Ada and The Engine - DIGITAL SHOW - Program

ADA & THE ENGINE ENGINE

BY LAUREN GUNDERSON

Anne Richards once famously remarked, "Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels." This quote clearly illustrates the awkward balancing act women have been performing for years. Do I nurture my career or my children? Do I support my spouse or my own goals? Do I forego family life all together and focus on myself? This season at The Studio we are going to take a deep dive into the struggles women have faced finding their footing over the last two and a half centuries as homage to the centennial anniversary of women's suffrage this year. Women no longer need to wear heels, or even be the partner that follows.

Instead, we can take the lead in footwear of our own choosing!

We chose these four stories to highlight seminal moments in herstory so we can celebrate how far women have come and keep an eye on how far we have yet to go. I am proud to present season five at The Studio: "Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History".

—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 Director, David Krupla; Assistant Lighting Director, Lindsey Young; Sound Designer, Nick Erickson; Production Manager, Danielle Paccione; Technical Director, Clayton Becker; Stage Manager, Grace Zottig; Company Manager, Ryan Loeckel; Literary Manager, Rachel Whittington; Assistant Production Manager, Leslie Munson and Assistant Stage Manager, Stephanie Horn. #TheStudioTheatreTDS #Ada&TheEngine

2

www.TheSharonStudio.com

ADA AND THE ENGINE Written by Lauren Gunderson ADA AND THE ENGINE is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.

A Central Works Method Play Commissioned and Premiered by Central Works At the Berkeley City Club on October 17, 2016 Original music composed by The Kilbanes

Producer Jason Goedken Director Nathaniel Niemi

Artistic Director Whitney Morse Music Director Gary Powell

Dialect Coach Whitney Morse

Scenic Designer Kenneth Constant

Costume Designer Monica Titus

Lighting Designer Lindsey Young

Sound/AV Designer Nick Erickson

Properties Designer Jason Goedken

Production Manager Danielle Paccione

Technical Director Clayton Becker

Lighting Director David Krupla

Company Manager Ryan Loeckel

Literary Manager Rachel Whittington

Production Stage Manager Grace Zottig

The Sharon House Manager Heather Ard

Assistant Production Manager Leslie Munson

(352) 751-7799

Assistant Stage Manager Stephanie Horn

3

She Walks in Beauty She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes: Thus mellow’d to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impaired the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o’er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent!

–Lord Byron, 1813

The Rainbow Bow down in hope, in thanks, all ye who mourn;– Where’in that peerless arche of radiant hues Surpassing early tints,–the storm subdues!

Of nature’s strife and tears ‘tis heaven-born, To soothe the sad, the sinning, and the forlorn;– A lovely loving token to infuse; The hope, the faith, that pow’r divine endures With latent good, the woes by which we’re torn.– ‘Tis like a sweet repentance of the skies; To beckon all those by sense of sin opprest,– And prove what loveliness may spring from sighs!

A pledge:–that deep implanted in the breast A hidden light may burn that never dies, But burst thro’ clouds in purest hues exprest!

-Ada Byron Lovelace, 1850

(352) 751-7799

5

ADA AND THE ENGINE The difference between zero and one is the whole world.

Set in the Victorian era among the houses of intellectual elites, we find Ada, a young female mathematician whose invention of binary code shapes our modern world today.

Ada and the Engine, written by America’s most produced living playwright, Lauren Gunderson, composes the story of Ada Byron Lovelace, poet Lord Byron’s daughter. This lyrical play details the life of Ada as she struggles between the traditional demands of her mother and the pull of her mathematical ambition. Ada sees the creative potential in “The Engine” created by her mentor, the scholar Charles Babbage. As pressures mount and feelings grow, these two form a partnership that will change the course of the future.

Ada and the Engine is a music-laced story of love and friendship. Jane Austen meets Steve Jobs in this poignant pre-tech romance heralding the computer age.

Runtime: Act 1: 60 minutes | Intermission: 15 minutes | Act. 2: 50 minutes

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES: NOW APPEARING ON THE SHARON STAGE!

SPIKE SPIKE HEELS LS HEE

PIPELINE ELINE PIP

BY DOMINIQUE MORISSEAU

BY THERESA REBECK

“Spike Heels” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

“Pipeline” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

Preview: JUNE 1-3 Opening: JUNE 4 Closing: JUNE 19

Preview: JULY 13-15 Opening: JULY 16 Closing: JULY 31

$15 Preview Performance $35 Performances

$15 Preview Performance $35 Performances

6

www.TheSharonStudio.com

ASHLEIGH ANN GARDNER (Ada Byron Lovelace) is an Orlando-based actor, playwright, composer, sound designer, and scenic artist. In October 2019, her play Qualia: a post nuclear play was presented at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and was the recipient of a $5,000 playwriting grant from New Generation Theatrical. Selected credits: Nora (A Doll’s House), Alais (The Lion in Winter), Rosalind (As You Like It), and Penelope (The Penelopiad); she was also the music director and chorus leader for Jeremy Seghers's experimental outdoor theatre production of The Bacchae in September of 2020. She holds a Master's Degree in English Literature from the University of Central Florida with concentrations in Victorian and Gothic literature. For more, visit ashleighagardner.com.

DANIELLE BOULOY (Lady Anabella Byron/Mary Sommerville) is overjoyed to work with the team at The Studio Theatre Tierra del Sol! She is a seasoned performer with experience as an actress, dancer and improv comedienne. Recent stage appearances: Men on Boats (Mad Cow Theatre), A Slow Ride (Timucua Arts Foundation) and Just Like Us Staged Reading (Orlando Rep). Favorite roles include: Meg in Crimes of the Heart, Ida in See How They Run, and Beverly in The Hug. Danielle is trained in Meisner and Chekhov Acting Technique from Truthful Acting Studios and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre performance from Florida State University. She is so thankful for the undying support of her family. www.daniellebouloy.com RAKEEM LAWRENCE (Lord Lovelace/Byron) REGIONAL: Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Theatre Company), Bite Size: Toxoplasmosis, Goodnight Moon (Denver Center), Gloria (Curious Theatre Company), Six Degrees of Separation (The Redhouse); Peter and the Starcatcher (Virginia Stage Company), A Raisin in the Sun, Little Shop of Horrors, (THEATREWORKS Colorado Springs), Angels in America (Western Theatre Company); Kill Move Paradise (Unicorn Theatre); Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet (Colorado Shakespeare Festival); Shrek, Sister Act (Little Theatre on the Square); Airness (Benchmark Theatre); Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Lend Me a Tenor (The Legacy Theatre); My Fair Lady (Quintessence Theatre Group); Working, A View from the Bridge, Annie (Hope Summer Rep); Sister Act, Ragtime, Grease (Midtown Arts Center); TV/FILM: Superbook (CBN) Training: MFA, Regent University

(352) 751-7799

7

DONOVAN OAKLEAF (Charles Babbage) is an Actor, Educator, and Especially Proud Uncle currently based in Amador County, California. Some favorite recent theatre roles include Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat (The Cat in the Hat) (Kennedy Theatre, Honolulu); Freud’s Last Session (C.S. Lewis); The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Judas Iscariot) (Theatre Found). Film and Television: Isle, (Bern); Silverman, (Mr. Silverman); Hawai'i Five-0, (Greg Isaacs). B.A. – Theater, UCLA School of Theatre, Film, and Television; M.F.A. – Acting, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. Member SAG-AFTRA. Donovan is grateful – for health, for food, for shelter – in this most unsettling pandemic year. He is grateful to work – at all in these days – but especially as an actor, and especially in collaboration once more with Director Nathaniel Niemi and this fine ensemble. www.donovanoakleaf.com.

CHRISTINA COULTER (U/S Ada Byron Lovelace) is so excited to be working with this wonderful cast, and making her debut at The Studio Theatre! She recently appeared at The Alhambra Theater in their productions of Singin' In The Rain (Zelda) and It's A Wonderful Life (Cousin Tilly). Favorite roles include Mary Bennet in Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley with Emerald Coast Theater Company, and Laurie in The Tender Land with Varna International. She graduated from Oklahoma City University with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and Musical Theater.

Thank you for coming and enjoy the show! christinacoulter.com ALYSON JOHNSON (U/S Lady Byron/Mary Sommerville) has performed for nearly 20 years in Central Florida regional and community theatres. Favorites at The Studio include 9 to 5, Neighbors: A Fair Trade Agreement, A Doll's House, It Shoulda Been You, Stop Kiss, and Next to Normal. Graduate of University of Central Florida, 2001 and 2019. She has spent this time of uncertainty mostly homeschooling and staring at books, and is eternally grateful to everyone at The Studio for giving her and the community some art and comfort right now.

8

www.TheSharonStudio.com

ALEC SPEERS (U/S Charles Babbage) is thrilled to work with The Studio Theatre again in Ada and the Engine. Alec recently moved to Florida where he has been working with the Central Florida Lyric Opera in productions like The Magic Flute, as well as a previous position as a Singing Server. His favorite performances include La Traviata and La Boheme performed with the University of Northern Colorado and Opera Classica Europa in Germany.

Alec holds two bachelor degrees in Theatre Studies and a BA in Music from the University of Northern Colorado. Alec would like to thank his immensely supportive family, and everybody who gives him a chance to work on what he loves to do most.

LAUREN GUNDERSON (Writer) is the most produced living playwright in America, the winner of the Lanford Wilson Award and the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award, a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and John Gassner Award for Playwriting, and a recipient of the Mellon Foundation’s 3-Year Residency with Marin Theatre Co. She studied Southern Literature and Drama at Emory University, and Dramatic Writing at NYU’s Tisch School where she was a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship.

Her work has been commissioned, produced and developed at companies across the US including the Denver Center (THE BOOK OF WILL), South Coast Rep (EMILIE, SILENT SKY), The Kennedy Center (THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF DR. WONDERFUL AND HER DOG!), the O’Neill Theatre Center, Berkeley Rep, Shotgun Players, TheatreWorks, Crowded Fire, San Francisco Playhouse, Marin Theatre, Synchronicity, Olney Theatre, Geva, and more. Her work is published by Dramatists Play Service (SILENT SKY, BAUER), Playscripts (I AND YOU; EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR; and TOIL AND TROUBLE), and Samuel French (EMILIE). She is a Playwright in Residence at The Playwrights Foundation, and a proud Dramatists Guild member. She is from Atlanta, GA, and lives in San Francisco.

LaurenGunderson.com and @LalaTellsAStory.

(352) 751-7799

9

NATHANIEL NIEMI (Director) is thrilled to be directing Ada and the Engine! He previously directed The Studio's production of 9 to 5 and staged play readings of Candida, The Violet Sisters, The Auntie Network, and Deborah. Nathaniel was also the director of The Studio's virtual readings of Lysistrata, A Woman of No Importance, Tartuffe, Accommodation, and Cosmo St. Charles is Dead and Someone in this Room Killed Him. Other directing credits at The Studio include Company, Now. Here. This., Neighbors: A Fair Trade Agreement, and Assassins. Nathaniel is a former Artistic Associate of Honolulu Theatre for Youth where his directing credits include Pinocchio, Extraordinary Stories of an Ordinary ‘Ohana, and You and Me and the Space Between. Other directing credits include A Murder of Crows, The Cat in the Hat, The Thin Man on the Ladder (University of Hawaii at Manoa), Rose and the Rime (Chaminade University), and Anne of Green Gables (HEARTS). Nathaniel holds an MFA in Theatre for Young Audiences from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa and is a recipient of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival National Directing Award. Nathaniel is currently the Resident Director at The Studio Theatre and the Director of Education at The Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center.

GARY POWELL (Music Director/Piano) has been musically directing and staging shows for over 30 years in Texas, Chicago, New York City, and now Central Florida. Select standouts of Gary’s career include Sound of Music, Godspell, Brigadoon, South Pacific, and regionally Sweet Charity and Next to Normal at the Skokie Theatre. He has worked on several world premiere productions including: Tomorrow Morning and Scotch Verdict. While directing in Chicago, Gary was nominated for several Jeff Awards (The Chicago equivalent of the Tony’s) for the following productions: Jerry Springer-The Opera, Thrill Me, Adam’s Family, Opus 1861, The Baker’s Wife, Kiss of The Spider Woman, Evolution/Creation, and Cats among several others. Gary currently serves as the resident Music Director for both The Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center and The Studio Theatre Tierra del Sol.

10

www.TheSharonStudio.com

RYAN LOECKEL (Violin) is an active musician, actor, vocalist, and collaborative arts producer. He is the Company Manager, Casting Coordinator, and Video Producer for The Studio Theatre and has been heard there as a musician during It Shoulda Been You, Assassins, and 9 to 5 The Musical. Ryan fiddled as Joe-Bob in Always...Patsy Cline (Victory Productions), was featured at The Sharon in Bach To Broadway, and recently played the role of Righteous Brother Bill Medley in That Lovin' Feelin' (Beefhouse Dinner Theatre). Trained as a classical musician at the Ohio State University, he is a descendant of the Max Aronoff line of violists through studies with Marcia Ferritto at Kent State University.

Ryan has played in Principal positions under conductors and composers such as John Corigliano, Louis Lane, John Rutter, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Krzysztof Penderecki in addition to sharing the stage with various artists including Josh Groban, Idina Menzel, Anne Murray, Ben E. King, Barry Manilow, and TransSiberian Orchestra. His performances and musical arrangements have been heard on syndicated national broadcasts, aboard fivestar ships, and at venues internationally. www.loeckel.com | @loeckelmusik

(352) 751-7799

11

CAST (in order of appearance) Ada Byron Lovelace................................... Ashleigh Ann Gardner Lady Anabella Byron/Mary Sommerville............. Danielle Bouloy Charles Babbage................................................Donovan Oakleaf Lord Lovelace/Byron........................................ Rakeem Lawrence U/S Ada Byron Lovelace.................................... Christina Coulter U/S Lady Byron/Mary Sommerville..................... Alyson Johnson U/S Charles Babbage................................................... Alec Speers MUSICIANS Music Director/Piano.................................................Gary Powell Violin.......................................................................Ryan Loeckel Original Music......................................................... The Kilbanes Additional Arrangements................. Nick Erickson, Gary Powell, & Ryan Loeckel DIRECTION Producer................................................................ Jason Goedken Artistic Director................................................... Whitney Morse Show Director.................................................... Nathaniel Niemi Music Director...........................................................Gary Powell Assistant Music Director..........................................Ryan Loeckel Dialect Coach...................................................... Whitney Morse PRODUCTION Production Manager..........................................Danielle Paccione Assistant Production Manager................................Leslie Munson Technical Director.................................................Clayton Becker Literary Manager........................................... Rachel Whittington Dramaturgy..........................................................Stephanie Horn Company Manager...................................................Ryan Loeckel Production Stage Manager........................................Grace Zottig Assistant Stage Manager.......................................Stephanie Horn Safety Officer..................................Heather Ard, Chad Pavlovich

12

www.TheSharonStudio.com

SCENIC Scenic Designer................................................Kenneth Constant Automation................................................................. David Bost Master Carpenter.................................................Preston Speaker Scenic Carpenters.............................Tony Fairchaild, David Bost, Chad Pavlovich, Luke Bezio COSTUMES Costume Designer....................................................Monica Titus LIGHTING Lighting Director.................................................... David Krupla Assistant Lighting Director.....................................Lindsey Young Lighting Designer..................................................Lindsey Young Master Electrician................................................... David Krupla Light Board Operator.............................................. David Krupla AUDIO VISUAL Sound/AV Designer............................................... Nick Erickson Audio Engineer........................................................... Luke Bezio PROPERTIES Properties Designer/Master................................... Jason Goedken HOUSE MANAGEMENT The Sharon House Manager...................................... Heather Ard Read more about our production team and designers at www.TheSharonStudio.com SPECIAL THANKS The Villages® Marketing Tierra del Sol Bar & Grill City Furniture for providing The Studio Theatre with all the furniture for this season’s productions.

(352) 751-7799

13

New

Digital Offerings Page!

All of our upcoming virtual & streaming offerings in one convenient location.

www.TheSharon.com/Schedule-Digital-Offerings

Celebrating the arts

together!

Banking | Mortgage | Wealth www.MyCitizensFirst.com | (352)753-9515 |

GOPAR’s mission is to provide accessible assistance during challenging times to individuals throughout Greater Orlando who derive income from the performing arts and/or theme park entertainment sectors. GOPAR’s goal is to remain sensitive to each individual’s unique circumstances, and to offer a holistic approach toward achieving long-term solutions for financial, physical, and emotional well-being.

To learn more or make a donation, visit

www.gopar.org

www.CityFurniture.com | 888.882.5436 1110 Canal Street The Villages, FL 32162 352.751.2980

1070 Bichara Blvd.

Lady Lake, FL 32159 352.750.8044