Father/Daughter

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Kait Kerrigan DIRECTED BY M. Graham Smith BY

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Dear Friends, I have two daughters. They’re a little older than the character of Miranda in one half of this play, and younger than Miranda in the other half. Being the father of a daughter is a special thing — challenging sometimes, joyous others, and inspiring always. The way a relationship between a father and a daughter grows and changes over time reveals aspects of both people that might otherwise stay hidden under the surface.

That’s one aspect of Kait Kerrigan’s play, which Aurora has the honor of presenting in its world premiere. It’s also a play about two romantic relationships; how they start, how they grow, and how they affect each other.

I love the intimacy of this piece. As an audience, we’re in the room for the pivotal moments when attraction turns to love, when love breaks something open that had been shut away, and when a connection that had been always out of reach suddenly becomes possible. Kait is an empathetic and canny writer, who with this play turns from the musicals for which she is well known to a play that is perfectly suited for Aurora’s stage.

I mentioned that this play has two halves. Usually that means one and then the other, but in this case the two halves are intertwined, snaking around each other as both stories move forward. It’s a perfect structure for this story of a father and a daughter. I couldn’t be more pleased to welcome you back into our building with this beautifully intimate story.

Father/Daughter is directed by the wonderful M. Graham Smith in his Aurora directorial debut, after his long association with Aurora through the Global Age Project. Later in our 30th season, we’ll have a new play from Jonathan Spector (who wrote Eureka Day), our next Originate+Generate commission from brilliant local playwright Cleavon Smith, and a West Coast premiere from rising star Jaclyn Backhaus.

Despite all the challenges of the past 20 months, I feel so lucky to be able to share this incredible season with you all. Thank you so much for joining us, and thanks also for keeping your mask on (over your mouth AND your nose) throughout the performance!

Enjoy the show.

Josh Costello ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

FATHER/DAUGHTER SETTING: Time: 23 years ago/present There will be no intermission.

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Josh Costello

Sharon Dolan

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

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E

Kait Kerrigan B Y M. Graham Smith† THE CAS T

William Thomas Hodgson* ��������������� BALDWIN/LOUIS Sam Jackson* ��������������������������������������� RISA/MIRANDA CR E ATIVE TE AM

Kate Boyd SCENIC DESIGNER Cliff Caruthers**

David K H Elliott LIGHTING DESIGNER Natalie Greene

Courtney Flores COSTUME DESIGNER

Cheryle Honerlah* STAGE MANAGER

SOUND DESIGNER/ORIGINAL MUSIC

INTIMACY / MOVEMENT DIRECTOR

E XE CUTIVE S E AS ON S PONS OR S

Craig & Kathy Moody S PONS OR S

Tom & Amy Worth AS S OCIATE S PONS OR S

Rosalind & Sung-Hou Kim Ellen & Barry Levine SPECIAL THANKS to John and Molly Gordon Father/Daughter was developed at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley as part of their New Works Festival.

Aurora’s world premiere production is supported by the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award.

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

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FATHERS AND DAUGHTERS

By Dawn Monique Williams, A SSO C IAT E A RT IST IC DIREC T OR Kait Kerrigan’s Father/Daughter is part of

explored in monogender relationships; single

and daughters have taken the stage in the

no longer a plot device in vogue.

a long theatrical lineage. Stories of fathers

parents of oppositely gendered children were

western tradition as far back as the ancient

Greeks. Agamemnon, under the guise of an

Until relatively late in the 20th century, this

daughter Iphigenia, to Aulis to sacrifice her

invisible, certainly secondary or tertiary

arranged marriage, brought his teenaged

left daughters, like their mothers, largely

to the gods for favorable winds. Daughters,

characters, in the mainstream drama.

sacrifice, and matrimony were the leitmotifs

Marsha Norman’s 1983 Pulitzer-winning

of European drama for several hundred years.

‘Night Mother, brought us a highly praised

Shakespeare is full of father/daughter duos

mother/daughter pairing that had been long

(Prospero/Miranda, Leonato/Hero, Lord

absent from the stage. This reflected the

Capulet/Juliet, Shylock/Jessica); matrimony

disproportionate number of roles for women

and its relationship to familial wealth, always

and the lack of opportunities given to female

the issue at stake. In the Italian and Spanish

playwrights (well into the 21st century).

traditions: commedia dell’arte and the

With David Auburn’s 2001 Pulitzer-winning

comedias of Siglo de Oro, the plots are so

Proof the age-old father/daughter conflict

focused on the social contracts between

reemerged on the stage.

fathers and daughters that mothers rarely appear. The paternal stock character–

Kait Kerrigan, in so many ways, subverts

the chastity and virtue of his daughter while

fathers and daughters were written by men.

Pantalone–plays a pivotal role, protecting

all of this. For generations, these stories of

miserly attempting to keep his money intact.

Written about the rights of fathers to choose

There isn’t an archetypical mother.

their daughter’s mates, within a patriarchal

framework where women were the property

The modern drama in the United States took

of men, trading hands and homes between

a move away from this in the 20th century.

their father and their husband. Even the

Perhaps Freudian psychology made stories

most subversive of these plays (think Aphra

of fathers and daughters feel a bit taboo, or

Behn) resulted in virtuous maids in marriages

the lauded playwrights of our time–Arthur

condoned by fathers after some rascal makes

Miller, Eugene O’Neill, August Wilson–

amends. Kerrigan however was intrigued by

wanted to lean into Freudian thinking and

how her relationship with her partner changed

explore the notion that sons want to displace

her relationship with her father. That intrigue

their fathers. These writers favored stories

was tested in her first incarnation of Father/

of fathers and sons as evidenced in just a

Daughter. Kerrigan says “I [had] just gotten

sampling of their plays: Death of a Salesman,

married, and I had all of these feelings that I

Long Day’s Journey into Night, Fences. The

wanted to talk about connected to this major

dynamics and tension between parent and

shift in my relationship with my father.” She

child became something, with rare exception,

goes on to explain that “over the course of

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the year leading up to our wedding, dealing with talking about our relationship with

[my father], but also discovering that your relationship with your partner can impact your relationship with your parents. It is

something that literally had never occurred to me.” Father/Daughter is not about a young woman’s chastity or a father’s wealth. It is about how the behaviors of a parent visit themselves upon a child.

Kerrigan’s two-actor drama shines a light on how romantic partnership can have a

positive impact on fractured relationships.

A young woman viewing the world from the

perspective of the person she loves can foster greater empathy for a father who may have disappointed her. Using a brilliant casting

device, the boyfriend and father are played by the same actor, the audience can tease their own understanding of Freudian psychology against Kerrigan’s suggestion that the way we see others, the world, and ourselves in

it, can change with the people we let in our

lives. There is no rich, old, or curmudgeonly father in this play, perhaps a wounded one

whose own romantic relationship–again, the

same actor plays his girlfriend and daughter– challenges him to show up in his daughter’s life. Both pas de deux and quartet at the

same time, Kerrigan reinvigorates a timeless motif. She gives a daughter the agency to

choose her own spouse, a father must atone

for his own prior bad acts, and partners aren’t just foils or plot devices. At stake are not

matrimony and riches, but forgiveness and reconciliation.

P I C T UR E D F R OM TOP : Cast of Kait Kerrigan’s Father/Daughter, Sam Jackson and William Thomas Hodgson. Photos by David Allen.

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C R E AT I V E T E A M

KAIT KERRIGAN (PLAYWRIGHT) is a playwright, lyricist, and bookwriter. Off-Broadway: The Mad Ones, Henry and the Mudge, and Rosie Revere, Engineer, and Friends. Her work has been developed and performed internationally. Her plays include Disaster Relief, Imaginary Love, Transit, and We Have to Hold Hands. Other musicals include Republic, Unbound, and The Bad Years, an immersive house party. Awards, fellowships, and residencies include the Kleban, Larson, Dramatists Guild Fellowship, I-73 Writer’s Group, Lark Playwright’s Week and Winter Retreat, and MacDowell. Kerrigan is an alumna of Barnard College, and a member of ASCAP, the Dramatists Guild, and founding member of NewMusicalTheatre.com. For more information, visit www.kerrigan-lowdermilk.com.

member of Nice Tan Comedy, a queer WOC led sketch comedy group based in San Francisco. Jackson would like to send her deepest gratitude to her family (blood and chosen) for their love, support, and moments of sanity in these trying times. (she/her) IG: @little_miss_sj M. GRAHAM SMITH† (DIRECTOR) is a San Franciscobased Director, Educator and Producer. He spent five years as Producer of Aurora’s new play development program and festival The Global Age Project and he is delighted to be directing his first full production here. Graham is an O’Neill/ NNPN National Directing Fellow, an Oregon Shakespeare Festival FAIR Fellow and a proud Resident Artist at SF’s Crowded Fire. He grew up outside of New York City and has been based in San Francisco for the last fourteen years. He’s directed in New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Portland Oregon, Washington DC, and in the San Francisco Bay Area. He directed the West Coast Premiere of Jerry Springer: The Opera and won Bay Area Critics Circle Best Director for Truffaldino Says No at Shotgun Players. Recent productions include the World Premiere of Obie winner Christopher Chen’s Home Invasion, Kevin Rolston’s Deal with the Dragon at ACT’s Costume Shop & Edinburgh Fringe, Mia Chung’s You for Me for You at Crowded Fire, James Ijames’ White at Shotgun. In April he directed his first full length film, a hip-hop musical adaptation of As You Like It with music and lyrics by Ryan Nicole Austin produced by ACT. You can visit him online at www.MGrahamSmith.com

WILLIAM THOMAS HODGSON* (BALDWIN/ LOUIS) is an acting company member at the Oregon Shakespeare Company where he has played: Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Malcolm, Macbeth; Stokes, How to Catch Creation; Romeo, Romeo and Juliet; Dumain, Love’s Labor’s Lost. Locally, his work has been seen at a number of theatres: Dr. Fowler Greenhill in It Can’t Happen Here (Berkeley Rep); Silvius in As You Like It (California Shakespeare Theater); James Hemmings in Thomas and Sally (Marin Theatre Company), Charlotte in I Am My Own Wife (Ubuntu Theater Project); Eamon Jameson in Calligraphy (TheatreWorks); Cat in the Hat in Seussical the Musical (Berkeley Playhouse). HIs regional credits include: BJJ in An Octoroon (Mixed Blood); Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame (La Jolla Playhouse), El Jonny in El Henry (La Jolla Playhouse/San Diego Repertory Theatre); Puck (understudy) in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (PCPA); Bart Simpson in Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play (UCSD); Louis in Angels in America (Santa Fe University of Art and Design). William is the Co-Founder of Ubuntu Theater Project, and was awarded the BroadwayWorld Award for Best Actor and a Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and Outstanding Direction.

He has an MFA in Acting from UCSD and has trained SFUAD and PCPA.

KATE BOYD (SCENIC DESIGNER), a Bay Area scenic and lighting designer, is thrilled to be at Aurora for her first live show in too long. Her most “recent” shows were Nine Parts of Desire at the Armory in Portland and Noura at Marin Theater Company (both by Heather Raffo) . She has designed many sets at Aurora and her work has been seen at Center Rep, Golden Thread, Magic Theater, New Conservatory Theater, Merola Opera, the SF Conservatory of Music, Company C Ballet, and Theaterworks. Kate is a resident artist with Golden Thread Productions and recipient of the Gerbode Design Fellowship.

Kate teaches stagecraft and design at Lick-Wilmerding High School.

CLIFF CARUTHERS** (SOUND DESIGNER/ORIGINAL MUSIC) is a Bay Area based sound designer and composer with over 20 years experience in the field of theatre sound design.

He has created music and soundscapes for over 300 productions near and far, including Frankenstein at Guthrie Theatre, 1984 at Alley Theatre, Caucasian Chalk Circle for American Conservatory Theater, TRAGEDY: A Tragedy for Berkeley Repertory Theater, Man in Love for Kansas City Rep, and A Clean House for TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, where he was Resident Sound Designer for seven years. In 2007 his work on Fighter Airplanes for Cutting Ball Theater was featured at the Prague Quadrennial in 2007. His work on Earth: A Primer, was featured at the Experimental Gameplay Worship at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in 2015. He has received several Bay Area Critics Circle awards, including most recently in 2019 for Detroit ’67 at Aurora Theatre Company. Mr. Caruthers is co-curator of the San Francisco Tape Music Festival, and serves as Member

SAM JACKSON* (RISA/MIRANDA) is a San Francisco based actor, vocalist and teaching artist.

Her most recent acting credits include: Shotgun Player’s Vinegar Tom (Ellen), Aurora’s Exit Strategy (Sadie), Shotgun Player’s Kings (Sydney Millsap) and Kill The Debbie Downers! Kill Them!

Kill Them! Kill Them Off!! (Olga). She is also a company 6

F AT H E R / D A U G H T E R C O M M U N I T Y PA R T N E R

PAAL is a national community, resources hub, and solutions generator for individuals with caregiver responsibilities and institutions who strive to support them.

PAAL’s mission is to elevate the national standard of care for parents and caregivers in the performing arts and media.

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This year’s PAAL Summit is in the works for theatres to learn how to improve/begin their caregiver support.

Tag a theatre that should join us! @paaltheatre

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Representative to the Western Region Board of United Scenic Artists Local 829.

AMY & TOM WORTH (SPONSORS) have been supporters and subscribers for many years. They love the stories told in Aurora plays, and appreciate the superlative work of our actors, directors and production staff in putting on memorable live theatre.

COURTNEY FLORES (COSTUME DESIGNER) is a Costume Designer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She serves as Costume and Makeup Design Lecturer at San Jose State University, as well as a Lecturer at California State University East Bay in Hayward, California. Recent productions include Water by the Spoonful at Stages Theatre in Houston, TX, Kill Move Paradise at Shotgun Players in Berkeley, CA, Native Gardens at Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville, GA, The House of the Spirits at U.C. Berkeley in Berkeley, CA, and In Old Age at Magic Theatre in San Francisco, CA. To see more of her work, visit: www.CourtneyFlores.com

ROSALIND & SUNG-HOU KIM (ASSOCIATE SPONSORS) have been subscribers to Aurora since 2009.

Rosalind has been a Board Member since 2019. Aurora’s ¾ thrust stage allows for every seat to be a great seat. This small, intimate theatre is a real gem for the type of works dealing with in-depth and personal issues, current as well as historical, that are not suitable for large theaters.

ELLEN & BARRY LEVINE (ASSOCIATE SPONSORS) freely admit that they are long-time theater addicts and believe that this is a wonderful addiction. They have been sharing their theater passion for over 50 years not only in the Bay Area but also with annual visits to New York and, as often as possible, to London. These theatrical “pilgrimages” tie in perfectly with their great love of traveling throughout the world.

DAVID K H ELLIOTT (LIGHTING DESIGNER) has designed for American Ballet Theater, San Francisco Ballet, Ballet San Jose, ODC, Joe Goode Performance Group, Robert Moses’ Kin, and Jess Curtis/Gravity. His work includes designs for California Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Teatro Zinzanni, Marin Theater Company, Keith Terry, Joe Goode, John Fisher, West Wave Dance, and Crowded Fire Theater. He is the recipient of the Dancer’s Group Lighting Designer in Dance Award, an Isadora Duncan Award, two Drama-Logue Critics Awards, and Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Award. This is his first production for Aurora Theatre Company.

JOSH COSTELLO (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR) Josh Costello is the Artistic Director of Aurora Theatre Company. 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 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.

NATALIE GREENE (INTIMACY/MOVEMENT DIRECTOR) is an artist and educator working at the intersection of dance, theater, and community engagement. Her choreography and intimacy work were last seen at the Aurora in The Children, and have also appeared at Cal Shakes, Custom Made Theater, Portland Center Stage, and Shotgun Players. Natalie worked with the award-winning devised performance ensemble Mugwumpin for a decade, and became Artistic Director in 2016.

Her choreography has been presented by California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco Airport, ODC Theater, Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco City Hall, and through schools, senior centers and non-traditional performance spaces throughout the Bay Area.

CHERYLE HONERLAH* (STAGE MANAGER) is excited for her first show with Aurora! She has had the pleasure of working with several theaters in the Bay Area, including California Shakespeare Theater, ACT, TheatreWorks, Shotgun Players, Douglas Morrisson Theatre, and AfricanAmerican Shakespeare Company. She holds a B.A. in Technical Theatre from CSU East Bay, and participated in CalShakes’ Professional Internship Program in 2013. Cheryle is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.

SHARON DOLAN (INTERIM MANAGING DIRECTOR) Sharon is an experienced leader of several non-profit organizations over 30 years. Prior to Aurora, she was the executive director of the Freight & Salvage, and has also led the Oakland Youth Chorus and several youth development organizations. She also recently served as the chair of the Berkeley Cultural Trust. She has recently moved to providing interim leadership and strategic consulting in organizational development. In each of Sharon’s positions, she has brought her knowledge of and passion for diversity, equity and inclusion to the work. She has helped organizations build strategies, systems, policies, procedures, programs, and partnerships that support this work.

CRAIG & KATHY MOODY (EXECUTIVE SEASON SPONSORS) believe live theatre can be life-changing. They are distressed by the paltry government support of the arts in general and of theatre in particular in the United States.

Accordingly, they encourage all who read this to donate generously to a theatre or theatres of their liking. Aurora would be an excellent place to start.

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

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DONORS

ANNUAL FUND DONORS

Aurora Theatre Company extends its heartfelt appreciation to all of our generous annual fund donors, whose gifts enable Aurora to provide a nurturing environment for theatre artists and to enrich the lives of our audience. For more information about giving to Aurora’s annual fund, please contact Development at 510.843.4042 x308 or development@ auroratheatre.org, or visit auroratheatre.org/donate. Thank you!

Executive Season Sponsor

$50,000-$99,999 The Estate of Andree L. Abecassis Ellen & Barry Levine Craig & Kathy Moody Season Sponsor

$25,000 - $49,999 George & Candy Hisert Tom & Amy Worth Premiere Sponsor

$15,000 - $24,999 Kay & Ed Blonz Thomas W. Edwards & Rebecca Parlette-Edwards Cindy & Stephen Snow Sponsor

$10,000 - $14,999 Tamra C. Hege Barbara & Jim Kautz Rosalind & Sung-Hou Kim Maris & Ivan Meyerson Kitt Shute & Jeff Rowlings Ed & Liliane Schneider Sally Shaver The Wood Foundation, David Wood & Kathleen Garrison Associate Sponsor

$6,000- $9,999 Donna Ano Elizabeth Burwell Italo & Suzanne Calpestri Thomas Edwards Diana Cohen & Bill Falik

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Venus & Narsai David Merle & Michael Fajans Judith Glass Greg Gorel Gail & Bob Hetler Joe Simitian & Mary Hughes Lyn C. Isbell Judith Wilber & Bob Miller Karen Mullarkey Hillary & Jonathan Reinis Marianne Robison Anne & Boyard Rowe Deborah Dashow Ruth Sam Test Shirley & Michael Traynor Jeffrey Trescott Carolyn Weinberger Evie & Gordon Wozniak Karen & Joel Zeldin

Artistic Director’s Circle

Benefactor

Cast and Crew Sponsor

$2,500 - $3,999 Anonymous Broitman Basri Family Kathryn Frank & Jim Blume Carol Carman Chris Hamilton & Donna Dediemar Kathy Roberts & Aaron Loeb Karen & John McGuinn Lisa Taylor Sallie Weissinger Director’s Circle

$1,200 - $2,499 Anonymous Joan Catherine Braun James Helman & Josephine Bellaccomo 10

$500 - $1,199 Anonymous (3) Norman Abramson & David Beery Charitable Fund of Horizons Foundation Kedar K. Adour Robert & Maria Allen Claire & Kendall Allphin Joel Altman Alan Harper & Carol Baird Anne Pardee & Steve Beckendorf Adrian Blumberg Thomas Bosserman Daphne & Robert Bransten Steven Goldberg & Sandee Blechman Katharine Byrne Barbara Cahn

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DONORS

The Leo J. & Celia Carlin Fund Bruce Carlton Jon Carr Daniel Murphy & Micah Cerrone Janaki & Heine Costello Jill & Evan Custer Carlotta & Bob Dathe Sharon Dolan Monika & David M. Eisenbud Alan L. Elnick Roger & Jane Emanuel Jacquelin Ewing Nancy & Jerry Falk Shirley Fifield Harvey & Deana Freedman Kevin M. Gahagan Eva & Alex Glazer Karen & Ken Harley Tony & Trish Hawthorne Jean Krois & Howard Hertz Charlton G. Holland Janet Huseby Carol & Richard R. Hyman Barbara E. Jones Don Kaufman Bob Shephard & Sandra Keith Beth & Tim Kientzle Laura Korbas Ken Krich Susan Berger Law Susan Ledford Julius Raphaël Leiman-Carbia Kit & Hayne Leland Craig Broscow & Courtney Lennard Bonnie Burt & Mark Liss Michael J. Loeb Eugenia Loken Rosa Luevano Ann & Robert Lynn Ruth Majdrakoff Rena Kirkpatrick & Charles Manning Britt-Marie & Brian Morris Mike & Sharon Morris Adrian Borrero & David Nalley

Celia Karian & James Novosel Margo & Roy Ogus Sylvia Pascal Nonie B. Ramsay Danielle Rebischung Ruth & Jim Reynolds Ken & Kathleen Richardson Maxine Risley Henry Navas & Deborah Robbins Danny Field & Gary Richard Robinson Steve & Linda Rosen Joan Emery & Eddy Rubin Diane & Ed Ryken Gretchen Saeger Susan Sawyer Betsy Smith Sigrid Snider Ruth MacNaughton & Harold Spencer Andrew Cohn & Kate Stewart Frank Kelly & Alan Stewart Monica R. Salusky & John Sutherland Jane & Jay Taber Gail & Arne Wagner Susan & Brad Wait Arlene Waksberg Dorothy Walker Evan White Donna M. Williams Victor Willits Ann Willoughby Viviana Wolinsky Patron

$250 - $499 Anonymous (2) Carlene & Richard Anderson Nina K. Auerbach Stephen Twigg & Susan C. Aumiller Richard & Sandy Bails Susan & Barry Baskin Wendy & Robert Bergman

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Terry Pink Alexander & John Blaustein Bonnie Bogue Eva & David Bradford Robert Brokl Emilie Talbot & Gordon Brooks Caroline & Rande Burton Barbara & Larry Cahn Nancy Catena Susanne Stoffel & Michael Coan Jane & Tom Coulter Lynn & Chris Crook Sue & Joe Daly Pam Dernham John Ehrlich Beverly Blatt & David Filipek Susan K. Fisher Mary & Tom Foote Molly & Harrison Fraker Sarah & Frank Fuller Glennis Lees Glazeski & Michael Glazeski Gretchen & Richard Grant Barry A. Graynor Elizabeth Groenewegen Bonnie & Sy Grossman Sarah & Parke Hafner Oscar Anderson & Holly Hartley John Sweitzer & Joyce Hawkins Woof Kurtzman & Liz Hertz Kathryn S. Martin & David Kurtzman Pam MacKinnon Karen Mangan Ana Maria Martel Karen Rosenbaum & Ben McClinton Robert McDowell Arnold Yip & Alison McLean Mark & Marjorie Medress Jerry S. Mosher Russell Nelson The Perttula Family Caroline & Roger Purves Ingrid J. Madsen & Victor Rauch

C ONFRONTIN G & DISMANTLIN G 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*, Lorii 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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DONORS

Leonard Gabriele & John Richardson Yvonne Lalanne & Mark M. Rubenstein Claire de Chazal & Francisco Santamarina Linda Sayler Laurel Scheinman Barbara Silverberg John Simpson Sarilee Janger & Stephen Steiner Robert Kidd & Joan Story Suzanne Titus-Johnson Revan & Elsa Tranter Laurel I Schaefer Trent Susan Tuohy Susan Ward Emily & Robert Warden Barbara Baratta & Fred Winslow Paul L. Wyman Fran Burgess & Sandy Zirulnik Associate

$100 - $249 Anonymous (7) Ida & Myles Abbott Kathy Allen Eugene R. Alward Judith A. Arrigo Jay Atkinson & Ariel Summerlin Helen Hutchison & Lee Aurich Paula Bakalar David Barnes Bobbi Baron Marilyn Beller Irene & Robert E. Belknap Alicia B. Benito Gil & Ann Berkeley Christel & Jurg Bieri Barbara Anscher & Steven Binder Holly & James Bogin Carol M. Bowen Marion Brackett Sheila & Arthur Braufman Marilyn & George Bray Roberta Brooks

Nina & Frank Brunetti Wayne Bryan Robert Bryans Carin & Robert Bryans Carin & Bob Bryans Shelley Gordon & Richard Burge Gaylord Burke & Patricia Bruning Alexander Byron John Caner Cecilia Storr & Mark Chaitkin Denys Carrillo Tyler Ochoa & Karin Carter Andrea & Michael Cassidy Diana Gay-Catania & David Catania Yvette Chalom Lisa Chilton William Chinowsky Susanne Stoffel & Michael Coan Carolyn & Phil Cowan Carolyn Cox Gary & Diana Cramer Ada Burko & Gabriela Crane Rita Reining & John Creighton Ann O’Connor & Ed Cullen Clytia & Joseph M. Curley Joe & Sue Daly Barbara de Janvry Donna Terazawa & Robert Deutsch Kate M. Dickey Deborah Sanborn & Don Davella Susan Driscoll Jay H. Espovich Daria Hepps & Franco Faraguna Claudia H. Fenelon Hal Fischer Brigitte & Louis Fisher Robin Flagg Cynthia Fleury Christopher Flores Barbara & Ron Forsstrom Sabina & Michael Frank Stephanie Friedman Kelli Frostad Kevin Gahagan 14

Mark Aaronson & Marjorie Gelb John Rosenberg & Diane Gerstler Anirvan Chatterjee & Barnali Ghosh Heidi Giordano Basha Goddard Margot Golding Daniel & Hilary Goldstine Bobbi Schear & Michael Goloff Ann Goolsby Roy L. Gordon Simon & Paula Goren Gregg & Ruth Gorrin Anita Grandpre Gary Greene Judy & Shel Greene Pat & Lee Hackett Mary & Michael Hanemann Gina & Steve Harris Lynne & Austin Henderson Leslie Henry Irene & Robert Hepps Hilary Honore Claudia Horty Barry Hovis Janet Hurwich Gary & Carol Irwin Ying Mei & Jack Betsy Jasny Susan M. Jenny Susan & Andrew Jokelson Robert & Kathleen Kaiser Linda & Terry T. Kanat Joseph E. Katz Larry & Ann Keiffer Rose Adams Kelly Christopher & Patricia Kenber Herbert B. Kennedy Martha & Michael Kessler Birthe Kirsch Deborah & David Kirshman Martha Schimbor & Nancy Kornfield Gail Krowech Teresa Kulka

DONORS

Joanne & John Lafler Judith Lamberti Carol LaPlant Lori A. Laratro Gretchen M. Larsen Lauren Lassleben Marguerite Lee Joseph Jackson & Joann Leskovar Sandra Lessing Eva Liebermann Jennifer S. Lindsay Catherine Locke Dan & Emily Loeb Monique Elias & Anthony Arthur Long Loo D. Loodaisy Mimi W. Lou Antonia Lozon Wendell Choo & Mark MacKler Christiane Maier Rebecca Kurland & Patrick Mason Claire & Paul Maxwell Miles & Mary Ellen McKey Bill & Suzanne McLean Steve & Patricia McMahon John Mengel Roberta & Spencer Michels Susanne & Richard Monson Everett & Julia Moore Thomas C. Moore Mark J. Powers & Albert E. Moreno Brenda Moreno susan Morris Catherine M. Moss Jeff & Sue Mulvihill Len Nathan Margery F. Eriksson & James T. Nelson Helen & John Neville Linda D. Nguyen Azieb Nicodimos Rachel & Ron Nissim Joan Sullivan & Walter Norton

Aleta Wallace & Peter Nussbaum Linda Perkins Susan Y. Petit Margaret A. Phillips Sylvia & Perry W. Polk Barbara Porter Virginia Poulton Jack & Jessica Powell John F. Price Susan Wheeler Rappe Mary Rees Bill & Ray Riess Irene & Ed Rimer Pauline & Wayman Robertson William Roberts Ellen Rosen Linda & Steve Rosen Rosenthal-Murphy Family Trust Geri Rossen Marjorie Roth David Rovno M.D. Priscilla Royal Steven Horwitz & Bonnie Sanders Sylvia Saunders Thomas A. Savignano Gillian Scharff George Sensabaugh Dennis Setlock Alice Sheehan Ginny Sidells Bonnie Siegel Patricia Silver Harriet Simpson Anne Read Smith Chris & Jeff Smith Judy & Ron Smith Margaret J. Sparks Suzy Spradlin Helen Wickes & Donald J. Stang Laura Steinman Sally Stevens Bonnie Stiles Mary & Jerry Street Margi Stromberg Joan Suzio 15

Harry & Betsey Tabraham Jean C. Thomas Nate & Rebecca Tico Dan McClosky & Nan Toder Stephanie Tucker Joan VanAntwerp Lisa Vandenberg Sandra Venning Penny Veres Gretchen vonDuering Grant & Norma Voth Ruth & Laurence Walker Myrna Walton Richard D. Warren Jim & Irene Watt Georganne Ferrier & Steven Weinberg Janice Weingrod Margo Wesley Laurellee Westaway Kathleen & Roy Whalin Dean Wheatcraft Andrew & Linda T. Williams Richard Willkins Barbara Lanier & John Wilson Jennifer Winch Andrew Witkowski Linda & Steve Wolan The Murraywolf Family Sally Woolsey Alyosha Zim Bess Zimmerman Thank you to all of our generous donors who have made gifts under $100. List is current as of October 5, 2021.

DONORS

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 first-generation 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) Nancy Axelrod Steven Beckendorf Norman Abramson & David Beery* Elizabeth Burwell Carol Emory Jacquelin Ewing Marge Glicksman* Candy & George Hisert Ellen & Barry Levine HONOR ROLL List is current as of October 5, 2021.

In Memory of Sheldon Bornstein In Honor of Joan Catherine Braun In Honor of Larry Cahn In Memory of Alex Glass In Memory of William E. Jones

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 Betty Pigford*

Tom Ross David Rovno Julianne H. Rumsey* Deborah Dashow Ruth Sylvia Saunders Valerie Sopher Lisa R. Taylor Janis Kate Turner

In Memory of Jack Kirsch In Memory of Patricia Mengel In Honor of Julie Rumsey (7) In Honor of Julie Saltzman Kellner (2)

In Honor of Paul Templeton In Memory of David J. Williamson

*In Memoriam

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 October 5, 2021.

Anonymous FUNDS FOR THE FUTURE Funds for the Future provide lasting tributes and generate continual support for Aurora. We wish to express our sincere appreciation to those who have established the following funds:

Suzanne Adams Fund Traynor Education Fund 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!

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DONORS

CORPORATE DONORS

$1000-$2,499 Blue Heron Bikes The Caterpillar Foundation +

$100 - $999 Amazon Smile Foundation Aon Foundation + Adobe Systems Incorporated + Chevron Humankind Matching Gift Program + Guidewire +

Salesforce + Zynga + + Matching Gift Program

FOUNDATION & GOVERNMENT SUPPORT 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

The Bernard Osher Foundation California Office of the Small Business Advocate City of Berkeley Civic Arts Program The Edgerton Foundation

The Fleishhacker Foundation The Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation The Shubert Foundation The Tournesol Project

You can help to secure Aurora’s long-term future by including Aurora in your estate plans and becoming a member of the Barbara Oliver Society for the Next Generation. As a member, you will play a lead role in ensuring that Aurora continues to shape the minds and hearts of generations to come through challenging, thoughtprovoking theatre.

To learn more, contact Development at 510.843.4042 x312 or visit auroratheatre.org/BarbaraOliverSociety.

Photo of Barbara Oliver by David Allen.

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A U R O R A T H E AT R E C O M PA N Y

AURORA STAFF Josh Costello ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Felicity Cowlin

INDIVIDUAL GIVING MANAGER

Robin Dolan

BOX OFFICE SUPPORT

Sharon Dolan

INTERIM MANAGING DIRECTOR

Dayna Kalakau

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

O+G ARTISTS Christopher Chen Britney Frazier Margo Hall Cleavon Smith Jonathan Spector Beth Wilmurt FATHER/DAUGHTER PRODUCTION STAFF Emma Buechner ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER

Charles Clear

MASTER ELECTRICIAN

Karen Loccisano GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Sam Jackson

INTIMACY CAPTAIN

Kate Pennington

BOX OFFICE & DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE

William Thomas Hodgson

Jenn Ruygt

Colleen Nicole

PRODUCTION MANAGER

DANCE CAPTAIN

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, Carol Neil, Bob Oliver, Hilary Perkins, Hillary & Jonathan Reinis, M. Graham Smith, Steve & Cindy Snow, Jonathan Spector, Mia Tagano, Beth Wilmurt

COSTUME COORDINATOR/WARDROBE

Katherine Sanderlin

Adeline Smith

Nicole Schulz

Chris Swartzell

David Shultz

Elizabeth Lada

DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

SCENIC PAINTER CARPENTER

GENERAL ACCOUNTANT

20/21 SHOW PROGRAM/POSTER ARTWORK

BOX OFFICE MANAGER

Cameron Swartzell

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR/ FACILITIES MANAGER

Storm White

VIDEOGRAPHY BY Flying Moose Pictures

ASSISTANT BOX OFFICE MANAGER

Dawn Monique Williams ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT: Joan Catherine Braun | VICE-PRESIDENT: Kitt Shute TREASURER: Rebecca Parlette-Edwards | SECRETARY: George Hisert Gertrude E. Allen | Josh Costello | Lance Gardner | Rosalind Kim | Alan Miller Craig Moody | Ed Schneider | Kinman Tong | Tom Worth PAST BOARD PRESIDENTS IN ORDER OF SERVICE:

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 18

C O M I N G U P N E X T AT A U R O R A T H E AT R E C O M PA N Y

Jonathan Spector D IR E C T E D BY Josh Costello BY

STARTS FEB 4, 2022

The writer of Eureka Day returns to Aurora with an explosively theatrical interrogation of agency and

culpability. Through his all-too-personal lectures on psychology, Lukesh attempts to unravel a mystery with his wife Natalya at the center. What happened to Natalya? The search for answers will launch us

on a time-hopping fugue, weaving together the stories of Stalin’s daughter defecting to America, the

son of a white supremacist growing to doubt the beliefs he was raised with, and the secret despair of an accidental killer. How do we truly make decisions? How do we change our minds? And what does it mean to be complicit?

AURORA THEATRE COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION BOX OFFICE

Hours: Tues-Friday, 1pm-5pm Phone: 510.843.4822 Online: auroratheatre.org ADMINISTRATION

2081 Addison Street Berkeley, CA 94704 phone: 510.843.4042 fax: 510.843.4826

SUBSCRIBER TICKET EXCHANGE

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

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POLICIES FOR IN-PERSON PERFORMANCES

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.

W E L C O M E

T O

A U R O R A ’ S

3 0 T H

2 0 21 / 2 0 2 2

S E A S O N

By DAEL ORLANDERSMITH | Directed by ELIZABETH CARTER S TARTS S E P 3

By KAIT KERRIGAN Directed by M. GRAHAM SMITH

S TARTS NOV 1 2

By CLEAVON SMITH Directed by DAWN MONIQUE WILLIAMS

S TARTS APR 1 5

By JONATHAN SPECTOR Directed by JOSH COSTELLO

By JACLYN BACKHAUS Directed by LAVINA JADHWANI

START S F EB 4

START S JUN 24

SUBSCRIPTIONS AND SINGLE TICKETS ON SALE NOW! C A L L 510 . 8 4 3 . 4 8 2 2 | V I S I T AU R O R AT H E AT R E . O R G