46 Plays for America's First Ladies

By Genevra Gallo-Bayiates, Sharon Greene, Chloe Johnston, Bilal Dardai & Andy Bayiates

October 30, 31, November 1 and 2 at 7:30 pm November 3, 2024 at 2:00 pm Produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc. (www.playscripts.com)

THE SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY THEATRE presents

By Genevra Gallo-Bayiates, Sharon Greene, Chloe Johnston, Bilal Dardai & Andy Bayiates Director – Nadine Purvis Schmidt† Assistant Director – Sally Tabaka Scenic and Lighting Designer – Tetta M. Askeland† Sound Designer – Alyster Jaden Schmidt† Projections Designer – Priscilla Muehr Stage Manager – Olivia Houseman

This performance runs approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes and is performed without an intermission.

Original songs composed for the 2022 Theatre Pro Rata production of 46 Plays used by special arrangement with the composer, Rhiannon “MaMa Faerie” Fiskradatz.

46 Plays for America’s First Ladies is produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc. (www.playscripts.com)

CAST (Each Playing Multiple Roles) Sariah Cheadle† . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Martha Washington, Edith Wilson, Jill Biden, and others Peder Early . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Madame de Lafayette, Andrew Jackson, and others Lilly Guggisberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Martha Jefferson, Anna Harrison, Julia Grant, Eleanor Roosevelt, Laura Bush, and others Bryn Mongeau† . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Abigail Adams, Mary Lincoln, Ulysses Grant, Florence Harding, Barbara Bush, and others Priscilla Muehr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William King, Ida McKinley, Bess Truman, and others Jazlynn Nelson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rachel Jackson, Jane Pierce, Frances Cleveland, Lou Hoover, Jacqueline Kennedy, and others JJ Ostenson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Woodrow Wilson, John Kennedy, and others Amelia Reid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thomas Jefferson, James Buchanan, Lady Bird Johnson, and others Eden Riegle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Caroline Harrison, Nellie Taft, Mamie Eisenhower, Betty Ford, and others Jules Scarborough . . . . . . . . . Dolley Madison, Michelle Obama, and others Alyster Jaden Schmidt† . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sally Hemings, Eliza Johnson, Rebecca Coolidge, Kamala Harris, and others Arianna Urch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elizabeth Monroe, Margaret Taylor, Grace Coolidge, Rosalynn Carter, Melania Trump, and others David Wendt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Franklin Pierce, James Garfield, Grover Cleveland, Harry Truman, and others

WARNING

This show uses pulsing lights, gunshot and explosion sounds, theatrical haze, and simulated tobacco and alcohol use. This show contains adult language, sharp satire about American history and politics, and mentions of difficult subjects, including slavery, war, violence, illness, and the loss of children.

SAFETY MEASURES We have general admission seating so that ushers can assist the audience in distancing according to their comfort level. You are welcome to wear a mask.

Please take a moment to locate the nearest emergency and fire exit.

THE PRODUCTION TEAM Director....................................................................... Nadine Purvis Schmidt† Assistant Director............................................................................Sally Tabaka Scenic and Lighting Designer........................................... Tetta M. Askeland† Sound Designer........................................................... Alyster Jaden Schmidt† Assistant Sound Designer........................................................ Michael Sieling Stage Manager and Props Co-Designer...............................Olivia Houseman Assistant Stage Manager and Props Co-Designer.................... Kayla Browen Assistant Stage Manager.............................................Phanisara Seesongkram Light Board Programmer........................................................ Bryn Mongeau† Board and Spot Operators........................... Ahmed Ahmed, Sophia Fischer, ............................................................................Roman Garcia, Leighton Prin, ....................................................................... Saishal Shrestha, Michael Sieling Dramaturg...................................................................................Laura Bradley† Producer..................................................................... Nadine Purvis Schmidt† Technical Director and Scene Shop Manager................. Tetta M. Askeland† Scene Shop Assistants................................ Kayla Browen, Olivia Houseman, Priscilla Muehr, Michael Sieling, Stagecraft and Theatre Appreciation students Costume Shop Manager............................................................ Sheila Tabaka† Costume Shop Assistants........Sally Tabaka, Theatre Appreciation students House Manager...........................................................................Laura Bradley† Ushers and Poster Crew...................................Theatre Appreciation students Box Office Manager....................................................................Jennifer Stucke Box Office Assistants.......................................Isaac Wagner and Lily Paulson Poster & Program Design ........................Megan McClain and Maddy Groff Headshot Photography..........................................................Meghan McClain

SPECIAL THANKS Dr. Elliot Vaughan and the SMSU GIS Center, Brooke Burns†, Julie Walker, and Sophia Fischer

THE PLAYS 1.

Martha Washington (1789-1797) 24. Frances Folsom Cleveland Preston Pretty as a Picture (Part 2) (1893-1897) 2. Abigail Adams (1797-1801) Frances Stays Home The Ladies Do Remember 25. Ida McKinley (1897-1901) 3. Sally Hemings and Martha Jefferson Lace and Crochet (1801-1809) Sisters Under the Skin 26. Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt 4. Dolley Madison (1809-1817) (1901-1909) The Definition Party Tricks 27. Helen Herron “Nellie” Taft (1909-1913) 5. Elizabeth Kortright Monroe Sylvan/Syllables (1817-1825) Liberté 28. Edith Bolling Galt Wilson (1913-1921) 6. Louisa Adams (1825-1829) First Lady Waltz Louisa Adams in the Snow 29. Florence Kling Harding (1921-1923) 7. Rachel Jackson (1828) The Duchess of Public Image Rachel’s Monsters 30. Grace Coolidge (1923-1929) 8. Angelica Van Buren (1837-1841) Grace and Rebecca The Queen of America 31. Lou Henry Hoover (1929-1933) 9. Anna Harrison (1841) Multifaceted When Life Explodes 32. Eleanor Roosevelt (1933-1945) 10. Letitia, Priscilla, Letty, and Julia Tyler Little Nell (1841-1845) 33. Bess Wallace Truman (1945-1953) The Four First Ladies of John Tyler Cloudy With a Chance of Clarity 11. Sarah Polk (1845-1849) Destined 34. Mamie Eisenhower (1953-1961) 12. Margaret “Peggy” Mackall Smith Mamie Pinks Pink Taylor (1849-1850) A Serenity Prayer 35. Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy 13. Abigail Powers Fillmore (1850-1853) Onassis (1961-1963) Meta-rant in the Absence of Information Sense and a Sense of History 14. Jane Pierce (1853-1857) 36. Lady Bird Johnson (1963-1969) I’ll Be (Not) Here All Week Wild. Flower.

15. Harriet Lane (1857-1861) 37. Pat Nixon (1969-1974) Fellow Traveler: Hal Goes Bowling A Questionnaire for Pat Nixon 16. Mary Lincoln (1861-1865) The Verdict 38. Betty Ford (1974-1977) Kinesthetics 17. Eliza McCardle Johnson (1865-1869) 39. Rosalynn Carter (1977-1981) Housekeeping The Steel Magnolia Loses It 18. Julia Dent Grant (1869-1877) 40. Nancy Reagan (1981-1989) Just Say Those Blue and Gray Blues No: A Social Inoculation Play for 19. Lucy Ware Webb Hayes (1877-1881) Developing Effective Tactics Against The Swan in the Specimen Jar Peer Pressure 20. Lucretia Garfield (1881) 41. Barbara Bush (1989-1993) The Tyranny of Our Love is Sweet Just Like Your Grandma 21. Mary “Molly” McElroy, et al 42. Hilary Clinton (1993-2001) (1881-1885) The Eventual Ellen Arthur Hilary, Grendel’s Mother 22. Frances Folsom Cleveland Preston 43. Laura Lane Bush (2001-2009) A Partial (Part 1) (1885-1889) Frankie Goes to Bibliography of Laura Lane Bush Washington 44. Michelle Obama (2009-2017) The Task 23. Caroline Harrison (1889-1893) 45. Melania Knavs Trump (2017-2021) Carrie Harrison Lights the Lights Play in Search of a First Lady 46. Jill Biden/Kamala Harris (2021-)

Foreword, Afterward

FRIENDS OF THE THEATRE 2024-25 Members

Producer Aminu Gomos* Jan Loft & Doug Pilgrim*** Director Lori Baker & Larry Magrath* Jerry & Ricke Bly** Tyler Bowen*** Jeff & Stephanie Cordes* Lois Henkel** Jim & Laurie Johansen*** Robert W. Schwoch*** Marshall Area Stage Company*** Designer Tetta & Edison Askeland** Jerry Girton*** Jeff & Pam Gladis** Jim & Deb Kerkaert** Bill & Stacie Mulso** Jan Craig Nelson ‘73*** Paula Nemes & Steven Rasmusson*** *** Charter Member

Carma Nordahl** Lee & Norma Raske** Sara Runchey & Jim Smalley** Karen Sweetland* Jim & Sheila Tabaka & Family*** Nadine & Karl Schmidt*** Jennifer & Brian Stucke* Ross & Sonja Wastvedt* John & Māra Wiggins** Actor Dan & Linda Baun** Doug & JoAnne Fraunfelder*** Brett & Anita Gaul** Lorna Rafness** Mary Jane Striegel** Charlotte and Marty Wahle* Jim & Marianne Zarzana*** Apprentice Nancy Marco*

** Sustaining Member (3+ yrs)

* New Member

FRIENDS GIFT LEVELS GIFT CLUB REWARD $25 Apprentice 2 ticket vouchers« $75 $125 $250 $500 $1000

«(Ticket vouchers only for those under age 25 or graduate of SMSU within the last five years.)

Actor Designer Director Producer Angel

3 ticket vouchers 6 ticket vouchers 9 ticket vouchers 12 ticket vouchers and Theatre web page listing 15 ticket vouchers and Theatre web page listing

If you would like to join Friends of the Theatre or sponsor a production, please call the SMSU Theatre at 507-537-7103.

The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, part of the Rubenstein Arts Access Program, is generously funded by David M. Rubenstein.

Special thanks to The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust for supporting the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

Additional support is provided by The Honorable Stuart Bernstein and Wilma E. Bernstein; and the Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.

This production is entered in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF). The aims of this national theater education program are to identify and promote quality in college-level theater production. To this end, each production entered is eligible for a response by a regional KCACTF representative, and selected students and faculty are invited to participate in KCACTF programs involving scholarships, internships, grants and awards for actors, directors, dramaturgs, playwrights, designers, stage managers and critics at both the regional and national levels.

Productions entered on the Participating level are eligible for invitation to the KCACTF regional festival and may also be considered for national awards recognizing outstanding achievement in production, design, direction and performance.

Last year more than 1,500 productions were entered in the KCACTF involving more than 200,000 students nationwide. By entering this production, our theater department is sharing in the KCACTF goals to recognize, reward, and celebrate the exemplary work produced in college and university theaters across the nation.

For more information about the SMSU Theatre Program please call 507-537-7103.Visit the Theatre Arts web page at SMSU.edu/go/theatre or find SMSU Theatre on Facebook and Instagram @SMSUTheatre

UPCOMING EVENTS SHOUT! The Mod Musical April 10-13, 2025 SMSU Fine Arts Theatre The 19th Annual Fine Arts Celebration March-May 2025 A festival of the fine arts, showcasing creative works from the Department of Fine Arts and Communication, the English Department and the Creative Writing Program

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SMSU THEATRE ARTS PROGRAM Department Chairperson.............................................Dr. John Ginocchio Theatre Faculty.......................................................................Sheila Tabaka† .................................................................................Nadine Purvis Schmidt† ................................................................................................Tetta Askeland† .......................................................................................Ray Oster†, Emeritus .................................................. Dr. William Hezlep†, Emeritus (Deceased) ......................................................... Charles Autry†, Emeritus (Deceased) Fine Arts Office Administrator........................................... Jennifer Stucke