UTNT (UT New Theatre): The Silent Woman

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T U N T

The Silent Woman

By Lydia Blaisdell April 16, 21 at 7:30 p.m.

April 24 at 2:00 p.m.

oscar g. brockett theatre F. Loren Winship Building

theatredance.utexas.edu

UTNT (UT New Theatre) is made possible through the generous support of the Michener Center for Writers and the College of Fine Arts’ Department of Theatre and Dance.

This production was created in collaboration by these artists: Lawrence Bennett – Technical Director • Lydia Blaisdell – Playwright Kate Ducey – Lighting Designer • Jeanie Hartman – Doll Designer Billy Henry – Sound Designer • E.L. Hohn – Costume Designer Bruno-Pierre Houle – Scenic Designer/Projection Designer • Dack Justiz – Stage Manager KJ Sanchez – Director • Kyle Winkelmann – Production Manager

cast (in order of appearance) Policeman/Gentleman 2 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Nyles Washington Hulda �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Phoebe Newlan Oskar ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Cosme Flores Dr. Posse/Gentleman 1 ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Luke Mire Butler ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Eli Weinberg Coachman/Gentleman 3 ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Max Torrez

There is no intermission.

Videography and photography are strictly prohibited.

The Silent Woman was created through support of a Jerome Foundation Travel and Study Grant in summer 2013.

a note from the director In 2013, Lydia received a Jerome Foundation Grant to go to Vienna and Berlin and research the life of Oskar Kokoscka, a seminal painter in the Secession Movement, now called Expressionism.

His work was daring for the time and remains startling even today—his figures vibrate with life.

The events in this play about Kokoscka are real, as is the “representation” of his ex-lover, Alma.

When you see her, remember that she is very similar to the original.

Making a play from a life that was stranger-than-fiction is no easy feat. Blaisdell’s play looks at this extraordinary man and then looks a few degrees to the left and over his shoulder, to Hulda, his maid and confidant. By doing so the play becomes more than a biopic to shine a light on questions that are still vital today. I would consider this play in keeping with the Secession Movement: it is irreverent, funny and vibrating with life.

Texas Theatre and Dance would like to extend a special thanks to Eric Seale, the owner of the doll. Seale has generously provided this prop to Texas Theatre and Dance for the purposes of UTNT (UT New Theatre).

a note from the curator At the heart of UTNT (UT New Theatre), now in its ninth year, is a simple notion: the present moment has not been written. While architecture has been called “frozen music,” the new play seeks not so much to capture the here and now as to explore/explode it. What we call the “theatre” is, in fact, the lingering, lasting legacy of previous “present moments” rendered in language and motion, ephemeral as the air.

Playwrights Lydia Blaisdell, Joanna Garner, Gia Marotta and Tegan McLeod, along with their dynamic student and professional collaborators, have met the moment we are in head-on. They have crafted plays of boldness, beauty, potency and ache. We are eager to preview these plays for you, our Austin community, before they move on to other cities and stages.

Multiple plays from UTNT’s past have found major productions in both the United States and abroad. We are deeply proud of this track record. However, they all started here, in the threadbare splendor of the Winship building, in that remarkable crucible of rigor, discovery and experimentation we call the Department of Theatre and Dance.

Any necessary art form tells new stories in new ways. Welcome to UTNT (UT New Theatre), where the new and necessary stories of tomorrow are being told on our stages today. Thank you for being here.

Steven Dietz, Curator

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.

cast

Nyles Washington

Phoebe Newlan

Cosme Flores

Eli Weinberg

Max Torrez

Luke Mire

DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL The Texas 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 fundraising and community relations. 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.

2015/2016 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

creative 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 Wisconsin-River 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.

LYDIA BLAISDELL (Playwright) is a fellow at the Michener Center for Writers. The final piece in her trilogy, Bear Eats Bear, will receive a May workshop in Austin. Apocalypse Radio was previously workshopped at The Cohen New Works Festival (2015) and will be produced

by Theater Ninjas in Cleveland, Ohio later this year. In spring 2014 her one-act play, Old Broads, was performed at the Off Shoot (Austin, Texas). Blaisdell has been a member playwright of Youngblood at Ensemble Studio Theater since 2010 and the Brooklyn-based writers’ collective, Kristiania.

KATE DUCEY (Lighting Designer) comes to Austin, Texas by way of Los Angeles, California after working in the television industry for the past six years. Recent productions include lighting design for William Glick’s play, Wilma and projection design for Texas Theatre and Dance’s production of Twelfth Night. Upcoming work includes lighting for Poor Herman at the Off Center this May. JEANIE HARTMAN (Doll Designer) is a resident of Lexington, Kentucky. She studied sewing and pattern drafting while at a small private college in Colorado. Over the years, she has done alterations, reproduction design and re-enactment costuming before also pursuing costuming for theatre, film and

opera. When Hartman first encountered the script for The Silent Woman she requested the task of creating the life-size effigy. The doll-fetish is fully articulated and almost entirely hand-sewn.

BILLY HENRY (Sound Designer) teaches sound design for theatre at The University of Texas at Austin where he has served as a sound designer for numerous plays and musicals including last season’s production, Refugia.

His music can be heard before every football game at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Henry has received several awards for his compositions including multiple ADDY Awards and served as an engineer on the Grammy Award-winning album Los Super Seven. Henry has worked with numerous artists including Don Henley, Sheryl Crow, Neil Young and the Dixie Chicks.

E.L. HOHN (Costume Designer) is a second-year M.F.A. in Design and Technology candidate with a focus in costume design at The University of Texas at Austin. Her work was recently seen in Shrewd Production’s As You Like It, Rude Mech’s Fixing Timon of Athens and Texas Theatre and Dance’s production of The Wild Party. Other Austin credits include Aye, No! (Teatro Vivo) and After: A Post-Gay Vaudeville, Emma When You Need Her and Teen Girl FANtasies (The Cohen New Works Festival, 2015). Hohn comes to Austin from Chicago where she worked with Piven Theatre Workshop, Red Theater Chicago and The Whiskey Rebellion, among others.

BRUNO-PIERRE HOULE (Scenic Designer, Projection Designer) is a second-year M.F.A. in Design and Technology candidate with a focus in scenic design. Recent designs include William Glick’s play, Wilma, The Great God Pan (Street Corner Arts) and The Wild Party (Texas Theatre and Dance). Originally from Montreal, Canada, Houle served as the production designer on numerous short films and music videos as well as the feature film Sarah Prefers to Run.

creative DACK JUSTIZ (Stage Manager) is a B.A. in Theatre and Dance student with a focus in stage management. Select management credits include Push Up, Fall For Dance and Enter A Woman, Pretty Enough (Texas Theatre and Dance); Elf The Musical, Man of La Mancha, Lizzie and Legally Blonde (Theatre Under the Stars); Hänsel und Gretel and Three Decembers (Butler Opera Center) and an internship with a Broadway general management firm. This summer, Justiz will be working as a production assistant with The Lion King on Broadway. dackjustiz.com KJ SANCHEZ (Director) is the founder and CEO of American Records. She has directed plays Off-Broadway and at theatres including The Goodman Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Milwakee Repertory, Studio Theatre (Washington D.C.) and Actors’ Theatre of Lousiville. Her plays have been produced at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Two River Theater Company, Center Stage (Baltimore), Frontera Repertory Theatre Company, Round House, Cornerstone Theater Company and Off-Broadway at Urban Stages and Off-Off Broadway at Here Arts.

KYLE WINKELMANN (Production Manager) is a fourth-year B.A. in Theatre and Dance student

with an emphasis in stage management as well as a student at the McCombs School of Business with a focus in management.

As an active member of the department, Winkelmann has worked on several shows including serving as the stage manager for A Streetcar Named Desire and Advance Man and the co-technical director and an executive committee member for The Cohen New Works Festival (2015). He plans to graduate in May before pursuing a career in professional theatre in stage or production management.

HANNAH WOLF (Co-Curator) is a first-year M.F.A. in Directing candidate, originally from Juneau, Alaska. Her work has been seen at Perseverance Theatre, Superhero Clubhouse, The Vineyard Theatre, The Civilians, Culturebot, Conni’s Avant Garde Restaurant, Colt Coeur, Howlround, TerraNOVA Collective, New York University (NYU), Peppercorn Theatre, Writopia Lab, The Secret City and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She received a B.A. from Western Washington University, trained at the SITI Company Intensive and is the former literary resident at The Vineyard Theatre. Member: 2012 Lincoln Center Theater’s Directors Lab, 2014/2015 Soho Rep. Writer/Director Lab. Fellowship: Fulbright (Bucharest, Romania). hannahjwolf.com

cast NYLES WASHINGTON (Policeman/Gentleman 2) is a B.F.A. in Acting student who began performing in high school. Most recently, Washington performed as “Oscar D’Armano” in The Wild Party and “Duke Senior” in As You Like It (Texas Theatre and Dance). Upon graduation, he plans to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.

PHOEBE NEWLAN (Hulda) is an exchange student from The University of Exeter (United Kingdom). Past acting credits include “Kath” in Entertaining Mr. Sloane, “Talia Compton” in the BBC’s Holby City and a voiceover for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). She is also a member of Gigglepants, a short-form improv comedy troupe at The University of Texas at Austin.

After completing her B.A. in Drama, she plans to train at a conservatory and pursue a career in acting in London.

COSME FLORES (Oskar) is a second-year B.F.A. in Acting major. He was recently seen as “Phil D’Armano” in The Wild Party (Texas Theatre

and Dance). After graduating, Flores plans to pursue a career in acting on stage and in film.

LUKE MIRE (Dr. Posse/Gentleman 1) is a secondyear B.F.A. in Acting major at The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance. He was recently seen as “Ken Gorman” in Rumors. After graduating, Mire plans to pursue a film career in Los Angeles.

ELI WEINBERG (Butler) is a second-year B.F.A. in Acting major at The University of Texas at Austin, originally hailing from Oak Park, Illinois. Previous credits include “Otto Frank” in The Diary of Anne Frank and “Ted” in Enter a Woman, Pretty Enough (Texas Theatre and Dance).

MAX TORREZ (Coachman/Gentleman 3) is a third-year B.F.A. in Acting student. Torrez recently starred as “Lucky Stubbs” in Helldrivers of Daytona (Texas Musical Theatre Workshop) and “Black” in The Wild Party (Texas Theatre and Dance). He plans to attend the UT Los Angeles Program in spring 2017.

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crew ASSISTANT DIRECTOR NATALIE LABODA ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER HELEN HETRICK ASSISTANT COSTUME DESIGNERS LAURA GONZALEZ JENIFER MARGOS ASSISTANT SCENIC DESIGNER KIARA MCGEE ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER MERCEDES MCCLEARY ASSISTANT PROJECTION DESIGNER ROBERT MALLIN ASSISTANT SOUND DESIGNER TYLER CLARK ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER ALEX HANNA SCENE SHOP SUPERVISOR J.E. JOHNSON CHARGE SCENIC ARTIST KAREN MANESS MASTER CARPENTER KATE VAUGHN LEAD CARPENTER HANK SCHWEMMER ASSISTANT CHARGE SCENIC ARTIST KARA KONOP GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTS BRUNO PIERREHOULE GRADUATE PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS CAMRYN DEWETT ELLIOT GARDNER

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MEDIA PRODUCTION CREW HENRY CURTIS ROBERT DI DONATO KAIWEN FA JANICE FABUNAN CHRISTIAN HENLEY JORDAN MARANTO CAMERON MELLIN NATALIE PATTON BRADFORD RIZZO GAGE ROBINSON CHANCE STEWARD STAGE MANAGEMENT ADVISOR RUSTY CLOYES

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STITCHERS BILLIE GREEN AARON KUBACAK KRISTIN MELBERG HAILEY SELLARS

TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS LIGHTING SUPERVISOR JEFF ELLINGER

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COSTUME PRODUCTION CREW TEACHING ASSISTANTS ALISON REID JACQUELINE LANDSMEN

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1ST HANDS JUSTIN COLLINGS KRISTIN WOMBLE MARIKA WYNNE

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