DETROIT '67 Program

Telfair

Chelle

Bunny

Cast and Setting

.......................

Caroline

Lank

Sly

Bunny & Shell Swing

Sly Understudy

Antonisia Collins

Mickie Felder

Camryn Chapman

Jordinia Denson

Daniel Gay, Jr.

............. Whitley Adams*

Ché Echols**

* Whitley Adams will perform the role of Bunny for the 10/2 (evening) and 10/4 performances.

**Ché Echols will perform the role of Sly for the 9/29 preview, and for the 10/2 (afternoon), 10/4, and 10/5 performances.

Detroit, Michigan. July 1967.

The play takes place in two acts, with a 15-minute intermission.

Director’s Note

Detroit '67 was inspired by Dominique Morisseau’s family’s experiences and the Motown legacy of Detroit. It is a story of love, honor, and family. It’s a story of dreams deferred by deep-seated social injustice and racism. The result of that injustice sparks protests and riots, breaks up a family, and disrupts a city. Each character represents the idea of overlapping and contrasting lives in Detroit and the U.S. at the time: Motown, the Black Power movement and the push for Civil Rights, the spirits of independent entrepreneurship, and the effects of industrialism on the working class.

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

– James Baldwin

This play challenges us to think about how much things have changed and the ways they have stayed the same. It reminds us that we continue to stand on the accomplishments of people who survived extraordinary circumstances — the progress is real, and so is the continuing struggle.

Many thanks to all the students, staff, professors, and community members involved in the process of putting on this show. A special shout out of gratitude for those who continue to financially support the arts with specific appreciation to our families and patrons. Thank you for the love.

Sincerely, Abdul-Khaliq Murtadha

Artistic Team

Artistic Director: Chase Bringardner

Director: Abdul-Khaliq Murtadha

Assistant Director: Antonavia Collins

Costume Designer: Tracy Oleinick

Lighting Designer: Brittany Shemuga

Scenic Designer: Inji Ha

Sound Design Supervisor: Cameron Lucas

Sound Designer: Katie Wolfe

Movement Consultant: Adrienne Wilson

Production Crews

Scenic Studio:

Johnathan Davis, Jonathon Dickey, Mengyao Li, Claudia Peeples, Olivia Price, Danielle Simmons, Matthew/Maddie Smith, Tony To, Anna Turpen, Cassie Vitale, Haley Wells

Costume Studio:

Nikki Ahlf, Lisa Alfa, Hannah Carstarphen, Rynnie Chapman, Tapley Cronier, Jordinia Denson, Shelby Dupree, Mickie Felder, Elle Hartman, Asha Knight, Bethany Novotny, Meredith Rice, Fox Snead, Mary Grace Sullivan, Madison Todd, Avonlea Yeakley

Production Team

Technical Director: Matt Gist

Assistant Technical Director: Cameron Lucas

Costume Shop Manager: Jennifer Salter

Stage Manager: Annabell Mallard

Production Assistant Stage Manager: Tatum Clark

Rehearsal Assistant Stage Manager: Hannah Carstarphen

Wardrobe Supervisor: Avonlea Yeakley

Assistant Wardrobe Supervisor: Meredith Rice

Wardrobe Crew: Tapley Cronier, Nick Dijulio, Elle Hartman, Asha Knight

Wig Masters: Whitley Adams, Fox Snead

Props Coordinator: Edward Ortego

Assistant Props Coordinator: Jacob Van Horn

Charge Artist: Olivia Price

Master Electrician: Matthew/Maddie Smith

Light Board Operator: Avery Melton

Sound Board Operator: Eve Jenkins

Special Thanks

Auburn University Theatre and Dance gratefully acknowledges support for this production from the Office of the Provost of Auburn University.

A Note on Content: Detroit '67 tells the story of a community experiencing significant racial oppression and violence. Please be aware that the playwright has written words that, while accurate for the characters within the context of the play, can be considered offensive out of context. The play's adult language and themes make it most appropriate for patrons 14 years and older.

Detroit '67 is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

Company Biographies

Whitley Adams (Bunny & Shell Swing) is a BFA theatre performance major originally from Detroit, MI. Previous credits include The Wolves (#8), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Hippolyta), and Bring It On The Musical (Ensemble). This year she is serving as the assistant director of Mosaic Theatre Company, one of the AUTD wig assistants, and as social officer of AU Players.

Hannah Carstarphen (Rehearsal Assistant Stage Manager) is a sophomore theatre major from Mobile, AL. Although this is her first time serving as an assistant stage manager, she has appeared in Auburn University’s performance of The Wolves (#14) and AU Players’ production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Titania). Due to her love for Auburn University Theatre and Dance, Hannah has further involved herself with becoming the AU Players t-shirt chair, as well as being a member of Mosaic Theatre Company. Hannah is so grateful to be a part of this amazing show.

Camryn Chapman (Caroline) is a senior BFA theatre performance major from Auburn, AL. Her Auburn University credits include The Wolves (#11), A Doll's House Part 2 (Emmy), A Doll's House (Nora Understudy), and Bring it On The Musical (Truman Cheerleader/Rich Girl #2). Camryn is so proud to be a part of this brilliant cast and she wants to thank her incredible family for every ounce of support they've given her. She hopes you enjoy this magnificent show!

Tatum Clark (Production Assistant Stage Manager) is new to Auburn University Theatre and Dance and comes from Huntsville, AL. They are a first-year theatre major with a concentration in design and production, and they are so excited to be a part of their first Auburn Theatre and Dance production! They had such an amazing time with an amazing group of people, and they hope you enjoy the show!

Antonavia Collins (Assistant Director) is a senior BFA theatre performance major from Montgomery, AL. Her theatre credits include Bring it On The Musical (Ensemble), A Doll’s House Part 2 (Nora), and The Wolves (#2 & Swing). This is her first directing experience with AU Theatre and Dance, and she has had an amazing time. She thanks AK for this opportunity, and she hopes you all enjoy the show!

Antonisia Collins (Chelle) is a senior BFA music theatre major at Auburn University. She loves the stage and loves to bring joy to an audience. She has been cast in nine shows here at Auburn including this one. She is excited to continue her senior year as an actress at Auburn University.

Jordinia Denson (Lank) [she/her/hers] is a senior majoring in BFA musical theatre, minoring in industrial and graphic design processes. Previous credits of hers include: Bring it On the Musical (La Cienega), Anon(ymous) (Anon), Together Apart: A Socially Distanced Collaboration (Ensemble/Writer), and Cinderella the Musical (Lionel). Jordinia’s primary motivations for pursuing the theatre are to spread awareness and foster equity for intersectional issues facing queer and trans individuals of color.

Ché Echols (Sly Understudy) is a biomedical science major from San Antonio, TX. On top of being a premed student, Ché is also an active model in the Auburn-Atlanta area. Ché is the former Vice President of the Auburn University modeling board, has been published in numerous magazines, and can be found all over Auburn University’s website.

Mickie Felder (Bunny) is a senior theatre and public relations major who splits her time between Saint Louis, MO, and Chicago, IL. Previous credits include Together Apart: A Socially Distanced Collaboration (Ensemble/Writer), New Day Dawning: Finding Hope at the Theatre (Ensemble), and The Future is Here: A Student Directed One-Act and Performance Festival (Butch in Butch and Fairy

and Kai in Aurora). Mickie would like to thank her parents, family, and friends for their neverending love and support.

Daniel Gay, Jr. (Sly) is a young up-and-coming actor and artist in the local area. Having spent time in Highlands College, he’s returned home to perform with Auburn University in its production of Detroit '67. His theatre credits include The Civil War (Frederick Douglas), A Midsummers Night's Dream (Lysander), and The Little Mermaid (Sebastian). Annabell Mallard (Stage Manager) [she/her/hers] is a senior BFA theatre management major from Norcross, GA. Her previous credits include: A Doll's House (Stage Manager), Spring Awakening (A2), Into the Woods (Sound Engineer), and The Wolves (Sound Designer, AME, House Manager) as well as being the summer season sound designer/lead engineer at Porthouse Theatre in Kent, OH over the past summer. Annabell also serves as the Mosaic Theatre Company stage manager and is the t-shirt coordinator for AU Players. Annabell would like to thank the cast and crew of this show (especially Hannah and Tatum) and she hopes you enjoy the show!

Katie Wolfe (Sound Designer) is a senior at Auburn in the BFA design/tech track where she is studying lighting design! Some of her favorite credits at the Telfair Peet include Quad (Undergraduate Research Fellow), The Wolves (Lighting Designer), A Doll's House (Assistant Scenic Designer), and Act Without Words (Honors Project/ Scenographer). When she's not backstage, Katie can be found in the engineering department, where she also studies electrical and power engineering!

Guest Artist Biographies

Inji Ha (Scenic Designer) is an MFA candidate in design and technology with a focus in scenic design at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her BFA in theatre design and technology with a focus in scenic design and scenic work at Auburn University. Since fall of 2017, Inji served as the charge/ scenic artist and assistant to the scenic designer for ten mainstage productions at Auburn University. Recent design credits include Love and Information (University of Texas at Austin, 2022), The Elixir of Love (Butler Opera Music, 2021), sad women being sad (UT New Theater, 2021), In the Ether (ARCOS Dance, 2020), and The Theory of Relativity (Auburn University Theatre, 2019). In October 2018, her work was juried and selected for exhibition at the International Stage Design Students’ Work Exchange (ISDSWE) in Beijing. Also, her work was juried, selected for exhibition, and awarded at the Auburn University's SHOWCASE 2018. Check out more of Inji's work at injiha.creatorlink.net.

Brittany Shemuga ( Lighting Designer) is thrilled to design her first show at Auburn University. Select recent designs include Hello, Dolly! (Ohio Light Opera), Birds of North America (Mosaic Theatre of DC), Hooded (Mosaic), She the People (Second City), Catch Me If You Can (NextStop), Jesus Hopped the “A” Train (1st Stage), Into the Woods (Ohio Light Opera), and Twist Your Dickens (Second City, Kennedy Center). Brittany is the resident lighting designer at the Ohio Light Opera in Wooster, Ohio where she has designed many shows since 2015. She has also assisted on numerous productions, including Fish in the Dark (Broadway) and Downstairs (Off-Broadway). She received her MFA in lighting from the University of Maryland, College Park.

auburnuniversitytheatre.org

Want to learn more about the context of the show?

Scan the QR code below for information about the timeline of the riots as well as an inside scoop on costume research.

Thank You, Donors!

Dr. Lourdes Betanzos

Lee Bryan

Ashley Butler

Pallie & Kyle Butler

Jamie Carney

Joe and LuAnn Carpenter Dorothy J. Dailey

William and Janet Deutsch William Dunlop

Ashley Danneman Gilleland

Sally Blake Headley

Christy Hines

Dr. Jane Dailey Hollis

Karen Drury Howell

Stew Ives

Jeff and Robin Jenkins

Mark & Merry Ledbetter

Drs. Nancy and Edward Loewenstein

Brent and Rachel McIntyre

Rev. Brian (‘97) & Mrs. Christina D. (‘96) Miller

Hurst Peacock and Erin Reynolds-Peacock

Beckie Poore

Charlie and Kim Shaw

Fudd Graham & Patty Tyler

Roddy and Allison Wells

Arthur and Barbara Wilke Cathy Wright

Mike & Jean Young

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Support Theatre and Dance at Auburn

We are especially in need of gifts to support our Theatre and Dance Scholarship Fund. Our students depend on scholarship support to keep up rigorous academic and creative schedules, and to balance the various aspects of student life. Every gift, no matter the size, will make a difference!

334.844.4748 | theatre@auburn.edu | auburngiving.org/theatre

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We are profoundly grateful to our generous donors.

Every gift helps to support the work of our department and our incredible theatre and dance students.

T his academic year marks the 109th season of theatre and dance at Auburn University. Our theme for this season –“& Dance”– celebrates the recent addition of “and Dance” to the title of our department in recognition of the incredible efforts of students, faculty, and staff throughout the years to bring dance to our classrooms and stages. While dance has long been a vital, valued, and visible part of our production season through annual dance concerts and musical theatre performances, our hope with this celebration is to shine light on the ways dance informs and infuses the work of our entire department, onstage and off.

theatre students are truly some of the hardest working students on

on scholarship support to keep up rigorous academic and creative schedules, and to balance the various aspects of student life.

to our scholarship fund will help support the work and well-being of

incredible student citizen artists.

Photo by Fereshteh Rostampour

Photos by Jeff Etheridge

2022-23 SEASON

The Thanksgiving Play Staged Reading

Telfair B. Peet Black Box

In Larissa FastHorse’s satire, good intentions devolve into absurd assumptions as tensions rise to hilarious heights. In advance of its first Broadway run in the spring of 2023, come enjoy a staged reading of this popular contemporary play and engage in a vibrant post-show discussion.

Thur. Oct. 27 Opening *

Fri. Oct. 28 *

Sun. Oct. 30 Matinee *

Free and open to the public

Twelfth Night

Telfair B. Peet Mainstage

William Shakespeare’s beloved comedy revels in the mayhem and mishaps of a motley crew in the idyllic kingdom of IIyria. Mistaken identities, love triangles, and a litany of letters lead to revelation and declarations of devotion. Come, play on, and enjoy the delightful chaos.

Thur. Feb. 23 Opening

Fri. Feb. 24

Sat. Feb. 25

Sun. Feb. 26 Matinee

Tues. Feb 28 *

Wed. Mar 1

... And Dance!

Telfair B. Peet Mainstage

Join Auburn dance professors and choreographers, along with numerous honored guest artists from important moments in the program’s history, to honor the labor of generations of Auburn dancers and dream of the countless possibilities for the future.

Thur. Apr. 20 Opening *

Fri. Apr. 21

Sat. Apr. 22

Sun. April 23 Matinee

Pippin

Telfair B. Peet Mainstage

Stephen Schwartz’s masterpiece harnesses the full potential power of musical theatre and stagecraft, telling Pippin’s story through a wondrous combination of song, dance, comedy, and pathos. Come along — there’s magic to do!

Thur. Nov. 10 Opening

Fri. Nov. 11

Sun. Nov. 13 Matinee

Tue. Nov. 15

Wed. Nov. 16

Thur. Nov. 17 *

Fri. Nov. 18

Edges

Telfair B. Peet Black Box

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen, The Greatest Showman, La La Land ) created Edges when they were 19-year-old undergraduates studying musical theatre. Exploring young people on the edge of adulthood, each song in this engaging song-cycle explores universal concerns of love, luck, longing, and loss and asks what happens next.

Thurs. Mar. 30 Opening

Fri. Mar. 31

Sat. Apr. 1

Sun. Apr. 2 Matinee

Wed. April 5 Thurs. April 6 *

Fri. April 7

* Talkback Sessions

Want to learn more about the show? Join us after the starred performances above for a discussion with performers and the show's artistic team.

Our talkback for Detroit '67 will take place on Tuesday, October 4.

auburnuniversitytheatre.org

DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND DANCE

Our Mission

Theatre has the potential to foster dialogue, alter perceptions, and inspire social change. The Auburn University Department of Theatre and Dance is dedicated to the education and professional training of theatre artists, scholars, and audiences within a liberal arts environment.

The Department champions the interaction between theory and practice and produces citizen artists who advocate for the arts through their own work in local, national, and international communities.

Auburn University theatre and dance students think critically, creatively, and collaboratively and carry their knowledge from rehearsal spaces and classrooms to stages, campuses, and communities worldwide.

Learn more about our department and degree tracks at: auburnuniversitytheatre.org

Administrative Staff

Department Chair: Chase Bringardner

Office Administrators: Becky Henderson, Hannah Herndon

Marketing Coordinator: Magalí Zaslabsky

Graphic Designer: Ashley Butler

Student Staff:

Box Office Assistants: Olivia Beland, Antonisia Collins, Presley McQuiddy-Gasparlin, Sydney Pereira, Madeline Schlaman

Costume Studio Assistants: Camryn Chapman, Mary Grace Sullivan, Avonlea Yeakley

Paints & Props Assistant: Claudia Peeples

Production Assistant: Antonavia Collins

Marketing/Recruitment Assistants: Nikki Ahlf, Bethany Novotny, Ella Taylor

Scenic Studio Assistants: Annabell Mallard, Matthew/Maddie Smith

Sound & Lighting Assistant: Katie Wolfe

Wig Assistants: Whitley Adams, Fox Snead

Follow @auburnuniversitytheatre on Facebook and Instagram

Auburn University is an equal opportunity educational institution/employer.

Top and center photos by Jeff Etheridge; bottom photo by Matthew/Maddie Smith