Manning Playbill

LIVES

Stimulating conversation, strengthening connections, inviting contemplation.

Engaging and awakening community.

By design, our coffee is a catalyst for positive change and solidarity.

Giving voices to farmers, often unheard.

Telling stories, often untold.

Creating a union of unique experiences, cultures, and legacies.

Grounded in steadfast loyalty for our Maine beginning and our common future.

Responsibly. Collaboratively. Ethically.

For ALL people. For OUR planet.

Sourcing. Roasting. Cupping. Brewing. Cultivating. Refining.

Crafting a More Just World. And Great Coffee for All.

Coffee Cherry Sorting Busiga, Burundi May 2017

Located at: Administrative Office: For Tickets: 120 Exchange Street (207) 773-3150 PortTIX

Portland, ME 04101

e-mail: info@portlandovations.org

20 Myrtle Street Portland, ME 04101 (207) 842-0800

TTY:(207) 842-0812 Order online at: www.PortlandOvations.org www.PortTIX.com

Located at: Administrative Office: For Tickets: 25A Forest Avenue (207) 774-1043 25A Forest Avenue Portland, ME 04101 Portland, ME 04101 Fax: (207) 774-0576 (207) 774-0465

e-mail: boxoffice@portlandstage.org Order online at: www.portlandstage.org

Located at: Administrative Office: For Tickets: 85 Exchange Street (207) 773-6128 PortTIX 4th Floor 20 Myrtle Street Portland, ME 04101 Fax: (207) 773-6089 Portland, ME 04101 (207) 842-0800

e-mail: psobox@portlandsymphony.org

TTY:(207) 842-0812 Order online at: www.PortlandSymphony.org www.PortTIX.com

Located at: Administrative Office: For Tickets: 20 Myrtle Street 212 Canco Road PortTIX Portland, ME 04101 Portland, ME 04101 20 Myrtle Street (207) 808-5400 Portland, ME 04101 (207) 842-0800

Information: www.portlandevents.com

TTY:(207) 842-0812 www.PortTIX.com

Aimée M. Petrin, Executive Director

Anita Stewart, Executive & Artistic Director

Eckart Preu, Music Director

Portland presents...

A cooperative effort by Portland Ovations, Portland Stage, Portland Symphony Orchestra and Merrill Auditorium Concert Events.

Welcome to Portland Presents.

The program book for Northern New England’s premier arts and entertainment organizations.

Portland Presents wishes to thank our advertisers for the 2023-24 season. Visit our website at www.portlandpresents.org for direct links to our advertiser’s websites.

Acadia Insurance

Bach Virtuosi Festival

Baker Newman Noyes

Bath Savings

Brann & Isaacson

Browne Trading Company

Chilton Furniture

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Coffee by Design

cPort Credit Union

Cross Insurance

Cuddledown

Davis Landscape Co., Inc

Dead River Company

Drummond Woodsum

Eyecare Medical Group

Fogg’s Water Taxi & Charters

Gnome Landscapes, Design, Masonry & Maintenance

Greenhut Galleries & Cove Street Arts.

Hammond Lumber Company

HarborChase

HeadInvest

Home Instead

Hopkinson & Abbondanza, P.A.

LandVest Inc.

LeBlanc & Young

M & T Bank and Wilmington Trust

Maine Coast Waldorf School

Maine Periodontics

Marden’s Surplus & Salvage

Market Basket

MEMIC

New England Cancer Specialists

North Yarmouth Academy

Northern Light Mercy Hospital

Norway Savings Bank

OceanView at Falmouth

Perkins Thompson

Pierce Furniture

Piper Shores

Port Harbor Marine

R.M. Davis, Inc.

Reger Dasco Properties

Roux & Cyr Gallery

Rowe Westbrook

The Hill Arts

The Bennett Law Firm, P.A.

The Cedars

The Docent’s Collection

The Portland Harbor Group of Raymond James

Thos. Moser

Veterinary and Rehabilitation Center of Cape Elizabeth

Vitalius Real Estate Group

Waynflete

Wright Ryan Homes

If you or your business would like to advertise with Portland Presents, please contact any of the above organizations or check out our website at www.portlandpresents.org.

If you are Selling

We understand the Maine market and can help you achieve the best value for your property

If you are Buying

We offer spectacular properties for sale throughout New England and beyond

If you invest in Timberland

We lead the nation in the marketing and sale of investment timberland properties

If you need Consulting

We provide land planning, appraisal, and project management for significant real estate assets

Portland Office: 36 Danforth Street, Portland • 207-774-8518

We’ve traveled the back roads, we’ve navigated the waters, and we know Maine. Celebrating over 50 Years of knowledge, service, and results.

ABOUT US

Portland Ovations is a nonprofit cultural organization based in Southern Maine dedicated to gathering communities to share in the power of live performance. Ovations connects artists and audiences both onstage and off — making the arts an integral part of community life.

Our unique array of live performances for public and school audiences are curated to delight, inspire and educate. Venues used throughout greater Portland include historic and modern theaters, clubs, galleries, and classrooms — chosen carefully to ensure the best possible experience for both audiences and artists.

Join us for a season of performances that span the traditional to the contemporary, the intimate to the spectacular, the popular to the unexpected.

OUR VISION

To inspire a curious and imaginative community where the experience of the performing arts is a vital part of everyday life.

OUR MISSION

Portland Ovations propels the artistic, social, educational and economic wellbeing of communities through the power of the performing arts.

RACIAL EQUITY STATEMENT

At Ovations, we recognize that promoting racial equity and anti-racism in the arts and culture sector is essential to showcasing the brilliance and artistry of diverse and multicultural communities from around the globe. Our commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity and access extends to all aspects of our operations, including governance, programming and community engagement. We aim to include all voices, stories and perspectives in our programs and inspire similar efforts in the Portland, Maine area, resulting in a more just and equitable society where everyone’s contributions are valued.

Executive & Artistic Director

Aimée M. Petrin

Marketing Manager

Katie Day

Director of School & Family Programs

Liz Schildkret

Bookkeeper

Marlene Dye

STAFF

Associate Director

Casey Oakes

Production Manager

Eric Hager

Director of Community Programs & Partnerships

Katelyn Manfre

Office Administrator

Mary Campbell

Development Manager

Jamie Barilone

Finance & Operations Manager

Sam Dooley

Front-of-House Coordinator

Zoe Pancic

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President

Sayad Moudachirou

Treasurer

Michael F. Stillings

Michael A. Boyson

Genius Black

Maile Buker

Ken Grady

Nate Henry

Judith W. Adam

Kimberly Block

Olivier te Boekhorst

Janet M. Bowne

Bruce Brown

Maria Chambers

Vice President

Peter Genova

Secretary

Rachael Alfond

Corey Hinton

James Isaacson

Mary Allen Lindemann

Jack Lufkin

Nyamuon Nguany Machar

FOUNDER’S COUNCIL

Philip H. Gleason

Judith Halpert

Heidi N. Hansen

Kendall Harnett

Tracy Hawkins

Elizabeth T. High

Catherine H. Cloudman

Madeline G. Corson

Daniel N. Crewe

Charles W. Dibner

Francis A. Ferland

Robert H. Gardner

Phyllis Givertz

Carolyn Hughes

Daniel P. Hunter

J. Spencer Jones

Felicia Knight

Gary Koocher

Robert Ludwig

Jeff McKinnon

Elizabeth A. McLellan

Peter Milliken

Marcia G. Minter

James T. Morgan

Nicholas S. Nadzo

Thomas R. Newman

Bob Nielsen

Jean K. Nishiyama

Jane A. Parker

Stephen Poulos

Patti Roderick

Monroe Scharff

CELEBRATING 93 YEARS OF

Susan Morris

Mary K. Noyes

Daniel Nuzzi

Tania Powers

Connor Smart April Ylvisaker

Sigmund D. Schutz

Jaimie Schwartz

Lynn Shaffer

John D. Tewhey

Louise Thomas

June Vail

Alison Vanderhoof

Sarah A. Verville

Margaret A. Wilkis

STOMP

NOVEMBER 18 & 19, 2023 • 7PM & 1 PM

MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND

CO-PRESENTED WITH STATE THEATRE DakhaBrakha

NOVEMBER 28, 2023 • 7 PM

STATE THEATRE, PORTLAND

Zlata Chochieva, piano

FEBRUARY 17, 2024 • 3 PM

HANNAFORD HALL, PORTLAND

Sirocco: Manchester Collective & Abel Selaocoe

APRIL 5, 2024 • 7 PM

STATE THEATRE, PORTLAND

BROADWAY NATIONAL TOUR Mean Girls

MAY 16 & 17, 2024 • 7 PM

MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND

CO-PRESENTED WITH STATE THEATRE Sasha Velour’s The Big Reveal Live Show!

FEBRUARY 29, 2024 • 7 PM

STATE THEATRE, PORTLAND

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

APRIL 9, 2024 • 7 PM

MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND

Bluey’s Big Play

MAY 22 & 23, 2024 • 6 PM

MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND

CO-PRODUCED WITH STATE THEATRE Palaver Strings + little house dance: Noisefloor

DECEMBER 6 & 7, 2023 • 7 PM

STATE THEATRE, PORTLAND

Johnny Cash: The Official Concert Experience

MARCH 8, 2024 • 7 PM

MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND

BROADWAY NATIONAL TOUR Jesus Christ Superstar

APRIL 12 & 13, 2024 • 8 PM, 1 PM & 7 PM

MERRILL AUDITORIUM, PORTLAND

Daniel Bernard Roumain

MAY 11, 2024

ABYSSINIAN MEETING HOUSE, PORTLAND

MEMBER

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY OF PERFORMING ARTS SUPPORTERS

WABANAKI STORIES

Ovations Offstage

Ovations Offstage (O2) creates interactive programming for audiences at all ages and stages of their performing arts exploration. From workshops, masterclasses and lectures with artists and scholars to community events and School-Time Performances, O2 is where artists and audiences connect, creating magical moments that last a lifetime.

Masterclasses

Work with masterful artists from around the world and learn something new at an O2 workshop, available throughout the season. Masterclasses with select artists can be booked by school and community groups.

Pre-Performance Lectures

Join us before Mainstage performances for a wide variety of events, including talks, screenings, book clubs and demonstrations that contextualize and bring new meaning to the art and its thematic ties to our community.

School-Time Performances

Energize and engage students with the performing arts through onstage school-time matinees, in-school workshops and professional development for educators. Experiences are aligned with Common Core standards and are supported by educator resources and learning guides.

Cultivating Curiosity

Bringing stories to life onstage and in students’ homes and classrooms by providing every young person who attends select School-Time Performances with a free book to take home, along with classroom activities and resources to encourage embodied literacy.

Community Events

Be on the lookout throughout the season for free events around the area. From walking tours to shared meals to pop-up performances, O2 hosts gatherings that bring visiting art and artists into our vibrant local community.

Support. We provide it to our patients every day.

And we’re proud to support another season of exceptional and wide-ranging cultural performances for the Greater Portland community.

Working in harmony with your needs.

And when the show’s over, we welcome the chance to help our local Maine neighbors tend to their real-world needs. That includes providing the coverage that can protect your business from all major exposures. Because we believe the best place for drama is on the stage.

Welcome  to  Merrill  Auditorium,  Portland’s  Premier  Performing Arts Venue

Welcome to Merrill Auditorium, Portland’s Premier Performing Arts Venue

Home  to  Prime  Tenants Portland  Symphony  Orchestra,  Portland  Ovations  and The Friends  of  the Kotzschmar  Organ.

Home to Prime Tenants - Portland Symphony Orchestra, Portland Ovations and The Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ.

Each  year  we  host a  variety  of  concerts,  dance  performances, children’s  programming,  comedy  shows, corporate  meetings and  non profit  events  with  over  150,000  patrons  in  attendance annually!

Thank  you  for  being  a  guest  at our  theater,  please  enjoy  the  show!

Each year we host a variety of concerts, dance performances, children’s programming, comedy shows, corporate meetings and non-profit events with over 150,000 patrons in attendance annually!

Thank you for being a guest at our theater, please enjoy the show!

Merrill  Auditorium  is  managed  by  the  City  of  Portland  Pub lic  Assembly  Facilities  Division 212  Canco  Rd  Portland  Maine PHONE:  207.808.5400    WEB:    PortlandEvents.com

Merrill Auditorium is managed by the City of Portland Public Assembly Facilities Division Andrew J Downs, Director

- UPCOMING EVENTS -

Saturday January 20th @ 7:30 pm - BOARD TEACHERS COMEDY TOUR

Thursday Janurary 25th @ 7:30 pm - Graystone Promotions presents AN ACOUSTIC EVENING WITH RICK SPRINGFIELD & RICHARD MARX

Thursday February 8th @ 7:30 pm

Live Nations presents RANDY RAINBOW FOR PRESIDENT

Saturday February 10th - SHEN YUN

Thursday February 22nd @ 7:00 pm - Outback Presents SHANE GILLIS LIVE

March 1-2, 2024 - HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE™ IN CONCERT

March 3-4, 2024

Palladium Entertainment presents BRIT FLOYD - PULSE

Monday March 11th @ 7:30 pm Outback presents MICHAEL FLATLEY’S “LORD OF THE DANCE”

Tuesday March 12th @ 8:00 pm - SCOTT BRADLEE’S “POSTMODERN JUKEBOX”

Friday March 15th - JERRY SEINFELD

Thursday March 21st @ 7:00 pm - Live Nation presents ANTHONY JESELNIK

Friday March 22nd @ 7:00 pm

The Kotzschmar Organ presents BACH’S BIRTHDAY BASH

Saturday March 23rd @ 8:00 pm - Live Nation presents LEWIS BLACK

Sunday April 14th @ 7:00 pm - AN EVENING WITH DAVID SEDARIS

Tuesday April 16th @ 6:00 pm

Round Room presents SESAME STREET LIVE “SAY HELLO”

Thursday April 18th - Live Nation presents MATT RIFE

Friday April 26th @ 7:00 pm Awakening FNDN presents ZACH WILLIAMS “A HUNDRED HIGHWAYS TOUR”

Friday June 28th @ 7:00 pm - PUPPY PALS LIVE!

July 25-28, 2024 - Opera Maine presents “AIDA”

A t Holbrook, we provide the life your loved one wants with the care they need. Here, you’ll find a community setting that focuses on the individual— a place to call home filled with compassion and care. We call it PersonFirst ®

Perched on the Maine coast in scenic Scarborough, Holbrook at Piper Shores is open for new residents, providing skilled nursing, respite, assisted living, and memory care.

Are you ready for your closeup? To keep your health in harmony, Northern Light Mercy Hospital offers a full range of care for our community. Join in the chorus of people who consider Mercy their place for care. HOW ARE YOU?

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President

Sally

Board of Trustees

President’s Council

William

April Ylvisaker Tardiff

Distinguished Service Trustees

Peter S. Plumb

Administrative

Carolyn Nishon, Executive Director

McKenzie Blanchard, Director of Learning & Community Impact

Allison Page, Director of Marketing & Communication

Leah Robertson, Director of Development

Jennie Ryan, Director of Finance

Eva Tartaglia, Director of Artistic Operations

Marketing Manager

Cole, Donor Relations & Database Manager

Goodman, Music Librarian

A. McCullough, Graphic Designer

Pancic, House Manager Sara Hallie Richardson, Annual Fund Manager

Shapiro, Production Manager

Alyson Spencer-Reed, Finance Coordinator

Martin Webster, Orchestra Personnel Manager & Grant Writer

Hillary Winslow, Special Events Manager & Board Liaison

Michelle Zichella, Major Gifts Officer

BEETHOVEN’S 5TH:

COMPOSITIONS OF RESISTANCE

SUNDAY, JANUARY 28 | 2:30 PM

TUESDAY, JANUARY 30 | 7:30 PM

Eckart Preu, Music Director

Camille Thomas, violoncello

Mykola LYSENKO: Overture to Taras Bulba

Valentin SILVESTROV: The Messenger

Fazil SAY: Never Give Up: Concerto for cello and orchestra

BEETHOVEN : Symphony No. 5 op. 67

AMERICAN BEATS

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25 | 2:30 PM

Marco Parisotto, guest conductor

Pei-Ching Wu, percussion

BROADWAY BY REQUEST

SATURDAY, MARCH 9 | 7:30 PM

SUNDAY, MARCH 10| 2:30 PM

Filippo Ciabatti, guest conductor

Teri Hansen, vocals

Destan Owens, vocals

Experience some of Broadway’s most beloved favorites as chosen by popular vote, including songs from Wicked, Mamma Mia, RENT, Phantom of the Opera, and more! Broadway performers Teri Hansen and Destan Owens are joined by guest conductor Filippo Ciabatti and the PSO in this musical revue of the Great White Way.

Leonard BERNSTEIN: Overture to Candide

Leonard BERNSTEIN: Overture to Candide

John CORIGLIANO: Conjurer: Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra

Aaron COPLAND: Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes

George GERSHWIN: Catfish Row: Symphonic Suite from Porgy and Bess

Exceptional Musical Experiences

207.842.0800 | MONDAY—FRI DAY | 11 AM—3 PM

THE MIGHTY KOTZSCHMAR

SUNDAY, APRIL 21 | 2:30 PM

TUESDAY, APRIL 23 | 7:30 PM

T his concert will be filmed for release on PSO TV.

Eckart Preu, Music Director

James Kennerley, organ

Franz SCHMIDT:

Intermezzo from Notre Dame

César FRANCK: Le chasseur maudit (The Accursed Huntsman)

J.S. BACH (orch. Stokowski):

Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565

Camille SAINT-SAËNS: Symphony No. 3 in C minor, op. 78 (“Organ Symphony”)

THE MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS

SATURDAY, APRIL 6 | 7:30 PM

SUNDAY, APRIL 7 | 2:30 PM

Eckart Preu, Music Director

Music Director Eckart Preu and your PSO honor one of the most iconic film composers of all time—the great John Williams. Experience his critically acclaimed works live, including selections from Jurassic Park, Star Wars, and E.T.

PEPE ROMERO & MAHLER

TUESDAY, MAY 7 | 7:30 PM

Eckart Preu, Music Director

Pepe Romero, classical guitar

Joaquín RODRIGO: Concierto de Aranjuez

Gustav MAHLER: Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor

RISE UP:

AN EXPLORATION OF IDENTITY AND QUEER VOICES

TUESDAY, JUNE 18 | 7:30 PM

Eckart Preu, Music Director

Terrence Wilson, piano

Ethel SMYTH: Overture from The Wreckers

Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, op. 23

Leonard BERNSTEIN: Symphonic Dances, from West Side Story

FOR ONLY $10 A TICKET , treat your family to an unforgettable afternoon out with classical concerts conducted for children of all ages.

LISTEN LAUGH LEARN

These 50-minute performances are designed to ignite your kids’ lifelong interest in the magic of live symphony music.

Arrive 1-hour early for pre-concert opportunities to connect with the stars on the stage.

JOIN YOUR PSO FOR FOR UPCOMING DISCOVERY

SYMPHONIC SUPERHEROES

It’s a bird, it’s a plane… it’s your PSO! Soar through the skies and defeat evil villains as you find the hero inside. This musical celebration serves as a reminder that we all have the power to change the world

UNDER THE SEA

F rom the crashing waves on a beach to the unexplored depths of the ocean, get ready to dive in and be immersed in music inspired by our most valuable resource.

CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS: REMIX

Performances begin at 2:30 PM. Pre-Concert activites begin at 1 PM.

Take a journey around the world in this twist on Camille SaintSaëns Carnival of the Animals. Experience musical styles from all seven continents as you meet the different native animals. 21 JANUARY 24 MARCH 12 MAY

A Different Way of Looking at Things

In business, you have a lot to keep your eye on. Sometimes it’s hard to see the opportunities and the risks clearly. That’s where Drummond Woodsum can help. We use a team approach – a small group of highly specialized attorneys focused on helping your business see what’s ahead before you take that next step.

dwmlaw.com | 800.727.1941

MAKING AN ENTRANCE

A CAPITAL CAMPAIGN FOR THE HEART OF PORTLAND

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF CREATING THEATER

JANUARY 31 - FEBRUARY 25

MARCH 6 - MARCH 24

FOSTERING EXPERIMENTATION & ARTISTIC RISK

NEW WORK

Portland Stage is known for its role in cultivating new voices in theater and for creating a significant body of theatrical work that has gone on to success beyond our stage. By incubating new work and supporting writers, Portland Stage has established Maine as a place to launch original and compelling plays.

Since its debut in 1990, the Little Festival of the Unexpected (LFU) has established a tradition of nurturing artists, invigorating audiences, and exploring new voices, visions, and forms of theater. Past LFU scripts include Almost, Maine (LFU 2003) and Papermaker (LFU 2014).

Playwright Benjamin Benne, 2022 Clauder Competition Grand Prize Winner for his play Manning, soon to be a Mainstage production.

Benjamin’s play was selected to be a part of the 2023 Little Festival of the Unexpected, where it was performed for audiences.

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF CREATING THEATER ON STAGE • JUNE 5 - 16, 2024

INSPIRING LITERACY, CULTURAL AWARENESS, COLLABORATION, & CREATIVITY

EDUCATION

Education is central to Portland Stage’s mission. Vital education programs are offered in schools for students from pre-K through high school, and to children ages 4-18 through classes in our Susie Konkel Theater for Kids storefront space. Portland Stage’s Education Programs provide over 14,000 student experiences each year.

PLAY ME A STORY, presented by Portland Stage Theater for Kids, allows participants to enjoy dramatic readings of picture books, then participate in an interactive acting workshop with professional theater artists.

Top Feature: Elementary students enjoying an in-school workshop.

Above: Actor Nolan Ellsworth and students during an interactive theater experience at the Portland Stage Theater for Kids.

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF CREATING THEATER

HANDCRAFTED THEATER MADE IN MAINE

MAINSTAGE

With a season of six Mainstage shows, Portland Stage brings a wide range of performances to Maine. Every Mainstage show is handcrafted in our historic building in the Portland Arts District. Over one season, Portland Stage creates over 200 live performances and serves 50,000 people from around the state and beyond.

from

Top Feature: Emily Upton, Liam Craig*, Moira Driscoll*, Pilar Witherspoon*, & Jenny Woodward

Above: Liam Craig* & Jenny Woodward Side: Patrick O’Brien* (* Member of AEA)

Photos by James A. Hadley

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF CREATING THEATER

Photos

the 2023 production of Saint Dad by Monica Wood

There is an art to living well.

INDEPENDENT LIVING AT THE ATRIUM is luxurious and carefree, focused on wellness and personal growth, and filled with culture, activities, and friends. From farm-to-table dining to the saltwater pool, we give you the time to truly enjoy all Portland, Maine offers.

Schedule your personal visit today!

640 Ocean Avenue, Portland, Maine (207) 221-7100 | thecedarsportland.org

Providing a variety of options — from private charters on our small boat fleet that can accommodate up to six passengers, to our two larger vessels that can hold up to 49 passengers, we also offer daily public cruises aboard our 49 passenger Joseph S. Kennedy.

The perfect way to see Casco Bay. Give us a call to book your next charter. Foggswatertaxi.com

Ideally located within Portalnd’s Historic Old Port, every Urban Home is steps away from a vibrant arts community, local boutiques, and nationally recognized cuisine. thedocentscollection.com

“We are thrilled to welcome you back.”

Welcome home! As Portland Stage celebrates our 50th anniversary season, we are thrilled to share all that is new with you, our community.

Our building is transforming! From the new elevator and lobby space, to a marquee that will enliven the streetscape, we’re creating a whole new look and feel for our home this season. We are “Making an Entrance” to better serve you. Thank you in advance for helping us navigate the new.

We are celebrating this year with a blockbuster season. In keeping with Portland Stage’s own transformational journey, the characters in each of this season’s plays are moving through the process of change and discovery. We witness how life-altering events impact their futures in unexpected ways.

As always, each production is made right here in Maine by an incredible group of dedicated artists and technicians whose creativity and passion connect us all to the power of live theater. We are thrilled to welcome you back.

Anita Stewart, Artistic Director

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF CREATING THEATER

Portland Stage Mission

Portland Stage is committed to creating great art, passionate about using the theater to educate, and dedicated to enriching our community. WE:

• Engage, connect, inform: Through intimate, personal exchanges that can only happen in a live theater, we foster a shared empathy and sense of belonging.

• Build community: We create productions from the ground up, combining local talent with artists from away: Enriching both through lasting relationships and deeper understanding of each other and the world.

• Evolve to stay relevant: We innovate, cultivate, and incubate new ideas on our stages, in our classrooms, and with community partners.

Board of Trustees

Todd Nicholson, President

Samantha Bowen

Sarah Campbell

Susan Carter

Peter Clough

Scott Cowger

Fredric Farber

Margaret Groban

Amanda Hannan

Edith Iyer-Hernandez

John F. Leonard IV

Theresa McCarthy

Alisa Conroy Morton

Sara Murphy

Carole Palmer

Tony San Antonio

Cathy Stankard

Jane Stevens

Robin Talbot

Courtney Thorpe

Nelson A. Toner

Daniel Tucker

Anne Wade

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF CREATING THEATER

Pictured: Dustin Tucker* & Grace Bauer* from the 2023-24 Portland Stage production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (*Member AEA).

Portland Stage Team

LEADERSHIP

Artistic Director ................................................................................ Anita Stewart

Managing Director ........................................................................... Martin Lodish

ARTISTIC • PRODUCTION

Associate Production Manager • Sound Supervisor ............... Seth Asa Sengel

Associate Technical Director ......................................................... Jacob Coombs

Company Manager ..................................................................... Jennifer London

Costume Shop Manager................................................................. Susan Thomas

Literary Manager ..................................................................... Todd Brian Backus

Production Manager • Lighting Supervisor ............................... Mary Lana Rice

Props Manager .................................................................................. Emily St. John

Stage Managers ....................................................... Myles C. Hatch & Meg Lydon

Technical Director ................................................................................ Ted Gallant

ADMINISTRATION

Apprentice Coordinators ................................ Jennifer London & Julianne Shea

Audience Services Manager ............................................................ Donald Smith

Box Office Assistant Manager .....................................................Renee Myhaver

Business Manager .......................................................................... Paul Ainsworth

Campaign Assistant ................................................................................Allison Fry

Development Associate ................................................................Lindsey Higgins

Development Director ..................................................................... Covey Crolius

Education Administrator ................................................................. Julianne Shea

Education Assistant .............................................................................Isabel Bates

Education Director.................................................................Michael Dix Thomas

Front of House Associates .................................. Beka Bryer & Cassie Edincott Markis Larrivee & Madeleine St. Germain

Graphic Designer • Assistant Marketing Director ................... James A. Hadley

Group Sales Coordinator ............................................................... Myles C. Hatch

House & Concessions Manager ......................................................Chris DeFilipp

House Manager ........................................................................... Adam Thibodeau

Marketing & Communications Director ....................................... Erin Elizabeth

APPRENTICES

Company Management .................................................................... Lucie Green

Costumes .......................................................... Crow Traphagen & Elena Truman

Directing & Dramaturgy ...................... Julia Jennings, Alex Oleksy, & Jessi Stier

Education ................................................................... Ellis Collier & Ellery Kenyon

Lighting & Sound .................................................................................. Claire Lowe

Scenic Design ....................................................................................Isabel Martine

Stage Management ....................................... Katie Barnes & Elizabeth Sarsfield Enjoy the BEST Seats at the

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Pictured: Ezra Barnes (AEA) from the 2022-23 Portland Stage production of Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure written by Steven Dietz, based on the original 1899 play by William Gillette and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

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CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF CREATING THEATER

Pictured: JL Rey (AEA) from the 2022-23 Portland Stage production of Richard Blanco & Vanessa Garcia’s Sweet Goats & Blueberry Señoritas.

Pictured: Emily Upton, Patrick O’Brien*, Moira Driscoll*, Jenny Woodward, & Liam Craig* from the 2023-24 Portland Stage Production of Saint Dad by Monica Wood. (*Member AEA)

Photo by James A. Hadley.

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Maine Periodontics Arthur

Educational Camps & Classes

Monday - Friday 9am - 3pm June 24 - August 16

Our week-long theater camps are fun, challenging, and enriching! Stories of all kinds fuel active, collaborative, and exciting programs for grades K - 12.

Camps immerse participants in all aspects of theater, culminating in a sharing with friends and family at the end of the week!

Every student is invited to think, move, speak, and act imaginitively, critically, and creatively in an environment of inclusivity and play.

For more information, scan the QR code or contact education@portlandstage.org|207.774.1043 x104

Discussion Series

Page to Stage

Join us for a book club discussion of the plays in our 50th season at the Portland Public Library. Portland Stage Literary Manager Todd Brian Backus will lead discussions alongside assistant directors, dramaturgs, and special guests. Scripts are available at the Main Branch Reference Desk at the Portland Public Library and take place in the Rines Auditorium at the following dates and times.

Tuesday, February 20 • 5 - 6pm Clyde’s

................Tuesday, April 16 • 5 - 6pm

Tuesday, March 19 • 5 - 6pm Angels in America:

Manning ............................................................................. Tuesday, May 21 • 5 - 6pm

The Artistic Perspective

Join us after the first Sunday Matinee of each production for a discussion with Artistic Director Anita Stewart, as well as artists and scholars related to the production. These discussions are always free and open to the public, and attendees can join even if they didn’t attend the matinee itself. Check in with the Box Office for runtimes and try to arrive at Portland Stage about five minutes before curtain to join the audience after bows.

Curtain Call

Join us

after the second Sunday Matinee of each production for a discussion with the cast of each show, moderated by Literary Manager Todd Brian Backus. These discussions are always free and open to the public, and attendees can join even if they didn’t attend the matinee itself. Check in with the Box Office for runtimes and try to arrive at Portland Stage about five minutes before curtain to join the audience after bows.

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF CREATING THEATER

Pictured: Lizz Mangan, Hannah Cordes, Sam Rosentrater*, John Cariani*, Kathy McCafferty*, & Raymond McAnally* During Almost, Maine discussion (2020) (* Member AEA).

Your Safety Matters

To address safety concerns, WH Demmons updated our HVAC system to utilize bipolar ionization technology to deactivate harmful substances like bacteria, mold, allergens, and viruses.

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF CREATING THEATER

5 - 16

“In Ben’s tale, nature and nurture are opposing forces in the will to live and grow, and they become central to understanding how we navigate death as a natural part of life.”

How do you let go of something you love? When I first read Benjamin Benne’s Manning, a story of a father and two sons contending with the death of their wife and mother, it unfolded with such beauty that I was transported. The magical elements in the play allowed both the characters and myself to soar high above the grief. We don’t often let men express vulnerability in our society, and yet, the emotions here were raw and real. In Ben’s tale, nature and nurture are opposing forces in the will to live and grow, and they become central to understanding how we navigate death as a natural part of life.

Manning is the winner of the 2022 Clauder Competition, which Portland Stage has hosted since 1998. Ben was a gold prize winner in the 2020 Clauder Competition with his play In His Hands. After working with us on that play in 2021, he submitted Manning, as a blind submission, for the 2022 Competition. It has been wonderful to see him blossom into a Grand Prize winner.

The Clauder Competition is central to Portland Stage’s mission to highlight new works. By producing the winning play as well as reading and providing individualized feedback to every writer (over 170 in total) who submits a script, Portland Stage inspires, nurtures, and launches writers in the New England area. This program is made possible through the support of the Brooks Family Foundation. I’d like to thank the Foundation for helping Portland Stage play such a central role in developing writers in our region.

I’d also like to thank our audiences and supporters. Manning brings to a close a remarkable 50th anniversary season. We are so grateful to you for joining our celebration, embracing the renovation of our space, and sharing our performances and programs, and we look forward to sharing more next season.

Here’s to embracing the future!

Anita Stewart, Artistic Director

MANNING

Written

by Benjamin Benne

ON STAGE • JUNE 5 - JUNE 16

This theater operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

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

SETTING

Tacoma, Washington. The Present.

CAST

and Sound Designers in LORT are represented by United Scenic Artists Local USA-829, IATSE.

**The Scenic, Costume, Lighting, ***The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society is the theatrical union that unites, empowers, & protects professional Stage Directors and Choreographers throughout the United States.

The video and/or audio recording of this live production by any means whatsoever are strictly prohibited.

Julio ............................................David Anzuelo*

Sebastian ....................................... Martin Ortiz*

Freddy ......................... Shawn Denegre-Vaught*

Ana ................................................. Annie Henk*

ARTISTIC/PRODUCTION

Director ....................................................... Alex Keegan***

Scenic Designer .......................................... Emmie Finckel**

Costume Designer ............................ Kathleen Payton Brown

Lighting Designer ............................. Christopher Akerlind**

Sound Designer............................................ Seth Asa Sengel

Puppet Designer ................................................... Elliot Nye

Stage Manager ............................................ Myles C. Hatch*

Fight Choreographer ............................. Michael Dix Thomas

Props Manager ..................................................... Elliot Nye

Casting Director .............................................. Jenn Haltman

Assistant Director & Dramaturg ....................... Julia Jennings

Production Assistant ................................ Elizabeth Sarsfield

Wardrobe ....................................................... Elena Truman

Run Crew Swing ........................ Julia Jennings & Lucie Green

Manning by Benjamin Benne is the 2023 Grand Prize Winner of the Clauder Competition for New England Playwrights. It was workshopped at Portland Stage in the Little Festival of the Unexpected in 2023, and this production will be the world premiere of the play. Manning has also been workshopped at La Jolla and was developed with support from the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group at Primary Stages (NYC). Manning also received an academic production at Yale.

Special Thanks: Erminio Pinque, the Artistic Director of BIG NAZO LAB, and Pneuhaus for creating the inflatable Zucchini; Adam Thibodeau; and W.H. Demmons. Playwright Thanks: Amy Herzog, Sophie Greenspan, and Henriette Rietveld for dramaturgical contributions and Cat Rodríguez for Spanish language translation contributions.

BENJAMIN BENNE, PLAYWRIGHT

Benjamin Benne (he/him) has been awarded the National Latinx Playwriting Award, KCACTF Latinx Playwriting Award, Blue Ink Playwriting Award, Dr. Kerry English Award, and was named part of “LA Vanguardia: The Latino innovators, instigators, and power players breaking through barriers” by the Los Angeles Times. His produced plays include Alma (Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre, American Blues Theater, ArtsWest Playhouse, Curious Theatre Company, Central Square Theater, The Spot, Chance Theater, upcoming: Passage Theatre Company), In His Hands (Mosaic Theater Company, upcoming: First Floor), and What / Washed Ashore / Astray (Pillsbury House Theatre). He is a Playwrights’ Center Core Writer and has been commissioned by South Coast Repertory and Seattle Repertory Theatre. MFA: David Geffen/Yale School of Drama ‘22. www.benjaminbenne.com

ALEX KEEGAN, DIRECTOR

Alex Keegan is a director of new work, adaptations, and devised pieces. She’s previously directed Manning at Portland Stage’s Little Festival of the Unexpected, Primary Stages’ Fresh Ink Reading Series, and Yale School of Drama’s Carlotta Festival. Her recent directing includes: Maiden Voyage by Cayenne Douglass (The Flea), Charlotte’s Web (National Tour, TheaterWorksUSA), Birds of North America by Anna Ouyang Moench (Chester Theatre), The Incredible Book Eating Boy (The Hangar), Affinity co-adapted with Ryan Adelsheim from Sarah Waters’ novel and Uhuru by Gloria Majule (Yale Drama), and new work in development with NYTW Adelphi Residency, Ars Nova ANT Fest, Signature Theatre, and The O’Neill Theater Center’s Young Playwrights Festival. Alex is a 2023 Drama League Directing Fellow, 2022/2023 Directing Fellow at Rattlestick Theater, New Georges Affiliated Artist, recipient of an Ensemble Studio Theatre/Sloan Project New Play Commission, and on faculty at Wesleyan University. Alum: Roundabout Directors Group, The Civilians R&D Group, Williamstown Directing Corps, Geva Theatre Center Directing Fellowship, Lincoln Center Directors Lab. She holds an MFA from Yale School of Drama, where she received the Julian Milton Kaufman Memorial Prize for Directing. alex-keegan.com

AN INTERVIEW WITH PLAYWRIGHT BENJAMIN BENNE AND DIRECTOR ALEX KEEGAN

Edited for Clarity

& Length

by Julia Jennings

Julia Jennings (JJ): This production of Manning is part of an exciting, ongoing collaboration between the two of you. Could you each tell me a little about how this process started?

Benjamin Benne (BB): For me, the play started with an obsession with falconry videos and going down a YouTube rabbit hole during quarantine, and then [the process] continued when I was back home in Tacoma, Washington, for the first time after many years, during that first pandemic year, 2020. And watching my grandma garden outside the window where my writing desk was stationed. These images of like, carnivore in the air, vegetation coming up from the earth, feelings of grief and loss that just felt really omnipresent, and just sort of the cyclical nature of life and what does life look like after death started to permeate my writing. And somehow this play came out of an image that I suddenly had of a middle-aged man holding a giant zucchini and I was just like, I don’t know what the story is, but something about all these images around falconry, gardening, loss, and grief are all feeling like they’re part of the world building.

JJ: Alex, could you tell me a little about your process of directing new work?

Alex Keegan (AK): I think directing holistically is both deeply creatively fulfilling and also can, in moments, feel deeply isolated. Something about new play processes is that I rarely feel isolated in them. They feel like they’re inherently more actively collaborative because you’re in conversation from very early moments in development of the piece, and so you get to shape the initial world that the play can live in. There’s a great and exciting responsibility in that and in figuring out, what are the rules of this world? What is the artistic and aesthetic language? What sort of container can I create for the play in collaboration with others that will hold it and allow the story to really blossom, as opposed to working on a classic or something, which still feels like you’re mining the story and trying to enliven it, but inherently it’s been produced many times before.

JJ: What are you most excited for audiences to see in this iteration of Manning? What do you hope audiences will take away from this production?

AK: It feels like such a beautiful piece about how families reform and find each other again in the wake of loss, and I feel like it does that with humor and weirdness and poetry. Honestly, I hope audiences come into it with no expectations of what they’re about to see and are allowed themselves to be surprised and delighted and carried.

BB: It’s so funny, this conversation is making me realize how much the play has changed—it’s really wild to think about what the show was and what it is now, how much it’s grown. But I think one thing that has stayed really consistent for me—that I hope that the audience can appreciate—is the tenderness between men, and this incredible vulnerability. There are certainly moments where they harm each other and then have to repair that harm. But ultimately, it is about these men learning to take care of each other. And I just don’t see a whole lot of stories like that. So that was something that I was really interested in exploring with this play, and I think that has stayed true as the core of what the play is for me.

CAST BIOGRAPHIES

David Anzuelo* (Julio) Acting credits OffBroadway: Shared Sentences (Houses On The Moon Theater); Halfway Bitches Go Straight To Heaven (LAByrinth); Fish Men, Se Llama Cristina (INTAR); Intimacy, Aunt Dan & Lemon (New Group). Regional: Mother Road (Arena); Our Town (Northern Stage); Oedipus El Rey (Woolly Mammoth); Frost/Nixon (St. Louis Rep); The Mother#cker with the Hat (Kitchen Theatre); Stand-Up Tragedy (Body Politic; Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Supporting Actor). International tour: Peter Sellars’ The Merchant of Venice (Goodman/RSC; Thalia/ MC93). TV credits: The Americans; Succession; Blue Bloods; White Collar; Deadbeat; Elementary; Law & Order: CI; Mercy; The Sopranos. Film credits: A Walk Among the Tombstones; Remember Me; A New York Christmas Wedding; You Won’t Miss Me. David is the founder of UnkleDave’s Fight-House, a 3-time Drama Desk-nominated team of fight directors. He is also a member of LAByrinth Theater Company, and the 2024 Artist-in-Residence at INTAR Theater. His play Día Y Noche was produced by LAByrinth Theater Company last season Off-Broadway.

Martin Ortiz* (Sebastian) is a MexicanAmerican actor based in New York City. In addition to acting, he also writes for the stage and screen in the independent filmmaking scene. Off-Broadway: The Greatest Hits Down Route 66 (59E59). Select credits: Passionate Geometries by Richard Cameron-Wolfe (Symphony Space), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (NYU Grad Acting). MFA from NYU Graduate Acting.

(*Member of AEA)

Shawn Denegre-Vaught* (Freddy) is honored to be in the World Premiere of Manning. Recently, Shawn played “B” in Sanctuary City at Kitchen Theatre Company, Geva Theatre, and Portland Theater Festival. He was in the World Premiere of Kimberly Belflower’s John Proctor is the Villain at Studio Theatre where the cast was awarded two Helen Hayes Awards for Best Ensemble and Best Production. His film work includes Emerald; Texas, Blood Moon; Natural Causes; and Blind Love. Shawn’s television work includes The Barney Show and Three Women on STARZ, along with multiple commercials. He studied acting at The Theatre School at DePaul University and the USC School of Dramatic Arts.

Annie Henk* (Ana) is thrilled to return to Portland Stage where she last performed in Bad Dates directed by Jade King Carroll. Her New York Off-Broadway credits include World Premieres of Man Cave (P73), Pinkolandia, Lucy Loves Me (INTAR). Other NY Credits include: To The Bone (Cherry Lane Theatre), City of No Illusions (Talking Band), Cute Activist (Bushwick Starr), The Rafa Play (Flea Theater), La Ruta (Working Theater), Enfrascada (Clubbed Thumb), Frank Dwyer, Sadly Missed (EST). 2023 projects; Heather Raffo’s Migration Play Cycle (Kennedy Center), Hamlet bilingual staging (Classical Theater of Harlem/Folger/The Public), First Gen by Jon Rua, Dennis (Fiasco/Red Bull). As a bilingual voiceover artist, Annie voices Mami in the award-winning PBSkids series Alma’s Way. Book narrations include; Sunstroke, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, Finn, Starbound and Earthbound, and many other children’s audiobooks. Podcasts include; Macbeth (PlayOn), The Bleeding Class (Geva Theatre), Junior Space Lords (Kennedy Center). TV credits; Bull, The Blacklist, Longmire, Red Oaks. Film credits; Supporting in PONYBOI - 2024 Sundance Film Festival; Entre Nos, That’s What She Said. Member of The Actors Center and a recipient of the New Dramatists Charles Bowden Award.

(*Member of AEA)

CENTERSPREAD TOPICS

FANTASTIC, NOT MAGIC

By Alex Oleksy

Something strange is going on in Tacoma, Washington. Freddy and Sebastian’s father Julio won’t leave his room, and the young men have just discovered a five-foot zucchini in the garden where they buried their mother’s ashes. And it’s starting to talk.

Benjamin Benne’s surrealist approach to gardening, falconry, and grief in Manning blends the real and fantastic into a stirring narrative that untethers the audience from reality. Exploring the turmoil of the play’s three men, the playwright excavates the emotional through the physical, using the fruits and animals of the earth as spiritual stand-ins for those that have left.

This experimentation with the material world could be described as magical realism, a term coined in 1798 by German philosopher and poet Novalis, which re-emerged in literary criticism of the 1950s and ’60s to describe a writing movement in Latin America led by authors such as Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel García Márquez. Writers of the movement utilized mythology and fantastical elements in juxtaposition with a detailed portrait of reality. In his 1998 op-ed “Sirenas en el Amazonas,” journalist Mario Vargas Lloas argues that this literary tradition emerged from the pre-colonial cultures of the region, and that violent encounters with imperialist forces in the 16th and 17th centuries necessitated the blending of the real and unreal. In Lloas’ words, the chronicles of both colonizing and native populations reveal that “the border between objective reality, made of brief occurrences, and subjective reality, forged with ideas, beliefs, and myths, did not exist.”

While many Latine novelists, essayists, and playwrights continue the tradition of exploring the fantastic within their work, they have also pushed back on the catch-all term of magical realism. In his Los Angeles Review of Books essay “What We Talk About When We Talk About Magical Realism,” writer Fernando Sdrigotti argues against the popularity of the label, highlighting the term’s over-simplification and exoticization of the wide range of regions, cultural traditions, and artists of Latin America.

Sdrigotti proposes “that there is more to be gained from considering Latin American literature as driven by ‘lo fantástico,’

Read more in the Portland Stage PlayNotes Available for free online, or to purchase in the Lobby or Box Office!

without resorting to vague distinctions in how that fantastical element works.” Instead of trying to dissect the logic of magical worldbuilding, readers gain more from understanding the need for the fantastic element. What is buried beneath the surface, and why can’t the writer unearth it literally?

For Benne’s Manning, the politics and weight of grief demand the exploration of subjective reality. In the face of patriarchal violence that has silenced Julio, Freddy, and Sebastian, the loss of wife and mother Ana cannot be experienced objectively. When men have not been taught how to healthily communicate, new pathways of dialogue are paramount. The appearance of a giant zucchini is not a stylistic flourish, but a literary and theatrical device interrogating generations of emotional underdevelopment within the modern day’s framework of masculinity.

Read more in the Portland Stage PlayNotes Available for free online, or to purchase in the Lobby or Box Office!

Gabriel Garcia Márquez

LAND & SLAVERY ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We are creating theater on land that has been cared for by the Wabanaki. We honor their community and invite you to go to the Wabanaki Reach website to learn more about the Wabanaki culture, as well as about restorative justice and truth-telling that is necessary for healing.

We encourage you to learn more about the peoples who cared for the land that you now reside on whether you’re from here in Portland or are visiting from away. For more information about the Wabanaki Confederacy, visit mainewabanakireach.org, and to find out whose land you are on, visit native-land.ca.

We also want to acknowledge that the history of Maine is deeply connected to the institution of slavery in the United States, and that residents of Maine participated in both slavery and the transatlantic slave trade even after slavery was outlawed in the District of Maine. While it may be easy to think of Maine and more specifically Portland as a very White place, we recognize that this is simply not the case and we are working to dismantle these harmful ideas. We encourage our audiences to visit the Abyssinian Meeting House (learn more at abyssinianmeetinghouse.org) or the Eastern Cemetery here in Portland, and to explore scholarship on the subject, like Lives of Consequence by Patricia Q. Wall, to learn more about this oft-neglected part of Maine’s history.

We recognize that the American Theater has also exploited, misrepresented, and excluded communities of Latine, Asian, Indigenous, and Middle Eastern descent for centuries. Portland Stage is recommitting to telling authentic stories from diverse backgrounds that all of our audiences can experience and enjoy.

Emmie Finckel** (Scenic Designer) is a queer, Asian-American scenic designer. Recent credits include Becoming a Man (A.R.T.); The Hot Wing King (Hartford Stage); Sanctuary City (TheaterWorks Hartford); Problems Between Sisters (Studio Theatre); Comedy of Errors (Public Theater: Mobile Unit); the ripple, the wave, that carried me home (Yale Repertory Theatre); As You Like It (La Jolla Playhouse); 53% Of (Second Stage); In the Southern Breeze (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater); The Watering Hole (Signature Theater), In the Penal Colony (NYTW Next Door), Athena (JACK), Riot Antigone (La MaMa). Associate design credits include Mary Jane (Lael Jellinek – MTC), and many productions with Gabriel Evansohn (KPOP – Broadway, Empire Travel Agency) as a member of Woodshed Collective. Emmie holds a BA from Wesleyan University and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama, and is currently on the faculty of the Playwrights Horizons Theater School at NYU. www.efinckel.com.

Kathleen Payton Brown (Costume Designer) has designed costumes for many shows at Portland Stage. Most recently: A Christmas Carol; Smoke on the Mountain; Perseverance; Talley’s Folly; Almost, Maine; It’s a Wonderful Life; Ain’t Misbehavin’; Skeleton Crew; and The Half-Light. Favorite designs: Red Herring, Lost Boy Found at Whole Foods, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Dancing at Lughnasa, Red, Love/Sick, and Hidden Tennessee. Other design credits: MSMT, Opera House Arts, Theater at Monmouth, The Public Theatre, UMaine Dept. of Theatre, Bates College Theater, Colby College Theater, Lyric Stage Co., and the N.J. Shakespeare Co. Kathleen lives in Camden, managing her own custom clothing business, as well as working as the Events Coordinator at the Waldo Theatre.

Christopher Akerlind** (Lighting Designer) At PSC: Sabina, A Christmas Carol, Talley’s Folly, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Miss Julie, Arms and the Man, Das Barbecü, Fool for Love, Rameau’s Nephew, Scapin, The Glass Menagerie, The Loman Family Picnic, The Mandrake, The Substance of Fire, The Wolf at the Door, and Babette’s Feast, among others. Over 600 productions over thirty years at theater, opera, and dance companies throughout the US and abroad. Broadway productions include Indecent, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, Rocky the Musical, Awake and Sing, Sting’s The Last Ship, The Light in the Piazza, 110 in the Shade, and August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson and Seven Guitars.

(**Member of USA)

Seth Asa Sengel (Sound Designer) has spent decades making theater with creative souls all over our United States. He is glad to be home in Maine, and at Portland Stage, where he has collaborated on dozens of wonderful productions. A few favorites include Tribes, The Half-Light, Sweet Goats and Blueberry Señoritas, Saint Dad, and The Play That Goes Wrong. Please be kind to others, and to yourself, and tell people you love them. Much Love to Mary Lana.

Myles C. Hatch* (Stage Manager) most recently stage-managed Clyde’s here at Portland Stage and is excited to share this Clauder Competition grand prize-winning play with you. Myles has worked with such diverse theaters as the Hangar Theatre, Theatre By The Sea, The Freeport Shakespeare Festival, Maine State Music Theatre, The Theater at Monmouth, Arden Theatre Company, Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, Everyman Theatre, Rep Stage, Horse Cave Theatre, New Stage Theatre, Round House Theatre, Source Theatre Company, Washington Stage Guild, Washington Jewish Theatre, Asolo Theatre Company, Westport Country Playhouse, and the YALE Summer Cabaret. Myles would like to thank the cast, creatives, run crew, production staff, and the theater administration for their wonderful work to tell this story. Myles is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.

Jenn Haltman (Casting Director) [she/her] is a freelance theater, film, and new media casting director. Previous PSC shows include The Play That Goes Wrong, Saint Dad, Sherlock, The Cake, Perseverance, and The Niceties. Regional theaters include Pig Iron Theatre Company, Hartford Stage, Gloucester Stage, Virginia Stage Company, Veterans Repertory Theater, and Sharon Playhouse. Films include Boy Meets Girl (dir. Eric Schaeffer), the award-winning shorts “Behind the Wall” (dir. Bat-Sheva Guez) and “Someone Will Assist You Shortly” (dir. Jon Levenson), and the 2017 Sundance selection “Madeline’s Madeline” (Josephine Decker). As Co-Producing Artistic Director of Between Two Boroughs Productions, Jenn has cast and directed Cannibal Galaxy: a love story, Summertime, The Understudy, and most recently Trich. Previously, Jenn was the Casting Associate at New York Theatre Workshop (shows include Peter and the Starcatcher, Little Foxes, Aftermath) and worked with Page 73 Productions and Soho Rep. She is a proud graduate of Muhlenberg College. www.jennhaltman.com

(*Member of AEA)

SCAN FOR TICKETS

AUG 14 - SEP 8

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

W.H. DEMMONS: TAKE A BREATH SPONSOR SUPPORTING AIR PURIFICATION AND AIR QUALITY A very special thank-you to W.H. Demmons for supporting our public safety! The HVAC system installed by W.H. Demmons utilizes bipolar ionization technology, which releases charged atoms that attach to and deactivate harmful substances like bacteria, mold, allergens, and viruses by pulling the hydrogen atom away, causing the harmful substances to die. Testing of the building’s system for effectiveness against the COVID-19 virus by two different independent laboratories, Analytical Lab Group and Innovative Bioanalysis, revealed that the level of the virus would be cut by 90% within 60 minutes.

Our corporate partners help us to enrich our community while positioning their companies as cultural leaders. Want to learn more about how a corporate partnership can benefit both your business and the theater you love? Contact Covey Crolius, Development Director, at 207.774.1043 x109.

Manning by Benjamin Benne is funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. Generous support also provided by Maine Theater Fund/Maine Community Foundation, the Libra Foundation, the Fisher Charitable Foundation, and the Shubert Foundation.

2022-23 ANNUAL FUND SUPPORTERS

Executive Producer ($50,000+)

Edwin F. Gamble Bequest

The Shubert Foundation

Anna Marie & John E. Thron Fund of the Maine Community Foundation

Producer ($25,000 - $49,999)

Tenney & Newell Augur

Brooks Family Foundation

Harold & Betty Cottle Family Fund

East Point Fund of the Maine Community Foundation

Maine Community Foundation

National Endowment for the Arts

Redmond Family Foundation

Executive Director

($15,000 - $24,999)

Libra Foundation

Migis Hotel Group

Moser Family Foundation

Onion Foundation

Sam L. Cohen Foundation

State of Maine: Maine Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Managing Director

($10,000 - $14,999)

Anonymous (3)

Wright-Ryan Homes

Director ($5,000 - $9,999)

Nancy J. Aldrich

Susan & James Carter

Fair Winds & Following Seas Fund

Fisher Charitable Foundation

Ed & Jan Gerry

George & Cheryl Higgins

Maine Arts Commission

Maine Theater Fund of the Maine Community Foundation

Moriah Moser & Dan Morgenstern, MD

Leonard & Nancy Nemon

Carole Ann Palmer

The Parsons Family Foundation

Roy A. Hunt Foundation

Maine Air Conditioning/W. H. Demmons, Inc.

Production Manager

($2,500 - $4,999)

Anonymous

Mauria Brough & Bryon Winn

Coffee By Design

Diversified Communications

Austin & Eileen Farrar

Ron & Donna Forest

Lissa Hunter & Kirby Pilcher

Jamie & Beth Kilbreth

Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust

Darrell Pardy & Carolyn Hughes

The Performing Arts Fund of the Maine Community Foundation

Pierce Atwood

John Ryan & Jenny Scheu

Louis F. & Prudence H. Ryan

Kenneth Spirer & Joan Leitzer

Ashley Wernher-Collins & Scott Collins

Backer ($1,000 - $2,499)

Anonymous (2)

Apple Lane Foundation

Mary G. Barthelman

Gunard Erik Bergman

Patricia A. Clark

Tim Cloudman & Lori Garon

Kris & Ken Conant

Debra L. Coyman

Beth De Tine

Helen Dickey & David G. Fitz

Gary E. Duford & Thomas L. Hinkle

Karen & Fred Farber

Mabel Gerquest

Douglas Green

Jebediah Foundation

Stephen & Carolyn Jenks

Douglas & Cheryl Jones

David and Lynn Jourdan

Nancy Kaye

Cornelia Kittredge

Kathleen Leslie

Maine Community College

Daniel Marra & Barbara Leonard

William A. McCue

Irv Meeker

Tom & Marti Meyers

Judy Miskell

Marta Morse

Sara Murphy & Peter Wetzel

Todd & Gloria Nicholson

Ann & Ted Noyes

Ralph T. Perry & Mary Louise Seldenfleur

Richard & Carolyn Peterson

Poole Group of Companies, Inc.

Harry & Anne Pringle

Hilary Rapkin & William Stiles

Jennifer Sarah & Joe O’Donnell

Maxine Sclar & Robert J. Yamartino

Stephen D. Sears & Cathy Sears

Spinnaker Trust

Anita Stewart & Ron Botting

Courtney Thorpe

Nelson & Lisa Toner

Anne Wade & Gil Hagan

Natalie West & Robert Sellin

Peregrine Whittlesey

Monica Wood & Daniel Abbott

Investor ($500 - $999)

A Friend

John & Judy Adelman

Diana & Tom Allen

Sally & Ron Bancroft

Thomas & Marjorie Berman

Jane V. & John F. Berry

Don & Diane Bessey

Brown Dog Carriers

Malcolm Burson & Eleanor

Goldberg

Tracey Burton & Ken Moller

Donald & Patricia Carter

Nancy Crowell

2022-23 ANNUAL FUND SUPPORTERS

Carol De Tine & Roger F. Woodman, Jr.

Barbara & Gil Dichter

Ken & Cheryl Freye

Richard Hanks & Virginia Mackey

Mary Jane Hanneld

Karen Herold & Mark Isaacson

Helaine & D. Brock Hornby

Charles Johnson & Jean Appleby Johnson

Brigitte & Hal Kingsbury

Marilyn Lalumiere & Ed Reed

Greg Lanou & Tracy Skillin-Lanou

Harvey & Pamela Lodish

Martin Lodish & Kristin Schardt

Mark Love & Marcia Taylor

Emily & Dick MacKenzie

Jerry & Liz Mansfield

Rob McAfee

Theresa McCarthy

Stewart Newell

Sara & Michael Perfetti

Malcolm & Patti Poole

Carole A. Pope

Nancy & Frank Read

Dixon & Susan Myer Riley

Lee Robbins

Donald J. Rudalevige

Elena Schmidt

Curtis & Nina Scribner

Andre & Daniela Skalina

Joseph & Susan Spagnola

Anne & Jack Spiegel

Cathy Stankard & Gregg Palmer

Jane & Nate Stevens

Bud & Susan Stiker

Eric & Wendy Suehrstedt

Karen Sumner

Kari & Bob Suva

Louise Valati

Cheslye & John Ventimiglia

Wigeon Point Charitable Foundation

Sam & Tracy Zager

Supporter ($250 - $499)

Anonymous (2)

Peter & Lyn Ballou

Ben & Judy Bertram

Gregory & Mary Caron

Pamela Cleghorn

Peter H. Clough

Jacqueline Cohen

Scott Cowger

Carol & Dick Davis

Mary Ellms

David Ertz & Carol Ryan-Ertz

John Fay

Dr. & Mrs. David Flavin

Terry & Mandy Garmey

James Gertmenian & Susan King

Tom & Peggy Gilbert

Margaret Groban & Larry Fischman

Lisa Hangoc

Peter Haynes

Bob & Marge Healing

Roslyn & Steve Hershfield

Scott Horton & Leslie Richfield

Tom & Laurie Hyndman

Stephen & Suzanne Irish

Robin Ishmael

Herbert & Kathleen Janick

Bud & Wendy Kellett

Angus & Catherine King

Dennis & Sandra King

David Kling & Kathryn Sanders

Neil & Cathy Lamb

Sally Walker Madore

Alice Moisen

Rick & Debby Molander

Susan Morris

Jeremy Moser & Laura Kittle

Richard & Sandra Neiman

Lucretia & Michael Nelson

Catherine O’Connor & John Kelly

Janet O’Toole

Rebecca Oreskes & Brad Ray

James & Judith Parkhill

Dean & John Paterson

Charlene & Jerry Petruccelli

Hugh & Norma Phelps

Orrin & Linda Shane

Rick & Celeste Shinay

Mary Snell & Irwin Novak

Betty & Barry Stallman

Ernie Stanhope

Darwin & Kathleen Stanley

Frank & Carrie Strasburger

David & Kathleen Stuchiner

Deborah & Hall Thompson

Daniel Tucker

Lance & Gina Vardis

Meg Thompson Villarreal

Nancy R. Wade

Randall Weill & Catherine Coughlin

Friend ($100 - $249)

Anonymous (5)

Alice M. Abbott

Janice B. Adler

Paul Ainsworth

Jacqueline Alpert & Christopher Leighton

Robert & Linda Ayotte

Bob Bahm & Jan Baker

Joseph & Mary Louise Bates

Michael & Connie Beck

Craig & Abigail Belanger

Elizabeth Belliveau

Nancy Bogg & Mark Kiefner

Chris & Stephanie Bowe

Jim & Sarah Bowie

Nona & Doug Boyink

John Brandt

Emily & Norman Breitner

Betty Bricker-Small & David Small

Jane G. Briggs

Helen Brock & Doug Knight

Susan Bruce & Rick Hauck

Dan & Dale Bryant

Allie Byers

Priscilla Campbell-Wyman & Ross Wyman

Robin and William Carter

Paul & Stephanie Castle

Jennifer Caven

Rae Clark-McGrath

Andrew & Judith Coburn

Susan & James Cook

Ann Corbey

Mary Anne & David Crawford

Bill Cullen

2022-23 ANNUAL FUND SUPPORTERS

Dick & Margaret Curran

Richard & Judy Curtis

George & Lynn Davenport

Cara David

Jerry & Gretchen Davis

Donna Deletetsky

Mary Doherty

Mary C. Doughty

Moira Driscoll & David Pence

Mary Lou Dyer

Katherine Dyhrberg

John Edwards

Michael & Jill Epstein

Mr. & Mrs. James M. Farr

Rich Evans & Jean Foy

Herbert & Alice Ferran

Deborah Wathen Finn

Anne Fisher

David Fluharty & Linda Hjortland

Tom Ford & Mike Rodgers

Susan Garfield & Lynda Mullen

Leslie Gibbons

George & Martha Gilmore

Phyllis & Bernard Givertz

Richard & Anna Hamilton

Amanda Hannan

Ann Havener & Richard Estabrook

Marilyn & John Heise

Dr. David & Anna London

Robert & Kim Lydon

Janet Henry & Vernon Moore

Stephen & Debra Honey

Chris Hourcle

Elizabeth & Christopher Hunt

Al & Pauline Huntley

Vance Huntley & Jennifer Hitchcox

Catherine & Matthew Hyde

Jack & Kenneth Jackowitz

Sandra Jensen & Samuel Broaddus

Allen S. & Sarah S. Johnson

Patrick & Valerie Kelly

David & Linda Kirstein

Paul M. Knight

Dan & Stacey Koloski

Ken & Jean Kriedberg

Denise LaRue & Bob Furman

Calien Lewis & Martha Mickles

Christine Linnehan

Burke & Judith Long

Benjamin Lund

John & Jane Lunt

Chris & Carson Lutes

Karen Malm

Libby & David Margolis-Pineo

David & Jeanne Mason

John & June McClean

Sheila McGarr

Susan & Frank McGinty

Paula Gibbs McKenney

Mary Ann McLean

Sarah & Standish Meacham

Joseph & Gloria Melnick

Nate Meyer

Ellie & Charlie Miller

Bernard Mohr & Karin Wagner

Bruce Moore & Jan Chapman

Wendy Moore

Robert & Susan Nielsen

Erin & Jon Nitschke

Victoria Nolan & Clark Crolius

David & Carolyn Sue Nutty

John & Karen O’Brien

Richard O’Meara & Christine Bulsa-O’Meara

Jackie Oliveri

One4All Charitable Fund

Jonas Oppenheim

David & Jacqueline Orsmond

John & Denise Palmer

Richard & Carole Palmer

Larry Perkins

Norma Piper

Hope Putnam

Lenore Rapkin

Kathryn Reid & Hugh Tozer

John & Marsha Reynolds

Mathew Reynolds

Erika Richardson

Larry & Robin Rubinstein

Stephen Ryan & James Bishop

Helen Ryder

Paul & Penelope Sarvis

Mike & Pam Schwotzer

Ellen Seidman

Catherine Sengel

Peggy Shapiro

Linda Shary & Jeffrey Logan

Fred & Viola Sheehan

Sarah Smith

Patricia Stevens

Betta Stothart

Vicki Sullivan

Kristin G. Sweeney

Adam Thibodeau

David & Holly Travers

Patricia Vantuyl

Elizabeth Walsh

Deena Weinstein

Susan & Francis Whitten

David & Elise Wilson

Judy & Norman Wilson

David & Gail Witherill

Rick & Janet Wolf

Margo Wood & Wayne Barter

Laura Young

Elliot Zeisel PhD, DF-AGPA

Margaret & David Zellinger

Anne B. Zill

Bill & Patty Zimmerman

In Memory of ($1000+)

Wendy DesAutels in Memory of Wil Meacham

In Honor/Memory of ($250+)

Mathew Goldfarb in Memory of Lynn Goldfarb

Kathleen Silvia in Honor of Bud & Cheryl Higgins

In Memory of Morgan Wakelin

Benjamin Weiss in Honor of Julianne Shea