Brooklyn Academy of Music Adam E. Max, BAM Board Chair William I. Campbell and Nora Ann Wallace, BAM Board Vice Chairs Katy Clark, President Joseph V. Melillo, The Good Swimmer Executive Producer Music by Heidi Rodewald Lyrics by Donna Di Novelli Directed by Kevin Newbury DATES: NOV 28—DEC 1 at 7:30pm Season Sponsor: LOCATION: BAM Fisher (Fishman Space) Leadership support for music programs at RUN TIME: Approx 1hr 10min BAM provided by no intermission the Baisley Powell Elebash Fund This production is made possible with support from the Joseph V. Melillo Fund for Artistic Innovation Support for female choreographers and composers in the Next Wave Festival provided by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation #BAMNextWave BAM Fisher The Good Swimmer With World premiere commissioned by BAM. Special thanks to Joe Melillo and the Composer Lead Vocalist: David Driver Produced by KiWi Productions. entire staff at BAM; the staff from the Heidi Rodewald Drums: Marty Beller 2016 PROTOTYPE Festival and Keyboard: Marc Doten Support for the world premiere generously the HERE Arts Center staff; Lyricist Violin, Keyboard, Glockenspiel: Dana Lyn provided by: Terry Eder & Gene Kaufman, Stew, Terry Eder & Gene Kaufman, Donna Di Novelli Bass, Vocalist: Heidi Rodewald Steve Klein/Apple Core Holdings, Steve Klein, Kristy Edmunds, Guitar, Vocalist: Christian Gibbs Linda & Dennis Myers, Christine & Vasi Laurence, Lisa Philp & Bill Bragin, Director Cello, Vocalist: Clara Kennedy W. Michael Garner, Sherwin Goldman, and Liz McCann. Kevin Newbury Trumpet: Linda Briceño Jill & William Steinberg, Woodwinds: Gabrielle Garo Ann Shilling Harrison, David Henry Donna Di Novelli dedicates Music director Jacobs, Susan Bienkowski, Jamie deRoy, The Good Swimmer to the memory of Marty Beller Choral ensemble Dan Shaheen, Oskar Eustis, and Anthony Jack Carlucci, 1949—1969. Sophia Byrd, PapaCanoochee Holt, New England Foundation for the Arts. Choreographer Kennedy Kanagawa, Joey LaPlant, Raja Feather Kelly Luke Bob Robinson, Naseer Sleets, Developed with the support of the Jeremy Weiss (Captain) National Musical Theater Conference at Set designer the O’Neill Theater Center, Davis Robinson Victoria “Vita” Tzykun Producer and the Department of Theatre & Dance KiWi Productions at Bowdoin College, Kristy Edmunds and Video designer Kim Whitener, Creative Producer the Center for the Art of Performance at Greg Emetaz UCLA, the PROTOTYPE Festival; and Executive producer generous individual donors: Terry Eder & Lighting designer New Vision for Opera Gene Kaufman, Jill & William Steinberg, Eric Southern Christine & W. Michael Garner, Production stage manager The Ted Snowdon Foundation, Costume designer Kendall Allen Chase Mishkin, The Newburgh Institute, David C. Woolard Susan Bienkowski, Jamie deRoy, Production manager Dan Shaheen, William Kohane, Sound designer Carly Levin Justin Hamilton, Larry Horn. Brandon Wolcott General manager The Good Swimmer received a First Look Band arrangements Amanda Cooper Presentation showing in the 2016 Heidi Rodewald and Marc Doten PROTOTYPE Festival, with choreography Assistant director by Chloe Treat, in collaboration with Choral arrangements Marcus Shields Sam Pinkleton. Casting by Stephanie Marc Doten Klapper and Stage Management by Associate sound designer and engineer Marisa Levy. Band members included: Orchestrations and Tyler Kieffer Brad Mulholland, Jeff Hermanson, and additional arrangements Dan Miller. The cast was: Chase Crandell, Dana Lyn Assistant set designer Parker Drown, Alex Gibson, Clark Parkan Damon J. Gillespie, Dante Jeanfelix, Choir director Storm Lever, Taylor Noble, Josephine Lee Assistant lighting designer Mackenzie Orr, Gil Perez-Abraham Jr., and Andrew Harrison Way. Cheyenne Sykes BAM®, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Next Wave®, and Teknopolis® are trademarks of Brooklyn Academy Assistant stage manager of Music, Inc. © Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc. Jackie Rivera (2018). Photo: James Matthew Daniel was the basis of her screenplay, Stag, made the GLAAD-winning play Candy & Dorothy. of Groucho Marks (A&E), iRead (Scholastic), into an award-winning short directed by Newbury’s three short films, Monsura Is Another Gay Movie (TLA), and Romeo and Kevin Newbury. More recently, Di Novelli Waiting, Stag, and Epiphany V are all avail- Juliet (Theaterworks USA). He received a co-wrote the critically acclaimed feature film, able online. kevinnewbury.com 2013 Bessie Award nomination for A Single Who’s Madeline’s Madeline with director Josephine Ride (Ephrat Asherie Dance). Decker, premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the Berlinale, BAMcinemaFest, DAVID DRIVER and now available digitally. Opera/Oratorio Lead vocalist MARC DOTEN work includes Florida, music by Randall Eng Musical arrangements/Keyboard Who (2018); Oceanic Verses, concept and music David Driver has worked with Laurie Ander- by Paola Prestini (2012); and Heart of a son, Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, Debbie Harry, Born in Los Angeles, Marc Doten is a HEIDI RODEWALD Soldier, San Francisco Opera commission Richard Butler, Stew & Heidi, They Might producer, composer, and musician. He Composer with Grammy-nominated composer Christo- Be Giants, and Roy Nathanson & The Jazz recorded and toured with Stew and The pher Theofanidis (2011). Upcoming work Passengers, and was in the original Broad- Negro Problem, and played keyboard in the Heidi Rodewald is the Tony Award-nominat- includes Demeter Songs, for mezzo-soprano way cast of the musical Rent as well as the premiere of Passing Strange. As instru- ed, Obie Award-winning co-composer of the with long-time collaborator, Rachel Portman off-Broadway rock opera People Are Wrong!. mentalist and producer he has worked with musical Passing Strange, which transferred (The Little Prince). donnadinovelli.com He has been heard on The Daily Show with Van Dyke Parks, The Persuasions, Shelby from The Public Theater to Broadway in Jon Stewart, has been the voice of Dunkin’ Lynne, Taj Mahal, David Hidalgo, Poncho 2008 and then was made into a film by Donuts and Bridgestone Tires, has released Sanchez, John Doe, Dave Alvin, Nels Cline, director Spike Lee. Rodewald joined the band KEVIN NEWBURY numerous musical recordings with projects and Elvis Kuehn, among many others. Doten The Negro Problem in 1997, where she Director such as Meow, Driver Quartet, built and runs a recording studio in scenic began a longtime collaboration with singer/ Phillips & Driver, and LuxRd, and has Echo Park, CA, where he produces music. songwriter, Stew, and with him released 10 Kevin Newbury is a theater, opera, and performed at Mass MoCA, Royal Festival A longtime member of the instrumental rock critically acclaimed albums. She is co-com- film director based in New York. Newbury Hall, Lincoln Center, and countless dark and combo Double Naught Spy Car, in 1986 he poser with Stew of Brooklyn Omnibus, (BAM has directed over 60 original productions grimy rock clubs. His new solo show Mixed co-founded the ongoing sonic experiment Next Wave, 2010); Making It (St. Ann’s including engagements with Carnegie Hall, Messages | On Starsky (No Hutch) recently Enrich’d White. Warehouse, 2010); Family Album (Oregon Kennedy Center, Ravinia Festival, Park premiered at Dixon Place in NYC. Shakespeare Festival, 2014); Notes of a Avenue Armory, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Native Song (Harlem Stage, 2015); Wagner, Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, GREG EMETAZ Max! Wagner! (Kennedy Center, 2015); and Santa Fe Opera, Barcelona Liceu, Opera MARTY BELLER Video designer The Total Bent (The Public Theater, 2016). Theatre of St. Louis, Minnesota Opera, San Music director/Drums Rodewald scored two short films for director Francisco Symphony, L’Opéra de Montreal, Greg Emetaz is a filmmaker and video Leigh Silverman, Over The River & Through the PROTOTYPE Festival, Bard Summer- Marty Beller has been working with Heidi designer based in New York. His work for The Woods (2017) and Reprieve (2018). scape, Portland Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Rodewald for over 18 years. He was music the stage includes the world premieres of Philadelphia Orchestra, Seattle Opera, Glim- director/drummer for The Total Bent by Stew Bel Canto at Chicago Lyric Opera; Dolores merglass Opera, and the Wexford Festival in and Heidi Rodewald at The Public Theater Claiborne at San Francisco Opera; An Ameri- DONNA DI NOVELLI Ireland, among many others. Recent world and drummer for The Good Swimmer at can Soldier, Shalimar, 27, Champion, and Lyricist premiere highlights include Spears/Pierce’s PROTOTYPE/HERE. Beller has been the The Golden Ticket at Opera Theatre Saint Fellow Travelers (Cincinnati Opera, PROTO- drummer for They Might Be Giants for 15 Louis; and Enemies, a Love Story at Palm Donna Di Novelli has a writing career that TYPE Festival/NYC, Lyric Opera of Chicago); years and received a Grammy Award for his Beach Opera. Work for screen includes the spans film, opera, music-theater, and Bates/Campbell’s The (R)evolution of Steve work on the album Here Come the 123s by feature film Camp Wedding; the short films stage. An affinity for “found text” to re-focus Jobs (Santa Fe Opera, Indiana University and TMBG. Additional drum credits include work Bowes Academy (NC Gay + Lesbian Film attention on the neglected and discarded upcoming at Seattle Opera and San Fran- with Stew and TNP, Steve Earle, Jonathan Fest Jury award), Spell Claire, Get the F K is an important foundation of her work. cisco Opera); Almond’s Kansas City Choir Coulton, Mike Doughty, and Ivy, among Outta Paris!, and Death by Omelette (SNCF Besides writing lyrics for The Good Swim- Boy (starring Almond and Courtney Love, others. His composing credits include Gra- Prix du Polar Finalist); and the webseries Do mer, Di Novelli has used found material PROTOTYPE/NYC, ART/Boston, CTG/LA, cepoint (Fox), In Treatment (HBO), Cradle it Yourselfie (Friar’s Club special jury award, to create musical theater narratives (No Miami); and Jimmy López and Nilo Cruz’s of Champions (Showtime), The Last Patrol iTVfest best director award), co-directed God but Yearning, Break As Many Eggs as Bel Canto (Lyric Opera of Chicago, PBS (HBO), The Cruise (Artisan), Korengal and with Amanda DeSimone. He’s also created Required) since 2000. Found film footage Great Performances).