Additional Material by Roderick Justice Lyrics by Christine Jones Technical Director Rob Kerby Costume Designer Jeff Shearer Stage Manager Ashley Bowman Orchestrations Jamey Strawn Scenic Designer William Scott Carole Choreography Roderick Justice Lighting Designer Andrew D. Bagicilupo Public Relations Audrey L. Suffrin PRESENTS 1CommonwealthTheatre
1 Commonwealth Theatre PRESENTS Church Girls, Umatilla USA Choreography Roderick Justice Orchestrations Jamey Strawn Costume Designer Jeff Shearer Stage Manager Ashley Bowman Scenic Designer William Scott Carole Lighting Designer Andrew D. Bagicilupo Technical Director Rob Kerby Public Relations Audrey L. Suffrin Story & Book by Ken Jones Music by Jamey Strawn Lyrics by Christine Jones Additional Material by Roderick Justice Directed by Ken Jones and Christine Jones Musical Direction by Jamey Strawn
Transcript
1Commonwealth Theatre
PRESENTS
Church Girls, Umatilla USA
ChoreographyRoderick Justice
OrchestrationsJamey Strawn
Costume DesignerJeff Shearer
Stage ManagerAshley Bowman
Scenic DesignerWilliam Scott Carole
Lighting DesignerAndrew D. Bagicilupo
Technical DirectorRob Kerby
Public RelationsAudrey L. Suffrin
Story & Book byKen Jones
Music by Jamey Strawn
Lyrics by Christine Jones
Additional Material byRoderick Justice
Directed byKen Jones and Christine Jones
Musical Direction byJamey Strawn
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CHAR ACTER L IST
Ron Burrage ................................................................Minerva Beehimer, Rev. Harv Feldspar,Sammy Coldenspore, Harley Buford
Ken Early .........................................................................................Revita Glory, Jefferson Glory,Darnell Nusspickle
Ken Jones ................................................................................ Daisy Feldspar, Dale Shirkwater,Felelicity Shirkwater, Irma Snead
Charlie Clark* ......................................................... Larry Coldenspore, Sherry Coldenspore,Shayna Beehimer, Rupert Eikenberry
Matt Bohnert .........................................................................................................Cloretta Powers,Horseshoe Dumpling, Studley Griggs,
Dressers ...............................................................................................Amy Rawe (Head Dresser), Meghan Logue, and Johnny Kyle Cook
* The Actor appears through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
SET TING
The Fellowship Hall of the Umatilla Second Christian Church in Umatilla, Florida. The time is the present.
SONG L IST
ACT I
1) Not Just an Amen2) Pledge3) Watch What You Say4) Keep Readin’ the Book5) Is This Love?6) Devilution7) Drive-Thru Dialysis8) Goin’ Down
ACT II9) Soul Food10) Just Like You11) Shut Yo’ Mouth12) I Don’t Mind Global Warming13) Another Love14) Shout Amen
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3Commonwealth Theatre
PRODUCTION STAFF
Artistic Director ...............................................................................................................Ken JonesManaging Director .................................................................................................Jamey StrawnAcademic Specialist .................................................................................................. Sandy Davis House Manager ................................................................................................Emma RobertsonGraphic Artist ..............................................................................................................Ron BurragePublicist .....................................................................................................................Audrey SuffrinProduction Photographer ...............................................................................Mikki Schaffner Master Carpenter .....................................................................................................Chris MurphyLoad In Manager ..................................................................................................Derek ShipmanStaff Carpenters ............................................................................................Brandon ChapmanMaster Electrician ...............................................................................................Ashley BowmanCostume Designer’s Assistant .......................................................................Sommer SchochStitcher ....................................................................................................................... Jodi DunavanFine Arts Manager ................................................................................................ Warren BrysonBox Office Manager .................................................................................................Susan Bolger
SPEC IAL THANKS
To President James Votruba, Provost and Vice President Gail Wells, and Dean Samuel Zachary for supporting both educational and professional theatre on the
campus of Northern Kentucky University.
To Lois and Richard Rosenthal for continued support through the Rosenthal Endowed Chair in Theatre.
To Dr. Mark Delworth for the careful removal of all the bad parts.
To Ron Burrage for his amazing Graphic Designs
To Audrey Suffrin Public Relations, LLC
ZERO: THE PROJECT TO END PROSTATE CANCERPlease remember, men, that early detection can help prevent the
spread of Prostate Cancer.
The ‘CHURCH GIRLS’ have had their prostates checked...now it’s your turn!
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W W W . F O O T L I G H T S . C O M
4 Commonwealth Theatre
CHAR ACTERS
THE CHURCH GIRLS
MINERVA BEEHIMER-is the wealthiest woman in town, and she uses her wealth to intimidate and bully. Minerva still chases younger boys, chops wood, and for pleasure, she loves to participate in cham-pionship wrestling. She is currently with a much younger man, Myron Posey
DAISY FELDSPAR- has been married to Harv for 20 years. She is the President of the Umatilla 2nd Christian Church Women’s Auxiliary League. Her hob-bies include indoor-herb gardening and replacing zippers in outerwear.
MAISY SHIRKWATER- is the twin sister of Daisy Feldspar. Maisy is the President of the Auxiliary League. Some describe Maisy as a rosebush with a beautiful flowering exterior but many thorns lying just beneath the surface.
SHERRY COLDENSPORE- is the secretary for the Auxiliary League. Sherry’s loves are dra-ma, music and saltwater taffy. She is sweet, kind and soft-spoken. Unfortunately, she is married to the meanest man in Umatilla.
REVITA GLORY- is an African American choir director and choreographer. She was asked to join the Umatilla Auxiliary League after a phone interview, and needless to say, the ladies were shocked when she arrived. Revita was very involved in her church in South Caro-lina-- The Watchacootchie Church of Holy Momentum.
CLORETTA POWERS- is an inspirational speaker. Cloretta is determined to make the world a better place to live. She is known throughout Umatilla as ‘the one who left.’ After attending the Umatilla Community College, Cloretta traveled to Orlando where she worked at Disney World selling frozen bananas at the entrance to the Jungle Cruise. This made her the fourth person to ever leave the Umatilla city limits without being arrested or drafted.
THE SIGNIFICANT OTHERS
REV. HARV FELDSPAR- is the Reverend of the Umatilla Second Christian Church. Rev. Feldspar is an outsider to Umatilla. He moved here 20 years ago from Bent
Back Falls, Kentucky. Harv’s contributions to the Umatilla Second Christian Church include co-ed softball games, imported root beer, and a heated toilet seat in the church basement restroom.
DALE SHIRKWATER- is a dentist. His first love is teeth, but his second is fishing. Dale is listed in Fisherman’s Paradise Magazine as having the most “fish related” injuries of any living angler, and because of these injuries he is unable to recognize up from down and left from right. He has been suspended from practicing Den-tistry, until this can be corrected.
MYRON POSEY- is the most flamboyant man in Umatilla. Myron loves to make decorative door hangings and driftwood coffee tables. He is somewhat outrageous, and once drove 650 miles to hear Barbra Streisand sing. Some say that the only reason he is allowed to stay in Umatilla is because of his relationship with Minerva Beehimer, but others feel it’s because of his crab puffs, which are regionally renown.
LARRY COLDENSPORE- will try anything to make a buck. He was a football star at Umatilla High carrying the ball 98 yards before realizing he was running the wrong way. He then carried the ball back for another 98 yards before finally scoring. This 196 yard run still stands today as the world record for distance in an American High School Football game.
THE CHILDREN
JEFFERSON GLORY- Revita’s son. Jef-ferson is said to have the “magic touch” when it comes to farming. Three-time winner of the Giant Yellow Squash contest, he recently was chosen by FIELD HAND Magazine as “Best Plower.” His only regret was his recent mishap at Piggo’s Bar and Grill when a stranger insulted Jef-ferson’s 4 feet, 6-inch cucumber. Piggo’s is now closed for repairs.
HORSESHOE DUMPLING- was raised by a herd of cows. He and his brother, Clem, were found at the age of three roaming wild in a dairy farm. It is suspected that they were left on the doorstep of the farmer, but then overlooked for next 36 months. A Guernsey cow named, Tallulah Bell, is listed as the legal guardian of the boys.
5Commonwealth Theatre
CHAR ACTERS (c o n t.)
FRANKIE FELDSPAR- rarely leaves the basement of his home. Due to his serious orthodontic needs as well as his ‘coke bottle glasses’, he is unable to survive in the real world. He is a sweet kid who lives through his religion based comic book collection. His favorite comic book heroes are SuperMoses, Captain Absolution, and the Cross-Men Action Team.
FELICITY SHIRKWATER- is a smart, young girl. Her goal is to leave Lake County. At the State Fair, she shocked the community with a reading from her essay-- “I HATE IT HERE.” She likes to eat and has been wear-ing clothing from BUBBA’S BIG AND WIDE STORE since she was 4 years old.
SHAYNA BEEHIMER- granddaughter to Minerva. Shayna is a three-time Umatilla High School champion in the Octathalon. She holds two silver medals and one bronze medal. The Octatha-lon incorporates eight elements: cross country skiing, shooting, tree-climbing, bass-fishing, guitar playing, taxidermy, basic first aid and appliance repair. She loves physical fitness, but she once assaulted a Pilates instructor because ‘Pilates’ is insult to serious athletes.
SAMMY COLDENSPORE- is a free spirit. Most of the time, he is not allowed outside because he often gets the scent of other animals in his nostrils and runs away. He has been promised a new pet skunk if he will wear most of his clothes when in public.
TOWNSFOLKS
DARNELL NUSSPICKLE- is the caretaker of the Umatilla Second Christian Church. His responsibilities range from custodial jobs to digging the graves in the church cemetery. There are rumors that he’s a heavy drinker after he was found sleeping in an open grave on top of the recently deceased Cora Flayley.
STUDLEY GRIGGS- loves to hunt more than Nature or Natural Selection ever meant for any one man to love hunting. He was recently involved in a voluntary military survival study where, he was left half-naked in a wooded area with no food or water. He emerged 2 weeks later 2 lbs. heavier wearing a three-piece suit made from elk, bear, and weasel skins.
IRMA SNEAD- a local seamstress, has relocated to the area after being banned from the Midwest for an incident involving a boy’s choir, 70 yards of Taffeta, and a biker named “SHARK TOOTH.” She loves to wear leopard prints, and prides herself on her eye for fashion.
NAOMI MAY HOOKER- a graduate of the Pikewater Beauty and Charm School. Naomi May is a hardworking career-oriented woman. Her savings, along with an endowment from the late Willy Grabs of Willy Grabs Trout Boats, has enabled her to branch out into real estate. She has recently been featured in the Plastic Surgeon’s Magazine- TIGHT as “the Most Surgically Altered Woman of the Year”.
RUPERT EIKENBERRY- is a mortician and the owner of the ‘ASH IN A FLASH’ cre-matorium. He is always well dressed and proper, because, as he puts it, you never know when “your next job is going to get hit by a bus.” Rupert’s hobby is studying the preservation qualities of excess em-balming fluid on organic things. He has on display a 27 year-old, 22 pound Royal Jubilee Watermelon, as well as his 118 year-old great-great uncle ‘T-Bone’ Eiken-berry. It should be noted that both look as fresh as they day they were ‘picked.’
HARLEY BUFORD- Buford’s Meat and Seafood Store has been closed by the Board of Health six times for violations in-cluding: substitution of opossum meat for veal, unsanitary conditions, and unidenti-fiable particles in the ground chuck.
THE MUSICIAN
DARLENE OPAL- is the keyboardist for the Church. She has been released from the County Jail on ‘Church Arrest” to play for the services and musical events. Darlene has a problem with shoplifting. She once tried to walk out of a PEP BOYS with two steel-belted radial tires. Currently, her electronic ankle bracelet keeps track of her activities, but it also occasionally changes the key on her electronic synthesizer. This has created havoc with the choir.
For more info go to:www.churchgirlsthemusical.com
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B IOGR APHIES
Ken Jones (Daisy Feldspar/ Dale Shirkwater/ Felicity Shirkwater/Irma Snead, Story & Book Writer/Co-Director)Mr. Jones is honored to be the Lois and
Richard Rosenthal Chair in Theatre at Northern Kentucky University. He is an award winning playwright and screen-writer. Ken received his BFA from the University of Florida, an MFA in playwrit-ing from the University of Virginia and he graduated in playwriting from the In-stitute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University. His play, A RED EAGLE FALLING, was produced in New York City’s WRITER’S THEATRE in 1986. In 1989, TIME magazine chose Ken Jones’ play, DARKSIDE for its Critics’ Choice. Jones has had over four hundred productions of his 24 plays, seven published, and his works are listed in several anthologies and monologue books. Professional the-atres have produced his plays across the United States, Great Britain and Canada. He has won a Telly Award, a Communica-tor’s Award, the Post-Corbett award for Literary Artist, the DuPont Fellowship, the Delauney Playwriting Award, the Denver Prima Facie Award, 4 Acclaim Awards and the Kentucky Playwright’s Award. Jones served as head-writer at Lightpoint Entertainment at Disney/MGM Studios. He developed pilot episodes for over 17 different televi-sion series airing on ABC, HBO, Disney Channel, and PBS. He received an Emmy nomination in 1994. Jones is currently the Chairman for the Department of The-atre as well as playwright-in-residence at Northern Kentucky University. As an ac-tor Ken has had the opportunity to work with Nobel Prize winner, Derek Walcott on his original musical STEEL, Broadway playwright, Allan Knee at the American Repertory Theatre on his play THE LOST BOYS, and Broadway director Alvin Ep-stein at the Hasty Pudding Theatre. Some of his favorite acting roles performed were Commonwealth Theatre Company’s productions of A STAR SPANGLED GIRL, PLAY IT AGAIN SAM, THE ODD COUPLE, CALIFORNIA SUITE, MURDER AT THE HOWARD JOHNSON, and GREATER TUNA. He has play the title roles at The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati in RUM-
PLESTILTSKIN, WILLY WONKA, and the WIZARD OF OZ. Ken has also provided the voices for many animated shows produced at Disney-MGM Studios. Ken wishes to thank his family, and especially his wife, Christine, for her lyrics that really bring these characters to life.
Christine Jones(Lyricist/Co-Director)Christine Jones is an award-winning poet and lyricist. Christine received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting Performance from
Florida State University, and then she continued her education at the Univer-sity of Virginia where she received her Masters of Fine Arts in Acting. She wrote the lyrics for Lifelines, an original musi-cal, which garnered 3 awards for a New Play by the Kennedy Center / American College Theatre Festival. She was also commissioned by the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Freedom of Expression to write the lyrics for The Land Without Liberty, a children’s musical. A Fron-tier Tale, an original historical outdoor musical commissioned by the Cincin-nati Bicentennial Organization, toured throughout Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky performing over 40 times during the summer of 1988. She also wrote the lyrics for BURGERTOWN, the musical, which premiered at the Commonwealth Theatre Company and then moved to Theatre Building Chicago. BURGER-TOWN was eventually published by Heuer Play Publishing and has been pro-duced in the United States, New Zealand an Australia. Also an actress, Christine has appeared in numerous television commercials, industrials and voice-overs. Recent clients include Disney, Universal Studios, Pantene, Kroger, Crest, Intel, and Sundance Channel. She has performed leading roles at Heritage Theatre, the Aronoff Center for the Performing Arts, Cincinnati’s Children’s Theatre, and the Commonwealth Theatre Company. She resides in Kentucky with her husband Ken and their three children, Kyley, Haley and Will. She thanks her beautiful family and friends for their love and support.
7Commonwealth Theatre
B IOGR APHIES (c o n t.)
Jamey Strawn (Darlene Opal)~Music & Orchestra-tions/Music Director~Jamey Strawn is ex-cited to bring Church Girls, Umatilla USA to Stage 773. Jamey has
performed regionally with the Broadway Tour Productions of Wicked, Spamalot, A Chorus Line, and The Sound of Music, and with Jersey Boys in Cincinnati, Cleve-land, Louisville, and Indianapolis. He has been the Musical Director and Arranger for many award winning productions, including A Chorus Line, Bye Bye Birdie, Titanic: The Musical, Urinetown, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Man of La Mancha, which was performed at the Sibiu Interna-tional Theatre Festival in Sibiu, Romania. His musical directing credits with the Cin-cinnati Children’s Theatre include Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Jr., Disney’s Mulan Jr., Rudolph, Disney’s High School Musi-cal 2 On Stage!, Seussical Jr., Spelling Bee and the STAR Program. Jamey is cur-rently an Associate Professor at Northern Kentucky University, where he oversees the Musical Theatre Program and is the Resident Musical Director for both the Mainstage Production Season and the Commonwealth Theatre Company. In 2006, he received the Outstanding Junior Faculty Award from the College of Arts and Sciences. His first original musical written with Ken and Christine Jones, Burgertown, is now available through Heuer Publishing at hitplays.com and is receiving productions all over the world.
Roderick Justice (Maisy Shirkwater/Myron Posey/Frankie Feldspar/Naomi May Hooker, Additional Book Material/Choreography)Roderick is a graduate of Northern Kentucky
University’s Department of Theatre and Dance with his BFA in Musical Theatre. This is his 9th season with The Common-wealth Theatre Company’s Series. He is approaching his 5th year working with The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati where he is currently the Associate Artistic Direc-tor under the training and leadership of Jack Louiso. Roderick has trained and worked all over the country and in Europe
as an award winning actor, choreogra-pher, designer, and director in places like Chicago, Orlando, Maui, Atlanta, Nashville, San Diego, Romania, and Off-Broadway in New York City. He has choreographed for several theatres including The Carnegie, The Commonwealth Theatre Company, Cincin-nati Landmark Productions, Northern Kentucky University, and Town Hall The-atre. Some recent choreography, directing, and costume credits include: High School Musical 2 (Director/Choreographer/Costume Designer), High School Musical (Choreographer), Mulan (Choreographer/Costumes), A Christmas Carol (Director), Jesus Christ Superstar (Choreographer/Costume Designer), Seussical (Chore-ographer/Costume Designer), Ruthless (Choreographer), Beauty and the Beast (Co-Director/Choreography) Forever Plaid (Choreographer) and I Love A Piano (Choreographer). Roderick not only directs and choreographs for The Children’s Theatre’s Mainstage series, but for the touring division, ArtReach, as well. Roderick proudly serves on the Cincinnati Acclaim Awards Panel and on the Acclaim Special Events committee, recognizing theatre excellence in the Greater Cincin-nati Area. For more information and updates please visit his website www.roderickjustice.com.
Matt Bohnert (Cloretta Powers/Horseshoe Dumpling/Studley Griggs)Matt has appeared in the Greater Cincin-nati Theatre area in the roles of Albert Pe-
terson in Bye Bye Birdie, Harold Bride in Titanic the Musical, Ben Holtz in The 2009 YES Festival World Premiere of Nightjars, The Mason Singer in Working the Musi-cal, Munkustrap in Cats, George Milton in Of Mice and Men, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Billy Boy Bill in Urinetown the Musical. Matt has many professional credits including LeFou in Beauty & the Beast with Children’s Theatre of Cincin-nati, Riff in West Side Story with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, Jim in I Love A Piano, Simon Zealotes in Jesus Christ Superstar, Jinx in Forever Plaid, Anselmo in Man of La Mancha (at NKU and the International Theatre Festival in Sibiu, Romania) with the Commonwealth
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B IOGR APHIES (c o n t.)
Theatre Company. Matt can be found as a featured vocalist on the original soundtracks Lovers and Burgertown. Matt received a BFA degree in Musical Theatre from Northern Kentucky Univer-sity. He would like to thank God, his Family and Catie for their love and encourage-ment. Please visit wwwmattbohnert.com for more information. AMEN!
Ron Burrage (Minerva Beehimer/Rev. Harv Feldspar/Sammy Coldenspore/Harley Buford) Ron is thrilled to join the Church Girls in his Chicago debut after
originating the roles in Cincinnati, Ohio. REGIONAL: Emma, the Musical, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (OH); Ito in Mame, Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, Hol-lywood Playhouse (FL); Sweet Charity and Applause, Parker Playhouse (FL). Other cred-its include award-winning performances across the country as LeFeo in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Cincinnati Music Theatre (OH); Seymour in Little Shop of Hor-rors, J. Pierrepont Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Tacoma Musical Playhouse (WA); Utterson in Jekyll and Hyde, Mendel in Falsettoland, Nick Cristano in Over the River and Through the Woods, Theatre Winter Haven (FL); Georg Nowack in She Loves Me, Edward Lyons in Blood Brothers, Rocky in Damn Yankees, Osceola Center (FL); Beadle Bamford in Sweeney Todd, Footlighters (OH); Professor in Gilligan’s Island, the Musical, Manny Rosen in Poseidon: An Upsidedown Musi-cal Adventure, Falcon Theatre (OH); Hero in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Charlie Brown in You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Celebration Players (FL) and multiple characters in Joey and Maria’s Comedy Wedding. FILM: Cornhole: The Movie, Fallen the Series, various commer-cials and voice overs. For more information, please visit www.ronburrage.com
Charlie Clark(Sherry Coldenspore/Rupert Eikenberry/Larry Coldenspore/Shayna Beehimer)Charlie Clark returns to Chicago after being last seen as
Robert in Company for Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago at Stage 773 (Theatre Building Chicago), a performance for which he received a Jeff award. Other Chicago credits include Frank in Mer-rily We Roll Along (Jeff nomination) and Jack in Into the Woods (After Dark Award), both with Porchlight, Gabriel in Kiss of the Spider Woman with Apple Tree Theatre (Jeff Award, Outstanding Ensemble) and the two-man multi-char-acter show The Hawkshaws with The Baum House (After Dark Award, Out-standing Ensemble), among others. Mr. Clark is thrilled to return to Chicago and Stage 773 for Church Girls. Charlie now lives in Cincinnati where he has been seen as George in Sunday in the Park with George, The Husband in See What I Wanna See, Jerry in The Full Monty, Mason in Take Me Out, Joe Kennedy, Jr and Jerry in Grey Gardens and Freddy in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, for which he received a Cincinnati Acclaim Award. Charlie would like to thank his wife Greta, and sons Ben, Jack and Owen for letting him play in his favorite city.
Ken Early(Revita Glory/ Jefferson Glory/Darnell Nusspickle)Ken is extremely excited to be a part of this production. In 2007, Ken traveled to
Romania for the Commonwealth Theatre Production of Man of LaMacha at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival. His professional credits include appearances at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, Know Theatre of Cincinnati and New Stage Col-lective, Footlighters Inc, Cincinnati Music Theatre and Showbiz Players. His musical theatre credits include: Parade, Footlight-ers, Inc.; Man of La Mancha, The Rose Theatre; Ragtime, Jersey Productions; Side Show, New Stage Collective; Civil War, Showbiz Players; Dreamgirls, Mainstreet Theatre; Big River, Shawnee Playhouse. His acting credits include: The Odd Couple, The Rose Theatre, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Know Theatre, among others.
Andrew D. Bacigalupo(Lighting Designer) Previous Commonwealth Theatre Company shows include The Taffetas
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B IOGR APHIES (c o n t.)
(Stage Manager), Forever Plaid (Lighting Design) and Man of La Mancha (Master Electrician). Recent professional credits: The 2010 International Tour of Tao: The Martial Art of Drumming (Technical Director) and The 2009 International Tour of Drumline Live! (Lighting Director), which included extended engagements in Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, Korea. Upcom-ing projects include the International Tour of Garfield Live! (Production Stage Man-ager) touring the US and Asia. Andrew received a BFA degree in Lighting Design from Northern Kentucky University.
Rob Kerby(Technical Director)Mr. Kerby received his B.F.A. from Northern Kentucky University and M.F.A. from The University of Illinois. Since, he has worked in various professional and university set-tings including The Ohio State University, Walt Disney World MGM Studios, Indiana State University and The Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at The Univer-sity of Illinois. Favorite Commonwealth Theatre Company credits include: Greater Tuna, Something’s Afoot, I Love You, You’re Perfect Now Change, 1940’s Radio Hour, and She Loves Me.
Jeff Shearer (Costume Designer)Jeff is happy to be designing again at the Commonwealth Theatre Co. Jeff is the Costume Shop Manager for Northern Kentucky University, and recently won 2 Acclaim Awards for Bye Bye Birdie and Rhinoceros. He has designed costumes all over the country for numerous theme parks including Kings Island and Cedar Point. He has also designed for Theatre By The Sea, The Human Race Theatre, Cincinnati Opera Outreach, Cincinnati Zoo’s Festival of Lights and The San Deigo Rep. His favorite projects include Seussi-cal, Beauty and the Beast, and Peter Pan. Jeff holds a BA from Ashland University, in Ashland Ohio. As always, Jeff sends love and thanks to Mark and Riley.
Ashley Bowman(Stage Manager/Master Electrician) Ashley graduated with B.F.A. degree in Stage Management fron NKU in 2010. She currently resides in Chicago and hopes to continue her stage manage-ment work in professional theatre. Ashley
served as the assistant stage manager for the Greater Cincinnati version of the Commonwealth Theatre Company’s CHURCH GIRLS before taking over as Stage manager for the Chicago pre-miere. Other stage management credits include The Women, Guys and Dolls, the 2007 YES Festival world premiere of The Aaronsville Woman, Pillowman , and she has assistant stage managed Cats and Urinetown: The Musical.
Meghan Logue(Dresser for Mr. Bohnert and Mr. Early)Meghan graduated from NKU with a BFA degree in Acting performance in 2010. As an actress, she appeared as Meg in the 2009 YES Festival of Love & Communica-tion, Nancy in The Women, Monica in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (NKU), Sandy in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie with Wayward Actors Co., Linda Christie in Play it Again Sam, and Bette Logan in Heaven Can Wait with Little Colonel Playhouse. She currently resides in Chicago pursuing an acting career.
Johnny Kyle Cook (Dresser for Mr. Jones and Mr. Justice)Johnny Kyle graduated from NKU with a B.F.A. in Acting performance 2010. He is currently resides in Chicago and is pursuing a career in musical theatre. His acting roles have included Roger in Om-nium Gatherum, Thomas Andrews in Titanic the Musical, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, Sergeant Horatio Ramirez in the 2009 YES Festival world premiere of Shock and Awe: Soldiers’ Voices from Iraq, Ensemble in Working the Musical, Grand Homme in Once On This Island, Bustopher Jones in Cats, Rusty Charlie in Guys & Dolls, Officer Barrel in Urinetown: the Musical, S. Uperman in On the Town His favorite roles are John/Ensemble in Jesus Christ Superstar with the Carnegie Performing Arts Center and Commonwealth Theatre Co., Snoopy in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Jamie in Last 5 Years with Company of Dreams Johnny lives and works in the Chicago area, and dur-ing the summers he serves as a Resident Assistant at the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts.
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B IOGR APHIES (c o n t.)
Amy Rawe(Head Dresser as well as Dresser for Mr. Clark and Mr. Burrage) Amy is currently Senior Costume Design student at NKU pursuing her BFA degree. Her original Costume Designs include the 2009 YES Festival world premiere of Shock & Awe: Soldiers’ Voices from Iraq, Of Mice & Men and THE ROCKY HOR-ROR SHOW. As an Assistant to Costume Designer she has worked on Cats, Guys & Dolls, and The Women. In 2009, she was the Costume Designer for Eastbound Jungle with the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Amy is also a skilled stitcher working on Forever Plaid and Bedroom Farce with Commonwealth Theatre Co.
Emma Robertson (House Manager) Emma graduated from NKU with a B.F.A. in Acting performance in 2009. She
currently resides in Chicago where she is studying improvisation and working as an actress. Her roles include Curly’s Wife in Of Mice & Men; Rachel in Reckless (Studio Series); Gigi Stone in Darkside; Guilden-stern in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead; Sandy in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Babe Botrelle in Crimes of the Heart and Annelle in Steel Magnolias with the Commonwealth Theatre Co.
William Scott Carole (Scenic Designer) William received his BFA in Scenic Design from Warwick University and his MFA from Yale. His scenic designs include the world premieres of the plays Missing Barricades, The Big One and Dark Meat. William has designed shows for Walt Disney World, Paramount Theme Parks, and Knott’s Berry Farm.
ABOUT US
CTC
The Commonwealth Theatre Company is located on the campus of Northern Kentucky University and is the professional Theatre wing of the Department of Theatre and Dance.
Located just 7 miles south from Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University’s Department of Theatre and Dance provides students with a comprehensive education to become the next generation of artists, educators, and participants. The department has over 250 majors and offers BA and BFA degrees in Acting, Dance, Musical Theatre, Theatre Design & Production, Stage Management and Playwriting. The department maintains a strong regional profile and has achieved national recognition through the success of its graduates and faculty.
In its 35 year history, The Department of Theatre and Dance and the Common-wealth Theatre Company at NKU have produced and supported over 87 new works from workshop to premiere productions.
NKU
Northern Kentucky University is a growing metropolitan university of more than 15,000 students served by more than 2,000 faculty and staff on a thriving suburban campus near Cincinnati. NKU has become a leader in Greater Cincinnati and Kentucky by providing a private school education for a fraction of the cost. Northern Kentucky University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
www.NKU.edu
11Commonwealth Theatre
ABOUT STAGE 773
Mission
Stage 773 acts to embody the vibrant spirit of Chicago off-loop theatre:
• We celebrate the creative process, supporting the work of actors, directors, writers, composers and designers.• We nurture the artist, offering technical, organizational and emotional support.• We honor our audience, presenting accessible, affordable, exceptional entertainment.
Vision
Stage 773 operates a multi-theatre performing arts venue that serves our community through the arts – both Chicago artists and the public who visit us.
We strive to offer support to artists as they develop their voices and talents. We provide rehearsal and performance space, our knowledge and experience, and a nurturing environment to help actors, directors, designers, writers and other artists reach their potential.
We will remain true to our storefront roots, offering our audiences the best possible theatre experience at low ticket prices. Our patrons will be an extension of our family, receiving the same warm welcome and respect we offer our artists.
We will remember every day that art is transformative – whether we make someone laugh hysterically or consider the world in a new way, whether our work brings people to tears of empathy or joy – and that the artists and audiences who entrust themselves to us, for an evening or for years, create that shared experience.
STAGE 773 BOARD AND STAFF
STAFFBrian Posen ........................................................................................................... Artistic DirectorMegan Flanagan ............................................................................................ Executive DirectorJill Valentine .............................................................................................Director of OperationsBrian Peterlin ................................................................................................ Director of FacilitiesJack Short ......................................................................................... Customer Service DirectorJesse Aukeman, Nancy Farnard, Billy Sullivan ........................................... Box Office StaffCassandra Rose .......................................................................................................................Intern
Laura Michaud(Chair)
Christine CarsenMichael GellmanCharles H. Jesser
Alex MeyerSteve Miller
Marlene Rubenstein(Advisory Member)
Brian Walter
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
12 Commonwealth Theatre
INVEST IN STAGE 773!Your support is critical to our future – and to the future of the many local artists who partner with us. The financial support of individuals, corporations and foundations allows us to:
• offer subsidized theatre rental to our fellow Chicago performing arts groups, along with marketing, audience development, ticketing and technical assistance.
• present high-quality programming at low ticket prices.
• maintain and improve our facility, a highly-beloved venue for Chicago artists and audiences.
Please consider a gift to our Annual Fund, or ask us about specific projects and funds that need support.
