Building the Wall by Texas Theatre and Dance

AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER 1, 3-8 AT 7:30 P.M. SEPTEMBER 2 AT 8:00 P.M. SEPTEMBER 3 AND 10 AT 2:00 P.M.

OSCAR G. BROCKETT THEATRE F. LOREN WINSHIP BUILDING

THEATREDANCE.UTEXAS.EDU

CAST Gloria ��Franchelle Stewart Dorn* Rick ��David Sitler*

CREATIVE TEAM Director �� Brant Pope Scenic Designer �� Bruno-Pierre Houle Lighting Designer ��Aaron Curry Costume Designer �� Cait Graham Sound Designer ��Phillip Owen Stage Manager �� Rusty Cloyes* BUILDING THE WALL was first produced as a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere by The Fountain Theatre (CA), Curious Theatre Company (CO), Forum Theatre (DC), Borderlands Theater (AZ) and City Theatre (FL), with support from Paul Prokop. For more information please visit www.nnpn.org. BUILDING THE WALL was developed at The Lark, New York City. BUILDING THE WALL is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York. *The Actor appears through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. The Director is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society a national theatrical labor union.

NOTE FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT What does a writer do, who has often turned to history to illuminate past political issues, when he finds himself living through a turning point in history? Sometimes he looks to the future. In October of last year, as the most expensive and dispiriting Presidential campaign in memory came to a close, I sat down and wrote this play. In it, I have imagined a time not so far from now, in which the current President’s incendiary rhetoric on immigration and border security has found its full, even logical, expression. The artistic extrapolation from present day political circumstances into an imagined dystopian fiction has plenty of literary precedent – think Orwell and 1984 or Atwood and The Handmaid’s Tale. There are other precedents to consider as well. While our current political crisis is extraordinary, it is not new. Marketed as a partisan conflict, it is rather an assault on fundamental values, American values, which we all share. It is an expression of democracy’s ancient enemy, the Authoritarian impulse, and that playbook is well established. Create a constant state of crisis which only a “strong” leader can solve. Encourage fear, divide the populace and scapegoat minorities with appeals to nationalism, racism and isolationism. Smear your opponents as unpatriotic and malign the press. Nor are we alone in this struggle. All the Western democracies currently wrestle with some variant of this baleful resurgence – Le Pen in France, Geerte Wilders in Holland, the Five Star movement in Italy, etc. The question, of course, is not ultimately what the authorities will do but how we, the citizens, will respond. There is an inherent tension in democracy between the individual and the state over the issue of moral authority. Sophocles wrote about this in Antigone over 2,500 years ago but we have seen far too many episodes in our own lifetime where citizens abdicated their responsibility. If you do not pay attention, the unimaginable can become the inevitable. Is that our future? Sickened by the hate, by the constant numbing assault, will we succumb to our fears, normalize what is abnormal and simply look after our own interests? Or will we enthusiastically put our shoulders to their dark wheel? Or will we resist? To those who insist this could never happen here, I reply, maybe so; but that, of course, will depend entirely on what you do. Robert Schenkkan

The Department of Theatre and Dance is a world-class educational environment that serves as the ultimate creative incubator for the next generation of artists, thinkers and leaders in theatre and performance.

CREATIVE ROBERT SCHENKKAN (Playwright) is a Pulitzer Prize®, Tony® and Writers Guild Award-winner, three-time Emmy®-nominated writer. Author of sixteen plays: All The Way, The Great Society, Building The Wall, Hanussen, Shadowplay, By The Waters of Babylon, Handler, A Single Shard, Devil and Daniel Webster, Lewis and Clark Reach The Euphrates, Final Passages, The Marriage of Miss Hollywood and King Neptune, Heaven On Earth, Tachinoki, The Dream Theif and The Kentucky Cycle (Pulitzer Prize®, Tony® and Drama Desk nominations). Also a collection of one-act plays, Conversations with the Spanish Lady and a musical (book and co-lyrics), The Twelve, winner of the 2015 Henry Award. The 2014 Broadway production of All The Way swept the awards season, winning the Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Drama League and Tony Awards® as well as the Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Award, the inaugural Edward M. Kennedy Prize and Boston’s Elliot Norton Award. It also set two box office records on Broadway. It aired in May 2016 as a film for HBO, with Steven Spielberg producing, directed by Jay Roach, and was nominated for eight Emmy Awards and the Humanitas Prize. Film: Hacksaw Ridge, directed by Mel Gibson and starring Andrew Garfield; The Quiet American, directed by Phillip Noyce. TV: The Pacific (HBO mini-series; WGA Award, two Emmy Awards® and Humanitas Prize nominations), The Andromeda Strain, Crazy Horse, Spartacus. robertschenkkan.com @ROBERTSCHENKKAN BRANT POPE’s (Director) work has been seen Off -Broadway (John Houseman, St Clements, Sanford Meisner Theatre) and in numerous regional theatres such as The Hartford Stage Company, Tennessee Repertory Theatre, Park Square Theatre, ArtPark, Florida Studio Theatre, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, American Stage, Illinois Shakespeare Festival and GeVa Theatre. For 11 years, Mr. Pope was the director of the Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training and Associate Artistic Director of the Asolo Repertory Theatre. At the Asolo, he directed the regional premieres of Three Days of Rain, Beast on the Moon and Kindertransport,

as well as 33 other productions. Since 2010, he has served as Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance at The University of Texas at Austin and currently holds the Z. T. Scott Family Chair in Drama. He is particularly proud that Mr Schenkkan is an alumnus of the Department of Theatre and Dance. BRUNO-PIERRE HOULE (Scenic Designer) is a recent M.F.A. in Theatre graduate who focused in scenic design. At The University of Texas at Austin, he designed scenery for UTNT (UT New Theatre) and The Wild Party (2015) (Texas Theatre and Dance), as well as The Magic Flute (Butler Opera Center, 2017). Feature film designs include Sarah Prefers to Run and My Name is Sandy. Houle was the scenic design fellow for Chautauqua Theatre Company’s 2016 season. His process is influenced by his passion for new work. bphoule.com AARON CURRY (Lighting Designer) is a secondyear M.F.A. in Design and Technology candidate with a focus in lighting design. This summer, he was a lighting design fellow for the Hangar Theatre in New York, designing four productions and assisting on two. Recent credits include Aesop’s Fables, The Danube, The Messenger, Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse (Hangar Theatre), Little Women (Butler Opera Center), Das Barbecü and A Little Night Music (The Barnstormers, New Hampshire). Curry will serve as the lighting designer for Fall For Dance and Enron for the 2017-2018 Texas Theatre and Dance Season. Member, USITT. aaroncurrydesigns.com CAIT GRAHAM (Costume Designer) is a thirdyear M.F.A. in Design and Technology candidate with a focus in costume design. She comes to Texas Theatre and Dance from New York City where she assisted Broadway theatre costume and scenic designer, Tony Walton. Recent works include costume designs for Julie Andrew’s The Great American Mousical (Goodspeed Opera), My Fair Lady (Encore Music Theatre), Bodies & Souls (Dance Repertory Theatre), Little Women the Broadway Musical (Texas Theatre and Dance), The Magic Flute (Butler Opera Center) and Cats (Elon University).

CREATIVE PHILLIP OWEN (Sound Designer), regional credits include Alley All New (Alley Theatre, Houston), Outside Mullingar (Everyman Theatre, Baltimore), Anna Christie, Kingdom of Earth (Triad Stage, Greensboro), Stupid F^%#ing Bird, Dollhouse (Stages Rep, Houston), Cymbeline, Antony and Cleopatra (Opera House Arts, Maine), Notes from Underground, Rough Crossing (Yale Rep), Waking (Yale Rep); Broadway: Composer’s assistant, A Steady Rain (Schoenfeld Theatre). He currently serves as a lecturer in sound design at Texas State University. M.F.A., Yale School of Drama. phillipowen.com

RUSTY CLOYES (Stage Manager) is the head of stage management for the Department of Theatre and Dance at The University of Texas at Austin. He has worked at the American Repertory Theatre, the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Villiage Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Company and toured nationally with the Flying Karamazov Brothers. In Austin, he has stage managed for ZACH Theatre and South by Southwest (SXSW) and served as the technical director for the American Ensemble Theatre.

CAST FRANCHELLE STEWART DORN (Gloria) has played dozens of roles over her career at the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Arena Stage, American Conservatory Theater, Yale Rep, Long Wharf, George Street Playhouse, Great Lakes Shakespeare, Cleveland Playhouse, Arizona State Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Chautauqua Theatre Company, Guthrie Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Contemporary American Theater Festival, Off Broadway at Red Bull and at The State, ZACH Theatre and Austin Shakespeare (Austin, Texas). Ms. Dorn has been seen on Law and Order, as “Dr. Rita Madison” on NBC’s Another World and in the films Die Hard with a Vengeance, Chances Are and Raise the Titanic. She can also be seen on one of PBS’ longest-running series, Literary Visions. Dorn has been nominated for seven Helen Hayes Awards and has been the recipient of three. She has also won the Austin Critics’ Table Award for her performances in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Edge of Peace and Medea. She has more than 400 voiceover and on-camera appearances to her credit.

Franchelle Stewart Dorn received her acting training at the Yale School of Drama and is a previous head of the acting program in the Department of Theatre and Dance at The University of Texas at Austin where she remains the Virginia L. Murchison Regents Professor. She has been named both an Academy Distingushed and Regents’ Outstanding Teacher and is a recipient of the College of Fine Arts’ Outstanding Teaching Award. DAVID SITLER (Rick) is thrilled to be making his debut here at the Oscar G. Brockett Theatre. He was last seen in The Exonerated at Florida Studio Theatre as “Gary Gauger.” His career has seen him on Broadway with Rosemary Harris and Phil Bosco in An Inspector Calls, on national tour with Stacy Keach in Frost/Nixon, working with over 16 Off and Off-Off Broadway Theatre Companies in New York City and regionally from Maine to Utah in roles from “Atticus” to “Scrooge.” Television credits include Zero Hour and Law and Order SVU as well as the second season of Plant and the films The Strange Ones, Tupelo Roar, Black Dog Red Dog and The Marvelous Fishman. Proud member of Actor’s Equity. davidsitler.com

CAST

Franchelle Stewart Dorn

David Sitler

DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL The Department of Theatre and Dance Director’s Council is a premier volunteer group designed to foster strong and collaborative connections between The University of Texas at Austin and the local community by supporting initiatives in marketing, public relations, student recruitment and development. As advocates for the department, this group of alumni, parents and fine arts supporters play a key role in continuing to build a professional theatre and dance training program serving thousands of talented Texans for generations.

2017/2018 DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL MEMBERS Carol Smith Adams Francesca Brockett and Jim Pedicano Barrett Bruce Jean Cheever Joanne and Jack Crosby Dee Dawson Laura Eastman

Gary Farmer JoLynn Free Missy Grimes Pam and Edmund McIlhenny Annie McKinnon Debbie Oliver Miriam Relyea

Diane Robinson Russ Sartain Nancy Scanlan Marc Seriff Laura Sheffield Karen Skolnik Leah Stolar Sharon Watkins

CREW Technical Director ��Justin Smith Installation Technical Director �� David Tolin Assistant Technical Director �� Luke Wenz Assistant Stage Manager ��Jazmyn Castillo Master Carpenter �� D.J. Riley Carpenters ��Chris Dominguez, Iasha Doumanoff Scenic Charge ��John Aaron Bell Assistant Scenic Charge �� Roger Paul Mason Scenic Intern ��Caroline Johnson Shop Foreman �� Tom Lucenti Properties Supervisor ��Rebecca Switzer Prop Master �� E.L. Hohn Wardrobe Crew �� PJ Kelly Costume Shop Supervisors ��Nanette Acosta, Pat Risser Associate Costume Shop Supervisor ��Darcy Weberg Drapers �� Sarah Aldridge, Betty Chlystek Wig and Makeup Specialist �� Allison Lowery Costume Crafts Artisan ��Tanya Olalde Master Electrician and Light Board Operator �� Sarah Cantu Texas Performing Arts Lighting Supervisor �� Jeff Ellinger Audio Supervisor ��Michaek Malak Assistant Audio Supervisor ��Kenny Kuykendall Academic Production Manager ��Jeff Grapko Photographer �� Lawrence Peart Graphic Designers ��Morgan Bathe, Jeff Gray Scenery constructed at the ZACH Scott Theatre scene shop

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The 2017–18 Essential Series FEATURING

Sancho: An Act of Remembrance Photo by Robert Day

Celebrated Royal Shakespeare Company actor Paterson Joseph (HBO’s The Leftovers) portrays Charles Sancho Ignatius, the first British-African to cast a vote.

texasperformingarts.org