Alabaster Guest Artist Pack 2020

GUEST ARTIST PACK What a completely special experience with the DREAM TEAM. Thank you all for all of your heart and work on this production. It’s been incredible.

• JUMP TO Behind-the-Scenes Video • JUMP TO Promo Video • JUMP TO Playbill Insert • JUMP TO Feature Story | FL Weekly • JUMP TO Feature on Rachel | Florida Weekly • JUMP TO News-Press Review • JUMP TO Florida Weekly Review • JUMP TO NBC2 Review • JUMP TO BroadwayWorld Review • JUMP TO Patron Feedback • Click for Production Photos • Click for ABC7 TV Interview Thank you again, Bryelle Dafeldecker

Behind the Scenes Video

PROMO VIDEO

FLORIDA REPERTORY THEATRE

GREG LONGENHAGEN, Artistic Director • JOHN MARTIN, Executive Director

2019-2020 SEASON

ARTSTAGE STUDIO THEATRE • FORT MYERS RIVER DISTRICT PRESENTS

ALABASTER AUDREY CEFALY BY

SPONSORED BY EMILY EASON MEDIA SPONSOR: FLORIDA WEEKLY

STARRING

ensemble members RACHEL BURTTRAM* • SARA MORSEY* with DANA BROOKE* • CAROLYN MESSINA* DIRECTED BY ensemble member JASON PARRISH** SET DESIGNER RICHARD CROWELL ensemble member SOUND DESIGNER KATIE LOWE

COSTUME DESIGNER CHARLENE GROSS*** PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER RUTH E. KRAMER*

LIGHTING & PROJECTION DESIGNER ROB SILER*** PRODUCTION ASSISTANT DANICA MURRAY

Winner of the 2017 David Calicchio Emerging American Playwright Prize at Marin Theatre Company, Mill Valley CA Jasson Minadakis, Artistic Director I Keri Kellerman, Managing Director ALABASTER is produced at FLORIDA REPERTORY THEATRE as a part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. Other partnering theaters are 16TH STREET THEATER (BERWYN, IL), CAPITAL STAGE (SACRAMENTO), KITCHEN DOG THEATER (DALLAS), SHREWD PRODUCTIONS (AUSTIN), KNOW THEATRE OF CINCINNATI, PHOENIX THEATRE (INDIANAPOLIS), WILLIAMSTON THEATRE (MI), SALT LAKE ACTING COMPANY, NEW JERSEY REPERTORY COMPANY (LONG BRANCH), and OREGON CONTEMPORARY THEATRE (EUGENE). For more information please visit www.nnpn.org.

2019-20 GRAND SEASON SPONSORS

IN THE KNOW. IN THE NOW.

This entire season sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

Florida Repertory Theatre is a fully professional non-profit LOA/LORT Theatre company on contract with the Actors’ Equity Association that proudly employs members of the national theatrical labor unions. *Member of Actors’ Equity Association. **Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. ***Member of United Scenic Artists.

ALABASTER AUDREY CEFALY BY

THE CAST Alice Dana Brooke*† June Rachel Burttram*†† Weezy Carolyn Messina* Bib Sara Morsey*†

TIME AND PLACE:

Present day Somewhere near Alabaster, Alabama.

Early April.

Wardrobe Supervisor: Andrew Burns Lighting/Sound Board Op: Jackson Berkhouse Understudies: Bethany Mansfield (Alice) Kylie Gray Mask (June) VISUAL ARTIST: Sara Morsey All of the outsider folk art onstage in Alabaster was conceived & painted by visual artist, Sara Morsey.

Her work is on display at the Arts for ACT Gallery across the hall from the ArtStage Studio Theare during the month of January, 2020.

ALABASTER will be performed with one 15-minute intermission.

The video and/or audio recording of this performance by any means whatsoever is strictly prohibited.

†Member of Florida Repertory Theatre’s Ensemble of Theatre Artists.

See page 31 for the entire ensemble.

* The Actors & Stage Manager employed in this

production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

**

***

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

AUDREY CEFALY is a southern writer and Alabama native based in the DC region. Her plays include The Gulf (Edgerton Award, Lammy Award, Samuel French OOB Fest Winner, Charles MacArthur Award Nominee); Alabaster (2019 NNPN Rolling World Premiere, 2019 Kilroys, 2018 NNPN Showcase, David Calicchio Emerging American Playwright Prize, BAPF Semifinalist); Maytag Virgin (Women’s Voices Theater Festival); The Last Wide Open (Cincinnati Playhouse commission); The Story of Walter (adaptation of her podcast by the same name); and Love is a Blue Tick Hound (a collection of award-winning one-acts). Cefaly has developed plays with the National New Play Network, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Signature Theatre, Serenbe Playhouse (New Territories), Aurora Theatre, Florida Rep, Theater Alliance, Quotidian Theatre Company, University of Alabama – Birmingham, and Contemporary American Theater Festival. She is published by Samuel French, Smith & Kraus (two volumes of Best American Short Plays), and Applause Books. Cefaly is a member of the 2019 Playwrights’ Arena cohort at Arena Stage and was recently named a Traveling Master by the Dramatist Guild Foundation. She is an outspoken proponent of silence in story-telling and has authored numerous articles on the topic of playwriting for HowlRound and Samuel French’s Breaking Character Magazine. Cefaly is a recipient of grants from the Boomerang Fund for Artists as well as the Alabama and Maryland state arts councils.

WHO’S WHO

DANA BROOKE* (Alice) is an actor and playwright based in NYC. New York theatre credits include world premieres of Baby on a Train opposite Mike Birbiglia, Venecia alongside Chita Rivera, Claudia Laszlo with Reed Birney, Vacuum (Cherry Lane), among others. She is a Company Member at B Street Theatre, where she has appeared in regional premieres including Venus in Fur, Constellations, Ironbound, The Realistic Joneses, and Outside Mullingar. Other theatre credits include work at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, New Jersey Repertory Company, the Last Frontier Theatre Conference, as well as in NYC with Cardinal Group, The NOW Collective, The Journey Company, and The Lark. Dana’s television credits include FX’s Damages, NBC’s Ed, and Fox’s Canterbury’s Law. She was awarded best actress at the 2017 Reno Tahoe International Film Festival for the feature film Laura Gets a Cat. Playwriting credits include Extraordinary Things: Through the Eyes Of Anne Frank, The Three Musketeers, and The Sword in the Stone for B Street Theatre’s Family Series. Dana’s original plays In Between the Hours and Will both recently received workshop productions in NYC. RACHEL BURTTRAM*† (June) is honored to be playing the role of June in this rolling world premiere.

She has been a company member since 2002, and has performed in more than 25 plays with Florida Rep. Favorite roles at the Florida Rep include: Disgraced, Best of Enemies, Steel Magnolias, Split in Three, Outside Mullingar, Miracle on South Division Street, August: Osage County, Trying, Doubt. Other Regional Theatre credits: Actors Theatre of Louisville & the Humana New Play Festival, Riverside Theatre, Penobscot Theatre Company, The Kitchen Theatre, Hippodrome Theatre, City Equity Theatre, Barnstormers Theatre, Gloucester Stage. NYC credits include: Actors Studio, Vital Theatre Company, NYC International Fringe Festival. Rachel just finished filming an exciting new TV series based on Tom Wolfe’s novel The Right Stuff for National Geographic playing the recurring role of astronaut wife Betty Grissom.

TV & Film: Bloodline, Emma’s Fine, Burn Notice, World Traveler. National commercials.

Rachel is a proud member of Actors’ Equity.

She is married to fellow actor Brendan Powers. For Sister & Pleasant Grove 4.27.2011 www.rachelburttram.com

CAROLYN MESSINA* (Weezy) is thrilled to be a part of this exciting journey and to be making her debut at Florida Rep! She was honored to play Weezy in the staged reading of Alabaster at The Vineyard Theatre in NYC for the 2019 National New Play Network Fundraiser. Her Off-Broadway credits include the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Festival – The Gulf (Kendra), Clurman Theatre – The State of Tennessee (Bertha/Mrs. Wire), and the Strawberry One-Act Festival - Fin and Euba (Euba, winner best actress). Regionally she has appeared most recently in Birmingham Festival Theatre’s Maytag Virgin (Lizzy); City Equity Theatre’s August: Osage County (Barbara) and Superior Donuts (Randy); Terrific New Theatre’s Love Is a Blue Tick Hound (Lina/Kendra), Split in Three (Nola), The Kathy and Mo Show (Mo), 6 Women with Brain Death (Jolene), Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well, and Vital Signs; Brad Bailey’s award-winning one-woman show Womenfolks; Birmingham Children’s Theatre’s The Miracle Worker (Annie Sullivan) and Charlotte’s Web (Nat’l tour/Town Hall-Charlotte). She also has served as dramaturg for Audrey Cefaly’s Alabaster (NNPN Showcase), Maytag Virgin (World Premiere), and Love is a Blue Tick Hound (Borough of Manhattan College).

She is a proud graduate of the William Esper Studio, NYC (Joel Rooks, Suzanne Esper, Maggie Flanigan). Thank you Mr. Key, MG, Mac, Miz G, D, and Gis. And thank you Jude, for always and forever being true north. www.carolyn-messina.com SARA MORSEY*† (Bib) last appeared at Florida Repertory Theatre as Ouiser Boudreaux in Steel Magnolias. Other Florida Rep credits include Shear Madness, Dividing The Estate, The Little Foxes, The Year of Magical Thinking, The Last Romance, August: Osage County, Collected Stories, The Glass Menagerie, and more. Last season Sara played Mary Tyrone in Eugene O’Neill’s Long Days’ Journey Into Night at Greenbrier Valley Theatre in West Virginia. Sara has spent a lifetime in the regional theatres of America and has appeared at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe and twice at The National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Master of Fine Arts from The University of Louisville, Member, Actors’ Equity Association. www.saramorsey.com

WHO’S WHO

JASON PARRISH**† (Director) is an Ensemble Member now in 15th season with Florida Rep, currently serving as the company’s Associate Artistic Director. His directing credits with Florida Rep include Million Dollar Quartet, Steel Magnolias, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, A Christmas Story, The Fantasticks, and Tru, as well as The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, Curious George: The Golden Meatball, Miss Nelson is Missing, the world-premiere commission of Journey to Oz, Schoolhouse Rock Live, How I Became a Pirate, The New Kid, and The Mischief Makers for Florida Rep’s Theatre for Young Audience Series. An advocate for new work, he helped create Florida Rep’s PlayLab Festival of New Works and Emerging Voices in 2014. Jason’s over 30 appearances on Florida Rep stages include Cabaret, How the Other Half Loves, The Dingdong, Twelve Angry Men, Around the World in 80 Days, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Clybourne Park, Greetings!, Miracle on South Division Street, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, 2014’s nationally-acclaimed production of Arsenic and Old Lace, and six years in David Sedaris’ The Santaland Diaries.

Jason’s work with other theatres as an actor and director includes Actors’ Playhouse (Miami), Riverside Theatre (Vero Beach), Theatre by the Sea & Ocean State Theatre Company (Rhode Island), and guest appearances with the New York Philharmonic’s Young People’s Concert Series at Lincoln Center. Jason is the Vice President of the Florida Professional Theatres Association and a proud member of both Actors’ Equity Association and the Stage Directors & Choreographer’s Society. Love to James, his family, and all the wise “old goats” who’ve helped him along the way.

RICHARD CROWELL† (Set Designer) has been designing scenery and lighting for the stage in various parts of the country for over thirty years. He is delighted to be considered a longtime member of Florida Rep’s “Ensemble of Theatre Artists,” designing in the Arcade since the inaugural season. Becky’s New Car, Split in Three, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Arsenic and Old Lace, Tally’s Folly, Red, The Rainmaker, and The Last Romance are among the over 25 designs that have been produced at Florida Rep. Richard received his MFA from the stage design training program at Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University, and his BFA from Memphis State University CHARLENE GROSS*** (Costume Designer) is thrilled to return for her third season at Florida Rep. She is currently also the Resident Costume Designer and the Production Manager for Ohio Light Opera, where she has designed over 40 productions. During the academic year, Charlene is the Resident

Costume Designer for the Theatre and Dance Department of The College of Wooster. Her costume designs for theatre, dance, and opera have been seen on and off-Broadway in New York City, across the country, and on the West End London stage. Theatre credits include the Cleveland Playhouse, The Sands Casino (Atlantic City), Seattle Repertory Theatre, The Royal Theatre, The Public Theater (NYC), The Ingenuity Festival, Cleveland Museum of Art, and The Manhattan Theatre Club. Designs for dance include GroundWorks, Joyce SoHo, The Yard, The Juilliard School, Dance Space, and Kunningham Studios. Charlene is a member of USA Local 829.

RUTH E. KRAMER* (Production Stage Manager) Past credits include Pittsburgh Public Theater (20 seasons, 40 productions), Alpine Theatre Project, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Riverside Theatre, Maine State Music Theatre, Mountain Playhouse, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Pioneer Theatre Company, and Goodspeed-at-Chester. Ms. Kramer lives in Hell’s Kitchen NYC, and proudly serves as an elected leader on the National Council of Actors’ Equity Association, as well as on the organizing committee for the upcoming “Year of the Stage Manager 2020.

KATIE LOWE (Sound Designer) served as resident sound designer last season at Florida Repertory Theatre. Previously, she has been an electrics intern at Florida Repertory Theatre and sound apprentice at Endstation Theatre Company after graduating from the University of Kentucky. Previous credits include Matilda, Spring Awakening, Disney’s Newsies (Sound Engineer, Florida Repertory Theatre Education), Always…Patsy Cline, Romeo and Juliet, Hay Fever, August Wilson’s Fences, Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical, A Christmas Carol: The Tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, Damascus, Steel Magnolias, Becoming Dr. Ruth, Refugee, The Cat in the Hat (Sound Designer, Florida Repertory Theatre), Cabaret (Florida Repertory Theatre, A2), Million Dollar Quartet (Endstation Theatre Company, A2), Sense and Sensibility (University of Kentucky, Sound Designer). Katie would like to thank her parents and Ben for their endless support!

ROB SILER*** (Lighting & Projection Designer) FLORIDA REP: Matilda, Newsies, Damascus, Becoming Dr. Ruth, Disgraced, Outside Mullingar.

OFF BROADWAY: Occupied Territories (59E59). REGIONAL (select credits): She A Gem, Bhoomi, Night Train 57 (The Kennedy Center); Radamisto, Erminia/The Enchanted Forest (Opera Lafayette); Bonnie & Clyde, Urinetown (Monumental Theatre Company); Orfeo ed Euridice, Orphée aux enfers (Maryland Opera Studio); Floyd Collins, Into The Woods

WHO’S WHO

(Weathervane Repertory Theatre); Les Misérables, Red (Riverside Theatre). ASSISTANT (select): A Delicate Balance, The Front Page (Broadway); Broadway Center Stage: In the Heights (The Kennedy Center); When You Wish, The Prince of Egypt (Tuacahn Ampitheatre); In the Heights, The Invisible Hand, Carousel (Olney Theatre Center). MFA: University of Maryland, BFA: Shenandoah University. Proud member of United Scenic Artists Local 829. Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida.

Love & thanks to Colleen. www.silerlights.com

DANICA MURRAY (Production Assistant) is thrilled to be on the crew of Alabaster! Some of her technical credits include Fences at Florida Rep, The Seagull at Florida Southwestern State College, and Wellesley Girl at FSW. Her performance credits include Judy Turner in A Chorus Line at Florida Rep, Marie in Wellesley Girl and Polina in The Seagull at FSW, and Barblin in Andorra at the Laboratory Theater of Florida. She is a recent double-lung transplant survivor and is living each day to the fullest by working toward her bachelor’s degree and continuing to work on theatrical projects that inspire her.

National New Play Network is an alliance of professional theaters that collaborate in innovative ways to develop, produce, and extend the life of new plays. Since its founding in 1998, NNPN has supported more than 250 productions nationwide through its innovative National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere program, which provides playwright and production support for new works at its Member theaters. Additional programs - its annual National Conference, National Showcase of New Plays, and MFA Playwrights Workshop; the NNPN Annual and Smith Prize commissions; its residencies for playwrights, producers and directors; and the organization’s member accessed Collaboration, Festival, and Travel banks and online information sessions - have helped cement the Network’s position as a vital force in the new play landscape. NNPN also strives to pioneer, implement, and disseminate ideas and programs that revolutionize the way theaters collaborate to support new plays and playwrights. Its most recent project, the New Play Exchange, is changing the way playwrights share their work and others discover it by providing immediate access to information on more than 29,000 new plays by living writers. NNPN’s 32 Core and over 90 Associate Members - along with the nearly 300 affiliated artists who are its alumni, the thousands of artists and artisans employed annually by its member theaters, and the hundreds of thousands of audience members who see its supported works each year - are creating the new American theater. nnpn.org | newplayexchange.org

Florida Rep’s PlayLab Festival began in 2014 with five readings, one of which was a commissioned work for young audiences.

Going into its seventh season, the popular festival has produced 32 new play readings, two world premiere commissions for young audiences and one on the way, three world premiere productions that began in one of Florida Rep’s stages, two National New Play Network Rolling World Premieres, and two regional premieres. Dedicated to producing a wide variety of work, just like Florida Rep’s mission states, the PlayLab has showcased dramas, comedies, farces, adaptations, and last May, its first musical reading. Florida Rep is serious about nurturing new plays and playwrights, and each year selects at least one of its PlayLab offerings for a subsequent world premiere or regional premiere. Beginning in 2015 they are the following: Split in Three

by Daryl Lisa Fazio, The Dingdong adapted from Feydeau’s Le Dindon by Mark Shanahan, Doublewide by Stephen Spotswood (NNPN Rolling World Premiere), George Washington’s Teeth by Mark St. Germain, Damascus by Bennett Fisher, and Alabaster

by Audrey Cefaly (NNPN Rolling World Premiere). PlayLab is an intensive weekend of rehearsals, readings, talkbacks, and development that brings professional playwrights, directors, and actors together to hone up to six new plays in a laboratory setting, and scripts are now being read in consideration for the 2020 Festival slated for April 30-May 3. Titles and playwrights will be announced in early 2020 for the upcoming PlayLab Festival.

PlayLab is generously sponsored by Lee Moore & Dee Whited.

SPECIAL THANKS

Bryelle Dafeldecker & Joe Dafeldecker B Street Theatre/Sacramento, CA Susan Gurman • Michael Galvez Southern Fresh Farms • Shelly McMahon ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION (AEA) was FLORIDA PROFESSIONAL founded in 1913 as the first of the American THEATRES ASSOCIATION (FPTA) Actor unions. Equity’s mission is to advance, is a statewide organization of promote and foster the art of theatre as an professional theatre companies essential component of our society. Today, and theatre professionals interested in the Equity represents more than 40,000 actors, development and promotion of professional singers, dancers and stage managers working in theatre throughout Florida. Florida Repertory hundreds of theatres across the United States.

Theatre is a proud FPTA member theatre.

Equity members are dedicated to working in the theatre as a profession, upholding the highest Florida Repertory Theatre artistic standards. Equity negotiates wages and is a member of THEATRE working conditions and provides a wide range of COMMUNICATIONS GROUP benefits including health and pension plans for (TCG), the national organization its members. Through its agreement with Equity, for the American Theatre. this theatre has committed to the fairPreviews treatment $20 of the actors and stage managers employed in this production. AEA is a member of the AFLFlorida Repertory Theatre CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international is a proud Associate Member organization of performing arts unions. For more of the NATIONAL NEW PLAY information, visit www.actorsequity.org.

NETWORK.

TICKETS $45 •

2019-2020 SEASON A Hot Broadway Musical, a Rolling World Premiere, an Award-Winning Thriller, Gut Busting Comedies, and MUCH MORE!

AN INSPECTOR CALLS

by J.B. Priestley

DEC 3-22, 2019

A wealthy British family is forced to examine their own morality in this chilling, Olivier and Tonywinning masterpiece! An electrifying and suspenseful thriller filled with twists and turns!

“Superbly tense. Breathtaking!” –Daily Telegraph • In the Historic Arcade Theatre •

ALABASTER A National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere

by Audrey Cefaly

DEC 17, 2019-JAN 26, 2020

A darkly comic southern drama about love, art, and the power of women. Funny, heartbreaking, and earth-shattering, this new play begins a 10-Theatre National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere at Florida Rep! Chosen from the 2018 PlayLab Festival!

• In the ArtStage Studio Theatre •

BAREFOOT IN THE PARK

by Neil Simon

JAN 7-29, 2020

A hilarious romantic comedy from the author of Rumors and Lost in Yonkers! Newlyweds decide to play matchmaker and everything that could go wrong, does in this multiple Tony-nominated play! “A bubbling, rib-tickling comedy!” –New York Times • In the Historic Arcade Theatre •

SUBSCRIBE NOW! PACKAGES ARE AVAILABLE FOR 7or 6 SHOWS! *All Titles and Dates Subject to Change

2019-2020 SEASON SUBSCRIBE NOW to Florida Rep’s THIRD DECADE OF NATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED PROFESSIONAL THEATRE! SINGLE TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER

book & lyrics by Robert L. Freedman • music & lyrics by Steven Lutvak

FEB 11-MAR 4, 2020 Can young Monty Navarro juggle his fiancée, his mistress, and knock off all of the heirs ahead of him in the line of nobility without being caught? Find out in this fresh, irreverent, and multiple Tonywinning BEST MUSICAL! • In the Historic Arcade Theatre •

EVERY BRILLIANT THING

by Duncan Macmillan, with Jonny Donahoe • FEB 25-MAR 29, 2020

A touching, funny, and intimate one-person tour-de-force! An exhilarating and inventive NEW PLAY that takes audiences on an unexpected, funny, and emotional journey of healing and selfdiscovery. “Charming! Captivating!” –New York Times • In the ArtStage Studio Theatre •

A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2

by Lucas Hnath

MAR 17-APR 8, 2020

This smart and sophisticated new comedy raises fascinating questions about marriage and the ways the roles of women have – and have not – changed. One of the hottest plays in America!

“Smart, funny, and utterly engrossing!” –New York Times • In the Historic Arcade Theatre •

RIPCORD

by David Lindsay-Abaire • APR 21-MAY 10, 2020

From the twisted and brilliant mind of the Pulitzer Prize & Tony-winning author of Rabbit Hole comes a high-stakes comedy about two women of a certain age locked in a no-holds-barred battle to the death! “Deeply satisfying and vastly entertaining!” – Deadline Hollywood • In the Historic Arcade Theatre •

FLORIDA REP IS

“One of America’s TOP Repertory Companies!”

—The Wall Street Journal

A HISTORY OF NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT ALABASTER is the 6th NEW PLAY Chosen from Florida Rep’s PlayLab Festival.

Florida Rep’s production of Alabaster begins a record-breaking 11-theatre National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere, which means that 11 member theatres will produce the play between December 2019 and December 2020. The play will be published in 2020 by Samuel French in New York. Alabaster was read as part of Florida Rep’s 2018 PlayLab Festival (with ensemble member, Rachel Burttram as June), and shortly after that, Florida Rep submitted it to the National New Play Network’s (NNPN) annual Showcase of New Plays. It was selected from over 100 new scripts to be read as part of the 2018 NNPN Showcase held at B Street Theatre in Sacramento, California. Florida Rep’s Jason Parrish directed that reading (with B Street company member, Dana Brooke in the cast), and the play’s reading at the NNPN Showcase led to the creation of its unprecedented 11-theatre Rolling World Premiere.

The NNPN’s Rolling World Premiere program is designed to give a playwright multiple productions of their new play over the course of a calendar year. Each production must be unique, and theatres cannot share actors, directors, or designers so that the playwright can work in different environments with different creative teams as they hone their play’s final draft. As Florida Rep’s Alabaster begins its run in late December and early January, three others theatres across the country will begin rehearsals, and Alabaster will be running in at least one city for the rest of 2020.

Audrey Cefaly’s work on Alabaster began a number of years ago, and it was well on its way to becoming the play it is tonight when it got to the PlayLab reading committee in 2017/2018, but its Rolling World Premiere Journey started in the ArtStage Studio Theatre in May of 2018, and it is thanks to the staff, artists, and dedicated donors & patrons who care deeply about PlayLab that audiences cross the country are seeing this funny, electric, and hopeful story of healing and redemption.

To Become a PlayLab Sponsor, call 239.332.4488 x1540.

PLAYLAB FESTIVAL PRODUCTION HISTORY Bold titles had subsequent world premiere/regional premiere at Florida Rep

6 Annual PlayLab Festival 2019 th

Good Americans by Bruce Graham Death of a Driver by Will Snider The Last Buckley by Nathan Cann Loving and Loving by Beto O’Byrne The Circle Game by Michael Bias & Victoria Casella Safety Net by Daryl Lisa Fazio

5th Annual PlayLab Festival 2018 The Burdens by Matt Schatz Gary by Bruce Graham Berta, Berta by Angelica Cheri Maybe, Probably by Eric Henry Sanders Alabaster by Audrey Cefaly (NNPN Rolling World Premiere) Hostage by Michelle Kholos Brooks

4th Annual PlayLab Festival 2017

3rd Annual PlayLab Festival 2016

A Pier at the Edge of the World by Nathan Cann In Vivo by Eric Coble (now titled These Mortal Hosts) Echo Location by Carter Lewis Doublewide by Stephen Spotswood (NNPN Rolling World Premiere) A Dream within a Dream: The Spirit of Poe

by Christopher T. Parks (commission)

2nd Annual PlayLab Festival 2015

Where I Dwell by Cynthia Babak The Firestorm by Meridith Friedman The Dingdong by Mark Shanahan; adapted from Le Dindon by Georges Feydeau J’oy Vey by Lojo Simon and Anita Yellin Simons

Inaugural PlayLab Festival 2014

The Exceptionals by Robert Clyman Love, The Cracksman by Mark Brown (now titled Mr. Perfect by William Missouri Downs The Gentleman Thief) Split in Three by Daryl Lisa Fazio Smoke by Gloria Bond Clunie Rainbow’s Return by Stephen Mo Hanan The Flower Room by Daryl Lisa Fazio Journey to Oz by Christopher T. Parks Damascus by Bennett Fisher (commission) We Will Not Be Silent by David Meyers George Washington’s Teeth by Mark St. Germain Contains strong language, adult situations, & brief nudity.

“It’s Southern mysticism It’s set in a real world, but has some magical elements … There’s no escaping that the South (itself) is a character.” — Jason Parrish, director

2/9

The idea for “Alabaster” came to playwright Audrey Cefaly the way many of her plays do: with an image.

“Typically when I start on a new piece and have no idea what it’s going to be about, I give myself a prompt,” she says. “I close my eyes, and picture an image on a blank stage of something happening. Something provocative, something on fire.”

For her play “The Gulf,” it was someone being pushed out of a boat. She then asks herself what could have happened just before that incident, and then what could’ve happened before that. “Rather than writing forward, you write in reverse … you think of something that would logically cause it to happen. I keep writing, until it bottoms out.”

“Alabaster” started with an image of a woman sitting naked on a bed, covered with scars.

The visceral image was all she needed.

“Then I was writing,” she says.

The scarred woman turned out to be June, living near Alabaster, Ala., who lost her family in a deadly tornado. Scarred both physically and emotionally, she stays on the farm with her goats, Weezie and Bib, not willing to venture into town.

Alice, a professional photographer with some emotional scars of her own, comes to visit; Alice is traveling around, shooting images of women with scars for a project.

With just two female characters, “Alabaster” won the 2017 David Calicchio Emerging American Playwright Prize. But something happened in between the time Ms. Cefaly submitted the play for consideration and then learned it had won: Weezie started talked.

“The character of a talking goat came to me in my daydreams and my night dreams,” she says. “The goat said, ‘I have something to say.’ And I was like, ‘Dude, what? You’re just a supporting character. You’re just a goat. You don’t have any lines.’ But she said, ‘Seriously, I’ve got something to say.’”

PARRISH

3/9

The playwright says she had known all along that Weezie was an emotional support animal for June’s character, but the initial script did not have the goat talking.

The cast with playwright Audrey Cefaly/Alabaster during a rehearsal. BRYELLE DAFELDECKER PHOTO

“But I realized — and this is written in the script — that June believes Weezie carries the pain of ‘this place.’”

She revised the play to make Weezie a feature character — “not just a character that has lines now and then, but a genuine mentor, like Yoda.”

A talking goat When the Marin Theater Company called her with the news that “Alabaster” had won the Calicchio prize, Ms. Cefaly was in shock. There had been more than 600 entries to the contest. Also, she suspected the award committee had read an earlier version of the play.

“We were just about to wrap up the call when I thought to ask, ‘In the version you have, is there a talking goat?’

“And I hear this faint, hesitant voice from the void, and this woman is saying, ‘Noooo?’

“I said, ‘Well, there’s a talking goat now. Weezie introduces the play.’”

4/9

Rachel Burttram and Daryl Lisa Fazio in the 2018 PlayLab reading of Alabaster.

From the very beginning, the audience knows Weezie is a goat. “It’s a very empowering technique that you’re fully transparent from the get-go,” she says. “You can just hit the ground running.

“People love it that the play starts that way,” she adds.

Coming ‘home’ to Florida Rep The play is having a rolling world premiere through the National New Play Network, opening at a record-breaking 10 different theaters. (The previous record for a rolling world premiere through NNPN is seven theaters.) And the theater world is taking notice. The current issue of American Theatre magazine has an interview with Ms. Cefaly, as does “The Dramatist.”

The play was also chosen for Florida Repertory Theatre’s 2018 PlayLab Festival, which Ms. Cefaly describes as one of the most beautiful playwriting experiences of her life. “The actors, the theater, (PlayLab founder) Jason Parrish — I didn’t know any of these people or anything about the theater until I landed there.”

One of her biggest takeaways from PlayLab, she says, was watching and listening to Mr. Parrish work with the actors. “His vocabulary was wildly useful to me.”

5/9

She found the workshop process “incredibly important,” she says, as it showed her what to put in and what to leave out.

“You don’t know if you’ve missed something, until someone in a workshop or a table read trips over something you’ve written,” she explains. “That’s what resonated with me, the hundreds of items of housekeeping that I needed to do in my script as a result of that workshop.”

Even more important, she says, the acting in the workshop was revelatory and affirming for her as the play’s creator.

Rachel Burttram, who read the part of June, “wrecked me in the best way. She’s terrifying — in a good way.”

BURTTRAM-POWERS

Ms. Burttram’s interpretation of the role of the protagonist “allowed me to see so many more possibilities of June,” she says. And it sent her racing to write more layers to the character. It also helped that Ms. Burttram is an Alabama native and also had the unfortunate coincidence of having had her hometown destroyed by a tornado.

Ms. Cefaly, an Alabaman herself who now lives in the Washington, D.C., area, is thrilled that Ms. Burttram is reprising the role of June.

Florida Rep was the sponsoring theater for “Alabaster” when it went to the National New Play Network for consideration. Participating theaters submit their favorite new play of the year in hopes that NNPN will give it a rolling world premiere.

“I’m so proud of Jason (Parrish) — and he should be proud of himself — for fighting for this play and sending it in.”

Mr. Parrish, who directs the Florida Rep production of “Alabaster,” says the talking goats “make for a magical play.

“It’s Southern mysticism,” he says. “It’s set in a real world, but has some magical elements.”

Also, he adds, “There’s no escaping that the South (itself) is a character.”

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JOE DAFELDECKER / FLORIDA REPERTORY THEATRE

Ms. Cefaly describes her play as a mix of Tennessee Williams and “Star Wars” or “Lord of the Rings.”

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“You get the lyricism and the ache and the disillusionment of Tennessee Williams in the Southern style,” she says. “But you also get this fascinating world you’ve never seen before, with characters that, although they may not look human, feel human.

“In each little section of the play, something unusual happens that doesn’t happen in everyday life. It’s a realm …

“If you think of it in that context, then any sort of quibble you might have with the oddity of the characters vaporizes. It has its own rules of negotiations, its own sacred history.”

It doesn’t always work out that the theater that submits a play submitted to NNPN gets to put on the first production, she says.

“But in my heart of hearts, I hoped it would be Florida Rep and that Rachel (Burttram) would be playing June.”

And that’s exactly what is happening.

“I’m so happy it will be premiering in a Southern theater with Southern actors,” she says.

“And in a theater that feels like home to me.” ¦ In the KNOW “Alabaster” world premiere When: Dec. 17- Jan. 26 Where: Florida Repertory Theatre, Fort Myers Cost: $55 Info: 239-332-4488 or www.floridarep.org

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‘I believe in living honestly under imaginary circumstances’ fortmyers.floridaweekly.com/articles/i-believe-in-living-honestly-under-imaginary-circumstances/ | January 08,

January 8,

2020

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Rachel Burttram

1/5

I’ve known actress Rachel Burttram since we both worked at Florida Rep at the same time in the early 2000s and I’ve seen most, if not all, of the 30 or so productions she’s done there. (I even had the opportunity to direct her a few years ago in Lillian Hellman’s “Toys in the Attic” at Theatre Conspiracy.) But with her busy schedule, we rarely get the time to just sit down and catch up, so a recent visit to the charming mid-century modern duplex in Dean Park that she shares with her husband, fellow actor Brendan Powers, was a real pleasure.

Rachel’s currently on Florida Rep’s ArtStage Theatre playing the lead in “Alabaster,” the world premier by Audrey Cefaly, a recent Pulitzer Prize nominee — and she just wrapped up filming the first season of a new TV series “The Right Stuff” (based on the famous film) set to debut in the fall of 2020 on the National Geographic channel. This spring, she’s the lead in the Southwest Florida premiere of “A Doll’s House Part II” on the main stage at the Rep. So, that’s what I mean by busy.

SD – You grew up in Alabama and have lived plenty of other places — what brought you to Southwest Florida — and what made you buy a home and settle down here?

RB – What brought me here was Florida Rep — I had been hired in an administrative capacity, but with the caveat that I wanted to be able to audition for shows — I ended up with roles in three productions that first year, which was a real blessing. After my first season, I moved to New York City for about four years, but I kept getting roles at the Rep. So, even when I haven’t lived here, I came back because I love the people here — I have a real community of like-minded folks around me. And not just theatre people — there are artists, environmentalists, gardeners, and so many more.

In the last 20 years, I’ve created a home for myself here, not just artistically, but in all the ways that you create a community.

— Stephanie Davis, who grew up in Southwest Florida, is a longtime cit y booster and writes about the Fort Myers social scene, artists, cultural happenings, occasional controversy, and anything else that tickles her fancy.

SD – Was there a moment in your youth when you discovered that you were an actor?

RB – I didn’t grow up doing theater, I didn’t discover theater until my dad got a job transfer from Alabama to North Carolina when I was 15 — up until then, I had mostly danced. After we moved, I had a very special English teacher who asked me to audition for a school play because I was kind of introverted, so she encouraged me to try. I was cast in a production that ended up in a state competition and I received an honorable mention in my very first play. After that, I made friends in the theater department and spent a lot of time doing 2/5

theater because I liked it — I liked studying the scripts and the literary aspect of it, I liked the people, the challenges, and the psychology of it. And when it was time to apply for colleges, that’s when I knew that theater was it — there was no question, there was no plan B. I do remember being little, as an only child for six years before my brother was born, and crawling up onto the bathroom vanity, looking in the mirror, and pretending to be Oprah Winfrey interviewing me — I’d play both characters, I guess that’s pretty theatrical, but I just didn’t know what to call it then.

SD – All actors have a process in creating a character, what’s yours?

RB – It goes back to one of the reasons I was intrigued by theater in high school — the literary aspect. In college, I was a double major in English and theater, so when I have a role in a play, I read the script so much. I read it every day — even after opening and through the run. I believe in living honestly under imaginary circumstances, and that’s what it boils down to. I’m not only fascinated by the words on the page, but also by the white space on the page. What are we saying when we’re saying nothing? I don’t believe in substituting your real-life experience with a characters — it’s all about your imagination — and I have a wild one. A lot of the characters I play go to some scary, dark places and have some real emotional stuff going on, but acting’s not therapy. It’s not my story, it’s the character’s story that I get to tell — and if you start to believe and imagine the character’s circumstances, how can you not cry? Or be angry? It’s empathy, and as actors, we’re in the business of empathy.

SD – I know you’re proud and passionate about being a member of the stage actor’s union, Actor’s Equity — tell me about it and why it’s so important to you.

RB – I believe in unions across the board. If you like having a weekend and you like working 40 hours, then thank a union. Actors are artists, we’re journeymen — and it’s imperative that somebody’s looking out for us. Making theater is hard and it’s great to have an organization that advocates for professional actors who have committed their lives to the craft. Equity recognizes that we need healthcare, and pensions, and safe working conditions — and even breaks, which may sound silly to some, but if you’re working 8 hours a day, literally going through a rollercoaster of emotions, and it’s your job — you need to be able to stop and catch your breath and rest now and then. With Equity, I get to vote on things, I pay my union dues, and I know I’m taken care of — it’s complex and necessary and important. What I do is not a hobby.

SD – You’ve done film and TV as well as stage — what’s the biggest difference between acting for the camera and doing live theater?

RB – The obvious thing to point out is that acting is so much smaller on camera, but for me it’s about relaxation because if I’m relaxed on camera, then I can really do my job. If you’re nervous on set, then it’s going to show all over that camera. In the theater, it’s also 3/5

important to relax, but even more importantly, your energy must be at a high level to hit that 14th row of the audience. When it comes to the camera, a great friend of mine said, “If you think it, they will see it.” The thing I’m most proud of about “The Right Stuff” is that I gave myself the gift of confidence and relaxation. I haven’t always been able to do that because it feels like the stakes are so high. You’re making a certain amount of money a day, and there are all these people you’re trying to impress, and it can be so intimidating. But this time, I said to myself, “They cast me, they believe in me, and I need to be true to me.”

And it’s been an awesome experience.

SD – In the “The Right Stuff” you play Betty Grissom, astronaut Gus Grissom’s wife — what’s it like to portray a historical character?

RB – It’s been amazing because there’s so much information out there to work off of. The actors who play the astronauts and the wives share materials — books, documentaries, PBS specials, photos — I was able to have all these pictures of Betty on my phone and I learned so much about her, like how she always stands with her arms crossed down by her waist. I learned about her history and her complexities — I mean she was born on a chicken farm in Mitchell, Indiana and suddenly she’s at the White House meeting Jackie Kennedy — what a life!

SD – With your current play, “Alabaster” at Florida Rep, you worked with the playwright, Audrey Cefaly throughout rehearsals — being a part of that must have been fascinating.

RB – “Alabaster” was featured in Florida Rep’s annual PlayLab which is when new plays are chosen by a committee and performed as readings over a weekend every spring, so we started working on it last year. I read the play, which is about a woman from Alabama, and being from Alabama, I knew that Audrey must be from Alabama — and she is. So, we have a real kinship that’s authentic. Audrey is a brilliant writer, she’s incredibly imaginative, and she digs way deep. Being a part of the development of this play has been everything — sometimes scary, like when you’re given 17 new pages of dialogue on opening night, but also so good and amazing.

SD – You and your husband Brendan have been together for 12 years and married since 2013. You met doing a play at Florida Rep together and you act opposite each other often — what’s that like?

RB – It’s the best — it doesn’t matter if our characters are contentious or romantic, it’s still the best. If you know your scene partner really well, it makes your job easier, so imagine it being your life partner. It’s really fun — on stage we get to be mad at each other, have fun with each other, fall in love with each other — it’s great.

SD – What’s your favorite sound?

RB – Wind rustling through the palm trees.

4/5

SD – What is your most overused saying?

RB – Take it easy. ¦

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5/5

THEATER REVIEW

Sara Morsey, left, and Rachel Burttram in Florida Rep’s “Alabaster,” the story of two wounded people, mourning after loss, who fi nd themselves on opposite ends of a photo shoot. JOE DAFELDECKER

Yes, Florida Rep’s ‘Alabaster’ is terrifi c, so stop texting me Charles Runnells

Fort Myers News-Press USA TODAY NETWORK – FLORIDA

First someone messaged me on Facebook. Then a text from a friend.

Then a phone call. Then another message. And another.

They all said the same thing: You HAVE to see “Alabaster” at Florida Repertory Theatre. It’s amazing!

I wasn’t planning on reviewing the show, which opened Dec. 20 at the Fort Myers theater and continues through Jan. 26. But those hosannas from people I know and trust — combined with the fact that

If you go What: “Alabaster” When: Now through Jan. 26 Where: Florida Repertory Theatre, 2268 Bay St., downtown Fort Myers Tickets: $49-$55 Info: 332-4488 or floridarep.org

Florida Rep just nominated “Alabaster” for a Pulitzer Prize — made me change my mind.

So fi nally, three weeks after opening night, I ventured out on a Sunday

24 ❚ FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2020 ❚ THE NEWS-PRESS

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to see what all the fuss is about.

And you know what? It lived up to the hype.

“Alabaster” is funny and heartbreaking: A story of two wounded people, mourning after loss, who fi nd themselves on opposite ends of a photo shoot. The location: The remnants a tornado-ravaged Alabama farmhouse that crushed a woman’s family and left her scarred, physically and emotionally.

Former celebrity photographer Alice arrives to document the woman’s scars — the visible ones, anyway —but her subject, June, proves to be confl icted, prickly and combat-

ive. Slowly, though, they begin to open up to each other as the camera shutter clicks.

“My life is a tragedy,” Alice admits.

“Ditto,” June responds.

True, “Alabaster” isn’t quite as mold-breaking as I’d been led to believe. I’ve seen similar plays: Two damaged people fi nd each other and learn to move on with their lives. But then again, those works didn’t have playwright Audrey Cefaly’s crackling wit, sense of the absurd or gift for sharp and distinctly Southern diSee ALABASTER, Page 25W

Alabaster Continued from Page 24W

alogue.

And none of those had a talking goat, either.

Yep: A talking goat. Her name is Weezy, and she’s fan-frickin’-tastic.

Weezy — played by Carolyn Messina with swaggering Southern grit and lots of laughs — doesn’t really talk. At least, I don’t think she does.

Instead, the mouthy goat is meant to be a stand-in for June’s inner thoughts and also a confi dante for someone who’s isolated herself for way too long (I kept thinking of Wilson in the Tom Hanks movie “Cast Away” — except Weezy DOES talk back. And how.).

Director Jason Parrish has assembled a solid cast here: Messina is perfect as the beer-drinking, profanity-spouting, Bob Marley-shirtwearing Weezy (and she’ll crack you up with little moments such as the goat-like way she eats popcorn). Sara Morsey breaks your heart as Weezy’s sick mother Bib, despite getting no lines other than the occasional,

Rachel Burttram and Dana Brooke star in Florida Rep’s “Alabaster.”

JOE DAFELDECKER

weak “ba-a-a-a.” And Dana Brooke’s photographer Alice radiates strength and confi dence, along with an undercurrent of still-fresh pain after the death of her girlfriend and their unborn child.

Then there’s the always-terrifi c Rachel Burttram, fresh from fi lming her fi rst TV role as Betty Grissom in the upcoming National Geographic

series “The Right Stuff .” I’m so glad TV is fi nally giving this talented actor a national audience.

Burttram packs a lot of heart and soul into poor, haunted June, a vibrant woman who’s buried her love of life along with the family she lost in that tornado. Now the traumatized June is left with just her goats, scars and paintings to keep her company.

Burttram balances this complex character beautifully. At turns, she’s sad and wounded, tense and volatile, sassy and profane — and sometimes, occasionally, when the clouds part and the sun comes out, she opens up and becomes her old self again. If only for moment.

All this happens in a wonderfully rustic old farmhouse by set designer Richard Crowell: Weathered fl oorboards, a single bed in the middle of the fl oor and June’s folk-art-style paintings scattered all around (painted by Morsey, by the way. You can see more of her work next door at Arts for ACT gallery).

I must also mention sound designer Katie Lowe and lighting and production designer Rob Siler, who conjure up a jaw-dropping tornado

onstage with fl ashing lights, howling wind, projections and Burttram’s absolutely terrifi ed June. It’s stunning moment in an already stunning show.

“Alabaster” is still a work in progress, and playwright Cefaly is continuing to make changes as the play moves from theater to theater on its 11-theater “rolling world premiere” through the National New Play Network.

That’s a good thing, too. I found a few moments to be a little confusing, and I’m still not sure what to think of the fourth-wall-breaking yoga scene at the beginning of Act 2. It’s jarring and head-scratching, and I think it took away more from “Alabaster” than it added.

But despite that minor misstep, I’m happy to report that all those texts and messages were spot-on: “Alabaster” is a terrifi c show full of heart, hope and redemption.

Don’t wait for your friends to bug you about it. Go see this terrifi c play before it closes Jan. 26.

Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells (Facebook), @charlesrunnells (Twitter), @crunnells1 (Instagram)

(239) 963-8060

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Florida Rep’s ‘Alabaster’ moving, engaging, quirky in the best way fortmyers.floridaweekly.com/articles/florida-reps-alabaster-moving-engaging-quirky-in-the-best-way/ | January 01, 2020

January 1, 2020

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Alice, played by Dana Brooke, photographs June, played by Rachel Berttram, in “Alabaster” at the Florida Repertory Theatre. JOE DAFELDECKER / FLORIDA REPERTORY THEATRE

No one gets through this life unscathed.

We all endure bumps and bruises and acquire scars, seen and unseen.

We all experience loss.

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“Alabaster,” by Audrey Cefaly, shows how two women deal with the scars of life and begin to heal through the power of art and love.

And oh yeah, there’s a talking goat.

Weezy (Carolyn Messina) opens the play, speaking directly to the audience. Dressed in a Bob Marley T-shirt, jeans and construction boots (costumes by Charlene Gross), she’s sassy and argumentative, both providing commentary on the action and taking part in it.

We immediately know we’re in a different world, one the playwright’s described as a realm of its own, a mixture of Tennessee Williams and “Lord or the Rings” or “Star Wars.”

Playing at the ArtStage Studio at Florida Repertory Theatre, this production is the first of an 11-theater rolling world premiere, breaking the previous record of seven theaters. (“Alabaster” was read at Florida Rep’s PlayLab Festival in 2018 and directed by Jason Parrish, who also directed this production.)

It’s easy to see why theaters from Oregon to Illinois to Texas are all lining up to stage this new play: it’s moving, it’s engaging, it’s quirky in the best way. With her writing, Ms. Cefaly rips your heart out of your chest, shatters it, then mends it.

She’s not afraid to give voice to our hidden fears and flaws.

While the subject matter is serious, “Alabaster” is also unexpectedly warm and funny, as idiosyncratic as a human. Or a talking goat.

Weezy lives on a farm in Alabaster, Ala., with her elderly mother, Bib (Sara Morsey), and June (Rachel Burttram), a human.

nancySTETSON

June lost her family — both parents and younger sister — in a tornado that destroyed their barn and ripped off the front porch. The incident has left June scarred, literally and figuratively.

Weezy is her comfort animal, but is also her conscience, devil’s advocate and mentor. She also acts as June’s scapegoat, absorbing her pain.

Ms. Messina is incredible — and totally credible — as a smartass tomboy goat who’s also capable of great moments of tenderness. She made me laugh during an unusual goat yoga scene.

2/4

And while Weezy speaks in English and goat, her mother, Bib, speaks only in goat. Despite this, Ms. Morsey elevates the role, making Bib a fully realized character you can’t take your eyes off of. A scene where she has a moment of transformation is truly revelatory and joyous.

June is scarred from the tornado; Alice (Dana Brooke), a well-known New York photographer, arrives to take photos of her as part of her project of photographing scarred women. Alice is matter-offact but hiding scars of her own. Like every artist, she is trying to answer her own questions and heal her own pain by examining it through art. It’s as if looking though a lens at others’ scars will help her deal with her own.

The two bicker and banter and flirt and push. Ms. Brooke and Ms. Burttram play off of each other very well.

Ms. Burttram is especially stunning in her role, playful one moment, vulnerable the next.

Her emotional range is breathtaking.

You can’t help but feel for these women and root for them. They recognize the pain in each other, but also the possibilities. We often see ourselves anew when reflected through someone else’s eyes.

Richard Crowell has provided a rustic set that provides both the suggestion and structure of an Alabama farmhouse, and lighting and projection designer Rob Siler helps set the mood and also allows the audience see images of Alice’s photography and June’s outsider art. He also provides a terrifying tornado. (The art, by the way — playful, colorful images of hens and chickens, cats and goats — is done by Ms. Morsey, who plays Bib.) The incidental music has been exquisitely chosen and includes Gillian Welch and Sam Phillips (the underrecognized singer/songwriter, not the Sun Records producer.)

Mr. Parrish, as director, has done a remarkable job with this play, and is also to be commended for shepherding it and championing it. He’s brought to life this tender, heartbreaking yet humorous story of two women who discover how much bravery it takes to just live.

“How are we still sitting here?” June asks at one point. With all the loss around us, all the deaths, how is it we’re still here?

This is what Florida Rep does best: present new, exciting voices to the stage we haven’t even realized we’ve been longing to hear.

Brava. ¦ In the KNOW 3/4

2's Review: 'Alabaster' makes premiere at Florida Rep This is a story that asks each one of us what we ache for.

Wednesday, December 25th 2019, 9:28 AM EST by Dave Elias

A tornado rips through the small town of Alabaster, Alabama wreaking havoc on the life of a small-town country bumpkin. The tornado rips apart everything she has ever known forcing her to pick up the pieces and move on, but not without taking the audience along her gripping emotional journey.

'Alabaster' is making its world premiere on stage at the Florida Repertory Artstage Studio Theatre in downtown Fort Myers.

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This is a story that asks each one of us what we ache for. It's a story that deals with pain, loss, and grief that ultimately knocks at all our doors at some point in life, but it's a reminder of how we deal with it that ultimately defines us.

This all-female cast tells the story of struggle after the tornado leaves behind death and destruction for the main character June who barely survives the storm bearing both the mental and physical scars as she fights to make sense of life and what little remains, along with her pet goat, Weezy, who plays an instrumental and unique roll in her fight to survive.

It's not until a prominent photographer, Alice, arrives to document her story that the two are forced to confront their own pain and loss. This is a show that clearly displays the five stages of grief. The actresses in this performance deliver all the raw emotions of denial, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance.

Rachel Burttram, who plays June, delivers a heart-wrenching performance filled with emotion and comedy in her convincing role as the southern recluse, that she is able to take the audience with her through an emotional roller coaster over the nearly two-hour experience. Add that with the talents of Dana Brooke, who plays the photographer Alice, that deals with her own emotional loss and struggles as the two help each other to get past the roadblocks life sometimes throws our way.

This is a show that will have you thinking and talking, but be aware this is a dark comedy-drama with strong adult language and nudity.

Attending this show will allow you to say that you saw it first in Fort Myers as the show makes its "world premiere" and will debut in only 10 other theaters over the next year.

The entire cast, including Florida Rep ensemble member and Associate Artistic Director Jason Parish, should take a bow on delivering a true work of art that should not be missed this season.

The show runs through January 26. Click here for more information about tickets and showtimes.

Š Copyright 2019 WBBH/WZVN (Waterman Broadcasting). All rights reserved.

BroadwayWorld Ft. Myers/Naples

BWW Review: ALABASTER at Florida Repertory Theatre is Powerful and Poignant

by Emily Yorgey Dec. 21, 2019

Florida Repertory Theatre's World Premiere production of ALABASTER by Audrey Cefaly, directed by Jason Parrish, brings to life a story that is inspiring and funny, but also quite dark and tragic.

ALABASTER tells the tale of June (Rachel Burttram), a woman who has suffered horrible tragedy and loss and now lives on her farm with her two goats, Weezy (Carolyn Messina) and Bib (Sara Morsey). A photographer, Alice (Dana Brooke), comes to her home to take photos of her scars and learn about what she has gone through. As the story progresses, the audience learns that June and Alice are perhaps not so different. They both have scars; they're just different kinds of scars.

Burttram and Brooke bring very real and raw emotion to their respective portrayals of June and Alice, and it was amazing to watch. The intimacy of this show and this particular theatre setting allows the audience to become very close to the story, so you really get to see the full depth of intensity that these actors experience and showcase through their characters. Their chemistry on stage was evident; they challenge each other to confront the things they're afraid to face, and some of the toughest moments of the show are so, so beautiful because of the way they push each other to grow. I can easily say that this is some of the best acting I've ever witnessed.

Messina and Morsey also had a very tough job portraying the goats in the story, Weezy and Bib, and I thought they were fantastic. Messina's Weezy is sassy and strong, and she made the audience laugh many times, but she also is very wise and acts as somewhat of a narrator for the story. BWW Review: ALABASTER at Florida Repertory Theatre is Powerful and PoignantShe introduces the show and often confronts June to face her own thoughts and fears, making her an essential part of the plot. She also has several emotional points as she takes care of Morsey's Bib, her mother in the show, who is dying. I appreciated their commitment to these characters very much, as it is a bit of a challenge to make a goat come to life. It was done very well. I also want to mention that Morsey herself painted every piece of artwork that acts as June's art in the show. This is no small feat, and I have to commend her for all of her lovely work.

Florida Rep's ALABASTER includes a lot of details that enhance the show even more; from the set designed by Richard Crowell, to the lighting and projections designed by Rob Siler, the sound designed by Katie Lowe, and more, every part of this show works perfectly together to draw you into the lives of these women (and goats).

ALABASTER is part of a Rolling World Premiere from the National New Play Network, and Florida Rep is the first of 11 different theatres this show will be premiering at in the next year.

This is an incredibly special premiere and production, and you truly don't want to miss the opportunity to see it right here, right now. BWW Review: ALABASTER at Florida Repertory Theatre is Powerful and PoignantThis particular cast is so wonderful because you can see how passionate they are about this show, and that makes it extraordinary. Of course, if you don't live in Florida and don't have the chance to see it at Florida Rep, definitely look into seeing it elsewhere; the fact that this is the first full production is extra special, but I know I personally would love to see it as it evolves city to city.

I encourage you to hurry and get your tickets for ALABASTER at Florida Rep. This is one of the most unique, heartbreakingly beautiful shows Florida Rep has ever done, and it was an honor to see such a new and momentous production. You'll laugh, cry, and everything in between.

ALABASTER is playing in Florida Rep's ArtStage Studio Theatre now through January 26.

Performances are Tuesday-Thursday at 7 PM, Friday-Saturday at 8 PM, with 2 PM matinees on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. To buy tickets, you can visit www.floridarep.org, call Florida Rep at 239-332-4488, or stop by the box office at 2268 Bay Street, Fort Myers, FL, 33901.

Patron Feedback Highlights Overall just loved the performance. How infrequently do we get to see plays about women's lives - apart from the men they interact with. We thought it was refreshing.

1/22/2020 9:58 AM The acting was truly exceptional in every regard and casting was spot on. The brief nudity, language and alternative lifestyle theme were all handled well although I noticed some of the older patrons left at intermission. I’m sure to stay on the cutting edge of new plays and subjects, it is impossible to please everyone. I would be considered very conservative and I was not offended at all.

1/21/2020 1:00 PM We are big fans of Rachel B. and of Sara M. Just fabulous, even the baa-ing of the goat, Bib. The script needs some tightening up in our opinion. Seemed overly long. Seemed to need a little clarity on the ending.

Otherwise, another excellent production.

1/20/2020 3:41 PM I am very pleased with the subject matter, the quality of the performance and the playwriting. This is something which I took daughter and granddaughter to see on Sunday matinee. We are subscribers at Steppenwolf in Chicago and enjoy the edginess of Steppenwolf. We all thought this play was "Steppenwolf worthy" and believe it or not, my daughter was actually looking forward to perhaps moving to Ft Myers in the city as a result. She is a lawyer and would like to move, but enjoys the culture of the big Chicago scene. So, it was very encouraging.

Powerful performance by all especially Bib and you had to be watching for her.

1/20/2020 10:59 AM I loved the small theatre experience and it seemed like there was not a bad seat in the house. I could hear everything, see everything, and feel everything.

1/20/2020 10:52 AM I was blown away!! From start to finish. Just fantastic!! Thank you!!

1/20/2020 10:32 AM It was an incredibly moving play and performance! Brought tears to my eyes!

Such gifted acting!

1/18/2020 10:16 AM The production of "Alabaster" was outstanding in every aspect! We loved the play. The actors were not "acting" but were the real people of the play. Lights and sound supported and enhanced the experience.

Direction, costumes, sets and props were all superb. Thank you!

1/17/2020 1:46 PM

I continue to be in awe of Rachel Burttram's talent. Carolyn Messina was excellent as well. Her range of emotions was amazing.

1/17/2020 12:08 PM What a fantastic play! As a photographer who strives to portray subjects in a deeper way I identified with the character of Alice.

The only improvement I would recommend would be the use of a more professional looking camera and tripod. Other than that I thought the play was exquisite, from the writing to the set and, of course, the acting!

1/17/2020 11:12 AM

My husband & I truly enjoyed this performance. Thank you for providing subjects that are a bit more controversial!

1/16/2020 4:31 PM First perfect scores we’ve ever given. I think.

Great choice. Went to Hamilton the next evening. Don’t know which was better 1/16/2020 1:52 PM Great performances by all. The acting was so absorbing that throughout the play I felt that I was in the room observing two real people expressing themselves. It is a rare talent to make me forget that I am in a theater observing a performance. Kudos to Rachel. I knew she had great talent and I've seen it often over the years, but this was way over the top. Thanks for wonderful night of entertainment ... and reflection.

1/16/2020 1:18 PM Alabaster is one of the best performances we have seen in the last decade.

1/16/2020 12:14 PM It was a brave exceptional performance. So well done.

1/16/2020 12:04 PM In general, I thought the play was thought provoking and well done. FL Rep does a great job and I particularly like the plays in the small theater.

1/14/2020 12:19 PM Loved it all 1/13/2020 7:25 PM As my scores show the production was outstanding. It is not a play I would have chosen.

1/13/2020 4:31

Interesting choice, went with another woman, was glad not to be with my husband who would have been restless, and not as open to the goats. I loved the lighting and pictures, very innovative.

1/13/2020 2:43 The acting was Superb 1/13/2020 12:48 PM If I could give it a score of higher than 10 I would.

1/13/2020 12:37 PM Thank you for being brave and experimental.

1/13/2020 12:33 PM Not my favorite play at the Rep but the acting and storytelling were wonderful. So, pleased with the performance, not eager to see it again..

1/13/2020 9:46 The leads, especially June, were great actresses. June was so expressive and believable. The talking goat a little bizarre for me.

1/11/2020 1:03 Thought the acting was outstanding. Story good. Not appreciative of the language.

1/11/2020 10:02 AM It was very intense to say the least. The cast was fantastic, everyone did a superb job! It was highly emotional subject matter, that the women projected, putting the audience in touch with (hopefully) sad, heartbreaking unfamiliar feelings of tragic intimate loss. It was emotionally draining, but I loved it!!!

1/10/2020 9:26 Haven't missed a show during season in over 15 years. I think this was one of the best

you've ever done. Definitely in my top 10 favorites.

1/10/2020 8:53 PM Thought the subject matter was handled in a very uplifting and mature manner.

1/10/2020 3:54 PM One of the most outstanding productions /performances I’ve ever seen at Fl Rep 1/10/2020 3:06 PM

Alabaster is the best show we’ve seen since we moved here 4 years ago. Impeccable. We moved from the NYC area.

1/6/2020 5:56 PM Outstanding performance! Bravo!

1/6/2020 2:38 PM This was extremely well done.

1/6/2020 2:08 PM

The subject was a little weird. Especially for the average age of the audience. I personally found the performance extremely well done.

1/10/2020 12:45 PM

This was such a powerful play. It's one of the best plays I've seen. The acting was perfect and a play that touches anyone personally who needs healing, body and spirit. Thank you Florida Rep 1/6/2020 1:58 PM

I was mesmerized by the production. It was wonderful!

1/10/2020 12:44 PM

I have posted mine On Facebook. It was an excellent and memorable experience..

1/6/2020 12:04

We thought the performance was extraordinary. We attend performances on Broadway and London each year and this performance was better than anything we have seen. The actors really immersed themselves in their roles and it was difficult not to feel emotionally exhausted after their performance.

1/10/2020 12:13 PM

Loved all of it and it touch many different points that I am sure touched all in attendance. Love the small theater!

1/6/2020 11:56

Rachael deserves whatever she wants.

1/10/2020 12:01 PM Just loved the whole production from the topic, acting and staging. AMAZING!!

1/7/2020 7:38 PM all 4 actors were superb, especially Rachael Bertram’s very Emotional portrayal of the main character.

1/7/2020 12:12 PM

I thought this was one of the better performances of the season. Very interesting and thoughtful production. It has been the cause of many discussions.

1/6/2020 11:36 It is an amazing production. The performances were nonpareil, as was the playwriting, direction, sound and light.

1/6/2020 11:24 AM Loved it and the fact that you find space in your Offerings for Avant Garde work from young artists.

1/6/2020 11:23 AM

Rachael Bertram's performance was spectacular!

1/5/2020 11:49 AM

scarring and loving again. Carolyn was so good as a talking goat and narration.

1/3/2020 3:03 PM

Excellent! One of the best of the BEST productions!

1/4/2020 2:09

The play was very thought provoking and the acting was outstanding.

1/3/2020 12:48 PM

Th performance, the acting, the costumes were fabulous. BUT ... we thought the play was so very dark. We know the feelings of death and parting with loved ones too well. I come to the theater for a happy style of entertainment, and so i must say that i was a little disappointed because of the darkness of the subject, and the sadness, and the hopelessness. I would have liked to laugh rather than cry . But thank you .

1/4/2020 8:35 AM

Acting amazing. The set design seemed very simple and straightforward until the lighting and visuals kicked in. Very complex how it enhanced the show. Very beautiful. The Sheep were other worldly. Stunning.

1/3/2020 12:18 PM

Especially admired the goats.

1/3/2020 11:17 PM

I thought it was a thought-provoking play.

The acting was superb. I still haven't figured out the purpose of the goats, but I am working on it.

1/3/2020 12:05 PM

Great to see edgy, thought provoking work like this at the Rep. With Fox and Barefoot we were worried the rep might be heading down the community theater route. A play like Alabaster must be a thrill for your ensemble members as well.

1/3/2020 9:54 PM It was a very creative way to tell the story of two damaged woman, with just the right amount of humor to keep it from becoming depressing. The acting was outstanding!!

1/3/2020 4:17 PM Rachel's performance outstanding WOW! Sara as Mamma goat hair was perfect, performance with body and bleating was like WOW! And her artwork was GREAT! Dana did a wonderful job beauty in the

What a show. So glad we saw it. Rachel Burtram is amazing. Fort Myers is growing in terms of arts and culture.

1/3/2020 12:11 PM

Nice to see cutting-edge premier of a new production. A brave change of pace for Florida Rep! 1/3/2020 11:37 AM Well conducted, powerful play. Excellent acting.

1/3/2020 11:19 AM Did enjoy the play, sad story with some ups and downs. Very different than a light musical. But the play had something to say, a story to tell.

1/2/2020 7:04 PM The actors performances were incredible.

The dialogue was extremely moving. Tears flowed freely down my face and the same

can be said for those around me. At one point I do not think there was a dry eye in the theater. At times, I was shaking I was so moved by the performance. My only criticism is the images projected on the walls were difficult to see and at times too blurred to be recognizable. Some softening was probably intended, and while the images should probably not be sharp and clear, they should be easily recognizable Thank you for a wonderful experience.

1/2/2020 7:00 PM An incredibly powerful story of loss and coming to grips with your life afterwards!

WOW! 1/2/2020 5:39 PM This was easily one of the best plays and performances I have seen anywhere.

Rachael was superb as were all the actors.

Wonderful goats!

1/2/2020 5:01 PM At the beginning I could not figure out what the cause was for her scars. I thought the acting of the star was great. She is such a good actress and actually lives and feels the person she is portraying.

1/2/2020 2:44 PM This was a spectacular performance by Rachael Burttram. She was positively flawless, inhabiting the role so as to make the character live. It is because of that performance that I rate this production as highly as I do. The other three actors were good, but not exceptional. The play itself somehow didn't completely come together for me. The literary device of talking to the goats didn't work for me, and the play seemed to be trying to tackle too many things at once. It was good, for sure, and held our attention. But it wasn't in the same

league as "Best of Enemies" or "Damascus" .

The language in this play did not offend me but was unusually raw. I thought the nudity was superfluous, since scars could have been viewed on shoulders, back, legs, face, without the actor having to bare her breasts.

1/2/2020 1:33 PM This was a matinee and the interaction with the actors and key people was interesting, informative and enhanced the experience!

Well done all!

1/2/2020 11:34 AM WOW!! Fascinating, challenging, captivating, awesome. Exceptional writing, direction, & performance. This was so good that we want to see it again near the end of its run.

To say we were impressed would be a terrible understatement.

1/2/2020 11:18 AM Thought provoking to say the least. Ending had a nice twist to it.

1/2/2020 11:17 AM Could have given actors a 12 or more.

1/2/2020 9:50 AM I've watched Rachel since her very first show at the rep. It has been a lovely experience watching her explore and grow in so many different characters. The best part of a rep company, seeing actors in many different roles. I believe that this is Rachel's best work. I didn't see Rachel, only June. I will be interested to see what happens to this play going forward.

1/2/2020 9:37 AM What a powerful play. Acting was outstanding. Rachel Burtram was extraordinary. one of the best plays we have

seen at the Rep. Thank you for showing serious theater and taking a risk on this play.

1/2/2020 9:34 We have been attending the Florida Rep regularly for many years and most times always enjoy the experience. This experience was outstanding! We have seen the lead, June, in many productions and she always does a great job, but this is the best we’ve ever seen. All the performers were extraordinary and I had to keep reminding myself that I was sitting in this little theater in Fort Myers Florida, very impressed. I must also mention the relationship between the photographer and June, it was riveting. Also, the comic relief from the goat was a nice balance. Thanks.

1/2/2020 9:29 AM Rachel’s acting was outstanding! Very strange play. Goats?? Hard to see the projections on the wall from head on.

Makeup person who did scars did a phenomenal job.

1/2/2020 9:24 AM This was outstanding! Rachel deserves an Oscar. Wish everyone could see this.

1/2/2020 9:21 AM We really enjoyed our evening đ&#x;˜€ 1/2/2020 9:08 AM

1/2/2020 8:56 AM Alabaster was a phenomenal play and performance! It was mesmerizing and totally engrossing. A must ee for those who haven't seen it. I loved the goats: What a clever way of telling the audience more of the main character was thinking and her conflicting thoughts!

12/27/2019 12:32 PM Powerful acting, as usual, good performance but I really didn't care for the subject. I don't know why it was chosen from other plays performed. We all have problems, disasters in our life and work through them to get into life again. I know it sounds callous but I am in my 80's and have seen a lot and helped people through.

12/22/2019 1:09 PM Red, riveting, brilliant writer, great acting 12/21/2019 4:46 PM This was one of the best productions I have seen Keep up the good work 12/21/2019 1:32 PM The actors were all terrific! However, I did not like the story. Didn't have a problem with the bit of nudity as it was integral to the story. But for my taste, too much yelling.

12/21/2019 10:05 AM

Absolutely world class production all round.

Outstanding on every level. Rachel Buttram deserves special recognition. She blows us away time after time, and this was another amazing performance! She is truly a Broadway caliber actress!

1/2/2020 9:05 AM

I really appreciated the email we received prior to the performance. One of our little group elected not to attend ... and we agreed she would have found the afternoon very upsetting. It was the right decision for her, and for the rest of the audience. Thanks for the alert.

12/21/2019 5:53 AM

A powerful story about trauma, loss and the need to connect. Fantastically acted by all.

Wonderful, acting was the tops, crazy good.

You guys keep getting better every year.

12/20/2019 9:33 PM Very intense subject. The acting was superb!

Had me crying at times. I would highly recommend seeing this play. Thanks 12/20/2019 6:38 PM This was the best local theater I have seen in 50 years!

12/20/2019 2:33 PM I thought the talking goat should be costumed like the dying goat. My husband doesn’t hear well and he thought Weezie was a ghost, not a goat the whole first half.

We are in our 70s and my husband was a soldier for 30 years beginning in Vietnam.

We have faced cancer, heart attacks, loss of jobs, loss of people, have moved 30 plus times in 50 years of marriage, so this play broke no new ground for us. But it did open up a dialogue about what experiences were the hardest for us to get through and what residual things were still hanging out there. I would be interested to know what middle aged people thought about these issues in the play.

12/20/2019 1:53 PM have always thought that the sets in the main theater were great. now with alabaster you have equaled my opinion of the sets in the small theater 12/20/2019 1:37 PM Acting was fantastic. We are still trying to figure out why a talking goat was inserted in such a powerful play. We did have a spirited discussion on the way home.

12/20/2019 1:12 PM 1) didn't understand why the bed had to be moved back and forth as that spaces wasn't reused 2)Sara Morsey played an excellent

part as Bib. Goat sounds, facial expressions and even head movements for laying down were spot on 3)Carolyn Messina was a strong role player although I did not associate her role with her costume 4) Rachel Burttram again played a strong leading role although I found her second act much stronger than the first act 5) Dana Brooke also played a strong role which I found was consistent throughout the production. I hope she chooses to participate to many more roles at FRT. 12/20/2019 12:23 PM Acting was terrific.

12/20/2019 12:11 PM It was different but beautifully done. I marvel at how one set can be all that is necessary, portraying different places. I was entranced by the acting! I wouldn't change a thing!

12/20/2019 11:50 AM Just FANTASTIC!!!!!! LOVED the play and the acting was superb.

12/20/2019 11:10 AM I liked the performance more than my husband did. He did not care for the subject matter. The acting by all was excellent. I especially found Bib’s performance incredible! Kudos to all involved for another excellent show!

12/18/2019 11:53 AM