By STEPHEN DIETZ
LONELY PLANET
Directed by MICHAEL DUCHARME
with STEVEN JORDAN and BRADY VOSS
L ONELY PLANET
BY STEVEN DIETZ
DIRECTED BY MICHAEL
DUCHARME
Set
Carolyn Schneider Costume
Light
Kevin Moore
Janice Culliford
Assistant
Stage
2025 MENDOCINO THEATRE COMPANY CONCESSIONS UNDERWRITER
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THE MISSION of the Mendocino Theatre Company is to produce plays of substance and excitement, from the classics to the cutting edge. MTC strives to address issues that speak to our world with plays that entertain, challenge and enrich our community and those who visit. With a commitment to excellence, MTC focuses on nurturing local talent by providing a collaborative, respectful and creative environment.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President: Jeff Rowlings
Vice President: Robert Cohen
Treasurer: Julie Ahrens
Secretary: Raven Deerwater
Member: Erina Reeves, Nancy Drooker
THEATRE STAFF
Interim Producing Director: Alexander Wright
Artistic Directors: Betty Abramson
Operations Director: Jim Gibson
Box Office Manager: Caroline Bonfield
Technical Assistant: Brandon Roth
In-house Programmer: Jasmine Diaz
Assistant Box Office Manager: Alex Foreman
Director of Youth Productions: Lorry Lepaule
Resident Stage Manager: Patricia Price
Resident Scenic Designer: Diane Larson
Resident Costume Designer: Susan Collins
Housekeeping Services: Brandon Roth & Cody Hoch
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Light and Sound Board Programming: Jasmine Diaz
Technical Assistant: Brandon Roth
Carpentry: Jim Gibson
Set Design Mentor and Props: Diane Larson
Photography: Larry Wagner
Graphic Design: Lisa Garza-Hillman, inkfish
Program Ad Sales: Erina Reeves
SPECIAL THANKS
Whispering Pines Water Company for the Cooler, Mendo Litho, Diane Larson, Christina Wright, Brandon Roth Photography, Bhavvy Ducharme, Nancy Gardner, Adrian Hall, Kate & Mac Magruder, Mendocino Art Center, Dav Bell
Box Office: 707-937-4477 | boxoffice@mendocinotheatre.org
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COMING TO MENDOCINO THEATRE COMPANY
2025 Green Space Players Youth Production KIDS THESE DAYS an original play by Vale Gauthier and Lillian Owens edited by Lorry Lepaule
OCTOBER 9, 10, 11, 12
ALMOST, MAINE by John Cariani directed by Ann Woodhead
NOVEMBER 6 thru DECEMBER 14
Pay as you will—THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13
FROM THE AUTHOR
My parents taught me that an act of kindness is it's own reward. That took a while to sink in. Over time, I have begun to appreciate the depth of their wisdom.
In the midst of a world that is too big and too fast, a world where information rules like a dictator and news travels like a virus, it is easy to become overcome by the hopelessness of the world and the helplessness of we, it's keepers. What impact can we hope to have? What traces will we leave behind?
History, I believe, is not the story of grand acts and masterpieces. History, instead, is the inexorable accumulation of tiny events—footsteps and glances, hands in soil, broken promises, bursts of laughter ...
Historians may focus on on the famous familiar names—but history itself is made, day after day, by all those whose names are never known, all those who never made a proclamation or held an office, all those who were handed a place on earth and quietly made a life out of it.
So, what do we affect during our lifetime? What, ultimately, is our legacy? I believe, in most cases, our legacy is our friends. We write our history onto them, and they walk with us through our days like time capsules, filled with our mutual past, the fragments of our hearts and minds. They get the very best, and they are stuck with the very worst, we have to offer.
Emerson wrote "Make yourself useful to someone." In a chaotic world, friendship is the most elegant, the most lasting way to be useful. Friendship, not technology, is the only thing capable of showing us the enormity of the world.
Welcome to Jody's Maps. We're glad you're here.
–Steven Dietz, December 1992
BIOGRAPHIES
BRADY VOSS (CARL) - Brady could not be more thrilled than to be returning to Mendocino Theatre Company, or as he affectionately calls it, “his home away from home.” MTC credits have included Will in Born with Teeth, The Thanksgiving Play as Caden, and most recently getting to play
16 amazing characters as Actor 1 in the opening show of the 2025 season Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes mystery. A proud graduate of Southern Utah University Brady earned two bachelor’s degrees in both Theatre and Dance Performance. Previous credits include originating the role of Mayur for the West Coast touring production of The Jungle Book: Rudyard Revised with EnActe Arts, Spreckels Performing Arts Center (You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown and The Metromaniacs), PCPA Theatrefest (Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Ragtime, Kiss Me Kate, Urinetown, and Hot Mikado), and the Utah Shakespeare Festival (All's Well that Ends Well and Pippin). Other favorite roles include Fagin in Oliver, Bobby in Cabaret, Ponyboy in SubUrbia, and Don John/Verges in Much Ado About Nothing.
VERY SPECIAL THANKS
The beautiful bread for tonights' performance is generously created and donated by THE LEDFORD HOUSE
The delicious soup for tonights' performance is generously created and donated by HARVEST MARKET at Mendosa's
STEVEN JORDAN (JODY) - Lonely Planet marks Steve's 9th appearance in a Mendocino Theatre Company (MTC) production. Previously, Steve appeared in the MTC productions of Native Gardens, Becky’s New Car, The Dining Room, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Gaslight, The Graduate, Other Desert Cities and The 39 Steps. Also, he has also performed the role of Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music with the Gloriana Musical Theatre in Fort Bragg. While still in high school, Steve appeared in some of the first plays produced at the Mendocino Art Center. After graduating from Mendocino High School, he attended Chico State University where he participated in several university theatre and opera productions prior to graduation. His opera production experience led to stage direction and, eventually, to work as an assistant director and stage manager at the San Francisco Opera. This was followed by assignments at the Philadelphia Opera, San Diego Opera and Central City Opera. In addition, Steve has directed over 40 opera productions in regional theatres including Nevada Opera, San Diego Opera Center, San Francisco Opera’s Adler’s Program and Marin Opera. Steve has also performed annually at the local Crown Hall Crab Feed held in Mendocino, entertaining and delighting audiences with his uniquely styled one-person comedy show. In addition, he continues to work with aspiring actors and opera singers who are beginning their careers where he coaches, directs, and teaches acting tools and techniques
BIOGRAPHIES cont.
MICHAEL DUCHARME (DIRECTOR) -
Michael is a retired arts administrator who served locally as Executive Director of Ukiah Players Theatre (UPT) from 1997-2002. During his tenure he also directed numerous productions at the Willits Community Theatre (WCT) and toured productions from UPT to WCT and throughout Mendocino and Lake Counties. Before moving to Mendocino County in 1995, Michael served as General Manager of Berkeley Repertory Theatre (CA) , the Dallas Theatre Center (TX) and Trinity Square Repertory Company (RI). After staging UPT’S 25th Anniversary Season Celebration in the summer of 2002, Michael returned to the East Coast and served as Managing Director of Perishable Theatre and Executive Director of the Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts at Rhode Island College in Providence, RI. He returned to Mendocino County in January, 2020 and has since then directed productions of The Glass Menagerie at WCT and Lonely Planet at WCT and the Cloverdale Performing Arts Center. He currently serves as the Treasurer of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Artistic Direction Committee at the Willits Community Theatre.
KAY SMITH (STAGE MANAGER) - Kay has enjoyed working with community theater throughout their life in various places and productions, and is excited to be a part of Lonely Planet. This will be the sixth MTC production they have been involved with and they look forward to many more.
KEVIN MOORE (LIGHT DESIGNER)
-
He has a B.A. in Dramatic Art from UC Santa Barbara 12/80 and an M.F.A. from University of New Orleans in Drama and Communications 12/84. He has worked 12+ years of University or College level teaching experience and 25+ years of Community and Regional theatre production experience. Kevin has worked design and/or tech for over 250 productions at various theatres around the country including: University of North Carolina at Wilmington; Anderson College in Anderson, SC; Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, NC; Cape Fear Regional Theatre in Fayetteville, NC; Spring Lake Little Theatre in Spring Lake, NC; Carolina Civic Center in Lumberton, NC; Spartanburg Little Theatre and Youth Theatre in Spartanburg, SC; and more locally at Ukiah Players Theatre, Willits Shakespeare Company, Willits Community Theatre, and now Mendocino Theatre Company. He has also done consulting and installation on technical upgrades to lighting and sound at two local churches and a local high school. Kevin is currently the Technical Director for the Willits Community Theatre and continues to work toward upgrading it's technical capabilities. He is also currently the president of the WCT's Board of Directors. Beyond his Design and TD work for WCT, Kevin has recorded and mixed 25+ radio plays for WCT, including several original scripts, for broadcast over the local radio KLLG and most are available for streaming from the WCT Website.
BIOGRAPHIES cont.
JANICE CULLIFORD (COSTUME DESIGNER) -
CAROLYN
Janice studied Costume Design at Niagara College of Applied Arts and Science in Welland, Ontario, Canada. She also took a Milliner’s Course at Alameda College. She is a knitter as well. Her Mother was a seamstress, and many a time she came home to find a group of women helping in her Mum’s sewing room creating costumes for the Figure Skating Carnivals and Dance Recitals that Janice was involved in. Costumes help to both inform the audience and fill out the actor’s character. Over the past 20 years, Janice has helped costume shows for Gloriana Musical Theatre, the Opera at the Mendocino Music Festival, and the Mendocino Theatre Company. Most recently she costumed Seafarer, Ripcord and A Thousand Clowns for MTC.
SCHNEIDER (SET DESIGN)I’ve worked behind the scenes at MTC for the last 16 years—costumes, props, and set design. As an artist (at Partners Gallery in Mendocino) I have so much fun making that black box into a world for the actors. Big thanks to Diane Larson for her generous and thoughtful help in this set creation.
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