Blues for an Alabama Sky Playbill

SEP 7–25, 2022 Joan H. Gillings Center for Dramatic Art | playmakersrep.org | 919.962.7529

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Letter from Vivienne Support PlayMakers Who We Are Title Page Program Notes Bios General Information PlayMakers Staff Friends of PlayMakers

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Producing Artistic Director

VIVIENNE BENESCH

Hello, Welcome to PlayMakers’ 2022/2023 season opener, Pearl Cleage’s seminal work, “Blues for an Alabama Sky.” Pearl’s writing stirs the soul, and her beautiful exploration of a group of young dreamers in the midst of the Harlem Renaissance resonates with a timelessness that is found only in the best of theatre.

Good plays are always timely. Regardless of when they’re written or where they are set, a really good play chips away at things humanity is always struggling with. I love that Cleage’s "Blues" touches on so many issues that we continue to grapple with as a society—the constructs of race, gender, sexuality, and class—and does so with such empathy and acuity that it artfully reveals our common humanity. This is a fascinating story filled with characters we care about in a world full of life, music, and style—it’s truly a gift for theatre artists to take on this work.

And helming this production, I’m thrilled to welcome back to PlayMakers the brilliant Valerie Curtis-Newton, who last joined us for her production of “Skeleton Crew.” Through an illustrious career as a theatre founder, director, and educator in her home base of Seattle and around the country, Val is truly an inspiring woman of the theatre and among the best in the business. She and her team of collaborators have created an electrifying evening of theatre.

You know, when you program a play as part of a season of theatre, its individual resonances start to multiply. Life imitates art as much as art imitates life. It’s uncanny. Thank you for joining us to kick off our new season of work. The gift of making it is only complete in the sharing of it— with you! I hope you join us on the journey all year.

Warmly,

Vivienne

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Live Theatre is Back at

PlayMakers

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Thank you for being a part of it!

ADVISORY COUNCIL Amy Guskiewicz Chair

Betsy Blackwell Vice Chair

Duncan Lascelles Vice Chair

Joanne Garrett Deborah Gerhardt Bobbi Hapgood Janelle Hoskins C. Hawkins Betty Kenan, emeritus

Stuart Lascelles Robert Long, emeritus Graig Meyer Julie Morris Paula Noell Florence Peacock

Diane Robertson Wyndham Robertson Carol Smithwick Jackie Tanner Jennifer Werner Mike Wiley

SUPPORT US As chair of the PlayMakers Advisory Council, it is my great pleasure to welcome you back to the Paul Green Theatre for our 2022/23 season.

We are thrilled to offer a six-show Mainstage season that celebrates the best in contemporary and classic theatre, featuring Southern voices, female writers, and directors and a diversity of narratives from the tapestry of cultures that make up the American cultural landscape. We believe that the theatre will have an important role to play in making sense of the complex world in which we find ourselves in, and we endeavor to do this by entertaining, challenging, and inspiring our audiences with the best tools of professional, locally produced performing arts. When I walk out of PlayMakers after a show, I always say how lucky we are to have a theater with such world-class performances right here in Chapel Hill.

In addition to an impressive lineup of powerful performances, PlayMakers continues its work serving the Triangle community and beyond. We are privileged to provide unique learning opportunities for K–12 classrooms and UNC students, creating new ways to engage with our local artists and advocates, and make the power and joy of theatre accessible to underserved communities.

Theatre is and always will be a place for community. And it is up to us—the community—to ensure that PlayMakers continues to thrive. Gifts from patrons like you will be critical to our success as we navigate mapping out a bright future for the theatre ensuring its sustainability for many decades to come. If you enjoy and believe in the power of the theatre as I do, I invite you to become a Friend of PlayMakers. Please make a tax-deductible contribution to the annual fund, pledge a monthly donation as a Sustainer, or offer a campaign gift to strengthen and sustain PlayMakers’ vision for the future.

I truly believe that there has never been a more important time to support the arts. Join me in championing our local theatre—an organization that makes a difference in our community. As Joan Gillings often said, “You will sit a little taller in your theatre seat, knowing you made a difference, too.”

Warmly,

Amy Guskiewicz

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PlayMakers is...

“One of America’s Best Regional Theatres” (American Theatre Magazine), PlayMakers Repertory Company is North Carolina’s premier professional theatre company, proudly in residence on the dynamic campus of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The professional company was founded in 1976, growing out of a storied 100-year tradition of playmaking at Carolina. Our mission is to produce relevant, courageous work that tells stories from and for a multiplicity of perspectives. We believe that theatre can have a transformational impact on individuals and entire communities, and we are committed to the work of becoming an anti-racist organization whose work is accessible to all.

At the very heart of the PlayMakers experience is one of the nation’s last remaining resident theatre companies, made up of accomplished performers, directors, designers, artisans, and technicians, and supported by exceptional graduate students in UNC’s Department of Dramatic Art. Our company works side by side with guest artists from all over the world and our alumni include Pulitzer Prize, Tony®, Emmy®, and Grammy Award® winners.

Creating Tomorrow’s Classics, Today

Producing Artistic Director Vivienne Benesch is continuing PlayMakers’ tradition of producing vibrantly reimagined classics, large-scale musical theatre, and significant contemporary work, but is also broadening the company’s reach to become a home for new play development and a true hub of social and civic discourse in the region. Her first six seasons have already given life to ten important new American plays.

A Hub of Engagement

PlayMakers seeks to provoke thought, stimulate discussion, and push the boundaries of the theatrical form in everything we do. Whether through our intimate @Play series, our mainstage offerings or our virtual line-up, we look for opportunities for direct, dynamic engagement between audiences, artists, and thinkers. The Vision Series, post-show discussions and a host of unique engagement opportunities—including the continuation of last season’s online PlayMakers Keeping You Company—enrich our audience’s experience of the live arts.

Theatre for the People

PlayMakers Mobile is an initiative that seeks to contribute positively to the civic and social life of our region by taking world-class theatre out of our

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WHO WE ARE

Leaving Eden, 2018. Photo by HuthPhoto building and into the community. We create a streamlined production of a play each year and take it to schools, transitional housing facilities, and long-term treatment facilities around the Greater Triangle area. And best of all, it’s all free of charge. We look forward to getting back on the road as soon as we can do so safely.

Passing the Torch

PlayMakers’award-winning Summer Youth Conservatory is the only professionally supported training program of its kind in the region. The Theatre Quest program provides camps to area middle school students, while the Theatre Intensive and TheatreTech programs allow Triangle high schoolers to apprentice directly with professional directors, choreographers, musical directors, and technicians, culminating in a professional quality production on the PlayMakers mainstage for the whole community to enjoy.

Eliminating Barriers

With a commitment to eliminating barriers for attendance when we host live events, PlayMakers offers All Access performances for our patrons living with disabilities, we offer accessible $20 tickets for all performances, and tickets reduced to just $10 for UNC students and $12 for all other students. Our Spotlight on Service program also offers complimentary tickets to local service organizations. This season, we are proud to offer complimentary tickets to front-line workers in honor of their ongoing service to the community. For more information, please contact prcboxoffice@unc.edu.

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Our Mission

PlayMakers Repertory Company is North Carolina's premier professional theatre company, proudly in residence on the dynamic campus of the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. Our mission is to produce relevant, courageous work that tells stories from and for a multiplicity of perspectives. We believe that theatre can have a transformational impact on individuals and entire communities, and we are committed to the journey of becoming an antiracist organization whose work is accessible to all. PlayMakers is devoted to nurturing and training future generations of artists and audiences inextricably linked to UNC's Department of Dramatic Art.

Our Vision Provoke

Represent

Create

Antiracism Accountability Statement

At the heart of PlayMakers Repertory Company’s mission is the belief that theater has the power to transform individuals and entire communities. There is no more aspirational or urgent a use of that power than working to dismantle the systems of oppression, white supremacy, and racism that pervade American life and consume the American Theatre. PlayMakers continues to assess and evaluate our own practices in order to embed equitable, antiracist policies into strategic planning, our mission, and our operations.

PlayMakers Repertory Company, and those of us who work here, commit to the following: • To work intentionally to create an antiracist culture in our company.

• To continually educate ourselves on the ways in which we can combat racism locall andnationally as we move to create an inclusive, as diverse, and equitable sense of belonging for every one of our constituents.

• To demonstrate our values through action in our policies, practices, and procedures.

As a professional theatre company embedded in, and inextricably linked to, the Department of Dramatic Art (DDA) at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, the path forward will be complex and singular. We will therefore be updating our action items and commitments continuously as our work evolves.

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We at PlayMakers understand our responsibility not only to the artists, staff, and audiences with which we engage, but significantly, to the many students training here for a career in the theatre.

These are not our first steps, and by no means our last. They are not perfect. And they are not enough. But they are steps forward. We invite you to come back to our website and our theater often and monitor our progress.

We take our responsibility to this effort seriously and we welcome your involvement and assessment.

Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that the Center for Dramatic Art is located on the unceded lands of one or more of Abiayala’s (the Americas’) original sovereign nations, the name(s) of which have not yet been affirmed. The unjust acquisition of these Indigenous lands came about through a history of racism, violence, dispossession, displacement, and erasure of cultures by settlers as part of the larger, land-centered project of settler colonialism.

As we look to the future, please join us in acknowledging and learning about the atrocities committed against these Nations and work with us towards inclusion, representation, and a better relationship with citizens of sovereign American Indian and Alaska Native nations.

Why is Land Acknowledgement important?

This statement is part of the continual interrogation of our own participation and complacency in colonial structures and a call for greater awareness, accountability, and intentionality in the work we do. As storytellers, we are committed to learning and telling stories in ways that will have transformational impact in our immediate and extended communities.

We are excited by future partnerships with Native Americans and look forward to sharing this journey of knowledge and growth with you.

Learn more: UNC American Indian Center americanindiancenter.unc.edu/

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PLAYMAKERS PRESENTS

Blues for an Alabama Sky

by Pearl Directed by

Cleage

Valerie Curtis-Newton

Scenic Designer

Costume Designer

Matthew Smucker

Melanie Burgess

Lighting Designer

Sound Designer

Marcus Dilliard

Larry D. Fowler, Jr.

Dramaturg

Vocal Coach

Jacqueline E. Lawton

Gwendolyn Schwinke

New York Casting by

Stage Manager

Assistant Stage Manager

Pat McCorkle, CSA

Sarah Smiley

Aspen Jackson

McCorkle Casting Ltd.

September 7 – 25, 2022 BLUES FOR AN ALABAMA SKY is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.

Commissioned by and World Premiered at ALLIANCE THEATRE COMPANY Atlanta, Georgia Kenny Leon, Artistic Director and Edith Love, Managing Director with support from the Lila Wallace Reader's Digest Fund's Resident Theatre Institute.

The Professional Theatre of the Department of Dramatic Art Kathryn Hunter-Williams, Chair Vivienne Benesch, Producing Artistic Director Produced in association with the College of Arts and Sciences The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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PROGRAM NOTES Dreaming the World in Harlem

By Jacqueline E. Lawton, Dramaturg

Pearl Cleage is an Atlanta based award-winning playwright, highly acclaimed journalist, and best-selling novelist. Her most well-known plays include “Flyin’ West,” “Bourbon at the Border,” “Pointing at the Moon,” and “What I Learned in Paris.” Her first novel “What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day,” was a New York Times bestseller and a BCALA Literary Award winner.

She is also the author of “I Wish I Had a Red Dress,” “Mad at Miles,” and “Deals with the Devil.” Her plays, novels, poems, and essays reveal powerful, poignant truths about the lives of black women and the black community.

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to speak with Cleage about her life, her career, and her beautiful play, “Blues for an Alabama Sky.” I wanted to know more about her experience as a writer and what to expect from this profession. Here is what she shared with me: “Writing is a solitary activity. At some point, you have to stop telling your friends how wonderful the work is going to be and go sit down somewhere by yourself and put those words on paper. With a novel, you write it alone and people experience it alone. With a play, you write it alone, but when it goes into production, you become part of a big, exciting, messy collaboration with artists, directors, designers, actors, producers, and, finally, the audience itself. Once it opens, you are able to experience the piece as part of a group of other people. You can hear what works by the live, human responses around you. When it works the way you hoped it would, there is no better feeling.”

Having become a playwright myself, I can say there really is no better feeling.

The only other thing that comes close is when audience members tell you that they see themselves and people they know in your characters. I felt this way about “Blues for an Alabama Sky” from the moment I picked it up.

I first read “Blues for an Alabama Sky” during my sophomore year in college.

For those who have never read it, the play is set in the summer of 1930. The promises of the Harlem Renaissance are giving way to the dashed dreams of the Great Depression and racial tension is spreading throughout the United State. Angel is a nightclub singer who is suddenly heartbroken and out of a job. Her best friend, Guy, is a costume designer, who dreams of living in Paris and designing dresses for the famous Josephine Baker. Their neighbor Delia

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Harlem, New York 1920s/30s

is a social worker and activist.

She is trying to organize a family planning clinic in Harlem. Their friend Sam, a doctor, works long hours delivering babies but knows how to live life to its fullest. Finally, there is Leland, a conservative, religious young man from Tuskegee, Alabama, who is looking for love and trying to build his life.

These characters are so rich, complex, and beautifully written. While deeply connected to each other, the characters are going through individual journeys.

They are hoping to understand themselves fully while trying to make sense of the world around them. But they are trying to do more than just get by. They want to be successful while also staying true to themselves. Despite the odds and obstacles in their way, they are trying to live their dreams in the time they have on this earth.

What resonated most for me was that I found so many parts of myself in the play. I grew up poor in a small conservative town in East Texas. I dreamed of being a theatre artist, telling the stories of people who looked like me and giving voice to marginalized communities. I wanted more than life had given me. I asked Cleage why this play set in Harlem in the 1930s felt so relevant now. Here is what she shared: “The story is set in 1930, but it isn’t about 1930. It’s about truth and honor and love and fear and friendship, topics which don’t grow old. Writers are always writing about the complexities of being human. Time and place are merely the specific backdrops in which we chose to place our explorations.

If we get it right about the people, the question of relevance is moot.”

Once again, she was right. What I love most about theatre is that it’s the exploration of the human condition. It’s an opportunity to be in community with others and have shared transformative experiences. It’s a joy to be able to share these powerful stories with you each year. We appreciate your support and hope that you enjoy “Blues for an Alabama Sky.” And, as the good doctor Sam would say, no matter what life throws at you, remember to “let the good times roll!”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Pearl Cleage is an Atlanta-based writer whose plays include “Pointing at the Moon,” “What I Learned in Paris,” “Flyin’ West,” “Blues for an Alabama Sky,” and “Bourbon at the Border,” commissioned and directed by Kenny Leon at the Alliance Theatre. She is also the author of “A Song for Coretta,” written in 2007 during Cleage’s time as Cosby Professor in Women’s Studies at Spelman College. Her play “The Nacirema Society Requests the Honor of Your Prescence at a Celebration of Their First One Hundred Years” was commissioned by the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and premiered in 2010, in a joint production by the ASF and Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, directed by Susan Booth. Her plays have also been performed at Arena Stage, Hartford Stage, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Huntington Theatre, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, the Long Wharf Theatre, Just US Theatre, True Colors Theatre, Bushfire Theatre, the Intiman Theatre, St. Louis Black Repertory Company, and 7 Stages. She is also an accomplished performance artist, often working in collaboration with her husband, writer Zaron W. Burnett, Jr. They have performed at the National Black Arts Festival, the National Black Theatre Festival, and colleges and universities across the country. Cleage and Burnett also collaborated with performance artists Idris Ackamoor and Rhodessa Jones on the script for "The Love Project," which premiered at the National Black Theatre Festival in 2008, and is currently touring the country. Cleage is also an accomplished novelist.

Her novels include “What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day,” a New York Times bestseller and an Oprah Book Club selection, “I Wish I Had a Red Dress,” “Some Things I Never Thought I’d Do,” “Babylon Sisters,” “Baby Brother’s Blues,” “Seen It All and Done the Rest,” and “Till You Hear from Me.” She is also the author of “Mad at Miles: A Blackwoman’s Guide to Truth,” a groundbreaking work of race and gender, and “We Speak Your Names,” a praise poem commissioned by Oprah Winfrey for her 2005 celebration of legendary African American women and written in collaboration with Zaron Burnett. Cleage has also written for magazines, including “Essence,” “Vibe,” “Rap Pages,” and “Ms.” In addition to her work as the founding editor of “Catalyst” magazine, a literary journal, she was a regular columnist for the Atlanta Tribune for ten years, winning many awards for her thought-provoking columns. She has also written for TheDefendersOnLine.com. Cleage has been awarded grants in support of her work from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Fulton County Arts Council, the Georgia Council on the Arts, the Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs, and the Coca-Cola Foundation. Her work has earned her many awards and honors, including an NAACP Image Award for fiction in 2008. Pearl Cleage is represented by Ron Gwiazda at Abrams Artists Agency in New York City. Her website is www.PearlCleage.net. She 16 also maintains a Facebook fan page.

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CAST LIST

Sam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . André G. Brown* Leland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Heinley Gaspard* Angel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tia James* Guy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jamar Jones* Delia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saleemah Sharpe*

Stage Managers

Sarah Smiley*

Aspen Jackson*

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

Time: Summer of 1930 Place: Harlem, New York

There will be a 15-minute intermission

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CAST BIOS André G. Brown Sam

PlayMakers: Debut. Selected credits: “Afterwords” (5th Ave Theatre), “The Mountaintop” (LA/ Albuquerque), “Wine In the Wilderness” (Philadelphia EgoPo), “Hoodoo Love” (Sound Theatre), “And In This Corner Cassius Clay” (SCT), “Milk Like Sugar” (ArtsWest), “Hooded; Or Being Black for Dummies” (Theatre Battery), “F*cking A” (UW). Currently André is completing a feature-length documentary: “A Soul Cleansing.” He is a proud graduate of the University of Washington’s School of Drama (Professional Actor Training Program) 2018 & NYU’s Steinhardt Program 2015.

Heinley Gaspard Leland

PlayMakers: Company member in second year of UNC’s Professional Actor Training Program. “The Skin of Our Teeth.”

Recent/Favorite credits: “House of the Negro Insane” (Contemporary American Theatre Festival 2022) NYC credits include “Split Second” (Theatre 54, 2019), “The Bellagio Fountain” (Here Arts, 2017), “Macbeth” (Bank Street Theatre, 2019) FENCES (Hudson Theatre Works 2013). Film/TV: “Omniboat” (Sundance 2020) “Coney Island Queen” (Cannes 2014), “For Life” (ABC 2019), “Wutang: An American Saga” (Hulu 2022). Heinley holds a B.S. in Biology with a Molecular Cellular Physiology concentration and spent 16 years as a Clinical Technician. His Actor Training includes Mason Gross School of the Arts, The William Esper Studio, The Upright Citizens Brigade. @DaGreatGaspy @HeinleyGaspard HeinleyGaspard.com

Tia James Angel

PlayMakers: Company member for three seasons. Actor: “A Wrinkle in Time,” “Julius Caesar,” “Native Son.” Vocal coaching includes “Ragtime,” “How I Learned to Drive,” “Life of Galileo,” “Bewilderness,” “She Loves Me,” “Skeleton Crew,” “Sherwood,” “Jump,” “Your Healing is Killing Me.” Director: “How I Learned What I Learned, “As You Like It,” “Macbeth” (PlayMakers Mobile) and “Constellations” (PlayMakers Ground Floor). Broadway: “The Merchant of Venice.” Off-Broadway / New York: “The Winter’s Tale,” “The Merchant of Venice” (Shakespeare in the Park). Regional: “Much Ado About Nothing” (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company); “Richard III” (Allentown Shakespeare); “Loving and Loving” (Stella Adler Studios); “Much Ado 19

About Nothing” (Two River Theatre); “Civilization [All You Can Eat]” (Woolly Mammoth Theater). Television: “Nurse Jackie,” “Treme.” Teaching / Coaching / Directing: UNC-Chapel Hill, NYU Graduate Acting, NYU Dance, Atlantic Acting School, Montclair University. Education/Awards: MFA NYU Tisch Graduate Acting Program, BFA Virginia Commonwealth University; Teacher Training under Scott Miller and John Patrick. Recipient of the 2014 NYU Graduate Acting Diversity Mentorship Scholarship, 2003 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship winner for Best Actor; 2019 Michael Chekhov/Zelda Fichandler Scholarship.

Jamar Jones Guy

PlayMakers: Company member in second year of UNC’s Professional Actor Training Program. “A Wrinkle in Time,” “Stick Fly” (understudy), “The Skin of Our Teeth.” “The Brothers Size” (PlayMakers Ground Floor). Regional: “Black Like Me” (Chautauqua Theater Company); “Fires in the Mirror,” “Passing Strange” (Firehouse Theatre); “Fences,” “Akeelah and the Bee” (Virginia Repertory Theatre); “Red Velvet” (Quill Theatre); “An Octoroon,” “Topdog/Underdog” (TheatreLab); “Free Man of Color” (The Heritage Ensemble Theatre Company); “Choir Boy” (Richmond Triangle Players/THETC); “Everybody," “Equus” (Cadence Theatre Company). University: “Pure Confidence,” “Blues for Mister Charlie,” “The Story” (University of Richmond). Education/Awards: The College of William and Mary, B.A. Sociology and Theatre. 2019 Richmond Theatre Critics Circle Award, Best Actor in a Leading Role – Play for “An Octoroon,” 2020 RTCC Award, Ernie McClintock Best Ensemble Acting for “Passing Strange.”

Saleemah Sharpe Delia

PlayMakers: Company member in second year of UNC’s Professional Actor Training Program. “The Skin of Our Teeth.”

“Gloria,” “A Doll's House, Part 2” (PlayMakers Ground Floor).

New York: “King Lear” (NY Classical). Regional: “Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea” (Rhinoleap Production NC). University: “As You Like It” (Stella Adler Studio of Acting); “King Lear,” “Soon Again Not Yet,” “Sopita” (Royal Social Distance Company); “Sins of the Father” (Eden Theater Company); “Significant Other” (The Theatre Project); “The Block” (Lakai Dance Theatre); “Ubu Roi,” “Straight Outta Kansas,” “Antigone” (Montclair State University). Film: “The Girl With the Eyes” (Independent film), “Remission Accomplished” (Student film). Television: “iCarly” (Nickelodeon), “The Electric Company” (PBS Kids).Education: Montclair State University B.A. Theatre 21 Studies & a double-minor in Myth Studies & Business.

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CREATIVE TEAM BIOS Valerie Curtis-Newton Director

Last at PlayMakers in 2019 with “Skeleton Crew,” Valerie is currently Head of Directing & Playwriting at the University of Washington’s School of Drama. Valerie is the founding Artistic Director of The Hansberry Project – an African American Theatre Lab. She has previously served as the Artistic Director of Hartford Connecticut's Performing Ensemble, Inc. and the Artistic Director for Seattle's Ethnic Cultural Theatre. Her national credits include work with The Guthrie Theatre, Intiman Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, Mark Taper Forum/Center Theatre Group, Actors’ Theatre of Louisville, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop and Southern Repertory Theatre.

Matthew Smucker Scenic Designer

PlayMakers: Debut. Regional: “Dracula,” “The Crucible,” “The Legend of Georgia McBride,” “Mr. Burns,” “The Invisible Hand,” “Grey Gardens,” “First Date,” “In the Next Room,” “The Trip to Bountiful,” “Rock ’n’ Roll,” “Eurydice,” “The Women,” “Wine in the Wilderness,” “Flight,” and “The Pillowman” among others (ACT); “Rock of Ages,” “Man of La Mancha,” “Elf,” “Oklahoma!,” “Candide” (5th Avenue); “Dry Powder”; “Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ?”; “Circle Mirror Transformation”; “Speech & Debate”; “Three Tall Women,” among others (Seattle Rep); “Last Night and the Night Before” (Denver Center); “Beatrice and Benedict” (Seattle Opera); “All my Sons,” among others (Intiman); as well as designs for Arizona Theatre Company, Artist’s Repertory Theatre, Kansas City Rep, Paper Mill Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, San Jose Rep, Seattle Shakespeare, Seattle Children’s, and Village Theatre, among many others. Smucker is a Professor at Cornish College of the Arts, received his M.F.A. from the University of Washington School of Drama, and is a proud member of United Scenic Artists.

Melanie Burgess Costume Designer

PlayMakers: Debut. Melanie Burgess is a Seattle based Costume Designer.

She has designed costumes for over 170 productions for: Seattle Opera, Seattle Repertory Theatre, 5th Avenue Theatre, ACT, Intiman Theatre, The Village Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Company, New Century Theatre Company, Seattle Theatre Company, Strawberry Theatre Workshop,Taproot Theatre, Tacoma Actor’s Guild and The Empty

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Space Theatre. Regionally for: The Guthrie, Cincinnati Playhouse, Denver Center, Arizona Theatre Company, Minneapolis Children’s Theatre, Tantrum theatre-Ohio, Idaho Theatre for Youth, Honolulu Theatre for Youth, and Hawaii Opera. Melanie received her MFA from the University of Washington. She is the recipient of the 1st Gregory Award for Outstanding Costume Design 2010 and again in 2019 and has received 7 Seattle Footlight Awards. She is a professor of Costume Design at Cornish college of the Arts. melanietaylorburgess.com

Marcus Dilliard Lighting Designer

PlayMakers: “The Tempest,” “Metamorphoses,” “Imaginary Invalid.” Marcus has designed for theatre and opera across North America and in Europe.

He has designed numerous productions for the Guthrie Theater, Minnesota Opera, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, The Moving Company, Theater Latté Da, Penumbra Theatre, Minnesota Orchestra, Children’s Theatre Company, Ordway Music Theater, Minnesota Dance Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre, and Actors Theatre of Louisville. He has also designed for the Spoleto Festival (Italy); the Athens Festival, Lyric Opera Kansas City, Portland Opera, San Diego Opera, Flanders Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Opera Pacific, Pittsburgh Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Vancouver Opera, Opéra de Montréal, Canadian Opera Company, Chicago Opera Theater, and Boston Lyric Opera. Marcus is the recipient of an Ivey Award, a Sage Award, and two McKnight Theater Artist Fellowships. He is a professor in the department of Theatre Arts and Dance at the University of Minnesota and is a graduate of Boston University’s School for the Arts.

Larry D. Fowler, Jr. Sound Designer

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PlayMakers: Debut. Larry is a Philadelphia-based theater sound designer, radio imaging producer, and music producer whose work spans 20+ years.

Theater companies Larry has designed for include Wilma Theater, Azuka Theater (Current Board Member), Interact Theater, Theater Horizon, People’s Light, Theater Exile, The Lantern Theatre, Denver Center, Trinity Rep, Rennie Harris Puremovement (DJ-Rome And Jewels), ELeon Dance, Danse4Nia, and Khaleah London Dance. He is a 3-time Barrymore Award nominee for his work on “Blood Wedding” (Wilma Theater, 2017), “Peter and the Starcatcher” (Theater Horizon, 2018), and “Hype Man" (Interact Theater, 2018). In broadcast radio, Larry has been an in-studio producer and board operator for Radio One, Inc. in Philadelphia and is currently an imaging producer, voice over talent, and content editor for Healthcare Now Radio.

com. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at The University of the Arts. https://soundcloud.com/whatsthatsound1 @mrcisum

Jacqueline E. Lawton Dramaturg

PlayMakers: Company member in her 8th season and professor in the Department of Dramatic Art at UNC-Chapel Hill. Regional Dramaturgy: Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival of New American Plays, Arden Theater, Arena Stage, Ensemble Studio Theater, Ford’s Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Horizons Theater, Interact Theatre, Kennedy Center VSA Program, Rorschach Theatre, Round House Theatre, the Stratford Festival, Theater J, Virginia Stage Company and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company Playwright: “Anna K”; “Among These Wild Things”; “Behold, a Negress”; “Blackbirds”; “Blood-bound and Tongue-tied”; “Deep Belly Beautiful”; “The Devil’s Sweet Water”; “Edges of Time”; “Freedom Hill”; “The Hampton Years”; “Intelligence”; “Love Brothers Serenade”; “Mad Breed”; “Noms de Guerre”; “So Goes We”; and “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” Education/ Affiliations: MFA in Playwriting, University of Texas at Austin; James A. Michener Fellow. TCG Young Leaders of Color, National New Play Network (NNPN), Arena Stage’s Playwrights’ Arena, Center Stage’s Playwrights’ Collective and the Dramatist Guild of America.

Gwendolyn Schwinke Vocal Coach

PlayMakers: Company member in her fourth season. Actor: “As You Like It,” “The Skin of Our Teeth.” Vocal Coach: “A Wrinkle in Time,” “Yoga Play,” “Dairyland,” “Native Son,” “Julius Caesar,” “As You Like It.” Voice/Text/ Dialect Coach: Favorites include “Merry Wives of Windsor,” “Taming of the Shrew,” “Love’s Labor’s Lost,” “Cymbeline,” “Intimate Apparel,” “Merchant of Venice,” “Two Gentlemen of Verona,” “Ugly Lies the Bone,” “Comedy of Errors,” “Hamlet” (Shakespeare & Company); “Merry Wives…,” “Hamlet,” “The King and I” (Oxford Shakespeare Festival); “Boeing-Boeing,” “Lost in Yonkers” (Atlantic Stage). Actor: Carlyle Brown & Company, Oxford Shakespeare Festival, Frank Theatre, Red Eye Collaboration, Minnesota Shakespeare Project, Atlantic Stage, Old Creamery Theatre, Illinois Shakespeare Festival. Playwright: Plays developed and/or produced by Seattle Repertory Company, Cherry Lane Theatre, The Playwrights’ Center, Red Eye Collaboration, Judith Shakespeare Company, Jungle Theatre. Teaching: David G. Frey Fellow/Assistant Professor of Voice & Speech at UNC-Chapel Hill, Company Member at Shakespeare & Company, Designated Linklater Voice Teacher and Teacher Trainer, Guild-certified Feldenkrais Teacher.

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Sarah Smiley Stage Manager

After a seven-year hiatus in her home state of Florida, Sarah is excited to return to PlayMakers as resident stage manager, having held that position from 2005 – 2015. In the interim, Sarah has been the resident stage manager and properties supervisor at freeFall Theatre in St. Petersburg, FL. She has worked with theatres, theme parks, and road houses in seven states and the U.K., including Tampa Playmakers, Tampa Players, Busch Gardens Tampa, the Alliance Theatre Company, 7 Stages, Gulfshore Playhouse, Shadowland Theatre, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff, Wales, and the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, and has been active in USITT and the Stage Managers’ Association. She received her M.F.A. from the University of Iowa.

Aspen Jackson

Assistant Stage Manager

PlayMakers: "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" (Summer Youth Conservatory). Aspen graduated in May of 2019 with a BA in Vocal Performance and Dramatic Arts from UNC-Chapel Hill. During her undergraduate career, she was stage manager for shows such as “Cendrillon,” “Dido and Aeneas” and “The Pillowman.” After graduating, Aspen completed an internship with the Walt Disney World Company and she worked as a production assistant for PlayMakers Repertory Company during their 19/20 and 21/22 seasons. Aspen is thrilled to be returning to PlayMakers Repertory Company this season for her debut as Resident Stage Manager.

Pat McCorkle, CSA McCorkle Casting, Ltd.

Pat McCorkle and McCorkle Casting continue to strive for inclusivity and social awareness during it’s 35 year history in casting. Broadway: Over 50 productions including; On The Town, Amazing Grace, End of the Rainbow, A Few Good Men. etc. Off-Broadway: Over 60 productions: Highlights; Tribes, Our Town, Driving Miss Daisy. Regional Theatre: Guthrie, Barrington Stage, George Street Playhouse, hundreds of other regional theatres. Feature films: Currently working on 6 films. Previous projects; “Premium Rush”, “Ghost Town”, “The Thomas Crown Affair”, “Die Hard with a Vengeance” etc.

Television: 2 new films for Hallmark, “Twisted”, Humans for “Sesame Street”.

(CBS),“Californication”(Emmy Nomination “Chappelle’s Show”, “Strangers with Candy etc. (mccorklecasting.com)

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Vivienne Benesch

Producing Artistic Director

Vivienne is in her seventh full season as a company member and Producing Artistic Director at PlayMakers, where she has helmed productions of “The Storyteller,” “Dairyland,” “Life of Galileo,” “Leaving Eden,” “The May Queen,” “Three Sisters,” “Love Alone,” “RED” and “In The Next Room.” In her six seasons with the theatre, she is particularly proud to have produced ten worldpremieres and launched PlayMakers Mobile, a touring production aimed at reaching underserved audiences around the Triangle. For 12 seasons, she served as Artistic Director of the renowned Chautauqua Theater Company and Conservatory, presiding over the company’s transformation into one of the best summer theatres and most competitive summer training programs in the country. Vivienne has also directed for the Folger Shakespeare Theatre (Helen Hayes nomination for best direction 2019), The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Trinity Repertory Company, NY Stage & Film, and Red Bull Theatre, among others. In 2018, she directed the world premiere of Noah Haidle’s “Birthday Candles” for Detroit Public Theatre and and just finished directing its Broadway production, starring Debra Messing. As an actress, Vivienne has worked on and off-Broadway, in film and television, at many of the country’s most celebrated theatres, and received an Obie Award for her performance in Lee Blessing’s “Going to St. Ives.” Vivienne is a graduate of Brown University and NYU’s Graduate Acting Program. As an educator, she has directed for and served on the faculty of some of the nation’s foremost actor training programs, including The Juilliard School, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Professional Actor Training Program, Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Program, and at her alma mater, NYU’s Graduate Acting Program. She is the 2017 recipient of the Zelda Fichandler Award given by the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation.

Michael Rolleri

Production Manager

Michael is in his 36th season with PlayMakers Repertory Company. He has been Technical Director, Project Manager, Exhibition Technician, and Lighting Designer for industrial shows in the Southeast region, as well as lead carpenter for films, the U.S. Olympic Festival, and scenic studios. He has also been a rigger in the Southeast region and has served on the executive board and as President of IATSE Local 417. Michael is a 30 year Gold Pin member of IATSE. An active member of United States Institute For Theatre Technology (USITT), he is a three-time winner at USITT's Tech Expo. He is a full Professor/Head of the Technical Production Program at UNC-Chapel Hill and was an instructor at High Point University and Tufts University.

Education: MFA in Design and Technical Production, UNC-Greensboro. 27

GENERAL INFO

Joan H. Gillings Center for Dramatic Art CB# 3235, UNC-Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3235 Box Office: 919.962.7529 Website: www.playmakersrep.org facebook.com/playmakersrep

instagram.com/playmakersrep

@playmakersrep

playmakersrep.org/blog

What Will Shows Look Like This Year?

The 22/23 season will feature six live, in-person performances featuring works that explore the resilience of family bonds in all their complicated forms, friendships that transcend language, time, and space, and one man’s connection to his community that helps him stand taller than he could alone.

Health and Safety

PlayMakers Repertory Company is committed to the safety and well-being of our patrons, artists and staff. We will be following state, industry and University safety guidelines in the 22/23 season.

All patrons are encouraged to wear masks while inside the Joan H. Gillings Center for Dramatic Art.

We have increased sanitation measures throughout the building and put some new protocols in place to improve safety including: • Touch free electronic ticketing • Hand sanitizers throughout the Center for Dramatic Art • More frequent cleaning of high-touch surfaces • HEPA filtration units

Box Office Hours

Mon, Weds, Fri 12:00p.m.-5:00p.m. and 90 minutes before each performance.

What If I Have to Miss My Performance Date?

For the safety of all our artists, patrons, and staff, if you feel unwell, please stay home. You may call our Box Office and ask to be reseated for another performance, or request a refund up to 48 hour before your ticketed performance.

If you know you will miss a performance date, we can exchange your ticket for you, based on availability. Please call our Box Office at least 48 hours before your scheduled performance, and please be aware that all exchanges are based on availability and a fee or additional cost may apply. Subscribers may exchange their tickets with no additional fee, but additional cost may apply with a change in performance or section.

Use of Cell Phones and Other Electronics

Texting and using cell phones, laptops, smart watches, and other devices lightor sound-emitting devices are strictly prohibited during the performance.

Please turn all electronic devices to silent, theatre mode, or off during the show.

Cameras or Recording Devices

Taking photographs or videotaping inside the theatre is strictly prohibited during performances. However, before the show, during intermission, and after the show, you are invited to take and share your photos of the stage and scenery.

Parking

There are several paid and free parking options available near PlayMakers.

We recommend arriving 30 minutes before the show so that you have time to park and pay (Monday-Thursday evenings only) and find your seat. For more information and an interactive map of nearby parking options, please visit www.playmakersrep.org/parking

Policy on Young Children

As a courtesy to our patrons, it is the policy of PlayMakers not to admit children under the age of 5. All of our shows have content ratings for each production (for example: Rated PG-13). If you are considering bringing your child, please refer to website or contact our Box Office for further information.

All patrons, regardless of age, must have a ticket.

Headsets for Hearing Impaired Patrons

Our theatres are equipped with sound systems that amplify the sound from the stage. Patrons who wish to use the system may obtain headsets on a first-come, first-served basis from the coat check. Headsets must be returned immediately after the performance.

Late Seating and Leaving Your Seat During the Show

To minimize disruptions to the actors and other patrons, late seating will be provided at the discretion of the house manager at an appropriate break in the action on stage. Patrons who need to be seated late must be escorted by house staff to seats at the rear entrance of the auditorium, which entails climbing a flight of stairs. Patrons can take their regular seat at intermission.

OUR PARTNERS PlayMakers’ 2022/23 Season is Made Possible in Part by Grants from

Foundation Support

National Endowment for the Arts, North Carolina Arts Council, The Shubert Foundation, Fidelity Foundation, Truist Foundation, The Educational Foundation of America

Additional Funding for Guest Artists is Provided by

Robert Boyer and Margaret Boyer Fund, Louise Lamont Fund, Emeriti Professors Charles and Shirley Weiss Fund

Producing Council

Mebane Lumber, Residence Inn Chapel Hill, Spoonflower, Larry's Coffee, The Siena Hotel/Il Palio Restaurant

Corporate Council

De Maison Selections, Aloft

Associates

Cambria Suites 30

PlayMakers Repertory Company is a program of the Department of Dramatic Art, The College of Arts and Sciences, and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, recognizes PlayMakers as a professional theatre organization and provides grant assistance to this organization from funds appropriated by the North Carolina General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts. PlayMakers is a beneficiary of the Elizabeth Price Kenan Endowment and the Lillian Hughes Prince Endowment.

PlayMakers Repertory Company is a Member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre.

This Theatre operates under an agreement between the League Of Resident Theatres (LORT) and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

The scenic, costume, lighting and sound designers in LORT Theatres are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE. The Director and Choreographer are members of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.

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PLAYMAKERS Administration

Vivienne Benesch, Producing Artistic Director

Artistic

Tracy Bersley, Movement Coach/Choreographer Chelsea James, Producing Assistant Tia James, Vocal Coach Gregory Kable, Dramaturg Jacqueline E. Lawton, Dramaturg Jeffrey Meanza, Associate Artistic Director Mark Perry, Dramaturg Gwendolyn Schwinke, Vocal Coach Jeri Lynn Schulke, Engagement Associate Adam Versényi, Dramaturg

Development

Kymberly Burkhead-Dalton, Director of Development

Marketing & Audience Services

Hannah Hendren, Communications & Advancement Asst Alex James, Audience Services Associate Diana Pineda, Director of Sales & Marketing Thomas Porter, Box Office Manager Rosalie Preston, Associate Director of Marketing Jenna Zottoli, Audience Services Associate

Administration

Kate Jones, Business Operations Coordinator Lisa Geeslin, Accountant Maura Murphy, General Manager

Department of Dramatic Art

Kathryn Hunter-Williams, Chair and Associate Professor

Faculty

Milly Barranger, Professor Emerita Vivienne Benesch, Professor of the Practice Tracy Bersley, Associate Professor Pamela Bond, Visiting Teaching Assistant Professor Jan Chambers, Professor McKay Coble, Professor Jeffrey Blair Cornell, Associate Chair, Teaching Prof.

Ray Dooley, Professor Emeritus Samuel Ray Gates, Assistant Professor Julia Gibson, Associate Professor David Hammond, Professor Emeritus Letitia James, Assistant Professor Gregory Kable, Teaching Professor Jacqueline E. Lawton, Associate Professor Adam Maxfield, Teaching Professor Triffin Morris, Professor of the Practice

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David Navalinsky, Professor Bobbi Owen, Distinguished Professor Emerita Laura Pates, Teaching Assistant Professor Kathy Perkins, Professor Emerita Mark Perry, Teaching Associate Professor Rachel E. Pollock, Teaching Assistant Professor Michael Rolleri, Professor Gwendolyn Schwinke, Assistant Professor Aubrey Snowden, Teaching Assistant Professor Craig Turner, Professor Emeritus Adam Versényi, Professor

Staff

Lisa Geeslin, Accounting Technician Jordan Clodfelter, KTC Technical Director Karen Rolleri, Business Coordinator Jamie Strickland, Business Officer

OUR 22/23 COMPANY Production

Michael Rolleri, Production Manager

Costumes

Amy Evans, Costume Shop Manager Marissa Lupkas, Wardrobe Supervisor Matthew Mallard, Assistant Costume Director Triffin Morris, Costume Director Rachel Pollock, Costume Craftsperson Costume Production Graduate Students: Matty Blatt, Jocelyn Chatman, Emma Hoylst, Zachery Morriso, Lou Pires, Sally Rath, Athene Wright

Lighting

Benjamin Bosch, Electrics Supervisor

Props

Emma Anderson, Props Artisan Lauren Reinhartsen, Properties Supervisor

Stage Management

Aspen Jackson, Stage Manager Sarah Smiley, Stage Manager

Sound

David Bost, Sound Supervisor

Scenic

Anthony Cacchione, Production Carpenter Adam Maxfield, Technical Director Laura Pates, Assistant Technical Director Jessica Secrest, Scenic Artist Technical Production Graduate Students: Brock Burton, Joel Ernst, Luke Robinson, Rachel Van Namen, Garrett Weeda Will Peele, Undergraduate Assistant-Scene Shop

PlayMakers’ Resident Acting Company Jeffrey Blair Cornell Kathryn Hunter-Williams

Samuel Ray Gates Tia James

Julia Gibson Gwendolyn Schwinke

Professional Actor Training Program: Hayley Cartee, Heinley Gaspard, Jamar Jones, Saleemah Sharpe, Sanjana Taskar, Adam Valentine

For this Production Laura Pates, Production Technical Director Adam Maxfield, Assistant Technical Director Lou Pires, Assistant to the Costume Designer

Jocelyn Chatman, Matty Blatt, Emma Holyst, Drapers Zachery Morriso, Stitchers Sally Rath, Crafts Assistant

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THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A MORE IMPORTANT TIME TO SUPPORT PLAYMAKERS AND THE ARTS

As a nonprofit professional theatre, ticket sales traditionally cover only half of our annual operating costs.

We must rely on the generosity of our community to help close the gap and keep our stages alive.

You can help support and sustain all our work, both on stage and off, by making a tax-deductible gift which enables us to: • Bring innovative, entertaining, and relevant theatre to the Triangle • Serve students across the state through our award-winning educational programs • Engage with our audiences through artist and community conversations • Remain flexible, safe, and better prepared for the future Every gift, big or small, makes a huge difference!

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Ways to Give Online playmakersrep.org/give PHOTO OF THE CAST OF TARTUFFE BY HUTHPHOTO

Phone or Email prc_development@unc.edu 919.962.4846

Mail Send your check to: Kymberly Burkhead-Dalton PlayMakers Repertory Company Joan H. Gillings Center for Dramatic Art CB 3235 Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3235

FRIENDS OF PLAYMAKERS PlayMakers is grateful to the members of the Friends of PlayMakers for their generous support. For more information about how to join this dynamic group of supporters, call Director of Development Kymberly BurkheadDalton at 919.962.4846 or visit us at playmakersrep.org.

Director’s Circle ($10,000+)

Anonymous Betsy Blackwell and John Watson Jr. Thomas and Holly Carr G. Munroe Cobey Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Joan H. Gillings ~ The Charles Goren and Hazen Family Foundation,

Trustees Tom and Lisa Hazen Brian Hargrove and David Hyde Pierce Mrs. Frank H. Kenan Coleman and Carol Ross Schwab Charitable Shubert Foundation Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program Alan H. Weinhouse

Angel ($5,000–9,999)

Anonymous American Endowment Foundation Andrew and Katherine Asaro ^ + T. Chandler and Monie Hardwick Munroe and Becky Cobey Robert and Mary Ann Eubanks Gordon J. Ferguson Drucie French and Steve Cumbie Joanne and Peter Garrett Chan and Monie Hardwick Kim Kwok Mr. and Mrs. William O. McCoy Paul and Linda Naylor Bobbi Owen Amy and Nick Penwarden The Prentice Foundation Paul McNeill Sconyers The Educational Foundation of America Theatre Projects Jim and Bonnie Yankaskas

Investor ($2,500–4,999)

Anonymous Richard and Deirdre Arnold ^ Andrew and Katherine Asaro ^ + Vivienne Benesch Stephen S. Birdsall Ed and Eleanor Burke Cindy and Thomas Cook Cindy K. Cook Joanne and Peter Garrett Susan E. Hartley Dr. Lyle V. Jones Susan J. Kelly Robert and Kathryn Kyle Mark & Bette Morris Family Foundation Sandy and Ned McClurg ^ Mark and Julie Morris Amy Penwarden Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund Jean and Joseph Ritok Dr. and Mrs. Edward Smithwick Triangle Community Foundation David and Heather Yeowell

Page to Stage ($1,500– 2,499)

David and Judy Adamson Ayco Charitable Foundation Steve Benezra ^ Edmund S. Burke Capital Group Company Charitable Foundation

Matching Gifts Jeffrey Blair Cornell and Maria Savage Julie R. Daniels Imre and Aniko Gaal Dustin and Susan Gillings Gross Susan G. Gross

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Kevin and Amy Guskiewicz David Howell IBM Corporation Matching Gifts Jacobs Preyer Family Foundation Hannelore and Konrad Jarausch Joanna Karwowska & Hugon Karwowski ^ Howard and Sandra Kaufman Kathryn and Robert Kyle Lauren Rivers Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust, Inc. Panter Foundation Rich and Marilyn Jacobs Preyer Perry Branin Silver Dr. and Mrs. William Stewart The Rev. Wendy R. and Mr. W. Riley Waugh Roger and Marlene Werner YourCause, LLC Trustee for IBM Matching Gifts

Partner ($1,000–1,499) Anonymous (4) Penny and Howard Aldrich Laurence Arthur Cobb Erwin Cohen Dede Corvinus Julie R. Daniels Jo Anne and Shelley Earp Constance and Robert Eby Dr. and Mrs. John P. Evans John and Diane Formy-Duval Aniko Gaal W. Patrick Gale Dana R. Greenwood Robert S. Greenwood Joseph and Deirdre Haj Clay and Jane Harrell Carol Hazard and Winston Liao Vikram Rao and Susan Henning Ann E. Holloman Lynn Knauff

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Jack Knight and Margaret Brown ^ Gary and Carolyn Koch Dr. Catherine Kuhn and Glenn Tortorici Shirley and Tom Kunkel Douglas and Nelda Lay Anand and Sandhya Lagoo Scott Levitan and Patrick Francisco Winston Liao Mort and Cheryl Malkin David and Harriet Martin Connie and Vernon Matzen Holly and Ross McKinney James and Susan Moeser Paul and Sherrie Norton Bettina Patterson Lee and Barbara Pedersen Isaac and Sabrina Presnell-Rockoff

Alec Rhodes Rif Riddick Rufus M. Riddick Carole Lynne Shelby David Sontag * Glenn J. Tortorici Sarah West and Thomas Dominick Jesse L. White, Jr. Paul and Sally Wright

Backer ($500–999)

Anonymous (3) Anonymous friends of Ben Kahn, In memory of Charles Kahn Akin Akinli Virginia M. Aldige Howard and Penny Aldrich Pete and Hannah Andrews Evelyn Barrow John W. Becton and Nancy B. Tannenbaum Shula and Steve Bernard Dr. Stanley Warren Black, III Stanley W. Black Julia A. Borbely-Brown Jackson Davis Breaks II and Carolyn Snyder Breaks Drs. Maurice and Mary Hughes Brookhart Jennifer and Robert Buckmire Keith Burridge and Patricia Saling Ann and John Campbell Philip and Linda Carl Clara Cazzulino Laurence A. Cobb Adrienne and John Cox* Brooks de Wetter-Smith and Mary Lou Leiser Smith David A. Doll Alexander M. Donaldson and Georgia Cobb Donaldson Dr. Carrie Donley W. Patrick Gale and Dr. Carrie Lynn Donley Bob and Connie Eby

Eli Lilly & Company Foundation Matching Gifts Program Thorsten Fjellstedt Mr. Stephen Mark Cumbie and Dr. Druscilla French Shayne C. Gad Bill Cobb and Gail Perry W. Patrick Gale ^ Nichole Gantshar Mike and Bonnie Gilliom Ugo Goetzl James P. Gogan Priscilla Alden Guild Carolyn and Jim Harris C. Hawkins ^ Drs. M. Vikram Rao and Susan June Henning Ann Holloman Betty Block James Julie and Robert Keely* Brenda W. Kirby Michael Maness and Lois Knauff Laura Koshel and Rafael de Jesus Leonard & Ruth Kreisman Randy and Cathy Lambe Douglas M. Lay and Nelda Kilcrease Lay Douglas Maclean and Susan Wolf Elaine Mangrum Janet McCarthy* Ed and Connie McCraw Cecilia D. Moore^ Mary Nunn Morrow Jill Muti Nelda K. Lay Revocable Trust Stephen Nelson Linda Williams Norris George D. Norton Paul and Cheryl Norton Liz and Dave Nuechterlein Lois Oliver Jo Ann and Gordon Pitz Mark and Eugenea Pollock Robert and Joyce Anne Porter

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Jodi and Glenn Preminger David and Lisa Price Elizabeth Raft Rao Family Foundation Dr. Terry Rhodes Victor and Linda Roggli Jan F. and Anne P. Sassaman Stephanie Ann Schmitt and Kevin Zachary Kinlaw Martha Scotford* Kyle and Jenn Smith Jackie Tanner* The Marconi Hoban Tell Fund of Triangle Community Foundation Glen H. and Sandy T. Elder Ernest T. Wilkes Alan Young

^ Sustainers Club Member + Women’s Point of View (WPOV) Supporter * PlayMakers Special Event Supporter ~ Deceased

This list is current as of January 18, 2022.

If your name is listed incorrectly or not at all, please contact PlayMakers Development Office at 919.962.2481. We will ensure you are recognized for your thoughtful support.

ist

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UP NEXT

OCT 12-30

A COMEDY THAT’S ANYTHING BUT NEIGHBORLY. Good fences don’t always make good neighbors, but they do make for great comedy! An attorney on the rise and his very pregnant wife couldn’t feel more welcomed by their new neighbors. But soon, a friendly disagreement about the lay of the land quickly spirals into a war of taste, class, and entitlement.

Jeffrey Blair Cornell

Julia Gibson

Sarita Ocón

playmakersrep.org

Alejandro Rodriguez

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Still to Come in PlayMakers'

22/23 Season

The season features six productions on the Paul Green Theatre stage, which will be transformed into the heart of the Harlem Renaissance, a usurper King’s court in Denmark, a neighborhood backyard battleground, a queen’s playground in Florida, a meddlesome English matchmaker’s drawing room, and, finally, familiar ground in the South for a young man’s journey of creative self-discovery.

OCT 12 – 30, 2022

JAN 25 – FEB 12, 2023

NOV 16 – DEC 4, 2022

MAR 1 – 19, 2023

MAR 29 – APR 16, 2023

Subscriptions & single tickets on sale now!

playmakersrep.org