Waiting For Godot by Theatre for a New Audience

D I G I TA L P R O G R A M A N D 360° VIEWFINDER SERIES FACTS AND PERSPECTIVES O N T H E P L AY, P L AY W R I G H T, A N D P R O D U C T I O N

W W W.T FA N A.O R G

THEATRE FOR A NEW AUDIENCE Polonsky Shakespeare Center Jeffrey Horowitz FOUNDING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Robert E. Buckholz BOARD CHAIR Presents

Dorothy Ryan MANAGING DIRECTOR

WAITING FOR GODOT by SAMUEL BECKETT

On the Samuel H. Scripps Mainstage Featuring TOUSSAINT FRANCOIS BATTISTE, JEFF BIEHL, AJAY NAIDU, MICHAEL SHANNON, PAUL SPARKS Scenic Designer RICCARDO HERNÁNDEZ

Costume Designer SUSAN HILFERTY

Lighting Designer CHRISTOPHER AKERLIND

Sound Designer PALMER HEFFERAN

Choreographer BYRON EASLEY

Properties Supervisor Creative Consultant Voice Director JON KNUST BILL IRWIN ANDREW WADE Production Dramaturg Fight Director Production Stage Manager JONATHAN KALB J. DAVID BRIMMER SHANE SCHNETZLER Casting JACK DOULIN

Press Representative BLAKE ZIDELL & ASSOCIATES

General Manager JEREMY BLUNT

Directed by

ARIN ARBUS First preview November 4th, 2023 Opening night November 14th, 2023 “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett presented through special arrangement with Georges Borchardt, Inc. on behalf of The Estate of Samuel Beckett. All rights reserved. Endowment support for this production is provided by The Howard Gilman Foundation Fund for Classic Drama. Deloitte and Bloomberg Philanthropies are Theatre for a New Audience’s 2023-2024 Season Sponsors.

Principal support for Theatre for a New Audience’s season and programs is provided by the Bay and Paul Foundations, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Jerome L. Greene Foundation Fund in the New York Community Trust, The SHS Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Thompson Family Foundation. Major season support is provided by The Arnow Family Fund, The Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, Sally Brody, Robert E. Buckholz and Lizanne Fontaine, Constance Christensen, The Hearst Corporation, Stephanie and Tim Ingrassia, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP, The George Link Jr. Foundation, Audrey Heffernan Meyer and Danny Meyer, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, The Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation, Daryl and Joy Smith, Stockel Family Foundation, Anne and William Tatlock, Kimbrough Towles and George Loening, Kathleen Walsh and Gene Bernstein, and The White Cedar Fund. Theatre for a New Audience’s season and programs are also made possible, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities; Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Open captioning is being provided, in part, by a grant from NYSCA/TDF TAP Plus. 2

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CAST

(in alphabetical order) A Boy............................................................................................. TOUSSAINT FRANCOIS BATTISTE Lucky...........................................................................................................................................JEFF BIEHL Pozzo.........................................................................................................................................AJAY NAIDU Estragon.....................................................................................................................MICHAEL SHANNON Vladimir.................................................................................................................................. PAUL SPARKS Production Stage Manager.........................................................................................SHANE SCHNETZLER Assistant Stage Manager/Fight Captain..............................................................................SAMMY LANDAU

ACT I

A country road. A tree. Evening.

ACT II

Next day. Same time. Same place. THERE WILL BE ONE 15-MINUTE INTERMISSION. This Theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. The actors and stage managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. The scenic, costume, lighting and sound designers in LORT Theatres are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE.

Jeff Biehl, Toussaint Francois Battiste, Michael Shannon, Paul Sparks, Ajay Naidu. Photo by Travis Emery Hackett.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 5

Biography: Samuel Beckett by Jonathan Kalb

Interview: "Maybe We're Frigging Immortals" Jonathan Kalb in conversation with Michael Shannon and Paul Sparks

Bios: Cast and Creative Team

About Theatre For a New Audience 17

Leadership

Mission and Programs

Major Supporters

Notes Front Cover: Design by Paul Davis Studio / Mo Hinojosa This Viewfinder will be periodically updated with additional information. Last updated November 9th, 2023.

Credits Waiting for Godot 360° | Edited by Nadiya L. Atkinson Resident Dramaturg: Jonathan Kalb | Council of Scholars Chair: Tanya Pollard | Designed by: Milton Glaser, Inc. Publisher: Theatre for a New Audience, Jeffrey Horowitz, Founding Artistic Director Waiting for Godot 360° Copyright 2023 by Theatre for a New Audience. All rights reserved. With the exception of classroom use by teachers and individual personal use, no part of this Viewfinder may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Some materials herein are written especially for our guide. Others are reprinted with permission of their authors or publishers.

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BIOGRAPHY: SAMUEL BECKETT

amuel Beckett was born in the Dublin suburb of Foxrock, to a middle-class Protestant family of comfortable means. He attended the prestigious Portora Royal School and Trinity College, where he excelled in French and Italian, then taught briefly at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. There he moved in the circle of artists and writers around James Joyce and began writing prose and poetry. He traveled widely in Europe in the 1930s, including Germany under the Nazis, and ultimately settled in Paris for the rest of his life. In 1946 he was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his work with the French Resistance. Feeling that WWII had wasted his precious time and energies, Beckett withdrew into creative seclusion afterwards, producing a torrent of astonishingly powerful and original prose, including the introspective, formally challenging, darkly hilarious novel trilogy Molloy, Malone Dies and The Unnamable. These books—written in French, in which Beckett said it was easier to write “without style”—were ignored or dismissed when they appeared, then later hailed as paradigm-changing masterpieces and literary landmarks. Beckett first turned to drama as a break from the novel-writing he considered his real work, but it soon became much more than a sideline. The international success of Waiting for Godot—his play about two tramplike characters filling time while waiting for someone who never comes, premiered in 1953—made him a public figure and ensured his continued involvement in theatre despite his shyness and distaste for publicity. He went on to refine his dramatic vision in Endgame, Happy Days, Krapp’s Last Tape, and many other plays that featured similarly castoff, ambiguously fictional characters trapped in starkly desolate and symbolic situations. These works permanently altered the Western world’s perception of the nature and purpose of dramatic art. Beckett received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969 and at his death two decades later was widely considered the 20th century’s greatest dramatist.

Samuel Beckett, 1977. Bibliothèque nationale de France.

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INTERVIEW “MAYBE WE’RE FRIGGING IMMORTALS” JONATHAN KALB IN CONVERSATION WITH MICHAEL SHANNON AND PAUL SPARKS

Michael Shannon and Paul Sparks in rehearsal for Theatre for a New Audience's production of Waiting for Godot. Photo by Travis Emery Hackett.

The following is an edited version of a conversation between Michael Shannon (Estragon), Paul Sparks (Vladimir), and Jonathan Kalb (Production Dramaturg and TFANA Resident Dramaturg) that took place on October 17, 2023, in the third week of rehearsals. JONATHAN KALB Let’s start with the story of how this

production began. Was it originally your idea, Michael? MICHAEL SHANNON Yes. Jeffrey Horowitz and I had

set up a meeting one day after I had taken my daughters to see The Lion King. I met him over at Sardi’s and he said, “I really want to get you back to TFANA. What do you think you’d like to do?” I was kind of stumped. It took me a minute, but eventually Godot popped into my head. I knew I wanted to do it with Paul. Jeffrey seemed pretty enthusiastic about it from the second it came out of my mouth. I was shocked to find out that TFANA had never done this play. I had figured they must have done it at some point in their long history, but they never touched it. And I had never done Beckett before. I’m a huge fan of Ionesco, obviously. We did The Killer in the inaugural season at the Polonsky. 6

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JONATHAN KALB Didn’t you also play the Detective

in Victims of Duty? MICHAEL SHANNON I’ve done Victims of Duty twice.

I’ve also done The Killer twice, and I directed Hunger and Thirst in Chicago. But I had never done Beckett. I’ve seen a lot of Beckett. Actually, one of the two plays I saw when I was a kid that really gravitated me towards theater was Waiting for Godot. It must have been a community theatre-type production, in a small town upstate. I just remember it was outside an elementary school in the area where I imagine they played kickball, like a little diamond with risers around it. It just stopped my brain cold. It was something that I didn’t even realize people could do. I was very moved by it, which is strange because I was so young, probably pre-teen. It seems to be a play that has something to do with getting older. I also saw Six Characters in Search of an Author at the Goodman in Chicago. Those two productions I credit with inspiring me to get involved with the theater. JONATHAN KALB So when you mentioned this to

Jeffrey, you hadn’t yet talked to Paul about it?

“MAYBE WE’RE FRIGGING IMMORTALS” MICHAEL SHANNON No, it was a completely

spontaneous revelation in the moment. Like I said, when Jeffrey asked me that question I had no answer to it. I just sat there and thought about it, and that’s what came into my head. PAUL SPARKS I feel like you called me, and maybe you

were even still with him, and said, “Hey, you want to do Godot?” I was like, “Yeah!” Unlike Mike, I don’t have a big early attachment to the play. I know the reverence people have for it, but I’ve only seen one production and I don’t have much memory of it. I only knew it from reading it, and I think the play reads really well. We talked about this the other day. It’s so brilliantly written, but it’s a hard play to do. I like the idea of doing something with Mike where we just have to figure it out. It's not a fragile play. It’s a really dense, big play that can hold a lot of ideas and actors' creativity and imagination. It feels like it can form with you. It can meld with your take on it and still work. That’s different from other plays that you kind of have to get right, or else they won’t work. I feel like there’s an unlimited amount of productions of Godot that can exist. With everything you do in this play, there’s some aspect that speaks to your life. As I walk down the street I’m constantly running into this play. The big questions—questions of time, of what are we doing here—they’re all in this play. You don’t get an opportunity to work on that kind of thing very often. JONATHAN KALB I’m struck by the fact that you first said yes, Paul, more because Mike was asking than because you felt an attachment to Beckett. PAUL SPARKS Well, that goes back to my experience on

The Killer. Back then too, Mike called me and said, “Let’s do this play.” I was like, “I don’t know that play.” I read it and it was re-e-eally long. And he said, “Trust me. Trust me. You will have the best time of your life working on this show.” And he was 100% right. We had so much fun, and it was brilliant. So I just put a mental note beside Mike’s name that said, just do whatever he says to do from now on. Don’t be intimidated, just do it. JONATHAN KALB What was so wonderful about

working together on that project? MICHAEL SHANNON The reason Ionesco is my favorite

playwright is that he encourages everyone to play, and to

JONATHAN KALB play with some of the darkest themes imaginable, to deal with them almost as a child playing. That’s why I tend to gravitate towards theater of the absurd in general. I prefer approaching themes and the trials and tribulations of life from a more imaginative point of view, as opposed to naturalism, which I find, frankly, relentlessly arduous, somewhat tedious, not particularly helpful. It’s like, “Oh, yeah, there’s life, there it is. Look, they’re crying, oh boy.” These writers, I think, in a way are much more sophisticated than that. They realize a different form. The tendency is to think of comedy as being on one end of a line and tragedy on the other. But these writers dispense with the line. They come up with other shapes that seem to me more accurate. PAUL SPARKS For me, that sort of experience is one

reason to work in theater. We allow for a different way of relating to an audience in the theater. It can be like music. When you hear music, you can’t really understand or articulate what exactly you’re feeling, how you got there. It’s not necessarily like a conversation. Music gets into your insides and vibrates and forces a reaction out of you that’s not necessarily considered. It’s a kinetic relationship that either you feel or you don’t. There’s a truth there for you or there’s not. Movies and television can be very didactic. They can show you a scene exactly from life, exactly the way something happened, or maybe slightly heightened with better lighting, and that can be moving. But with theater, there’s a kind of third element that can hover above you, this harmonious thing that we don’t totally understand that can pull emotion out of both the audience and the performers. That experience is not tedious to me, or arduous. It's thrilling. MICHAEL SHANNON I think what I gravitate towards

in Beckett and Ionesco is the moment-to-moment experiential nature of the writing, and that it is not geared towards tricking an audience into thinking that they are watching something other than a play. You are watching a play, that’s what you are watching. When we did Denis Johnson’s Des Moines here last year, I talked a lot in rehearsal about what I found intriguing about that play, which is very insane, let’s face it. I felt like that play was trying to break something, break the conventional notion of what a play is. Now, we’re in New York City, which has a long history of the avantgarde, of people attempting to do that kind of thing. WA I T I N G F O R G O D O T

“MAYBE WE’RE FRIGGING IMMORTALS” But I feel like even with Godot, as established and well known as it is, that breaking potential still exists. I don’t like showing up at a theater and getting something that’s exactly what I expected to see. In that case, I don’t see the point in doing it or watching it. The only point that I can see in doing theater is to surprise people and make them feel challenged by what they’re watching, and also to feel like they’re being given a very special opportunity to witness something that they won’t see anywhere else, other than in this room at this particular time. Offering that is our responsibility as theater artists. And it’s not guaranteed to lead to adulation. It’s funny because as revered as this play is, there’s also a certain disdain for it. Paul, I’ve heard you talk about various people saying, “You really want to do that? Why do you want to do that? Wouldn’t you rather do a TV show?” Not everyone has been entirely supportive. I think that’s because there’s a huge potential with this play to create a stifling evening of theater. That’s the risk. There’s no guarantee that it will be magic. JONATHAN KALB Do you want to comment on those

doubters, Paul? PAUL SPARKS Look, any time you’re doing a well-

known play that has had the success this one has had, the baggage it comes with is there with you in the theater. Everyone has their opinions. I have seen some eye-rolling, like, why would you choose that? And yes, there is no guarantee. But at the end of the day, for me, regardless of the baggage, I’m moved by the play. And I’m moved by the process of trying to figure out what it is, trying to do it. That’s reason enough for me to engage on it. I’ll take whatever the response is. It will be all right. JONATHAN KALB Have either of you ever looked at

Didi or Gogo as career milestones, you know the way some actors see Macbeth or Lear, or for that matter Winnie or Krapp, as roles they just want to tackle at a certain age? MICHAEL SHANNON I would hope that this wouldn’t

be the only time I do Godot. I like to do plays more than once. I’ve done that quite a few times in my career. I can see us doing this again 5, 10, 20 years from now. So hopefully, it’s just the beginning of our relationship with the material. It wasn’t so much that I wanted to do Waiting for Godot. It’s that I wanted to do it with Paul. 8

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JONATHAN KALB If Paul had said no, I would have said, “Well, let’s find something else, Jeffrey.” I think even Arin Arbus, when she signed on to direct, knew that one of the advantages of this particular production would be that Paul and I have a relationship and history to draw on. JONATHAN KALB Can you talk about the value of

your long friendship as an advantage in acting together? MICHAEL SHANNON Well, Paul and I have done a

number of movies together but, frankly, we haven’t acted together all that much in theater. Oddly, we’ve played the same role a number of times but we’ve only been onstage together in The Killer and Craig Wright’s Lady, which we did twice. But beyond our working relationship, I rely on Paul to help me get through my life. He’s pretty much the only fellow around this neck of the woods that I can call up any time and be like, “Paul, this is happening. I’m having a hard time. Can I talk to you about this?” We have conversations about the various hiccups you have in life now and then. Hopefully I do the same for him. That, to me, more than anything else, is what Godot is: two very beautiful but tormented individuals trying to figure out how they’re going to get from one day to the next. PAUL SPARKS You know, I tend to keep things pretty

separate. I have my professional life, my acting life, and then my private life. Mike is, uniquely, my closest friend and also somebody I would do just about any project with. A lot of that has to do with the fact that I appreciate how he works. I don’t know what he does. It’s not similar to what I do. We’re not the same. We’re very different creatures. That’s why it’s so funny that we’ve played the same roles a lot. I am awed by the things that he does and the decisions that he makes, because I think, “Wow, I would have never thought of it that way.” So I find that work with Mike stretches me and motivates me to be at my best. MICHAEL SHANNON Our friendship is something

we’ve capitalized on before, particularly with Lady, which is also about a very old friendship. In The Killer, Paul was basically playing my old friend. I can’t imagine playing Estragon with someone playing Vladimir I barely know. I can’t imagine that—it would be so weird. It seems like you shouldn’t even be allowed to do this play with somebody you don’t know. That’s ridiculous.

“MAYBE WE’RE FRIGGING IMMORTALS” JONATHAN KALB How was it decided which of you

would play which role? PAUL SPARKS Some people did find our choices strange.

They said, “Oh, really? You’re gonna play Vladimir?” MICHAEL SHANNON It’s funny, it’s a reversal of what we did in The Killer. I feel like in The Killer, Berenger is Vladimir and Edward is Estragon. JONATHAN KALB Meaning what? MICHAEL SHANNON Berenger, who I played, is very

verbose, anxious, can’t shut up, is always trying to find a solution, hanging on to hope, coming up with a plan, we’re going to solve this. Whereas Edward’s just sitting around coughing and saying things like, “Are you sure? Shouldn’t we just stay here?” He’s on the edge of death with his giant suitcase full of garbage and maybe evidence. Berenger is, I think, similar to Vladimir in Godot, who has kind of the final reckoning and the final realization. JONATHAN KALB So how did you choose your

Godot roles? MICHAEL SHANNON I just told Arin, right now at

this point in my life, I am Estragon. I just am. It’s where I’m at in life. PAUL SPARKS And I’m more Vladimir.

JONATHAN KALB JONATHAN KALB Can you say a little more? PAUL SPARKS I told her, I have to be Vladimir because

I just like the idea of saying the line, “You’re lighter than I am,” when they discuss who should hang himself first. I love the absurdity of that. JONATHAN KALB The dichotomy between Didi and

Gogo has been described in many different ways: head and belly, intellectual and poet, tree and rock. Do any of those oppositions ring true for you? MICHAEL SHANNON What was the analogy you were

using yesterday, Paul? PAUL SPARKS Tigger and Eeyore. I think all those

things are true. Estragon does seem of the earth and Didi’s of the air. One of them is the tree and the other the rock. To me, they’re also kind of like Tigger and Eeyore, where they’re pals insofar as they can be. But Eeyore knows the truth and is depressed about it whereas Tigger bounces around on his tail and on his head. It’s hard for him to come to grips with what’s actually going on. That’s the cruelty of optimism. Truth will get you in the end either way. These two are searching for it throughout. I think it’s interesting to watch hope and despair have a conversation, a real conversation. And not from an adversarial place but from a place of love. A place where both help the other because sometimes the despair is so

Jeff Biehl as Lucky. Photo by Hollis King.

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“MAYBE WE’RE FRIGGING IMMORTALS”

JONATHAN KALB

intense they need a hug and some hope. And sometimes the hope is so unrealistic—

to engage with them. I think, for instance, Estragon is genuinely trying to get Lucky’s job and is disappointed when he doesn’t get it. That’s a betrayal of Vladimir.

MICHAEL SHANNON —and manic— PAUL SPARKS —and manic that they need someone

to just pretend for a minute that they’re hopeful too. These people need help. They need each other and they are terrible for each other. So what is that conversation? I love it because Beckett cares about them so much. He’s not cynical about humanity, even in the midst of all this. There’s a kind of uplift there. I really respect that, that it’s not just all dread. JONATHAN KALB Yesterday, watching the Act II

rehearsal, it struck me that there’s something exclusive about Didi and Gogo’s relationship. They talk to each other in a kind of bubble that no one else is really allowed into. Pozzo and Lucky may interrupt them, but in a way they never fully join them. Is that something you’ve discussed? It seems like, in each act, you two have to sort of grope for some new way of speaking to Pozzo and Lucky when they arrive. MICHAEL SHANNON Arin said at the first rehearsal

that she sees this as a play about couples. There’s Vladimir and Estragon, Pozzo and Lucky, and Boy 1 and Boy 2. That makes a lot of sense to me. Other than Godot, I don’t think we’re looking for anyone else’s company, really. We don’t want Bob or John or Tony to show up. We just want Godot to show up. It’s an interesting question: how much do we enjoy the arrival of these people? Do we find it helpful or not? I think we’re still exploring that. I also think, frankly, Estragon, as much as he loves Vladimir, is not necessarily happy to see him a lot of times. Estragon likes to be left alone. I imagine Estragon could just sit on his rock for hours and not say a word, just staring into space. And I imagine Vladimir could aimlessly roam about, talking to himself. So even when the two of them finally find one another in the beginning of Act I and Act II, it’s not easy for them to reengage with one another. It’s a process. They don’t just say, “Hi, how are you?” It’s more like, “Ach, are we gonna do this again? Okay, I guess we are.” It’s a process of reengagement. So when the other people show up, one of the conflicts is how 10

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JONATHAN KALB Why does he want the job? For the

food, or money? MICHAEL SHANNON Yeah. But it’s also the first time

anybody’s asked him to do anything in a while, to be of service. One of the great iconic statements about life is that work sets you free. Now that hasn’t always been used under the kindest of auspices, but being of use does tend to make people feel better about themselves. So it’s not entirely that we just want Pozzo and Lucky to go away. It’s that they are very different from us, and their relationship is very different from ours. I think we’re both fascinated by Lucky, this poor guy in this cruel situation. But then we see that he’s also capable of being as cruel as anyone. Look at what’s happening right now in Israel and Gaza. It’s like out of the play— the circuitous nature of cruelty, how it doesn’t just come from one place and reside there. Instead it flows. Everything is in this play. And obviously it was inspired by the cruelty Beckett saw in World War II. PAUL SPARKS Vladimir and Estragon also imitate

Pozzo and Lucky, imitate some of the language they use. That’s a kind of connection. JONATHAN KALB Has this play thrown you any

curveballs or unanticipated challenges as actors? I’m asking about your usual techniques. Have you had to think any differently, for instance, about character background, or given circumstances? You know, where you were yesterday or last year—whatever “yesterday” or “last year” might mean in such a world? MICHAEL SHANNON We’ve discussed it. Obviously,

it’s a very long relationship, half a century. But it doesn’t seem entirely necessary to know every single day of these people’s lives. Our agreement is that we’re playing people who’ve just made pretty much all the wrong choices that they could possibly make, and have gotten to a point where their options are severely limited. The point isn’t to try and figure out the history of these people. The point is to clock, when you are not

“MAYBE WE’RE FRIGGING IMMORTALS”

JONATHAN KALB

Michael Shannon as Estragon, Paul Sparks as Vladimir, Ajay Naidu as Pozzo, Jeff Biehl as Lucky. Photo by Hollis King.

at rehearsal and are out in the world, all the instances where you see the play. You hear a conversation and you think, there’s a Vladimir right there. Or there’s a Pozzo, or an Estragon. You find the play in the world and then use that observation to fuel your performance. You don’t want to make the play feel more obscure or obtuse or antiquated than it’s already capable of feeling. You want to go in the opposite direction, because it’s very accessible if you allow it to be. It’s really about tuning your own frequency to realize that this play is happening all the time everywhere and embrace that. PAUL SPARKS With some plays, it’s clear that you would

be helped by starting at year aught and then figuring out exactly how they got into this room in Scene 1. In some plays it’s really important to be that meticulous and understand everything about the historical and environmental world the character exists in. But in this play it’s a little slippery to do that. There’s a certain unreliability about the information, and I also don’t find it productive to think about my past in a really specific way. This play is so emotional. It’s right here! It’s right in front of you—what is happening right now. What’s important

is to have a sense of who these people are, what they feel like, which isn’t necessarily a historical question. And you know, this could be us. Any of us could be in this scenario. It’s not that big a stretch to think that at some point, the world turns into something where we’re wandering around on a road somewhere. MICHAEL SHANNON Yeah, not to hoist something

upon the play that might suffocate it, but one of the reasons I wanted to do this play, beyond wanting to work with Paul, was that there’s a Mad Maxy vibe to it that I find relevant in light of climate change and things like that. There have been lots of movies and books about an obliterated earth—like Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, for instance—and the characters are what’s left of a humanity that has just made all the wrong choices and destroyed everything. In Godot there are two people who, for some reason, won’t be extinguished. I guess they’re just tough cookies. Vladimir always manages to find a radish or a carrot. In the play there’s a mention of a curse. I mention it, Pozzo mentions it. Maybe the curse is that you don’t get to go, you have to stay, even though nothing works anymore. Maybe we’re frigging immortals.

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THE PRODUCTION

CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

MICHAEL SHANNON (Estragon). La question n’est pas tellement “qu’a-t-il fait?” mais plutôt, “qu’est-ce que ce

bâtard fera?” Merci.

PAUL SPARKS (Vladimir). [ditto.] TOUSSAINT FRANCOIS BAT TISTE (A Boy). Most recently Toussaint (“T”) appeared as Travis Younger, opposite his Father in the critically acclaimed, Lucille Lortel winning revival of A Raisin in the Sun at The Public Theater, directed by Robert O’Hara. Based with his family in Sacramento, CA, T is in the 6th grade. A lover of life—he enjoys singing, playing piano, reading, art, STEM, martial arts, chess, sports, freestyle BMX & scootering, and he’s an aspiring Lego master. He is grateful to his fellow cast and crew members for taking him under their wings and is thrilled to work alongside this powerhouse cast in this production of a modern classic. AJAY NAIDU (Pozzo). A veteran of many theatre productions, Ajay has been working with Theater Complicite,

where credits include Measure for Measure, The Master and Margarita and The Kid Stays in the Picture. He is a member of the LAByrinth Theater Company. His film credits are extensive, and he is known for playing “Samir” in the cult hit Office Space and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Rick Linklater and Eric Bogosian’s SubUrbia. His directorial debut Ashes won him best actor awards at the London Asian Film Festival and the New York Indian Film Festival. He has appeared in many notable television shows.

JEFF BIEHL (Lucky). Broadway: Machinal (Roundabout). Off-Broadway: The Unbelieving (The Civilians), The

Merchant of Venice (TFANA), Life Sucks (Drama Desk Nom. Outstanding Actor, Wheelhouse), Catch as Catch Can (Page73),Charles Francis Chan's Jr.'s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery (NAATCO), 10 Out of 12 (Soho Rep), Poor Behavior (Primary Stages), Burning (New Group), Issac's Eye (EST). Regional: world premieres at

Michael Shannon as Estragon, Paul Sparks as Vladimir. Photo by Hollis King.

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THE PRODUCTION CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

Michael Shannon as Estragon, Ajay Naidu as Pozzo, Paul Sparks as Vladimir. Photo by Gerry Goodstein.

Yale Rep, Denver Center, Woolly Mammoth, and Humana Festival. FILM: Relay (upcoming), Worth, A Master Builder, Ricki and the Flash. TV: "The Path," "Vinyl," "Mysteries of Laura," "Forever," "Southland," all "Law & Order"s. Juilliard. ARIN ARBUS (Director) is a resident director at TFANA, where she directed Denis Johnson’s Des Moines,

The Merchant of Venice starring John Douglas Thompson as Shylock (also at The Shakespeare Theatre of DC), Winter’s Tale, Skin of Our Teeth (Obie), repertory productions of Strindberg’s The Father and Ibsen’s Doll’s House, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Measure for Measure and Othello. She directed Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Tony nom. for best revival) with Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon on Broadway and Abe Koogler’s Deep Blue Sound for Clubbed Thumb. She has also directed at Canadian Opera Company, Houston Grand Opera, Chicago Lyric, Woodbourne Correctional Facility in association with Rehabilitation Through the Arts, and at Ristona Refugee Camp for The Campfire Project. RICCARDO HERNÁNDEZ (Scenic Designer). Recent: Jagged Little Pill; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Indecent; The Thanksgiving Play; The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess; Lempicka. Theatre de l'Odeon, Festival Automne, La Colline-Theatre National Paris, Cour d’Honneur, Palais des Papes, Avignon Festival, Teatro Real Madrid, Moscow Art Theater, Theater an der Wien, Oslo National Theater, Young Vic, Estates Theater Prague. OBIE for Sustained Excellence of Scenic Design, Henry Hewes Design Award, Princess Grace Statue Award. Co-Chair and Associate Professor at Yale School of Drama. www.riccardohernandez.com SUSAN HILFERTY (Costume Designer) has designed costumes and scenery for over 350 productions worldwide.

TFANA: The Father, A Doll’s House, King Lear, The Broken Heart, The General from America. Her directorial collaborators include Athol Fugard (set, costumes, co-director), Michael Mayer, James Lapine, Yaël Farber, Robert Falls, Robert Woodruff, Joe Mantello, JoAnne Akalaitis, Garland Wright, Mark Lamos, Frank Galati, Des McAnuff, Sharon Ott, David Petrarca, Richard Nelson, Christopher Ashley, Kenny Leon, Laurie Anderson, Tony WA I T I N G F O R G O D O T

THE PRODUCTION CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM Kushner, Carole Rothman, Garry Hynes and Emily Mann. Broadway includes Wicked (Tony Award), Parade (Tony Nomination), Present Laughter (Tony Nomination), Spring Awakening (Tony Nomination), Lestat (Tony Nomination), H2$, and Into the Woods (Tony Nomination). Hilferty has also designed: opera (Rigoletto and Traviata for Metropolitan Opera); dance (Love Stories for Alvin Ailey); live music events (Taylor Swift’s "Speak Now" World Tour). Many honors include: OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence, Lily Award, Ruth Morley Award and three awards for Lifetime Achievement (USITT, Irene Sharaff, and Alley Theatre.) Faculty: NYU/ Tisch Graduate Design (25 years as chair). susanhilferty.com CHRISTOPHER AKERLIND (Lighting Designer). TFANA: Julius Caesar, King John, Waste, Cymbeline, Pericles, Don Juan. Selected Broadway: Clyde’s, Indecent (Tony award), 110 In The Shade (Tony nom.), Well, Awake and Sing! (Tony nom.), Rabbit Hole, The Light In The Piazza (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics awards), The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, Seven Guitars (Tony nom.), The Piano Lesson, among others. Recent: Prayer for the French Republic (Huntington), Vanessa (Spoleto Festival), Millennium Approaches (Arena Stage), Martha Clarke’s God’s Fool (LaMamaETC). Obie for Sustained Excellence. PALMER HEFFERAN (Sound Designer). Palmer has designed over 80 productions in theaters across the country.

In 2022, she received a Tony Award® nomination for her work on The Skin of Our Teeth at Lincoln Center Theater. Select credits BROADWAY: Just For Us (Hudson Theatre); Grand Horizons (Second Stage); The Lifespan of a Fact (Studio 54). OFF-BROADWAY: Fefu and Her Friends (TFANA); The Comeuppance, The Death of the Last Black Man… (Signature Theatre); Merry Wives, shadow/land, Wild Goose Dreams (The Public); Flex, Becky Nurse of Salem, Marys Seacole (Lincoln Center); Nollywood Dreams, BLKS, Collective Rage, School Girls (MCC). AWARDS: 2019 Obie Award (Sustained Excellence in Sound Design). Jeff Biehl as Lucky, Ajay Naidu as Pozzo, Michael Shannon as Estragon, Paul Sparks as Vladimir. Photo by Hollis King.

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THE PRODUCTION CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM SHANE SCHNETZLER (Production Stage Manager) (he/him). TFANA: Soho Rep’s Fairview, Orpheus Descending, Des Moines, The Merchant of Venice, Timon of Athens, Why?, Julius Caesar, The Emperor, Heart/ Box, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Tamburlaine, Fiasco’s Cymbeline. Off-Broadway: Crumbs from the Table of Joy (Keen), Seven Deadly Sins (Tectonic), Noura, This Flat Earth, The Profane, Rancho Viejo, Familiar (Playwrights); Napoli, Brooklyn, Look Back in Anger (Roundabout); The Taming of the Shrew, King Lear, The Comedy of Errors (NYSF). SAMMY LANDAU (Assistant Stage Manager/Fight Captain) (they/them). Credits include Orpheus Descending,

Des Moines (Theatre for a New Audience); Mary Gets Hers (The Playwright’s Realm); Crumbs from the Table of Joy (Keen Company); Sleep No More (PunchdrunkNYC); Seven Deadly Sins (Tectonic Theater Project); The World Goes ‘Round (Manhattan School of Music); Kiss (ArtsEmerson); Bootycandy (Speakeasy Stage Co.); Moby Dick, Girlfriend, Cock, Unexpected Joy, Alabama Story (Wellfleet Harbor Actor’s Theater).

BYRON EASLEY (Choreographer). Camelot (Broadway), Slave Play (Broadway [Antonyo Award Nomination]

& NYTW), X: Or Betty Shabazz V. The Nation [Lucille Lortel Award nomination], The Bubbly Black Girl for City Center Encores, Langston in Harlem [SDC’s Joe A. Callaway Award and an Audelco Award]. REGIONAL: Steppenwolf Theatre: Choir Boy, Olney Theatre: Matilda [Helen Hayes Nomination], Yale Repertory Theatre: Twelfth Night, OSF: Unison, The Wiz, A Comedy of Errors; Arena Stage: Five Guys Named Moe [Helen Hayes Nomination]; Alliance Theatre: Jelly’s Last Jam [Suzi Bass Award], Sophisticated Ladies [Suzi Bass Award]. Associate arts professor at NYU/Tisch. BILL IRWIN (Creative Consultant) is an actor, director, writer, and clown. His original works include The Regard

of Flight; Largely New York; Fool Moon; Old Hats, The Happiness Lecture, among others. His actor’s theater credits include Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Goat, Waiting for Godot, Endgame, and ON BECKETT, an evening of passages from Samuel Beckett’s work. On television Irwin can be seen in character roles including Mr. Noodle on "Elmo’s World," Nate Haskell, serial killer, on "CSI," and Peter Lindstrom, psychiatrist, on "Law and Order/ SVU." His film credits include Rachel Getting Married, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Eight Men Out, and Stepping Out—more recently, Spoiler Alert and Rustin. Irwin gratefully acknowledges the awards and fellowships that have allowed him to continue explore work in the theater.

ANDREW WADE (Resident Voice Director). The Royal Shakespeare Company: 1987-2003 (Voice Assistant),

1990 -2003 (Head of Voice). Since 2003: The Acting Company, Guthrie Theater, Stella Adler Studio (Master Teacher Voice and Shakespeare). Currently: The Public Theater (Director of Voice), Juilliard (Faculty Drama Division). Broadway: Harry Potter and The Cursed Child Parts One and Two (U.S. Head of Voice and Dialect), King Lear with Glenda Jackson (Voice Coach), Matilda the Musical (Director of Voice, Broadway and national tour), A Christmas Carol and tour, A Bronx Tale the Musical. Film: Shakespeare in Love. Workshops and lectures: Worldwide. Fellow of Rose Bruford College.

JON KNUST (Properties Supervisor). Selected credits include A Doll’s House, The Father, The Skin of Our Teeth,

The Winter's Tale, About Alice, Gnit, The Merchant of Venice, and Des Moines (TFANA); Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Broadway); Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek, Big Love, Appropriate and A Bright New Boise (Signature); and Peter and the Starcatcher (tour). Jon got his start in props at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University.

JONATHAN KALB (Production Dramaturg) is professor of theatre at Hunter College, TFANA’s resident dramaturg, and a well-known Beckett scholar. His widely cited and consulted book Beckett in Performance issued from his experience of more than 70 Beckett productions and won the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism. He has published five books and hundreds of essays and other writings over three decades as a theatre scholar, critic, journalist and dramaturg. He often writes about theatre on his TheaterMatters blog at jonathankalb.com. WA I T I N G F O R G O D O T

THE PRODUCTION CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM J. DAVID BRIMMER (Fight Director). Fight Master SAFD (2023 Obie Award, Sustained Excellence in Fight

Direction), has choreographed some stuff (selected Broadway: Pass Over, Hangmen, American Buffalo, Spring Awakening, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Grace, Speed-the-Plow, Thérèse Raquin, Long Day’s Journey Into Night; NY premieres: Des Moines, Socrates, Fairview, Is God Is, Yen, Gloria, An Octoroon, Blasted, Bethany, Blackbird, Bug, Killer Joe). “Walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone.”—G. Fox

BLAKE ZIDELL & ASSOCIATES (Press Representative) is a Brooklyn-based public relations firm representing arts organizations and cultural institutions. Clients include St. Ann’s Warehouse, Playwrights Horizons, Signature Theatre, Soho Rep, National Sawdust, The Kitchen, Performance Space New York, PEN America, StoryCorps, Symphony Space, the Fisher Center at Bard, Peak Performances, Irish Arts Center, the Merce Cunningham Trust, the Onassis Foundation, Taylor Mac, Page 73, The Playwrights Realm, PlayCo and more. THEATRE FOR A NEW AUDIENCE . Founded in 1979 by Jeffrey Horowitz, this is Theatre for a New Audience’s (TFANA) 44th season. Through its productions of Shakespeare and other new plays, humanities initiatives and programs in NYC public schools, TFANA creates adventurous dialogues with diverse audiences. TFANA has produced 33 of Shakespeare’s 38 plays alongside an international mix of classical and contemporary drama; promotes ongoing artistic development through its Merle Debuskey Studio Fund; and in 2001, growing from a collaboration with Cicely Berry, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s director of voice, TFANA became the first American theatre company invited to bring a production of Shakespeare to the RSC. ACTORS' EQUITY ASSOCIATION (“Equity”), founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more

than 50,000 actors and stage managers. Equity seeks to foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of society and advances the careers of its members by negotiating wages and working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits including health and pension plans. Actors’ Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. #EquityWorks

STAFF FOR WAITING FOR GODOT

Assistant Director...................................... Cricket Brown Associate Scenic Designer.............................. Jungah Han Associate Costume Designer............................ Orla Long Associate Lighting Designer............. Robert Hill-Guarino Associate Sound Designer............................... Evan Cook Associate Fight Director........................... Dan O’Driscoll Movement Consultant................................. Marcia Polas Child Guardian........................................ Krystal Rowley Production Assistant................................ Hailey Delaney Head Carpenter................................................. Leon Axt Carpenters...................... Cory Asinofsky, Steven Cepeda, Daniel Cohen, Julia Conlon, Ellie Engstrom, Helen Hylton, Fran McCrann, Tobias Segal Riggers................ Cory Asinofsky, Leon Axt, Tobias Segal Deck/Props Carpenter...................... Tristan Viner-Brown Costume Construction... Annie Manning, Jimmy McBride Whip Expert.................................. David Dean Hastings Costume Distressing Artist........................ Lindsey Eifert, Brynne Oster-Bainnson, Amanda Roberge Wardrobe Supervisor.............................. Amanda Stanton Production Electrician.............................. Michael Cahill 16

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Electricians.................................. Blaize Adler-Ivanbrook, Geoffrey Ashford, Jonah Bobilin, Darcy Burke, DJ Fralin, Evan Gomez, Lillian Hilmes, Akvinder Kaur, Tony Mulanix, Alex Nemfakos, Matt Palmer, Alyssa Paulo, Sydnee Peterson, William Scott, Sam Short, Abi Walls Light Board Programmer and Operator...... Paul Kennedy Production Audio................................ Eamon Goodman Sound Board Operator..................................... Nata Price Drivers.................. Shaheem Jackson, Emiliano Bogdanos CREDITS Scenery built by Daedalus Design & Production Additional Lighting Equipment from PRG Additional Sound Equipment from FiveOHM Productions and PRG Additional Labor Provided by FiveOHM Productions Wig by Luc Verschueren

THEATRE FOR A NEW AUDIENCE LEADERSHIP JEFFREY HOROWITZ (Founding Artistic Director) began his career in theatre as an actor and appeared

on Broadway, Off-Broadway and in regional theatre. In 1979, he founded Theatre for a New Audience. Horowitz has served on the panel of the New York State Council on the Arts, on the board of directors of Theatre Communications Group, the advisory board of the Shakespeare Society and the artistic directorate of London’s Globe Theatre. Awards: 2003 John Houseman Award from The Acting Company, 2004 Gaudium Award from Breukelein Institute, 2019 Obie Lifetime Achievement and TFANA’s 2020 Samuel H. Scripps.

DOROTHY RYAN (Managing Director) joined Theatre for a New Audience in 2003 after a ten-year

fundraising career with the 92nd Street Y and Brooklyn Museum. Ryan began her career in classical music artist management and also served as company manager and managing leader for several regional opera companies. She is a Brooklyn Women of Distinction honoree and serves as treasurer of the Downtown Brooklyn Arts Alliance.

JEREMY BLUNT (General Manager). Prior to joining TFANA in 2023, Jeremy was the managing director of

the Sierra Repertory Theatre in Sonora, California. Before that, he was on the general management team at Broadway Asia where he worked on DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda Spectacular Live and served as the contract affairs coordinator at the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. MFA: performing arts management, Brooklyn College. MBA, bachelor of science in business administration, California Baptist University. He proudly served in the U.S. Army and Air National Guard, retiring in 2021 after holding multiple leadership positions.

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ABOUT THEATRE FOR A NEW AUDIENCE About Theatre for a New Audience

S TA F F

Founded in 1979 by Jeffrey Horowitz, the mission of Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) is to be home for Shakespeare and other contemporary authors. TFANA is dedicated to the ongoing search for a living, human theatre and forging an immediate exchange with an audience that is always new and different from the last one. With Shakespeare as its guide, the Theatre builds a dialogue that spans centuries between the language and ideas of diverse authors, past and present. In addition to its productions, TFANA offers development opportunities for artists through its Merle Debuskey Studio Fund, engages with the community through free Humanities programs, and created and sustains the largest in-depth arts Executive Committee in education programs to introduce Shakespeare and classic drama to Alan Beller New York City Public School students. Robert E. Buckholz

Founding Artistic Director Jeffrey Horowitz Managing Director Dorothy Ryan General Manager Jeremy Blunt Theatre for a New Audience Education Programs Director of Institutional Advancement Theatre for a New Audience’s education programs introduce James J. Lynes Finance Director Mary Sormeley students to Shakespeare and other classics with the same artistic Education Director Lindsay Tanner integrity that we apply to our productions. Through our unique and Capital Campaign Director exciting methodology, students engage in hands-on learning that George Brennan Director of Marketing & Communications involves all aspects of literacy set in the context of theatre education. Eddie Carlson Our residencies are structured to address City and State Learning Facilities Director Rashawn Caldwell Standards both in English Language Arts and the Arts, the New York Production Manager Brett Anders City DOE’s Curriculum Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Technical Director Joe Galan Company Manager Molly Burdick Theater, and the New York State Common Core Learning Standards Theatre Manager Lawrence Dial for English Language Arts. Begun in 1984, our programs have served Box Office Manager Allison Byrum more than 140,000 students, ages 9 through 18, in New York City Marketing Manager Angela Renzi Public Schools city-wide. Associate Director of Development Sara Billeaux Artistic Associate Peter J. Cook Education Coordinator Emma Griffone A Home in Brooklyn: Polonsky Shakespeare Center Coordinator, Administration & Theatre for a New Audience’s home, Polonsky Shakespeare Center, is a Humanities|Studio Programming centerpiece of the Brooklyn Cultural District. Nadiya Atkinson Finance Associate Harmony Fiori Designed by celebrated architect Hugh Hardy, Polonsky Shakespeare Associate to the Founding Artistic Director Center is the first New York City theatre conceived and built for classic Allison Benko drama since Lincoln Center’s 1965 Vivian Beaumont. The 27,500-squareGrants Associate Emmy Ritchey Development Associate Olivia Laskin foot facility is a uniquely flexible performance space. The 299-seat Samuel Development Associate Gavin McKenzie H. Scripps Mainstage, inspired by the Cottesloe at London’s National Facilities Associate Tim Tyson Theatre, combines an Elizabethan courtyard theatre with modern theatre Archivist Shannon Resser New Deal Program Coordinator Zhe Pan technology. It allows the stage and seating to be reconfigured for each TFANA Teaching Artists production. The facility also includes the Theodore C. Rogers Studio (a Albert Iturregui-Elias, Elizabeth 50-seat rehearsal/performance studio), and theatrical support spaces. The London, Erin McCready, Kea Trevett, City of New York-developed Arts Plaza, designed by landscape architect Matthew Dunivan House Managers Ken Smith, creates a natural gathering place around the building. In Regina Pearsall, Adjani Reed, addition, Polonsky Shakespeare Center is also one of the few sustainable Nancy Gill Sanchez (green) theatres in the country, with LEED-NC Silver rating from the Press Representative United States Green Building Council. Blake Zidell & Associates Resident Director Arin Arbus Now with a home of its own, Theatre for a New Audience is contributing Resident Casting Director Jack Doulin to the continued renaissance of Downtown Brooklyn. In addition to its Resident Dramaturg Jonathan Kalb Resident Distinguished Artist season of plays, the Theatre has expanded its Humanities offerings to John Douglas Thompson include lectures, seminars, workshops, and other activities for artists, Resident Voice and Text Director scholars, and the general public. When not in use by the Theatre, its new Andrew Wade TFANA COUNCIL OF SCHOLARS Tanya Pollard, Chair Jonathan Kalb, Alisa Solomon, Ayanna Thompson

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Board Chair Robert E. Buckholz Vice Chair Kathleen C. Walsh President Jeffrey Horowitz Founding Artistic Director Vice President and Secretary Dorothy Ryan Managing Director

Constance Christensen Jeffrey Horowitz Seymour H. Lesser Larry M. Loeb, Esq. Philip R. Rotner Kathleen C. Walsh Josh Weisberg

Members F. Murray Abraham* Arin Arbus* John Berendt* Bianca Vivion Brooks* Ben Campbell Robert Caro* Sharon Dunn* Matthew E. Fishbein Riccardo Hernandez* Kathryn Hunter* Dana Ivey* Tom Kirdahy* Harry J. Lennix* Catherine Maciariello* Audrey Heffernan Meyer* Alan Polonsky Dorothy Ryan Joseph Samulski* Doug Steiner Michael Stranahan John Douglas Thompson* John Turturro* Frederick Wiseman* *Artistic Council

Emeritus Francine Ballan Sally Brody William H. Burgess III Caroline Niemczyk Janet C. Olshansky Theodore C. Rogers Mark Rylance* facility is available for rental, bringing much needed affordable performing Daryl D. Smith and rehearsal space to the community. Susan Stockel Monica G.S. Wambold Jane Wells

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CONTRIBUTORS TO THEATRE FOR A NEW AUDIENCE’S ANNUAL FUND July 1, 2022 – October 26, 2023 Even with capacity audiences, ticket sales account for a small portion of our operating costs. Theatre for a New Audience wishes to thank the following donors for their generous support toward our Annual Campaign. For a list of donors $250 and above, go to www.tfana.org/annualdonors. PRINCIPAL BENEFACTORS

($100,000 and up) Bay and Paul Foundations Bloomberg Philanthropies Constance Christensen Jerome L. Greene Foundation Fund in the New York Community Trust National Endowment for the Humanities The SHS Foundation The Shubert Foundation, Inc. The Thompson Family Foundation, Inc. LEADING BENEFACTORS

($50,000 and up) Robert E. Buckholz and Lizanne Fontaine Deloitte & Touche LLP The Howard Gilman Foundation, Inc. The Whiting Foundation MAJOR BENEFACTORS

($20,000 and up) The Arnow Family Fund The Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation Alan Beller Sally Brody Benton Campbell and Yiba Ng The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation Agnes Gund The Hearst Corporation The DuBose and Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund Stephanie and Tim Ingrassia Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP Latham & Watkins LLP The George Link Jr. Foundation Patricia McGuire Audrey Heffernan Meyer and Danny Meyer National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts New York State Urban Development Corporation The Polonsky Foundation The Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust The Stockel Family Foundation Anne and William Tatlock Kimbrough Towles and George Loening Kathleen Walsh and Gene Bernstein The White Cedar Fund

SUSTAINING BENEFACTORS

($10,000 and up) Anonymous (2) Akin Peggy and Keith Anderson American Express Christine Armstrong and Benjamin Nickoll Ritu and Ajay Banga Jacqueline Bradley and Clarence Otis Dominique Bravo and Eric Sloan The Howard Bayne Fund Jill and Jay Bernstein Elaine and Norman Brodsky Carlson Family Fund Michele and Martin Cohen Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation The Ettinger Foundation Sidney E. Frank Foundation The Claire Friedlander Family Foundation Ashley Garrett and Alan Jones Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP Ingram, Yuzek, Gainen, Carroll, Bertolotti LLP The J.M. Kaplan Fund King & Spalding LLP Kirkland & Ellis Foundation Anna Kuzmik and George Sampas McDermott Will & Emery K. Ann McDonald M. Salome Galib and Duane McLaughlin Caroline Niemczyk Janet C. Olshansky Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP Ponce de Leon Foundation May and Samuel Rudin Foundation Inc. Cynthia V.A. and Robert T. Schaffner Kerri Scharlin and Peter Klosowicz Sarah I. Schieffelin Residuary Trust Susan Schultz and Thomas Faust Select Equity Group, Inc. Daryl and Joy Smith The Speyer Family Foundation The Starry Night Fund Alice and Thomas Tisch Michael Tuch Foundation, Inc. Fran and Barry Weissler

Sharon Dunn and Harvey Zirofsky Suzan and Fred Ehrman Judith and Alan Fishman ($5,000 and up) Heidi and Christopher Flagg Anonymous (1) Sheryl and Jeffrey Flug Axe-Houghton Foundation Foley Hoag LLP Sidley Austin LLP Roberta Garza Natalie and Matthew Bernstein Lauren Glant and Michael Gillespie The Bulova Stetson Fund Pamela Givner Walter Cain and Paulo Ribeiro Aileen Dresner and Frank R. Drury Linda Genereux and Timur Galen Monica Gerard-Sharp Jennifer and Steven Eisenstadt Debra Fine and Martin I. Schneider Karoly and Henry Gutman Kirsten Feldman and Hugh Frater Irving Harris Foundation Thomas Healy and Fred P. Hochberg Jenny and Jeff Fleishhacker Sophia Hughes Katherine Goldsmith Flora and Christoph Kimmich Debra Goldsmith Robb Andrea Knutson Kathy and Steven Guttman Sandy and Eric Krasnoff Judy and Douglas Hamilton Sonia and Arvind Krishna Jennifer and Matt Harris Taryn and Mark Leavitt Marta Heflin Foundation Justine and John Leguizamo Kirsten and Peter Kern Patricia and Frank Lenti Sandy and Eric Krasnoff Seymour H. Lesser Miyoung Lee and Neil Simpkins Diane and William F. Lloyd Djena Lennix Lucille Lortel Foundation Anna and Peter Levin Susan Martin and Alan Belzer Litowitz Foundation, Inc. Nancy Meyer and Marc N. Weiss Larry and Maria-Luisa Loeb Alessandra and Alan Mnuchin Ronay and Richard Menschel Barbara Forster Moore and New York City Council Richard Wraxall Moore Margaret Nuzum Connie and Tom Newberry Richenthal Foundation Catherine Nyarady and Pamela Riess Gabriel Riopel Philip and Janet Rotner Estelle Parsons Mark and Marie Schwartz Jane Hartley and Ralph Schlosstein Annie Paulsen and Albert Garner Ellen Petrino Susan Stockel Proskauer Rose LLP Theatre Development Fund Tracey and Robert Pruzan The Venable Foundation Leslie and David Puth Josh and Jackie Weisberg Rajika and Anupam Puri Renee Zarin Susan and Peter Restler PRODUCERS CIRCLE—EXECUTIVE Susan and William Rifkin The Irwin S. Scherzer Foundation ($2,500 and up) Joseph Samulski Anonymous (5) Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles Deborah Berke and Peter D. Robert and Anna Marie Shapiro McCann Jeremy T. Smith Hilary Brown and Charles Read Ellen Sontag-Miller and William Romy Cohen C. Miller Jane Cooney Douglas C. Steiner Dennis M. Corrado Gail Stone and Matthew Fishbein Christine Cumming Diana and P. Roy Vagelos Consulate General of Spain in Margo and Anthony Viscusi New York Gayle and Jay Waxenberg Katharine and Peter Darrow Joanne Witty and Eugene Keilin Myrna and Paul Davis Nancy Blachman and David desJardins Laura and James Duncan PRODUCERS CIRCLE— ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S SOCIETY

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THEATRE FOR A NEW AUDIENCE PRODUCERS CIRCLE—ASSOCIATE

($1,000 and up) Anonymous (3) Elizabeth and Russell Abbott Actors’ Equity Foundation Ann Ash Jackie and Jacob Baskin M.J. and James Berrien Cece and Lee Black Mary Bockelmann Norris and Floyd Norris Lani and Dave Bonifacic Penny Brandt Jackson and Thomas Campbell Jackson Christina and John Bransfield Pamela Brier and Peter Aschkenasy Deborah Buell and Charles Henry Janel Callon Joan and Robert Catell Ron Chernow Joel Conarroe Larry Condon Sara Debolt Ian Dickson and Reg Holloway Jodie and Jonathan Donnellan Frederick Eberstadt◊ Mary Edlow and Ken Edlow Ev and Lee Roxanne Frank Virginia Gliedman Anne and Paul Grand Alba Greco-Garcia and Roger Garcia David Harms Kathleen and Harvey Guion Grace Harvey Vicki and Ronald Hauben Laura and Robert Hoguet Donald Holder Maxine Isaacs Debra Kaye and Steven Horowitz John Koerber Miriam Katowitz and Arthur Radin Helen Kauder and Barry Nalebuff

Jessie Kelly Nora Wren Kerr and John J. Kerr Susan Kurz Snyder Julius Leiman-Carbia Dedee and Steve Lovell Margaret Lundin Marie Nugent-Head and James Marlas The Grace R. and Alan D. Marcus Foundation Diane and Bruce Meltzer Chandru Murthi Mimi Oka and Jun Makihara Annie Parisse and Paul Sparks Lori and Lee Parks Doris and Martin Payson Barbara and Louis Perlmutter Margaret and Carl Pfeiffer Susie Polsky Dale Ponikvar Anne Prost and Olivier Robert Heather Randall Carol and Michael Reimers David A.J. Richards Avi Sharon and Megan Hertzig Sharon Nancy Rosenberg and David Sternlieb Enid and Paul I. Rosenberg Daryl and Steven Roth Deborah Scharf and A. Ross Hill Stacy Schiff and Marc de la Bruyere Sandra and Steven Schoenbart Loren Skeist and Marlene Marko Susan Sommer and Stephen A. Warnke The Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust Lauren and Jay Springer Wendy and Tom Stephenson Barbara Stimmel Julie Taymor Roger Tilles

MA JOR SUPPORTERS

Donna Zaccaro Ullman and Paul A. Ullman Cynthia King Vance and Lee Vance Elena and Louis Werner Abby Westlake Debra Winger Devera and Michael Witkin Evan D. Yionoulis and Donald Holder Nancy Young and Paul Ford Audrey Zucker IN HONOR OF

In honor of Georgette Bennett & Leonard Polonsky and Liz &Joshua Tanenbaum Marion and Daniel Goldberg In honor of Leonard Polonsky birthday Robert Lewis In honor of Sally Brody Ann Ash Sophie McConnell Nancy B. Pearsall In honor of Robert E. Buckholz Martha and Stephen Dietz Jennifer and Steven Eisenstadt In honor of Connie Christensen Nancy Rosenberg and David Sternlieb

Sheryl and Jeff Flug Thomas Healy and Fred P. Hochberg Cynthia King Vance Agnes Gund In honor of Susan Martin and Alan Belzer Dale L. Ponikvar In honor of Caroline Niemczyk Silda Spitzer and Erik Stangvik In memory of Steven Jackson Popkin Susan Kurz Snyder In honor of Ted Rogers Janet Olshansky In honor of Kathy Walsh Natalie and Matthew Bernstein Dave and Lani Bonifacic Wendy and Jeff Maurer Bruce Meltzer In honor of Kathy Walsh and Gene Bernstein Christina and Jack Bransfield Michele and Martin Cohen Christine and Alan Vickery Jennifer and James Wilent In memory of Michael Zarin Renee Zarin

In honor of Fred Eberstadt Linell Smith and Dr. Tom Hall In honor of Ned Eisenberg Anonymous In honor of Audrey Heffernan Meyer Ritu and Ajay Banga

MATCHING GIFTS The following companies have contributed through their Matching Gift Programs: If your employer has a matching gift program, please consider making a contribution to Theatre for a New Audience and making your gift go further by participating in your employer’s matching gift program. BlackRock, Inc. Goldman Sachs & Co. Matching Gift Foundation

Google International Business Machines JPMorgan Chase Foundation

Omidyar Group Related Companies TIFF Advisory Services

PUBLIC FUNDS Theatre for a New Audience’s productions and education programs are made possible, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts; Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

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SHAKESPEARE WORKS IN BROOKLYN: CULTURE, COMMUNITY, CAPITAL Theatre for a New Audience recognizes with gratitude the following donors to Theatre for a New Audience’s Capital Campaign to support ambitious programming, access to affordable tickets and financial resiliency. Named funds within the Capital Campaign include the Henry Christensen III Artistic Opportunity Fund, the Audrey H. Meyer New Deal Fund and the Merle Debuskey Studio Fund. Other opportunities include the Completing Shakespeare’s Canon Fund, Capital Reserves funds and support for the design and construction of New Office and Studio Spaces. To learn more, or to make a gift to the Capital Campaign, please contact George Brennan at gbrennan@tfana.org or by calling 646-553-3893. $1,000,000 AND ABOVE

Mr.◊ and Mrs. Henry Christensen III Ford Foundation The Howard Gilman Foundation New York City Department of Cultural Affairs The Thompson Family Foundation $250,000-$999,999 Booth Ferris Foundation Robert E. Buckholz and Lizanne Fonatine Merle Debuskey◊ Irving Harris Foundation The Stairway Fund, Audrey Heffernan Meyer and Danny Meyer The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Kathleen Walsh and Gene Bernstein $100,000–$249,999 Alan Jones and Ashley Garrett Carol Sutton Lewis and William M. Lewis, Jr. Seymour H. Lesser The Polonsky Foundation Charlene Magen Weinstein $50,000–$99,999 Bloomberg Philanthropies Aileen and Frank Drury Agnes Gund The Dubose and Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund New York State Council on the Arts Abby Pogrebin and David Shapiro John and Regina Scully Foundation

$20,000–$49,999 Peggy and Keith Anderson Elaine and Norman Brodsky Kathy and Steve Guttman Rita & Alex Hillman Foundation Cynthia and Robert Schaffner Kerri Scharlin and Peter Klosowicz Daryl and Joy Smith Susan Stockel Anne and William Tatlock Marcia T. Thompson◊ Earl D. Weiner $10,000–$19,999 Diana Bergquist Sally R. Brody New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Linda and Jay Lapin Janet Wallach and Robert Menschel Alessandra and Alan Mnuchin Anne Prost and Robert Olivier Allison and Neil Rubler Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Jackie and Josh Weisberg

Barbara G. Fleischman Jane Garnett and David Booth Penny Brandt Jackson and Thomas Jackson Miriam Katowitz and Arthur Radin Mary and Howard Kelberg Kirsten and Peter Kern Susan Litowitz Ronay and Richard Menschel Ann and Conrad Plimpton Priham Trust/The Green Family Alejandro Santo Domingo Marie and Mark Schwartz Cynthia and Thomas Sculco Nancy Meyer and Marc N. Weiss ◊deceased

$5,000–$9,999 Alan Beller Katharine and Peter Darrow Bipin and Linda Doshi Marcus Doshi Downtown Brooklyn Partnership Susan Schultz and Thomas Faust

HUMANITIES, EDUCATION, AND OUTREACH SUPPORT Even with capacity audiences, ticket sales account for a small portion of our operating costs. The Theatre expresses its deepest thanks to the following Foundations, Corporations, Government Agencies and Individuals for their generous support of the Theatre’s Humanities, Education, and Outreach programs. The 360° Series: Viewfinders has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this Viewfinder, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. A Challenge Grant from the NEH established a Humanities endowment fund at Theatre for a New Audience to support these programs in perpetuity. Leading matching gifts to the NEH grant were provided by Joan and Robert Arnow, Norman and Elaine Brodsky, The Durst Organization, Perry and Marty Granoff, Stephanie and Tim Ingrassia, John J. Kerr & Nora Wren Kerr, Litowitz Foundation, Inc., Robert and Wendy MacDonald, Sandy and Stephen Perlbinder, The Prospect Hill Foundation, Inc., Theodore C. Rogers, and from purchasers in the Theatre’s Seat for Shakespeare Campaign, 2013 – 2015. Theatre for a New Audience’s Humanities, Education, and Outreach programs are supported, in part, by The Elayne P. Bernstein Education Fund. For more information on naming a seat or making a gift to the Humanities endowment, please contact James Lynes, Director of Institutional Advancement, at 212-229-2819 x29, or by email at jlynes@tfana.org.

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