Cold Read Program

APRIL 5 - 8, 2018

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APR. 25 - MAY 13

BY ANDREW HINDERAKER | DIRECTED BY HALENA KAYS WITH MAGIC BY BRETT SCHNEIDER | CO-PRODUCED WITH ACTORS THEATRE OF LOUISVILLE AND PORTLAND CENTER STAGE SPONSOR

MEDIA SPONSORS

OPENING NIGHT CHAMPAGNE TOAST SPONSOR

SEASON SPONSORS

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A N OT E F R O M T H E F E S T I VA L C U R ATO R

T

he writing life of a playwright is a life of stark and necessary contrast. We begin our plays in solitude, our only company the characters we invent (or translate from life, history, or other works), as we stalk plot, intention, and meaning–objectives the playwright shares with the novelist.

But a novel is written to be published and called “done.” A play script isn’t a novel. A play script is a blueprint, a highly imaginative guide for speech and gesture meant to be staged and witnessed by an audience.

“conversation” that can richly inform the playwright’s next process step: revision.

Cold Read is all about bringing you— the audience—into close proximity with the processes of our resident playwrights, Liza Jessie Peterson and Maurice Emerson Decaul, giving you an opportunity to respond to their new and exciting work, indeed, allowing you to be part of their processes. And Cold Read is a celebration and exploration of proven new plays (Act One by James Lapine and The Effect by Lucy Prebble).

Without new plays and the support of new plays theatre would be little more than a stale museum of the familiar, the tried and true. So, I’m proud and excited that Syracuse Stage will present Andrew Hinderaker’s wonderful new work The Magic Play to close our current season. And I’m honored that artistic director Robert Hupp has selected my new play Possessing Harriet for its world premiere in our 18/19 season.

For the fulfillment of a new script’s purpose, playwrights must leave their creative solitude to join a community of other artists–the director, actors, designers–in a collaborative process that delivers the playwright’s vision onto the stage and to the audience.

No matter if it’s a playwright’s first, second, or tenth script, each first draft of a new play is a unique creative journey in which playwrights map the unknown as they go… an act of faith.

And any serious playwright will tell you: the first public reading of early draft pages of a new play is exhilaratingly terrifying… and deeply informative.

Every play was once a new play. We are thrilled to have you with us to hear and respond to the new works for the festival and to engage with the exciting playwriting voices we have with us this week.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for being part of the process!

Between the first draft and the first-ever production, playwrights can benefit richly from hearing their plays read aloud in front of an audience and hearing back from that audience. It’s a crucial

Kyle Bass Associate Artistic Director/Festival Curator

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COLD READ KICK-OFF Thursday, April 5 A cast of Stage stakeholders, board members, local celebrities, and community leaders put the fun in Fundraiser as they “cold read” a comedy script. Former Syracuse Stage artistic director Bob Moss is our honorary director! Champagne Reception: 6:30 pm, Reading: 7:30 pm on the Archbold Stage.

UNDER CONSIDERATION Friday, April 6 Join us for a reading of an exciting new play under consideration for an upcoming season. Audience talkback follows. Reading: 7:30 pm on the Archbold stage.

SOLO ACT Saturday, April 7 A workshop production of a new piece by renowned actress, poet, educator, activist, and playwright Liza Jessie Peterson. Credits include HBO'S Def Poetry Jam and Spike Lee's Bamboozled. Moderated talkback follows. 3 pm and 7:30 pm at The Nancy Cantor Warehouse, downtown Syracuse.

EVENT GUIDE

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ew work hot from the imaginations of some of the freshest voices writing for the theatre today. Syracuse Stage launches its Festival of New Plays by hosting a talented playwright and professional actors and directors for four days of exciting events.

DRAFT/PAGES Sunday, April 8 A first-ever reading of a brand new play in-progress

by Maurice Emerson Decaul, a former Marine, poet, essayist, librettist, and playwright. Theatrical credits include: Dijla Wal Furat: Between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Selected print publications include: New York Times, The Daily Beast, and Callaloo. Local craft beers will be available.

A talkback with the playwright follows. 3 pm on the Archbold stage.

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PRESENTS

F E S T I VA L C U R AT O R

Kyle Bass Robert Hupp

Jill A. Anderson

Kyle Bass

Artistic Director

Managing Director

Associate Artistic Director

PRESENTING SPONSORS

INAUGURAL INDIVIDUAL SUPPORTERS

SPONSORS

George Bain Elinor Spring-Mills & Darvin Varon David & Deirdre Stam Gregg Tripoli

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SEASON SPONSORS

KICK-OFF

PRESENTS A READING OF

ACT ONE BY

James Lapine FROM THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY BY

Moss Hart DIRECTED BY

Bob Moss Original Broadway Production by Lincoln Center Theater, New York City, 2014. Original Music by Louis Rosen. Sound Design

by Moses Schreier. Act One is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.

April 5, 2018

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CAST

(in alphabetical order) Carrie Berse..................................Lillie, Mrs. Harris, Helen, Dorothy Parker Robin Curtis..........................Mrs. Borovsky, Mrs. Rosenbloom, Shirley, Ida, Edna Ferber, Latecomer # 1 Neil Gold.................................................................Father, Regan, Woollcott Larry Harris..............Priestly Morrison, Gilpin’s manager, Dore, Jerry, Harpo John Huhtala.........................................................................................Moss Julia Martin............May, Phyllis, Roz, Mary, Latecomer # 2, Kaufman’s maid Fran Nichols...................................................................Hart, Kaufman, Vail Virginia B. Parker........Aunt Kate, Frieda Fishbein, Muriel, Aline MacMahon Rick Shirtz................................Worker # 2, Irving, Sam Harris, David Allen John Steigerwald.......................................................................Bernie, Eddie Sharon Sullivan...........................................Beatrice Kaufman, Belle, Ingénue Phil Turner.....................Wally, Gilpin, Max Siegel, Langston Hughes, Porter Darvin Varon............Worker # 1, Pitou, Jed Harris, Slimovitz, Mr. Borovsky ACT ONE CAST Carrie Berse has appeared at Syracuse Stage before, singing the commercials for several Old Time Radio Theatre productions. Her theatrical debut came in the 4th grade, cast as the lead in the school musical because she was the only student who could be heard beyond the stage.

She continues to be loud today.

in Wonderful Town, Plaza Suite, and How the Other Half Loves; at the Elmwood Playhouse in Nyack in Witness for the Prosecution and The Man Who Came to Dinner; on Long Island in Rumors and Bermuda Avenue Triangle, and in Syracuse in The Real Inspector Hound and The Laramie Project. Neil is thrilled to be appearing in Cold Read, where the odds are really good that he will not forget any lines.

Robin Curtis retired from acting in 1999, moved to Upstate NY, became an Associate Broker with Berkshire Hathaway and proudly represents Dave Zellar of Zellar Homes, custom homebuilder. Film/TV credits: Star Trek III and IV, Hexed, The Next Generation, MacGyver, Night Court, The Equalizer, and Murder, She Wrote.

Larry Harris is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Saab Defense and Security USA. While Larry has no prior acting experience whatsoever, he takes great pride in his tap dancing skills, which he frequently uses when reporting financial results to his company’s Board of Directors.

Neil Gold has appeared in Newburgh,

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ACT ONE CAST John Huhtala’s acting experience was mainly as a cast member in the 4th Wall Actors Workshop from 2008 to 2011, with performances held at the Producers Club in NYC. His most recent work includes a flawless reading of One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss for his three beautiful daughters.

Rich Shirtz was first chair trumpet in his high school band from 1972 to 1975. From 1973 to 1975 he spent summers marching with The Auburn Purple Lancers Drum & Bugle Corp.

In 1974 and 1975 he was a stagehand in the Bishop Ludden Production of Bye Bye Birdie. After high school, it was all business for Rick! His only performance recently has been playing a monster when his grandchildren want to be chased.

Julia Martin got her start on the stage as a Hershey Kiss in her preschool Christmas pageant. These days, Julia gets her share of drama as a wife and mother of two small children, as well as an attorney with Bousquet Holstein. Julia also serves on the Board of Trustees for Syracuse Stage.

John Steigerwald is thrilled to make his Syracuse Stage debut. His theatrical career is limited mostly to the three lines he performed as the telephone repairman in a forgettable high school production. He’s grateful to the team at Syracuse Stage for giving a thespian a second chance.

Fran Nichols is the Chairman of the Syracuse Stage Board and is Vice Chair Emeritus of Eric Mower and Associates, a marketing and communications firm with offices in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, New York City, Boston, Cincinnati, Charlotte, and Atlanta. He is the Vice Chair of the Metropolitan Syracuse YMCA Board, Board member of McHarrie Life Foundation (a senior living community) and a volunteer for SCORE. But tonight… he is Moss Hart (senior) and George Kaufman. Though he has never acted on Stage before, he’s always acted like a big shot in real life. Fran would like to thank his wife, Sally Lou, who has selflessly endured the full three hours of rehearsals for tonight’s performance. Enjoy tonight’s show!

Sharon Sullivan saw her first play, Kismet, in a summer theatre tent at age 7. “Thanks, Mom.” She’s been hooked on the theatre ever since. Sharon’s first acting experience was playing the Blessed Virgin in the Christmas play when she was in 8th grade.

As a college sophomore, she played a Salvation Army “dancer”; neither one was a speaking part, as she remembers. Sharon’s first big break was at Syracuse Stage when she had a speaking part in The Women with Bob Moss as director. After many more years, she has had a callback to be in Act One with Bob Moss again directing.

“Thanks, Bob.” Sharon still loves the theatre, but, considering her spotty

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ACT ONE CAST acting career, it seems she’s making her real career in the audience.

famous director, Robert Moss, and the outstanding playwright, Kyle Bass, to help celebrate Stage’s offering Cold Read. She confesses to being “stage struck” since birth and has enjoyed performing in an opera at Eastman School, portraying a tempting creature in Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, appearing as a hillbilly in a college production, and producing, directing, and starring in family theatricals! Favorite role–a tempting wood nymph perched on a rock in a glorious Montana trout stream.

Rev. Phil M. Turner is Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Syracuse. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee. At the age of ten, he and his family moved to Buffalo, New York where they became active members of Holy Temple Church of God In Christ. During his time as a student at State University of New York at Cortland, Pastor Turner met and married Janice Flanagan. Their union has blessed them with three children and six grandchildren. Pastor Turner has had extensive experience in sales, marketing, counseling, and administration in large corporations and small businesses. He has held recording contracts with Warner Brothers and Fourth & Broadway, a division of Island Records.

He feels that the greatest resources for relevant and effective ministry are God's Word, Spiritual gifts, and life experience.

Darvin Varon paid his acting dues as a young man in New York City for 14 years. Last time he graced Syracuse Stage was as a rabbi in the 2002 production of The Dybbuk. Otherwise, he studied and did a bunch of stuff throughout the years, on and off. Having supported himself as a psychiatrist, he still anxiously awaits his big break. If you look hard, you can see him in Splash, overacting and eating a pretzel at about minute 45.

Virginia B. Parker is honored and delighted to be working with that

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UNDER CONSIDERATION PRESENTS A READING OF

THE EFFECT BY

Lucy Prebble DIRECTED BY

Robert Hupp CAST

(in alphabetical order) Elizabeth Gardner†............Festival Intern/Stage Directions Sara Masterson*..............................................Connie Hall Robbie Simpson*.............................................Tristan Frey Dorcas Sowunmi*.....................................Dr. Lorna James Jim True-Frost*..........................................Dr. Toby Sealey The Effect is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York. *Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. † Student, Syracuse University Department of Drama.

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SOLO ACT PRESENTS A READING OF

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE ALL DAY BY

Liza Jessie Peterson DIRECTED BY

Justin Emeka CAST

Liza Jessie Peterson

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DRAFT/PAGES PRESENTS A READING OF

DELIVERANCE BY

Maurice Emerson Decaul DIRECTED BY

Flordelino Lagundino CAST

(in alphabetical order) Laura Austin*.......Very old woman, Vivian, Mary, Katie, The Son of Jesus Sara Masterson*....................................................................................Jen Dexter McKinney*.......................................................Chip, Brian, Chris Larry John Meyers*.........Troy, Walter, Brother John, Noah, the Professor, Ezra, Bobby, Tim, Soldier #2 Dorcas Sowunmi*.......................................................Allyson, Eden, Pam *Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

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CAST Laura Austin was most recently seen as Diane in The Little Dog Laughed and Ouisa in Six Degrees of Separation at Redhouse Arts Center for which she received a SALT Award for Best Actress. Other credits include Broadway Bound (2015 Best Actress SALT Award), Next to Normal (2014 Best Actress SALT Award) W;T (2013 Best Actress SALT Award), Elegies for Angels, Punks, and Raging Queens; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; The Penguin Tango; The Cherry Orchard; Pterodactyls; Macbeth; Assassins; A Perfect Ganesh; Bat Boy The Musical; Lovesong; Birds of Paradise; Life X 3; Our Lady of 121st Street; Proof (Redhouse). Odysseus DOA (Theatre Row in NYC), How I Learned to Drive, Random Thoughts (CTS). Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Syracuse Stage).

A Christmas Suite (Skaneateles Festival). The Van Gogh Project (LaMama). The Yellow House (Theatre of Nations Festival/Baltimore). Fifth of July, Tom Jones (Dorset Theatre Festival). Rapunzel (Theatreworks).

Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (Actors Forum/LA). Borderlines (Tiffany Theatre/LA). LA Law, Freddy’s Nightmares, Sons and Daughters, Raising Miranda, 21 Jump Street, Dream On (Television). Laura also appeared in the independent film Hooked by Max Emerson. www.laura-etnier-austin.com

Elizabeth Gardner is a senior Directing major in the Syracuse University Department of Drama and recently directed Much Ado About Nothing with Black Box Players. She currently works as an intern for associate artistic director Kyle Bass and managing director Jill Anderson. Other credits include: Eurydice (director, Black Box Players), Two Rooms (director, Independent Project), Sugar Coated Shakespeare (director, Shakespeare in the Valley), The Three Musketeers (assistant director, Syracuse Stage), The King Stag (assistant director, Department of Drama), and Laura and the Sea (assistant director, Department of Drama). Later this spring she will be the assistant stage manager on an independent project, Dry Land. www.elizabeth-gardner.com Sara Masterson is thrilled to be returning to Syracuse Stage.

Previous credits: Next to Normal (Natalie) Syracuse Stage, Fun Home (Medium Alison) Portland Center Stage (BWW Regional Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical), A Christmas Carol (Belle/Catherine Margret) Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Secret Garden (Martha) Idaho Shakespeare Festival/ Great Lakes Theater, A Little Night Music (Anne) The New London Barn 11

CAST Playhouse. Sara is a proud graduate of the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music. Endless love and gratitude to CGF talent and to her amazing family. www.saramastersonactor.com Instagram:@saraemasterson

won the Golden Palm Award at the Beverly Hills Film Festival in 2016.

Dexter is thrilled to finally grace Syracuse Stage! He received a minor in Drama and two master’s degrees from Syracuse University.

Larry John Meyers has pretended to be an actor for the better part of fifty years. Beginning in northeastern Iowa, and subsequently training in Minneapolis and New York City, Larry has had the good fortune to have performed with surprising regularity on manifold stages and screens from coast-to-coast. Recently settled in Central New York, he is delighted to return to Syracuse Stage where he last appeared in A Lesson Before Dying (2003) and The Crucible (2005), and he is especially happy to be helping, once again, with the care and feeding of ambitious new plays.

Robbie Simpson is thrilled to return to Syracuse Stage after playing Pip in Great Expectations last season. Television credits include AMC’s newest show Dietland starring Julianna Margulies, Hulu’s The Path opposite Aaron Paul, and SyFy’s Can You Survive A Horror Movie.

Off-Broadway credits include Alex in the original cast of Afterglow at The Davenport Theater and The Younger Generation at The Mint Theater. Favorite regional credits include The Winter’s Tale directed

by Barry Edelstein, Othello starring Blair Underwood and Richard Thomas, Two Gentlemen of Verona directed by Mark Lamos, and Freddy in the 100th anniversary production of Pygmalion starring Robert Sean Leonard all at The Old Globe; What The Butler Saw and Misalliance at The Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey; A Class Act directed by Bob Moss at Berkshire Theater Festival; The Last 5 Years at The Majestic Theater; and Almost, Maine and Rent at The Papermill Theater. Robbie also works regularly in China as an international member of Glee: China. Training proudly

Dexter McKinney Jr. Regional Theatre: Skeleton Crew at The Actor’s Theatre of Louisville. Off-Broadway: 48 Hours in Harlem at The National Black Theatre; 3/Fifths at 3-Legged Dog Art & Technology Center. Film: Irrefutable Proof, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Far Away.

Other theatre: Cabaret at Barn Arts Collective (Maine), Martin Malcolm & Me at Jo Long Theatre (Texas).

Additional credits: Irrefutable Proof

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CAST includes a B.F.A. in Acting from the Syracuse University Department of Drama and an M.F.A. in Acting from The Old Globe/ USD Graduate Acting Program. Many thanks to Bob, Kyle, manager Chris Silveri at CSM, and agents at HCKR. Proud AEA member. @MrRobbieSimpson www.RobbieSimpsonActor.com

the School at Steppenwolf, and Stella Adler Studio of Acting.

Jim True-Frost is best known for playing Prez on the HBO series The Wire. He played recurring roles on Boardwalk Empire, Hostages, and 666 Park Avenue. TV guest appearances include Elementary, The Good Wife, Blue Bloods, Fringe, Medium, CSI: Miami, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Film credits include The Conspirator, Affliction, Singles, The Hudsucker Proxy, Off the Map, Company Retreat, Sympathetic Details, Diminished Capacity, Slippery Slope, Normal Life, and Far Harbor.

He is a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company of Chicago where he has directed and appeared in many plays including I Just Stopped by to See the Man, David Copperfield, Side Man, The Pillowman, The Playboy of the Western World, The Homecoming, and Killers. On Broadway and other New York stages, he was seen in Buried Child, Philadelphia, Here I Come!, The Rivals, and The Grapes of Wrath. Jim has appeared at Syracuse Stage in Art, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, A Christmas Carol, and Inherit the Wind.

Dorcas Sowunmi is happy to return to Syracuse Stage after making her debut in A Raisin in the Sun. Dorcas made her Indiana Repertory Theatre debut in The Miracle Worker.

She is a native Texan who lives in New York City. She was most recently seen in Nollywood Dreams at Cherry Lane Theatre. Other credits include Romeo and Juliet at the Classical Theatre of Harlem; Lines in the Dust at Luna Stage; Mary Stuart and Measure for Measure at Stratford Shakespeare Festival; Macbeth SS! at Chicago Shakespeare Theater; Trust at Lookingglass Theatre; I, Barbara Jordan at the Alley Theatre; and Twelfth Night at the Austin State Theatre. Dorcas received her M.F.A. in Acting from the University of Texas at Austin. She has also trained at the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival,

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DIRECTORS Justin Emeka is a director, writer, actor, and teacher who specializes in new approaches to “classic” texts, as well as imaginative staging of popular and emerging playwrights. OffBroadway credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet at Classical Theatre of Harlem. Regional theatre productions include: Stick Fly at Intiman Theatre in Seattle; Detroit ’67 and Julius X at Karamu House; A Raisin in the Sun at the Oberlin Summer Theatre Festival. Next season he is directing Lynn Nottage’s Sweat at Philadelphia Theatre Company and Pittsburgh Public Theatre. At Oberlin College, he directed Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman starring Avery Brooks; Dominique Morisseau’s Follow Me To Nellie’s; Lydia Diamond’s The Bluest Eye; Shakespeare’s Macbeth; and Alice Childress’ Wedding Band. At the University of Washington’s Ethnic Cultural Theatre he directed Tennessee William’s The Glass Menagerie; Amiri Baraka’s Dutchman; and Aishah Rahman’s Unfinished Women Cry in No Man’s Land While a Bird Dies in a Guilded Cage.

At Yale Repertory Theater he served as the movement coordinator and played the role of Edgar in a unique African-American production of King Lear starring Avery Brooks. At the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival he directed and/or performed in A Raisin in the Sun, Crumbs from

the Table of Joy, and The Glass Menagerie. As a writer he received awards in playwriting from the Seattle Arts Commission and screenwriting from the Washington State Film Commission. He recently published an essay “Seeing Shakespeare through Brown Eyes” in the book “Black Acting Methods: Critical Approaches”. Mr. Emeka received his M.F.A. in directing from the University of Washington and is a Drama League Fellow.

Currently, he is an associate professor of Theatre and Africana Studies at Oberlin College.

Flordelino Lagundino is a NYC-based director, actor, and producer.

He is a 2017 Drama League NY Directing Fellow. Directing credits include: FOB (DirectorFest); Trigger (Leviathan Lab); Sweeney Todd, Doubt, Yellowman, Cedar House, and Animals Out of Paper (Perseverance Theatre); Flipzoids, True West, and Shakespeare’s R&J (Generator Theater Company); Sweeney Todd (Juneau Symphony); In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), Much Ado About Nothing, Stone Cold Dead Serious, In the Blood (Brown University/Trinity Repertory Company). Acting credits include: Vietgone (Mixed Blood Theatre); Measure for Measure (The Old Globe); Camino Real (The Shakespeare Theatre Company); Willy Wonka (The Kennedy Center); The Long Season, Yeast Nation, Hamlet, Twelfth

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DIRECTORS Night, The Importance of Being Earnest, Hair, The Who’s Tommy, Noises Off, The Last Five Years, The Inspector General (Perseverance Theatre); Invisible City 14th Street (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company). Producing: former artistic director of Leviathan Lab, former associate producer at La Jolla Playhouse. Directing fellowships: Kennedy Center, Oregon Shakespeare Festival FAIR Fellow, Arena Stage Allen Lee Hughes Fellow. Education: M.F.A. in directing, Brown University/Trinity Repertory company; M.F.A. in acting, University of Texas at Austin. www.flordelinolagundino.com.

Bob Moss. How's this for six degrees: As a boy in Newark, New Jersey, I acted in a theatre program at our local YMHA that had been started by Moss Hart and Dore Shary, and I won the Dore Shary award for good acting!

I worked on a production of Dinner at Eight with George S. Kaufman's daughter, Anne. I had many contacts with Kitty Carlisle Hart (Hart's wife) both at NYSCA, and in two of our radio shows. And I've worked on You Can’t Take It With You several times, once as a stage manager on Broadway, and twice as a director.

P L AY W R I G H T S Maurice Emerson Decaul, a former Marine, is a poet, essayist, and playwright, whose writing has been featured in the New York Times, The Daily Beast, Sierra Magazine, Epiphany, Callaloo, Narrative and others.

His poems have been translated into French and Arabic, and his theatrical works, Holding it Down and Sleep Song, collaborations with composer Vijay Iyer and poet Mike Ladd, have been produced and performed at New York City’s Harlem Stage, Washington DC’s Atlas Intersections Festival, in Paris, and in Antwerp. His play Dijla Wal Furat, Between the Tigris and the Euphrates was produced in New York City by Poetic Theater Productions in the winter of 2015. Maurice is a gradu-

ate of Columbia University [B.A.] and New York University [M.F.A.] and is finishing his M.F.A. in playwriting at Brown University.

Moss Hart began his career as playwright, director, and producer in 1930 when, with George S. Kaufman, he wrote Once in a Lifetime. Subsequent Kaufman and Hart successes include Merrily We Roll Along, You Can’t Take It With You, and The Man Who Came To Dinner, among others. In collaboration with Irving Berlin, he wrote Face The Music and As Thousands Cheer, and in solo efforts scored personal triumphs with Jubilee, Light Up The Sky, and Lady In The Dark, which he also directed.

His directorial credits include My Fair

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P L AY W R I G H T S Lady, Camelot, and Winged Victory, which he also wrote. Among his screen credits are A Star is Born (for Judy Garland), Gentleman’s Agreement, and Hans Christian Anderson (for Danny Kaye).

His autobiography, Act One, topped the best-seller list for forty weeks.

bia University’s conference on mass incarceration. Also known for her exceptional poetic skills, Liza began her poetry career at the Nuyorican Poets Café and was a vital member of the enclave of notable poets who were part of the “underground slam poetry” movement. It was this electric group of artists that inspired Russell Simmons to bring “spoken word” to HBO where Liza appeared on two episodes of Def Poetry. As an actress Liza appeared in several feature films: Love the Hard Way (costarring with Pam Grier and Adrien Brody), Spike Lee’s Bamboozled, K. Shalini’s A Drop of Life, and Jamie Catto’s, What About Me. Liza’s book ALL DAY: A Year of Love and Survival Teaching Incarcerated Kids at Rikers Island, is available on-line and in bookstores now.

James Lapine has worked in one capacity or another with William Finn on March Of The Falsettos, Falsettoland (later presented on Broadway as Falsettos), A New Brain, A Winter’s Tale, Muscle, and The Royal Family of Broadway.

Other Broadway credits: Sunday In The Park With George, Into The Woods, Passion, The Diary of Anne Frank, Golden Child, Dirty Blonde, Amour.

Off-Broadway: Table Settings, Twelve Dreams, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Luck, Pluck and Virtue, and Modern Orthodox. Film: Impromptu, Life with Mikey, and Earthly Possessions.

Lucy Prebble won the George Devine Award 2004 for her debut play The Sugar Syndrome followed by the TMA Award for Best New Play in 2004. She also won the 2004 Critics’ Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright. Lucy is the creator of the television series Secret Diary of a Call Girl, starring Billie Piper in the main role. Secret Diary is on its fourth season and was sold to Showtime.

Lucy’s second play, Enron, transferred to The West End and Broadway in 2010 after sell out runs at both The Royal Court and Chichester Festival Theatre.

Sony has optioned the rights to develop Enron into a film. Enron won Best New Play at the TMA Theatre Awards, and was shortlisted for The Evening Standard Award for Best New Play 2009.

Liza Jessie Peterson is a renowned actress, poet, playwright, educator, and youth advocate who has been steadfast in her commitment to incarcerated populations both professionally and artistically, but specifically with adolescent boys and girls detained at Rikers Island for over eighteen years. She was recently featured in Ava DuVernay’s Emmy award winning documentary 13th (Netflix) and was a consultant on Bill Moyers documentary Rikers (PBS). She has written several plays, including, The Peculiar Patriot, which she performed excerpts of in over 32 penitentiaries across the country and opened for Angela Davis at Colum16

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR/DIRECTOR Robert Hupp is in his second season as artistic director of Syracuse Stage. The Three Musketeers marked his Syracuse Stage directing debut.

Prior to coming to central New York, Robert spent seventeen seasons as the producing artistic director of Arkansas Repertory Theatre in Little Rock.

He directed over 30 productions for Arkansas Rep ranging from Hamlet to Les Miserables to The Grapes of Wrath.

In New York City, Robert directed the American premieres of Glyn Maxwell’s The Lifeblood and Wolfpit for the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble. He also served for nine seasons as the artistic director of the Obie Award winning Jean Cocteau Repertory. At the Cocteau, Robert’s directing credits include works by Buchner, Wilder, Cocteau, Shaw, Wedekind and the premieres of the Bentley/Milhaud version of

Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children, Seamus Heaney’s The Cure at Troy and Eduardo de Filippo’s Napoli Millionaria. He has held faculty positions at Pennsylvania’s Dickinson College and, in Arkansas, at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Hendrix College. Robert served as vice president of the Board of Directors of the Theatre Communications Group and has served on funding panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, the Theatre Communications Group, the New Jersey State Council of the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

While in Arkansas, Robert was named both Non-Profit Executive of the Year by the Arkansas Business Publishing Group, and Individual Artist of the year by the Arkansas Arts Council.

He and his wife, Clea, ride herd over a blended family of five children, two dogs, and a cat named Pi.

MANAGING DIRECTOR Jill A. Anderson arrived at Syracuse Stage in July, 2016, and is delighted to serve as managing director. Jill is responsible for Stage’s nearly $6 million operating budget and has oversight of fundraising, marketing, and operational matters within the organization. Prior to joining Stage, Jill spent a decade as general manager at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. During her tenure, the

O’Neill completed a $7 million capital campaign and campus expansion, doubled its operating budget, and was honored with a 2015 National Medal of Arts and the 2010 Regional Theatre Tony Award. Under the O’Neill’s aegis, Jill also developed the Baltic Playwrights Conference, an annual international new play development retreat held in Hiiumaa, Estonia. Previously, Jill spent five years in the production office at Washington DC’s Arena Stage, after working as a stage manager in Min17

MANAGING DIRECTOR nesota, New Mexico, and Massachusetts. Jill has also served on numerous municipal and non-profit boards and participated in mentoring programs for high school and college students, including the Kennedy Center American

College Theater Festival. Jill is a proud cheesehead, hailing from Marshfield, Wisconsin. She and her husband Dave Anderson, along with their daughter, look forward to calling Central New York home for years to come.

A S S O C I AT E A R T I S T I C D I R E C T O R / F E S T I VA L C U R AT O R Kyle Bass is a two-time recipient of the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship (for fiction in 1998 and playwriting in 2010), a finalist for the Princess Grace Playwriting Award, a semi-finalist for the O’Neill Playwriting Conference, and Pushcart Prize nominee. His new play Possessing Harriet, commissioned by the Onondaga Historical Association, will have its world premiere at Syracuse Stage in October. Kyle is the co-author of the original screenplay for the film Day of Days, which stars award-winning veteran actor Tom Skerritt (Alien, Top Gun, Steel Magnolias, A River Runs Through It) and was released by Broad Green Pictures in 2017. Kyle is currently writing the screenplay adaptation of the novel Milk by Darcy Steinke and has been commissioned by the Society for New Music to write the libretto for an opera based on the life and music of legendry folk singer and guitarist Libba Cotten. Kyle is the co-author (with Ping Chong) of Cry for Peace: Voices from the Congo, which had its world premiere at Syracuse Stage and was

subsequently produced at La MaMa Experimental Theatre in New York City. Kyle worked with acclaimed visual artist Carrie Mae Weems on her theatre piece Grace Notes: Reflections for Now, which had its world premiere at the 2016 Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, and was subsequently produced at Yale Rep and the Kennedy Center. Kyle’s Separated, a piece of documentary theatre about the student military veterans at Syracuse University, was first presented at Syracuse Stage in 2017, directed

by Robert Hupp. Kyle’s prose and other writings have appeared in the journals Folio and Stone Canoe, among others, and in the anthology Alchemy of the Word: Writers Talk about Writing and he has appeared as a guest on National Public Radio’s “Tell Me More,” discussing race in American theatre.

Kyle has taught in the MFA Creative Writing program at Goddard College since 2006 and was recently named to the Burke Endowed Chair for Regional Studies at Colgate University. Kyle also teaches playwriting in Syracuse University’s Department of Drama, theatre courses in the Department 18

A S S O C I AT E A R T I S T I C D I R E C T O R / F E S T I VA L C U R AT O R of African American Studies, and has taught playwriting at Hobart & William Smith College. Kyle holds an MFA in Playwriting from God-

dard College, is Drama Editor for the journal Stone Canoe and is a proud member of the Dramatist Guild of America.

N E X T AT S Y R A C U S E S TA G E THE MAGIC PLAY B Y A NDR E W HI ND ERAKER | D IRECTED BY HALE NA K AYS | WITH MAG IC BY BRETT SCHN EID ER C O- P RODUC E D WITH ACTO RS THEATRE O F LO U I S V I LLE A ND P ORTLAN D CEN TER STAG E| APRIL 2 5 - MAY 1 3 | OPEN IN G N IG HT: APRIL 27

Acclaimed magician, illusion designer, and actor Brett Schneider stars in a mindblowing spectacle that combines the allure of a live magic show with engaging drama. A successful young magician, reeling from a recent romantic break-up, struggles to keep his off-stage reality from undermining his on-stage illusions. Magic tricks highlight this one-of-a-kind and uplifting theatrical experience.

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 5 S E A S O N S

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CELEBRATING 45 SEASONS . . .

SETTING THE STAGE FOR 45 MORE!

Thank you to the thousands of patrons each year who support Syracuse Stage. Gifts to Syracuse Stage allow us to create work, like Cold Read, that bring new worlds to our Central New York Community. Please join us by making your gift today at www.syracusestage.org. Thank you!

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S Y R A C U S E S TA G E B O A R D O F T R U S T E E S CHAIR

Fran Nichols Vice Chairman Emeritus Eric Mower + Associates PRESIDENT

Bea Gonzalez Dean, University College Syracuse University CHAIR-ELECT

Richard Shirtz Regional President NBT Bank VICE CHAIR

Janet Audunson Senior Counsel National Grid VICE CHAIR

Larry Harris EVP and CFO Saab Defense and Security, USA VICE CHAIR

Melvin T. Stith Dean Emeritus, Whitman School of Management Syracuse University TREASURER

Lorraine Branham Dean/Professor, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications Syracuse University SECRETARY

Samantha Millier Associate Attorney Mackenzie Hughes LLP Jill Anderson** Managing Director Syracuse Stage George S. Bain Freelance Editor and Writer Dan Berman Partner Hancock Estabrook, LLP Sandra Brown President Grandma Brown’s Beans, Inc.

Robin Curtis Zellar Homes/Berkshire Hathaway CNY Realty Richard Driscoll Sr. Commercial Banking Relationship Manager Commercial Banking Division NBT Bank Herman R. Frazier Senior Deputy Athletics Director Syracuse University Helene Gold Private Voice & Piano Instructor Neil Gold Retired VP Gold Pure Food Products Jacki Goldberg VP Fundraising Syracuse Stage Guild

Suzanne McAuliffe Retired Educator Rod McDonald Bond, Schoeneck & King Molly Mulvihill VP, Market Manager Enterprise Business & Community Engagement Bank of America Virginia Parker Retired Educator Annette Peters Marketing Director Syracuse Media Group Kendall Phillips Associate Dean, Global Academic Programs and Initiatives Syracuse University Robert Pomfrey

Nancy Green Investment Advisor Edward S. Green & Associates

Amir Rahnamay-Azar Chief Financial Officer Syracuse University

John Huhtala Relationship Manager Middle Market Commercial Banking Chase

Molly Ryan Partner, Goldberg Segalla LLP

Robert Hupp** Artistic Director Syracuse Stage

L. John Steigerwald IV Marketing and Sales Representative Cathedral Candle Company

Kathy Kelly Health Educator, PNP, retired

Sharon Sullivan Community Volunteer

Larry Leatherman Retired Bristol-Myers Squibb, MOST

Cora Thomas Radio Host and Office Manager, WAER

Dan Lent Vice President Solvay Bank

Michael S. Tick Dean, College of Visual and Performing Arts Syracuse University

Rocco Mangano Partner Mangano Law Office, PLLC Maria Marrero Department of Drama Professor Syracuse University

Nancy Byrne Community Volunteer

Julia Martin Associate Attorney, Bousquet Holstein

Steve Chase Senior Vice President Harbridge Consulting Group

Kevin R. McAuliffe Partner Barclay Damon

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Robert Sarason Retired Lawyer, Organizer, Fundraiser

Phil Turner Pastor Bethany Baptist Church Ralph Zito** Chair Syracuse University Department of Drama Michael Zoanetti VP Senior Wealth Advisor Tompkins Financial Advisors **Ex-Officio

MISSION/VISION Mission: Syracuse Stage is a global village

University, we create innovative, adventurous, and entertaining productions of new plays, classics, and musicals, and offer interactive education and outreach programs in Central New York.

Vision: Syracuse Stage illuminates the many truths of our common humanity through the transformative power of live theatre.

square where renowned artists and audiences of all ages gather to celebrate our cultural richness, witness the many truths of our common humanity, and explore the transformative power of live theatre.

Celebrating our 45th season as a professional theatre in residence at Syracuse

A B O U T S Y R A C U S E S TA G E Syracuse Stage is Central New York’s

ing artists are supported by a staff of artisans, technicians, educators, and administrators who are responsible for all facets of the theatre from building sets, props, and costumes to marketing, development, and box office.

A solid core of subscribers and supporters helps keep Syracuse Stage a vibrant artistic presence in Central New York. Year after year their support and patronage contribute to the success of the theatre. Additional support from government, foundations, corporations, and Syracuse University helps to ensure the continued role of Syracuse Stage as a valued cultural resource for the community.

Syracuse Stage is a constituent of the Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, and a member of the Arts and Cultural Leadership Alliance (ACLA), the University Hill Corporation, and the East Genesee Regent Association.

premier professional theatre. Founded in 1974, Stage has produced more than 300 plays in 44 seasons including a number of world, American, and East Coast premieres. Each season 70,000 patrons enjoy an adventurous mix of new plays and bold interpretations of classics and musicals featuring the finest theatre artists. In addition, Stage maintains a vital educational outreach program that annually serves over 20,000 students throughout Central New York.

Syracuse Stage is a member of The League of Resident Theatres (LORT), the largest professional theatre association in the country. America’s leading actors, directors and designers work and/or have worked at Stage including: Tony Award-winners Lillias White, Chuck Cooper, and Elizabeth Franz, Emmy recipient Jean Stapleton, Sam Waterston, John Cullum, James Whitmore, Ben Gazzara, and Ping Chong. These visit-

IN THE COMMUNITY An important aspect of the Syracuse Stage mission is to be an active partner and resource in the Central New York community. Each season Syracuse Stage is pleased to partner with a diverse group of community organizations in sponsoring and facilitating various programs, benefits, and events. Ongoing and past partnerships include Arc of Onondaga, The

Burton Blatt Institute, ARISE, InterFaith Works of Central New York, Hospice of CNY, SUNY Upstate Medical/St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Onondaga County, The Learning Place, AIDS Community Resources, Syracuse Homes, The Chadwick Residence, The Child Care Council of Onondaga County, and Vera House, among others.

INDIGENOUS LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Syracuse Stage acknowledges with respect the Onondaga Nation, the indigenous people on whose ancestral lands we now stand.

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S Y R A C U S E S TA G E S TA F F Artistic Director.............................................................................................................Robert Hupp Managing Director.....................................................................................................Jill A. Anderson Associate Artistic Director....................................................................................................Kyle Bass

P R O D U C T I O N S TA F F

Director of Production Operations...........................................................................Don Buschmann Assistant Production Manager.................................................................................Dianna Angell Company Manager/Production Management Assistant..............................................Brian Crotty Production Assistant..........................................................................................Georgi Hughes Technical Director..................................................................................................Randall Steffen Assistant Technical Director............................................................................Rebecca Schuetz Scene Shop Foreman...........................................................................................Michael King Carpenters................................................Cheyenne Bonewell, Caleb Harris, Jordan Michaud Graduate Assistant...........................................................................................Marc Zbikowski Student Scene Shop Assistants............................................Weston Barnwell, Anna Livingston Scenic Charge Artist...........................................................................................Holly K. LaGrow Assistant Scenic Artist...........................................................................................Phillip Dyke Graduate Assistants........................................................................................Teona Yamanidze Student Assistant................................................................................................Roslyn Palmer Properties Coordinator/Master................................................................................Mary Houston Props Carpenter...................................................................................................Mike Gerlach Props Artisan....................................................................................................Jessica Culligan Props Graduate Assistant...................................................................................Charlie Hickey Student Props Artisans.........................................................Jonathan Hayes, Shannon Bagoly Costumer................................................................................................Gretchen Darrow-Crotty Assistant Costumer/Drama Department Costume Coordinator..................James A. McDaniel Cutter-Drapers..........................................................................................Catherine Hennessy First Hand.........................................................................................................Victoria Lillich Stitchers...................................................................................Sarah Alspach, Katelyn Yonkers Craftsperson/Shopper.........................................................................................Sandra Knapp Wardrobe and Wig Supervisor.................................................................................Sarah Stark Hair Stylist......................................................................................................Kristina Scalone Student Costumes Assistants................................................................................Abby McGee Master Electrician/Projections Coordinator.....................................................David M. Bowman Electrician…….......................................................................................................Jed Daniels Electrics Apprentice..........................................................................................Anastasia Sioris Student Electrics Assistants.................................Samuel Arencibia, Sasha Falsberg, Aria Sivick Resident Sound Designer/Audio Engineer......................................................................JR Herter Assistant Audio Engineer................................................................................Kevin O’Connor Sound Journeyperson......................................................................................Trinisha Dupree Graduate Assistant........................................................................Monica Giulianna Gonzalez Production Stage Manager....................................................................................Stuart Plymesser Stage Manager..............................................................................................Laura Jane Collins Stage Management Journeyman............................................................................Erin C Brett Stage Management Apprentice................................................................................Em Piraino 22

S Y R A C U S E S TA G E S TA F F A D M I N I S T R AT I V E S TA F F

General Manager...............................................................................................................Jon Wilson Human Resources Manager/Business Associate.......................................................Kathy Zappala Student Business Office Assistant.............................................................Andrew Winogradoff Director of Information Management & Technology...................................Garrett Wheeler-Diaz Director of Ticketing & Subscription Services........................................................Miguel Tarrats Asst. Dir. of Ticketing & Subscription Services/Database Administrator........Courtney Richardson Assistant Box Office Manager............................................................................Laurie Lindsey Student Box Office Assistants................................................Danielle Bertolini, Isaiah Brooks, Stephanie Burnham, Ronnie Chen, Abigail Cieslewski, Rupert Krueger, Navaneeth Pandian, Chelsea Perez, Lexie Smychynsky, Olivia St. Peter, Mary Storholm Director of Audience Services.................................................................................Lydia Kubiniec Audience Services Assistant.....................................................................................Lisa Doerle Assistant House Manager...............................................................................Patricia Condello Student Assistant House Managers..................Valeria Berdecia, John MacLeod, Claire St. Marie Bartenders............................................................Meg Anthis, Patrick Cummings, Evan Davis Student Ushers.....................................Daisha Abdillahi, Summer Ainsworth, Manda Borden, Blake Brewer, Yasmine Chahine, Anju Cloud, Kat Eaton, Shamel Fadloun, Olivia Herz, Calvin Keener, Claire Kenny Jaelle LaGuerre, Jackson Norman, Briana Perez, Jack Rento, Isabel Rodiguez, Logan Shiller, McKenna Vargas, Marilyn Wechsler Comptroller...................................................................................................Mary Kennett Morreale Director of Development...............................................................................................Tina Morgan Development Manager.......................................................................................Stefania Ianno Development Associate...................................................................................Meggan Madden Interim Director of Educational Outreach........................................................................Kate Laissle Education Assistant...................................................................................................Len Fonte Education Intern.................................................................................................Greg Mytelka Director of Marketing and Communications..............................................................Joseph Whelan Group/Corporate Sales Manager..........................................................................Tracey White Marketing Manager...........................................................................................Joanna Penalva Graphic Designers.................................................................Jonathan Hudak, Brenna Merritt Group Sales Assistant........................................................................................Amanda Kurey Student Group Sales Assistant.............................................................................Lia Chapman Executive Assistant......................................................................................................Rebecca Grady Dramaturgy Graduate Intern...........................................................................................Ellie Kaplan Artistic Undergraduate Intern.................................................................................Elizabeth Gardner Sign Language Interpreters....................Brenda Brown, Jim Brown, Aaron Burton, Angelo Coppola, Mikki Evans, Sue Freeman, Joanne Jackowski, Zenna Preli, Trisha Schwartz, Ryan Wight Open Captioning..................................................................................................Jessika Whitehouse Audio Description...................................................................................Kate Laissle, Joseph Whelan Community Services Officers.......................................................Stacey Emmons, Joseph O'Connor Custodians.............................................................................Kitty Ashby, Les Edwards, Tony Rogers 23

EVENT

POSSESSING HARRIET

By Kyle Bass | Directed by Tazwell Thompson Originally Commissioned by the Onondaga Historical Association | Oct.17 - Nov. 4

Peterboro, NY, 1839. An enslaved young woman named Harriet, who has slipped away from a Syracuse hotel and the Southern family who owns her, finds temporary safety in an attic room in the home of abolitionist Gerrit Smith. Frightened and confused, she awaits her departure on the dangerous journey to Canada on the Underground Railroad, and spends an absorbing hour with the young Elizabeth Cady, fiery advocate for women’s equality. In a place where ideals meet experience and the aspirational collides with the personal, there lies the hope of awakening. A world premiere by award-winning playwright and Syracuse Stage associate artistic director Kyle Bass.

Possessing Harriet was originally commissioned by the Onondaga Historical Association, Gregg Tripoli, Executive Director.

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FESTIVAL

2019 FEATURED PLAYWRIGHT Portland, Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis, AlterTheater, Kennedy Center TYA, Native Voices at the Autry and Mountainside Theatre. She developed plays with Kansas City Rep, Artist Rep Portland, Arizona Theater Company, the Center Theatre Group Writer’s Workshop and Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor.

She is a current member of the Playwrights› Center Core Writers, Playwright’s Union, Director’s Lab West 2015, Theatre Communications Group board of directors and is an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Sicangu Lakota Nation.

Larissa has had pilot scripts in development with Fox and TeenNick. She is represented

by Jonathan Mills, Paradigm NY for theater and for film/TV Britton Rizzio at WritLarge LA.

Larissa FastHorse is an award winning playwright, director, choreographer and performer based in Santa Monica. Larissa was awarded the NEA Distinguished New Play Development Grant, Joe Dowling Annamaghkerrig Fellowship, AATE Distinguished Play Award, Inge Residency, Sundance/Ford Foundation Fellowship, Aurand Harris Fellowship, and numerous Ford and NEA Grants. Larissa’s produced plays include The Thanksgiving Play, Urban Rez, Landless, Average Family, Teaching Disco Squaredancing to Our Elders: a Class Presentation, and Cherokee Family Reunion. She has written commissions for Cornerstone Theatre Company, Artists Rep

2019 COLD READ FESTIVAL: MARCH 7 - 10 25

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A SEASON BURSTING

with dynamic stories & vibrant characters

NOISES OFF

NATIVE GARDENS

SEPT. 12 - 30

FEB. 13 - MAR. 3

By Michael Frayn Directed by Robert Hupp

By Karen Zacarías | Directed by Melissa Crespo | Co-produced with Geva Theatre Center

POSSESSING HARRIET OCT. 17 - NOV. 4

By Kyle Bass | Directed by Tazwell Thompson | Originally Commissioned by the Onondaga Historical Association

ELF THE MUSICAL NOV. 23 - JAN. 6 Book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin | Music by Matthew Sklar | Lyrics by Chad Beguelin | Directed by Donna Drake | Choreography by Brian J. Marcum | Musical Direction

by Brian Cimmet | Based on the New Line Cinema film by David Berenbaum | Co-produced with the Syracuse University Department of Drama

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE MAR. 20 - APR. 7 Written by Kate Hamill Directed by Jason O’Connell

THE HUMANS APRIL 24 - MAY 12

By Stephen Karam | Directed

by Mark Cuddy | Co-produced with Geva Theatre Center

COLD READ FESTIVAL MAR. 7 - 10 TICKET PACKAGES AVAILABLE

315.443.3275 SyracuseStage.org 30