Low Hanging Fruit by VIA MEDIA / BAYSTAGES

Low Hanging Fruit by robin Bradford Directed by Louis Parnell

NOTE FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

3GT PLAYWRIGHTS Suze Allen AJ Baker Robin Bradford Lee Brady Susan Jackson Margery Kreitman Brady Lea Lisa Ramirez

BOARD OF ADVISORS Linda Ayres-Frederick William Bivins Michael Butler Will Dunne Nancy Cooper Frank Amy Glazer Nonie Greene Lauren Gunderson Lily Janiak Tom Layton Mary Powelson Kimberly Richards Lee Sankowich Marcy Simon Todd Werby

What a pleasure to welcome you to 3Girls Theatre Company's allnew production of Robin Bradford's Low Hanging Fruit! It's been our privilege to help Robin develop her powerful, poetic work over the last several years, and to join her in reaching out to raise awareness of issues confronted by our military veterans (particularly our women veterans) after they return home from combat. At a time when homelessness - and its farreaching consequences - is central to our community conversation, the questions posed by Low Hanging Fruit could not be more important. But Low Hanging Fruit is so much more than an "issue play." In the world of "the Taj," there can be tears and laughter, pain and comfort, but there can be no solo missions. It's the relationships forged between Cory, Alice, Yolanda and Maya that stir our hearts, that compel us to believe more could lie ahead for these women than mere survival. In Maya's words: I'm a shiny piece of beach glass, discarded, waiting, smiling, warming myself on the hot sand. 3GT is so proud to bring Low Hanging Fruit home to our San Francisco audiences. You are in for a remarkable theatre experience! Warmly,

AJ Baker

producing artistic director co-founder & resident playwright

3GT MISSION STATEMENT 3Girls Theatre Company is proud to be one of the very few theatre companies in the nation that produce only plays by women playwrights. Only 12-18% of new plays produced by the American mainstream theatre establishment in any year are written by women - an incredible statistic made even more so by the fact that this low percentage is roughly the same today as it was a century ago. 3GT seeks more than “gender parity” in theatre: we want stories told from a woman’s perspective to be seen as just as important as stories told from a man’s perspective. In other words, 3GT wants to help change the cultural mindset! Since our founding in 2011 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit theatre company, we've devoted our resources to developing, promoting and producing new plays by San Francisco Bay Area women playwrights. Our programs create theatre experiences that let the voices of women and girls be heard on stage. Learn more and support our mission by joining 3Girls Theatre Club. 3girlstheatre.org BAYSTAGES.COM • 2016.07

3GIRLS THEATRE C O M PAN Y p r e s e n t s

LOW HANGING FRUIT by Robin

Bradford

CAST

[ IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER ]

Yolanda............................................................................ Cat Brooks Maya ......................................................................... Livia Demarchi Cory .......................................................................Heather Gordon ● Tito.................................................................................Julian Green Alice...................................................... Cheri Lynne VandenHeuvel ● Canyon................................................................... Jessica Waldman

3GIRLS THEATRE COMPANY 3girlstheatre.org

STAFF AJ Baker

CREATIVE TEAM

Director......................................................................... Louis Parnell Producer..............................................................................AJ Baker Production Sponsor.............................. Nonie Greene + Todd Werby Associate Producers............................ Novak, Lotsvin & Associates PHASE Creative Arts Investment Fund Priscilla + Keith Geeslin Stage Manager.............................................................Zach Kopciak Set Designer................................................................... Jeff Wincek Costume Designer.....................................................Robin Bradford Lighting Designer ..........................................................Brendan Lee Sound Designer............................................................ Louis Parnell Props & Make-up Designer................................... Spiraleena Mason Technical Director .........................................................Brendan Lee Production Manager............................................. Spiraleena Mason Assistant Stage Manager........................................Christina Hogan ● Casting Director................................................................ Sally Dana Community Nights Coordinator....................................... Pat McElroy Fight Choreographer.................................................. Mike Martinez Graphic Designer.............................Deb Harrison, Pogostick Studio Music Consultant.............................................................Rick Levine Photographer.......................................... Mario Parnell Photography Publicist....................................................................... Lisa Geduldig Recording Engineer.........................................................Nate Harris ●

producing artistic director

Spiraleena Mason associate artist projects producer

Susanna Baker

operations manager

Will Carduner

box office manager

Brendan Lee

resident technical director

Tanya Telson

resident stage manager

Sally Dana

resident casting director

BOARD OF DIRECTORS AJ Baker Pat McElroy Louis Parnell

Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers

Low Hanging Fruit premiered at the Zephyr Theatre in Los Angeles, October 2014. Directed by Lee Sankowich. Featuring: Lola Anthony, Ben Cain, Chanda Hartman, Terasa Sciortino, Heather Taylor, Cheri Lynne VandenHeuvel, and Christina Wren with set design by Giulio Perrone, costumes by Wendell Carmichael and sound by Norman Kern.

Performance Dates:

July 6 to 30, 2016 Z Below, 470 Florida Street, San Francisco, CA 94110 The performance runs approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. There will be one intermission. Please note the location of all exits. Please turn off your cell phones and other electronic devices. Photography, videotaping or other recording of this production is strictly prohibited. You may bring your concessions purchases into the theater. 2016.07 • BAYSTAGES.COM | 1

3girlstheatre @3girlstheatre

BROOKS

DEMARCHI

GORDON

GREEN

VANDENHEUVEL

WALDMAN

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES CAT BROOKS (Yolanda) began

her theatre career at the age of eight and later obtained her BA in theatre with an emphasis on classical works. Upon graduation, she studied at the Royal National Theatre Studio in London. She has performed across the world including playing Lady Macbeth at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival in Scotland. Cat is also a poet and writer and is currently penning a one-woman show about the incustody death of Natasha McKenna in Fairfax County, VA. She lives in West Oakland with her daughter.

LIVIA DEMARCHI (Maya) is making

her 3Girls Theatre debut in Low Hanging Fruit. She is originally from Brazil, where she studied at the renowned Teatro Escola Macunaíma in São Paulo. Locally she has trained at American Conservatory Theater, Seydways Studios and with private coaches. She has performed at San Francisco Playhouse, Marin S h a k e s p e a r e C o m p a n y, S a n Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Crowded Fire Theater, Theatre Rhinoceros and Ross Valley Players, among others.

HEATHER GORDON (Cory) started

performing in theatre at the age of ten and is the recipient of the Robin Williams Scholarship as well as awards for various performances (2002-2006). Heather trained at the prestigious A.R.T./ MXAT Institute for Advanced Theater Training and received her MFA in acting from Harvard.

JULIAN GREEN (Tito) is proficient

in art forms from improv to Shakespeare. He trained at American Conservatory Theater 2 | BAYSTAGES.COM • 2016.07

in San Francisco and has studied under Patrick Russell, Dan Flapper and Nick Gabriel. His recent appearances include improv at Pan Theater, Keem in the film THUG and various commercials.

CHERI LYNNE VANDENHEUVEL

(Alice) hails from Detroit and calls LA home. Cheri is an alumnus of the Second City Detroit mainstage where she taught, wrote and performed sketch comedy. Currently, she is an improv instructor at the Second City Hollywood. Los Angeles stage credits include originating the role of Alice in the premiere of Low Hanging Fruit at the Zephyr Theater in Hollywood and Sophie in Flyin’ West at International City Theatre, Long Beach, CA. Cheri’s classical credits include the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Regan in King Lear, Aouda in Around the World in 80 Days, Calphurnia in To Kill a Mockingbird, and Lady MacDuff and Witch #2 in Macbeth. Cheri has her BFA from the University of Detroit and MFA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

JESSICA WALDMAN ( Canyon)

is a recent graduate of Stanford University, where she received her BA in both theatre and French. Recent roles include the title role in Ondine (Cutting Ball Theater), O p h e l i a i n Hamlet ( S t a n f o r d University TAPS) and Cecily Cardew in The Importance of Being Earnest (Stanford Repertory Theater). She has trained at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center (NTI) and at the British American Drama Academy.

ROBIN BRADFORD (Playwright)

is an award-winning writer and producer who transitioned

from twenty-five years as CEO of a highly successful Bay Area staffing company to independent film production and playwriting. Her play Low Hanging Fruit had a critically-acclaimed world premiere run at the Zephyr Theatre in Los Angeles in 2014, went on to receive productions in Michigan and South Carolina, and she is thrilled that 3Girls Theatre Company is bringing the play home to San Francisco. Among the films produced and developed by her company, Bright Line Films, are The Good Daughter, Graduation, Frank, Lakota Hope and Dream Weavers. The Good Daughter began as a stage play at the San Francisco Fringe Festival, where it received a Best of Fringe Award. Robin's screenplays have been celebrated at festivals and competitions nationwide and have won top screenwriting honors a t t h e Te l l u r i d e I n d e p e n d e n t F i l m F e s t i v a l , t h e Ke y We s t Independent Film Festival, the Houston Worldfest Film Festival, the Moondance Film Festival, the Heart of Austin Film Festival and the Cinequest Film Festival. Robin is a 3GT resident playwright.

LOUIS PARNELL (Director) has

worked extensively as an actor and director with numerous companies in the Bay Area including American Conservatory Theater, Campo Santo, Center REPertory Company, Central Works, Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, San Francisco Playhouse, TheatreWorks, as well as with many smaller nomadic companies. He most recently appeared as Doyle in The Nether and as the Narrator in Into the Woods, both at San

Francisco Playhouse. He last directed Moments of Truth, and will direct the world premiere of Entanglement this fall, both for 3Girls Theatre Company. Other favorite directing gigs include Four Dogs and a Bone (SFBATCC and Drama-Logue Awards), Reckless and Amulets Against the Dragon Forces (SFBATCC nomination and Drama-Logue Award), American Buffalo, Deathtrap, The Dead Monkey, Hurlyburly, Private Eyes, Reunion and many others. He has been nominated for SFBATCC Awards twelve times, winning five, and has accumulated various other awards for his work. He has performed in numerous film, commercial and television roles and is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors' Equity Association.

AJ BAKER (Producer) is p r o d u c i n g a r t i s t i c d i r e c t o r, resident playwright and cofounder of 3Girls Theatre Company. Her award-winning plays include Glickman’s Third Act, The Anniversary Effect

a n d The Right Thing w h i c h premiered at Thick House in 2012. Her most recent play, Entanglement, was the winner of the the 2015 New Works Festival and will have its world premiere at Z Below in 2016. As producing artistic director of 3Girls Theatre Company, AJ has served as producer for five 3GT New Works Festivals and eight full productions,overseeing the presentation of more than forty plays at all stages in the development process since 2011. She’s a proud member of Dramatists’ Guild, an ongoing participant in the Will Dunne Dramatic Writing Workshops and a past member of the board of directors of PlayGround. From 2007 to 2008, she produced and directed the popular monthly nightclub event Talk Show Live: San Francisco. When she’s not writing, AJ practices law, serves as staff to two cats and eavesdrops for material in the cafes of North Beach.

graphic design + publishing

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clients include

DON'T MISS THE REST OF OUR 2016 SEASON! Annual New Works Festival: Women And The Body Politic In 2016 August 22-28 at Thick House Entanglement by AJ Baker November 17-December 18 at Z Below

All images and/or content provided by 3Girls Theatre Company staff, contractors and/ or creative artists unless otherwise credited. Opinions expressed by contractors, contributors and/or creative artists do not necessarily reflect the views of 3Girls Theatre Company or VIA MEDIA. Photo credits are included as provided.

san francisco playhouse broadway by the bay custom made theatre co. san francisco pride castro street fair sonoma county pride s.f. gay men’s chorus city lights theater company silicon valley shakespeare and the merchant associations of San Francisco’s

mission, noe valley, castro, bayview, potrero/dogpatch, north beach, soma/ south beach-mission bay and inner sunset neighborhoods

415.552.8040

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2016 INDIVIDUAL DONORS PRODUCER'S CIRCLE Michael Butler • Andrea Gordon • Gabe Levine + Holly Andrew • Rick Levine + Linda Rude • Igor Lotsvin + Caroline Novak David Spector + Karen Ammer • Paul Thrash + Jessie McElroy • Susannah Mason • Patrice McElroy • Louis Parnell Libby Roth + Ron Katz • Shawn Lampron + Bill York • Holly Wake-Shinoff • PHASE Creative Arts Investment Fund Howard & Phyllis Baker Fund • Gyongy Laky + Tom Layton • Levine & Baker LLP • Marsha O’Bannon • Tom Lockard + Alix Marduel • Maureen Murphy • Patricia Milton + David Harder • Andrew Rubin • Nonie Greene + Todd Werby

3GT CLUB MEMBERS Sondra Alexander • Suze Allen • Karen Ammer • Holly Andrew • Elizabeth Appell • Linda Ayres-Frederick • AJ Baker • Eve Baker Howard Baker • Susanna Baker • Bill Bivins • Marc Blinder • Stewart Bloom • Robin Bradford • Mark Borges • Lee Brady Bruce Brumberg • Beverly Butler • Michael Butler • Janet Castaneda • Joan Condon • Will Dunne • Ruth Edelstein • Catherine Fanoe Nancy Cooper Frank • Carol Fregley • Errin Gilley • Phyllis Gillis • Andrea Gordon • Paul Graffagnino • Phyllis Hamilton David Harder • Deborah Harrison • Carol Hochberg • Susan Jackson • Sharon Kotler • Gyongy Laky • Shawn Lampron • Tom Layton Brady Lea • Katherine Lee • Rachel Leibman • Gabriel Levine • Richard Levine • Joyce Linker • Tom Lockard • Igor Lotsvin Alix Marduel • Susannah Mason • Barbara Mather • Pat McElroy • Jean Micheli • Pat Milton • Amy Mueller • Maureen Murphy Brenda Needle • Caroline Novak • Marsha O’Bannon • Louis Parnell • George Pfirrmann • Evelyn Jean Pine • Frances Pinnock Madeline Puccioni • Sondra Putnam • Carla Rabinowitz • Nick Rabinowitz • Susan Raeburn • Kim Richards • Jennifer Roberts Elizabeth Roth • Andrew Rubin • Linda Rude • Ellen Smith • Marcy Simon • Cherie Sorokin • David Spector • Dennis Sullivan Paul Thrash • Holly Wake-Shinoff • Olivia Ware • Sharon Weinstock • Mike Zimmerman • Jeff Zorn

Please call 415.967.0348 to learn more about donor benefits and opportunities.

SPECIAL THANKS Drew, Andrew + The Team at

CORPORATE SPONSORS

COMMUNITY NIGHTS 3Girls Theatre Company is honored to partner with four amazing nonprofits that offer support to our veterans and homeless citizens here in San Francisco during our month-long run of Low Hanging Fruit: North Beach Citizens, Compass Family Services, San Francisco Suicide Prevention and San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness. Each Thursday, 3GT will sponsor a community night at the theater before the show to raise awareness of these (too often unsung) local heroes and their work. Join us before the show to meet representatives of the featured organization, hear what they are doing to make a difference, and learn how you can help. Everyone is invited! Visit 3girlstheatre.org for more information. JULY 7

4 | BAYSTAGES.COM • 2016.07

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A NOTE FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT A couple of years ago, I read a short newspaper article about the dramatic rise in homelessness amongst military women who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan. I could not understand how it could be. How was it that women who served our country so profoundly could be allowed to drift away or slip through the cracks once they left service? What would cause these women to separate from friends, family and the very society they elected to serve? I set out with a simple goal: to understand. The Veteran’s Administration (VA) and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) do not collect data on the risk factors that contribute to female veteran homelessness. We do know that the number of homeless women veterans doubled from 2006 to 2010 and is expected to continue to rise as increasing numbers of military women integrate into their communities following service. These women face unique challenges that greatly increase their susceptibility to homelessness. Nearly 80% of homeless veterans suffer from mental health disorders, drug and/or alcohol abuse and/or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Women who experience Military Sexual Trauma (MST) are nine times more at risk for PTSD, which often leads to difficulties maintaining productive employment and family relationships, greatly increasing the odds for becoming homeless. While constituting only 14.6% of the military, women service members account for over 95% of reported sex crimes. According to Pentagon reports, violent sex crimes in the military have increased by 64% since 2006. Fear of being ostracized or punished prevents many women from reporting abuse. The Defense Department acknowledges that sex crimes are “very under-reported,” with actual incidents of military sexual assault being six times higher than reported. Those who suffer personal violence, including rape, are 6.5 times more likely to experience homelessness, especially when compounded by PTSD. It was my hope in writing Low Hanging Fruit to step away from the statistics and tell the stories of a small group of competent women soldiers who served and then found themselves unable to handle the challenges of everyday life. In researching this work, I spoke to many people including active and retired military personnel, government employees, volunteers in the private sector and homeless people living on the street. It is my intention to shed light on what can happen after we say, “Thank you for your service.” The characters in my play are fictional and certainly do not represent every experience of every returning service person. But too many brave military women and men lose their way. This play is dedicated to those lost souls. We as a nation should help find them and truly bring them home.

Robin Bradford playwright

2016.07 • BAYSTAGES.COM

HISTORY OF THE PLAY Low Hanging Fruit had its first reading in December of 2013 at San Francisco's Magic Theatre. In August 2014, 3GT presented two developmental readings at our 2014 New Works Festival. During post-reading discussions with playwright and actors, we were joined by veterans from Swords To Plowshares (the national veterans rights organization) who responded powerfully to the script. Reactions to the 2014 world premiere production in Los Angeles were even more passionate, and Low Hanging Fruit has continued to evoke powerful responses in subsequent productions in Michigan and North Carolina. 3GT is thrilled to bring Low Hanging Fruit home to San Francisco!

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