin, Texas, is a B.A. in Theatre and Dance major with an emphasis in performer’s process. Most recently, Moe performed as “Bugbear” in She Kills Monsters (Round About Players). ANNEMARIE ALANIZ (Emily) began performing in middle school in the Rio Grande Valley. Most recently, she performed as “Nina/D” in Lost Girl (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2016), “Molly Aster” in Peter and the Starcatcher and “Little Sally” in Urinetown the Musical. After graduating in 2019, Alaniz plans to pursue an acting career in Los Angeles. CONNOR BARR (Branwell) is a third-year B.A. in Theatre and Dance major with an emphasis in musical theatre. He was recently seen as “Laurie Laurence/Rodrigo” in Little Women The Broadway Musical and “Jackie” in The Wild Party (Texas Theatre and Dance), “Henrik” in A Little Night Music (Austin Playhouse) and “Paul” in Carnival (Summer Stock Austin). After graduation he plans to move to New York City. CARLEIGH NEWLAND (Anne) is a first-year B.A. in Theatre and Dance major at The University of Texas at Austin. Most recently, she performed as “Ruby” in The Topa, Texas Chili Cook-Off (Alpha Psi Omega). She is currently working on her original play, A Singularity, which will be staged as part of The Cohen New Works Festival (2017). BAYLIE FIGUEROA (Charlotte) is a B.F.A. in Theatre Studies major from Dallas, Texas. Most recently, Figueroa performed as “Mrs. Van Daan” in The Diary of Anne Frank (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2015) and as “Liz” in Dust (Heartland Theatre Collective). After graduating, Figueroa plans to pursue a career in teaching theatre at the high school or middle school level.
CREW ASSISTANT DIRECTOR KEVIN POOLE ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER AVERY VALDES 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 SCRIPT SUPERVISOR CLAIRE HARDWICK SCENIC STUDIO SUPERVISOR J.E. JOHNSON SCENIC ART SUPERVISOR KAREN MANESS ASSOCIATE SCENIC STUDIO SUPERVISOR JASON HUERTA
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
MASTER CARPENTER HANK SCHWEMMER
PROP ARTISANS JACKIE PEREZ TAYLOR TRAVIS MORGAN STUART
ASSISTANT CHARGE SCENIC ARTIST KARA KONOP
PROP STOCK MASTER LINDSEY DENNIS
GRADUATE PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS ZOE ANDERSON IMAN CORBANI
PROPS ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT LINDSEY DENNIS
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT SAMANTHA HINDERT PRODUCTION LEADS JARED HORN CHRISTINA JANSEN ASHTON MURPHY REED NEAL GOBI-KLA VONAN
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 PROJECT MANAGER DARCY WEBERG 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 ASSISTANT TORI HUSTING COSTUME STOCK SUPERVISOR LIRIT PENDELL
COSTUME STOCK ASSISTANTS RAMA TCHUENTE EMILY VIALPANDO 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 AUDIO BOARD OPERATOR ALLISON ELDER
MEDIA BOARD SUPERVISOR MATTHEW SMITH MEDIA BOARD OPERATOR CLAIRE 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 ADVISOR MEGAN ALRUTZ COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ADVISORS MEGAN ALRUTZ ANDREW CARLSON LIZ ENGELMAN ACADEMIC PRODUCTION MANAGER JEFF GRAPKO PHOTOGRAPHER LAWRENCE PEART GRAPHIC DESIGNER MORGAN BATHE SPECIAL THANKS LACY BONES