Steven Breese, Artistic Director Garfield Lemonius, Chair and Associate Artistic Director, Dance Drew Martorella, Managing Director Kim Martin, General Manager/Producer Antonio Colaruotolo, Associate Producer
CHOREOGRAPHERS
Zachary August Abbey Klingler Francesca Carlo Lacey LeMere Julia Charkales Jaden Murphy Anastasia Cordero Lauren Phillips Maddie Dugan JayJay Sanders Bailey Eland Nicholas Shewfelt Hope Ann Formica Sasha Titus Tion Gaston Mikayla Wilson
Production Manager, Dance Stage Manager Production Manager Jonathan Surmacz Lauren Seigal James Ogden II
November 18 – 22, 2020 pittsburghplayhouse.com
*This DIGITAL PRODUCTION is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America and other countries. Unauthorized duplication, copyright or use of all or part of this DIGITAL PRODUCTION may result in civil liability and/or criminal prosecution in accordance with applicable laws.
The Divine Choreography by JayJay Sanders Videographer: Lauren Killian Music: “Looking for Love (Interlude)” by Janet Jackson; “Slow Dance” by Keri Hilson; “So Excited” by Janet Jackson and Khia; “Run the World (Girls) - Homecoming Live” by Beyoncé
Danielle Barnes Tamia Bradford Coco Celestine Del Signore Maddy Gallo Julianna Glaser Kelsey Grady Nia Goodman Shreya Rawat
Our State of Mind Choreography by Jaden Murphy Videographer and Editor: Ryan McMahon Music: “Dream State” by Son Lux; “Infra 5” by Max Richter, Louisa Fuller, Natalia Bonner, Nick Barr, Ian Burdge, and Chris Worsey
Mia Davis Marina Karis Grace LeMieux Melanie Martinez Kevin Ocampo
Faces Choreography by Mikayla Wilson Music: “The7th7th7th7thson” by Thom Yorke and “Ne Me Quitte Pas” by Nina Simone
Jaela Bean-Lindo Taylor Railton Courtney Lopes
MindFull Choreography by Hope Ann Formica Videographer: Keandre Castro Music: “Hyenas Sacrifices” by SouthWest DFRNT; “Hope Strings Eternal” by Max Richter; “Satanism” by llouis
Angelyse Cordero Marcella Galven Aia McInnes Ava Shannon
**Trigger Warning: Explicit Language
Diaries of the Redacted Choreography by Zachary August Music: “Sing About Me” by Kendrick Lamar
Nina Pollzzie Faith Lane Kaylan Gardner
**Trigger Warning: Strong Language, Gun Shots
I Only Have Eyes For You Choreography by Lauren Phillips Videographer and Editor: Lauren Phillips Music: “I Only Have Eyes for You,” “But Not for Me” and “Lovers Never Say Goodbye” by The Flamingos
Mina Willis Isaiah Woodyard
The Queer of It All Choreography by Tion Gaston Lighting: Jacob Dorsey Videographer and Editor: Tion Gaston Music: “Melodia (I),” “Edwards: Accelerated Footage at Night” and “Chorale (Five)” by Iskra String Quartet
Kelly Kosiek Alie Asher Rebecca Garcia
Hooked on a Feeling Choreography by Abbey Klingler Music: “Hooked on a Feeling" by BJ Thomas; "These Days" by Nico
Alyssa Bischel Holly Burke Brenna Hayden Ryland Mettee
Power and Might Choreography by Bailey Eland Music: “Wolf Totem” and “Yuve Yuve Yu” by The Hu
Libby Brooks Aleigh Hawkins Kylee Killian Ali Montez Amy Yatta
Equivocal Darkness Choreography by Francesca Carlo Music: “November” by Max Richter
Myah Frase Lilah Ackerman Elana Dolan Lily Kons
Haute Couture Choreography by Lacey LeMere Music: “On Your Mind” by Kaskade
J'Mya Gray T'Ana Smith
A Bad Case of Stripes Choreography by Julia Charkales Producer, Director and Videographer: Julia Charkales Lighting: Pearlann Porter Music: “Come Away” by Son Lux; “Labor” by Son Lux; “X” by ScHoolboy Q and Kendrick Lamar; “Here Comes the Night Time” by Arcade Fire; “Angel Eyes” by Frank Sinatra
Myles Canonge Madison Hart Barbara Babcock Grace Lopez Jacob Dorsey Matthew Saggiomo Joanne Hwang Siena Ciancia
Here They Come Choreography by Anastasia Cordero Music: “Maneater - Extended Club Mix” by Daryl Hall & John Oates, Mike Thorne
Cianna Aguglia Emily Bischof Ashley Harris Claire Medinis Madysen Piper Miranda Schry
A Love Letter, To: Me From: Me Choreography by Maddie Dugan Videographer: Maddie Hart Music: “I'll Be Seeing You” by Billie Holiday; “Indian Summer” by Hal McIntyre
Olivia Brookes
Lost Choreography by Nicholas Shewfelt Music: 2 Cellos cover of AC/DC “Thunderstruck”; The Piano Guys cover of “Carol of the Bells”
Sovereign Ballet Dancers
Saboteur Choreography by Sasha Titus Videographer and Editor: Piper Wadlinger Music: “Stargirl” (ft. Lana Del Rey) by The Weeknd and “D.D.” by The Weeknd
Katie Baker Harley Holthusen Havin Hoobler Allyse Kish Jeanne Malfanti Madison Naugle Macy Remenec Leah Stauffer
This piece is about the ongoing struggles for confidence in dancers, and what it looks like when you can finally let go of everything holding you back.
CHOREOGRAPHERS
ZACHARY AUGUST “Diaries of the Redacted” is about shedding light on how society’s perceptions of others lean toward labeling individuals and omits personal circumstance. The redacted knowledge that leads to empathy and understanding. Three diaries that address Gang Violence, The Patriarchy’s effect on women, and Racism’s effect on self- worth. The billions of unwritten diaries of all people who are surviving circumstances of a trying world.
FRANCESCA CARLO hails from Erie, PA. She grew up with a strong background of training in classical ballet. Her instructors she worked most closely with include Gina Domenichelli-Illingworth, Carrie Burns-Frase, Michael Patterson, and Barbara Sandonato. She is currently a senior at Point Park University and plans on joining a ballet company after graduation.
JULIA CHARKALES is twenty-one years old from Stamford, Connecticut. She is a senior dance major at Point Park University and has been dancing for six years. Julia is extremely excited to share her piece in this semester’s SCP, and she would like to thank her amazing cast for all their hard work in such a short amount of time. They brought her vision to life and made this process so enjoyable! Also, a special thanks to Pearlann Porter for allowing them to film in her space and willingly give so much of her time to help! Shoutout to her family at home and her family at Stanwix!
ANASTACIA CORDERO is an emerging young artist from Poconos, Pa. She is currently pursuing a B.F.A. in Dance at Point Park University. Anastacia graduated from The Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts, where she was first inspired to start choreographing. She is proud and excited to continue her choreographic journey with her piece entitled Here They Come. Anastacia would like to thank her family and the artists in her life, past and present, for inspiring her to achieve her dreams everywhere life takes her.
MADDIE DUGAN is currently a senior dance major at Point Park University with a concentration in jazz. She is beyond excited to share her first ever work created, A Love Letter, To: Me From: Me. She wants to thank Olivia for being so vulnerable and open throughout this process. Olivia went above and beyond what Maddie could have ever imagined.
BAILEY ELAND is a current senior at Point Park University. He is from Washington State and grew up dancing at DanceWorks Performing Arts. He had the honor to work with amazing choreographers like Jason McDole, Kiesha Lalama, Pearlann Porter, Caitlyn Scranton, and many more. He had the honor of working with an amazing group of dancers and is excited to share his first work with you.
HOPE ANN FORMICA is from Lancaster, PA, and is currently pursuing a B.F.A. in Dance and a minor in psychology. In her time at Point Park, she has had the honor of performing works by Adam Hougland, Edwaard Liang, Matthew Powell, Jessica Lang, and Daniel Karasik. She would like to thank her family and friends for being her support system and her wonderful cast for bringing this vision to life!
TION GASTON – Tion’s piece is about one finding the way they act doesn't quite add up to the person they are being made to be. We all act different when no one is around. Sometimes we feel we are looked down at when we have an idea or standard that is not "normal.” This dance pushes for everyone to embrace those little queer things about ourselves and sharing them with the world.
ABBEY KLINGER was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona where she began dancing ballet, tap, acro and jazz at age 7. After training through grade school at Tucson Dance Academy, she decided to continue her dance career in Pittsburgh. She is currently in her senior year at Point Park University to receive her B.F.A. in Dance as a modern concentration. Abbey is very excited to be sharing her first choreographed work this fall. She would like to thank her amazing cast for being so patient throughout the process of her first choreographic work. Thank you for showing up for each and every rehearsal to work as hard as you could to make this go smoothly. I appreciate each of you!
LACEY LAMERE “Fill your life with women that empower you, that help you believe in your magic and aid them to believe in their own exceptional power and their incredible magic too. Women that believe in each other can survive anything. Women who believe in each other create armies that will win kingdoms and wars.” —Nikita Gill
JADEN MURPHY grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she began dancing at the age of 2. She attended Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts where she performed in many guest works. She currently attends Point Park University, wanting to pursue a career in dance. She will be graduating in the Spring of 2021 with a B.F.A. in the concentration of ballet. She is very excited to share her work with you all!
LAUREN PHLLIPS is a senior B.F.A. Modern concentration from Las Vegas Nevada. She trained with Bunker Dance Center on their Nevada Youth Dancers Company.
JAYJAY SANDERS is currently a senior B.F.A. Dance major. Sanders was born and raised in Miami, Florida and has a deep appreciation for his hometown. He is a proud alumnus of the renounced New World School of the Arts. Though he graduated in the dance program, he was originally accepted as an actor and still hopes to pursue his acting journey. Tonight, Sanders is pleased to present his work and is overjoyed with the efforts of his talented cast.
NICHOLAS SHEWFELT hails from Erie, Pennsylvania, where he took up training at the Lake Erie Ballet from esteemed ballet master Darren McIntyre. He since has had the pleasure to work with Barbara Sandonato, Christina Adelhardt, and Michael Patterson along with Point Park faculty.
SASHA TITUS is from Saginaw, Michigan. She is a current junior jazz concentration. Her goal after graduation is to be a back-up dancer for performing artists on tour and in music videos. This piece is about how you can be your own biggest enemy and what it would look like to overcome that. Thank you to her cast and everyone else who has helped her along the way as well!
MIKAYLA WILSON is originally from Bermuda and began dancing at In Motion School of Dance. At the age of 16, she left Bermuda and attended The Grier School in Tyrone, PA where she continued her dance training. She will be graduating in April 2021 with a B.F.A. from Point Park University and a minor in PR and Advertising. She hopes you enjoy the piece she put together.
PRODUCTION
Steven Breese (Artistic Director and Dean, Conservatory of Performing Arts) has enjoyed a national and international acting-directing-playwriting career that has spanned more than 35 years. He holds his M.F.A. from California Institute of the Arts and has acted and/or directed at some of the nation’s finest theaters including the Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, the Cleveland Playhouse, American Heartland Theatre, Forum Theatre (Chicago), The Royal George Theatre (Chicago), Watertower Theatre (Dallas), Shakespeare Festival of Dallas, Ft. Worth Shakespeare in the Park, Virginia Stage Company, Virginia Shakespeare Festival, and other regional theaters/touring companies. As a playwright, Steven has completed over 25 plays including, The Trial of Hamlet (classical courtroom drama), Brotherly Love (contemporary love story), and Actus Fideí (historical fiction). In 2013, he published a new book on acting theory and practice entitled, “On Acting, A Handbook for Today’s Unique American Actor”. Prior to joining us at Point Park, Steven served as an academic dean at three separate institutions, including: Long Island University (Arts, Communications & Design), Southern Connecticut State University (Arts & Sciences), and Christopher Newport University (Arts & Humanities). His career in the educational and artistic arenas has been defined by innovation, creative vision, and an entrepreneurial approach to institutional improvement.
Drew Martorella (Assistant Vice President, Managing Director) was formerly the Executive Director of UCCS Presents at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS). There he was responsible for building support for arts and fostering community engagement through the operation of the Ent Center for the Arts and its programs including the Artists Series; Theatreworks, the region’s premiere professional theater; the Galleries of Contemporary Art, and the University Center and Event Services. He was a 2013 recipient of CU’s prestigious Thomas Jefferson Award and was the 2019 recipient of Drew University’s Alumni Arts Award. Prior to becoming an administrator, Martorella was a professional production manager and stage manager working for regional theatres across America including the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, New Mexico Repertory Theatre and the Mark Taper Forum. He received his M.P.A. in Non-Profit Management from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs and a B.A. in Theatre from Drew University in Madison, N.J.
Garfield Lemonius (Chair of Dance and Associate Artistic Director) Mr. Lemonius is an honors graduate of York University with Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance and Bachelor of Education degrees. He also holds his Master of Fine Arts in dance (choreographic theory and practice) from Southern Methodist University. His career adventures include performing as a principal dancer with the Dallas Black Dance Theatre, working with noted American choreographers, tours across the U.S. and Europe, serving on numerous boards and panels at dance conferences, and teaching and choreographing for different companies, various festivals and academic institutions across the U.S., Canada, and Australia. His choreography can be seen in the repertory of Thodos Dance Chicago, Dallas Black Dance Theatre and Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble to name a few. He is currently a member of the advisory board for the Pittsburgh Dance Council, on the advisory committee for the National High School Dance Festival, member of the NASD Committee on Ethics and serves as the chair of dance and associate artistic director of the Conservatory of Performing Arts at Point Park University. Mr. Lemonius was recently honored at the 2018 National High School Dance Festival with the Festival's highest honor, “The Outstanding Service Award.”
Kim Martin (General Manager/Producer) graduated from Point Park University in 1987 where she received a B.A. in Fine, Applied and Performing Arts and graduated again in 2016 with an M.B.A. in Sports, Arts & Entertainment Management. She remained involved with the University since her undergrad and returned in 1999 as Production Stage Manager for The REP, where she also created and developed the Stage Management Program. In 2013, she was promoted to Director of Production at the Pittsburgh Playhouse and in 2016 became Producing Director. In addition, Kim has directed, acted in, produced and stage- managed over 400 productions. Some favorites over the years include: Playboy of the Western World, The Devil Inside, Becky’s New Car, The Lonesome West, Mojo, Killer Joe, The Birthday Party, Glengarry Glen Ross, Guys & Dolls, Drinking in America, Deathtrap, The Dumb Waiter, Annie, La Ronde, and Three Sisters.
Antonio Colaruotolo (Associate Producer) is originally from Italy, and studied lighting design and video production at the New University of Cinema and Television in the Cinecittà film studios in Rome. Antonio has designed and worked for various video productions for the Italian National Public TV (RAI), specifically in the documentary and news department. He never missed an opportunity to work in the special effects department and created video effect for short films. Thanks to lighting knowledge, he worked as lighting director and video editor for video commercials and music videos. For the Pittsburgh Playhouse he has designed the video projections for: Pippin, Bound in Before, Much Ado About Nothing and The History Boys. Antonio’s video design productions include: Florencia en el Amazonas (Opera Steamboat Spring Colorado) Don Giovanni (Undercroft Opera), Oceano Mare, Mentre Piango Rido and Il Paese Dei Giganti (Teatro K.O. - Italy). As lighting designer Antonio had the pleasure to design for the CSA Performance Series by the New Hazlett Theater, Pittsburgh Playhouse, Quantum Theater, PICT, Bricolage Production Company, Carnegie Stage, Youngstown State University, Slippery Rock University, Carnegie Mellon University and Steamboat Opera. For more information visit lightingbyantonio.com. Jonathan Surmacz (Production Manager, Dance) has been production manager for Point Park University’s dance department for the past 17 seasons. Over that time, he has been integral to the production of over 50 dance concerts, producing works by artists such as David Parsons, Paul Taylor, Martha Graham, George Balanchine, Jose’ Limon, Robert Battle, and countless others. Additionally, Jonathan is an actor, director, singer, stage manager, member of AEA, emergency lighting designer, and rainmaker! He is most proud, however, for his work as a husband to his amazing wife, Elizabeth, and father to his wonderful children, Jessica, Abby, and Michael.
James Ogden II (Production Manager) received his B.F.A. in Theatre Arts from Point Park University in 2012. James joined Actors’ Equity Association in 2011 and has remained a proud member since. James spent several years working with Charlotte Ballet, taking on positions from Stage Manager to Director of Artistic Operations. He traveled to China, Russia, Italy, and Turkey as the Production Supervisor for Martha Graham Dance Company. Most recently, James held the role of Production Director for Alonzo King LINES Ballet, traveling frequently to France, Germany, and Spain. Throughout his career, James also freelanced with the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater, Pittsburgh Playwrights, Elisa Monte Dance, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. He is excited to be back in Pittsburgh and working with the company that cultivated his career.
ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION STAFF
Joe Borsch, Madelyn Miessmer Lighting Designers Lilium Pierce Assistant Stage Manager