Buffalo Women a BLACK COWGIRL MUSICAL DRAMEDY

Buffalo Women A BLACK COWGIRL MUSICAL DRAMEDY

BOOK AND LYRICS BY BEAUFIELD BERRY MUSIC AND ADDITIONAL LYRICS BY J. ISAIAH SMITH

DIGITAL PLAYBILL JUNE 2021 BLUEBARN | 32 | Season of the Unknown

eason 32 marks a profound shift in perspective. This year we give focus to Sbuilding on BLUEBARN’s transformative programming and services, seeding the fires that will light our way for years to come. A different kind of season awaits us. A different kind of membership awaits you… In these extraordinary times, we invite you to become caretakers of BLUEBARN’s mission. We invite you to provoke thought, emotion, action, and change in our community. Your BLUEBARN membership is a commitment, not to a certain number of productions or nights of theatre, but to the BLUEBARN’s essential work on and off the stage, our values, our art, and our artists. Incomparable theatre and incandescent storytelling remain at the core of our work. For these wild times, we have imagined adventurous new ways to bring the power of story back into all our lives. We have also dreamed up better ways to harness your BLUEBARN membership to “The future is in disorder. extend the reach of our art and sustain A door like this the lives of artists. has cracked open BLUEBARN is proud to announce a host five or six times since we got up of programs and programming that we on our hind legs. It hope will ignite and inspire you. We is the best possible must acknowledge as we do so the very time to be alive, when real uncertainty of the coming year. almost everything you Our season accepts disruptions and thought you knew was adaptations to shifting circumstances as wrong.” givens. — Tom Stoppard, Arcadia The mission stands. The work continues. Join us in lighting the fires that will guide us through this Season of the Unknown and into the future. With gratitude,

Susan Clement-Toberer Producing Artistic Director

— 2 — TRUBLU MEMBERSHIP SEASON HAPPENINGS:

Holiday Hootenanny | Music, song, Bonfire Series | Five Extraordinary dance, story. For the longest nights, Works of Theatre. Dozens of the warmest of fires… and joy to us Extraordinary Artists. all! | Dec 17th-20th The Shape of Things to Come. Marjorie Prime | The great pause ———————— began March 17th. Our set still stands R33 | Sarah Brown after ready on our stage. We’ll premiere as Shakespeare soon as it’s safe. Three actors. One monster. What Digital Access | Live-streamed would you sacrifice to overcome shows. Virtual Tours. Special events. tyranny? The best seats in the house. Your own. For Black Trans Girls… | Radical Hospitality | Arts access is Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi a human right. BLUEBARN will offer A choreopoem. A fantasia. Love and pay-what-you-wish attendance for justice for a new generation. those facing economic barriers. Escaped Alone | Caryl Churchill Artists Fund | BLUEBARN is the only One of the most revered living professional contemporary theatre in playwrights. A most deranged tea Omaha committed to a living wage party. for all its artists. Before After | Knapman & Price Out of the Blue | A new path. What if you had a second chance Education. Touring. On the road. to get it right the first time? A new Online. Only from the BLUEBARN musical. Buffalo Women | Beaufield Berry Juneteenth. Newfound freedom. New lives. A Black cowgirl musical comedy.

Anti-Racist Ethos | BLUEBARN owns that systemic racism is real and must be fought against wherever and however it shows up–in our community, in our theatre, in ourselves.

— 3 — Maybe it’s time for a change. If you’ve been home alone lately, you may be feeling a little less than yourself. At Immanuel Communities, you’re supported and empowered to live your best life. Here, we’re strong. And so are you. Schedule a visit today at Immanuel.com

Serving the Omaha Area Signature Communities: Lakeside & Pacific Springs Arboretum Village, Immanuel Village, Trinity Village Arboretum Village, Immanuel Village, Trinity Village Affiliated with Nebraska Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Affiliated with Nebraska Synod, Evangelical Lutheran ChurchFY21_0037_003_IMMCO in America. — 4 — FY21_0037_003_IMMCO WELCOME FROM THE PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Welcome to the BLUEBARN! Hospitality has always been one of our core values. Welcoming you to this space, to embrace the transformative power of live theater, is our great joy and the most important part of our work in service to the community. You are invited to bring your full self to the experience. You are invited to sit back, lean in, laugh audibly (even if you are the only one laughing), cry if you need to. For some people theatre is church, for some a meditative space, for others an escape, and we invite you to respect that the ways that others engage the experience based on their individual or cultural practices. Audible moments of reaction and response are absolutely welcome; the performers thrive on the energy of room, whether its rapt silence or explosive laughter and everything in between. No, of course don’t distract them or get in the way of the performance, and yes, please please silence your phones. Did you know that when an audience gathers at the theatre, their heartbeats synchronize? We may respond differently, but we join together as one. Let’s allow one another the grace to come as we are, to breathe together, celebrate together, and share our joy together, however we choose. Giddy-up!

Susan

We are indebted to the work of countless BIPOC artists who have labored to make our cultural spaces truly inclusive and welcoming to audiences all cultures and identities. By gathering at the BLUEBARN you have committed to a shared experience in community with others, free from etiquette shaming, microaggressions, and entitled behavior.

WELCOME FROM THE BOARD PRESIDENT

Greetings BLUEBARNers! Welcome BACK. Who knew that one year ago, it would be this long before I would have the pleasure, the relief, of saying that? The inimitable actress Lynn Redgrave once said “I think the theatre is as essential to civilization as safe, pure water.” I have to agree, but can also relate to this on a more personal note. Prior to the pandemic, I knew that theatre was a critical part of my life and my heart. But a few months in, it became clear that my need for live theatre - beauty, community, creativity, art - approximated my need for water. A basic need that could not quite be fulfilled by livestreams and podcasts. So, here we are dipping a toe in, and hoping this is the beginning of a path back to full scale production in this venue and all others where we can share community, love, emotion, and growth. Together, in person, once again. And here’s to the amazing minds that came together to design and construct the space that is the BLUEBARN. A space with such amazing adaptability that allows us to begin this journey back... around a bonfire. Enjoy this wonderful series - I really can’t wait to see you all again.

Devin — 5 — PRESENTS A WORKSHOP PREVIEW OF NEXT SEASON’S WORLD PREMIERE EVENT Buffalo Women A BLACK COWGIRL MUSICAL DRAMEDY

BOOK AND LYRICS BY BEAUFIELD BERRY MUSIC AND ADDITIONAL LYRICS BY J. ISAIAH SMITH

— IN-PERSON — June 18th - 27th, 2021 — STREAMING — June 25th, 2021

This performance runs about 75 minutes, followed by a conversation with the audience about the creation of this epic adventure.

The sound of gunfire will be used in this performance.

PLEASE TURN OFF ALL CELL PHONES AND PAGERS. The use of video, still or sound recording devices is strictly prohibited.

— 6 — The Promise of Juneteenth: Why We Can’t Wait1

“Juneteenth has always been touched with irony. Although it is the most popular Emancipa- tion Day holiday in the country, it marks neither the (de jure) nor the de facto end of slavery in the country… Juneteenth, rather, celebrates a belated liberation.” — Vann R. Newkirk II 2

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” — William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun

According to historian Eric Foner, the reality of freedom varies for Americans. He stated that, in general, “Most Black people in this country think that freedom is something they are aspiring to achieve. It’s a process. It’s something to be fully gained in the future.” 3 A question for Americans to ask might be, “For how long into the future must Black people wait?”

Throughout American history, freedom is a constant theme, which is not surprising given the realities of enslavement. The U.S. Civil War had slavery as a primary or secondary cause, depending on whose version of our history you find most credible. During the war, President Lincoln enacted the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, which only “freed” those in bondage in the Confederate states. Not surprisingly, leaders of those states ignored the order, given their rebellion from the U.S. government. Enslaved peoples did not ignore the Proclamation. More and more used their agency to claim their freedom by leaving the sites of their oppressive forced servitude and dehumanizing commodifica- tion.

Vann Newkirk writes that,

“(e)nslaved people in the Confederacy who didn’t manage to escape across Union lines … had to wait until the end of the Civil War to take their first free breaths. In isolated Texas, word of the official end of fighting…arrived late. Freedom finally came to Texas on June 19 of that year, after a proclamation by General Gordon Granger in Galveston solidified the emancipation of the quar- ter million enslaved people in the state. 4

On June 19, 1865, “Granger issued General Order No. 3, which informed the people of Texas that, ‘in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves5 are free. This involves an absolute equality (emphasis added) of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves…’” 6

Both regrettably and typically, this promise of “absolute equality” was put in doubt just a few sentences later with the patronizing edict that the newly freed people were to “remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages,” along with the racist threat that “they will not be supported in idleness…” 7

If only the contradiction of freedom with demeaning restraints were the exception, rather than the norm for Black people in the United States. From our nation’s inception, people of African descent have had to face what W. E. Burghardt Du Bois called a “double-consciousness.” Their self-awareness was sullied by their knowledge that others often saw them as the “problem” with regard to race-based issues.8 Though asserted by Du Bois one hundred and twenty years ago, one could easily argue this “double-consciousness” is in full effect today.

— 7 — Irrespective of its stated goal of “absolute equality,” the general order leading to the formation of Juneteenth was (like Recon- struction) another half-hearted attempt to create a true U.S. democracy without racial socio-political hierarchies.9 The promises of freedom made to Black people via the so-called Reconstruction Amendments to the Constitution10 were sub- sequently revoked or greatly weakened, often by the people charged with the implementa- tion of those guarantees.

Nicholas Lemann writes in The Promised Land, “[B]lacks in the South were denied social equality from Emancipation on- ward, and, beginning in the 1890s, they were denied the ordinary legal rights of American citizens as well.” To be clear, these rights were deprived not only to the four and a half million formerly enslaved, but also to many Blacks who had never known this degrad- ing condition. While their basic rights as American citizens were (and are) not upheld, African Americans are nonetheless expected to maintain the American delusion of White supremacy and Black inferiority. In other words, one must contend with the cognitive distortion arising from the gap between the American dream and American reality.11

What, then, are we to do with this dissonance? We must remember that the celebration of Juneteenth is key for all Americans, to make real the hopes of “liberty and justice for all.” We must fully commit to the assurances elaborated in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. If we are to live as true Americans, we must give the liberatory premises and promises of the Juneteenth recognition their due.

Peggy Jones, M.F.A., Associate Professor – Theatre Department, School of the Arts, University of Ne- braska at Omaha, 15 June 2021

1 Homage to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s text, 7 Ibid. Why We Can’t Wait, about the nonviolent movement against 8 https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1897/08/ racial segregation in the United States. strivings-of-the-negro-people/305446/. See also https://plato. 2 https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/06/ stanford.edu/entries/double-consciousness/ juneteenth-celebration-police-brutality-justice/530898/ 9 See Historian Eric Foner On The ‘Unresolved Legacy Of 3 See Historian Eric Foner on The ‘Unresolved Legacy Of Re- Reconstruction’ construction,’ https://www.npr.org/2020/06/05/870459750/ 10 The Thirteenth ended enslavement, the Fourteenth grant- historian-eric-foner-on-the-unresolved-legacy-of-reconstruc- ed birthright citizenship and equality under the law, and the tion Fifteenth conferred universal male suffrage (or voting rights). 4 https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/06/ 11 See Race and Epistemologies of Ignorance, ed. by S. Sulli- juneteenth-celebration-police-brutality-justice/530898/ van and N. Tuana. https://www.sunypress.edu/p-4439-race- 5 When quoted, materials in this essay might be occasion- and-epistemologies-of-igno.aspx ally offensive. For example, the preferred term is “enslaved persons,” so as not to imply that enslavement was the only relevant identifier for the human beings referenced. General Order 3, delivered by Union General Gordon 6 https://www.archives.gov/news/articles/juneteenth-origi- Granger on June 19th , 1865 nal-document

— 8 — Cathay Williams BUFFALO SOLDIER

American Hero, Cathay Williams, was the first Black woman to enlist in the U.S. Army. On November 15, 1866, Cathay enlisted as a 22yr old cook under the name “William Cathay.” An army surgeon examined her and pronounced her fit for duty, even though Army regulations forbade the enlistment of women. She joined A painting and a bust of Williams, Leavenworth, Kansas. the 38th U.S Infantry and traveled the west with her unit. Over 400 women served in the Civil War posing as male soldiers, but Cathay was the only documented woman in the army during the Indian Wars, and the only female Buffalo Sol- dier. William’s determination to serve her country demonstrates the extraordinary feats Black women have accomplished simply trying to live their lives.

Buffalo Soldiers Buffalo Soldier were members of one of six all-black Calvary and Infantry Regiments created by congress following the Civil War. These regiments served on the western frontier and were tasked with controlling the Native Americans of the Plains, capturing cattle rustlers, and protecting settlers, wagon trains, and railroad crews. According to the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, the name ‘Buffalo Soldiers’ origi- nated as a sign of respect from Cheyenne and Comanche peoples, likening the soldiers’ prowess in battle and their wooly hair and coats, to the the animal they most revered, the buffalo. Buffalo Soldiers is now used to refer to army units that trace their lineage lineage to the Black regiments formed in 1866.

In Her Own Words Cathay Williams story was first revealed in an interview with the St Louis Daily Times on January 2, 1876, excerpted here: “You will see by this paper that on the 15th day of November 1866 I enlisted in the United States army at St. Louis…only two persons, a cousin and a particular friend, members of the regiment, knew that I was a woman. They never ‘blowed’ on me. They were partly the cause of my joining the army. Another reason was I wanted to make my own living and not be dependent on relations or friends… …..the post surgeon found out I was a woman and I got my discharge. The men all wanted to get rid of me after they found out I was a woman. Some of them acted real bad to me. After leaving the army I went to Pueblo, Colorado. I got married while there, but my husband was no account. He stole my watch and chain, a hundred dollars in money and my team of horses and wagon. I had him arrested and put in jail, and then I came here. I like this town. I know all the good people here, and I expect to get rich yet.”

— 9 — COVID-19 PROTOCOLS

Safety Procedures for BLUEBARN Patrons At the BLUEBARN we are working to reopen as safely as possible. We are following CDC and State guidelines, and measures are being taken to ensure our Patrons, Artists and Staff’s safety. We reserve the right to cancel any in person performance if the Douglas County COVID numbers exceed 10%. Upon Arrival Masks are required to be worn at all times when moving around the building. Those guests who are fully vaccinated may remove their mask when seated only. If you are not vaccinated, please keep your mask on at all times. Cleaning Procedures Hand sanitizer dispensers are available throughout the buildings. The theatre, lobby and bathrooms will be thoroughly cleaned before and after each performance for your safety. Doorknobs, railings, counter tops, and other common touch points are sanitized with increased frequency. Social Distancing Patrons are asked to be respectful of each other’s personal space when entering and exiting the building, visiting the bar, and using the restrooms. Digital Playbill Digital playbills will now be available prior to opening night. Printed playbills will no longer be provided. Concessions Shield guards are installed in areas where guests and staff come into close contact such as the box office and bar. Additional Time for Seating We realize these precautions may mean that it will take additional time to be seated. We thank you for your patience and consideration.

If you have any additional questions, please reach out at (402) 345-1576, or bluebarn.org/contact.

— 10 — ACCESS Due to the extraordinary circumstances and restrictions at play during the ongoing pandemic, many elements of our access initiatives are currently suspended or altered. These adjustments are reflected initalics below.

BLUEBARN Theatre is committed to ensuring that our boundary-breaking theatre is accessible to everyone. We are committed to easing cost barriers for young professionals and students. We are committed to providing low-cost, last-minute opportunities for anyone to see a show. We are committed to recognizing those that give the most in service to our community. BLUCrew Program for Young Patron Development Anyone 35 or under is eligible. Members receive rush pricing for most Sunday and Thursday shows throughout the season with no upfront cost. Due to capacity restrictions, BLUCrew members will receive special pricing for digital access to our productions. Rush Tickets Every unsold seat. Every show. $20. Available only at the box office, 45 minutes before curtain. If we’re not sold out, you have a new way in. Rush tickets are unavailable this season. Nebraska Educators, Healthcare Workers, and Military Personnel $5 off all tickets. All the time.

Captioning will be available for virtual performances upon request. To request captioning, please contact Barry at [email protected]. A sign-language interpreted performance is offered for every mainstage production on the second Friday show, generously supported by the Nebraska Arts Council. For pandemic impacted performances, ASL services will be provided upon request. Audio enhancement devices are available for the hearing impaired for mainstage productions. Bonfire Series productions will be miked and amplified. The BLUEBARN Theatre offers an Audio Description Service for the blind and visually impaired. Audio description provided by Outlook Nebraska. These performances fall on the third Thursday of each run, when requested. Audio description will be unavailable for the Bonfire Series. To request additional accommodation or for more information, please call (402)345-1576 or email Barry at [email protected].

BLUEBARN THEATRE is an Associate Member of the National New Play Network. NNPN is an alliance of professional theatres across the country who are evolving and exploring the frontiers of the American theatre. BLUEBARN has long been Omaha’s home for professional contemporary theatre, bringing diverse perspectives, new voices, and provocative work to our community. The National New Play Network has become the most powerful, growing force in new play development, production, and promotion in the nation. BLUEBARN is committed to seeking out collaborative relationships with other NNPN member theatres, producing and supporting the work of the most dynamic emerging voices in contemporary playwrighting, and promoting local artists on a platform with national reach. To support New Play Development at the BLUEBARN contact Barry at [email protected]. To learn more about NNPN and their programs visit www.nnpn.org

— 11 — Say Her Name is a podcast that breaks down some of the most vile and controversial state sanctioned killings of Black women in recent history.

Each episode will take us behind the scenes, discussing the case, the players, social blowback, final outcomes and what we can do next.

Each episode is paired with a second show called Say Her Name, Too where Beaufield Berry sits down with Black women working in liberation today.

^z ,Z ED

Available on all podcasting platforms

Engagement ENGAGE events are FREE and available AfterWORDS: Buffalo Women to stream. Join us following each performance for a different conversation surrounding the creation of Buffalo Women:

JUNE 18th: Juneteenth / Why We Celebrate with Dr. Peggy Jones & Beaufield Berry JUNE 19th: Juneteenth / Celebration Conversation with the Cast & Creative Team JUNE 20th: Spotlight on the Playwright Beaufield Berry & Katherine MacHolmes JUNE 25th: Art+Justice with Beaufield Berry & Katherine MacHolmes JUNE 26th: How the West Was Won / Genre Talk with Beaufield & Dr. Peggy Jones JUNE 27th: Closing Night Send Off Celebrate with the Cast and Creative Team BLUEBARN Creative Conversations Centering Black Women A conversation with playwright Beaufield Berry! Available the week of June 21st A BLUEBARN Crossroads Event Podcast-a-Palooza Join Beaufield Berry and Katherine Macholmes as they discuss their podcastsSay Her Name and LiberationBae. Available beginning the week of June 28th.

Available via our YouTube Channel and Facebook Page. Engagement events are free and available to stream.

CROSSROADS EVENTS and CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS are all available via our YouTube Channel: n Rising Stars n Imagining New Hal France interviews our Song Spotlight Ways of Being performers featuring Dane Figueroa Edidi & n Musical Theater: A Love Story Kat MacHolmes an interview with Hal France n Creative n Shakespeare, Sages, and Seers Conversations: expert young artists discuss R33 For Black Trans Girls… featuring Dominique Morgan & Dane n The Prime of Life Figueroa Edidi with the cast and crew of Marjorie Prime n Escaped Together n Being Human featuring the playwrights of GPTC featuring Susie Collins, Jannette Davis, & Commoners Program Dan Whelan A special thanks to our Bonfire Series Community Partners: Black and Pink, k+r strategies, UNO Theatre, Great Plains Theater Commons, and the Out of the Blue Program

— 13 — LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The BLUEBARN invites you to join us in practicing an acknowledgement of the land, a baseline step in recognizing the effects of colonization and anti-Indigeneity. We invite you to draw your awareness to your physical relationship to the earth, from wherever you are joining us today, if possible by making direct contact or grounding yourself in whatever way is accessible to you in this moment. We acknowledge that the land on which we find ourselves is occupied territory. This is true of anywhere we find ourselves or gather in the United States. It is the traditional land and ancestral home to Native American, Indigenous, and First Nations peoples. The BLUEBARN is located on the unceded territory of the Umonhon (“umAHhah”) and Ochéthi Šakówin, in colonized Omaha, NE. We invite you give focus to and honor the people whose lands were forcibly taken from their stewardship. (Use this website, www.native-land.ca, to discover the occupied native land on which you reside or currently find yourself.) We also invite you to draw your awareness to the way we are connecting in these times, virtually, digitally. The BLUEBARN recognizes that our internet-based activities use technology and equipment not available to many Indigenous communities and communities of color today. This technology and equipment have a negative impact on the environment. Climate change has a disproportionately negative impact on indigenous communities and communities of color worldwide. We invite you to join us in recognizing these truths, and the tensions they bring up, as well as our shared power and responsibility to radically re-imagine and boldly co-create a different world. As we recognize our collective participation in the ongoing process of colonization, we invite you to take a step within the next week that furthers your education about the Indigenous peoples of your region and how you can combat anti-Indigeneity… and share it with another person.

This acknowledgement was developed in community with our partners k+r strategies, a local anti-racism and anti-oppression firm, and is rooted in their practice whenever they gather. BLUEBARN will continue to refine and build on this practice as we all collectively journey toward equity and justice. Below please find further resources for exploration and ways to connect with the peoples of the native lands where the BLUEBARN is located.

RESOURCES A guide to Indigenous land acknowledgment nativegov.org/a-guide-to-indigenous-land-acknowledgment/ A Truthful Indigenous Peoples’ Day usdac.us/news/indigenouspeoplesday Make Connections with People facebook.com/omahatribeofnebraska facebook.com/IllumiNativeOrg facebook.com/nuihc Omaha Tribe of Nebraska: www.omahatribe.com Ponca Tribe of Nebraska: www.poncatribe-ne.org

— 14 — The BLUEBARN Theatre 2020-2021 season is generously supported by:

Anonymous Foundation Amy Haddad & Steve Martin Paul and Oscar Giger Foundation, Inc. Mammel Foundation Fred & Eve Simon Charitable Foundation Taos Community Foundation – Esperanza De Corazon Fund Bruce Reneaud & Kerry Dobson Devin Fox

SHOW SPONSORS: WhitmoreBonfire Charitable Series Sponsors: Trust Marjorie Prime Sponsors: Sunset to Starlight Sponsors:

The BLUEBARNThe BLUEBARN Theatre Theatre 2020-2021 2020-2021 season season is generously is generously supported supported by: by: SEASONSara SPONSORS: Foxley Jannette Davis Vernie and Carter Jones AnonymousJames Foundation & Susan Tracy Ace Rent-to-Own The BLUEBARN Theatre 2020-2021Anonymous season Foundation is generously supported by: Amy HaddadCharitable & Steve FoundationMartin Virtual Programming Sponsor: Amy Haddad & Steve Martin Paul and Oscar Giger Foundation, Inc. Paul andAnonymous OscarRich Giger& Foundation Fran Foundation, Juro Inc. Mammel Foundation Amy HaddadMammel & SteveFoundation Martin Fred & Eve WhitmoreSimon Charitable Charitable Foundation Trust FredPaul &and Eve Oscar Simon Giger Charitable Foundation, Foundation Inc. Taos Community Foundation – Esperanza De Corazon Fund Taos Community MammelFoundation Foundation – Esperanza De Corazon Fund Bruce Reneaud & Kerry Dobson Fred &Bruce Eve Simon Reneaud Charitable & Kerry Foundation Dobson Devin Fox Taos Community FoundationDevin – Esperanza Fox De Corazon Fund Bruce Reneaud & Kerry Dobson Devin Fox

Bonfire Series Sponsors: Marjorie Prime Sponsors: Sunset to Starlight Sponsors: BonfireBonfire Series Sponsors:Sponsors: MarjorieMarjorie Prime Prime Sponsors: Sponsors: SunsetSunset to Starlight to Starlight Sponsors: Sponsors:

Sara Foxley Jannette Davis Vernie and Carter Jones SaraSara Foxley JannetteJannette Davis Davis VernieVernie and Carter and Carter Jones Jones James & Susan Tracy Ace Rent-to-Own JamesJames && Susan TracyTracy AceAce Rent-to-Own Rent-to-Own Charitable Foundation Virtual Programming Sponsor: CharitableCharitable Foundation VirtualVirtual Programming Programming Sponsor: Sponsor: Rich & Fran Juro RichRich & Fran JuroJuro Whitmore Charitable Trust WhitmoreWhitmore Charitable Trust Trust THANK YOU!

— 15 — BLUEBARN’S WISH LIST BLUEBARN  CONCRETE WORK porch yard: Shop our  GOLF CART  SUN SHADES AmazonSmile  65” FLAT SCREEN TV  GIANT CEILING FAN Wish List

DONATE TODAY!  Give Online: bluebarn.org/ donate  Call Us Directly: 402.345.1576 x6  Drop Your Gift in the Mail: 1106 S 10th St Omaha, NE 68108

ICE CREAM

OMAHA, NE . EST 1986

www.bluebarn.org @ tedandwallys

— 16 — CAST

Brandi Smith...... Bethula Nadia Ra’Shaun...... Zadie Echelle Childers...... Cathay

MUSICIANS

Justin Payne...... Keyboard Wanisha Clements...... Violin

PRODUCTION CREATIVES

Director...... Beaufield Berry Music Director...... Justin Payne Producing Artistic Director...... Susan Clement Stage Manager...... Chris Hernandez EDI Advocate...... Katherine MacHolmes Props Designer...... Amy Reiner Sound Designer...... Bill Kirby

STAFF BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Susan Clement Dr. Devin Fox, President Producing Artistic Director Robert Peters, Treasurer Amy Reiner Director of Production Kasey Hesse, Secretary Propmaster Carolyn Owen Anderson Barry Carman Ethan Bondelid Community Engagement Jannette J. Davis Dramaturgy/Rentals Sara Foxley Heather Hoyt Mark Hinrichs Development Director Sara McClure Bill Kirby Jim McKain Resident Creative and Technical Director Laura Peet Erkes Tricia Cottrell Michael Walenta Bookkeeper Susan Clement (ex-officio)

— 17 —

CAST

Brandi Smith – She/Her – Bethula This is Brandi’s second performance on the BLUEBARN stage, after playing the role of Hannah in Red Summer. Prior to Red Summer, Brandi was last seen in a staged reading of A Day Of Absence at The Union for Contemporary Art, and More Than Neighbors, written and directed by Denise Chapman, on the same stage. Other credits include The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin and Centering The Margins both at The Union, Hairspray! with the Omaha Community Playhouse, Crowns and The Wiz with the John Beasley Theater, and many other readings with the Great Plains Theater Conference. Brandi can also be seen singing around town as backup for Dominique Morgan and the Experience, and is a part time student studying Chemical Dependency Counseling.

Nadia Ra’Shaun – She/Her – Zadie Nadia is a Nebraska based performing artist and choreographer. This is her first time working on stage at the BLUE- BARN Theatre. She is the recipient of the 14th Annual OEA Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical for her work as Viveca Stanton in The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin. Her work as both an actress and choreographer have been seen in various spaces around the country and Cana- da including Theatre Calgary, Denver Center of Performing Arts, Nebraska Repertory Theatre, The Union for Contempo- rary Art, and The Rose. nadiarashaun.com | IG: @nadiarashaun

Echelle Childers – She/Her – Cathay Echelle is beyond excited to be back “on stage” at the BLUEBARN and eager to share this piece with everyone. Her last two shows (Escaped Alone and Wakey, Wakey) were right here! Echelle has done a lot of theatre, a lot of places, and has been doing it for all the years. She plans to continue this tradition with a new full-time position as Manager of Internal Systems at the new Benson Theatre (www.bensontheatre.org), opening this September. She is in love with this project and blessed to have been a part of this process. “Thank you Beau for including me!!” Echelle is the luckiest mama ever with four remarkable kiddos: Andrea, Alexia, Ava and Greyson, who support her through all of her craziness and thankfully judge silently! “Love you!!” She is also in constant gratitude to her “partner in all things that only make sense to us,” Michal - “Thank you.”

— 19 — MUSICIANS

Justin Payne – Music Director and Keyboard For Justin, a native of Omaha, Nebraska, music has always been a part of his life. His musical influences come from both sides of his family. His instrumental gifts in particular, come from his father’s side of the family where he learned how to play the piano from his grandmother and aunt. He continued to expand his instrumental base by learning clarinet, drums, tuba, and organ.

Justin has sung on stages in Munich, Germany; Vienna, Austria; Todi, Italy; Beijing, China; and Arezzo, Italy for various collegiate music programs and summer opera programs. Justin currently teaches music in the Omaha community and is the minister of Music at Pleasant Green Baptist Church. One day he hopes to perform opera and other music genres professionally and ultimately open a charter school for music.

Just has sung locally on the Holland Performing Arts stage as a Tenor soloist with the Voices of Omaha for their Handel’s Messiah Presentation. Justin studied voice formally at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Michigan State University. His teachers are Paul Koenig and Richard Fracker.

In 2019, Justin took a minor career shift when he started to take his composition and playwriting abilities more seriously. In the summer of 2019, he partnered with playwright/author Lisa Harrison Jackson to compose The Draft a new musical that deals with the hardships African American male athletes face who don’t have a father in the home. Shortly after, Justin journeyed to compose the music, write the lyrics, and create the story for a new musical titled Belle Terre the Musical which is a whimsical story that sends an adolescent young woman on a journey to self-dis- covery with music inspired by the New Orleans brass band style. More recently, Justin partnered with Dani Cleveland & Julie Baker to compose a new musical titled Heaven Come Home which is a riveting new musical that sends the audience on an emotional journey as they answer the question, “If you had ‘One More Day’ with a loved one who has passed on, how would you spend it?” The hit single from that show One More Day is set to release this winter with the creators of the show performing it. Currently Justin has teamed up with Dani Cleveland again to start on a new musical titled Little Brown Boy that deals with the effects of gentrification on the communities that are impacted. Heaven Come Home is currently awaiting development and Belle Terre just finished its first workshop in 2021. facebook.com/Jleonpayne

— 20 — Wanisha Clements – She/Her – Violin Wanisha is an active violinist who holds a Bachelor degree in Music from the University of Nebraska Omaha. Origi- nally from Los Angeles, Wanisha started playing the violin at the age of 9. A 2000 Gradute from Omaha North High School, Wanisha studied the violin with Chris Hake, Phyllis Duncan, Anne Nagosky, Judy Divis, and Ruth Meints. Currently, she performs with the Heartland Philharmonic Orchestra in Omaha, Nebraska and the Kanesville Sym- phony Orchestra in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Wanisha teaches violin and viola instruction for the Omaha School of Music and Dance and Arts For All. While being busy with multiple gigs and projects, her most recent projects were for Omaha Benson High School for the musical Dogfight in March 2019. Wanisha also performed for the Chanticleer Theater musical of Little Women in January 2019. She is being featured in Buffalo Women, performing on violin.

PRODUCTION CREATIVES

Beaufield Berry-Fisher – She/Her – Book & Lyrics and Director Beaufield is an Omaha-based playwright, novelist, and arts education professional. Her work has been performed across the country and in multiple conferences, including the Great Plains Theater Conference, Philadelphia Spark- fest, Manhattan Rep, and Colorado New Play Summit. She has served as a guest artist with Inge Fest in Indepen- dence, Kansas, and on several panels and boards, including as Vice President of the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards and as an educator with Omaha Performing Arts. Beaufield’s work was last scene (pre-pandemic) at the BLUEBARN with Red Summer in the fall of 2019 and inside of the pandemic with One More Chair, commissioned by the Tri-faith Initiative. Buffalo Women is Beaufield’s first musical and a dream coming true. She lives life with her husband Rob and their children, Shine, Oscar and Georgia. None of whom care at all that their mother is a writer. Her play In The Upper Room (O’Neill 2018 Finalist) will be produced at the Denver Center for Performing Arts in January of 2022.

THANK HETRA YOU! www.hetra.org

— 21 — J. Isaiah Smith – He/Him – Music and Additional Lyrics J. Isaiah is an internationally produced playwright and a self-taught composer and lyricist. His independent play works consist of several short plays for high school and college level performers focusing on internal morality, corrup- tion, and self-empowerment. His compositions and songs have a variety of styles; however he favors classical and jazz arrangements. He has been composing for six years (3 years professionally) and is excited to share his small arrangements that he hopes accurately to depict the characters of Buffalo Women and their journey.

Chris Hernandez – He/Him - Stage Manager This is Chris’s third show with the BLUEBARN Theatre, having stage managed Marjorie Prime and Sunset to Star- light earlier this season. Previously, he worked as a stage manager at Midland University on Legally Blonde, Once Upon a Mattress, and The Miracle Worker, and received the Outstanding Technical Arts Student of the Year as a senior. Before that he toured as a stage manager with The Young Americans, both nationally and internationally. Chris is originally from Oakland, California, and is a huge Bay Area sports fan!

Katherine MacHolmes – She/Her – EDI Advocate Katherine was raised in North Omaha, and resides on the unceded territory of the Umoⁿhoⁿ (“umAHhah”) and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, in colonized Omaha, NE. She is a writer, podcaster, activist, artist, and co-founder of k+r strategies, a firm that centers equity, justice, and anti-oppression in its work with communities and institutions. Liberation work is the center of her work, including her artistry as an actor, dramaturg, and antioppression theatre consultant. Katherine is a fur mom, a Leo Sun with an Aquarian moon, an avid reader, and delighted to be in community with all people. Instagram: @katt_theatrix and @liberationbae Personal Website: www.katherinemacholmes.com Company Website: krstrategies.com

— 22 — RESIDENT CREATIVES

Susan Clement – She / Her / Hers - Producing Artistic Director Susan has served as BLUEBARN’s Producing Artistic Director since 2002. She has directed numerous productions at the BLUEBARN, beginning with The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me in 1993 and most recently Circle Mirror Transformation, The City in the City in the City and Every Brilliant Thing. Awards include TAG Award – Best Director: Our Town (2015), Spring Awakening (2012), Three Tall Women (2011), The Goat or Who is Sylvia (2009), A Piece of my Heart (2003); Best Drama: The Christians (2016), 33 Variations (2014), Bug (2012), Rabbit Hole (2010), The Dresser (2006); OEA Awards – Best Director: Our Town (2015), 39 Steps (2013), Spring Awakening (2012), Seascape (2008); Best Play - Our Town (2015), Red (2013), The Pillowman (2006). Re- cent award-winning shows include The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and Silent Sky. As director of the BLUEBARN, Susan alongside Shannon Walenta (Managing Director at the time) spearheaded the capital campaign that enabled the BLUEBARN to build its own stand-alone theater, and saw the dream fulfilled when BLUEBARN moved into its new home at 10th and Pacific in 2015. Susan holds a BFA in Theatre/ Film from the State University of New York at Purchase Conservatory.

Barry Carman - He / Him / His –Resident Dramaturg, and Director of Engage- ment Barry’s affiliation with the BLUEBARN began in 2002, as production dramaturg for Arcadia. He has since served as dramaturg for a host of BLUEBARN productions, counting The Pillowman, The Christians, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Hir, and Venus in Furs among his favorites. In 2004, he co-founded BLUEBARN’S Witching Hour, a collaborative ensemble for which he wrote, performed, and directed for five years. In 2009, Barry joined Out of Hand Theater in Atlanta where he conceived and directed The SHOW!, and developed Without Which Nothing. In 2017, he joined the BLUEBARN staff as Resident Dramaturg and Director of Engagement. He directed BLUEBARN’s productions of Wakey, Wakey and I and You, Natural Shocks and The Trump Card for BLUEBARN’S Out of the Blue Series, and 8 Songs for a Mad King for the Omaha Under the Radar Festival. He was most recently onstage in the BLUE- BARN’s production of The Woodsman. He holds a B.A. in Theatre Studies from Emory University.

Amy Reiner – She / Her / Hers - Director of Production and Props Designer Amy Reiner joined the BLUEBARN in 2012 as Production Manager and Properties Master. Amy previously worked for 12 years as Properties Master at The Omaha Community Playhouse. Prior to that, she freelanced in Los Angeles in the fields of film and television. She holds a BFA in technical theatre with an emphasis on Scenic and Lighting Design from The University of Nebraska Lincoln.

— 23 — Bill Kirby – He / Him / His – Technical Director and Sound Designer Bill joined the BLUEBARN staff as the Resident Creative and Technical Director in 2019, after working as a freelance designer for the two previous seasons. Favorite BLUEBARN productions include Venus in Fur, Wakey, Wakey, Indecent (OEA Award for Outstanding Sound Design), and Red Summer (OEA Award). Before relocating to Omaha in 2017, Bill spent 10 years as the resident sound designer and head sound engineer at Princeton University’s McCarter Theatre Center. Bill’s favorite McCarter productions include sound designing the original workshop production of Danai Gurira’s Eclipsed and serving as the production sound engineer for the world pre- mier of Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, which would go on to win the 2013 Tony Award for best play. Kirby has worked nationally and internationally, including productions at the New York Fringe Festival, LA’s Kirk Douglas Theatre, and the Wuzhen Grand Theatre in China. Bill is a graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

SUPPORT

www.bluebarn.org Red Summer by Beaufield Berry

— 24 —

A collaborative, majority Black owned change navigation firm that centers on equity and justice

— 25 — — 26 — In a Season of the Unknown. In our 32nd year. The curtain rose, the fires burned, and a wild, dream season emerged that will shape the future of the BLUEBARN… because of your vision. Here’s a look back at 2020 and beyond…

And you. Thank you for embracing the unknown,

The BLUEBARN Family

Support the Bluebarn with a Season 32 Donation: bluebarn.org/donate BLUEBARN Theatre Season Contributors July 1, 2019 – May 14, 2021

INSTITUTIONAL GIFTS INDIVIDUAL GIFTS

$15,000+ Visionaries ($15,000+) Anonymous Kate and Roger Weitz Douglas County Holland Foundation MasterMinds ($10,000-$14,999) KETV Omaha Devin Fox Mammel Foundation Amy Haddad and Steve Martin Nebraska Arts Council (NAC) Carter and Vernie Jones Peter Kiewit Foundation Bruce Reneaud and Kerry Dobson The Sherwood Foundation Shubert Foundation Innovators ($5,000-$9,999) The Fred and Eve Simon Charitable Foundation Jannette Davis State of Nebraska DHHS Sara Foxley Weitz Family Foundation Annette and Paul Smith James and Susan Tracy Charitable Foundation $10,000-$14,999 David Yudowitz Humanities Nebraska Immanuel Communities Renegades ($2,500-$4,999) Kiewit Companies Foundation Sandi and Bill Bruns Omaha Steaks International Laura Peet Erkes and Cory Erkes $5,000-$9,999 Rich and Fran Juro First National Bank Don and Maureen Mangan Mutual of Omaha James and Kathy McKain National New Play Network Ablan and Ariel Roblin Rea Charitable Trust Valmont Industries, Inc. Rebels ($1,000 - $2,499) Whitmore Charitable Trust Leanne Carlson Shannon and Mike Walenta $1,000-$4,999 Carolyn Owen Anderson Anonymous Team Hesse Bluestem Prairie Foundation Sara McClure & Dave Steadman Centris Federal Credit Union Ethan and Susan Bondelid FrantNet of the Heartland Mark and Caroline Hinrichs McGill, Gotsdiner, Workman & Lepp, P.C., L.L.O. Karen and Michael Markey metroMAGAZINE Robert and Barbara Peters Security National Bank Alan Meyer Warren Distribution Don and Rita Otis Richard and Mary Parrish $999 and Under Mogens Knudsen Kinaara Indian Cuisine Steve and Jeanne Miller US Bank Lou and Pat Lamberty

— 28 — BLUEBARN Theatre Season Contributors July 1, 2019 – May 14, 2021

James Ogden Ann Beckenhauer John and Carol Dennison Mary and Kurt Davey Jay Worden and Timothy Held Marty and Helen Desilets Thatcher Davis Benjamin Dey Jeff and Danielle Gordman Groundbreakers George and Barbara Douglas Julie Huff ($100-$499) Jim and Sherry Douglas Joyce and Gus Johnson Tim and Phyllis Adams Tiffany Dunagan Kim Jubenville Jane Alseth Peggy Dunn George Kleine and Tom Knox John St. Angelo Rochelle Eigsti Ruth Rath Anonymous Stephen Ellefson Amy and Tim Zweiback Dean Arkfeld and Peggy Christine and David Evans Reinecke Brenda and Thomas Evans Tony and Susan Awender Trailblazers ($500-$999) Kelly Farrell Jeanne Baber Duane and Clare Baylor Adrian and Kim Ferguson Barbara Bakhit Stephen and Anne Bruckner Betty Foster Anne and Scott Barker Jim and Anne Carroll Marilyn Fox Khalid Bashir Charitable Fund Christopher and Lisa Fox Amy and Tom Becker John Christensen and Stacie Dave Fox Thomas and Lee Belford Lamb Duane and Christopher Fox Paul Bennett Susie and Dennis Collins Renee and Douglas Fox Katie Blesener and John Dustin Davidson Leslie Frederickson Royster Tony and Claudia Deeb Bill Gaus Rob Block Dr. Linda Ford Darlene and David Greer Amy and Dennis Boesen Dan Gallagher and Jeff Bobby and Allison Grennan Grinnell Amy Bones M. Kathlyn Gross Daniel Hamann Linda Bors Wayne and Mary Grupe Chalice Harvey Megan Brady Cynthia Hadsell Mary and Doug Johnson Linda Duckworth and Lori Howard and Carol Hahn Steve Kenyon and Mary Bruckner Sharon Hair Stolinski Arlene Burianek Mary Hamilton and Jack White Fumiyo Kaneko Daniel and Diana Byrd Ellen Hargus Howard and Gloria Kaslow Debbie Carman John Hartigan Mary Kerr Jeff Carstens DDS Jeremy Hatch Chris Vogt and Julie Larsen Debra Christensen Nancy Hawekotte Dale and Toni Larsen Clark Christensen Nancy Hemmingsen Stephanie Miske Susan Clement-Toberer Denise Hill James and Bobbie Babe Cohn Montequin Timothy and Rachel Combs Dr. Joseph Hoagbin and Todd Fossum Duncan Murphy Janice Cooklin Gerald Hoberman Robert Ottemann and Kim David Corbin & Josie Metal- Kalkowski Corbin Shari Hofschire Pegeen Reilly Mindy Cotner Durell Kidd and Ray Hogan Kathleen Rettig Josh Cox and Josh Point Mike and Stephanie Holcomb Stuart Schlanger Scott and Krista Daly Kathy Howland Michele and Peter Silberstein Susan and David Davies Jacqueline Hoyt Suzanne Titus Jeffrey Day Cindy and Christopher Huerter, M.D. George Wimmer and Steve and Tippi Denenberg John and Nancy Hurley

— 29 — BLUEBARN Theatre Season Contributors July 1, 2019 – May 14, 2021

Sheri and Steve Idelman Eric Pearson & Lorraine Chang Ann M. Van Hoff Carol Johnson David Peet Gail and Irv Veitzer Coulter Jones Bruce and Deanna Plath Judd and Pat Wagner Pamela and Matthew Kayl Jerry and Elizabeth Powell Errol Waits Ruth Keene Thomas Purcell Kim Walker Mary Keitel Elizabeth and Robert Recker Diane and Julie Walker William and Maureen Kessler Thomas and Audra Redington Diane Watson Jimmy Khandalavala Leslie Regan Tom and Sue Weidner Elizabeth Kimball James and Jan Reinert Don Westling and Jo Bartikoski Julia and Joseph Knezetic Michaela Reilly Lucia Williams and William Merlyn Knudson and James Brett Render Dittrick Davis Therese Rennels Philip and Sara Willson Lynn and Maria Knudtson Eric Rice Dave Wingert Susan Ann Koenig W. Eric Riley Jonathan Wood Karen Krall-Murphy Anne and David Rismiller Scott Working David and Vicki Krecek Todd Robinson Damian Zuerlein Michael Kreikemeier Carol and Rick Russell Marie and Jack Kubat Steven Ryherd Radicals ($10-$99) Leslie A. Kuhnel Larry Salinas Laureen Ackermann Barbara and Marshall Kushner Erin Santiago Deb Ady Kathy Larimer Kelli Saucerman Ann Allen Lyn and Natalie Leach Eileen Sawyers and Jim Cathleen Amdor Alice Lindsay Grassmeyer Jan and Gail Andersen Patricia Lontor Mark Schulze Daryl Anderson William and Constance Gene and Kathleen Emily Andres Lowndes Schwarting Anonymous James Luyten Richard Scott David and Jilla Arthur Moira J. Mangiameli Aaron Shaddy Steven Baker Mark Manhart and Bonnie Gill Laura Shiffermiller Elizabeth Banset Valrie Massemgale Chris Shonka Kevin Barratt Gerry and Christy McAndrew Todd and Betiana Simon Angela Barry Deb and John McCollister Sandra Smiley Brian Barton M E McDaniel Laurie Smith Camp Kathryn Bass Amy McGaha Susie and Stuart Smoler Richard Beam Martin McGuire Shane Sobotka Katie and Mitch Bean Jill and Todd Moeller Amy Sorensen Sabrina Beck Steve Mohr John and Sandy Spessard Tom Becka Lee and Kathryn Morrow Sandra Squires Tamra Becker William and Patricia Munro Joan Squires Barb Becker Lynne Mytty Mary Eileen Stark Kelli Bello Karen and Larry Nelsen Mary Stultz Heather Belt Mary Newman Joseph Sullivan Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado Christy Nielsen Tony and Christine Swerczek Bob Bennett Patty and Steve Nogg Judy Torrens Karen Benson Thomas Obrien Katie Twit Sam Bertino Mary Olig Jenny Pullen and Karol Ulmer Doug and Liz Bisson

— 30 — BLUEBARN Theatre Season Contributors July 1, 2019 – May 14, 2021

Marvin J Bittner Jeff Dickinson Kristine Hull Bryan and Kristen Blum Jaclyn DiGiacomo Oltmans Audrey Hulsey Karen Bluvas Dan Dixon Andrea Hunter Meghan Boucher Maguerite Dunn John and Laura Iliff Dr. Diane Bowley Jay Durmaskin Catherine Ingalls Sarah Brown Pete Eckerman and Sarah Taylor Jackson Pat Bruening Wengert Taylor Jackson Eddith Buis Lori Ecklebe and Tom Joanie Jacobson Jean Burggraf Shomaker Richard Jensen Kristalynn Busskohl Helen Epstein Dick and Linda Johnson Katie Cameron Myrna Esluer Susan Johnson Larry Carlson Beth Feltus Ann Johnson Barry Carman Teri Fender Cheri Jones Bill Cartwright Sherry Fletcher Anna Jordan Kyle Cartwright Janice Fonda Gary Kalis Bette Case Jesse and Eileen Fonseca Renee Kasner John Cavanaugh Terry and Mollie Foster Cathy Katzenberger Brenda Chambers Krista Freimuth Michael Kavan Tim and Donna Chard Angela Frey Deborah J. Keating Fred and Melanie Clark Kay Friesen Sonia Keffer Anthony and Kim Clark- Lingli Gan Justin Kemerling Kaczmarek Michelle Garrity Elizabeth Kendall Weisser Dale Clifton Suzanne Gates Austin Kershner James Coburn Kristine and Jared Gerber Bill Kirby Andrew and Mary Helen Shara Goff Ashley Kobza Cockle Wendy and David Goldberg Debbie and Steve Krambeck Diane Coffin Susan Goldsmith Neal Krauss Ezra Colon and Katie Becker Marsha Graesser Jennifer Kreitz-Couch Colon Eric Green Mary Kuhlman Michael Combs DeWayne Greim Andrew and Shannon Lang Pam Cope William Grennan Andrea Lang David Corbin Haley Greve Josie Laurent Raydell Cordell Haley Haas Sue A. Lawson Tricia Cottrell Judith Hancock Patricia Leaman Kerri Coughlin Chris Hawkinson Connie Lee Connie Crawford Colleen Heavican Cass Karen Levin Diane Crouch Shari Hess Ryan Lewis Kara Dalen and Rosey Higgs Mark Hewett Lynee Liermann Ryan Daly Patricia and Harold Hollins John and Renee Lillard Janey Dann Nancy Hornstein Sherryl Lilley Pamela Davis Bonnie Horwich Marc Lowe Mary Deak Gail Houghton Gary Luckert Stephen and Susan DeCamp Jacob Houser Linda Mack Todd DeFreece Andrea Howard Anna Maio David DeMarco Laura Howell Nicole Malone Catherine DePriest Heather Hoyt

— 31 — BLUEBARN Theatre Season Contributors July 1, 2019 – May 14, 2021

Ross and Jill Manhart Priesman Stephen Scott Van Den Top Martin Marchitto Stephanie Purcell Sally Vandeberghe Doug and Laura Marr Erik & Sara Quam Christopher Violett Katherine Martikainen Stephanie Readman Roxanne Wach Janna Mattingly Georgiann Regan Madeline Wahl Marie Mayer Amy Reiner Matt Walker Kaitlyn McClincy Jill Reiner Hughston Walkinshaw Patricia McGuire Kim Reiner Kerby Wallace Cathy McManus Butch and Kathy Roberts Paula Wallace Sheila McNeill Jossy Rogers Angela Waples Denise McNitt Christina Rohling Diane Watson Lauren Medici Marti Rosen-Atherton Josh Weible Barbara Motes John Rosman and Rod Carlson Theodore Wheeler Ruth Muchemore Julie Ryan Eloise White Joshua Mullady Jeanne and Pat Salerno Mary Wiedman David Murphy Susan Schonlau Deb Wiese-Righter Courtney Mustoe Jeffrey Schweid Jonathan Wilhoft Lee Myers Daena Schweiger Tammy and John Williams Carrie Nath Melissa Seffens M. Eugene Williams Howard and Lee Needelman Betty Segell Nancy Williams Roxanne R. Nielsen Jeffrey Seiken Peggy Wilmes Gail and Nancy Nielsen Margaret Semin Ron Wilson Amy Niles Theodore Sewell Ashley Spessard Sandy Nogg Aelita Shats Jim Winner William and Susan Oakes Blackmutt Consulting Keith and Lisa Winton Jim Othuse Katie Skorpinski Casey Wood Katie Otten Jill Slupe Sheila Wrobel Scott Parker Shannon Snow Pam Yenko Tanya Patry Ashley Spessard Charlotte Young Helga Patterson Michael Steere Ryan Youtz and Veronica Wolf Robert Patterson William and Kathleen Steinke Nick Zadina Alex Pearson Randall T. Stevens Kathy Zaloudek Pauline Pechnik Judy and Ted Stilwill Fernando Zarate Grant Pedersen Jeffery Stormberg Brian Zdan Lilliana Petersen Thomas Stratman Deb Peterson Joni and Jason Street Judy and Randy Pfeifer Janet Syslo M. Michele Phillips Paul Ternes The BLUEBARN thrives Katie Pierce Doug and Lori Thompson thanks to the generous financial support of our Jim and Kathleen Piper Mary Thomsen friends and contributors. Joseph Pittack Molly Toberer If you would like to make a Ryan Pivonka Jerry Toll donation, contact Heather Hoyt at 402-345-1576 ext. 6 or Bradley and Sara Point Wendy Townley [email protected] Regi Powell Dorothy and Dean Tuma . Francie Prier The Vallier Family

— 32 — IN MEMORY OF… (DONOR) IN HONOR OF… (DONOR) Aaron Cass Amy Reiner Colleen Heavican Cass Chris Hawkinson, Jennifer Kreitz-Couch Ann Soderland Julie Huff Bob Benzel and Gerry Sullivan Blanche Kyle Cartwright Kara Dalen Elizabeth Stinman Doris Van Bibber Brenda Chambers Bill Gaus Judge Smith Camp Heather Hoyt Jonathan Wood, McGill, Gotsdiner, Mary Keitel Workman and Lepp, P.C., L.L.O. Kasey Hesse Jack Fox Heather Belt Brenda and Thomas Evans Jan and Gail Andersen Louella Brown Julia and Joseph Knezetic Allison Brown Laura Peet Erkes and Cory Erkes Purchase Marilyn Fox Susan Clement Mary and Kurt Davey Rooney Gray Jerry Grassmeyer Francie Prier Eileen Sawyers Susan and Judith Stoewe David Davies Randall T. Stevens Jerry Toll Matthew Kamprath Will Stratman Anonymous Thomas Stratman Pam Carter Jim and Daena Schweiger Kathy McKain Jean Burggraf FranNet of the Heartland Sheri A. Johnson Laura Peet Erkes Janice Cooklin David Peet Joyce and Gus Johnson Mary and Doug Johnson Devin Fox Travis Halsey Wendy Townley Georgiann Regan

We’d like to recognize the following gifts to the Bluebarn made in memory of a friend or loved one or in honor of a person or event. If you’d like to make memorial or tribute gift, contact Heather Hoyt at 402.345.1576 x6, [email protected], or include a notation with your mailed gift.

— 33 — At BLUEBARN we believe that artists should be honored for their work not only with applause but with a paycheck. We believe that every theatre artist deserves to be paid fairly for their work, and we are committed to providing payment to every actor or artist working in our theatre. To honor this commitment, BLUEBARN has established The Artists’ Fund to support the creative spirits who help continue and propel the life of the BLUEBARN. We recognize the following donors who have made contributions to The Artists’ Fund, and we’d like to add your name to this list! If you would like to contribute, please email Heather Hoyt at [email protected], or donate online at www.bluebarn.org.

Deb Ady Jeffrey Day John and Laura Iliff Vicki and Steven Allely Mary Deak Catherine Ingalls Judy Archer John and Carol Dennison Joanie Jacobson Dean Arkfeld and Peggy Marty and Helen Desilets Stephanie Jacobson Reinecke Jaclyn DiGiacomo Oltmans Lynette Anthony and Donna Tony and Susan Awender Tiffany Dunagan James Betty L. Beach Peggy Dunn Chris Janicek Thomas and Lee Belford Myrna Esluer Kay Johnson Bob Benzel and Gerry Sullivan Teri Fender Mary and Doug Johnson Sam Bertino Liz Fleissner Cheri Jones Katie Blesener and John Royster Sherry Fletcher Kim Jubenville Rob Block Jesse and Eileen Fonseca Sissy Silber Bluestem Prairie Foundation Betty Foster Mary Kerr Karen Bluvas Christopher and Lisa Fox George Kleine and Tom Knox Amy and Dennis Boesen Marilyn Fox Mogens Knudsen MaryLee Brock Weitz Family Foundation Merlyn Knudson and James Stephen and Anne Bruckner Sara Foxley Davis William Bucy Leslie Frederickson Susan Ann Koenig Arlene Burianek Darrel Frisch Karen Krall-Murphy Larry Carlson Bill Gaus Debbie and Steve Krambeck Leanne Carlson Susan Goldsmith Michael Kreikemeier Debbie Carman Jeff and Danielle Gordman Marie and Jack Kubat Jim and Anne Carroll Charitable DeWayne Greim Leslie A. Kuhnel Fund Dan Gallagher and Jeff Grinnell Andrea Lang Jeff Carstens DDS M. Kathlyn Gross Kathy Larimer Pamela Chase Haley Haas Dale and Toni Larsen John Christensen and Stacie Howard and Carol Hahn Sue A. Lawson Lamb Daniel Hamann Connie Lee Anthony and Kim Clark- Ellen Hargus Karen Levin Kaczmarek Michael and Leslie Harsh Alice Lindsay Babe Cohn Nancy Hemmingsen Patricia Lontor Susie and Dennis Collins Team Hesse Marc Lowe Bruce and Marsha Congdon Mark Hewett Marya Lucca-Thyberg Tricia Cottrell Denise Hill Mammel Foundation Curb Appeal Salon and Spa Shari Hofschire Don and Maureen Mangan Janey Dann Jacqueline Hoyt Moira J. Mangiameli Mary and Kurt Davey Julie Huff Ross and Jill Manhart Susan and David Davies Debra & Richard Humble Mark Manhart and Bonnie Gill Thatcher Davis Richard A. Hunt Karen and Michael Markey Philip Dawson John and Nancy Hurley Doug and Laura Marr

— 34 — Mele Mason Francie Prier Judy Torrens Gerry and Christy McAndrew Thomas Purcell Jim and Susan Tracy Deb and John McCollister Ruth Rath Dorothy and Dean Tuma M E McDaniel Elizabeth and Robert Recker Kent and Linda Tyler George and Carolyn McDonald Pegeen Reilly Jenny Pullen and Karol Ulmer James and Kathy McKain Bruce Reneaud and Kerry The Vallier Family R & D Nicklin Memorial Charity Dobson Bill Van Deest and Carol Wisner Fund Drive Therese Rennels Scott Van Den Top Alan Meyer Barbara Rennert Ann M. Van Hoff Steve and Jeanne Miller The Fred and Eve Simon Gail and Irv Veitzer Steve Mohr Charitable Foundation Christopher Violett James and Bobbie Montequin Anne and David Rismiller Judd and Pat Wagner Barbara Motes Marti Rosen-Atherton Paula Wallace Ruth Muchemore John Rosman and Rod Carlson Diane Watson Marie Murphy Susan Rothholz Tom and Sue Weidner Karen and Larry Nelsen Carol and Rick Russell Janet West Diana Nevins Deborah Savadge Lucia Williams and William Mary Newman Jeffrey Schweid Dittrick Gail and Nancy Nielsen Judy Schweikart Tammy and John Williams Roxanne R. Nielsen Richard Scott M. Eugene Williams Amy Niles Greg Searson Nancy Williams Thomas Obrien Margaret Semin George Wimmer and Ann Anonymous of BlueBarn Chris Shonka Beckenhauer Theater Ronda Simpson Dave Wingert James Ogden Sandra Smiley Keith and Lisa Winton Carolyn Owen Anderson Annette and Paul Smith Jackee Wise Richard and Mary Parrish Laurie Smith Camp Casey Wood Pauline Pechnik Susie and Stuart Smoler Jay Worden and Timothy Held Gail and Mervin Peck Brent Spencer and Jonis Agee Scott Working Grant Pedersen Joan Squires Robert Yazowski Laura Peet Erkes and Cory Erkes Mary Eileen Stark Charlotte Young Peter Kiewit Foundation Tony and Christine Swerczek Damian Zuerlein Deb Peterson Jeff and Sherry Taxman Amy and Tim Zweiback Jim and Kathleen Piper Suzanne Titus

Thank You!

Anonymous In-Kind Donors Denise Hill Todd and Betiana Simon Barbara Bakhit Bonnie Horwich Mary Eileen Stark Bob Bennett Julie Huff Mary Stultz Paula Cope Mary Keitel Judy Torrens Connie Crawford Mary Kerr Jodi Vaccaro Susan and David Davies Dale and Toni Larsen Nancy Williams Jim and Sherry Douglas Duncan and Rozanne Murphy Suzanne Withem Haley Haas M. Michele Phillips Jay Worden and Timothy Held Leanne Hill Carlson Michele and Peter Silberstein

— 35 — BLUEBARN CARETAKERS

BLUEBARN celebrates its “BLUEBARN Caretakers” of the Unknown, our 32nd year of kick-ass theater! “BLUEBARN Caretakers” are patrons who have made contributions in addition to their TRUBLU memberships. The donations we receive above and beyond our ticket sales and subscriptions are vital to BLUEBARN’s artistic success, and to the livelihoods of the artists responsible for that success. Thank you for believing in our work and supporting professional theatre in Omaha.

Tim and Phyllis Adams Bill Gaus Wayne Markus Carolyn Owen Anderson Dan Gallagher and Jeff Grinnell Stephanie Miske Barb Becker Kristine Hull James and Bobbie Montequin Katie Blesener and John Royster Anonymous Lynne Mytty Amy Bones Durell Kidd and Ray Hogan Gail and Nancy Nielsen Eddith Buis Steve Kenyon and Mary Stolinski Sandy Nogg Leanne Carlson Mogens Knudsen Patty and Steve Nogg Kara Dalen and Rosey Higgs Lynn and Maria Knudtson Grant Pedersen John and Carol Dennison Deborah and Steve Krambeck Don Westling and Jo Bartikoski Marty and Helen Desilets Michael Kreikemeier George Wimmer and Ann Dan Dixon Karen Levin Beckenhauer Peggy Dunn Don and Maureen Mangan Dave Wingert Krista Freimuth Karen and Michael Markey

1989 2021

NEW YORK BORN – OMAHA RAISED

— 36 —

BLUEBARN.ORG