The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac

NO BOUNDARIES: A SERIES OF GLOBAL PERFORMANCES

The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac

PHOTO BY DREW GERACI.

WORLD PERFORMANCE PROJECT AT YALE FUNDED BY THE ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION

Proud to support New Haven’s rich tradition of world class arts and entertainment for over 190 years.

JANUARY 28 TO 30, 2010 YALE REPERTORY THEATRE JAMES BUNDY, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR VICTORIA NOLAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR AND

WORLD PERFORMANCE PROJECT AT YALE JOSEPH ROACH, PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR EMILY COATES, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR PRESENT

The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY

TAYLOR MAC DIRECTED BY

DAVID DRAKE Funded in part by the Root Boy Slim Fund and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Permission granted by ABRAMS ARTISTS AGENCY, 275 Seventh Ave., 26th Floor, New York, NY, 10001. All inquiries concerning rights to the play shall be addressed to the above or to literary@abramsartny.com.

THE BE(A)ST OF TAYLOR MAC IS PERFORMED WITHOUT INTERMISSION. PLEASE JOIN US AFTER THE PERFORMANCE FOR A TALK BACK WITH TAYLOR MAC.

FROM THE ARTIST I believe my job as a theater artist is to remind my audiences of their humanity. I do this by using theatrical traditions and established styles and forms (which allow audiences to recognize what they are experiencing) and injecting them with as much originality as I can (which creates surprise). Surprise (not to be confused with shock) is what I get audiences to feel.

My work is extremely personal because I believe the more personal risk I take, the more audiences will relate and see their humanity reflected back at them. So, through art, I try to be as masculine, feminine, ugly, beautiful, intelligent, base, chaotic, graceful, joyful, sorrowful, perfect, and flawed as I am in real life.

I believe theater is about intimacy and try to make theater that shrinks the distance between the user and the maker (between the audience and the players). I strive to imbue my plays and performances with ideas, breadth, possibility, care, poetry, and craft. Most of all I believe theater is community and think of myself as a community activist: someone whose job it is to bring people together, give them a shared experience, and remind them PHOTO BY LUCIEN SAMAHA.

of what it means to be human.

—TAYLOR MAC

BIOGRAPHIES TAYLOR MAC is a playwright, actor, singer-songwriter, and sometime director and producer. TimeOut New York has called him “one of the most exciting theater artists of our time,” while American Theatre magazine said, “Mac is one of this country’s most exciting, heroic, and disarmingly funny playwrights.”

Taylor’s most recent play, The Lily’s Revenge, is a 5-hour, 36 cast-member theatrical piece that he wrote, starred in, and co-produced (with the brave and visionary HERE Arts Center). It was rated the best play in 2009 by TimeOut New York and PAPER Magazine and was put on the top ten lists of many other publications including The New Yorker and New York Post. Other recent plays he’s written and performed in include The Young Ladies Of, Red Tide Blooming, and The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac. Taylor has performed his worked at the Sydney Opera House, San Francisco MOMA and Opera House, New York’s Public Theater, Stockholm’s Sodra Teatern, Spoleto Festival, Bumbershoot festival, Time-Based Arts Festival, Dublin’s Project Arts Center, London’s Soho Theatre, and literally hundreds of other theaters, museums, music halls, cabarets, and festivals around the globe.

He has acted in many original plays (by others), dozens of revivals, and featured roles on television with The BBC2, BBC4, MTV, and The Sci-Fi Channel.

Vintage Press, Playscripts, New York Theatre Review, and the New York Theatre Experience have published his plays, and he is the recipient of a Sundance Theatre Lab Residency, a NYFA, a Rockefeller Map Grant, the Creative Capital Grant, the James Hammerstein Award for playwriting, the Edinburgh Festival’s Herald Angel Award, a Jeff Award nomination, two GLAAD Media Award Nominations, three Brighton Best of Festival awards, P.S. 122’s Ethyl Eichelberger award, a New York State Council on the Arts Grant, an Edward Albee Foundation Residency, the Franklin Furnace Grant, a Peter S. Reed Grant, the Ensemble Studio Theatre’s New Voices Fellowship in playwriting, aMabou Mines Suite (with collaborator Elizabeth Swados). He was a HERE Arts Center resident artist and is currently a member of New Dramatists.

Taylor’s upcoming projects include the creation of a two-man show with Mandy Patinkin and a festival of full-length plays (three tragedies and a comedy) about his experiences on The Walk Across America for Mother Earth. The first play in this series is called Red Blanket and is a commission by The Talking Band (directed by Paul Zimet with music composed by Ellen Maddow).

DAVID DRAKE (DIRECTOR) is a New York-based actor, writer, and director, who is most widely known as the creator of one of the longest-running solo shows in New York theatre history, The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me, for which he won an OBIE Award and two Dramalogue Awards. The published edition of Larry Kramer‚

by Doubleday Books, garnered a Lambda Literary Award nomination for Best New Play. His latest autobiographical monologue, Son of Drakula, premiered in NYC‚ at the Dance Theater Workshop when he was an artist-in-residence there in 2002– 03. The play was praised by the New York Times as “a dazzling, inventive... terrific new one-man show” before making its European debut in Zagreb, Croatia.

As a director, David’s most recent work includes the solo shows of Matthew Francis (The Gospel According to Matthew) in the 2007 New York International Fringe Festival, Sherie Rene Scott (A Work-in-Progress) at the Zipper Factory, and Taylor Mac (The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac) in the 2007 Under the Radar Festival at The Public Theater, which later transferred to London’s Soho Theatre. After developing the Be(A)st at Joe’s Pub in the summer of 2006, the show debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it won a slew of rave reviews and a Herald “Angel” Award.

Other directing projects include new plays and musicals at Sundance Theatre Lab, Manhattan Theatre Source, NY’s Theatre for the New City, Rattlestick Theatre, Provincetown Rep, Baltimore Theatre Project, San Francisco’s Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, and the Out North Contemporary Art House in Anchorage, Alaska. He has taught monologue writing and performance to youth at the LGBT Community Services Center of New York. As an actor, David has made many TV and movie appearances—including his critically acclaimed work in the performance film of Larry Kramer—and co-stars in Roland Tec’s upcoming feature film We Pedal Uphill.

WORLD PERFORMANCE PROJECT AT YALE STAFF Joseph Roach, Principal Investigator Emily Coates, Artistic Director Kathryn Krier, Production Manager Joie Chen, Assistant Production Manager Michael Leibenluft, Research Associate

THE WORLD PERFORMANCE PROJECT (WPP) promotes programs in performance studies across departments at Yale. An interdiscipline that draws from the arts, humanities, and human sciences (theater, drama, dance, visual arts, speech, linguistics, anthropology, sociology), performance studies defines as its objects cultural performances of all kinds, from theatrical presentations to rites of passage, and expands its frontiers anywhere significant performances are likely to take place, from Yorubaland to Disneyland.

Working in partnership with departments and programs throughout the university, WPP presents performances, workshops, lectures, and symposia with artists and scholars working in a spectrum of performance forms. Through these events, WPP fosters teaching, research, and publication on performance-related topics.

Originally established with funding provided by a Distinguished Achievement Award granted to Joseph Roach, Sterling Professor of Theater, by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, WPP is affiliated with the Yale College Theater Studies Program and the Whitney Humanities Center at Yale.

For more information about the World Performance Project please visit:

www.yale.edu/wpp

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE STAFF James Bundy, Artistic Director Victoria Nolan, Managing Director Jennifer Kiger, Associate Artistic Director ARTISTIC Resident Artists Paula Vogel, Playwright-in-Residence Liz Diamond, Evan Yionoulis, Resident Directors Catherine Sheehy, Resident Dramaturg Ming Cho Lee, Set Design Advisor Michael Yeargan, Resident Set Designer Jane Greenwood, Costume Design Advisor Jess Goldstein, Resident Costume Designer Jennifer Tipton, Lighting Design Advisor Stephen Strawbridge, Resident Lighting Designer David Budries, Sound Design Advisor Walton Wilson, Voice and Speech Advisor Rick Sordelet, Fight Advisor Mary Hunter, Stage Management Advisor Associate Artists 52nd Street Project, Kama Ginkas, Mark Lamos, MTYZ Theatre/Moscow New Generations Theatre, Bill Rauch, Sarah Ruhl, Henrietta Yanovskaya Commissioned Artists David Adjmi, Todd Almond, Hilary Bell, Adam Bock, Bill Camp, Will Eno, Marcus Gardley, Ann Marie Healy, Amy Herzog, Naomi Iizuka, Dan LeFranc, Liz Meriwether, Scott Murphy, Julie Marie Myatt, Jay Reiss, Sarah Ruhl, Octavio Solis, Paula Vogel, Kathryn Walat, Anne Washburn, Marisa Wegrzyn, Robert Woodruff Artistic Administration Amy Boratko, Literary Manager Alex Grennan, Kay Perdue Meadows, Artistic Coordinators Brian Valencia, Walter Byongsok Chon, Literary Associates Tara Rubin, CSA, Laura Schutzel, CSA, Casting Directors Eric Woodall, Merri Sugarman, Casting Associates Paige Blansfield, Rebecca Carfagna, Dale Brown, Casting Assistants Ruth M. Feldman, Director of Education and Accessibility Services Teresa Mensz, Library Services Assistant Josie Brown, Senior Administrative Assistant to the Artistic Director and Associate Artistic Director Kathleen Driscoll, Senior Administrative Assistant for the Directing, Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism, Playwriting, and Stage Management Department Mary Volk, Senior Administrative Assistant for the Design and Sound Design Departments

ADMINISTRATION Michael Barker, Belina Mizrahi, Meghan Pressman, Associate Managing Directors Elizabeth Elliott, Jennifer Harrison Newman, Assistant Managing Directors Diana Jacobs Komisar, Management Assistant Emalie Mayo, Senior Administrative Assistant to the Managing Director Tara Kayton, Company Manager

Development and Alumni Affairs Deborah S. Berman, Director of Development and Alumni Affairs Debbie Ellinghaus, Senior Associate Director of Development and Alumni Affairs Whitney Estrin, Associate Director of Development Susan C. Clark, Development Associate Matthew Gutschick, Development Assistant Belene Day, Senior Administrative Assistant to Development and Marketing and Communications Finance and Information Technology Katherine D. BurgueĂąo, Director of Finance and Human Resources Sheila Daykin, Associate Director of Finance Cristal Coleman, Magaly Costa, Maria Frey, Business Office Specialists Randall Rode, Information Technology Director Daryl Brereton, Associate Information Technology Director Niti Mehta, Information Technology Assistant Mara Hazzard, Director, Yale Tessitura Consortium Toni Ann Simiola, Senior Administrative Assistant to Business Office, Information Technology, Operations, and Tessitura Marketing, Communications, and Audience Services Anne Trites, Director of Marketing and Communications Steven Padla, Senior Associate Director of Communications Daniel Cress, Associate Director of Marketing Shinhyoung Shon, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications Devon Smith, Director of Analytics Rachel Smith, Associate Director of Marketing and Audience Services Maggie Elliott, Marketing and Publications Manager Sarah Stevens-Morling, Online Communications and Print Advertising Manager Brad Tuggle, Marketing Assistant

Scott McKowen, Punch & Judy Inc., Graphic Designers David Cooper, Photographer Janna J. Ellis, Associate Director of Audience Services and Tessitura Specialist Tracy Baldini, Laura Kirk, Assistant Audience Services Directors London Moses, Audience Services Assistant Courtney Engle, Ruth Kim, Tiffany Lin, Sue Malone, William Smith, Anya Van Wagtendonk, Joanna Wilson, Box Office Assistants Operations Diane Galt, Director of Facility Operations Rich Abrams, Operations Associate Jacob Thompson, Security Officer Ben Holder, Ron Maybrey, Custodial Supervisors Lucille Bochert, Vermont Ford, Warren Lyde, Vondeen Ricks, Mark Roy, Custodians Theater Safety and Occupational Health William J. Reynolds, Director of Theater Safety and Occupational Health Ed Jooss, Audience Safety Officer Fred Grier, Customer Service and Safety Officer PRODUCTION Bronislaw J. Sammler, Production Supervisor James Mountcastle, Production Stage Manager Jonathan Reed, Senior Associate Production Supervisor Marla J. Beck, Senior Administrative Assistant to the Production Department Costumes Tom McAlister, Costume Shop Manager Robin Hirsch, Associate Costume Shop Manager Mary Zihal, Senior Draper Clarissa Wylie Youngberg, Draper Deborah Bloch, First Hand Linda Kelley-Dodd, Costume Project Coordinator Barbara Bodine, Company Hairdresser Linda Wingerter, Costume Stock Manager Robert Snipes, Assistant to the Costume Shop Manager Denise O’Brien, Wig and Hair Design Electrics Donald W. Titus, Lighting Supervisor Jason Wells, Linda Young, Head Electricians

Painting Ru-Jun Wang, Resident Scenic Charge Angie Meninger, Scenic Artist Nora Hyland, Assistant Scenic Artist Jennifer Herbert, Assistant to the Painting Supervisor Properties Brian Cookson, Properties Master David P. Schrader, Properties Craftsperson Jennifer McClure, Properties Assistant Rachel Reynolds, Properties Stock Manager Nishi l. Hamrick, Assistant to the Properties Manager Scenery Don Harvey, Neil Mulligan, Technical Directors Alan Hendrickson, Electro Mechanical Laboratory Supervisor Eric Sparks, Shop Foreman Matt Gaffney, Sharon Reinhart, Master Carpenters Lisa McDaniel, Ryan Gardner, Shop Carpenters Amy Jonas, Michael Backhaus, Assistants to the Technical Director Sound Josh Loar, Sound Supervisor Paul Bozzi, Staff Sound Engineer Palmer Heffernan, Nicholas Pope, Assistants to the Sound Supervisor Projections Erik Trester, Head Projection Technician Stage Operations Janet Cunningham, Stage Carpenter Kate Begley Baker, Properties Runner Charles Harbert, Sound Operator Elizabeth Bolster, Wardrobe Supervisor

FOR THIS PRODUCTION Luis Abril, House Manager Shaminda Amarakoon, Erich Bolton, Anne Erbe, Karen Hashley, Catharine Kollros, Eric Lin, Nicholas Pope, Crew

The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac January 28 to 30, 2010 University Theatre, 222 York Street

up NEXT yaLE REPERtoRy tHEatRE WORLd pREMIERE

COMpuLSION

By RINNE GRoFF Directed by oSKaR EUStIS Featuring maNDy PatINKIN

A co-production with The Public Theater and Berkeley Repertory Theatre

PHOTO BY DAVID COOPER

JaNUaRy 29 to FEBRUaRy 28 yalerep.org

THE SERVANT OF TWO MASTERS

By CaRLo GoLDoNI Adapted by CoNStaNCE CoNGDoN From a translation by CHRIStINa SIBUL Directed by CHRIStoPHER BayES

PHOTO BY DAVID COOPER

maRCH 12 to aPRIL 3 yalerep.org

yaLE SCHooL oF DRama

CARLOTTA FESTIVAL OF NEW pLAYS may 9 to 15 drama.yale.edu

For tickets or more information, call 203.432.1234

NOBOUNDARIES: A SERIES OF GLOBAL PERFORMANCES Presented by Yale Repertory Theatre and World Performance Project at Yale, NO BOUNDARIES celebrates the diversity of voices and experiences in today’s world. NO BOUNDARIES explores—and explodes—the frontiers of theatrical invention through cutting-edge, thought-provoking dance, music, and theatre.

Tearing down cultural, linguistic, and geographic barriers, NO BOUNDARIES extends and enhances the educational mission of Yale University through a series of performances by artistic innovators from around the globe—right here in New Haven, right here at Yale.

UP NEXT JAPAN

BABY Q:

MESs

By YOKO HIGASHINO AND TOSHIO KAJIWARA

MARCH 25 TO 27 AT 8PM

ISEMAN THEATER, 1156 CHAPEL STREET

PHOTO BY SANADA.

“FASCINATING. A VISION OF APOCALYPTIC DARKNESS PENETRATED BY A POP SENSIBILITY.” ASAHI NEWSPAPER

203.432.1234 yalerep.org/noboundaries