PASS OVER Program

PASS OVER

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CONTENTS SEASON STATEMENT 4 INSIDE PASS OVER 6 IN REHEARSAL 10 BIOGRAPHIES 16 SUPPORTERS 22 GENERAL INFORMATION 23

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SEASON STATEMENT “I prefer the absurdity of writing poems to the absurdity of not writing poems.” from “Possibilities”

by Nobel Prize winner Wislawa Szymborska I prefer a challenge. I prefer to create.

I prefer to collaborate and celebrate. I prefer the possibility. The exploration.

The figuring it out and wondering why. I prefer a city saturated in art. I prefer the absurdity of going to the theatre to the absurdity of not going to the theatre.

This season marks our fourth and boldest year. We are rebelling against the establishment while also establishing ourself as an influential trailblazer in Houston. Our 2019/20 season grapples with our past, present, and future. It focuses on characters at epic crossroads and shares stories that search for empathy and compassion in unexpected places.

I’m proud to say that none of these plays have ever been produced in Houston.

You may have heard about us. Rec Room Arts is a small professional theatre company leading a movement. We are inspiring Houstonians to come back to the theatre. We believe that Houston, the 4th largest city with the most diverse population in the United States, can and should be a progressive theatre town. We are leading a rallying cry for radical culture that makes you want to keep coming back to the theatre.

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To that end, we present work from a wide array of voices, empower artists to make bold choices, employ seasoned professionals and also jump-start developing careers. We produce aweinspiring work that people want to see and give them a comfortable bar to socialize. When you come to Rec Room you will be treated as our family. You will be confronted with a profound theatrical experience. You will be impressed by our ingenuity and you will wonder why you don’t see more plays.

Now is the time. Make the commitment and be part of our revolution. Come sit in the dark with a group of strangers and feel something. Hang out with the cast in the bar after the show. It’s all so wonderfully absurd!

Matt Hune Artistic Director

Matt Hune Artistic Director

APPROPRIATE “REMARKABLE AND DEVIOUS.” -The New York Times “SUBVERSIVELY ORIGINAL.” - The New York Times “AN EXCEPTIONALLY BRILLIANT PIECE OF WRITING...GUTPUNCHINGLY HONEST WORK” -Time Out “BILIOUSLY FUNNY.” -Washington Post “EFFORTLESSLY AND BELIEVABLY TAPS INTO A WHITE FAMILY’S DYSFUNCTION, INFUSES THE SCRIPT WITH UNFORCED, VIPERISH HUMOR”

MARCH 28 - APRIL 18 written by BRANDEN JACOBS-JENKINS directed by JULIA TRABER OBIE AWARD: BEST NEW AMERICAN PLAY HOUSTON PREMIERE The estranged members of the Lafayette clan have returned to Arkansas and their crumbling old plantation home to settle the accounts of their recently deceased patriarch. As they sort through a lifetime of hoarded mementos and junk, the discovery of a gruesome relic and a surprise visitor send the family into a spiral of explosive confrontations, repressed histories, and regret.

– Entertainment Weekly

Inside Pass Over

A conversation with Antoinette Nwandu Playwright Antoinette Nwandu talks about her play.

Courtesy of Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Can you speak about what inspired the play?

ANTOINETTE NWANDU: It was dual inspiration, both personal and political.

Personally, I was feeling lost in a wilderness that felt never-ending and absurd, especially when thinking about my writing career and where it was or wasn’t going. And the time and effort I’d put into this part of my life that just felt stuck.

And then in the larger political climate, I felt reverberations of that same wandering, that same “lost-ness” because for every step forward the black community makesspecifically young Black men- there is this equal and opposite specter of violence that resists that forward progress. On the one hand Obama is elected president for instance, but on the other documented violence against black and brown men is routinely sanctioned by the police and the justice system.

It all sort of came together for me and my day job, actually. I was a professor at a community college and came face-to-face with an explicit example of that same opposition to progress that just sent me over the edge. In particular, there were two young men who became very good friends. One finished the semester and one did not because he found himself back in the system, because his role officer said he couldn’t hang out with certain people, but those were the people in his neighborhood so he was in this absurd Catch-22 type situation we’re going home and being at home was literally a violation of his parole. So that’s just bonkers. Just so absurd.

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So I took all of that frustration and anger I was feeling personally and for my students and then this larger, political anger, specifically ignited by Trayvon Martin’s death, and I sat down to write this play. It was putting all those different feelings, all those frustrations into one big bucket and seeing what emerged.

The play also finds some of its inspiration from other texts, yes? The Exodus story and also Beckett’s Waiting for Godot? Can you offer some insight on those texts, and what they mean to you and this play?

The basics of the Exodus story are that these people who have been chosen by God are living as slaves, and Moses arrives on the scene and says basically “I’ve spoken to God and the promise is true. There is a land out there for us. We just have to head into the wilderness and we will get there. Our lives will be better, and we will have a place, we will have an identity, and we will have peace.” And when you connect that to the Black community, and specifically to the legacy of runaway slaves, the language of the Exodus story, of crossing the River Jordan, and the lexicon of passing over that barrier form the South to the North is very helpful to ground not only the moral imperative of that journey but also to instruct yourself and others on the courage needed to take it. So for the Children of Israel, the start of their journey is like, yes! we’re going to have a home and things are going to get better. And for the black community it’s like the arc of the moral universe definitely bends towards justice, which is awesome.

But then, for various reasons, their several months journey becomes a 40-year journey and the Children of Israel are forced to wander in the desert. It’s something we can say very casually now, like when I was a kid learning the stories in Sunday school, it was always very casual thing, “oh, and they wandered in the desert for 40 years,” but if you’re on year 27 of a 40-year journey, I’m sure you start to wonder, “does this so called promised land even exist? We’re walking in circles. We’re in the desert. Nothing is growing here. People are dying. This is terrible.” Or to connect it with the black community, there’s a sense of, “hey, we got to the north, but guess what, these people are actually superracist here to.” So in either case, that journey starts to feel repetitive, absurd even, because it involves this cyclical movement backward, or lack of movement at all. And after a time the people on the journey, or who inherent the motions of that journey, start to feel like, wow, there’s actually no point to any of this.

And then when you live packet into the conversation, things get really interesting because in a lot of ways his worldview is just diametrically oppose with the Exodus story. I mean, in the Bible, things might seem absurd for a while, but the Israelites finally do get to the promised land. They get there. It exists. It was a tough road, but it actually does exist.

And, of course, in Waiting for Godot, no one gets anywhere. Godot never comes and waiting never ends. It just never ever ends.

And so well I was layering in the different texts, I found myself caught in the middle of both of them, but feeling affinity for both of them. Especially since, as far as the theater goes, Beckett was the beginning of everything for me. I was an English major in college and I started out by reading Beckett’s novel trilogy

(which no one reads) and I actually wrote my senior thesis on it and it’s insane. I left it and so from there I was like, “I gotta read everything this guy has written.” So, for a very long time with my play I felt like I had to choose sides: promised land or eternal waiting? But now what I’m doing is synthesizing what is cogent in each of those texts with what is happening in our world today.

Could you talk about the inspiration for the title Pass Over?

The reason why it’s two words is that it’s more about passing over. So, the passing over that I’m most focused on is passing over some barrier in order to reach the promised land.

And in the origin texts, that’s usually a body of water: the Red Sea, the River Jordan, the Ohio River maybe, if you’re a slave heading north. But the thing we know from the Exodus story is that the children of Israel were never in a position to pass over anything until the Angel of Death passed over them. So really, there’s two passing overs that have to happen- the Angel of Death has to pass over you, and if you survive, then you are free to journey forward and to pass over the river. The title uses and re-appropriates these conditionals for the modern situation.

How would you describe the style of humor in the show? It lives in an interesting space.

In the best possible world, I’d love for Moses and Kitch to be in the same family tree as Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello, and obviously Didi and Gogo from Waiting for Godot. There was something in the dark humor and the unflinching barrenness and harshness of Beckett’s landscapes that just makes so much sense. I have an affinity for turn of the century Irish writers and mid-twentieth century Jewish writers and comedians, along with Black writers, of course. There’s Rec Room Arts | 7

something about those hardscrabble backgrounds and a hardscrabble life, and being able to lace in this acidic and acerbic humor to the whole situation that just feels like home for me. It’s language humor, of course, a humor of opposites, but then it’s also humor that makes you ask “ok, why are we making jokes right now?” We’re making jokes right now to remind ourselves that we’re alive, we’re together, and we’re trying to survive.

Survival humor.

Let’s talk about the “N” word. Do you have any response to the idea that people might be offended by that word?

Yeah, people will be offended by that word, but that doesn’t mean these men don’t deserve to be alive. The decision to lean into the use of this language came right of that time in my life when I was teaching. Because of the way I look and because of the way I dress, my students started letting their guard down around me. Before class I would just observe them talking and joking with each other. A lot of my black and brown students would use this word constantly. And for a long time, my response was to simply police it, to shut it down because that’s what I thought a professor should do in those situations. And then at a certain point I thought “I can either spend all of my energy getting frustrated or I can enter into why and how my students are talking.” Then I got seduced by the language. By the poetry and the beauty and the danger of it. They use this word all the time, to describe themselves and to describe each other. It has myriad uses, some heinous and some gorgeous and deeply creative.

And when you remove the judgement, you can actually just exist in that space with your students. Basically, I realized I had a choice: I can either judge these young men, or I can love them where they’re at.

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“We’re making jokes right now to remind ourselves that we’re alive, we’re together, and we’re trying to survive. Survival humor.”

And outside of being a teacher, I don’t really have that big a problem with the “n” word in most contexts, meaning within the Black community. I grew up around it, and as a writer I would never limit what words I have access to. Obviously, when it’s said within the context of hate speech, that’s something completely different and troubling that should not happen. But the line between permissible and forbidden usage is maybe thinner for me that it is for some people. It’s a line I don’t mind poking. So yes, it’s going to be offensive to some people and that’s fine. I don’t mind people living in that offense, but if we’re talking quite literally about a matter of life and death, a matter of respectability politics, then the language that these men use, or the fact that their language offends you, doesn’t negate their right to inherit whatever promise America purports to offer.

What are you hoping your audience will take away from the production? What are you hoping to enlighten the people with?

I’m here to be a witness to the truth. Full stop.

To be a witness to what I see happening in the world today. People are going to take away what they bring in, and I don’t know what that is. n

THE WOLVES

“YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS” - Chicago Tribune “ONE OF THE YEAR’S BEST NEW PLAYS” - The New York Times “BRILLIANT...AN UNFORGETTABLE, DEEPLY MOVING DRAMA” - Entertainment Weekly “HILARIOUS. SHATTERING. EXTRAORDINARY” - The Hollywood Reporter “LEAVES YOU...BREATHLESS” - Newcity

“PACKS A PUNCH” - The New York Daily News “NOT TO BE MISSED”

MAY 23 - JUNE 13

- The Hollywood Reporter

written by SARAH DELAPPE directed by SOPHIA WATT PULITZER PRIZE: FINALIST HOUSTON PREMIERE Left quad. Right quad. Lunge. A girls indoor soccer team warms up. From the safety of their suburban stretch circle, the team navigates big questions and wages tiny battles with all the vim and vigor of a pack of adolescent warriors. A portrait of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for nine American girls who just want to score some goals.

IN REHEARSAL Photography by Tasha Gorel

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REC ROOM ARTS SALUTES THE SPONSORS OF PASS OVER

The City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance

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Matt Hune Artistic Director

Stefan Azizi Executive Director

Sophia Watt Associate Artistic Director

Rec Room Arts presents

The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Finalist

PASS OVER

by ANTOINETTE NWANDU directed by MEKEVA MCNEIL Featuring

ALAN BRINCKS, ATSEKO FACTOR, and BRANDON J. MORGAN

PRODUCTION

Scenic and Lighting Design STEFAN AZIZI† Costume Design VICTORIA NICOLETTE GIST Lighting Design ADDIE PAWLICK Assistant Scenic Design AFSANEH AAYANI Fight Choreographer ALAN BRINCKS Dramaturg ERIC MOORE Casting Director TASHA GOREL† / CAMRON ALEXANDER Master Carpenter ZANDER TATE Production Stage Manager JESSICA CASANOVA

The world premiere of PASS OVER was produced and presented at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, IL; Anna D. Shapiro, Artistic Director and David Schmitz, Managing Director Produced by Lincoln Center Theatre New York City, 2018 Developed by Cherry Lane Mentor Project, Angelina Fiordellisi, Founding Artistic Director PASS OVER is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc., a Concord Theatricals Company. *member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers † member of the Rec Room Arts company Rec Room Arts | 13

COMPANY CAST

(in order of apperance)

Moses Kitch Mister/Ossifer

BRANDON J. MORGAN* ATSEKO FACTOR ALAN BRINCKS

SETTING

A street. A lamppost. Night.

TIME

Now. Right now.

This play will be presented without an intermission Entry and re-entry to the theater after the performance begins is not guaranteed.

As a courtesy to everyone in the theater, please silence all electronics.

Rec Room Arts and the production team of PASS OVER would like to acknowledge and thank Adam Noble and the University of Houston.

Rec Room Arts is a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for nonprofit professional theatre. *member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers 14 | PASS OVER

BIOGRAPHIES

Brandon J. Morgan

Atseko Factor

Alan Brincks

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BIOGRAPHIES ALAN BRINCKS (Mister/Ossifer) Alley Theatre: All New Festival- The Supreme Leader; Main Street Theater: Private Lives, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, The Wickhams: Christmas At Pemberly. The Classical Theatre Company: The Fair Maid of the West. Unity Theatre: And Then There Were None. Landing Theatre: The Visit.

Caduceus Theatre Co: Porcelain. Dirt Dogs: A Lie of The Mind. Arkansas Shakespeare Festival: Love’s Labour’s Lost, Julius Caesar. Company One: Green Eyes. Virginia Stage Company: A Christmas Carol. Nebraska Shakespeare Festival: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet. Quintessence Theatre: The Three Musketeers, Romeo and Juliet, Richard II, As You Like It, The Metamorphosis, Mourning Becomes Electra. Sentai Filmworks: Multiple roles. Actor Combatant: SAFD. Education: BFA Nebraska Wesleyan University. MFA University of Houston.

ATSEKO FACTOR (Kitch) has been gone for a few seasons. The last show he did was The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance at Stages. Previous shows include; The Motherfucker in the Hat and Ruined at Obsidian Artspace, The Piano Lesson at the Pearl Theatre, The Colored Museum at the Encore, Platanos and Collard Greens at the Ensemble, and To Kill a Mockingbird at Upstage.

He’s also done some Children’s Tour shows with The Children’s Express Theatre amd The Ensemble Theatre.

BRANDON MORGAN (Moses) a Houston native, has been a professional actor for seven years.

In that time he has been blessed to be involved in over 60 productions and has worked for many theatres; Stages Repertory Theatre, My Manana Comes; Houston Grand Opera, Tristian & Isolde; The Alley Theatre, Skeleton Crew; Main Street Theatre, Love & Information; Ensemble Theatre, Platanos Y Collard Greens; and Rec Room Theatre, The Royale. He studied Theatre Arts at Prairie View A&M University. Brandon’s only intent is to be as versatile and as natural as an actor can be. This is Brandon’s second time on stage with Rec Room and is even more excited than the last for this production and what

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Rec Room has in store for seasons to come. #NeverNotWorking.

MEKEVA MCNEIL (Director) is a theatre maker and educator interested in creating work that explores and communicates the language, movement, and beauty of the human experience.

She is intrigued by narratives that tackle race, gender, spirituality, and socieconomic issues.

These works are imperative to art giving us a peek into how those on the periphery continue to transcend barriers within our society. Born and raised in Houston, Mekeva began her studies in theatre at the prestigious High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. She went on to study theatre at the University of Houston and later moved to New York where she received her MFA in Directing from The Actor’s Studio Drama School at Pace University. She is currently an acting instructor at Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

ANTOINETTE NWANDU (Playwright) is a New York-based playwright, who was born and raised in Los Angeles. A filmed version of the Jeff-award winning, Steppenwolf production of Pass Over—directed by Spike Lee—premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and at SXSW, and is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

Victory Gardens produced the World Premiere of her play Breach: a manifesto on race in america through the eyes of a black girl recovering from self-hate. Antoinette is a MacDowell Fellow, a Dramatists Guild Fellow, and an Ars Nova Play Group alum. Honors include the 2018 Whiting Award, the 2017 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award, the Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award, the Negro Ensemble Company’s Douglas Turner Ward Prize, a Literary Fellowship at the Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference, and spots on the 2016 and 2017 Kilroys lists. Her work has been supported by the Sundance Theater Lab, Space on Ryder Farm, Ignition Fest, the Cherry Lane Mentor Project, the Kennedy Center, Page73, PlayPenn, Southern Rep, The Flea, Naked Angels, Fire This Time, and The Movement Theater Company. Antoinette has a bachelor’s degree in English, magna cum laude, from

BIOGRAPHIES Harvard College; an MS from The University of Edinburgh; and an MFA from NYU Tisch.

Antoinette is a writer on the second season of Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It for Netflix, and is under commission from Echo Theater Company, Colt Coeur, Ars Nova, and Audible.

STEFAN AZIZI (Scenic Design/Managing Director) is the Managing Director for Rec Room Arts. Previous Rec Room designs include: The Children, Woyzeck, The Royale, On the Exhale, Hansel and Gretel, Exit Strategy, and Sender. He has worked professionally in positions ranging from Technical Director to Associate Scenic Designer for the MUNY, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, New Jewish Theatre, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Shawnee Summer Theatre, and Variety Children’s Theatre. After leaving St. Louis, he became the Technical Director at Casa Mañana in Fort Worth as well as designing Big Fish and Godspell for them. He graduated with departmental honors in Scene Design and Technical Direction from the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University. He is currently a freelance designer based and Project Manager for Caspian Enterprises based in Houston. @stefan_azizi ADDIE PAWLICK (Lighting Design) is in her final year as an MFA lighting design student at the University of Houston. Rec Room credits include: The Children and Woyzeck (lighting design); The Royale, On the Exhale, and Hansel and Gretel (assistant lighting design). UH lighting design credits include: Haroun and the Sea of Stories, The Nest, Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls and Topdog/ Underdog in the Quintero Theatre; Dear Charlottein in the Wortham Theatre. She was recently the designer for Unplugged and Stuart Little at A.D. Players. Upcoming designs include: Romeo and Juliet at the University of Houston and Appropriate at Rec Room VICTORIA NICOLETTE GIST (Costume Design) is a third-year Costume Design graduate student at the University of Houston (UH), and received her B.F.A. from Baylor University. She has worked as a costume technician in New York City since

2015. Additional credits include: The Children (Rec Room), Enlightened - workshop, Survivors, An Alamo Play - workshop (The Alley Theatre), The Hard Problem (Main Street Theater), The Nest, The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls, Dear Charlotte, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Topdog/Underdog (UH), Learned Ladies (Baylor), In Paradise (film). Upcoming designs include: Appropriate, The Wolves (Rec Room), Romeo & Juliet (UH), and Innominate. Victoria is a recipient of a Willa Kim Costume Design Scholarship, funded by the Estate of Willa Kim and administered by Theatre Communications Group. Visit www.victorianicolette.com.

AFSANEH AAYANI (Assistant Scenic Designer) is a third year scenic design M.F.A student at the University of Houston. She began her career in Iran where she studied puppetry at the Art University of Tehran and worked as a voice actress, puppeteer, designer and director. Seven years ago she moved to the United States to pursue her dreams. Since then she has been fortunate to work with the amazing theaters in Houston. Recently she was the scenic designer of Lysistrata, Unplugged, Haroun and The Sea of Stories, The Effect, The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls, Two Mile Hollow, Dear Charlotte, Last Night of Ballyhoo, Oleanna, and David The Best Slinger of The West. Her other works includes The Wooden O, Luchadora, The Pastry Prince, The Puffed Up Prima Donna, and Costume Design for Three Sisters. She also builds puppets and masks around town for different companies. She is thankful she gets to work with Rec Room this season.

ERIC MOORE (Dramaturg) is the Resident Dramaturg and Literary Associate at Rec Room Arts as well as Literary Consultant for MonologueBank.com.

Notable production dramaturgy credits include Three Sisters at the University of Houston, and Enemies at Main Street Theatre Company. He’s directed and developed multiple new plays with The Landing Theatre Company, and he recently worked as an assistant director with Leslie Swackhamer on the Alley Theatre’s production of Constellations. As a playwright, he’s had multiple plays selected

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BIOGRAPHIES as finalists for both regional and national awards through the Last Frontier Theatre Conference, Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, and Texas Educational Theatre Association. His plays have been produced in Houston and around the country, the most recent of which was his full-length play, The Debasers, that had a workshop production at the University of Houston under the guidance of Theresa Rebeck and Dr. Robert Shimko. You can access his (presentable) work on his New Play Exchange profile. He received his BFA in Playwriting and Dramaturgy from University of Houston in 2019.

JESSICA CASANOVA (Stage Manager) is a senior BFA Stage Manager at The University of Houston. She is thrilled to be making her Rec Room debut with Pass Over! Select Professional credits include: Houston Shakespeare Festival 2017 (PA), Stages Repertory Theatre: Sin Muros Latin Theatre Festival (SM) 2018 and 2019, and TUTS’s Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (ASM), and Elf The Musical (SM Intern). She spent last summer as the Resident Production Assistant at the American Shakespeare Center. Select Educational Credits include: Three Sisters (SM), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (SM), Winners (SM), and Romeo and Juliet (SM).

ZANDER TATE (Master Carpenter) is thrilled to be working with Rec Room. He is currently a student at HSPVA studying technical theater.

His past work at HSPVA includes Fela! (Scenic Design), Hedda Gabler (Scenic Design), and Tartuffe (Assistant Scenic Design).

ALLISON VIERA (Company Manager) is a stage management graduate from University of Houston’s School of Theatre & Dance. She is resident stage manager and company manager with Rec Room Arts. Stage management credits include: Bach at Leipzig, The Servant of Two Masters, and SAC’s 90th Showcase at San Antonio College, Christmas Carol at Clear Creek Community Theatre, UH’s 2018 10-Minute Play Festival, Oleanna with The Landing Theatre,

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Hedda Gabler with Rec Room’s Artist Residency program, Woyzeck, On The Exhale, Hansel & Gretel, and Exit Strategy with Rec Room Arts, and Horse Head Theatre Co.’s staged reading of Advance Man. She has worked as the assistant stage manager for Houston’s Playing On Purpose with ACTing Up Studios’ In All Thy Getting, Rec Room’s The Royale, and the world premieres of UH’s Thicker Than Honey, UH’s 2017 10-Minute Play Festival, and Wanda, Daisy, and the Great Rapture with The Landing Theatre and Obsidian Theatre. She’s excited to have the opportunity to continue working with Rec Room on The Children.

BIOGRAPHIES SOPHIA WATT (Associate Artistic Director) is the associate artistic director at Rec Room Arts and a freelance director in Houston, Texas.

Directing credits include: Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. (Hangar Theatre/ Wedge), Jack and the Beanstalk (Hangar Theater), The Effect (MATCH), Oleanna, The Visit, and Creatures of Habit (The Landing Theatre Company), Hedda Gabler (part of Rec Room’s artist residency), The Nest and Three Sisters (University of Houston- guest artist). She has assistant directed for Theresa Rebeck at the Alley Theatre, and James Bohnen and Bill Brown at UH. She is a an alumni of: Barn Arts Residency, the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, SDCF observership class 2016-2018 and a 2019 Drama League Directing Fellowship. BFA: The Hartt School. MFA: University of Houston.

Sophiawatt.com

HSPVA. He also teaches acting in the graduate Opera Studies program at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. He is an alumnus of The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago and a recipient of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts award for Theatre. He is a member of SDC (Stage Directors and Choreographers Society).

MATT HUNE (Artistic Director) is co-founder and Artistic Director of Rec Room Arts where he is dedicated to energizing a new generation of theatre artists and audiences. In Rec Room’s short history, Hune and staff have produced plays, opera, dance, and concerts. Before cofounding Rec Room, Hune developed the Living Room Series, where he converted a Montrose living room into a 22-seat black box theater.

In addition to Rec Room Arts, he has been involved in the founding of The Inconvenience in Chicago and Loring Theatre in Minneapolis.

As a director, his original works or adaptations include: Woyzeck, Hansel and Gretel, The Rite of Spring, The Bald Soprano, Dead Rock Star, Not Mad, Inherited, and Accidental Death of an Anarchist. Other directing credits include: Ike Holter’s Exit Strategy, Put Your House in Order at the Alley Theatre’s All New Festival, Hansel and Gretel, Blackbird, The Lesson, Three Sisters, and Tis Pity She’s a Whore, among others. As an actor, he made his professional debut in the regional premiere of Edward Albee’s The Goat or Who is Sylvia at the Alley Theatre. Other acting credits include Hamlet, Macbeth, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, This is Our Youth, Dead Man Walking, American Buffalo, Good Worker, Merchant of Venice, and A Number. He currently is a faculty member in the acting program at

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Rec Room Arts endeavors to energize a new generation of audiences for the performing arts. This has been the fundamental charge since our founding in 2016, and remains true after more than 150 productions, events, and other creative gatherings.

We believe in producing the powerful art Houston deserves.

Entering our fourth year, many things remain consistent about Rec Room. Our productions remain of the highest quality and feature the most creative, artistic, and technical talents in Houston.

The space is still intimate, wholly unique, and fully accessible.

Our goal is to make theatre a shared pastime in our city — to turn Houstonians on to live performance, to get them out of their houses and off their devices, and into our modest, eclectic space. We aspire for our city to be a national, tenacious hub for theatre, filled with innovators, risk-takers, and big hearts.

ARE YOU WITH US?

SUPPORTERS Chelsea Viles Cutler Brad Dalton Kelly Dean Stefani & Christian Eckman John Eymann Joyce Fadem $5,000-$9,000 Dr. Robert Card & Karol Kreymer Marris Goldberg Dana Harrell Vince & Jackie Foster Hollister/Clagett Family Foundation Pamela Hoffer Catherine Holste Maureen & Ellison Wittels Kristina Hulten Janis & Paul Jarosz $1,000-4,999 Abby Koenig Courtney & Colin Brokaw Chesley Krohn Allison Esenkova Nan Lefforge & Joe Evans Julia Fox & Alex Brewer JS Greene Memorial Foundation Leigh Mohney Leslie The Linda Family Caroline & Perryn Leech Henry Liu Terrylin Neale Marcie Lou Ostdiek Family Brannon Lloyd Salners Family Foundation Matt Marcus Suzanne Skie-Azizi Evan Wildstein & Huda Alsheikh Kathy & Gary Marks Jenny Marshall Nicole Kenley-Miller $500-$999 Beverly Parker Catherine Holste Jay Solomon Jillian Jopling Rima & Ryan Soroka Ryan Leach Sommer Stash Dena & David Linda Joyce Baier Steensrud Shahin Naghavi Marty & Bob Stein Nora Nickel Leslie & Ten Eyck Swackhamer Singleton Family Todd Waldman Martha Stein Jerry Watt Steven Wachs Eileen & Richard Westerman Aimee Woodall Mark & Nancy Wozny $50-$149 Afsaneh Aayani $150-$499 Natasha Azizi Scott Allen Deborah Best Sandra Barrash Linda Boyko Susan Baum Harriet Choice Deborah Best Eric Bradley & Wanderson Rezende Carolyn Codwell Alene Coggin Bostick Family Jan Cohen Bob Singleton & Joe Boyd Nancy I. Cook John Bradshaw Marc Corman Elissa Brown Margaret Culbertson Gwyneth Campbell Angela Eleuterius & David Chase Perry Edwards John Eymann Jan Cohen Cece Fowler Martin & Terry Cominsky SUPPORTERS $10,000+ City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance

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Elizabeth & Michael Gonzalez Carleen Graham Harold Hardaway Joe Hinojosa Mike Jadick Lynn Jamison Thomas Janowski Kenny Kelley Karin Knapp David Lake Sherry LeBlanc-Dehan Casey & Ginger Lucas Sue and John Marsh Jenny Marshall Brittany McGarvey Amy Miller James A. Miller Leigh Mohoney-Leslie Todd Molesky Consuelo Oyervidez Ginger Travis Page Donna Palmer Beverly Parker Stephen Patlan Cynthia Pawlick Lynette Pebernat Marcia Richards Kathryn Ritcheske Bryan Scrivner David Senior Kabir Shaikh D’Andra Millsap Shu Claudia Soroka Lee Strickland Shelby Strudler Emily Todd Jennifer Touchet Ruth Alperin Wachs Jerry Watt Brandon Weinbrenner Alice Youngbar

Gil Yu Supporter list updated February 2020.

Every effort is made to keep it accurate and up to date. If you notice any discrepancies, please contact info@ recroomhtx.com or our box office.

GENERAL INFORMATION Rec Room 100 Jackson Street Houston, TX 77002 Box Office | 866-811-4111 / 713-344-1291 info@recroomhtx.com www.recroomarts.org BOX OFFICE HOURS Box office opens one hour before showtime on performance days.

Non-show days, please email info@recroomhtx.com ACCOMMODATIONS Rec Room provides a range of accommodations to ensure the safety, comfort, and enjoyment of our events and facilities for all audience members.

If you have specific questions, please contact our Administrative Offices at info@recroomhtx.com or call our box office at 713-344-1291.

ACCESSIBLE SEATING Accessible seating is available in the front two rows of the Main Stage Theater. If you need additional assistance or would like to reserve an accessible seat, email info@recroomhtx.com.

CYCLING You may lock your bike on the gate outside Rec Room’s front doors at your own risk. You may also bring your bike inside and a staff member will store your bike indoors depending on availability.

EATING AND DRINKING There is a bar located in the Rec Room lobby that serves a selection of local beer and wine. Patrons are encouraged to arrive early and stay after the performances to take advantage of the bar. Drinks are allowed into the theater.

Food is allowed in the bar and lobby. No food is allowed inside the theater space. There are a range of restaurants in the downtown area for you to choose.

Here are some Rec Room favorites: FRANKS PIZZA | $

MKT BAR | $$

IRMA’S ORIGINAL | $$

NINFA’S | $$

417 Travis Street 713-225-5656

22 N Chenevert Street 713-222-0767

1001 Austin Street 832-360-2222

2704 Navigation Blvd 713-228-1175

JACKSON STREET BBQ | $$ OSSO KRISTALLA | $$ 209 Jackson Street 713-224-2400

1515 Texas Avenue 713-221-6666

WHEELCHAIR STORAGE For guests who wish to transfer to a seat from their wheelchair, we will store your wheelchair in our lobby during the performance. The House Manager will make arrangements to return the wheelchair to you at the end of the performance or any other time of your choosing.

KULTURE | $$

TOUT SUITE | $$

LOCAL FOODS | $$

XOCHI | $$$

PARKING Street parking after 6:00 pm is free. There are paid lots surrounding our building and are open to the public for a fee. Rates vary between lots. Please allow extra time to park during Astros home games.

REC ROOM BAR HOURS The lounge is open for your enjoyment on performance days 6:30pm -midnight.

TRANSPORTATION Lyft, Uber, and taxis are always good choices if you plan to drink.

METRORail lines are reasonably close.

RED LINE (12 min walk / 0.6 mile): Use the Preston stop. Walk northeast on Main St. towards Congress Ave. Turn right onto Congress Ave. Turn left (NE) onto Jackson St. Rec Room will be on your left at Franklin St.

701 Avenida De Las Americas 713-357-9697

420 Main Street 713-227-0531

2379, 2001 Commerce St 713-227-8688

1777 Walker Street 713-400-3330

CONTENT ADVISORY We do not offer advisories about subject matter, as sensitivities vary from person to person. If you have any questions about content, age-appropriateness or stage effects (such as strobe lights or theatrical fog) that might have a bearing on patron comfort, please contact info@recroomhtx.com.

CELL PHONES Best when used outside of the theatre. Please respect our audiences and artists by silencing phones during performances.

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STAFF

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Evan Wildstein, President Artistic Director.............................................MATT HUNE Abigail Koenig, Vice President Managing Director......................................STEFAN AZIZI Stephanie Wittels Wachs, Treasurer Associate Artistic Director........................SOPHIA WATT Colin Brokaw, Secretary Director of Communications......................TASHA GOREL Company Manager..................................ALLISON VIERA Literary Coordinator.....................................ERIC MOORE This theatre operates under an agreement with Actors’ Equity Association, Casting..........................................CAMRON ALEXANDER the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Company Associate.........................RORY JAMES LEECH Special Events.............................JONATHAN FLEISSNER Box Office...............................................ZARYAH FORDE,

ANNA MILLER, JACKIE SIMMONS Photography..............................................TASHA GOREL Comedy.....................................COMEDY HUB HOUSTON #NotInOurHouse

This theatre has adopted the Chicago Theatre Standards, a set of standards and practices for the prevention of harrassment and abuse in theatre.

Resident Rec Room Writers..........................FI CONNORS, CHRISTIAN GILL, ARTHUR JOLLY, COMFORT KATCHY, ELIZABETH KEEL, SHAWANNA RENEE, JELISA JAY ROBINSON BRENDAN BOURQUE-SHEIL, NICOLE ZIMMERMAN ERIC MOORE

FIRE NOTICE: The door out of this room will lead to the main exit door indicated by a red lighted EXIT sign. In the event of a fire or other emergency, please walk to that exit.

There is no smoking allowed inside Rec Room.

Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of the House

Intern.................................INDIGO DEWDROP GHONIMA Management.

As a courtesy to the actors and your fellow patrons, please turn off your cell phones before the performance.

BAR The theater reserves the right to refuse admission to patrons Bar Management...............................WACHS & HUNE, LLC who become a distraction to the performers and other audience Bar Staff........................................JONATHAN FLEISSNER members.

SPECIAL SERVICES Insurance..........................HOFFMAN INSURANCE GROUP Box Office..........................THEATERMANIA / OVATIONTIX Banking...............................................BANK OF AMERICA POS...............................................................SHOPKEEP Building Management..........CASPIAN ENTERPRISES, INC. Graphic Design............................PANORAMA FOXTROT Printing......................................BURNING BONES PRESS, COPY.COM, LITTLEFORD PRESS, THE DOCUMENT GROUP Catalogue Services..................................................ISSUU

THE VIDEOTAPING OR MAKING OF ELECTRONIC OR OTHER AUDIO AND/OR VISUAL RECORDINGS OF THIS PRODUCTION OR DISTRIBUTING RECORDINGS ON ANY MEDIUM, INCLUDING THE INTERNET, IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED, A VIOLATION OF THE AUTHOR’S RIGHTS AND ACTIONABLE UNDER UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT LAW. Rec Room Arts is a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for nonprofit professional theatre.

Rec Room Arts is supported in part by funding from the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance

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Rec Room Arts donors fuel the mission of energizing new audiences for theatre. They are super informed art lovers who support cutting-edge theatre and are among the first to learn about our performances. They are invited to special events, receive priority booking, and enjoy free ticket exchanges.

Rec Room Arts has been the home of some of the most innovative and popular productions in the city and our supporters are the people who are directly responsible for making those shows come to life. Join our family and help shape the future of Houston theatre.

Rec Room Arts is a registered 501(c)(3) organization (EIN 81-5035115) and all contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

past present future see you at the shows