October 30 – November 2, 2025
Ursinus College Theater presents
by Suzan-Lori Parks
Director: AZ Espinoza
Scenic and Lighting Designer: Shannon Zura
Costume Designer: Ilycia Boatwright-Buffaloe
Sound Designer: Adiah Hicks
Props Designer and Scenic Painter: Eliot Curtis
Fight Director: Quinton J. Alexander
Intimacy Director: Nicolette Adams
Stage Manager: Danica Guydish
Assistant Stage Manager: Kiran Singh-Lefkovitz
Assistant Lighting Designer: Caitlin Shanahan
Light Board Operator: Alexa Daiuto
Sound Board Operator: Ash Twomey
Backstage Crew: Zach Curvan, Lilyan Yanoff
Wardrobe Supervisor: Matt Hogeland
Wardrobe Crew: Chris Gerrow
Technical Director & Production Manager: Meghan Jones
Performing Arts Engineer: Steven Maurer
Production Assistants:
Nathaniel Ginet, Tovah Tolub, Mel Petro, Sofia Wiedemann, Rio Katz, Lucille Fabiszewski, Mia Bompensa, Elisa Garcia
Production Technicians: Sophia Bush, Caitlin Shanahan, Eric Bennet, Ash Twomey, Nathaniel Nerone, Danica Guydish, Nick Marelli
ASL Interpreters (Sun. performance): Elizabeth Wheeler, Elizabeth Setley
Theater & Dance Dept. Coordinator: Nicolette Adams
Theater & Dance Dept. Chair: Shannon Zura
In the Blood runs approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes plus a 15-minute intermission.
Please turn off all cell phones and other electronic devices. Texting and photography are prohibited during the performance.
Synopsis: In this modern-day riff on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester “La Negrita”, a homeless mother of five, lives with her kids on the tough streets of the inner city. Her eldest child is teaching her how to read and write, but the letter “A” is, so far, the only letter she knows. Her five kids are named Jabber, Bully, Trouble, Beauty and Baby. While Hester’s kids fill her life with joy, the adults with whom she comes into contact only hold her back.
Content Advisory: This play contains discussions and depictions of violence against children and sexual abuse.
Director’s Note
Why This Play? Suzan-Lori Parks states that In the Blood, written in 1999, takes place HERE and that the time is NOW. So why stage it Here at Ursinus College in the Now of 2025? The social welfare system that has abandoned protagonist Hester has, by all accounts, become a thinner net in these past 26 years. 2020 reignited a housing and houselessness crisis throughout the United States, and our cities and communities are full of people who have been met with the same desperate circumstances as Hester. And yet, the enduring relevance of the themes and plot of Parks’ play is not why I chose to direct it.
When you watch tonight’s performance you will notice moments when the characters (or is it the actors?) might take a moment of pause, of breath, of stepping out of time and its relentless march forward. Suzan-Lori Parks is a playwright who believes in magic, and she writes her plays to contain spells. There are times in this script where she suggests to her collaborators (And I feel so lucky to be one of them, along with this INTREPID cast, crew, and creative team) to “take a little time, a pause, a breather.”
In a Here and a Now so full of encroaching dangers and mounting tragedies I think we could all use more practice in sitting with unflinching honesty while giving ourselves permission to take a little spell of quiet, of breath, of pause, of reflection. Perhaps this adds up to a truer kind of presence and attention, one that also makes room for laughter, anger, fear, and hopefully, an urge to act and to respond when the lights come up. Thank you for joining us. Enjoy the ride.
ENSEMBLE
HESTER: Yadi Padilla
BULLY/WELFARE: Mia Bompensa
BABY/REVEREND: Kat Carey
BEAUTY/AMIGA GRINGA: Margaret “Maggie” Diaz
JABBER/CHILLI: Nasir Kellman
TROUBLE/DOCTOR: Mel Petro
Mia Bompensa (Bully/Welfare) is a sophomore double majoring in Media/Communications and Theater. She is a pole vaulter on the track team and a U-Imagine Center Ambassador. In the past, she has performed in several mainstage productions with regional theaters such as The Walnut Street Theatre, Quintessence Theatre, and more. At Ursinus, she most recently performed in Afternoon at the Seaside as The Beauty. Mia has a passion for anything creative, expressing herself through singing/songwriting, art, and book writing. She thanks her family and friends for always supporting her in every pursuit, and she is excited to perform with this wonderful cast and crew!
Kat Carey (they/them) (Baby/Reverend) is a junior double majoring in Media and Communication Studies & Theater with a minor in Politics. Their Ursinus College acting credits include Evil in Everybody, A Mother in Afternoon at the Seaside, and Mel in A Series of Meetings. They were Assistant Stage Manager for Everybody, Home is Here/Hear, and Stage Manager for When I Think of Home. They would love to thank the cast, crew, stage manager, and director for their outstanding and beautiful work, their family, and friends for supporting their passion for theater, and the audience for coming to see the show and supporting the arts!
Margaret “Maggie” Diaz (Beauty/Amiga Gringa) is a sophomore at Ursinus College, double majoring in Theatre (Performing Arts) and Psychology. This marks her first Mainstage production with the Theatre Department. Her most recent performance at UC was Girl in the Mirror, produced by Breakaway Student Productions (BSP). Maggie would like to thank AZ (Director) for never doubting her and for being
so confident in her ability to take on this role. She is deeply grateful to the cast and crew for the heart and effort they’ve poured into such an emotionally charged production it’s no easy task. Endless thanks to her family and friends for their unwavering support, especially her Aunt Jeanne, who has always been her #1 fan. And to Meghan Brodie, who has done more for Maggie than she probably knows. #ChingaLaMigra
Nasir Kellman (Jabber/Chilli) is a freshman majoring in Environmental Studies and Theater. This is Nasir’s first time in a UC production! Nasir would like to thank his family for their unwavering support of all his theater adventures. Their love and support are forever his biggest motivator and joy. He would also like to thank the cast and crew for this show whose kindness makes all the work possible, even when we rehearse while acting like children. Finally, Nasir wants to thank his friends outside the department for always listening to him ramble with no context of the show at all. He hopes you all enjoy the show!
Yadiomi Padilla (Hester) Yadi is a senior at Ursinus College with a deep passion for theater. She enjoys embracing challenges and pushing herself beyond limits, which is exemplified by her decision to take on the production of In The Blood. Looking ahead, Yadi is excited to launch her own design start-up after graduation, eager to channel her creativity and entrepreneurial spirit into her future endeavors.
Mel Petro (Trouble/Doctor) is thrilled to be participating in this thoughtprovoking production alongside such a wonderful cast and crew. Mel is a junior double majoring in Theater and Performing and Visual Arts Design and Technology. Some of Mel’s previous Ursinus College Theater roles include Medium Alison (Fun Home), Inspector Cray-Foley (Agatha Christie Double Bill), and Cecco (Captain Darling). Mel has also been a part of many student-led shows such as Breakaway Student Productions’ Girl in the Mirror (Susan Connors), and independent director Sophia Bush’s Romeo and Juliet as Romeo. She would like to thank AZ for their incredible direction and for the opportunity to be this cast’s fight captain! This cast and crew has truly become its own little family and it’s an honor to know and work with everyone. Hope you enjoy the show!
