Neighbors Program

A Fair Trade Agreement

By Bernardo Cubría

SOUTH EAST

PREMIERE

Over the last two decades, our country has grown more and more divided. The effects have been taken out on families, politics, social class, and the culture at large. No matter your affiliation, we all have the topics we want to avoid over Thanksgiving dinner. This season at The Studio we have chosen four stories that search for unity in a nation fighting for common ground. The titles we chose for this upcoming season convey important relationships hurt and broken by divisive opinions of loved ones.

Through listening, can we reach across the divide?

Only then can we truly begin to manifest the American Dream. In the words of George H. W. Bush, "In crucial things, unity. In important things, diversity. In all things, generosity." Presenting season four at The Studio Theatre™: We, the people, reach across the divide.

—Whitney Morse, Artistic Director

ABOUT THE STUDIO THEATRE™: Tierra del Sol was formerly a Country Club with performances as a backdrop to the outstanding food and impeccable golf course views. It has since transitioned, bringing the performances to the forefront by evolving into a new Black Box Theatre. The Studio Theatre™ is now a flexible theatre with 120 seats and options for Thrust, Round, or Proscenium style seating. The Studio Theatre at Tierra del Sol's season runs from late September through April each year with four productions running approximately 130 total performances.

The Studio Theatre is an extension of The Sharon® L. Morse Performing Arts Center, located in The Spanish Springs Town Square®, in The Villages® community. The Sharon is primarily a touring house hosting a variety of artistic disciplines ranging from concerts and comedians to dance, musicals, and operas. The Sharon seats just over 1,000 guests in a multi-level theater offering state of the art audio, visual, and theatrical rigging systems to create an entertainment experience second to none.

The Studio Theatre is led by Producer Jason Goedken and Artistic Director Whitney Morse. Resident Director, Nathaniel Niemi; Resident Musical Director, Gary Powell; Scenic Designer, Kenneth Constant; Lighting Designer, David Krupla; Sound Designer, Nick Erickson; Production Manager, Danielle Paccione; Technical Director, Clayton Becker; Stage Manager, Grace Zottig and House Manager, Grace Petty. #TheStudioTheatreTDS #Neighbors

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www.TheSharonStudio.com

NEIGHBORS: A FAIR TRADE AGREEMENT By Bernardo Cubría

Producer Jason Goedken Artistic Director Whitney Morse Director Nathaniel Niemi

Fight Director Dan Granke

Set Designer Kenneth Constant

Costume Designer Monica Titus

Lighting Designer David Krupla

Sound/AV Designer Nick Erickson

Production Manager Danielle Paccione

Technical Director Clayton Becker

Stage Manager Grace Zottig

Asst. Stage Manager Amber Sacks

Company Manager Autumn Encarnacion

House Manager Grace Petty

(352) 751-7799

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NEIGHBORS: A FAIR TRADE AGREEMENT Red, White, and Azul.

Meet Joe. Joe lives in a big, colorless mansion. Meet José. José lives in a colorful shack.

Joe and José are neighbors with a big divide. The creek that runs between their homes doesn't stop them from digging deep to find their fortunes. This new two-man play is a wild allegory that is seriously funny. Written by Bernardo Cubría, this absurd comedy was a semifinalist at the 2017 Eugene O'Neil Playwrights Conference. This production will be the South East premiere.

90 Minutes ~ No Intermission

MEET THE PLAYWRIGHT - ON SALE NOW First event of its kind at The Studio Theatre!

DEC 14TH | 4PM | $15 Come enjoy an afternoon with playwright Bernardo Cubría, writer of Neighbors: A Fair Trade Agreement.

He will answer questions about the play and the writing process. Event moderated by Artistic Director Whitney Morse.

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES:

Music & Lyrics By

Stephen Sondheim John Weidman Book By

Assassins is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com

ASSASSINS JAN 21 - MAR 1 4

OTHER DESERT CITIES MARCH 24 - MAY 3

www.TheSharonStudio.com

ALEJANDRO GUEVEAREZ (José) is very excited in his debut here at The Studio Theatre Tierra del Sol. He was recently seen as Abel in Mad Cow Theatre’s production of Fade. Some of his previous works include, Mariana Pineda, Los Árboles Muern de Pie (Mad Cow Theatre), Jack and the Beanstalk, Jungle Book (Orlando Shakes), Godspell, Jonah and The Wave Breakers (BCL Theatre), As You Like It (Oxford Shakespeare), The US and Canada tour of The Covenant: The Story of My People (ICEJ) and Disappeared Ep.705 (Discovery Channel). He holds a BFA in acting from the University of Central Florida. Alejandro wants to thank his wife and his beautiful children for all the love and support they always show him.

KEVIN MCKILLIP* (Joe) Credits include: Goodman, Court Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare, Lookingglass, Iowa Shakespeare, New American Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre, over 40 projects with First Folio (including title roles in Hamlet and Richard III, over 20 productions with Peninsula Players (including God of Carnage, The Elephant Man, Around the World in 80 Days, The Importance of Being Earnest), Mercury Theatre, Milwaukee Rep, Famous Door, Ozark Actors Theatre, Sierra Repertory, and 2 seasons as an American invitee to the Stratford Festival of Canada, where he was the recipient of a Tyrone Guthrie Award. 3 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations (AEA), including Best Lead Actor for Richard III. 2019 inductee to the Illinois Shakespeare Festival Hall of Fame. TV credits; Chicago Med (NBC) Empire (FOX) The World Wars (HISTORY), and over 50 Episodes of The Morning Sweat (Onion Network). www.kevinmckillip.com ALYSON JOHNSON (Clown/Technician) has performed for 15 years in Central Florida regional and community theatres. Some favorites include A Doll's House, Stop Kiss, Tell Me on a Sunday, Next to Normal (The Studio Theatre); Bonnie & Clyde (Garden Theatre); Young Frankenstein, Beyond Therapy, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Into the Woods, Man of La Mancha (Moonlight Players, Clermont FL); Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Noises Off, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (Bay Street Players, Eustis FL). Graduate of University of Central Florida, 2001 and also 2019. She is thrilled to be returning to The Studio Theatre, and thanks her family for their love, support, and encouragement.

*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers, appearing under a special agreement with Actors' Equity Association.

(352) 751-7799

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RACHEL WHITTINGTON (Clown/Technician) an Elon University graduate, is thrilled to back at The Studio Theatre!

In 2012, she performed with multi-platinum singer/songwriter Ben Folds and the North Carolina Symphony in Raleigh, NC. Previously at The Studio Theatre: Company, Stop Kiss, Bad Jews. Favorite Central Florida credits: Gypsy, Guys and Dolls, A Christmas Carol (Athens Theatre), James Joyce's The Dead, The AllFemale 1776, A Philadelphia Story (Mad Cow Theatre), Sweeney Todd (Insomniac Theatre), Into the Woods (CFCArts), Equus (a Jeremy Seghers Production). Other Credits: A Little Night Music, The Music Man, Don Giovanni, Gianni Schicchi. Rachel would like to thank her family, friends, and everyone who chooses live theatre for making her dream job a reality! www.rachelewhit.com NATHANIEL NIEMI (Director) is the Resident Director at The Studio Theatre and in Season Four, he is directing Neighbors: A Fair Trade Agreement and the large ensemble musical: Assassins. At The Studio Theatre he also directed the musicals: Company and Now. Here. This. At The Sharon, Nathaniel is the Director of Education, instructing the Arts Academy and coordinating Youth Education Programs. Nathaniel holds a BA in Theatre from East Texas Baptist University and an MFA in Theatre for Young Audiences (Directing) from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. There, he was a part of many productions as an Artistic Associate of Honolulu Theatre For Youth (HTY) directing H2O: The Story of Water and Hawaii, Pinocchio, Extraordinary Stories of an Ordinary Ohana, and You and Me and the Space Between. Nathaniel has appeared onstage with many companies in Hawaii and Chicago, and on Hawaii 5-O. Aside from being an Actor, Director, and Theatre Educator, Nathaniel has also performed Clown and Physical Comedy with the Second City in Chicago, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and Chicago Physical Theatre. Nathaniel is the recipient of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival's National Directing Award and is an associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

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www.TheSharonStudio.com

DAN GRANKE (Fight Director) is a Director, Fight Director, Intimacy Director, and Movement Specialist based in Tampa, Fl. Their Fight Direction has appeared at Joe's Pub, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, American Stage, Jobsite Theatre, St Petersburg Opera, Studio 620, and Three Bone Theatre. They have directed for Stageworks, Tampa Shakespeare Festival, TRT2, Theatre USF, and they are the current director of Unto These Hills Outdoor Drama. They hold a BFA from the University of Michigan, and an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, and currently teach at the University of South Florida. They are a Certified Intimacy Director and Lead Instructor with Intimacy Directors International, and a Certified Teacher and Fight Director with the Society of American Fight Directors.

BERNARDO CUBRÍA (Playwright) Bernardo Cubría was recently nominated for best playwright for the Stage Raw Awards, The Ovation Awards and The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for his play The Giant Void In My Soul. He was the cowriter of the short Spanish Class that won Best Comedy at The NBC Universal Shorts Awards in 2018. His play, Neighbors: A Fair Trade Agreement was a Semi-Finalist for the O'Neil in 2017. It received a world premiere at INTAR in NYC in the fall of 2017.

In 2016, The Judgment of Fools received three critically acclaimed productions in NYC, LA, and Houston, TX. The Redhead is Coming was featured at F*ckfest at The Brick in NYC in 2015.

As an actor, he has performed at theatres including The Public, Rattlestick, and INTAR. TV & Film Credits include: NCIS:LA, Lucifer, Criminal Minds, Coco.

ACTORS' EQUITY ASSOCIATION, founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 50,000 professional actors and stage managers. Equity endeavors to advance the careers of its members by negotiating wages and working conditions, and providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension.

Member: AFL-CIO, FIA. #EquityWorks

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CAST José................................................................ Alejandro Guevárez Joe.......................................................................Kevin McKillip* Clown/Technician................................................ Alyson Johnson Clown/Technician......................................... Rachel Whittington

PRODUCTION TEAM Production Manager..........................................Danielle Paccione Technical Director.................................................Clayton Becker Set Designer.....................................................Kenneth Constant Costume Designer....................................................Monica Titus Lighting Designer................................................... David Krupla Sound/AV Designer............................................... Nick Erickson Master Electrician..................................................Lindsey Young Stage Manager...........................................................Grace Zottig Assistant Stage Manager........................................... Amber Sacks Props Master..........................................................Tony Fairchild Master Carpenter.................................................Preston Speaker Read more about our production team and designers at www.TheSharonStudio.com

SPECIAL THANKS The Villages® Marketing Tierra del Sol Bar & Grill The Villages Polo Club City Furniture for providing The Studio Theatre with all the furniture for this season’s productions.

*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers, appearing under a special agreement with Actors' Equity Association.

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