Blues for an Alabama Sky
By Pearl Cleage
Directed by Nefertiti Burton
Scenic Design - Charles Nasby
Costume Design - Zhanna Goldentul
Hair and Make-up Design - James Coomer
Lighting Design - Rebekkah Meixner-Hanks
Cast
(in order of appearance)
Angel Allen Jacqueline Thompson
Guy Jacobs Billy Flood
Leland Cunningham Gary Brice
Delia Patterson Kristi Papailler
Sam Thompson A.J. Green
Harlem, 1930s
It is the summer of 1930. Harlem, New York. The creative euphoria of the Renaissance has given way to the harsher realities of The Great Depression. Young Reverend Adam Clayton Powell is feeding the hungry and preaching an activist gospel at Abyssinian Baptist Church. Black Nationalist visionary Marcus Garvey has been discredited and deported. Birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger is opening a new family planning clinic on 126th Street and the doctors at Harlem Hospital are scrambling to care for a population whose most deadly disease is poverty. But, far from Harlem, African-American expatriate extraordinaire, Josephine Baker, sips champagne in her dressing room at the Folies Bergère and laughs like a free woman.
---Pearl Cleage
There will be one 10-minute intermission.
Nefertiti Burton (Director) is an Associate Professor of Theatre at the University of Louisville and Associate Dean for International, Diversity, and Outreach Programs in UofL’s College of Arts and Sciences. She holds an MFA in Directing from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and a Research Certificate in Media/Arts Program Development from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her teaching, directing, and research focus on the work of playwrights of African descent. Burton has performed and directed in local, national, and international venues including: Boston, Massachusetts; New York, New York; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Adelaide, Australia; Beijing, China; and Grahamstown, South Africa. Her screenwriting and directing have been acknowledged with an American Scene Award and an Audelco Award, respectively. As a playwright, she has created five works focusing on Yoruba traditional beliefs that have toured K-12 schools including, Who Needs a Habitat Anyway?, which Burton developed from a workshop she led at the United Nations 4th World Environmental Education Congress in Durban, South Africa (2007). Burton wrote and directed How Orisanmi Chose His Head which was presented on UofL's 2010-2011 mainstage season. She teaches a number of courses in the African American Theatre Program and is a recipient of UofL's Presidential Exemplary Multicultural Teaching Award.
Charles A. Nasby (Scenic Design) is the Scenery Technician for the Theatre Arts Department. He earned his BFA Theatre Arts at UofL in 2005. He has worked as a scenic designer, lighting designer, properties designer, technical director, and production manager for numerous productions.
Zhanna Goldentul (Costume Design) is the resident Costume Designer for the Theatre Arts Department. Her recent designs for the department include The Laramie Project, A Song for Coretta, Come Down Burning, Titus Andronicus, Cage Rhythm, Romeo and Juliet, Blithe Spirit, and many others. She is a graduate of the Theatrical Art College in Moscow and earned her MA in Fine Arts from UofL. She has designed costumes at Stage One: Louisville Children’s Theatre, and has been a member of the United Scenic Artists' Union since 1993.
Rebekkah Meixner-Hanks (Lighting Design) is an Associate Professor and Theatre Department Chair for Indiana University Southeast where she is also the resident scenic and lighting designer. Recently she designed the scenery and lighting for Lee Meriwether’s world premiere of her one woman show The Women of Spoon River. Prior to joining the IUS theatre department in fall 2005, Rebekkah worked as a successful Properties Master for numerous regional theatres throughout the Northeast. She earned her MFA in theatre design and production from the University of Louisville and her BA from the State University of New York at Oswego. Memorable design credits include; My Name is Tracy, Bust Stop, Proof, Sweet Bird of Youth, The Women of Spoon River, Godspell, House of Blue Leaves, Noises Off, and many others.
James Coomer (Hair and Make-up Design) Louisville, KY, is a sophomore Theatre Arts major. He recently designed make up for Richard III, and served as a stitcher for The Flu Season, Richard III, How Orisanmi Chose His Head, A Perfect Wedding, Measure for Measure, and How I Learned to Drive at UofL. Past credits elsewhere include Costume Designer for The Nerd and Assistant Costume Designer for Dance Concert 2010, both at YPAS, and Electrician for The Sound of Music at Derby Dinner Playhouse and Hairspray at Music Theatre of Louisville. He is also the Assistant Wardrobe Master for the costume shop.
Gary Brice (Leland Cunningham), Alton, IL, is a third-year MFA student in Performance. He received his BA in Theatre Arts from Western Illinois University. Past productions at UofL include Man in Blind Date (Studio Theatre), James in A Perfect Wedding, various roles in The Colored Museum, and Soldier in The Orphan of Chao. Past credits elsewhere include Nioka in Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters at the Kentucky Center for the Arts, Vernon in Family Tracks for the UofL School of Medicine, and ensemble roles in A Helping Hoof and The Magic Tree with the UofL Repertory Company. He currently serves as the Graduate Student Coordinator of Studio Theatre. This is his thesis performance.
Billy Flood (Guy Jacobs), Louisville, KY, is a second-year MFA student in Performance. He received his BFA from Wright State University. Past productions at UofL include Hastings in Richard III, Commander Teflon in The Orphan of Chao, various roles in The Colored Museum, and ensemble in A/S/L (Studio Theatre). Past credits elsewhere include Man in Dream Play at Columbia University, Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz with the American Family Theatre National Tour, Newt Lee in Parade at Wright State University, and Bullfrog in Honk at Derby Dinner Playhouse.
Alphaeus Green Jr. (Sam Thompson), Louisville, KY, was recently seen as Muhammad Ali in the Kentucky Black History Project. Past credits include Samuel Ben Amos in Gospel Nativity Live and Mufaro in Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters with RTE Productions and Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock Holmes and ‘Twas the Murder before Christmas and Lt. Nathan Hoelstrom in Murder in Hollywood: The Cast of the Boa Constrictor, both with Whodunnit Murder Mystery Theatre.
Kristi Papailler (Delia Patterson), Louisville, KY, is a first-year MFA student in Performance. Previous productions at UofL include ensemble in Mad at Miles, The Wizard in The Wiz, Dussie Mae in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and Ensemble in Salute to the Black Family. Past credits elsewhere include Rhonda Lynn in Christmas Belles, Lucy in Dracula, and Calpurnia in To Kill a Mockingbird, all at the Kentucky Repertory Theatre, and Irma Slocum in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever at Stage One. She trained in Suzuki and Viewpoints with the Siti Company in New York, NY.
Jacqueline Thompson (Angel Allen), St. Louis, MO, is a third-year MFA student in Performance. She received her BA in Communications from Clark Atlanta University and a Certificate in Radio/TV Broadcasting from the Broadcast Center, St. Louis MO. Previous productions at UofL include Princess Oshunara in The Orphan of Chao, various roles in The Colored Museum, Helen in A Song for Coretta, and Amiens in As You Like It. Past credits elsewhere include multiple roles in A Colored Funeral at the Griot Theatre, Jodi in Quilters at the Avalon Theatre, and Tasha in Color of Rain for SRD Performing Arts. She has also worked as a teaching artist at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Sacred Heart School for the Arts, and the St. Louis Black Repertory Theatre. This is her thesis performance.
Melony A. Tisdale (Acting, Voice, Dialect Coach), Kingstree, SC, received her MFA in Performance and an AATP Certificate from the University of Louisville. She recently served as Acting/Dialect Coach for How Orisanmi Chose His Head at UofL. Previous performances at UofL include Betty in Betty’s Summer Vacation, Tee in Come Down Burning, Drill Sergeant in Soldiers Circle, and Darese in The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God. She is an instructor at Kentucky State University.
Sue Hlavinka (Stage Manager), Radcliffe, KY, is a junior Theatre Arts major. Previous production credits at UofL include Stage Manager for Richard III, House Manager for A Perfect Wedding and Stage Manager for Don’t Call her Bitch (Studio Theatre). She recently served as Stage Manager for Strike Zone at The Bard’s Town Theatre.
Reese Fisher (Assistant Stage Manager), Crestwood, KY, is a freshman majoring in Theatre Arts and French. He was recently seen as Prologue in The Flu Season at UofL. Past credits elsewhere include Titus Savage in The Curious Savage and Professor Baer in Little Women at Little Colonel Playhouse.
Megg Ward (Assistant Stage Manager), Crestwood, KY is a sophomore Theatre Arts major. Past productions at UofL include Sir William Catesby in Richard III and Lady of the Night/Justice in Measure for Measure. Past credits elsewhere include Mrs. Savage in The Curious Savage and Jo March in Little Women, both at the Little Colonel Playhouse.
Stage Manager Sue Hlavinka
Assistant Stage Manager Reese Fisher, Megg Ward
Technical Director Charles A. Nasby
Scenic Construction Kelly Anne Bunch, Logan Dorne, Michelle Gentry, Collin Sage, TA 241 Stagecraft II
Production Buyer David Galloway
Costume Shop Manager Melissa K. Shepherd
Assistant Designer James Coomer
Costume Construction Blair Boyd, James Coomer, Amanda Hinds, Meredith Johnson, Hannah Pruitt
Wardrobe Master Meredith Johnson
Assistant Wardrobe Master James Coomer
Costume Buyer Hannah Pruitt
Wardrobe Crew Jennifer Siow, James Thompson
Properties Managers Amos Dreisbach, Deanna Gillispie
Properties Crew Amos Dreisbach, Logan Dorne
Master Electricians Lauren Camargo, Nick Potter, Mo Stucker
Lighting Operator John Browning
Sound Engineer Tommy Neville
Sound Operator John Radeke
Box Office Manager Melanie Henry
Box Office Staff Beth Burrell, Jody Ann Henry, Will Salmons, Ashley Smith
House Manager Meredith Johnson
Poster Design Brianne Veigl
Special Thanks Actors Theatre of Louisville, Cara McHugh, Aukram Burton, Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research, Yolanda "JD" Green, Lucy Bickett, Indiana University Southeast Theatre Arts Department, John Chenault
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