macbitches - Playbill

by Sophie McIntosh October 18 - November 5, 2023 Directed by Sidonie Garrett

THE CAST & PRODUCTION TEAM

Cynthia Levin

Sidonie Garrett

Tanya Brown

Haley Johnson

Hannah Elizabeth Freeman

Un Joo Christopher

Erin Viets

Leah Dalrymple

FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR UNICORN THEATRE THIS SEASON HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY:

Opening Night: Saturday, October 21, 2023 UNICORN THEATRE PRESENTS

Directed by Sidonie Garrett THE CAST Piper Hailey Cam Lexi Rachel

Haley Johnson Hannah Elizabeth Freeman* Un Joo Christopher Erin Viets* Leah Dalrymple*

PRODUCTION TEAM Stage Manager Scenic Designer Lighting Designer Costume Designer Props Designer Sound Designer Production Assistant Fight Choreographer Sound Board Operator

Tanya Brown* Bethany Elliott Taylor Jene Sullivan Elizabeth McManus Eric Palmquist David Kiehl Ashley Champion Logan Black Eric Lugenbeel

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association macbitches is presented by arrangement with TRW Plays www.trwplays.com The world premiere of macbitches was produced by Chain Theatre, New York, NY on August 19, 2022, Kirk Gostkowski, Artistic Director.

The initial developmental reading of macbitches at the Chain Theatre was directed by G.D. Kimble.

OUR SPONSOR

3828 MAIN STREET | KANSAS CITY, MO 64111 | (816) 531-7529 | UNICORNTHEATRE.ORG

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT Sophie McIntosh (PLAYWRIGHT) is a New York–based playwright and theatremaker. Her writing celebrates queer communities, gives voice to women’s experiences, and lovingly riffs on the cynical sincerity of young adults. Recent productions of Sophie’s work include the world premiere of macbitches (New York Times Critic’s Pick) at the Chain Theatre, the college premiere of Eleven Months of Nuclear Summer at Notre Dame University, and Ipswich in the Boston Theater Marathon. Sophie’s plays have also been developed by Pioneer Theatre Company, the 24 Hour Plays: Nationals, the Bechdel Group, and Breaking & Entering Theatre Collective. Sophie is a proud recipient of a BA in drama from the University of WisconsinStevens Point and is currently working toward an MFA in playwriting at Columbia University.

THE CAST & PRODUCTION TEAM Cynthia Levin (PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR) is in her 45th season with the Unicorn.

This will be her final season with the Theatre! Cynthia started at the Unicorn in 1979 as an actor, stage manager, designer and director. In 1983, she was offered the position of Artistic Director, which was to become the role of a lifetime. Since that time, she has worked on over 300 productions. Most recently Cynthia directed Refuge, Our Black Death and Bernhardt/ Hamlet. Some of the other productions she has directed here are Bond, Vietgone, Chesapeake, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert: The Musical (co-directed with Missy Koonce), Eclipsed, Hand to God, Heathers: The Musical (again, with Missy), The Oldest Boy, Women Playing Hamlet (world premiere), Bad Jews, Grounded, Venus in Fur, My Name is Asher Lev, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, The Soul Collector (world premiere), Hungry (world premiere), Red, Two Jews Walk Into A War…, Distracted, Green Whales (world premiere), Miss Witherspoon, My First Time, The Clean House, Mauritius, 9 Parts of Desire, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Bat Boy: The Musical and additionally the world premieres of rightnextto me (both at the Unicorn and Geva Theatre Center, Rochester, NY), How His Bride Came to Abraham, Light:Damage, Mercy Killing, Innocent Thoughts and Jack and Jill. At Coterie Theatre, she has directed Number the Stars, And Then They Came for Me, Frankenstein, Gatherings in Graveyards (I and II), Valley Song and To Kill A Mockingbird. At the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., she directed readings of Our Black Death, Occupants, In The Belly Of The Whale, The Friendship Of Her Thighs, The Last Pair Of Earlies, Tigers Be Still and White Devil and Loving Mother for the MFA Playwright’s Workshop. Cynthia is a graduate of Park University which also awarded her an Honorary Doctorate in 2002. She is a founding board member of the National New Play Network, an organization dedicated to the development and production of new works.

She has been honored with the Pinnacle Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Human Rights Campaign Equality Award and most recently the Kathryn V. Lamkey Award from the Actors’ Equity Association for her ongoing commitment to inclusion and diversity. She shares her home with Dublin, the 6 month old Golden Retriever rescue and the spirits of Dodger and Zia. Sidonie Garrett (DIRECTOR) is the Executive Artistic Director of the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival where she most recently directed The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, and the previous six season’s productions, Shakespeare In Love, Much Ado About Nothing, The Winter’s Tale, King Lear, Twelfth Night and Hamlet, all awarded Best Play in Pitch Magazine’s BEST OF KC as well as 15 other Shakespeare plays. Previously, at Unicorn Theatre she directed The Sound Inside, Tiny Beautiful Things, Red Bike, The Effect, Disgraced, How to Use a Knife, The Whale, I’ll Eat You Last, Other Desert Cities, The Motherf**ker With the Hat, Time Stands Still, In the Next Room: the vibrator play, Faith Healer, Rising Water, Iron Kisses, Retreat from Moscow, Omnium Gatherum, Thanatos (World Premiere), SubUrbia, The Waiting Room, Desert Holiday, Spinning Into Butter, SantaLand Diaries and co-directed Light/Damage with

THE CAST & PRODUCTION TEAM Cynthia Levin. Sidonie directed A Streetcar Named Desire and ‘Night Mother for Kansas City Actors Theatre. At the Coterie Theatre she directed The Macbeth Project: In Spite of Thunder, the U.S. premiere of After Juliet, Mr. A’s Amazing Maze Plays, Little House on the Prairie, Little House by the Shores of Silver Lake, Of Mice and Men, Playing for Time and co-directed Only One Day a Year and The Hobbit. Sidonie co-directed Tony & Tina’s Wedding (Kansas City and St. Louis) for Fourth Wall Productions. She directed The African Company Presents with the Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas City, Eleemosynary and Gruesome Playground Injuries at the Fishtank Theatre and has directed collaborations with KC Ballet, KC Symphony, Bach Aria Soloists and KC Chorale, and Script-In-Hand readings including The Beard of Avon and The Women, with KC Actors Theatre and The Tempest for JCCC’s Performing Arts Series. During the pandemic she directed and produced streaming productions; Shakespeare at Home, William Shakespeare’s Christmas Carol, Show-Me Shakespeare and an in-person film version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She also directed live outdoor performances of Shakespeare’s scenes, Yard Bards, ShakesFEAR! and Shakespearience and two projects with UMKC Theatre; Twelfth Night on zoom and an in-person production of The Tempest. In summer 2024 she will direct Julius Caesar for HASF’s 32nd season in Southmoreland Park.

Haley Johnson (PIPER) is making her Unicorn Theatre debut in macbitches. Johnson, an MFA graduate from the University of Florida, has previously been in productions around Kansas City such as KC Melting Pot Theatre’s Is God Is, Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s the ripple, the wave that carried me home, and Black Repertory Theatre’s After Midnight. You can see Johnson in the upcoming production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Kansas City Melting Pot Theatre this May. Haley would like to thank her supportive family and the cast and crew.

Hannah Elizabeth Freeman (HAILEY) is thrilled to be back at Unicorn Theatre! Selected Local Acting Credits: The Wolves (Unicorn Theatre); 9 to 5, The Kentucky Cycle, The Night of the Iguana, Parade (Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre); The Effect of Gamma Rays on Manin-the-Moon Marigolds (Kansas City Actors Theatre); David Cromer’s Our Town, A Christmas Carol, The Living Room’s Carousel (Kansas City Repertory Theatre); The Fabulous Lipitones (New Theatre Restaurant); Cinderella (Theatre for Young America). Local Directing Credits: Promises to Keep, Heirlooms (KC Public Theatre, Theatre Lab). Hannah is a proud AEA member.

She sends her love to Robbie, Mom, Dad, JT, and Tillie! www.HannahElizabethFreeman.com Un Joo Christopher (CAM). Local: Peter Pan and Wendy (KCRep); The Wolves (Unicorn Theatre); Hana’s Suitcase (The Coterie); Spilled Milk (The Black Box); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (White Theatre); When/Time (Charlotte Street Foundation); The Crucible (The Barn Players). Regional: The Day You Begin (Bay Area Children’s Theater). Off-Broadway/New York: Heart Strings (Atlantic Theater), The Singularity Play (Columbia University). Graduate of Calvary University.

Erin Viets (LEXI) Erin is back again at the Unicorn and she is so excited! They were previously seen in Marys Seacole during the Unicorn’s 2022-2023 Season. Before moving back to Kansas City last fall, she graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University with an Acting BFA and an emphasis in Stage Combat. Since then, they’ve been a teacher with the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, an actor around KC, and a fight choreographer for an upcoming production. She is so incredibly grateful for the support of her friends and family and cannot wait for you to see this bitchin’ show!

Leah Dalrymple (RACHEL) Unicorn Theatre debut! Other theatre credits include: Almost, Maine and King Lear (Rubicon Theatre Company) The Winter’s Tale and The Two Noble Kinsmen (American Studio Theatre), Carrie: the Musical (M&W Theatre Company), Measure

THE CAST & PRODUCTION TEAM for Measure (New American Theatre), The Merry Wives of Windsor and The Winter’s Tale (Shakespeare by the Sea), Julius Caesar, Love’s Labour’s Lost, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Henry V (Kingsmen Shakespeare Company), Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Chamber Music (California Lutheran University), Promises, Promises, and Dracula (Moorpark College). She holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts from California Lutheran University. Thank you for supporting live theatre!

Tanya Brown (STAGE MANAGER) is in her 18th season with Unicorn Theatre. Some of her alltime favorites have been The Revolutionists, Venus in Fur, Hand to God, Cock, Stupid F##king Bird, and Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

Bethany Elliott (SCENIC DESIGNER) received her BFA in Design Technology in 2019 from Avila University. Shortly after graduating she continued her education in the Scenic Artist Training Program at Cobalt Studios in New York. Since then, Bethany has been working in Kansas City as a scenic artist, muralist, and designer. Most recently, Bethany worked as the Head Scenic Artist for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s production of Cavalleria Rusticana/ Pagliacci. Visit her website, www.bethanyjoypaints.com, to check out some of her previous projects.

Taylor Jene Sullivan (LIGHTING DESIGNER) is excited to join her fellow designers for her first solo show. Taylor has worked at Unicorn Theatre since 2017 as an Electrician, Assistant Lighting Designer, Scenic Painter, and Production Assistant. Since Fall of 2021, Taylor has been the Production Manager and Lead Electrician for all productions. Some of her favorite shows include: Who’s Your Baghdaddy?, Sweat, and Bernhardt/Hamlet.

Elizabeth McManus (COSTUME DESIGNER) Is thrilled to design her first show with Unicorn Theatre! She earned her B.F.A. in Theatrical Costume Design from Stephens College in Columbia, MO. She was the costume designer for Stephens College’s Vanya & Sonia & Masha and Spike (2016); Okoboji Summer Theatre’s Barefoot in The Park (2015); and The Warehouse Theatre’s Horse Girls (2016), What Every Girl Should Know (2015), and Precious Little (2014). Upon graduation, she worked with Mesner Puppet Theatre, now What If Puppets, and built puppets for Hand To God (2016). She would like to give a huge shout out to Anne, Eugene and her fiancé Mark!

Eric Palmquist (PROPS DESIGNER) is a graduate of the University of Kansas theatre program and a founding member of Terra Femina Collective. Recent work includes Marys Seacole, Refuge, Clyde’s, The Sound Inside, Toni Stone, The Inheritance Parts 1 & 2, Tiny Beautiful Things, Our Black Death, Dance Nation, Pipeline, The Lifespan of a Fact, American Son, Babel, Bernhardt/Hamlet, Who’s Your Baghdaddy, The Revolutionists, The Humans (Unicorn Theatre), Caroline, or Change, Every Brilliant Thing, Billy Elliot (Spinning Tree), and A Moon for the Misbegotten (KCAT). An AEA member, he was last seen in Viper (Terra Femina) and Nomad Motel (Unicorn Theatre), and has performed with the Coterie, the Living Room Theatre, Equity Actors Reader Theatre, the MET, and the Buffalo Room.

David Kiehl (SOUND DESIGNER) is excited to be back at the Unicorn where he has worked as sound designer for over 100 productions. Previous Unicorn productions date back to 1997 and include Sylvia, The Laramie Project, and Proof; more recently: Tiny Beautiful Things, Toni Stone, The Sound Inside, and Clyde’s, Marys Seacole, and Lungs. You may have heard his work around town at KCAT (Smart People, The Pests), the Living Room (Milking Christmas, Nocturne) and over 120 productions at the Coterie (Charlie Brown Christmas, Electric Poe, and Doctor Doolittle).

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

STAFF

President

Producing Artistic Director Cynthia Levin Director of Finance Jason Kralicek Director of Marketing Nathan Gwartney Director of Development Skylar Pappenfort Production Manager Taylor Jene Sullivan Technical Director Andy Peveler Box Office Manager Michael LeDesma Social Media Coordinator Josh Grinlinton Production Stage Manager Tanya Brown Front of House Staff Todd Becker, Cheryl Benge,

Sally Everhart

Vice President

Kirsty Melville

Treasurer

Michael Nonbello Secretary

Meredith Webster Kevin Gabriel Carol Gee Cynthia Levin Annie Swartz Amy Wright

Anthony Beyer, Christopher Carlson, Megan Forbes, Paula Fry, Andrew Gosling, Daniel Harkins, Imani Lewis, Tshombe Locke, Ethan Platt, Emma Post, Anna Sell, & Rosie Thomas Photography Cynthia Levin

UNICORN THEATRE’S MISSION Unicorn Theatre enhances the Kansas City community by developing and producing high-quality, thought-provoking plays that have never been seen in the region. We illuminate social issues by shining a light on diversity and inclusive stories which include race, religion and gender identity. Unicorn creates opportunities for the advancement of emerging and established actors, directors, playwrights, designers, technicians and administrative staff.

VISION STATEMENT By producing provocative new plays Unicorn Theatre fosters the next generation of great American writers and artists, creating innovative and intimate theatrical experiences that transcend the ordinary. We inspire the community to think and feel deeply; to see the world in new and different ways. Unicorn strives to be one of the preeminent homes for new plays in the country.

AFFILIATIONS & MEMBERSHIPS Unicorn Theatre is a constituent of Actors’ Equity Association; Theatre Communications Group, Inc.; The National New Play Network; Missouri Citizens for the Arts; The Downtown Council; Main Street Development Corporation; Nonprofit Connect; Urban Core Group; and The Kansas City Convention and Visitors Bureau.