Note from the show team: Welcome to the cabin. It’s in the middle of the snow-covered mountain, where you might imagine a tranquility that’s distant from a crowded street, a cacophony of car horns, and the sound of urgent footsteps. The more serene your surroundings are, however, the louder your voice in the head gets. Is it a voice in the head? Or is it coming from somewhere else? more more more is a one-hour snapshot of three people in the cabin, where there is no escape but to face their most vulnerable selves in the moment. They’ve been hiking for a long time, but now they have nowhere to walk toward. But maybe that’s when the further destinations become clearer. more more more is a New Leaf (Asian American and Pacific Islander Affinity Group at DGSD) production with a creative team of mostly artists of color. We spent several weeks together in this small cabin, hearing each other’s and our own voices until they flooded into the stage in the Cab basement. And we know that we will continue to flood. -Jisun Kim wrestling with the white bear (a playwright’s note) In America, we are told that the Great Outdoors are for everyone. But the Great American Outdoors were never designed for everyone. To begin with, Outdoor spaces like National Parks were not “designed;” they were taken from indigenous communities that previously inhabited the land. Until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, people of colour were not openly welcome in green spaces such as National Parks. And as of 2020, over 77% of visitors to said National Parks were white. I didn’t write this play to write about race. But it is impossible not to think about race when I think about the Great American Outdoors. Not to think about the financial & linguistic & cultural barriers of entry to green spaces in this nation. It is strange1 to enjoy the Great Outdoors as a non-white person. Stranger2 still to write a play about it, in English. What you see on this stage is not representative of what most Outdoor American Spaces or communities look like. But it is what ours has looked like – non-white, non-western, international – and it is one I have loved. We have chosen to inhabit, create, & tell an American story in one of the most American spaces – the Great American Outdoors3. Perhaps because it is strange4; perhaps because it shouldn’t have to be. It is what many more spaces can look like too. 1 2 3 4
“strange” as in “unusual,” as in “not entirely comfortable,” as in “alien,” “foreign,” as in “lonely lonely lone –” or the Great American Theatre as in “not previously seen”
more more more s
By Stefani Kuo 郭佳怡 In partnership with New Leaf: AAPI Affinity Group CREATIVE TEAM Playwright Directors Scenic & Costume Designer Associate Scenic Designer Associate Costume Designer Lighting Designer Sound Designer Composer Dramaturg Choreographer Producers Technical Director Stage Manager
Stefani Kuo 郭佳怡 Jisun Kim & Stefani Kuo 郭佳怡 Miguel Urbino Jihane Fareseddine* Micah Ohno* Suzu Sakai Samantha Wolf Soomin Kim Jisun Kim Rudi Goblen Ro Burnett & Annabel Guevara Joe Hsun Chiang Kevin Jinghong Zhu
PERFORMERS Tub Beshouy Botros* Sad Oatmeal Shimali De Silva Gravel Kayodè Soyemi Special Thanks: Liam Bellman-Sharpe, KIMKIM (Juhee Kim), Matthew Suttor, Sky Pang, Matt Welander, Choir Boy Technical Direction Team, Jamie Farkas Content Transparency: Discussions of death and dying, simulated partial nudity New Leaf Leadership Team: Stefani Kuo, Miguel Urbino, Suzu Sakai, Yao *Yale Cabaret debut
- xx
Mission
Land Acknowledgement
Yale Cabaret is a beautiful experiment of artistry and process. With every season and iteration, we build a home for David Geffen School of Drama at Yale students to imagine, create, and share their stories alongside our many communities.
The state of Connecticut and Yale University occupy the traditional, ancestral, and unceded lands of the Mohegan, Mashantucket Pequot, Eastern Pequot, Schaghticoke, Golden Hill Paugussett, Niantic, Quinnipiac, and other Algonquian speaking peoples. We honor and respect their continued relationship with and stewardship of this land, and we acknowledge that Yale University, Yale Cabaret, and those affiliated have benefited from the oppression of these Nations.
Values Build Community Community is central to our work at the Cab. We seek to build intentional and nourishing relationships with each other and the communities of Yale, greater New Haven, and beyond. Keep Experimenting The Cab is the place for students to disrupt their process, take risks, and explore within and beyond their disciplines. Make a mess, try again, re-invent, and grow with us. Welcome All We aspire to create a more inclusive and welcoming theater across our many diverse identities and backgrounds. You are invited to show up as your full self at the Cab.
Labor Acknowledgement Yale University does not exist independently from the centuries of forced labor and economic extraction of enslaved people, primarily of African descent, on which this country was built. We are indebted to their labor and their unwilling sacrifice, and we must acknowledge the ongoing violence inflicted on Black and brown people and the resulting impact and generational trauma still felt today.
Leadership Team Artistic Director Sarah Ashley Cain
Co-Managing Director Natalie King
Associate Artistic Director Abigail C. Onwunali
Co-Managing Director A.J. Roy
Production Manager Sydney Raine Garick
Collaborators Graphic Designer Mikayla Johnson
Box Office Assistants Annabel Guevara, Jake Hurwitz, & Bobbin Ramsey
Website Designer Laura Copenhaver
Videographer Andre Griffith
Artistic Associates Community Engagement Kayodè Soyemi
Inclusivity Jacob Santos
Scenic Marcelo Martínez García
Costumes Kitty Cassetti
Lighting Riva Fairhall
Sound Bryn Scharenberg
Directing James Fleming
New Work Danielle Stagger
Stage Management Brandon Lovejoy
Dramaturgy Nicholas Orvis
Performance Cooper Bruhns Isuri Wijesundara
Technical Direction Cam Camden
Projections Hannah Tran
Board of Directors Matthew Suttor, Chair Benjamin Benne Samanta Yunuen Cubias Kelvin Dinkins, Jr.
Libby Jollystone Reed Northrup Linda-Cristal Young
Our Supporters In 1968, David Geffen School of Drama at Yale students established a basement performance venue in the former home of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity at 217 Park Street. Envisioned as an alternative outlet for drama school students’ creativity and experimentation, Yale Cabaret became a forum for our expanded New Haven communities, whom we invite to gather around food, drink, conversation, fellowship, and artistry. Since its founding, the Cabaret has remained in continuous operation, including pivoting to virtual performance during the 2020/21 season. The Cab has produced hundreds of plays, old and new, alongside musicals and musical revues, comedy shows, dance, performance art, and genre-defying performance. Our supporters have made this storied history happen. With their partnership, we continue this tradition into 2022 and beyond. Partners ($1,000-$2,499) ActOUT Santino Blumetti Ann Judd & Bennett Pudlin Matthew Suttor R. Lee Stump & Abigail Roth Clifford Lee Warner Show Sponsors ($500-$999) Nina R. Adams & Dr. Moreson Kaplan Joan Channick & Ruth Hein Schmitt Audrey Conrad Kelvin Dinkins, Jr. & Alexis Rodda Dr. Semih Gork Latiana “LT” Gourzong Andrew D. Hamingson & Sarah A. McLellan Jim & Eileen Mydosh Bill & Sharon Reynolds Florie Seery Paul Walsh Yale Law School Yaro Yarashevich Grace Zandarski
Enthusiasts ($250-$499) Pamela Jordan James Sinclair & Sylvia Van Sinderen Matthew Tanico Supporters ($100-$249) Shaminda Amarakoon Anne Danenberg Cornelia Evans Jerry & Donna Lodynsky Bonnie L. Kramm Edwin Martin Mark Schmitt Advocates ($50-$99) Katherine & Chava Burgueño Donna K. Doherty Mercedes Eugenia Matthew Sonnenfeld Rosalie Stemer Jessica Wolf
Artistic Director’s Note This section of the program is usually reserved for “Upcoming Shows” but, alas, our season has come to an end after 8 months, 13 new shows, and hundreds of people coming through our doors each weekend. What a fantastic season ending we have in this partnership with New Leaf student affinity group for Stefani Kuo’s more more more. New Leaf is the Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) coalition of students and alumni at the David Geffen School of Drama, whose mission is to foster an inclusive community of AAPI artists and thinkers, empower AAPI voices, dreams, questions, and build networks of AAPI artists. I am so grateful to have been a part of the team that ushered in the re-opening of the Cabaret, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the work and dedication of so many who helped us along the way. A giant THANK YOU to my fellow Cabaret leadership team members, our collaborators, the company of artistic associates, every person who shared their passion and artistry on a show, the Cabaret Board of Directors, our donors, and the many staff members at DGSD who answered our questions and (sometimes) frantic emails. And, of course, thank you to our audiences! Whether you came to every show or just this one, thank you for taking a chance on theater again and listening to our stories. While we may not have any more upcoming shows, that doesn’t mean the Cabaret will be dark for long. I hope you will come out to enjoy Yale Summer Cabaret’s Summer of Love season opening in June and stick around for Cab 55 launching in the Fall. -Sarah Ashley Cain, Artistic Director
Thank You To Our Sponsors!
$8 crafted drinks during late night happy hour!
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