aT r E Cin C
The 2013-2014 Otto M. Budig Family Foundation Season
D. Lynn Meyers, Producing Artistic Director
Premiere Sponsors: Bill & Sue Friedlander
Design Sponsors:
Rich Postler & Manuel Hernandez
tribes by Nina Raine
Directed by Michael Evan Haney† January 29-February 16, 2014
Set & Lighting Designer
Sound Designer
Costume Designer
Properties Master & Design Assistant
Production Coordinator & Master Electrician
Production Stage Manager
Technical Operations Director
Dialect Coaches
Brian c. Mehring
Fitz Pattonǂ
Reba Senske
Shannon Rae Lutz
Matthew Hollstegge
Brandon T. Holmes*
Aaron Clements
Kate Glasheen, Jennifer Scapetis
TRIBES was commissioned and first presented by English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre on 14 October 2010.
TRIBES was presented by Barrow Street Theatre, New York, NY in 2012.
TRIBES is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.
The photographing, video and/or audio recording of this performance by any means whatsoever is strictly prohibited.
This Theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
*Cast/production member belongs to Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers. This theatre operates under an agreement between Actors’ Equity Association, Professional Actors, and Stage Managers in the United States. Understudies never substitute for listed players unless a specific announcement is made at the time of the performance.
‡ Production member belongs to United Scenic Artists, Local 829, a labor union representing designers and artists in the entertainment industry. It is a nationwide autonomous Local of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).
2013-2014 season presenting sponsor:
season sponsors:
Dr. & Mrs. Charles O. Carothers
The Mitchell S. & Jacqueline P. Meyers Foundation
Ruth D. & John Sawyer
Fairy godmother program sponsors:
Judith Postler
season ticket sponsor:
education outreach programs sponsor:
additional support:
season media partners:
educational outreach supporters
William P. Anderson Foundation
The Charles H. Dater Foundation
The Andrew Jergens Foundation P&G Fund
The William O. Purdy, Jr. Foundation
The John A. Schroth Family Charitable Trust, PNC Bank, Trustee
The Ladislas & Vilma Segoe Family Foundation
Jack J. Smith, Jr. Charitable Trust, PNC Bank, N.A. and Karen B. Wachs, Co-Trustees
Target Toyota
The Wohlgemuth Herschede Foundation
next stage supporters
Anonymous (2)
The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation
City of Cincinnati
The Greater Cincinnati Foundation
The Mitchell S. & Jacqueline P. Meyers Foundation
Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission P&G Fund
Ruth D. & John Sawyer
season accommodations sponsor
Garfield Suites Hotel
in-kind contributors
Chet Cavaliere
China Gourmet
Cincinnati CityBeat
Cincinnati Magazine
Cincinnati State Technical & Community College, Interpreter Training Program
College Hill Coffee Co. & Casual Gourmet
Fresh Market
iSpyCincy.com
Lavomatic Café LPK
Mecklenburg Gardens
Suder’s Art Store
Trader Joe's
WGUC 90.9 FM
WKRQ 101.9 FM
WNKU 89.7 FM
WVXU 91.7 FM
Yelp Cincinnati
cast (in alphabetical order)
cast & crew
heading
Billy ....................................................................................................... Dale Dymkoski
Daniel ......................................................................................... Ryan Wesley Gilreath*
Ruth Jen Joplin*
Sylvia ................................................................................................ Kelly Mengelkoch*
Christopher ....................................................................................... Barry Mulholland*
Beth .......................................................................................................... Amy Warner*
running crew
Assistant Director; Sound & Video Operator ............................................. Ben Raanan
1st Assistant Stage Manager......................................................................... Zach Wells
2nd Assistant Stage Manager Becca Howell
Sound & Video Operator ....................................................................... Jeremy Parker
Light Board Operator .............................................................................. Jared Hudson
Running Crew ........................................... Linnea Bond, Jeremy Parker, Zak Schneider
Wardrobe ................................................................. Hannah Sawicki, Sola Thompson
understudies
Daniel .................................................................................................... Zak Schneider
Ruth Becca Howell
Sylvia ........................................................................................................ Linnea Bond
Beth ....................................................................................................... Jeremy Parker
setting
Present day.
Tribes is performed with one intermission.
Approximate total running time is 2 hours, 15 minutes.
special acknowledgments
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
why i wrote tribes
by Nina Raine
Reprinted with Permission from Royal Court Theatre, London
I first had the idea of writing Tribes when I watched a documentary about a deaf couple. The woman was pregnant. They wanted their baby to be deaf. I was struck by the thought that this was actually what many people feel, deaf or otherwise. Parents take great pleasure in witnessing the qualities they have managed to pass on to their children. Not only a set of genes. A set of values, beliefs. Even a particular language.
The family is a tribe: an infighting tribe, but intensely loyal.
Once I started looking around, tribes were everywhere. I went to New York and was fascinated by the Orthodox Jews in Williamsburg, who all wear a sort of uniform. They were like an enormous extended family.
And just like some religions can seem completely mad to non-believers, so the rituals and hierarchies of a family can seem nonsensical to an outsider.
I learnt some sign language. I found it immensely tiring. Sign demands that you heighten your facial expressions – ‘like’ – you stroke your neck downwards and smile beatifically, ‘don’t like’ you stroke your neck upwards and make a face almost as if you are throwing up. I felt like I was being made to assume a personality that didn’t fit me. I realised how much we express our personality through the way we speak. I didn’t like having to change my personality. And sign has a different grammar. I felt stupid, slow, uncomprehending. Was this what it might be like to be a deaf person trying to follow a rapid spoken conversation? But I was also envious. I loved the way sign looked when used by those fluent in it. It could be beautiful. Wouldn’t it be great to be a ‘virtuoso’ in sign? They must exist, like poets or politicians in the hearing world…
Finally, I thought about my own family. Full of its own eccentricities, rules, in-jokes and punishments. What if someone in my (hearing, garrulous) family had been born deaf?
All these things went into the play, which took a very long time to write. All I knew was that at the beginning we would be plunged into a family dinner. The first scene was easy to write. I wrote it with no idea of the characters’ names, or of how many siblings there were. But oddly, it is one of the scenes that has hardly changed during the writing of the play. It sat there for a very long time. And then, slowly, I wrote the rest. The crazy family was born fully formed. I just had to work out what happened to them.
director's notes
My niece, Molly, was born with a profound hearing impairment. Like Billy in tonight’s play, she was raised as a lip reader in a hearing, academic family. My wife, Amy Warner, once asked her if she liked cartoons. She answered, “No. Because when they talk their mouths only say, Blah, blah, blah.” Molly yearned for a best friend and sometimes felt she was a disappointment as a daughter. An extremely bright and engaging child, I remember one Christmas in Minnesota the extended family read A Christmas Carol together and at age six she read the role of Christmas Past. She was wonderful, sounding out the word “’Rec-la-ma-tion” with relish. She received cochlear implants during her sophomore year at Yale. She continued her education at UC San Francisco Medical School. She is now a doctor doing research in psychiatry. Because of her, and the challenges I saw her overcome, I was drawn to this play immediately.
Tribes, by Nina Raine, examines questions that confront every family with a deaf child. We experience, in a visceral way, the issues that arise from being deaf in a very hearing world. The isolation, the exclusion and the Audism inherent in the hearing community affect not only the deaf person but also those who love them.
But one doesn’t need to know or be a deaf person to be affected by this story. Raine’s play also examines the idea of what it means to be a family, a “tribe”, and how we define ourselves by the tribes to which we belong. The play explores the power these tribes have over us and the difficulties encountered when trying to break away from the tribe or in trying to change the tribal rules.
This is a fiercely intelligent and emotional play filled with exciting, exasperating and loving characters—just like a family. I hope you leave the theatre tonight not only with more knowledge, but also with more questions. I hope those questions lead to discussions with your loved ones about the idea of “family.” My favorite form of theatre is one that challenges us, surprises us and makes us question our place in the world. I hope this one does all of those things for you.
-Michael Evan Haney
March 19–april 6
signi F icant events in dea F history
1648 (UK): British physician and philosopher John Bulwer, who studied and wrote about the importance of gesture for communication, publishes Philocophus, in which he become the first person in Britain to advocate education for the deaf.
1760 (UK): Thomas Braidwood founds Braidwood’s Academy for the Deaf and Dumb in Hackney, the first of its kind in England. Braidwood adopted a combination of signing and speaking, a forerunner to the Total Communication method. However, this school was available only to those wealthy enough to afford it.
1792 (UK): Reverend John Townsend founds the first ever public school for the deaf in England.
1792-1860s (UK): Referred to as the golden age of sign language in deaf education in Britain. De l’Epee and Heinicke correspond with each other, each trying to further their own point of view. Oralism gains momentum near the end, which culminates in the International Congress on the Deaf or the Milan Conference, in 1880.
1817 (US): Thomas Gallauder and Laurent Clerc found the first American Deaf school in Connecticut. Gallaudet traveled to Europe to study methods of educating the deaf so he could bring back recommendations for a school for the deaf in America.
1818-1912 (US): More than 30 schools for the Deaf are established in America by deaf and hearing teachers from the Connecticut school. ASL flourishes, and 40 percent of all teachers in Deaf schools are deaf themselves.
1864 (US): Gallaudet University is founded in Washington, D.C., headed by the son of Thomas Gallaudet. Abraham Lincoln signs its charter and it is the only accredited facility for the deaf to offer college degrees.
1870 (US): Alexander Graham Bell becomes involved in promoting deaf education. His mother was deaf and his father and grandfather were elocutionists, who specialized in voice presentation and delivery. He founds a school in 1872 that is focused on the oral method of instruction for teachers of the deaf using the Visible Speech method, developed by his father. This school is not very effective, earning opposition from the established Deaf schools that use the manual (sign language) method.
1876 (US): Bell invents the telephone, and on his reputation and wealth, founds the Volta Bureau to promote oralism in education for deaf children. He later becomes the first president of the American Association to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf.
1880: The International Congress on the Deaf is held, furthering the oralist agenda. Planned and organized by a committee set up by the Pereire Society, a society in France against sign language, the Congress was biased, and over half of the invited delegates were known oralists. It was said that speech and sign together ruin opportunities to develop lip-reading and speech. A vote was held to determine which way to move forward hearing teachers and educators from Italy, France, England, Sweden, Belgium and the United States. No deaf people were present to represent themselves.
1892 (US): Electrical hearing aid is invented, and it weighs several pounds, making them difficult to use.
1941-1945 (US): World War II creates a need for labor, and deaf men and women are hired in record numbers. This alerts the hearing community to the abilities of deaf people.
1944 (UK): National Deaf Children’s Society is founded in London. The 1944 Education Act ensures that sign language is kept out of the classrooms in Britain.
1950-1960s (UK): Audiology is introduced as well as the idea of measuring hearing loss. Oralism becomes stricter in schools, with many students punished for using sign language.
1960 (US): William Stoke writes Sign Language Structure, the first book recognizing sign language as an actual language.
1964 (US): Oral deaf education is labeled a failure by the Babbidge Report, issued by Congress.
1988 (UK): The first Resolution of the European Parliament on Sign Languages was adopted, which focused on the rights of the deaf and the importance of sign language in their lives.
2003 (UK): British Sign Language is recognized by the government as a full, independent language.
2013 (US): ASL is not yet recognized as an official language by the federal government. Some individual states, including Minnesota, recognize ASL as a language.
—Excerpted from the Guthrie Theater Play Guide for Tribes. Reprinted with permission.
the cast
dAL e dy MKo SK i (Billy) began his acting career in New York City with a foundation in the Meisner Technique, developed out of the legendary Neighborhood Playhouse. After performing in downtown experimental theater and appearing on Law & Order: SVU, he relocated to Los Angeles where he starred in the independent films Lucky Bastard, Somefarwhere, and The Pretty Boys. In between dramatic roles, Mr. Dymkoski can be found performing standup comedy at Flappers Comedy Club and the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. Never one to sit still, he also enjoys playing baseball and music, training CrossFit, cooking and romping around with his two rescued Chihuahua pups. At the age of three, he was diagnosed with a moderately severe bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and was outfitted with hearing aids. He has lived through every incarnation of hearing aid, and believes today's digital technology has given him the chance to play guitar and sing in pitch, something he never thought possible. He is honored to be part of ETC's production of Tribes. For more information, visit www.daledymkoski.com.
ryan we S ley G ilreaTH (Daniel), a New York-based actor, is glad to be making his return to ETC. He was last seen in Other Desert Cities and Next Fall. His other ETC credits include 33 Variations and Mary's Wedding. As a child growing up in Cincinnati, he always wanted to be a police officer, doctor, fireman, pilot, clown, lawyer...clown. After deciding that acting would allow him to do it all, he trained at the University of Central Florida's Conservatory program. His television credits include NBC's Deception, Fox's pilot Guilty in which he had a scene opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Team Umizoomi on Nick Jr. Recently, Mr. Gilreath was seen as Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol as Playhouse in the Park, worked with Emmy-nominated Stephen David Entertainment on the miniseries Gold Fever which aired on Discovery last October, and in the film The Tribunal. For more info, visit: www.ryanwesleygilreath.com.
Did you know: We offer 1/2 Price and $15 Student Rush Tickets for all shows throughout the season, starting 2 hours prior to showtime (Tickets and seating subject to availability). Purchase by phone or in person.
the cast cont.
jen jop L in (Ruth) returns to ETC, having recently appeared in Rapture, Blister, Burn earlier this season. She is a proud member of Actors’ Equity, a graduate of Wright State University, a resident artist with the Human Race Theatre in Dayton, and Development Associate at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Originally from St. Louis, she has worked across the country as an actress, voiceover artist, producer, and teacher. Some of her favorite roles include Annette in God of Carnage, Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra, Catherine in Proof, Maria in Twelfth Night, Lenny in Crimes of the Heart, Bun in The Love Talker, and Harper in Angels in America. She would like to thank Michael for this opportunity to play with such a fantastic cast and crew. Her heart and thanks belong to Jason, her husband, and Max, her son, for all they do to help Mommy take the stage.
K elly M en G el Koc H (Sylvia) is thrilled to be making her ETC debut with Tribes. Originally hailing from Kansas, she is a tenth-year resident ensemble member with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (CSC), and is happy to now call the Queen City her home. Locally, she has also performed with New Stage Collective, The Human Race Theatre Company, Xavier University, as well as most recently with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in A Christmas Carol. Some favorite memories in town with CSC have been All's Well that Ends Well, The Turn of the Screw, Henry VIII: All is True, Pride and Prejudice, and Measure for Measure. She would like to send love and thanks to her many families, and especially to her ridiculously talented husband, Mr. Dubin.
B arry M ul H olland (Christopher) is pleased to return to Ensemble Theatre, having previously appeared in ETC’s productions of Freud's Last Session and End Days. Off-Broadway, he’s been seen in Wild Oats, Ghost Sonata, Faust, and Danton’s Death for Classic Stage Company, as well as the American premiere of Karen Sunde’s Balloon. Regionally, Mr. Mulholland has appeared at such theatres as Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Cincinnati Shakespeare, Playhouse in the Park, the Long Wharf, the Shakespeare Theatre, the Clarence Brown, Capital Rep, and Merrimack Rep, and his west coast credits include three seasons with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, a season with Seattle’s Intiman Theatre, and the L.A. production of Love Streams, directed by John Cassavetes. His plays Existential Therapy and Barnes and Noble Conquer the World were performed in New York as part of Love Creek Theatre‘s annual festival of new plays.
the cast cont.
A M y w AR ne R (Beth) is delighted to be returning to ETC, where she has been seen in Other Desert Cities, End Days, Collected Stories, 33 Variations (CEA award), Fiction, Permanent Collection, The Women of Lockerbie, and The Guys Her Fringe Festival production of The Edge was also seen on this stage. Ms. Warner has worked locally at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in Speaking in Tongues, You Can’t Take it With You, Twelfth Night, Reckless, and A Christmas Carol; Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in Richard III, Cymbaline, Hamlet, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (CEA award), Pride & Prejudice, and Les Liaisons Dangereuses; New Stage Collective in Who is Sylvia? or The Goat (Acclaim award) and A Little NIght Music; Know Theatre Cincinnati in Angels in America, and she was in Dale Hodges’ production of Les Belles Sœurs (Acclaim award). She worked three seasons Off-Broadway with the Classic Stage Company. Her credits there include The Orestia, Faust, Danton’s Death, Frankenstein, and Wild Oats. Her Los Angeles credits include Lady Chatterley’s Lover (L.A. Drama Critics Circle nomination). She has had co-starring roles on Ally McBeal, Boston Public, The Guardian, E.R., and The Practice. She has toured her solo show, As the Wind Rocks the Wagon, directed by her husband Michael Haney across the country and abroad.
about the director
M ic H ael evan H aney (Director) is delighted to return to ETC where he has directed: Freud's Last Session, Time Stands Still, End Days, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Souvenir (transferring to The English Theatre of Vienna and Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), Permanent Collection, Blue/Orange, Bed Among the Lentils/Underneath the Lintel, Syncopation, The Countess, and Private Eyes. He also directed Hound of the Baskervilles and Oliver Twist at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. As Associate Artist with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, he has directed The Understudy, Over The Tavern, The History of Invulnerability, Sleuth, Blackbird, Love Song, Around the World in 80 Days (transferred Off-Broadway to the Irish Repertory Theatre), Crime and Punishment, Reckless, Witness for the Prosecution, The Clean House, A Christmas Carol (1993-2013), Bad Dates, A Picasso, Hiding Behind Comets, The Drawer Boy, The Syringa Tree, Proof, The Mystery of Irma Vep (2001), and The Last Night of Ballyhoo. His international credits include: The Syringa Tree (the English Theatres of Vienna and Frankfurt); and Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Mr. Haney’s regional credits include: All My Sons, Alabama Shakespeare Festival; The Drawer Boy, Actors Theatre of Louisville; The Syringa Tree and The Heidi Chronicles, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; The Underpants, Capital Repertory Theatre; The Mystery of Irma Vep, Meadow Brook Theatre; Comedy of Errors and Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting, Sacramento Theatre Company; Monument Boulevard, Missouri Repertory Theatre; The Potting Shed, Washington Stage Guild; Comedy of Errors, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival; Charley’s Aunt, Wayside Theatre; King of Dominoes, Passage Theatre Company; Scotland Road, Pacific Resident Theatre, Drama-Logue Award for direction; and As the Wind Rocks the Wagon (a one-woman show written and performed by his wife Amy Warner). He was also the Artistic Director of Allenberry Playhouse in Pennsylvania. Mr. Haney’s acting credits include seasons with The Arena Stage, Missouri Repertory Theatre, and Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival; a national tour of Nicholas Nickleby, Return to the River, Jail Diary of Albee Sachs, and The Devils (off-Broadway); and Elie Wiesel’s Zalmen on Broadway.
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about the playwright
nin A RA ine (Playwright) began her career as a trainee director at the Royal Court Theatre after graduating from Oxford. She dramaturged and directed Unprotected at the Liverpool Everyman (TMA Best Director Award, Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award). Her debut play, Rabbit, premiered at the Old Red Lion Theatre in 2006 and transferred to the West End before going to New York. Rabbit won the Charles Wintour Evening Standard and Critics Circle Award for most Promising Playwright. Ms. Raines also directed her second play, Tiger Country, at Hampstead Theatre. She directed Jumpy at the Royal Court Theatre, later transferring to the West End, and Shades (Critics Circle and Evening Standard Awards for Most Promising Newcomer). Her commission for the Royal Court Theatre, Tribes, directed by Roger Michell, won an Offie award and was also nominated for both Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for best new play. Tribes opened to rave reviews and won the 2012 Drama Desk Award for Best New Play and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Play. She recently opened Longing at Hampstead Theatre.
the production team
B randon T. H ol M e S (Production Stage Manager) is currently in his second season with Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati. Previous productions include Alice in Wonderland, Freud’s Last Session, and Black Pearl Sings!. He holds a BFA from Wichita State University in Technical Theatre and Design. This past summer, he served as Production Stage Manager for LOOK Musical Theatre in Tulsa, OK. There, he stage managed productions of Hello, Dolly, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Side By Side By Sondheim. He has also worked with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati Fringe Festival, Music Theatre of Wichita, Theatre in the Park, Kansas City Starlight, and Wichita Center for the Arts. Favorite productions include Thunder Knocking on the Door, Merrily We Roll Along (directed by John Doyle), Disney’s The Little Mermaid, The Producers, Miss Saigon and Sunset Boulevard. Thank you to the cast and design staff for making this a fantastic experience. Love to MDRJMAT. Proud Actors' Equity Association member!
BR i A n c. M e H rin G (Resident Set & Lighting Designer) has designed over seventy productions at ETC. His favorite productions include: Thom Pain (based on nothing), James and Annie, Copenhagen, Blue/Orange, and I Am My Own Wife. Mr. Mehring’s regional favorites for set design include: The Last 5 Years and The Laramie Project, Playhouse in the Park; Henry IV, Part 1, The Georgia Shakespeare Festival; and I Am My Own Wife, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Peterborough Players, and Florida Studio Theatre; and for video design, Hiding Behind Comets (Playhouse in the Park). Mr. Mehring has also served as Charge Scenic Painter for the Cincinnati Opera. Mr. Mehring spent a season assisting mentor Paul Shortt at Teatro de Lucca and three seasons assisting Broadway Designer Robert T. Williams at Artpark in New York.
SH annon rae lu TZ (Properties Master/Design Assistant) earned her Master’s degree in 1996 and became Prop Master at ETC and since then she has “mastered” dozens of productions. Ms. Lutz would like to thank the Cincinnati theatre community and patrons for their generous, supportive and tenacious spirit. Trained as a performer, she first appeared on ETC’s stage during the 1989 New Works Festival. In 1991, she was granted an ETC Internship. Now the Director of Intern Programming, she is honored to guide ETC’s essential ensemble: the Intern Company. ETC performance credits include: Fiction, Alice in Wonderland (1998, 2003, 2008, 2012), Poor Super Man, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Chronicles of Plague, A School for Scandal, Cinderella, Zorro, The Frog Princess, and Sleeping Beauty (2009, 2000). She would like to thank her family for their persistent love and support, Ruth for lessons in art, life, and integrity, and Lynn for her dedication to our dreams.
the production team
AAR on CL e M en TS (Technical Operations Director) is now in his fourth year at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati. He is a native of Charlotte, NC and received his B.F.A. in Theater with a design/technical emphasis at Greensboro College. Mr. Clements worked four seasons at Seaside Music Theater as a carpenter, master carpenter, metal shop foreman, and as the assistant technical director for a winter season. He received his M.F.A. in Technical Direction from UC’s College-Conservatory of Music. He has also worked as a carpenter for ETC’s productions of Grey Gardens and Alice in Wonderland.
F i TZ P a TT on (Sound Designer) has designed and scored more than 260 productions in 20 cities across the U.S, and was the designer for I'll Eat You Last, featuring Bette Midler at The Booth. In 2010, he was awarded both Lucille Lortel and Drama Desk Awards for his design for When the Rain Stops Falling at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, and was nominated again in 2011 for his work on The Other Place at MCC, which completed its Broadway run this winter at the Friedman. His symphony, The Holy Land, a 45-minute work for baritone, tenor, mezzo-soprano, and orchestra, was completed in January last year, and he is the founder of Chance Magazine, a new theatre design magazine that debuted last May.
R e BA S en SK e (Costume Designer) is CCM’s Associate Costume Designer. She’s designed costumes for ETC’s Becky’s New Car, My Name is Asher Lev, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, 33 Variations, Mauritius, Grey Gardens, The Seafarer, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Mary’s Wedding, Rabbit Hole, Souvenir, String of Pearls, I Am My Own Wife, Nite Club Confidential, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), among countless others. Her other credits include ETC’s world premiere holiday productions of Ugly Duck, Cinderella, The Frog Princess, Alice in Wonderland, and Sleeping Beauty, as well as Side Man, A Question of Mercy, Edward Albee’s Seascape, and Traveler in the Dark. Recent CCM credits include: Hot Summer Nights, Violet, We Tell the Story, and Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill. Other CCM credits include: Wonderful Town, The Boys from Syracuse, Oklahoma!, and Big River. She designed Noah’s Flood for the May Festival and is Cincinnati Opera’s costume coordinator. She designed Ainadamar, Cosi Fan Tutti and We Rise to Freedom for the Cincinnati Opera.
M aryanne B ar TH (Primary Consultant) has been involved with theatre as a consultant for Deaf Culture, American Sign Language Linguistics and mentoring theatre interpreters. Ms. Barth is Deaf and brings with her experience as an administrator, educator, linguist, and counselor. Her love of theatre began at the age of nine and the love has never been extinguished. Working with everyone on Tribes has been a wonderful experience. A special thanks to Lynn Meyers for bringing this eye opening production to Cincinnati.
heading production team cont.
K aT e G la SH een (Dialect Coach) is pleased to serve as Dialect Coach for her first production at ETC. Ms. Glasheen holds an M.A. in Voice from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London and a B.A. in Acting from Butler University. She is an actor, choreographer, and Adjunct Professor of Drama at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music. Her voice/dialect coaching credits include: Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Falcon Theatre, The Showboat Majestic, The Covedale Center for the Arts, Untethered Theatre and London based theaters Upstairs at the Gatehouse, dANTE or dIE, Peut-Être Theatre, and the Off-Cut Festival at Riverside Studios. She was most recently seen onstage at The Know Theatre as Isobel in Bull. Ms. Glasheen also serves as Associate Editor for the Voice and Speech Trainers Association scholarly journal The Voice and Speech Review.
jennife R SCA pe T i S (Dialect Coach) is a voice/dialect coach and an actor. She trained and worked as an actor in London, graduating from ArtsEd, and studied Voice at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, London. Ms. Scapetis is currently an Adjunct Professor of Voice and Acting at CCM Drama. Her voice/ dialect credits include: A Christmas Carol and Fake Flowers Don't Die, Playhouse in the Park; Oliver and Of Mice and Men, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company; Bull, Know Theatre; Boeing Boeing, The Crucible and Metamorphoses, CCM Drama; Dr. Faustus, The Rose Theatre (London); The Government Inspector, The Oval Theatre (London); and Love Letters and Lost Images, Inspire Theatre (Henley Fringe Festival, UK).
production team cont.
d A wn CAU di LL (Signing Coach, ASL Interpreter) has been involved in the field of interpreting in numerous capacities for more than twenty-eight years. She has worked as an educational interpreter, freelance interpreter, interpreter coordinator and interpreter educator during her career. She is currently the chairperson and professor at Cincinnati State’s Interpreter Training Program. Her undergraduate work was in bible, interpreting and deaf education. Her graduate work is in business administration and ASL linguistics. She currently interprets in the community and also specializes in theatrical and conference interpreting. She has been a theatrical interpreter for Ensemble Theatre for more than ten years and loves being a part of the family. She is married to the love of her life, Jason, and they have two sons (some refer to them as “dogs”).
g A i L MAU e (ASL Interpreter) has been interpreting in the Cincinnati area for twenty years. She is nationally certified and interprets in the areas of post-secondary, medical, video relay, government, corporate and a favorite area to interpret is theatre! She also currently teaches at Cincinnati State College in the area of Sign Language and has been working with Ensemble Theatre for the past four seasons. She lives in Cincinnati with her husband, three boys and two dogs. They love to travel any chance they get!
the premiere society
The Premiere Society recognizes individuals who have made gifts totaling $1,000 or more within the past year. The exceptional generosity of these donors enables ETC to present world class new works and works new to the region by having the resources to achieve the highest level of artistic quality possible. The following list was updated January 5, 2014 and includes the names of donors whose gifts total $1,000 + since October 1, 2012. For questions or corrections, please contact Ashley Johnson at (513) 421-3555, ext. 17.
world circle ($10,000+):
Anonymous (4)
ArtsWave
The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation
Lucille K. & Charles O. Carothers
The Charles H. Dater Foundation, Inc.
William A. Friedlander Fund*
John & Gloria Goering Family Gift Fund LPK
The H.B., E.W., & F.R. Luther Charitable Foundation, Fifth Third Bank & Narley L. Haley, Co-Trustees
Macy's
Messer Construction Co.
Mitchell S. Meyers & Jacqueline P. Meyers Foundation
Ohio Arts Council
P&G Fund*
PNC Foundation
Richard Postler & Manuel Hernandez
John & Ruth Sawyer Fund*
The John A. Schroth Family Charitable Trust, PNC Bank, Trustee
Ladislas & Vilma Segoe Family Foundation
The Shubert Foundation, Inc.
The Estate of Andrew D. Smith
The Jack J. Smith, Jr. Charitable Trust, PNC Bank and Karen Wachs, Co-Trustees
The Dudley S. Taft Charitable Foundation
Marilyn & Martin Wade
naT ional circle ($5,000-$9,999):
William P. Anderson Foundation
The Erma A. Bantz Foundation
Clement & Ann Buenger Foundation CitiGroup
Mr. & Mrs. A.B. Closson, Jr. Crosset Family Fund*
Harry & Linda Fath
Dennis & Rita Geiger
Lynne Miller & Steve King Kroger
Edward & Anita Marks
David & Judith Morgan Fund*
Judith Postler
Jack & Moe Rouse Fund*
Pete & Ginger Strange Family Fund*
Thompson Hine LLP
Western & Southern Financial Fund
The Wohlgemuth Herschede Foundation
re G ional circle ($2,500-$4,999): Anonymous
Anatole Alper
Mary & William Bonansinga Charitable Family Fund*
* Denotes a Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Mrs. Charlene Breidster
Kenneth & Joan Campbell
Thomas R. Dietz
Gallagher SKS
Chip Gerhardt
William & Mary Jane James
Marcene & Jim Kinney
Kroger Community Rewards Program
MCF Advisors, LCC
Mr. Ihor & Dr. Lisa Jo Melnyk
Paula Steiner
Judith B. Titchener
Ed Trach
Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Woodward
cincinnaT i circle ($1,000-$2,499):
Anonymous (4)
Americana Arts Foundation
Nicholas Apanius
Malcolm A. & Glenda Bernstein
Bob & Elaine Blatt
Meredythe G. & Clayton C. Daley, Jr. Family Fund*
Kathy DeLaura & Ron Steinhoff
Dee & David Dillon Fund*
John & Jen DuBois
Grace A. Epstein
Mary & Bob Fitzpatrick
Kenneth J. Furrier
Linda & Gary Greenberg
Bob & Mary Hamilton
Michael Haney & Amy Warner
Suzanne & Dr. Bob Hasl
Bob & Judy Heaton
Daniel Hurley
Lorrence T. & Barbara W. Kellar Fund*
Cecilia & Tom Kloecker
Mr. & Mrs. Jim & Nancy Lutz
Judith B. Green & Thomas M. McDonough
Sharon & Graham Mitchell
Diane & Dave Moccia
John & Deborah Moffatt
Dr. Patricia O'Connor
Marilyn Z. Ott
Pepper Family Fund*
Joseph A. & Susan E. Pichler Fund*
Sue & Jerry Ransohoff Fund*
Hera Reines
James & Sue Riley
Marvin & Betsy Schwartz Fund*
Jane Bogart Sellers
Shelly Shor Gerson
Mary Stagaman
Paul & Jill Staubitz
our supporters
ETC gratefully acknowledges the extraordinary individuals, families, and organizations whose generous support makes it possible for us to present exceptional theatre and unique educational outreach programs for our community. The following list was updated January 5, 2014 and includes the names of donors whose gifts total $125 + since October 1, 2012. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy. For questions or corrections, please contact Ashley Johnson at (513) 421-3555, ext. 17.
C in C inn AT i C i RCL e C on T.
The Corky & Rick Steiner Family Foundation
Glenda Suttman
Carol Talbot & John Battistone
Target Stores
U.S. Bank
Larry Weber
The Dennis B. & Patricia L. Worthen Fund
Mike & Liz Zimmer
Nora Zorich & Thomas Filardo Family Fund*
a c Tor S c olu M n ($500-$999):
Anonymous (4)
Actors' Equity Foundation, Inc.
Norita Aplin & Stanley Ragle
Joan & Oliver Baily
Len Berenfield
Michael Berry & Melanie Garner
Neil E. Billman, in Memory of Taffy Billman
David & Elaine Billmire
dabby Blatt
Rosemary H. & Frank Bloom Special Fund*
Carter & Jo Ann Bobbitt, in memory of Ruth D. Sawyer
Robert L. Bogenschutz
Clay & Emily Bond
Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Matching Gift Program
Gary & Jackie Bryson
Denise & Martin Chambers
William & Catherine Cody
Darin Dugan
Robert & Elizabeth Ehrsam
Mary Pat England
Terrell & Susan Finney
GE Foundation Matching Gifts Program
Helen & John Habbert
Marilyn P. & Joseph W. Hirschhorn Fund*
Florette Hoffheimer
Betty Huck
John Isador & Sandy Kaltman
Keith & Patti James
Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies Matching Gifts Program
Arleene Keller
Mark D. Manley & Annette Januzzi Wick
Norah & joe Mock
Kit & Jack Overbeck
Presidential Plaza Associates, LTD
Becky & Ted Richards
Linda & Andy Smith
Ed & Anne Stern
Elizabeth Stites & Kevin Randall
* Denotes a Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Joe & Nancy Stratman
Nellie Leaman Taft Charitable Foundation
Buzz Ward
Irwin & Barbara Weinberg
Barbara Wiedemann
Jo Ann Wieghaus
Dr. & Mrs. James & Ronna Willis
Gene Wilson
Jeffrey & Nadia Wuest
STa G e M ana G er S c olu M n ($250-$499):
Anonymous (4)
Albert & Lillian Andrews
Richard & Susan Baum
Eileen & William Bishop
Neil Bortz
Mark Bowen
Daniel Brown & Mark Haggard
Dorota Burgess
Brenda Carter
Kevin & Linda Chaney
Anne E. Charles, in memory of Richard Charles
Sally Chatfield Dunn
Jan & Gerald Checco
Cincinnati Veterans' Affairs Medical Center Research Service, in honor of Kathy DeLaura
Larry & Janet Clements
Susannah Davids & Steve Myer
Judith de Luce
Kelly M. Dehan
Emilie W. & David W. Dressler Family Fund*
Ray & Kay Edwards
Richard & Carol Fencl
Carol S. Friel
David W. & Frances H. Goldman Fund*
Michael Gumbleton & Teddy Gumbleton
Judith Harmony & Richard Jackson
Sue Harris & Meredith Green
Joe & Susan Harten
Debra Hartsell & Michael James
Hennekes CPA Services, LLC
Ann E. Hicks
David & Karen Hoguet
James & Robin Huizenga
Jean Kinmoth
Kirkwood's Sweeper Shop, Inc.
Carmen & Rich Kovarsky
Nada Latto, in Memory of Ruth D. Sawyer
Warren Leight
John Lin
Alfonso & Mary Lopez
Jacqueline M. Mack & Dr. Edward B. Silberstein
Len & Sherie Marek
our supporters cont.
STA ge MA n A ge RS C on T
Dr. & Mrs. John E. McCall
William M. & Karen P. McKim
DeDe & Kevin McNeal
Ryan Messer & James Musuraca
Dr. Ralph Meyer
Ronald & Nancy Mielech
Drs. Steven & Jacqueline Miller Family Foundation
William & Sibyl Miller
Anu & Shekhar Mitra
William & Sara Morgan, in Memory of Ruth D. Sawyer
Hon. Norbert & Linnea Nadel
Roy Newman
Michael Nordlund & Lisa Lee
Morris & Patricia Passer Family Fund*
Alice & Burton Perlman
Barbara & Michael Porte
Barry L. Prince
Irene & Daniel Randolph Family
Margaret M. Reid
Tim & Mary Riordan
George & Caroll Roden
J. R. Rulon
Catharine B. Saelinger
Jude Samuel
Elizabeth & Blake Selnick
Eleanor Shott
Eli E. Shupe, Jr. & Toby Ruben
John & Martha Spiess
Dennis & Helen Sullivan
The Tarshis Family Fund at Schwab Charitable Fund
J. Michael & Patricia Thierauf
Lynn & Dan Ticotsky
Sarah S. Timmons, in memory of Ruth D. Sawyer
Tom Umfrid & Phil Tworek
Dixie & Bill Utter
Jennifer Verkamp
Steve F. Warkany Fund*
Joseph Wessling
Stuart Wheaton & Lenore Horner
Kate & Jay Wilford
The Rev. Anne Wrider
Zaring Family Foundation, in memory of Ruth D. Sawyer
crew c olu M n ($125-$249):
Anonymous (7)
Karen & Fred Abel
Jean L. Abrahamson
Christine O. Adams
Larry & Debby Adams
Anne Aiken
Gail Barker, M.D.
Henrietta Barlag
John Batchelor
Nancy & Norm Bates
Tricia & Michael G. Bath
Jane Bennett
Bill & Janet Berger
* Denotes a Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Hal & Sandi Bernstein
Leo A. Black
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Bloch
John T. Bruggen
Warren & Gail Cato
Chester Cavaliere
Jean & Matt Chimsky
Angela Chong
James Cissell
Susan Cohen & Robert Schmuelling
Dr. & Mrs. Alan Cordell
Roger Cranos
Lee Crooks
Rev. Dr. Robert W. Croskery & Beverly Croskery, Ph.D.
Mike & Becky Curtiss
Douglas L. Custis & Katherine A. Keller
Sonia Daoud
Charlene Davis
Amy Diamond & Edward Wolf
Jane & Igor Dumbadze
Richard & Deirdre Dyson
Peggy Eberhard
Charles K. Eckert
Charles & Harriet Edwards
Jerome & Jean Eichert
Mr. & Mrs. Frederick A. Fink
Deborah Friedman
Eugenie & Edward Goggin
our supporters cont.
CR ew Con T.
Janice & Sidney Goldstein
Diane & Stanley Goodman
Mrs. Madeleine H. Gordon
Cyndi Grammel, In Honor of Skylar Cherry
Sean Gray
JoAnn & Gary Hagopian
Irving Harris
Patricia Hemmer
Jacquelyn Hirt
Dale Hodges & David Logan
Emily M. Hodges Fund
Cindy & Bill Hopping
Erin Houlihan & John Bostick
Marilyn Hurrell
Caroline Idinopulos-Vigran Gifting Fund
Kenneth Jordan
James Jorden
Iris Kelsen
Charles D. King
Tana Kirkbride & Amit Gupta
Margaret W. Kite
Tim & Mary Alice Koch
Pinky & Sam Kocoshis
Marvin & Gerry Kraus
Susan Kruezmann
Mr. & Mrs. Polk Laffoon, IV
Dorothy K. Larsson
Lowell Latto, in memory of Ruth D. Sawyer
M. Ann Leech
Whitney & Phillip Long
Dick & Barbara Males
Jan & Marilyn Methlie
John F. Metz
Dr. Stephen F. Mielech
Ariel Miller, in Honor of John & Ruth Sawyer
Regine Moulton
Nora Moushey
Eunice H. Murphy
Fred & Leila Oliver
Melissa & John Panzeca
Sara H. Pritchard
Barbara & Dave Reaman
Joyce Rich
Barbara Robb, in honor of Sara Mackie
Dr. Raymond H. Rolwing
Marianne & Snowden Rowe, in memory of Ruth D. Sawyer
Rich & Barb Ruddy
Richard Russell
Patti & Mitchell Sacks
Robert & Christine Scheadler
Jeanie Schmidt
Elizabeth Sherwood
Elaine Shinkle
Paul Shortt
John & Linda Silvati
Mrs. Barbara B. Simon
Mary Lee & Louie Sirkin
Myfanwy & Robert Smith
Jacqueline & Richard Snyder
Keven Speece
Jean Springer
Howard & Nancy Starnbach
Elizabeth A. Stone
Fred & Anne Straus Charitable Fund
Tom Tepe
Lynda A. Thomas, in memory of Ruth D. Sawyer
Rosalie P. van Nuis
Carter Waide
Dr. & Mrs. George Waissbluth
Priscilla S. Walford
Jane A. Walker
Pann & Terry Webb
Mike Wedig
Jackie Weist
Joseph D. Williams
Mark & Irene Zigoris
intern sponsors
Anonymous
William & Catherine Cody
Patrick Cusick
Norah & joe Mock
Robert Streicher
Paul & Mary Ann Odegard * Denotes a
e xecu T ive B oard
John Sawyer Stephen M. King
Chair President
Marcene Kinney Mitchell Meyers
Vice President Treasurer
Jane Sellers
Secretary
a d M ini ST raT ive STa FF
D. Lynn Meyers
The Ruth Dennis Sawyer/ Mary Taft Mahler
Producing Artistic Director
Richard J. Diehl
Managing Director
Jocelyn Meyer
Director of Marketing & Communications
Jared D. Doren
Director of Patron Services & Development Associate
Ashley Johnson
Producing Associate
Financial a dvi S or Chet Cavaliere
Box offi C e STA ff
John Diehl
Seth Longland
Sarah Nix
Becca Schall
Hou S e M ana G er
Amy Janowiecki
H ead o F S ecuri T y
Officer Nick Ligon
a d M ini ST raT ive i n T ern S
Dori Branch, Producing
Melissa Foster, Marketing
B o AR d of T RUST ee S
Nick Apanius
Mary Bonansinga
Otto M. Budig
Dr. Charles O. Carothers
Brenda A. Carter
Kathy DeLaura
Tom Dietz
Dennis Geiger
p R od UCT ion STA ff
Brian c. Mehring
Chip Gerhardt
Skip Hickenlooper
Dan Hurley
Edward G. Marks
Richard L. Postler
Simón Sotelo
Mary Stagaman
Mike Zimmer
Resident Set & Lighting Designer
Matthew Hollstegge
Production Coordinator & Master Electrician
Shannon Rae Lutz
Property Master, Design Assistant & Director of Intern Programming
Aaron Clements
Technical Operations Director
Jack Murphy
Technical Assistant
Jacob Himmelspach
Technical Apprentice
Brandon T. Holmes
Production Stage Manager
Starr Fish
Costume Assistant
STA ge MA n A ge M en T i n T e R n S
Melissa Olberding
Zach Wells
di R e CT ing i n T e R n
Ben Raanan
A CT ing i n T e R n C o M pA ny
Linnea Bond, Becca Howell, Jared Hudson, Jeremy Parker, Hannah Sawicki, Zak Schneider, Sola Thompson
patron services
e n S e MB le T H eaT re c incinnaT i 1127 Vine Street | Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 | www.ensemblecincinnati.org (513) 421-3555
e Tc Box oFF ice Hour S & a cce PT ed Pay M en T Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 2 hours prior to curtain. Weekend hours vary. VISA, MC, Discover, and AmEx are accepted, as well as Downtown Gift Cards.
Tic K e T re S ervaT ion S & Sale P olicy
Reservations can be made by calling the box office, in person, or online. Ticket reservations are not accepted via email. Single-ticket purchases are a final sale with no refund. Single tickets may, however, be exchanged for another performance during the run of a show for a fee, but may not be exchanged from one production to another. If a patron is a no-show for their reserved performance, ETC is under no obligation to reschedule his or her tickets.
TA x CR edi TS
If for any reason you cannot attend your performance and cannot reschedule for another date, tickets released prior to performances by calling the ETC box office are fully deductible as a charitable contribution. No-shows or tickets released after curtain time do not qualify as tax credits.
pARK ing
Patrons may park at the Gateway Garage (accessible via 12th Street) or at the surface lot, both are conveniently located at the corner of Vine and 12th Streets. Parking is also available at Washington Park Garage, accessible via Elm or Race Street. Charges vary.
cH ildren
Children under the age of 4 will not be admitted to productions unless otherwise advertised. Parents with disruptive children will be asked to leave the theatre.
l aT eco M er S & ad M i TTance
Latecomers will be seated at the House Manager’s discretion and may be denied admission depending upon the demands or structure of a particular production. Should you need to leave the theatre during a performance, readmittance is not guaranteed. ETC reserves the right to deny admission and/or remove any disruptive patrons from the theatre at any time.
Re STR oo MS
Restrooms are located at the front of the lobby. Should you need to use the restroom during a performance, please exit the theatre the same way you came in. Readmittance will be at House Manager's discretion.
ACC e SS i B i L i T y
Please notify the box office in advance if you require wheelchair-accessible seating or have special seating needs and our staff will be happy to accommodate you. Audio-enhancement and large-print playbills available. Generally, sign-interpreted performances are on the third Wednesday of every production.
c a M era S, c ell PH one S & STa G e
Actors’ Equity Association strictly prohibits the use of cameras or recording devices (including camera phones) in the theatre. Kindly turn off any cell phones or pagers prior to the show starting. Text messaging during the show disturbs other audience members and actors and will not be tolerated. For safety reasons, audience members are strictly prohibited from standing, sitting or otherwise being or putting anything onstage at any time.
Grou PS & d i S coun TS
Groups of 10 or more can save over single-ticket prices. Student rates, rush discounts, Public Radio Perks Card, AAA, ArtsWave ArtsPass, Enjoy the Arts, and educator and military member discounts available (please consult your appropriate membership(s) for details and exclusions).
