In the Red and Brown Water

OCtober 5â&#x20AC;&#x201C;16, 2016/ oscar g. brockett theatre

in the red and brown Water By Tarell Alvin McCraney October 5–8, 11–14 at 7:30 p.m. October 8–9, 16 at 2:00 p.m.

Oscar G. Brockett Theatre F. Loren Winship Building

theatredance.utexas.edu Charles O. Anderson – Co-Director · Lawrence Bennett – Technical Director Lacey Erb – Projection Designer · Elliot Gardner – Scenic Designer · E.L. Hohn – Costume Designer Chian-Ann Lu – Lighting Designer · Robert Ramirez – Co-Director · Kamyle Smith – Stage Manager

cast (in order of appearance)

There will be one 15-minute intermission. Videography and photography are strictly prohibited. In the Red and Brown Water is presented by special arrangement with Dramatist Play Service, Inc. New York. In the Red and Brown Water was originally produced by Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, GA, (Susan Booth, Artistic Director; Thomas Pechar, Managing Director). U.K. stage premiere produced by the Young Vic Company. World premiere of The Brother/Sister Plays produced by the Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Executive Director), and McCarter Theatre Center (Emily Mann, Artistic Director; Timothy J. Shields, Managing Director). The Brother/Sister Plays were developed with the support of McCarter Theatre Center.

cover Photo: Lawrence Peart

Oya �� Christian Henley Elgeba ��Nyles Washington Ogun �� Daniel West Mama Moja/The Woman That Reminds You ��Cymone Love Aunt Elegua �� Rama Tchuente Nia �� Oktavea Williams Shun �� Darlesia Carter Shango �� Keith Machekanyanga O Li Roon �� Gage Robinson The Man from State ��Brooks Laney Egungun ��D’Lonte K. Lawson Zuli �� Gianina Casale Nani �� Anna Ingram Yewa ��Kaitlyn Jones Balla ��Christian Leal

directors’ notes What excited me about this project and the opportunity to collaborate with my colleague, Robert Ramirez, and this amazing cast is the fact that I can’t look at or hear In the Red and Brown Water as just a play. With its fusion of language, gesture and movement, I look at it as a ritual, an experience and an illuminating journey. The characters and the audience start in one place and, as events unfold, end up in a completely different place. Anyone who participates in this journey, on stage or in the audience, will go someplace they’ve never been before—as long as you give your heart to it. It begins with movement and voice and ends with movement and voice. Nothing slick and modern, nothing extraneous. The goal is for the people on stage to be transported into a ritual and this has to mean that things will happen that don’t normally happen. Languages change and are spoken in tones not normally spoken. Through movement, we speak Yoruba, we speak Creole, Patois, we speak African tongues. Looks change. Smells change. Touches change. Movements change—And we bring you, the audience, through a change. When the audience leaves the theatre, we want them to feel full with an experience that you haven’t found before. We want to bring you in touch with the concept of Ase... —Charles O. Anderson, Co-Director I first saw this play as part of The Brother/Sister Plays trilogy presented by Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. I was awestruck by McCraney’s language, which seemed to me spare and direct while also Shakespearean in scope and expression. The characters speak in a way that is immediate and yet soaring; a beautiful mix of the contemporary colloquial and a poetic verse reminiscent of the Greek tragedies. In McCraney’s world, people speak their physical actions, thereby creating themselves and the world with words and literally speaking themselves into existence. This, to me, is at the root of our theatrical tradition of storytelling. Real bodies in live action right before our eyes, speaking and moving, sending ripples of emotion and empathy that resonate within us as an audience both physically and emotionally. These many years after having first sat listening with rapt attention to In the Red and Brown Water, those ripples are still moving through me and it is my great honor to have worked with these students and my colleague, Charles O. Anderson, to bring this play to you. —Robert Ramirez, Co-Director

The Department of Theatre and Dance is a world-class educational environment that serves as the ultimate creative incubator for the next generation of artists, thinkers and leaders in theatre and performance.

about the playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney’s plays include Wig Out! (developed at Sundance Theatre Lab, produced in New York by the Vineyard Theatre and in London by the Royal Court) and the trilogy entitled The Brother/Sister Plays, including: The Brothers Size (simultaneously premiered in New York at the Public Theater, in association with the Foundry Theatre, and in London at the Young Vic, where it was nominated for an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement at an Affiliated Theatre); In the Red and Brown Water (winner of the Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition, produced at the Alliance Theatre and the Young Vic); and Marcus, or the Secret of Sweet. His other plays include Without/Sin and Run, Mourner, Run (adapted from Randall Kenan’s short story), both of which premiered at Yale Cabaret. In the summer of 2006, McCraney, Catherine Filloux and Joe Sutton wrote The Breach, a play on Katrina, the Gulf and our nation, commissioned by Southern Rep in New Orleans where it premiered in August 2007 to mark the two-year anniversary of the tragedy in New Orleans. The Breach also played at Seattle Rep in winter of 2007. McCraney attended the New World School of the Arts High School in Miami, Florida, receiving the exemplary artist award and the Dean’s Award in Theatre. He holds a B.F.A. in Acting from DePaul University. McCraney is a May 2007 graduate of the Yale School of Drama’s playwriting program, headed by Richard Nelson, where he received the Cole Porter Playwriting Award upon graduation. He is the Royal Shakespeare Company’s international writer in residence, the 2009 Hodder Fellow at Princeton University and the recipient of the 2007 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award and the 2007 Whiting Award. He is currently under commission at Manhattan Theatre Club and Berkeley Rep and is a member of New Dramatists and Teo Castellanos/D-Projects in Miami. In 2008, McCraney was the recipient of London’s Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright.

Post-Performance Conversation and Q & A Led by Dr. Lisa B. Thompson with the Cast and Directors October 12 Following the 7:30 p.m. Performance Oscar G. Brockett Theatre

Described as “one of the most startling new voices to emerge in the American theatre” (Emily Mann, Artistic Director, McCarter Theatre), Tarell Alvin McCraney has been heralded by critics and theatre makers since graduating from the Yale School of Drama. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Whiting Award, Steinberg Playwright Award and the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship. Weaving together mythology, poetry and realism, McCraney crafts stories about complex relationships and experiences of the everyday. Join us in a conversation about McCraney’s storytelling and its impact on the future of American theatre.

cast

Christian Henley

Nyles Washington

Daniel West

Cymone Love

Rama Tchuente

Oktavea Williams

Darlesia Carter

Keith Machekanyanga

Gage Robinson

Brooks Laney

Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Lonte K. Lawson

Gianina Casale

Anna Ingram

Kaitlyn Jones

Photo: Lawrence Peart

Neverland was an awfully long time ago...

creative CHARLES O. ANDERSON (Co-Director) is head of the dance program at The University of Texas at Austin and producing artistic director of Dance Repertory Theatre. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Anderson earned his B.A. in Choreography and Performance with a minor in African studies from Cornell University and his M.F.A. in Dance from Temple University where he specialized in African Diasporic performance. Professionally, Anderson serves as the artistic director of the critically-acclaimed dance theatre X which he founded in 2003. He has performed in the companies of Ronald K. Brown, Sean Curran, Mark Dendy and Miguel Gutierrez, among others. His work has been presented nationally and internationally and has earned recognition from numerous organizations such as the Pew Fellowship for the Arts, one of “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine and one of “12 Rising Stars in the Academy” by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine. LAWRENCE BENNETT (Technical Director) hails from Houston, Texas by way of Chicago, Illinois. He received his B.F.A. from the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University and his M.F.A. from The University of Wisconsin in technical direction and theatre technology, respectively. Bennett has been the technical director and lighting designer at the University of WisconsinRiver Falls, as well as the technical director at the University of South Florida. He has worked at various summer stock productions across the country, including Williamstown Theatre Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival and the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. LACEY ERB (Projection Designer) is a third-year M.F.A. in Design and Technology candidate with a focus in integrated media for live performance. Erb recently designed lighting for Dance Repertory Theatre’s Bodies & Souls (Texas Theatre and Dance), with projections for They Have Big Voices Where the Universe Ends. Other work includes projection design for the Three Decembers and At the Statue of Venus (Butler Opera Center, 2016); Pathways (Ears, Eyes + Feet, 2015); In the World of Things and Stuff (Fall For Dance, 2014); Refugia (Texas Theatre and Dance) and Apocalypse Radio

(The Cohen New Works Festival, 2015). She was a member of the design team for the 29th Presidential Inauguration of Gregory L. Fenves and the program launch of the Center for Arts and Entertainment Technology (CAET). ELLIOT GARDNER (Scenic Designer) is a secondyear M.F.A. in Design and Technology candidate with a focus in scenic design. He holds a B.F.A. in Technical Theatre from Pennsylvania State University where he designed Spring Awakening (Penn State Centre Stage). He is a member of IASTE Studio Mechanics Local 489 as a set painter. Gardner has designed for numerous small companies in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. E.L. HOHN (Costume Designer) is a third-year M.F.A. in Design and Technology candidate with a focus in costume design. Recent work includes Agent Andromeda (Sky Candy); Eva Suter’s Hold Me Well (Shrewd Productions); Elizabeth Doss’s Poor Herman (Paper Chairs) and UTNT (UT New Theatre) (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2016). Hohn is currently serving on the engaging research team for the 2017 Cohen New Works Festival, presented by Broadway Bank, and developing a thesis on designing fear for live performance. CHIAN-ANN LU (Lighting Designer) began designing work in college in Taiwan. Most recently, he did lighting design for Three Decembers, At the Statue of Venus (Butler Opera Center, 2016) and Fall For Dance (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2015). He is a third-year M.F.A. in Design and Technology candidate with a focus in lighting design at The University of Texas at Austin. chianannlu.weebly.com ROBERT RAMIREZ (Co-Director) has served as a voice and text coach for numerous theatres and university productions including the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, the Krannert Center for the Arts, Austin Shakespeare and American Players Theatre. Most recently, he served as the voice and text director at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has performed as an actor with the

creative New York, Utah, Great River, Illinois, Alabama, Baltimore and Wisconsin Shakespeare Festivals as well as numerous theatres in the New York City area. He has been an award-winning voice artist and narrator of audio books for the past 20 years and is a long-time member of the Recorded Books Repertory Company (New York City). Ramirez has been on the voice and speech faculties of Marymount Manhattan College, the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (New York City) and the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign. He received his M.F.A. in Acting from

the Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) at the University of Delaware and is a proud member of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association. KAMYLE SMITH (Stage Manager) is pursuing a B.S. in Public Relations as well as a B.A. in Theatre and Dance with an emphasis in stage management. At Texas Theatre and Dance, she has participated in 381 Bleecker (UTNT (UT New Theatre)); The Wild Party; Alpha Psi Omega’s Urinetown, The Musical and Speaking in Tongues, among others.

DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL The Department of Theatre and Dance Director’s Council is a premier volunteer group designed to foster strong and collaborative connections between The University of Texas at Austin and the local community by supporting initiatives in marketing, public relations, student recruitment and development. As advocates for the department, this group of alumni, parents and fine arts supporters play a key role in continuing to build a professional theatre and dance training program serving thousands of talented Texans for generations.

2016/2017 Director’s Council Members Carol Smith Adams Francesca Brockett and Jim Pedicano Barrett Bruce Jean Cheever Joanne and Jack Crosby Dee Dawson Laura Eastman

Gary Farmer JoLynn Free Missy Grimes Pam and Edmund McIlhenny Annie McKinnon Debbie Oliver Miriam Relyea

Diane Robinson Russ Sartain Nancy Scanlan Marc Seriff Laura Sheffield Karen Skolnik Leah Stolar Sharon Watkins

cast CHRISTIAN HENLEY (Oya) is a B.F.A. in Acting major at The University of Texas at Austin. She is a Dean’s List student and a multi-talented artist with an extensive background in both dance and acting. Since her arrival on the Forty Acres, Henley has appeared in In the Heights, Fame The Musical, The Cohen New Works Festival and, most recently, Speaking in Tongues. NYLES WASHINGTON (Elegba) has been performing since middle school. Most recently, he performed as “Policeman” in Lydia Blaisdell’s The Silent Woman (UTNT (UT New Theatre), 2016) and as “Oscar D’Armano” in Michael John LaChiusa’s The Wild Party (Texas Theatre and Dance). Washington plans to move to Los Angeles upon completing his B.F.A. in Acting. DANIEL WEST (Ogun) is a third-year B.A. in Theatre and Dance student at The University of Texas at Austin. He started training as a performer in Houston, Texas at Klein Forest High School. He was recently seen as “Nicolas Royale” in Young Adult and as “Van Helsing” in Dracula. Upon graduating, he plans to continue performing and entertaining audiences around the world. CYMONE LOVE (Mama Moja/The Woman That Reminds You) began acting in college in Los Angeles, California. Love has appeared as “Big Sister Diane” in The Good Girls, “Grieving Mother” in Nasty Boys (NBC series) and “Self” in Ladies Laughing Out Loud (reality show pilot). After graduating with a B.A. in Theatre and Dance, she plans to pursue her acting studies at Yale. RAMA TCHUENTE (Aunt Elegua) began performing in high school at Cedar Ridge Visual and Performing Arts Academy. Most recently, she performed as “Olivia” in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (Texas Theatre and Dance) and as “Nathaniel Hawthorne/Malcolm” in Paper Chair’s original production, Poor Herman. After graduating with a B.F.A. in Acting, Tchuente plans to pursue acting and social entrepreneurship. OKTAVEA WILLIAMS (Nia) is a double major in theatre and dance and African and African

Diaspora studies. She has recently been seen in Round About Players’ Bus Train, Alice in Wonderland and Underbelly Theatre’s Alice in Wonderland (ZACH Theatre). Williams serves as the B.A. in Theatre and Dance representative for the Theatre and Dance Diversity Committee and the Undergraduate Advisory Council. She plans to attend graduate school upon completing her degree at The University of Texas at Austin. DARLESIA CARTER (Shun) began her theatre career at Carver High School in the Greater Houston Area. Carter is currently a second-year B.F.A. in Acting student. This is her first main stage performance with Texas Theatre and Dance. KEITH MACHEKANYANGA (Shango) is a B.F.A. in Acting major at The University of Texas at Austin. Born in Zimbabwe, he moved with his family to the United States in 2000. As he grew up, he began performing in high school in the Dallas Area while playing football. Most recently, Machekanyanga performed as “Detective Tupolski” in The Pillowman, “Gusev” in Gusev (Breaking String Theater), “Detective Leon Zat” in Speaking in Tongues, “Stanley Kowalski” in A Streetcar Named Desire and “Duke Orsino” in Twelfth Night (Texas Theatre and Dance). GAGE ROBINSON (O Li Roon) is a B.F.A. in Acting major at The University of Texas at Austin. He was recently seen as “John Knox” in Speaking in Tongues (Texas Theatre and Dance). BROOKS LANEY (The Man From State) began performing in middle school in the Fort Worth Area. Last year, he performed as “Josh” in Wilma by William Glick; “2” in Al-Halqa (is that how it’s pronounced) by Drew Paryzer and as “Cody” in the thesis film Play On by Daniel Abramson. He is a second-year B.F.A. in Acting student. D’LONTE K. LAWSON (Egungun) began performing in high school in Manor, Texas. The musical In the Heights was his first performance with Texas Theatre and Dance. Lawson is currently a B.F.A. in Dance major pursuing the Dance Studies Option. Upon graduation, he

cast plans to travel the world and experience dance from the roots of different countries. GIANINA CASALE (Zuli) is a fourth-year B.F.A. in Dance student at The University of Texas at Austin. She previously attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas. She most recently choreographed and performed in Eternalism (Bodies & Souls, Texas Theatre and Dance), which was commissioned to represent the university at the 2016 American College Dance Association (ACDA) South-Central Regional Conference. Casale has worked with Kate Watson-Wallace, Charles O. Anderson, Yacov Sharir, Johnnie C. Mercer, Andrea Beckham, Lyn C. Wiltshire, Alex Ketley and Manuel Vignoulle during her time in Dance Repertory Theatre. ANNA INGRAM (Nani) is a fourth-year B.F.A. in Dance student at The University of Texas at Austin. She has trained in ballet, jazz and contemporary. Ingram has studied with Robert

Swinston, Malou Airaudo, Shlomi Tuizer, Sidra Bell and Marlana Doyle, among others. Ingram has traveled to China, France and New York for dance where she was recently in residency with members from world-renowned dance companies such as Merce Cunningham Company, Pina Bausch, Gaga and Katherine Dunham Company. KAITLYN JONES (Yewa) began dancing at the age of two. A native Houstonian, she was cast in Houston Repertoire Balletâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Nutcracker for eight consecutive years. During the 2015 University of Texas at Austin Performing Arts Series, Jones performed in The Seldomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Power Goes. After graduating with a B.F.A. in Dance, she plans to pursue a doctorate in physical therapy. CHRISTIAN LEAL (Balla) is a second-year B.F.A. in Dance (Dance Studies Option) major who began dancing in middle school for a hip-hop team and continued in high school in the Houston Area. Most recently, Leal performed in Ears, Eyes + Feet.

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crew ASSISTANT DIRECTOR GRAHAM SCHMIDT CONSULTANT OLADOTUN B. AYOBADE ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERS MILES AGEE CATIE TIJERINA ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER AARON CURRY ASSISTANT PROJECTION DESIGNER ALEX GENDAL ASSISTANT COSTUME DESIGNER AARON KUBACAK ASSISTANT SCENIC DESIGNER ROXY MOJICA COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM BRIYANA CLAREL BECCA DREW CORTNEY MCENIRY BEX ORTON KATE PROIETTI SCENIC STUDIO SUPERVISOR J.E. JOHNSON CHARGE SCENIC ARTIST KAREN MANESS MASTER CARPENTER HANK SCHWEMMER ASSISTANT CHARGE SCENIC ARTIST KARA KONOP LEAD CARPENTER KATE VAUGHN GRADUATE PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS ZOE ANDERSEN ROXY MOJICA ADMINISTRATIVE ASSITANT ANH-LINH KEARNEY PRODUCTION LEADS ASHTON MURPHY REED NEAL TAYLOR TRAVIS

PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS LINDSAY ARNOLD JACOB CAIRE ARRI CAVINESS LIAM DOLANHENDERSON JOEY GOMEZ JARED HORN TAYLOR JONES SOMMER NEUGEBAUER KIRA STEIN MIGUEL TAMEZ BEKAH URBAN GOBI-KLA VONAN NAT WATKINS

SCENERY/PROPS CREW CAMRYN BASILE BRANDON PEGRAM

SCENIC ART INTERNS TAIZHA CHRISTENSEN CHRISTINANA THOMAS

1ST HANDS CHU KANG CHEN AARON KUBACAK

FALL 2016 SCENIC ART CLASS JACOB CAIRE CAMRYN DEWET ELLIOT GARDNER CAIT GRAHAM JACQUELINE HEIMEL BRUNO-PIERRE HOULE REED NEAL CHRISTIANA THOMAS TAYLOR TRAVIS

STITCHERS MIA BARRERA ALEXANDER GREER JESSICA LOWERRE

PROPERTIES SUPERVISOR REBECCA SWITZER PROPERTIES ASSISTANT SUPERVISOR CAROLYN HARDIN PROP MASTER CAROLYN HARDIN PROP SHOP GRADUATE ASSISTANT DAVID MOLINA-GARZA PROP ARTISANS LINDSEY DENNIS KIARA MCGEE MORGAN STUART MAX TORREZ PROP STOCK MANAGER MAX TORREZ PROPS ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT LINDSEY DENNIS PROPS CONSTRUCTION CREW CAMERON DALE DARRION NGUYEN JACKIET PEREZ TAYLOR TRAVIS DANIEL WEST

COSTUME CRAFTS ASSISTANT JACQUELINE HEIMEL

MEDIA BOARD OPERATOR DIANA GUIZADO

COSTUME SHOP SUPERVISOR PATRICIA M. RISSER

COSTUME SHOP OFFICE ASSISTANTS TYLER COFIELD MATTHEW HERNANDEZ

COSTUME PROJECT MANAGER DARCY WEBERG

COSTUME STOCK SUPERVISOR E.L. HOHN

DRAPERS SARAH ALDRIDGE BETTY CHLYSTEK

COSTUME STOCK ASSISTANTS RAMA TCHUENTE EMILY VIALPANDO

MEDIA CREW MORGAN BROMGARD KATHERINE DUCEY LACEY ERB KAIWEN FA ALEX GENDAL JONATHAN HAAS KATHERINE JANNER HUA JIN ELISE MARTIN

COSTUME SHOP ASSOCIATE SUPERVISOR DARCY WEBERG COSTUME PRODUCTION CREW TEACHING ASSISTANTS ANANDA KEATOR MARIKA WYNNE COSTUME CONSTRUCTION CREW SUSANNAH CROWELL LAURA GONZALEZ OLIVIA HOLMES JENI MARGOS SAM PAVICH PENELOPE REVELO KINSEY SHACKELFORD KAMYLE SMITH CONNER SULLIVAN WIG AND MAKEUP SPECIALIST ALLISON LOWERY WARDROBE CREW SUPERVISOR VANESSA LOPEZ WARDROBE CREW KATIE PRUITT DEVIN RAMIREZ GRAYSON ROSATO JUSTIN WHITENER COSTUME CRAFTS ARTISAN TANYA OLALDE

TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS SUPERVISING ELECTRICIAN MIKELA COWAN TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS LIGHTING SUPERVISOR JEFF ELLINGER SENIOR LIGHTING TECHNICIANS YI-TAI CHUNG AARON CURRY ALEX HANNA CHIAN-ANN LU MERCEDES MCCLEARY JIAJING QI TEXAS THEATRE AND DANCE STUDENT LIGHTING CLASS ROSEANNE CARREON JANICE FABUNAN OSCAR GARZA GABRIELLA GRIFFITH BONNIE MCENNIS GEORGE VILLEGAS TIFFANY WATSON TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS LIGHTING CREW ADRIAN COLLINS JESSICA FORTE ANDREA GARCIA ALEXANDRA SANCHEZ LIGHT BOARD OPERATOR JAZMYN CASTILLO AUDIO SUPERVISOR MICHAEL MALAK AUDIO BOARD OPERATOR MALYSSA QUILES MEDIA BOARD SUPERVISOR MATTHEW SMITH

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COORDINATORS MEGAN ALRUTZ ANDREW CARLSON LIZ ENGELMAN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ADVISOR MEGAN ALRUTZ STAGE MANAGEMENT ADVISOR RUSTY CLOYES COSTUME DESIGN ADVISOR SUSAN MICKEY COSTUME TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR JAMES GLAVAN LIGHTING DESIGN ADVISOR MICHELLE HABECK INTEGRATED MEDIA DESIGN ADVISOR SVEN ORTEL DRAMATURG ADVISORS ANDREW CARLSON LIZ ENGELMAN SCENIC DESIGN ADVISOR WILLIAM BLOODGOOD ACADEMIC PRODUCTION MANAGER JEFF GRAPKO PHOTOGRAPHER LAWRENCE PEART GRAPHIC DESIGNER MORGAN BATHE SPECIAL THANKS LISA B. THOMPSON

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