A
crew
Rae Elizabeth Pare ‘15
Adrianna Jones ‘22
Zoe Gatz ‘22
Leah Gawell ‘19/’21
Darien Hiller ‘20
Caitlin DiGiacomo ‘10
team
and Martin McClendon
Kurt Meinhardt
Geovanni Virella-Torres ‘22
Zackary Simonini ‘12
Kaila Bingen ‘15/’20
special thanks
Written by the Carthage Verbatim Theatre Class, January 2022: Nicky Caldwell, Jacqueline Chiakas, Andrea Fuentes, Theresa Kalb, Martin McClendon,Valerie Nicolussi, and Melissa Schmidt with assistance from Dr. Becki Hornung (with additional editing by the current cast and directors)
This project was made possible thanks to the six healthcare workers who agreed to share their stories. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their willingness to speak to us, and the nation owes them much more. We dedicate this play to them.
This production of FRONTLINE was made possible by the generous support of the Franklin I. and Irene List Saemann Foundation, which has enabled Carthage to launch Interprofessional Education opportunities for Carthage nursing and allied health students, in addition to building bridges across all disciplines at Carthage.
Special thanks to Katharine Keenan in the Office of Advancement and Nancy Reese, Director of Nursing, for creating this opportunity.
Special thanks to Herschel Kruger, William Newcomb, Kim Instenes and all the Carthage Theatre Department faculty and students for supporting the production.
proceeds from this production will be donated to the Shalom Center, Kenosha WI.
Bree Beelow (she/her) (Co-director) is a proud alumni of Carthage College, graduat ing in 2013 with a degree in Theatre Performance & Musical Theatre, and again in 2021 with a Masters in Music Theatre Vocal Pedagogy. She is a member of Actors Equity and has performed all over the world. Currently based in Milwaukee, Bree has toured internationally throughout China and Ireland. She has also originated several roles in new works including: ‘Jackie’ in SUNFLOWERED (Northern SkyWorkshop Production), ‘Lucinda’ in ELLA ENCHANTED (First Stage), ‘Brea Belof’ in THE RAIL SPLITTER by Rick Cleveland (Carthage), & ‘Goldilocks/Mandy’ in A CLAMOUR OF ROOKS (The Gaiety School of Acting). Some of Bree’s favorite roles include ‘Marie Antoinette’ in THE REVOLUTIONISTS (Next Act); ‘Kate Barlow’ in HOLES; and ‘Heather Stovall’ in the Chicago premiere of HANDS ON A HARD BODY (Williams Street Rep). Bree currently is an adjunct professor at Carthage, as well as a voice/speech teacher for The Voice Lab (Chicago). Bree would like to thank Martin for giving her this opportunity, and the cast and crew for making this process so enlightening.
Kaila Bingen‘15/’20 (Composer/Music Designer) is honored to be part of the team of talented fellow Carthage alumni bringing these stories to life. Kaila is a theater artist, arts administrator, and musician from Kenosha. Kaila’s recent composition/music design credits include THE TEMPEST (DRUNK) (Bard and Bourbon), ‘NEATH THE HILLS OF BASTOGNE (Sunstone Studios), THE REVOLUTIONISTS (Carthage Col lege), and THE MELANCHOLY PLAY (Fleeing Artists Theatre). This performance, and every performance after, is dedicated to Mom - I love you and miss you.
Caitlin DiGiacomo, nee Robertson (Six) is a proud Carthage Graduate from the class of 2010, where she received a major in Theatre Arts and a minor in Creative Writing. During her time at Carthage, she was a frequent specter of the Studio Theatre as well as the President of Alpha Psi Omega. Since graduating, Caitlin has worked between Chicago and Milwaukee while producing, performing, writing, directing, and teach ing theater. She has three spellbinding children, each more brilliant than the last, and a union stagehand who she forces to perform in her shows and also take out the garbage. An endless thank you to the Carthage Alumni who have been bringing stories to life with her for the last 17 years.
Zoë Gatz (Three) is so excited to be part of her first post-graduation production here at Carthage College. A 2022 graduate of Music Theater and Public Relations, her Senior year was spent working down in Lake Forest as the Head of Audience Devel opment at Citadel Theater. Zoe has recently taken the role of the Marketing and Sales coordinator at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Some of Zoe’s favorite past Carthage productions include her most recent in THE REVOLUTIONISTS (Charlotte Corday) and SOMETHING ROTTEN (Bea). She is also a proud 18’& 19’alum of the touring group Kids From Wisconsin. Zoe would not only like to thank the Carthage College Theater and Nursing department for this unique opportunity, but also those in her life who are healthcare professionals past, present, and near future.
Leah Gawel (Four) is so thrilled to be performing at her alma mater, receiving both her Master of Music in Music Theatre Vocal Pedagogy (‘21) and Bachelor of Arts in Music Theatre (‘19) from Carthage. While currently taking on many hats in her career, she primarily works at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music on their Voice Faculty as well as teaching general music in schools throughout the Milwaukee area through the Conservatory’s Connections Program. Locally, she has been seen at First Stage Theatre Company with THE LEGEND OF ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS (Under study) and Forte Theatre Company’s production of MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET: A LIVE RADIO PLAY (Doris Walker), and her international credits consists of perfor mance and choreography work throughout China and different European Countries. Her academic research focuses on the effects of religious trauma on artists, particularly on obstacles to vocal mechanics. She has recently presented this work at both the KCACTF Region III Conference and the ATHE Conference.
Darien Hiller (Five) is ecstatic to have the opportunity to perform at Carthage once again. She graduated from Carthage College in 2020 with her Bachelor of Arts in Mu sic Education and Music Theatre, however she is back once again at Carthage, cur rently pursuing her Master of Music in Music Theatre Vocal Pedagogy. Darien works at Elmwood Elementary in New Berlin, WI, teaching K-6th grade general music, as well as directing the extracurricular 4-6th grade choir and musical. Despite being in a few virtual productions, this is her first live production she has been in since the COVID-19 pandemic first began - and what a fitting show for it to be! She would like to thank the six healthcare professionals who selflessly shared their stories that you will hear tonight, as well as all the other healthcare professionals out there for all they do for their patients.
Adrianna Jones (Two) is a recent Carthage alumni, having completed the Master of Music in Music Theatre Vocal Pedagogy program at Carthage in summer 2022. She hails from the small town of Alton, Illinois, which is located right along the Missis sippi River near St. Louis, Missouri. Miss Jones began her career as a performing artist after she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from Webster University in 2014. After graduating, she lived and performed in Los Angeles for several years before her performance career took her onto the high seas, performing for Norwegian Cruise Lines. In addition to performing, Adrianna teaches as adjunct faculty in the Carthage Theatre Department and also teaches private voice lessons at RG Performing Arts Studio in Kenosha. She feels honored to be able to share these important stories and would like to thank Martin McClendon for inviting her to play this role. Adrianna would like to dedicate this performance to all of the frontline healthcare workers who are still tirelessly working behind the scenes to keep us safe and would like to thank them for being an advocate for so many people whose voices may not otherwise be heard.
Martin McClendon (Co-author, Co-director): Martin teaches, directs, and designs scenery for Carthage Theatre. In 2015 he embarked on Carthage’s first verbatim the atre project with student playwright Laurel McKenzie. The resulting play, AFGHANISTAN/WISCONSIN, was chosen for production by the Region 3 American College Theatre Festival and received national commendations for production, direction, and ensemble work. Several other verbatim collaborations with students followed, all centered around the experiences of veterans, presented as readings during the annual Veteran Night of the Arts, 2016-19. In 2019 Martin was granted a sabbatical to research and write a verbatim play about female veterans with assistance from Dr. Bec ki Hornung (Social Work). The resulting play, FIGHTING FOR HOME, premiered at Carthage in 2020 directed by Marcella Kearns, and received ACTF Certificates of Merit for citizen artistry, direction, and ensemble work. In January 2022 Martin taught the first dedicated verbatim theatre class at Carthage, working with students and Dr. Hornung to create FRONTLINE. Prior to working at Carthage, Martin spent 10 years working as a professional actor, carpenter, and scene designer in Chicago and Los Angeles, and he is a proud member of Actor’s Equity and SAG/AFTRA. He would like to thank his beautiful wife Jennifer and his wonderful kids Arabella and Horatio for their support and inspiration.
Kurt Meinhardt is a senior majoring in Technical Direction. He is excited to be completing his final year as a student at Carthage College. He was most recently a part of the mainstage production ANTIGONE as the stage manager. He has been a part THE REVOLUTIONISTS as the sound designer. He has also been a sound board operator for BETRAYAL as well as projection designer for PATIENCE AND FORTI TUDE while at Carthage. He would like to thank his supportive family, his friends of Carthage, and the production team for allowing him to be a part of this exciting production.
Rae Elizabeth Pare (One) is a 2015 graduate of Carthage and is excited to be working with fellow alumni. Her recent roles include Mary Reade (BONNY ANNE BONNY) with Theatre RED, Jason Powell’s (DON’T DO THE CRIME) concert and musical (DOC DANGER) as The Lady in Black with Milwaukee Opera Theatre. She’s previ ously worked with Northern Sky Theater, Lilly (PRIDE AND PANCAKES) Milwaukee Chamber Theater, as Dame Olga understudy (ELLA ENCHANTED) at First Stage.
Zackary “SLiM” Simonini (Lighting/Technical Direction) is thrilled to be back at Carthage. Since graduating in 2012 with a Major in Political Science and General Theatre. SLiM has lived between Illinois and Northern Virginia/Washington D.C. Mr. Simonini has worked professionally for national non-profits, and event coordinators within the D.C. metropolitan area. As a theatre Artist SLiM has worked with Carthage Theatre previously as a Master Carpenter and Assistant Technical Director. Mr. Simonini is also a theatre performance artist having worked with Milwaukee’s First Stage theatre as well as having performed in sev eral independent films. SLiM believes that his diverse work and life experience captures the spirit of the Carthage College Liberal Arts Education. This is SLiM’s first year as a professor and he is ready to do his part to live up to the Carthage mission. Carthage faculty has had a lasting positive impact on Mr. Simonini’s life and outlook. Mr. Simonini aspires to have the same positive impact by creating life skills through theatre skills. SLiM would like to thank his lovely wife and best friend Allison for her continued support and affection. Special shout out to Shane Simonini: Vanderbilt Nurse extraordinaire.
Geovanni Virella-Torres (Costume Design) is a freelance graphic designer, dancer and choreographer based in northeastern Wisconsin. Geovanni graduated summa cum laude at Carthage College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in graphic design with minors in dance and costume design in May of 2022. During his time at Carthage, he received a dance scholarship, was awarded a “Student Undergraduate Research Experience Grant”, and received many departmental awards from faculty for his choreography and performances. For his SURE Grant in 2020, he collaborated with Israeli-based choreographer Tal Garmiza, UK-based choreographer Balbir Singh, and Spotify artist Karson. to create “Untitled”, a new work with original sound, costumes, and projections created by Geovanni. His 2021 work “Form” was presented at the 2022 American College Dance Associa tion’s North Central Conference as undergraduate research at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Additionally, Geovanni designed both the mainstage and studio production dance concerts at Carthage College, NOTHING TOO SMALL and AWAY FROM THE MIRROR ‘22 for the 2021-2022 academic year. This is Ge ovanni’s first time designing a theatre production after his undergraduate degree and he is excited to collaborate with all the artists on this new project.
