UTNT (UT New Theatre): The Bigot

U T N T E H W E A T R E

_ THE BIGOT

By William Glick

U T N T

UT New Theatre Curated by Liz Engelman and Steven Dietz

03.02–03.12.2017 B. Iden Payne Theatre

THE BIGOT

By William Glick Directed by Hannah Wolf

MARCH 4, 8 AT 7:30 P.M. MARCH 12 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: Andrea Beckham – Movement Director . Camryn de Wet – Scenic Designer . Steven Dietz – Curator Liz Engelman – Curator . Kaiwen Fa – Projection Designer . William Glick – Playwright J.E. Johnson – Technical Director . Jasmine Kurys – Production Manager Mercedes Trinidad McCleary – Lighting Designer Cortney McEniry – Community Engagement Project Lead . Roxy Mojica – Associate Scenic Designer Phillip Owen – Sound Designer . Lirit Pendell – Costume Designer . Kamyle Smith – Stage Manager Ally Tufenkjian – Community Engagement Coordinator . Hannah Wolf – Director

CAST (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE) Eli Levinson/Abe Wilder ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Robert Pierson Simon Levinson ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Tucker Martin Izzy Levinson �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Steven Schwope Tom El Shafie/Mansoor Taslimi ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Morris Jude Martinez Leslie Levinson/The Instructor ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Barbara Chisholm* Mallory Cormier ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Madeline Dennison Gail Foster �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Tiffany Thomas There will be a ten-minute intermission between Acts II and III. *The Actor appears through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

This production uses the Artist Engagement Services of the University Resident Theatre Association, Inc.

NOTE FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT “Conservatism leads away from utopianism. In the modern history of the West, conservatism often expresses itself as an anti-utopian belief, unwilling to believe that timeless human problems can be permanently resolved by some kind of novel insight, clever system or transformational leader. The most profound and deepest human problems recur in every generation because they are somehow intrinsic to the human person. They are a function of our permanent limitations and must be acknowledged, counter-balanced, mitigated, accommodated, but they never quite go away.”

—Yuval Levin, What are Conservatives For? (April, 2016)

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 ANDREA BECKHAM (Movement Director) creates movement for physical theatre. Her work has included Big Love, directed by Franchelle Stewart Dorn; Spring Awakening, directed by Michael Baron (ZACH Theatre) and Colossal, directed by Will Davis (The Cohen New Works Festival, 2013). She has developed new work with her company, Andrea Beckham Collaborative Dance, since 1989 in the United States, Mexico, Taiwan and Europe and new media explorations with Yacov Sharir in Holland, Portugal, Israel and China. Beckham teaches dance and runs the Pilates-evolved Laboratory at The University of Texas at Austin, where she received the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award.

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).

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).

WILLIAM GLICK (Playwright) plays include Kin Folk (world premiere: The New Colony, 2016), Wilma (PlayPen Semi-Finalist, 2016), Faggot Dolls (workshop performance: The Cohen New Works Festival, 2015) and The Finalists (Heidelman Award Short List, 2016). He has developed work with several Chicago theatre companies including Northlight, The House, First Floor and Chicago Dramatists. He received a B.A. in Political Science and Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Chicago and is currently a Michener Fellow at The University of Texas at Austin.

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 MCCLEARY (Lighting Designer) is a M.F.A. in Design and Technology candidate with

CREATIVE 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.

CORTNEY MCENIRY (Community Engagement Project Lead) is a community-based theatre artist and facilitator currently pursuing a M.F.A. in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research is focused on the role of artists as neighbors and asset-based approaches to community-engaged arts.

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); 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).

KAMYLE SMITH (Stage Manager) is pursuing a B.S. in Public Relations and a B.A. in Theatre and Dance with an emphasis on stage management.

At Texas Theatre and Dance, she has participated in In the Red and Brown Water, 381 Bleecker (UTNT (UT New Theatre), 2016) and The Wild Party, as well as Alpha Psi Omega’s Urinetown, the Musical and Speaking in Tongues, among others.

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.

HANNAH WOLF (Director) is a second-year M.F.A. in Directing candidate originally from Juneau, Alaska. Her work has been seen at Perseverance Theatre, Superhero Clubhouse, The Civilians, culturebot, Howlround, New York University and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She received a B.A. from Western Washington University, trained with the SITI Company and was the literary resident at The Vineyard Theatre from 2011-2013. Member: SDC Associate; 2012 Lincoln Center Directors Lab; 2014/2015 Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab. Fellowship: Fulbright (Bucharest, Romania).

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

Robert Pierson

Tucker Martin

Steven Schwope

Madeline Dennison

Morris Jude Martinez

Barbara Chisholm

Tiffany Thomas

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 ROBERT PIERSON (Eli Levinson/Abe Wilder) is a performing artist, educator and musician.

Recent stage work includes The Hotel Vanya (Natalie George Productions), The Strangerer (Capital T Theatre), Bright Now Beyond, Pinkolandia, Heddatron (Salvage Vanguard), Baal, Machinal (Paper Chairs) and The B. Beaver Animation (Rude Mechs). Pierson teaches theatre at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired where he has directed productions for 20 years. He writes and plays in the band The Able Sea. TUCKER MARTIN (Simon Levinson) is a thirdyear B.F.A. in Acting major at The University of Texas at Austin. He was recently seen as “David” in 381 Bleecker (UTNT (UT New Theatre), 2016) and “Goldberg” in The Wild Party (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2015). He will be directing Bathtub Girls, a Punk-Rock Musical as part of The Cohen New Works Festival (2017).

STEVEN SCHWOPE (Izzy Levinson) began acting in high school in San Antonio, Texas. Recently, he was seen as “Curly/Therapist” in Lost Girl (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2016), “Chadwick Meade” in Punk Rock (Alpha Psi Omega) and “The Clown” in Elephant’s Graveyard. He is a second-year B.F.A. in Acting major and plans to pursue work as an actor in Los Angeles upon graduating.

MORRIS JUDE MARTINEZ (Tom El Shafie/ Mansoor Taslimi) is a second-year B.F.A. in Acting major at The University of Texas at Austin where he was recently seen as “Mr. John Brooke” in Little Women The Broadway Musical. He has also performed as “Tony” in West Side Story, “Shrek” in Shrek the Musical and “Bobby” in Urinetown,

the Musical (Alpha Psi Omega). After graduating in 2019, Martinez plans to move to New York City to pursue a career in theatre and film.

BARBARA CHISHOLM (Leslie Levinson/The Instructor) Theatre: Trigger, Keep Your Forks (Berkeley Rep.); Erma Bombeck, Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End (Arena Stage, Washington D.C.); Constance/Fixing King John (Rude Mechs); Molly Ivins, Red Hot Patriot (ZACH Theatre); The Women (San Diego Repertory Theatre). Film: Boyhood, Bury the Cat, Flocker, Broke Sky, Holy Hell, Fast Food Nation. Television: American Crime, Friday Night Lights. Awards: B. Iden Payne, DramaLeague, Austin Critics’ Table Awards.

MADELINE DENNISON (Mallory Cormier) is a second-year B.F.A. in Acting major at The University of Texas at Austin. Recent credits include “Amy March” in Little Women The Broadway Musical (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2016) and “Pennywise” in Urinetown, the Musical (Alpha Psi Omega). She has been seen on stage in Houston, Texas with Theatre Under the Stars as “Miss Watson” in Big the Musical, “Calliope” in Xanadu and in Legally Blonde the Musical.

Dennison was also part of the original cast of Kissless the Musical which premiered at New York Musical Theatre Festival.

TIFFANY THOMAS (Gail Foster) began performing in junior high in Copperas Cove, Texas. She has recently done commercial work with the United States Air Force in Germany where she finished her military enlistment in 2015. This is her first performance with Texas Theatre and Dance. After graduating in May 2018 with a B.A. in Theatre and Dance she plans to pursue an M.F.A. in Acting.

CREW ASSISTANT DIRECTOR NATALIE LABODA ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER LEE RHODES 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 JAKE BRINKS 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 DARRINO 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 CLAIRE DAVIS MEDIA CREW JOSHUA COLE COSME FLORES KATHERINE LOZANO LUKE MIRE KRISTEN RANEY TEODORO SANTIESTEBAN MACKINLEE WADDELL 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