Cyrano

BY Edmond Rostand

ADAPTED AND DIRECTED BY Josh Costello†

Dear Friends-

When I first started working at Aurora ten years ago under Tom Ross, he shared with me a dilemma and an idea. The dilemma had to do with classic plays: most of the great plays of the past require enormous casts, and we only have room for eight actors in our dressing rooms -- never mind on our stage! The idea was to commission a series of adaptations of classic plays specifically for Aurora, cutting them down to their most essential characters so that their incredible language can shine in our intimate space.

We never launched that program -- we’re spending our play development resources on new plays (like Eureka Day, The Incrementalist, and Colonialism is Terrible, but Pho is Delicious) that address the present moment more directly. But the idea took hold in me. I realized that Cyrano de Bergerac -- a play I had long dreamed of directing -- might be a perfect fit for this approach.

And so I started working with the script, exploring it, finding the most essential scenes and storylines. I quickly realized that despite all the crowd scenes, the key moments in the play almost all happen between just a handful of characters. It took some creative cutting, conflating, and reconfiguring, but eventually I had a solid draft, an intimate Cyrano for just five actors.

Many more drafts have followed, including a way of addressing something that had always bothered me about the play. How could Roxane, with all her wit, intelligence, courage, and agency, be fooled by something as silly as Cyrano pretending to be Christian under the balcony? But through all the changes, my hope is not to make a statement or to put my own stamp on such a beautiful play. I just want to tell this story, with all its heart, brilliant language, and panache, on Aurora’s intimate stage. Directing Cyrano at Aurora, with such a talented cast and design team, has been a dream come true.

We have information in the lobby about the five inspiring plays in our 2023/2024 season. You won’t want to miss out on any of them.

Enjoy.

Josh Costello ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Josh Costello ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

BY Edmond Rostand

ADAPTED AND DIRECTED BY Josh Costello

THE CAST

†

Ron Campbell COUNT DE GUICHE

Steven Flores* CHRISTIAN

William Thomas Hodgson* CYRANO

Leontyne Mbele-Mbong* ROXANE

Adrian Roberts* ����������������������������������������������������������������� LE BRET A MONK

CREATIVE TEAM

Carlos Aceves Scenic Designer

Samantha Alexa Lead Props

Jordan Battle CDO Consultant

Natalie Greene Intimacy Choreographer

Bella Campos Hintzman Assistant Stage Manager

Chris Houston/Implied Music

Composer & Sound Designer

Dave Maier Fight Director

Joanie McBrien Dramaturg

Kevin Myrick Lighting Designer

Scott Reardon* Stage Manager

Maggie Whitaker** Costume Designer

EXECUTIVE SPONSORS

Craig & Kathy Moody

ASSOCIATE SPONSORS

Tom & Amy Worth

Aurora Theatre Company gratefully acknowledges the following foundations and government agencies for their support: Alameda County Arts Commission ARTSFUND, California Arts Council, City of Berkeley Civic Arts Program, and California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant.

Special thanks to John & Molly Gordon

*Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers, **United Scenic Artists Member, †Stage Directors and Choreographers Society Member

AURORA THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS

THE COURAGE TO FOLLOW YOUR HEART

By Joanie McBrien, DRAMATURG

The first performance of Cyrano de Bergerac took place at the Porte-Saint-Martin Theatre in Paris, on December 28th, 1897. Edmond Rostand was 29 years old when his play debuted. It was an ambitious production, with locals from a wine shop recruited as extras for the larger crowd scenes. Rostand was fearful that the play was doomed to failure: he referred to it as a “disastrous adventure.” Yet the opening night was a tremendous success and critics praised Rostand’s use of poetic verse with the inspiring story that explores romance, courage, and the importance of following one’s heart.

The story of the play incorporates characters inspired by historical figures as well as actual events such as the Siege of Arras. We begin in Paris, in 1640, a time when arts and culture were flourishing in the city. Parks were open to the public for the first time; plays were performed at the Hotel de Bourgogne and Marais Theatre. By far one of the most popular areas of Paris was Le Marais, and it is here that Rostand sets the home of Roxane. Le Marais was home to literary salons such as those hosted by Marie Robineau, a renowned “Précieuse,” a term you will hear throughout the play. Le Bret, Cyrano’s best friend, describes Roxane as “A subtle wit indeed - a Précieuse.” Women that frequented the literary salons engaged in word play and intellectual conversations, often with explorations of romance. Later in 1659 Moliere would write a satire entitled Les Précieuses ridicules. With Cyrano de Bergerac, Rostand sets up the character of Roxane as an intelligent, bold woman who is more than a match for Cyrano’s wit.

Another word you will hear throughout the play is “panache,” which is the white plume or feather worn in a hat. We might associate panache today with style. However, in a speech to the French Academy, Rostand described his association with “panache”: “Panache… is the courage which is so well in control of a difficult situation that it can make jokes about it...A little frivolous perhaps, most certainly a little theatrical, panache is nothing but a grace which is so difficult to retain in the face of death, a grace which demands so much strength that, all the same, it is a grace … which I wish for all of us.”

The historical Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac lived from 1619 until 1655. He had a reputation as an exceptional swordsman, which Rostand weaves into the story of his play. He was a writer, satirist, poet, and a man determined to go his own way. One of Cyrano’s most famous works is L’Autre monde ou les états et empires de la Lune, a novel describing space travel and a journey

to the moon. Rostand also incorporates elements of this novel into his script. The historical Cyrano was also at the siege of Arras, which began June 2, 1640. The French attempted to capture the town of Arras, then a Spanish territory. The supply lines were cut off by the Spanish so that the French soldiers were nearly starving, another element that Rostand weaves into the story of his play. Ultimately the French were successful, with the Spanish surrendering on August 9th, 1640.

Cyrano was also the author of two plays, The Ridiculous Pedant (1653), and one that stirred much controversy, The Death of Agrippina (1654). During a performance the audience misunderstood a word in the play: instead of the word “hostage” they heard the word “host” and they believed that Cyrano was blaspheming by mocking the sacrament of the host. The actors were driven from the stage and Cyrano gained a reputation for being sacrilegious and atheistic. He gained many enemies and perhaps one of them is responsible for his death: a large plank of wood was dropped upon Cyrano and he lingered for a year before dying of a head injury.

Edmond Rostand deftly weaves together historical elements throughout Cyrano de Bergerac, however, the heart of the play is wholly from his imagination. Rosemonde Gérard, his wife, wrote: “It was with the wax of his own soul that Rostand formed that of Cyrano.”

The play dares us all to take risks even if the odds seem impossible; to take bold chances instead of settling for what is safe. We only need to have the courage to try. Rostand eloquently explores the powerful bonds of friendship while the love triangle between Roxane, Christian, and Cyrano drives the story of the play. Ultimately, what is more important than to be loved and accepted for who we truly are?

RON CAMPBELL

(COUNT DE GUICHE) At Aurora Theatre Company Ron performed the one person show The Thousandth Night, plus Salome and Benefactors. He was lead clown in Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza and Cecil B. DeGrille at Teatro ZinZanni and has performed everywhere from the streets of Paris to the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Fuji Dome in Japan, the Theatre of Epidaurus in Greece, The Habima in Israel, The Mercury Theatre, (Chicago) Huntington Theatre, (Boston) The Mark Taper Forum, Seattle Rep, American Conservatory Theatre, Berkeley Rep, TheatreWorks, and The Actors’ Gang. Favorite roles include Don Quixote, Sherlock Holmes, Richard the Third and Cyrano. Other One Man Shows: R. Buckminster Fuller, How to Fail, Shylock, The Dybbuk, The Boneman of Benares and A Tale of Two Cities. Awards include Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles Critics Circle Awards, TBA Awards for Lead Actor and the Fox Fellowship for Distinguished Achievement. For more check www.soarfeat.org.

STEVEN FLORES*

(CHRISTIAN) is a bi-coastal actor originally from Northern California. He originated the role of Seketemaqua/Luke in Manahatta for its world premiere at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Yale Repertory Theater. He has performed as Menelaus in Helen and Master Puppeteer for Puppets & Poe at Theatre of Yugen as well as for The UC Berkeley production of Daughters of Leda. Other credits: Last of the Caucasians (The Barrow Group Theater Company, NY), Delusion: The Blood Rite (Haunted Play, Los Angeles), Jakubei in A Noh Christmas Carol (T. of Y. San Francisco), and Ba’Homa in Pueblo Revolt (Alter Theater). TV/Film: The Monster Project, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Studied at the Herbert Berghof Studio, NY.

WILLIAM THOMAS

HODGSON* (CYRANO) is returning to the Aurora stage after Father/Daughter (2021). William is an artist and educator based out of Oakland, CA. After earning his MFA from UCSD, William

became a founding member, and Co-Artistic Director of Oakland Theater Project. In 4 years at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, he played Romeo in R&J, Ferdinand in The Tempest, and Stokes in How to Catch Creation, among others. Other shows include An Octoroon, and Gloria (Mixed Blood Theater), It Can’t Happen Here (BerkeleyRep), As You Like It (CalShakes), Calligraphy (TheatreWorks), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (La Jolla Playhouse), El Henry (SDRep), Shrek (Sierra Rep Theater), Seussical (Berkeley Playhouse), Every Brilliant Thing, and I Am My Own Wife (Oakland Theater Project). William also choreographs (Tempest/OSF, Little Shop/TheatreWorks, Red Bike/ CenterRep) and directs (Passing Strange/Shotgun Players, Fun Home, Ragtime/Berkeley Playhouse, Is God Is/OTP).

LEONTYNE MBELEMBONG* (ROXANE) was last seen at the Aurora in Bull in a China Shop, Temple and Breakfast With Mugabe. Recent shows: Fefu and Her Friends at A.C.T., Lear at CalShakes. Some favorites: title role in Medea (TBA Award), and Cleopatra in Antony & Cleopatra (TBA Award Finalist) with African-American Shakespeare Company; The Half-Life of Marie Curie (TheatreSquared, Fayetteville, AK); Watch on the Rhine (Berkeley Rep/Guthrie Theatre), Top Girls, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Fences, Andromache, Candide, Richard III (3 times), Twelfth Night, and Intimate Apparel (Mayme; ARTY Award, best supporting actress). www.leontynembele-mbong.com

ADRIAN ROBERTS*

(LE BRET) is thrilled to be back working at the Aurora. Mr. Roberts was last seen at the Aurora as Willie in Master Harold... and the Boys and Gabriel in Breakfast With Mugabe. Other Bay Area credits include Prospero/Caliban at Oakland Theater Project, Bob in Becky Nurse at Berkeley Rep, Macbeth in Macbeth at African American Shakespeare Co. Steve, in A Lesson From Aloes at Z Below. Regional credits include three seasons at The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ken in Playboy of The West Indies at Lincoln Center. Has appeared in such television shows as Scrubs, Criminal Minds, Chance, among others.

Future Histories Lab is a UC Berkeley program that aims to reveal hidden histories and help us imagine and build better futures. We work with community organizations to research stories of place in order to propose new futures. We believe that understanding the history under our feet is necessary to plan for change in our communities. We use art, storytelling, technology, and installations in public space to illuminate and analyze questions of equity, race, and environment. Faculty, students, and community members work together to conduct collaborative, place-based research and create public-facing websites, performances, memorials, artistic interventions, and design and policy proposals.

We combine approaches from the humanities with skills from architecture, landscape architecture, city planning, and studio art. Our goal is to give students the tools to both understand and shape public space and public policy. We aim to connect Bay Area communities with the resources of the University, with a focus on social justice, race, and place.

We are funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the University of California, Berkeley, based jointly at the Arts & Humanities Division and the College of Environmental Design. Our work is part of the UC Berkeley Global Urban Humanities Initiative, which looks at cities around the world through the lenses of the arts and humanities and the environmental design disciplines, and which has produced many courses, publications, exhibitions, and symposia on urban experience and culture.

Disabled Women Out Loud will feature Wry Crips Disabled Women’s Theatre performing one of their classic works, comedians J.A.D.E. and Nina G, and readings by local disabled authors. Monday nights this spring, at theatres around the Bay Area including Aurora Theatre Company, the Live Oak Theater, and more.

CARLOS ACEVES (SCENIC DESIGNER) is a Bay Area based designer and theatre maker whose practice centers on new works and social justice theatre. Selected scenic and media design credits include: The Displaced, Crowded Fire Theatre; Walls, San Francisco Mime Troupe; PrEP Play, or Blue Parachute, New Conservatory Theatre Center; Long Day’s Journey into Night, Eugene O’Neill Festival of Theatre in Ireland; Justice, Marin Theatre Company; and Dream Hou$e, Shotgun Players. Carlos would like to thank the creative/production team of Cyrano for all their collaborative guidance and dedication.

SAMANTHA ALEXA (LEAD PROPS) is a San Francisco based multidisciplinary artist specializing in props design, film, and contemporary art. She has worked with a variety of theater companies in the city, including Magic Theatre, Brava Theatre, Golden Thread Productions, Custom Made Theatre, and SF Playhouse. In addition to theater, Samantha is a filmmaker specializing in production design and has worked for various commercials, TV shows, music videos, and short films in the Bay Area film industry. She received her training at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and holds a BA Honors degree in Contemporary Performance. Her creative praxis explores the intersections of performance, ritual, light, and land.

JORDAN BATTLE (CDO CONSULTANT) is a California based actor, theater maker and consultant. Jordan is an active participant in the Bay Area Theater focused Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion cohort, Making Good Trouble: Anti-Racist Trainers. She has provided training on microaggressions, de-escalation, and customer service for various theaters in the Bay Area. Her work is done in a highly collaborative environment with clear communication and input from the individuals and organizations that participate with the intent of building stronger relationships with the community. Jordan has previously worked and managed front of house teams at various venues in the SF Bay Area, including Berkeley Playhouse, California Shakespeare Theater and Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture. In her personal life, she is one of the co-founders of Black Vent Space, a virtual community space for Black-identifying folx to vocalize being Black.

JOSH COSTELLO† (PLAYWRIGHT AND DIRECTOR) At Aurora and previously as the founding Artistic Director of Impact Theatre and the Artistic

Director of Expanded Programs at Marin Theatre Company, Josh has worked to make theatre more accessible for more people, sharing a passion for the visceral experience of live theatre with new audiences and underserved communities. Josh has directed several productions at Aurora, including This Much I Know, Exit Strategy, The Importance of Being Earnest, and the world premiere of Eureka Day, which won every Bay Area new play award. His world-premiere production of Aaron Loeb’s Ideation with the San Francisco Playhouse in both SF and NYC won the Glickman Award for best new play in the Bay Area and the Theatre Bay Area Award for Outstanding Direction, and was named a New York Times Critic’s Pick. Other directing work includes My Children! My Africa! at Marin Theatre Company, House of Lucky at Magic Theatre, and his adaptations of Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother and Aphra Behn’s The Rover. Josh holds a BFA in theatre from Boston University, and an MFA in Directing from the University of Washington, Seattle.

NATALIE GREENE (INTIMACY CHOREOGRAPHER) is an artist and educator working at the intersection of dance, theater, and community engagement. Choreography and intimacy work previously seen at Aurora in The Children and Father/Daughter, and in productions at 42nd St. Moon, A.C.T., AlterTheater, Aurora Theater, Cal Shakes, Center Rep, Custom Made, Cutting Ball, Portland Center Stage, and Shotgun Players. Her dance-theater work has been presented by California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco Airport, ODC Theater, Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco City Hall, Danspace (NYC), DiMenna Center/Baryshnikov Arts (NYC), and Montescudaio Amphitheater (Italy). Natalie was the Artistic Director of the award-winning devised theater ensemble Mugwumpin, and is currently the Associate Director of Education at American Conservatory Theater. Her research and pedagogy focus on bringing people together for embodied creative experiences that build a culture of consent.

BELLA CAMPOS HINTZMAN (ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER ) is a multidisciplinary theatre artist, and feels so excited to be part of their first production with Aurora Theatre Company! A recent graduate, she holds BAs in Theatre and History with a minor in Spanish from Ohio Wesleyan University. Since moving back home to the Bay this year, Bella has stage managed for Sketchfest in San Francisco and eaten lots of good food. Cheers!

CHRIS HOUSTON/IMPLIED MUSIC (COMPOSER & SOUND DESIGNER) is a composer, producer,

CREATIVE TEAM

and sound designer. He performs and records as Implied Music. Chris has written and recorded music for picture and stage for more than fifty years. He has numerous credits for theater composition and sound design in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, and nationally. Chris has scored feature and documentary films. He has developed library music for PBS television and NPR radio. He is the recipient of seven ASCAP Plus awards, five Bay Area Theatre Critics’ Circle Awards for composition and sound design, as well as the Arty award for sound design.

DAVE MAIER (FIGHT DIRECTOR) Dave is a prolific fight director with over 300 professional credits. He has choreographed violence for twelve previous Aurora productions including American Buffalo, Breakfast with Mugabe and The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity. He is recognized as a Master Fight Director and Master Instructor with Dueling Arts International and is currently the resident fight director at San Francisco Opera and Oakland Theatre Project. He is a five-time recipient of the Theatre Bay Area Award for Outstanding Fight Choreography. Recent and upcoming credits include Poor Yella Rednecks- Vietgone Part 2 (ACT), Tea Party (One Of Our Own Productions), Sweat (Center Rep), Romeo & Juliet in America (African American Shakespeare), and Tosca (Opera San Jose). Dave is an instructor of theatrical combat at UC Santa Cruz, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, St. Mary’s College of California and Berkeley Rep School of Theatre. He is a founding member of Dueling Arts San Francisco.

JOANIE MCBRIEN

(PRODUCTION DRAMATURG)

is excited to work as the dramaturg for Aurora’s production of Cyrano. Her work as a dramaturg began with Calshakes where she provided research for productions of Medea and Richard III. She also worked as a resident lecturer at Calshakes for several seasons. With Shotgun Players, where she is also the development director, she has worked as the dramaturg for many productions including The Skriker, Iphigenia in Aulis, There Will Be No Trojan War, and The Coast of Utopia trilogy. She also directed a production of Cyrano back in 2005. As an arts advocate, she asks everyone to contact their local, state, and federal representatives to encourage greater government support for the arts.

KEVIN MYRICK (LIGHTING DESIGNER) is an Artist and Technologist. Kevin was one of the first to combine video projection and personal computers, stream video online, and was a pioneer in community television. Kevin was Technical Director and resident

designer for over 20 years at the Buriel Clay Theatre in the African American Arts & Culture Complex, working with resident companies (AfroSolo, Cultural Odyssey, The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, The San Francisco African-American Shakespeare Company, Push Dance). Myrick has designed Lighting, Sound and/or Projections, most recently for The African-American Shakespeare Company (Othello, The Trial, Richard II, Echoes of Us), TheatreFirst (The Last Sermon of Sister Imani, A Marriage), Ray of Light Theatre (Caroline, or Change), Youth Musical Theatre Company (Batboy, Rent), Throckmorton Theatre (Ragtime, Footloose, The Sound of Music), Lorraine Hansberry Theatre Company (Urban Retreat, Single Black Female, Intimate Apparel), San Francisco Playhouse (Hieroglyph, Twelfth Night the Musical), and Altarena Theatre (Slow Food).

SCOTT REARDON* (STAGE MANAGER) Actor’s Equity Association member. Actor/Director/Producer/ Stage Manager. Bay Area native/local. Theatre: Beach Blanket Babylon, TheatreWorks of Silicon Valley, Center Rep, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Musical Theatre West, 5-Star Theatricals, Fresno Grande Opera, PCPA Theatrefest, Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, Oregon Cabaret Theatre, Presidio Theatre, Hillbarn, Disney Cruise Line, and Nickelodeon. Actor’s Equity Association’s Roger Sturtevant Award Winner. Commercial: Visa, Samsung, Philips, Dell, Verizon, LinkedIn, Logitech, LG, Dolby, Google, Cisco Systems, Symantec, Garmin, Intuit, Polycom, Service Now, and more. Education: B.A. Drama – University of California, Irvine; M.A. Special Education - Alliant International University.

MAGGIE WHITAKER** (COSTUME DESIGNER) designs for theatre, film, tv, and video games. She has designed costumes for the world premieres of nationally recognized plays including Eureka Day by Jonathan Spector at Aurora Theatre, HeLa by Lauren Gunderson and Geetha Reddy at TheatreFirst, I and You, by Lauren Gunderson at Marin Theatre, Truffaldino Says No! by Ken Slattery at Shotgun Players, and Wildflowers, by Lila Rose Kaplan at UCSD. Costume Design Credits include: Fairyland (film), The Art of Love (film), Avenue of the Giants (film), Back Home: Through the Stage Door (film); Shit and Champagne (film), Here She Comes (TV); Aurora: Exit Strategy, The Importance of Being Earnest, Eureka Day (world premiere), Leni, A Bright New Boise, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, Fat Pig (SFBATCC nominee), The Shape of Things and Lobby Hero (Dean Goodman Choice Award); Marin Theatre Company: I and You (world premier); TheatreWorks: Upright Grand

CREATIVE TEAM

Says No; FoxNext Games- Storyscape, Ray of Light Theatre, Magic Theatre, Cutting Ball Theater. She received her MFA in Costume Design from UC San Diego, she is a member of USA local 829 and a co-founder of Repulsive Women. www.maggiewhitaker.com

*Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers, **United Scenic Artists Member, †Stage Directors and Choreographers Society Member

BORN WITH TEETH

By Liz Duffy Adams

Starts September 1, 2023

MANAHATTA

By Mary Kathryn Nagle

Starts February 9, 2024

By

1984

George Orwell

Adapted By Michael Gene Sullivan

Starts November 10, 2023

By Tanya Barfield

Starts April 19, 2024

By Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell

based on the book by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal

Starts June 21, 2024

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CONFRONTING & DISMANTLING OPPRESSION

At Aurora, we use the phrase “Confronting and Dismantling Oppression” rather than “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion” because we recognize that this work must be active and ongoing. It is not a box to be checked: it is a continual and intentional process. We encourage you to visit our website to learn more about Aurora’s CDO initiatives and commitments, including:

• Our new Mission & Values statement, making explicit our commitment to racial justice and to confronting all forms of oppression.

• Our Theatre For Everyone statement, which is also posted in our lobby.

• Welcome To Our Space, a pair of town halls exploring microaggressions in theaters and public spaces.

• Our Community Partners program.

• The list of Commitments we’ve made in the name of confronting and dismantling oppression, including:

• Our CDO Task Force, composed of staff and board members including both staff and board leadership.

• Anti-bias trainings we’ve conducted for staff and board.

• Our monthly Community CDO meeting, attended by Aurora artists, Community Partners, Advisory Council members, staff, and board.

• Our commitments towards inclusivity in our season. This work is an essential piece of Aurora’s intention to be the storyteller for our community. Thank you for being a part of this process with us. Visit auroratheatre.org/CDO for more information.

Sam Jackson*, Lorri Holt*, Mia Tagano*, and Denmo Ibrahim* in Splendour. Photo by David Allen. *Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.

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Gretchen Saeger

Marlene & Jonathan Sakol

Claire De Chazal & Francisco Santamarina

Thomas A. Savignano

Susan Sawyer

Laurel I Schaefer Trent

Al Hoffman & David Shepherd

Marsha Silberstein

Sharon Marie Silva

Barbara Silverberg

Harriet Simpson

Betsy Smith

Chris & Jeff Smith

Peter & Ann Smith

Sigrid Snider

Rhe Charitable Foundation, Jennifer & Will Sousae

Helen Wickes & Donald J. Stang

Laura Steinman

Richard Sterling

Sally Stevens

Andrew Cohn & Kate Stewart

Frank Kelly & Alan Stewart

Bonnie Stiles

Mark Chaitkin & P. Cecilia Storr

Judy Weiss & Stuart Swiedler

Jay Atkinson & Ariel Summerlin

Maria M. Sutter

Jane & Jay Taber

Robert Deutsch & Donna Terazawa

Revan & Elsa Tranter

Shirley & Michael Traynor

Gretchen vonDuering

Henry Trevor & Elizabeth Werter

Helen & John Wadman

Arlene Waksberg

Laurence Walker

Georganne Ferrier & Steven Weinberg

Carolyn Weinberger

Sallie Weissinger

Margo Wesley

Laurellee Westaway

Richard Makdisi & Lindsay Wheeler

Alice E. Wilkins

Donna M. Williams

Linda & Steve Wolan

Sally Woolsey

Bess Zimmerman COMMUNITY $1-$99

Anonymous (9)

Martha Salzman & Jay Aleck

Vernon Ambrose

T Barnes

Stephanie Barnhill

Karen Nelson & Guy Benveniste

Lisa Brinner

Barbara & Gerald Brunetti

Janet Burnham

Cheryl & John Burris

Michael Cohen

Ada Burko & Gabriela Crane

DONORS

Bruce Davis

Barbara de Janvry

Mark & Judy Eckart

Hal Fischer

Lisa V. Freeman

Joan Frenkel

Barbara & William Gaffield

David H. Gelfand

Eric Fine & Charlie Goetzl

Dorothy Gordon

Elizabeth M. Gough

Martin & Pam Grabske

John S. Gravell

Estie & Mark Hudes

Karen Ingenthron

Harvey Ingham

Jerilyn Johnson

William Joyce

Moss Kardener

Marsha & Bob Kermish

Barbara Kuklewicz

Harriet Whitman Lee

Mark Leialoha

Marlene Levenson

Gerald Levine

Elizabeth & Allan Lichtenberg

Aleeza Lipkin

Barbara Loften

William Louie

Kathryn Mitchell Lucchese

James Lyons

George Maguire

Joan & Roger Mann

Elene Manolis

Lucia Matzger

Flannery Mays

Miles & Mary Ellen McKey

Ray McKnight

Sinthu Natesan

Stephen Nocita

Emily Odza

Jayne Oshiro

Thomas J. Owen

Leslie M. Radin

Chip Rice

Terry Rillera

Kaye Rosso

Lewis & Gail Rubman

John Ruskin

Sylvia Saunders

Stephanie Frey-Secor & Peter Secor

Ted Shaner

Dan Slobin

Eileen Soden

James Stack

Susan Stanley

Carl Stein

Gerald Underdal

Stephen van Meter

Margo Webster

Gerald Weintraub

Kate & Richard West

Linda Wilford

Shelly Willard

Members of the Barbara Oliver Society for The Next Generation have designated Aurora Theatre Company in their estate plans, enabling us to serve not just you—our firstgeneration audience—but generations to come. For more information on how to make a charitable bequest or designate Aurora in your estate plan, contact the development office at 510.843.4042 x312 or development@auroratheatre.org

Thank you to the following members:

Anonymous (2)

Gertrude E. Allen

Nancy Axelrod

Steven Beckendorf

Norman Abramson & David* Beery

Elizabeth Burwell

Carol Emory

Jacquelin Ewing

Marge Glicksman*

Candy & George Hisert

Ellen & Barry Levine

Ines Lewandowitz*

Sumner & Hermine Marshall*

Margaret D. & Winton McKibben*

Alison McLean

Shelly Osborne

Thomas W. Edwards & Rebecca

Parlette-Edwards

Gladys Perez-Mendez*

Margaret A. Phillips

FOUNDATION & GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

Betty Pirford*

Tom Ross

David Rovno

Julianne H. Rumsey*

Deborah Dashow Ruth

Sylvia Saunders

Valerie Sopher

Lisa R. Taylor

Janis Kate Turner

*In Memoriam

Aurora Theatre Company gratefully acknowledges these foundations and government agencies for their support:

Alameda County Arts Commision

Artsfund

American Rescue Project/Shuttered

Venues Operators Grant

California Arts Council

HONOR ROLL

List is current as of January 13, 2023.

In Memory of AMTV

In Honor of Sheldon Bornstein

In Memory of William E. Jones

California Office of the Small Business Advocate

City of Berkeley Civic Arts Program

The Edgerton Foundation

The Shubert Foundation

The Tournesol Project

The Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation

The Wood Foundation, David Wood & Kathleen Garrison

In Memory of James Risley

In memory of Leo P. Ruth

In Honor of Alison Teeman

IN-KIND DONORS

Aurora is thankful for the following donors who gave generous in-kind contributions of $100 and above. List is current as of January 13, 2023.

Kay & Ed Blonz

Tracie Meloy

We strive for accuracy in our program listing, but errors do occur. Please contact Development at 510.843.4042 x312 if you notice a discrepancy, and thank you very much for helping us keep our records as accurate as possible!

AURORA STAFF

Emma Buechner ADMIN ASSOCIATE

Josh Costello

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Felicity Cowlin

INTERIM DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Kat Demith

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Robin Dolan

INTERIM CO-MANAGING DIRECTOR & SENIOR AUDIENCE SERVICES MANAGER

Sandra Evans

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

Eli Harris

DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

Alandra Hileman

MARKETING SPECIALIST

Jenn Ruygt

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Nicole Elise Schulz INTERIM CO-MANAGING DIRECTOR & BUSINESS MANAGER

David Shultz

BOX OFFICE MANAGER

Dawn Monique Williams ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

BOX OFFICE ASSOCIATES

Abby Hanna

Roman JohnDoza

HOUSE MANAGERS

David Hicks

Lisa Klein

Michael Mansfield

Julie vonEhrenkrook

Linda Wu

AURORA PRODUCTION STAFF

Emma Buechner SOUND BOARD OP, ELECTRICIAN HAND, & CARPENTER

Charles Clear LEAD ELECTRICIAN

Wyn Di Stefano SCENIC PAINTER

Tishonna Ferguson PROSTHETIC (MAKEUP) DESIGNER

Adriana Gutierrez STITCHER

Janice Gartin WARDROBE/DRESSER

Kimberly Matela SCENIC ARTIST

Cindy Ngu COSTUME COORDINATOR

Grace Ramona Robertson COSTUME SHOP ASSOCIATE

Becca Salsburg-Frank LEAD CARPENTER

Erica Villenueva WIG SPECIALIST

Patrick Wang MILLINER

Linda Wu WARDROBE/DRESSER COVER FOUNDERS

Dorothy Bryant

Marge Glicksman

Ken Grantham

Barbara Oliver

Richard Rossi

ADVISORY COUNCIL

Ulises Alcala, John Caner, Joy Carlin, Barbara Damashek, Rafael Jesús González, Robert B. Hetler, Malcolm Margolin, Alan Miller, Helen Meyer, Bob Oliver, Hilary Perkins, Hillary & Jonathan Reinis, M. Graham

Smith, Steve & Cindy Snow, Jonathan Spector, Mia Tagano, Beth Wilmurt

O+G ARTISTS

Christopher Chen

Barbara Damashek

Britney Frazier

Margo Hall

Cleavon Smith

Jonathan Spector

Beth Wilmurt

SHOW ARTWORK BY Elizabeth Lada

VIDEOGRAPHY BY Flying Moose Pictures

SPECIAL THANKS

Pink Depford Design

FORMER ARTISTIC DIRECTORS

Barbara Oliver

Tom Ross

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT: Lance Gardner | VICE-PRESIDENT: Gertrude E. Allen

TREASURER: Rebecca Parlette-Edwards |

SECRETARY: George Hisert

Josh Costello | Robin Dolan | Rosalind Kim | Alan Miller Craig

| Nicole Elise Schulz |

Tong | Tom

PAST BOARD PRESIDENTS IN ORDER OF SERVICE:

Moody

Kinman

Worth

Thomas Donovan | Grace Fretter | Ron Vincent | Judith Holland | David Wood

Andy Cohn | Alison Teeman | Carolyn Weinberger | Robert B. Hetler | Ellen B. Levine Gary H. Moore | Joan Catherine Braun

BY Madeline George

DIRECTED BY Jennifer King

STARTS JUNE 16, 2023

Carol just wants her house to have the kind of gardening magazine worthy curb appeal that will be the envy of her New Jersey cul-de-sac. But then the Greek God Dionysus returns in the guise of a butch gardener named Diane, hell bent on reversing climate change and restoring earthly order by seducing a band of mortal followers. Can Diane win Carol away from her devotion to curb appeal? Pulitzer Prize finalist Madeleine George pens a hilarious evisceration of the blind eye we all turn to climate change and the bacchanalian catharsis that awaits us, even in our own backyards.

AURORA THEATRE COMPANY

AURORA THEATRE COMPANY

CONTACT INFORMATION

CONTACT INFORMATION

BOX OFFICE

BOX OFFICE

Hours:

Hours:

Tues-Friday, 1pm-5pm

SUBSCRIBER TICKET EXCHANGE

SUBSCRIBER TICKET EXCHANGE

POLICIES FOR

POLICIES FOR IN-PERSON PERFORMANCES

IN-PERSON

PERFORMANCES

Phone: 510.843.4822

Tues-Friday, 1pm-5pm

Phone: 510.843.4822

Online: auroratheatre.org

Online: auroratheatre.org

ADMINISTRATION

ADMINISTRATION

2081 Addison Street Berkeley, CA 94704 phone: 510.843.4042

2081 Addison Street Berkeley, CA 94704 phone: 510.843.4042

fax: 510.843.4826

fax: 510.843.4826

Free exchanges require at least 25 hours’ notice. Exchanges to a more expensive date require payment of the difference in ticket price. Exchanges with less than 25 hours’ notice will incur a fee.

Free exchanges require at least 25 hours’ notice. Exchanges to a more expensive date require payment of the difference in ticket price. Exchanges with less than 25 hours’ notice will incur a fee.

SINGLE TICKET EXCHANGE

SINGLE TICKET EXCHANGE

Single ticket buyers may exchange tickets with at least 25 hours’ notice for a fee of $10 per ticket.

Single ticket buyers may exchange tickets with at least 25 hours’ notice for a fee of $10 per ticket.

Masks are required during the performance and at all times while in the Aurora Theatre building. Smoking, including e-cigarettes, is prohibited. Please turn off all cell phones during the performance (and any other devices that could be distracting). Photographs and recordings of any kind are strictly prohibited. No children under 5 permitted and every person entering the theatre must have their own ticket. Please arrive early due to observed Covid-19 protocols.

Masks are required during the performance and at all times while in the Aurora Theatre building. Smoking, including e-cigarettes, is prohibited. Please turn off all cell phones during the performance (and any other devices that could be distracting). Photographs and recordings of any kind are strictly prohibited. No children under 5 permitted and every person entering the theatre must have their own ticket. Please arrive early due to observed Covid-19 protocols. There is no late seating.