2018-2019 Season presents God of Carnage By Translated by Directed by Virginia Drake with Erik Gandolfi April Green Karyn Rondeau Avondina Wills

Scenic Designer Lighting Designer Costume Designer Ron Gasparinetti Mary Baronitis Amy Zsadanyi-Yale Music & Sound Designer Properties Designer Assistant Stage Manager George Psarras Ting Na Wang Charnneé Young Production Manager Master Electrician Scenic Artist Ron Gasparinetti Sean Kramer Paulino Deleal

Stage Manager Joseph Hidde

God of Carnage is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.

God of Carnage was produced on Broadway by Robert Fox, David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers, Stuart Thompson, , Job B. Platt, The Weinstein Company, and The Shubert Organization.

City Lights’ production of God of Carnage is supported by producer Toggle Hagan The Cast

Alan Raleigh Erik Gandolfi Annette Raleigh April Green Michael Novak Avondina Wills Veronica Novak Karyn Rondeau

Location: the Novaks’ living room in Brooklyn, New York Time: Now God of Carnage is presented without an intermission.

City Lights Theater Company is a member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre.

Please note the locations of all exits. Copyright laws prohibit photography, videotaping, or recording of any kind during the performance. Please silence all cell phones and refrain from texting during the performance. And remember, at City Lights you are always welcome to enjoy your refreshments in the theatre!

Connect with us on social media! We’re @citylights on Twitter and @citylightstheater on Instagram. Use the hashtag #cltheater to tell us what you think about the show. Who’s Who in the Cast

Gandolfi Green Rondeau Wills

Erik Gandolfi (Alan) studied theatre at Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts and did his undergraduate work at Santa Clara University. He has worked at PCPA, San Jose Stage, Jewel Theatre Company, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Sierra Repertory Theatre, VITA Shakespeare, Theatre Artists of Marin, Pacific Rep, Calaveras Rep, Actor’s Theatre, and MCT. Notable roles include Mark Antony in Julius Caesar, Lennie in Of Mice and Men, and Henry II in The Lion in Winter. Erik also worked for the Arts-in-Corrections program through the William James Association, directing plays and short videos with the inmate population at Mule Creek State Prison. At City Lights, he has appeared as Don Harper in Rapture, Blister, Burn, Senator Higgins in Alabama Story and most recently Ron in The Siegel. Erik is delighted to be in this production of God of Carnage -- and at City Lights, a wonderful, engaging, and inspiring place to work. City Lights fosters the ideals and energy that makes their productions relevant and compelling.

April Green (Annette) is happy to be back at City Lights, having appeared in The Merchant of Venice, Stupid Fucking Bird, and M. Butterfly. She has a BA in Theater and has trained in San Francisco, New York, and Berlin in devised and physical theater. Some of the Bay Area companies she has worked for include Jewel Theater (The Odd Couple), Central Works (Totem & Taboo), Tides Theater (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), Un-Scripted Theater Company (Beloved Strangers), Pear Avenue Theater (Fool for Love), Rapid Descent Physical Theater Company (Macbeth), and Stanford Theater (Exception and the Rule). More info on April can be found at castaprilgreen.com.

Karyn Rondeau (Veronica) is a stage actress, recording artist, national anthem singer, and cabaret performer. She regularly gigs with cohort Juanita Harris at local jazz joints and music halls with their act: J/K Cabaret. Together, they share a passion for social issues and use their voices and platform for their activism and philanthropic endeavors. Karyn is also a proud member of ArtistsRiseUp.com, a group of performing artists raising money for human rights in America through music and spoken word. She has performed our national anthem at Levi’s Stadium, The Alcatraz Challenge, and The Wildflower Triathlon. Recent theatre credits include Monty Python’s Spamalot (Lady of the Lake), The Drowsy Chaperone (Chaperone), Les Misérables (Mme. Thénardier), Urinetown (Pennywise), and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Rona).

Avondina Wills (Michael) is very excited about making his City Lights debut in God of Carnage. Previous roles include Bob in Realistic Joneses, Alan in God Of Carnage, and Dr. Martin King in The Mountaintop at the Santa Cruz County Actors’ Theatre; Troy in at Altarena Playhouse; Lenny in Of Mice and Men, Midge in I’m Not Rappaport, Delbert Tibbs in The Exonerated, and Chief in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest at the Magic Circle Theater in Carmel Valley; and Hoke in Driving Miss Daisy at the California Theater in San Bernardino.

Who’s Who Behind the Scenes

Mary Baronitis (Lighting Designer) is thrilled to be back at City Lights and working on God of Carnage. Her previous light design credits include CLTC’s production of In The Heights, and various theatre and dance at Santa Clara University, including I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; Images; and Choreographers’ Gallery. Recently, she has ventured into technical direction and lighting design for local corporate events, including Reasonable Doubt in Sunnyvale.

Virginia Drake (Director) is faculty emerita at West Valley College. She has recently directed Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley; Rapture, Blister, Burn; Tigers Be Still; and (another Yasmina Reza play) for City Lights Theater Company, preceded by The Language Archive, The Smell of the Kill, Hedda Gabler, and August: Osage County. Directorial efforts at Los Altos Stage Company include Pippin, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Circle Mirror Transformation, On Golden Pond, and Doubt. Additionally, she has directed at TheatreWorks and Santa Clara University. A member of Actors’ Equity Association, Virginia holds an MFA in Acting from Stanford University, and a BA in Dramatic Art from the University of California, Davis. She also records audio books for Books Aloud Inc., based at San Jose’s Martin Luther King Library.

Joseph Hidde (Stage Manager) is thrilled to be working on God of Carnage at City Lights. Having recently returned from a field school in Ecuador, he is happy (and sad!) to be back. Joseph most recently stage managed the City Lights production of The Merchant of Venice. He has also stage managed many other City Lights productions, including Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Green Day’s American Idiot, and the world premiere adaptation of Frankenstein. In addition to stage managing, Joseph also serves as Master Electrician and as a carpenter for City Lights. He currently attends Foothill College and is working towards his degree in Archaeology.

Ron Gasparinetti (Resident Scenic Designer/Production Manager) hails originally from Newark, NJ, and has been part of the Bay Area theater community for 21 years now. Ron became a part-time employee for the company in 2012 and has since graduated to the full-time positions he currently holds: he not only serves as City Lights’ Resident Scenic Designer but also as Production Manager, Technical Director, and Facilities Manager. His first show with City Lights wasWhat the Butler Saw in 2006 and he has designed almost every show here since then. He has been honored four times as a TBA Award finalist for Outstanding Scenic Design; three of those designs, , Truce: A Christmas Wish from the Great War, and Rapture, Blister, Burn, were seen right here on the City Lights stage. His design for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Los Altos Stage Company garnered him the TBA Award in 2015. In April 2016 he was honored with the title of Artist Laureate by SVCreates. Ron looks forward to serving City Lights for many more years to come. To see more of his work, visit his website www.TheSetGuy.com or follow him on Instagram.

Sean Kramer (Master Electrician) has designed Equivocation, boom, and Bless Me Ultima. He recently graduated with honors from the Foothill College Theatre Arts Department, with an Associates Degree in Theatre Technologies.

George Psarras (Resident Composer & Sound Designer) has designed and/or written music for over 40 shows at City Lights, and has been the company’s Resident Sound Designer since 2011. He is a three-time TBA Award winner for outstanding sound design (Tier 2) for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Truce: A Christmas Wish From the Great War (world premiere), and Amadeus -- all at City Lights. As an actor, George works in theatre, voiceover, film, commercials, and video games.

Yasmina Reza (Playwright) is a French playwright, actress, novelist, and screenwriter of Iranian and Hungarian extraction. Early plays include Conversations after a Burial, a translation of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, Winter Crossing, and The Unexpected Man. In 1995, ART premiered in , and subsequently went on to win a Moliere Award in France, an Olivier Award in England, and a Tony Award in the U.S.A. (City Lights opened its 2014-15 season with ART.) In 2007, God of Carnage premiered in Zurich before playing in London and New York, where it rivaled ART as the winner of an Olivier Award for Best Comedy and a . Who’s Who Behind the Scenes, cont. Ting Na Wang (Properties Designer) is a Taiwanese-born scenic and props designer based in the Bay Area. She last served as props designer for City Lights’ production of Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. Other recent credits in props design include The Legend of Georgia McBride and Pippin at Los Altos Stage, Richard III at African-America Shakespeare Company, Scare on Sunset and When Pigs Fly at the New Conservatory Theatre Center, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, and Into the Woods at Palo Alto Players, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame at Hillbarn Theatre.

Charnneé Young (Assistant Stage Manager) is happy to return to City Lights as Assistant Stage Manager of God of Carnage. Her most recent City Lights credits include In the Heights (SM), The Merchant of Venice (ASM), Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (Pemberley Servant), and Stupid Fucking Bird (ASM). Charnneé thanks her mother, Sabra, for being a strong role model, and for facing life with a great sense of humor.

Amy Zsadanyi-Yale (Costume Designer) holds a M.A in Theatre Arts and has taught for many years at West Valley College, where she is the faculty costume designer. She has designed costumes for City Lights productions of The Smell Of The Kill, ART, and Other Desert Cities, and she has worked, designed, and taught throughout the Bay Area and Southern California, at PCPA, San Jose Stage Company, Bus Barn Stage Company, San Jose State University, Santa Clara University, Los Gatos Shakespeare Festival, and Foothill Music Theatre, where she received the Bay Area Dean Goodman Choice Award for her design work on She Loves Me and Sweeney Todd. She also created a Robot for Robot Zoo at the San Jose Tech Museum of Innovation. In addition, Amy has served as a Musical Theater High School Adjudicator for A.M.T of San Jose, and received the Educator Recognition Award at UC Irvine Theater as an educator who made the most significant impact on their transfer students’ academic performance. From the Director

We meet four practical parents in Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage. Their boys have had a fight on the playground, and the parents step in to mediate -- or so we think. What starts as a civilized meeting over coffee and clafoutis becomes something quite different. Allies become enemies, pent- up aggression is revealed, and the parents end up behaving far worse than their children could ever have imagined possible.

Reza is interested in delving into her characters’ instincts. One critic has noted that “she takes four smug upper-middle-class people, and strips them with algebraic precision to their frightened ids. They are left exposed in this feral, dog-eat-dog world of ours.”

Our characters years ago created images of who they want others to believe they are. They’ve learned to tamp down their daily irritations and frustrations. They come to reveal their real truths, however, and with them, their individual points of rage and unbridled childishness. Patience and tolerance dissolve as tiny behaviors and stings grow to the point of utter chaos.

Veronica, at the end of our play, comforts her daughter over the disappearance of the family’s pet hamster. “She’ll find things, she knows what food she needs...she’s like us, she’s omnivorous.” Is Reza telling us that we humans will eat anything? Or maybe she’s talking more about hunger, and how lack of nourishment causes us to devour what in any other situation we would reject. The hamster is like us.

I belierve these marriages will survive. I believe Veronica and Michael, Annette and Alan will discover what nourishment they have been lacking and begin again. Certainly, as audience members, we can sit back and point out their flaws. But with Reza there is a twist. She hands us a red pen for one hand, and a mirror for the other.

-- Virginia Drake Who’s Who at City Lights

Lisa Mallette (Executive Artistic Director) is in her seventeenth season at City Lights and her fourteenth as ex- ecutive artistic director, and she is thrilled to see the company enjoying such dramatic artistic and administrative momentum. Lisa has appeared onstage at City Lights in the world premiere of Clouds Hill, String of Pearls, Dead Man Walking, August: Osage County, The Language Archive, and Ideation. She has directed Five Women Wear- ing the Same Dress, A... My Name Is Alice, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Full Monty, Hair, First Person Shooter, Rent, Distracted, Aphrodisiac, the world premiere of Spacebar, The Rocky Horror Show (2013), Amadeus, Build, West Side Story, , LIZZIE, and this season’s Alabama Story. Lisa chairs Theatre Bay Area’s board of directors and the TBA Theatre Services Committee, and she was the 2014 recipient of the Silicon Val- ley Creates Artist Laureate Award. A native of San Francisco, she lives on the Peninsula with her two beautiful daughters, Sophie and Olivia.

Anne Younan (General Manager) has been a member of the City Lights team for over twenty years – most recently as Development Director from 2015-2018, and General Manager as of the 2017-18 season. For Anne and City Lights, it all began 30 years ago when she appeared in A Girl’s Guide to Chaos, followed quickly by Mrs. California, Remembrance, Joined at the Head, Definitely Not a Christmas Carol, Nutcracker This!, and Circles. Other favorite turns on the City Lights stage include Birth, Dead Man Walking, and most recently as the spunky, mischievous, ringleader Chris in 2016’s Calendar Girls. She thanks her husband, Paul, and two children, Sarah and Jake, for encouraging her to follow her bliss by working for a company that continues to inspire her and so many others in the valley. She thanks you for supporting live theater in San Jose!

Julie Bell Petrak (Development Director) is the newest face at City Lights, having relocated to the Bay Area from the East Coast last year. Julie enjoyed a 25-year career in New York and Connecticut serving as a board member, director, educator, and actor for numerous theatre companies. She was also a guest lecturer for Borough of Manhattan Community College/CUNY. The 2018-19 season promises to be another exciting, prosperous year for City Lights -- and if you see Julie around the theater, please say hello! She lives in Santa Cruz with her husband, Chris, and their two dogs.

Rebecca Wallace (Marketing Director) is a writer, actor, and former longtime Bay Area newspaper journalist. Most recently, she was the arts and entertainment editor at the Palo Alto Weekly, working with a team of other scribes to write about theater, music, dance, and visual art in the Palo Alto/Stanford area. During that time, she was chosen for a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship with the NEA’s Arts Journalism Institute at Colum- bia University. On stage, Rebecca has performed at many local theater companies and a few smoky Hungarian bars—she spent a few years in Budapest, where she sang with a country-western band. She now focuses on telling City Lights’ world of stories . . . that is, when she isn’t singing showtunes with husband Ron to their young son, Sagan.

Ron Gasparinetti (Production Manager/Technical Director/Resident Scenic Designer) hails originally from Newark, NJ, and has been part of the Bay Area theater community for 21 years now. He not only serves as City Lights’ Resident Scenic Designer but also holds the positions of Production Manager, Technical Director, and Facilities Manager. Ron became a part-time employee for the company in 2012 and has since graduated to the full time positions he currently holds. His first show with City Lights was What the Butler Saw in 2006 and he has designed almost every show here since then. He has has been honored four times as a TBA Award finalist for Outstanding Scenic Design; three of those nominated designs, Amadeus, Truce: A Christmas Wish from the Great War, and Rapture, Blister, Burn, were presented right here at City Lights. His design for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Los Altos Stage Company garnered him the TBA Award in 2015. In April 2016 he was honored with the title of Artist Laureate by SVCreates. Ron looks forward to serving City Lights for many more years to come. To see more of his work, visit his website www.TheSetGuy.com or follow him on Instagram.

Amoreena Lucero (Business Manager) joined the City Lights team in 2014. A Bay Area native, she began her accounting career in 1995, working for a small CPA firm in Los Gatos. After welcoming her daughter into the world, and feeling the need for more work-life balance, she became self-employed and spent time volunteering in children’s and arts organizations. She was actively involved in Shoestring Theatre Company for eight years, both onstage and off, eventually becoming the Managing Director. Working on the City Lights team has recon- nected her with theater, and she loves watching the development from an idea to a performance onstage. When she isn’t crunching numbers, you will find Amoreena in the kitchen, honing her culinary skills and sharing her love of cooking with others. 2017-2018 DONORS City Lights gratefully acknowledges the generous contributions of the following organizations, corporations, and individuals made during the last twelve months. We regret that recent contributions may not have arrived in time to be acknowledged for this production.

The Inspiration Circle ($75,000+) City of San José, Office of Cultural Affairs The John S. & James L. Knight Foundation

The Trailblazers ($50,000+) The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Nancy B. Coleman & Paul M. Resch

The Groundbreakers ($25,000+) Rick & Violet Boyle Jim Lewis The David & Lucile Packard Foundation The Shubert Foundation

The Visionaries ($10,000+) The Innovators ($5,000+) Adobe Employee Matching Gift Program Marv & Bonnie Bamburg Applied Materials Foundation Kristin Brownstone Armanino LLP Scott Ellis Rich & Sally Braugh Hugh Stuart Charitable Trust Café Stritch Larry & Ivonne Kuechler Google Matching Gifts Linda Lee Lester IBM Matching Gifts Program Charles McCollum Arnie Kamrin & Katie Wilson Michelle Marko Aaron Loeb Sandra Moll & Rick Holden Silicon Valley Creates Victoria Moore Mary Lou Torre & Richard Hagan Steven & Betsy Moulds

The Game-Changers ($2,500+) The Movers & Shakers ($1,000+) Rachel & Tom Bakker* Deb & Paul Anderson Constance & Paul Boulay* Apple Matching Gifts Fund Dave & Jeff Chandler Janis Bell Karen DeHart Barry Swenson Builder Virginia Drake Tom & Larel Bondi Google Corporation Cheryl Booton & Bob Mannell Group of Minds Danny & Ramona Bozzuto* David & Cheryl Heiman Bozzuto Insurance Services Jonathan Karpf & Kathleen Zaretsky* CALI Program The Kieve Foundation Dennise Carter (in memory of Carl Cookson) Robert Knight The Competitor Group Cliff Maas Devora Davis Michael Mulhern & Glen Cantrell Chris del Pilar Morgan Rutman Pat & Bob Diamond The Rutman Family Fund of the Jewish Communal Fund Robert & Susan Doran San Jose Water Company Laura & Glenn Ellingson Santa Clara County Fairgrounds Management Cindy Faukner Chloe & Charlie Verrey* Kevin & Noelle GM Gibbs Alyson Wynn & Tony Drane* Phil & Diane Greigo (in memory of Carl Cookson)* Joyce & Ted Gross The Movers & Shakers, cont. Catherine & Judd Heape Ross Nelson* Heritage Bank of Commerce Vivian & Keith O’Connell Cayce Hill & Joe Zullo Melsina & David Petrak Johanson & Yau Accountancy Corporation Greg Sanders Charles “Chappie” Jones Katie Sims Fernicola & Mike Fernicola Dennis Kirkpatrick Steve Smith & Maria Girard-Smith Steven & Marti Krow-Lucal* RuthE & David Stein* Chris Lamb Geri Weimers Heather Lerner Loretta & Ron Welch The Hon. Samuel Liccardo Suzanne Wittrig & Alfonso Banuelos Gary & Debbi Maxwell Sheila Leary & Jeffrey Wood

The Dreamers ($500+) Applied Materials Political Action Committee Linda Mallette & Dominick Libonati Jason & Laura Bennert Mark Merrill & Peggy Lynch Magdalena Carrasco Kate & Rush Manbert Rosalee & Bob Clarke* Clint Moore Sarah Clish* Barbara Murray* William Ereneta* Rita Norton Robert & Julie Fenerty Ken Odom Frank Fiscalini (in memory of Carl Cookson) Glenn Reed Carol Garvey* David Richardson & Dan Neumann Tom Gough & Luisa Sermol Nick Rodrigues Matt Hartenstein & Shannon McGinley Ellen & Bryan Shaner Jane Hiatt Taplands Tap Room Mark Hidde Carol & Dan Turner Kyra & Hal Hubis* Linda Whipple* Johnny Khams Paul & Anne Younan* Lisa Mallette Susan Zaslaw & Martin Liss* The Doers ($250+) Applied Materials Matching Fund Terry & Bill Krivan Martha C. Beattie Steve Lambert & Linda Kugler Dena Behnam Nicole Letellier Susan Benjamin Marc McGeever Robert Boffa Tom Macrostie Jeffrey Bracco Susan & Charles Martin Leighanne D. Champion Charles Mendoza & Jean Platner Susan Chen & Fred Co Alcina Nelson Dave & Betsy Coleman Daniel Pappone Pat & Chuck Corr Raul Peralez Will Cowart Julie & Chris Petrak The David & Lucile Packard Foundation Matching Gifts Amy & Sal Pizarro Bill & Alicia Davidovich Qualcomm Matching Gift Program Jane Decker Eddie Reynolds & The Ed Jones Family Fund Esperanza Deltoro Donald & Barbara Snyder Lan Diep Max Tachis & Roneet Rahamim Carol & Ken Emmons Victoria Taketa Paul Franson Lynn Telford Barbara Fraser Terry Raisley Insurance Agency Nicholas Galiotto Phong Trieu & Anna Lee Marcia Guggenheim Alexandra Urbanowski & John McCluggage Jacquelyn K. Hall Trust Fund The Verrey Family William Harford Laurie & Michael Warner John & Barbara Harriman Nancy Wheeler Dan Hill Leslie & Dave Wilkinson Sonya & Robert Hubenette Catherine Winter Eric Jacobsen Roxanne Worlock Kathleen King Charnneé Young Sandra Krakowski

*Sustained Giving Program Those donors marked with an asterisk (*) are members of City Lights’ Sustained Giving Program, and have their donations charged automatically each month to provide invaluable, ongoing support throughout the year. It's simple, it's secure, and it makes a difference. Please contact your House Manager to enroll in this campaign.

529 S. Second Street, San Jose, CA 95112 Phone: (408) 295-4200 Fax: (408) 295-8318 www.cltc.org [email protected] Our Mission City Lights Theater Company creates provocative live productions that engage, inspire, and challenge audiences and artists alike through innovative concepts, intimate staging, and uncompromising storytelling. Board of Directors Rick Boyle, President Kristin Brownstone, Acting Vice President Dave Chandler, Treasurer Karen DeHart, Asst. Treasurer Chloe Verrey, Secretary Deb Anderson, Rachel Bakker, Danny Bozzuto, Chris del Pilar, Virginia Drake, Robert Knight, Charlie McCollum, Michelle Marko, Clint Moore, Michael Mulhern, Paul Resch, Mary Lou Torre, Alison Wynn

Advisory Council Marvin Bamburg, Steve Borkenhagen, Rich Braugh, Sarah Clish, Frank Fiscalini, Tom Gough, Tara Hildreth, Janikke Klem, Alexandra Urbanowski, Geri Weimers

Staff Executive Artistic Director...... Lisa Mallette General Manager...... Anne Younan Development Director...... Julie Bell Petrak Marketing Director...... Rebecca Wallace Production Manager, Technical Director, & Facilities Manager...... Ron Gasparinetti Business Manager...... Amoreena Lucero Casting Assistant & Patron Experience Manager...... Ivette Deltoro Grantwriter...... Kit Wilder Front of House Manager...... Miranda Whipple Marketing and Executive Assistant...... Carol Alban Box Office Intern...... Jonathan Wright Resident Composer & Sound Designer...... George Psarras Residnt Scenic Artist...... Paulino Deleal Master Electrician...... Joseph Hidde Graphic Design...... Shannon Stowe Rebecca Wallace, Kit Wilder House Managers...... Ivette Deltoro, Keenan Flagg, Kylie Joerger, David Ngo, Caitlin Papp, Jeremy Ryan, Taylor Sanders Erin Southard, Miranda Whipple, Sharon Yee, Charnneé Young New Plays Committee...... Rachel Martin-Bakker, Program Manager Patricia Cross, Barbara Heninger, Roberta J. Morris, Anne Thomas, Helen Joseph-Weil, Michelle Marko, Ross Peter Nelson, Patty Reinhart, Leah Halper by popular demand!

J/K Cabaret Presents curvy cabaret

After premiering last summer at City Lights to rave reviews and a sold out house, Curvy Cabaret is performing at The Oasis in San Francisco!

These five fierce females have cultivated their own positive body images in an industry that often looks past a curvy girl. They're shattering stereotypes about sexiness and worthiness and spreading self love and body positivity! www.sfoasis.com