Spotlight Magazine, Spring 2016

GREAT THEATRE — PRODUCED BY YOU

SPRING 2016

SPOTLIGHT

Performance calendars p.2 Huntington news p.3 DisgraceD p.4 Milk like sugar p.8 august Wilson’s HoW i learneD WHat i learneD p.12 can You Forgive Her? p.16 i Was Most alive WitH You p.20 in develoPment p.24 education p.26

Eugene Lee in August Wilson’s

How I Learned What I Learned

josh

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2 BoX office 617 266 0800

PERFORMANCE CALENDARS: JANUARY – JUNE 2016

CALENDAR KEY( ) 35 Below Wrap Party(@) AsL-Interpreted(~) Audio-Described(d) Actors Forum(c) Community Membership

Reception

(f) First Look(h) Humanities Forum(•) Post-show Conversations(*) Press Opening Night(s) student Matinee(b) Boston Globe post-show event(₱) VIP Opening Night

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CAN YOU FORGIVE HER?


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HOW I LEARNED WHAT I LEARNED

AVENUE OF THE ARTS / BU THEATRE

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fatHer’s dayHUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG617 266 0800

I Was Most Alive With You is a new play created by a hearing artist featuring both Deaf/deaf and hearing actors and characters. It is being told in both ASL and English, and will be accessible to members of the Deaf and ASL communities at every performance.

HuntingtontHeatre.org 3

Dear Friends,

As you likely have heard, the Huntington Theatre Company and Boston University decided in October to dissolve our 33-year partnership, and BU put the BU Theatre complex on Huntington Avenue up for sale. BU plans to consolidate their theatre arts program on the Charles River campus, and the Huntington needs a fully renovated theatre in which to present its large-scale productions as well as expanded function space for our patrons.

The Huntington is ready to partner with any buyer of the BU Theatre complex selected by BU in order to remain at our Huntington Avenue location, our home for the past 33 years. We are

prepared to fully renovate the theatre, to continue to produce ambitious, large-scale works, and to expand our services to the community. Our Board of Trustees is prepared to undertake a capital campaign to fund the significant investment which will be needed to convert the current theatre into a first-rate, modern venue, similar to the campaign we undertook to finance the Calderwood Pavilion in 2004.

Rest assured that we will continue to produce world class theatre at the BU Theatre and the Calderwood Pavilion for the remainder of our 2015-2016 season, and that we are currently finalizing a full season of programming for our 2016-2017 season — in both the BU Theatre and the Calderwood Pavilion — that will be just as adventurous and exciting as ever.

We are very grateful for the tremendous outpouring of support we have received from many of you, as well as from community leaders and the Boston theatre community. Despite the challenges we face, the past few months have been a terrific reinforcement for us of how important our work is to so many people, and in making Greater Boston a better place for all.

Thank you for your ongoing support. I send my very best wishes to all of you for a happy, healthy, and arts-filled 2016.

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ottaBU THEATRE

Warmest regards,

Michael Maso MAnAgIng DIrEctor

UPDATE

High-powered New York lawyer Amir has climbed

the corporate ladder while distancing himself from

his Muslim roots. When he and his wife Emily host a dinner party, what starts

as a friendly conversation escalates, shattering their

views on race, religion, and each other.

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER

JAN.8-FEB.7

BY

AYAD AKHTAR

DIRECTED BY

GORDON EDELSTEIN

DISGRACED “A compelling production of the acclaimed new play that should be at the top of anyone’s theatregoing list.”

— HARTFORD COURANT

AVENUE OF THE ARTS

BU THEATRE

“A 90-minute masterpiece!”— ONsTAGE


LEARN MORE ONLINE Watch an interview with playwright Ayad Akhtar on “CBs sunday Morning” and learn more about his life as a playwright, screen writer, and novelist at huntingtontheatre.org.

AKHTAR’S AMERICAFifteen years ago the World Trade Center was attacked in New York City, changing America forever. Even though we are now a decade and a half removed, hate crimes against Muslims are still five times more likely to happen today than before 9/11. According to a recent Gallup poll, 60% of Muslim Americans believe that most Americans are prejudiced towards Muslims. Islamophobia has increased in the United States, even though 60% of Americans have never personally known a Muslim person. The relationship between Islam and America is a complicated, yet intimately linked connection.

Ayad Akhtar’s pulitzer prize-winning play Disgraced tells the story of Amir, a successful lawyer with pakistani roots, living in new York city. the play explores Amir’s Muslim identity and its relationship to the American Dream, asking the question: How can these two worlds exist simultaneously? Like Amir, Akhtar’s life was influenced by the September 11 attacks; “post-9/11, folks who looked like me became very visible,” says Akhtar in an interview with The Guardian. “Life changed. I and a lot of people like me felt differently after that. Like Amir, the fact of being Muslim, whether religious or cultural, became a significant fact that could not be avoided.”

raised by pakistani immigrant physicians, Akhtar received an education from Brown and later columbia University. His parents influenced his perception on religion; Akhtar stated his father was “a militant atheist,” while his mother was an “American individualist spiritually, with an Islamic cast.” Akhtar’s experience influenced the premise of his book American Dervish (2012) inspired by his personal life growing up in the Midwest and the complex relationship between identity and religion. Akhtar crossed the bridge between novel writing and theatre with his play Disgraced.

“I started to understand that for me art was no longer about self-expression but about creative engagement with the world,” explains Ahktar about his transition into theatre. “Even if it’s a very uncomfortable experience, the audience must experience some pleasure — or, if not pleasure, they must be rapt. If I can do that effectively, I can trust audiences to decide how they feel about this, that, or the other.”

Akhtar paints a picture of the complex world of post-9/11 United States, and while the play is set a decade later, sentiments still run high with the characters as they question ethnicity and social standing, and ultimately, attempt to define justice. “I can’t be a spokesman for anything other than my own concerns. I have to be free to wrestle with my own preoccupations, and if I’m bringing any political awareness to that process, that mitigates my freedom,” Akhtar explains about his play. Disgraced allows the audience to observe the raw discomfort of Amir’s experiences as he attempts to understand his own identity. Amir’s self-doubt coupled with his Muslim upbringing slowly tear the character apart as he desperately attempts to maintain the life he has led.

Disgraced is notably the most produced play in the United States during this theatrical season. Akhtar’s portrait of Amir has become a point of contention for many in the Muslim community: “I get a bum rap from a lot of folks in my particular community for ‘airing dirty laundry,’ as it were,” Akhtar explains about his play, noting that Disgraced is not the definitive portrait of Muslim Americans. “the great thing about being an artist is you don’t have to find any answers.”

– PHAEDRA sCOTT

“This provocative Pulitzer Prize winner is a vitally topical look at modern Muslim American identity. Long Wharf

Theatre Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein brings depth and precision to this timely new play.”

– artistic director Peter duBois

Director gordon Edelstein playwright Ayad Akhtar

6 BoX office 617 266 0800

AYAD AKHTAR ON DISGRACEDTO WATCH AYAD AKHTAR sPEAK ABOUT HIs WORK Is TO WITNEss A FAsT, NUANCED, AND UNsTOPPABLE INTELLECT.

BELOW WE’VE CULLED sOME OF THE MOsT sALIENT THINGs AKHTAR HAs HAD TO sAY ABOUT DISGRACED.

“ I believe that American history and psyche are deeply, deeply fueled by the tension between these two things: the Enlightenment rejection of religion and the profound search for oblivion in the rapture or passion for God. so I think my play is an expression of a deeply American dynamic. One of the things that people find so surprising about it is that they think, ‘I am going to watch something about the Muslims by the guy with the Muslim name.’ But at some point they realize, ‘I am watching a play about my own family or my own experience.’”

“ The play begins with a Western consciousness representing a Muslim subject. The play ends with the Muslim subject observing the fruits of that representation. In between the two points lies a journey, and that journey has to do with the ways in which we Muslims are still beholden on an ontological level to the ways in which the West is seeing us.”

“ The play is about how we talk about Islam, how we frame Islam, what meaning we find in it, and how those conversations are actually not just theoretical conversations.”

“ One of the things that’s problematic to a lot of people is that some readings of the play seem to undermine other readings. And so the question becomes, well, what is the reading of this play? My contention is that your reading of this play tells you a lot about yourself. And I’m reminded about that wonderful thing that Rainer Werner Fassbinder, the New Wave German filmmaker, once said, about how he wished to create a revolution not on the screen but in the audience.”


CURTAIN CALLS name Shirine Babb

role Jory

Hometown I’m a native new Yorker.

How are you aliKe or different from

your cHaracter? I find that I’m similar to Jory in the sense that I’m driven and ambitious with a desire to be successful, and we both came from humble beginnings.

wHat Has tHe audience resPonse to your cHaracter Been liKe? Well, by the time Jory comes on and scene three gets rolling, I think my presence gives the audience the permission to laugh and breathe a little easier... She is in a way the comic relief with nuances of truth.

name rajesh Bose

role Amir

Hometown I consider both pittsburgh, pA and Boston, MA my hometowns.

wHat Has tHe audience resPonse to your cHaracter Been liKe? Like the play, it has been varied and complex. I do hope people walk away understanding Amir’s deep pain and appreciating his humanity, despite his flaws.

wHy do you tHinK DisgraceD is tHe most Produced Play in america tHis season? the play artfully pushes buttons in a time of unprecedented fear, violence, and ignorance towards Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim by the dominant culture.

name Benim Foster

role Isaac

Hometown nYc for the past 20 years. Born and raised in Long Island and then teen

years in South Florida.

wHat Has tHe audience resPonse to your cHaracter Been liKe? I think they have fun with Isaac. He’s a fun guy. He tends to make some smart, snarky comments which shakes things up. He’s a little bit of an antagonist. It’s juicy.

wHy do you tHinK DisgraceD is tHe most Produced Play in america tHis season? Disgraced opens up a discussion. one that needs to be discussed. It’s a sociopolitical, timeless play that ultimately is a play about relationships. to steal one of Isaac’s lines regarding art...Disgraced is “important and new and needs to be seen widely!”

name Mohit gautam

role Abe

Hometown Stony Brook, nY

wHat is your favorite moment in

tHe Play? I really enjoy Amir’s speech towards the end of scene three in which he confronts everyone in their discussion of Islam and the effect of aftershock of the questions that follow.

wHy do you tHinK DisgraceD is tHe most Produced Play in america tHis season? It’s a perfectly written, easy to produce, thought-provoking, emotionally broadening play. this play sticks with you for a very long time, and it requires the audience to be involved.

name nicole Lowrance

role Emily

Hometown Austin, tX

How are you aliKe or different from your cHaracter?

I feel a kindred spirit in Emily as a seeker. An artist that is searching/exploring new ideas and identities in search of a pathway to live in what she believes to be a more authentic and pure way.

wHat is your favorite moment in tHe Play? I love it when Amir, Emily, Issac, and Jory finally all take their seats at the dining table. the construct of having a dinner party, all trying to mind manners, and the intense topics of conversation that hit a tipping point at that part of the play? It takes a good drama and then sets it on fire.

see Page 2 for sHow Performance calendar and event listings

“ I do believe personally that the Muslim world has got to fully account for the image the West has of it and move on. To the extent we continue to try to define ourselves by saying, ‘We are not what you say about us,’ we’re still allowing the West to have the defining position in the discourse.”

– ayad aKHtar

Shirine Babb, rajesh Bose, nicole Lowrance, and Benim Foster in Disgraced (2016)

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PROVOCATIVE OBIE AWARD-WINNING DRAMA

MILK LIKE

SUGAR

JAN . 29 - FEB. 27

By

KIRSTEN

GREENIDGE

SOUTH END

CALDERWOOD PAVILION AT THE BCA

Annie and her teenage friends want the same things:

the hottest new phones, cute boys, designer bags.

But when they enter into a pregnancy pact, she wonders

if there might be a different path and a brighter future.

Huntington Playwriting Fellow Kirsten Greenidge (Luck of the Irish) finds raw humor

and gritty poetry in this provocative, ripped-from-the-

headlines new play.

“Milk Like Sugar balances street with sweet,

to entertaining & illuminating effect. A MUsT sEE!”

– los angeles times

directed By

M. BEVIN

O’GARA


m. Bevin o’gara (director): one of the things that you and I talked about, back when we first started is the idea of “Where does knowledge come from?” can you talk a little bit about that story and where the play came from?

Kirsten greenidge (PlaywrigHt): I was a student teacher, and I took this class with a teacher who was talking about teaching in different schools with students from different socio-economic backgrounds. He asked a group of kids from underserved communities where knowledge comes from. they said, “It comes from your teacher.” It comes from outside of you. You get it from someone else, so it all depends on who your teacher is. then he asked students from what we call a middle-class community where knowledge comes from. those students said, “You have to work hard for it. It comes from hard work and you have to acquire it. that’s where it comes from.” then he asked students from a privileged community, a private school, where knowledge comes from, and they said, “It comes from within you.” that blew my mind. I was 21, and at that time I wanted to be a teacher. It changed my entire world and how I think about things. It was heartbreaking and amazing, and it made me think about the stories I wanted to tell.

mBo: I understand the psychology of how this happens. I’m 33 years old, and I still think that a baby is going to change my life for the good. these girls [in the play] are half my age, and it hasn’t shifted all that much. Maybe it’s sort of how nature protects itself; it gets women to lie to themselves that getting pregnant is this easy thing that fixes all of your problems, and they’re just completely wrapped up in the idea of having a child, as opposed to raising a child. It’s the same way that women become wrapped up in the wedding as opposed to the marriage.

LEARN MORE ONLINE Listen to Kirsten Greenidge talk about writing stories about African American characters in the Boston area on WBUR’s “Radio Boston” and read about what inspired her play Milk Like Sugar at huntingtontheatre.org.

THE STORY OF MILK LIKE SUGARi

“Huntington Playwriting Fellow Kirsten Greenidge has a knack for telling stories that resonate with local audiences; her play Luck of the Irish provoked a major

civic discussion about the legacy of segregation in our city that spilled over into newspapers and radio shows. Milk Like Sugar is a riveting look into the lives of three teenage girls sure to start its own rich conversation.”


Director M. Bevin o’gara

BEForE rEHEArSALS BEgAn, BoSton pLAYWrIgHt KIrStEn grEEnIDgE AnD DIrEctor M. BEvIn o’gArA

SHArED tHEIr tHoUgHtS AnD IDEAS ABoUt tHEIr UpcoMIng proDUctIon oF MIlk lIkE SUGAr.

tHE pLAY FoLLoWS 16 YEAr-oLD AnnIE’S JoUrnEY oF DEcIDIng WHEtHEr or not to JoIn HEr FrIEnDS

In A prEgnAncY pAct, AnD In tHIS convErSAtIon, tHE ArtIStS EXpLorE tHE pLAY’S qUEStIonS oF

BELongIng, opportUnItY, AnD coMMUnItY.

continued, next page

playwright Kirsten greenidge

10 BoX office 617 266 0800

Kg: there’s this whole industry that’s designed for this. Websites like the Knot, the nest, and pinterest and even ones that are supposed to be benign — like Etsy — they are designed for this certain life that you want to aspire to and lead. It’s just a few clicks away, and you can have this thing. For these girls, this thing is attainable, because it’s just a few actions away. You get this guy to do these things with you, and you can have this life that you want, and all the things that didn’t go right for you with your mother or your father, you can correct and make good. So you can have a do-over, and it could be easy. It’s attainable.

mBo: What you’re doing so beautifully in this play is that it’s bigger than just the child. the line that rings to me, and I remember from the first time I read this; the refrain of “I deserve them. I deserve it.” It’s because media and culture teaches us that we deserve these things. A better life. More love. the newest phone.

Kg: Because from early on, many of us equate our worth with those things. If you don’t have them, then what are you worth? And even when they don’t seem as material, for any of these girls, when that self-worth does not come from within, when it always comes from without, when you don’t get those things, you don’t have anything holding you up.

mBo: I’m just thinking through each of the young girls we meet in the play: ultimately Annie wants the baby because she wants her own family, she wants love; Keera wants Yatzee, wants that family, that warmth, that love; even t wants that love from this man. It’s not necessarily material things that are driving them; it’s really this desire for love, that is driving it all, right? Beneath it all, they are saying, “I deserve the respect, I deserve the love, I deserve to be a part of something.”

Kg: Yes, and they’re not wrong, which is sad.

mBo: this was originally a ten-minute play, right? the first scene when Annie is at the tattoo parlor?

Kg: It was a ten-minute play, in the tattoo parlor. It was all about whether Annie was going to get the tattoo and her making that decision — and they talk about the [pregnancy] pact and whether

Shalita grant and Francesca choy-Kee in luck of the Irish (2012)

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or not they were going to make the pact. I wanted to make sure that she had different ways of seeing the world — because that’s really difficult for someone like Annie, to be smart, but not to be a “chosen kid” in this community. I don’t think it’s as easy as saying, “slip through the cracks” because that implies that that child wasn’t identified as having some sort of gift or talent; there are so many kids that do have them, but don’t get to use their gift.

mBo: one thing you’ve mentioned is how has this play changed from five years ago. What’s different about telling this story now? How has hope changed? How has our idea of hope changed? It does seem to mean something different now, than it did then.

“The line that rings to me, and I remember from the first time I read this; the refrain of “I deserve them. I deserve it.”

It’s because media and culture teaches us that we deserve

these things. A better life. More love. The newest phone.”

– m. Bevin o’gara

“Yes, and they’re not wrong, which is sad.”

– Kirsten greenidge


In 2008, teenage pregnancy rates spiked among the students of gloucester High School, and rumors swirled of a “pregnancy pact” between the students. the case quickly made national headlines. According to an article in Marie Claire, by May 2008, school nurse Kim Daly had given out 150 pregnancy tests; 17 of them were positive, four times as many as the year before. the article recounted how many students returned multiple times for pregnancy tests after their first one was negative. Some of the girls were excited about positive results, or reacted to dashed hopes if the test was negative. Yet as the media whirlwind grew, several young women came forward to say that the story of the pact had been made up and that the many overlapping pregnancies were not collectively planned.

In the coverage of gloucester, reporters emphasized the depressed economy of the town and speculated how economic stress may have led to increased pregnancy rates. the initial coverage inspired playwright Kirsten greenidge to start thinking about the dynamics of teen pregnancy and the interplay of opportunity and choice in young women’s lives. “Even if it wasn’t true, it begged the question why was the teenage pregnancy rate there so high?,” she recalls.

greenidge decided to explore the scenario through a fictional lens. “I chose to take it away from gloucester,” greenidge says “so the question [for audiences] wouldn’t be ‘Did they, or didn’t they? Is this gloucester or isn’t it?’” greenidge drew inspiration instead from students she was in conversation with at the time. “I taught public speaking,” greenidge recalls, “So the pieces that these young women were writing were about themselves, about the choices they had made to go to college while their friends that they had gone high school with were making different choices. their friends were getting pregnant, having a second child, partying a lot, or didn’t have jobs. those students were trying to make sense of ‘I’m here, but a lot of people around me aren’t doing so well.’”

– TONAsIA JONEs

Kg: When we did this with an all African American cast, someone said, “the teenage pregnancy rate has gone down, so what do you say about that?” So I said, “It’s not about young black teenage pregnancies. It’s about young women and their choices, and that they feel empowered to make choices that they feel are right for them. It’s not about whether or not teenage pregnancy rates are up or down.”

mBo: When we first started talking about this play as a staff, I was always very conscious about what the work we’re doing is saying to our audiences. What do we want our audiences leaving thinking? My biggest fear when we started talking about this play is what Kirsten addresses, that “this is a black problem.” that was something that was very scary to me, and was not something we wanted our audience thinking. I’m really interested about having that conversation, and that conversation about women’s choices through a lens that is very diverse. I am hoping the choices that have been made in terms of casting will allow that to happen. I want it to feel real, I want it to feel human, like this is something that could be happening down the street. I feel like I see these girls on the subway, I see them at the old navy in South Bay, and I hope that by seeing this play people will pass those people in the street in a slightly different way. I love to think of our audience riding the orange line home that night and considering what their options are in a way that they haven’t before.

Marianna Bassham, nikkole Salter, victor Williams, and Mccaleb Burnett in luck of the Irish (2012)

THE GLOUCESTER PREGNANCY PACT: INSPIRATION FOR THE PLAY

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POWERFUL MEMOIR FROM AN AMERICAN MASTER

AUGUST WILSON’S

HOW I LEARNED

WHAT I LEARNED

MAR . 5 - APR .3

co-conceived

& directed By

TODD

KREIDLER

AVENUE OF THE ARTS

BU THEATRE

In this solo show, the late Pulitzer Prize-winning

playwright August Wilson shares stories about his

first few jobs, a stint in jail, his lifelong friends, and his

encounters with racism, music, and love as a young

poet in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. Directed by Todd Kreidler and

featuring Eugene Lee, both longtime Wilson collaborators,

this theatrical memoir charts one man’s journey of self-

discovery through adversity, and what it means to be a

black artist in America.

“Complex & surprisingly funny, a memoir of the playwright’s life,

laced with the voice of the poet he always was.”

– PittsBurgH Post-gaZetteBraille


THE AMERICAN LEGACY OF AUGUST WILSON“When I sit down to write, I am sitting in the same chair that Ibsen sat in, that Brecht, tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller sat in. I am confronted with the same problems of how to get a character on stage, how to shape the scenes to get maximum impact,” said playwright August Wilson in an interview about his writing process. Wilson has become an iconic member of the American cannon of theatre, from Joe Turner’s Come and Gone in 1986 to Ma rainey’s Black Bottom in 2012. Wilson’s century cycle, a ten-play anthology of Black America through 100 years of history has become a part of the Huntington’s repertoire.

Holding a legacy is never easy; “My ancestors have been in America since the early 17th century. And for the first 244 years we never had a problem finding a job,” Wilson’s opening words of the play echo truthfully. Wilson acts as a guide for audiences as he unpacks centuries of American history through his life as a young poet in the Hill District, experiences that would ultimately shape the plays within his century cycle. He asks the questions, “what is my identity? How can my identity forge my path to the future?” In an era controlled by the media and hashtag social justice movements, How I learned What I learned serves as a reminder of the lessons we learn through life that can only be taught by human interaction. What is the legacy that we are able to leave behind?

the impact of Wilson’s work has made a lasting mark on American theatre, and opened doors to conversations about the black experience in the United States. Wilson was attracted to the theatre and its potential to reach audiences, no matter the class or race. How I learned What I learned is no exception; “I was, and remain, fascinated by the idea of an audience as a community of people who gather willingly to bear witness,” Wilson states. “A novelist writes a novel and people read it. But reading is a solitary act. While it may elicit a varied and personal response, the communal nature of the audience is like having 500 people read your novel and respond to it at the same time. I find that thrilling.” How I learned What I learned is an all-encompassing look at the man behind the revered century cycle.

Wilson’s works are often politicized, but Wilson himself wrote plays with a purely creative intention: “I don’t write particularly to effect social change. I believe writing can do that, but that’s not why I write. I work as an artist. All art is political in the sense that it serves someone’s politics.” Wilson’s work is honest and truthful on levels that stretch beyond race and class. His work encompasses a variety of themes, including love, honor, and duty, themes that universally weave in and out of our daily lives.

the characters August Wilson created, from troy in Fences to Boy Willie and Lymon in The Piano lesson, offer valuable and important roles to the American theatre tradition. Wilson believed that through art, “we are going to become an American culture” that shares similar themes and ideologies that separate American art from any other type of art in the world. Wilson believed that, through theatre, a collected mythology could be created that would ultimately unite us; “You create the work to add to the artistic storehouse of the world, to exalt and celebrate a common humanity.”

Wilson died in 2005, leaving behind his groundbreaking century cycle. How I learned What I learned is Wilson’s last theatrical work created with long-time collaborator and friend, todd Kreidler. From navigating self-worth, to questioning inheritance, and grappling with a shared history, Wilson’s plays reach across generations and races. How I learned What I learned is a snapshot into the life of one of the most influential playwrights of the 20th century, and a reminder of the universal bonds that tie us together.

– PHAEDRA sCOTT

LEARN MORE ONLINE Read more about Todd Kreidler’s relationship with August Wilson and watch PBs’ “American Masters” on August Wilson at huntingtontheatre.org.

“Many of August Wilson’s closest collaborators have talked about the

Huntington — a theatre involved in the premiere productions of eight of his plays

— as a place they feel his spirit as an artist. His brilliant theatrical memoir gives us all a chance to experience August’s intelligence,

humor, and incredible insight again.” – artistic director Peter duBois

Actor Eugene LeeDirector todd Kreidler and playwright August Wilson


14 BoX office 617 266 0800

AUGUST WILSON ATTHE HUNTINGTONAUgUSt WILSon HAD A UnIqUE rELAtIonSHIp WItH tHE HUntIngton, AS EIgHt oF HIS pLAYS WErE proDUcED

HErE BEForE tHEY WEnt on to nEW YorK (7 to BroADWAY, AnD onE oFF BroADWAY). oUr AUDIEncES AnD StAFF ALIKE HAvE WonDErFUL MEMorIES oF EncoUntErS WItH Mr. WILSon, AnD HE FELt A SpEcIAL connEctIon WItH

tHE tHEAtrE AS WELL. WItH HOW I lEArNED WHAT I lEArNED, tHE HUntIngton WILL HAvE proDUcED ALL oF WILSon’S WorKS For tHE StAgE — ALL 10 pLAYS In HIS cEntUrY cYcLE AnD HIS tHEAtrIcAL MEMoIr.

1900s 2004 - 2005

John Earl Jelks, Phylicia Rashad, and LisaGay Hamilton

in Gem of the Ocean

Angela Bassett and Delroy Lindo in Joe Turner’s

Come and Gone

John Beasley in Fences

Russell Hornsby and Michole Briana

White in Jitney

Chuck Patterson, Al White, and Jonathan Earl Peck

in Two Trains Running

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“I have a long and valued relationship with the Huntington. They have contributed enormously to my development as a playwright, and I guard that relationship jealously.” – AUGUsT WILsON (IN 2004)

1910s 1986 - 1987

1950s 2009 - 2010

1960s 1990 - 1991

1970s 1998 - 1999


1900s: In Gem of the Ocean (2004-2005 season), Aunt Ester, 285 years old, redeems and cleanses the souls passing through her door.

1910s: In Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (1986-1987 season), at Seth and Bertha Holly’s boardinghouse, a variety of characters look for people and families they’ve lost.

1920s: In Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2011-2012 season) Ma rainey visits a recording studio to lay down new tracks of old favorites when racial tensions explode.

1930s: In The Piano Lesson (1987-1988 season), Boy Willie wants to sell the family piano and buy the land their ancestors worked as slaves. His sister Bernice refuses because it is carved with their entire family history.

1940s: Floyd Barton just needs a bus ticket to chicago so he can cut some records in Seven Guitars (1995-1996 season). Short of options, he turns to theft and meets an untimely end.

1950s: thwarted baseball player troy Maxson works as a garbage man in Fences (2009-2010 season). His stubbornness, envy, and fear cause him to sabotage his son’s burgeoning athletic career.

1960s: In Two Trains Running (1990-1991 season), Memphis Lee’s lunch counter faces destruction, while Sterling Johnson tries to put his life back together after serving time. there are two trains running every day: which one will get you where you’re going?

1970s: Jitney (1998-1999 season) chronicles unlicensed black cab drivers — jitneys — who serve the Hill District of pittsburgh where most cabs refuse to go.

1980s: King and Mister, children of characters from Seven Guitars, sell stolen refrigerators in King Hedley II (1999-2000 season). revelations about King’s past and Aunt Ester’s death make King’s future unbearably bleak.

1990s: In Radio Golf (2006-2007 season) the last play of the century cycle and of Wilson’s life, Aunt Ester’s house hangs in the balance when developer Harmond Wilks slates it for destruction.

two years before his death in 2005, August Wilson wrote and performed an unpublished one-man play entitled How I Learned What I Learned about his days as a struggling young writer in pittsburgh’s Hill District and how the neighborhood and its people inspired his amazing cycle of plays about the African American experience.

Charles s. Dutton and Rocky Carroll in

The Piano Lesson

Keith David and Viola Davis in Seven Guitars

Tony Todd and Ella Joyce in

King Hedley IIHassan El-Amin and James

A. Williams in Radio Golf

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u1930s 1987 - 1988

1940s 1995 - 1996

1980s 1999 - 2000

1990s 2006 - 2007

Yvette Freeman and Corey Allen in Ma

Rainey’s Black Bottom

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1920s 2011 - 2012

Eugene Lee in How I Learned

What I Learned

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BITING NEW COMEDY

CAN YOU

FORGIVE HER?

MAR . 25 - APR .24

directed By

PETER

DUBOIS

It’s Halloween night, and Miranda is desperate for

a way out. she’s up to her neck in debt, she might be

falling for the man who pays her bills, and now her date

has threatened to kill her. A charismatic stranger offers

shelter and a drink; where will the night take them? With

her trademark dark humor, two-time Pulitzer finalist Gina Gionfriddo presents

complicated characters wrestling with love, money, and their past in this sharp

contemporary comedy.

By

GINA

GIONFRIDDO

SOUTH END


“What is exciting about Gionfriddo’s writing is the multiplicity of ideas it engages.”

– tHe new yorK times


LEARN MORE ONLINE Read The New York Times op-ed piece by Gina Gionfriddo and listen to a Playwright Horizons podcast interview with the playwright at huntingtontheatre.org.

LIFE-AND-DEATH COMEDY

“I think Gina Gionfriddo is one of the most exciting playwrights in America today and her new

comedy is a sensational piece of writing that crackles with ideas. Boston audiences embraced her Becky

Shaw and Rapture, Blister, Burn, and I look forward to collaborating with her once again.”


Director peter DuBoisplaywright gina gionfriddo

Miranda is young, beautiful, and reckless. Up to her neck in debt, she has been living large by playing two lovers off one another — until, on Halloween night, one of them threatens to kill her. A charismatic, grieving stranger, graham, lets her hide out at his house — but when he offers her a drink, where will the night take them? In her newest play Can You Forgive Her?, gina gionfriddo crafts a surprising comedy where behind every laugh lurks an awareness of the characters’ penchant for self-destruction.

the life-and-death stakes of the play has its roots in a true crime story that gionfriddo read. “I became fixated on a crime that was a murder-suicide,” gionfriddo says. “A couple had gone on a date in which the woman had publicly treated the man badly, maybe humiliated him, and the night ended with him killing her, then himself. I kept thinking, ‘oh, I want to know more about this case,’ and I really couldn’t find out any more than the basic outline. I decided to noodle around with a fictional story to explore why I was so obsessed with it.”

the tense events at its heart inspired the play’s structure; its swift 90-minute plot follows one booze-fueled night at a Delaware beach house. “When I started, I was ruminating on a murder, so in my mind, I was writing my long Day’s Journey Into a Destructive Night,” gionfriddo says. However, as she began writing, the dialogue took on her trademark mixture of stinging insight and laugh-out-loud revelation. “As I got into it, my voice is my voice,” gionfriddo says. “the people coping in this situation are coping comically. the way they talk is black comedy; it’s almost as bleak as I imagined. But as in earlier plays, characters are spinning their situations comically and lightly to keep things from going under.” Yet underneath the comic desperation, the specter of a man walking the streets with a knife remains. “I never want to lose the threat entirely,” she says.

Miranda’s stalker is echoed by intangible demons that follow her new friend graham and his girlfriend tanya. graham has recently inherited his mother’s beach house — and with it, boxes of her unpublished attempts at writing, from drafts of harlequin romances

to comedic essays. can he dump her life’s work out with the trash that week? Is his duty as a son complicated by the huge payday he will reap by selling the house? His girlfriend tanya is a bartender, who is trying to use the advice of a financial guru to pull herself and her daughter out of the crippling debt created by her former relationship with a drug addict.

For each character, a lack of financial freedom has become a boundary around their choices. “I’m looking at the panic that sets in at a certain age, if one, particularly a woman, is seeing that financial security is nowhere to be found,” gionfriddo says. “What can be done? Is it too late to try for a different career? Is there a man around who could provide it?” As gionfriddo riffs on student debt and income inequality, the play strikes a balance between character-driven drama and larger social contexts, a feature in all of the playwright’s work. The New York Times called gionfriddo’s previous play rapture, Blister, Burn “intensely smart, immensely funny,” commenting that “what’s exciting about her writing is the multiplicity of the ideas it engages.” gionfriddo’s acclaim has grown from her eagerness to explore questions about American life through psychologically complex, deeply flawed characters.

Like all gionfriddo’s plays, Can You Forgive Her? also has an evocative, unusual title. rapture, Blister, Burn was taken from a courtney Love lyric; Can You Forgive Her? shares its name with a 19th century Anthony trollope novel. “the novel is about women weighing their options in terms of the men who are out there,” gionfriddo says. “there are the men who have money versus the men who are charming. the title in that case refers to whether it is ‘unforgivable’ for these women to expect more out of life.” While the moral crimes are more modern for the characters in gionfriddo’s Can You Forgive Her?, each of them also want more. “Financial security, love, recognition,” gionfriddo points out. “they each have an urgent appetite for something they don’t have.”

– CHARLEs HAUGLAND

18 BoX office 617 266 0800

A studio audience sits in anticipation waiting for the next

guest on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” She arrives, in a cheetah

print power-suit, gaudy expensive jewelry, and immaculately styled

hair. It’s none other than self-made financial adviser Suze Orman.

The show “Suze Orman’s Healing Advice” takes the private financial

situations of audience members and publicly shames their financial

decisions. Audiences are captivated by Orman’s commonsense financial advice, and are drawn to feeling emotionally fulfilled by

financial planning.

A single mother of 3 whose home is in foreclosure bravely volunteers to ask Suze advice. Suze’s words of wisdom echo through the studio: “You are going to take every penny you make and you are

going to spend it on [the children],” begins Orman. “You are not going to deny one thing for them, you’re going to put money away for their

college education while you will not have any money in retirement,” she says with a smile. “You won’t have an emergency fund, so if you

want to help your children, I am asking you to put the financial oxygen mask on your face first, before theirs. Can you see this as a blessing?”

Orman speaks, her gaze locked on the single mother.

The studio audience claps, some cheer, Oprah wipes the tears from her eyes. “Wow, I want to cry…,” says Oprah.

“I just felt a healing take place there.”

Kate Shindle, nancy E. carroll, and Shannon Esperin in rapture, Blister, Burn (2013)

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Can You Forgive Her? features two women with different ideas about how to get out of debt. Miranda, a young woman racked with student debt, chooses to use men as a way towards financial security. Single mother tanya is attracted to the allure of a financial guru, this time with fictional self-made adviser Marcy Snyder.

Many celebrity financial advisers’ audience base is primarily women who do not have financial planning skills. In the book Pound Foolish, author Helaine olen comments on orman’s financial advice style: “her formula appeals to people whose eyes would normally glaze over when financial concepts are discussed, not those already in the know. this is personal finance as self-affirmation.” orman claims to shorten the gender gap between men, women, and financial security claiming that, “Women fake orgasms, men fake finances.” Her frank delivery of self-made financial advice is what draws her readers into attending speaking engagements (where she asks for $80,000 an appearance) or purchasing one of her many books.

orman is not the only financial guru under scrutiny; similar advisers such as Dave Bach and Jean chatzky both use their commonsense advice to make a profit off of struggling Americans. Dave Bach has made appearances on “the oprah Winfrey Show” for his book series Finish rich. Bach is known for his revolutionary “latte factor,” promising viewers that if they invest the money spend on Starbucks lattes, they could save enough for an emergency fund. Simple, right? olen disputes the ideology, saying, “It didn’t work mathematically. It didn’t work in terms of what we were actually spending our money on. the latte factor was the financial equivalent of Miller beer — it tasted great, but was less filling.”

THE FINANCIAL

Suze orman


tHE HUntIngton IS coMMIttED to DEvELopIng AnD proDUcIng nEW AMErIcAn pLAYS. BrIngIng A nEW pLAY to tHE StAgE IS A MULtI-YEAr, MULtI-StEp procESS InvoLvIng MAnY coMpLEX DEcISIonS. EvErY procESS IS IDIoSYncrAtIc, AnD tHE tIMELInE BELoW rEprESEntS A coMpoSItE SnApSHot oF HoW A pLAY BEcoMES A proDUctIon.

1 - 2 years Prior to first Performancethe Huntington commits to a new play.

9 - 12 months • the Huntington has the first reading of a new play. this reading is primarily in service to the playwright and director, but it is also an essential tool for the play development, production, marketing, and development teams here at the Huntington. this is the first time the people responsible for creating, mounting, and financing the show hear the play together.

8 - 9 months • the Huntington usually hosts a week-long workshop for all new plays. this provides the playwright with the opportunity to work with actors and a director as a team, and allows the playwright to look at the play as a whole. the playwright listens and collaborates during rehearsal hours, and edits during the night to have new pages ready for the next day.

6 - 8 months • the Huntington works with the playwright and the director to find the team of designers who will work to bring the world of the play to life. It’s a crucial step because the wrong design can hamstring a production.

2 - 6 months • the playwright submits a rehearsal draft to the Huntington and the Huntington’s casting office sets out with the director and playwright to find the right actors through auditions in Boston and new York.

1 - 2 months • rehearsals begin where the director and actors delve into the world of the play. the rehearsal process most often begins with time around the table reading and discussing the plot, the characters, and the themes of the play so that the actors can begin building their performances. rewrites happen throughout the rehearsal process and usually into the first week of previews.

can You Forgive Her? was developed on a similar timeline. readings and a workshop were hosted by Center Theatre Group, who originally commissioned the play.

– TONAsIA JONEs

Jean chatzky holds a similar philosophy, claiming that there was no difference between the average person and Mark Zuckerburg, despite Zuckerburg’s privileged upbringing and the fact that when her book was published in 2008, the unemployment rate was at 15%. chatzky, in turn, profited through her own line of products including the Jean chatzky cash tracker and the Jean chatzky Monthly Budget Kit, as well leather planners, totes, and laptop bags, ranging from $40-$80.

What these three financial gurus have in common is their ability to profit off of their financial advice through books, apps, appearances, and merchandise. “there’s something not quite right about someone whose riches came from our woes, lecturing the rest of us on our inability to manage our funds,” comments Helaine olen in her book. How can these three advisors profit off of commonsense non-specific advice when the reality of many Americans’ financial situations is highly situational and individual?

What causes people, specifically women, to seek out financial self-help books? How is it that financial advisers like Suze orman, Dave Bach, and Jean chatzky are able to profit from those seeking financial help and stability?

Are these books dangerous tools for destruction, or actually empowering lessons on financial independence? While these advisers are controversial, they fill what has become a necessary void in contemporary debt culture. In Can You Forgive Her?, both women follow their instincts, creating a gospel of their opinions on financial stability.

– PHAEDRA sCOTT

Seth Fisher and Keira naughton in Becky Shaw (2010)


TIMELINE OF A WORLD PREMIERE

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GOSPEL

AMBITIOUS & MOVING NEW PLAY

I W

AS MOST

ALIVE WITH YOU

MAY 27 - JUNE 26

written &

directed By

CRAIG

LUCAS

At Thanksgiving dinner, Knox shares that he is

grateful for three things he thought were a curse:

being Deaf, being gay, and being an alcoholic. After

a terrible accident and what feels like the trials

of Job, he and his family’s resilience is put to the test. Written both in English and

American sign Language, Craig Lucas’ funny,

ambitious, and beautiful new play pulses with the exhilaration and ache of

human connection.

SOUTH END


“Craig Lucas [has an] enduringly original

sensibility.” – tHe new yorK times

I Was Most Alive With You is a new play created by a hearing artist featuring both Deaf/deaf and hearing actors and characters. It is being told in both AsL and English, and will be accessible to members of the Deaf and AsL communities at every performance.


LEARN MORE ONLINE Learn more about Craig Lucas’ perspective on modern gay life in new plays in a New York Times article and read an interview between Craig Lucas and Boston actress Karen MacDonald at huntingtontheatre.org.

CHOOSING WISDOM: CRAIG LUCAS ON THE BOOK OF JOB

“Craig Lucas’ latest work is a gorgeous play about what it means to believe in other people and to choose life even in dark moments.

His complex characters, searching for meaning and connection, will move and inspire our audiences. Craig is one of the master playwrights writing

today, and this newest play bursts with emotion and intelligence.” – artistic director Peter duBois

playwright and Director craig Lucas

In 2009, playwright craig Lucas confronted a dark moment in his life, and he began to read, looking for insight. “My attention was drawn to Erik Erikson’s writings on old age,” Lucas says. “His dictum is that, in old age, one has a choice between despair and wisdom.” As Lucas continued, an idea for a play formed: “then I read the Book of Job — and a lot of other reading in philosophy and history — and it occurred to me that there was a way to deal with the questions that the greeks talk about. What happens when human beings are confronted with what fate hands them? the greeks would say, where man’s plans and the gods’ cross, man always pays.”

Lucas knew intuitively that exploring wisdom and faith necessitated a reliance on comedy and humor. “Drama is built on really bad things happening to people,” Lucas says. “If you’re at enough distance, it’s comical. If you come a little closer to the characters, then it’s drama. But then if you insert yourself wholly into it as an artist, into the characters’ flaws, then it becomes tragedy. I was actually interested in bringing all three together — tragedy, drama, and comedy — in one play.”

As the underlying themes of the play were forming in Lucas’ mind, he coincidentally saw the new York production of nina raine’s Tribes and became interested in working with actor russell Harvard. (Harvard, who is Deaf, is also known for roles in the first season of “Fargo” and the film There Will Be Blood.) Lucas had incorporated ASL into one of his earlier plays, reckless; he was excited by the possibility of further exploration. “there is an enormously inviting theatrical possibility to play with two languages on stage, one of which is visual,” Lucas says. “Frankly, that’s fun and interesting — so I met up with russell, and told him I wanted to write a play for him.” With the actor in mind, the framework of the story began to take shape. Lucas recalls thinking at the time, “What if I created a character who has, through great struggle, discovered his strength through teaching American Sign Language? What would it mean for that person to not be able to do that anymore?”

the character Lucas created is called Knox — Deaf, sober, an ASL teacher — and as the play begins, Knox has gathered with family and friends for thanksgiving dinner. to that dinner, he brings a guy who has been living with him, Farhad. Farhad is a heavy drug user and, for a long time, homeless. Knox is smitten with Farhad and sees a glimmer of possibility in him. But after a tragedy that night, Knox’s family doesn’t know how to bring him back from the edge of despair. can they save him? can Farhad? can some higher power?

In developing the story, Knox’s overlapping identities were critical to Lucas. “there’s a confluence between being Deaf, being gay, and being an alcoholic,” Lucas says. “they are three things which the larger society might view as limitations, if not disabilities, and three things which the play’s protagonist views as gifts. the difference between those two views — disability or gift — is the embodiment of the wisdom vs. despair choice.” At the same time, Lucas was keen to avoid depicting ‘perfect’ or ‘idealized’ characters. “there are quite a few communities dramatized in the story,” Lucas says. “Each of these groups has particular ways of speaking about experience when like-members are alone with one another, and ways they wish to see their demographic represented to the larger world. the play seeks to avoid handling the discrepancies between these two things with kid gloves.”

For the production at the Huntington, Lucas will also direct, finding the balance between the anguish at the story’s core and the incredible humor that lives on its surface. For the characters, and in turn for the audience, comedy unlocks the wisdom that lives inside the tragedies that befall us and underpins our grasping for faith. As theologian reinhold niebuhr, original author of the “Serenity prayer,” writes, “Humor is, in fact, a prelude to faith; and laughter is the beginning of prayer. to meet the disappointments and frustrations of life, the irrationalities and contingencies, with laughter, is a high form of wisdom.”

– CHARLEs HAUGLAND

22 BoX office 617 266 0800

what does a director of artistic sign language do?

sabrina dennison (director of artistic sign language): to have this job, obviously, you need to be Deaf, fluent in American Sign Language (ASL), and it’s highly recommended to have some theatre background. the Director of Artistic Sign Language (DASL) has multiple tasks [combining] script analysis, training actors and interpreters, translation, public relations, and working in rehearsal.

John mcginty (assistant director of artistic sign language): It also gives extra “deaf eyes” to the production to understand if certain things would work for the Deaf/hard-of-hearing audience. We would also support the director’s vision and allow that to be more effective for the audience who happens to be Deaf/hard-of-hearing. not only that, we would give some suggestions on how the hearing audience will experience the play.

what does it mean for a person to identify as deaf versus deaf?

sd: A person who identifies themselves as deaf with a lowercase ‘d’ refers to the audiological aspect of not hearing sounds; Deaf with an uppercase ‘D’ refers to Deaf people who share the same language

(ASL) and culture. these are people who, in the words of carol padden and tom Humphries,“have access to the knowledge, beliefs, and practice that make up the culture of Deaf people.” I’m definitely a “D.”

Jm: Sometimes “the small d” deaf do not associate with other members of the deaf community and may not have the access to the knowledge to the culture of Deaf people. But, it does not apply to ALL people who are small “d.” Before assuming, it is better to ask the person what they prefer to be called. However, I do not believe in labeling them.

How has language and culture shaped the identities of the characters — both hearing and deaf/deaf?

sd: “In the play,” as in real life, Deaf or deaf people reflect who they are by how they are brought up, their beliefs, how they communicate: oral, sim-com communication, Sign “English,” and ASL will inform each of the characters. Also, for hearing people, same as in real life, [their] relationship with Deaf/deaf family members [reflects how they have been] educated or misinformed [regarding] stereotypes about deafness. [How a person

I WAS MoSt ALIvE WItH YoU IS PrESENTED IN TWO DISTINCT lANGUAGES, ENGlISH AND AMErICAN SIGN lANGUAGE, EACH WITH THEIr OWN GrAMMAr, STYlE, AND STrENGTHS. FOr THIS PlAY, THE PrOCESS HAS INClUDED THrEE WOrkSHOPS OvEr THE COUrSE

OF TWO YEArS; THE PlAYWrIGHT AND DIrECTOr CrAIG lUCAS HAS WOrkED IN TANDEM WITH THE DIrECTOr OF ArTISTIC SIGN lANGUAGE, SABrINA DENNISON, TO DEvElOP WAYS OF THINkING ABOUT HOW THE TWO lANGUAGES COUlD CO-ExIST ONSTAGE.

BEFOrE rEHEArSAlS BEGAN, DENNISON AND HEr ASSISTANT JOHN MCGINTY DISCUSSED THEIr WOrk ON THE PlAY.

THE LANGUAGE OF I WAS MOST

ALIVE WITH YOU


theatrical designer Dane Laffrey is having an accessibility moment. Earlier this year, he designed sets and costumes for Deaf West theatre’s Broadway revival of Spring Awakening. presently he’s in the early stages of conceiving a set design for the Huntington’s production of craig Lucas’ I Was Most Alive With You, a play that utilizes both American Sign Language (ASL) and spoken English. Speaking about designing with a Deaf audience in mind, Laffrey noted, “We needed a design that had a simplicity to it so that you could zero in on a person signing. You can’t have anything that’s too visually chaotic.”

Last october, Lucas and Laffrey met to comb through the script and discuss what the set should look like and how it should function. In the production, rather than the traditional ASL translation performed by two actors on the periphery of the stage, the translators will be incorporated into the world of the play. Laffrey explained, “the person doing the ASL becomes part of the character’s articulation in the particular moment. characters are associated with two actors at once — one speaking and one translating — and that tells you something about the style of the show and then ultimately the style of the set.” He continued: “the images in my head are blank, simple, actor-driven. It’s more presentational not mimicking architecture. the set is not a machine that happens around the actors; the actors change the space. craig and I talked about what it means for that to be effortful and exploring that effort in context of the Book of Job. I’m thinking about a space where the agency of the actors and characters are in question.”

For his part, Lucas noted, “I think it asks a lot of Dane because the subject matter is tough — the world of things that do not yield to our desires. Because the play is about tough things, I am hoping that the design will stress clarity, difficulty, and beauty.”

– LIsA TIMMEL

communicates] depends on the writer/director’s image of their identity.

Jm: For instance, I went to clarke School for the Deaf in northampton, MA from 1998-2002. I did not become fluent in ASL [until] when I was in college. So, with that being said, I am a late bloomer when it comes to finding my Deaf identity. this applies in the play as well because you will see and discover how people will embrace identity and communication with one another.

what would you like audience members to know before seeing the play? (are there different answers for that question for audience members who are hearing versus those who are deaf?)

sd: [In] ASL, [I will] preview [the play for] the audience to give them “name signs ” of the characters, brief background of who the characters are, places, and a summary of the story. As a member of the Deaf community, sometimes I will share and give a heads-up to the Deaf audience members about sensitive issues, if any, in the play.

Jm: Be open minded and have an open heart with this play. We want to ensure that we will provide an experience for BotH audiences. In that case, for hearing audiences, to experience what is like to be part of the Deaf world. Also, I want everyone in the theatre to know that you all are the same, no less or more. this may not be a Deaf play. But, it is a play that happens to have different topics about [being] gay, Deafness, and drugs.

what is your vision for the production?

sd: My job as a DASL is to make this play as clear as possible, giving as much access to the Deaf audience. My vision of this play is to try and create something that allows the hearing and Deaf community to see and hear together.

Jm: I will say that my perspective on the play is that it is a stunning story. I can see many layers and struggles that Knox has. It has notHIng to do with his deafness. As well with Farhad’s story too. But, I can see that Knox is going through something just like anyone else in the world would. My vision is that we want to tell the audience Knox and Farhad’s story in the most accessible and authentic way. We will make sure that all the actors/interpreters/settings/projections will bring out the clarity and ease for the audience. We will need to figure out how to balance reality and artistry.

sd: I would like to see the Deaf patrons leave with good feelings with the passion to discuss the play — whether or not they agree or like the play — with a positive attitude. I hope the hearing patrons will have knowledge that Deaf/deaf characters in the play will not reflect every Deaf person.

Jm: I want them to spark a conversation about the play. that’s what theatre is all about!

DANE LAFFREY ON ACCESSIBLE DESIGN

Deaf West theatre’s Spring Awakening

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24 BoX office 617 266 0800

NEAL BALKOWITSCH & DONALD NELSON:

A SHARED COMMITMENT TO THE HUNTINGTON

Huntington Trustee Neal Balkowitsch and his husband Donald Nelson are founding members of the Huntington legacy Society and co- chairs of the 2016 Spotlight Spectacular fundraising gala. Balkowitsch is co-founder of MAx Ultimate Food, one of Boston’s premier catering and event firms, and Nelson is master stylist at the award-winning Mizu Salon in Back Bay. In addition to their support of the Huntington, Neal and Donald support the Perkins School for the Blind, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. They live in Boston’s South End.

growing up in his native Minneapolis, neal Balkowitsch thrived on that city’s booming arts and culture scene. “Minneapolis has a lot of great cultural offerings. We went to theatre all the time, starting when I was a kid,” remembers Balkowitsch. In 1989, Boston’s unparalleled arts environment was an important factor in his career decision to move east to run pine Brook country club in Weston. “When I thought about relocating, I wanted to move to a city with really strong arts. Boston was a perfect fit.”

Donald nelson grew up in Braintree and remembers that there really was no quality regional theatre when he was young. After

HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY’S 2016 SPOTLIGHT SPECTACULAR GALA

monday, april 25, 2016, 6pm cyclorama at the Boston center for the artsHonoring carol g. deane with the wimberly award event co-chairs: Jill roberts, neal Balkowitsch, and donald nelson

proceeds support the Huntington’s programs including our award-winning youth, education, and community initiatives. Exciting entertainment and additional honoree to be announced. More information to follow.

to get involved or learn more: catherine Halpin, 617 273 1503 or [email protected]

moving to the “big city” and co-founding nelson randall Salon in Brookline, which he owned for more than 20 years, nelson began attending and supporting local theatre in Boston.

Around the time that Balkowitsch and business partner Dan Mathieu co-founded MAX Ultimate Food in 2001, he and nelson began attending their first Huntington productions at the BU theatre. they were smitten. “I’m always in awe of the high level of craftsmanship in the sets and costumes,” says nelson. “Sometimes I’m fascinated by a particularly well executed detail, like a piece of molding or other detail. I want to go backstage and help them build! of course, I really admire what the actors do — you can tell how much time and care they put into preparation and rehearsal.”

“We were totally captivated by the substantial nature of the plays and the professional quality of the productions,” Balkowitsch recalls. “And think of musicals like Candide and A little Night Music. But we ultimately found a home at the Huntington because of the connections we made. now when we go to theatre it’s like seeing family.”

Managing Director Michael Maso, Donald nelson, and neal Balkowitsch

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IT TOOK A LOT TO MAKE A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC!• one director supported by visionary designers,

artists, and our incredible production team of 68

• 17 extraordinary cast members, 10 of them from Boston, and 8 of them also understudying one or more roles

• over 92 gorgeous period costumes custom-made for the actors by 27 amazing pattern makers, drapers, tailors, and stitchers in our costume shop

• Well over 275 hours of highly skilled labor to construct each exquisite evening gown

• 26 full-size trees onstage, constructed by our ingenious shop carpenters of carved foam around steel spines, covered in muslin, and painted by our talented scenic artists to resemble birch trees

• An orchestra made up of 15 gifted local musicians

• The largest hat ever constructed at the Huntington, the outrageous poppy-adorned hat Desiree Armfeldt wears in “the glamorous Life” — fondly referred to in the costume shop as “Big poppy”

…and hundreds of generous supporters like you! tHanK you!

Please consider continuing your impact by making a gift at huntingtontheatre.org/donate.

the cast of A little Night Music (2015)

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“We’ve been attending the Huntington for more than 15 years, and I still remember how welcome we were made to feel by the Huntington from the start,” says nelson.

During one visit to the Huntington, Balkowitsch and nelson spied an architectural model that turned out to be an early mock-up of the calderwood pavilion. Learning that there would be an exciting new theatre venue just blocks from their clarendon Street home got them even more deeply involved. “that’s when we began to get more of a sense of what Huntington was as a civic institution,” Balkowitsch remembers. “I thought, ‘this is going to be so good for our neighborhood.’ And it has been. When you think about it, you realize that the Huntington is so much more than just the shows. the pace of activity in the pavilion — performances, social gatherings and activities, plus all the surrounding restaurants that have since moved in – that has really ramped up the quality of life here. plus the education programs, with student matinees that give Boston kids a chance to explore new ideas and perspectives in ways that only the theatre can. We all know that when kids are exposed to exciting experiences it opens their eyes to the world.”

“We’re such strong supporters of the Huntington’s long-term plans to continue on its path of service to the community,” emphasizes Balkowitsch. “the Huntington really provides a sense of vitality in our neighborhood and on Huntington Avenue. this a time of growth and opportunity for the institution, and we’re excited each time we see the Huntington reinforce its leadership role in the city.”

“And,” quipped nelson, “as Legacy Society members, we’re connected to the Huntington forever!”

if you are interested in learning more about the legacy society, please contact senior director of external relations david dalena at 617 273 1547 or [email protected].

26 BoX office 617 266 0800

In September 2001, Dorchester’s first charter high school opened its doors for the first time. codman Academy charter public School, founded by Meg campbell, is an Expeditionary Learning School, and from the beginning the Huntington’s Education Department has been a proud partner. now in its 15th year, codman Academy will expand to a full K-12 school in the 2016-2017 academic year. In celebration, we take a look back at the first 15 years of the Huntington-codman partnership.

scHool-year PartnersHiPLinking directly to the humanities, and sharing learning targets in each grade, students in 9th and 10th grade originally spent 2 Fridays a month at the Huntington working on poetry (as part of the school’s participation in poetry out Loud), Shakespeare, August Wilson monologues, and ensemble-building games and activities, including vocal and physical warm-ups. the year culminated with a showcase in the spring, with each grade presenting scenes and monologues in a free performance for the community.

this core piece of the partnership has evolved over the years to meet the demands of larger class sizes and the growth of the school. As codman will become a full K-12 school in the 2016-2017 school year, the Huntington’s work will continue in the upper school, with potential opportunity for future connection to students in the lower and middle schools.

In our 15th year, students in 9th and 10th grade are now with the Huntington every Friday from 9am-12pm. this more frequent, ½ day structure ensures our teaching artists maintain class sizes that are manageable, while also allowing codman the time it needs to meet each week in the afternoons.

summer tHeatre instituteIn the 2005-2006 school year, upperclassmen voiced frustration and sadness over losing the connection to the Huntington beyond 10th grade. As a response to this demand from the students, and coinciding with Boston’s push to provide more activities for students in the summer months, the Huntington codman Summer theatre Institute was born.

Latanya Simpson, oliver Hernandez, and the cast of Julius Caesar

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The Huntington-Codman partnership objectives are

(1) to use the study of theatre as a catalyst for improved performance in academic areas, particularly literacy, and in the development of social capital through improved group dynamics, and (2) to help students develop an understanding of and appreciation for the theatre by studying and attending Huntington performances, observing behind-the-scenes activities of the theatre, and participating in hands-on work in theatre arts.

THE HUNTINGTON-CODMAN PARTNERSHIP TURNS 15!

Shamara rhodes in The Taming of the Shrew.

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Students from all grades can now choose to spend five weeks in the summer working on a 90-minute play. plays that have been offered in previous summers include The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, As You like It, Julius Caesar, and A Tribute to August Wilson which was a showcase performance of scenes and monologues from all ten of the plays in the century cycle, presented in the summer of 2011 to celebrate the Huntington’s 30th Anniversary (which was also the year we completed Wilson’s century cycle on stage with Ma rainey’s Black Bottom). the Summer theatre Institute celebrated its 10th summer this past year with a production of Macbeth.

Students are each paid a stipend for participating, and are able to take the skills they learned during their work in 9th and 10th grade and apply it to a full character arc in a script. the Summer theatre Institute allows students to experience the full process of a play, from auditions, to the first table reading of the script, through to performances and strike (removing and storing the set, costumes, and props of the play).

saturday classesWhile many students would jump at the chance to participate in the Summer theatre Institute, there were still many codman students who felt there should be more opportunity for connection to the Huntington during the school year. As a result, the Huntington-codman partnership was expanded to include a Saturday class available for upperclassmen. codman students have electives, homework support, and other classes on Saturdays throughout the entire school year, so it seemed a natural fit to offer a theatre arts class as well.

Huntington Director of Education Donna glick works with 10-15 upperclassmen on Shakespeare monologues and sonnets, laying a foundation for any student interested in participating in the summer program, and/or interested in pursuing a degree in theatre in college.

otHer connectionsover the past 15 years, our partnership with codman Academy has created a strong bond not only with the students, but also among the staff at both institutions. In addition to classroom teaching, the Huntington’s Education Department provides support for projects such as the D-tour (a walking tour of Dorchester led by codman students), one-on-one coaching for Senior talks and college auditions, performances by codman students at Huntington board meetings, and support for a multitude of presentations and performances throughout each year.

JOIN US!the Huntington’s Education Department cordially invites you to the following free performances and events:

august wilson monologue comPetition: Boston regional Finals: Monday, February 1, 7pm calderwood pavilion at the BcA

Poetry out loud semi-finals: Boston, cape cod, Framingham, and Springfield, Saturday, March 5 and Sunday, March 6.

For specific locations and times, visit huntingtontheatre.org/poetry.

Poetry out loud state finals: Sunday, March 13, 9:30am old South Meeting House, Boston

15tH annual codman sPring sHowcase: Friday, May 13, 7pm BU theatre

not waiting on tHe world to cHange Student performance: Monday, May 31, 7pm calderwood pavilion at the BcA

learn more about these programs at huntingtontheatre.org/education.

Director of Education Donna glick at the student matinee performance of A little Night Music

Each year, the senior class graduates from one of our stages. the class of 2015 graduated on our set of after all the terrible things I do last June.

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STAGE & SCREEN AT THE COOLIDGE CORNER THEATREstage & screen is a collaboration between the coolidge corner theatre and the Huntington and explores the depictions of shared themes in Huntington productions and acclaimed films. our spring lineup includes:

tHe naMesake monday, January 11 at 7PmBased on the bestselling novel by pulitzer prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake is the story of the ganguli family, whose move from calcutta to new York evokes a lifelong balancing act to acclimate to a new world without forgetting the old. Join us for a conversation after the film with actor rajesh Bose from the Huntington’s production of Disgraced.

killer oF sHeeP monday, marcH 14 at 7Pmkiller of Sheep examines the black Los Angeles ghetto of Watts in the mid-1970s through the eyes of Stan, a sensitive dreamer who is growing detached and numb from the psychic toll of working at a slaughterhouse. Join us for a conversation after the film with a special guest from the Huntington’s production of How I learned What I learned.

tickets are $12 ($9 for Huntington subscribers) and may be purchased online at coolidge.org or at the coolidge box office, located at 290 Harvard street, Brookline.

SPECIAL EVENTSJoin us for post-show talkbacks featuring guests from the Boston globe.

UPCOMING EVENTS

DisgraceDsunday, January 24following tHe 2Pm Performancefeaturing metro columnist yvonne aBraHam

Milk like sugarsunday, feBruary 7following tHe 2Pm Performancefeaturing rePorter KatHy mccaBe

august Wilson’s HoW i learneD WHat i learneDsaturday, marcH 19following tHe 2Pm Performancefeaturing columnist adrian walKer can You Forgive Her?friday, aPril 1following tHe 8Pm Performancefeaturing “love letters” columnist mereditH goldstein

i Was Most alive WitH Yousaturday, June 11following tHe 2Pm Performance

Documents

Spotlight Magazine, Spring 2016