And in This Corner: Cassius Clay Playbill
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
AND IN THIS CORNER... CASSIUS CLAY A PLAY BY IDRIS GOODWIN THE MAKING OF MUHAMMAD ALI PRESENTED BY AT THE NEW Early Childhood Center with Organic Garden & Chickens! Unforgettable. WYDOWN-FORSYTH HISTORIC DISTRICT AGE 3 - GRADE 6 ForsythOnline.com MISSION STATEMENT Inspired by the intelligence and emotional wisdom of young people, we create professional theater, foster inclusive community, and nurture meaningful learning through the arts. BOARD OF DIRECTORS EMERITUS MEMBERS STAFF Jason McAdamis Marlene Birkman Julia Flood (President) Terry Bloomberg Artistic Director Ken Jones Robert Couch Matthew Neufeld (Vice President) Managing Director Suzanne Couch Susan W. Nall, Ph.D. Sarah Rugo Mary Ellen Finch, Ph.D. (Secretary) Production Manager Nancy Garvey John D. Weil David Blake (CFO) Camille Greenwald Technical Director David Bentzinger Marcia Kerz Karen Weberman Shaughnessy H. Daniels Daniel Jay Education Director Gary Feder Ellen Livingston John Wolbers Julia Flood* James R. Moog Resident Teaching Artist Susan Gamble Joseph M. Noelker Renita James Teaching Artist Fellow Aaron Jennings, M.S.W. Peggy O’Brien David Warren Roderick Jones, Ed.D., M.P.A. Janet Schoedinger Development Director Antonio Maldonado Mary Stigall Maria I. Straub Jan Paul Miller Anabeth C. Weil Operations Coordinator Matthew Neufeld* FOUNDERS Ron James Mark Sandvos Marketing and Zaro Weil Barbara Shuman Communications Director Lynn Rubright Amber Simpson Ph.D. Beverly Rombach Development Consultant Candice Smith Taylor Steward David Stiffler Engagement Manager Mary Tonkin Jacqueline Thompson Stephanie Tucker Community Partnerships Manager Deborah Van Ryn *ex officio, non-voting Metro Theater Company is a professional theater for young people and families and a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organi- zation. It is a proud member of the Theatre Communications Group (the national service organization for non-profit professional theaters), Theatre for Young Audiences/USA (the U.S. chapter of the international association of the- aters for young people) and Missouri Citizens for the Arts, as well as a proud Cultural Partner of the School District of Clayton. Metro Theater Company receives financial assistance from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; Missouri Arts Council, a state agency; the Regional Arts Commission; the Arts and Education Council; and numerous corporations, foundations and individuals. NOTES FROM THE DIRECTOR Just one year ago, a colleague attended the premiere of And In This Corner... Cassius Clay in Louisville and was so moved by it that she sent me the script. She had never done that before. So, I sat down immediately to read it. As I read, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Here, in a play about events that took place half a century ago, were vivid moments that mirrored what was happening in our own community right now. This true story about the young life of Muhammad Ali was speaking directly to me across all the barriers that might have kept me from listening. I am as different from the young characters at the center of this play as is pos- sible. I am white. I am female. At the beginning of this journey, I knew almost nothing about boxing. My teen years are long behind me. I live in a different millennium. And yet... In the rhythm of Idris Goodwin’s words, with the open-hearted passion and talents of the actors, designers and staff, and through the power of the community that supports the vision of this play, I have been welcomed into this world. Theater creates a safe space for us to come together to see the world through another’s eyes. The best moments of theater allow us to transcend our own expe- rience and live for a moment in the world of someone quite different from us. It opens us to the possibility that through listening to each other, we have so much more to gain than we have to lose. Welcome to the world of And In This Corner...Cassius Clay. JULIA FLOOD | DIRECTOR PRESENTED BY AT THE AND IN THIS CORNER... CASSIUS CLAY A PLAY BY IDRIS GOODWIN CHAMPION SPONSORS MAJOR SPONSORS EXHIBITION SPONSORS The Olive A. Dempsey Charitable Trust Elizabeth L. Green ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR METRO THEATER COMPANY PROVIDED BY PRESENTED BY AT THE AND IN THIS CORNER... CASSIUS CLAY A PLAY BY IDRIS GOODWIN THE MAKING OF MUHAMMAD ALI THE CAST (In alphabetical order) Phillip Dixon CASSIUS CLAY, SR. PRODUCTION TEAM Katy Keating ENSEMBLE/WHITE WAITRESS Director JULIA FLOOD Erik Kuhn ENSEMBLE/ZBIGNIEW PIETRZYKOWSKI Fight Director DREW FRACHER Trigney Morgan CASSIUS CLAY, JR. Set Designer and Technical Director DAVID BLAKE Carl Overly, Jr. CORKY BAKER Costume Designer LOU BIRD Lighting Designer PAIGE SEBER Jeanitta Perkins ODESSA CLAY Sound Designer RUSTY WANDALL Maalik Shakoor SUGAR RAY ROBINSON/ENSEMBLE Projections Designer MICHAEL B. PERKINS Kenyata Tatum ENSEMBLE/REPORTER Props Designer EMILY FREI Nicolas Tayborn RUDY CLAY Production Manager SARAH E. RUGO Jaz Tucker EDDIE GREEN/SOAPBOX MAN Assistant Stage Manager ANNA RICHARDS David Wassilak OFFICER JOE MARTIN Assistant Technical Director and Fight Captain ERIK KUHN Dialect Coach KATY KEATING Wardrobe/Run Crew Member GENEVIEVE COLLINS House Manager MICHAEL CASSIDY FLYNN In And In This Corner...Cassius Clay, young Cassius yearned for someone that he and his friends could look up to—someone who stood for everyone. As part of the production, Metro Theater Company worked with writer Jim Ousley and artist Ben Sawyer to create Corporal Kaylee and the Camera Eye, an interactive “Superhero” comic book where stu- dents focus on their own special abilities and realize that they can make a difference. A digital version of the comic book is available at the Cassius website at CASSIUSPROJECT.COM 1 EVERYONE HERE HAS A place, A VOICE, Edward Jones and something to contribute. is pleased to support Grades 7-12 • 45 zip codes • More than Metro Theater Company. 50% of families receive financial aid • LEED Platinum Certified campus near Wash U. & SLU • 100% college acceptance with $6.3M in merit-based scholarships • Schedule a visit: 314.367.8085 • crossroadscollegeprep.org www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC 636.449.5775 StagesStLouis.org ACTING VOICE DANCE Quarter 4 Classes February 29- April 30th Register NOW! MUSICAL THEATRE PRIVATE LESSONS SPRING BREAK CAMPS MARCH 21-25 THE CASSIUS PROJECT THE CASSIUS PROJECT is a region-wide initiative built around Metro Theater Company’s February 2016 production of Idris Goodwin’s new play AND IN THIS CORNER...CASSIUS CLAY at the Missouri History Museum. In the past year, tensions have been high as St. Louis struggles with racial and economic inequity, strained relationships with law enforce- ment and disenfranchised youth unsure of their role in our community. Through the story of young Cassius Clay, Jr. (Muhammad Ali) and his life in Jim Crow Louisville, Kentucky, audiences will gain a deeper un- derstanding of the complex issues that contribute to inequity in our community through a historical context. Audiences will be inspired by the decision of young Cassius Clay to reach beyond personal success to achieve greater community good. THE CASSIUS PROJECT will offer a series of community programs, wrap-around tools and resources with the production that will educate Muhammad Ali and first coach Officer Joe Martin audiences and then engage and empower them to find ways to get personally involved in making St. Louis a stronger community. THE CASSIUS PROJECT OUTCOMES NATIONAL AND REGIONAL COMMUNITY PARTNERS With the potential to directly serve more than 11,000 people – over Aaron Jennings, The George Maryville University School 8,000 of them youth – THE CASSIUS PROJECT presents an opportunity Warren Brown School of of Education to begin long-term change in St. Louis and address youth Social Work at WUSTL Missouri History Museum disenfranchisement. Specific and measurable goals include: Aphidesign Muhammad Ali Center The Boeing Company The Nine Network Attendance of thousands of youth at performances of AND IN THIS Bread and Roses Missouri Office of Minority Health, CORNER...CASSIUS CLAY, accompanied by post-performance Cbabi Bayoc, visual artist Missouri Department of facilitated dialogue College of Education at UMSL Health and Senior Services Old North Restoration Group Additional partner activities to deepen the conversation about Clark-Fox Family Foundation Parkway School District issues of equity in St. Louis Cultural Leadership Diversity In Action St. Louis All City Boxing Online toolkit to provide information about the play and its Equifax Saint Louis University historical context; resources and discussion questions for students Firecracker Press/Central Ben Sawyer and parents; curriculum connections and lesson plans for Print Speak Up Productions educators; and links to volunteer and education opportunities in Focus St. Louis Urban Strategies the region and throughout the state for youth to take a personal Harris Stowe State University ...And school districts role in strengthening St. Louis HEC-TV across the St. Louis region Classroom curriculum to support character education and Jim Ousley, Drink & Ink Comics curricular understanding, leading up to and following the production Joshua Temple, Team USA Boxing Interactive “Superhero” comic book for students to focus their own Heavyweight Champion special abilities, and to realize that their lives matter and they can The Kwame Foundation make a difference KWMU St. Louis Public Radio Marlene E. Davis, Community honoree initiative, ST. LOUIS SUPERHEROES, to 19th Ward Alderwoman celebrate individuals across the St. Louis region who are inspiring others through their efforts on behalf of our community Partner list current as of printing 1/20/16 CAST BIOGRAPHIES PHILLIP DIXON (Cassius Clay, Sr.) Leaves, Trees, Forest at the Green House Theater, for which is an actor who has had the pleasure he was nominated for best male actor by the Chicago Black of working with several professional Theater Alliance. His film credits include: a supporting role companies in the St. Louis area, and on NBC’s Chicago Fire and multiple commercials (KFC, Sub is pleased to work with Metro Theater Zero Refrigerator, and a Lollapalooza web commercial.) Company on this exciting production.