a play on memory Oct 9–Nov 17, 2013 By Marcus Gardley
Directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah
Animal Crackers dance of the holy ghosts: a play on memory A Civil War Christmas Stones in His Pockets Twelfth Night The Liquid Plain Wild with Happy
SEASoN51 Theater for the H eart
dance of the holy ghosts | a
An Introduction to the World of the Play “dance of the holy ghosts is a beautiful, haunting melody.” —Director Kwame Kwei-Armah
In a season focused on the spirit and the heart, dance of the holy ghosts embodies both—through its story of love, family, and forgiveness, and the poetry of its language. The award-winning playwright, Marcus Gardley, manages to pair the poetic and the everyday in his lyrical family drama. When crafting this semi-autobiographical play, Gardley delved into his childhood memories, as well as his mother’s stories of her own youth. Paired with these recollections are the poetry and passion of Gardley’s real-life grandfather’s daily love letters to his estranged wife. (Find a gallery of these letters online at www.centerstage.org/dance/digital-dramaturgy.) Moving through the life of Blues musician Oscar Clifton, dance of the holy ghosts is at once a play on memory and on music. As Oscar drifts between the present and his memory of the past, he relives the moments of love and loss that shaped his choices and shook his family. Haunting each of those moments are his wife and daughter, and the echoes of their presence that reverberate still. When his grandson, Marcus, comes looking for him, Oscar must confront the truth of his past and its consequence in his present. Gardley’s work tackles history, spirit, memory, and manhood, and he has frequently been hailed by critics as an inheritor of the legacy of August Wilson. “We use August as a marker of excellence, as a marker of someone who was able to not trade truth for access,” says Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah. “Marcus sits in that family—he can be true to the community that he’s writing out of and be poetic.” Bringing all of these stories together is the spirit of the Blues— a “chronicle of personal catastrophe expressed lyrically… they at once express both the agony of life and the possibility of conquering it through sheer toughness of spirit” (Ralph Ellison). As this story moves backwards and forwards through time, the play itself becomes a riff on the Blues, and a commentary on who— and how—we love.
Cast
Table of contents
dance of the holy ghosts
Oct 9–Nov 17, 2013 2
The Setting
3
Meet the Playwright
a play on memory
4 Sweet Release 6
Wrestling with the Blues Spirit
8
Bios: The Cast
10
Bios: The Artistic Team
12
Bios: The Staff
13
Q&A with Kwame & Stephen
15
Audience Services
16 Supporting the Annual Fund 19
Preview: Up Next & Off Stage
20
Center Stage Staff
By Marcus Gardley Directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah
The Cast
(in alphabetical order)
Sheldon Best* Marcus
Denise Burse* Viola Jasmine Carmichael* Tanisha
Doug Eskew* Willie/Father Michael/Bluesy Tux
Michael Genet* Oscar
chandra thomas* Darlene Laura Smith* Stage Manager
Season 51 Presenting Sponsor:
The Artistic Team
Marcus Gardley Playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah Director
Media Partner:
Neil Patel Scenic Design
David Burdick Costume Designer
Season 51 at Center Stage is made possible by:
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association
Michelle Habeck Lighting Designer Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen Sound Design & Music Arrangements Catherine María Rodríguez Production Dramaturg
Stephanie Klapper Casting Director
Dan Pruksarnukul Additional Casting Songs by Marcus Gardley and Scott Davenport Richards
There will be one 15-minute intermission.
CENTERSTAGE is funded by an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive.
PLEASE TURN OFF ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES. IN CASE OF EMERGENCY 410.986.4080 (during performances). dance of the holy ghosts | 1
S et t in g
Place and time
Pl ace
Oakland, California & Monroe, Louisiana
The majority of dance of the holy ghosts is set in Oakland, California. Just west of San Francisco, Oakland is one of the country’s most ethnically diverse cities and a center of Northern California’s African American community. With successive waves of African Americans migrating to the area beginning in the 1940s, Oakland grew to be a center of Blues and Jazz on the West Coast. Seventh Street became the Blues scene in Oakland, home to such popular juke joints as Slim Jenkins’ Place and Esther’s Orbit Room. Thanks to its reputation as a cultural hub, Oakland came to be known as “Baby Harlem.” The majority of the Southern migrants who settled in Oakland during the Second Great Migration (see p. 6) were from Louisiana. They were more likely to come from rural places like Monroe, a small city in northern Louisiana, than big cities like New Orleans. Drawn to the lure of the urban music scene, as their agricultural counterparts were to industrial jobs, countless aspiring Bluesmen left small towns like Monroe to follow their dreams west.
Clockwise, from upper-left: Monroe street corner, 1947; Slim Jenkins’ Place, Oakland, 1950; Open-air chess match, Oakland, 2010; Bluesman “Little Walter,” circa 1960s
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M eet
The Playwright
Time Act I
The Present
Oakland, CA: A Wolf without a Pack
1987
San Quentin, CA: Jail-bird Blues
1948
Monroe, LA: The Black Queen
The Present
Oakland, CA: Heart Failure
1959
Oakland, CA: Sing Me a Dream
1989
Oakland, CA: Going through a Storm
1948 and 1989
Oakland, CA: Itching Fingers; Or, I Can Fix Us
The Present
akland, CA: The Leaves Are Changing
1976
Oakland, CA: Will You Walk with Me?
The Present
Oakland, CA: A Blown-out Moon
Act II
The Present
Oakland, CA: No Music without the Muse
1959
San Francisco, CA: Howl the Blues
The Present
Oakland, CA: Walking around Wounded
1959
Oakland, CA: The Gig Is Up
1989
Oakland, CA: She’s My Mind
The Present
Oakland, CA: The Missing Piece
Playwright
Marcus Gardley Marcus Gardley grew up in the 1980s in Oakland, surrounded by a tight-knit community and raised by parents and grandparents from the South. He recalls, “Growing up in Oakland was really magical. I have family that all lived in the same vicinity; it was a huge community. I grew up in a political environment, but also a spiritual and diverse one. It had a huge effect on me.” Gardley spent his Sundays listening to his father preach, and the Black Church has informed and inspired some of his finest work. Though he started out as a poet, Gardley became captivated by playwriting during his college years at San Francisco State. He went on to Yale School of Drama, where he studied under celebrated playwright Lynn Nottage. Since then, Gardley has had productions at major theaters across the United States, and his work has garnered accolades for its soulful sincerity and lyricism. He currently splits his time between New York City and Providence, Rhode Island, where he teaches playwriting at Brown University. He makes a mean dish of Brussels sprouts and thoroughly enjoys mint juleps.
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sweet
rele ase
Interview by Catherine María Rodríguez, Production Dramaturg
Playwright Marcus Gardley shares some of his inspiration for dance of the holy ghosts Catherine María Rodríguez: How did you start writing dance of the holy ghosts? Marcus Gardley: I decided I was going to write a play for fun. I started writing about my childhood. The very first scene, oddly enough, was with my grandfather. My only memory of him was me breaking his gumball machine and him hitting me; he died soon after that. I felt that I needed to know more about this man so that I could have other memories that were positive. [But] when I started asking people things about him, there were no positive memories. [Laughs] Then my brother shared this great memory he had with my grandfather, who used to make him mayonnaise and sugar sandwiches. The way my brother described it, I thought, “There was more to this guy. I think a lot of people missed it.” The play became an homage to him. Was writing it also an exercise in exorcising something that was haunting you? Yeah. I think why I wrote about my grandfather was that I didn’t have enough
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male figures in my life that influenced me, and I wanted that. Now my dad has been a great influence, but it’s really been just him. I’ve always looked for other father figures in my life. Through that, I really tried to talk about Oscar honestly, to make him multidimensional so I can see the love that I think he had. Through letters that I found that he wrote my grandmother, you knew that he was a romantic; he had to possess love for his children and his wife. What were the letters? When my grandmother died, we were going through all of her belongings, and we found these letters hidden in a prized box. We all thought she hated him, but the fact that she kept them all proved that, indeed, she must have had some love for him. She died very soon after him, of a broken heart. [In the letters,] he begged her constantly to come back, but she wouldn’t. Their love was so deep and so powerful, and we don’t know the extent of it. What other memories does the play draw on? There’s a fusion of family members’ memories, my brother’s memories, stories that I heard, and then my own memories— because I was taught when you tell a story
you add your own thread to it, so that you own part of it. It’s your stake in the story. My grandmother says that stories change over time; there’s no one way to tell anything because people forget, people lie, and people lie on accident. So, if you’re going to tell a story, your job is to add your own piece to it. Can you speak to storytelling and the spirit in preaching, poetry, playwriting— and the Blues? My father’s a pastor. But this is my ministry, theater. All the men in our family—on both sides—are preachers in some way. That’s what we grew up with. And when the family gathers, the matriarchs tell stories. We all tell stories. My brother’s a poet, and my sister writes novels. So we’re all writers, all storytellers. [And] spirit is central to storytelling. What we call “catharsis” in theater, in the Blues is called “sweet release.” Lorca called it duende. It’s all the same thing. What it means is the storytelling or the theatrical event that you’re experiencing overwhelms you to the point where you have an emotional response that cannot be explained with everyday language, only through emotion, which makes it both, which makes it spiritual. I don’t write anything that doesn’t have or evoke the
[
[
A play to me is a spell, and if it’s done right you will enchant and heal.
spirit. It’s just releasing something in you— you can relate or empathize on some level with the people in the play that makes you love the story, that makes you want to be a better person, or that makes you want to change the world. What’s your own relationship to words and to music and to soul? I started out as a poet, but found plays the medium in which I could be more represented. But I think the Blues and poetry are present in my work because I believe in a heightened form of reality, and they’re the only way to get there. It’s too real if it’s just realism, that’s my theory. But magical realism, which I use by heightening poetry, allows us to get at a very particular truth and feels more real than realism. Magic is real. And the only way to really explain magic is through poetry. Because a play to me is a spell, and if it’s done right you will enchant and heal. In Blues lore, Robert Johnson made a deal with the devil at the crossroads—but here’s a Bluesman, Oscar, who’s made a deal with God. Can you speak to that just a little bit? I’m so glad you brought that up because that was my entry into Blues. I wanted to pay homage to that story, but I wanted to
do it very loosely. I flipped it because it’s easy for him to sell his soul to the devil to get this gift. But here if it’s God, then we have to look at it a different way, and it’s not so easy. Oscar has a gift, and God actually wants him to use his gift. But it’s subversive because God wants him to play the Blues, not sing the Gospel. I love that this character won’t do God’s work, which is the Blues, because he wants God to give his dead wife back. For you has this play been a “sweet release”? This has been the hardest play of my career to write, because it’s hard to see yourself, first of all, and then it’s hard to write about things that are personal. But I needed it. It’s been eight years since the [first] production of this play, and it almost went to Broadway twice. It’s had quite a journey. I’m so glad it’s at Center Stage because I feel like it’s in the hands of a creative team, a theater, and an artistic director that both get me and get the importance of the work—but are also really interested in the deeper bone marrow of what I’m trying to do. Because I’ve now had those eight years, it feels like a sweet release. It took that long for me to do this rewrite. Plays are living things; sometimes they take a long time.
Finally, if you could only listen to one bit of Blues for the rest of your life, what or who would it be? It would actually be… Bessie Smith. There’s a song that she sings where she describes her genitalia as being “so good it makes a man sick for it.” Lovesick for it. It’s so genius because she does it in a way that at first you go, “Oh my God”—and then you realize how beautiful it is. Then it goes even deeper than that because it’s so poetic: she’s actually talking about her own confidence. I like it because Bessie Smith lived at a time when women were low on the totem pole, and she empowered herself. She’s a champion to me. I know when people think of the Blues they think of these men. Oscar’s a man, but for me this play is—the women are gods. The women are gods. The women are gods. And I feel that way about the Blues, too.
For the full interview please visit www.centerstage.com/2013-14Season/ danceoftheholyghosts.
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I got the key to the highway, and I’m billed out and bound to go I’m gonna leave here runnin’, ‘cause walkin’ is most too slow I’m goin’ down on the border, now where I’m better known ‘Cause woman you don’t do nothin’, but drive a good man ‘way from home Now when the moon creeps over the mountain, I’ll be on my way Now I’m gonna walk this old highway, until the break of day.
–Big Bill Broonzy “Key to the Highway” (1941)
WrestlingwiththeBluesSpirit,fromDeepSouthtoWestCoast By Catherine María Rodríguez, Production Dramaturg
“You get a heck of a sound from the church. Can’t you hear it in my voice?” –Muddy Waters
“I’m gonna preach these blues.”—Son House The Blues is the song, spirit, and memory of exile from native soil, from church, and from love. With lyrics that paint scenes of endless wandering, haunting vocals that invoke sweet and sorrowful memories, and legends that tell of soul-selling pacts, the Blues transcends mere genre and is, for many, a way of life and a means of navigating through this trying world. Initially described as “the weirdest music ever heard” upon its discovery in 1903, the Blues proved its soul and sincerity during a historic moment of unrest some decades later. Displaced by newfangled machines in agricultural fields and motivated by new work opportunities in war-time industries during World War II, African American populations moved out of the rural South and on to faraway cities.
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The Second Great Migration outnumbered its better-known predecessor in both scope and duration, with a whopping five million people moving cross-country from 1940 through 1970. As Blacks resettled, they brought with them sounds and sights of the home they’d left behind. From storefront churches and juke joints to southern cooking and the Blues, the cultural landscape of America—not just its demographics—changed dramatically during these years. From the Mississippi Delta region, Bluesmen too scattered far and wide: to Chicago, New York City, Detroit. Some of the most restless journeyed as far as Oakland. Along the way, they remembered a range of experiences through their music, singing of great troubles and joys, of newfound passion and lost love and moving on. Themes of self-empowerment, self-reliance,
and lustful longing distinguished the Blues from the more “godly” Gospel tunes. Bluesmen, though, served their audiences as preachers did their parishioners: while each region developed its own distinctive style, the Blues united whole communities and kept the spirit of hope alive through soulfully responding to experiences common to this new diaspora. As singer Furry Lewis put it, “the Blues come from a woman wanting to see her man, and a man wanting to see his woman.” The Blues remembers the good with the bad and rejoices in the ability to pick up and go— always honoring, reveling in, and yearning for things lost or otherwise left behind. Quite simply, Bluesmen lived what their souls sang, and their messages reverberated powerfully with other migratory folk.
If I had possession over Judgment Day If I had possession over Judgment Day Lord, the little woman I’m lovin’ wouldn’t have no right to pray And I went to the mountain lookin’ far as my eyes could see And I went to the mountain lookin’ far as my eye could see Some other man got my woman and the alonesome blues got me.
–Robert Johnson
“If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day” (1937)
Still, Bluesmen experienced pushback everywhere, from preachers who labeled them devilish to a music industry obsessed with guarding its racial privilege. Midway through the Second Great Migration, when many first-generation Blues artists were still living and performing, their reception varied greatly—often within a single lifetime or career. Whereas the legendary Son House, for example, was rediscovered before his passing, other profoundly talented contributors like J.B. Lenoir and Juke Boy Bonner were unable to support themselves by their music and died young while working minimum-wage jobs. For every rediscovered Bluesman who makes headlines, there are dozens more whose music has fallen on deaf ears, forgotten by the record-buying public. And yet, despite all odds, Bluesmen and their music have persisted, demanding respect even in the face of waning attention.
Cultural anthropologist Peter R. Aschoff asserts that the Blues “celebrates freedom, even freedom in the imperfect, through the symbolism of travel and the ability to resolve problems by distancing oneself from them.” As Aschoff explains, “The Bluesman put the truth out there regardless of the mainstream’s reaction to it and was granted harsh respect for his insistence on living life on his own terms. Living in a society structured by design to deny personhood to members of the Blues culture, the Bluesman’s uncompromising claim to it is nothing less than revolutionary.”
“Blues is a natural fact, is something that a fellow lives. If you don’t live it you don’t have it. Young people have forgotten to cry the Blues. Now they talk and get lawyers and things.” –Big Bill Broonzy
The pang of the Blues is the pang of resilience and hope, the song of the spirit. From the Deep South to the West Coast, the Bluesman marches on, beating out the music of exile and endurance.
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Bios
The Cast
Sheldon Best*—Marcus.
Center Stage: debut. Off Broadway/New York— Classical Theatre of Harlem: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck); 59E59 & Penguin Rep: Freed (John Newton Templeton); LAByrinth: Paradox of the Urban Cliché; Ma-Yi & Vampire Cowboys: Soul Samurai; Vampire Cowboys: Geek!, Alice in Slasherland; 59E59 & Scripts Up: Years of Sky. Regional— Studio Theatre of DC: Sucker Punch (Leon); Denver Center: Superior Donuts (Franco); Geva Theatre: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Lysander); NC Shakespeare Festival: Romeo and Juliet (Romeo); Cleveland Play House: The Life of Galileo (Andrea Sarti); Underground Railway: Harriet Jacobs (Tom); Actors’ Shakespeare Project: Much Ado About Nothing (Claudio); SpeakEasy Stage: The History Boys; Berkshire Theatre: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. TV—CBS: Person of Interest. Education—BA, Brandeis University.
Denise Burse*—Viola.
Center Stage: Fences (Rose, dir. Donald Douglas), Radio Golf (Mame, dir. Kenny Leon). Broadway/Lincoln Center— Wendy Wasserstein’s An American Daughter (dir. Daniel Sullivan). Off Broadway—Ohio Theatre: Eisa Davis’ Angela’s Mixtape; Classical Stage Company: Don Juan of Seville; American Place Theatre: Ground People (Theatre World Award, Audelco Nom.); Cherry Lane Theatre: Harriet’s Return; Negro Ensemble Company: Hannah Davis; New Federal Theatre: Bill Harris’ Robert Johnson: Trick the Devil (Audelco/Best Actress Award). Tours—Radio Golf (Pre-Broadway, Center Stage, Mark Taper Forum, Seattle Rep). Regional—The Kennedy Center: Pearl Cleage’s Flyin’ West w/ Ruby Dee; Cincinnati Playhouse, Geva: Charles Randolph Wright’s Blue; Illusion Theater: Miss Evers’ Boys; Cleveland Playhouse: African Company Presents Richard III; Seattle Rep: The Piano Lesson (dir. Lloyd Richards); True Colors Theatre Company/NBAF: James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner; True Colors Theatre Company: Fences (dir. Kenny Leon). Alliance Theatre: The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars (dir. Kenny Leon). Workshop—New York Stage and Film/Powerhouse: Marcus Gardley’s The House That Will Not Stand (dir. Marion McClinton). Film/TV—Claretha Jenkins on Tyler Perry’s House of Payne (2011 NAACP Award recipient for Outstanding Comedy Series); Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding (dir. Bruce Beresford); Preaching to the Choir; 8
Funny Valentines (BET/STARZ); All the Law and Orders; Third Watch; 100 Centre Street. This show is dedicated to my late Aunt Viola. Jasmine Carmichael*—
Tanisha Taylor. Center Stage:
debut. Film/TV—Romeo and Juliet in Harlem, The Following, Law and Order: SVU, Unforgettable, NYC 22. Education—Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. For Mommy, thank you for your love and unwavering support. I dedicate this and every performance to you.
Doug Eskew*— Father Michael, Bluesy Tux, Police Officer, Willie.
Center Stage: Ain’t Misbehavin’. Broadway—The Color Purple (Rev. Avery), Five Guys Named Moe (Big Moe), Truly Blessed. Off Broadway—Thunder Knocking on the Door, Josephine Song. National Tours—The Color Purple, Five Guys Named Moe (NAACP nomination and LA Ovation Award), CATS, Dreamgirls, Ain’t Misbehavin’. Regional Theater—Caroline, or Change (Salt Award nom); Chasin Dem’ Blues; Crowns (Barrymore Award nom); Dreamgirls; Thunder Knocking on the Door (Helen Hayes nom); Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Helen Hayes nom); Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom; Polk County and Golden Boy. TV—One Life To Live, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Late Night with David Letterman, The Tonight Show, Good Morning America,The Tony Awards Show (1992 & 2005).
Michael Genet*—Oscar.
Broadway—A Few Good Men, Hamlet, Northeast Local, Lestat; Off Broadway—A Soldier’s Play, The Colored Museum, Resurrection, Earth and Sky, Seven Guitars, The Oedipus Plays, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Film/TV—One Fine Day, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, She Hate Me, Booty Call, 25th Hour, Simple Justice, Hallelujah, Deadline, Ugly Betty, Law & Order, Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, All My Children, As the World Turns, Law & Order: CSI, New York Undercover, One Life To Live. Writing Credits—Hallelujah, She Hate Me, Talk to Me, The Cape, Island Affair, They Must Not Know Who I Think I Am: Lessons In Defiant Resilience™. Awards—Sundance Screenwriter Selectee, Eugene O’Neill Playwright’s
Conference Selectee for New American Plays, Pork Pie) in a Motion Picture (Talk to Me).
chandra thomas*— Darlene/Nurse. Center
Stage: debut. Off Broadway/ New York— New York Theatre Workshop: Coney Island Avenue; Classical Theatre of Harlem: The Cherry Orchard (AUDELCO nom); Public Theater: 365 Days/365 Plays; Women’s Project Theatre: Boy Meets Girl; Cherry Lane Theatre: Wordsworth; P.S. 122: Picking Up Baby; Access Theatre: Obama Drama; Barrow Group Theatre: a rhyme for the UNDERground. Regional— Guthrie: Crowns; Pittsburgh Public Theater: Clybourne Park; Delaware Theatre Company: No Child... (Barrymore Award nom); Philadelphia Theatre Company: Ruined; Alliance Theatre: False Creeds. Film/TV—Labor Day, The Good Wife, Too Big to Fail, Law & Order: CI, Sweet Lorraine. Writer/producer—Standing At... (Heideman Award Finalist), a rhyme for the UNDERground, Complete Sentences?, Forgive to Forget; Co-Founder, viBe Theater Experience (awardwinning non-profit organization empowering NYC teenage girls through the performing arts). Education—MFA, Columbia University. www.chandrathomas.com / @truechandra.
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Bios
The Artistic Team
Marcus Gardley—Playwright—is a
poet-playwright who is the recent 2012 James Baldwin Fellow. He is also the 2011 PEN Laura Pels award winner for Mid-Career Playwright and a Mellon Foundation Playwright in Residence Grantee with Victory Gardens in Chicago. The New Yorker describes Gardley as “the heir to Garciá Lorca, Pirandello and Tennessee Williams.” His most recent production, Every Tongue Confess premiered at Arena Stage starring Phylicia Rashad and directed by Kenny Leon. It was nominated for the Steinberg New Play Award, the Charles MacArthur Award for Best Play and was the recipient of the Edgerton New Play Award. His musical On The Levee premiered last summer at Lincoln Center and was nominated for 11 Audelco Awards including outstanding playwright. Last spring, his critically acclaimed epic And Jesus moonwalks the Mississippi was produced at the Cutting Ball Theater and received the SF Bay Area Theater Critics Circle Award had two sold-out extensions. His Bay Area plays: This World in a Woman’s Hands (October 2009) and Love is a Dream House in Lorin (March 2007) have been hailed as the best in Bay Area theater. The latter was nominated for the National Critics Steinberg New Play Award. He has had six plays produced including: dance of the holy ghosts at Yale Repertory Theatre, (L)imitations of Life at the Empty Space in Seattle, and like sun fallin’ in the mouth at the National Black Theatre Festival. He is the recipient of the 2011 Aetna New Voice Fellowship at Hartford Stage, the Hellen Merrill Award, a Kellsering Honor, the Gerbode Emerging Playwright Award, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre Award, a Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation Grant, a NEA/ TCG Playwriting Participant Residency, the Eugene O’Neill Memorial Scholarship and the ASCAP Cole Porter Prize. He holds an MFA in Playwriting from the Yale Drama School and is a member of The Dramatists Guild and the Lark Play Development Center. Gardley is a 10
David Burdick, Costume Designer, shares his vision at First Rehearsal. Scenic Design model by Neil Patel.
professor of Theater and Performance Studies at Brown University.
Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE—Director.
(see page 12)
Neil Patel—Scenic Designer. Center Stage: Animal Crackers, Mud Blue Sky, The Mountaintop, The Whipping Man, American Buffalo, Working it Out, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Once on This Island, Elmina’s Kitchen, Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Hostage, As You Like It, many others. Broadway— Soul Doctor; Oleanna; Wonderland; [title of show]; Ring of Fire; ’night, Mother; Sideman (also West End & Kennedy Center). Off Broadway—Signature Theatre: stop.reset, My Children! My Africa!; Second Stage: By the way, Meet Vera Stark, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Peter & Jerry, Living Out; Roundabout: McReele, Hurrah at Last; Vineyard: Now.Here.This., The Long Christmas Ride Home; MTC: Between Us, Glimmer Glimmer and Shine; MCC: The Mercy Seat; NYTW: The Beard of Avon, Lydie Breeze, Resident Alien, A Question of Mercy, Bob, Quills, Slavs!; Playwrights Horizons: Lobster Alice, On the Mountain; Public/NYSF: Dirty Tricks, Othello. Regional—includes Guthrie, Steppenwolf, La Jolla, McCarter, Alley, Long Wharf, Mark Taper. Opera—Chicago Lyric Opera: Anna Bolena; Houston Grand Opera: Mary Stuart; Spoleto: Le Villi and Mese Mariano; NYCO: Alcina; Santa Fe: Carmen, Salome, Madame Mao; Minnesota: Madame Butterfly; St. Louis: Cavalleria Rusticana, Suor Angelica, Gloriana; Nikikai: Cosi Fan Tutte, Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni; FGO: Anna Karenina. Film—Some Velvet Morning (TriBeCa) Television—In Treatment (HBO). Awards—Obie Award (2), Helen Hayes Award, Eddy Award, Hewes nom (5), Drama Desk nom (3).
David Burdick—Costume Designer. Center Stage: Animal Crackers, …Edgar Allan Poe; The Mountaintop; An Enemy of the People;The Whipping Man; A Skull in Connemara; The Rivals; Snow Falling on Cedars; Working it Out; Cyrano; Caroline, or Change; Hearts; Things of Dry Hours; Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Elmina’s Kitchen; Picnic; a.m. Sunday; The Rainmaker; Blithe Spirit; many others. Regional—Everyman Theatre: The Beaux’ Stratagem, August: Osage County, You Can’t Take It with You, Private Lives, All My Sons, The Mystery of Irma Vep; Walnut Street/Totem Pole: The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Moon Over Buffalo. Opera—Cincinnati: Don Giovanni; Boston Lyric: I Puritani; Tulsa: Tosca, The Barber of Seville, Carmen, Fidelio. Dance— BAM: FLY: Five First Ladies of Dance; Dayton Contemporary: Lyric Fire (world premiere, dir./choreographer Dianne McIntyre). Miscellaneous—Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: Holiday Spectacular. Michelle Habeck—Lighting Designer. Center Stage: An Enemy of the People, The Whipping Man, A Skull in Connemara, Let There Be Love, Things of Dry Hours, Elmina’s Kitchen. Broadway—Slide Artist: Thoroughly Modern Millie (also London and tour); Associate Lighting Designer: The Boy from Oz, King Hedley II; Assistant Lighting Designer: Movin’ Out, Thoroughly Modern Millie, King Hedley II. Opera—Associate Lighting Designer: Julie Taymor’s Grendel. Off Broadway—Fifty Words. Regional—American Music Theatre Project: WAS (dir. Tina Landau), Dangerous Beauty (dir. Sheryl Kaller); Guthrie: A Raisin in the Sun, Gem of the Ocean. Steppenwolf: Love Song, The Chosen, Ten Percent of Molly Snyder. Michelle has also designed for The Goodman, Alliance, Kansas City Repertory, Penumbra, Arizona Theatre Company, Writer’s Theatre, Lookingglass, and others. Awards—NEATCG Career Development Grant for Design, The University of Texas Faculty Fine Arts Award.
Rob Milburn & Michael Bodeen— Original Music and Sound Design. Center
Stage: Gleam, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, These Shining Lives, A Raisin in the Sun, Dinah Was, Jitney. Broadway—Music & Sound: Breakfast at Tiffany›s, The Miracle Worker, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Speed of Darkness; Music: My Thing of Love; Sound: Steppenwolf’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Superior Donuts, reasons to be pretty, A Year with Frog and Toad, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hollywood Arms, King Hedley II, Buried Child, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, The Song of Jacob Zulu, The Grapes of Wrath. International— London: Comedy Theatre, Barbican, National Theatre of Great Britain; Tel Aviv: Cameri Theater; Japan: Subaru Acting Co.; Toronto; Dublin; Galway; Perth; Sydney. Off Broadway—Vineyard, MTC, MCC, Second Stage, Public, NYSF, Playwrights Horizon’s. Regional— Steppenwolf, Alley, Chicago Shakespeare, Berkeley Rep, Huntington, Guthrie, Mark Taper, McCarter, Alliance, Shakespeare (DC), Arena, Kennedy Center.
Laura Smith*—Stage Manager. Center Stage: Resident Stage Manager; Clybourne Park, Beneatha’s Place, Bus Stop, An Enemy of the People; The Whipping Man, Gleam; The Rivals; Snow Falling on Cedars; Cyrano; Working it Out; Fabulation or, The Re-Education of Undine; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Regional—Everyman: Pygmalion, Shipwrecked, The Exonerated, Rabbit Hole, Doubt, Gem of the Ocean, And a Nightingale Sang, The School for Scandal, A Number, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, Yellowman; Woolly Mammoth: Gruesome Playground Injuries, House of Gold, The Unmentionables, Vigils, After Ashley; Folger: Measure for Measure, The Comedy of Errors (ASM); Olney Theatre: Stuff Happens; Theater Alliance: Headsman’s Holiday, Pangea, [sic]; Catalyst: Cloud 9; Longacre Lea: Man with Bags. Catherine María Rodríguez— Production Dramaturg—is a New
Orleans native making her Center Stage debut with dance of the holy ghosts. Catherine is the dramaturg and archivist for Un Encuentro: Theater from the Borderlands, a new transnational collaboration between Borderlands Theater (Tucson) and El Círculo Teatral (Mexico City). Notable past credits include production dramaturgy for The NOLA Project’s Much Ado about Nothing with the New Orleans Museum of Art and Bruja at Borderlands; assisting on the National New Play Network rolling world premiere of Guapa; administrative and producing work at Steppenwolf; and performance studies research at Northwestern. Catherine holds
a BFA in Dramaturgy and a BA in Hispanic Studies from Carnegie Mellon. In 2013, she received the LMDA & Kennedy Center Regional Student Dramaturgy Award and debuted as a Dramaturgy Panelist at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education national conference. Saludos a todos and laissez les bons temps rouler!
Stephanie Klapper—Casting Director.
Center Stage—Mud Blue Sky, …Edgar Allan Poe, The Whipping Man, A Skull in Connemara. Her work has been seen on Broadway, Off Broadway, regionally, internationally, on television, internet and film. Selected Recent Broadway and Off Broadway—A Christmas Story, The Musical (2012 Tony nominations); Dividing the Estate (2009 Tony nomination); Emotional Creature (Eve Ensler);Harbor; Bronx Bombers; The Model Apartment; You Never Can Tell; Stop the Virgins!; Cactus Flower; The Temperamentals; Bells are Ringing; Dinner with Friends; an oak tree NY/LA(Artios award winner); Indoor Outdoor. National Tour—A Christmas Story, The Musical. Resident casting director for Primary Stages, New York Classical Theatre, and the Pearl Theatre Company. Regional credits include Adirondack Theatre Festival, The Alley Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arena Stage, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Center Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Capital Repertory Theatre, Commonwealth Theatre Company, Delaware Theatre Company, Hartford Stage, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, The New Theatre, The Old Globe, Round House Theatre and Westport Country Playhouse. Her select film and television credits include Alice Jacobs is Dead, Feast of the Goat, Roberta, Sidewalk Stories and for TV, Lazytown. Ms. Klapper is a member of the Casting Society of America and the League of Professional Theatre Women.
PBS Documentary A Raisin In The Sun Revisited: The Raisin Cycle at Center Stage Fri, Oct 25, 9 pm ET
On October 25, PBS presents a new, one-hour documentary—filmed right here at Center Stage. A Raisin in the Sun Revisited: The Raisin Cycle at Center Stage explores the history and legacy of Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking 1959 drama through the staging of two contemporary plays it inspired: Bruce Norris’s Clybourne Park and Beneatha’s Place by Kwame Kwei-Armah, Center Stage Artistic Director. Center Stage mounted both plays in repertory as last spring. Filmmakers captured the drama and cultural significance of simultaneously running these two issue-driven plays. With two opening nights looming, rehearsals, meetings, and costume fittings are paired with footage of Center Stage’s performances, the 1961 film, and insights from theater historians. The program premieres Friday, October 25, 9 pm ET on PBS. Raisin Revisited is made possible by The Eddie C. Brown Family Foundation and Brown Capital with additional support from The Charlesmead Foundation, Ellen and Ed Bernard, and the Estate of Katherine Vaughns.
dance of the holy ghosts | 11
BIOS
The Staff
Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE, an award-winning
British playwright, director, actor, and broadcaster, is in his third season as Artistic Director of Center Stage in Baltimore, Maryland. At Center Stage he has directed The Mountaintop; An Enemy of the People; The Whipping Man (one of City Paper’s Top Ten Productions of 2012), for which he was named Best Director; and Naomi Wallace’s Things of Dry Hours. Among his works as playwright are Elmina’s Kitchen and Let There Be Love—which had their American debuts at Center Stage—as well as A Bitter Herb, Statement of Regret, and Seize the Day. His latest play, Beneatha’s Place, debuted at Center Stage in 2013 as part of the ground-breaking Raisin Cycle. His other directorial credits include Let There be Love and Seize the Day at the Tricycle Theatre, the World Premiere of Detroit ’67 at The Public Theatre, and the World Premiere of The Liquid Plain at Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Kwame has served on the boards of The National Theatre and The Tricycle Theatre, both in London. He served as Artistic Director for the World Arts Festival in Senegal, a month-long World Festival of Black Arts and Culture, which featured more than two thousand artists from 52 countries participating in 16 different arts disciplines. He was named the Chancellor of the University of the Arts London, and in 2012 was named an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
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Managing Director Stephen Richard,
a leader on the national arts scene for more than 30 years, is the Managing Director of Center Stage in Baltimore, Maryland. Stephen most recently worked as Vice President, External Relations, for the new National Children’s Museum. Previously, he served 18 years as Executive Director of Arena Stage, where he planned and managed the theater’s $125 million capital campaign for the Mead Center for American Theater. Also a professor of Arts Management at Georgetown University, he has served on the boards and committees of some of the nation’s most prestigious arts organizations, including the National Endowment for the Arts, American Arts Alliance, the League of Resident Theatres, and the Theatre Communications Group, and currently serves on the Advocacy Committee of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance and on the board of directors of the Maryland Citizens for the Arts.
Associate Artistic Director/Director of Dramaturgy Gavin Witt came to Center
Stage in 2003 as Resident Dramaturg, having served in that role previously at several Chicago theaters. As a dramaturg, he has worked on well over 60 plays, from classics to new commissions—including play development workshops and freelance dramaturgy for TCG, The Playwrights Center, The New Harmony Project, The Old Globe, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, CATF, The Kennedy Center, and others. A graduate of Yale and the University of Chicago, he was active in Chicago theater for more than a decade as an actor, director, dramaturg, translator, and teacher, not to mention co-founder of greasy joan & co. theater, while serving as a regional Vice President of LMDA, the national association of dramaturgs. He has been on the faculty of the University of Chicago and DePaul University, and locally at Towson University.
Above: Cast members Sheldon Best, Doug Eskew, Michael Genet, chandra thomas, and Jasmine Carmichael join Dramaturgs Catherine María Rodríguez and Gavin Witt in a discussion on the play with Center Stage Board of Trustee members.
Q & A
with Kwame & Stephen
There is a lot of music in this show. What is your favorite style of music or what musicians inspire you? Kwame Kwei-Armah: I like music of the soul, however one wishes to define that. For me it’s Blues, Gospel, music that combines the spirit and the mind, artists such as Stevie Wonder. It is music of the African diaspora in all of its manifestations. And of course, I love the Blues—they are one of the major investigators and articulators at the heart of the African American experience. Stephen Richard: I grew up as a teenager in a working class neighborhood in Houston, and one of the places I hung out was in the alley behind a honky-tonk/roadhouse where Lightnin’ Hopkins played. And so I would sit there hearing him—somewhat muffled because between me and the stage was the kitchen. But that’s where I started listening to Blues, from that club, from Lightnin’ Hopkins.
A conversation with Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah and Managing Director Stephen Richard.
Can you share a memory linked to music?
What was your first experience with Marcus Gardley’s work?
KKA: I saw Stevie Wonder in concert when I was 16 or 15. I remember very clearly being moved to the point of distraction, and understanding that some people can be so extraordinarily blessed that they can connect us to things that hitherto you could not be connected to. Marion McClinton says that the artist is God’s Christmas present to herself. And I like that very much. I remember seeing Stevie Wonder and going, “Oh, I can feel something extraordinary,” something outside of the earth, something outside of the here and the now in the vibrations that came off the stage.
KKA: I came to America in 2005 and was doing a residency at New Dramatists. An actress friend of mine who was doing an early reading of dance of the holy ghosts at Yale Rep caught me and said, “You must read this.” I read it and was like, “Oh, this is serious.” A few years later, Marcus was at The Playwrights’ Center, and he was asked what director or establishment he would like to “dance” with. He asked for me and I flew out for another reading. I just fell in love with it.
SR: Sticking with stories about growing up in Houston…One summer I worked road construction in very hot Harris County, Texas. This would have been in 1972. The crew was completely racially segregated. There was a Hispanic crew that did the steel, tying steel rods to form the base of the road. There was an African American crew who were mud slingers—the concrete would pour out of the truck and these guys moved it around. And the supervisors and surveyors were white; I drove the stakes for one of the surveyors. The only thing these people had in common—including language—was music. And Stevie Wonder was on the radio. KKA: Stephen, that is a beautiful, beautiful story.
SR: I actually encountered Marcus a number of years ago at Arena Stage. We commissioned a play from him—we were very excited about working with him early in his career. That play turned out to be every tongue confess [which premiered at Arena Stage in 2012].
What moves you about his writing? KKA: I find that, in his quest to explore the soul of the communities that he writes about, he does so with great verve, spirit, and poetry. As a writer myself, I love playwrights who write from a different side of the brain than I do. To use an old-fashioned boxing analogy, working with poetic playwrights like Naomi Wallace, Dominique Morisseau, and Marcus, I feel like they are Muhammad Ali to my George Foreman. We fight out of different places. I’m always in awe of the playwright who can combine poetry and dramatic action.
dance of the holy ghosts | 13
for making for making a mark in in a mark Baltimore. Baltimore. PNC is proud to bePNC a part of CENTERSTAGE. Because isisproud totobe CENTERSTAGE. PNC proud beaapart partofof CENTERSTAGE.Because Because we know a community thataaworks together thrives we community that works weknow know community that workstogether togetherthrives thrives together. together. together. pnc.com
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Au dience
services
Dining
Sascha’s Express, our pre-performance dinner service, is located up the lobby stairs in our Mezzanine café. Service begins two hours before each performance.
Drinks
You are welcome to take beverages with lids to your seats! But please, no food.
Phones
Please silence all phones and electronic devices before the show and after intermission.
Recording
Photography and both audio and video recording are strictly forbidden.
On-Stage Smoking
We use tobacco-free herbal imitations for on-stage smoking and do everything possible to minimize the impact and amount of smoke that drifts into the audience. Let our Box Office or front of house personnel know if you’re smoke sensitive.
Accessibility
Wheelchair-accessible seating is available for every performance. We offer free assistive listening devices, braille programs, and magnifying glasses upon request. An Open Captioned performance* is available one Sunday performance of each production. Several performances also feature Audio Description*.
Parking
If you are parking in the Baltimore Sun Garage (diagonally across from the theater at Monument & Calvert) you can pay via credit card at the pay station in the garage lobby or at the in-lane pay station as you exit. If you have a pre-paid voucher, proceed directly to your vehicle and enter your voucher after inserting the parking ticket you received upon entering the garage, in the machine as you leave. We are unable to validate parking tickets.
Feedback
We hope you have an enjoyable, stress-free experience! Your feedback and suggestions are always welcomed: info@centerstage.org. *For dance of the holy ghosts: Sunday Nov 3. Audio Description at both 2 pm and 7:30 pm, Open Captioning at 7:30 pm.
dance of the holy ghosts | 15
su ppo rt
The Annual Fund at Center Stage (March 9, 2012 through September 10, 2013.)
Board of Trustees
The following list includes gifts of $250 or more made to the Center Stage Annual Fund
Robert W. Smith, Jr., President Edward C. Bernard, Vice President Juliet Eurich, Vice President Terry H. Morgenthaler, Vice President E. Follin Smith, Treasurer J.W. Thompson Webb, Secretary
Penny Bank Katharine C. Blakeslee* James T. Brady C. Sylvia Brown* Stephanie Carter August J. Chiasera Janet Clauson Lynn Deering Jed Dietz Walter B. Doggett, III Jane W.I. Droppa Brian Eakes Beth W. Falcone Daniel Gahagan C. Richard Gamper, Jr. Suzan Garabedian Carole Goldberg Adam Gross Cheryl O'Donnell Guth Martha Head* Elizabeth J. Himelfarb Hurwitz Kathleen W. Hyle Ted E. Imes Murray M. Kappelman, MD* John J. Keenan E. Robert Kent, Jr. Joseph M. Langmead* Kenneth C. Lundeen* Marilyn Meyerhoff* Hugh Mohler J. William Murray Charles E. Noell Esther Pearlstone* Judy M. Phares Jill Pratt Philip J. Rauch Harold Rojas Monica Sagner* Renee C. Samuels Todd Schubert Charles Schwabe George M. Sherman* Scott Somerville Scot T. Spencer Michael B. Styer Harry Thomasian Donald Thoms Katherine Vaughns+ Cheryl Hudgins Williams Linda S. Woolf * Trustee Emeriti + Center Stage honors the legacy of Katherine Vaughns and her many contributions as a Trustee, patron, donor, and friend of our theater.
between March 9, 2012 and September 10, 2013. Although space limitations make it impossible for us to list everyone who helps fund our artistic, education, and community programs, we are enormously grateful to each person who contributes to Center Stage.
We couldn’t do it without you! INDIVIDUALS & FOUNDATIONS
The Center Stage Society represents donors who, with their annual contributions of $2,500 or more, provide special opportunities for our artists and audiences. Society members are actively involved through special events, theater-related travel, and behind-the-scenes conversations with theater artists. Individual Season Sponsors
Ellen and Ed Bernard
Stephanie and Ashton Carter Lynn and Tony Deering
Jane and Larry Droppa Judy and Scott Phares
Mr. and Mrs. Philip Rauch
Jay and Sharon Smith
Ms. Barbara Voss and Charles E. Noell, III Presidents’ Circle
($40,000+)
William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, creator of the Baker Artist Awards
The Annie E. Casey Foundation The Charlesmead Foundation The Shubert Foundation, Inc. Ms. Katherine L. Vaughns+
Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust
Daniel P. Gahagan
The Laverna Hahn Charitable Trust
August and Melissa Chiasera
Mr. and Mrs. E. Robert Kent, Jr.
The Mary & Dan Dent Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation
The Goldsmith Family Foundation Francie and John Keenan
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Edgerton Foundation New American Play Awards Kathleen Hyle
JI Foundation
Kenneth C. and Elizabeth M. Lundeen
Marilyn Meyerhoff
Terry H. Morgenthaler and Patrick Kerins Producers’ Circle
($10,000- $24,999)
George Roche
Mr. and Mrs. George M. Sherman
The Harry L. Gladding Foundation/ Winnie and Neal Borden
Mr. Louis B. Thalheimer and Ms. Juliet A. Eurich
Goldseker Foundation/Ana Goldseker
Playwrights’ Circle
The Hecht-Levi Foundation, Inc.
Mr. J. William Murray
($5,000- $9,999)
Ms. Katharine C. Blakeslee Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation
Mary Catherine Bunting
The Jane and Worth B. Daniels, Jr. Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation Brian and Denise Eakes
Dick and Maria Gamper
Dr. and Mrs. Neil D. Goldberg Fredye and Adam Gross
Martha Head
Mr. and Mrs. Martin Hill Murray Kappelman
Kwame and Michelle Kwei-Armah
The John J. Leidy Foundation, Inc. The Macht Philanthropic Fund
Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker
The William L. and Victorine Q. Adams Foundation and The Rodgers Family Fund
John and Susan Nehra
The Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation, Inc.
The Jim & Patty Rouse Charitable Foundation
Peter and Millicent Bain
James T. and Francine G. Brady
The Bunting Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. George L. Bunting
The Nathan & Suzanne Cohen Foundation
Gene DeJackome and Kim Gingras
Mr. and Mrs. Walter B. Doggett, III
The Cordish Family
James and Janet Clauson
Drs. Joanna and Harry Brandt
Joseph & Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds
The Miriam and Jay Wurtz Andrus Trust Penny Bank
Anonymous
The Lois and Irving Blum Foundation
Sylvia and Eddie Brown
($25,000-$39,999)
Directors’ Circle
($2,500- $4,999)
John Gerdy and E. Follin Smith
Artists’ Circle
The Helen P. Denit Charitable Trust
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Ms. Nancy Dorman and Mr. Stanley Mazaroff
Stephen Richard and Mame Hunt Mr. Gilbert H. Stewart and Ms. Joyce L. Ulrich
Dr. Edgar and Betty Sweren, in honor of Center Stage’s 50th Anniversary
Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Thompson Webb Ms. Linda Woolf
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Falcone Ms. Suzan Garabedian
Robert and Cheryl Guth
David and Elizabeth JH Hurwitz
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Immelt
Jonna and Fred Lazarus
Mr. and Mrs. Earl & Darielle Linehan/Linehan Family Foundation Mrs. Diane Markman
Linda and John McCleary
Mr. and Mrs. John L. Messmore
Jim and Mary Miller Jeannie Murphy
The Israel & Mollie Myers Foundation
Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence C. Pakula
Marjorie Rodgers Cheshire and Mark Cheshire
Lainy Lebow Sachs and Leonard Sachs Monica and Arnold Sagner
Scott and Mimi Somerville Scot T. Spencer
Mr. Michael Styer
Mr. and Mrs. Donald and Mariana Thoms Trexler Foundation, Inc. - Jeff Abarbanel and David Goldner Mr. and Mrs. Loren and Judy Western
Ted and Mary Jo Wiese
Cheryl Hudgins Williams and Alonza Williams Sydney and Ron Wilner
Drs. Nadia and Elias Zerhouni
Associates
($1,000-$2,499) Anonymous Ms. Taunya Banks Mr. and Mrs. Marc Blum John and Carolyn Boitnott Jan Boyce Dr. and Mrs. Donald D. Brown Sandra and Thomas Brushart Meredith and Joseph Callanan
The Campbell Foundation, Inc. Caplan Family Foundation, Inc. Sally and Jerry Casey John Chester Ann K. Clapp Constantinides Family Foundation Ms. Gwen Davidson The Richard & Rosalee C. Davison Foundation James DeGraffenreidt and Mychelle Farmer Albert F. DeLoskey and Lawrie Deering Rosetta and Matt DeVito Mr. Jed Dietz and Dr. Julia McMillan Mr. and Mrs. Eric Dott Jack and Nancy Dwyer Ms. Nicole Epp Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Freedman Frank and Jane Gabor Jose and Ginger Galvez Pamela and Jonathan Genn, in honor of Cindi Monahan and Beth Falcone Richard and Sharon Gentile, in honor of the Center Stage Costume Shop Ms. Sandra Levi Gerstung
Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Panitz Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation, in honor of Peter Culman
Jill and Darren Pratt
Ms. Kathleen C. Ridder, in honor of Peter Culman
The James and Gail Riepe Family Foundation
Nathan and Michelle Robertson Dr. David A. Robinson
The Rollins-Luetkemeyer Foundation
Kurt and Patricia Schmoke
Mr. and Mrs. Todd Schubert
Gail B. Schulhoff
Charles and Leslie Schwabe
The Tim and Barbara Schweizer Foundation, Inc. Barbara and Sig Shapiro
The Ida & Joseph Shapiro Foundation
The Earle & Annette Shawe Family Foundation Dr. Barbara Shelton
Dana and Matthew Slater
The Honorable and Mrs. E. Stephen Derby Lynne Durbin and John-Francis Mergen
Dave and Joyce Edington
Patricia Egan and Peter Hegeman, in honor of Peter Culman Patricia Yevics-Eisenberg and Stewart Eisenberg
The Eliasberg Family Foundation Buddy and Sue Emerson, in appreciation of Ken and Elizabeth Lundeen
Donald and Margaret Engvall
Faith and Edgar Feingold, in memory of Sally W. Feingold
Sandra and John Ferriter Ms. Nancy Freyman
Kathryn and Mark Vaselkiv
Carolyn and Robert Wallace
Nanny and Jack Warren, in honor of Lynn Deering
Janna P. Wehrle
Mr. Todd M. Wilson and Mr. Edward DeLaplaine
Stuart and Linda Grossman Louise A. Hager
Terry Halle and Wendy McAllister Donald and Sybil Hebb
Bill and Scootsie Hatter
Anonymous
Sheila and Steve Sachs Ms. Renee C. Samuels Eugene and Alice Schreiber Philanthropic Fund
Georgia and George Stamas Station North Arts and Entertainment District
Ralph and Claire Hruban
Mr. James Hughes Mr. Edward Hunt
Ms. Harriet F. Iglehart
Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Imes
Richard Jacobs and Patricia Lasher
Ms. Mary Claire Jeske BJ and Candy Jones
Dr. and Mrs. Juan M. Juanteguy
Ms. Shirley Kaufman B. Keller
Judith Phair King and Roland King Mr. George W. King
In memory of Sally Wessner Mr. Michael T. Wharton Dr. and Mrs. Frank R. Witter Eric and Pam Young Mr. Norman Youskauskas Mr. Paul Zugates
Advocates ($250-$499)
Anonymous Walter and Rita Abel Mr. and Mrs. Delbert L. Adams Bradley and Lindsay Alger Ms. Donna Arbogast Mr. Alan M. Arrowsmith, II
Joseph J. Jaffa
Mayer and Will Baker, in honor of Terry Morgenthaler
Dr. and Mrs. Ronald Lesser
Rachel and Steven Bloom, in honor of Beth Falcone
Kenneth and Christine Lobo
Mr. Chad Bolton, in honor of Peter Culman
Max Jordan Mr. and Mrs. Mark Joseph Francine and Allan Krumholz Sandy and Mark Laken Andie Laporte, in honor of Philip and Lynn Rauch Dr. and Mrs. George Lentz, Jr. Joseph and Jane Meyer John and Beverly Michel
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Bank Family Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation
Amy and Bruce Barnett
Charles and Patti Baum
Jaye and Dr. Ted Bayless Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation Judge Robert Bell
Tom and Cindi Monahan
S. Woods and Cathy L. Bennett
Ms. Stacey Morrison and Mr. Brian Morales
Harriet and Bruce Blum
The Honorable Diana and Fred Motz, in memory of Nancy Roche Roger F. Nordquist and Joyce Ward Irene E. Norton Mr. and Mrs. Lee Ogburn Ms. Jo-Ann Mayer Orlinsky Dr. Bodil Ottesen
Steve and Teri Bennett Cindy Candelori
Mr. and Mrs. Carl F. Christ
Joan Develin Coley and M. Lee Rice Barbara Crain and Michael Borowitz
Richard and Lynda Davis Robert and Janice Davis
Herbert and Harriet Goldman
Mr. Bruce Goldman Mr. Howard Gradet
Joseph Griffin
Jane Halpern and James Pettit
Aaron Heinsman
Joseph M. and Judy K. Langmead
Mr. Robert and Dorothy Bair
Hal and Pat Gilreath
Ada Hamosh
Mrs. Alexander Armstrong
The Alsop Family Foundation
Mark and Patti Gillen
Thomas and Barbara Guarnieri
The A. C. and Penney Hubbard Foundation
Len and Betsy Homer
Dr. Neal M. Friedlander and Dr. Virginia K. Adams
Mr. and Mrs. Barbara and Paul Timm-Brock
Stewart and Carol Koehler
Drs. Dahlia Hirsch and Barry Wohl
Donna Flynn
Joan and David Forester
Sanford and Karen Teplitzky
Ms. Diane Abeloff, in memory of Martin Abeloff
Sandra and Thomas Hess
Dr. and Mrs. Robert P. Fleishman
Mr. and Mrs. George Flickinger
Mr. and Mrs. George and Beth Van Dyke
Dr. and Mrs. J. Woodford Howard
Kirk and Debbie Joy
($500-$999)
Mr. Al Russell
Bob and Susie Fetter
Genine and Josh Fidler, in honor of Ellen and Ed Bernard
Mr. and Mrs. James Hormuth
Dr. Laurie S. Zabin
Colleagues
Kevin and Judy Rossiter Mrs. Bette Rothman
Ms. Jeannette E. Festa
Melanie and Donald Heacock
Annie Groeber, in memory of Dr. John E. Adams
F. Barton Harvey, III and Janet Marie Smith
Dorothy L. and Henry A. Rosenberg, Jr.
Deborah and Philip English
Ms. Rhea Feikin, in memory of Colgate Salsbury
United Way of Central Maryland Campaign
James M. and Julie B. Johnstone
Mr. Calman Zamoiski, Jr., in honor of Terry Morgenthaler
Mr. and Mrs. Harold Rojas
Ms. Alice M. Dibben
Sally Digges and James Arnold
Sharon and David Tufaro
Ann Wolfe and Dick Mead
H.R. LaBar Family Foundation Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Ms. Jane Rodbell
Mr. and Mrs. David and Gloria Crockett
Betsy and George Hess
Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin H. Griswold, IV
John W. Wood
Mrs. Peggy L. Rice
Susan Somerville-Hawes, in honor of The Encounter Program
Mrs. Heidi Hoffman
John A. Ulatowski
Ronald and Carol Reckling
Mary and Richard Gorman
Mr. and Mrs. Scott Smith
Dr. and Mrs. John Strahan
Richard and Kay Radmer
The Sinksy-Kresser-Racusin Memorial Foundation
Frank and Tara Gallagher
Mr. and Mrs. Robert N. Smelkinson
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald W. Taylor
Robert E. and Anne L. Prince
Dr. Joseph Gall and Dr. Diane Dwyer
Lee M. Hendler, in honor of Peter Culman
Judith R. and Turner B. Smith
Dave and Chris Powell
Mr. John Lanasa, in honor of Peter Culman
Claus Leitherer and Irina Fedorova
Marilyn Leuthold
Dr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Lynch
The Dr. Frank C. Marino Foundation, Inc.
Maryland Charity Campaign
Michael Baker Mr. and Mrs. Martin Beer Mr. and Mrs. Alfred and Muriel Berkeley
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bryan Dr. and Mrs. Arthur Burnett II Ms. Deborah W. Callard
Ms. Mary L. McGeady
The Jim and Anne Cantler Memorial Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation
Mr. Jeston I. Miller
Mr. and Mrs. David Carter
Dr. Carole Miller
Stephanie F. Miller, in honor of The Lee S. Miller Jr. Family George and Beth Murnaghan Rex and Lettie Myers
Michael and Phyllis Panopoulos Chris and Deborah Pennington
Mr. and Mrs. James and Mimi Piper Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation Bonnie Pitt
Mr. Andrew J. Cary Mr. and Mrs. James Case Ms. Cynthia Cindric Stanton Collins
Dr. and Dr. James and Vicki Handa
In Memory of Eric R. Head
William and Monica Henderson Sue Hess
Mrs. James J. Hill, Jr., in memory of James J. Hill, Jr. Mr. Donald H. Hooker, Jr. Ms. Irene Hornick Ms. Sarah Issacs
Mr. William Jacob
James and Hillary Aidus Jacobs
A.H. Janoski, M.D., in honor of Jane Stewart Janoski Mr. and Mrs. Peter Kaplan Richard and Judith Katz
Dr. and Mrs. Myron Kellner
Steve and Laurie Kelly, in memory of Rodney Stieff
Donald Knox and Mary Towery, in memory of Carolyn Knox and Gene Towery
David and Ann Koch
Gina Kotowski Edward Kuhl
Drs. Don and Pat Langenberg
Mr. Richard M. Lansburgh
Mr. and Mrs. William Larson Drs. Ronald and Mary Leach
Leadership—Baltimore County
Sara W. Levi
Marty Lidston and Jill Leukhardt Dr. and Mrs. John Lion Cheryl London
Scott and Ellen Lutrey
Nancy Magnuson and Jay Harrell, in honor of Betty and Edgar Sweren
Combined Federal Campaign
Ms. Karen Malloy
Comprehensive Car Care/ Robert Wagner
Joan and Terry Marshall
David and Sara Cooke B.J. and Bill Cowie Mr. and Mrs. Richard D. Crafton
Mr. Elvis Marks Don Martin
Eleanor McMillan
Mary and Barry Menne
dance of the holy ghosts | 17
su ppo rt CORPORATIONS
Bruce Mentzer
April Duncan Wall
Minds Eye Cinema
Mr. and Mrs. Barry and Linda Williams
Ms. Darlene Miller
The Montag Family Fund of The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, in honor of Beth Falcone James W. and Shirley A. Moore Dr. and Mrs. Clayton Moravec
Ms. Cassie Motz, in memory of Nancy Roche Dr. and Mrs. C.H. Murphy
Stephen and Terry Needel In memory of Nelson Neuman Claire D. O’Neill
Mr. Thomas Owen
The P.R.F.B. Charitable Foundation, in memory of Shirley Feinstein Blum Justine and Ken Parezo
George Edward Parrish, Jr. Fred and Grazina Pearson Linda and Gordon Peltz
Mr. William Phillips Ron and Pat Pilling
Thea Pinskey
Mr. Mike Plaisted and Ms. Maggie Webbert Mr. Rex Rehfeld and Ms. Ellen O’Brien
Cyndy Renoff and George Taler
Dr. Michael Repka and Dr. Mary Anne Facciolo
Natasha and Keenan Rice Liz Ritter and Larry Koppelman
Brian and Patricia Winter
Deborah King-Young and Daniel Young Harold and Joan Young
Mr. William Zerhouni
Special Grants & Gifts:
The Leading National Theatres Program, a joint initiative of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Government Grants Center Stage is funded by an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. Funding for the Maryland State Arts Council is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Center Stage’s catalog of Education Programs has been selected by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities as a 2011 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award Finalist. Baltimore County Executive, County Council, & Commission on Arts and Sciences Carroll County Government
Ida and Jack Roadhouse
Howard County Arts Council through a grant from Howard County Government
Louis and Luanne Rusk
Gifts In-Kind
Mr. Wilfred Roesler
Steven and Lee Sachs Dr. Chris Schultz
Mr. Steve Schwartzman
The Afro American Akbar Restaurant Atwater’s
Clair Zamoiski Segal, in honor of Judy Witt Phares
The Baltimore Sun
Mrs. Kimberly Shorter
The Brewer’s Art
Leslie Shepard
Mr. and Mrs. L. Siems
Dr. and Mrs. Donald J. Slowinski Rosie and Jim Smith
Ms. Jill Stempler
Mrs. Clare H. Stewart, in honor of Bill Geenen
Renee Straber, in memory of Joan Marilyn Kappelman
Ms. Joann Strickland
Mr. and Mrs. James R.and Gail Swanbeck
Mr. Joseph Terino, in memory of Joan Marilyn Kappelman Cindy and Fredrick Thompson
Mr. Martin Toner, in memory of Joan Marilyn Kappelman Laura and Neil Tucker, in honor of Beth Falcone
Millie Tyssowski
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Ms. Magda Westerhoust
Berger Cookies Blimpie
Cakes by Pamela G Casa di Pasta
Iggie’s
SEason 51 Presenting Sponsor
The Jewish Times Mamott
Mars Super Markets
Maryland Office Interiors
Presidents’ Circle
Maryland Public Television
Playwrights’ Circle
Mitchell Kurtz Architect, PC
Anonymous
Michele’s Granola
Mount Vernon Stable and Saloon
American Trading &
Oriole’s Pizza and Sub
The Baltimore Life Companies
Pizza Hut
Brown Advisory
Production Corporation
New System Bakery
Pizza Boli’s
Planit Agency PromoWorks
Republic National Distributing Company
Sabatino’s
Shugoll Research
T. Rowe Price Foundation, Inc. Artists’ Circle
Chapel Valley Landscape Company Environmental Reclamation Company Ernst & Young FTI Consulting, Inc.
The Signman
Howard Bank
Style Magazine Subway
Lord Baltimore Capital Corporation
Urbanite
Utz Quality Foods
McGuireWoods LLP
A Vintner’s Selection
The P&G Fund of The Greater
Village Square Café
Cincinnati Foundation
Wawa
Wegman’s
Pessin Katz Law P.A.
Whitmore Print & Imaging WYPR Radio
www.thecheckshop.us
Matching Gift Companies
Producers’ Circle
PNC Bank Saul Ewing LLP Stifel Nicolaus
The Abell Foundation, Inc.
Venable, LLP
BGE
Wells Fargo
Bank of America
The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Constellation Energy
The Deering Family Foundation Exxon Corporation
GE Foundation
Illinois Tool Works Foundation Kraft Foods
MASCO Corporation
McCormick Foundation
Whiteford, Taylor and Preston Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.
Directors’ Circle Alexander Design Studio Baxter, Baker, Sidle, Conn & Jones, P.A. Bay Imagery
The Classic Catering People
Norfolk Southern Foundation
Chipotle
Stanley Black and Decker
Schoenfeld Insurance Associates
Eddie’s on Saint Paul
T. Rowe Price Group
Stevenson University
Eggspectations
We make every effort to provide accurate acknowledgement of our contributors. We appreciate your patience and assistance in keeping our lists current. To advise us of corrections, please call 410.986.4026.
The Charles Theater The City Paper
Edible Arrangements Express Vending
Fisherman’s Friend/ Pez Candy, Inc.
The Fractured Prune
Gertrude’s Restaurant Gianni’s Italian Bistro Greg’s Bagels GT Pizza
HoneyBaked Ham Co.
The Helmand
Hotel Monaco
PNC Bank
SunTrust Bank
Funk & Bolton, P.A.
The Zolet Lenet Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
Associates Ayers Saint Gross, Incorporated Chesapeake Plywood, LLC
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HANNAH: Jessa, Jessa—there are bells here! We haven’t heard bells in some time.
up next in Season 51
The Walters Presents Artist Jacob Lawrence The Walters Art Museum presents Jacob Lawrence’s Genesis Series (1990), eight works describing eight passages from the book of Genesis.
A NEW HOLIDAY CLASSIC
Lawrence, an African American artist, is also known for his Migration Series (1940–41), which depicts The Second Great Migration, the movement of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North. “Jacob Lawrence is one the nation’s most celebrated 20th century artists and a key interpreter of the African American experience,” said Jacqueline Copeland, Deputy Director for Audience Engagement at The Walters. The Genesis Series reflects Lawrence’s youthful memories of passionate sermons about The Creation given by ministers at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem where he was baptized in 1932. This series, on loan from Eddie and Sylvia Brown’s Baltimore collection, features the same unity, colorful imagery, and visual eloquence of his earlier series.
The Genesis Series has been generously loaned from Eddie and Sylvia Brown’s private collection in Baltimore.
Nov 19–Dec 22
By Paula Vogel Directed by Rebecca Taichman
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel spins a musical tale of hope and forgiveness. It’s a bitterly cold Christmas Eve in 1864 and all along the Potomac, from the White House to the battlefields, friends and foes alike find their lives strangely and poetically intertwined. Weaving together carols and folk songs, this “beautifully stitched tapestry of American lives” (The New York Times) is sure to become a new holiday classic for the entire family.
HANNAH:
Jessa, Jessa—there are bells here! We haven’t heard bells in some time.
About 50 miles and 150 years from here and now, we wander into a holiday tale that is more complex and more stirring than many others. Traditional carols and period folksongs accent the stark events of our nation’s past to warm the hearts of soldiers, slaves, presidents, and children. This expansive account of one transformative Christmas Eve deftly handles the burdens of power, the fog of war, the diversity of experience, and the beauty of shared humanity during a turning point in history. Bringing together an all-star creative team including Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Paula Vogel, critically acclaimed director Rebecca Taichman, and MacArthur Genius Award-winning choreographer Liz Lehrman, A Civil War Christmas is a vivid portrait of a nation at a war and uplifting story of common destiny.
Jacob Lawrence, Genesis Series (1990), The Creation was done and all was well.
© 2013 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
“When the actors’ voices rise together in song… there arises from the dark history being told an ineffable sense of wonder at the survival of faith and humanity even in hearts ravaged by loss.” —The New York Times dance of the holy ghosts | 19
staff Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE–Artistic Director | Stephen Richard–Managing Director Administration
Associate Managing Director–Del W. Risberg Executive Assistant–Kacy Armstrong Management Fellow–Kevin Maroney Yale Management Fellow–Molly Hennighausen
Artistic & Dramaturgy
Associate Artistic Director/Director of Dramaturgy– Gavin Witt Artistic Producer–Susanna Gellert Artistic and Dramaturgy Intern–Catherine Rodríguez The Lynn and Tony Deering Artistic Intern– Samantha Godfrey Summer Intern- Alexis Kocerhan Hot Desk Resident Playwright–Miranda Rose Hall Playwrights under Commission–de'Adre Aziza, Ken Greller, James Magruder, Daniel Reitz, KJ Sanchez
Audience Relations
Box Office Manager–Mandy Benedix Assistant Box Office Manager/Subscriptions Manager– Jerrilyn Keene Assistant Box Office Manager–Blane Wyche Senior Patron Services Associate–Lindsey Barr Patron Services Associates–Zerica Anderson, Samrawit Belai, Tiana Bias, Shaquille Carbon, Maura Dwyer, Caitlin Joseph, Froilan Mate, Quincy Price, Kristina Szilagyi, Paul Wissman, Orealle Whye Bar Manager–Sean Van Cleve Audience Relations Intern–Laura Baker Audio Description–Ralph Welsh & Maryland Arts Access Front of House|Volunteer Coordinator–Alec Lawson
Audio
Supervisor–Amy Wedel Interim Sound Supervisor–Patrick Calhoun The Jane and Larry Droppa Audio Intern– Daniel Hogan
Community Programs & Education
Director–Rosiland Cauthen Community Programs & Education Fellow– Dustin Morris Community Programs & Education Fellow– Kristina Szilagyi Community Programs and Education Intern– Joshua Thomas Teaching Artists–The 5th L; Oran Sandel; Jerry Miles, Jr.; CJay Philip; Wambui Richardson
Costumes
Costumer–David Burdick Craftsperson–Wil Crowther Tailor–Edward Dawson First Hand–Jessica Rietzler The Judy and Scott Phares Costumes Intern– Eileen Chaffer Wardrobe Intern–Lucy Wakeland
Development
Director–Cindi Monahan Annual Fund Manager–Katelyn White Grants Manager–Debbie Joy
The Center Stage Program is published by: Center Stage Associates, Inc. 700 North Calvert Street Baltimore, Maryland 21202 Editor Maggie Beetz Art Direction/Design Bill Geenen Associate Editor Heather Jackson Advertising Sales ads@centerstage.org
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Events Manager–Brad Norris Development Associate–Julia Ostroff Development Assistant–Christopher Lewis Auction Coordinator–Sydney Wilner Auction Assistant–Norma Cohen The Edward and Ellen Bernard Development Intern– Astoria Avilés
Finance
Director–Susan Rosebery Business Manager–Kathy Nolan Associate–Carla Moose
Graphics
Art Director–Bill Geenen Production Photographer–Richard Anderson Marketing Multimedia Fellow–Leslie Datsis Graphics Intern–Callan Silver
Information Technologies
Director–Joe Long Systems Administrator–Mark Slaughter
Electrics
Lighting Director–Lesley Boeckman Master Electrician–Bevin Miyake Staff Electrician–Anthony Reed The Gilbert H. Stewart and Ms. Joyce L. Ulrich Lighting Intern–Carly Shiner Multimedia Intern–Gregory Towle
Marketing & Communications
Director–Tony Heaphy Marketing Manager–Madeline Long Public Relations Manager–Heather C. Jackson Publications Manager–Maggie Beetz Marketing Associate/Group Sales–Tia Abner Digital Content Associate–Emily Salinas The Jay and Sharon Smith Marketing and Public Relations Intern–Sarah Bichsel
Operations
Operations Manager–Shawn Whitenack Building Engineer–Dan Pearce Custodial Services–MultiCorp. Grady Hughes Security Supervisor–James Williams
Production Management
Production Manager–Mike Schleifer Company Manager–Sara Grove Associate Production Manager–Caitlin Powers Production and Stage Management Intern– Quincy Price Company Management Intern–Te’ La Williams
Properties
Manager–Jennifer Stearns Assistant Manager– Nathan Scheifele Artisan–Samantha Kuczynski The Kenneth C. and Elizabeth M. Lundeen Properties Intern–Elizabeth Chapman
CONTACT INFORMATION
Box Office Phone 410.332.0033 Box Office Fax 410.727.2522 Administration 410.986.4000 www.centerstage.org info@centerstage.org
Scenery
Technical Director–Tom Rupp Assistant Technical Director–Laura P. Hilliker Shop Supervisor–Trevor Gohr Carpenters–Mike Kulha, Hunter Montgomery, Scott Richardson Scene Shop Intern–Amber Chaney
Scenic Art
Scenic Artist–Stephanie Nimick Intern–Roxanne Miftahittin
Stage Management
Resident Stage Managers–Captain Kate Murphy, Laura Smith Production Assistant–Lindsay Eberly The Peter and Millicent Bain Stage Management Intern–Chandalae Nyswonger
Stage Operations
Stage Carpenter–Eric Burton Wardrobe Supervisor–Linda Cavell The following individuals and organizations contributed to this production of
dance of the holy ghosts—
Assistant Director–Samantha Godfrey Assistant Lighting Director–Rachel Atkinson Carpenters–Jessica Cowan, Jake Epp, Chris Insley, Nathan Scheifele, Michael Steiner Draper–Sue MacCorkle Electricians–Jake Epp, Aaron Haag, Joey Walls Hair/Wigs–Linda Cavell Children’s vocals sung by students at the Baltimore School for the Arts Thanks to Jess Cowan, Jeanne Marie Hanan, Lisi Stoessel for Props work on Animal Crackers Center Stage operates under an agreement between LORT and Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. The Director and Choreographer are members of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc., an independent national labor union. The scenic, costume, lighting, and sound designers in LORT theaters are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE. Musicians engaged by Center Stage perform under the terms of an agreement between Center Stage and Local 40-543, American Federation of Musicians. Center Stage is a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the nonprofit professional theater, and is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), the national collective bargaining organization of professional regional theaters.
Material in the Center Stage performance program is made available free of charge for legitimate educational and research purposes only. Selective use has been made of previously published information and images whose inclusion here does not constitute license for any further re-use of any kind. All other material is the property of Center Stage, and no copies or reproductions of this material should be made for further distribution, other than for educational purposes, without express permission from the authors and Center Stage.
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