Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. – Helen Keller
The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation proudly supports the Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati as it explores themes of kindness and reconciliation.
D. Lynn Meyers, Producing Artistic Director
20TH CENTURY BLUES by SUSAN MILLER Directed by D. LYNN MEYERS†
February 1 – 14, 2021 Director of Photography BECCA SCHALL
Stage Manager BRANDON T. HOLMES*
Production Manager MATTHEW HOLLSTEGGE
Properties Master SHANNON RAE LUTZ
THE VIDEOTAPING OR MAKING OF ELECTRONIC OR OTHER AUDIO AND/OR VISUAL RECORDINGS OF THIS PRODUCTION IS A VIOLATION OF UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT LAW AND AN ACTIONABLE FEDERAL OFFENSE.
20TH CENTURY BLUES is presented by special arrangement with DRAMATISTS PLAY SERVICE, INC., New York. Originally presented by Contemporary American Theatre Festival in 2016; Ed Herendeen, Artistic Director.
*Member belongs to Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers. This theatre operates under an agreement between Actors’ Equity Association, Professional Actors, and Stage Managers in the United States. Understudies never substitute for listed players unless a specific announcement is made at the time of the performance.
†
SERIES SPONSOR
DESIGN SPONSOR CAROL TALBOT
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2020–2021 SPONSORS
Photo by Ryan Kurtz
SEASON PRESENTING SPONSOR
SEASON FUNDER
OPERATING SUPPORT
FAIRY GODMOTHER SPONSORS
SEASON SUPPORT Susan Friedlander Mitchell S. and Jacqueline P. Meyers Foundation IN-KIND SUPPORT Cincinnati State Technical & Community College, Interpreter Training Program College Hill Coffee Co. & Casual Gourmet LPK OMS Photography Suder’s Art Store
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SEASON TICKET SPONSOR
EDUCATION, ENGAGEMENT, & INCLUSION SPONSOR
EDUCATION, ENGAGEMENT, & INCLUSION SUPPORT Anonymous (2) William P. Anderson Foundation The Charles H. Dater Foundation Donald C. and Laura M. Harrison Family Foundation In Honor of Marilyn F. Hill Betty Huck Mr. & Mrs. David E. Moccia The Daniel & Susan Pfau Foundation Nellie Leaman Taft Foundation The Dennis B. & Patricia L. Worthen Fund
the arts are the highest form of expression. PNC is proud to be a part of Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati. Because we believe in and support everything the arts can accomplish.
sponsors | 5 ©2018 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. All rights reserved. PNC Bank,2020–2021 National Association. Member FDIC
CAST LIST CAST Mac.................................................................................................................................... BURGESS BYRD* Sil.............................................................................................................................. ANNIE FITZPATRICK* Bess..................................................................................................................................... DALE HODGES* Danny................................................................................................................................... REGINA PUGH* Gabby............................................................................................................................... KATE WILFORD* Simon...................................................................................................................CRYSTIAN WILTSHIRE*
*Member belongs to Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers. Understudies never substitute for listed players unless a specific announcement is made at the time of the performance.
Full Service Curb Appeal
Custom Built Boxes · Seasonal Plantings · Self-Watering Irrigation
www.wowwindowboxes.com 513-402-2137
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With audience and performance limitations still ongoing, your gift to the arts matters more than ever. It ensures that music, art, theater, dance and festivals keep our region vibrant for years to come.
GIVE TODAY.
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ABOUT US OUR MISSION Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (ETC) is a professional theatre dedicated to producing world and regional premieres of works that often explore compelling social issues. We fulfill our mission through our stage productions and educational outreach programs that enlighten, enliven, enrich, and inspire our audiences. OUR HISTORY From its founding in 1986, ETC has focused on providing an artistic home for local theatre professionals, including serving as a training ground for young artists. Each season, ETC produces a lineup devoted to the newest in contemporary theatre that attracts a diverse audience of 30,000 to more than 220 performances. Our work also includes education and engagement programs centered on introducing the performing arts to underserved audiences, especially economically disadvantaged children and children with disabilities. Combined, our productions and educational programs strive to fulfill ETC’s vision of creating an urban arts district that is accessible to all.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS BOARD OFFICERS Charles H. Gerhardt, III, Chair Kathy DeLaura, President Jeffrey Schloemer, Vice President Mary Stagaman, Vice President Dennis Geiger, Treasurer Darryl A. Peal, Secretary DIRECTORS Holly Brians Ragusa Otto M. Budig, Jr. Kathy Burklow Tom Carothers Sue Friedlander Kristine Garrett Stephen M. King Shekhar Mitra Nilesh Patel Richard L. Postler Leah Quortrup Jackie Reau Mike Schueler Paul G. Sittenfeld Meggan Thompson DIRECTORS EMERITI Skip Hickenlooper Edward G. Marks FOUNDERS' CIRCLE Ruth D. & John Sawyer Ken & Mary "Murph" Mahler Dr. Charles O. Carothers Mitchell S. Meyers
This Theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
(513) 421–3555 1127 Vine Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 www.ensemblecincinnati.org
Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is a member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre.
@ENSEMBLECINCY INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING? Contact our team at Cincinnati Accredited member of the Better Business Bureau.
Magazine for information: advertise@CincinnatiMagazine.com
Photo by Ross Van Pelt
ABOUT ETC
OUR STAFF LEADERSHIP
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
D. Lynn Meyers, The Ruth Dennis Sawyer/Mary Taft Mahler Producing Artistic Director
Jocelyn Meyer, Director of Marketing & Communications Amy J. Barbian, Marketing Manager Kay E. Moore, Content Marketing Coordinator Becca Schall, Videographer
FINANCE Michael R. Zimmer, CPA CGMA, Director of Fiscal Operations
ARTISTIC Brian c. Mehring, Resident Set & Lighting Designer Shannon Rae Lutz, Properties Master, Design Assistant, & Director of Apprentice Programming
DEVELOPMENT Josh Neumeyer, Finance & Grants Manager
OPERATIONS Jared D. Doren, Programming & Events Manager Nick Ligon, Head of Security
PATRON SERVICES Amy Weinstock, Box Office Manager
PRODUCTION Matthew Hollstegge, Production Manager Jack Murphy, Technical Director Chris Holloway, Assistant Technical Director
EDUCATION, ENGAGEMENT, & INCLUSION
Stormie Brennan, Costume Supervisor
Lauren Carr, Director of Education, Engagement, & Inclusion
Rae Kuhn, Scenic Charge Artist & Production Assistant
Victoria Hawley, Education Associate & Resident Teaching Artist Becca Howell, Education Associate
CAST BIOS BURGESS BYRD (Mac) is delighted to work with these amazingly talented women. Before the shutdown, she was seen in Gloria: A Life at the Human Race Theatre Company. Her most recent credits at Ensemble Theatre include Faye in Skeleton Crew and the 2019 production of The Frog Princess as the Tsar. She also appeared in ETC's world premiere musical Around the World in 80 Days in the 1999-2000 Season, during which time she was an Acting Intern. Burgess would like to thank Lynn, Matt, and Becca Schall! Enjoy the show.
ANNIE FITZPATRICK (Sil) last appeared at Ensemble Theatre in The Wolves. Other favorite ETC credits include Luna Gale, Hands on a Hardbody, Next Fall, Rabbit Hole, and String of Pearls. Her most recent production was The Roommate at American Stage. Her other credits include A Prayer for Owen Meany, To Kill A Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, A Christmas Carol, and Hank Williams: Lost Highway, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Richard III, Death of a Salesman, Little Women, A Man for All Seasons, and Blithe Spirit, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company; and Silent Sky, Pluto, and Collapse, Know Theatre. She has worked with various regional theatres including The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Geva Theatre, Florida Stage, and Florida Studio. Her television and film credits include Chicago P.D., Those Who Kill, Army Wives, The Old Man and the Gun, Fun Size, and Milk Money.
DALE HODGES (Bess) has been a proud member of Actors’ Equity since 1974. She’s performed in 27 productions at Ensemble Theatre including Sex and Education, Ripcord, Outside Mullingar, Other Desert Cities, Grey Gardens, and Mrs. Mannerly. Select regional credits include Long Day’s Journey Into Night and Noises Off with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Wit, King Lear, To Kill a Mockingbird, and 23 years of A Christmas Carol with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. She has performed on Broadway in Equus and Benefactors, offBroadway in Top Girls and A Woman in Mind, and in regional theatres around the country, including 16 summers with Peterborough Players in New Hampshire. In this time of human isolation, Dale is so happy to work on a play again with her favorite theatrical family and sends much love and gratitude to Lynn and her team of virtual wizards for making this on-screen production possible.
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CAST BIOS REGINA PUGH (Danny) most recently served as the director of A Doll’s House, Part 2 at Ensemble Theatre, where she was seen on stage in Annapurna, The Other Place, Next Fall, My Name is Asher Lev, After the Fall, Buckminster Fuller: In and Out Universe, The Water Engine, and Everything in the Garden and Fragments, both directed by Edward Albee. She appeared at Cincinnati Playhouse in A Christmas Carol (1992-2011) and the world premiere of Invention for Fathers and Sons and has performed locally at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and The Know Theatre of Cincinnati. Regina teaches acting at Xavier University and is a founding member of Performance Gallery, an alternative theatre collective that specializes in original work and has participated yearly in the Cincinnati Fringe Festival.
KATE WILFORD (Gabby) has appeared in ETC’s productions of Alice in Wonderland (2018), Cinderella: After Ever After, Violet, Cinderella, Luna Gale, Becky’s New Car, Good People, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, and many others. She has appeared at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in Romeo and Juliet, The Cherry Orchard, All My Sons, and Bedroom Farce. Regionally, she has also worked at The Lyceum Theatre, Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre, Westgate Theatre, The Kenley Players, and was a founding member of The Troupe in Cincinnati. Kate has directed at Xavier University, Thomas More College, and the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati.
CRYSTIAN WILTSHIRE (Simon) is thrilled to be making his Ensemble Theatre debut! His recent credits include The Tempest as Ferdinand, Fences as Cory, and The Winter’s Tale as Florizel, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company; Kill Move Paradise as Tiny, Know Theatre of Cincinnati; Ghost as Castle, StageOne Family Theatre; Dracula as Harker, Actors Theatre of Louisville; As You Like It as Silvius, Much Ado About Nothing as Claudio, Romeo and Juliet as Romeo, Henry IV, Part II as Poins, and Twelfth Night as Fabian, Kentucky Shakespeare Festival; and And In This Corner: Cassius Clay and Hamlet in Kentucky Shakespeare’s co-production with StageOne Family Theatre.
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Impacting our community through art.
The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation is committed to making our community a better place to live. Through our dedication to the advancement of art programs and organizations we seek to enrich the quality of life for everyone in our community. That’s why we’re proud to sponsor the Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati’s production of “Pipeline.” The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation was created to enhance the quality of life in Greater Cincinnati concentrating our efforts in support of community development, arts and culture, education, and human services. Our work is designed to have the largest possible impact as we help lead the way to sustaining a vibrant community.
hailefoundation.org haileusb.org
PLAYWRIGHT BIO SUSAN MILLER (Playwright) is a two-time OBIE winner and Guggenheim Playwrighting Fellow, whose play A Map of Doubt and Rescue won the coveted Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She is the author of the acclaimed one person play, My Left Breast. Miller was a Core Writer at The Playwrights Center in Minneapolis and a Rockefeller Playwright in Residence at The Mark Taper Forum, where her plays Confessions of a Female Disorder and Cross Country were produced. Other productions include The Joseph Papp Public Theatre, Second Stage, New York Stage & Film, Trinity Rep, Theatre J, City Theatre of Miami, The O’Neill, Ojai Playwrights Conference, and the Contemporary American Theatre Festival. A Consulting Producer/writer on Showtime’s The L Word and ABC’s Thirtysomething, she won the Writers Guild of America Award for her hit web series Anyone But Me. www.susanmillerplaywright.com
DIRECTOR BIO D. LYNN MEYERS (Director) is the Producing Artistic Director of Ensemble Theatre, where she has directed more than 100 world and regional premieres, including Fun Home, The Wolves, Ripcord, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Legend of Georgia McBride, Hands on a Hardbody, Detroit ’67, I Am My Own Wife, Next to Normal, and The Dancing Princesses. She began her career as the Associate Artistic Director at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, has directed Off-Broadway at the York Theatre, and has directed extensively throughout the US and Canada. As a member of the Casting Society of America, Lynn's recent feature credits include Carol, The Old Man & the Gun, and The Public in addition to serving as the Location Casting Director for The Shawshank Redemption. She was named a finalist for the Zelda Fichandler National Award in 2011, is a past recipient of the YWCA Career Woman of Achievement Award, and recipient of the 2018 Rosa F. and Samuel B. Sachs Fund Prize for her regional arts impact and leadership.
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State and federal dollars through the Ohio Arts Council supported your arts experience today.
WHERE WILL THE ARTS TAKE YOU NEXT ? VISIT ARTSINOHIO.COM
WAYS TO GIVE From playwrights to apprentices, and every role in between, your tax-deductible gift to ETC enables us to enlighten, enliven, enrich, and inspire audiences as well as create a thriving urban arts community accessible to all through our world and regional premiere productions and award-winning Education, Engagement, and Inclusion programs. Become a member of our Ensemble today!
DONATE ONLINE
To make your gift online, visit www.ensemblecincinnati.org/ support/donations.
DONATE WITH STOCK
For instructions on stock transfers, email development@ensemblecincinnati.org.
DONATE BY PHONE
DONATE BY MAIL
Send a check made out to Ensemble Theatre with "donation" in the memo line to: Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati Attn: Development 1127 Vine Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Please call (513) 421–3555 and select option 4 to speak with Josh.
BECOME AN ENSEMBLE SUSTAINING DONOR Join an essential group of donors who contribute on a recurring basis throughout the year, providing a steady and predictable stream of income to support programming and operations. Most choose monthly amounts charged to a credit card, but options can be customized to meet your giving goals and needs. Email development@ensemblecincinnati.org to become a Sustaining Donor today.
GIVE WHILE YOU SHOP As you stock up for the winter (and all year round!), designate ETC as your nonprofit beneficiary through the Kroger Community Rewards and AmazonSmile programs. It's easy: you shop, Kroger and Amazon donate a portion of your purchase amount directly to ETC, that's it!
Register your Kroger Plus Card at www.kroger.com and select ETC–organization BM374.
Visit smile.amazon.com/ch/31-1220252 and use your normal Amazon login each time you shop.
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