Mar 6–Apr 14

World PremiereBy Marisa WegrzynDirected by Susanna Gellert

An Enemy of the People

The Completely Fictional— Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe

Bus Stop

The Mountaintop

Mud Blue Sky

Clybourne Park

Beneatha’s Place

2012–13 season

The Raisin Cycle

Weg

rzy

n

Beth, a flight attendant on layover in a hotel outside Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, just wants to rest her aching back, but her co-worker, Sam, won’t allow it. When Sam barges into Beth’s hotel room with an old mutual friend and a bottle of cognac, they find that they aren’t the only visitors. Beth has been joined by a teenager named Jonathan. From an awkward beginning, the unlikely group settles in for a long evening of revealing encounters and surprising connections.

Barely 30, playwright Marisa Wegrzyn has already had an impressive career. Winner of the Wasserstein Prize for her play Hickorydickory, Wegrzyn is at home with the fantastic and the macabre. Mud Blue Sky marks a more naturalistic approach and one based on more personal connections—Wegrzyn grew up in the Chicago area, and her mother was a flight attendant. The play was commissioned by Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company and had its first reading there before landing its world premiere here at CENTERSTAGE.

Mud Blue Sky takes place in today’s post-9/11, post-recession America; in a hyper-connected chain-store world where smart phones are everywhere, Top Chef is a hit, and there’s an IHOP on every corner. Exploring missed connections, everyday dreams, and the sometimes-enormous stakes behind the smallest moments, it asks, if work is what you do, does it have to be who you are? And, when you’re neither here nor there, where are you?

An Introduction to the World of the Play

At the theater early? Want to know more about the play? Please join us on select evenings for ForeWords, a conversation about the play with a member of our staff, in the back of The Head Theater. ForeWords will be held pre-show on the same dates as AfterThoughts discussions (Thursday 7 pm shows on March 21, 28, and April 4; Sunday 2 pm matinees on March 24 and 31).

>

Marisa Wegrzyn, playwright

Susanna Gellert Director

Neil Patel Scenic Designer

Jennifer Moeller Costume Designer

Scott Zielinski Lighting Designer

Victoria (Toy) Delorio Sound Designer

Kellie Mecleary Dramaturg

Stephanie Klapper Casting Director

Location: A room at a chain hotel in Rosemont, IL, near O'Hare Airport. An area behind the hotel.

Time: The present. Spring. Night.

Susan Rome* Beth

Eva Kaminsky* Sam

Justin Kruger* Jonathan

Cynthia Darlow* Angie

Captain Kate Murphy* Stage Manager

Laura Smith* Assistant Stage Manager

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association

The CasT (in order of appearance)

The seTTing

The arTisTiC Team

Mud Blue Sky was commissioned by Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago; Martha Lavey, Artistic Director, David Hawkanson, Executive Director. New play development at CENTERSTAGE is made possible in part by The Sylvia and Eddie Brown Family Foundation, the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, and the Nathan and Suzanne Cohen Foundation Fund for Commissioning and Developing New Plays.

PLEASE Turn off or SiLEnCE ALL ELECTroniC DEviCES.

in CASE of EMErgEnCy (during performances only) 410.986.4080

PrESEnTing PArTnEr

SEASon SPonSorS Ellen and Ed BernardStephanie and Ashton CarterJames and Janet ClausonLynn and Tony Deering and

The Charlesmead FoundationJane and Larry DroppaTerry H. Morgenthaler and Patrick KerinsJudy and Scott PharesPhil and Lynn RauchJay and Sharon SmithBarbara Voss and Charles E. Noell, III

CorPorATE SEASon SPonSorS

T. Rowe Price Foundation

ASSoCiATE SEASon SPonSor Kathleen HyleKenneth C. and Elizabeth M. Lundeen

MEDiA PArTnErS

Mud Blue SkyBy Marisa Wegrzyn • Directed by Susanna Gellert

Mar 6–Apr 14 , 2013

CENTERSTAGE is funded by an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive.

Life in the SkyBy Kellie Mecleary, Production Dramaturg

Beth, Sam, and Angie are part of a profession with a

lot of baggage. These pages offer an overview of both

the history of fl ight attendants and the facts of fl ying

today—from glamorous icons to the faces of labor to

the brunt of passenger air rage.

1930: Stewardesses,

or "air hostesses" as they were then called, were required to retire if they married or became pregnant.

1933: An icon is born America had a new icon of femininity, declared the Toledo Sunday Times: the airline stewardess “has been eulogized, glorifi ed, publicized, and fi ctionalized during her comparatively short existence… She seems to be on the way to becoming to American girlhood what policemen, pilots, and cowboys are to American boyhood.”

1936: A New York Times

article described job requirements thus:

“The girls who qualify for hostesses must be petite—weight 100 to 118 pounds; height 5 feet to 5 feet 4 inches; age 20 to 26 years.”

1943: What more could you want? No wonder stewardesses received such favorable attention from the press and the public. As a female writer for Independent Woman admiringly concluded, they exuded "the skill of a Nightingale, the charm of a Powers model, and the kitchen wisdom of a Fanny Farmer"—an ideal blend of traditional and modern femininity. 1953:

Flight attendants had to

retire by age 35.

1955: Playboy’s “Miss December” United stewardess Barbara Cameron posed for Playboy as “Miss December” in 1955. She appeared again exactly three years later as “The Girl Next Door” in the line-up of “most popular Playmates,” marking the magazine’s fi fth anniversary. This was a notable departure from the respectable stewardess mystique of the postwar era.

1965: A showgirl or jet-propelled waitress? The jet age, with its crowded, speedier fl ights and more motley passenger population, posed a new challenge to stewardesses’ glamourous image. As a female reporter for the Des Moines Register wittily suggested: “The airline stewardess, 1965, has one of the most frustrating jobs in the world. Male passengers expect her to look like a Las Vegas showgirl, and are angry when she doesn’t. Female passengers are angry when she does, and are fond of calling her a ‘fl ying waitress.’”

“i mean, it seems like a hard life. Flight attendants.

it’s a hard life.”–marisa Wegrzyn

b | CENTERSTAGE

1968: Mandatory

resignation by age 35 ends.

1971: Court orders ended airlines' practices of refusing to hire male fl ight attendants and prohibiting female fl ight attendants from marrying.

1974: Courts ruled

that female fl ight attendants must be paid no less than their male counterparts.

1979: “No More Stewardesses—We’re Flight Attendants” When feminist writer Louise Kapp Howe profi led stewardesses in the traditional women’s magazine Redbook, she presented them as symbols of women’s new assertiveness in the workplace. As Howe and others made clear in the national media, “stewardesses” had become “fl ight attendants” in the feminist 1970s and began to muster more respect as workers (and militant ones at that).

1978: Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, protecting fl ight attendants, among other workers, from pregnancy termination policies.

1991: American

Airlines resolved a lawsuit by relaxing standards of weight for fl ight attendants, permitting a 5’5” female fl ight attendant younger than 25 to weigh up to 133 pounds. (Previously, the same fl ight attendant could weigh no more than 129 pounds.) The new weight restrictions increased with age; between 40 and 44, the same fl ight attendant could weigh up to 145 pounds.

1993: The New Face of Labor With federal deregulation of airline fares and routes in 1978, price slashing, start-ups, rapid expansion, and mergers wracked the industry. One notable side effect was that the news media began to pay attention to fl ight attendants as unionized workers with great potential for militancy, rather than as staple subjects for

“human

2001: After

September 11, many fl ight attendants took pay cuts to keep the airlines in business.

2010: Salaries for

fl ight attendants at United Airlines were the same as in 1994, but with fewer benefi ts.

FACTS ABOUT FLIGHT ATTENDANTS TODAY: DID YOU KNOW THAT…

Of all applicants for fl ight attendant positions, between 5% and 10% are accepted.

40% of fl ight attendants are 50 or older. Fewer than 18% are 34 or younger.

Most airlines hire fl ight attendants no shorter than 5’3” and no taller than 6’1”. Weight must fall within a specifi ed range of proportionality to height.

The Federal Aviation Administration requires one fl ight attendant per 50 passengers. Most airlines do not choose to exceed this minimum.

On-the-job injury rates for fl ight attendants are comparable to those for construction workers or miners.

Flight attendants are required to maintain a high standard of personal grooming and may not have any visible tattoos.

Burnout rates for fi rst-year fl ight attendants are as high as 90%.

Flight attendants get paid for “fl ight hours only,” meaning the clock doesn’t start until the craft pushes away from the gate.

Furious FlyersExamples of Air Rage

Material on this page was compiled from several sources, including femininityinfl ight.com by Kathleen M. Barry and Around the World in a Bad Mood by Rene Foss.

interest” stories. When American Airlines fl ight attendants carried out a highly successful 11-day strike in 1993, nearly shutting down the nation’s then-largest carrier at the time, both Time and U.S. News & World Report portrayed them as the “new face of Labor.”

An enraged passenger heaved a suitcase at a customer service agent who was eight months pregnant.

A fl ight attendant was knocked to the ground and kicked after informing a hungry passenger that there were no extra sandwiches.

A man punched a pilot in the boarding area when he was informed that his fl ight was cancelled.

A Saudi Arabian princess was sentenced and fi ned for choking a fl ight attendant.

After being denied a fi rst-class upgrade, a passenger threw a full pot of coffee at a fl ight attendant, causing second-degree burns.

A passenger, angry about the lengthy delay, hurled a fl ight attendant into the lavatory door and attacked her until restrained. The battered fl ight attendant crawled to the cockpit for help.

An intoxicated fi rst-class passenger defecated on a meal cart during the fl ight.

An intoxicated passenger ignored the fl ight attendant’s warning not to smoke in the lavatory. Cursing and demanding more liquor, the passenger reportedly smashed a bottle of vodka over her head. The fl ight attendant was severely injured and required stitches.

Mud Blue Sky | c2 | CENTERSTAGE

Life in the SkyBy Kellie Mecleary, Production Dramaturg

Beth, Sam, and Angie are part of a profession with a

lot of baggage. These pages offer an overview of both

the history of fl ight attendants and the facts of fl ying

today—from glamorous icons to the faces of labor to

the brunt of passenger air rage.

1930: Stewardesses,

or "air hostesses" as they were then called, were required to retire if they married or became pregnant.

1933: An icon is born America had a new icon of femininity, declared the Toledo Sunday Times: the airline stewardess “has been eulogized, glorifi ed, publicized, and fi ctionalized during her comparatively short existence… She seems to be on the way to becoming to American girlhood what policemen, pilots, and cowboys are to American boyhood.”

1936: A New York Times

article described job requirements thus:

“The girls who qualify for hostesses must be petite—weight 100 to 118 pounds; height 5 feet to 5 feet 4 inches; age 20 to 26 years.”

1943: What more could you want? No wonder stewardesses received such favorable attention from the press and the public. As a female writer for Independent Woman admiringly concluded, they exuded "the skill of a Nightingale, the charm of a Powers model, and the kitchen wisdom of a Fanny Farmer"—an ideal blend of traditional and modern femininity. 1953:

Flight attendants had to

retire by age 35.

1955: Playboy’s “Miss December” United stewardess Barbara Cameron posed for Playboy as “Miss December” in 1955. She appeared again exactly three years later as “The Girl Next Door” in the line-up of “most popular Playmates,” marking the magazine’s fi fth anniversary. This was a notable departure from the respectable stewardess mystique of the postwar era.

1965: A showgirl or jet-propelled waitress? The jet age, with its crowded, speedier fl ights and more motley passenger population, posed a new challenge to stewardesses’ glamourous image. As a female reporter for the Des Moines Register wittily suggested: “The airline stewardess, 1965, has one of the most frustrating jobs in the world. Male passengers expect her to look like a Las Vegas showgirl, and are angry when she doesn’t. Female passengers are angry when she does, and are fond of calling her a ‘fl ying waitress.’”

“i mean, it seems like a hard life. Flight attendants.

it’s a hard life.”–marisa Wegrzyn

b | CENTERSTAGE

1968: Mandatory

resignation by age 35 ends.

1971: Court orders ended airlines' practices of refusing to hire male fl ight attendants and prohibiting female fl ight attendants from marrying.

1974: Courts ruled

that female fl ight attendants must be paid no less than their male counterparts.

1979: “No More Stewardesses—We’re Flight Attendants” When feminist writer Louise Kapp Howe profi led stewardesses in the traditional women’s magazine Redbook, she presented them as symbols of women’s new assertiveness in the workplace. As Howe and others made clear in the national media, “stewardesses” had become “fl ight attendants” in the feminist 1970s and began to muster more respect as workers (and militant ones at that).

1978: Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, protecting fl ight attendants, among other workers, from pregnancy termination policies.

1991: American

Airlines resolved a lawsuit by relaxing standards of weight for fl ight attendants, permitting a 5’5” female fl ight attendant younger than 25 to weigh up to 133 pounds. (Previously, the same fl ight attendant could weigh no more than 129 pounds.) The new weight restrictions increased with age; between 40 and 44, the same fl ight attendant could weigh up to 145 pounds.

1993: The New Face of Labor With federal deregulation of airline fares and routes in 1978, price slashing, start-ups, rapid expansion, and mergers wracked the industry. One notable side effect was that the news media began to pay attention to fl ight attendants as unionized workers with great potential for militancy, rather than as staple subjects for

“human

2001: After

September 11, many fl ight attendants took pay cuts to keep the airlines in business.

2010: Salaries for

fl ight attendants at United Airlines were the same as in 1994, but with fewer benefi ts.

FACTS ABOUT FLIGHT ATTENDANTS TODAY: DID YOU KNOW THAT…

Of all applicants for fl ight attendant positions, between 5% and 10% are accepted.

40% of fl ight attendants are 50 or older. Fewer than 18% are 34 or younger.

Most airlines hire fl ight attendants no shorter than 5’3” and no taller than 6’1”. Weight must fall within a specifi ed range of proportionality to height.

The Federal Aviation Administration requires one fl ight attendant per 50 passengers. Most airlines do not choose to exceed this minimum.

On-the-job injury rates for fl ight attendants are comparable to those for construction workers or miners.

Flight attendants are required to maintain a high standard of personal grooming and may not have any visible tattoos.

Burnout rates for fi rst-year fl ight attendants are as high as 90%.

Flight attendants get paid for “fl ight hours only,” meaning the clock doesn’t start until the craft pushes away from the gate.

Furious FlyersExamples of Air Rage

Material on this page was compiled from several sources, including femininityinfl ight.com by Kathleen M. Barry and Around the World in a Bad Mood by Rene Foss.

interest” stories. When American Airlines fl ight attendants carried out a highly successful 11-day strike in 1993, nearly shutting down the nation’s then-largest carrier at the time, both Time and U.S. News & World Report portrayed them as the “new face of Labor.”

An enraged passenger heaved a suitcase at a customer service agent who was eight months pregnant.

A fl ight attendant was knocked to the ground and kicked after informing a hungry passenger that there were no extra sandwiches.

A man punched a pilot in the boarding area when he was informed that his fl ight was cancelled.

A Saudi Arabian princess was sentenced and fi ned for choking a fl ight attendant.

After being denied a fi rst-class upgrade, a passenger threw a full pot of coffee at a fl ight attendant, causing second-degree burns.

A passenger, angry about the lengthy delay, hurled a fl ight attendant into the lavatory door and attacked her until restrained. The battered fl ight attendant crawled to the cockpit for help.

An intoxicated fi rst-class passenger defecated on a meal cart during the fl ight.

An intoxicated passenger ignored the fl ight attendant’s warning not to smoke in the lavatory. Cursing and demanding more liquor, the passenger reportedly smashed a bottle of vodka over her head. The fl ight attendant was severely injured and required stitches.

Mud Blue Sky | cMud Blue Sky | 3

So began my Skype-like* conversation with Marisa Wegrzyn, the living and breathing playwright of Mud Blue Sky. I won’t make you endure the bulk of it—suffi ce it to say that I’m not quite up to Terry Gross’ standards in my interviewing skills—but I did manage to learn some very interesting things about our up-and-coming author.

For one, Marisa’s manner is direct and unadorned. When I asked her why she decided to pursue playwriting, she answered,

“because I was good at it.” She said this without a hint of ego: it was a fact, proven by a playwriting competition she entered (several times over) while a student at Washington University. The entire interview went like that: I would stumble through a rambling, slightly neurotic, overly articulated, East Coast question, and she would respond Midwestern style—simply and clearly, with a dash of wit.

Other things I learned: Marisa is Chicagoland born-and-bred. She’s the second of three daughters: her parents are a retired anesthesiologist and a fl ight-attendant-turned-stay-at-home mom. She loves sci-fi , Martin McDonagh plays, and Tarantino fi lms.

Some things I didn’t learn from her, but found out elsewhere: at 31, Marisa has been produced at and/or commissioned by Steppenwolf, Yale Rep, and Actors Theatre of Louisville, among other places. In 2009, she received the prestigious Wasserstein Prize for her play Hickorydickory, which afforded her national attention, a $25,000 prize, and a reading at New York’s Second Stage.

Prior to playwriting, Wegrzyn wrote sketch comedy for her high school’s yearly musical-comedy revue. It’s through sketch comedy that Marisa became interested in theater. This makes more sense after having read some of Marisa’s other plays: both Killing Women (2004) and The Butcher of Baraboo (2007) are fi lled with zany, splashy scenarios, where the payoff comes quickly, the laughs come easily, and macabre a-la McDonagh or Tarantino is a common element. The kind of stuff that, in milder form and smaller doses, would fi t right in on Saturday Night Live.

I met Marisa after having read Mud Blue Sky and almost immediately thought, “that makes so much sense.” Her personality and perspective seems to pervade the play, in style and tone. And yet, Mud is a departure from Wegrzyn’s previous work. She told me, “I wanted to go in the opposite direction, see where I could go with being a little bit more gentle and a little bit more real.” It therefore took her a while to complete. She wrote what is now the play’s second scene—between Beth, a middle-aged fl ight attendant, and Jonathan, a high-school senior on prom night—very quickly, but then didn’t know where to go from there. “I didn’t really have the muscle to do the slow burn kind of plot development, where not much happens, but a lot happens too.”

While attempting to be more real, and to focus on character over plot, Marisa chose to write about a group of women in a profession close to home. Like the women in Mud, Marisa’s mother used to be a fl ight attendant. But Marisa is careful not to invest too much importance in that autobiographical connection. This is not a play about her mother, or mothers and daughters in any capacity. Her choice to write a play about fl ight attendants came out of a more indirect interest. “I was always interested in fl ight attendants in the way that, like—you know, if your parents have a certain job, you notice people who do that job?” Marisa paused, and then continued, “I guess that, I mean it seems like a hard life. Flight attendants. It’s a hard life.”

These days, Marisa is living in LA, trying her hand at TV writing, for the reason that many playwrights turn to TV—better pay. But, she has no intention of giving up writing plays. “I still like the craft of it. It’s really hard to do it right, to do it well…with a play, I feel like there’s always going to be that freedom of expression.” This stumbling, rambling interviewer is sure glad to hear it.

marisa explains it allBy Kellie Mecleary, Production Dramaturg

ME: So this is your fi rst time doing like a Skype thing, a Skype-like thing?MAriSA: Yeah, the future.ME: So, I guess, uh, just to give you a sense of, why I wanted to chat with you, with…what I’m…One of the components of the dramaturgy we do for the program, um, usually we write...a…bio of the playwright, so…and up until now, the playwrights I’ve written about have been dead, so I’ve just, you know—MAriSA: Sorry to make your job harder.

*At CENTERSTAGE we connect virtually using something called “FUZE meeting.” All I know about it is that it is similar to, but more awesome than, Skype.

d | CENTERSTAGE

ODDBALL PAIRINGSSherlock Holmes and Dr. WatsonThe science behind this famous pair’s chemistry is elusive. But the archetypal Victorian gentleman acts as an excellent foil to the brilliant, emotionally detached analytical machine—so excellent that they have reappeared in countless reiterations. These guys are an example of the male-buddy odd couple: different in every way, yet hopeless without one another. Many came before and since, but perhaps most is owed to the eccentric Don Quixote and the bumbling, faithful Sancho Panza—the original bromance.

Other male odd couples: Batman and Robin, Oscar and Felix, Ernie and Bert, the boys of Men In Black.

Mud Blue Sky is full of unlikely friendships, brought together by circumstance, both mundane and surprising. Though these unexpected pairings may seem unorthodox, such surprising bonds are seen again and again throughout history and culture. What is it that is so interesting about people from different worlds, viewpoints, or moments in time managing to connect, or at least coexist? +

Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy She is a free-spirited, run-through-the-rain, easy-to-laugh young lady, and he is an uptight, uber-wealthy stickler for decorum and status. Hate at fi rst sight, love at last. One of the earliest versions of the opposites attract romantic comedy trope, Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy’s slow dance towards respect and love in Pride and Prejudice celebrates the value of different but complimentary sensibilities. Countless rom-com storylines followed, and many more will come, but perhaps none so keenly observed and plotted as the hero and heroine of Jane Austen’s beloved novel.

Other opposites attracting: Maria and Captain von Trap, Henry Higgins and Eliza Dolittle, Harry and Sally, Toni Morrisson and Fran Lebowitz.

Bill Clinton and George Bush, Sr. Now that these former rivals are both out of the White House and the pesky politics are out of the way, they’ve formed a tight bond: Clinton even refers to Bush Sr. as a father fi gure. The two joined forces in 2004 to help raise money for Indian Ocean tsunami victims, and have shown up together at a variety of events over the years. According to Former First Lady Barbara Bush, Clinton is, “a good fellow,” and “very thoughtful about calling.”

Other sworn enemies joining forces: Romeo and Juliet, President Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Clarissa Dalloway and Sally SetonThese two from Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway couldn’t be more different: Clarissa is light-haired, bird-like, the perfect hostess. Sally is dark, voluptuous, wild. And yet, Clarissa remembers her feeling for Sally “was not like one’s feeling for a man. It was completely disinterested, and besides, it had a quality which could only exist between women, between women just grown up.” A note: it is surprisingly diffi cult to fi nd famous female pairs that fi t this bill. Why might that be?

Other unlikely lady buddies: Julia Child and Simone Beck, Downton Abbey’s Dowager Countess and Isabel Crowley, Hannah and Marney in Girls.

Mark Twain and Helen KellerWho would have guessed that storied American humorist Mark Twain and deaf-blind author and activist Helen Keller—what with their 45-year age difference, among other things—were besties? Twain wrote a letter to Keller in 1903, describing their relationship as “an affectionate friendship which has subsisted between us for nine years without a break, and without a single act of violence that I can call to mind. I suppose there is nothing like it in heaven; and not likely to be, until we get there and show off.”

Other age-defying BFFs: Boo Radley and Scout Finch, Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor, Queen Elizabeth I and Lord Burghley.

The Pixar PhenomenonThe wildly successful Pixar franchise loves unlikely friendships: their fi lms are fi lled with ’em. There’s the octogenarian Carl and the pre-pubescent Russell in Up, Remy the rat and Linguini the chef in Ratatouille, the timid Marlin and overeager Dory in Finding Nemo, and, most famous of all, the enemies-turned-lifelong friends Woody and Buzz in Toy Story. Perhaps Pixar has picked up on something in the zeitgeist? Perhaps they just wanted to differentiate themselves from their Disney princess-ridden predecessors. Either way, their success suggests that audiences still dig oddball pairs. We hope you dig ours.

By Kellie Mecleary, Production Dramaturg

Mud Blue Sky | e4 | CENTERSTAGE

So began my Skype-like* conversation with Marisa Wegrzyn, the living and breathing playwright of Mud Blue Sky. I won’t make you endure the bulk of it—suffi ce it to say that I’m not quite up to Terry Gross’ standards in my interviewing skills—but I did manage to learn some very interesting things about our up-and-coming author.

For one, Marisa’s manner is direct and unadorned. When I asked her why she decided to pursue playwriting, she answered,

“because I was good at it.” She said this without a hint of ego: it was a fact, proven by a playwriting competition she entered (several times over) while a student at Washington University. The entire interview went like that: I would stumble through a rambling, slightly neurotic, overly articulated, East Coast question, and she would respond Midwestern style—simply and clearly, with a dash of wit.

Other things I learned: Marisa is Chicagoland born-and-bred. She’s the second of three daughters: her parents are a retired anesthesiologist and a fl ight-attendant-turned-stay-at-home mom. She loves sci-fi , Martin McDonagh plays, and Tarantino fi lms.

Some things I didn’t learn from her, but found out elsewhere: at 31, Marisa has been produced at and/or commissioned by Steppenwolf, Yale Rep, and Actors Theatre of Louisville, among other places. In 2009, she received the prestigious Wasserstein Prize for her play Hickorydickory, which afforded her national attention, a $25,000 prize, and a reading at New York’s Second Stage.

Prior to playwriting, Wegrzyn wrote sketch comedy for her high school’s yearly musical-comedy revue. It’s through sketch comedy that Marisa became interested in theater. This makes more sense after having read some of Marisa’s other plays: both Killing Women (2004) and The Butcher of Baraboo (2007) are fi lled with zany, splashy scenarios, where the payoff comes quickly, the laughs come easily, and macabre a-la McDonagh or Tarantino is a common element. The kind of stuff that, in milder form and smaller doses, would fi t right in on Saturday Night Live.

I met Marisa after having read Mud Blue Sky and almost immediately thought, “that makes so much sense.” Her personality and perspective seems to pervade the play, in style and tone. And yet, Mud is a departure from Wegrzyn’s previous work. She told me, “I wanted to go in the opposite direction, see where I could go with being a little bit more gentle and a little bit more real.” It therefore took her a while to complete. She wrote what is now the play’s second scene—between Beth, a middle-aged fl ight attendant, and Jonathan, a high-school senior on prom night—very quickly, but then didn’t know where to go from there. “I didn’t really have the muscle to do the slow burn kind of plot development, where not much happens, but a lot happens too.”

While attempting to be more real, and to focus on character over plot, Marisa chose to write about a group of women in a profession close to home. Like the women in Mud, Marisa’s mother used to be a fl ight attendant. But Marisa is careful not to invest too much importance in that autobiographical connection. This is not a play about her mother, or mothers and daughters in any capacity. Her choice to write a play about fl ight attendants came out of a more indirect interest. “I was always interested in fl ight attendants in the way that, like—you know, if your parents have a certain job, you notice people who do that job?” Marisa paused, and then continued, “I guess that, I mean it seems like a hard life. Flight attendants. It’s a hard life.”

These days, Marisa is living in LA, trying her hand at TV writing, for the reason that many playwrights turn to TV—better pay. But, she has no intention of giving up writing plays. “I still like the craft of it. It’s really hard to do it right, to do it well…with a play, I feel like there’s always going to be that freedom of expression.” This stumbling, rambling interviewer is sure glad to hear it.

marisa explains it allBy Kellie Mecleary, Production Dramaturg

ME: So this is your fi rst time doing like a Skype thing, a Skype-like thing?MAriSA: Yeah, the future.ME: So, I guess, uh, just to give you a sense of, why I wanted to chat with you, with…what I’m…One of the components of the dramaturgy we do for the program, um, usually we write...a…bio of the playwright, so…and up until now, the playwrights I’ve written about have been dead, so I’ve just, you know—MAriSA: Sorry to make your job harder.

*At CENTERSTAGE we connect virtually using something called “FUZE meeting.” All I know about it is that it is similar to, but more awesome than, Skype.

d | CENTERSTAGE

ODDBALL PAIRINGSSherlock Holmes and Dr. WatsonThe science behind this famous pair’s chemistry is elusive. But the archetypal Victorian gentleman acts as an excellent foil to the brilliant, emotionally detached analytical machine—so excellent that they have reappeared in countless reiterations. These guys are an example of the male-buddy odd couple: different in every way, yet hopeless without one another. Many came before and since, but perhaps most is owed to the eccentric Don Quixote and the bumbling, faithful Sancho Panza—the original bromance.

Other male odd couples: Batman and Robin, Oscar and Felix, Ernie and Bert, the boys of Men In Black.

Mud Blue Sky is full of unlikely friendships, brought together by circumstance, both mundane and surprising. Though these unexpected pairings may seem unorthodox, such surprising bonds are seen again and again throughout history and culture. What is it that is so interesting about people from different worlds, viewpoints, or moments in time managing to connect, or at least coexist? +

Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy She is a free-spirited, run-through-the-rain, easy-to-laugh young lady, and he is an uptight, uber-wealthy stickler for decorum and status. Hate at fi rst sight, love at last. One of the earliest versions of the opposites attract romantic comedy trope, Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy’s slow dance towards respect and love in Pride and Prejudice celebrates the value of different but complimentary sensibilities. Countless rom-com storylines followed, and many more will come, but perhaps none so keenly observed and plotted as the hero and heroine of Jane Austen’s beloved novel.

Other opposites attracting: Maria and Captain von Trap, Henry Higgins and Eliza Dolittle, Harry and Sally, Toni Morrisson and Fran Lebowitz.

Bill Clinton and George Bush, Sr. Now that these former rivals are both out of the White House and the pesky politics are out of the way, they’ve formed a tight bond: Clinton even refers to Bush Sr. as a father fi gure. The two joined forces in 2004 to help raise money for Indian Ocean tsunami victims, and have shown up together at a variety of events over the years. According to Former First Lady Barbara Bush, Clinton is, “a good fellow,” and “very thoughtful about calling.”

Other sworn enemies joining forces: Romeo and Juliet, President Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Clarissa Dalloway and Sally SetonThese two from Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway couldn’t be more different: Clarissa is light-haired, bird-like, the perfect hostess. Sally is dark, voluptuous, wild. And yet, Clarissa remembers her feeling for Sally “was not like one’s feeling for a man. It was completely disinterested, and besides, it had a quality which could only exist between women, between women just grown up.” A note: it is surprisingly diffi cult to fi nd famous female pairs that fi t this bill. Why might that be?

Other unlikely lady buddies: Julia Child and Simone Beck, Downton Abbey’s Dowager Countess and Isabel Crowley, Hannah and Marney in Girls.

Mark Twain and Helen KellerWho would have guessed that storied American humorist Mark Twain and deaf-blind author and activist Helen Keller—what with their 45-year age difference, among other things—were besties? Twain wrote a letter to Keller in 1903, describing their relationship as “an affectionate friendship which has subsisted between us for nine years without a break, and without a single act of violence that I can call to mind. I suppose there is nothing like it in heaven; and not likely to be, until we get there and show off.”

Other age-defying BFFs: Boo Radley and Scout Finch, Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor, Queen Elizabeth I and Lord Burghley.

The Pixar PhenomenonThe wildly successful Pixar franchise loves unlikely friendships: their fi lms are fi lled with ’em. There’s the octogenarian Carl and the pre-pubescent Russell in Up, Remy the rat and Linguini the chef in Ratatouille, the timid Marlin and overeager Dory in Finding Nemo, and, most famous of all, the enemies-turned-lifelong friends Woody and Buzz in Toy Story. Perhaps Pixar has picked up on something in the zeitgeist? Perhaps they just wanted to differentiate themselves from their Disney princess-ridden predecessors. Either way, their success suggests that audiences still dig oddball pairs. We hope you dig ours.

By Kellie Mecleary, Production Dramaturg

Mud Blue Sky | e Mud Blue Sky | 5

6 | CENTERSTAGE

Cynthia Darlow*—Angie. CENTERSTAGE: debut. Broadway—Billy Elliot, Accent on Youth, Old Acquaintance, Rabbit Hole, Taller Than a Dwarf, Present Laughter, Sex

and Longing, Prelude to a Kiss, Rumors, the original production of Grease. Off Broadway—The Late Christopher Bean, Lovers, The Eccentricities of a Nightingale, Home, The Runner Stumbles, Sin: A Cardinal Deposed, Juno and the Paycock, Cider House Rules, June Moon, Death Defying Acts, Mere Mortals, Sister Mary Ignatius.... Regional—Many credits, including founding member of the American Repertory Theatre. Film/TV—credits include The Savages, 25th Hour, The Thomas Crown Affair, Garden State, Elementary, The Sopranos, Six Degrees, Soul Man, Law and Order, L&O: CI, L&O: SVU, Square One TV for the Children’s Television Workshop (five seasons as a series regular). Other Professional— narrator of many audio books, most notably the Murder She Wrote series for the BBC; member of The Actors Company Theatre (TACT) in New York, and The Actor’s Center; AEA,CAEA, SAG-AFTRA. Education—University of North Carolina School of the Arts; Penn State; Rose Bruford Training School of Speech and Drama, England.

Eva Kaminsky*—Sam. CENTERSTAGE: debut. Broadway—The Lyons. Off Broadway/Other New York—Roundabout Theatre Company: The Language

Archive; The Play Company: Made in Poland; Partial Comfort: ’Nami; Broken Watch: The Safety Net. National Tour—The Syringa Tree. Regional—Old Globe: Good People (Craig Noel Award nom); Alley Theatre: August: Osage County; Cincinnati Playhouse: God of Carnage, 1:23 (Acclaim Award); CATF: Breadcrumbs & Lidless; Long Wharf & ACT: The Syringa Tree; Cleveland Play House: A Small Family Business, Laughter on the 23rd Floor; Syracuse Stage: The Real Thing; Hartford TheaterWorks: Speech & Debate; and many others. Film/TV—

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Tie a Yellow Ribbon, Just Like the Son, Mercy, Ugly Betty, Gossip Girl, ER, Numb3rs, Royal Pains, and all the Law & Order series. She is also an audiobook narrator, her most recent being Mary Coin by Marisa Silver, out this spring. Love to B.

Justin Kruger*—Jonathan. CENTERSTAGE: debut. Off Broadway— The Women’s Project at Playwrights Horizons: How the World Began (dir. Daniella

Topol). Regional—Westport Country Playhouse: Twelfth Night (dir. Mark Lamos); Mile Square Theater: The Odd Ball. Education—Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts (BFA); favorite MGSA credits include Marat/Sade (dir. Anders Cato), The Hostage (dir. Sue Lawless), A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Rutgers Conservatory at Shakespeare’s Globe/Sam Wanamaker Festival.

Susan Rome*—Beth. CENTERSTAGE: An Enemy of the People. Regional—Theatre J: The Moscows of Nantucket (Ellen), Spring Forward, Fall Back (Minnie,

Naomi), The Last Seder (Julia), The Ride Down Mt. Morgan (Leah); Rep Stage: Las Meninas (Mother Superior/Queen Mother), A Shayna Maidel (Mama); Baltimore Shakespeare Festival: Richard III (Elizabeth), Macbeth (Lady Macbeth), All’s Well That Ends Well (Widow); Artemis Productions: Why We Have A Body (Renee); Center Stage Seattle: The Legacy (Rachel); Mark Taper Forum: The Substance of Fire (Sarah); Padua Hills Playwrights Festival: The Interpreter of Horror (Willa), Amado Amor (Ensemble); Road Theatre Company: The Chisholm Trail Went Through Here (Eileen), The Walkers (Fern), Why Things Burn (Vera), I-Land (Lana), Balm in Gilead (Terry, Rust); Fountain Theatre: The Couch (Toni); Burbage Theatre: Bad Country (Tony); Cast Theatre: Perpetual Care (Susan); Ensemble Studio Theatre: Branches Among the Stars (Nora); Nosotros Theatre: Of Mice and Men (Curley’s Wife). Film/TV—My One and Only, The Invasion, A Dirty Shame, The Wire, The Secret Service, NYPD Blue. Education—BFA Boston University.

Biographies The Cast

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Mud Blue Sky | 7

Standing ovation.As we mark our 75th year in Baltimore, we join CENTERSTAGE in

celebrating its own milestone anniversary—50 years of artistic excellence

provided through thought-provoking theater for this great community.

That’s no small act.

We’re proud to be a long-time supporter of this remarkable cultural

institution, which enriches our city’s quality of life.

As loyal fans, we say, Bravo!

CENTERSTAGE

Mud Blue Sky

Marisa Wegrzyn—Playwright. Wegrzyn’s past productions include Diversey Harbor, Killing Women, The Chicago Landmark Project: State & Madison: The Grid (Theatre Seven); Hickorydickory and Ten Cent Night (Chicago Dramatists); Psalms of a Questionable Nature (Rivendell Theatre); The Butcher of Baraboo (Steppenwolf Theatre’s First Look Rep & A Red Orchid Theatre). Her plays have been produced Off Broadway at Second Stage, at Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival, and most recently at Moxie Theatre (San Diego) and The Road Theatre (Los Angeles). She’s been commissioned by Yale Repertory Theatre and Steppenwolf Theatre. Chicago Reader named Marisa Best Playwright in the 2008

“Best of Chicago” issue, and she received the 2009 Wendy Wasserstein Playwriting Prize. Marisa is a staff writer for The Paper Machete, a resident playwright at Chicago Dramatists, and a founding company member of Theatre Seven of Chicago.

Susanna Gellert—Director/Artistic Producer—joined CENTERSTAGE in January 2012, and served as the producer for this season’s My America videos. Prior to joining CENTERSTAGE, she received a Masters in Theater Studies from the English Department at Columbia University. Recent directing projects include Bar Joke by Sam Allingham (Old American Can Factory), Open the Dark Door by David Nugent (New York Music Theater Festival), Visiting Day by Andy Bragen (Sewanee Writers’ Conference), Fugue States (PS 122), You Can’t Take It With You (University of Rochester), The Boss in the Satin Kimono (New York International Fringe Festival), The Duchess of Malfi (FSU/Asolo Conservatory), and Marat/Sade (The Fisher Center for Performing Arts at Bard College). Additional New York directing credits include The Lacy Project (Soho Think Tank’s Ice Factory ’07, the Ohio Theater), adaptations of Tamburlaine the Great and Valkyrie (Target Margin Theater’s Laboratory), Match and L’Interieur (American Living Room), as well as workshops at the Lark, EST, and NYU. Susanna has taught at the University of Rochester, Bard College,

Columbia University, and NYU. Susanna was the founding Artistic Director of Chicago’s I-80 Drama Co. and an associate artist at Target Margin Theater. Currently, she is a member of Wingspace, a theater design collective, and the Women’s Project Directors’ Lab. A recipient of SDCF’s Sir John Gielgud Fellowship and the Julian Milton Kaufman Memorial Prize, Susanna is a graduate of Yale School of Drama and The University of Chicago.

Neil Patel—Scenic Designer. CENTERSTAGE: The Mountaintop, The Whipping Man, American Buffalo, Working It Out, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Once on This Island, Elmina’s Kitchen, Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Hostage, As You Like It, many others. Broadway—Oleanna; Wonderland; [title of show]; Ring of Fire; ’night, Mother; Sideman (also West End & Kennedy Center). Off Broadway—Signature Theatre: My Children! My Africa!; Second Stage: By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Peter & Jerry, Living Out; Roundabout: McReele, Hurrah at Last; Vineyard: Now.Here.This., The Long Christmas Ride Home; MTC: Between Us, Glimmer Glimmer and Shine; MCC: The Mercy Seat; NYTW: The Beard of Avon, Lydie Breeze, Resident Alien, A Question of Mercy, Bob, Quills, Slavs!; Playwrights Horizons: Lobster Alice, On the Mountain; Public/NYSF: Dirty Tricks, Othello. Regional—includes Guthrie, Steppenwolf, La Jolla, McCarter, Alley, Long Wharf, Mark Taper. Opera—Chicago Lyric Opera: Anna Bolena; Houston Grand Opera: Mary Stuart, NYCO: Alcina; Santa Fe: Carmen, Salome, Madame Mao; Minnesota: Madame Butterfly; St. Louis: Cavalleria Rusticana, Suor Angelica, Gloriana; Nikikai: Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni; FGO: Anna Karenina. Television—In Treatment (HBO). Awards—Obie Award (2), Helen Hayes Award, Eddy Award, Hewes nom (5), Drama Desk nom (3).

Jennifer Moeller—Costume Designer. CENTERSTAGE: debut. Off Broadway— Signature Theatre: Dance and the Railroad; Primary Stages: Happy Now?; Women’s

Biographies The Artistic Team

continued on page 10 >>Mud Blue Sky | 9

Project: Crooked. Regional—Shakespeare Theatre Company: A Midsummer NIght’s Dream, Merchant of Venice, Romeo & Juliet, Tamburlaine, Richard III; Studio Theatre: Bachelorette, Venus in Fur; McCarter: The How and the Why; Williamstown Theatre Festival: Six Degrees of Separation; Yale Rep: Winter’s Tale, Dance of the Holy Ghosts; Barrington Stage: Sweeney Todd; Berkshire Theatre Festival: Waiting for Godot.

Scott Zielinski—Lighting Designer. CENTERSTAGE: The Mountaintop, Intimate Apparel, Fall. Broadway—Topdog/Underdog. New York—Atlantic Theater, Classic Stage Company, Lincoln Center Festival, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights Horizons, Public Theater, Signature Theatre, Theatre for a New Audience, others. International—Productions in Adelaide, Amsterdam, Avignon, Berlin, Bregenz, Edinburgh, Fukuoka, Gennevilliers, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Linz, London, Lyon, Melbourne, Orleans, Oslo, Ottawa, Paris, Reykjavik, Rotterdam, Rouen, St. Gallen, Singapore, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Tokyo, Toronto, Vienna, Vilnius, Zurich, others. Regional—Most theaters throughout the U.S. Dance—American Ballet Theatre, American Dance Festival, Houston Ballet, Joyce, San Francisco Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, others. Opera—Brooklyn Academy of Music, Canadian Opera, English National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Lithuanian National Opera, Nederlandse Opera, New York City Opera, Opera de Rouen, Royal Opera House London, San Francisco Opera, Spoleto Festival, others. scottzielinski.com

victoria (Toy) Delorio—Original Music & Sound Designer. CENTERSTAGE: The Mountaintop, Working It Out. Off Broadway—Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater: Cassie’s Chimera; Steppenwolf at The Duke: The Bluest Eye; NYMTF: Arnie the Doughnut; NYC Fringe Festival at The Connelly: Ophelia. National Tour—LA Theatre Works: Private Lives. Regional—

Biographies The Artistic Team [cont]

10 | CENTERSTAGE

Oregon Shakespeare; The Goodman Theatre; Steppenwolf Theatre; Victory Gardens Theater; Syracuse Stage, Cleveland Playhouse; Maltz Jupiter; Delaware Theatre Company; Chautauqua Theater Company; Indiana Repertory; Milwaukee Shakespeare; Northlight Theatre; Writers’ Theatre; Peninsula Players; and many other theaters in and around Chicago, NY, and LA. Awards—Nominated for 11 and winning six Joseph Jefferson Awards, and two After Dark Awards. Professional—Head of Sound Design for The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago. www.victoria-sound-design.com

Captain Kate Murphy*—Stage Manager. CENTERSTAGE: Resident Stage Manager; Stage Manager for The Mountaintop, …Edgar Allan Poe, A Skull in Connemara, American Buffalo, Crime & Punishment, Let There Be Love, The Santaland Diaries; Assistant Stage Manager for The Importance of Being Earnest, Things of Dry Hours, Trouble in Mind, Three Sisters, Radio Golf, The Murder of Isaac, Once on this Island, King Lear, Assistant Production Manager 2008-2009. Regional—Trinity Rep: Boeing-Boeing; Actors Theatre of Louisville: All Hail Hurricane Gordo*, The Clean House, Moot the Messenger*, Dracula, The Ruby Sunrise*, Tall Grass Gothic*, The Drawer Boy, Amadeus, As You Like It (*premieres at the Humana Festival of New American Plays); Contemporary American Theater Festival: The Overwhelming, Pig Farm; Totem Pole Playhouse: Over 70 productions through 12 summer stock seasons. Film/TV—Route 30, Route 30 Too!, Next Food Network Star. Proud Actors Equity and ASCAP Member.

Laura Smith*—Assistant Stage Manager. CENTERSTAGE: Resident Stage Manager; Stage Manager: Bus Stop, An Enemy of the People; The Whipping Man, Gleam; The Rivals; Snow Falling on Cedars; Cyrano; Working it Out; Fabulation or, The Re-Education of Undine; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Regional—Everyman: Pygmalion, Shipwrecked, The

continued on page 12 >> Mud Blue Sky | 11

Exonerated, Rabbit Hole, Doubt, Gem of the Ocean, And a Nightingale Sang, The School for Scandal, A Number, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, Yellowman; Woolly Mammoth: Gruesome Playground Injuries, House of Gold, The Unmentionables, Vigils, After Ashley; Folger: Measure for Measure, The Comedy of Errors (ASM); Olney Theatre: Stuff Happens; Theater Alliance: Headsman’s Holiday, Pangea, [sic]; Catalyst: Cloud 9; Longacre Lea: Man with Bags.

Kellie Mecleary—Production Dramaturg—holds a Master’s Degree in Performance Studies from New York University and a BA in English and Theater from Goucher College. Other CENTERSTAGE credits include Production Dramaturg for An Enemy of the People, A Skull in Connemara, American Buffalo, and co-producer of the Pub Lab Series. Other Baltimore credits: BROS: Murdercastle; Single Carrot Theatre: Drunk Enough to Say I Love You?, Milk Milk Lemonade. Previously New York based, she has worked as a dramaturg, director, critic, producer, administrator, and stage manager with various organizations including Brave New World Repertory Company, Pipeline Theater Company, WOW Café Theater, Manhattan Theater Source, and Vital Theater. Her writing has been published through Cerise Press and OffOffOnline.com.

Stephanie Klapper—Casting Director. CENTERSTAGE—…Edgar Allan Poe, The Whipping Man, A Skull in Connemara. Her work has been seen on Broadway, Off Broadway, regionally, internationally, on television, internet and film. Selected Broadway and Off Broadway—RX; Motherhood Out Loud; Olive and the Bitter Herbs; Stop the Virgins!; Cactus Flower; Black Tie; In Transit; Secrets of the Trade; The Temperamentals; Dividing the Estate (2009 Tony Nomination); Bells are Ringing; Dinner with Friends; an oak tree NY/LA (Artios award winner); Indoor Outdoor.

Biographies The Artistic Team [cont]

congratulates CENTERSTAGE on its

50th Anniversary. Goodell DeVries

and its employees are proud to support

CENTERSTAGE as a cornerstone of the

Baltimore Arts community

Goodell, DeVries, Leech & Dann, LLPBaltimore • Philadelphia

www.gdldlaw.com

12 | CENTERSTAGE

National Tour—A Christmas Story, The Musical. Resident casting director for Primary Stages, New York Classical Theatre, and the Pearl Theatre Company. NY Casting—The Cherry Sisters (Actor’s Theatre of Louisville); Eric Rosen and Matt Sax’s Venice; Saved! for Gary Griffin; Moises Kaufman’s Into the Woods; Mary Zimmerman’s The White Snake; The Arabian Nights; Mirror of the Invisible World. International—Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Vienna); Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Frankfurt). Ongoing projects for a number of regional theatres including: Capital Repertory Theatre, Hartford Stage Company; Westport; Delaware Theatre Company, Milwaukee Rep; Adirondak Theatre Festival, Asolo Theatre, Playmakers Rep, Kansas City Rep, The New Theatre, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. Numerous independent feature films. Member Casting Society of America and League of Professional Theatre Women.

Planned gifts offer you creative ways to share your passion for the theater with generations to come. Fifty percent of Americans are living without a will. Their life savings may be spent in ways they never intended. Make sure that does not happen to you. Live smart. When you name CENTERSTAGE as a benefi ciary, you can trust that your money will be spent wisely by a non-profi t organization you already know and trust.

Your foresight is our future… and your peace of mind.

Master Your Own Legacy… Join the Heritage Circle at CENTERSTAGE

“What you leave behind

is not what is engraved

in stone monuments,

but what is woven into

the lives of others.”

Pericles (c. 495-429 BCE)

To learn more about opportunities to include CENTERSTAGE in your estate plans, please contact the

Director of Development, Cindi Monahan at 410.986.4020.

Mud Blue Sky | 13

for making an impact.

pnc.com

©2013 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. All rights reserved. PNC Bank, National Association. Member FDIC

Inspiring. Thought Provoking. PNC is proud to sponsor

CENTERSTAGE. Because we appreciate all that goes into your work.

14 | CENTERSTAGE

Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE, an award-winning British playwright, director, actor, and broadcaster, is in his second season as Artistic

Director. At CENTERSTAGE he has directed The Mountaintop, An Enemy of the People, last season’s The Whipping Man (one of City Paper’s Top Ten Productions of 2012) for which he was named Best Director, and previously Naomi Wallace’s Things of Dry Hours. Among his works as playwright are Elmina’s Kitchen and Let There Be Love—which had their American debuts at CENTERSTAGE—as well as A Bitter Herb, Statement of Regret, and Seize the Day. His latest play, Beneatha’s Place, will debut this season as part of The Raisin Cycle. Kwame has served on the boards of The National Theatre and The Tricycle Theatre, both in London. He served as Artistic Director for the World Arts Festival in Senegal, a month-long World Festival of Black Arts and Culture, which featured more than two thousand artists from 52 countries participating in 16 different arts disciplines. He serves as the Chancellor of the University of the Arts London, and in 2012 was named as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Managing Director Stephen Richard, a leader on the national arts scene for more than 30 years, joined CENTERSTAGE in January

2012. Stephen comes most recently from a position as Vice President, External Relations, for the new National Children’s Museum. Previously, he served 18 years as Executive Director of Arena Stage, where he planned and managed the theater’s $125 million capital campaign for the Mead Center for American Theater. Also a professor of Arts Management at Georgetown University, he has served on the boards and committees of some of the nation’s most prestigious arts organizations, including the National

Endowment for the Arts, American Arts Alliance, League of Resident Theatres, and the Theatre Communications Group. twitter: @sjrcenterstage

Associate Artistic Director/Director of Dramaturgy Gavin Witt came to CENTERSTAGE in 2003 as Resident Dramaturg, having served in

that role previously at several Chicago theaters. As a dramaturg, he has worked on well over 60 plays, from classics to new commissions—including play development workshops and freelance dramaturgy for TCG, The Playwrights Center, The New Harmony Project, The Old Globe, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, CATF, The Kennedy Center, and others. A graduate of Yale and the University of Chicago, he was active in Chicago theater for more than a decade as an actor, director, dramaturg, translator, and teacher, not to mention co-founder of greasy joan & co. theater, while serving as a regional Vice President of LMDA, the national association of dramaturgs. He has been on the faculty of the University of Chicago and DePaul University, and locally at Towson University.

Biographies The Staff

Please join us for CENTERSTAGE's 27th annual Young Playwrights Festival on Monday, May 6 at 7 pm.

Visit www.centerstage.org/ypf for more details.

The Young Playwrights Festival is made possible through the generous support of our many community partners, including:

Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation

The Young Playwrights Festival presents staged readings of honored playwrights in grades 1-12, an awards ceremony, and the opportunity to congratulate all of the young playwrights who submitted work this year.

Mud Blue Sky | 15

Congratulations CENTERSTAGE

on 50 years of world-class theater

and the world premiere of Mud Blue Sky.

EncorE!

$50-1 Hour Studio or Outdoor Photo Session

and 20% off Your Order.Mention CENTERSTAGE

when booking your appointment.

Maureen (240-676-2837) & Tracey (301-437-9388)

mobilemomsphoto@live.com Mobilemomsphoto.com

1415 Aliceanna St, Baltimore, MD 21202

410-522-5511Take a trip down Arthur Avenue, the main culinary thoroughfare of the Bronx, this season and enjoy a hand-crafted cocktail, a slice of coal-fi red pizza, or homemade Italian American specialties reminiscent of the timeless days of the Bronx.

16 | CENTERSTAGE

PARKED IN THE GARAGE? WE cAN HElP!The Chesapeake Garage diagonally across from the theater at Monument and Calvert has come under new management this season and we want to make sure you completely understand the options available to you.

How Do i PAy?1. At the ticket machine in the garage lobby, first place the parking receipt you

received when entering the garage in the designated slot. The machine will hold that receipt until the next step.

2. Place your "payment" in the designated slot. The payment may be a credit card or cash with exact bills. The machine will then return your original receipt as validated, which you can then use as you exit the garage at the gate.

or

3. If the lobby is crowded and you are using a credit card, you may go directly to your car and pay with your credit card at the machine at the exit gate as you leave the garage. PLEASE noTE: these machines will not take cash! Follow the steps above at the exit gate machine to make your payment.

i HAvE A PrE-PAiD vouCHEr, wHAT Do i Do? If you pre-paid for parking with your membership and have your yellow Pre-Paid Vouchers, please bypass the machine in the elevator lobby and proceed directly to your car. Enter the parking receipt you received upon entry to the garage followed immediately by the yellow Pre-Paid Voucher.

Remember that you’ll need your parking ticket to exit whether you’ve pre-paid or are paying at the pay station or at the machine when you exit.

Unfortunately, CENTERSTAGE cannot validate parking, nor are vouchers from previous seasons able to be honored. Pre-paid vouchers are issued by the garage owner/operator and CENTERSTAGE in unable to replace lost or forgotten vouchers. We apologize for the inconvenience.

FYi Audience Services

on-STAgE SMoKingWhen a play requires on-stage smoking, we use tobacco-free herbal imitations and do everything possible to minimize the amount of smoke that drifts into the audience. If you’re smoke-sensitive, be sure to let our Box Office know.

PrE-SHow Dining Visit Sascha’s Express, our pre-performance dinner service located just up the lobby stairs in our Mezzanine Café. Featuring delicious prix fixe dining, service begins two hours before each performance.

ACCESSiBiLiTy ProgrAMSWheelchair-accessible seating is available for every performance. For patrons who are hearing impaired, we offer assistive listening devices at no charge. An Open Captioned performance is available for one Sunday performance of each Classic Series production for deaf and hearing impaired patrons. Several performances also feature Audio Description, and Braille programs or magnifying glasses are available upon request.

PHoTogrAPHy & rECorDing ProHiBiTEDBecause of copyright and union regulations, photography or recording of performances—both audio and video—is strictly forbidden.

BE CourTEouSPlease silence your cell phone, pager, or other electronic devices both before the show starts and after intermission. And, while you’re welcome to take beverages with lids to your seat, eating is never allowed inside the theater.

AnyTHing ELSE wE CAn Do?CENTERSTAGE wants every patron to have an enjoyable, stress-free experience. Your feedback and suggestions are always welcomed: info@centerstage.org.

What is 500 Art-Full Letters?

500 Art-Full Letters is an ongoing community project of MCA’s Emerging Arts Advocates, that encourages the public to create handmade letters for their legislators in support of public funding for the arts.

Visit www.mdarts.org and follow the “Get Involved” and “Emerging Arts Advocates” links for details on how to participate.

See examples of Art-Full Letters online at: www.artfullletters.tumblr.com

Photos are courtesy of Maryland Citizens for the Arts

Mud Blue Sky | 17

To celebrate its 50th anniversary CENTERSTAGE asked 50 of the country’s leading playwrights to answer a simple question: What is my America?

The responses, captured in 50 new monologues fi lmed by award-winning director Hal Hartley, range from the political to the personal, and form a snapshot of our nation through the eyes of its playwrights.

All 50 videos can be viewed by visitingwww.centerstage.org/myamerica, or stop by the Media Wall in our downstairs lobby.

Above: Terry O’Quinn in A Brand New Man by Rinde Eckert.

MY AMERICA IS SUPPORTED BYLynn and Tony Deering and The Charlesmead Foundation

have you seen?

Opening Night VIP Package Tuesday, April 23, 2013v i p p a c k a g e i n c l u d e s

Preferred seating in Miriam A. Friedberg Concert HallA private post-concert reception in the George Peabody Library

$100 per person ($50 tax deductible) For VIP tickets, please contact Chris Scott at 410-234-4674 or cscott52@jhu.edu

April 23–24, 2013, 8:00 pm Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall Peabody Institute 1 East Mount Vernon Place, BaltimoreThe concert-drama, Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín, tells the story of the courageous Jewish prisoners in the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp during World War II who performed the famous Verdi Requiem Mass while experiencing the depths of human degradation.

Peabody Symphony Orchestra Peabody-Hopkins Chorus Peabody Singers Murry Sidlin, Creator and Guest Conductor

$15 Adults, $10 Seniors, $5 Students with ID For tickets, call the Peabody Box Office at 410-234-4800Presented by the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University in partnership with The Defiant Requiem Foundation

Sponsored by the Douglas S. and Hilda P. Goodwin Fund of the Peabody Conservatory

18 | CENTERSTAGE

Do you have a goal or a structure in mind when you start planning?

Kwame Kwei-Armah • I think this only being the second one, it is difficult to identify a template; but, nearly everything I do comes out of my playwriting sensibility: one creates a draft, and then a second, and a third…. And I like to work thematically. If I am looking at this season that we’re in now, the theme was shaped by Conversation. Next season, that theme might be fun, it might be joy, or spirit. I tend to want something that allows each play to have a conversation with itself, with the zeitgeist, certainly with the audience. However, if a great play came in that had nothing to do with any of the themes that I’ve identified, would we discuss it? Absolutely.

How do you begin the process?

KKA • It’s an ongoing thing, it’s not something that you just sit down and say, “Ok, here we go.” You’ve been given plays a couple of years before, or you’re developing plays a few years before, or there’s something in the zeitgeist that you think could be interesting. I also like to plan a season really early, and leave it to gestate for a long time. If we start the planning process in the summer, we don’t get back to it, properly, until November.

Stephen, as Managing Director, what stages are you most involved in?

Stephen Richard • I’m involved in a lot of different points. Kwame and I have a wonderful collaborative relationship about the work itself; there may be shows that I read or see and recommend. When we start getting a season lined up, then we begin looking at it from my side of the equation. We look at it from a scheduling point of view, and then we ask, can we afford this season? What would it cost, or is there a way to do the same work

scheduled a little differently, to bring the costs into alignment?

What else can you tell us about the process, and who is involved?

KKA • What I’ve seen in many other theaters is that the season selection is solely the gig of the artistic director and the artistic team. Here, we in Artistic create a program, and then we send it out to the various departments in the building and ask, “From your point of view, Marketing, or Education, or Development, what do you think?” I like to hear all of those things. Invariably, by the time it has done its rounds, two or three plays have gone and others have come in. I do that because the theater is not just the domain of the artistic director. It’s the domain of everyone who works here, it’s the domain of the audiences who come in. But there are times when you say, “I’m going to do this, and I’ll take the flak for it.” I tender out to get opinions, then I make the final decisions—because it’s on my head.

SR • One of the wonderful things about Kwame is that he does that. And he listens to the audience. Kwame reads the emails, he reads the postings on Facebook and Twitter, and he talks to people in the audience and has staff members who go down and chat with people. We’re getting opinions from the audience, from the people who ultimately participate in the season.

KKA • Who pay our bills!

What are some of the challenges to putting it all together?

KKA • If there’s one thing that’s first and foremost in my mind, it’s the audience—our membership, and the audience we wish to attract. What kind of ride are we taking them on, from the beginning of the season to the end? We live, rather frustratingly, in

a snap-decision world. We don’t necessarily wait all the way to the end of the ride to decide what the ride is. One has to be aware of this in shaping a season; much like when you’re starting a play, it needs a good opener. You open with a good gag or with a good amount of energy that creates a shape.

SR • I would add that one of the great challenges for all theaters that do new plays as well as established titles is that, from the marketing point of view, with a new play you are selling a virtual product. People don’t know it in advance, so we need to be able to come up with ways to talk about it that will engage them. If we’re doing a Shakespeare, people are going to know what that is, but if we’re doing a brand new play, then we need to know how to convey how compelling it is.

KKA • Stephen’s absolutely right: how we frame and create appetite for new plays is also very much a part of season planning. There are some theaters where the audiences have signed up for that ride. Where they’ve said, “New plays are what we’re hungry for.” If we get it right, our audience should have an appetite for at least one or two new plays in a season, because they are the first people to see it and that’s what theater is fundamentally about: you’re seeing something today that nobody else will see.

SR • One of the most rewarding things to hear is an audience member say, “I don’t know what that is, but I love the opportunity to see something brand new, the excitement of something I haven’t heard of.”

Planning the Seasonconversations with Kwame and Stephen

We encourage you to join the conversation!You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, or just email hjackson@centerstage.org with your questions for Kwame and Stephen.

centerstagemd @centerstage_md

Mud Blue Sky | 19

20 | CENTERSTAGE

As we move through our landmark anniversary season, we invite you to help us celebrate our past. For videos, audio interviews, and memories of our history visit, visit www.centerstage.org/anniversary.

CENTERSTAGE reached its 40th Anniversary during the 2002-03 Season, with a celebration that included two world premieres (Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage and No Foreigners Beyond This Point by Tony Award–winner Warren Leight) plus Ain’t Misbehavin’: The Fats Waller Musical Show, a co-production with Washington’s Arena Stage.

Many productions during this period allowed CENTERSTAGE to embrace new and challenging work and pursue our dedication to community engagement and discussion. During the 2001 Season, Irene Lewis tackled Peter Weiss’ rarely performed The Investigation, a gripping account of the historic Frankfurt Trials of Auschwitz officers. Outreach around the production included working closely with the Baltimore Jewish Council to host discussions and events. In May 2004, CENTERSTAGE joined with a number of Baltimore law associations and universities, as well as the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, to honor the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court decision that began the process of dismantling segregation in public schools.

The following season, CENTERSTAGE produced the American premiere of Elmina’s Kitchen by British playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah. While in Baltimore, Kwei-Armah made himself a part of the community, speaking with students and prisoners and cohosting Breaking the Cycle, a community forum focused on families, fatherhood, and forgiveness.

Also in 2004, CENTERSTAGE was awarded a Leading National Theatre grant (recognizing artistic excellence, strong organizational capacity, long-term financial stability, and programmatic diversity) and received support from The

National Endowment for the Arts through Access to Artistic Excellence, Art Works, and a Chairman’s Extraordinary Action Award, among other grants and awards.

2008 brought new challenges to many Baltimore institutions. During this difficult time, the CENTERSTAGE artistic team began exploring a major overhaul of the season model. They embraced the needs and opportunities of the economic crisis, remodeling the season to produce 14 wildly varying productions from small to large, including the addition of the Cabaret Series and the establishment of the Play Lab Series, which continues a tradition of exploring new and emerging work and voices.

From a stunning production of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, a playful partnership in the Lookingglass Theatre Company’s Around the World in 80 Days, the World Premiere of These Shining Lives, and a revival of the Jacobean thriller ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore to unique presentations such as Chicago’s famed The Second City and ReEntry, a docudrama looking at the lives of today’s veterans returning home, CENTERSTAGE continued to embrace the diverse and world-class artistry it has come to be known for.

In 2011, after 19 years at the helm, Irene Lewis stepped down as Artistic Director. In the spring of that year it was announced that award-winning British playwright, director, actor, and broadcaster, Kwame Kwei-Armah—well-known to CENTERSTAGE’s audiences through his plays Elmina’s Kitchen and Let There Be Love—would take the reins in the 2011-12 Season. With new energy and new vision he is poised, along with Managing Director Stephen Richard, to set CENTERSTAGE on the path for its next 50 years.

50th anniversarY The Fifth Decade: New Work, Community Engagement, and Envisioning the Next Half-Century

Top to bottom: Laura Sametz and George Morfogen in The Investigation (2000-01); Shané Williams and Steven Goldstein in Intimate Apparel (2002-03); LeRoy McClain and Sullivan Walker in Elmina’s Kitchen (2004-05). Photos by Richard Anderson.

Mud Blue Sky | 21

1700 Edmonsdson Ave, Ist FloorBaltimore, Maryland 21223blacktiecaterers@aol.com

www.blacktiecaterers.com

By Gavin Witt, Associate Artistic Director

preview: Heard It through the Grapevine The Raisin CycleClybourne Park, by Bruce Norris · Benetha's Place, by Kwame Kwei-Armah · Directed by Derrick Sanders

ÃWith little fanfare and much trepidation, a first-time playwright arrived at Broadway’s Ethel Barrymore Theatre the night of March 11, 1959. She was all of 28 years old, and an African American woman to boot—a first for the Great White Way. Her play had snuck into the city by way of small investors, out-of-town tryouts, and a leap of faith. Unlikely and unpromising would seem to be understatements. But by the next morning, nothing was ever the same again. The play was A Raisin in the Sun, the author was Lorraine Hansberry, and their combined effect not only altered her life but, as Frank Rich later wrote in the New York Times, “changed American theater forever.”

With Sidney Poitier heading the cast under director Lloyd Richards, the production secured four Tony nominations, a slew of other awards, a film option from Hollywood, and acclaim as an overnight new classic of the canon. Hansberry beat out the likes of O’Neill and Williams for the Best Play plaudits that year, her writing hailed in the same breath with those giants and Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Her story introduced the world to the Younger family of Chicago—Mama, daughter Beneatha, son Walter Lee and his wife and son—weighing whether or not to risk everything and move into a house in all-white Clybourne Park. The play staged the specificity of African American life, drawing on the real-life history of Hansberry’s own family in similar circumstances (one that led all the way to the Supreme Court and a landmark case on restrictive housing covenants). It also offered audiences the universality of the American Dream, of big hopes amid bigger obstacles, and of the bonds of love and family.

ÃSome 50 years later, actor-author Bruce Norris has enjoyed his own smashing success, achieved notoriety, and caused plenty of provocation by revisiting not just Raisin, but the very neighborhood and same house that Hansberry first introduced in 1959. In Clybourne Park, Norris returns to the famed fictional bungalow in Chicago—beginning just prior to the events of Hansberry’s story, then leapfrogging decades to the present. We meet a white couple, Bev and Russ, who are poised to sell their house to the

Youngers, the family from Hansberry’s Raisin. While the Youngers remain offstage this time, also there from Hansberry’s original play is Karl Lindner, representing the homeowners’ association; he hopes to persuade Bev and Russ not to sell, fearful that integration will devastate property values and the neighborhood’s integrity. Fast-forwarding, in Act Two the house is once again for sale, this time by Black owners to a white couple in a wave of gentrification. Sacred cows get skewered on all sides—among them, arguably, Hansberry’s landmark classic that provided the source material. And since race, class, and real estate haven’t gone away, the play has elicited uproarious laughter and powerfully resonant debates on its way to winning every conceivable award, including the Tony and the Pulitzer.

ÃVenturing into these roiling waters, filled with two existing theatrical leviathans, comes Kwame Kwei-Armah with Beneatha’s Place, his own contribution to the conversation. Where Norris follows the house and its denizens chiefly through the lens of Karl Lindner and his white neighbors, Kwei-Armah follows Hansberry’s alter-ego, Beneatha Younger, and pursues a more international perspective. Starting where Hansberry left off—with restless, aspirational young Beneatha considering the marriage proposal of exchange student Joseph Asagai—this new play follows the couple to Africa on the eve of Nigerian independence. From there, Kwei-Armah traces her life’s journey from Nigeria to California, from 1959 to today, and from the depths of uncertainty to the heights of academe. Finding its own unique inspiration in Raisin, Beneatha’s Place explores the power of identity, as one remarkable woman wrestles with fundamental questions of community and legacy.

CENTERSTAGE recently produced A Raisin in the Sun, in the 2001-02 Season. Now Baltimore audiences get their first look at the rest of the saga, when the world premiere of Kwame Kwei-Armah’s Beneatha’s Place takes the stage, with a single, common cast, alongside the area premiere of Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Park. You won’t want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime event; for more information, including dates and times to see both performed on the same day, visit us online at www.centerstage.org.

Mud Blue Sky | 23

supporting the Annual Fund @ centerstageJuly 1, 2011– January 30, 2013

The following list includes gifts of $250 or more—individual, corporate, foundation, and government contributions—made to the CENTERSTAGE Annual Fund between July 1, 2011 and January 30, 2013. Although space limitations make it impossible for us to list everyone who helps fund our artistic, education, and community programs, we are enormously grateful to each person who contributes to CENTERSTAGE.

We couldn’t do it without you!

The CEnTErSTAgE Society represents donors, who with their annual contributions of $2,500 or more, provide special opportunities for our artists and

audiences. Society members are actively involved through special events, theater-related travel, and behind-the-scenes conversations with theater artists.

ArTiSTS CirCLE($25,000+)

The William L. and Victorine Q. Adams Foundation and The Rodgers Family Fund

The Miriam and Jay Wurtz Andrus TrustPenny BankEllen and Ed BernardStephanie and Ashton CarterThe Annie E. Casey FoundationThe Charlesmead FoundationJames and Janet ClausonLynn and Tony DeeringEdgerton Foundation New American

Play AwardsKathleen HyleKenneth C. and Elizabeth M. LundeenMarilyn MeyerhoffTerry H. Morgenthaler and Patrick KerinsJudy and Scott PharesMr. and Mrs. Philip RauchGeorge RocheMr. and Mrs. George M. ShermanThe Shubert Foundation, Inc.Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Smith, Jr.Harold and Mimi Steinberg

Charitable TrustMs. Barbara Voss and Charles E. Noell, III

ProDuCErS CirCLE($10,000–$24,999)

Peter and Millicent BainThe William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial FundThe Jacob and Hilda Blaustein

Foundation, Inc.The Bunting Family Foundation

Mr. and Mrs. George L. BuntingThe Helen P. Denit Charitable TrustMs. Nancy Dorman and

Mr. Stanley MazaroffMr. and Mrs. Larry D. DroppaJohn Gerdy and E. Follin SmithThe Goldsmith Family FoundationThe Laverna Hahn Charitable TrustMartha HeadJ.I. FoundationMr. and Mrs. E. Robert Kent, Jr.Mr. and Mrs. Samuel G. MacfarlaneMr. and Mrs. J. William MurrayMr. Louis B. Thalheimer and

Ms. Juliet A. EurichMs. Katherine L. Vaughns

PLAywrigHTS CirCLE($5,000–$9,999)

AnonymousMs. Katharine C. BlakesleeHenry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg

FoundationJames T. and Francine G. BradySylvia and Eddie BrownThe Nathan & Suzanne Cohen

FoundationThe Cordish FamilyThe Jane and Worth B. Daniels, Jr.

Fund of the Baltimore eCommunity Foundation

Brian and Denise EakesFascitelli Family FoundationDr. and Mrs. Neil D. GoldbergFredye and Adam GrossDonald and Sybil Hebb

Mr. and Mrs. Martin HillMurray and Joan KappelmanFrancie and John KeenanKwame and Michelle Kwei-ArmahThe John J. Leidy Foundation, Inc.The Macht Philanthropic FundRobert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda BeckerJohn and Susan NehraStephen Richard and Mame HuntThe Jim & Patty Rouse

Charitable FoundationDr. Edgar and Betty Sweren, in honor

of Kwame Kwei-Armah and his OBE award recognition

Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Thompson WebbMs. Linda Woolf

DirECTorS CirCLE($2,500–$4,999)

AnonymousThe Lois and Irving Blum Foundation, Inc.Drs. Joanna and Harry BrandtMary Catherine BuntingAugust and Melissa ChiaseraThe Mary & Dan Dent Fund of the

Baltimore Community FoundationMr. and Mrs. Walter B. Doggett, IIIMr. and Mrs. Michael FalconeDick and Maria GamperMs. Suzan GarabedianThe Harry L. Gladding Foundation/

Winnie and Neal BordenGoldseker Foundation/Ana GoldsekerRobert and Cheryl GuthF. Barton Harvey, III and Janet

Marie Smith

The Hecht-Levi Foundation, Inc.

The Harley W. Howell Charitable Foundation

Ms. Sherrilyn A. Ifill

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Immelt

Jonna and Fred Lazarus

Mrs. Diane Markman

Maryland Charity Campaign

Linda and John McCleary

Mr. and Mrs. John L. Messmore

Jim and Mary Miller

Jeannie Murphy

The Israel & Mollie Myers Foundation

Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence C. Pakula

Marjorie Rodgers Cheshire and Mark Cheshire

Lainy Lebow Sachs and Leonard Sachs

Monica and Arnold Sagner

Scott and Mimi Somerville

Scot T. Spencer

Mr. Michael Styer

Mr. and Mrs. Donald and Mariana Thoms

Trexler Foundation, Inc. - Jeff Abarbanel and David Goldner

Kathryn and Mark Vaselkiv

Mr. and Mrs. Loren and Judy Western

Scott and Mary Wieler

Ted and Mary Jo Wiese

Cheryl Hudgins Williams and Alonza Williams

Sydney and Ron Wilner

Drs. Nadia and Elias Zerhouni

INDIVIDUALS & FOUNDATIONS

50 th ANNIVERSARY SEASON

PrESEnTing SPonSor

SEASon SPonSorSEllen and Ed BernardStephanie and Ashton CarterJames and Janet ClausonLynn and Tony Deering and

The Charlesmead FoundationJane and Larry DroppaTerry H. Morgenthaler and Patrick KerinsJudy and Scott PharesPhil and Lynn RauchJay and Sharon SmithBarbara Voss and Charles E. Noell, III

CorPorATE SPonSorS

T. Rowe Price Foundation

ASSoCiATE SEASon SPonSorSKathleen HyleKenneth C. and Elizabeth M. Lundeen

MEDiA PArTnErS

24 | CENTERSTAGE

Are you readyfor 2013-14 at

CEnTErSTAgE?

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Mark your calendars! In mid-March, CENTERSTAGE will announce the shows in our 51st Season—and membership renewal will begin shortly after. We cannot wait to share them with you, and we hope you’ll continue to join us. we are going to email you fi rst this year!* Check your in-box for our online renewal form. If you’re uncertain whether or not we have your correct email address on fi le, please feel free to contact our Box Offi ce. Make sure you’re ready to catch the best prices, claim your seats, and continue the conversation in 2013-14. *Traditional renewal mailing will follow at the end of the month.

www.centerstage.org • Box Office 410.332.0033 centerstagemd • @centerstage_md

Mud Blue Sky | 25

INDIVIDUALS & FOUNDATIONS (continued)ASSoCiATES ($1,000–$2,499)AnonymousMs. Taunya BanksDonald BartlingMr. and Mrs. Marc BlumJohn and Carolyn BoitnottJan BoyceDr. and Mrs. Donald D. BrownSandra and Thomas BrushartMaureen and Kevin ByrnesMeredith and Joseph CallananThe Campbell Foundation, Inc.Caplan Family Foundation, Inc.Sally and Jerry CaseyJohn ChesterAnn K. ClappDr. Joan Develin Coley and Mr.

Lee RiceConstantinides Family

FoundationMs. Gwen DavidsonThe Richard & Rosalee C.

Davison FoundationMr. Gene DeJackomeAlbert F. DeLoskey and Lawrie

DeeringRosetta and Matt DeVitoMr. Jed Dietz and Dr. Julia

McMillanMr. and Mrs. Eric DottLynne Durbin and John-Francis

MergenJack and Nancy DwyerPatricia Yevics-Eisenberg and

Stewart EisenbergBuddy and Sue Emerson, in

appreciation of Ken and Elizabeth Lundeen

Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Freedman

Frank and Jane GaborJose and Ginger GalvezJonathan and Pamela Genn, in

honor of Cindi Monahan and Beth Falcone

Richard and Sharon Gentile, in honor of the CENTERSTAGE Costume Shop

Ms. Sandra Levi GerstungJanet and John GilbertMr. and Mrs. Benjamin H.

Griswold, IVAnnie Groeber, in memory of

Dr. John E. AdamsStuart and Linda GrossmanH.R. LaBar Family Foundation

Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation

Bill and Scootsie HatterSandra and Thomas HessDrs. Dahlia Hirsch and Barry

Wohl, in honor of Carole Goldberg

Len and Betsy HomerMr. and Mrs. James HormuthThe A. C. and Penney Hubbard

FoundationJoseph J. JaffaMr. and Mrs. Mark JosephFrancine and Allan KrumholzSandy and Mark LakenDr. and Mrs. George Lentz, Jr.Marty Lidston and Jill

LeukhardtMr. and Mrs. Earl & Darielle

Linehan/Linehan Family Foundation

Ms. Karen MalloyMichelle McKenna-DoyleJoseph and Jane MeyerJohn and Beverly MichelTom and Cindi MonahanMs. Stacey Morrison and Mr.

Brian MoralesThe Honorable Diana and Fred

Motz, in memory of Nancy Roche

Mr. and Mrs. Lee OgburnMs. Jo-Ann Mayer OrlinskyMr. and Mrs. Stanley Panitz

Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation, in honor of Peter Culman

Ms. Beth PerlmanRonald and Carol RecklingMs. Kathleen C. Ridder, in

honor of Peter CulmanThe James and Gail Riepe

Family FoundationNathan and Michelle

RobertsonDr. David A. RobinsonMr. Grant RochThe Rollins-Luetkemeyer

FoundationMr. and Mrs. Todd SchubertGail B. SchulhoffCharles and Leslie SchwabeThe Tim and Barbara Schweizer

Foundation, Inc.Bayinnah Shabazz, M.D.The Ida and Joseph Shapiro

FoundationBarbara and Sig ShapiroThe Earle and Annette Shawe

Family FoundationDr. Barbara SheltonDana and Matthew SlaterMr. and Mrs. Robert N.

SmelkinsonMr. and Mrs. Scott SmithJudith R. and Turner B. SmithMr. Gilbert H. Stewart and Ms.

Joyce UlrichDr. and Mrs. John StrahanSusan and Brian SullamMr. and Mrs. Ronald W. TaylorSanford and Karen TeplitzkyJohn A. UlatowskiCarolyn and Robert WallaceNanny and Jack Warren, in

honor of Lynn DeeringJanna P. WehrleAnn Wolfe and Dick MeadJohn W. WoodDr. Laurie S. ZabinMr. Calman Zamoiski, Jr., in

honor of Terry MorgenthalerZiger/Snead ArchitectsE. Jay Zuspan, Jr. and

Diane Zuspan

CoLLEAguES($500–$999)AnonymousMs. Diane Abeloff, in memory

of Martin AbeloffThe Alsop Family FoundationMrs. Alexander ArmstrongArt Seminar GroupMr. Robert and Dorothy BairMayer and Will Baker, in honor

of Terry MorgenthalerMr. and Mrs. Raymond Bank

Family Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation

Amy and Bruce BarnettCharles and Patti BaumMs. Jane Baum RodbellJaye and Dr. Ted Bayless FundSteve and Teri BennettMrs. Catherine L. BennettMr. and Mrs. Bruce Blum, in

memory of Shirley Feinstein Blum

Cindy CandeloriRose CarpenterMr. and Mrs. Carl F. ChristBarbara Crain and Michael

BorowitzRichard and Lynda DavisRobert and Janice DavisThe Deering Family Foundation

James DeGraffenreidt and Mychelle Farmer

The Honorable and Mrs. E. Stephen Derby

Dave and Joyce EdingtonPatricia Egan and Peter

Hegeman, in honor of Peter Culman

The Eliasberg Family Foundation, Inc.

Donald and Margaret EngvallMr. and Mrs. Edgar and Faith

Feingold, in memory of Sally W. Feingold

Sandra and John FerriterAndrea and Samuel FineMs. Nancy FreymanDr. Joseph Gall and Dr. Diane

DwyerMr. and Mrs. Francis X.

Gallagher, Jr.Hal and Pat GilreathMary and Richard GormanLouise A. HagerTerry Halle and Wendy

McAllisterMelanie and Donald HeacockLee M. Hendler, in honor of

Peter CulmanRebecca Henry and Harry

GrunerBetsy and George HessMrs. Heidi HoffmanRalph and Claire HrubanMr. Edward HuntMs. Harriet F. IglehartMr. and Mrs. Theodore ImesRichard Jacobs and Patricia

LasherMs. Mary Claire JeskeB.J. and Candy Jones Max JordanDr. and Mrs. Juan M. JuanteguyPeter and Kay KaplanMs. Shirley KaufmanMr. and Mrs. Padraic Kennedy,

in honor of Ken LundeenJudith Phair King and Roland

KingStewart and Carol KoehlerMr. John Lanasa, in honor of

Peter CulmanJoseph M. and Judy K.

LangmeadMr. Claus Leitherer and Mrs.

Irina FedorovaDr. and Mrs. Ronald LesserMarilyn LeutholdDr. and Mrs. John LionKenneth and Christine LoboDr. and Mrs. Thomas J. LynchThe Dr. Frank C. Marino

Foundation, Inc.Ms. Mary L. McGeadyDr. Carole MillerMr. Jeston I. MillerStephanie F. Miller, in honor of

The Lee S. Miller Jr. FamilyThe Montag Family Fund of The

Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, in honor of Beth Falcone

George and Beth MurnaghanRex and Lettie MyersJudith Needham and Warren

KilmerRoger F. Nordquist and Joyce

WardMr. and Mrs. James and Mimi

Piper Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation

Bonnie PittDave and Chris PowellJill PrattRobert E. and Anne L. PrinceRichard and Kay RadmerMrs. Peggy L. Rice

Mr. and Mrs. Harold RojasDorothy L. and Henry A.

Rosenberg, Jr.Kevin and Judy RossiterMrs. Bette RothmanMr. Al RussellSheila and Steve SachsMs. Renee C. SamuelsKurt and Patricia SchmokeMs. Sherry SchnepfeMr. and Mrs. Eugene H.

SchreiberScott Sherman and Julie

RothmanThe Sinksy-Kresser-Racusin

Memorial FoundationSusan Somerville-Hawes, in

honor of EncounterGeorgia and George StamasStation North Arts and

Entertainment DistrictRobert and Patricia TarolaDiana and Ken TroutSharon and David TufaroMr. and Mrs. George and Beth

Van DykeIn memory of Sally WessnerMr. Michael T. WhartonDr. and Mrs. Frank R. WitterEric and Pam YoungMr. Norman YouskauskasMr. Paul Zugates

ADvoCATES($250–$499)AnonymousMr. and Mrs. Delbert L. AdamsBradley and Lindsay AlgerMr. Alan M. Arrowsmith, IIMr. and Mrs. Jon Baker, in

honor of Terry MorgenthalerMichael BakerJudge Robert BellAlfred and Muriel BerkeleyRachel and Steven Bloom, in

honor of Beth FalconeMr. Chad Bolton, in honor of

Peter CulmanPerry and Aurelia BoltonChiChi and Peter BosworthBetty Jo BowmanMr. and Mrs. Charles BryanMr. David BundyDr. and Mrs. Arthur Burnett IIMs. Deborah W. CallardThe Jim and Anne Cantler

Memorial Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation

Mr. and Mrs. David CarterMr. Andrew J. CaryMr. and Mrs. James CaseStanton CollinsCombined Charity CampaignCombined Federal CampaignDavid and Sara CookeMr. and Mrs. Richard D. CraftonMr. Thomas Crusse and Mr.

David Imre, in honor of Stephanie and Ash Carter

Ms. Alice M. DibbenSally Digges and James ArnoldDeborah and Philip EnglishMs. Nicole EppMr. Dennis EppsMs. Rhea Feikin, in memory of

Colgate SalsburyMs. Jeannette E. FestaBob and Susie FetterGenine and Josh Fidler, in

honor of Ellen and Ed BernardDr. and Mrs. Robert P.

FleishmanMr. and Mrs. George FlickingerJoan and David Forester

Robert W. Smith, Jr., PresidentEdward C. Bernard, Vice PresidentJuliet Eurich, Vice PresidentTerry H. Morgenthaler, Vice PresidentE. Follin Smith, TreasurerKatherine L. Vaughns, Secretary

Katharine C. Blakeslee+James T. Brady+C. Sylvia Brown+Stephanie CarterAugust J. ChiaseraMarjorie Rodgers CheshireJanet ClausonLynn DeeringJed DietzWalter B. Doggett, IIIJane W.I. DroppaBrian EakesBeth W. FalconeC. Richard Gamper, Jr.Suzan GarabedianCarole GoldbergAdam GrossCheryl O’Donnell GuthMartha HeadKathleen W. HyleTed E. ImesMurray M. Kappelman, MD+John J. KeenanE. Robert Kent, Jr.Joseph M. Langmead+Jonna Gane LazarusKenneth C. LundeenMichelle McKenna-DoyleMarilyn Meyerhoff+J. William MurrayCharles E. NoellEsther Pearlstone+Judy M. PharesJill PrattPhilip J. RauchHarold RojasMonica Sagner+Renee C. SamuelsTodd SchubertGeorge M. Sherman+Scott SomervilleScot T. SpencerMichael B. StyerRonald W. TaylorDonald ThomsJ.W. Thompson WebbRonald M. WilnerCheryl Hudgins WilliamsLinda S. Woolf

+ Trustees Emeriti

BOARD OF TRUSTEESDr. Neal M. Friedlander and Dr.

Virginia K. AdamsConstance A. GetzovMark and Patti GillenHerbert and Harriet GoldmanMr. Bruce GoldmanMr. Howard GradetJoseph Griffi nThomas and Barbara GuarnieriMs. Doris M. GugelMr. David GuyJane Halpern and James PettitMs. Paulette HammondAda HamoshDr. and Dr. James and Vicki

HandaMr. and Mrs. Richard HawesIn Memory of Eric R. HeadAaron HeinsmanWilliam and Monica

HendersonSue HessMr. Donald H. Hooker, Jr.Ms. Irene HornickMr. and Mrs. Martin HorowitzDr. and Mrs. J. Woodford

HowardMs. Sarah IssacsMr. William JacobJames and Hillary Aidus JacobsA.H. Janoski, M.D., in honor of

Jane Stewart JanoskiJames M. and Julie B.

JohnstoneRichard and Judith KatzB. KellerDr. and Mrs. Myron KellnerMr. and Mrs. Stephen J. KellyDonald Knox and Mary Towery,

in memory of Carolyn Knox and Gene Towery

David and Ann KochGina KotowskiDrs. Don and Pat LangenbergMr. Richard M. LansburghMr. and Mrs. William LarsonDrs. Ronald and Mary LeachLeadership--Baltimore CountyTerry Lorch and Tom LiebelScott and Ellen LutreyPaul and Anne MaddenNancy Magnuson and Jay

Harrell, in honor of Betty and Edgar Sweren

Mr. Elvis MarksJoan and Terry MarshallDon MartinEleanor McMillanMs. Michael McMullanMary and Barry MenneBruce MentzerCarolyn and Michael MeredithMinds Eye CinemaPeniel and Julia S. MoedJames W. and Shirley A. MooreDr. and Mrs. Clayton MoravecMs. Cassie Motz, in memory of

Nancy RocheMr. and Mrs. William H. MullinDr. Patrick Murphy and Dr.

Genevieve A. LosonskyStephen and Terry NeedelIn memory of Nelson NeumanMs. Nina NobleMs. Irene Norton and Heather

MillarClaire D. O'NeillMr. Thomas OwenThe P.R.F.B. Charitable

Foundation, in memory of Shirley Feinstein Blum

Michael and Phyllis PanopoulosJustine and Ken ParezoFred and Grazina PearsonLinda and Gordon PeltzChris and Deborah PenningtonMr. William Phillips

Ron and Pat PillingMr. Mike Plaisted and Ms.

Maggie WebbertLeslie and Gary PlotnickDr. Albert J. Polito and Dr.

Redonda G. MillerConnie and Roger PumphreyMr. Rex Rehfeld and Ms. Ellen

O'BrienCyndy Renoff and George TalerDr. Michael Repka and Dr. Mary

Anne FaccioloNatasha and Keenan RiceAlison and Arnold RichmanRichard and Sheila RiggsLiz Ritter and Larry KoppelmanIda and Jack RoadhouseMr. and Mrs. Domingo and

Karen Rodriguez, in honor of Emma Grace Barnes

Mr. and Mrs. Jerry RoeslerLouis and Luanne RuskSteven and Lee SachsFrank and Michelle SampleMs. Gloria SavadowFrederica and William Saxon,

Jr.Dr. Chris SchultzMr. Steve SchwartzmanClair Zamoiski Segal, in honor

of Judy Witt PharesMs. Minnie ShorterMr. and Mrs. L. SiemsDr. and Mrs. Donald J.

SlowinskiRosie and Jim SmithSolomon and Elaine SnyderMs. Jill StemplerJoseph SterneMrs. Clare H. Stewart, in honor

of Peter CulmanMs. Joann StricklandMr. and Mrs. James R.and Gail

SwanbeckTed and Lynda ThillyCindy and Fredrick ThompsonLaura and Neil Tucker, in honor

of Beth FalconeUnited Way of Central

Maryland CampaignComprehensive Car Care/

Robert WagnerDonald and Darlene Wakefi eldMs. Magda WesterhoustMs. Camille Wheeler and Mr.

William MarshallMr. and Mrs. Barry and Linda

WilliamsBrian and Paticia WinterHarold and Joan YoungMr. William Zerhouni

SPECiAL grAnTS & gifTSThe Leading National Theatres Program, a joint initiative of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

govErnMEnT grAnTSCENTERSTAGE is funded by an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. Funding for the Maryland State Arts Council is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

CENTERSTAGE’s catalog of Education Programs has been selected by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities as a 2011 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award Finalist.

CENTERSTAGE participates annually in Free Fall Baltimore, a program of the Baltimore Offi ce of Promotion and the Arts.

Baltimore County Executive, County Council, & Commission on Arts and Sciences

Carroll County Government

Howard County Arts Council through a grant from Howard County Government

gifTS in-KinDThe Afro AmericanAkbar RestaurantDean AlexanderArt LithoAu Bon PainThe Baltimore SunBlimpieThe Brewer's ArtCalvert Wine & SpiritsCasa di PastaCharcoal GrillCima Model ManagementThe Classic Catering People ChipotleThe City PaperEggspectationsFisherman’s Friend/PEZ Candy,

Inc.Gertrude's RestaurantGreg's BagelsGT PizzaGutierrez Studios Haute DogThe HelmandHoneyBaked Ham Co.Hotel MonacoIggie'sThe Jewish TimesKleenize Rug CleanersMarriott Minato Mitchell Kurtz Architect, PCMount Vernon Stable and

SaloonNew System BakeryNo Worries CosmeticsOriole's Pizza and SubPazoPizza Boli'sPizza HutPromoWorksRepublic National Distributing

CompanyRoly Poly Romano’s Macaroni GrillSabatino'sSenovvaShugoll ResearchThe SignmanStyle MagazineSunlight LLC, in honor of Kacy

ArmstrongUrbaniteA Vintner's SelectionWawaWegman'sWhitmore Print & ImagingWYPR Radiowww.thecheckshop.us

MATCHing gifT CoMPAniES .The Abell Foundation, Inc.Bank of AmericaThe Annie E. Casey

FoundationC. B. Fleet Company, Inc.Constellation EnergyThe Deering Family

FoundationExxon CorporationGE FoundationIBM Corporation

Illinois Tool Works Foundation

McCormick & Co. Inc.Morgan StanleyNorfolk Southern FoundationOpen Society InstitutePepsiCo FoundationPNC BankStanley Black & DeckerSunTrust BankT. Rowe Price Group

We make every effort to provide accurate acknowledgement of our contributors. We appreciate your patience and assistance in keeping our lists current. To advise us of corrections, please call 410.986.4026.

PLAywrigHTS CirCLEAnonymousAccentureAmerican Trading & Production CorporationThe Baltimore Life CompaniesBaxter, Baker, Sidle, Conn & Jones, P.A.Brown AdvisoryEnvironmental Reclamation CompanyFTI ConsultingHoward BankLord Baltimore Capital CorporationMcGuireWoods LLPPNC BankProcter & GambleSaul Ewing LLPStifel NicolausVenable, LLPWhiteford, Taylor & Preston LLPWhiting-Turner Contracting Co

DirECTorS CirCLEAlexander Design StudioBay ImageryE*Trade Financial CorporationFunk & Bolton, P.A.Offi t | Kurman, Attorneys at LawPessin Katz Law P.A.PricewaterhouseCoopers LLPSchoenfeld Insurance AssociatesStevenson UniversityThe Zolet Lenet Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

ASSoCiATESAyers Saint Gross, IncorporatedChesapeake Plywood, LLCCorporate Offi ce Properties TrustErnst & Young LLP

CORPORATIONS

ProDuCErS CirCLE

ArTiSTS CirCLE

ADvoCATES continued

T. Rowe Price Foundation

26 | CENTERSTAGE

INDIVIDUALS & FOUNDATIONS (continued)ASSoCiATES ($1,000–$2,499)AnonymousMs. Taunya BanksDonald BartlingMr. and Mrs. Marc BlumJohn and Carolyn BoitnottJan BoyceDr. and Mrs. Donald D. BrownSandra and Thomas BrushartMaureen and Kevin ByrnesMeredith and Joseph CallananThe Campbell Foundation, Inc.Caplan Family Foundation, Inc.Sally and Jerry CaseyJohn ChesterAnn K. ClappDr. Joan Develin Coley and Mr.

Lee RiceConstantinides Family

FoundationMs. Gwen DavidsonThe Richard & Rosalee C.

Davison FoundationMr. Gene DeJackomeAlbert F. DeLoskey and Lawrie

DeeringRosetta and Matt DeVitoMr. Jed Dietz and Dr. Julia

McMillanMr. and Mrs. Eric DottLynne Durbin and John-Francis

MergenJack and Nancy DwyerPatricia Yevics-Eisenberg and

Stewart EisenbergBuddy and Sue Emerson, in

appreciation of Ken and Elizabeth Lundeen

Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Freedman

Frank and Jane GaborJose and Ginger GalvezJonathan and Pamela Genn, in

honor of Cindi Monahan and Beth Falcone

Richard and Sharon Gentile, in honor of the CENTERSTAGE Costume Shop

Ms. Sandra Levi GerstungJanet and John GilbertMr. and Mrs. Benjamin H.

Griswold, IVAnnie Groeber, in memory of

Dr. John E. AdamsStuart and Linda GrossmanH.R. LaBar Family Foundation

Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation

Bill and Scootsie HatterSandra and Thomas HessDrs. Dahlia Hirsch and Barry

Wohl, in honor of Carole Goldberg

Len and Betsy HomerMr. and Mrs. James HormuthThe A. C. and Penney Hubbard

FoundationJoseph J. JaffaMr. and Mrs. Mark JosephFrancine and Allan KrumholzSandy and Mark LakenDr. and Mrs. George Lentz, Jr.Marty Lidston and Jill

LeukhardtMr. and Mrs. Earl & Darielle

Linehan/Linehan Family Foundation

Ms. Karen MalloyMichelle McKenna-DoyleJoseph and Jane MeyerJohn and Beverly MichelTom and Cindi MonahanMs. Stacey Morrison and Mr.

Brian MoralesThe Honorable Diana and Fred

Motz, in memory of Nancy Roche

Mr. and Mrs. Lee OgburnMs. Jo-Ann Mayer OrlinskyMr. and Mrs. Stanley Panitz

Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation, in honor of Peter Culman

Ms. Beth PerlmanRonald and Carol RecklingMs. Kathleen C. Ridder, in

honor of Peter CulmanThe James and Gail Riepe

Family FoundationNathan and Michelle

RobertsonDr. David A. RobinsonMr. Grant RochThe Rollins-Luetkemeyer

FoundationMr. and Mrs. Todd SchubertGail B. SchulhoffCharles and Leslie SchwabeThe Tim and Barbara Schweizer

Foundation, Inc.Bayinnah Shabazz, M.D.The Ida and Joseph Shapiro

FoundationBarbara and Sig ShapiroThe Earle and Annette Shawe

Family FoundationDr. Barbara SheltonDana and Matthew SlaterMr. and Mrs. Robert N.

SmelkinsonMr. and Mrs. Scott SmithJudith R. and Turner B. SmithMr. Gilbert H. Stewart and Ms.

Joyce UlrichDr. and Mrs. John StrahanSusan and Brian SullamMr. and Mrs. Ronald W. TaylorSanford and Karen TeplitzkyJohn A. UlatowskiCarolyn and Robert WallaceNanny and Jack Warren, in

honor of Lynn DeeringJanna P. WehrleAnn Wolfe and Dick MeadJohn W. WoodDr. Laurie S. ZabinMr. Calman Zamoiski, Jr., in

honor of Terry MorgenthalerZiger/Snead ArchitectsE. Jay Zuspan, Jr. and

Diane Zuspan

CoLLEAguES($500–$999)AnonymousMs. Diane Abeloff, in memory

of Martin AbeloffThe Alsop Family FoundationMrs. Alexander ArmstrongArt Seminar GroupMr. Robert and Dorothy BairMayer and Will Baker, in honor

of Terry MorgenthalerMr. and Mrs. Raymond Bank

Family Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation

Amy and Bruce BarnettCharles and Patti BaumMs. Jane Baum RodbellJaye and Dr. Ted Bayless FundSteve and Teri BennettMrs. Catherine L. BennettMr. and Mrs. Bruce Blum, in

memory of Shirley Feinstein Blum

Cindy CandeloriRose CarpenterMr. and Mrs. Carl F. ChristBarbara Crain and Michael

BorowitzRichard and Lynda DavisRobert and Janice DavisThe Deering Family Foundation

James DeGraffenreidt and Mychelle Farmer

The Honorable and Mrs. E. Stephen Derby

Dave and Joyce EdingtonPatricia Egan and Peter

Hegeman, in honor of Peter Culman

The Eliasberg Family Foundation, Inc.

Donald and Margaret EngvallMr. and Mrs. Edgar and Faith

Feingold, in memory of Sally W. Feingold

Sandra and John FerriterAndrea and Samuel FineMs. Nancy FreymanDr. Joseph Gall and Dr. Diane

DwyerMr. and Mrs. Francis X.

Gallagher, Jr.Hal and Pat GilreathMary and Richard GormanLouise A. HagerTerry Halle and Wendy

McAllisterMelanie and Donald HeacockLee M. Hendler, in honor of

Peter CulmanRebecca Henry and Harry

GrunerBetsy and George HessMrs. Heidi HoffmanRalph and Claire HrubanMr. Edward HuntMs. Harriet F. IglehartMr. and Mrs. Theodore ImesRichard Jacobs and Patricia

LasherMs. Mary Claire JeskeB.J. and Candy Jones Max JordanDr. and Mrs. Juan M. JuanteguyPeter and Kay KaplanMs. Shirley KaufmanMr. and Mrs. Padraic Kennedy,

in honor of Ken LundeenJudith Phair King and Roland

KingStewart and Carol KoehlerMr. John Lanasa, in honor of

Peter CulmanJoseph M. and Judy K.

LangmeadMr. Claus Leitherer and Mrs.

Irina FedorovaDr. and Mrs. Ronald LesserMarilyn LeutholdDr. and Mrs. John LionKenneth and Christine LoboDr. and Mrs. Thomas J. LynchThe Dr. Frank C. Marino

Foundation, Inc.Ms. Mary L. McGeadyDr. Carole MillerMr. Jeston I. MillerStephanie F. Miller, in honor of

The Lee S. Miller Jr. FamilyThe Montag Family Fund of The

Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, in honor of Beth Falcone

George and Beth MurnaghanRex and Lettie MyersJudith Needham and Warren

KilmerRoger F. Nordquist and Joyce

WardMr. and Mrs. James and Mimi

Piper Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation

Bonnie PittDave and Chris PowellJill PrattRobert E. and Anne L. PrinceRichard and Kay RadmerMrs. Peggy L. Rice

Mr. and Mrs. Harold RojasDorothy L. and Henry A.

Rosenberg, Jr.Kevin and Judy RossiterMrs. Bette RothmanMr. Al RussellSheila and Steve SachsMs. Renee C. SamuelsKurt and Patricia SchmokeMs. Sherry SchnepfeMr. and Mrs. Eugene H.

SchreiberScott Sherman and Julie

RothmanThe Sinksy-Kresser-Racusin

Memorial FoundationSusan Somerville-Hawes, in

honor of EncounterGeorgia and George StamasStation North Arts and

Entertainment DistrictRobert and Patricia TarolaDiana and Ken TroutSharon and David TufaroMr. and Mrs. George and Beth

Van DykeIn memory of Sally WessnerMr. Michael T. WhartonDr. and Mrs. Frank R. WitterEric and Pam YoungMr. Norman YouskauskasMr. Paul Zugates

ADvoCATES($250–$499)AnonymousMr. and Mrs. Delbert L. AdamsBradley and Lindsay AlgerMr. Alan M. Arrowsmith, IIMr. and Mrs. Jon Baker, in

honor of Terry MorgenthalerMichael BakerJudge Robert BellAlfred and Muriel BerkeleyRachel and Steven Bloom, in

honor of Beth FalconeMr. Chad Bolton, in honor of

Peter CulmanPerry and Aurelia BoltonChiChi and Peter BosworthBetty Jo BowmanMr. and Mrs. Charles BryanMr. David BundyDr. and Mrs. Arthur Burnett IIMs. Deborah W. CallardThe Jim and Anne Cantler

Memorial Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation

Mr. and Mrs. David CarterMr. Andrew J. CaryMr. and Mrs. James CaseStanton CollinsCombined Charity CampaignCombined Federal CampaignDavid and Sara CookeMr. and Mrs. Richard D. CraftonMr. Thomas Crusse and Mr.

David Imre, in honor of Stephanie and Ash Carter

Ms. Alice M. DibbenSally Digges and James ArnoldDeborah and Philip EnglishMs. Nicole EppMr. Dennis EppsMs. Rhea Feikin, in memory of

Colgate SalsburyMs. Jeannette E. FestaBob and Susie FetterGenine and Josh Fidler, in

honor of Ellen and Ed BernardDr. and Mrs. Robert P.

FleishmanMr. and Mrs. George FlickingerJoan and David Forester

Robert W. Smith, Jr., PresidentEdward C. Bernard, Vice PresidentJuliet Eurich, Vice PresidentTerry H. Morgenthaler, Vice PresidentE. Follin Smith, TreasurerKatherine L. Vaughns, Secretary

Katharine C. Blakeslee+James T. Brady+C. Sylvia Brown+Stephanie CarterAugust J. ChiaseraMarjorie Rodgers CheshireJanet ClausonLynn DeeringJed DietzWalter B. Doggett, IIIJane W.I. DroppaBrian EakesBeth W. FalconeC. Richard Gamper, Jr.Suzan GarabedianCarole GoldbergAdam GrossCheryl O’Donnell GuthMartha HeadKathleen W. HyleTed E. ImesMurray M. Kappelman, MD+John J. KeenanE. Robert Kent, Jr.Joseph M. Langmead+Jonna Gane LazarusKenneth C. LundeenMichelle McKenna-DoyleMarilyn Meyerhoff+J. William MurrayCharles E. NoellEsther Pearlstone+Judy M. PharesJill PrattPhilip J. RauchHarold RojasMonica Sagner+Renee C. SamuelsTodd SchubertGeorge M. Sherman+Scott SomervilleScot T. SpencerMichael B. StyerRonald W. TaylorDonald ThomsJ.W. Thompson WebbRonald M. WilnerCheryl Hudgins WilliamsLinda S. Woolf

+ Trustees Emeriti

BOARD OF TRUSTEESDr. Neal M. Friedlander and Dr.

Virginia K. AdamsConstance A. GetzovMark and Patti GillenHerbert and Harriet GoldmanMr. Bruce GoldmanMr. Howard GradetJoseph Griffi nThomas and Barbara GuarnieriMs. Doris M. GugelMr. David GuyJane Halpern and James PettitMs. Paulette HammondAda HamoshDr. and Dr. James and Vicki

HandaMr. and Mrs. Richard HawesIn Memory of Eric R. HeadAaron HeinsmanWilliam and Monica

HendersonSue HessMr. Donald H. Hooker, Jr.Ms. Irene HornickMr. and Mrs. Martin HorowitzDr. and Mrs. J. Woodford

HowardMs. Sarah IssacsMr. William JacobJames and Hillary Aidus JacobsA.H. Janoski, M.D., in honor of

Jane Stewart JanoskiJames M. and Julie B.

JohnstoneRichard and Judith KatzB. KellerDr. and Mrs. Myron KellnerMr. and Mrs. Stephen J. KellyDonald Knox and Mary Towery,

in memory of Carolyn Knox and Gene Towery

David and Ann KochGina KotowskiDrs. Don and Pat LangenbergMr. Richard M. LansburghMr. and Mrs. William LarsonDrs. Ronald and Mary LeachLeadership--Baltimore CountyTerry Lorch and Tom LiebelScott and Ellen LutreyPaul and Anne MaddenNancy Magnuson and Jay

Harrell, in honor of Betty and Edgar Sweren

Mr. Elvis MarksJoan and Terry MarshallDon MartinEleanor McMillanMs. Michael McMullanMary and Barry MenneBruce MentzerCarolyn and Michael MeredithMinds Eye CinemaPeniel and Julia S. MoedJames W. and Shirley A. MooreDr. and Mrs. Clayton MoravecMs. Cassie Motz, in memory of

Nancy RocheMr. and Mrs. William H. MullinDr. Patrick Murphy and Dr.

Genevieve A. LosonskyStephen and Terry NeedelIn memory of Nelson NeumanMs. Nina NobleMs. Irene Norton and Heather

MillarClaire D. O'NeillMr. Thomas OwenThe P.R.F.B. Charitable

Foundation, in memory of Shirley Feinstein Blum

Michael and Phyllis PanopoulosJustine and Ken ParezoFred and Grazina PearsonLinda and Gordon PeltzChris and Deborah PenningtonMr. William Phillips

Ron and Pat PillingMr. Mike Plaisted and Ms.

Maggie WebbertLeslie and Gary PlotnickDr. Albert J. Polito and Dr.

Redonda G. MillerConnie and Roger PumphreyMr. Rex Rehfeld and Ms. Ellen

O'BrienCyndy Renoff and George TalerDr. Michael Repka and Dr. Mary

Anne FaccioloNatasha and Keenan RiceAlison and Arnold RichmanRichard and Sheila RiggsLiz Ritter and Larry KoppelmanIda and Jack RoadhouseMr. and Mrs. Domingo and

Karen Rodriguez, in honor of Emma Grace Barnes

Mr. and Mrs. Jerry RoeslerLouis and Luanne RuskSteven and Lee SachsFrank and Michelle SampleMs. Gloria SavadowFrederica and William Saxon,

Jr.Dr. Chris SchultzMr. Steve SchwartzmanClair Zamoiski Segal, in honor

of Judy Witt PharesMs. Minnie ShorterMr. and Mrs. L. SiemsDr. and Mrs. Donald J.

SlowinskiRosie and Jim SmithSolomon and Elaine SnyderMs. Jill StemplerJoseph SterneMrs. Clare H. Stewart, in honor

of Peter CulmanMs. Joann StricklandMr. and Mrs. James R.and Gail

SwanbeckTed and Lynda ThillyCindy and Fredrick ThompsonLaura and Neil Tucker, in honor

of Beth FalconeUnited Way of Central

Maryland CampaignComprehensive Car Care/

Robert WagnerDonald and Darlene Wakefi eldMs. Magda WesterhoustMs. Camille Wheeler and Mr.

William MarshallMr. and Mrs. Barry and Linda

WilliamsBrian and Paticia WinterHarold and Joan YoungMr. William Zerhouni

SPECiAL grAnTS & gifTSThe Leading National Theatres Program, a joint initiative of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

govErnMEnT grAnTSCENTERSTAGE is funded by an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. Funding for the Maryland State Arts Council is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

CENTERSTAGE’s catalog of Education Programs has been selected by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities as a 2011 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award Finalist.

CENTERSTAGE participates annually in Free Fall Baltimore, a program of the Baltimore Offi ce of Promotion and the Arts.

Baltimore County Executive, County Council, & Commission on Arts and Sciences

Carroll County Government

Howard County Arts Council through a grant from Howard County Government

gifTS in-KinDThe Afro AmericanAkbar RestaurantDean AlexanderArt LithoAu Bon PainThe Baltimore SunBlimpieThe Brewer's ArtCalvert Wine & SpiritsCasa di PastaCharcoal GrillCima Model ManagementThe Classic Catering People ChipotleThe City PaperEggspectationsFisherman’s Friend/PEZ Candy,

Inc.Gertrude's RestaurantGreg's BagelsGT PizzaGutierrez Studios Haute DogThe HelmandHoneyBaked Ham Co.Hotel MonacoIggie'sThe Jewish TimesKleenize Rug CleanersMarriott Minato Mitchell Kurtz Architect, PCMount Vernon Stable and

SaloonNew System BakeryNo Worries CosmeticsOriole's Pizza and SubPazoPizza Boli'sPizza HutPromoWorksRepublic National Distributing

CompanyRoly Poly Romano’s Macaroni GrillSabatino'sSenovvaShugoll ResearchThe SignmanStyle MagazineSunlight LLC, in honor of Kacy

ArmstrongUrbaniteA Vintner's SelectionWawaWegman'sWhitmore Print & ImagingWYPR Radiowww.thecheckshop.us

MATCHing gifT CoMPAniES .The Abell Foundation, Inc.Bank of AmericaThe Annie E. Casey

FoundationC. B. Fleet Company, Inc.Constellation EnergyThe Deering Family

FoundationExxon CorporationGE FoundationIBM Corporation

Illinois Tool Works Foundation

McCormick & Co. Inc.Morgan StanleyNorfolk Southern FoundationOpen Society InstitutePepsiCo FoundationPNC BankStanley Black & DeckerSunTrust BankT. Rowe Price Group

We make every effort to provide accurate acknowledgement of our contributors. We appreciate your patience and assistance in keeping our lists current. To advise us of corrections, please call 410.986.4026.

PLAywrigHTS CirCLEAnonymousAccentureAmerican Trading & Production CorporationThe Baltimore Life CompaniesBaxter, Baker, Sidle, Conn & Jones, P.A.Brown AdvisoryEnvironmental Reclamation CompanyFTI ConsultingHoward BankLord Baltimore Capital CorporationMcGuireWoods LLPPNC BankProcter & GambleSaul Ewing LLPStifel NicolausVenable, LLPWhiteford, Taylor & Preston LLPWhiting-Turner Contracting Co

DirECTorS CirCLEAlexander Design StudioBay ImageryE*Trade Financial CorporationFunk & Bolton, P.A.Offi t | Kurman, Attorneys at LawPessin Katz Law P.A.PricewaterhouseCoopers LLPSchoenfeld Insurance AssociatesStevenson UniversityThe Zolet Lenet Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

ASSoCiATESAyers Saint Gross, IncorporatedChesapeake Plywood, LLCCorporate Offi ce Properties TrustErnst & Young LLP

CORPORATIONS

ProDuCErS CirCLE

ArTiSTS CirCLE

ADvoCATES continued

T. Rowe Price Foundation

Mud Blue Sky | 27

Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE–Artistic Director Stephen Richard–Managing Director AdministrationAssociate Managing Director–Del W. RisbergExecutive Assistant–Kacy ArmstrongThe Ellen and Ed Bernard Management Intern–

Batya Feldman

ArtisticAssociate Artistic Director–Gavin WittArtistic Producer–Susanna GellertArtistic Senior Fellow–Kellie MeclearyThe Lynn and Tony Deering Artistic Intern–

Samantha Godfrey

Audience relationsBox Office Manager–Mandy BenedixAssistant Manager/Subscriptions Manager–

Jerrilyn KeeneAssistant Manager–Blane WycheFull-time Assistants–Lindsey Barr, Alana Kolb,

Christopher LewisPart-Time Assistant–Froilan Mate, Tiana BiasBar Manager–Sean Van CleveHouse Manager & Volunteer Coordinator–

Bertinarea CramptonAssistant House Managers–Cedric Gum,

Alec Lawson, Faith SavillAudience Relations Intern–Quincy PriceAudio Description–Ralph Welsh &

Maryland Arts Access

AudioSupervisor–Amy WedelEngineer–Eric LottThe Jane and Larry Droppa Audio Intern–

Andrew Graves

Community Programs & EducationDirector–Rosiland CauthenEducation Coordinator–Julianne FranzCommunity Programs & Education Intern–

Dustin MorrisThe James and Janet Clauson Community Programs

& Education Intern–Kristina SzilagyiTeaching Artists–The 5th L; Oran Bandel; Jerry Miles, Jr.;

CJay Philip; Wambui Richardson; Joan Weber

CostumesCostumer–David BurdickTailor–Edward DawsonCraftsperson–William E. CrowtherStitcher–Jessica RietzlerThe Terry H. Morgenthaler and Patrick Kerins Costumes

Intern– Elizabeth ChapmanThe Judy and Scott Phares Costumes Intern–

Anna Tringali

DevelopmentDirector–Cindi MonahanGrants Manager–Sean BeattieAnnual Fund Manager–Katelyn WhiteEvents Coordinator–Brad NorrisDevelopment Assistant–Julia OstroffAssistant–Christopher LewisAuction Coordinator–Sydney WilnerAuction Assistant–Norma Cohen

DramaturgyDirector–Gavin WittDramaturgy Senior Fellow–Kellie MeclearyApprentices–Izaak Collins, Roisin Dowling,

Christine Prevas, Kate Ramsdell, Bennett Remsberg, Matthew Buckley Smith, Amy Smith, Lucy Walker

financeDirector–Susan RoseberyBusiness Manager–Kathy NolanAssociate–Carla Moose

graphicsArt Director–Bill GeenenGraphic Designer–Amanda NiessleinProduction Photographer–Richard AndersonGraphics Intern–Michelle FlemingThe Stephanie and Ashton Carter Digital Media Intern–

Leslie Datsis

information TechnologiesDirector–Joe LongSystems Administrator–Mark Slaughter

LightingLighting Director–Lesley BoeckmanMaster Electrician–Lily BradfordMultimedia Coordinator–Stew IvesStaff Electrician–Bevin MiyakeThe Barbara Capalbo Electrics Intern–Scot Gianelli

Marketing & CommunicationsDirector–Tony Heaphy Public Relations Manager–Heather C. JacksonMarketing Manager–Timmy MetznerDigital Media Associate–Timothy GellesMarketing Associate–Tia AbnerThe Jay and Sharon Smith Marketing and

Public Relations Fellow–Kiirstn PaganMedia Services–Planit

operationsDirector–Harry DeLairHousekeeping– Kali KeeneCustodial Services/MJNJ Cleaning–Glenn RiversSecurity Guards–Crown Security

Production ManagementProduction Manager–Mike SchleiferAssistant Production Manager– Caitlin PowersCompany Manager–Sara GroveProduction/Stage Management Intern–Ashley RiesterThe Phil and Lynn Rauch Company Management

Intern–Matt Shea

PropertiesManager–Jennifer StearnsAssistant Manager– Nathan ScheifeleArtisan–Jeanne-Marie Burdette, Sam KuczynskiThe Kenneth C. and Elizabeth M. Lundeen Properties

Intern–Kimberly Townsend

SceneryTechnical Director–Tom RuppAssistant Technical Director–Laura P. MerolaShop Supervisor–Trevor GohrCarpenters–Joey Bromfield, Mike Kulha,

Scott RichardsonScene Shop Intern–Ryan ColeScenic ArtScenic Artist–Stephanie NimickIntern–Lauren Crabtree

Stage ManagementResident Stage Managers–Captain Kate Murphy,

Laura SmithThe Peter and Millicent Bain

Stage Management Intern–Brent BeaversThe Barbara Voss and Charles Noell

Stage Management Intern–Lindsay Eberly

Stage operationsStage Carpenter–Eric Burton

The following designers, artisans, and assistants contributed to this production of

Mud Blue Sky—Assistant Lighting Designer–Scot GianelliAssistant Sound Design–Andrew GravesCarpenters–Bernard Bender, Mark Eisendrath,

Seth Foster, J.R. FritschLighting–Cartland Berge, Alison Burris, John Elder,

Jake Epp, Aaron Haag, Alexander Keen, Jen Reiser, Jon Rubin, Natahsa Tylea

Stage Management–Alison BurrisVideo Design Editing–Leslie Datsis

CENTERSTAGE operates under an agreement between LORT and Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

The Director and Choreographer are members of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc., an independent national labor union.

The scenic, costume, lighting, and sound designers in LORT theaters are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE.

Musicians engaged by CENTERSTAGE perform under the terms of an agreement between CENTERSTAGE and Local 40-543, American Federation of Musicians.

CENTERSTAGE is a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the nonprofit professional theater, and is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), the national collective bargaining organization of professional regional theaters.

The CEnTErSTAgE Program is published by:Center Stage Associates, Inc. 700 North Calvert Street Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Editor Heather C. JacksonAssistant Editor Kiirstn PaganArt Direction/Design Bill Geenen Design Amanda Niesslein

Advertising Sales ads@centerstage.org

ConTACT inforMATionBox office Phone 410.332.0033 Box office fax 410.727.2522 Administration 410.986.4000www.centerstage.org info@centerstage.org

Material in the CENTERSTAGE performance program is made available free of charge for legitimate educational and research purposes only. Selective use has been made of previously published information and images whose inclusion here does not constitute license for any further re-use of any kind. All other material is the property of CENTERSTAGE, and no copies or reproductions of this material should be made for further distribution, other than for educational purposes, without express permission from the authors and CENTERSTAGE.

staff

28 | CENTERSTAGE

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When the arts succeed, we all succeed.

M&T is proud to support CENTERSTAGE.