L E T T E R
F R O M
T H E
P L A Y W R I G H T
Walking the Tightrope Yet Again Doug Wright, playwright (March 4, 2020) Writing a play is a vain, egomaniacal act. A playwright expects total strangers to pay money, gather at an assigned place and time, and listen in silence as he expounds on a subject of his choosing, usually for two or more hours. Let’s face it; that takes some nerve. Conversely, writing a play is also deeply humbling. The writer believes he has stumbled on a truth so urgent, so essential, that he simply must write it down then present it to others; his metaphorical heart on a plate. “I’ve felt this way,” he’s saying, “Haven’t you? And if so, perhaps it’s a universal truth! One that – despite our differences – binds us together as fellow travelers, and somehow makes us one?” Now the writer wants affirmation from those strangers. If they laugh or cry or applaud, then they are acknowledging both his humanity and their own. And if they check their watches or futz with candy wrappers then the writer has failed, and the truth he’s peddling isn’t universal at all; it’s idiosyncratic or strange or embarrassing, and not the great vehicle for affirmation that he had hoped. He winds up feeling lonelier than ever. That in a nutshell, is the life of a playwright. He lives between those two extremes: rampant selfimportance and aching vulnerability. It’s a perilous tightrope. I Am My Own Wife opened on Broadway seventeen years ago. It won some prizes. It has since been produced in over thirty-five countries around the world. Almost every night for the past six thousand, two hundred and five days, it has been playing somewhere. It has been lauded by some critics, and dismissed by others. (It even landed me a husband; at a talk-back following an early preview , a handsome young fellow asked a question, and we’ve been together ever since.) One would think that by now, I’d become immune to the play’s reception. But that isn’t the case, especially at this moment. The production you are about to see has been lovingly produced by WaterTower Theatre, which is – as it happens - in my hometown. I grew up in the Park Cities. As a child, I took acting classes at the Dallas Theater Center. I played juvenile roles at Theater Three, and acted in their children’s plays on Saturday mornings. (I remember one stint as a donkey in The Bremen Town Musicians, and another as a blue extraterrestrial in Space Fantasy II.) I carried a torch in The Merchant of Venice at the Fair Park band shell, and helped build the sets for a wild-west rendition of The Taming of the Shrew. I watched local artists like Preston Jones achieve success at home, and then on Broadway. I idolized area actors like Larry O’Dwyer, and Norma Young. To me, Metroplex stars like Randy Moore and his wife Norma were no less than the Lunts. Some people meet Shakespeare for the first time at Stratford or the Globe; I met him on Turtle Creek Boulevard. And some encounter Moliere at the Comedie Francaise; but when we first came face-to-face, it was closer to home, at the Quadrangle. In short, the stakes right now couldn’t be higher. (No pressure, guys.) Before the show begins, glance around at the audience. There, in the third row, that woman in the yellow blouse might be Linda Raya, my high school drama teacher. Behind her, in the blue jacket? That could very well be Synthia Rogers, my first mentor and a beloved actress on local stages. And on the aisle, who knows – yes! – it’s Mary Anne Hardison, who cast me as a twelve-year-old Scrooge in Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. And who’s that with his nose knee-deep in the program, reading these very words? It’s my nephew Ian, twenty-two and newly-graduated from college, who’ll be seeing this particular play, live onstage, for the very first time. So for me, the consequences of this production are profound and real. Charlotte von Mahsldorf the gender-defying heroine of my play - has sauntered onstage in city after city, met the fiercest New York critics, the London cognoscenti, Swedish royalty, and Parisian sophisticates… and- in every instance - she’s held her own. But tonight in Dallas, she’ll be meeting the most significant set of all – my family, my friends, and the very folks who forged me. I’m walking that fabled tightrope once again.
SHANE PETERMAN, PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR PRESENTS
WRITTEN BY
DOUG WRIGHT O N T H E T E R R Y M A R T I N M A I N S TA G E
STARRING BOB HESS DIRECTED BY ASHLEY PUCKETT GONZALES SCENIC DESIGNER BRIAN CLINNIN COSTUME DESIGNER DRENDA LEWIS LIGHTING DESIGNER RYAN BURKLE SOUND DESIGNER MARCO E. SALINAS PROPERTIES DESIGNER HILLARY COLLAZO ABBOTT PRODUCTION ADVISOR AUDREY SCHWARTZ PRODUCTION MANAGER JESSICA UPDIKE I AM MY OWN WIFE was originally produced on Broadway by Delphi Productions and David Richenthal. Playwrights Horizons, Inc., New York City, produced the World Premiere Off-Broadway in 2003. This play was written with support from Playwrights Horizons, made possible in part by funds granted to the author through a program sponsored by Amblin Entertainment, Inc. A workshop of the play was presented by La Jolla Playhouse; Des McAnuff, Artistic Director, Terrence Dwyer, Managing Director. Developed in part with the support of the Sundance Theatre Laboratory. A workshop was also presented by the About Face Theatre (Eric Rosen, Artistic Director) in association with the Museum of Contemporary Art. I AM MY OWN WIFE is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.
CAST C H A R L O T T E V O N M A H L S D O R F, E T A L . . . . . . . . . B O B H E S S U N D E R S T U DY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N I C K M O O R E
ACT 1 Phonographs INTERMISSION ACT 2 Clocks Original Curtain Call Sound Design by Andre J. Pluess & Ben Sussman SEASON SPONSOR
T H E AT R E N A M I N G B E N E F A C T O R S Don and Barbara Daseke, The Family of Bob Downs, Kathleen A. Messina and Gary Goodwin, Stan Graner, and Janiece and Jimmy Niemann
OTHER MAJOR FUNDING
T H A N K YO U T O Our 2019-2020 Season Opening Night Sponsor, ANTONIO RISTORANTE
A Note From The Director: I love this play. It is such a dream to spend time with. Let's be honest, it's amazing for the form and challenge alone but add to that, it is all true... What a gift to tell Charlotte's tale. I could talk a lot about themes, events, and relevance regarding this piece, but my favorite thing about it is Charlotte's incredible and abiding humanity. I love that through Charlotte and Doug we realize that we are all just people doing the best we can, sometimes in extraordinary circumstances. I love that Doug’s beautiful translation of Charlotte's story helps me realize how she and I are alike and not how we're different and allows me to more deeply understand all sorts of people around me. Doug told me to remember that this is a love story between Doug and Charlotte. I hope that you find that this is a love story between you and Charlotte as well.
CAST BOB HESS, Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, et al Bob Hess is delighted to be back on the WaterTower stage again having appeared here as Mr. Bennet/Charlotte in Pride and Prejudice, Pastor Greg in Hand to God, Henry Lane in Sexy Laundry, The Preacher in Baptized to the Bone, and Harry in Company. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Bob has appeared on nearly every stage in the Metroplex over the last 40 years, most recently in Stage West’s regional premiere of The Children. Other performances have included Artist Descending a Staircase and King Liz (Amphibian Productions), Hir (Stage West), La Cage aux Folles, It Shoulda Been You, The Nance, and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Uptown Players), Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play (Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre), Rock of Ages and Million Dollar Quartet (Casa Manana), A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens and Miracle on 34th Street (Dallas Children’s Theater), The Great God Pan (Second Thought Theatre), The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? (Kitchen Dog Theatre), and Driving Miss Daisy (with Sandy Duncan) (North Carolina Theatre). The recipient of numerous awards from DFW Critics’ Forum, Broadway World, The Column, as well as Dallas Voice Actor of the Year, Bob is represented by The Mary Collins Agency and is proud to serve as an Assistant Professor of Theatre at University of North Texas.
NICK MOORE, Understudy to Mr. Hess Nick is very excited to be back on the North Texas theatre scene returning from a five year absence after appearing in Noises Off, The Rivals, and Orlando (Stage West), Archy and Mehitabel (Hip Pocket Theater), Assassins (OnStage in Bedford), Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare Dallas), and Lady in the Dark (Lyric Stage). He has also worked extensively with Libra Theatre Co, Femme Fatale Theatre, and Sena Productions in New York City.
C R E AT I V E T E A M D O U G W R I G H T, P L AY W R I G H T Doug Wright earned the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for his play I Am My Own Wife. Other stage works include Grey Gardens (Tony Nomination), The Little Mermaid, Hands on a Hardbody, and War Paint. Film: Quills, based on his Obie-winning play, nominated for three Academy Awards. Television: “Tony Bennett: An American Classic,” directed by Rob Marshall. Honors: Benjamin Dank Prize, The American Academy of Arts and Letters; Tolerance Prize, Kulturforum Europa; Paul Selvin Award, Writers Guild of America. Professional affiliations: President of the Dramatists Guild; member Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers; board of the New York Theatre Workshop. Wright is married to singer/songwriter David Clement.
AS H L E Y P U C K E T T G O N Z A L E S , D I R E C T O R Ashley is DFW native that now lives in New York City and has 20+ years of experience as a director, teacher, and coach. She has worked as a director and associate director in Dallas as well as in theaters in Pennsylvania, Long Island, and New York City. Her students have worked in shows ranging from Broadway’s Lion King, to community theatre, to Dallas Theatre Center, and other regional houses. Ashley is an accomplished actress that has performed in Broadway National tours and at countless regional theaters. She brings that experience to bear as she tries to help actors tell good stories. For John. So much of me came from knowing you.
BRIAN CLINNIN, SCENIC DESIGN Brian Clinnin teaches theatre design at Texas Christian University. Previously, he worked at Chicago Scenic Studios, creating scenery for projects such as ABC-7 Chicago State Street Studio, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and The Adler Planetarium. Brian has trained in Barcelona, The Art Institute of Chicago, and The University of Kansas, where he earned degrees in Illustration & Scenography. Recent designs include Shakespeare in Love (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey), Stupid F***ing Bird (Stage West), Richard III (Trinity Shakespeare), and Elliot: A Soldier’s Fugue (WaterTower). Website @clinnin.com.
D R E N DA L E W I S , C O S T U M E D E S I G N Drenda has designed locally for Casa Manana, Lyric Stage, Jubilee Theatre, Granbury Opera House, Circle Theatre, and several schools and universities. She spent two summers as the Costume Shop Manager at Trinity Shakespeare, and has also designed for Ogunquit Playhouse, Cape Playhouse, Gateway Playhouse and Royal Palm Dinner Theatre. While at Costume World Theatrical Division in Florida, she designed for dozens of theatres and schools, spent some time jeweling wings for the Ringling Brothers, and built and painted life sized Hummel figurine costumes- to name a few. She has received the Live Theatre League of Tarrant County award for Design and Professionals. She is now back in her hometown working with the Granbury Theatre Company – where it all started.
RYA N B U R K L E , L I G H T I N G D E S I G N Ryan Burkle is a Dallas based Lighting Designer and Technician, and he's very excited to be designing with WaterTower Theatre. He received his BFA in Theatre Performance with a concentration in Lighting Design from Baylor University in 2017. He has had the pleasure of working in the DFW area with companies like Dallas Theater Center, Kitchen Dog Theatre, Imprint Theatre, Echo Theatre, and Shakespeare Dallas. He has also worked with theaters across the country, such as Trinity Repertory Theatre, Opera Saratoga, and Zachary Scott Theatre. He is currently the Production Electrician for SMU while freelancing on the side.
M A R C O E . SA L I N AS , S O U N D D E S I G N Marco E. Salinas has designed sound around DFW for over 20 years. He worked extensively with Dallas Children's Theater, and has also designed and directed for Shakespeare Dallas, where he currently serves as their Director of Educational Tours. Marco has received two Theater Critics Forum Awards and is a multiple recipient of many Outstanding Sound Design awards.
H I L L A RY C O L L A Z O A B B O T T, P R O P E R T I E S D E S I G N Hillary is excited to be back for another production at WaterTower Theatre. Past WaterTower Theatre credits include Creep, Sexy Laundry, Lord of the Flies, Lord of the Flies Project, The Big Meal, Outside Mullingar, Native Gardens, Bread, The Last Five Years, Hand to God, A Doll’s House, Everything is Wonderful, The Ballad of Little Jo, Godspell, and Sister Act. Hillary holds a BFA in Musical Theatre and a BFA in International Theatre Production from Ohio Northern University. She is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.
AU D R E Y S C H WA R T Z , P R O D U C T I O N A DV I S O R Audrey was born and raised in Dallas and has been involved in the Performing Arts since early childhood. She has studied dance, music, theatre, puppetry, and cosmetology before transitioning from performer to theatre technician. She is an accomplished wig and makeup artist and is proud to be a part of the I Am My Own Wife team. Recent engagements include Fort Worth Opera, Utah Festival Opera, and Disney Cruise Line.
J E S S I CA U P D I K E , P R O D U C T I O N M A N AG E R Jessica is thrilled to be working again at WaterTower Theatre. She previously worked as an ASM on Sister Act, Ballad of Little Jo, Everything is Wonderful and Guadalupe In The Guestroom. She also worked as run crew on Cirque Holidays and Harvey.
DONORS We’d like to say a special thank you to the following donors:
$10,000 AND UP
$500 - $999
Stan Graner & Jim McBride Philip & Janeva Longacre Kathleen Messina Janiece & Jimmy Niemann Jack & Libby Swindle The Shubert Foundation Ron & Donna Whitehead
David & Mary Ellen Cassman Blake & Jean Clemens Claudia & Scott Davis Ed & Ida Hassler Cara & Stanley Lockett Steven M. Pipes Rick Russell
$ 5 , 0 0 0 - $ 9,9 9 9 Rosalind and Mervyn Benjet Flora & Michael Brewer Craig & Deborah Sutton Women of WaterTower
$ 2 , 5 0 0 - $ 4 ,9 9 9 Tom and Anita Braun First United Bank Tim & Rhonda Horan Karol Omlor Andrea & Keith Redmon Ralph Weber Nancy Williams
$1,000 - $2,499 Anonymous Nancy Brenner & Jerry Olivarez Barbara & Don Daseke Ida Jane & Doug Bailey Kay F. Champagne Grace Daniels Joe & Carol Dingman Laree Hulshoff & Ben Fischer Susan Gammage Erica Gretzler Guaranty Bank & Trust John & Joanne Hare Jennifer Martinez Tom Mason Ken & Cheryl Mindell William P. Pfeiff The Rosewood Foundation
$250 - $499 Bill Keslar & Sandy Baker Maureen Barrett Joe & Gail Barth Peggie & Fendol Chiles Elizabeth Disch Grant & Nancy Foreman Rick Cathey & Janet Melancon Delynda & Kipton Moravec Helen Holman Mark Jacobs John Jaggers Julie & Randal Schoenstedt Lindsey Snellgrove Walker Trigg Paul & Marsha Walden
The above listing reflects gifts received between 5.1.2019 and 5.31.2020. We gratefully acknowledge the 500+ donors who each year, through their contributions, make it possible for WTT to present over 125 performances each year. Although space limits our ability to publicly recognize donors at levels below $250, we deeply and sincerely appreciate every contribution. As ticket sales cover only a portion of our annual costs, these generous gifts of patrons, corporations, foundations and others are critical to WTT’s ability to create quality professional theatre for our audience. Should you wish to be added to this extraordinary list of donors, please visit our website at www.watertowertheatre.org/donations or contact Delynda Moravec at 972-450-6230 or via email at dmoravec@watertowertheatre.org. Thank you!
WAT E R T OW E R T H E AT R E B OA R D O F D I R E C T O R S Nancy Williams, President Craig Sutton, Vice President Ron Whitehead, Vice President Ken Mindell, Treasurer Nancy Brenner, Secretary Bruce Arfsten Rosalind Benjet Blake Clemens Grace Daniels
WAT E R T OW E R T H E AT R E S TA F F
Barbara Daseke Tim Horan Kita Hobbs Phil Longacre Jennifer Martinez
Rebecca Neef Steven Pipes Corky Pledger Andrea Redmon
ELECTRICIANS
Shane Peterman Producing Artistic Director
Ryan Burkle Allie Butemeyer Gabe Coleman
Delynda Johnson Moravec Director of Finance & Administration
F R O N T O F H O U S E AS S O C I AT E S
Justin Voga Technical Director
Maggie Herrick Dylan Owen John Rawley Aaron Verrill Megan Wamsley
Phil Gosselin Patron Services Manager
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Elizabeth Kensek Associate Producer
Hannah Fisher Education Director Kennedy Styron Assistant Technical Director
L I G H T B OA R D O P E R AT O R Ryan Burkle
S O U N D B OA R D O P E R AT O R Marco E. Salinas
SCENIC ARTIST Cameron Casey Jayson Phillips
CA R P E N T E R S Keith Gillespie John Rawley
Emily Holt
M A R K E T I N G C O N S U LTA N T Sarah Close
PHOTOGRAPHY Jason Anderson, Pendleton Photography
DIRECTOR OF C I N E M AT O G R A P H Y David Singer
C I N E M AT O G R A P H Y Jeremy Bay
S P E C I A L T H A N KS T O Carmen Terry, University of North Texas for German Language Consultation Brian Gonzales John Reba