IRT Program: Joe Turner/English Program

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A standing ovation for the arts When you support the arts, you support entire communities At OneAmerica Financial®, we believe vibrant communities grow through creativity and contribute to our overall wellbeing. For more than 30 years, we’ve proudly supported the Indiana Repertory Theatre as the season sponsor because arts spark connection, culture and change.

Through leadership, volunteerism and philanthropic giving, we invest in cultural institutions that enrich lives and bring people together — on stage and beyond!

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Great stories don’t just entertain — they inspire!

OneAmerica Financial® is proud to stand behind the Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT), season after season. Our sponsorship is amongst the longest running in community theater nationwide. It’s a legacy rooted in our belief that the arts make our community stronger and better connected.

As the curtain rises on the 2025–2026 season, let’s celebrate IRT’s enduring impact and look forward to another year of imagination and inspiration.

— Scott Davison Chairman, President and CEO

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REGIONAL PREMIERE

APRIL 7 MAY 10 a remarkable true story of resilience

OUR MISSION & VISION MISSION

Rooted in the heart of Indiana, Indiana Repertory Theatre is committed to building a vital, vibrant, and informed community through the transformational power of live theatre. The Indiana Repertory Theatre produces inclusive, top-quality, professional theatre and community programming to engage, surprise, challenge, and entertain members of the whole community.

VISION

The Indiana Repertory Theatre will welcome the whole community, becoming a place of belonging for an ever-expanding audience of all ages and backgrounds seeking meaningful and enjoyable experiences. Using theatre as a springboard for both personal reflection and community discussion, our productions and programs will inspire our neighbors to learn about themselves and others. As the largest non-profit theatre in the state of Indiana, IRT’s goal is to help make Indiana a dynamic home of cultural expression, economic vitality, and a diverse and engaged citizenry.

AS AN INSTITUTION WE VALUE...

SUSTAINING A PROFESSIONAL, RESPECTFUL, INCLUSIVE, & CREATIVE ATMOSPHERE • Producing diverse plays, we strive to provide insight and celebrate human relationships through the unique vision of the playwright.

• Employing professional artists of the highest quality, we nurture an environment that allows them to grow and thrive on our stages and in our communities.

• We foster a creative environment where arts, education, corporate, civic, and cultural organizations collaborate to benefit our community.

INCLUSION & BELONGING • Our community thrives when diverse voices and peoples gather to make, watch, and support theatre.

• It is our responsibility as a community resource to open our doors wide, welcoming all to our high-quality, relevant art.

• To be an inclusive organization we must seek knowledge and understanding to identify discriminatory practices and increase cultural awareness in collaboration with, and learning directly from historically excluded communities.

PRUDENT STEWARDSHIP OF OUR RESOURCES • As a public-benefit organization, we focus on community service, artistic integrity, and creating a range of ticket prices that allow all segments of our community to attend.

• Fiscal responsibility and financial security fuel our institutional sustainability.

• To ensure institutional longevity, we continue to grow our endowment fund as a resource for future development.

CONTENTS 3 .....................................Mission & Values 4 .......Land & Building Acknowledgment 5 ............................Inclusion & Belonging 6 ...................................Board of Directors 7 ..............................................Leadership 8 .........................................................Staff 20 .................Joe Turner’s Come and Gone 26 ...Bios for Joe Turner’s Come and Gone 36 .....................................................English 41 .......................................Bios for English 48 ...........................................Donor Listing

REVIEWS SOCIAL MEDIA: @irtlive EMAIL: reviews@irtlive.com

CONTACT US IRTLIVE.COM TICKET OFFICE: 317.635.5252 ADMIN OFFICES: 317.635.5277 140 W. Washington Street Indianapolis, IN 46204

PHOTO POLICY Photography of the set without actors and with proper credit to the scenic and lighting designers is permitted.

Due to union agreements, photography, video, and audio recording are not permitted during the performance. The videotaping of productions is a violation of United States Copyright Law and an actionable Federal Offense.

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ACKNOWLEDGING THE LAND Every community owes its existence and vitality to generations from around the world who contributed their hopes, dreams, and energy to making the history that led to this moment. Some were brought here or removed from here against their will, some were drawn to leave their distant homes in hope of a better life, and some have lived on this land for more generations than can be counted. Acknowledgment of the land which the IRT now occupies is critical to building mutual respect and connection across all barriers of heritage.

We want to acknowledge that what we now call Indiana is on the ancestral lands of many indigenous peoples including the Miami, Piankashaw, Wea, Potawatomi, Kickapoo, Delaware, and Shawnee. We pay respects to their elders past and present. Please take a moment to consider the many legacies of displacement, migration, violence, and settlement that bring us together here today.

This land acknowledgment was created in collaboration with Scott Shoemaker, PhD (Miami Tribe of Oklahoma).

Portions of this acknowledgment come from the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture (usdac.us).

ACKNOWLEDGING OUR BUILDING’S HISTORY The Indiana Repertory Theatre moved to its current site on Washington Street in 1980, renovating and reopening a building that had been shuttered for nearly a decade.

The historic Indiana Theatre was built in 1927, a time when the shameful practice of racial segregation was the standard in movie theatres and public buildings across the United States. The Indiana Theatre building was originally segregated and at some point in its history this practice ceased. Many Indiana residents and their families’ heritage stories recall being treated as less than equal citizens in this building, with some even being barred from entering. We cannot erase this history.

We honor and respect all those who have faced discrimination and harm in this building. We strive every day to make the IRT a place that welcomes all people.

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INDIANA REPERTORY THEATRE: Welcoming the whole community

We strive to celebrate and serve the diverse people and cultures that make up our whole community. The IRT is committed to creating and maintaining a theatre that is inclusive, safe, respectful, and accessible.

Whether you have been coming for years or are here for the first time—welcome to your Theatre!

VALUES • It is our responsibility as a community resource to open our doors wide, eliminate historical barriers, and welcome all to our high-quality, relevant art.

• To be an inclusive organization, we must increase cultural awareness of different backgrounds and experiences.

• IRT thrives when diverse voices and peoples gather to make, watch, learn from, and support live theatre.

COMMITMENTS • We will represent and engage the diverse people, experiences, cultures, and communities of central Indiana.

• We will focus on inclusive hiring practices and foster a culture of Belonging for artists, staff, board, and vendors.

• We will continue and deepen our commitment to Belonging through training for all board and staff.

• We will be accessible to all audiences, inviting those who have been unheard or unseen in the past.

If you would like to read more about our Inclusion & Belonging work, scan here: The 2025-2026 IRT Ambassadors at orientation. Photo by Noelani Langille.

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS CHAIR

Jill Lacy The Lacy Foundation VICE CHAIR & CHAIR ELECT

Joy Kleinmaier Healthcare Executive

SECRETARY

Pat Gamble-Moore PNC

TREASURER

IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR

Andrew Michie* The Heritage Group

Troy Farmer Forvis Mazars

MEMBERS Welcome to the Indiana Repertory Theatre!

We are delighted to have you with us for our 53rd season. This year promises moments of laughter, reflection, and stirring music, and we are thrilled to share it with you.

Brad Briney Old National Bank

Michael Gottschlich Barnes & Thornburg

Kathy G. Cabello Cabello Associates

Ricardo L. Guimarães Indiana University Kelley School of Business

In a busy world, your choice to spend time with us—and invest in live theatre—means so much.

Thank you for purchasing a ticket and supporting the IRT.

Sujata Chugh Quarles & Brady LLP

Brenda Horn Ice Miller LLP, Retired

Peter N. Reist Oxford Financial Group, Ltd.

F. Brooke Dunn Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath

Rebecca Hutton Leadership Indianapolis

Myra Selby Ice Miller LLP

Sarah Jenkins Taft Law

Darshan Shah Central Indiana Corporate Partnership

If you enjoy today’s performance, bring a friend next time! And if you are not already a season ticket holder, we invite you to join our theatre family. Consider exploring our ticket packages or becoming a member of our Repertory Society to deepen your connection to the IRT. Great art takes both enthusiastic artists and committed patrons.

Thanks to you, it all comes to life.

Enjoy the show!

– Jill Lacy, IRT Board Chair

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Megan Carrico Indianapolis International Carrie Hagovsky Airport (IND) Fifth Third Bank

Tom Froehle* Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath

Matt Jones KPMG LLP

Ashley Garry Clarivate PLC

Elisha Modisett Kemp Corteva Agriscience

Ron Gifford RDG Strategies LLC

Nicholas C. Pappas Frost Brown Todd

Julie Goodman The Cabaret

Rita Patel Jane Pauley Health Center

BOARD EMERITUS Robert Anker*^ Rollin Dick Berkley Duck* Dale Duncan* James W. Freeman Nadine Givens* Michael Lee Gradison*^ Mike Harrington* Margie Herald^

David Klapper David Kleiman* Sarah Lechleiter E. Kirk McKinney Jr.^ Alan Mills Michael Moriarty Richard O. Morris*^ Jane Schlegel* Wayne Schmidt^

Brian Payne CARVE: Creative Strategies and Executive Coaching Mary E. Phillips Capital Group Barath Raman Lewis Wagner, LLP.

Shelly Smith Ernst & Young LLP Amy Waggoner Salesforce, Inc.

* Past Board Chairs

^ In Memoriam

Jerry Semler*^ Mark Shaffer* Jack Shaw* Mike Simmons William E. Smith III* Eugene R. Tempel* L. Alan Whaley David Whitman*

MARGOT LACY ECCLES WAS A LEADING PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORTER OF THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES. THE INDIANA REPERTORY THEATRE CHERISHES ITS HISTORY WITH MRS. ECCLES AS A SUBSCRIBER, BOARD MEMBER, DONOR, AND CHAMPION OF OUR ORGANIZATION IN BOTH ITS EDUCATIONAL AND ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP. IN RECOGNITION OF MRS. ECCLES’S LEGACY AS BENEFACTOR AND ADVISOR, THE INDIANA REPERTORY THEATRE IS PROUD TO HAVE NAMED ITS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR POSITION THE MARGOT LACY ECCLES ARTISTIC DIRECTOR.

BENJAMIN HANNA Margot Lacy Eccles Artistic Director

SUZANNE SWEENEY

Managing Director

IRT LEADERSHIP Ben is in his third season as IRT’s Margot Lacy Eccles Artistic Director, following six years as the company’s Associate Artistic Director. At IRT he has directed The Play That Goes Wrong, Little Shop of Horrors, Clue, Fahrenheit 451, The Book Club Play, A Christmas Carol, and Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!,” among others. This season he directed The 39 Steps.

As a director, educator, and community engagement specialist, Ben is guided by the belief that access to high-quality theatre helps build creative, empathetic people and healthy communities. Across his career, he has focused on building the next generation of artists and audiences by creating and advocating for multigenerational, multi-cultural, and family-oriented programming. Prior to his role at IRT, he spent five years at Berkeley Repertory Theatre and directed shows at the Bay Area Children’s Theatre. In his native Minnesota, he served on the education staff of Penumbra Theatre Company and was an artistic associate at Children’s Theatre Company. He is the recipient of the prestigious Theatre Communications Group Leadership University Award funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and is a graduate of the Stanley K. Lacy Leadership Program— Class XLVI.

Suzanne is a 27-year veteran of the IRT and is excited to work with Benjamin Hanna as co-CEO of the company, where she oversees its administrative functions. During her tenure, the IRT has raised $20 million for its Front and Center campaign and another $5 million for the renaming of the Upperstage Theatre to the Janet Allen Stage, renovated the Upperstage Lobby and restrooms as well as the Artistic Administration offices, and secured a longterm lease for the building with the City of Indianapolis.

Suzanne was elected Treasurer of the national League of Resident Theatres, where she serves as a board member.

She has been a three-time panelist for Shakespeare in American Communities in cooperation with Arts Midwest.

She was the treasurer of Irish Fest for nine years, a member of the board of directors and treasurer of the Day Nursery Association (now Early Learning Indiana) for three years, and treasurer of IndyFringe.

Suzanne is a graduate of the College of William & Mary and Indiana University. She has worked in finance in Washington DC, Texas, Germany, Hawaii, and New Zealand. She is an alum of the Stanley K. Lacy Leadership Program (Class XXXI). She lives in Lockerbie with her son, Jackson, and spends some of her downtime in Huntley, Illinois, with her partner, Todd Wiencek.

Ben holds a degree in theatre arts from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. He fell in love with telling stories at the age of eleven at the Prairie Wind Players community theatre in rural Minnesota, and he continues to create for his favorite audience: his five nieces and nephews.

7

INDIANA REPERTORY THEATRE STAFF & ASSOCIATES EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP Benjamin Hanna Margot Lacy Eccles Artistic Director Suzanne Sweeney Managing Director ADMINISTRATION Drew Kowalkowski Director of General Management and Special Projects Jacob Lang Executive & Artistic Assistant ARTISTIC cara hinh Associate Artistic Director Jessica Huang Playwright-in-Residence Hillary Martin Company Manager Seavor M Roach Production Manager Richard J Roberts Resident Dramaturg Becky Roeber Production Coordinator ASL INTERPRETERS Jack London Randy Nicolai Tara Parchman Robin Reid AUDIO DESCRIBERS Toni Bader Paul Drew Edith McDonnel John Simmons BUILDING SERVICES Mark Dehn Building Manager Building Team Tonika Miller Cedric Mitchell Crystal Rogers Kendall Thompson COSTUME SHOP Bailey Lewis Wardrobe Assistant Kimberly Loya-Enriquez First Hand/Stitcher Rebecca Reyes First Hand/Wardrobe Coordinator Sarah Travis Draper Patrice N. Trower Costume Shop Manager 8

DEVELOPMENT Brady Clark Development Systems Nataly Lowder Director of Development Eric J. Olson Institutional Giving Manager Haley Paulin Development Operations Manager Steven Stolen Corporate Strategies, Senior Advisor/Consultant EDUCATION Anna E. Barnett Education Manager Claire Wilcher Education Coordinator ELECTRICS Aaron Burns Electrician Beth A. Nuzum Lighting Supervisor Meg Stockreef Lead Electrician FINANCE ASSOCIATES Crowe External Auditors Faegre Drinker Legal Counsel FINANCE Jeffrey Bledsoe Director of Finance Jen Carpenter Payroll & Benefits Specialist Amanda Keen Business Manager INCLUSION Devon Ginn Director of Inclusion & Community Partnerships

MARKETING Geneva Denney-Moore Design & Communications Manager Danielle M. Dove Director of Marketing & Sales Megan Ebbeskotte Audience Development Manager Khaled Khlifi Marketing Communications Manager Noelani Langille Multimedia & Design Manager Doug Sims Group Sales & Teleservices Manager PAINT SHOP Jessica Carlson Assistant Charge Scenic Artist Claire Dana Charge Scenic Artist Jim Schumacher Scenic Artist PATRON SERVICES Katy Lee Thompson House Manager Assistant House Managers Grace Branam Alicia McClendon Stacy Brown Madison Pickering Preston Dildine Jeff Pigeon Henry Estes Phoebe Rodgers Dieter Finn Kathy Sax Marilyn Hatcher Karen Sipes Sarah James Sam Stucky Logan Kimm Tina Weaver Bartender Courtney Plummer Senior Customer Service Representative Chelsea Senibaldi Ticket Office Manager Molly Wible Sweets Tessitura Administrator Eric Wilburn Senior Customer Service Representative Customer Service Representatives Lindsay Cart Ashlee Lancaster Cara Wilson Emily Worrell

PRODUCTION Lb Crash Clark Dwayne Lewis Ben Dobler Samantha Lewis Louie Kaufman Amanda Rooksberry Amanda Keen PROPERTIES SHOP Rachelle Martin Properties Shop Manager Dan Tracy Properties Shop Carpenter SCENE SHOP Chris Fretts Technical Director Andrew Hastings Master Carpenter Nick Kilgore Scene Shop/Automation Supervisor Eleanor Koch Carpenter Samantha-Rae Oliver Operations Carpenter Jacob Spencer Stage Operations Supervisor SOUND & VIDEO JT Langdon Audio & Video Technician Madilyn O’Neal Audio Engineer/Technician Timmy White Audio & Video Lead STAGE MANAGEMENT Stage Managers Becky Roeber Josh-Andrew Wisdom Erin Robson-Smith Shiku Thou Production Assistants Isabella Garza Amanda Rooksberry Natalie Stigall

Rob Johansen in the IRT’s 2025 production of The Play That Goes Wrong. Photo by Zach Rosing.

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Hernán Angulo and Rob Johansen in the IRT’s 2025 production of A Christmas Carol. Photo by Zach Rosing. presented by

JAN 27 - FEB 22 a journey of self-discovery

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MAR 10 - APR 4 the power of language

APR 7 - MAY 10

a remarkable true story of resilience

LEARN MORE AT IRTLIVE.COM | 317.635.5252

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From spotlights and sets to costumes and community programs, every detail adds up to create a world-class theatre experience for YOU! Your general donation—whether a one-time contribution, a monthly pledge, or a planned gift—helps cover the greatest needs of the Theatre and ensures the show goes on for audiences of all ages.

• MAKE YOUR MARK •

You can also make your mark on the next generation of students, actors, and artists by joining the Ovation Society and creating a legacy gift at the IRT. Ensuring a lasting impact on your community can be as simple as including the IRT in your estate plans. For more information visit irtlive.com/ovation.

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14 The cast of the IRT’s 2025 production of The Play That Goes Wrong. Photo by Zach Rosing.

A FEW OF THE MANY COSTS THAT BRING THEATRE TO LIFE

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One scholarship for IRT Theatre Camp

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Purchasing one new stage light fixture

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75

Purchasing one box of snow for A Christmas Carol

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125

Purchasing one microphone battery pack for the full run of a show

Creating one costume

$

50

Building one small 15 hand prop

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CREATIVE TEAM

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Directed by TIMOTHY DOUGLAS

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Scenic Designer _____________________ TONY CISEK Costume Designer _________________ KARA HARMON Lighting Designer __________________ JASON LYNCH Sound Designer ____________ CHRISTOPHER DARBASSIE Wig Designer _________________ RUEBEN D. ECHOLES Intimacy & Violence _________________ CHELS MORGAN Movement & Cultural Consultant_____ DANE FIGUEROA EDIDI Dramaturg ___________________ RICHARD J ROBERTS Stage Manager _____________________ SHIKU THUO* Assistant Stage Manager____________REBECCA ROEBER* Additional Casting_____________ BASS/VALLE CASTING

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BENJAMIN HANNA Margot Lacy Eccles Artistic Director

SUZANNE SWEENEY Managing Director

THE CAST (in order of appearance) Seth Holly_______________________________________________________ KEITH RANDOLPH SMITH* Bertha Holly_________________________________________________________STEPHANIE BERRY* Bynum Walker______________________________________________________ DeSHAWN HAROLD MITCHELL* Rutherford Selig______________________________________________________________ PETER BISGAIER* Jeremy Furlow______________________________________________________ JACQUES JEAN-MARY* Herald Loomis__________________________________________________________ SHANE TAYLOR* Zonia Loomis_______________________________________________________ KERAH LILY JACKSON Mattie Campbell________________________________________________________KAITLYN BOYER* Reuben Mercer____________________________________________________ CHRISTIAN MAKAI LUCAS Molly Cunningham__________________________________________________ DANE FIGUEROA EDIDI* Martha Pentecost________________________________________________________ LILIAN A. OBEN*

SETTING

August, 1911.

A boardinghouse in Pittsburgh.

APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 2 hours and 45 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.

ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION PERSONNEL Zonia Loomis Alternate: Amor Coleman Rueben Mercer Alternate: Joshua Klaman Production Assistant: Isabella Garza Youth Actor Laison: Natalie Stigall Associate Lighting Designer: Andrew Vance Originally Produced on Broadway by Elliot Martin, Vy Higginsen and Ken Wydro; produced in association with Yale Repertory Theatre (Lloyd Richards, Artistic Director; Benjamin Mordecai, Managing Director); associate producer, Jeffrey Steiner, Kery Davis and Charles Grantham.

World Premiere at Yale Repertory Theatre; Second Production at Huntington Theatre Company (Peter Altman, Producing Director; Michael Maso, Managing Director); Originally presented as a staged reading at the 1984 National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center.

August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. concordtheatricals.com

Co-Producing Partner: Syracuse Stage Robert Hupp, Artistic Director Carly DiFulvio Allen, Managing Director

AFFILIATIONS * Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

The director is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc., an independent national labor union.

The scenic, costume, lighting, and sound designers are represented by United Scenic Artists Local 829, IATSE. Indiana Repertory Theatre is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), a nationwide association of not-forprofit theatres.

Photography and recording are forbidden in the Theatre.

The videotaping of this production is a violation of United States Copyright Law and an actionable Federal Offense.

21

LEGACY

by Timothy Douglas, Director

The enduring legacy of the gifted and unparalleled August Wilson was heralded by the arrival in 1982 of his electrifying Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (set in the 1920s), followed soon by the transformative Fences (set in the 1950s). However it wasn’t until he brought forth his revelatory Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (set in the 1910s) that the legendary poet/dramatist realized he was in the midst of chronicling the authenticity of Black American Life one play at a time for each decade of the 20th Century. This series of ten plays was later to become officially known as The American Century Cycle.

As an acting student at the Yale School of Drama, I served as an understudy on these first three Cycle offerings during their respective world premieres at Yale Repertory Theatre. As a young artist, such proximity to August’s genius exponentially deepened the development of my craft. Thus, for me, the birth of this series was an act of fate. It was an extreme privilege to be among those on the receiving end of Wilson’s audacious announcement of this self-imposed, monumental, and ancestrally inspired task. Looking back, I recall his whole being seemingly ablaze, much like the shiny man described in Joe Turner. Since then, after making the transition to director, my career has repeatedly been anchored by multiple productions of all (but one) of Wilson’s plays, culminating with midwifing the world premiere of the final play of the cycle, Radio Golf (set in the 1990s), also at Yale Rep. It is most definitely not lost on me that Wilson’s vividly complicated and revealing characters, as well as the man himself, reflect the totality of me as a creative being. That identity includes my multihyphened existence as a Black man in America, my beautiful burden as the son of a Black woman, the embodiment of my melanin-infused use of language and expression, the guiding assurance of diasporic ancestral truths coursing through me, and the alchemical wisdom of generational pain. All of these rivers flow through me to offer healing, insight, and genuine wisdom: first for the actors who channel the work, and then for those audiences willing to receive—a parallel journey to that of the character of Bynum.

And just as this play’s central figure, Herald Loomis, discovers, our stolen humanity—to the degree that we are willing to bear witness to the spiritual undertow of Wilson’s great opus—will be restored and manifested through the song we sing, compelling us to “shine like new money.”

—TIMOTHY DOUGLAS, Director: Gem of the Ocean (6 productions); Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (2); Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (0); The Piano Lesson (1); Seven Guitars (2); Fences (6); Two Trains Running (2); Jitney (4); King Hedley II (2); Radio Golf (2) 22

FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT AUGUST WILSON It is August in Pittsburgh, 1911. The sun falls out of heaven like a stone. The fires of the steel mill rage with a combined sense of industry and progress. Barges loaded with coal and iron ore trudge up the river to the mill towns that dot the Monongahela and return with fresh, hard, gleaming steel. The city flexes its muscles. Men throw countless bridges across the rivers, lay roads, and carve tunnels through the hills sprouting with houses.

From the deep and the near South the sons and daughters of newly freed African slaves wander into the city. Isolated, cut off from memory, having forgotten the names of the gods and only guessing at their faces, they arrive dazed and stunned, their heart kicking in their chest with a song worth singing. They arrive carrying Bibles and guitars, their pockets lined with dust and fresh hope, marked men and women seeking to scrape from the narrow, crooked cobbles and the fiery blasts of the coke furnace a way of bludgeoning and shaping the malleable parts of themselves into a new identity as free men of definite and sincere worth.

Foreigners in a strange land, they carry as part and parcel of their baggage a long line of separation and dispersement which informs their sensibilities and marks their conduct as they search for ways to reconnect, to reassemble, to give clear and luminous meaning to the song which is both a wail and a whelp of joy.

Scan to learn more about August Wilson and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone in the IRT’s study guide for the play, which features: - Pittsburgh & the Hill District - Who Is Joe Turner?

- Interactive Civil Rights Timeline Playwright August Wilson. Photo by David Cooper.

- The American Century Cycle at the IRT - Hoodoo - & much more!

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AUGUST WILSON

PLAYWRIGHT

August Wilson was born Frederick August Kittel in 1945 in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which would later be the setting for most of his plays. His father was a white German immigrant; his mother was Black. Wilson later stated that the “nurturing, the learning” of his life were “all Black ideas about the world that I learned from my mother. My mother’s a very strong woman. My female characters come in large part from my mother.”

In the late 1950s, August’s family moved to Hazelwood, a predominantly white suburb of Pittsburgh. Wilson attended Gladstone High School until 1961, when he dropped out at age fifteen. “I was bored,” he later said. “I was confused, I was disappointed in myself, and I didn’t do any work until my history teacher assigned us to write a paper on a historical personage.” Wilson chose Napoleon because he had always been fascinated with the “self-made emperor.” It was a twenty-page paper, and Wilson’s sister typed it up on a rented typewriter.

Since Wilson had previously done no work in class, his instructor found it hard to believe that it was his own work. He wrote both an A+ and then an F on the paper. If Wilson couldn’t prove that the paper was his own, he would receive the failing grade. “Unless you call everybody in here and have all the people prove they wrote them, even the ones that went and copied out of the encyclopedia word for word, I don’t feel I 24

should have to prove anything,” replied Wilson. He took the failing grade, tore up the paper, threw it in his teacher’s wastebasket, and walked out of school.

“The next morning, I got up and played basketball right underneath the principal’s window. As I look back on it, I see I wanted him to come and say, ‘Why aren’t you in school?’ so I could tell someone. And he never came out.” Rather than tell his mother he had dropped out, Wilson spent every school day at the public library, reading some 300 books over the next four years. His reading eventually led him to pursue a career as a writer.

Wilson spent years “hanging out on street corners, following old men around, working odd jobs.” Then he discovered a place called Pat’s Cigar Store in Pittsburgh. “It was the same place that Claude McKay mentioned in his book Home to Harlem. When I found out about that, I said, ‘This is part of history,’ and I ran down there to where all the old men in the community would congregate.”

Wilson channeled his early literary efforts into poetry, saving his nickels for a $20 used typewriter when he was 19. Around that same time, he bought a recording of blues singer Bessie Smith, and hearing this music for the first time changed his life. Later he wrote that hearing Smith’s voice led to an “awakening.” He began to see himself as a messenger, a link in the

August Wilson, playwright of the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of Fences. Part of the 2009-2010 Season.

It was this grant that allowed Wilson to rework a oneact about a blues recording session into what became the full-length Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The play caught the attention of Lloyd Richards, artistic director of the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center and dean of the Yale School of Drama. Richards directed Ma Rainey and many of Wilson’s subsequent dramas. When Ma Rainey ran on Broadway for ten months in 1984, it was the first profitable Broadway play by a black writer since Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun in 1959.

Wilson’s successful career opened doors for many other talented writers.

Around this time, Wilson conceived of a truly grandchain of African American culture, and he assumed the scale project: The American Century Cycle. He would write ten plays, one for each decade of the twentieth responsibility of passing stories and ideas from the past to the future. The idea of the blues as a vessel for century, each focusing on a particular issue that the African American experience is one that appears challenged the African American community at that time. Over the next 20 years, Wilson faced this frequently in Wilson’s work, along with a given challenge at the stand-up desk in his basement, where character searching for his song—his own personal he wrote and rewrote each play in longhand on legal legacy and his path in life. pads. Along the way he won two Pulitzer Prizes, for In 1968, Wilson co-founded Pittsburgh’s Black Horizon Fences and The Piano Lesson. Wilson finished his cycle with two plays focused on the beginning of Theatre Company. He began writing one-act plays the century—Gem of the Ocean—and the end of the during the height of the Black Power Movement century— Radio Golf. as a way “to politicize the community and raise consciousness.” He always maintained that the “one Wilson died of liver cancer in 2005. Two weeks after his thing that has best served me as a playwright is my background in poetry.” His move to Minnesota in the death, Broadway’s Virginia Theatre in New York City was renamed the August Wilson Theatre, becoming the first early 1970s served as a catalyst, permitting both the Broadway theatre to be named for an African American. colloquial voices of his youth and his burgeoning skills as a dramatist to flourish at a remove from their Today August Wilson is considered one of the greatest American playwrights of our time. geographical source.

Wilson did not think of himself as a playwright, however, until he received his first writing grant in the late 1970s. “I walked in,” he remembered of his first encounter at the Playwright’s Center, “and there were sixteen playwrights. It was the first time I had dinner with other playwrights. It was the first time I began to think of myself as one.”

Above: Portrait by James Gayles. Right: Playwright August Wilson at the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, May 4, 1985. Photo by Bob Child AP.

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THE COMPANY STEPHANIE BERRY | Bertha Holly Stephanie was seen in The Gospel at Colonus at Little Island. She appeared in Gem of the Ocean at Two River Theatre, Staff Meal at Playwrights Horizon, and as Olivia in Classical Theatre of Harlem’s production of Malvolio. She is the 2023 recipient of an Obie Award for Performance for her role in On Sugarland at the New York Theatre Workshop, and an Obie Award for her solo show, The Shaneequa Chronicles: The Making of a Black Woman. Selected film and TV credits include Fantasy Island, O.G., The Last O.G., Bull, Blue Bloods, Blacklist, and Law and Order.

PETER BISGAIER | Rutherford Selig Off-Broadway: Reservoir Dogs, Roberto Zucco (Empire Theatre Co.); Patience (Boomerang). Regional: McCarter Theater, Arden Theater, Cincinnati Playhouse, Syracuse Stage, Bristol Riverside, InterACT, Act2 Playhouse, Quintessence, Montgomery Theater, Delaware Theatre Co., Pegasus Theatre Co., The Fulton, Passage Theater, Horse Cave Theater, Phoenix Theater, Stella Adler Theatre, and Lincoln Amphitheatre. Film: Sparkle: A Unicorn Tale. Peter is Co-Artistic Director of Pegasus Theatre Company in New Jersey and a member of the improv team Peter & Matt. “Thank you to Corinna, Milo, Monica, and Mom.” KAITLYN BOYER (she/her) | Mattie Campbell Kaitlyn is thrilled to join the cast of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and make her Indiana Repertory Theatre debut! Some favorites include Elsbeth (CBS); Dracula!

A Comedy of Terrors (Off-Broadway); Nine Night (Round House Theater); School Girls; or, The African American Mean Girls Play (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park); Cyrano de Bergerac (Guthrie Theater); A Christmas Carol (Actors Theatre of Louisville). Kaitlyn received her B.F.A. from the University of Minnesota/ Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program. kaitlynboyer.com

DANE FIGUEROA EDIDI (she/her) | Molly Cunningham, Movement & Cultural Consultant Lady Dane is an award-winning playwright, choreographer, filmmaker, writer, and actor. Some of her roles include Ruby in Seven Guitars (Arena Stage), Ruby/ Rebecca in Ghost/Writer (Rep Stage), Priestess/Klytmnestra in Klytmnestra: An Epic Slam Poem (Theatre Alliance), and Faith in Wig Out! (Studio Theatre), as well as Patra in the web series King Ester, Woman in the short film Home, and Dr. Grace Grace in the web series I Need Space. A producer and director, her short film A New Creation Story is making the festival rounds. She is an Artistic Ensemble member of Long Wharf Theatre.

KERAH JACKSON | Zonia Loomis Kerah has attended IRT Summer Camp for the past three summers. She has worked with REACT theatre as the Narrator in their adaptation of The Wizard of Oz and with Summer Stock Stage where she performed in a musical production of Disney’s Descendants. She has been training in the dance styles of Jazz, Hip Hop, and Ballet since the age of four. She currently attends Mahogany Contemporary dance academy. Kerah loves reading, writing stories, and painting, and spending time with her family and friends. Kerah looks forward to her continuing growth and opportunities in her developing career as a performer.

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JACQUES JEAN-MARY | Jeremy Furlow Jacques is thrilled to join Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at IRT! A Brooklyn native and NYC-based actor, Jacques earned his B.F.A. in Acting from Howard University and continued honing his craft at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England. His most recent credits include The Hot Wing King at Denver Center and Exception to the Rule at Studio Theatre. “I strive to explore the beauty and complexity of the human experience, drawing inspiration from life, history, and my roots. I give special thanks to God, IRT, and Timothy Douglas for this incredible opportunity!”

CHRISTIAN MAKAI LUCAS | Reuben Mercer is proud to make his debut at the Indianapolis Repertory Theatre in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. He is 12 years old and has previously appeared on stages at the Goodman Theatre (A Christmas Carol), Metropolis Performing Arts Centre (A Christmas Carol), and the Lyric Opera of Chicago (Factotum, Cavalleria Rusticana). Christian has trained at Second City Chicago and Interlochen Arts Camp. When he is not performing, he enjoys cooking, crochet, choir, and dance.

DESHAWN HAROLD MITCHELL (he/him) | Bynum Walker Broadway: George in All My Sons (Roundabout Theatre Company). Regional Theatre: Kenneth in Primary Trust, Flip in Stick Fly (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis); Robert in Nicole Clark Is Having a Baby (Actors Theatre of Louisville); Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice (New Swan Shakespeare Festival). Film: Double Dope in Highest 2 Lowest (A Spike Lee Joint), The Preppie Connection, Air Jordan. Television: Godfather of Harlem, Mike, WeCrashed, FBI: Most Wanted, Orange Is the New Black, Run the World, That Damn Michael Che, Blindspot. IMDb: DeShawn Harold Mitchell. @Soulfisticatedfunk LILIAN A. OBEN | Martha Pentecost Primary Trust (McCarter Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse); Mud Row (Gulfshore Playhouse); Nine Night (Round House Theatre); Murder on the Orient Express (Everyman Theatre); Intimate Apparel (Orlando Shakes); The Crucible (Olney Theatre); The Second Shepherds’ Play (Folger Theatre). Film: The Noel Diaries. Writing: NYT Modern Love; Now Casting, Aether (Keegan Theatre, Festival); Olympus (Semi-Finalist, Red Bull Theater). M.S., Boston University; B.A., Middlesex University (UK); Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory; The Barrow School. Awards: 2023 HH Award Nominee-Outstanding Lead Performer. lilianoben.com KEITH RANDOLPH SMITH | Seth Holly IRT: Les Trois Dumas. Broadway: Jitney; Piano Lesson; King Hedley II; Fences; Come Back Little Sheba; Salomé; American Psycho. Off-Broadway: Paradise Blue (Signature); … what the end will be (Roundabout); Tamburlaine (TFANA); Lockdown (Rattlestick); Holiday Heart (MTC).

Regional: Old Globe; Mark Taper Forum; Goodman; Alliance; Seattle Rep; Yale Rep. TV/Film: The Good Fight; Law & Order; NY Undercover; Malcolm X; Girl Six. Alumnus of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts; The Actors Center NY, and Quick Silver Theater Company; recipient of the Fox Fellowship and the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship for Acting.

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THE COMPANY SHANE TAYLOR (he/him) | Herald Loomis IRT: Jitney. Off-Broadway: Knives in Hens (The Shop Theater/59E59), 50th Anniversary Production of In White America (New Federal), Romeo and Juliet (Lincoln Center Institute). Regional: The Billie Holiday Theatre, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, Round House Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Milwaukee Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Berkeley Rep, and McCarter Theater. FILM/TV: God’s Forgotten House, Sarbane’s Oxley, King of the Bingo Game. Education: M.F.A. from Rutgers University.

AMOR COLEMAN | Zonia Loomis Alternate is a native of Atlanta, GA. Now residing in Indianapolis, this 5th grader is thrilled for her Indiana Repertory Theatre acting debut in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.

JOSHUA KLAMAN | Reuben Mercer Alternate is honored to make his professional debut with the IRT in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. A student at Sycamore School, he has appeared in Alice in Wonderland the Musical, Frozen, and other school productions. Joshua enjoys exploring theatre, playing instruments, singing, and spending time with friends and family.

TIMOTHY DOUGLAS | Director IRT: Jitney, Intimate Apparel, Gem of the Ocean, A Raisin in the Sun. Frankenstein (CSC); Primary Trust (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park); She Who Dared (Chicago Opera Theater); The Color Purple (Denver Center); Blue (New Orleans Opera); Father Comes Home From the Wars, (Roundhouse); The Crucible (Syracuse Stage); Champion (Boston Lyric Opera); King Hedley II (Arena Stage), and the world premiere of Radio Golf. (Yale Rep). Also Guthrie, Signature, Great Theatre of China, Juilliard School, Kennedy Center, Steppenwolf, Folger Shakespeare, Mark Taper Forum, and many others.

TONY CISEK | Scenic Designer Tony has collaborated with Timothy Douglas on over 50 productions including A Raisin in the Sun, Gem of the Ocean, Intimate Apparel, and Jitney here at IRT; Blue with New Orleans Opera; The Hot Wing King and The Color Purple at Denver Center Theatre Company; Primary Trust for Cincinnati Playhouse and McCarter Theatre; and productions at Alliance Theatre, Guthrie Theater, Arena Stage, the Kennedy Center, Milwaukee Rep, South Coast Rep, Portland Center Stage, Syracuse Stage, Round House Theatre, Signature Theatre, and Folger Theatre, among others. tonycisek.com

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KARA HARMON | Costume Designer Select Off-Broadway: The Other Americans, The Public Theatre; The Great Privation, Soho Rep; Watch Night, Perelman PAC. Select Regional credits include: I&You the Musical, McCarter Theatre; We Are Gathered, Arena Stage; The Penelopiad, Goodman Theatre; The Three Musketeers, OSF; 42nd Street, Goodspeed Musicals (CT Critics Circle Outstanding Costume Design Award); Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Children’s Theatre Company; Shutter Sisters, Old Globe; Guys and Dolls, Guthrie Theater; The Wiz, Ford’s Theatre (Helen Hayes Award); Barbecue, Geffen Playhouse (NAACP Award). KaraHarmonDesign.com

JASON LYNCH (he/him) | Lighting Designer Jason is a Chicago-based lighting designer and returns to IRT where he has designed Marie and Rosetta, The Play That Goes Wrong, and Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer. Regional: Alley Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Geva Theatre Center, Goodman Theatre, The Guthrie Theater, The Old Globe, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, among others. Awards: Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Design (International Black Theatre Festival), one Joseph Jefferson, two Black Theater Alliance/Ira Aldridge Awards, Michael Maggio Emerging Designer. Jason is represented by the Gersh Agency. jasondlynch.com | @jasonlynch.design CHRISTOPHER DARBASSIE | Sound Designer Off-Boadway (select): The Antiquities, Amusements (Playwrights Horizons); The Counter (Roundabout); Caroline, Table 17 (MCC); Six Characters (LCT3); Grangeville, A Bright New Boise, A Case for the Existence Of God (Signature NYC); The Apiary, Camp Siegfried, Patience (2ST); I’m Almost There (Audible @ Minetta Lane/Francesca Moody Productions @ Edinburgh Fringe); This Beautiful Future (Cherry Lane); Heaux Church (Ars Nova); and work at Petzel Gallery, the Goodman Theater, the Alliance Theater, Playmakers Rep, the Brooklyn Museum, the Studio Museum, and more.

RUEBEN D. ECHOLES (he/him) | Wig Designer Rueben is an accomplished costume and wig designer, author, director, choreographer and illustrator, who served as Associate Artistic Director of Black Ensemble Theater in Chicago for 17 years. Wig and hair designs include She Who Dared (Chicago Opera Theatre); Fat Ham (Cleveland Play House); Metamorphoses (Folger Theatre); The Lion in Winter, Antigone, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Stokely (Court); Hello, Dolly!, Fela (Olney); In the Heights, Rent (Muny); Dreamgirls (Paramount); Pump Boys and Dinettes (Porchlight); Women of Soul, Sister Act (Mercury); and Day of Absence (Congo Square).

CHELS MORGAN (they/them) | Intimacy and Violence Chels is an intimacy, violence, and movement director, theatre educator, an AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator, adjunct professor at DePaul University, and the Director of Accessibility and Inclusion at the Intimacy Professionals Education Collective (IPEC).

Off-Broadway: How to Defend Yourself (New York Theatre Workshop). Regional: Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Centre Theater Group, the Old Globe Theater, American Conservatory Theater, Shakespeare Theater Company, Bucks County Playhouse, among others. Television: Lace (AllBlk Network). Education: M.F.A. in Directing, Loyola Marymount University.

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THE COMPANY RICHARD J ROBERTS | Dramaturg This is Richard’s 36th season with the IRT, and his 28th as resident dramaturg. He has also been a dramaturg for the New Harmony Project, Write Now, and the Hotchner Playwriting Festival. He has directed IRT productions of A Christmas Carol, Bridge & Tunnel, The Night Watcher, Neat, Pretty Fire, The Cay, The Giver, The Power of One, and Twelfth Night. He has also directed for Actors Theatre of Indiana, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, and others. Richard studied music at DePauw University and theatre at Indiana University and was awarded a Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship from the Arts Council of Indianapolis.

SHIKU THUO (any/all) | Stage Manager Shiku Thuo is an artist hailing from Southern California, but taking residency in New York. Their most recent works include: HEAUX CHURCH (Ars Nova), BUST (Alliance/ Goodman Theatre), Table 17 (MCC), Sunset Baby (Signature Theater), Fabulation or the RE-Education of Undine (Billie Holiday), ‘Bov Water (Northern Stage). A vivid day dreamer, lover of kindle unlimited, and really REALLY good food. “For Mama Bui, always, and for the liberation of us all.”

REBECCA ROEBER | Assistant Stage Manager Becky is a local AEA stage manager, originally from the Pocono Mountains, but now calling Indianapolis home. They are proud to call IRT their artistic home for their ninth season. They also can be found working with Summer Stock Stage, Phoenix Theatre, Indy Shakes, and Summit. “I am grateful for the opportunity to work with so many incredible theatre artists in this city, and I am thankful for the support of my friends and family!”

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BENJAMIN HANNA Margot Lacy Eccles Artistic Director

SUZANNE SWEENEY Managing Director

THE CAST Marjan___________________________________________________________ NEAGHEEN HOMAIFAR Elham_____________________________________________________________ NATASHA BEHNAM Roya______________________________________________________________________ LANNA JOFFREY Omid_________________________________________________________________________ REZA DIAKO Goli___________________________________________________________ EMELIA MARYAM MOSAY

SETTING

2008. Karaj, Iran. A classroom.

APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 1 hour and 30 minutes, with no intermission.

ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION PERSONNEL Production Assistant: Amanda Rooksberry In 2020, English received the L. Arnold Weissberger Award for Playwrighting, jointly administered by the Anna L. Weissberger Foundations and Williamstown Theatre Festival.

English is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. concordtheatricals.com

AFFILIATIONS The actors and stage managers in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

The director is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc., an independent national labor union.

The scenic, costume, lighting, and sound designers are represented by United Scenic Artists Local 829, IATSE.

Photography and recording are forbidden in the Theatre. The videotaping of this production is a violation of United States Copyright Law and an actionable Federal Offense.

Indiana Repertory Theatre is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), a nationwide association of not-forprofit theatres.

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TO FEEL UNDERSTOOD

by Azar Kazemi, Director

In March of 2022 I flew from Chicago to NYC to see the world premiere of Sanaz Toossi’s English. It didn’t seem real that a soldout show at a major Off-Broadway theater could be a play about Iranians. As a first-generation Iranian American, I was both excited and nervous because stories about our people are rare and, at times, misrepresentative of our culture and history. It was unfair to expect a play or a playwright to fulfill all the hopes I had for authenticity on stage, yet as I left the theatre that night I felt as if a miracle had happened. It was a play only for us and at the same time a play for everyone.

Toossi sets English in 2008 in Karaj, Iran (a suburb outside Tehran), inside a classroom where students are preparing for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam. We meet the teacher, Marjan, and her four students: Elham, Roya, Goli, and Omid. The premise is deceptively simple in how the story is revealed to the audience. We follow their progress throughout the six-week course in short intimate scenes that add up to a powerful whole. The play is as funny as it is poignant, as playful as it is profound. Its vehicle is learning a new language and the challenges faced when trying to be understood. Its heartbeat is an exploration of identity and belonging: to learn to belong, to long to belong, to lose oneself, and perhaps to find oneself again.

I dedicate this production to my father, who is the greatest teacher I’ve ever had. He taught me the importance of knowing where I come from and still reads me Persian poetry every chance he gets. He took me to Iran when I was eleven years old, and for the first time, I felt a sense of belonging. I will never fully understand what it cost my parents to leave their homeland. What I do understand is the depth of sorrow that separation brings. It is my honor and privilege to direct English, a play that embodies the dignity, humanity, and resilience of the Iranian people. A story that centers the experience of emigration at a time when we need it most. Thank you for joining us, or as we say in Farsi, khosh amadid.

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Karaj, Iran.

SPEAKING WITH MEANING

by Jacob C. Shuler, Production Dramaturg

In Sanaz Toossi’s English, five Iranians study English: four students and the teacher tasked with equipping them with tools to take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). For each, learning English offers opportunities through emigration. But by leaving their home, they risk leaving behind more than just their language. The stakes of learning another language are profound—both political and personal. As the characters balance their identities between languages, their confidence and abilities are shaped by language origins, rules, learning styles, test dynamics, and the complex ways in which we use language to express meaning.

Forming Language Human language likely stemmed from a common root more than 100,000 years ago. Some scientists believe that spoken language formed from a gradual standardization of individual gestures and utterances into a shared understanding of meaning. The first written record of language comes from 5,000 years ago: financial transactions embedded on cuneiform tablets from ancient Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) in the Sumerian language. But Sumerian isn’t spoken there today (or anywhere; the language is no longer in use). As people Infographic by Minna Sundberg.

and cultures have moved and diversified over time, so too has language. Since its origin, that common source has branched into more than 7,000 distinct languages.

English and Farsi (or Persian, as it is more widely known by non-native speakers) are two such languages; both Indo-European in origin, but separated by millennia of transformation. Today, English has close to 400 million first-language speakers, while Farsi has around 100 million, largely concentrated in Iran. Arabic is an Afroasiatic language, more distantly separated from Farsi than English. Yet Farsi today is written in a modified Arabic script that was adopted during the land’s 10th century Islamic conquest. Culture carries language, but language also carries culture.

Constructing Language Language is composed of vocabulary: the words themselves. Grammar is an established set of rules by which those words are combined to create more complex meaning. These rules are further organized into five components: syntax (order), morphology (form), phonology (sound), semantics (context), and pragmatics (use). Rules, however, are meant to be broken.

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explore her own identity as an Iranian and an American.

This exploration is evident in English, her M.F.A. thesis play, which went on to premiere professionally at Atlantic Theatre Company in 2022. The play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2023 and earned five Tony nominations for its Broadway run in 2025 (including Best Play for Toossi herself). In English, Sanaz Toossi uses the English language to represent both of her identities. Where the characters speak English with an accent, they are truly speaking English. Where they speak without accent, Learning Language however, their fluid words represent Farsi. This poetic Language is easiest to acquire at a young age, as a device allows Toossi to express a depth and dichotomy to part of our early growth and development. Around the identity that transcends words and rules. The playwright age of 18, the brain becomes less malleable, and social empowers her characters with a complexity of language circumstances further infringe on our ability to process (poetry, humor, and idioms) that represents both a very second-language learning. Classroom settings can work specific Iranian experience and something universal about best when instruction is supplemented with practical the human need to communicate and to be understood conversation and immersion. Today, apps like Duolingo on a personal level. “I’m funny,” she says, “and I want gamify the language-learning experience, reaching my work to be funny, because I want to insist on my own close to a billion cumulative downloads since 2013. individualism.”

And while studies show that such apps are effective at facilitating a surface-level understanding of vocabulary and grammar, users can fall short of achieving full fluency. (Farsi, of note, isn’t available on Duolingo). For all that language enables, it can also be a barrier.

Poetry, humor, and idioms all abstract the standard use of language to express meaning that is more complex than straightforward vocabulary and grammar. Poetry is inherent in Iranian history and the Farsi language.

Where English is direct, a single word in Farsi may represent a full phrase, connected to a story or a song, informed by history and tradition. These cultural distinctions can make different languages all the more difficult to learn.

Examining Language The TOEFL is a standardized exam recognized by nearly 200 countries to evaluate English proficiency for academic admissions and employment. The test is structured in four sections: reading, listening, speaking, and writing. Each section is evenly weighted at 30 points for a total possible score of 120 points. There is no fixed threshold to pass or fail. Rather, each institution sets their own mark for acceptance, often somewhere between 70 and 100. In 2024, the average score of all TOEFL takers was 86; this average was 92 from native Farsi speakers. Language proficiency can be evaluated, but complex meaning can be difficult to capture.

Using Language Playwright SANAZ TOOSSI was born in Orange County, California, in 1992. Her parents met in the United States after immigrating from Iran. Toossi grew up speaking Farsi at home with her parents, but spoke predominantly English outside of the home. She decided to pursue playwriting during a post-undergrad trip to her grandmother’s home in Iran, where she was compelled to 40

Scan to access our audience notes for more information on Iran, English, learning, and identity.

Playwright Sanaz Toossi.

THE COMPANY NATASHA BEHNAM | Elham Natasha is a first-generation Iranian American actress, comedian, and writer.

You can see her starring in the final season of Netflix’s hit show You, and also HBO Max’s original show The Girls on the Bus. Most recently, you can see her alongside Elisabeth Moss and Kerry Washington in Apple TV’s Imperfect Women. She has two feature films premiering in 2026, CognAItive and Napa Boys. Her other feature credits include American Pie: Girls Rules (Netflix/Universal), Cupid for Christmas (Hulu), and Diamond in the Rough (Amazon). “I am honored to bring life to the rich and nuanced experience of being Iranian American, and I hope to continue being a part of work that touches on the inherent oneness within the human experience.”

REZA DIAKO | Omid Reza is an English actor of Austrian nationality with Persian-Jewish heritage, working between the UK, US, and Europe. He plays Apostle Philip in the hit series The Chosen, and stars in the award-winning Reading Lolita in Tehran (cinematic release March 2026). Other work includes The Astronaut and The Covenant (Amazon Prime), Netflix’s The Diplomat, Sundance Audience Award-winner The Persian Version, I Hate Suzie (Sky/HBO Max), and Around the World in 80 Days (BBC). With a background in psychology, Reza trained in classical and contemporary acting techniques, including work at Mountview in London and the Stella Adler Studio in New York.

NEAGHEEN HOMAIFAR (she/her) | Marjan Neagheen Homaifar is an Iranian-American actor, writer, and Harvard University honors graduate whose theatre credits include English (Long Wharf Theater, TheaterWorks Hartford, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), Selling Kabul (Signature Theatre), and Scorched (ExPats Theatre). Highlights of her film and TV credits include Me (AppleTV+), Killing It (Peacock), The Resident (Fox), and Before Dawn, Kabul Time (Hulu), a short film that premiered at Tribeca Festival and qualified for Best Live Action Short consideration at the 95th Academy Awards. Neagheen co-hosted the award-winning comedy podcast Best Friends Back, Alright! with Mythical Entertainment. @neagheen

LANNA JOFFREY (she/her) | Roya Lanna is an Iranian performer/writer who has performed extensively in theatre, film, audio, and her spoken word.​Theatre: RSC, Kiln​, Shakespeare’s Globe​, A​.C​.T, Old Globe, Arena Stage​, Seattle Rep, Pitlochry, Traverse, Tron​, Gate, Park, Cervantes​, Hoxton, Lyric Stage, Kitchen, Denver Center. Awards: NY Fringe​(Valiant), IRNE ​(Nine Parts of Desire), and Ovation​(1001). Her critically acclaimed verbatim docudrama, Valiant, has toured throughout the UK/US, notably for the United Nations, Edinburgh Fringe, NY Fringe, and Women of the World Festival. It is published by NoPassport Press. lannajoffrey.com

EMELIA MARYAM MOSAY | Goli is a first-generation Iranian and Armenian American actress and writer currently studying at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She studied for six years at the FirstTake Acting School and for three years at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Emelia’s stage credits include Top Girls (Patient Griselda), Richard II (Duke of Aumerle), and Cloud 9 (Victoria) at the Stella Adler Studio. This production marks Emelia’s debut at a repertory theatere. “I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to help share such a beautiful story with audiences.” @emelia_maryam 41

THE COMPANY AZAR KAZEMI (she/her) | Director Azar is first-generation Persian American and a freelance director and educator based in Chicago. She directs socially charged plays where the political and personal collide, giving voice to those the world chooses to ignore. Earlier this season she directed the Chicago premiere of Sanaz Toossi’s play Wish You Were Here to rave reviews. Azar is an Equity Jeff-nominated director for her work on the world premiere of Motherhouse by Tuckie White. She holds an M.F.A. from The Theatre School at DePaul University, where she is also on faculty and received the 2021 Excellence in Teaching Award. Azar is thrilled to be making her Indiana Repertory debut. To learn more please visit: AzarKazemi.com

RIW RAKKULCHON (he/they) | Scenic Designer Riw (pronounced Ree-you) is a set and costume designer, animator, and chef from Bangkok, Thailand. He has worked at Yale Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Hartford Stage, Syracuse Stage, The Old Globe, Asolo Rep, Cleveland Play House, Alley Theatre, Theatre Squared, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, KCRep, Primary Stages, The Public Theatre, Audible Theatre, and Brooklyn Academy of Music, amongst others. Broadway Associate Set Design: Pass Over, & Juliet, Parade. Member of USA 829. Board member of WithAll, a non-profit Organization on a fight to end eating disorders. @riwrdesign

CAMILLE DEERING | Costume Designer Camille has designed costumes for Wad for the New Harmony Project and served as Assistant Costume Designer for The Marriage of Figaro for Santa Fe Opera. She contributed to the world premiere ballet Star on the Rise: La Bayadère, Reimagined! Camille assisted in the design for Yuletide and had her work featured at the University of Michigan. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with industry icons like Ann Roth and participated in productions at the Los Angeles Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, and New York Theatre Workshop. Her designs have been highlighted in the New York Times.

DAWN CHIANG | Lighting Designer Dawn has designed King James, Little Shop of Horrors, Shakespeare’s Will, and Sense and Sensibility at the IRT. Broadway: Zoot Suit and co-designer for Tango Pasión. Off Broadway: Manhattan Theatre Club, Roundabout Theatre; Encores! Concert Musicals, co-designer.

Opera: resident lighting designer, New York City Opera. Regional: Guthrie Theater, Mark Taper Forum, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, South Coast Repertory, Syracuse Stage, Denver Center Theatre Company, and many more. Awards: One Broadway World award, two Syracuse Area Live Theatre Awards, two DramaLogue Awards, and USITT Distinguished Achievement Award. Mentor for Theater Development Fund’s “Wendy Wasserstein Project” outreach program for New York City high school students.

WILLOW JAMES | Sound Designer Willow is a Chicago-based arts leader, DJ, and multidisciplinary artist working in photography, sound design, and composition. He uses art as a platform for community healing and work that uplifts Black identity—building spaces where art and purpose meet. He serves as Civic Engagement Director at Definition Theatre, where he is also an ensemble member. Chicago: You Will Get Sick (Steppenwolf); Fat Ham (Goodman/Definition); A Raisin in the Sun (Court Theatre); Hot Wing King (Writers); Hymn (Chicago Shakespeare). Regional: American Players, TheatreSquared, Next Act, Alleyway, and others.

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JOY LANCETA CORONEL (she/her) | Dialect Coach Joy is a coach, writer, and theatre artist. New York (selected): What Became of Us, The Great Leap (Atlantic Theatre Co); Among the Dead, Once upon a (Korean) Time (Ma-Yi Theatre). Regional (selected): Sense and Sensibility (American Players Theatre); King John, Dracula (Actors Theatre of Louisville); A Christmas Carol, Dial M for Murder, Stones in His Pockets (Theatre Squared); The Heart Sellers (The Guthrie, Milwaukee Rep, The Huntington); The Far Country (Berkeley Rep). B.F.A. from University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music. M.F.A. from Central School of Speech and Drama.

JACOB C. SHULER (he/him) | Production Dramaturg Jacob is a 2012 graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University where he achieved a B.F.A. in Playwriting. There, he authored The Death of Gaia Divine, which merited a staged production through the school’s New Playwright Series. Jacob is the founder of Momentary Theatre, which curates stories that record, reveal, and react to human progress over time. From 9 to 5, Jacob works at Chicago’s Field Museum where he wrote and produced the Museum’s first ever drag show. Most recently, Jacob dramaturged Remy Bumppo’s production of Sanaz Toossi’s Wish You Were Here, directed by Azar Kazemi.

ERIN ROBSON-SMITH (she/her) | Stage Manager Since moving to Indianapolis, Erin has had the pleasure of working with IRT and its incredible staff. Favorite local and regional productions include A Christmas Carol, The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin with IRT; The Hotel Nepenthe and Love Bird with Phoenix Theatre; The Convent with Summit Performance; Julius Caesar with Indy Shakes; The Magnificent Fall with JoJo TomBilBen; Sometimes a Great Notion with Portland Center Stage. Erin spent the summers of 2008 and 2009 working with the JAW Festival at Portland Center Stage and in 2024, stage managed for the New Harmony Project’s inaugural PlayFest Indy.

CLAIRE YENSON, CSA (she/her) | Casting Director Claire is a New York-based casting director who works in film, TV, and theatre. She is the resident casting director at New York Theatre Workshop and Playwrights Realm. Additional theatre credits include Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre, The Acting Company, Edinburgh Fringe, the Public Theater, Studio Theatre, and Shakespeare Theatre. IRT: The Glass Menagerie. Film/TV includes XO, Kitty (Netflix); Pachinko (Apple TV+); Fleishman Is in Trouble (FX); Sharper (A24); and Modern Love (Amazon).

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THANK YOU

to our Season Artist Engagement Supporters!

THANK YOU TO THESE GENEROUS INDIVIDUALS, WHOSE GIFTS CELEBRATE THE FOLLOWING ARTISTS AND BRING OUR STORIES TO LIFE!

BETSY DYKSTRA SEASON SUPPORTER OF SUZANNE SWEENEY Managing Director

SUSAN & CHARLIE GOLDEN SEASON SUPPORTERS OF ROB JOHANSEN

ANDREW & AMY MICHIE SEASON SUPPORTERS OF BENJAMIN HANNA Margot Lacy Eccles Artistic Director

SARAH & JOHN LECHLEITER SEASON SUPPORTERS OF JESSICA HUANG Playwright-in-Residence

THANK YOU

to our Corporate Sponsors for the 2025-2026 Season!

SIGNATURE OPENING NIGHT SPONSOR OPENING NIGHT SPONSORS

COMMUNITY CONNECTION PARTNER

STUDENT MATINEE PARTNERS

SEASON SUPPORTERS

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Equity takes learning, listening, and showing up ... together.

Be part of the journey.

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Learning English is an important part of every refugee’s journey to starting a new life in Indiana.

Thank you to the IRT for telling this incredible story!

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THE SUPPORTING CAST

INDIANA REPERTORY THEATRE DONORS

Ticket revenue covers just half of what it costs to produce world-class professional theatre at the Indiana Repertory Theatre. The IRT gratefully acknowledges the remarkable support we receive from our generous and committed donors whose contributions ensure that the show does go on!

ANNUAL CAMPAIGN GIFT $1,500+ | JULY 1, 2025 – JANUARY 13, 2026 * denotes Sustaining Member | ^denotes Deceased

PLAYWRIGHT CIRCLE $10,000+ Bob & Toni Bader David & Jackie Barrett Scott & Lorraine Davison Rollie^ & Cheri Dick The Michael Dinius & Jeannie Regan-Dinius Family Fund, a fund of the Indianapolis Foundation Nancy & Berkley Duck Betsy Dykstra Mary A. Findling & John C. Hurt David & Ann Frick Tom & Jenny Froehle Future Keys Foundation Susan & Charlie Golden Mike & Judy Harrington Phil & Colleen Kenney Sarah & John Lechleiter Bill & Susie Macias Andrew & Amy Michie David & Leslie Morgan Jackie Nytes Dr. Christine Phillips Marguerite K. Shepard, M.D. Catherine M. Turner* John & Kathy Vahle Cheryl Gruber Waldman Dave Whitman & Donna Reynolds

DIRECTOR CIRCLE $5,000 - $9,999 Anonymous A.J. Allen Joel Blum Gary Denney & Louise Bakker Dr. Cherryl Friedman 48

Dr. and Mrs. Gregory & Erin Gaich Marta Gross & Richard M. Barnes Ann Hinson John & Laura Ludwig David & Robin Miner Kim & Weezie Morris Joan Perelman Mary & Noel Phillips* Carol Phipps & Cliff Williams Paul Pickett & William A. Powell Drs. A. Eric Schultze & Marcia Kolvitz Jeff & Janet Stroebel Charles & Susan Taliercio Linda & James Wesley Dr. Christian Wolf & Elaine Holden Charitable Fund

Jill & Peter Lacy Janet K. Markham Rob & Sara Norris Mr. Stephen Owen Sr. & Dr. Cheryl Torok Owen Gail & William Plater N. Clay & Amy McConkey Robbins Tim & Karen Seiler Joe & Jill Tanner Jeff & Benita Thomasson Lynne & Alex Timmermans Amy Waggoner* Carol Weiss Bob & Dana Wilson

ARTIST CIRCLE $3,000 - $4,999

David & Mary Allen Janet Allen & Joel Grynheim* The Todd A. Andritsch Family Fund Anonymous (3) Anonymous Fund of Hamilton County Community Foundation Daniel & Rita Blay Sheila Barton Bosron & Bill Bosron Dan Bradburn & Jane Robison Victoria Broadie Kathy G. Cabello Megan Carrico Sujata Chugh Shaun Healy Clifford Alan & Linda Cohen Family Foundation Daniel & Catherine Cunningham Mike & Irene Curry Frank & Norah Deane Dr. Gregory Dedinsky & Dr. Cherri Hobgood Fred W. Dennerline Paul & Glenda Drew Dr. & Mrs. John & Sheryn Ellis*

Katy & Tim Allen Paul & Renee Cacchillo Don & Dolly Craft Julie & Jeff Eggert Dick & Brenda Freije Patricia Gamble-Moore Mr. Jim Gawne* Kathy & Gene Gentili Charles Goad & James Kincannon Brenda Horn Drs. Meredith & Kathleen Hull Daniel T. Jensen & Steven Follis Pegg & Mike Kennedy Max Kime David Kleiman & Susan Jacobs Joy Kleinmaier John & Susan Kline Kevin Krulewitch & Rosanne Ammirati*

PATRON CIRCLE $1,500 - $2,999

TO VIEW FULL LIST SCAN THE QR CODE! Troy D. Farmer Drs. Richard & Rebecca Feldman Mary L. Forster, M.D. Eric & Hayley Frandsen Peter Furno & Pamela Steed Brian & Lorene Furrer Dorothea & Philip Genetos Ron & Kathy Gifford Julie & Ed Goodman* Michael & Suzanne Gottschlich John & Mary Ann Grogan Walter & Janet Gross Bill & Phyllis Groth* Chad & Kelli Grothen Ricardo & Beatriz Guimarães Tom & Susie Hacker Emily F. (Cramer) Hancock* Benjamin Hanna Jeffrey Harrison The Hedges-Dillman Family X & S Hinh William & Patricia Hirsch Randy & Becky Horton Dr. Ronald & Mrs. Brenda Iacocca The Indianapolis Fellows Fund, a fund of The Indianapolis Foundation Colette Irwin-Knott & Gary Knott Sarah Jenkins Tom & Kathy Jenkins Anita & Henry Johnson Andrew & Brianna Johnson Mrs. Janet Johnson Denny & Judi Jones Elisha Modisett Kemp Ted & Betsy Kleinmaier Mary & Rick Kortokrax Dr. Michael & Molly Kraus Kurt & Judy Kroenke Dr. & Mrs. Alan Ladd Edward & Ann M. Ledford James & Sara Lootens Nataly & Jonathan Lowder Barbara MacDougall Kathryn Maeglin Marlene & Bob Marchesani Kellie S. McCarthy Sharon R. Merriman

Lawren Mills & Brad Rateike* Michael D. Moriarty Stephen & Deanna Nash Tammie L Nelson & David McCaskill Nick & Tracy Pappas Rita Patel & Suresh Mukherji Larry & Louise Paxton The Payne Family Foundation, a fund of CICF Bob & Kathi Postlethwait Phil & Joyce Probst Scott Putney & Susan Sawyer Roger & Anna Radue Barath Raman* Peter & Karen Reist Ken & Debra Renkens Karen & Dick Ristine Diane & Randy Rowland Chip & Jane Rutledge Paula F. Santa Jane W. Schlegel Robert & Alice Schloss Tom & Barbara Schoellkopf Mark & Gerri Shaffer George & Mary Slenski The Michael L. Smith and Susan L. Smith Family Fund, a fund of Hamilton County Community Foundation Cheryl & Bob Sparks Edward & Susann Stahl Ed & Jane Stephenson Robert & Barbara Stevens Jim & Cheryl Strain Suzanne Sweeney & Todd Wiencek Diane Thompson & Donald Knebel John & Deborah Thornburgh Jennifer C. Turner Larry and Nancy VanArendonk Angela Walker Dorothy Webb Dr. Rosalind Webb Alan & Elizabeth Whaley John & Margaret Wilson Frederick & Jacquelyn Winters William Witchger, II & Kimberly Witchger

UNRESTRICTED GENERAL DONATIONS $1,500+ Anonymous A.J. Allen Dr. and Mrs. Gregory & Erin Gaich Bruce & Noelle King Jackie Nytes & Patrick O’Brien Dr. Betty Routledge Thomas Whittaker

OVATION SOCIETY Gary Addison Janet Allen & Joel Grynheim* Pat Anker Bob & Toni Bader Frank & Katrina Basile Charlie & Cary Boswell Ron & Julia Carpenter John R. Carr (in memoriam) John & Mary Challman Megan McKinney Cooper & Doug Cooper Sergej R. Cotton Thomas & Susan Dapp Nancy Davis & Robert Robinson Rollie & Cheri Dick Nancy & Berkley Duck Dale & Karen Duncan Troy D. Farmer Jim & Julie Freeman Dr. Cherryl Friedman Tom & Jenny Froehle Meg Gammage-Tucker David A. & Dee Garrett (in memoriam) Michael Gradison (in memoriam) Marta Gross & Richard M. Barnes Emily F. (Cramer) Hancock* Mike & Judy Harrington Michael N. & Karen E. Heaton Bruce Hetrick & Cheri O’Neill Tom & Nora Hiatt Brenda Horn Bill & Nancy Hunt David Kleiman & Susan Jacobs Frank & Jacqueline La Vista 49

THE SUPPORTING CAST

INDIANA REPERTORY THEATRE DONORS Barry Landy Andra Liepa Charitable Fund, a fund of The Indianapolis Foundation Barbara MacDougall Donald & Ruth Ann MacPherson Stuart L. Main (in memoriam) Michael R. Maine Sharon R. Merriman David & Leslie Morgan Michael D. Moriarty

Richard & Lila Morris Mutter Marines--Jim & Carol Rob & Sara Norris Deena J. Nystrom Marcia O’Brien (in memoriam) The Payne Family Foundation, a fund of CICF George & Olive Rhodes (in memoriam) Pat Garrett Rooney Jane W. Schlegel

Myra C. Selby & Bruce Curry Michael Skehan Jeff & Janet Stroebel Michael Suit (in memoriam) Suzanne Sweeney & Todd Wiencek Gene & Mary Tempel Jeff & Benita Thomasson Christopher J. Tolzmann Alan & Elizabeth Whaley John & Margaret Wilson

CORPORATE, FOUNDATION, & GOVERNMENT CORPORATE Candlewood Suites Corteva Agriscience Elliott Company of Indianapolis, Inc. F.A. Wilhelm Construction Co., Inc. Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath Frost Brown Todd Glick Philanthropies The Indianapolis Foundation, a CICF affiliate KPMG LLP OneAmerica Financial Partners Oxford Financial Group, Ltd. PNC Printing Partners Schmidt Associates, Inc. Star Financial Group STEELENCOUNTERS Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

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FOUNDATION

The Ackerman Family Foundation Anonymous Elba L. & Gene Portteus Branigin Foundation, Inc. Capital Group Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation The Margot L. Eccles Arts & Culture Fund, a fund of CICF The Glick Family Foundation The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Lacy Foundation Lilly Endowment Inc. The Arthur Jordan Foundation The Joyce Foundation Nicholas H. Noyes Jr. Memorial Foundation, Inc.

The Penrod Society The Shubert Foundation Women’s Fund of Central Indiana, a CICF Fund

GOVERNMENT Indy Arts Council and the City of Indianapolis

IN KIND DONATION DeBrand Fine Chocolates Indianapolis Indians Krannert School of Physical Therapy LAZ Parking National Institute of Fitness & Sport

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