Plays: A Play Program Information

PLAYS (A Play)

Directed by Amy Steiger

Charles A. Nasby

Zhanna Goldentul

Lauren Camargo

Tommy Neville

Jocelyn Matsuo and Amy Steiger

Tamara Kamara

Original songs written and performed by Grace Bors.

www.soundcloud.com/gracebors

www.soundcloud.com/chandelle-rock

This script is devised and written by the following students who were enrolled in Ensemble Performance and Community Based Arts during fall 2011:

Jake Beamer, Grace Bors, Jocelyn Matsuo, Cara McHugh, Lauren Street, Amy Steiger, James Thompson, and Tad Timberlake.

And is based on story circles conducted with UofL students in Fall 2011, and on individual interviews with:

Lindsey Ackerman, Andrea Araujo, Blair Bors, Brandy and Jessica Chamberlain, Amber Conover, Jeremy Dugan, Jake Hassler, Clarence Jackson, Charles Nasby, Chris Psutka, Doug Schutte, James Simms, Ashley Smith

Interview Segments, in order of appearance:

Brandy and Jessica Chamberlain

Ashley Smith

Clarence Jackson

Blair Bors

Lindsey Ackerman, aka Poptart Matterhorn

Doug Schutte

James Simms

Chris Psutka

Cast

- Grace Bors

- Jocelyn Matsuo and Jessica Wolfe

- Reese Fisher

- Jody Ann Henry

- Alexa Mayfield

Jake Beamer

Grace Bors

Jocelyn Matsuo

Cara McHugh

James Thompson

Tad Timberlake

Megg Ward

Jessica Wolfe

- Megg Ward

- Jake Beamer

- Cara McHugh

There will be one ten-minute intermission.

Setting

Thrust Theatre at the University of Louisville and Galacticus Athleticus: The Trans-Historical Galaxy of Sports.

Notes from the Director

PLAYS (A Play) has truly been a team effort—everything from the initial ideas to the staging and choreography was created by the group. Many of the cast members were in a class last semester called “Ensemble Performance and Community Based Arts,” which introduced them to various companies who create theatre in, by and for particular communities. The students also learned practical tools such as interviewing skills, composition work borrowed from Anne Bogart and the SITI Company, Image Theatre techniques from Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed, script adaptation, and Everyday Life Performance, in which an actor uses video to learn to speak a person’s words verbatim, exactly as they were spoken in an interview.  

The students went through a number of ideas for subjects that would examine questions important to the Louisville community, and finally decided upon the topic of fan violence. This topic quickly shifted to sports in general and its relationship to academics and the arts on UofL’s campus, and continued to grow and evolve over the course of writing and staging the play. Students then conducted story circles with members of the UofL community, as well as individual interviews with both players and fans. That research provided the topics for in-class improvisations, and we decided to use the structure of a quest, inspired by Aristophanes’ Frogs and Dante’s Inferno. We then used a Google Doc to refine the material that came out of those improvisations and shape it into a script.

All of the material you see here was generated in and by our local community … some of the dialogue is verbatim from interviews, and all of the situations and subjects came from research the actors did themselves or stories they heard from people in Louisville. We hope you have fun! And if you’d like to continue the conversation about the importance of sports and/or theatre in people’s lives, please visit our blog at communitybasedacting.blogspot.com or our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ensemble-Performance-and-Community-Based-Arts/150701158352776

Amy Steiger (Director) was born and raised in Louisville, and holds a PhD in Performance as Public Practice from the University of Texas at Austin. She has worked with students to develop a method of training and rehearsal that combines dramatic literature, ensemble and solo performance, community-based research, and civic dialogue, about which she published an article in Theatre Topics last year. At UofL, she has directed Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed: A Theatrical Documentary About Marriage, also devised by students, and A Perfect Wedding, by Charles L. Mee. Directing credits at The University of Texas include The Trojan Women: A Love Story, also by Charles Mee, and The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek by Naomi Wallace. She studied at the Cornerstone Theater Company Summer Institute in 2010, and hopes to continue to develop community based performance here in Louisville.

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 Atomic Bombers, Richard III, 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.

Lauren Camargo (Lighting Design), Lexington, KY, is a senior Theatre Arts major.  She recently served as Stage Manager for How Orisanmi Chose His Head, The Colored Museum, and The Laramie Project.  Past credits elsewhere include Lighting Design for the CAMT production of Chicago, and Stage Manager The House of Bernada Alba with Looking for Lilith and Macbeth at the Josephine Sculpture Park.

Tommy Neville (Sound Design) Atlanta, GA, is a senior Theater Arts major.  He has served as Sound Designer for such productions as Measure for Measure, A Perfect Wedding, and Richard III at UofL, as well as being responsible for Sound Arrangement in such productions as Blues for an Alabama Sky and Atomic Bombers.  He has also recently served on crews in positions of sound and lighting and appeared as Heath Ledger in Hell's Awesome and Donny in Lambs (Studio Theatre).  Past credits elsewhere include the role of Lord Chamberlain with the Ballard Madrigals of 2007 and 2008.  He is currently the Sound Engineer for the Theater Arts Department.

Jake Beamer (Jake/Big Sweety), Louisville, KY, is a second-year MFA student in Performance.  He received his BA in Theatre from the University of Kentucky.  Past productions at UofL include Richmond in Richard III, Esu Elegba in How Orisanmi Chose His Head and Angelo in Measure for Measure.  Past credits elsewhere include Father in Disappearances, or The Groom’s Shoes at The Bard’s Town, Dracula in Dracula at the California Theatre Center, Jim Malone in The Christmas Presence at the Woodford County Theatre, and Saturninus in Titus Andronicus at the University of Kentucky.  He is also trained in six weapons through the Society of American Fight Directors.

Grace Bors (Grace/Lady Sugahh), Shelbyville, KY, is a junior Theatre Arts major.  This is her debut performance at UofL.  She recently served as Assistant Stage Manager for The Flu Season and House Manager for Mad at Miles: A Black Woman’s Guide to Truth.

Reese Fisher (Bradyman), Crestwood, KY, is a freshman majoring in Theatre Arts and French.  He recently appeared as Richard Feynman in Atomic BombersThe Flu Season.  He recently served as Director of Nightfall with Edgar Allen Poe at South Oldham High School and appeared as Titus Savage in The Curious Savage and Prologue in at Little Colonel Playhouse.  He also served as Usher Captain at Actors Theatre of Louisville for three years.

Jody-Ann P. Henry (Mascot #1), St. Catherine, Jamaica is a first-year MFA student in Performance.  She earned her BA in Theatre from Nova Southeastern University.  She recently appeared in Mad at Miles: A Black Woman’s Guide to Truth.  Past credits elsewhere include Feste in Twelfth Night, Lois in Wonder of the World, Ms. Prism in The Importance of Being Earnest, and Doctor in Baby! The Musical, all at Nova Southeastern University Theatre.

Cara McHugh (Cara, Lil’ Sweety), Memphis, TN, is a second-year MFA student in performance.  Past productions at UofL include Lady Anne in Richard III, Bob in A Perfect Wedding, and Female Greek Chorus in How I Learned to Drive.  Past credits elsewhere include Trudy in The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, Julie in Miss Julie, and Dorine in Tartuffe, all at Murray State University.

Jocelyn Matsuo (Jocelyn, Sweety Pie), Salt Lake City, UT, is a second-year MFA student in Performance.  She earned her post graduate diploma from LAMDA.  Past productions at UofL include Mad at Miles: A Black Woman’s Guide to Truth, various roles in How Orisanmi Chose His Head, Mariana in Measure for Measure, and various roles in A/S/L (Studio Theatre).  Past credits elsewhere include Hope in This Hope Box with The Poorhouse Theatre Company in Los Angeles, Allison in Look Back in Anger at the Georgia Court Theater in Los Angeles, CA, Estelle in No Exit, and various roles in The Saturday Mash-up at the Sidewalk Theatre in Burbank, CA.  She has certificates in Ballroom Dancing and Corporeal Mime and in stage combat for four weapons.

Alexa Mayfield (Mascot #2), Louisville, KY, is a freshman Theatre Arts major.  This is her debut performance at UofL.  Past credits elsewhere include Dorothy in The Wiz and Ronette in Little Shop of Horrors, both at Pleasure Ridge Park High School.

Tad Timberlake (Tad), New Albany, IN, is a sophomore History major.  He was recently seen as Francois in A Perfect Wedding.  Past credits elsewhere include Agent in Ten-Tucky Festival and various roles in Chasing Ophelia, both at The Bard’s Town, and Speaker/Senators in Kentucky Bail Bonds with the Pre-Trial Lawyers Association.

James Thompson (James), Louisville, KY, is a sophomore double majoring in Spanish and Theatre Arts.  Previous productions at UofL include Chorus in Atomic Bombers, Vaughn in Richard III, Nilly in Sausage Eaters (Studio Theatre) and Edmund in A Perfect Wedding.  He recently appeared as Alfred in Death by Chocolate at Jeffersontown High School, and is the Costume Shop Assistant at ZFX Flying Effects.

Megg Ward (Megg, Coach Pat Summit), Crestwood, KY is a sophomore triple majoring in Theatre Arts, Humanities, and History.  Past productions at UofL include Sir William Catesby in Richard III and Lady of the Night 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.

 Jessica Wolfe (Jessica, Sweety Pie), Villa Hills, KY, is a freshman Nursing major.  This is her debut production.

Tamara Kamara (Stage Manager), Free-Town, Sierra Leone, is a junior majoring in Theatre Arts and French.  She was recently seen in Mad at Miles: A Black Woman’s Guide to Truth.  Past credits elsewhere include The Ghost of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol at University of the Cumberlands, Haggy in Mmmbeth and Tituba in The Crucible, both at John Hardin High School, and Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Governor’s School for the Arts.  She is a 2008 graduate of Governor’s School for the Performing Arts and is a Hip-Hop instructor at The Dance Centre.

Hannah Pruitt (Assistant Stage Manager), Henderson, KY, is a senior Theatre Arts major.  Previous productions at UofL include Duchess of York in Richard III, If you Give a Fat Girl a Cookie (Studio Theatre), Greek Chorus in Medea (Studio Theatre), and various roles in The Laramie Project.

Production Staff

Stage Manager: Tamara Kamara

Assistant Stage Manager: Hannah Pruitt

Production Manager/Technical Director: Garry Brown

Technical Production Supervisor: Charles A. Nasby

Scenic Construction: Kelly Anne Bunch, Logan Dorne, Michelle Gentry, Collin Sage, Derek Wahle, TA 241 Stagecraft II

Production Buyer: David Galloway

Costume Shop Manager: Melissa K. Shepherd

Costume Buyer: Hannah Pruitt

Costume Construction: Blair Boyd, James Coomer, Amanda Hinds, Meredith Johnson, Hannah Pruitt

Assistant Costume Designer: Blair Boyd

Wardrobe Master: James Coomer & Meredith Johnson

Wardrobe Crew: Leigh Nieves, Lauren Schoenbaechler

Properties Managers: Amos Dreisbach, Deanna Gillispie

Properties Crew: Deanna Gillispie

Master Electricians: Lauren Camargo, Nick Potter, Mo Stucker

Lighting Operator: Nick Potter

Sound Engineer: Tommy Neville

Sound Operator: Derek Wahle

Media Operator: Jacob Bolton

Box Office Manager: Melanie Henry

House Manager: John Browning

Poster Design: Jennifer Siow

Acknowledgments: James Thompson, Nadeem Zaman, Debbie Hudson, Melanie Henry, Ashley Smith, Meredith Johnson (for coming up with the title!), Hannah Pruitt, Nefertiti Burton, Charles Nasby, Amy’s entire family

Congratulations to our 2012 Theatre Arts graduates!

Check us out on Facebook at University of Louisville-Department of Theatre Arts.

Bibliography

http://archive.org/details/sports

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/638841-the-10-best-coaching-rants-in-nfl-history-with-videos

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/61709-sports-fan-psychology-its-more-than-just-a-game

http://www.louisville.edu

http://www.mascothalloffame.com/

http://www.sportshistory.us/uncertainty.html

http://www.sporstpracicedrills.com  

http://www.utladyvols.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/summitt_pat00.html

Zirin, Dave. A People’s History of Sports in the United States. New York: New Press, 2008.