The Awakening by VIA MEDIA / BAYSTAGES

Kate Chopinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

The

Awakening Adapted by Oren Stevens

Directed by Ariel Craft

WELCOME!

156 Eddy Street San Francisco, CA 94102 510.516.2822 boxoffice@breadboxtheatre.org breadboxtheatre.org

STAFF Ariel Craft artistic director

Ben Calabrese executive director

Oren Stevens associate artistic director

Justin Gillman Maria Leigh Carlos Mendoza Jessie O'Hearn associate artists

Don’t be fooled by the corsets and the bustles. Though it sports the hallmarks, The Awakening – this project we’ve been brewing at the Breadbox for nearly two years now – is not a facsimile period piece. The show you’re about to see has been crafted for you, right now, woven from the words of an astonishingly radical and insightful woman who lived over a hundred years ago. At the core of both Kate Chopin’s novel and this new adaptation is the question: How can I reconcile my needs with the limitations of the world around me? What does my desire have to do with ever-looming “should” and how can I thrive under the weight of expectation? The Awakening is an invitation to be individualistic and to revel in the momentary: to take inventory of who you are, to conceptualize who you want to be, and to bridge the gap between the two. It aims to agitate our inclinations towards complacency and to soothe that particular hopelessness that’s born of inaction and a lack of agency. Wrestle tirelessly with your own self-perception. Challenge your assumptions of consequences and instigate without hesitation. Engage with your own desire every day, because desire is a changeling. These are the inspirations that this work has stirred in me. We look forward to hearing what it stirs in you.

Ariel Craft Artistic Director

breadboxtheatre @breadboxtheatre breadboxtheatre breadboxtheatre

TH E BRE ADB OX pres e n t s

from the groundbreaking feminist novel by Kate Chopin in a world premiere adaptation by Oren Stevens developed with Ariel Craft

graphic design + publishing

CAST [ IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER ]

Leonce Pontellier....................................................... Robin Gabrielli Robert Lebrun..........................................................Justin Gillman Alcee Arobin............................................................ Elliot Lieberman Edna Pontellier................................................. Maria Giere Marquis Adele Ratignolle....................................................... Kirsten Peacock Mademoiselle Reisz..............................................Genevieve Perdue

•

PRODUCTION TEAM Director...................................................................................... Ariel Craft Choreographer.............................................................Margery Fairchild Scenic Designer.................................................................Carlos Aceves Costume Designer................................................................ Julie Gotsch Lighting Designer...............................................................Keira Sullivan Sound Designer..........................................................................Liz Ryder Effects Designer............................................................. Carlos Mendoza Dramaturg............................................................................... Maria Leigh Dialect Coach.............................................................Lisa Anne Porter Assistant Director..................................................................... Allie Moss Stage Manager............................................................... Josh van Eyken Assistant Stage Manager........................................ Ariella Amaris Irula Graphic Designer............................................................. Cody A. Rishell Executive Director............................................................ Ben Calabrese

•

• Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers. The Breadbox is a proud Company in Residence at EXIT Theatre. SPECIAL THANKS: Christina Augello, Richard Livingston, Amanda Ortmayer, Melanie Marshall, Juliana Lustenader, Caitlin Evenson, Katy Ouse, Max Meyers, Cody A. Rishell, Brian Katz, Paige Rogers, Pinecrest Diner, and most importantly: YOU, our audience!

including what you are holding right now to the lgbt, arts, business and hospitality communities since 1998

]

clients include

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 golden gate business association silicon valley shakespeare and the merchants associations of San Francisco’s

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

Performances:

July 29 to August 20, 2016 EXIT Theatre, 156 Eddy Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

neighborhoods

The performance runs approximately two hours. 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

[

providing outstanding graphic design + publishing solutions

415.552.8040

advertise@via.media a division of Caselli Partners LLC

GABRIELLI

GILLMAN

LIEBERMAN

MARQUIS

PEACOCK

PERDUE

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES ROBIN GABRIELLI ( L e o n c e

Pontellier) is making his Breadbox debut in The Awakening. Robin hails from Boston and has been acting all over southern New England for the last twenty years. He played Cliff and Jim Harbord in The Farnsworth Invention, Evans in Terra Nova, Don Alfonso and Daniel Lucas in Reader, and Donny in Rocket Man, all at Flat Earth Theatre. Other recent roles include Bob in The Singularity (Science Fiction Theatre Company) and Father Flynn in Doubt (Flyleaf Theater Company). An accomplished voice actor, Robin appears as Anthony Partridge in the monthly science fiction podcast ars PARADOXICA. He can also be heard reading the poetry of Philip Levine and Basil Bunting on the website Voetica, and giving voice to Hercules and Kronos in Wrath of the Titans, Ned Land in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and series characters Williams in Beacon Hill and Sgt. Rook in Ticonderoga for Colonial Radio Theatre. By day, Robin has been known to write code for Sony or something.

JUSTIN GILLMAN

● ( Ro b e r t Lebrun) is an associate artist at the Breadbox, and The Awakening marks his fifth show with the company and with director Ariel Craft. Previous Breadbox credits include The Pillowman (TBA Award, Outstanding Performance by a Principal Actor in a Play), Blood Wedding, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore and Robot Hand. Off-Broadway roles include Twelfth Night (Classic Stage Company) and When Last We Flew (Best of NY Fringe). Bay Area credits include Center REPertory

BAYSTAGES.COM • 2016.07

Company, Shotgun Players, San Francisco Playhouse, Custom Made Theatre Co., Shakespeare Santa Cruz, 42nd Street Moon, ArtistsRepSF, A.C.T. Fellows, Cutting Ball Theater, Playwrights Foundation, New Conservatory Theatre Center and The Ground Floor at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Justin is a proud recipient of a Theatre Bay Area Titan Award. He earned a BFA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, an MFA from Columbia University, and is a proud member of Actors' Equity Associaton. Justin met Oren Stevens at the Breadbox in 2013 while collaborating on his adaptation of ‘Tis a Pity and looks forward to their next collaboration: their wedding in 2017.

recently played Gabrielle in When the Rain Stops Falling at Dragon Theatre. You may also have seen her at City Lights Theater Company, Pear Theatre, Custom Made Theatre Co. and Impact Theatre where her work garnered her an SFBATCC Excellence in Theatre Award for Principal Actress in a Play. While not on stage or in front of a classroom, she can be found recording audiobooks. Love to S. mariagmarquis.com

KIRSTEN PEACOCK ( A d e l e

is thrilled to make his professional debut at the Breadbox, after just finishing up his undergraduate training at San Francisco State University. He is honored to be a part of this exciting new adaptation of a beautiful piece of beloved American literature. Elliot is no stranger to romance onstage having played such roles as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast and Captain Macheath and Morano in Polly, the highly controversial and banned sequel to the infamous The Beggar’s Opera. He would like to express his gratitude to all who support and keep theatre alive and well in our increasingly electronic world.

Ratignolle) was raised in the Kingdom of Norway. She studied in Canterbury, England and took a year abroad at University of California, Berkeley, finishing with her master’s in directing with a focus on interactive theatre. Kirsten’s performance credits include A Dreamplay (The Cutting Ball Theater), Pat Green in Breaking the Code (Theatre Rhinoceros), Stella Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire (T:24) and several performances with UK-based physical theatre company Entita Theatre. Kirsten has directed and choreographed performances in the UK and the Bay Area, and she will be playing MacDuff and Lady MacDuff in Macbeth at Arabian Shakespeare Festival in the fall. She is so thankful to have the opportunity to work on this wonderful and compelling project and with such a great company.

MARIA GIERE MARQUIS (Edna

GENEVIEVE PERDUE (Mademoiselle

ELLIOT LIEBERMAN (Alcee Arobin)

Pontellier) has been acting in the Bay Area since 2008. She is a theatre and voice actor, as well as a corporate trainer committed to making work less boring. She

Reisz) is a first timer to the Breadbox stage. She recently played Ouisa in Six Degrees of Separation at the Custom Made Theatre Company and Mara in the premiere of

Dominion with At Last Theatre. She’s worked in the Bay Area as an actor, costume designer and props designer with Wily West Productions, Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, City College of San Francisco, San Francisco Theater Pub, the Playwrights’ Center of San Francisco, and the San Francisco Olympians Festival. She loves taking part in the development of new works and nurturing local Bay Area talent. Before returning to her home state of California, she gallivanted around receiving an eclectic theatrical education from unlikely sources in Wyoming, Colorado and North Carolina.

OREN STEVENS (Adaptor) is a

She's a Whore. Ariel also serves as producing associate artistic director at the Cutting Ball Theater, San Francisco's experimental theatre company dedicated to new works and re-envisioned classics. She holds a BFA with honors from New York University where she studied directing and multidisciplinary theatre-making at the Playwrights Horizons Theater School. She was awarded an artistic fellowship at American Conservatory Theater following her graduation and has previously served as the assistant artistic director at The Custom Made Theatre Company. Ariel was recently awarded a Theatre Bay Area Titan Award.

Bay Area-based playwright and director. Previously, audiences at the Breadbox have seen his “ruthless” adaptation of ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore and his direction of Euripides’ Medea. Focused on reinvigorating and interrogating text from the academic and cultural canon, Oren has worked with material as varied as Alice in Wonderland in his play Phantomwise and the Book of Job in The Assessment. His work has been produced and developed at the New York International Fringe Festival, the Yale Dramatic Association, ArtistsRepSF, Augmented Seventh Theater Program, Lincoln Center Theater and here at his artistic home, the Breadbox, where he also serves as associate artistic director and production manager. He is a graduate of Yale University, where he was a proud member of the executive board of the Yale Dramatic Association and co-president of the Yale Drama Coalition.

MARGERY

ARIEL CRAFT (Director) is a Bay

CARLOS ACEVES (Scenic Designer)

Area director and the founder and artistic director of the Breadbox. Recent Breadbox directing credits include an acclaimed production of Martin McDonagh's chilling masterwork The Pillowman, a radical staging of Federico García Lorca's Blood Wedding set in America's Appalachia with an original score inspired by the music of Dolly Parton, and Oren Stevens’ plucky world premiere adaptation of John Ford's barbarous 'Tis Pity

FAIRCHILD

(Choreographer) is the founder and co-artistic director of Dark Porch Theatre, a company in residence at the EXIT. Since moving to San Francisco in 2003, she has written, directed, and choreographed many original works including Hen!, Under the Bed… A Fairytale Set in Purgatory, The In Betweens, Eleanor (recipient of a 2011 SFBATCC Excellence in Theatre Award for Original Script), and her most recent work, Pas De Quatre, which premiered in 2016. She is currently in post-production for her first feature film, To No Good End, which she co-wrote with her fiancé, Kindrid Parker of Last Wave Film. She has also danced and performed with Bay Area phenomena Borts Minorts, Extra Action Marching Band and Fou Fou Ha! Margery is honored and excited to be working with the Breadbox on The Awakening, which was the subject of her senior thesis in college. works as a scenic designer, painter and props maker all over the Bay Area. Favorite set designs include The North Plan (Renegade Theatre Experiment), Desire Under the Elms (Eugene O'Neill Foundation), The Birthday Party (Dragon Productions), Of Mice and Men (Role Players Ensemble), The Boatman (The Bare Theatre), Spring Awakening (Foothill College) and Honk! and A Peter Rabbit Tale (Palo Alto Children's Theatre). When he is not designing

sets, Carlos works as the charge artist for Palo Alto Children’s Theatre. He is a California Arts Scholar and received an award for excellence in stage management from the American College Theater Festival. Carlos thanks his family, friends, mentors, colleagues, and every mix thereof as this accomplishment would not have been possible without you. Very special thanks to the Breadbox team for this opportunity and their commitment to excellence.

JULIE GOTSCH (Costume Designer)

is an Oakland-grown textile artist. Julie has studied at California College of the Arts, interned with Trinity Repertory Company and Brown Consortium in Rhode Island, and spent the last few years watching the action from the box office at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. She spends her days costuming for photo shoots and small productions and her evenings bringing fanciful textile creatures (namely chickens and monsters) into being. She is thrilled to be returning to the Breadbox for her second production and plans to thoroughly (ab)use the opportunity to explore silhouette and go wild with ruffles.

ARIELLA AMARIS IRULA (Assistant

Stage Manager) is a proud Muslim Latina woman. Ariella recently served as assistant stage manager on H.O.M.E (Hookers on Mars Eventually) at Campo Santo and as production manager on Cloud Tectonics at Blue House Arts. Recent performance credits include Rickshaw Girl (Bay Area Children's Theatre), Avenue Q (understudy, New Conservatory Theatre Center), Nogales (Campo Santo) and Medea (The Breadbox). Her next adventures include schooling in Prague, vacationing in Italy and Morocco, and teaching English to little ones in India, the Emirates, Palestine, El Salvador, Peru and/ or Indonesia. Ariella thanks her familia, her Rickshaw family, her San Francisco family, her best friend, her mommy, her superman above and her faith, y Dios primero. Mucho Amor y Cariño.

MARIA LEIGH (Dramaturg) is an

associate artist at the Breadbox and 2016.07 • BAYSTAGES.COM

R E C O M M E N D S

DISCOVERING MAGENTA | ORIGINAL CAST

New psychological musical by Bitterman and Kaufmann that explores how to find happiness amidst tragedy. ( discoveringmagenta.com )

TUCK EVERLASTING | BROADWAY CAST

Carolee Carmello and Terence Mann in the recently closed Miller and Tysen musical based on the novel by Natalie Babbitt. (dmimusic.com)

THEORY OF RELATIVITY | STUDIO CAST Song cycle by Bartram & Hill, authors of The Story of My Life, about the awkward dance from youth to adulthood. ( psclassics.com )

has enjoyed flexing new muscles on this project, as she is principally an actor. She is also delighted to be collaborating with Ariel Craft, Oren Stevens and Justin Gillman again after playing Annabella in 'Tis Pity She's a Whore in 2013. Regional credits include Of Serpents and Sea Spray and Late: A Cowboy Song (The Custom Made Theatre Company), Tartuffe (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), Macbeth at Fort Point and The Odyssey on Angel Island (We Players), Chamber Macbeth and Tartuffe (Rapid Descent Physical Performance Company) plus work with HATCH, foolsFURY, San Francisco Theater Pub, Ragged Wing Ensemble, La Tropa, Thunderbird Theatre Company and the Cutting Ball Theater. National and international credits include Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington, DC) and Centro Estatal de las Artes (Mexicali, MX). Next up, you can see Maria as Juliet in a site-integrated Romeo and Juliet by We Players running this August through October.

CARLOS MENDOZA (Effects

Designer) is an associate artist at the Breadbox and is ecstatic and grateful to be working alongside his artistic family on The Awakening. He holds a BA in theatre from San Francisco State University. Recent directing credits include Cloud Tectonics (Blue House Arts) and a staged reading of Alexandra Petri’s Never Never as part of our recent BoxCutter Series. Assistant directing credits include A Dreamplay (The Cutting Ball Theater) and The Pillowman (The Breadbox). Up next is a contribution to Avant GardARAMA! at the Cutting Ball Theater in October. Peace and Love.

ALLIE MOSS (Assistant Director)

CAFÉ SOCIETY | FILM SOUNDTRACK

Rodgers & Hart underscore Woody Allen’s new film in this set of jazz instrumental takes on classic 1930s songs. ( sonymusic.com )

is a director and producer and works as the artistic administrator at American Conservatory Theater. Directing credits include The Vagina Monologues (A.C.T. 2016 V-Day Project), Stop Kiss (A.C.T. 2015 Fellowship 4

BAYSTAGES.COM • 2016.07

Project), A Streetcar Named Desire (Columbus Civic Theater, BroadwayWorld Columbus Best Direction of a Play nominee ) and The Foreigner (Columbus Civic Theater). Allie served as assistant director on Let There Be Love, Love and Information and Chester Bailey, was a member of the producing team for the inaugural New Strands Festival and produced the 2016 Fellowship Project’s production of Top Girls, all at A.C.T. She holds a BA in theatre from Goucher College.

LISA ANNE PORTER (Dialect

Coach) is currently the cohead of voice and dialects for the MFA program at American Conservatory Theater as well as the dialect coach for the company. She has coached over seventy professional productions. She is also a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley and has served on the faculties of Syracuse University, Stanford University, University of California, Davis, San Francisco State University, Shakespeare & Company, the Tepper Center (New York), Naropa University, California Shakespeare Festival and Berkeley Repertory Theatre. She has been acting professionally for over twenty years and has performed with numerous repertory companies and Shakespeare festivals across the country. She has directed for Town Hall Theatre Company, TheatreFIRST, Syracuse University, the Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Company and Pacific Resident Theatre Ensemble. She is a certified Linklater Voice teacher. She has a BA in theatre and American studies from Wesleyan University and an MFA from American Conservatory Theater.

LIZ RYDER (Sound Designer)

is a seasoned sound designer, composer and singer-songwriter now based in Sacramento and San Francisco. She has worked with various Bay Area theatre companies including Marin Theatre Company, The Custom Made Theatre Company, New Conservatory Theatre Center,

and Phoenix Theatre. She is the recipient of a 2015 TBA Award for her sound design of The Pillowman at the Breadbox and a 2013 SFBATCC Excellence in Theatre Award for her sound design of Eurydice at the Custom Made Theatre Co. The Awakening marks her second production with the Breadbox! lizrydersound.com

KEIRA SULLIVAN (Lighting Designer)

is a Bay Area native and University of California, Santa Cruz alum thrilled to be working in San Francisco’s vibrant theatre scene. Keira is excited to be involved in this adaptation of such a remarkable piece of literature. Her work as a designer has spanned a wide range of community and university venues, with an emphasis on outdoor settings and non-traditional performance spaces and styles. She particularly enjoys designing for

dance, musical performances and theatrical productions with nontraditional storytelling aesthetics. Previous credits include Santa Cruz Shakespeare, ArtistsRepSF at the EXIT Theatre and New Conservatory Theatre Center. knjsullivan.wix. com/lighting

JOSH VAN EYKEN (Stage Manager)

recently transplanted to the Bay Area to finish up his undergraduate degree at San Francisco State University, where he’ll soon begin his final year. He is excited to be making his professional debut at the Breadbox on such an exciting and socially relevant new adaptation! Past stage management credits include San Francisco State University mainstage productions of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and the musical Urinetown. He also assistant stage managed SFSU School of Music’s opera workshop La Calisto and

the Players’ Club production of Dog Sees God. He hopes that you enjoy the show!

BEN CALABRESE (Executive Director) joined the staff of the Breadbox in 2014 as managing director and assumed the title of executive director in 2015, overseeing business operations, marketing, and development for the company. Over the course of his tenure at the Breadbox, Ben has worked to streamline processes for patron and talent management to provide a more engaging and fulfilling experience for artists and audience members alike. He looks forward to reaching more community members, putting more artists to work, and supplying both groups with the rigorously crafted and culturally urgent pieces of art that the Breadbox creates.

● Members of Actors’ Equity Association. This theater operates under an agreement with Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

All images and/or content provided by the Breadbox. 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 the Breadbox or VIA MEDIA. Photo credits are included as provided.

DONORS FOUNDATIONS

Zellerbach Family Foundation INDIVIDUALS Margaret Allen • Elizabeth Appell • Christina Augello • Sara Barton • Kate Berman • Geoff + Hilary Bond Stuart Bousel • Tina Brier • Mary Briggs • David Brown • Jesse Brownstein • Christina Calabrese Nancy Cooper Frank • Laura Craft • Cat Crowley • Stan Deck + Lisa Zukovsky • Annie Elias • Laura Fox John Frediani • Annette Goena • Sarah Gopher-Stevens + Bill Stevens • Samantha Granberg • Alandra Hileman Troy Howard • Michelle Ianiro • Brian Katz • Rachel Kessinger • Angelina LaBarre • Katharine Lafsky Nicky Leach • Hunter + Maria Leigh • Joan Levison • Andrew Lieberman • Catherine Luedtke Maria Giere Marquis • Pascha McAlister • Carole + Merle Meyers • Jessie O'Hearn • Nancy Olson Sara Ramos • Lawrence Cowell + Stephanie Rausser • Zoe Richards • Jennifer Roberts • Paige Rogers Peggy Schimmelman • Isabel Siragusa • Kimberly Taylor • Kris Vecere • Alexis Wong

THANK YOU!

SAN FRANCISCO PLAYHOUSE 450 Post Street, San Francisco 415.677.9596 • sfplayhouse.org

Through September 17, 2016

CITY LIGHTS THEATER COMPANY 529 South Second Street, San Jose 408.295.4200 • cltc.org

Through August 21, 2016

DRAGON PRODUCTIONS THEATRE COMPANY 2120 Broadway Street, Redwood City 650.493.2006 • dragonproductions.net

Through August 21, 2016

THE BREADBOX EXIT Stage Left, 156 Eddy Street, San Francisco 415.931.1094 • breadboxtheatre.org

Through August 20, 2016

THE CUSTOM MADE THEATRE CO. 533 Sutter Street, San Francisco 415.798.2682 • custommade.org

Through August 20, 2016

AND

SILICON VALLEY SHAKESPEARE Sanborn Park, 16055 Sanborn Road, Saratoga svshakespeare.org

In Repertory Through September 4, 2016