Biographies

Stacy Eckert (Music Director) is in her second year of teaching at GSU. She received her BFA in Theatre/Voice from the University of Kansas and her MM and DMA in Vocal Performance with a minor in Theatre from the University of Illinois in Urbana. Dr. Eckert has performed throughout the US and in Europe. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1995. As a member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, she sang on the double Grammy award winning recording of Verdi’s Requiem conducted by Riccardo Mu . She also leant her voice to the soundtrack of Stephen Spielberg’s Lincoln. Dr. Eckert is a member of the American Guild of Musical Ar sts, AFTRA, and the Na onal Associa on of Teachers of Singing.

Shelley Strasser Holland (LighƟ ng Designer) is no stranger to the GSU stage as she was a member of the team that opened the very fi rst performance (Rich Li le) in the Center back in 1995! Much more recently she designed TransformaƟ ons last spring with Dr. Santoro and is thrilled to return to work on A… My Name is Alice. Ms. Strasser Holland is the Resident Ligh ng Designer for Theatre at the Center in Munster, IN and is about ready to start technical rehearsals for A Christmas Carol. She is an ensemble member and resident ligh ng designer for The Sha ered Globe Theatre in Chicago and an Ar s c Associate at First Folio Theatre in Oak Brook. Some of her favorite produc ons include Godspell and Petrifi ed Forest (TatC), Glass Menagerie (Jeff Nomina on) and Judgment at Nuremberg (SGT), Under the Lintel and Woman in Black (First Folio) and Much Ado About Nothing and How I Became a Pirate (Homewood Flossmoor High School). Ms. Strasser Holland is an adjunct professor in theatre at Governors State University and Indiana University Northwest. She holds an MFA in Ligh ng Design from Northwestern University and a BS in Mathema cs/Theatre from Eureka College.

Aarika Hughes (Performer) is delighted to debut in her fi rst produc on at Governors State University. She is currently a student at Prairie State College with plans to a end DePaul University next fall for a degree in Communica on. Favorite credits include Don’t Drink the Water and CATS for Crete Monee High School.

Lorell Jones (Performer) grew up singing in church and loves gospel, R&B, blues, jazz, funk, and classical music. A er a hiatus from singing to explore the world, her passion has brought her back to her roots—music and the stage. She is a singer/songwriter and avid reader who loves me with her family and laughing. Lorell is thankful for all of her talents, true love, her wonderfully drama c parents and siblings, the Chicago lakefront, and lives by the mo o: “music & love heals.”

Megan Lindsay (Choreographer) graduated Cum Laude from Ball State University, and later obtained her Masters of Arts in Dance/Movement Therapy from Columbia College Chicago. Megan has been an inspira on to students na onwide while on staff of numerous dance programs, studios, and companies. She has served as a performer, choreographer and co-founder for many dance companies in Illinois and Indiana. A er graduate school, Megan danced professionally with Perceptual Mo on Dance Company—a mul -genera on modern dance company—Fuzion Dance Ar sts in Sarasota, Florida, and co-created Rebound Dance, NPF, a dance fes val produc on company in Chicago. Megan currently works as an adjunct professor of dance at Governors State University and Indiana University Northwest, directs the IU Northwest Student Dance Company, This presentation is supported by The Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. A… My Name is Alice Production Staff A Musical Revue with material by Calvin Alexander Anne Meara Direction: Dr. Patrick Santoro Susan Birkenhead Cassandra Medley Music Direction: Dr. Stacy Eckert Maggie Bloomfi eld David Mettee Choreography: Megan Lindsay David Crane Art Murray Stage Management: Joshua E. Young David Evans Susan Rice Technical Direction: Michael Krull Glen Roven Lighting Design: Shelley Strasser Holland Cheryl Hardwick Mark Saltzman Costume Design: Alice Broughton Georgia Bogardus Holof James Shorter Stage Crew: Arika Rogers Winnie Holtzman June Siegel Property Mistress: Tamike Hurley Doug Katsaros Marta Kauff man Michael Skloff Produced by Richard LaGravenese Steve Tesich Th e College of Arts and Sciences Stephen Lawrence Don Tucker Th e Division of Communication, Visual and Performing Arts Amanda McBroom Director’s Note Initial Off -Broadway Stage Production by Rosita Sarnoff , Anne Wilder, and Douglas F. Goodman Welcome to the Center for Performing Arts and this evening’s production of Originally Produced by A… My Name is Alice! I’m glad that you are here. Th e Women’s Project at the American Place Th eatre Alice is a musical revue that’s more than you think. While its approach in Conceived by presenting women of diff erent ages and types in a variety of situations and JOAN MICKLIN SILVER and JULIANNE BOYD relationships is mostly comedic, sometimes bawdy, Alice is also profound, never letting us forget that the characters, storylines, and emotions are rooted Cast in reality. Making its Off -Broadway debut in 1983, Alice is insightful, off ering (In Alphabetical Order) a glimpse into the historic fi ght for gender equality while also asking us to consider women’s experiences—the beauty and struggles of living, loving, and Aarika Hughes losing as women—and how they have shift ed in the last 30 years. Lorell Jones Women journey in Alice, and the fi ve women in our production become an Killeen McClowry embodiment of every-woman-Alice as she travels through her ever-evolving identity, revealing not a fi nal image of what a woman is or should be, but, Lois Nemeth instead, a multilayered process of navigating and negotiating womanhood. Deirdre L. Webb Alice is an invitation into a kaleidoscopic world of mothers, daughters, wives, sisters, girlfriends, and rivals. Alice is a reminder that “woman’s work is never A… My Name is Alice runs approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes done.” Above all else, Alice is a celebration of women. and is performed with a 15 minute intermission. Let the festivities begin! Produced by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. Dr. Patrick Santoro Biographies

Stacy Eckert (Music Director) is in her second year of teaching at GSU. She received her BFA in Theatre/Voice from the University of Kansas and her MM and DMA in Vocal Performance with a minor in Theatre from the University of Illinois in Urbana. Dr. Eckert has performed throughout the US and in Europe. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1995. As a member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, she sang on the double Grammy award winning recording of Verdi’s Requiem conducted by Riccardo Mu . She also leant her voice to the soundtrack of Stephen Spielberg’s Lincoln. Dr. Eckert is a member of the American Guild of Musical Ar sts, AFTRA, and the Na onal Associa on of Teachers of Singing.

Shelley Strasser Holland (LighƟ ng Designer) is no stranger to the GSU stage as she was a member of the team that opened the very fi rst performance (Rich Li le) in the Center back in 1995! Much more recently she designed TransformaƟ ons last spring with Dr. Santoro and is thrilled to return to work on A… My Name is Alice. Ms. Strasser Holland is the Resident Ligh ng Designer for Theatre at the Center in Munster, IN and is about ready to start technical rehearsals for A Christmas Carol. She is an ensemble member and resident ligh ng designer for The Sha ered Globe Theatre in Chicago and an Ar s c Associate at First Folio Theatre in Oak Brook. Some of her favorite produc ons include Godspell and Petrifi ed Forest (TatC), Glass Menagerie (Jeff Nomina on) and Judgment at Nuremberg (SGT), Under the Lintel and Woman in Black (First Folio) and Much Ado About Nothing and How I Became a Pirate (Homewood Flossmoor High School). Ms. Strasser Holland is an adjunct professor in theatre at Governors State University and Indiana University Northwest. She holds an MFA in Ligh ng Design from Northwestern University and a BS in Mathema cs/Theatre from Eureka College.

Aarika Hughes (Performer) is delighted to debut in her fi rst produc on at Governors State University. She is currently a student at Prairie State College with plans to a end DePaul University next fall for a degree in Communica on. Favorite credits include Don’t Drink the Water and CATS for Crete Monee High School.

Lorell Jones (Performer) grew up singing in church and loves gospel, R&B, blues, jazz, funk, and classical music. A er a hiatus from singing to explore the world, her passion has brought her back to her roots—music and the stage. She is a singer/songwriter and avid reader who loves me with her family and laughing. Lorell is thankful for all of her talents, true love, her wonderfully drama c parents and siblings, the Chicago lakefront, and lives by the mo o: “music & love heals.”

Megan Lindsay (Choreographer) graduated Cum Laude from Ball State University, and later obtained her Masters of Arts in Dance/Movement Therapy from Columbia College Chicago. Megan has been an inspira on to students na onwide while on staff of numerous dance programs, studios, and companies. She has served as a performer, choreographer and co-founder for many dance companies in Illinois and Indiana. A er graduate school, Megan danced professionally with Perceptual Mo on Dance Company—a mul -genera on modern dance company—Fuzion Dance Ar sts in Sarasota, Florida, and co-created Rebound Dance, NPF, a dance fes val produc on company in Chicago. Megan currently works as an adjunct professor of dance at Governors State University and Indiana University Northwest, directs the IU Northwest Student Dance Company, This presentation is supported by The Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. FRIENDS OF THE CENTER Patricia Arnold To our 2013-14 Susan Banach and serves as the resident choreographer for the department of performing arts Muriel Banaszak at IUN. Most recently Megan worked as a teaching ar st for River North Chicago Dance Supporters - Theresa Banks Marilyn Bedwell Company’s educa onal outreach program and in the public school system in Sarasota. Jean Bernstein Wyvon Blackwell Killeen McClowry (Performer) started singing at an early age and soon a er became Deb Bordelon & Thomas Lanham THANK YOU! Isamae Bowie interested in ac ng, going on to receive formal training at both the Interlochen Arts Camp Olivia Bradley and Academy. On stage, Killeen has performed in various shows with The Journeymen Mary Brockmiller $10,000+ Theater Company in Chicago and is a member of SAG-AFTRA. Killeen currently a ends Chicago Community Trust Edward & Priscilla Bruske Dorothy Bryant Governors State University, where she is comple ng her bachelor’s degree in elementary First Midwest Bank Peter & Christine Crego Terry Medhurst David Curtis & Ellen Foster-Curtis educa on. Mary Deegan Robert & Valerie Dorsey $1000+ John Drechny Lois Nemeth (Performer) is a GSU undergraduate student majoring in Communica on AAA Rental System Michael & Paula Dziallo Studies and minoring in Theatre and Performance Studies. She is a Phi Theta Kappa Anonymous Jane Ebner Iris Edwards Associates Communica ons student from Prairie State College where she ASPIRES to INSPIRE Arts Midwest Jon & Heather Evers as a musician, vocalist, poet, photographer, public speaker, art gallery, choir member, and Country Financial Diane & Willie Fields Dr. and Mrs. Antonio Marra Doris Fisher community outreach volunteer. Past ar s c and professional experiences include public Miriam Garbow speaking, product fi eld training, program interpreta on, character actress, and historian for SRI Annamacharya Project Sharon Gibson The Illinois Arts Council Geralyn Gordon the Museum of Science and Industry. Sandi & Gregory Gordon $500+ Paul & Carol Griffi t h Barbara Gruetzmacher Patrick Santoro (Director) is Assistant Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies (TAPS) Dr. Joyce Carmine Mr. & Mrs. Gary Heiferman at GSU, where he has taught Performance Art, Performing Culture and Iden ty, Chicagoland Jeanne McInerney-Lubeck Dr. Reinhold Hill Theatre, Wri ng as Performance, and Intercultural Communica on. He received his Lisa Hornbuckle Dr. Rashida Muhammad doctorate in Performance Studies from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and his M.A. MB Financial Jean Hutter Marie Iafollo in Communica on Studies and B.A. in Humani es from the University of South Florida. Dr. Ms. Leslie Sigale Shirley Jacobs Ms. Virginia Wright Carol Jardine Santoro has worked as an actor, director, and stage manager in professional and educa onal Mr. & Mrs. Ron Jepperson theatre for the last 20 years. Representa ve direc ng credits include Baggage (winner of Sandra Juhl $250+ Joanne Keilman Source Theatre’s 21st Annual Washington Theatre Fes val 10-Minute Play Compe on), Anonymous Aline Krala The Laramie Project, a contemporary retelling of the Greek myth Icarus, and last spring’s Dr. Terry Allison Nate Krug Darlene Labus produc on of Anne Sexton’s TransformaƟ ons in GSU’s Center for Performing Arts. In Mr. & Mrs. David Barr Mr. & Mrs. Michael Larks addi on to on more tradi onal works of theatre, he par cipates in the crea on of Mrs. Jean Bernstein Mary Listecki Mrs. Cheri Garey Elaine MacKenzie performance art, installa on art, and video projects. Dr. & Mrs. Antonio Marra Dr. Maribeth Kasik Grace McCuan Ms. Karen Trimuel Peter Merwin Deirdre L. Webb (Performer) is at home on stage performing and behind the scenes wri ng Ms. Michelle Medhurst & Mr. & Mrs. Joe Mortimer and direc ng. She a ends GSU where she is also a gradua on counselor and li s her voice in Mr. Jeffrey Fortman Gwen Nodiff Michele Nowak the annual Civil Service Show. Deirdre has delighted local audiences as Big Mama in Mama Mr. & Mrs. Kirk Ongman Don’t Lie, The Gospel According to Mrs. Scrooge, and CBC Produc ons’ presenta on of Hot $100+ Fran Ottenheimer Flashes. Her other past performance credits include: The Colored Museum (Mama on the Anonymous Donor Kathy Peshak Ms. Kathleen Brennan John Ray Couch), Ionesco’s Rhinoceros (Logician), Kiss Me Kate (Ha e), The Mad Woman of Chaillot Patricia Rizzs (Title Character), and Anne Sexton’s TransformaƟ ons (Various). She is excited to be a part of Mrs. Joan Dobrez John Robinson Mr. Gary Heiferman J. R. Rose the dynamic cast of A… My Name is Alice. Ms. Cheryl Krug Donna Sasnow Anne Schumacher Mr. John Lester Virginia & Al Shorey Joshua E. Young (Stage Manager) grew up in a small, rural town in northwestern Illinois. Dr. Lori Montalbano Leslie & Jordan Sigale Living in a rural area meant that he was able to par cipate in most extracurricular ac vi es Mr. & Mrs. James Silvia Dr. & Mrs. Mel Muchnik off ered at his high school including theater; his dedica on landed him lead roles his junior Mr. and Mrs. Sam Ogrizovich Wendy St. Jean Janice Summerrise and senior years. A er high school, however, he discovered a new passion that led him away Ms. Lana Rogachevskaya Dr. & Mrs. Sol Tannebaum Ms. Karen Kiel Stuenkel Shanti Thayil from theater produc on—media produc on. A er years working in fi lm and television, Dr. & Mrs. Addison Woodward Jr. Loris Tisocco Joshua is very excited to return to theater for this fantas c produc on of A... My Name is Julie & Robert Townsend Mr. Kenneth Youga Mr. & Mrs. Charles Wiza Alice. Victoria Zeritis Acknowledgments Dr. Reinhold Hill, Dean, and the College of Arts and Sciences Dr. Lori Montalbano, Chair, and the Division of Communica on, Visual and Performing Arts Svetlana Rogachevskaya, Jon Cobb, and the Center for Performing Arts Keisha Dyson and the GSU Division of Digital Learning and Media Design Dean Jennings and the GSU Recrea on and Fitness Center Kevin Barto and GSU Facili es Development and Management Sharan Tro er and Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School Natalie Wa s and Crete Elementary School Chanel Clemons and Country Club Hills KinderCare Uriah Berryhill Keyana Marshall Sheen’a Davis Amanda Ziaja Mary Rothenberg Malvina Jones Jerry Slowik Andres Malvarez Roshaunda Ross-Orta Faculty across campus encouraging students to a end the produc on And to all those who have for some reason gone unnamed here… thank you!

Spring 2014 Theatre and Performance Studies Courses

COMS 4090-01/6090-01: Choral Performance Wednesday 4:30-7:20 p.m.

TAPS 3210: Advanced AcƟ ng Saturday 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

TAPS 4090-08/COMS 4090-08: Theatre Design and ProducƟ on Monday 9:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.

TAPS 4090-09/6090-09: Dance for Musical Theatre Monday 4:30-7:20 p.m.

TAPS 4200/6200 & COMS 4090-06/6090-06: WriƟ ng as Performance Wednesday 4:30-7:20 p.m.

TAPS 4250/6250 & COMS 4090-07/6090-07: Performance and Social Change Tuesday & Thursday 6-7:25 p.m.

For further informa on, contact Dr. Patrick Santoro at [email protected] 708.235.2842 Offi ce # E1541D