Ten years. Eighty-two productions — two hundred thirty-eight, if you count each short production separately. An Osborne Award. A Steinberg honor. Over fifteen hundred artists — and it’s over. Done. Gone. The Source Festival is finished. Next June, the revered 14th Street theater space will be open for other business.
If you ran a cultural enterprise with such a string of accomplishments, I’ll bet you’d be furious to see the plug pulled on it. I know I would be. But Jenny McConnell Frederick, who served as Artistic Director for the last eight years of the Festival’s existence, takes the long view.
Co-Artistic Director, Rorschach Theatre
“With CulturalDC [the nonprofit corporation which was responsible for, among other things, the Source Festival] there are a lot of priorities, and a lot of things to raise money for.” I’ve just asked Frederick why the festival closed, and she is giving me her perspective in her characteristic highly-organized, rapid-fire manner. “And I felt that everybody fought the good fight as long as they could, but…there are a lot of things that that organization wants to do. And at some point you have to make hard decisions. You can’t just do them all. And I really think that’s what it came down to.”
She emphasizes that it wasn’t a matter of the Festival’s revenues. “We’ve seen the Festival had pretty consistent attendance over they years. Fundraising, we had hits and misses. We had years in which we were getting Festival grants from the DC Commission, and then years when we didn’t. And we had some great individual sponsors who put money into it every year.”
Rather, to Frederick’s thinking, the Festival ended simply because CulturalDC wanted to do something else. “In the eight years I was there we had three Executive Directors, and they were all lovely and talented women in their way, but they each had slightly different focuses and slightly different visions for where the organization was going to go. And organizations grow and they evolve.”
Of course, Frederick wanted the festival to continue. But she understands the decision to shut it down.
“Is it exactly the choice I would have made? No. But I mean other good things are happening, and it is what it is, you know?…I think that there was a decision to focus on bringing art more directly to the community, which is what’s happening with the shipping container art gallery. But I harbor no ill feelings for the SPACE4: Arts program. I helped create it. So I think it’s a great program.”
Frederick’s equanimity about the Festival’s demise is due, in part, because she thinks of it less as an event and more as a tool to nourish theater in this town.
“I think it really is about the connections that people made.” Frederick has been asked what she’s most proud of about her tenure at the Festival, and she is talking big picture. “When I look across the city and I see people collaborating, working in theater now. Founding companies, hiring directors, hiring artists that they either met in their time at the Festival or that they saw on stage there and they’ve had the opportunity to see their work or notice that there was an artist that they wanted to work with and they were able to trust….that sense of planting seeds, and creating these matchups which then become something else is really the most important work of the Festival. Creating new plays and helping launch them is a true accomplishment too but what I think really shows up in the DC Community is the network of relationships so far.”
She ticks off some of the artists that the Source Festival was able to introduce or promote to the broader DC theater community. “Sarah Ewing is a good example…Shirley Serotsky, Amber McGinnis…Angela Pirko…Jason Schlafstein, Artistic Director of Flying V. Annalisa Dias is a Welder and her script [4,380 Nights] is about to debut at Signature [it did; here is the review]. Many, many of them.”
And while Frederick is clearly most interested in the effect the Source Festival has had on professional theater in the DMV, she’s aware of, and pleased by, the effect it’s had on the careers of its artists throughout the broader world. “Topher Payne is kind of the poster child for how this program could help someone succeed.” She is talking about the young Atlanta playwright whose Perfect Arrangement won an Osborne Award from the American Theatre Critics Association in 2014. “He went from being a much-heralded playwright in Atlanta but not much outside of that to having his work produced across the country to getting an off-Broadway production of a play, to getting an agent and being shopped around Los Angeles to now [writing] Hallmark Hall of Fame movies.”
There are others: “Patrick McGill worked with me for years and now he’s working for Netflix; Brian Lee was a producer for a couple of years and he was director of marketing at Round House; and now he’s gone on to be the Associate Director of Special Artistic Programs at the Public Theater; Shayla Roland is an Associate Producer and she is now an Associate Producer at Penumbra in Minnesota, and Lee Cromwell who has been my right-hand man the last couple of years and he is now with Fringe festival” where he is a producer.
“Cultural DC is primarily…a presenter, not a producer.” She is going over the non-profit’s decision to close down the Festival again; she thinks maybe CulturalDC may have been the wrong type of organization to have sponsored an enterprise like the Source Festival. “And what a festival needs to produce work from the ground up, hire all the artists, build the sets, design the work, it’s messy, and it’s expensive…and it needs a lot of attention….An organization which is so multi-faceted, which I think is an asset, as Cultural DC is maybe not always for that marriage, you know?”
How messy was it to run the Festival? “There was always some kind of chaos and it was never totally predictable. You never knew which problem was going to be this year…the box you were waiting on from Amazon didn’t arrive until three days later so you couldn’t assemble the set….We sent interns ten minutes before the show to sex shops to buy handcuffs because the old ones broke; we’ve begged and borrowed helium from the card shop down the street when we needed balloons.” There have been more serious problems. “We had one year one of the blind date artistic participants e-mailed me the night before the show was supposed to debut [We Forget, We Never Forget] to say that she was dropping out of it. So we ended up with a product with two participants instead of three. And they made it work.”
But that messiness, that controlled chaos, was part of the Festival’s charm since it began under the leadership of Jeremy Skidmore, the noted director and theatrical agent who went on to become Artistic Director of RhinoLeap Productions in Asheboro, N.C. — and even earlier, in the late nineties, when it was the Washington Theater Festival and Frederick was just an intern.
“It was a beautiful sort of chaos. There was definitely a culture of yes. The fact that I could walk in there as a twenty-year-old right out of college, and be able to direct a 10-minute play and do those kind of things, and have those types of opportunities, was really exciting. Was it a well-oiled machine? In some aspects, maybe, and some less so. But it was a great place for making connections, and for putting down the roots which would then launch my career and my time in Washington.”
Twelve years later, when Frederick came on board as Artistic Director, she kept those values in mind. “I had a lot of freedom from the Cultural Development Corporation [CulturalDC’s predecessor] to make it whatever we wanted to make it. And I think there were some key components I knew I wanted to hang on to. I wanted to do, from Washington Theater Festival, and…from what Jeremy had done. I wanted to have a culture of yes. I wanted to be in a place where artists could come and try things, and experiment. I wanted it to be a place of access for artists who were new to the city….I wanted it to be an entry point, and a place where people could feel those connections and put down roots. It was an enormous canvas to create.”
One of the first things she did was agree to pay all the artists. “When I came into the festival, most of the artists weren’t paid. In my tenure we made sure that everybody got paid. It wasn’t a lot, but they got paid. And that’s a big psychological difference, it’s a big philosophical difference.”
In Frederick’s view, the Festival achieved what she set out to accomplish. The Festival, she concludes, was able to provide unique and valuable experiences even to well-recognized artists. “Steve Yocky [The Thrush and the Woodpecker] was someone who was going to succeed with or without the Source Festival, but what we gave him was an opportunity to take his play, and have a laboratory to play around in, with directors and with a deadline for really putting the play on its feet….I looked at the plays and said, let’s really stage them….[to enhance] playwrights’ experience of having to work with designers, and work with directors in conjunction with designers, and taking stuff out of the theoretical. I imagine the set to be beautiful and amazing; every imagined set is beautiful and amazing; But what about the actual reality, when you have to build the thing and work with the thing? Having the actors navigate the physicality of it. It changes so much for the playwright that I think having your play really staged makes a difference. And that was something I think the Festival was able to provide.”
If a presenting organization like CulturalDC is not ideally situated to stage something like the Festival, can anyone at all do it? Frederick, who has returned to full-time responsibilities as co-Artistic Director of Rorschach Theatre with Randy Baker, says yes. “Absolutely. I think there’s lots of opportunity. I think that’s what we’re going to see now, in the absence of the Festival. I mean, as difficult as it is for any of us to say goodbye to something, you know cities change, cities evolve… Rorschach has been working for the last six months to put together some really great programming that’s not going to try to duplicate what the Festival was doing. We’re trying to take some of those key points and evolve them in a new way, and look at new ways for artists to be engaged with producers and to have a real substantive connection. We’re looking at our ten-minute plays, Klecksography, that will happen over ten days. And that’s been something that in the past has been pretty insular, that just Rorschach would [do]. Well, we’re reaching out now to other producers and other artistic directors to invite them to come play with this process in a sustainable way.”
Theater is important and fragile, and so companies and festivals die all the time, but theater itself appears to be a renewable resource. In the nearly twelve years DCTS has been here, we’ve seen the demise of Journeyman, Firebelly, American Century, Catalyst, and other companies, and yet new companies crop up and theater continues to grow. Claudius advises Hamlet “you must know, your father lost a father;/That father lost, lost his” and Frederick hits the same theme about the Source. “Washington Theatre Festival…went away, and Source Festival came up. And now that’s going to go away, and other things will come up.”
Thus in recognition that the future grows out of the garden of the past, we hereby present the complete history of the Source Festival, as preserved in the pages of DC Theatre Scene.
Source Festivals 2008-2017
2017
Source Festival: Best of: The Ferberizing of Coral, by Patrick Flynn, directed by Elena Velasco, featuring Axandre Oge and Fabiolla Da Silva; Amenities, by Gregory Hischak, directed by Julia Hurley, featuring Clancey Yovanovich, Lindsay Williams, Michael Bannigan and David Walsh; Pas de Deux for a Microwave Night, by Stephen Lewis, directed by Adin Walker, featuring Alex Lopez, Kazi Jones, Maria Laz Lopez, Thomas Shuman, Brendan McMahon and Lori Pitts; Jacqmin Family in the Petrified Forest, by Laura Jacqmin, directed by Walker, featuring Cristina Ibarra, Alex Lopez, Jones, Maria Paz Lopez, Shuman and Pitts; Fugue for Amorous Tornados, by Gabriel Jason Dean, directed by Velasco, featuring Oge and Da Silva; and The Physics of Now, by Alex Dremann, directed by Hurley, featuring Yovanovich, Williams, Bannigan and Walsh. Lighting design: E-hui Woo. Costume design: Jeffrey Peavy. Sound design: Bob Pike. Dramaturg: Sara Cohen. Props design and run crew: Kyla Duff. Stage manager: Tori Ujczo, assisted by Carissa Gibson.
Covert Catayst: This is the Big One, by Chelsea Marcantel, directed by Jacob Young; featuring Nick Duckworth, Hilary Kelly, Genevieve James, Linda Bard, Bryan Norrington and Kevin Boudreau; Some People Say, by Mark Saunders, directed by Rebecca Wahls, featuring Zoe Walpole, Carol Spring and Dylan Hares; Threat Level: Cream, by John Bavoso, directed by Connor Hogan, featuring Jonathan M. Rizzardi and Chloe Mikala; The Emperor’s Big, Fat, Naked Revolution, by Jared Strange, directed by Hogan, featuring Hilary Morrow, Mikala, and Rizzardi; Gotta Gethere Whatever Itakes Versus Mr. Chaos, by Lori Fischer, directed by Wahls, featuring Walpole and Spring; Rip 60, Z Split, Hot Read, Ear Hole on 3–Break! by Ed Cardona, Jr., directed by Young, featuring Duckworth, Norrington and Boudreau. Lighting design: E-hui Woo. Costume design: Jeffery Peavy. Sound design: Bob Pike. Dramaturg: Sara Cohen. Props design and run crew: Kyla Duff. Stage manager: Tori Ujczo, assisted by Carissa Gilson.
Perfect Arrangement (Osborne Award Winner) by Topher Payne . Directed by Nick Martin . Featuring Kevin McGuinness, Mary Myers, Jack Novak, Jennifer Pagnard, Jon Reynolds, Toni Rae Salmi, Danielle Scott. Set Designer: Jessica Cancino. Costume Designer: Frank Labovitz. Props Designer: Ali Bozzonetti. Lighting Designer: E-hui Woo. Sound Designer: Veronica Lancaster. Stage Manager: Laura Wood. Assistant Stage Manager: Sam Rollin.
2016
Dreams and Discord: Hans and Elsie, by Alyssa Wilden, directed by Gus Heagerty, featuring Jonathan Helwig and Laura Artesi; Riding Lessons, by Brett Hursey, directed by Lex Davis, featuring Matthew Sparacino, Mary Myers and Kendal Helbig; Everlast, by Francesca Pazniokas, directed by Sarah Scafidi, featuring Tess Higgins and Helwig; The Red Light, by David Williams, directed by Heagerty, featuring Stephanie Garcia and Artesi; Choosing You, by Rachel Lynett, directed by Davis, featuring Myers, Sparacino and Helwig.
Ballast: by Georgette Kelly. Directed by Margot Manburg . Featuring Jen Rabbitt Ring, Dallas Milholland, Tyasia Velines, Chelsea Thaler, Reginald Richard, Crystal Swann, and Sarah Holt. Set Design by Klyph Stanford. Costume Design by Kara Walla. Lighting Design by Sean Forsythe. Sound Design by Neil McFadden. Dramaturgy by Aria Velz.
Crossroads: Conceived and performed by Delesslin George-Warren, Jane Rabinovitz, and Brittney Sankofa.
Secrets and Sound: The Ferberizing of Coral, by Patrick Flynn, directed by Anne Donnelly; In Between the Drops, by Elayne Heilweil, directed by Kevin Place; Kylie and Janet and Robyn and Cher, by John Bavoso, directed by Matt Ripa; Adam’s Temptation, by Jack Piland, directed by Mr. Place; Sign Language, by Joshua Reinhardt, directed by Mr. Ripa; and I Don’t know, by James McLindon, directed by Donnelly. Featuring Gregory Atkin, Rebecca Ballinger, Madeline Burrows, Andrew Flurer, Mediombo Fofuna, Emily Gilson; David Hohnson, Patrick Joy, Aaron Loggins and Nate Shelton. Set design, Klyph Stanford. Costume design, Shelby Marie Gable. Lighting designer, Nathaniel Collard. Sound design, Gordon Nimmo-Smith. Production stage manager, Lisa Blythe, assisted by Caolan Eder.
Heroes and Home: A Whiff of Humanity by Mark Eisman, directed by Rachel Murray; Love and Minor Destruction by Maximillian Gill, directed by Kristen Pilgrim; We Could be Heroes, by David MacGregor, directed by Anna Lathrop; Harold Eventually Reconciles with his Sister in One Second, by Jason Pizzarello, directed by Ms. Lathrop; That Kid, by Jane Willis, directed by Ms. Murray; and Man in Peril, by Alex Dreman, directed by Ms. Pilgrim. Featuring Ariana Almajan, Christopher Carillo, Karen Elle, Joseph Graf, Connor Hogan, Shawn Jain, Vanita Kalra, Danny Pushkin, Mindy Shaw and Kimberlee Wolfson. Set designer, Klyph Stanford. Costume designer, Shelby Marie Gable. Lighting designer, Nathaniel Collard. Sound designer, Robert Pike. Lisa Blythe, assisted by Caolan Eder, stage manager.
Static: by Tom Horan . Directed by Bridget Grace Sheaff. Featuring Keith Richards, Megan Reichelt, Amy Horan, Dylan Jackson, and Charlotte “Lottie” Doughty. Set design: Klyph Stanford. Costume design: Kara Walla. Lighting design: Mary Keegan. Sound design: Gordon Nimmo-Smith. Production stage manager: Lisa Blythe. Rehearsal stage manager: Carmen Livesay.
lost&SOUND: created and performed by Francesca Chilcote, Veronica Lancaster and Maverick Lemons.
Entanglement, created and performed by Claire Alrich, Maryam Foye, and Britney Mongold.
Buried Cities by Jennifer Fawcett, Directed by Ryan Maxwell, featuring McCall Baggett, Yesenia Iglesias, Frank Cevarich and Lee Gerstenhaber. Set design, Kylph Stanford. Costume design, Kara Walla. Lighting designer, Mary Keegan. Sound designer, Roc Lee. Production stage manager Lisa Blythe. Rehearsal stage manager William Blanchette.
2015
Blue Straggler, by Rebecca Bossen. Directed by Patrick Pearson. Featuring Jenny Donovan, Heidi Fortune, Sarah Holt, Luke Cieslewicz. Set Designer: Robbie Hayes. Lighting Designer: Nate Collard. Costume Designer: Katie Touart. Sound Designer: Gordon Nimmo-Smith. Prop Design: Britney Mongold. Projection Design: Ryan Smith. Dramaturgy: Fareed Mostoufi. Stage Manager: Sharon Achtenberg. Rehearsal Stage Manager: Tori Ujczo.
(a love story) by Kelly Lusk. Directed by Jess Jung. Featuring Drew Paramore, Ben Lauer, Christie Jackson, Shane O’Loughlin, Sarah Gavitt-Mendez, Zach Brewster-Geisz, Julia Klavans, David Mavricos, and Jack Novak. Set Design: Robbie Hayes.Lighting Design: Brian S. Allard. Costume Design: Heather Whitpan.Sound Design: Gordon Nimmo-Smith. Prop Design: Britney Mongold. Assistant Director: Lelia TahaBurt. Dramaturgy: Allison Bucca. Composition: Shane O’Loughlin. Stage Manager: Sharon Achtenberg. Rehearsal Stage Manager: Magdalena Schutzler.
The Word and the Wasteland, by Timothy Guillot. Directed by Joshua W. Kelley. Featuring Tamieka Chavis, Sarah Ferris, Greg Thompson, Joshua Simon, Zach Bopst, Robbie Hayes, Brian S. Allard. Sound Designer: Gordon Nimmo-Smith. Costume Designer: Heather Whitpan. Prop Designer: Britney Mongold. Projection Designer: Ryan Smith. Fight Choreographer: Casey Kaleba. Stage Manager: Sharon Achtenberg.
Science and Soulmates. Math: A Short Play about Heidegger, by T. Adamson, directed by Nick Martin, featuring Devon Ross, Farah Lawal Harris and Seth Rosenke; Ball Drop, by Rick Espy, directed by Bridget Grace Sheaff, featuring Tori Boutin, Kimberlee Wolfson and Frank Cervarich; Dissection, by Stephen Spotswood, directed by Jenna Duncan, featuring Jennifer Osborn and Aaron Keith; Both Sides, Now by Elizabeth Archer, directed by Duncan, featuring Hilary Kelly, Osborn, Cervarich, Keith, and Ross; Limit: A Function of Word and Thought, by Alison Donnelly, directed by Martin, featuring Harris and Rosenke; The Physics of Now, by Alex Dremann, directed by Sheaff, featuring Michael Sigler, Boutin, Cervarich, and Wolfson.
Love and Botany. The Tomato and the Onion, by Simon Henriques, directed by Joan Cummins, featuring Kendall Helblig and Matthew Sparacino; Manus Dei, by Jeffrey Strausser, directed by Brandon Butts, featuring Chantel Martineau, Shawn Jain and Alison Daniels; Dioecious, by Kristen Davis-Coehlo, directed by Lila Rachel Baker, featuring Erick Sotomayor and Caroline Lucas; Allergy, by Erica Smith, directed by Butts, featuring Jain and Martineau; Tree Danglings, by Kristy Simmons, directed by Cummins, featuring Helblig and Sparacino, and A Bouquet a Day, by Madeline Dennis-Yates, directed by Becker, featuring Lee Gerstenhaber and Tekle Ghebremeschel.
Mistakes and Media. Prince and Repunzel, by Alyssa Wilden, directed by Quill Nebecker, featuring Ruthie Rado and Ronnie Brown; Palm, by Graziella Jackson, directed by Ty Hallmark, featuring Mackenzie Williams and Matthew Taylor Strote; Death of a Stupid Man, by RN Healy, directed by Sun King Davis, featuring Robert Pike and Danny Rovin; Connected, by Chris Holbrook, directed by Nebecker, featuring Brown and Rado; The Sad Funeral by Lucas Kruger, directed by Davis, featuring Alani Kravitz and Rovin and The Sales Rank Also Rises, by John Yunker, directed by Hallmark, featuring Williams and Strote.
2014
Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea (Steinberg Award Honoree) by Nathan Alan Davis. Directed by Mark Hairston. Featuring Birgundi Angel Baker, Tracey Farrar, Kathleen Cole Burke, Louis E. Davis, Dane Figueroa Edidi, Rashard Harrison, and Stanley Andrew Jackson III. Set design by Deb Sivigny. Lighting design by John Alexander. Sound design by Veronica J. Lancaster. Costume design by Lauren Cucarola. Patrick Magill was the stage manager; Derek David served as rehearsal stage manager.
We Forget, We Never Forget, conceived and performed by Layne Garrett and Rick Westercamp.
The Thrush and the Woodpecker, by Steve Yockey. Directed by Cara Gabriel, assisted by Chelsea Thaler. Featuring Alex Alferov, Alison Bauer and Robin Covington. Set design by Deb Sivigny. Lighting design by John Alexander. Sound design by Veronica J. Lancaster. Costume design by Lauren Cucarola. Prop design by Britney Mongold. Fight choreography by Casey Kaleba. Patrick Magill was the stage manager (Laura Wood the rehearsal stage manager) and Jon Hardy was the technical director.
Countdown, conceived and performed by Swedian Lie, Raymond Wellacher and Meredith Bove.
A Bid to Save the World, by Erin Bregman. Directed by Elena Velasco . Songs: Original Music by Jon Jon Johnson. Lyrics by Erin Bregman . The “Song of Great Sorrow and Beauty” (“The World-Changing Tune”) was devised by the cast. Musical direction by Jon Jon Johnson. Featuring Audrey Bertaux, Natasha Gallop, Allyson Harkey, Steve Lichtenstein, Anna Lynch, Rafael Sebastian, Shane O’Loughlin, Matthew Rubbelke, Rachel Viele and Kimberlee Wolfson.
Facebook in Memoriam, conceived by Elizabeth Dinkova, Rachel Hynes, and Jennifer Restak and performed by Hynes, Restak and Caitlin Crombleholme.
Mortality. The Aurora Mainframe, by Timothy Gullot, directed by Nick Vargas, featuring Chris Rudy and Katie Ryan; Nasty, Brutish and Short, by Jonathan Spector, directed by Vargas, featuring Kevin Collins, Carol Lampman McCaffrey, Max Schwager, Emily Sucher and Ryan; Painted, by Maria MacCarthy, directed by Angela Pirko, featuring Gayle Carney, Taylor Robinson, and Noelle Vi?as; Dressing Bobby Strong, by Stephen Spotswood, directed by Annalisa Dias, featuring Hazel Lozano and Collins; The Narrow Gate, by Sarah Bernstein, directed by Pirko, featuring Valeka Holt and Adam Adkins and Dust to Dust to Dust, by Aaron Weisman, directed by Dias, featuring Kiernan McGowan and Lozano.
Revenge. Picnic on the Lake, by CJ Ehrlich, directed by Jennifer Mendenhall, featuring Daniel Corey and Sara Barker; What Remains of Youth, by Erik Gernand, directed by Jarrod Jabre, featuring Tori Boutin and Seth Rosenke; We Are Not Animals, by John Kelly, directed by Mendenhall, featuring Devora Zack, Dannielle Hutchison, Ariana Almajan, Shravan Amin, and Corey; Collect Everything, by Vincent Delaney, directed by Jabre, featuring Briana Manente, Kim Tuvin, Boutin and Rosenke; Collateral Damages and Other Cosmic Consequences, by A.K. Forbes, directed by Adi Stein, featuring Nadia Mohebban and Erik Harrison and Freddy and Cathy, by Alyssa Wilden, directed by Stein, featuring Matthew Sparacino and Sarah Ferris.
Quests. Local Pilgrimage, by Phillip Kaplan, directed by Maryam Foye, featuring Chris Aldrich and Beth Amann; Old Gray Devil, by Elizabeth Archer, directed by Mark Kamie with musical direction by Elizabeth Dutton, featuring Amie Cazal, Teresa Catherine, Mark Ludwick, Stacy Whittle, Rasik Ohal, Sara Dabney Tisdale, Henry Lague, Amann and Dutton; After Unlocking the Universe, by Susan Goodell, directed by Orion Jones, featuring Jack Novak, Catherine and Cazel; The Reluctant Genie of Naimey, by Marine Gassier, directed by Jones, featuring Novak and Ohal; The Wild Ones, by Molly Hagan, directed by Mark Kamie, featuring Dutton and Ludwick, and Corn Bread with Raisins and Almonds, by Benjamin Marshall, directed by Foye, featuring Emily Morrison, Keith Irby, Amann and Aldrich.
2013
A Frontier, as Told by the Frontier, by Jason Gray Platt, directed by Lee Liebeskind, featuring Scott McCormick, Maggie Erwin, Ryan Sellers, Kyle Encinas, and Kita Grayson.
Perfect Arrangement, by Topher Payne (Osborne Award winner), directed by Linda Lombardi, featuring Andrew Keller, Raven Bonniwell, Natalie Cutcher, Kiernan McGowan, Zach Brewster-Geisz, Karen Lange and Jill Nienhiser. Kelley Kidd is costume designer and Laura Wood is the production stage manager.
Fox Cried, conceived and performed by Ethan Foote, Jack Novak, and Jane Clare Remick.
Lake Untersee, by Joe Waechter, directed by Rick Hammerly Featuring Noah Chiet, Adrienne Armstrong, Mark Ludwick and Liz Osborn. Casey Kaleba is the fight choreographer. Set and props by Deb Sivigny, lighting design by Joseph R. Walls, sound design by Roni Lancaster, costume design by Katie Touart. Patrick Magill is the stage manager; Amanda Zeitler was the rehearsal stage manager.
Uncle Cory’s Secret Playtime, conceived and performed by Angela Pirko, Cory Oberndorfer, and Quynn Johnson.
Momentum, Interrupted, conceived and performed by Ana Patricia Farfán, Adi Stein, and Megan Mueller.
Afterward. Edward Cullen Ruined my Mother’s Love Life by Stephanie Alison Walker, directed by Megan Behm and featuring Carol McCaffrey, Meredith Richard and Christopher Sullivan; The Man in the Powder-Blue Suit by Stephen Spotswood, directed by Renana Fox and featuring Alina Collins-Maldonado and John Tweel; 50 Guns, by Alex Broun, directed by Ali Miller, and featuring Kathryn Ryan; Minus You by Jennifer Barclay, directed by Behm and featuring Richard and Sullivan; Lost in Thought, by Christopher Lockheardt, directed by Miller with fight choreography by Casey Kaleba, featuring Ryan, Theo Hadjimichael, and Bru Ajueyitsi; and Riot Grrrl Reunion, by Darin J. Dunston, directed by Fox with fight choreography by Ashley Byrd-San and featuring Collins-Maldonado, Hajimichael, Darius Epps, Jessie Jordan, Genevieve James, and Ruthie Rado. Stage manager: Patrick Magill. Assistant Stage Managers: Lena Foreman and Andrea Fanta, Lighting Designer: Sean Forsythe. Sound Designer: Elisheba Ittoop. Costume Design: Lauren Cucarola. Props and Costumes: Joni Martin.
On the Cusp. A Unicorn on 7th and Nicollet by Jessica Huang, directed by Maureen Monterubio and featuring Mia Bronco and Frank Turner; Cake by Sherry Kramer, directed by Monterubio and featuring Bronco, Turner, Chris Aldrich and Annie Cazel; With her Old Boyfriends there were Patterns, by Eric Pfeffinger, directed by Kathryn Chase Bryer, and featuring Hyla Matthews, Emma Jackson, Josh Adams, Hannah Blechman and Gwen Grastorf; Strangers on a Train by Peter J. Roth, directed by Jacob Janssen and featuring Brandon Mitchell and Monalisa Arias; Supplications, by David Mitchell Robinson, directed by Janssen, featuring Mitchell, Adams, Peg Nichols and Jim Epstein; and Back Stock, by Jami Brandli, directed by Monterubio and featuring Cazal and Aldrich. Stage manager: Patrick Magill. Assistant Stage Managers: Lena Foreman and Andrea Fanta. Lighting Designer: Sean Forsythe. Sound Designer: Elisheba Ittoop. Costume Design: Lauren Cucarola. Props and Costumes: Joni Martin .
In the Midst. The Return of the Living by Eric Appleton, directed by Santner and featuring Grant Cloyd, Anna Jackson and Jim Osteen; Reflections by Jonathan Cook, directed by Kelly Mesa and featuring Lynette Rathnam, Joshua Dick and Dexter Hamlett; Frosty: A Chilly Tragedy with Sexy Bits, by Krista Knight with music by Barry Brinegar, directed by Mesa, and featuring Rathnam and Hamlett; Pioneers by Molly Hagan, directed by Santner and featuring Kathleen Cole Burke and Logan Sutherland; First Stop: Niagara Falls, by Renee Calarco, directed by Jeremy Skidmore, featuring Sarah Ferris, Anna Lathrop, Emily Kester, Alex Perez, Alex Badalov and Stephanie LaVardera; and Pas de Deux for a Microwave Night, by Stephen Lewis, directed by Santner and choreographed by Melissa-Leigh Bustamante, with Dana Maas, Perez, Bustamante, Ryan Tumulty, Ariana Almajan, Cloyd and Sutherland. Stage manager: Patrick Magill. Assistant Stage Managers: Lena Foreman and Andrea Fanta. Lighting Designer: Sean Forsythe. Sound Designer: Elisheba Ittoop. Costome Design: Lauren Cucarola. Props and Costumes: Joni Martin.
2012
Ethereal Encounters. Answers, by Edgar Martino Schulz, directed by Doug Eacho, featuring Chris Aldrich, Sarah Blush, Rafael Medina and Steve Lee; Jinshin Jiko, by Bridgett Jutta Portman, directed by Jason Loewith, featuring Jennifer Restak, Sam Phillips, KyoSin Kang and Lee; Lost and Found at the Hotel Mogador, by James Hesla, directed by Rick Hammerly, featuring Michael Rodriguez and David Landstrom; F2F, by Jennifer Barkley, directed by Eacho, featuring Natalie Cutcher, Jessica Shearer, Medina, Aldrich and Blush; Warm Bodies, by M. Pepper Langlinias, directed by Hammerly, featuring Eric Humphries, Stacy Whittle, Rachel Viele and Landstrom and Lisa Frank Virginity Club, by Christin Siems, directed by Eacho, featuring Lee, Aldrich and Shearer.
The Pressure Cooker, conceived and performed by Daters Hayley Cutler, Liz Maestri and Nguyên Nguyen.
Shadow-Matter: Exam Log X, conceived and produced by Drex, Dannie Snyder and Lisi Stoessel.
Filter, conceived and produced by James Bigbee, Sarah Ewing and Kristy Simmons, with additional performance by Anthony Barbir.
Uses of Enchantment, by Gregory Moss, directed by Amber Jackson, featuring Brittany Martz, Mia Branco, Shayna Bass, Amy Wilson and Phil Dickerson.
The House Halfway, by Norman Allen, directed by Raymond O. Caldwell, featuring Claire Carroll, Will Beech, Chris Mancusi, Jasmin Danielle, Matthew Rubbleke and Nora Achrati.
Qualities of Starlight, by Gabriel Jason Dean, directed by Sasha Bratt, featuring Daniel Corey, Katie Nighsch-Fairfax, Vanessa Bradchulis and Jim Epstein.
The Rites of Passage. Phone Tree, by Daniel Heath, directed by Jennifer Nelson, featuring Christian Sullivan and Thembi Duncan; Cyanocitta, by Jason Gray Platt, directed by Ryan Maxwell, featuring Kyle Encinas and Rachael Murray; Be What You Wish to Seem, by Jonathan Spector, directed by Debbi Arseneaux, featuring Julian Gordon, Neelam Patel, and Jenny Donovan; Exposure, by Walt McGough, directed by Maxwell, featuring Raven Bonniwell and Encinas; The Cliff, by Nelson Diaz-Marcano, directed by Arseneaux, featuring Arden Moscati and Gordon and Collider, by Cullen T.M. McGough, directed by Maxwell, featuring Boniwell and Encinas.
Redeeming Demons. Northern Indiana Wildlife Preserve, by Lee August Praley, directed by Jennifer Harris, featuring Sara Dabney Tisdale, Brandon Mitchell and Logan Sutherland; Collateral Damage, by Sarah Kellogg and Cynthia Wilcox, directed by Tyler Budde, featuring Erika Grob, Stephanie Svec and Ivan Zizek; National Smoke Signal Day, by Billy Finn, directed by Harris, featuring Steve Isaac and Tisdale; Carbon Credit, by Joni McGary, directed by Budde, featuring Patrick Furie, Sarah Gavitt, and Isaac; The Seesaw, by Drew Hampton, directed by Baker, featuring Jennifer Ayn Knight and Andrew Ferlo, and Trash TV, by Tommy Trull, directed by Budde, featuring Sutherland, Svec, Furie, Gavitt, Grob, Isaac, Mitchell and Zizak.
2011
Perspectivoyage, conceived and performed by Matthew Mann, Lucy Bowen McCauley and Dave Bobb.
Collapsing Silence, conceived and performed by David Carlson, John Moletress and Ilana Faye Silverstein.
Volcanic in Origin, by Gregory Hischak, directed by Sonya Robbins, featuring Ashley Ivey, David Winkler, Belan Pifel and Gwen Grastorf.
Adjusting the Volume, conceived and performed by Cecilia Cackley, Lee Gainer, and Haskell Small.
The Making of a Modern Folk Hero, by Martin Zimmerman, directed by Catherine Tripp, featuring Bradley Smith, Odell Ruffin and Danielle Davis.
Lost and Found. Principles of Dramatic Writing, by Steve Molds, directed by Andrew Hawkins, featuring Carina Czipoth and Christopher Holbert; Jou Eat Vat Jou Are, by Matthew Ivan Bennett, directed by Natsu Odana Power, featuring Mikey Cafarelli and Michael Rodriguez; Language Monkey, by Juanita Rockwell, directed by Carmen C. Wong, featuring Lisa Hodsell, Ivan Zizak and Nello DeBlasio; The Two Ufologists, by Nicholas Gray, directed by Timmy Metzner, featuring Luke Cleslewica and Raven Boniwell; Sasquatch and the Man, by Eric Appleton, directed by Jennifer Lefkow, featuring Michael Hammond, Nevie Brooks, Marilyn Bennett and R. Michael Oliver and The Truth About Tiny Tim, by Eric Pfeffinger, directed by David A. Snider.
Heroes and Villains. Executive Order 10450, by Hal Corley, directed by Ryan S. Taylor, featuring Eric Humphries and T. Anthony Quinn; Oscar Grant is Dead and I’m Terrified, by Michael Saloman, directed by Raymond O. Caldwell, featuring Lucretia Anderson, Jane Dempsey, Chris Dwyer, and Jonathan Randle; The Peach, by Alex Dreamann, directed by Taylor, featuring Betsey Rosen and Omar Bar; Ice Holes, by Greg Romero, directed by Taylor, featuring Sun King Davis, Humphries, Quinn, and Bar, with a puppet directed by Rosen; Park Place or Monopoly Becomes Electra, by Lee August Praley, directed by Colin A. Grube, featuring Carolyn Mahoney and Paul Laudiero and True Nails, by Chris Van Strander, directed by Alexander Strain, featuring Tony Villa, Amy Kellett, and Jennifer Knight.
Naceriema, conceived and performed by Debbi Arseneaux, Martin Gendelman and Tewodross Melchishua; directed by Arseneaux, with original music by Gendelman and a film clip by Melchishua.
Spacebar: A Broadway Play by Kyle Sugarman, by Michael Mitnick, directed by Jacob Schlafstein, featuring Brian Razzino, Jared Murray, Michael Saltzman, Kelly Hennessey, Josh Sticklin and Kristen Garaffo.
Lovers and Friends. Love, Death and Latex, by Jeffrey Mosser, directed by Matt Ripa, featuring Grant Cloyd and Mia Branco; Dance with the Devil, by Christina Hodak, directed by Hannah Todd, featuring Doug Krehbel and Robin Covington; Feel Your Breath, by B. Walker Sampson, directed by Todd, featuring Susan Strasser and Edward Daniels; Fugue for Amorous Tornadoes, by Gabriel Jason Dean, directed by Randy Baker, featuring Kari Ginsburg and Christian Sullivan; Driving Home, by Margaret Hoffman, directed by Amber Jackson, featuring Rebecca Bosen and Daniel Jacob Corey and A Disturbing Encounter at the Calhoun Residence Involving Sex, Marriage, and the American Musical Theatre, by William Cameron, directed by Todd, featuring Sarah Barker, Alex Vaughan, and Krehbel.
2010
Splinters, by Emily Schwend, directed by Clementine Thomas, featuring Sylvie Ashford, Scott McCormick, Lisa Hodsill, Annie Greer, and Kyle Encias.
This is not a Time Bomb, by Aaron Wigdor Levy, directed by Shirley Serotsky, featuring Edward Daniels, Tom Carman, Alex Vaughan, Dana Levanovsky, and Kristen Rogers.
Memoria Brassica, conceived and performed by Kristina Bilonick, Karin Abromaitis and Tzveta Kassabova.
Bunny, Bunny, by Seamus Sullivan, directed by Lisa A. Caruso, who also presents a short film of her own making, choreographed by Chitra Kalyandurg, featuring Paolo Santayana, Chris Mancusi, and Frank O’Donnell.
It’s Me You Should Blame, conceived and performed by Angella Foster, playwright/actor James Hesla, and vocalist L’Tanya’ Mari.
A Greater Depression, conceived by Jane Franklin, Matt Ripa, Brad Linde, featuring Ashley DeMain, Alyssa Hayek and Ripa (among others), with music by Eric Harper, Sarah Hughes, Linde and Tony Martucci.
Group B. Saddam’s Lions, by Jacob Juntunen, directed by Danielle Drakes, featuring Zenzele Cooper and Jamell Carter; Foreign Tongue, by Martin Zimmerman, directed by John Moletross, featuring Sara Barker, Sun King Davis and Karin Rosnizeck; Girls Play, by Masha Obolensky, directed by Karen Chase Bryer asssisted by Julie Krebs, featuring Amy Kellett and Amy Quiggens; Amenities, by Gregory Hischek, directed by Jacob Schlafstein, featuring Kevin Hasser, Charity Pomery, Anastasia Wilson, and Filipe Cabezas; Then and Again, by Sharon Auerbach, directed by Bill Largess, featuring Marilyn Bennett, James Svetko, Jennifer Restak and Matt Dewberry and J.A.P., by Lauren Yee, directed by Tiffany Ford, featuring Hope Kean, Joan Croaker and Ned Read.
Group C. Jacqmin Family in the Petrified Forest, by Laura Jacqmin, featuring Judith Ingber, Jim Epstein, Ayesis Clay, and Maya Jackson; The Shelf Life of Sushi, by William Downs, directed by Gabrielle Randle, featuring Michael Rodriguez and Leah Raulerson; He is Heavy, by Genevieve Jessee, directed by Brian Joseph Lee, featuring Arturo Tolentino and Jonathan Randle; Rice Futures, by Rich Espey, featuring Steve Lee, Sophia Bushong, and Lee Leibeskind; Love Drunk, by James Rogers III, directed by Daniel Pruksarnukul, featuring John Geoffrion and Lauren Green, and There Are Shapes on the Ceiling that Look Like Bats, by B. Walker Sampson, featuring Tyler Stolenberg and Katie Probst, with Daniel Mori as a puppeteer.
Group A. Seven Seconds Before the Conflagration, by Jen Silverman, directed by Akiva Fox, featuring John Brady and Tina Ghandchilar; Mio Cuore-My Heart, by Kate Sullivan Gibbens, directed by Craig Wallace; In the River, by Craig Robbins, directed by Melissa-Leigh Bustamonte and Kjerstin Lynse, featuring Robert Bromley and Kelly Mayfield; In the Fort, by Robert Bettencourt, directed by Emily Levin, featuring Evelyn Cannon and Sophia Campoamor and Something Like Loneliness, by Ryan Dowler, directed by Randy Baker, featuring Tony Bullock.
It’s Lonely Out in Space, by Sean Graney, directed by Patrick Torres, featuring Danny Gavigan, Richie Pepio, Jjana Valentiner and Vanita Kaira.
2009
Project 24/7. Dead Sexy, by Ben Kingsland, Directed and choreographed by Melissa-Leigh Bustamonte, featuring Johnn Robert Kenna, Aaron Mednick and Na’la (Amy) Phillips; Packing/Pecking, by Juanita Rockwell, Directed and choreographed by Mollye Maxner, featuring Peter Vance, Alex Vaughn, Jessica Wanamaker and Mary Werntz; Remedial Lessons in Mercy for Judiciary Conservatives, by Gwydion Suilebhan, Directed and choreographed by Kelly Maxner, featuring Chris Galindo, Denise Jakobsberg, Ilana Silverstein, and Anetta Dexter Sawyer; Unfriendly Territory by Norman Allen, Directed and choreographed by Laura Shandelmeier, featuring Michael Grew, Shannon Listol, Rose McConnell and Shandelmeier; Reunification, or Scenes from the Dear Leader’s Annual Involuntary Film Festival, by Seamus Sullivan, Directed and choreographed by Lucy Bowen McCauley, featuring Daniel Yoerges and Carrie Monger; Alimentation, by Sara Ilyse Jacobson, Directed and choreographed by Daniel Phoenix Singh, featuring S. Lewis Feemster, Magdalene Vick and Cherita Williams, and Cassandra Dances with the Devil, by Randy Baker, Directed and choreographed by Stephen Clapp, featuring Stephanie Kara Jordon and Meisha Bosma. Jjana Valentiner served as Mistress of Ceremonies.
Group C. Night Song, by David Weaver, Directed by Jennifer Nelson, featuring Jim Epstein and Rusty Clauss; X-Ray Vision at the Motel 9, by Ian August; Directed by Alan Paul, featuring Chris Dinolfo and Eric Humphries; Blood and Menthol by Christopher Lockhart, Directed by Rachel Grossman, featuring Niki Jacobsen and Joe Isenberg; Please Report Any Suspicious Activity, by Rick Park, Directed by Mary Hall Surface, featuring Tom Howell, Nathan Weinberger and Adam S. Curtis; Sugar Glider by William Donnelly, directed by Jennifer Johns, featuring Chris Mancusi and Jennifer Wanamaker and Feet, by Kathleen Akerley, Directed by Leslie Felbian, featuring Alex C. Vaughn, Josh Sticklin and Matthew Friedman.
Group A. The Craving, by David L. Williams, Directed by Mitchell Hébert, featuring Salma Qarnain and John Tweel; Seven Lies of an Unbeliever, by J.T. Rogers, directed by Chris Gallu, featuring Jon Reynolds; Was, by Jami Brandli, directed by Patrick Torres, featuring Daniel Yoerges and Theo Hadjimichael; Extremes, by C.S. Hanson, directed by Derek Goldman, featuring Julia Brandenberry and John Bailey; Game/Over, by Michael Elyanow, directed by Grady Weatherford, featuring Arturo Tolentino and Kenneth J. Ray, and The Crucifixion of Moe and Ira, by Lynn Steven Johanson, directed by Shirley Serotsky, featuring Matt Hicks and Scott Ziegler.
Group B. The Shore, by Daniel Talbott, directed by Jessica Lefkow, featuring Rena Cherry Brown and Marilyn Bennett; Steve, by Elizabeth Bartucci, directed by Gregg Henry, featuring Julie Garner and Joseph Thornhill; Airborne, by Laura Jaqmin, directed by Rahaleh Nassri, featuring Brynn Tucker and Clay Teunis; Inheriting Cleo, by Stephen Faria, directed by KenYatta Rogers, featuring Matthew Dewberry, Sara Waisenen, Andrew Hawkins and Susan Holliday; Armed with Peanut Butter, by Dana Lynn Formby, directed by Colin Hovde, featuring Sara Barker and Seth Vaughn and Table for Four, by Steven Korbar, directed by Alexander Strain.
Mash-Ups Group E. Listening…, created and performed by Kathleen Akerley, Jeremy Haik, and Vincent E. Thomas; Unscheduled Track Maintenance, conceived by Dan VanHoozer and Psalmayne 24, featuring Joshua Drew, 24, Jali-D and Waldo Robertson; Hallmark Dreams, conceived by Kelly Mayfield, featuring Mayfield and Van Hoozer. David London was the Master of Ceremonies.
One Acts Group F. The Mating of Angela Weiss, by Rene Calarco, directed by Jenny McConnell Frederick, featuring Yasmin Tuazon, Barbara Papendorp and Francisco Rienoso; Her Love Was Vertigo, by Estep Nagy, directed by David Dower, featuring Delaney Williams, Daniel Eichner, Annie Grier and Kimberly Schraf. Poets from Pages and Da Wizard of Da Movement served as Masters of Ceremonies.
Mash-Ups Group D. Scent of Sky, conceived and performed by Naoko Maeshiba and electronic-media artist, Alberto Gaitan; Token, created and performed by Enoch Chan and Kimmie Dobbs Chan and Combustion, created and performed by Scott Burgess, Allyson Currin and Kate McGraw. Armida Lowe served as Mistress of Ceremonies.
2008
This Perfect World, by Chris Stezin, directed by John Vreeke, featuring Jason Lott.
Group A. The Great White Undulating Orb in the Bed Between us, by Ari Roth, directed by Debra Kirby; Maintenance, by Nathan McGaughy, directed by Blake Robison; NOLA, by Rick Park, directed by Michael Bobbitt; A Taste of Heaven, by Estep Nagy, directed by Kathleen Ackerley; Urashima Taro, by Francesca Sanders, directed by Chris Gallu; Urban Legend, by Matt Batistick, directed by Gregg Henry, A Trip to the Zoo, by Thomas Higgins, directed by Mark Rhea; Yes to Everything: Son of Everything, by Phillip Dawkins, directed by Linda Murray.
Group B. Empties, by Matt Mayerchek, directed by Howard Shalwitz; First/Last by Aaron Levy, directed by Robert McNamara; How Much for This, by Keith Bridges, directed by Karen Berman; Little Girls, by Leah Nanako Winkler, directed by Scott Fortier; Magnolia Day, by Shari Graubert, directed by Jeffrey Johnson; Running in Circles Screaming, by Jeni Mahoney, directed by Paul Douglas Michnewicz; Tamed, by Foster Solomon, directed by Eric Schaefer and Without Parachutes, by Eric Levitz, directed by Jack Marshall.
Group C. Dated: A Cautionary Tale, by Ira Gamerman, directed by Michael Dove; The Downtown Daylight Project, by Daniel McCoy, directed by Michael Kahn; Painting a Room, by Dano Madden, directed by Jenny McConnell Frederick; Pentimento, by John Haller, directed by Michael Baron; The Rabbit and the Snake, by Randy Baker, directed by Mark Ramont; The Two Marys, by Heather McDonald, directed by Joy Zinoman; What Remains, by Libby Leonard, directed by John MacDonald; Warriors, by Rene Calarco, directed by Christopher Henley and Writer’s Block, by John-Paul Nickel, directed by Paata Tsikurishvili.
Murmuring in a Dead Tongue, by J.T. Rogers, directed by Jennifer Nelson.
Sunday Night, by Julian Sheppard, directed by Dorothy Neumann.
The Mnemonist, by Julia Cho, directed by David Muse.
Catch, by Graeme Gillis, directed by Steve Mazzola.
Tumor, by Sheila Callaghan, directed by Kasi Campbell.
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