Performing Arts Houston | Encore Magazine, Fall 2022

Houston's moment to experience DIAVOLO's Signs of Strength

SEASON

On sale now

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan:

Tongues

OCT 1 | Cullen Theater

An Evening with Tom Papa OCT 7 | Cullen Theater

DIAVOLO OCT 14–15 | Jones Hall

Mariachi Herencia de México: Herederos OCT 16 | Jones Hall

Yunchan Lim, 2022 Cliburn Gold Medalist OCT 18 | Cullen Theater

Mutts Gone Nuts!

23

5–6

Tenebrae

NOV

Matthew

NOV

An

The

Cirque

Cullen Theater

Jones

New/Now:

FEB 24-25

Houston Artist

Cullen Theater

Mnozil Brass: Gold FEB 26

Cullen Theater

deGrasse Tyson: Delusions of Space Enthusiasts MAR 6 | Jones Hall

Dance Company MAR 10 | Cullen Theater

Preservation Hall Jazz Band:

Anniversary Celebration MAR 14

Jones Hall

Goosby

15

Zilkha Hall

Maqoma's

Gwang Chil

Gazillion

JAN

Dance

3-4

Harlem

Jones Hall

29-30

Performing Arts Houston

615 Louisiana Street, Suite 100 Houston, Texas 77002-2715 713.227.4772

info@performingartshouston.org performingartshouston.org

Meg Booth Chief Executive Officer

Leslie Nelson

Chief Financial Officer

Andrea Allen Education Specialist

Jordan Drum

Director of Development

Jessica Ellison Education Events Coordinator

Brian Glass Director of Marketing, Communications & Digital Breanna Lindsey Box Office Associate

Brenda Oliveira Board Liaison & Executive Assistant

Helena Oliver

Development Manager, Individual Giving & Events

Michelle Pacheco

Patron Services Manager

Caroline Senter Public Relations Associate

Jennifer Steiner

Director of Operations

Lee Strickland

Director of Artistic Programming

Claire Williamson

Director of Education & Community Engagement

About Performing Arts Houston

For over 55 years, Performing Arts Houston has connected audiences with exceptional artists through diverse performances and learning experiences throughout Houston communities and schools. We welcome all to ignite and cultivate passion for the performing arts and explore the vast landscape of artistic expression to discover new understanding about ourselves, create community, inspire dialogue, and enrich our world. More at performingartshouston.org.

Board of Directors

PERFORMING ARTS HOUSTON 2022–2023 EXECUTIVE C O MMITTEE

G. Mark Jodon, Board Chair

H. William Swanstrom, Board Vice Chair Tymothi O. Tombar, Secretary

Willie C.W. Chiang, Vice President, Nominating & Governance

Vijay D´Cruz, Vice President, Development

Melanie Gray, Vice President, Special Projects

Curt D. Karges, Vice President, Finance & Audit

Theresa Mallett, Vice President, Education & Community Engagement

Melanie B. Rother, Vice President, Sales & Marketing

Leah R. Bennett

Meg Booth (Ex Officio) Charles C. Boettcher Michael Cannon Charles D. Davidson Theresa A. Einhorn

Stephen M. Gill Michael Hatfield Emily T. Kuo Eileen Lawal Ann V. Rogers Stephen M. Trauber

DIRECTORS

Norah G. Adams Jeffrey A. Ball Mary Fischer Sean Gorma Shawn K. Jackson

Joel Lambert Ginni Mithoff

Katherine Easterby Murphy Michaelene Lusk Norton

Armando A. Perez

Lance G. Reynolds Gloria Ryan Marisol Salazar Omar Samji Leslie Elkins Sasser Nameer A. Siddiqui Kristina H. Somerville Margaret Alkek Williams

DIRECTORS EMERITI

James J. Postl Robert B. Tudor III

John T. Jones Jr. Founder (1917-1994)

Marcus A. Watts

Jesse H. Jones II President, Society for the Performing Arts Foundation

SEASON SPONSORS

Audience

EXPERIENCE GUIDE

HEALTH & SAFET Y

All Covid policies are at the discretion of the artist, presenter, and venue, and are subject to change. For the latest updates on Health & Safety protocols, please visit performingartshouston.org/faq.

PARKING

Event parking is available in the Theater District Parking garage for $12. Street parking in Downtown Houston is free after 6pm, Monday-Saturday, and all day Sunday. Parking rates and availability are subject to change.

DOORS OPEN

Unless otherwise noted, doors to the lobby will open 60 minutes prior to performance start time and seating inside the auditorium will open 30 minutes prior to start time.

LATE SEATING

Late seating is at the discretion of the artist and may not be available. We suggest everyone arrive early, allowing extra time for parking, entry, and concessions inside the lobby.

FOOD & DRINK

Concessions are available for purchase in the lobby. Please note that food and drink are not allowed inside the seated area of the theater.

ACCESSIBILIT Y

For accessibility information, or to purchase accessibility seating, please contact the Box Office at 713.227.4772.

CHILDREN

Unless otherwise specified, all children ages 4 and above may attend performances. Tickets must be purchased for all children, regardless of age, as required by the City of Houston Fire Code.

DEVICES

As a courtesy to others, please silence all electronic devices and refrain from using them during the performance. Even on silent, the glow from devices can be a distraction. Photography and recording of any kind are strictly prohibited.

TICKETS

All tickets are non-refundable. Tickets can be exchanged or donated up to 48 hours prior to the performance. Exchange fees are waived for all Performing Arts Houston members.

LET'S KEEP IN TOUCH

Q&A with CEO,

In July, Meg Booth was announced as one of Houston Business Journal’s Most Admired CEOs of 2022. Of the 45 honorees, Booth was the only arts organization leader recognized this year. Since joining Performing Arts Houston in 2018, she’s placed a renewed emphasis on high artistic quality, innovative programming, and advancing our new strategic plan, including renaming and rebranding this 55-year-strong Houston arts mainstay.

How did you first get involved in the arts?

I have always been drawn to the visual and performing arts. As a child, I used to watch the Boston Pops on WGBH and would stand and mimic the conductor for the entire concert. In college, I earned a BFA, studying photography and studio arts. It didn’t take long out of college to realize I wanted to support artists rather than be one—I have been working in performing arts administration since the mid 90’s.

What has been the most rewarding experience during your time with Performing Arts Houston?

The April 2022 Kaleidoscope Ball, where we filled the Wortham Lobby in person to celebrate the arts (after so many virtual events), launched our new name and announced a new season of live performances was an evening that is hard to beat.

What do you love about the Houston performing arts community? Quality, Plurality, Depth, Humanity, Community, Strength, Expression. Any day of the week, Houston provides endless opportunities to participate in the arts, share and learn cultures, build community through the arts and experience wildly varied artistic voices. The Houston Performing Arts Community is almost an embarrassment of riches and an under-heralded strength of the city of Houston. This is one reason I love shining a spotlight on Houston Artists through our New/Now program.

As CEO, what are some values you find most important?

I am fortunate, as CEO, to work with an extraordinary team of great people.

Our organization is only as strong as our team, the artists we amplify, and the audiences we enjoy the arts with. The performing arts simply would not exist without the people that make it all happen.

What does this award mean to you?

It is quite an honor to be nominated by my board and recognized with so many other brilliant leaders throughout the many business sectors in Houston.

I am also proud to represent the arts with this award. The arts are a $1.1 billion dollar sector in Houston annually! Being recognized as a not-for-profit arts leader among so many significant businesses is so rewarding.

What are you looking forward to in the 22/23 season?

It’s difficult to narrow it down, but Tenebrae and Gregory Maqoma’s Vuyani Dance Theater are the two groups I wish were coming next week instead of deeper in the season. We have so many great artists coming this year though, I look forward to being in the theater many times!

Interview by Caroline Senter

Photo by LEE Chia-yeh

the Performance

13 Tongues

As a child in the 1980s Cloud Gate Artistic Director CHENG Tsung-lung would contribute to the family business by helping his father sell slippers on the streets of Bangka/Wanhua, the oldest district of Taipei. Bangka/Wanhua was known for its vibrantly diverse and bustling street scene that embraced religious and secular life, rich and poor, work and play, legal and illegal activities. The young CHENG was transfixed by his mother’s accounts of the legendary 1960s street artist and storyteller known as “Thirteen Tongues” who had adopted Bangka/Wanhua for his informal stage. It was said that “Thirteen Tongues'' could conjure up all the Bangka/Wanhua characters - high and low born, sacred and profane, men and women - in the most vivid, dramatic, and fluently imaginative narratives. Thirty years on CHENG’s fascination for “Thirteen Tongues” became his inspiration as he transformed his childhood memories into dance.

Beginning and ending with the sound of a single hand bell, the music accompanying 13 Tongues ranges from Taiwanese folk songs to Taoist chant to electronica. The stage is awash with projections of brilliant colors, shapes, and images and the dancers gather, interact, separate and re-gather in a thrilling representation of the clamor of street life. As the religious heritage of ancient Bangka/Wanhua fuses with the secular space it is today so time appears to dissolve. The spirit realm and the human realm also coalesce as the audience is taken on an immersive journey - via imagination and storytelling that recalls the art of “Thirteen Tongues” - through centuries of human endeavor, behaviour, and belief.

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan

Cloud Gate is the name of the oldest known dance in China. In 1973, choreographer LIN Hwai-min adopted this classical name and founded the first contemporary dance company in the greater Chinese-speaking community: Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, also known worldwide as Cloud Gate. In 2020, CHENG Tsung-lung succeeded LIN as the company’s Artistic Director.

Cloud Gate has set out to engage with local history, culture and subject matter and draws on classical, folk and modern dance from both the western and Asian traditions. Its dancers trained in meditation, Qi Gong, an ancient breathing exercise; internal martial arts, modern dance and ballet. Under the leadership of CHENG, their training has further expanded to include trainings from various styles of dance, such as street dance. Manifesting in choreographies, the company transforms ancient aesthetics into a thrilling and modern celebration of motion.

Cloud Gate has received international acclaim as “Asia’s leading contemporary dance theater” (The Times), and “One of the best dance companies in the world” (FAZ). Cloud Gate is also honored as the “Outstanding Company” for the 2018 National Dance Awards, UK.

The company has toured worldwide with frequent engagements at the Next Wave Festival in New York, the Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London, the Moscow Chekhov International Theatre Festival in Russia, the Movimentos International Dance Festival and the Internationales Tanzfest NRW, then directed by Pina Bausch in Germany.

Cloud Gate has also danced into local campuses and grassroots communities.

Its annual free outdoor performances staged across Taiwan in cities and villages draw a minimum of 30,000 people per performance, hailed as one of the biggest dance events on earth.

LIN Hwai-min, Founder

LIN Hwai-min was first known to the Taiwan public as a fiction writer. He started his modern dance training at the age of 23, while working on his MFA degree at the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. He founded Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan in Taipei in 1973.

A self-taught choreographer, LIN often draws from Asian cultures and aesthetics to create works with contemporary resonance. Under his direction, Cloud Gate tours extensively to international acclaims and prominence.

In 2013, he received the prestigious Samuel H. Scripps / American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement. Previous awardees include Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Pina Bausch, and William Forsythe. LIN is the first recipient based in Asia.

Among other honors LIN Hwai-min has received are the John D. Rockefeller 3rd Award, the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters from the Ministry of Culture of France, the Honorary Fellow Trinity Laban, London, and honorary doctorates from six universities in Taiwan and Hong Kong. He was also celebrated by the Time Magazine as one of “Asia’s Heroes.”

At the end of 2019, LIN retired from the position of the artistic director of Cloud Gate. CHENG Tsung-lung succeeded him to take the reins of the company.

Series Sponsors Presenting Partners

Sponsored in part by:

The Ministry of Culture, Republic of China (Taiwan)

Society for the Performing Arts Foundation

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan: 13

CHENG Tsung-lung, Artistic Director / Choreographer

From street hawker selling slippers to internationally recognized choreographer, CHENG Tsung-lung succeeded LIN Hwai-min as Artistic Director of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan starting in 2020.

CHENG took his first dance class at the age of 8. Upon graduation from the Dance Department, Taipei National University of the Arts, he joined Cloud Gate in 2002 and became the Artistic Director of Cloud Gate 2 in 2014.

CHENG has been awarded prestigious prizes for his choreography internationally as well as at home such as the No Ballet International Choreography Competition (Germany), the Premio Roma Danza International Choreography Competition (Italy), the MASDANZA Choreography Competition (Spain) and the Taishin Arts Award (Taiwan). He has also worked with companies from all over the world including Sydney Dance Company, the Transitions Dance Company at the Laban Centre, London, Expressions Dance Company, Brisbane, and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

CHENG’s work is deeply rooted in both ancient and modern Taiwanese culture — and he is a strong supporter of Cloud Gate’s extensive engagement with grassroots audiences across Taiwan— yet it also embraces global influences. His 13 Tongues (2016) integrates folk dance, religious rites, and Taoist chant to vividly conjure the streets where he worked as a child. Lunar Halo (2019) is performed to an ethereally haunting soundtrack by Icelandic musicians Sigur Rós and explores the complex area of human connection and technology. Sounding Light (2020), was written in response to COVID pandemic-induced isolation and reflects on the precariousness of both the human and the natural worlds. Visually stunning, Send In A Cloud (2022) displays in shifting colors a panorama of dancers’ life journeys.

CHENG has been a fixture of Routledge’s respected annual survey of dance practitioners, Fifty Contemporary

Choreographers (2020), alongside the likes of William Forsythe, Akram Khan, Hofesh Shechter and leaders in the form.

LIM Giong, Music

LIM Giong’s music career began as a singer-songwriter and then moved behind the scenes to meet DJs. Encouraged by director HOU Hsiaohsien, LIM started the work of film soundtrack from "Goodbye South, Goodbye", and has participated in the soundtrack of short films, advertisements, animations, and documentaries. After he started collaborating with artists in various fields in 2004, his compositions became more experimental and are increasingly infused with electronic music, evolving drum and bass, breakbeat, ambient, and electronica. LIM composed for choreographer CHENG Tsung-lung’s 13 Tongues (2016), Full Moon (2017), Multiplication (2019), and Sounding Light (2020) with his unique music style and added a variety of flavors to the pieces.

HO Chia-hsing, Art Design

An AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale) member since 2017, HO Chia-hsing is nourished in his artistic designs by the rich cultural atmosphere of Dadaocheng, an old city district in Taipei.

HO established a graphic design studio called the “Timonium Lake” in 2006. In 2019, with partners at work, he runs the “Monsoon Plasticizing Culture Work Team,” focusing on the rapid changes in the design industries of Taiwan and East Asia. His team uses the calligraphic line of traditional Chinese scripts as means to create modern designs. In collaboration with artists in different fields, his team fuses local Taiwan culture with their spiritual nourishment in their plastic arts and design works.

SHEN Po-hung, Lighting Design

Graduating from Graduate Institute of Drama and Theatre at National Taiwan University, SHEN Po-hung has created his personal marks on lighting

design through in-depth reading into interdisciplinary fields. SHEN currently works as a freelance designer and his designs encompass works in dance, drama, concert, and special event. He has collaborated with CHENG Tsunglung for many years, with designing credits including Send In A Cloud (2022), Lunar Halo (2019), Dream Catcher (2017), 13 Tongues (2016), Beckoning (2015), Dorian Gray (2014), Blue Hour (2013), and On the Road (2011).

Ethan Wang, Projection Design

One of the most active projection designers in Taiwan, Ethan WANG has received numerous awards including the bronze medal of “World Stage Design 2013 New Media Award” and the winner of “7th Knight of Illumination Awards 2015,” respectively for his projection designs for Cloud Gate’s Water Stains on the Wall and RICE. His projection design for CHENG Tsung-lung’s 13 Tongues won him the silver award in 2017 and for Lunar Halo was nominated in 2022 at the World Stage Design Calgary. He also served as the visual art designer for Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei and the guest art designer for the Hua-shan Art District, Taipei. In 2006, he founded his own studio “Over Quality,” devoting in digital graphic animation creations.

LIN Bing-hao, Costume Design

LIN Bing-hao started learning dance at the Taipei National University of the Arts. Later discovering his true passion for costume design, he dropped out of school to serve as an apprentice to the renowned designer LIN Ching-ju in 1998. In 2001, he opened his Costume Shop, and soon in the next year launched Taiwan’s first professional brand of leotards, KeithLink.

LIN has collaborated with important performing arts groups and artists in Taiwan, including Cloud Gate 2, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, Ju Percussion Group, and GuoGuang Chinese Opera Company.

Acclaimed by critics as a promising artist, in 2011, LIN was invited to design for the

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of

opera La Dame aux Camélias directed by the renowned Japanese theater director Tadashi Suzuki.

TSAI Pao-chang, Voice Coach

TSAI Pao-chang graduated from National Taiwan University with his BA in Drama & Theatre and received his MA in Music Theatre from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London. In 2011, with a grant from Asian Cultural Council, he received his voice and speech trainings from the America Repertory Theater at Harvard University, and further his theater adventure at Moscow Art Theatre (MXAT). He is actively involved in various international artistin-residency and programs including France, Iceland, USA, Denmark, South Korea and Germany.

Known as a playwright, a director, and an actor, TSAI collaborate with many performing arts companies in Taiwan. He served as the co-artistic director of Tainaner Ensemble, one of the most established theater companies in Taiwan from 2009 to 2018.

Cloud Gate Culture and Arts Foundation

Chairman

Stan SHIH

Board of Directors

HSU Sheng-hsiung

Barry LAM

Simon LIN

LIN Hwai-min

Jamie LIN TSAI Hong-tu

Rick TSAI

TSENG F.C.

TUNG T.H.

Kate Huei-wen WEN

Eric YAO

Diane YING

Executive Director

Kathy HONG

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan

Founder

LIN Hwai-min

Artistic Director

CHENG Tsung-lung

Associate Artistic Director

LEE Ching-chun

Rehearsal Director

YANG Ling-kai Rehearsal Assistants

HUANG Mei-ya YEH Po-sheng

Qi Gong Masters

HSIUNG Wei LEE Guo-wei

Internal Martial Arts Masters

Adam Chi HSU CHEN Chun-lung

Ballet Teachers

CHUANG Yuan-ting LIN Li-chuan WU Ching-yin

Modern Dance Teachers

HUANG Pei-hua TSAI Ming-yuan

Accompanists

HONG Jia-ling

LIANG Chun-mei KUO Tsung-han WU Jia-jin Dancers

CHEN Mu-han

HOU Tang-li HUANG Li-chieh HUANG Mei-ya LEE Tzu-chun WU Jui-ying YEH Po-sheng

CHEN Lien-wei CHEN Tsung-chiao CHENG Hsi-ling CHOU Chen-yeh FAN Chia-hsuan HSU Chih-hen HUANG Lu-kai HUANG Po-kai HUANG Yu-ling SHAO Hsing-wen CHAN Pui-pui CHANG Yu-tzu HUANG Ching-heng HUANG Yen-cheng YEN Hsueh-hsin

CHAO Hsin LAI Wei-chun Apprentices HUANG Hsiang-ting LIN Pin-shuo WANG Chun-hung

Administrative Staff on Tour

General Manager

HUANG Ching-yi

Senior Project Manager

Janice WANG

Project Manager

CHUANG Ting-chi

Project Assistant

Alanna CHOO

Technical Staff on Tour

Production Director

Nick HUNG

Stage Manager

CHUNG Pin-yueh

Technical Director

HUNG Chih-lung

Lighting Supervisor TSENG Yen-min

Audio Supervisor LIOU Yun-chang Wardrobe Supervisor HSU Wen-wen

Exclusive North American Tour Representation

Rena Shagan Associates, Inc. 180 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10024 Tel: ++1-212-873-9700 shaganarts.com

ANNOUNCING THE 2022 WINNERS

World Premiere Performances FEB 24–25, 2023 at the Wortham Center

New/Now

The Houston Artist Commissioning Project

Performing Arts Houston’s New/Now is a multi-disciplinary commissioning project spotlighting creative visionaries living and working in Houston. We’re proud to announce this year’s winning artists: Anthony Brandt, J.E. Hernandez, Vivalda Ndula, and Tazeen Zahida.

Anthony Brandt is a composer, researcher, author, educator, and Artistic Director of Musiqa, an awardwinning new music ensemble. An advocate for closer ties between the arts and science, he co-authored The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes the World with neuroscientist David Eagleman and is currently a co-investigator in musical experiments involving seniors with mild cognitive impairment, stroke recovery, surgeon burnout, and dance. He teaches music composition and theory at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.

Brandt’s newly commissioned work, Diabelli 200, marks the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, and in collaboration with neuro-engineer Dr. Pepe ContrerasVidal, will explore the neural synchrony between the performers and changes in brain activity as the score is learned and performed.

Sponsored by: National Endowment for the Arts, The Powell Foundation Houston Artist Commissioning Project artist awards are made possible in part by the Society for the Performing Arts Foundation through the Mattox Fund for New Works.

All photos by Houston photographer Claire McAdams

Composer and cinematographer

J.E. Hernández is a Mexican-born, Houston-based artist focusing on elevating personal and cultural narrative through his work. J.E.'s music has been performed at prestigious venues and by distinguished ensembles and organizations such as The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Houston Grand Opera, American Opera Project, Apollo Chamber Players, Foundation for Modern Music, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, American Composers Forum, the Brazil National Orchestra, and in a wide variety of films, both in the United States and abroad. He holds a degree from the University of Houston.

Hernández’s new work, Desert Shelter, portrays the hardships of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border via the Sonoran Desert pass.

Born and raised in Luanda, Angola, Vivalda Ndula became one of the voices of the new generation of Angolan musicians that has made a significant cultural and international impact on today’s Angolan music. Ndula is an activist, singer-songwriter, percussionist, and dancer. She is a multi-award winning, nominated/finalist of StarAfrica Sound, (ISC) International Songwriting Competition, and Angola Music Awards (AMA). Through her music, Vivalda raises social awareness against child labor, modern slavery, and human trafficking with her award-nominated songs Mazui (voices) and Monandengue (children). Ndula’s new composition, Mbandu ni Mbandu, meaning “side by side,” examines ongoing social issues and conceptualizes a world where people can live together despite their differences.

Born in Karachi, Pakistan and raised in Saudi Arabia, Tazeen Zahida writes plays in English and Urdu. Her plays are inspired by current affairs, social issues, family dynamics, and her experiences of living in the Middle East and America. She spearheads Houston’s only South Asian theatre company, Tee Zee Productions. Through her work, Tazeen intends to bring to life hard-to-tell and harder-to-sell stories. She is a literary translator and critic. She believes that poetry is the ultimate form of expression.

Zahida’s new theatrical work, And The Clay Pot Speaketh, retells a South Asian folktale about the love story of Sohni and Mahiwal from Punjab. The tragic romance will be told through musical pantomime with narration, supported by South Asian poetry and folk music.

With more than 20 years as a stand-up comedian, Tom Papa is one of the top comedic voices in the country finding success as an author, in film, TV, radio and podcasts as well as on the live stage.

Tom recently released his second book, You’re Doing Great! - And Other Reasons To Stay Alive, which was the follow-up to Your Dad Stole My Rake: And Other Family Dilemmas both released by St Martin’s Press, making “Summer Must Read” lists from Parade Magazine to The New York Post. Tom is also a contributing writer to the New Yorker Magazine.

Tom has four hour-long stand-up specials, the latest Tom Papa: You’re Doing Great! was a wildly successful Netflix Original. His other critically acclaimed specials include Human Mule, Freaked Out and Tom Papa Live in New York City, two of which were directed by Rob Zombie. He is a regular guest on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast and Tom’s own podcast, Breaking Bread with Tom Papa, features Tom and his guest for an hour of eating, drinking and enjoying life. Listeners are invited to take a seat at the table as Tom and his guests celebrate the true meaning of breaking bread with insightful, revealing and always funny conversations.

Tom is host of the daily Netflix radio show, What A Joke With Papa And Fortune, on SiriusXM’s Netflix Channel, airing Mondays through Thursdays from 10:00 AM – Noon ET. Tom also hosts the hit SiriusXM show, Come to Papa with residencies at Largo in Los Angeles and The Village Underground in NYC. Tom writes the script for each show and casts top actors and comedians to play the roles or perform stand-up, all backed by a live band. Performers include Matt Damon, Sarah Silverman, Joel McHale, Bill Burr, Jim Gaffigan, John Mulaney, Kevin Nealon, Kevin Pollack and many more.

Tom was a regular performer on the nationally syndicated radio show, Live From Here, formerly A Prairie Home Companion, that featured his own regular segment, “Out. In. America. With Tom Papa,” heard by the 2.6 million fans of the weekly radio show. Tom also appears on National Public Radio as a guest panelist on Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me which he also had the honor of guest hosting.

In the fall of 2018, Tom hosted his own Food Network TV series, Baked, where he took his love of baking and explored bakeries throughout the country. The show developed from Tom’s love of making sourdough bread using his own sourdough starter and visiting expert bakers while on tour.

As an actor Tom recently starred opposite Lily Taylor in the film Paper Spiders and he appears in the newly released North Hollywood. Tom has starred opposite Matt Damon in the Steven Soderbergh film, The Informant, and opposite Paul Giamatti in Rob Zombie’s animated feature, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, as the voice of El Superbeasto. Tom has appeared in the films Analyze That, opposite Robert DeNiro, and Comedian; he had a voiceover role in Rob Zombie’s film 3 From Hell, alongside Clive Owen in Steven Soderbergh’s Cinemax series The Knick, and he was seen in Chris Rock’s film Top Five

Tom was seen alongside Michael Douglas and Matt Damon in the HBO film, Behind the Candelabra, which was directed by Steven Soderbergh and won 11 Emmys.

On TV Tom hosted the NBC series, The Marriage Ref, which ran for two seasons. Tom had a recurring role opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the CBS series, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and starred in his own NBC series, Come to Papa

As a film and television writer, Tom’s credits include the Rob Zombie film, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, the Jerry Seinfeld film, Bee Movie and the TV series Red Oaks, The Marriage Ref and Come To Papa

When not touring the country, Tom lives in Los Angeles with his wife, two daughters, a cat and dog where he spends most of his time writing and baking bread.

For more on Tom visit his website tompapa.com and follow Tom on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

An Evening with Tom Papa

About the Artist

What is serving on a performing arts board like?

First off, Meg Booth and the outstanding staff at Performing Arts Houston deserve 99.99% of the credit for shepherding this entire organization, ensuring the highest levels of artistic quality and excellence, and making our jobs as board members rewarding and comparatively easy. Witnessing their collective resilience and fortitude through such generational events as Hurricane Harvey and the pandemic has been encouraging beyond measure. In addition, it is an honor and a privilege to serve alongside other board members who are passionate about Houston and the arts. Working as a team on our recent strategic plan and the launch of our new brand identity was tremendously exciting, and strengthened even further the board’s engagement, cohesiveness, and enthusiasm.

Tell us about your background as an artist.

Emily Kuo

Q&A Performing Arts Houston Board Member

How did you first get involved with Performing Arts Houston?

In December of 2004, Performing Arts Houston Director Emeritus Marcus Watts invited me to a recital by renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Emanuel Ax in Jones Hall. It was such an extraordinary, moving performance, and I immediately asked Marc afterward if and how I could become more involved with Performing Arts Houston. I had moved back to Texas not too long before and was still relatively early in my legal career and was eager to plug into the local arts scene as well. It has been wonderful to observe the growth and

evolution of Performing Arts Houston over the past 17 years – time sure flies when you’re having fun!

Why do you believe it’s important to support the arts?

The arts are humanity’s spirit and are absolutely essential to the health and vitality of a community. The arts not only entertain but also educate, uplift, and transport – helping us to discover beauty and to learn about other cultures and traditions, as well as to explore more deeply our own. The arts spark imagination and creativity in both young and old and nourish and inspire our souls in innumerable ways.

I began classical piano lessons when I was four years old and played piano seriously through college. I also sang alto in a Renaissance choir in undergrad and graduate school and was briefly a member of a university a cappella group (long before Pitch Perfect!). Nowadays, I just sing and play piano occasionally in church and at college reunions; but making music and enjoying music of all genres has definitely enriched my life for over 40 years.

What’s one of your favorite Performing Arts Houston performances?

It’s so hard to pick just one! Our favorite performances have often been the ones that have surprised and delighted us, ones where we were previously unfamiliar with the artists but for the brilliant curation of season offerings provided by Performing Arts Houston. Recent examples that come to mind include the classically trained hip hop duo Black Violin, and the stunning shadow puppet play, Feathers of Fire: A Persian Epic. Perennial favorites like Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and David Sedaris also never fail to charm and captivate.

 Left: Emily Kuo and Michael Chu at Performing Arts Houston’s 2017 Gala

Right: Emily Kuo and Michael Chu at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

What are you most looking forward to this season?

Again, so many things! Michael and I are really looking forward to the local live debut of blind jazz pianist superstar Matthew Whitaker, who entertained us in truly electrifying fashion at the 2021 virtual gala. Based on my long-ago choral background, I am also looking forward to the Houston debut concert by the U.K.-based Tenebrae Choir. Michael and I are proud to be Producing Sponsors for the debut of pianist Yunchan Lim, the newest winner of The Cliburn competition, and the muchanticipated return of Dance Theatre of Harlem as part of the splendid Tudor Family Dance Series will undoubtedly be a thrill. Coming up soon, we also can’t wait to celebrate the new season at Jones Hall with cocktails and onstage tours at Performing Arts Houston’s Opening Night Party with DIAVOLO!

Interview by Jordan Drum

S.O.S. Signs of Strength (Premiere 2022)

The piece retraces the epic journey of a group of soldiers advancing through a landscape of battlegrounds, revealing how they face danger and meet adversity through individual feats of strength and resilience, and find unity and a common sense of belonging that gives meaning to their personal sacrifice for their service to the greater good.

In the quintessential “no-holds-barred” style of DIAVOLO, the piece is performed by an extraordinary cast of actual military veterans and dancers, and built on architectural structures that create a surrealistic setting for powerful storytelling.

This seminal piece from DIAVOLO stems from nearly six years of creative and therapeutic workshops for hundreds of veterans all across the United States. S.O.S. Signs Of Strength is more than a performance piece; it is first and foremost a movement program that helps military veterans restore their emotional, mental and physical strengths, and prompts individual reflections about their service, their motives for enlisting, and their deployment experience.

Throughout S.O.S. we hear excerpts from original WWI military reports as well as poems from WWI veteran Siegfried Sassoon, which in addition to our veterans’ own voices provides historic context during this current period of persistent conflict, and also points to the unrelenting timelessness of human wars.

S.O.S. was commissioned by Selby Artists Mmgt LLC and supported in part by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Los Angeles County Department of Arts & Culture, EB & JB, Jennifer Cheng and the Cheng Family Foundation, the Vladimir & Araxia Buckhantz Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Dr. Art DeGroat and the Office of Military and Veteran’s Affairs at Kansas State University, the McCain Auditorium and Curtis and Andre J. Cronthall.

S.O.S. Veterans Program Founder Jennifer Cheng

Veterans Program Executive Producer Lieutenant Colonel Art DeGroat

Veterans Coordinator & Recruitment Chris Loverro & Veronica Burgess Director and Choreographer Jacques Heim Associate Choreographer & Rehearsal Director Majella Loughran

Project Director Kate Dougherty Project Coordinator Arianne Villareal Sculptor & Structure Designer Daniel Wheeler

Structure Associate Designer, Fabrication & Engineering Mike McCluskey & Tina Trefethen Writer & Dramaturg France Nguyen Vincent Lighting Concept & Designer

Tessier

Richter, Jed Kurzel, Steve Jablonsky

Poems by WWI Veteran

Sassoon

Designer & Engineer

Greenberg

Manager

Franke

Director

Jasso Marketing Designer

Greenberg General Manager

Hernandez

Agent & Manager Margaret Selby, Selby Artist Management

Underwriter for The Veterans Project S.O.S. program at The Jones Hall Performing Arts Center in Houston, TX Selby Artists Mgmt LLC

Veteran Performers

Leah Alexis (US Army, Iraq and Afghanistan War Veteran)

Freddie Basnight (US Army, Iraq War Veteran)

Veronica Burgess (US Navy, Iraq War Veteran)

Valentina Cahill (US Army, Iraq War Veteran)

Daemion Marcuz (US Marines Corps, Afghanistan War Veteran)

Ejay Menchavez (US Army, Afghanistan War Veteran) Alex Meridy (US Navy Veteran)

Anthony Simpson (US Marine Corps, Iraq War Veteran)

Civilian Performers Jose Jose Arrieta Kate Dougherty Emily Grable Simon Greenberg Liana Kulchin Micah Lagunas Jarel Lewis Abe Meisel Ariana Rodriguez Juan “Co-el” Rodriguez Ryan Ruiz

Trajectoire

(Created 1999, 2000) [Revival 2022]

Trajectoire is a visceral and emotional journey through the ebb and flow of the human experience. As the performers struggle to find their balance on a voyage of destiny and destination, Trajectoire shows the transcendence of the human soul against all odds.

Director & Choreographer

Jacques Heim

Associate Choreography & Rehearsal Director

Majella Loughran

Creative Associate & Movement Coach

Jim Vincent

Structure Designer

Daniel Wheeler

Structure Construction & Engineering

Mike McCluskey LTD., Tina Trefethen & Daniel Wheeler

Music Composer

Nathan Wang

Lighting Design

Jean-Yves Tessier

Costume Design

Meegan Godfrey

Production Manager

Caribay Franke

Technical Director

Steven Jasso

Performers

Jose Jose Arrieta

Aaron “Chosen” Boatright

Kate Dougherty

Emily Grable

Simon Greenberg Gelline Guevarra

Steven Jasso

Liana Kulchin

Jarel Lewis

Abe Meisel

Erin O’Leary

Ariana Rodriguez

Juan “Co-el” Rodriguez

Ryan Ruiz

Andrii Strelkivskyi

S.O.S. VETERAN PERFORMER BIOS

Leah Alexis is a veteran of the United States Army and a native of Tallahassee, Florida. As a poet, she has had a love for the performing arts since childhood. During her elementary and middle school years, her cousin enrolled in college film courses and incorporated Leah into her personal film projects. This exposure to acting inspired Leah to write, direct and perform in her own short skits and plays for her church. She later expanded her gift of writing into the realm of music, performing as Leah Alexis 'The Stylist', and produced her first

EP titled, ‘Live Strong Die Free’ in 2017. Leah is currently in the process of writing a book and aspires to use her gift of writing, music and the performing arts as tools to empower the next generation.

Freddie Basnight is a military veteran of the Iraq War and served in the U.S. Army for over 10 years. He originates from Fort Wayne, Indiana where he grew up most of his life. His professional acting career started in 2016, with early experiences as a teenager growing up in Indiana, doing theatre plays, drama classes in middle school and high school, and has earned his MFA degree for Acting at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles. In his free time, he watches movies, travels, bowls, works out; does Boxing and Muay Thai training as well as creating his own films and TV Shows. He also directs, produces, and writes; has multiple award winning projects on Amazon Prime, YouTube, and several hundred film festival markets throughout the United States and world.

Veronica Burgess is a US Navy veteran who participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom One & Two. She was stationed onboard the USS Bataan, an amphibious assault ship for the entire time of her enlistment. As a boatswains mate, she participated in a great deal of shipboard operations including driving the ship itself! While in service she earned her Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS) pin, Battle E ribbon, and humanitarian service medal. After being honorably discharged, Veronica returned to her roots in Southern California to attend California State University Fullerton. She graduated, with honors, with her Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology. Growing up, Veronica had trained in ballet and jazz, but it had been several years since she had performed. It was during her time at CSUF that reignited that passion and began working as an actor and model. Some recent credits include: Lucifer (Netflix), Shameless (Showtime), and Death in Texas (Hulu). She currently lives in LA with her husband Ronnie and son Leonardo, her biggest supporters and inspirations. She is thrilled to be performing with Diavolo and working with Jacques and her fellow veterans in creating something so powerful, unique, and cathartic as this show.

Valentina Cahilll was born and raised in LA, andz joined the US Army right after high school. Served 9 years active duty as Explosive Ordnance Disposal, went on multiple missions as a gunner. After her service she obtained her BA in Mortuary Science and is currently working on her second degree in Business Management. She hopes that in the next few months she can open her own Photography Studio. After battling with PTSD for so many years as aftermath of her combat experience for the first time she feels she has finally started her road to healing. Diavolo’s Veterans Project “S.O.S.” has not only

helped her mental health but given her a very special opportunity to bond with her son while sharing the stage. It opened up the door to conversations she otherwise would have never known how to share with Micah. After seeing her struggle to find her inner peace he’s finally seen her genuinely smile and look at life with hope for the first time in his life. She hopes that with your support this company can continue to change the lives of other Veterans like it has for her.

Daemion Marcuz is a dance educator with a background in modern dance. He began his performing arts career at 23, first attending Salt Lake Community College and then transferring to Utah Valley University to pursue two degrees; a BS in Dance Education and a BFA in Modern Dance. Prior to dance, Dae served in the United States Marines Corps as an engineer equipment operator, stationed overseas in Okinawa, Japan. He completed one tour in Afghanistan during the Operation Enduring Freedom campaign with 9th Engineer Support Battalion. During his time at UVU, Dae performed with Contemporary Dance Ensemble, Synergy Dance Company and UVU Choreography Club. Dae has worked with Repertory Dance Theater, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, LajaMartin Physical Dance Theater, and WOFA Afro Fusion. Dae was introduced to Diavolo through his mentor, Monica Campbell, who is alumni of the company, and he is honored to be a part of the Veterans Project.

Ejay Menchavez served 6 years in the US Army with the 82nd Airborne Division. He spent over 2 years in Afghanistan as an Infantryman in a Scout Sniper Platoon. After his enlistment, he earned his bachelor's and master's in business entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California. Now he works alongside his mentor, Philip Folsom, in a leadership and culture development company called Wolf Tribe. Ejay suffers from combat-related PTSD but his service-dog, Roxi Heart, accompanies him on all of his adventures and makes sure he's not alone anymore.

Alex Meridy is a Navy Veteran born in Angeles City Pampanga, Philippines. His father is an American from Atlanta, GA who served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War and his mother is Filipino from Northern Samar Islands. In 2016, after his honorable discharge from the U.S. Navy, he studied acting at the prestigious The American Academy of Dramatic Arts where he received an Associate Degree. In Early 2020, he became part of the inaugural class of the AT&T/VME Media Fellowship Program and in 2021 he received his Associates in Film Production at The Los Angeles Film School. As a working actor and

About the Performance

performer, Alex expands his passion for the art of storytelling by exploration. He was part of the ensemble of Diavolo's Veteran's Project IBUKI II, where he had the privilege to perform alongside his fellow veterans and professional dancers at The Kennedy Center of Performing Arts in Washington DC. He has also graced the Comedy Central Stage in a modern adaptation of Julius Caesar produced by Warrior for Peace, a non-profit veteran founded theater company. Alex is also a proud member of Veteran's in Media in Entertainment and American Legion Post 43 in Hollywood, CA.

Anthony Simpson was born in Chicago, IL. He joined the United States Marine Corps shortly after High School. During his time in the USMC, he served in Operation Desert Strike, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. “Diavolo has changed my life. I have become a better person for attending the workshop. I am no longer afraid to face my demons. Diavolo is something every veteran should experience. Theatre has a special place in my heart. We are fighting an unseen enemy, and theater is the way to flush him out.”

CIVILIAN PERFORMER BIOS

Jose Jose Arrieta was born in Cartagena, Colombia. Growing up he always had a strong, passionate and natural inclination for dance. As a child he participated in several school presentations helping him connect with TV recruiters that later on set him into series scenes, and had the opportunity to perform and collab with great directors, actors and production staff. Arrieta has trained under the wings of some well known and experienced artists, dancers and choreographers such as Nemecio Berrio, Michael Lomeka, Brett Garfinkel, Jared Duster, Crystal Lewis and Kirstin Riehl. Jose’s performance quality is beautiful and authentic, the intention of how he moves is beautiful to watch; his adaptability and range of skills will contribute to every production’s goals.

Aaron “Chosen” Boatright discovered love for the arts at the age of 9 when his father snuck and signed him up for a double-dutch lesson, despite disapproval of his mother. He later joined the competitive team as the youngest and only male on the team, traveling the country competing. Chosen’s mother eventually noticed his grifted determination, enrolling him at Encore Performing Arts school where he was trained in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Contemporary dance and Circus Arts for 3 years. He developed the amazing ability to be able to see movement and pick it up, instantly. In 11th grade, Chosen began being homeschooled and moved to Los Angeles for more in-depth training. Chosen is currently pursuing his dreams as a creative

in dance and circus arts. He plans to open a treatment facility for addiction, utilizing Art as a main therapy, such as dance, sound bowl, music therapy, pet therapy, yoga, Reiki and many more. “I’m here to show humanity that their light matters and everyone deserves to shine, doing what they love.”

Kate Dougherty was born and raised in Pennsylvania and got her BA in Dance from Muhlenberg College. After graduating, she moved to New York to work as a dancer with CoreDance Contemporary and as a performer and rehearsal director with Emotions Physical Theatre. In 2016, she moved to Los Angeles to begin a career with DiavolI. Kate began working with the company as a performer and educator in Volo, Diavolo’s Education Company. While in Volo, she became involved as a performer in the second iteration of Diavolo’s The Veterans Project, eventually dancing alongside our Nation’s veterans onstage at The Kennedy Center. Kate became a touring company member in 2018 during the creation of Voyage. She was an instructor and creator for The Veterans Project in Tampa, FL and was recently Associate Rehearsal Director for Diavolo’s short dance film This Is Me. She is currently Diavolo’s Education Program Director and Project Director and hopes to spread her enthusiasm for dance education and her love of Diavolo’s work to new audiences everywhere.

Emily Grable was born and raised in Cranford, New Jersey. She began her dance training at the New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble where she had the opportunity to perform works by Sidra Bell, Loni Landon, Andrea Miller, Adam Barruch, and Cherice Barton. In 2017 she graduated from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance with her BFA in Dance Performance and a minor in Arts Management. Emily had the pleasure of performing works by Manuel Vignoulle, Martha Graham, Sara Mettin, and Alexandra Damiani during her time at Purchase. Since graduating, she has continued working with choreographers such as Charissa Barton, Shannon Gillen, Johannes Wieland and many others. In January 2020, Emily made the move cross country to Los Angeles to perform with DIAVOLO’s Institute company, VOLO. She is extremely excited and honored to be making her debut with the main company this year.

Simon Greenberg was born and raised in Berkeley, California, and migrated south to earn his B.F.A. in Dance from California Institute of the Arts. His movement background consists heavily of martial arts and team sports, as well a variety of styles of dance and acrobatics under the tutelage of Katie Maltsberger. Simon also has a passion for music and technology, which he is fortunate enough to be able to incorporate into his role in this company. He has been involved in several Diavolo Veterans

Projects and has been inspired by the hard work that every single veteran, civilian, and member of the Diavolo team consistently invests. This is Simon's fifth year with the company, and he is extremely grateful and excited to continue working with Jacques and the DIAVOLO family.

Gelline Guevarra is an artist from Sacramento, CA. She has danced professionally with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company 2, BBmoves and TwoPoint4 Dance Theatre. In 2018, she debuted her first work under her own company, GGProjects. Gelline had the privilege to present her work at the Austin Dance Festival, MODArts, and Dance Bloc NYC. Ms. Guevarra received her Bachelors of Arts in Dance and in Deaf Studies at Sacramento State University. Both of these feed her passion for creating movement and working with other individuals. Gelline has had the opportunity to work and train with renowned choreographers such as Raja Feather Kelly, Lula Washington, Michel Kouakou, Gary Masters, Li Chiao-Ping, Tiffany ReaFisher, and Christine Cali. She also had the opportunity to extensively train at intensives with Diavolo, Visceral Dance Chicago, Elisa Monte Dance, Bates Dance Festival, American College Dance Association and International Association of Blacks in Dance.

Steven Jasso began taking dance classes at Allan Hancock College after failing to be accepted into any University as a music major. He dropped out of school to pursue dance and avoid debt when an opportunity to perform with State Street Ballet arose; an opportunity that led to eight years of performing around the country. With a constant craving for the new, he attended Pacific Conservatory Theatre to study acting. After completing his acting training Steven left performing and took up work as a carpenter looking to connect with people far outside of the bubble of the performing arts world. Still with a desire to perform, he found his way to Diavolo where for the past five years he has had the privilege of performing nationally, internationally, and on America's Got Talent. Through their Institute and outreach programs he has been using dance and movement to teach kids about trust, leadership, and teamwork. Steven is an active participant in Diavolo’s The Veterans Project which uses movement and the artistic process as therapy for military veterans.

Lianaa Kulchin, originally from Southern California, started her training as a competitive gymnast and then began dancing at the age of ten. Her background in gymnastics has been a driving force behind her love of acrobatic and athletic styles of dance. Throughout high school she competed both locally and nationally with two dance teams. Liana is currently completing a BA in

Dance and a BA in Sociology at the University of California, Irvine. During her time at UC Irvine, she has had the opportunity to study under faculty such as Charlotte Griffin, Chad Michael Hall, Tong Wang, Kate Skarpetowska, Dante Puleio, and Molly Lynch to name a few. This will be the first time Liana is performing with Diavolo. She will be graduating from college this spring and is excited to begin her journey as a professional dancer.

Jarel Lewis is a dance-centered performer from San Diego, California. He graduated from California State University, Fullerton with his BA in dance. Jarel’s love for the arts grew as he trained at the San Diego Young Artist Music Academy as a kid but he fell in love with dance while in college. Since then, Jarel has been fortunate enough to perform throughout San Diego and Los Angeles, as well as Kentucky, Arizona, and Mexico. He is thrilled and honored to b sharing the stage with his fellow dancers and Veterans.

Abe Meisel fell in love with dance playing Dance Dance Revolution in a friend's basement. After years of party tricks at weddings and Bar Mitzvahs, he began formal training at the Lawrenceville school and later at both Rutgers University in New Jersey and Hebrew University in Israel. Abe has been a member of Diavolo: Architecture in Motion since 2017, beginning in the education company, VOLO and becoming a full company member in 2018. He has been a member of each iteration of The Veterans Project since the 2nd and it is a project he is delighted to share. Abe enjoys rock climbing, full contact origami and his third favorite color is purple.

Micah Lagunas is an actor, vintage enthusiast, ice cream connoisseur, and lover of art. He enjoys going to the movies, dancing, traveling and cooking. S.O.S. is his first Diavolo Veterans Project. This workshop has been life changing for him as well as one of the most exciting experiences of his life. Being part of this has helped him understand his mom’s issues with PTSD after serving in the US Army while bonding with such a supporting community.

Working with Diavolo has been therapeutic, thrilling, and helped him express himself in other ways when sometimes words were not enough. He’s thankful for the lessons learned and the new friends he’s made.

Erin O’Leary is a dancer and choreographer originally from Placerville, California. Erin graduated from Long Island University in New York last May with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Theatre. She has worked closely with multiple contemporary and modern artists such as Yannick Lebrun, Tiffanie Carson, and Christopher Ralph, performing some of their works on the Symphony Space stage in NYC. Erin is extremely excited to be back in CA and working with Diavolo!

Ariana Rodrigez was born and raised in South Florida where she began dancing at age 3. Over the years she enjoyed many artistic and athletic passions from gymnastics, swimming, and soccer, to photography, design, and journalism. In her high school's Early Childhood Program, she worked hands-on in a preschool and earned her CDA (Credential). She started teaching both school and dance at about age 16. After High School, she moved to Orlando for two years to continue her training and education before moving to Los Angeles in 2020 to continue pursuing her dance career. She is currently working towards receiving a BA in Education from Florida International University, fully online. She started working for Diavolo at the beginning of 2022.

Juan “Co-eL” Rodriguez has his BFA in Dance from Arizona State University, and is an artist, educator, performer and researcher. Co-eL began his artistic venture at the age of 12 in hip hop dance, his primary form of study being Breaking or B-Boying. Through a variety of programs and training, he began to study other forms including postmodern dance, house, locking and contact improvisation as well as training in both lighting design and Technical Theater. Since then he's had the pleasure of working with artists including Raja Feather Kelly, Jumatatu M. Poe and Passionfruit dance company, just to name a few. Currently, Co-eL’s work entails the academic and embodied research of both history and aesthetics of hip hop based dance forms, primarily breaking, as well as researching his own integrative contemporary dance practice. This is Co-eL's first season performing with Diavolo and he is excited to make his debut with the company.

Ryan Ruiz is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher from Sacramento, CA. He graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles with a BFA in Dance Theatre in 2014. He is currently a company member of LA Contemporary Dance Company led by artistic director Jamila Glass. He has performed works nationally and internationally for many Directors/ Choreographers/Companies such as Daniel Ezralow, French choreographer Radhouane El Meddeb, Micaela Taylor, Gregory Dolbashian, Whyteberg, Genevieve Carson, and Invertigo Dance Theatre. He has his own throw pillow business called Tapered Nomad and is a certified heated indoor cycling instructor. He is currently on faculty at Orange County School of the Arts. He is thrilled to be joining Diavolo for his first season.

Andrii Strelkivskyi was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine. He started his training at the age of 5 as a Folk Dancer, performing and learning traditional and culturally important dances from different nationalities like Ukraine, Greece, the Republic of Georgia, and many others. At the age of 15, he went to Kyiv Municipal

Academy of Circus and Variety Arts in Kyiv, Ukraine, shifting his dance perspective from folk to commercial/modern direction, allowing him to explore not only a variety of dance styles but also learning some circus skills like juggling, Acrobatics, Mime Art as well as musicality, solfeggio, and Acting classes, to shape him as a more versatile performer. During his final year in the academy, he received an offer from Kyiv Modern Ballet, which opened his eyes to the art of storytelling through dance. Joining the fleet of AIDA Cruises as a Dancer taught him a lot about different cultures, languages, training, and values we all are cherishing. Throughout the years he performed in multiple projects like X-Factor (Ukraine), Alice’s Adventures in the Wonderland (Ukraine), performed with Foresight Dance Theater (Kyiv, Ukraine), and many others. He lived and trained for 2 years in New York City, performing on stage with Nai Ni Chen Dance Company, Yu.S.Artistry and other freelance projects. He moved to Los Angeles to continue building his dance career and this is his first performance with Diavolo.

Trajectoire was commissioned by the Benedicta Arts Center, College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, MN, El Camino College, Torrance, CA, Grand Performances at California Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, and supported in part by The Brody Arts Fund, The City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Los Angeles County Department of Arts & Culture.

DIAVOLO CREATIVE TEAM

Jacques Heim, Artistic Director was born and raised in Paris, where his earliest artistic experience came from street performing. He attended Middlebury College (B.F.A. in Theater, Dance, and Film), the University of Surrey in England (Certificate for Analysis and Criticism of Dance), and the California Institute for the Arts (M.F.A. in Choreography). Not strictly a dancer or acrobat, Heim calls himself an “architect of motion.” He is rather like a drill sergeant or a football coach who loves pushing dancers beyond their own physical and emotional limits to make them feel that they can conquer anything, to make them realize that they are heroes.

the Performance

Heim is named after his grandfather, the late and revolutionary fashion designer who, in 1946, launched the first ever two piece bathing suit called Atome, later renamed The Bikini, and also invented le pret a porter, or Ready to Wear. Just as his grandfather broke ground in the fashion industry, Heim challenges and break the mold of conventional wisdom surrounding dance, developing the unique and incomparable aesthetic of Architecture in Motion®

In addition to founding DIAVOLO and serving as its Artistic Director, Heim has worked extensively in dance, theater, television and special events throughout the world. In 2017, he created five new performances based on DIAVOLO creations for NBC’s America’s Got Talent, which resulted in the Company becoming one of the top ten contestants in AGT’s finale at Hollywood’s Dolby Theater. Heim recently directed DIAVOLO’s special appearance on Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde’s New Year’s Eve 2017, one of the most watched TV shows in France. DIAVOLO also appeared on Helene Fischer’s 2017 Christmas Spectacular, where the German superstar sang while rigged atop one of the Company’s massive structures.

In 2004, Heim choreographed KÀ for Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, a destination show featuring apparatus inspired by DIAVOLO structures. In 2010, he was invited to be a Creative Director for the Opening Ceremony of the 16th Asian Games, in Guangzhou, China. Mr. Heim also worked with Guy Caron and Michael Curry as a consulting choreographer on Ice Age Live!, a “mammoth” arena show which made its world premiere at London’s Wembley Stadium in November 2012 and is now touring throughout Europe.

contact: jacques@diavolo.org

Art DeGroat is the founder and executive director of the Office of Military and Veterans Affairs and the Military and Veterans Affairs Innovation Center at Kansas State University. Prior to this assignment, he served as Kansas State University's Head of the Military Science Department where he led the Army ROTC program to the top performance ranking in the nation and being ranked as the U.S. Army's Best Professor of Military Science in 2006. Art had served a 22-year career in the U.S. and abroad in support of the Cold War, Major Regional Contingency Operations in Southwest Asia, and the Global War on Terrorism resulting in an award of the Army's Legion of Merit. As a combat commander, he led a front-line M1 Abrams tank company in the liberation of Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm resulting in awards of the Bronze Star Medal and the Valorous Unit Award. After the war, he served in a myriad of diverse assignments, including combat

trainer, doctrine writer, concept developer, and operations and executive officer for large, mechanized units.

His formal education includes a Doctorate of Education and a Master's of Science degree in Adult and Continuing Education from Kansas State University; a Master's of Military Arts and Science degree from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College; and a Bachelor's of Science degree in Political Science from Seton Hall University. Art serves actively within many national militaryconnected service organizations to include the Kansas State University Institute for Health and Security of Military Families; the Sports Academy Foundation in Los Angeles; The All Glory Project, a national non-profit organization promoting equine assisted therapy for wounded veterans operated by actor William and Elizabeth Shatner; Carole Hyatt's Mission: Getting to Next in New York City; and Advisory Board member to EnGarde Arts Basetrack Live project. He is a life member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi; recipient of the Bronze Medallion of the Fraternal Order of Saint George; the 2010 Association of the United States Army LTG Robert Forman Award; and the Military Order of World Wars National Patrick Henry Silver Award. He consults professionally as founder and principal of Invictus Consulting LLC to assist corporate, non-profit, and communitybased organizations enhance strategic operations. He resides in Manhattan, Kansas.

Kate Dougherty was born and raised in Pennsylvania and got her BA in Dance from Muhlenberg College. After graduating, she moved to New York to work as a dancer with CoreDance Contemporary and as a performer and rehearsal director with Emotions Physical Theatre. In 2016, she moved to Los Angeles to begin a career with DiavolI. Kate began working with the company as a performer and educator in Volo, Diavolo’s Education Company. While in Volo, she became involved as a performer in the second iteration of Diavolo’s The Veterans Project, eventually dancing alongside our Nation’s veterans onstage at The Kennedy Center. Kate became a touring company member in 2018 during the creation of Voyage. She was an instructor and creator for The Veterans Project in Tampa, FL and was recently Associate Rehearsal Director for Diavolo’s short dance film This Is Me. She is currently Diavolo’s Education Program Director and Project Director and hopes to spread her enthusiasm for dance education and her love of Diavolo’s work to new audiences everywhere.

Caribay Franke Born in Caracas, Venezuela and raised right here in Los Angeles, Caribay has always had a passion for the performing arts. Her interest in the stage began as a child, dancing at the Pasadena Civic Ballet Center. She then studied acting at the British American Drama Academy and ultimately received her BA from the University of Southern California with degrees in Theatre and Film. Her career led her to choreograph for music videos, films, and operas—with a particular emphasis on movement-based theatre. Eventually her path led her to DIAVOLO, and she joined the Institute in January 2020. Earlier this year, she performed in DIAVOLO’s award-winning production of S.O.S. Signs of Strength at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. Caribay is thrilled to rejoin her Diavolo family as the Production Manager.

Simon Greenberg was born and raised in Berkeley, California, and migrated south to earn his B.F.A. in Dance from California Institute of the Arts. His movement background consists heavily of martial arts and team sports, as well a variety of styles of dance and acrobatics under the tutelage of Katie Maltsberger. Simon also has a passion for music and technology, which he is fortunate enough to be able to incorporate into his role in this company. He has been involved in several Diavolo Veterans Projects and has been inspired by the hard work that every single veteran, civilian, and member of the Diavolo team consistently invests. This is Simon's fifth year with the company, and he is extremely grateful and excited to continue working with Jacques and the DIAVOLO family.

Jose Hernandez

Since 2015, Jose has served many roles at DIAVOLO from Development Manager to now General Manager. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in finance from California State University, Long Beach. Over the last seven years, Jose has focused his career in supporting local arts organizations in areas of major gifts, event management, strategic planning and operations. At DIAVOLO, Jose spearheads the company's foundation and grant portfolio and is the point person to all finance and operational activities. During his spare time, Jose actively volunteers for local arts and

social service organizations. He’s served on several grant panels through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture and has received a commendation of appreciation for his service by former Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe. Jose served as an active member of the Host Committee for the 2018 Dance/USA national conference providing much needed support to the Fundraising and Budgeting Sub-Committee.

Majella Loughran was born and raised in Belfast, Ireland, and moved to New York at age ten. She received her BFA from SUNY Purchase Dance Conservatory. In 2015 Majella joined DIAVOLO as a performer, touring internationally to Korea, Columbia, Spain, Germany and France. She also performed all over the US and appeared as a finalist on Season 12 of America’s Got Talent. In 2019 she spent her last season touring with the company as the soloist for "VOYAGE". In 2020 Majella became the Rehearsal Director, starting with the short film “This Is Me: Letters From the Front Lines". This short was the winner of the Los Angeles Film Awards (2020). This will be Majella's first project not performing on stage with the company. She is excited to be sitting on the other side of the work, immensely proud of what the dancers have put in and of the crazy journey it took to get these pieces on the stage. Coming up, Majella is excited to be working with Artistic Director Sophia Stroller and choreographer Cody Potter of IRIS company, performing in their new immersive show that will premiere in LA this summer.

Mike McCluskey started restoring Shelby Cobras in 1969 while attending UCLA for mechanical engineering and never stopped. Best known for its diversity of fabricating services (design, construction, welding, mechanics, finish & paint), McCluskey Ltd. blends the art of handcrafting with modern aerospace technology. Internationally known for restoration/repair of vintage Cobras, exotic concept and racecars, plus historical aircraft & jets, McCluskey also builds props and sets for stage, movies and TV. Mike’s team of highly skilled craftsmen are based in Torrance, CA, serving architectural, automotive, industrial and entertainment clients including Getty, Disney, Shelby, Northrop, Honda, and DIAVOLO.

Tina Trefethen has mixed interests, in art, extreme sports, and design, which all combine uniquely for DIAVOLO. Tina has been a world hang-gliding champion, actor in TV and commercials, pro-skateboarder, aircraft manufacturer, and partner in her brother’s music business. She has evolved into a designer, sculptor, engineer and fabricator of aluminum, steel and composites for a great variety of architectural, aviation, automotive,

and graphics projects. Clients include Lotus, Getty, Boeing, Disney, BMW, Honda, plus fifteen major works for DIAVOLO, as lead fabricator, structural designer and project manager.

Jean-Yves Tessier is a primate with a single opposable thumb. He hails from the cold reaches of Canada and once had a sexy French accent. He has since lost it. If found please take good care of it. Projects Here: This is Me: Letters from the Front Line, a Diavolo dance film capturing the courage and determination of military veterans and first responders; There: Night of Lights at the OC Fairgrounds and Everywhere: Jurassic World Exhibitions in Paris, Madrid and Chengdu.

Arianne Villareal is an actor, singer, writer, educator, and administrator born in New Brunswick, NJ and raised in the Cincinnati suburb of Newport, KY. After getting her BA in Theatre/Music at the University of Indianapolis, she went on to work extensively on Equity stages throughout the Midwest. Since moving to LA, she’s starred in The Tale of Turandot (Imagine Theatre) and Boni B. Alvarez’s award-winning world-premiere play America Adjacent (Skylight Theatre) for which StageRaw called her performance “unexpectedly ferocious”. She’s also appeared in world-premiere staged readings with The Echo Theatre Company, Moving Arts Theatre Company, and Skylight Theatre. She’s a member of the Filipinx Actors Barkada, and aims to continue working towards a more equitable industry for all. Coming up, she will be featured in The Model, a film by Tony Award Nominee Cora Van Der Broek, and recurring in Brat TV’s hit series Charmers. She’s also in the early stages of producing her short screenplay, Maestro, which was named a 2021 WeScreenplay Diverse Voices Semifinalist. She’s studied Meisner at BGB Studio, Improv at UCB, voice with Fitzmaurice Master Teacher Saul Kotzubei, and life at the West Hollywood DMV. Earlier this year, she stage managed DIAVOLO’s award-winning production at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, and she is grateful to be part of this powerful work. More info at ariannevillareal.com

France Nguyen Vincent is a performing artist, literary translator, writer, creative consultant and educator. She is originally from France and has lived in Los

Angeles since 2012. At the invitation of Jiri Kylian, she began her career as a dancer with the Nederlands Dans Theater (The Hague, Holland). During her nearly decade-long tenure with the company she created works with many world-renowned choreographers including Kylian, Hans van Manen, Nacho Duato and Ohad Naharin, among others. Subsequently she joined Compania Nacional de Danza (Madrid, Spain) and the Lyon Opera Ballet (Lyon, France). Shortly after the birth of her third daughter, France redirected her career and obtained a degree in English Language and Literature (Jean Moulin University, Lyon, France), as well as certification from the University of London as a translator. Since then, she has continuously worked in the administrations of international pedagogical institutions including the Lycée Français de Chicago and the American School of The Hague. She is currently the Los Feliz Campus Administrator at the International School of Los Angeles. In addition to her work in the field of education, France continues to engage in creative collaboration and consultation. She has an ongoing commitment to Diavolo’s Veteran’s Project.

Jim Vincent is an artist, dance-maker & creative consultant. He has more than 35 years of entertainment & cultural experience through his work in theater, opera, music, contemporary dance, choreography, special events & site-specific installations. From 2012 to 2017 he was an Imagineer & Executive Creative Director with the Walt Disney Company – Creative Entertainment. He also collaborated substantially with the R & D division on new forms of live entertainment including mixed reality and projection experiences.

About the Performance

Nathan Wang is one of the most successful composers in Hollywood and Asian cinema. Prolific and versatile, he has written music for Jackie Chan movies, Steven Spielberg documentaries and movies for Disney, Dreamworks, Warner Bros. and Paramount studios. His compositions have been performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Shanghai Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera, and the Chicago Symphony. Born to parents who grew up from Shanghai, Nathan was raised in Los Angeles. After graduating from Pomona College, he received a Rotary Ambassador scholarship to continue his studies at Oxford University. Recently, he was named 2021-2022 Composer-in-Residence for the Huntington Library in San Marino. For this residency, he is reprising his opera, “On Gold Mountain,” which he wrote for the Los Angeles Opera 20 years ago. In addition, Nathan will be writing a new musical to be premiered in 2022 for his residency, which will be loosely based on his mother’s life in Shanghai during the 1930’s.

Daniel Wheeler

An internationally recognized and exhibited artist and designer, Daniel Wheeler creates in diverse media, varied scale, and in a range of contexts from private to public. The son of an educator and a therapist, he received his BA from Brown University in 1984 and after living in Japan, settled in Los Angeles in 1985. With 30 years of experience in making thematically sensitive, interactive, and highly crafted objects and environments, he is at once sculptor, builder, set designer, furniture maker, fabricator, photographer, and maker of religious and funereal objects. His design for The Campbell Hall Center for Spiritual Practice, in Los Angeles, CA recently won an award from The Interfaith Forum on Religion Art and Architecture (IFRAA) in the category of Liturgical/Interior Design. He has been designing for DIAVOLO since 1994.

ABOUT DIAVOLO | ARCHITECTURE IN MOTION

DIAVOLO | Architecture in Motion is a creative production company that explores innovation by creating unique live, cinematic, digital, and media experiences. The company uses meticulously designed architectural structures as the central inspiration for each work. The stylistically varied and intensely physical choreography has become the hallmark of this truly original world-class company. Using custom-made architectural structures, DIAVOLO combines storytelling and movement to create socially relevant work that celebrates the diversity and complexities of humankind. For the past six years, DIAVOLO has worked with veterans of the armed forces through movement workshops and public performances in communities all around the country. The MISSION of The Veterans Project is to utilize DIAVOLO's unique style of movement as a tool to help restore veterans' physical, mental, and emotional strengths.

the Artists

The historic tradition of mariachi music has roots in cities like Guadalajara and Mexico City, places where the festive folk style lived its past glory days in the mid-1900s. Today, the future of the evolving genre may rest in the hands of a dynamic ensemble from the capital of the American Midwest: Chicago’s Mariachi Herencia de México

The Latin GRAMMY-nominated group of young Mexican American musicians have release four highly acclaimed studio albums with chart-topping debuts on both the Billboard and the iTunes Latin Albums charts, defying a music industry trend and pointing to a revival in recorded mariachi music. The group recently released its fourth studio album titled Esencia, Vol. 2. The stunning collection features some 18 musicians on 13 classic tracks with arrangements by one of the most revered and innovative figures in the field, composer and musical director Rigoberto Alfaro. “It’s a masterpiece,” says Jonathan Clark, a mariachi expert and historian. “This is mariachi music at its most sophisticated and most modernistic. It’s almost the antithesis of folklore, almost futuristic. Maybe 20 or 30 years from now, all groups will sound like this, I don’t know. But it is state-of-the-art."

In 2017, Mariachi Herencia de México scored a Latin GRAMMY nomination in the “Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album” category for the group’s debut album titled Nuestra Herencia. The group’s follow up album, Herencia De La Tierra Mía, was released in 2018 and features guest vocals by two superstars of Mexican music, folkloric/fusion artist Lila Downs and veteran mariachi singer Aida Cuevas.

Mariachi Herencia de México has toured throughout the U.S., Mexico and Canada performing in some of the most prestigious performing arts centers across the continent, including Washington D.C.’s The Kennedy Center and Guadalajara’s Teatro Degollado. The group has performed alongside major artists like Lila Downs, Aida Cuevas, Los

Lobos, Pedro Fernández, as well as some of the most respected mariachi groups from both sides of the border, including Mariachi Vargas de Tecatitlán, Los Camperos, Sol de México, Cobre, and the all-female group Reyna de Los Angeles, demonstrating that this group of young musicians have the talent, training, and bravado to hold their own with the best in the world.

Lupita Infante has forged her successful career with a solid academic background, intuition, and the talent that she carries in her blood to delight her followers.

Representing the third generation of the Infante musical dynasty, Lupita Infante on September 27 released her first album La Serenata. In 2020, she achieved her first nomination at the 21st Latin GRAMMY® presentation in the category "best regional Mexican song," besides that, she performed with the Mariachi Sol de México with the song “Amorcito Corazón”. Lupita also gets her first nomination at the 63rd GRAMMY® Awards 2020 in the category "Best Regional Mexican Album" (including Texan) also with La Serenata. In 2021, she obtained another nomination to the Latin GRAMMY with Nora Gonzalez’ single “Cicatrices” in the category “Best Regional Mexican Album”, where she participates as a featured artist.

The most important debut of the year in ranchera music, La Serenata includes nine songs, two of which were previously released as singles – “Yo Por Ti” (Me For You) and “Ya Ni Me Acuerdo” (I No Longer Remember), both of which were originally recorded by her father, Pedro Infante, Jr. (1950-2009); and seven brand-new recordings, four of which feature Lupita herself as a co-writer.

Of the three previously unreleased cover versions on La Serenata, “Yo He Nacido Mexicano” (I Was Born Mexican) was originally recorded by her grandfather, Mexico’s legendary music and movie idol Pedro Infante (1917-1957). In 2018, Lupita gave a stunning performance of this song in San Antonio, Texas, for Mexican

Independence Day celebrations that were broadcast across the United States on Univisión.

The other two covers are the classic bolero-ranchero “Sabor a Mi,” originally popularized by Trío Los Panchos in 1964, and a bilingual version of the song titled “Be True To Me,” which was recorded by the jazz legend Doris Day. Lupita makes this classic her own with a beautiful violin solo and expressive vocals.

On her original material, Lupita shows off her emotional range and timeless romanticism. Combining norteño with bolero-ranchero, “Dejaré” (I Will Allow) tenderly gives a suitor the green light to make his dreams come true. The title track is a serenade named “A la Antigua” that lives up to its name, while playing with stereotypes: “Who says that women can’t sing a serenade?”

“Por Tu Amor” (For Your Love) combines sweetness with sensuality in a boleroranchero made for a moonlit night. Giving free rein to her heartbreak, “Tú Con Ella y Yo Con Él” (You With Her and Me With Him) is an unabashed lament to the one who got away. All in all, these four originals show us an emerging artist with a knack for telling memorable stories over gorgeous mariachi arrangements. In June 2017, Lupita received her Bachelor’s in Ethnomusicology from UCLA, where she participated in Mariachi de Uclatlán. Founded in 1961, it was the world’s first university-level mariachi ensemble. In addition, she has appeared on The Voice Mexico, where she competed on Carlos Vives’ team. She has opened for ranchera greats Shaila Dúrcal and Beatriz Adriana, and in 2018 she performed in the famed Mariachi USA festival at the Hollywood Bowl.

Believing in a hopeful future no matter where you begin and appreciation for the journey that unfolds along the way, Lupita Infante celebrates life by pursuing her passion for music and honoring the legacy she inherited.

Series Sponsor Producing Sponsor

Mari Salazar

Mariachi Herencia de México: Herederos with Special Guest Lupita Infante

NOV 13

SUN 6:30 pm

Cullen Theater Tenebrae

Renowned for flawless performances, the choir Tenebrae is one of the world’s premier vocal ensembles.

“Devastatingly beautiful.” Gramophone Magazine performingartshouston.org

The Blind Boys of Alabama Christmas Show

DEC 4 SUN 6:30 pm

Hall

Season Sponsors Series Sponsor

Photo by Chris O’Donovan

Photo by Jim Herrington

Part of the Admiral Transfer Music Series

Part of the Admiral Transfer Music Series

GRAMMY Award-winning “Gospel titans,” (Rolling Stone) share the spirit of the season, joined by Houston’s own Sarah Grace and The Soul.

Show Sponsor: Locke Lord LLP

About the Artist

In June 2022, Yunchan Lim became the youngest person ever to win gold at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; his performances throughout showcased a “magical ability” and a “natural, instinctive quality” (La Scena) that astounded listeners around the world. The depth of his artistry and connection to listeners also secured him the Audience Award and Best Performance of a New Work (for Sir Stephen Hough’s Fanfare Toccata).

Just 18 years old, Yunchan’s ascent to international stardom has been meteoric. His final Cliburn Competition appearance with Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 delivered the defining moment of the three-week event; as one critic noted: “The applause that followed was endless: a star had emerged before our eyes” (Seen and Heard International). The video of that performance trended globally on YouTube in the days after, reaching #25, and has now become the most-watched version of that piece on the platform, amassing more than 5.5 million views in just one month.

Yunchan has performed across his native South Korea—including with the Korean Orchestra Festival, Korea Symphony, Suwon Philharmonic, and Busan Philharmonic Orchestras, among others— as well as in Madrid, at the invitation of the Korea Cultural Center in Spain. His 2022–2023 inaugural tour as Cliburn winner takes him across four continents, with highlights including the Aspen Music Festival, La Jolla Music Society, and Performing Arts Houston in the United States; Seoul Arts Center, National Concert Hall in Taipei, and the KBS and Korean National Symphony Orchestras in Asia; and recital tours in Europe and South America.

The

Yamaha

Artist in History

Matthew Whitaker

Producing Sponsor

Emily Kuo & Michael Chu

Sponsor Texas Commission on the Arts

Mutts Gone Nuts!

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2022 | 1 PM & 4:30 PM CULLEN THEATER, WORTHAM CENTER

Duration: 75 minutes

"Woof, woof, bark, woof, bark, woof, woof, bark bark!"

Mr. Finnie, Performer

Mutts Gone Nuts’ canine performers live on a small farm outside Washington DC, along with two horses and two pigs named Tofu and Nelly! When the dogs are not doing shows, they enjoy chasing squirrels and taking naps. All the dogs live in our house, and yes we vacuum a lot!

Once a dog is no longer interested in performing in the show, they retire with a full pension. The dogs are all USDA licensed and they are lovingly cared for by Dr Pema at Holistic Veterinary Healing in Germantown, MD.

If you are thinking of getting a pet please remember different breeds have different needs. Do some research to ensure you find a good match for your family. Millions of dogs & cats enter shelters each year (often through no fault of their own). Please consider adopting, not only will you get a new best friend, but you’ll save a life too! Petfinder.com is a great place to start.

OUR HUMAN PERFORMERS

Scott and Joan Houghton have been performing together as a duo since 1984. They have played variety stages and festivals throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan as Jessie & James, a comedy juggling and unicycling act. They spent three years as the featured comedy act with country music's Lee Greenwood both in Las Vegas and Tennessee, and seven years with Dolly Parton's production, Dixie Stampede. In 1996, the couple adopted their first dog from a shelter in Knoxville, TN and later began fostering dogs in their off-season for a local rescue group. They practiced reward based training methods though the influence of positive trainers Pat Miller, Jean Donaldson, and Karen Pryor. Their

second dog Chico, made his stage debut in 2005, and by 2007 they had hung up the unicycles and reinvented their act into Mutts Gone Nuts!

Samantha Valle joined Mutts Gone Nuts in 2014. She is a gifted trainer and her dogs are world-class canine athletes. Sam grew up on Long Island, NY and when she turned 15, her father took her to a shelter to pick out her first dog. Now at 35, Sam has not only become one of the world's top trainers, she is also a great spokesperson for animal rescue. She and her rescue dog, Geronimo, hold the Guinness World Record for a dog jumping rope Double Dutch! They have appeared on The Late Show with Dave Letterman and The Steve Harvey Show. She also holds a Guinness World Record with Feather! When Sam is not performing you can be sure she is hanging out with her dogs hiking, scootering, canoeing or scootering, canoeing, or working on some new tricks.

The Great Kaplan is a modern-day vaudevillian master with an infinite assortment of unique and visually stunning skills. Add to that, impeccable comedic timing and Kaplan creates a world where anything is possible. The mundane becomes magical and everyday objects become vessels of mystery and mayhem creating a hilarious ballet of chaos and calamity. Kaplan is a headliner at the esteemed Magic Castle in Hollywood, and has appeared on the prestigious French television show, Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde. Whether touring the United States or Europe, Kaplan is undoubtedly at the top of his field.

OUR CANINE PERFORMERS

The fabulous Feather, like all Greyhounds is a gentle Giant. Laid back and loving, she is really the perfect dog. We all know Greyhounds love to run, but they love one thing even more,

and that’s laying on the couch! Feather has a tattoo in her ear, which means she was in a racing program. We are guessing she wasn’t very fast because she ended up at the dog pound. Lucky for her, she was spotted and rescued by Star City Greyhound Rescue in Roanoke, Virginia. She may not be the fastest Greyhound, but when you see her jump, your jaw will drop. Feather holds the Guinness Book World Record for the highest jump by a dog.

Pixel a.k.a. Hot Wheels is a handsome little Heinz 57 mix that was adopted from Eastern Herding Dog Rescue, in Richmond, Virginia. Her mother was a stray that came in to rescue and gave birth to 7 puppies! Pixel’s DNA test revealed she is part Poodle, American Eskimo, Australian Cattle Dog, Shih Tzu, Chihuahua and Collie. Although she is only 14 pounds, Pixel is a little tornado when it comes to work and play. This little girl can out run and out maneuver all of the other four legged cast members and is significantly louder too! She debuted in the show a couple years ago and has proven to be our resident clown. Pix has a gentle nature and adores children. If you hear a dog yapping backstage, you can be sure it’s our little blabbermouth, ready to start the show!

Charlie is a Parson Russell Terrier that was pulled from a Maryland shelter on the day he was supposed to be put down! He was just a year old and had already been returned to the shelter twice. Super energetic terriers are not for every family and this little guy just needed some love and training. Charlie is very agile and was constantly climbing out of pens, over gates and even scaled the wire of our split rail fence to take a swim in the pond! We decided Charlie would be perfect for our wire walking dog. The only problem is, he makes it look too easy!

Charlie will be retiring soon and plans to spend his time snoozing on the couch and running around our farm chasing bunnies but don’t worry, he can’t catch them.

Chuck Taylor is a beautiful happygo-lucky dog who lives to play frisbee! He’d play frisbee all day if he could. He is a Tri-colored Border Collie and although Border Collies have been bred for 300 years to herd sheep, Chuck preferred to herd sticks. That’s right, he was turned in to the shelter because instead of herding sheep, he kept bringing back sticks! We love a dog that is really into toys, so Chuck is perfect for us. Chuck is our Dancing Dog and his skills in this area are truly world class.

Shorty McNerdy aka Nerdy was given up because he was way too much dog for the house. Nerdie looks like a Cattle

Dog/Border Collie mix and he is oozing with drive. Like most working dogs he has an intense personality and takes playtime very seriously! He loves to work and learn new tricks! He loves being a part of the show and always gives it 200%! Nerdy’s favorite toy is the frisbee and just about loses his mind when he sees one. He could play all day and dazzles crowds with his sense of humor and athletic ability.

Mr. Finnie is a beautiful Border Collie. Many dogs like Finn are given up because their families can’t keep them busy and bored working dogs can get destructive. There is a saying about Border Collies: “If they don’t have a job, they’ll make a job!” They may start herding the neighborhood kids, or trying to bite the tires of passing bikes or cars. Other favorite jobs of bored herding dogs include re-digging garden beds, removing curtains from windows, and herding the family cat. Finn’s favorite job is chasing frisbees

and he would do all day, if only he could find someone to throw to him all day. His second favorite job is staring at horses. He would prefer to herd the horses but since they totally ignore his attempts, he is relegated to staring. Last but not least is our newest cast member, Whitaker! This black beauty is a Labrador Retriever from TRU Rescue. Lab’s have long been America’s favorite family dog since they are very tolerant and friendly. They are also crazy energetic and need a ton of exercise. We can only guess that Witty was given up because she has one speed . . . full blast, all the time. She LOVES everything and everyone. Don’t get too close or she will slobber kiss you. Her favorite past time is doing anything Sam is doing!

Individual Supporters

Performing Arts Houston would like to thank the individuals who support our work through generous contributions throughout the year. For more information on donor benefits, please visit performingartshouston.org/donate or contact Jordan Drum at 713.632.8104 or jdrum@performingartshouston.org.

$50,000–$99,999

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$25,000–$49,999

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Byron Gulick Peggy Haney Kathleen Hawk Isabella Hawkins Mike Holloman Scott Howard Christopher M. Johns-Krull Janice Kemp and John Kling Douglas Kenaley Beth Diane Landay Dolores Lawrence Stephanie Lawrence Larissa Lindsay and Stuart Bailey Michael McGown

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The William H. Hopkins Jr. Family Velda Hunter Zahira Hurtado Larisa Ivy Katie Jackman Edwin Jennings Ian Joyce Minjeong Kang

Joy Kelly

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Jay Larry Andrew Lee Stephen Lichlyter Un Young Lim

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John Lock

Jennifer Looff

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Linda Lorelle and Lou Gregory

James Low

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TaJonique Martin Dinah Massie

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Lynda Nguyen

Ruthann Obidigbo Brian O'Connor

Martina Ogbonna Brenda Oliveira

Brian Orr

H. and D. Osecki

Susan Snider Osterberg and Edward Osterberg

Jim Oswald

Margaret Owen

Jennifer Palermo

Corey Pallatto Hughan Graciela Perarnau de Loukanis

Bradford Phillips

Nicholas Phillips Arthur Pike

Amy Marlyse Plato and Kelly Plato

Chris Poelma Gerard Pollard Diane E. Prince

Michele Rainford Justin Ramirez

Cheryl Ray Jane and Alex Robinson

Becky and Richard Rosser

Lisa Salom

Joyce and Steve Sandweiss Rebecca Schlembach

Robert Sheen

Eugenie Sheinberg

Peggy Shuttlesworth-Bittick Maxine and Bubba Silberstein

Walter Simons

Rohit Sinha

Allison Sliva Angela Smith and Mark W. Smith

Brooksy Smith

Roger Smith III Sydney and Allen Smith Trina Stanfield

Sarah Stehling

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Hayle Summers

Laura Taggett Sheila Tanner Edda Tinis Nancy Townsend Vanessa Tutos Jane Vaselenak

Jocelyn Velazquez John M. Vitucci

Sixto Wagan Heidi Walker-Beale

Charles Ward

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John Welch

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Carol Werner

Bettina M. Whyte Edward Wiegele Carrie Wirsing

Listings accurate as of 8/10/2022

Institutional Partners

Performing Arts Houston is proud to recognize our corporate, foundation, and government partners for their exemplary community leadership and support. To learn more about partnership opportunities and benefits, please contact Jordan Drum at 713.632.8104 or jdrum@performingartshouston.org .

CORPORATE PARTNERS

$50,000+

ConocoPhillips † H-E-B †

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The Humphreys Foundation† The Wortham Foundation, Inc. †

$50,000-$99,999

The Brown Foundation, Inc. † City of Houston through Houston Ar ts Alliance†

Texas Commission on the Arts †

$25,000-$49,999

Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts † M.D. Anderson Foundation† National Endowment for the Arts Powell Foundation

$10,000-$24,999

Taiwan Academy The Vaughn Foundation† Vivian L. Smith Foundation Whalley Foundation

MATCHING GIFT SUPPORTERS

Chevron Corporation

ExxonMobil Kinder Morgan Foundation

Listings Accurate as of 8/10/2022

Legacy Community Health Services Murphy Oil Corporation Phillips 66

$1,000-$4,999

ExxonMobil † Legacy Community Health Services Murphy Oil Corporation USAA

$5,000-$9,999

George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation† Kayser Foundation City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board † New England Foundation for the Ar ts, Inc.

Truist Bank USAA

*Includes in-kind support †Indicates 10+ years of consecutive support

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Photo by Lindsey Best performingartshouston.org

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