DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA
SCENIC DESIGNER
Miranda Barrick
PRESENTS
BY
Bess Wohl
DIRECTED BY
Christine Albright-Tufts
COSTUME DESIGNER
Marshall Hayes Breaux
INTIMACY CHOREOGRAPHER
Hannah Roccisano
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Andrew Patashnik
DRAMATURG
Katharine Stephenson
SOUND DESIGNER
Kevin O’Connor
STAGE MANAGER
Maya Rose Zepeda
CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA
Ralph Zito
SEASON SPONSOR
Touch(ed) was produced by the Williamstown Theatre Festival Jenny Gersten, Artistic Director on August 3, 2011
è Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/SUDrama.VPA
CAST
Kay............................................................Chloe Mendoza Smith
Billy..........................................................................Seamus Doyle
Emma.................................................................Salma Mahmoud
ADDITIONAL CREDITS
Fight/Intimacy Captain: Maya Rose Zepeda
Mental Health Consultants: Daniella Caggiano, Teresa Thompson
Assistant Directors: Natalie Kaplan, Angeline Rachiele
Assistant Scenic Designer: Mabel McPhee
Assistant Lighting Designer: Henry Killbourn
Assistant Stage Managers: Seb Arora, Amelia Mindlin-Leitner
PRODUCTION STAFF & RUN CREW
Faculty Advisor to Student Designers: Rob Andrusko
Faculty Advisor to Stage Managers: Dianna Angell
Light Board Operator: Lucy Foss
Sound Board Operator: Kate Wass
Dressers (Run Crew): Katrina Barrett, Mia Rohan
Costume Maintenance: Seth Winnick, Leah Steinman
Production Assistant: Mia Rohan
Electrics: Hannah LoGiudice, Clara Permuy, Reyna Sanchez, Natalie Steinburg, Abby Thurmon
SETTING
Upstate New York, 2000’s
INTERMISSION
There will be one fifteen-minute intermission
CONTENT ADVISORY
This play contains frank conversations about mental health, suicide, and suicidal ideation.
There is also a non-related, non-violent use of stage blood.
RESOURCES
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, please reach out for help. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. Get connected to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988. The Lifeline provides 24-hour, confidential support to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. There are also resources available at the Barnes Center at the Arch. For 24-Hour Support, call 315.443.8000
CAST
Seamus Doyle (he/ him) (Billy), is a junior acting major from Boston, MA. He is excited to be working with this wonderful team, after also appearing in Barbecue (Department of Drama mainstage) and Dealing Dreams (Black Box Players).
ing the fall. She is incredibly honored to have had this experience and wants to thank her family, friends, peers, and faculty for their ongoing support.
Salma Mahmoud (she/her) (Emma) is a sophomore acting major from Queens, NY. This is her first mainstage production at the Department of Drama, but she recently served as the dramaturg for The Moors which held performances earlier this year and played Wolfgang in Syracuse Stage’s children’s touring production of Red Riding Hood dur-
Chloe Mendoza Smith (she/her) (Kay) is a sophomore acting major from New Canaan, CT. This is her Department of Drama debut, but you may have seen her earlier this year as Fred’s wife in the Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production of A Christmas Carol! She is deeply honored to be part of this incredible company and extends her heartfelt thanks to her peers, instructors, friends, and family for their unwavering love and support! Her performance is dedicated to the memory of Toby Woods.
ARTISTIC STAFF
Miranda Barrick (she/her) (Scenic Designer) is a senior theater design and technology major from Lancaster, PA. She has previously been the assistant scenic designer on Sender (Department of Drama mainstage) and Melancholy Play: A Chamber Musical (Department of Drama mainstage), and this is her first show as a lead designer.
Marshall Hayes Breaux (he/him) (Costume Designer) is a senior theater design and technology major from
Houston, TX. Marshall is thrilled to have had the opportunity to design Syracuse University’s production of Touch(ed). Previous credits include Melancholy Play: A Chamber Musical (costume designer), Failure: A Love Story (associate designer, Syracuse University Department of Drama); The Play That Goes Wrong (student assistant designer, Syracuse Stage); The Real Inspector Hound (intern assistant designer, Main Street Theater, Houston TX); In Love and Warcraft (wardrobe super-
ARTISTIC STAFF
visor, Syracuse University Department of Drama). He is very grateful for this experience and for the love and support from his instructors, friends, and family. Instagram: @m_hayes_
Andrew Patashnik (he/him) (Lighting Designer) is a senior theater design and technology major from Stamford, CT. Other Syracuse lighting design credits include Melancholy Play (Department of Drama mainstage), Gruesome Playground Injuries (studio project), The Baltimore Waltz (Black Box Players), and Black Box Players’ 2023 Benefit Cabaret. andrewpatashnik.com
Kevin O’Connor (Sound Designer) is currently in his 15th season working for Syracuse Stage and the Syracuse University Department of Drama. He graduated from St. Lawrence University with a B.A. in music in 2008. Almost all of Kevin’s sound design credits have been with the Department of Drama over the past 12 years, and some of his favorite designs have been; Dance Nation (2023), Bright Half Life (2021), Romeo & Juliet (2020), Good Kids (2019), The Baltimore Waltz (2018) , Laura and the Sea (2016), Measure for Measure (2015), and Stepping Out (2014). Kevin also created the sound designs for; Red Riding Hood, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (2022), Danny, King of the Basement (2021), and Miss Electricity (2018) for the Syracuse Stage/De-
partment of Drama Bank of America Children’s Tour. Besides Sound Design, Kevin has also worked as the A1 position, controlling the audio console/live mixing, for most of the musicals for both Syracuse Stage and the Department of Drama over the past 15 years. Some of his favorite productions have been; Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Elf the Musical, Little Shop of Horrors, Next to Normal, Ring of Fire, Berlin to Broadway, Nine, Avenue Q, Hairspray, Parade, Seussical, Merrily We Roll Along, and Cabaret. He also feels privileged to have worked as the A1 on the productions of Thoughts of a Colored Man (2019) and How to Dance in Ohio (2022), during their Syracuse Stage runs before moving to Broadway.
Hannah “Rock” Roccisano (Intimacy Choreographer) is a New York City based fight and intimacy professional, director, educator and Shakespeare nerd. Her work has been seen off-Broadway including Wolf Play, A Bright New Boise, and Montag. Rock has additionally choreographed regionally and at multiple universities such as Columbia University, Syracuse University and the Hartt School. She is a Certified Teacher with the SAFD and holds two masters degrees, an M.F.A. and Master of Letters in Shakespeare and Performance from Mary Baldwin University. Hannah is the Chair of Development for the SAFD and the founder of “Expand, Educate, Empower,” an
ARTISTIC STAFF
initiative bringing free stage combat training to students in underserved communities across the U.S.
Maya Rose Zepeda (she/they) ( Stage Manager, Fight/Intimacy Captain) is a junior stage manager from Los Angeles, CA. This is her fourth production with the Syracuse University Department of Drama, other credits include Barbecue (De-
partment of Drama mainstage), Sender (Department of Drama mainstage), and Dance Revue (Black Box Players). She is incredibly grateful for the love and support from her family, friends, and mentors. She dedicates this performance to her siblings.
Katharine Stephenson (Dramaturg) is a junior theater management major from Wellesley, MA.
ASSISTANTS AND ASSOCIATES
Seb Arora (she/he/they) (Assistant Stage Manager ) is a sophomore stage management major from Madison, WI.
Natalie Kaplan (she/her) (Assistant Director) is a junior acting major from Ambler, PA.
Henry Killbourn (he/him) ( Assistant Lighting Designer) is a sophomore theater design and technology major from Orinda, CA.
Mabel McPhee (Assistant Scenic Designer) is a junior theater design and technology major with a concentration in scenic and lighting design from Plantsville, CT.
Amelia Mindlin-Leitner (she/ her) (Assistant Stage Manager) is a freshman stage management major from Denver, CO.
Angeline Rachiele (she/they) (Assistant Director) is a junior acting major from Bethlehem, PA.
DIRECTOR
Christine Albright-Tufts For the last 20 years, Christine has worked as an actor, director, and educator throughout the US and is currently an Assistant Professor of Acting at Syracuse University. Directing credits include: at Syracuse University: The
World-Premiere of Play On!’s Cymbeline translated by Andrea Thome; An interactive virtual production of Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information. Other directing credits: Louisville//KY/USA for Actors Theatre of Louisville, Oregon Shakespeare
DIRECTOR
Festival’s School Visit Program (The Tempest, They Say It’s Your Birthday ); Chicago Shakespeare Theatre (staged reading of TITUS, an ASL adaptation); Lean Ensemble Theater ( Outside Mullingar, The Importance of Being Earnest); and Rogue Theater Company (An Iliad). As an actor, she’s been seen at Arena Stage, the Goodman Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Seattle Rep, the Marin The-
atre Company, Syracuse Stage, the Mint Theatre Company, the La Jolla Playhouse, and many others. A longtime company member at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, she worked as an actor, teaching artist, and manager of the School Visit Program. Favorite OSF performances include Up, Romeo and Juliet, Equivocation, and As You Like It. Film credits: Plainclothes; Bark of the Dog.
PLAYWRIGHT
Bess Wohl is a playwright and filmmaker. Her plays have been produced on and off Broadway, regionally, and internationally and her feature film debut, Baby Ruby, starring Noémie Merlant and Kit Harington, premiered at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival and was released by Magnolia Pictures. She also wrote for the Apple TV+ series, Extrapolations, created by Scott Z. Burns. Her plays include Grand Horizons (Tony Nominations for Best Play & Best Featured Actress, Outer Critics Circle Honor, Drama League Award nom); Make Believe (NYTimes Critic Pick, Best of 2019, Outer Critics Circle Honor); Continuity; Small Mouth Sounds (John Gassner Outer Critics Circle Award, top ten lists in The New York Times, The New York Post, The Guardian); American Hero ; Barcelona ; Touch(ed); In; Cats Talk Back and the musical Pretty Filthy with composer/ lyricist Michael Friedman and The Civilians (Lucille Lortel and Drama
Desk nominations for Outstanding Musical). Wohl’s plays have been produced or developed at theaters including Second Stage, Manhattan Theater Club, Ars Nova, The Williamstown Theatre Festival, Goodman Theater, The Geffen Playhouse, People’s Light and Theatre Company, The Contemporary American Theater Festival, Vineyard Arts Project, The Pittsburgh Public Theater, Northlight Theater, Ojai Playwright’s Conference, the Cape Cod Theatre Project and PlayPenn. Awards and honors include the Sam Norkin special Drama Desk Award for “establishing herself as an important voice in New York theater,” multiple Outer Critics Circle honors, the Georgia Engell Comedy Playwriting Award from the Dramatists Guild, the Athena Award for her screenplay Virginia, MacDowell Fellowships and inclusion on Hollywood’s Black List of Best Screenplays. Wohl is an associate artist with The Civilians, an alumna of Ars Nova’s Play Group,
PLAYWRIGHT
and the recipient of new play commissions from Manhattan Theatre Club, Lincoln Center and Williamstown Theatre Festival. In her previous life as an actress, she appeared onstage in New York and regionally, and in
numerous films and TV shows where she has given birth, solved crimes, committed crimes, been wrongly accused, and come back from the dead. She is a graduate of Harvard and the Yale School of Drama.
CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA
Ralph Zito (he, him) is in his fourteenth year as chair of the Department of Drama. He came to Syracuse University from the Juilliard School Drama Division, where he had been a teacher and director from 1992 to 2010 and chair of the Voice and Speech Department since 1999. He was a director and adjunct lecturer in the Barnard College Theater Department from 2006 until 2010 and has been a guest artist at training programs across the country, including the Old Globe in San Diego, The University of Texas at Austin, and the Academy for Classical Acting in Washington, DC. Directing credits for the Department of Drama include: The Spitfire Grill, As You Like It, Gruesome Playground Injuries, and The Aliens. He has served as a voice, text or dialect consultant for numerous professional productions both on and off-Broadway, including: The Light in the Piazza; Awake and Sing!; The Herbal Bed; Mrs. Klein; The Fiery Furnace; The Time of the Cuckoo (Lincoln Center Theatre); Tongue of a Bird; The Merchant of Venice (New York
Shakespeare Festival); The Pitchfork Disney (Blue Light Theatre Company); Birdy (The Women’s Project); The Model Apartment (Primary Stages); the New York premiere of Tony Kushner’s SLAVS! (New York Theatre Workshop); and The African Company Presents Richard III (The Acting Company). His regional theater credits include numerous productions at The Shakespeare Theatre and Arena Stage in Washington, DC; Syracuse Stage; Baltimore CENTERSTAGE; Hartford Stage; and the McCarter Theatre, among others. A former touring member of The Acting Company, he served as artistic associate of The Chautauqua Theatre Company for seven years and was a member of the Board of Directors of The American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT) for six years. He is a graduate of Harvard University, The Juilliard School, and the American Center for the Alexander Technique. He was recently awarded the prestigious Juilliard President’s Medal in recognition of his contributions to both Juilliard and to the broader performing arts community.
ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA
Part of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, the Syracuse University Department of Drama offers degree programs in acting, musical theater, theater design and technology, stage management, and theater management
utilizing conservatory-style training in a university setting and in collaboration with Syracuse Stage. With much appreciation, the Department of Drama wishes to acknowledge the valuable contribution of the Syracuse Stage staff.
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA
Chair.......................................................................................................................................Ralph Zito
Business Manager.................................................................................................................Lisa Tucci
Administrative Specialist..................................................................................................Jen Ballard
Director, Tepper Semester in NYC...............................................................................Erica Jensen
Academic Operations Manager, Tepper Semester NYC.....................................Casey O’Neil
Associate Music Director.............................................................................................Harry Castle
Production Manager....................................................................................................Dianna Angell
Dean, VPA...................................................................................................................Michael S. Tick
FULL-TIME FACULTY
Christine Albright-Tufts
Robert Andrusko
Rufus Bonds, Jr.
Kiira Schmidt Carper
Harry Castle
Brian Cimmet
James A. Clark
Danyon Davis
Jill Anderson
Dianna Angell
Alec Barbour
Kathleen Baum
Bradley Beckman
Kerry Bereza
Don Buschmann
Diane Coloton
Gretchen Darrow-Crotty
Marina de Ratmiroff
Danita Emma
Kathryn Fathers
Richard Dent IV
Izmir Ickbal
Alex Jainchill
Rebecca Karpoff
Andrea Leigh-Smith
David Lowenstein
Celia Madeoy
Carmen Martínez
ADJUNCT FACULTY
Marcus Herndon
Jacqueline R. Herter
Emily Holm
Robert Hupp
Sandra Knapp
Richard Koons
Nicholas Kowerko
Zizi Majid
Michael McCurdy
Aldo Katton Santiago Mendez
Kathryn Miranda
Amanda Moore
ACCOMPANISTS
Kerry Bereza, Abel Searor
Katherine McGerr
Thom Miller
Ricky Pak
Felipe Panamá
Holly Thuma
Kathleen Wrinn
Ralph Zito
Leslie Noble
Krystal Osborne
Whitney Pak
Stuart Plymesser
Rebecca Schuetz
Hanni Schwarzlander
Abel Searor
Blake Segal
Randy Steffen
Bradley Stone
Joseph Whelan
Matthew Winning
SYRACUSE STAGE STAFF
Artistic Director.............................................................................................................Robert Hupp
Managing Director.....................................................................................................Jill A. Anderson
Associate Artistic Director............................................................................................Melissa Crespo
Resident Playwright..............................................................................................................Kyle Bass
PRODUCTION STAFF
Director of Production Operations...........................................................................Don Buschmann
Associate Director of Production Operations..........................................................Dianna Angell
Company Manager and Production Management Associate......................................Brian Crotty
Assistant Company Manager.....................................................................................Sarai Ford
Technical Director..................................................................................................Randall Steffen
Assistant Technical Director............................................................................Rebecca Schuetz
Scene Shop Foreman...........................................................................................Michael King
Technical Assistant...................................................................................................Liz Daurio
Carpenters...............................................................................John Gamble, Brian McBurney
Student Employees.............................................................Emma Thoms, Gray Westbrook†
Scenic Charge Artist...................................................................................................Emily Holm
Lead Scenic Artist................................................................................................Laurel Arnold
Scenic Painter....................................................................................................Jessica Culligan
Student Employee...........................................................................................Rosario Figueira†
Props Supervisor............................................................................................................Mara Rich
Assistant Prop Supervisor............................................................................Christine Goldman
Craftpersons....................................................................................Alexis Frizzell, Nora Galley
Costume Shop Manager..........................................................................Gretchen Darrow-Crotty
Assistant Costume Shop Manager.....................................................................Amanda Moore
Cutter-Draper...................................................................................................Kathryn Rauch
First Hand.........................................................................................................Victoria Lillich
Stitchers.......................................................................................Emily King, Katelyn Yonkers
Craftsperson/Shopper.........................................................................................Sandra Knapp
Wardrobe Supervisor.........................................................................................Dylinn Andrew
Student Employee...................................................................................................Sofia Pizer†
Lighting and Projection Supervisor...............................................................................Jed Daniels
Electricians/Board Operators.................................................................Travis Burt, Alex Malli
Resident Sound Designer/Audio Engineer...................................................Jacqueline R. Herter
Audio Engineer...............................................................................................Kevin O’Connor
Sound Engineer/A1..............................................................................................Garrett Frink
Production Stage Manager....................................................................................Stuart Plymesser
Stage Managers.................................Kyra Button, Laura Jane Collins, Bianca Mercado-Boller
Production Assistants.........................................................................Erin C Brett, Em Piraino
SYRACUSE STAGE STAFF
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
General Manager....................................................................................................Michael McCurdy
Comptroller..............................................................................................Mary Kennett Morreale
Associate General Manager...................................................................................Jacob G. Ellison
Director of Information Management & Technology...................................Garrett Diaz-Wheeler
Audience Services Manager.......................................................................................Korrie Taylor
House Managers.........................................Pat Condello, Ella Lafontant, Alyssa Otoski-Keim, Adam Secor, Donna Stuccio
Bartenders.................................................................................Michelle Cannizzo, Meg Pusey
Audience Services Interns...........................................................Yushan Deng†, Lubeini Yang†
Front of House Work Study Staff.............Nathan Ayotte†, Olivia Busche†, Carolyn Burch†, Christian Elwood†, Sami English†, Henry Herbert, Andrej Humiston†, Henry Jackson, Henry Killbourne†, Violet Lanciloti†, Arieza Mari Martin Magalang, James O’Leary, Lucia Santoro-Velez, Kevin Sene, Eva Spaid, Jakobi Deshun Oliver, Hazel Kinnersley, Delaney Teague
Director of Development.............................................................................................Ana Díaz-Diez
Development Associate................................................................................Candice Bermudez
Development Intern..............................................................................Jakobi Deshun Oliver†
Director of Community Engagement..................................................................Joann Maria Yarrow
Director of Education.......................................................................................................Kate Laissle
Community Engagement and Education Coordinator........................................Theorri London
Education Interns...............................................................Olivia Wernecke†, Cricket Withall†
Director of Marketing and Communications..............................................................Joanna Penalva
Audience Development Manager.........................................................................Tracey White
Creative Director, Marketing.............................................................................Brenna Merritt
Marketing Content and Publications Manager................................................Matthew Nerber
Box Office Manager.................................................................................Courtney Richardson
Assistant Box Office Manager.....................................................................Ahmanee Simmons
Box Office Show Supervisor.................................................................................Trevor Miller
Graphic Designer............................................................................................Jonathan Hudak
Marketing Associate..........................................................................Talia Gabriel-Shenandoah
Box Office Intern....................................................................................................Ginger Bai†
Executive Assistant............................................................................................................Julia Rakus
Sign Language Interpreters.....................................................................Brenda Brown, Sue Freeman
Open Captioning........................................................................Jacob G. Ellison, Michael McCurdy
Audio Description........Kate Laissle, Talia Gabriel-Shenandoah, Ahmanee Simmons, Joseph Whelan
Community Services Officers.......................................................Stacey Emmons, Joseph O'Connor
Custodians...........................................................................................Tony Rogers, Candace Velario
†Student, Syracuse University Department of Drama.
