Little Women Program 2023

Li t tl e Wom e n Adapted by Jacqueline Goldfinger From the novel by Louisa May Alcott

october 25, 26, 27, and 28, 2023 at 7:30 pm october 28 and 29 at 2 pm

Produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc. (www.playscripts.com)

THE SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY THEATRE presents

Li t tl e Wom e n Adapted by Jacqueline Goldfinger From the novel by Louisa May Alcott

Director and Costume Designer – Sheila Tabaka† Scenic and Lighting Designer – Tetta M. Askeland† Sound Designer – Colton Jensen† Stage Manager – Laura Bradley SETTING Time: 1863-1864 Place: Mostly in and around the March family’s home in Concord, Massachusetts Scene 1: Christmas Eve, 1863 Scene 2: Christmas morning Scene 3: Christmas afternoon Scene 4: January, 1864 Scene 5: Late winter Scene 6: Late winter Scene 7: The Moffats’ Spring Ball Scene 8: Same evening, at the March family home Scene 9: The Moffats’ Spring Ball Scene 10: The day after the Moffats’ Ball Scene 11: Early summer, 1864 Scene 12: Summer Scene 13: Same day Scene 14: Late summer Scene 15: A few days later Scene 16: Autumn Scene 17: Autumn, Paris Scene 18: Christmas, 1864 Scene 19: New York This performance runs approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes and is performed without an intermission.

Little Women is presented by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc. (www.playscripts.com)

LITTLE WOMEN CAST Meg..................................................................................... Tailer Benson† Jo ...................................................................................... Bryn Mongeau† Beth................................................................................... Hannah Meyer Amy ............................................................................Makayla Kennedy† Marmee .................................................................................Amelia Reid Laurie ......................................................................................Alex Duus† John ...................................................................................Colton Jensen† Girl at Party #1 .................................................................. Kailey Twiest Girl at Party #2 ................................................................ Katrina Timm Girl at Party #3 ............................................................ Trista Bonnifield Girl at Party #4 ............................................................... Priscilla Muehr Waiter, Doctor, and Lecturer .......................................... David Wendt †

Member of Alpha Psi Omega, the National Honorary Dramatic Fraternity

ASPECTS OF LIFE IN THE 1860S From dramaturgical research by Charlotte Wahle† The $10 prize for the Concord Review’s short story competition would be worth $370 in today’s money. The $25 that Jo receives for selling “what was [her] own” would be worth $925 in today’s money. By comparison, in 1863, the cost of living for a family of five in a major Union city would have been around $36 per month ($1,333 today).

In a family like the Marches, with no sons, the eldest daughters would be expected to marry well, to set their family up for success and greater comfort.

A glove is featured in a key part of Meg’s story. As noted in the Lady’s Book of Etiquette (1860), gloves were an important accessory for women: “With regard to dress itself, the first things a lady ought to think about are her gloves and shoes; for spoiled or ripped gloves, or shabby boots, will destroy the effect of the most elegant gown ever worn…” Kid leather gloves were common for everyday wear, and would have averaged $1 a pair ($37 today). Day gloves were wrist-length, while evening gloves extended above the elbow.

Amy’s pickled limes would have been SOUR! They were pickled in vinegar and salt water, with no sugar added. A dozen would have cost Amy between $4.50 and $8.50 in today’s money.

Scarlet fever is caused by the same bacteria that is responsible for strep throat.

Throughout most of the 1800s, there were epidemics of scarlet fever across the US and Europe, including in Massachusetts, where Louisa May Alcott’s family and the fictional March family lived. Before the availability of antibiotics, scarlet fever was deadly, especially for children under age 16.

THE PRODUCTION TEAM Director and Costume Designer........................................................... Sheila Tabaka† Scenic and Lighting Designer......................................................... Tetta M. Askeland† Sound Designer ...................................................................................... Colton Jensen† Assistant Sound Designer ..................................................................... Michael Sieling Stage Manager ...........................................................................................Laura Bradley Assistant Stage Manager ................................................................... Olivia Houseman Props Designer ...........................................................................................Luke Pearson Light Board Operator ..............................................................................Kayla Browen Sound Board Operator .............................................................................. Kaden Clark Run Crew........................................................................Bernyse Leach, Ratsamee Lee† Dramaturgs ...................................................... Jordan Stangeland†, Charlotte Wahle† Lobby Display ........................................................................................Sariah Cheadle† Producer .................................................................................. Nadine Purvis Schmidt† Technical Director and Scene Shop Manager .............................. Tetta M. Askeland† Scene Shop Assistants .............................................Brooke Burns† (co-paint charge), .................................................Olivia Houseman, Bryn Mongeau† (co-paint charge), .................................................................................................................. Michael Sieling Costume Shop Manager......................................................................... Sheila Tabaka† Costume Shop Assistants............................................ Tailer Benson†, Brooke Burns† House Manager..................................................................................... Abiah Abraham Box Office Manager................................................................................ Jennifer Stucke Box Office Assistants ............................................. Margeaux Belanger, Isaac Wagner Poster & Program Photography and Design........................................... Maddy Groff Headshot Photography...................................................................... Meghan McClain Ushers, Publicity Crew, Costume and Set Construction & Stage Crew...... Students from Theatre Appreciation, Lighting and Sound Design, Theatre Activity, and the cast and crew

SPECIAL THANKS SMSU Photography Club Elliot Vaughan and the GIS lab

SMSU LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT STATEMENT Southwest Minnesota State University sits on the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary lands of the Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota people, collectively known as the Oceti Sakowin, Seven Council Fires. We acknowledge and recognize our sovereign neighbors from the Pezihutazizi Otunwe (Yellow Medicine Village) and Cansayapi Otunwe (Village Where They Mark The Trees Red), and all indigenous people who continue to call this area home. SMSU resides on land ceded by the Dakota Nation to the United States in the disputed 1851 Treaty of Traverse des Sioux. This land acknowledgement affirms these nations’ sovereignty and history, while seeking to hold SMSU accountable to the needs of American Indian and Indigenous people.

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.

PLEASE NOTE Please completely turn off all cell phones, pagers, watches, and electronic devices that would interfere with communication and cues crucial to the performance.

In an effort to make our Theatre more “green,” we have installed energy-efficient LED house lights. You may notice flickering as the house lights are fading out.

FRIENDS OF THE THEATRE 2023-24 Members

Director Lois A. Henkel** Jim and Laurie Johansen*** Robert W. Schwoch*** Marshall Area Stage Company*** Designer Tetta & Edison Askeland** Tyler Bowen*** Brett & Anita Gaul** Jerry Girton** Jeff & Pam Gladis** Jim & Deb Kerkaert* Jan Craig Nelson ‘73*** Lee & Norma Raske** Sara Runchey and Jim Smalley** Karen Sweetland* Jim & Sheila Tabaka & Family*** Nadine and Karl Schmidt*** John & Mara Wiggins**

GIFT CLUB $25

$75 $125 $250 $500 $1000

Actor Dan & Linda Baun** Doug & JoAnne Fraunfelder*** Wayne Hanson, in Memory of Janet** Gwen Mukomela** Lorna Rafness** Jane, Emily, Ashley, & Natalie Sovell* Mary Jane Striegel** Jennifer & Brian Stucke* Charlotte and Marty Wahle* Jim & Marianne Zarzana*** Apprentice Ryne & Jessa Myhrberg** Helen Pedersen*

*** Charter Member ** Sustaining Member (3+ yrs) * New Member

FRIENDS GIFT LEVELS

REWARD

Apprentice 2 ticket vouchers« «(Ticket vouchers only for those under age 25 or graduate of SMSU within the last five years.)

Actor 3 ticket vouchers Designer 6 ticket vouchers Director 9 ticket vouchers Producer 12 ticket vouchers and Theatre web page listing Angel 15 ticket vouchers and Theatre web page listing

PRODUCTION UNDERWRITER FOR $5,000 Our family-friendly season provides a great opportunity to build and strengthen positive ties with the community. Underwriter benefits include: • 20 ticket vouchers for the current season of SMSU Theatre performances, and • acknowledgements on the Theatre web page and show posters, in social media posts, media releases, and radio interviews, and in a lobby display during the run of the show.

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.

The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival™ 56 for Region V will be held January 16-21, 2024 in Des Moines, IA.

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 Exposed Brick Theatre’s

Muyehpen

By St. Paul-based Karen-American playwright Ehkhudah Zar Scenes from the play, followed by an artist talk with the playwright October 30, 2023 Co-hosted with SMSU’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion and Access Opportunity Success (AOS)

Man Cave

A one-man sci-fi climate change tragi-comedy Written and performed by Timothy Mooney February 12-13, 2024

An Inspector Calls

By J.B. Priestley April 10-14, 2024

FOLLOW @SMSUTHEATRE:

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