Director’s Notes

Blue Stockings has at its heart the true story of women’s campaign to win the right to graduate from Cambridge University. Elizabeth Welsh, the mistress of Girton College during the period of the play, was a real person, as was Dr. Maudsley, a renowned psychiatrist of the day. The science he espoused was in fact the prevailing science of the time. The remaining characters are fictional and serve to tell a multilayered story of the many facets of love, the cruel injustice of the class divide, generational differences in approach, even when agreement exists, and outright opposition.

What makes Blue Stockings so much more than a historical drama is the fact that its underlying theme is change, or, more specifically, the path that change traverses. Regardless of the topic—civil rights, gender equality, scientific discovery, to name a few—the process of changing prevailing societal beliefs is made through slow, methodical steps that often encounter resistance from many directions, some unexpected. The characters in this play are a microcosm of society, with each one representing a position of willingness to accept change or to depart from societal norms to make change. The ones who perceive that they have the most to lose are unwilling to allow change. The ones who perceive that they have the most to gain are the initiators of change. The ones in the middle hold varying opinions about whether change is good or bad. Some are indifferent. Notably, all these characters can be found circling any current issue.

This production of Blue Stockings has been a truly collaborative effort among the cast and production team, with many not only playing their assigned role but also going above and beyond what they originally signed up to do to contribute to the overall production. I am grateful to each of them. It has been my privilege to lead them on this journey to present to you, our audience, what I hope will be an engaging and thought-provoking theatrical performance.

Marzanne Claiborne Director

Cast (in order of appearance)

Dr. Maudsley ........................................................................................... Robert Heinly

Elizabeth Welsh ............................................................................................ Liz LeBoo

Tess Moffat ............................................................................................ Madeline Byrd

Maeve Sullivan ............................................................................ Ilyana Rose-Dávila

Celia Willbond .................................................................................... Melissa Dunlap

Carolyn Addison ..................................................................................... Tegan Cohen

Mr. Banks .................................................................................................. Paul Donahoe

Edwards .............................................................................................. Ali Cheraghpour

Lloyd ........................................................................................................... James Blacker

Holmes ......................................................................................................... Michael King

Will Bennett John Paul Odle

Ralph Mayhew .............................................................................Michael Townsend

Miss Blake ...................................................................................... Elizabeth Replogle

Miss Bott.................................................................................................... Anne Hilleary

Librarian ..................................................................................................Joel Durgavich

Minnie ................................................................ Hilary Adams, Khalia Muhammad

Billy Sullivan ............................................................................................ Michael Rufo

Professor Radleigh .................................................................................... Will Cooke

Professor Anderson............................................................................Joel Durgavich

Professor Collins ................................................................................... Robert Heinly

Waiter ........................................................................................................ Manus Nunan

Mr. Peck .................................................................................................... Manus Nunan

Mrs. Lindley ............................................................................................. Anne Hilleary

Man in Tea Parlor ................................................................................Joel Durgavich

Woman in Tea Parlor .................................. Hilary Adams, Khalia Muhammad

Setting

It is 1896 at Girton College, Cambridge, home to Britain’s first female university students.

Blue Stockings is performed in two acts with one 15-minute intermission.

Scenes

Act I

Prologue

Scene 1 – The Laws of Motion

Scene 2 – Sightseeing

Scene 3 – The Happiness Equation

Scene 4 – The Wandering Womb

Scene 5 – Out Without Hats

Scene 6 – Fragments of the World

Scene 7 – The Dictionary

Scene 8 – The Great Escape

Scene 9 – The Garden of Eden

Scene 10 – The Merits of Moral Science

Scene 11 – An Arrival

Scene 12 – Science of the Heart

Scene 13 – An Education

ACT II

Scene 1 – An Offer

Scene 2 – The Telescope

Scene 3 – Time Travellers

Scene 4 – Bread and Circuses

Scene 5 – Outcasts

Scene 6 – Raising the Banner

Scene 7 – An Emergency Summit

Scene 8 – King of Hearts

Scene 9 – Broken Hearts

Scene 10 – The Viva

Scene 11 – Voting Day

Scene 12 – If You Had to Choose

Show Synopsis

Set against the backdrop of Cambridge University in the late 19th century, Blue Stockings tells the story of women who risk defying contemporary social expectations for a world-class education, and the men whose worldview is enhanced or challenged by their presence at the prestigious school. The central theme of struggling for and acclimating to social change makes this play timeless in nature, despite its Victorian setting.

Performance Partners In Art

March 8, 2022 • Alexandria Celebrates Women

Acknowledgements

LTA Safety Officers Stacey Becker and Ken Brown, Mary Hutzler, Bob and Diane Sams, Linda Wells, Jeffery Westlake, Crissy Wilke, the Council of the Little Theatre of Alexandria, and our Box Office and Front of House volunteers.

Crew

Producers ................... Lloyd Bittinger, Margaret Chapman, Christine Farrell

Director ....................................................................................... Marzanne Claiborne

Assistant Director ................................................................................. Hilary Adams

Stage Managers ............................................ Meredith Kirchner, Joan A.S. Lada

Assistant Stage Managers .......................................... A.K. Camper, Steve Lada

Assistant to the Director ........................................................ Khalia Muhammad

Costume Design ...................................................................................Joan Lawrence

Wardrobe Chief .................................................................................. Margaret Snow

Assisted by Alisa Beyinson, Jamie Blake, Robin Worthington

Italian Language Coach ...................................................... Domenica Marchetti

Dance Choreographer Melissa Dunlap

Dramaturg ................................................................................................. Leslie Wilkes

Fight Captain............................................................................................ Michael King

Hair/Wig/Makeup Design ............................................................... Robin Maline

Assisted by Susan Boyd, Kadira Coley, Karen Maline, Lanae Sterrett

Lighting Design .............................................................................. Franklin Coleman

Master Electricians ............................... Nick Friedlander, Pamela Leonowich

Assisted by Lloyd Bittinger, Kimberly Crago, Iris Ellis, Micheal O’Connor, Donna Reynolds, Sherry Singer, Marg Soroos, Leslie Teitel

Property Design ............................................................................... Donna Reynolds

Set Design ..................................................................................... Charles Dragonette

Set Construction .......................................................... Jim Hutzler, Jeff Nesmeyer

Assisted by Kevin Blaum, Shah Choudhury, Julie Fischer, Greg Matthes, Dan Remmers

Set Dressing ................................................................................. Charles Dragonette

Set Painting ............................................................... Diedre (De) Nicholson-Lamb

Assisted by Stacey Becker, Beverley Benda, Margaret Chapman, Kathy Murphy

Sound Design ................................................................................................. Alan Wray

Special Effects Coordinator ..................................................................... Art Snow

Stage Combat Choreography .............................................................. Steve Lada

Meet the Crew

Audition Coordinator

Assisted by Donna Kenley, Laura Peterson, Sherry Singer, Carole Steele

Our special thanks to all those people whose names were not available when this program went to press.

LTA COVID Pandemic Health and Safety Standards

LTA will continue to follow all current health and safety standards set by governmental authorities while the COVID pandemic continues, and we will maintain our full participation in the ALX Promise program sponsored by the Alexandria Health Department and Visit Alexandria. As our new season begins, we expect our limited seating, face covering, and physical distancing requirements to continue much as they have this spring. This may, hopefully, change later in the season.

Meet the Cast (in alphabetical order)

Hilary Adams (Minnie/Woman in Tea Parlor) is thrilled to be returning to the LTA stage after four years of working behind the scenes (her most recent gig was producing Bright Star, which opened in January)! Recent roles include ensemble in Jesus Christ Superstar (LTA), Woman in Utopia Found (The Britches & Hose Theater Company) and Guildenstern in Hamlet (PCP). She is grateful to Marzanne and the production team for this opportunity, as well as her eternally supportive fiancé. Enjoy the show!

James Blacker (Lloyd) is excited to make his LTA debut in Blue Stockings. An avid actor in secondary school, he returns to acting after a 20-year break. An IT manager by profession, he received theatrical training through the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. Much love to his wife, Juli, for taking care of life while it is his turn on the stage!

Madeline Byrd (Tess Moffat) is thrilled to return to the LTA stage! She is honored and humbled to work on this production with such a remarkable team. She has appeared locally as Elma in Bus Stop and Lotty Wilton in Enchanted April (both at ACCT), Nina in Stupid F#%*ing Bird and Catherine Givings in In the Next Room (both at PCP), and Singing Woman/Vendor in A Streetcar Named Desire (LTA). Madeline has a B.A. in Theatre from the College of William & Mary.

Ali Cheraghpour (Edwards) is excited to be making his LTA debut in Blue Stockings. He was last seen onstage as Abe in Disgraced (GAC) and Officer Klein in Arsenic and Old Lace (TAP). His favorite theater experiences include playing Cassius in Julius Caesar and directing an outdoor production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare on the Lawn). Ali also enjoys writing screenplays and performing improv comedy in his free time. He hopes he makes you laugh!