Printer’s Ad Printer’s Ad LEARNING & EDUCATION USING THEATRE AS A CATALYST TO INSPIRE CREATIVITY “ATC’S EDUCATION DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN NOTHING SHORT OF A MIRACLE.” -Cheryl Falvo, Crossroads English Chair / Service Learning Coordinator Theatre skills help support critical thinking, decision-making, teamwork and improvisation . It can bridge the gap from imagination to reality . We inspire students to feel that anything is possible . LAST SEASON WE REACHED OVER 11,000 STUDENTS IN 80 SCHOOLS ACROSS 8 AZ COUNTIES For more information about our Learning & Education programs, visit EDUCATION.ARIZONATHEATRE.ORG IN THIS ISSUE January 2015 Title Page . 6 Cast List . 8 About the Play . 12 About Arizona Theatre Company . 14 ATC Leadership . 20 The Cast. 28 Board of Trustees . 34 The Creative Team .. 35 Theatre Information . 47 Corporate and Foundation Donors . 49 Individual Donors . 50 Staff . 59 ATC’S MISSION THE UPDATED MISSION OF ARIZONA THEATRE COMPANY At the core of every non-profit organization is a “mission statement” – a clear assertion of the central cause around which the entire organization unites . Recently, Arizona Theatre Company’s Board of Trustees updated ours: • The mission of Arizona Theatre Company is to Inspire, Engage and Entertain – One Moment, One Production & One Audience David Ira Goldstein Matt Lehrman at a Time. We love the simplicity of this statement and the way that it casts our purpose as radiating outward . ONE MOMENT – The very heart of ATC’s mission recognizes that we exist to create “moments ”. We’re talking about those absolutely perfect moments of theatre when, as audience members, we lose ourselves in the story; where the experience is greater than the sum of its parts; when all distractions fade away and we find ourselves fully immersed IN the experience . Creating such moments is the ultimate accomplishment of ATC’s mission! ONE PRODUCTION – Such “moments” are the result of the carefully planned and intricately choreographed work of a large team of theatre professionals – involving playwrights, production designers, lighting and sound design, wigs, wardrobe, stage management, casting, directors, actors and many more people than you ever imagined it takes to bring professional theatre to the stage . Arizona Theatre Company was the very first fully professional theatre company in the state and ATC’s updated mission reminds us of our continuing commitment to set Arizona’s highest standard for professional theatre production . ONE AUDIENCE – Beyond our productions, our mission statement directs us to focus on the expe- rience of our audiences as well as on the Arizona community that we serve . We appreciate our role to provide an entertainment, but also appreciate the responsibility to employ the unique qualities of theatre to share perspectives, engage diverse populations and promote community spirit . With thanks to the Board of Trustees and our staff, we couldn’t be more proud of the work of Arizona Theatre Company – and excited for the responsibility and privilege to advance its mission . David Ira Goldstein Matt Lehrman Artistic Director Interim Managing Director PHOTO CREDITS FOR PAGE 5: Top Left: Paige Lindsey White in Other Desert Cities. Top Right: Anneliese van der Pol & Loren Dunn in The Importance of Being Earnest. Middle Right: Kyle Sorrell, Mark Anders, Jon Gentry & Bob Sorenson in Around the World in 80 Days. Bottom Left: James T . Alfred in The Mountaintop. Bottom Right: Jessica Skerritt & Company in Xanadu. Photos by Tim Fuller . 4 48 YEARS OF AWARD-WINNING T H EATRE ARIZONA’S NATIONALLY-RENOWNED PROFESSIONAL THEATRE Special Thanks to I. Michael and Beth Kasser Season Sponsors David Ira Goldstein Matt Lehrman Jessica L. Andrews Artistic Director Interim Managing Director Managing Director Emeritus Presents a co-production with Milwaukee Repertory Theater Mark Clements Chad Bauman Artistic Director Managing Director FIVE PRESIDENTS by Rick Cleveland Mark Clements. Director Todd Edward Ivins . Scenic Designer Mary Folino . .. Costume Designer Jesse Klug . Lighting Designer Brian Jerome Peterson . Sound Designer Lauren Wilde . Makeup Designer Jill Walmsley Zager . Dialect Coach Elissa Myers Casting, Paul Fouquet, CSA . Casting Glenn Bruner . Production Stage Manager Timothy Toothman . Assistant Stage Manager On this original Arizona Theatre Company and Milwaukee Repertory Theater co-production, the ATC and MRT Production Staffs are responsible for scenic construction, costume construction, lighting, projections, sound, props, furniture, wigs, scene painting and special effects. Five Presidents was originally commissioned by Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Mark Clements, Artistic Director; Dawn Helsing Wolters, Managing Director . COVER ART BY: Esser Design 2014-2015 SEASON SPONSORS: I. MICHAEL AND BETH KASSER PRODUCTION SPONSOR: SHIRLEY ESTES 6 Printer’s Ad CAST John Bolger . GERALD R . FORD Martin L’Herault . JIMMY CARTER Steve Sheridan . RONALD REAGAN Mark Jacoby . GEORGE H W. BUSH Brit Whittle . BILL CLINTON Reese Madigan . SPECIAL AGENT MICHAEL KIRBY The Actors and Stage Managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. TIME: April 27, 1994 . PLACE: The Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California . Five Presidents is performed without an intermission. ADDITIONAL STAFF Ashley Simon . .. Assistant to the Stage Manager Additional casting by ATC Artistic Staff . Arizona Theatre Company operates under agreements between the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States; Stage Directors and Choreographers, an independent national labor union; and United Scenic Artists Local USA-829, IATSE . To learn more about Five Presidents, please visit the Education page on our website at arizonatheatre .org for a comprehensive free Play Guide . The play guide contains timelines of historical information, biographies of all the presidents, and more . Play Guides are also available in The Temple Lounge for a nominal charge to cover printing . Cell phones and other devices that make a noise can greatly disturb your fellow audience members and the performers. PLEASE TURN THEM OFF before the performance. 8 Printer’s Ad Printer’s Ad Printer’s Ad ABOUT THE PLAY AN INTERVIEW WITH THE PLAYWRIGHT On the eve of rehearsals for our world premiere production of Five Presidents, Playwright Rick Cleveland answered some questions from ATC Literary Associate Katherine Monberg about the play, the politics, and the process . KM: What sparked the idea to write a play about the meeting of the five living U.S. Presidents at Richard Nixon’s funeral? RC: I first got this idea during the first season ofThe West Wing. Someone showed me the iconic photo of those five presi- dents, four exes and one current, together at Nixon’s funeral, and it struck a chord . Because of Watergate, Nixon’s presi- dency changed the office for everyone that came after . I started wondering what these guys might have talked about when they were together on that memorable day, behind closed doors . KM: The U.S. presidents are some of the most iconic figures in the collective American consciousness. What are the chal- Rick Cleveland . lenges or opportunities that come with writing about such well-known figures? RC: Oddly enough, Five Presidents is my fourth play about presidents . When I was writing my first, My Buddy Bill, I realized that I needed to allow myself enough poetic license to be able to treat these real-life men as characters, while at the same time keeping the words I put in their mouths completely and utterly credible . KM: One of the many brilliant facets of Five Presidents is the subtlety that weaves decades of American political history into the immediate, natural conversation of the men together in the room. How much research went into crafting the political side of their conversation? RC: In short, a ton . I probably did as much research on these five presidents as I would have if I were writing a biography about them . I was especially keen on finding descriptions and quotes from private, off-the-cuff moments in their lives . KM: You have an impressive resume as a screenwriter as well as a playwright – The West Wing, Six Feet Under, Mad Men, Nurse Jackie, and House of Cards. What is different about writing for the screen and writing for the stage? RC: Writing for a television series requires you to be fast . Especially if you’re writing a script for an episode while the show is in production . From a first draft to a finished episode might happen in three months or less . Writing a play is a luxury . I’ve written four or five drafts of Five Presidents over the course of two years, and we haven’t even started rehearsals yet . 12 ABOUT THE PLAY KM: The past few years seem to have inspired a wave of interest in the political drama as a genre – I’m thinking of television’s The West Wing, House of Cards and Scandal, and recent stage plays like Mario Correa’s Commander and, of course, Five Presidents. What about the genre do you think has suddenly captured the interest of American audiences, and why now? RC: I think people have always been interested in politics . Look at Shakespeare’s plays: at least half of them are political . These days, politics seem to be America’s bloodiest sport . A few years ago, I was working with Robert Redford on a script for the sequel to The Candidate. And then Barack Obama won the Democratic nomination, and we stopped working on it . That moment was exactly the wrong time to be working on a political satire . Now though, people are feeling pretty cynical about politics again, and I think that’s one of the reasons why House of Cards is such a hit . It’s the anti-West Wing. KM: Is there anything else about the play or the writing process that you’d like to share with us? RC: I hope folks thoroughly enjoy the play .