One of the most important roles in my life is that of an older brother. It wasn’t always. I didn’t always care for the responsibilities that came with birth order or see the grace in serving as a leader. I do now.
As Artistic Director here at Geffen Playhouse, I relish in the ability to connect folx as community and to lead with care towards our artistic tomorrow. That is why I chose my first play, written 20 years ago this summer, to begin our journey together. Writing The Brothers Size was one of the first times I fully stood in the role of artist, community member, and older brother, all at once. I found a way to braid deep artistic exploration into broader personal, political, and spiritual questions: how do we love and hold space for folx affected by incarceration? What does true “reconciliation” and forgiveness look like? How do we hold ourselves accountable for every part of the community? And am I my brother’s keeper?
In the years since, the urgency of these questions has only grown. This play serves as flagstone, foundational for the necessary work of coming together to navigate some of the most perplexing questions of our time.
Over the next season, you will see that each play chosen has programming that not only engages the content of the play but also dives deep into the ways the work on stage can engage our community and stimulate our artistic dreaming for the future.
It is my duty to usher in a space for us, together in the present, to think fully about our past and dream joyfully of our future.
One of the most important roles in my life is the role of older brother, the other is your Artistic Director at Geffen Playhouse. Welcome.
Tarell Alvin McCraney Artistic Director
PHOTO BY JEFF LORCH
Illustration: Sally Thurer, based on a photo by Johan Persson, courtesy KBTC.
GIL CATES, JR.
Welcome to The Brothers Size and the launch of the Geffen Playhouse 2024/2025 Season—the first from Artistic Director Tarell Alvin McCraney!
Written by Tarell, The Brothers Size is a profound story of connection and a raw and heartfelt exploration of the bonds of brotherhood. Performed in-theround, the intimacy of our Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater is the perfect setting for this meaningful and powerful play.
The Geffen Playhouse production of The Brothers Size marks the play’s 20th anniversary and is the launchpad for our new initiative Theater as a Lens for Justice. This initiative supports currently and formerly incarcerated individuals and their families in partnership with UCLA’s Center for Justice and ManifestWorks, bringing them the experience of live theater and creating pathways to employment in the theater arts industry. I encourage you to visit geffenplayhouse.org/justice to learn more.
The 2024/2025 Season also represents an exciting new era for the Audrey as we embark upon its reimagined role as a lab for artistic development and the creation of new works. Exploring the possibilities of theater making in the Audrey relies on the passion and support of our whole community. If you would like to play a bigger role in this work, please reach out to Chief Development Officer Sarah Weinberg at sarahw@geffenplayhouse.org.
Thank you for joining us in supporting live, local theater!
Gil Cates, Jr. Executive Director / CEO
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Adi Greenberg CHAIR
Dr. Gene D. Block
Gil Cates, Jr.
Executive Director / CEO
Mary Ann Cloyd
Vice Chair
Merle Dandridge
Lauren Shuler Donner
Dr. Brad Edgerton
Bonnie E. Eskenazi
Mark Fleischer
Susan Nahley Fleishman
Brenda Garcia
Patricia L. Glaser
Noble M. Hansen III
Eric Heer
Carla Malden
Brian Mann
Tiffany Mayberry
Tarell Alvin McCraney
Artistic Director
Mary Osako
Danny Passman
Holly Rice
Linda Bernstein Rubin
Matt Shakman
Richard Sherman
Cynthia P. Stafford
Howard Tenenbaum
Chair Emeritus
Miranda Tollman
JaHan Wang
Marc Weinstock
FOUNDING TRUSTEES
Harold A. Brown
Kirsten Combs
Robert A. Daly
David Geffen
Herbert M. Gelfand Chair Emeritus
Quincy Jones
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Glorya Kaufman
Frank G. Mancuso Chair Emeritus
Ron Meyer
Bruce M. Ramer
Founding Chair
Victoria Mann Simms
Andy Spahn
Steven Spielberg
Steve Tisch IN MEMORIAM
Gilbert Cates Founder
Marcia Israel-Curley
Audrey Skirball Kenis
Charles Kenis
Karl Malden
Nikki Kerman Venable LLP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR / CEO
Ginny Mancini
Jerry Moss
Jerry Perenchio
Edie Wasserman
Lew Wasserman
Dr. Charles E. Young
LEGAL COUNSEL
THEATER AS A LENS FOR JUSTICE
“For many Californians the concept of justice feels deeply out of reach. According to Prison Policy Initiative, nearly 200,000 individuals are incarcerated at any given time in our state with about 35,000 incarcerated people released each year. Those numbers are sobering. They are made worse when we remember that the families connected to those individuals are not counted in those statistics. But their lives too are affected by incarceration.
—TARELL ALVIN McCRANEY
Established by playwright and Artistic Director Tarell Alvin McCraney, whose own work has been profoundly influenced by his family’s experiences with the justice system, Theater as a Lens for Justice provides access to theater at Geffen Playhouse for populations impacted by incarceration, beginning with the 2024/2025 Season. This initiative provides individuals and their families the opportunity to experience performances throughout the season, supplemented with talkbacks and workshops by theater staff and artistic leaders.
To begin this work, Geffen Playhouse has partnered with UCLA’s Center for Justice and ManifestWorks. In addition to access to theater productions, Geffen Playhouse will provide space and support for the UCLA Prison Education Program’s Hip Hop Theater course to create and workshop a new play in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater in fall 2024.
This initiative also aims to create employment pathways into the theater industry for formerly incarcerated individuals—in all aspects of theater making including technical, artistic, and administrative—through internships, mentorships, and professional development.
Theater as a Lens for Justice is supported, in part, by Jayne Baron Sherman.
OUR PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
THE BROTHERS SIZE
WRITTEN
BY
TARELL ALVIN MCCRANEY
DIRECTED BY BIJAN SHEIBANI
SCENIC DESIGNER SUZU SAKAI
SOUND DESIGNER & COMPOSER STAN MATHABANE
INTIMACY DIRECTOR SARAH LOZOFF
PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER SAM ALLEN
COSTUME DESIGNER DEDE AYITE
CHOREOGRAPHER JUEL D. LANE
VOICE COACH JUDITH MORELAND
OPENING NIGHT
LIGHTING DESIGNER ADAM HONORÉ
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR TYRONE DAVIS
DRAMATURG
LINDSAY A. JENKINS
CASTING DIRECTOR PHYLLIS SCHURINGA, CSA
THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2024
OPENING NIGHT SPONSORS
Geffen Playhouse’s Theater as a Lens for Justice initiative provides access to this production and supplementary programs for populations impacted by incarceration and is supported, in part, by Jayne Baron Sherman.
World premiere of The Brothers Size produced by the Foundry Theater (Melanie Joseph, Producing Artistic Director) and the Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Mara Manus, Executive Director).
U.K. Stage premiere produced by the Young Vic Company.
World premiere of The Brother/Sister Plays produced by the Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Executive Director), and McCarter Theatre Center (Emily Mann, Artistic Director; Timothy J. Shields, Managing Director).
The Brother/Sister Plays were developed with the support of McCarter Theatre Center.
Understudies never substitute for listed players unless specified.
The Actors and Stage Managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
PLACE
San Pere near the Bayou. Distant Present.
RUNNING TIME
90 minutes, no intermission.
PLEASE NOTE
There is no photography or filming of any kind allowed during the performance. Please turn off all electronic devices, including cell phones. Thank you!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PRODUCTION STAFF FOR THE BROTHERS SIZE
Associate Lighting Designer
Shannon Clarke
Production Assistant
Jessie Bender
Deck Crew / Automation Operator
Enrique Garcia
Lead Scenic Carpenter
Philip Rossi
Carpenters
Oliver Brink, David Foubert, Enrique Garcia, Mason Irwin, Mady Krise, Shadow LaValley, Greg Mueller, Sam Sully, Eiden Weissblum
Properties Artisans & Carpenters
Sigourney Chin, Danny Dolan, Patrick Mulcare
Wardrobe Supervisor
Kassidy Klinesmith
Stitcher
Sarah Lindsley
Light Board Operator
Ezra Muthiah
Lighting Programmer
Spencer Doughtie
Electricians
Erica Ammerman, Ezra Fisher, Justin Kelley-Cahill, Ezra Muthiah, James Tatsch
Audio Mixer
Renata Finamore
Sound Technicians
Bob Gilmartin, Michael Svolos
PRODUCTION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Scenery Built & Painted By Centerline Scenery
Lighting Equipment Provided By PRG
Sound Equipment Provided By DnB Design, Jon Sound Inc.,
Singing Tree Flutes, 4 Wind Flutes, LA Percussion
Production Photographer
Jeff Lorch
Media Filming
Ramon Garcia
Design + Art Direction
Base Design
Photography
Justin Bettman
MUSIC CREDITS
“Try a Little Tenderness”
Written by Harry Woods, Jimmy Campbell, and Reg Connelly. Performed by Otis Redding. Atlantic Recording Corp.
SPECIAL THANKS
UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television Scene, Prop, Sound, and Costume Shops; Sheaun McKinney would like to thank: Tash Moseley Management, UTA, and my family and friends.
This theater operates under agreement between the League of Resident Theaters and Actors Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.
The Stage Managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
This theater operates under agreement between the League of Resident Theaters and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, an independent national labor union.
The Director is a Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.
The scenic, costume, lighting, and sound designers in LORT theaters are represented by United Scenic Artists Local USA-829, IATSE.
Geffen Playhouse is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts and Culture, and as part of Creative Recovery LA, an initiative funded by the American Rescue Plan. Geffen Playhouse, a not-for-profit theater company, is proudly affiliated with the University of California at Los Angeles.
ALANI i LONGWE (he/him)
Oshoosi Size
Alani iLongwe is excited to return to Geffen Playhouse where he last appeared as “P-Sam” in Paradise Blue. Additional theater credits include: Two Trains Running (Seattle Rep/Arena Stage); The Legend of Georgia McBride (Ensemble Theatre Company); Bad Apples (ACT Theatre); Antebellum (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Helen Hayes nomination); Romeo & Juliet and Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death (Classical Theater of Harlem). Television credits include: Castle (ABC); Major Crimes (TNT); Blue Bloods (CBS); Law & Order: SVU (NBC); Jessica’s Big Little World (Cartoon Network/HBO Max); Cousins for Life, The Casagrandes, The Loud House, and The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish (Nickelodeon). Film credits include: Arthur the King, Woodlawn, Almost Friends, and Life of a King. NYU: B.F.A., The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, Experimental Theatre Wing; Ron Howard Fellowship recipient.
MALCOLM MAYS Elegba
Malcolm Mays is recognized for his performances in the television series Power Book III: Raising Kanan (Starz) and Snowfall (FX). He was featured in several episodes of Them (Amazon Prime Video) and contributed as both a writer and story editor during the second season of the series. Mays’ project Covers presented at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where he took on the roles of writer, director, and lead actor. Additionally, he has penned scripts for Warner Bros. such as New Jack City 2 and Ferguson: The Michael Brown Story, as well as Steal Away for Amazon Studios and the LEGO LeBron Sports Movie for Universal Pictures. The Hollywood Reporter recognized Mays as “The Next Big Thing,” solidifying his status as a multitalented artist on the rise.
SHEAUN M c KINNEY
(he/him)
Ogun Size
Born and raised in Miami, theater found McKinney when he was serendipitously cast as the lead in A Lesson Before Dying at Miami’s GableStage, earning a Carbonell Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play. His credits include—Regional: A Lesson Before Dying, The Brother Size (directed by Tarell Alvin McCraney), and Ruined (GableStage); Gruesome Playground Injuries, Zoo Story, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train, The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, A House With No Walls, Topdog/ Underdog (Ground Up & Rising); Melt (New Theatre); Blue/ Orange (Promethean Theatre Ensemble); Who’s Life Is It Anyway? (Inside Out Theatre Company); Spike Heels (MDC Theatre); Streamers (The Public Theater); Hellcab (Studio P.S. 139). Festivals: Moscow x6 (Williamstown Theater Festival). Film: Bitch Ass, Boss Level, Know Thy Enemy, The Bahama Hustle. TV: Sheaun is a series regular on CBS’s The Neighborhood; Snowfall, Winning Time,
Room 104, Drunk History, and Vice Principals. Sheaun can be found on Instagram at @SheaunMcKinney.
JA’QUAN COLE
u/s Ogun Size
Excited to make his Geffen debut! Ja’Quan Cole is a musician/ actor from the Detroit area and trained at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He’s repped by 3 Arts Entertainment. Past credits: A Soldier’s Play Broadway national tour. Television credits: HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, FX’s Snowfall, and a recurring role on the Hulu original Wu-Tang: An American Saga. You can follow Ja’Quan on Instagram @jqcole. To Lola & Savvya with love.
GALEN J. WILLIAMS
u/s Oshoosi Size / Elegba
Thrilled to make my Geffen debut! Past credits include: Fela! (Olney Theatre Center; Helen
Hayes Award Winner), Once on This Island (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Slave Play (Broadway and Mark Taper Forum), Motown: The Musical (Broadway), and Pose on FX. B.F.A. Howard University, M.F.A. University of Southern California. Follow me on the socials for a good time! @theegalenjwilliams
TARELL ALVIN M c CRANEY (he/him) Playwright & Artistic Director
Tarell Alvin McCraney is Artistic Director of Geffen Playhouse. In this role, he is responsible for identifying, developing, and programming new works and re-envisioned classics. He sets the strategic artistic course for the Geffen’s Gil Cates and Audrey Skirball Kenis Theaters.McCraney is an award-winning writer, producer, and educator, best known for his acclaimed trilogy, The Brother/Sister Plays. His script In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue is the basis for the Oscar–winning film Moonlight directed by Barry Jenkins, for which McCraney and Jenkins also won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar. He is an ensemble member at Steppenwolf Theatre and
a member of Teo Castellanos D-Projects in Miami, a graduate of New World School of the Arts, The Theatre School at DePaul University, and the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Warwick. He was recently Co-Chair of Playwriting at the David Geffen School of Drama, where he remains on faculty. He is an associate at the Royal Shakespeare Company, London, and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Writers Branch).
BIJAN SHEIBANI (he/him) Director
Bijan Sheibani is a writer and director of theatre, film, opera, and television. Most recently he directed Till the Stars Come Down for the National Theatre of Great Britain. He also wrote three episodes of One Day for Netflix. His debut play The Arrival premiered at the Bush Theatre in London in 2019. He is currently adapting the play for Film4. His second play The Cord premiered at the Bush Theatre in April 2024. Other recent theatre directing
credits include Dance Nation (Almeida Theatre), Barber Shop Chronicles (National Theatre), The Brothers Size (Young Vic), and Circle Mirror Transformation (HOME, Manchester). He has also directed new operas for the Royal Opera House, Aldeburgh Festival, Danish National Opera, Streetwise Opera, and Glyndebourne.
Bijan was an associate director at the National Theatre for five years, where his credits include Our Class (Olivier nomination for Best Director), The Kitchen, A Taste of Honey, and Emil and the Detectives. Other theatre credits include The House of Bernarda Alba (Almeida Theatre), Moonlight (Donmar Warehouse), Sons of the Prophet (Hampstead Theatre), and Gone Too Far! (Royal Court Theatre / Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement). He was artistic director of Actors Touring Company from 2007-2010 and won the James Menzies-Kitchin Young Director Award in 2003.
SUZU SAKAI (she/her) Scenic Designer
Suzu Sakai is an NYC based freelance scenic designer originally from Tokyo. Working and having experience in NYC, Tokyo, and in other large cities, she has a passion for all aspects of artistic development and collaboration, as well as storytelling through
new mediums in digital art and media. Recent productions include: Blind Spot (short film), The Brothers Size (Geffen Playhouse); Opera: The Rake’s Progress (Shubert Theater, CT); Musical: Lizard Boy (NYC Off-Broadway premiere and Oregon Shakespeare Festival production, Drama Desk nomination), and Straight White Men (Southwark Playhouse, UK); festival shows in New York as well as space design in the digital art and media industry in Tokyo. Yale M.F.A., recipient of Donald and Zorka Oenslager Fellowship Award in Design. @suzusakai
DEDE AYITE (she/her)
Costume Designer
Tony–winning costume designer working in theater, opera, and film. She recently designed X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X at The Metropolitan Opera. Her select Broadway credits include Jaja’s African Hair Braiding (Tony Award), Hell’s Kitchen, Appropriate, Topdog/Underdog, and Slave Play. Select off-Broadway: Merry Wives (The Public Theater); Buena Vista Social Club and Days of Wine and Roses (Atlantic Theater Company). Regional: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Arena Stage, and more. Television: Netflix, Comedy Central. Awards: TDF/Kitty Leech Young Master Award, Obie, Drama Desk, Henry Hew-
es, Lucille Lortel, Helen Hayes, Theatre Bay Area, AUDELCO, and Jeff Awards.
ADAM HONORÉ (he/him)
Lighting Designer
Adam Honoré is a Harlem based designer for the stage. Broadway: Purlie Victorious, Ain’t No Mo’, Chicken & Biscuits. Select Off-Broadway: The Lonely Few (MCC Theater); Jelly’s Last Jam (New York City Center); Carmen Jones (Classic Stage Company). Nominations: Drama Desk, Henry Hewes, Helen Hayes. @itsadamhonore
STAN MATHABANE (he/they)
Sound Designer, Composer & Musician
Stan Mathabane is a sound designer, composer, audio engineer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, actor based in New York City, by way of Portland, Oregon. Stan’s work spans theater, film, dance, virtual/augmented reality, video games, installation, and live performance. His design has resonated with audiences at the Prague Quadrennial, The Public Theater, The Juilliard School, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Stanford Live, and more. Recent sound design credits include the world premiere of The Salvagers by Harrison David Rivers (Yale Repertory Theatre); Passing Strange (Long Wharf Theater); Seared by Theresa Rebeck (Gloucester Stage
Companu); On Love by Mfoniso Udofia (MCC Theater); Lines in the Dust by Nikkole Salter (New Normal Rep); Happy Days (Wild Project); jazz singer by Joshua William Gelb (Abrons Arts Center). Stan holds a B.A. from Princeton University and an M.F.A. in Sound Design from the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. IG: @stanmathabane www.stanmathabane.com
JUEL D. LANE (he/him) Choreographer
Juel D. Lane is a renaissance artist known for his boundless creativity. He has performed with renowned companies like Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE and Camille A. Brown & Dancers. Lane’s captivating works have graced prestigious companies including Ailey II, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, BODYTRAFFIC, Carolyn Dorfman Dance, Atlanta Ballet, and numerous universities. Lane is the director of The UNCSA Choreographic Institute and executive artistic associate at the Black Acting Methods Studio, where he continues to inspire others. As a passionate lover of dance films, Juel D. Lane has been honored as a Bronzelens Film Festival award winner for his remarkable film The Maestro, which pays homage to the iconic Ernie Barnes. Lane recently co-directed and choreographed the music video
“ONLY-1” with Roc Nation artist DIXSON. Follow @jueldlane for more.
TYRONE DAVIS (he/him) Associate Director
Tyrone Davis is a producer, director, and educator. He previously served as Associate Artistic Director at Center Theatre Group where he provided leadership and direction for artistic programming at the Ahmanson Theatre, the Mark Taper Forum, and the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Before joining CTG, Tyrone served as Community Artistic Director with American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco where he commissioned, developed, and directed new work. Select producing credits include: Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris, Blues for an Alabama Sky directed by Phylicia Rashad, King James directed by Kenny Leon, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 by Anna Deavere Smith, and Fetch Clay, Make Man directed by Debbie Allen in association with LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s SpringHill Company. He is a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts School of Theater M.F.A. acting program and holds a B.A. in theater from California State University, Northridge.
SARAH LOZOFF (she/her) Intimacy Director
Sarah Lozoff (SDC) was the first resident intimacy director for a major regional theater at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and was named by Broadway Women’s Fund as a “Woman to Watch on Broadway.” She introduced intimacy direction in concert dance as the resident intimacy director for RudduR Dance and the first intimacy director to work with American Ballet Theatre (Touché, Lifted), while consulting for their 2021 and 2022 seasons. Other highlights include: Apple TV+, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, RZA with Colorado Symphony, Guthrie Theater, Stanford, University of California Santa Barbara, University of Washington, University of Kentucky, University of Illinois, Society of American Fight Directors, Barnard/Columbia, Oklahoma City Ballet, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Sarah has been featured for her work in multiple textbooks, and by VICE News, The New York Times, Dance Magazine, Pointe Magazine, Playbill, and BroadwayWorld. @sarahlozoff & www.sarahlozoff.com
JUDITH MORELAND (she/her) Voice Coach
Judith Moreland is an actor, director, teacher, and vocal coach. Film and television acting credits include Aftermath, Dark Skies, PEN15, Magnum P.I., Grey’s Anatomy, Black-ish, and recurring roles on Bosch and Animal Kingdom. She’s performed on and off-Broadway and worked as an actor or voice/dialect coach with many theaters including the New York Shakespeare Festival, Playwrights Horizons, American Conservatory Theater, South Coast Repertory, Milwaukee Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Alley Theatre, and the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles. Directing credits include Capital Stage, The Fountain Theatre, The Road Theatre Company, Lower Depth Theatre, IAMA Theatre Company, University of Michigan, and UCLA, where she is the Head of Acting in the School of Theater, Film, and Television.
LINDSAY A. JENKINS (she/her) Dramaturg
Lindsay A. Jenkins (L.J.) is a dramaturg and cultural consultant based in Los Angeles by way of Dallas, TX. Her area of specialty is Black Performance Heritage, connecting past performances to contemporary experiences. L.J. loves supporting the development
of new work, most recently at South Coast Repertory’s Pacific Playwrights Festival where she worked on Fremont Ave. by Reggie D. White. Other dramaturgical work includes Black Cypress Bayou by Kristen Adele Calhoun at Geffen Playhouse and Lines in the Dust by Nikkole Salter, produced by Collaborative Artists Bloc. She is the Founder of Maroon Arts and Culture, an organization that aims to support the development of new work and bridge meaningful connections between Black artists and audiences.
SAM ALLEN (they/them) Production Stage Manager Geffen Playhouse debut. Regional credits: Fat Ham, King James, Pleasant, The Merry Wives of Windsor, All Day (The Old Globe); Animals Out of Paper, Flowers of Hawaii (Chautauqua Theater Company); #SLACabaret (Salt Lake Acting Company); Cherry Wine in Paper Cups (Sackerson); Ain’t Misbehavin’ (West Valley Performing Arts Center); The Audacity, Where Are You From?, Flora Meets A Bee, P.G. Anon (Plan-B Theatre); Prometheus Bound, Women of Trachis (Classical Greek Theatre Festival). A recipient of the 2024 Charlie Blackwell Symposium Scholarship and the 2023 Cody Renard Richard Scholarship. Educa-
tion: B.F.A. in Stage Management and Directing from Westminster University (2020), M.F.A. in Stage Management from University of California, Irvine (2024).
PHYLLIS SCHURINGA, CSA (she/her)
Casting Director
Phyllis is an Artistic Associate and the Casting Director for Geffen Playhouse. Recent productions include: The Inheritance: Part 1 & Part 2 (Artios Award), Every Brilliant Thing, The Power of Sail, Witch, and Barbecue. Before joining the Geffen, she cast for Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago where her favorites include Frank Galati’s adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath (also La Jolla Playhouse, National Theatre in London, and Broadway, where it received the Tony Award for Best Play) and the original production of Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile. Broadway transfers include One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Tony Award for Best Revival), The Song of Jacob Zulu, and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
THE SHED Co-Producer
Under the leadership of CEO Meredith “Max” Hodges and founding Artistic Director Alex Poots, The Shed is a cultural institution of and for the 21st century. We produce and welcome innovative art and ideas, across all forms of creativity, to build a shared understanding of our rapidly changing world and a more equitable society. In our highly adaptable building on Manhattan’s West Side, The Shed brings together established and emerging artists to create new work in fields ranging from pop to classical music, painting to digital media, theater to literature, and sculpture to dance. We seek opportunities to collaborate with cultural peers and community organizations, work with like-minded partners, and provide unique spaces for private events. As an independent nonprofit that values invention, equity, and generosity, we are committed to advancing art forms, addressing the urgent issues of our time, and making our work impactful, sustainable, and relevant to the local community, the cultural sector, New York City, and beyond. @TheShedNY www.theshed.org
GIL
CATES,
JR. Executive Director / CEO
Gil Cates, Jr. is Executive Director / CEO of Geffen Playhouse. In this role, he is responsible for managing the Geffen’s day-to-day operations; developing new, ongoing theater partnerships and leading its mission to inform, entertain and inspire diverse audiences with live theater of the highest caliber. Prior to being named Executive Director in 2015, Cates served as Geffen Playhouse Board Vice Chairman since 2012 and served as a producer and director in theater, film and television. His theater credits include the award-winning Names (Matrix Theatre Company) and Three Sisters and David Mamet’s A Life in the Theatre (both at Syracuse Stage). Cates’ film credits include The Surface (starring Sean Astin and Geffen Playhouse alumnus Chris Mulkey), Jobs (starring Ashton Kutcher, Josh Gad, Dermot Mulroney, as well as Geffen Playhouse alumni Matthew Modine and Ron Eldard) and the 2011 feature film Lucky
(starring Colin Hanks, Ari Graynor and Ann-Margret). In addition, Cates co-produced and co-directed the critically acclaimed Life After Tomorrow, featuring Sarah Jessica Parker, which premiered on Showtime. His other films include Deal (starring Burt Reynolds, Bret Harrison and Charles Durning) and The Mesmerist (starring Jessica Capshaw and Geffen Playhouse alumnus Neil Patrick Harris). Cates’ television directorial debut was an episode of the NBC comedy Joey, starring Emmy winner Matt LeBlanc. He recently directed Displaced, a documentary short chronicling the journey of one of the first refugee families to flee Ukraine and arrive in the U.S. after escaping the Russian invasion. He studied at the National Theatre Institute in Waterford, Connecticut, and holds a B.F.A. in Drama from Syracuse University.
THE NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Supporting artists is central to the mission of the Geffen Playhouse, and play commissions are a cornerstone of that support. To commission a playwright to write a play means making a commitment to their voice, craft, and vision, with the hope of sharing the fruits of their work on our stage.
We are proud to have the following artists under commission:
LUIS ALFARO
COLMAN DOMINGO
MICHAEL GOLAMCO
MEGHAN KENNEDY
KATIE LINDSAY, TOVA KATZ & ALEXANDRA KALINOWSKI
MATTHEW LÓPEZ
MARTYNA MAJOK
Co-Commission with Atlantic Theater Company
TARELL ALVIN
M c CRANEY
QUI NGUYEN
Co-Commission with Manhattan Theatre Club
STACY OSEI-KUFFOUR
JIEHAE PARK
JOHN POLLONO
ROBERT SCHENKKAN
JEN SILVERMAN
N’YOMI STEWART
Co-Commission with New York Theatre Workshop, supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation
YORK WALKER
DAVID WIENER
CRAIG WRIGHT
LAUREN YEE
For more information on this program, please visit geffenplayhouse.org/newplays.
THE WRITERS’ ROOM
A group for Los Angeles-based playwrights, The Writers’ Room is a product of the Geffen’s deep commitment to supporting new plays and specifically to fostering bold, relevant work by the vibrant artistic community of this city. During this one-year residency, playwright members gather monthly at the Geffen to share their work and receive feedback from their peers and the Geffen’s artistic staff, culminating in a play reading series.
To learn more about the 2024/2025 Writers’ Room, please visit geffenplayhouse.org/thewritersroom.
The Writers’ Room is made possible through the generous support of the William Randolph Hearst Foundation
GEFFEN AT A GLANCE
CONTACT
Geffen Playhouse 10886 Le Conte Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90024
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES
310.208.6500
Monday–Friday, 10:00am–6:00pm
AUDIENCE SERVICES
310.208.2028
Tuesday–Sunday, 12:00pm–6:00pm
Please visit geffenplayhouse.org for hours, parking and more information.
BOX OFFICE WINDOW
Tuesday–Sunday, 12:00pm–6:00pm, as well as on performance days up until 15 minutes after curtain.
Please note: the box office window is unable to process exchanges or future sales one hour prior to curtain time on performance days.
ACCESSIBILITY
Geffen Playhouse is fully committed to providing access to patrons with mobility, visual and hearing impairments. Parking spaces directly outside the theater are zoned for drop off and pick up, as well as disabled parking spots for patrons with appropriate placards and plates. For more information, visit geffenplayhouse.org/access or call Audience Services.
LATE SEATING
Should you arrive late to the theater or vacate your seat during the performance, please expect to be held in the lobby until an appropriate pause in the action on stage. Some productions or circumstances may not allow for late or return seating. To minimize disturbances to other patrons, you may be seated in the first available location by the house staff even if it is different from your assigned seat.
NO PHOTOGRAPHY
There is no photography or filming of any kind allowed during the performance. Please turn off all electronic devices, including cell phones.
UCLA SCHOOL OF THEATER, FILM AND TELEVISION
Geffen Playhouse is affiliated with the University of California at Los Angeles, specifically the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Geffen Playhouse values its role as an important educational resource by providing students with master classes, workshops and internships. Students are also able to work and learn from distinguished visiting Geffen artists in areas of directing, playwriting, acting, design, dramaturgy, management and production. Geffen Playhouse also draws upon the distinguished experts in the university to enhance the theater’s programs and research.
THE BROTHERS SIZE AT 20
AN INTERVIEW WITH THE BROTHERS SIZE PLAYWRIGHT & GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR TARELL ALVIN MCCRANEY
LINDSAY A. JENKINS: How would you describe your artistic point of view, and how does it come across in this play?
TARELL ALVIN M c CRANEY: I’m always trying to make the intimate epic, meaning finding a way to grab my personal impulses or the personal impulses that I see in other human beings and activate them in a way that allows the theatrical engagement to be epic. I hope to make the quest for finding one’s voice or figuring out what someone desires or whether or not one should get married or have kids, or even something as as simple as, whether or not they’re vegetarian; how to make human decision making—the struggle in that—become palpable in a larger way. And because I was raised in West African arts, and Caribbean arts, in Southern and Black Southern tradition of theatricality, the ways that I
use to make that theatrical can include music and dance and ritual. No matter how intimate the impulse, no matter what one thinks of as personal, questions always find a way to hit three realms of human experience—the personal, the political, and the spiritual. Those are tools that I use to make something theatrical. I always try to take an intimate question, especially if I feel inspired by it and ask myself how to make it epic and beautiful?
LJ: What new discoveries have you made about this play during this process?
TAM: There are so many new discoveries I’m making about this play, and I wanted to work with some folks that I had worked with, like Bijan [Sheibani, the director], and then invite a whole new creative team and cast. Both Bijan and I feel there are things about the play that
BY LINDSAY A. JENKINS, DRAMATURG FOR THE BROTHERS SIZE
PHOTO BY ERIK CARTER
Tarell Alvin McCraney
are foundational, that feel kind of set. There is a rhythm and a song to the play, and those need to be maintained and looked after while allowing people with fresh eyes and perspectives to bring their full selves to it and invigorate the other ways in which it can be activated. And these artists from lighting design, to the actors, to the vocal coach, to the dramaturg, are bringing in their skillful ways of looking at the play and unearthing so many things that we hadn’t touched on really. The dialectic of African-American theater and how the theatricality plays out specifically, in a way, for folks in America. How we understand code switching and how it works to engage the play, how we look at the way in which ritual enlivens
LJ: Why do you think that Yoruba cosmology is a good vehicle to tell a story about the justice system?
TAM: You know my learning of the Yoruba cosmology came to me through the Caribbean, so I was not in West Africa when I learned this—maybe the storytelling is different there—but in Miami and in the Caribbean, in Haiti and in the places that I have experienced these stories, the lesson is less about black and white, is less binary—there are gradations. For a long time our justice system has been a kind of binary—somebody’s either right or wrong, there’s either guilt or innocence. And then, in recent years, there’s been a push to try to make sure that there is a way for folks
“WHAT ARE THE WAYS IN WHICH THIS PLAY LIVES WITHIN OUR CULTURAL PRESENT WHILE ALSO HELPING US LOOK AT OUR FUTURE?”
— PLAYWRIGHT TARELL ALVIN M c CRANEY
the play while also makes it as every day, or as quotidian as jumping a broom [or] sprinkling salt behind your head. What are the ways in which this play lives within our cultural present while also helping us look at our future? That’s been really exciting. The ways in which we use music and rhythm and time, that it is connected. We can look at the scope of music in the African-American experience or the Black American experience and see a real timeline of how that’s going to play out and how that music grows and points towards our future. Stan [Mathabane, the composer and musician] and the actors are bringing their voices and have been helping us see that in ways that I haven’t before. I have felt it, but here they are able to call it, name it and use it in an intentional way. So that’s been astonishing to see.
who were incarcerated to be able to come back home and there’s been fewer and fewer ways of looking at how we want to achieve freedom—partially because there’s just not a lot of freedom given in our society.
So one of the important things in the Yoruba storytelling, or the deity storytelling, or the ancestor storytelling is a lesson about human nature, about the human connection. Once that lesson is achieved, once that learning is happening then you move to another lesson. This is the most important thing for me—I cannot control all the political spheres, but a decision needs to be made about the connectivity, about treating each other a certain way, a path towards healing. And that’s usually how those stories start, right? There’s a journey towards something. There’s a path laid out, usually by a
legend, and there’s a decision that needs to be made. A crossroads is met and you need to be fully aware of yourself and who you are in that moment to make that decision. So that coupled with, again, the incredible way you have to engage both music and dance and you cannot negate the ways things are social, political, and spiritual. They are all one.
The two lines that inspired the story were, “Ochosi wanders and Ogun builds tools to find him.” There’s something in that very small language that just talks about the kind of cyclical nature of their relationship. It doesn’t say that he ever finds him. And it doesn’t say that Ochosi ever sits still. It says that he wanders and his brother builds tools to find him, literally builds the mechanism to find him. And there felt something cosmic about that. There felt something familial about that. And there certainly felt something political about that. Engaging that directly felt like a way that it allows the audience so many ways into the play, but also so many ways to journey with the play.
but the play operates on its own. It's doing a job that is very clear in my mind. And that job is to engage an audience in a journey with these young men and to see them differently by the end of it, right? So I don't want to put any pressure on it to do that. It's the reason why I remain in education, to make sure that Black theater, ritual theater—the theater that I came up with—is being shared with a multitude of folk. I remain in education so I can keep pointing that out, and advocate for that.
“OCHOSI WANDERS AND OGUN BUILDS TOOLS TO FIND HIM.”
— YORUBA
POEM THAT INSPIRED THE BROTHERS SIZE
So I want to make sure that folks are understanding that these things may not look the same and they don’t need to. They shouldn’t. But they have a common core. They have a connectivity. They have an exploration that is going to move us forward in a way that not only feels alive, is alive. And if we let them, they will point to us a future that we keep missing.
LJ: As you said earlier, when you wrote this play, there weren’t a lot of Afrocentric methodologies and approaches and entryways into Black theater. What do you hope your play adds to the culture?
TAM: It's not that I don't have hope the play does that. I think the play can do those things,
I was recently talking to Kristen Adele Calhoun [playwright of Black Cypress Bayou] about a class that she's teaching, and encouraged her to point to plays that existed before The Brothers Size, but also to ones that have come after—plays by Aleshea Harris or Dominique Morisseau. And in the looking back, look to Death and the King's Horseman by Wole Soyinka, and Spell No. 7 by Ntozake Shange, and then looking at standards like A Raisin in the Sun where Walter Lee and Beneatha have a moment where they call on the ancestors—even as they wait for an insurance check, right? There are moments of Black theater that I think it's important to remember. And we haven't even scratched the surface of queer Black theater which is very much alive. What Raja Feather Kelly and James Ijames are doing is extraordinary.
LJ: So this interview for the 20th anniversary of this play is now part of the archive of material around The Brother/Sister plays. Is there anything that you want future productions to know about this piece?
TAM: The thing I would want them to know is: Do the investigation and listen to the play. Do the investigation and listen to the play.
To read the full interview with Tarell, visit geffenplayhouse.org/blog.
THEATER IN EDUCATION HAS THE POWER TO IGNITE CHANGE
Geffen Playhouse is deeply committed to creating powerful and impactful arts education and engagement experiences that amplify, inspire, and encompass our diverse Los Angeles community. Our programs provide unique, in-depth access to theater and the arts for determined and ambitious youth and adults coming from historically excluded communities. We invite all Angelenos to come home here. When you support our education and community engagement programs, you create a world of greater understanding, increased expression, and deeper compassion while enjoying your home away from home at this historic playhouse.
BY JEFF LORCH
PHOTO
SEPT 4–OCT 6
Broadway star and storyteller SARA PORKALOB embodies dozens of characters in a trigenerational tour-de-force performance that fuses killer karaoke with laugh-out-loud comedy to tell her family’s incredible origin story.
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Tarell Alvin McCraney ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
ARTISTIC
Amy Levinson
Associate Artistic Director
Daniel Ionazzi
Producer
Phyllis Schuringa
Artistic Associate / Casting Director
Bella Luna Company Manager
Olivia O’Connor
Literary Manager & Dramaturg
Lexy McAvinchey
Artistic Coordinator
Dionn Richardson Assistant to the Artistic Director
PRODUCTION
Alyssa Escalante
Production Coordinator / Resident Production Stage Manager
Melissa Hartman
Technical Director
Philip Rossi
Lead Scenic Carpenter
Rick Gilles
Properties Master
Audrey Lastar
Costume Supervisor
Sarah Lindsley
Costume Shop Supervisor
Spencer Doughtie
Lighting & Projection Supervisor
Jesus Cambero-Elias
Assistant Lighting Supervisor
James Grabowski
House Sound Supervisor
Bob Gilmartin
Resident A1
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Development Assistant
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Gil Cates, Jr.
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