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Program Notes

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Hello everyone and welcome to PlayMakers’ 2023/24 season!

I’m so excited to launch our new season with two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage’s brilliant fable charting the undeniable power of hope and light. There’s something uniquely American about fables of the underdog, and Clyde’s maps that narrative through the lives of five very diverse and dynamic characters with compassion, humor, and a good dash of magic realism that is a special ingredient in much of Nottage’s work.

Nottage said about writing the play that she “was interested in people who find themselves in limbo and attempt to emerge from a place of darkness without knowing how to fully embrace the light. The equivalent of that in our society are formerly incarcerated individuals who must reengage with a culture that doesn’t necessarily welcome them home with open arms.” At the core of this unique parable is the meditative act of creating the perfect sandwich – an unlikely process that allows our characters to imagine a path forward as they rediscover their relationship to society.

At the helm of this hilarious and poignant play is a powerful theatre artist making her PlayMakers debut. Melissa Maxwell is a director, actor, playwright, and educator who has brought, along with her cast and creative team, such care and humanity to this show.

I can’t think of a better way to kick off another season of engaging theatre in the Triangle. As PlayMakers continues to chart its way forward in the wake of the last several years, we offer a season of adaptation, rebirth, and transformation. At the heart of it all are damn good stories. I hope you’ll join us for all of them.

Enjoy the show!

Vivienne

PlayMakers Advisory Council

Jackie Tanner, Chair

Betsy Blackwell, Patrick Brennan, Deborah Gerhardt, Susan Gross, Amy Guskiewicz, C. Hawkins, Lillian Jenks, Duncan Lascelles, Stuart Lascelles, Robert Long, emeritus, Graig Meyer, Julie Morris, Paula Noell, Jodi Patalano, Diane Robertson, Wyndham Robertson, Jennifer Werner, Mike Wiley.

Welcome, welcome, welcome!

We are so happy to have you in this space with us. What a fantastic season we just had, and it finally feels like things are getting back to a ‘new’ normal. Whole areas of our lives went to ground during the pandemic, and like many, I have found that as we emerge and grow, we all hope that this has provided fertile soil for inspiration, allowing germination for seeds waiting under the surface for the right conditions to bloom into their full potential. What better way to explore a new normal than to inhabit a physical space together with living people who expertly give voice to both deeply intimate feelings and expansive philosophical questions.

This coming season brings us both the classical and the new together, a blend of wonderfully fresh perspectives on established pieces of art and adaptations of great stories retold for the stage and fertile for this moment. I personally cannot wait to see what our own UNC alum, Bekah Brunstetter (and writer for NBC’s ‘This Is Us’,) has conjured up in The Game from the seeds of the oldest Greek comedy, Lysistrata.

When we participate in this theatre, we are joining together in reseeding the past and growing from tradition rather than giving upon it entirely. PlayMakers’ roots run strong in the history of our great University and this state, as it strives to tell contemporary stories of community and foster the idea that expression through art allows us to mature, grow, and reach for the stars.

I believe that there are some things only the arts can provide, and I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity PlayMakers affords us to witness the arts doing what only the arts can do. We hope you will continue to join us on our journey and support all that we do, both onstage and around the community. Share us on social media, bring your friends, donate – we appreciate your support.

Peace,

Jackie Tanner, Chair

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About the Author

Lynn Nottage is a playwright and a screenwriter. She is the first and remains the only, woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice. Her plays have been produced widely in the United States and throughout the world.

Most recently, Nottage premiered MJ the Musical, directed by Christopher Wheeldon and featuring the music of Michael Jackson, at the Neil Simon Theater on Broadway, Clyde’s directed by Kate Whoriskey at Second Stage Theater on Broadway, and an opera adaptation of her play Intimate Apparel composed by Ricky Ian Gordon and directed by Bart Sher, commissioned by The Met/Lincoln Center Theater.

Her other work includes the musical adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd’s novel The Secret Life of Bees, with music by Duncan Sheik and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead (The Almeida Theatre/The Atlantic Theater), Mlima’s Tale (Public Theater), By The Way, Meet Vera Stark (Lilly Award, Drama Desk Nomination- Second Stage/Signature Theater), Ruined (Pulitzer Prize, OBIE, Lucille Lortel, New York Drama Critics’ Circle, Audelco, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award- MTC/Goodman Theater); Intimate Apparel (American Theatre Critics and New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards for Best Play Center Stage/SCR/ Roundabout Theater); Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine (OBIE Award – Playwrights Horizons/Signature Theater); Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Las Meninas; Mud, River, Stone; Por’knockers; and POOF!

Nottage is a Doris Duke Artist, a board member for BRIC Arts Media Bklyn, Donor Direct Action, Dramatist Play Service, Second Stage and the Dramatists Guild. She recently completed a three-year term as an Artist Trustee on the Board of the Sundance Institute. She is member of the The Dramatists Guild, WGAE, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is currently an artist-in-residence at the Park Avenue Armory.

Program Notes

By Jacqueline Lawton, Dramaturg

Lynn Nottage is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for drama. She won for Ruined in 2009 and for Sweat in 2017. To this day, she is the first (and only) woman to have been awarded this coveted prize twice. Her passion for writing, her stamina and discipline, and her immense creativity are breathtaking and awe-inspiring. And she doesn’t appear to be slowing down!

Last year, she had a musical, an opera, and a play running in New York all at the same time. She adapted her much-beloved, widely produced play, Intimate Apparel, into an opera. She also wrote the book for MJ, a Broadway jukebox musical based on the life of singer, songwriter, and dancer Michael Jackson. While these productions were happening, her critically acclaimed, multiple award-winning play, Clyde’s, premiered on Broadway.

In her writing, Nottage continues to center marginalized voices. In a recent interview with Bon Appétit, Nottage explains, “The plays that I write center people who the American majority have not necessarily deemed worthy of placing center stage.” In doing so, she humanizes the lives of those who are often overlooked, erased, or forgotten. Clyde’s is no exception to this. Clyde’s is described as a comedy about formerly incarcerated workers at a truck-stop sandwich shop, but it is so much more than that. Our director, Melissa Maxwell beautifully describes the play as a modern-day fable. I appreciate this definition because the play complicates our understanding of good and evil as neither fixed nor binary.

Now, a run-down truck-stop in the middle of nowhere might not feel like the place where lives will be transformed, but Nottage understands the power of hope, determination, and dreams, and, let’s face it, she knows what she’s doing when it comes to writing powerful plays. She invites us into a world we might be afraid to go to, but once we’re there, it’s impossible to turn away.

In this play, we are introduced to five characters: Clyde, Montrellous, Letitia, Jason, and Rafael. In real life, we might only encounter their stories as part of a reality crime show and we might write them off for the crimes they committed. However, the play allows us to consider the circumstances of their lives and actions fully. Nottage challenges us not to judge too quickly or too harshly. She encourages us to see ourselves in some of their choices, which allows us to feel a bit of compassion and empathy towards them.

With Clyde’s, we’re given a small window into understanding the life of formerly incarcerated people. We’re shown their loneliness, their regrets, their desperation, their determination, and why their lives matter too. We’re given the opportunity to come together as a community and see what is possible if people are given a second chance.

Dramaturgy Fellow Series

By Lexi Silva, Dramaturg Associate

Hi, I’m Lexi Silva, the Dramaturgy Fellow for UNC’s Department of Dramatic Art and PlayMakers Repertory Company! As part of that work, I am serving as an Associate Dramaturg on each production in PlayMakers’ 2023/24 season. In addition to providing literary and production support to PlayMakers, I’ll also be working with the incredible undergraduate-led and run Kenan Theatre Company this school year. In an effort to document and share insights from each production I work on, I’ll be crafting a series of process journal entries to accompany each play this season. You can find out more about this series on DDA’s blog.

Now, let’s talk (sandwich) shop. According to notable arts publications including American Theatre magazine and The New York Times, Lynn Nottage was the most produced playwright of the 2022/23 season in the American theatre writ large, with Clyde’s (2021) coming in as most produced play. PlayMakers is proudly contributing to the myriad of institutions who believe that Clyde’s is a story worth telling this year. A story about second chances, survival and sandwiches, Clyde’s is equal parts magical, poignant, hilarious, and dark. The play maintains a connection to Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Sweat (2015), by following life after incarceration for Jason, a character whose story spans both works.

My first contact with the script began in Bloomington, Indiana, where I read the text just days before moving to begin working at UNC and PlayMakers. Once I arrived in the area, I met with Jacqueline Lawton, Production Dramaturg and Associate Professor of Dramatic Art. In our conversation, I gained valuable information about the script and Jacqueline’s perspective on how dramaturgs function in the production process at PlayMakers.

She encouraged me to be present, listen, and to let my instincts guide me when it comes to offering additional research or perspectives. As Associate Dramaturg for Clyde’s I have provided research support to the team, observed rehearsals led by director Melissa Maxwell and participated in table work—a stop-and-go read through of the script where actors and the artistic team are able to ask questions and openly discuss the play together. Maxwell, a decorated director, actor, and Co-Associate Artistic Director of The Great River Shakespeare Festival and Director of Professional Development at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, lead an exhilarating, rigorous, and empathetic process for her team. In Clyde’s, Maxwell identifies a story not about good and evil, but about people working to elevate themselves in spite of the systems of oppression and cycles of violence that limit them. In addition to her leadership, I have noticed that the collaborative network of artists, designers and technicians here truly uplifts the production work at PlayMakers.

Early in-process, Associate Artistic Director, Jeffrey Meanza generously connected me with Jo Holcomb, the Developmental Dramaturg for Clyde’s in its first iteration, Floyd’s, which premiered at the Guthrie Theatre in 2019. (Aside: ISN’T THAT SO COOL? I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY COOL!) In my conversation with Holcomb, we discussed the circumstances of the world premier production, foundational ideas in early iterations of the play and how it has evolved in the current script, and her approaches to new play dramaturgy. As rehearsals moved forward I was able to better understand the structure of the room and the process; it became easier to understand how to balance listening, observing and contributing in the rehearsal hall. As anyone might, I am always looking to my tools and experience to find my way through a process, but in my first project at PlayMakers it has been integral for me to understand how dramaturgy works here. In my introductory entry I discuss the mutability of the dramaturg. While I expect for there to be a learning curve with each new combination of collaborators, I feel that understanding the institutional systems at PlayMakers is necessary dramaturgical work, too. As a dramaturg I seek to find connection, analyze it, and translate it into accessible, and actionable information. In this way, institutional dramaturgy goes hand-in-hand with the artistic side of the role. In my experience, most theatre makers (not just dramaturgs) do this dance regularly.

I’d like to zoom out: Clyde’s, now the most produced play in America by double-Pulitzer-winning Lynn Nottage, was very recently a new play. The collaboration and collective investment in Nottage’s writing and new work means that a vast network of audiences get to experience Clyde’s. I know this is an exceedingly basic observation, but as a dramaturg with a deep commitment and belief in the power of new plays, this connection affirms me. In a moment in the American theatre when major headlines about the industry are almost exclusively about how it’s crumbling, it’s nice to remember that a new play (and yeah, I know it’s not just any new play, but still) can be met with great, widespread success. The success of Clyde’s is also subversive—the most produced play in the 22-23 season is about a population that America willfully forgets about. Nottage really DID THAT.

I’d like to wrap up by mentioning a few local resources in the area that correlate with themes in Clyde’s. The organizations and committees listed below advocate for individuals impacted by the criminal justice system. Some offer job training, counseling, and transitional resources to promote sustainable livelihoods post-incarceration and others are advocacy organizations looking to raise support and spread awareness.

● Benevolence Farm (Carrboro)
● Orange County Local Reentry Council
● Reentry Center for Women (Raleigh)
● The Center for Community Transitions (Charlotte)
● Forward Justice and The Formerly Incarcerated, Convicted Peoples and Families Movement (Durham)

Clyde’s

By Lynn Nottage

Directed by Melissa Maxwell

Scenic Designer
Riw Rakkulchon

Costume Designer
Gregory J. Horton

Lighting Designer
Cheyenne Sykes

Original Music & Sound Designer
Scott O’Brien

Dramaturg
Jacqueline E. Lawton

Vocal Coach
Gwendolyn Schwinke

Stage Manager
Aspen Blake Jackson

Assistant Stage Manager
Sarah Smiley

A special thank you to Wegmans, Drew Eberhardy,
Eli’s Kitchen & Catering, and The Wilson Family

All food waste from this production is sustainably composted by a happy family of hogs in Snow Camp, NC

September 6 – 24 , 2023

CLYDE’S is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.

World Premiere by the Guthrie Theater
Originally commissioned by Joe Dowling and produced by Joseph Haj, Artistic Directors Broadway Premiere produced by Second Stage Theater, New York, 2021

(Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Khady Kamara, Executive Director)

The video or audio recording of this performance by any means is strictly prohibited.

The Professional Theatre of the Department of Dramatic Art
Kathryn Hunter-Williams, Chair
Vivienne Benesch, Producing Artistic Director
Produced in association with the College of Arts and Sciences
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Actor Bios

Montrellous — Samuel Ray Gates*
Clyde — Tia James*
Rafael — Xavier Reyes*
Letitia — Saleemah Sharpe*
Jason — Adam Valentine*

Stage Managers: Aspen Blake Jackson* Sarah Smiley*

*Appears courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association,
the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Place: A truck stop sandwich shop – a liminal space

Clyde’s is performed without intermission

Samuel Ray Gates

Montrellous

PlayMakers: Company member in his fifth season. How I Learned What I Learned, Julius Caesar, Life of Galileo, Skeleton Crew, Leaving Eden, Dot.

Regional: Fairview (Woolly Mammoth Theater Company); All the Way (Theatre Squared); Between Riverside and Crazy (American Conservatory Theater); Alabama Story (Pioneer Theatre Company); Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Swing (Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse); The Muscles in our Toes (Labyrinth Theater Company); Clybourne Park (Cincinnati Playhouse); Trinity River Plays (Dallas Theater Center, Goodman Theatre); In the Red and Brown Water (McCarter Theatre Center); Electra (Classical Theatre of Harlem).

Film: November Criminals, Wolves, Two Night Stand, Queen City, The Men Who Stare at Goats.

Television: “Our Kind of People,” “The Good Fight,” “NCIS: New Orleans,” “Person of Interest,” “Veep,” “Mozart in the Jungle,” “The Blacklist,” “House of Cards,” “Boardwalk Empire,” “Unforgettable,” “Kings,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Rescue Me,” “The Staircase,” “DopeSick”.

Education: MFA, American Conservatory Theatre.

Tia James

Clyde

PlayMakers: Company member for four seasons. Actor: Hamlet, Blues for an Alabama Sky, A Wrinkle in Time, Julius Caesar, Native Son. Vocal coaching includes They Do Not Know Harlem, The Legend of Georgia McBride, Stick Fly, Ragtime, How I Learned to Drive, Life of Galileo, Bewilderness, She Loves Me, Skeleton Crew, Sherwood, Jump, Your Healing is Killing Me. Director: How I Learned What I Learned, As You Like It, Macbeth (PlayMakers Mobile), and Constellations (PlayMakers Ground Floor).

Broadway: The Merchant of Venice.

Off-Broadway / New York: The Winter’s Tale, The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare in the Park).

Regional: Much Ado About Nothing (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company); Richard III (Allentown Shakespeare); Loving and Loving (Stella Adler Studios); Much Ado About Nothing (Two River Theatre); Civilization [All You Can Eat] (Woolly Mammoth Theater).

Television: “Nurse Jackie,” “Treme.”

Teaching / Coaching / Directing: UNC-Chapel Hill, NYU Graduate Acting, NYU Dance, Atlantic Acting School, Montclair University.

Education / Awards: MFA NYU Tisch Graduate Acting Program, BFA Virginia Commonwealth University; Miller Voice Method Teacher Certification. Recipient of the 2014 NYU Graduate Acting Diversity Mentorship Scholarship, 2003 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship winner for Best Actor; 2019 Michael Chekhov/Zelda Fichandler Scholarship.

Xavier Reyes

Rafael

PlayMakers: Debut.

National Tours: Kinky Boots, 1st National.

Regional: Trading Places (Alliance Theatre, directed by Kenny Leon), Clyde’s (George Street Playhouse); SCAPIN, SWEAT (Pioneer Theatre Company); Anna in the Tropics (Barrington Stage); Night at the Museum Workshop (Alan Menken), Working (Depot Theatre), Fun Home (American Stage), In the Heights, HAIR (Geva Theatre); West Side Story (Westchester Broadway)

Education: BFA in Acting Ithaca College, HB Studio, studied Drama and Public Relations (University of Puerto Rico).

Instagram: XavierReyesActor/

Saleemah Sharpe

Letitia

PlayMakers: Company member in their third year of UNC’s Professional Actor Training Program. The Legend of Georgia McBride, Hamlet, Blues for an Alabama Sky, The Skin of Our Teeth. Dramaturg and Choreographer for How I Learned What I Learned. The Tempest (PlayMakers Mobile). The Mountaintop, Den of Thieves, A Doll’s House, Part 2, Gloria (PlayMakers/UNC Ground Floor).

New York: King Lear (NY Classical).

Regional: Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea (Rhinoleap Production NC).

University: As You Like It (Stella Adler Studio of Acting); King Lear, Soon Again Not Yet, Sopita (Royal Social Distance Company); Sins of the Father (Eden Theater Company); Significant Other (The Theatre Project); The Block (Lakai Dance Theatre); Ubu Roi, Straight Outta Kansas, Antigone (Montclair State University).

Film: To The Moon (Atlantic Pictures, Short Film), The Girl With the Eyes (Independent film), Remission Accomplished (Student film).

Television: “iCarly” (Nickelodeon), “The Electric Company” (PBS Kids).

Education/Awards/Other: Montclair State University
B.A. Theatre Studies & a double minor in Myth Studies & Business

Instagram: @Saleemah____

Facebook: @SaleemahSharpe

Adam Valentine

Jason

PlayMakers: Company member in their third year of UNC’s Professional Actor Training Program. The Legend of Georgia McBride, Hamlet, Emma, A Wrinkle in Time, The Skin of Our Teeth, As You Like It. The Tempest (PlayMakers Mobile). Den Of Thieves, Gloria (PlayMakers/UNC Ground Floor).

Regional: Small Mouth Sounds (Cadence Theatre); The Tempest, The Heir Apparent (Richmond Shakespeare); The Curious Incident… (Virginia Rep); Hand To God, LEVEL 4, Heathers: The Musical (TheatreLAB); Maple & Vine, Stupid Kid (Firehouse Theatre).

Education/Awards: Virginia Commonwealth University, B.A. 2021 RTCC Ernie McClintock Best Ensemble Acting for Small Mouth Sounds.

Melissa Maxwell

Director

PlayMakers: Debut.

Melissa specializes in new play development. Credits include Imbroglio (Great River Shakespeare Festival); Clyde’s (George Street Playhouse); Trouble in Mind (Utah Shakespeare Festival); Safe House (Repertory Theatre of Saint Louis; received 6 St Louis Theatre Circle Award Nominations); Slashes of Light (The Kitchen Theatre/Civic Ensemble; world premiere); Tunnel Vision (Off the WALL Theatre, world premiere); American Slavery Project’s Unheard Voices (NY Historical Society and other venues); Show Way (Vital Theatre; received Off Broadway Theatre Alliance ‘Best Family Show’ nomination); Nathan the Wise (Pearl Theatre Company); world premiere of scientist Carl Djerassi’s (creator of the contraceptive pill)Taboos (Soho Playhouse).

Melissa is also an actor, award-winning playwright, and motivational speaker with two TEDx Talks to her credit (TEDxMosesBrownSchool: Taking Ownership; TEDxBarnardCollegeWomen: On Courage). 

www.melissamaxwell.com.

Riw Rakkulchon, He/They

Scenic Designer

PlayMakers: Debut. Riw (pronounced Ree-you) is a Set & Costume Designer, Animator, and Chef from Bangkok, Thailand.

Broadway: Associate Set Design: Pass Over, &Juliet, Parade

Regional: They have worked at Yale Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, The Old Globe, Drury Lane Theatre, Asolo Rep, The Acting Company, 59E59, Edinburgh Fringe, Primary Stages, Hartford Stage, and The Public Theatre, amongst others. They also work with designers Wilson Chin, Riccardo Hernandez, Jason Ardizzone-West, Donyale Werle, Santo Loquasto, Dane Laffrey, Clint Ramos, and Walt Spangler.

Education/Other: B.F.A. Ithaca College, M.F.A Yale School of Drama (Donald & Zorca Oenslager Fellowship Award in Design Recipient). Member of United Scenic Artist 829. Board member of WithAll, a non-profit Organization on a fight to end eating disorders.

Instagram: @riwrdesign

Gregory J. Horton

Costume Designer

PlayMakers: Debut.

University: Simply Simone, Clyde’s, Respect, Trav’lin, Gee’s Bend, Sweet Charity, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, The Visit, A Woman from the Town, Something’s Afoot, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Company of Wayward Saints, The Crucible, The Heiress, The Glass Menagerie, Dreamgirls, Foreigner, The Wiz, The Colored Museum, Crowns, Fences, Tartuffe’, Waiting to be Invited and My Fair Lady, Macbeth, Seven Guitars, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turners Come and Gone, Radio Golf. Mr. Horton has directed such plays as, The Soul Of Christmas (Dec. 2019 and 2021), Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (Oct. 2020), Crowns, Pretty Fire, Dreamgirls, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Nunsense, Ain’t Misbehaving, Tambourines To Glory, Jesus Christ Super Star, Black Nativity, and Godspell. In 2019 Horton Conceived and Directed a new holiday musical entitled, The Soul of Christmas.

Education/Other: BS in Home Economics, Minor in Theatre North Carolina Central University MFA in Theatre concentration, Costume Design, Michigan State University. Currently, Gregory is an Associate Professor and Interim Director of Theatre of the Paul Robeson Theater, whose areas of concentration are Costume Design and Directing. Gregory is on the faculty at North Carolina A&T State University in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts/Theatre. Before his position at NCAT, he was tenured and taught at Saint Louis University for seven years.

Cheyenne Sykes

Lighting Designer

PlayMakers: Debut. Originally from the Coast Salish region, Cheyenne is a Lighting Designer based out of New York City working in: dance, theatre, performance art, and live events.

Regional: Clyde’s (George Street Playhouse), Her Portmanteau (George Street Playhouse), This Is Our Youth (Area Stage Company), Be More Chill (Area Stage Company).

Off-Broadway (Select Assistant/Associate Design): Sanctuary City (NYTW), Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Playwrights Horizons), “Daddy” (New Group/Vineyard), White Noise (The Public Theater).

Other: Most recently she was the Associate Lighting Designer for Tosca and Susannah at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. The summer season also finds her working as an Associate Designer for Site Lighting at both Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival and Outside Lands Music Festival. She has designed lighting for three of the performance artist Miles Greenberg’s installations, which were performed at Perrotin New York, Reena Spaulings, and Worthless Studios.

Scott O’Brien

Original Music & Sound Designer

PlayMakers: Debut.

Off-Broadway/New York: 100 Saints You Should Know (Playwrights Horizons); Normalcy, Jungle Book, Eye of God, The Soldier Dreams, Harvest (Theatre East); The Tempest, Three Sisters, Hamlet, Macbeth, Titus Andronicus, The Winters’ Tale, Henry V, The Merchant of Venice (American Globe Theatre).

Regional: The Art of Coarse Acting, The Just (Chautauqua Theatre Company); Safe House (Repertory Theatre of St Louis); Slashes of Light, A Body of Water, Lonely Planet, Swimming in the Shallows (Kitchen Theatre Company); On the Open Road, Inventing Montana, Scotland Road, The Innocents, Below the Belt, The Woman in Black, The Haunting of Hill House, The Killing of Sister George (Centenary Stage Company); Macbeth, No Child, The Tempest, Great Expectations, Imbroglio (world premiere) (Great River Shakespeare Festival); An Illiad, The Importance of Being Earnest (Theatre at Monmouth).

Film: Eleanor; Godmother of American Fashion (Vanity Fair Films); Phoenix Rising; The Silent Victims Speak (Noblevision Productions).

Gwendolyn Schwinke

Vocal Coach

PlayMakers: Company member in her fifth season. Voice/Dialect Coach: Emma, Native Gardens, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Yoga Play, Dairyland, Native Son, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, The Skin of Our Teeth, A Wrinkle in Time. Actor: The Skin of Our Teeth, As You Like It.

International: Voice/Text/Dialect/Somatic Coach: Macbeth, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Roman Daggers, The Winter’s Tale (Prague Shakespeare Company), Company season training (Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble).

New York & Regional: As Voice & Text Coach: Seven seasons with Shakespeare & Company. Oxford Shakespeare Festival, Frank Theatre, Cheap Theatre, Atlantic Stage. Actor: Carlyle Brown & Company, Oxford Shakespeare Festival, Frank Theatre, Red Eye Collaboration, Minnesota Shakespeare Project, Atlantic Stage, Old Creamery Theatre, Illinois Shakespeare Festival. Playwright: Plays developed and/or produced by Seattle Repertory Company, Cherry Lane Theatre, The Playwrights’ Center, Red Eye Collaboration, Judith Shakespeare Company, Jungle Theatre.

Teaching: David G. Frey Fellow/Assistant Professor of Voice & Speech at UNC-Chapel Hill, Faculty Member at Shakespeare & Company and Prague Shakespeare Company, Designated Linklater Voice Teacher and Teacher Trainer, Guild-certified Feldenkrais Teacher. Voice & Speech Trainers Association Board of Directors.

Instagram: @gwendolynschwinke

Jacqueline E. Lawton

Dramaturg

PlayMakers: Company member in her 8th season and associate professor in the Department of Dramatic Art at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Regional Dramaturgy: Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival of New American Plays, Arden Theater, Arena Stage, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Ensemble Studio Theater, Ford’s Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Horizons Theater, Interact Theatre, Kennedy Center VSA Program, Rorschach Theatre, Round House Theatre, the Stratford Festival, Theater J, Virginia Stage Company and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Broadway Dramaturgy: Good Night, Oscar (Belasco Theatre).

Playwright: Anna K; Behold, a Negress; Blackbirds; Blood-bound and Tongue-tied; Deep Belly Beautiful; The Devil’s Sweet Water; Diola; Edges of Time; Freedom Hill; The Hampton Years; Hotel Berry, Intelligence; The Inferior Sex; Love Brothers Serenade; Mad Breed; Noms de Guerre; So Goes We; and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Education/ Affiliations: MFA in Playwriting, University of Texas at Austin; James A. Michener Fellow. TCG Young Leaders of Color, National New Play Network (NNPN), Arena Stage’s Playwrights’ Arena, Center Stage’s Playwrights’ Collective, and the Dramatist Guild of America.

Aspen Blake Jackson

Stage Manager

PlayMakers: They Do Not Know Harlem, Native Gardens. The Drowsy Chaperone, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Summer Youth Conservatory).

Aspen graduated in May of 2019 with a BA in Vocal Performance and Dramatic Arts from UNC-Chapel Hill. During her undergraduate career, she was a stage manager for shows such as Cendrillon, Dido and Aeneas, and The Pillowman. After graduating, Aspen completed an internship with the Walt Disney World Company and she worked as a production assistant for Playisney World Company and she worked as a production assistant for PlayMakers Repertory Company during their 19/20 and 21/22 seasons.

Sarah Smiley

Assistant Stage Manager

Sarah returns for the 2023/24 season, her 12th since 2005. She has worked with theatres, theme parks, and road houses in eight states and the U.K., including Tampa Playmakers, freeFall Theatre Company, Virginia Stage Company, Busch Gardens Tampa, the Alliance Theatre Company, 7 Stages, Gulfshore Playhouse, Shadowland Theatre, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff, Wales, and the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, and has been active in USITT and the Stage Managers’ Association. She received her M.F.A. from the University of Iowa.

In Memoriam

Milly S. Barranger

1937 – 2023

An author, educator and producer, longterm leader and collaborator Milly Barranger died on August 21st in New York with her daughter Heather and wife, Liz Woodman, by her side. Milly was the Alumni Distinguished Professor Emerita of Dramatic Art from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she served concurrently as Chairwoman of the Department of Dramatic Art and Producing Director of PlayMakers Repertory Company during her storied tenure from 1982-1999.

Milly was a titan and a pioneer. The impact of what she made happen here at PlayMakers Repertory Company – and the unique relationship she cultivated between a professional theatre and the Department of Dramatic Art – cannot be overstated. She was a force and neither PlayMakers nor the Department of Dramatic Art would be what they are today without her vision, bravery and determination.
A Note from Producing Artistic Director Vivienne Beneschand Chair of the Department of Dramatic Art Kathryn Hunter-Williams.

PlayMakers Leadership

Vivienne Benesch

Producing Artistic Director

Vivienne is in her eighth full season as a company member and Producing Artistic Director at PlayMakers, where she has helmed productions of Hamlet, The Skin of Our Teeth, The Storyteller, Dairyland, Life of Galileo, Leaving Eden, The May Queen, Three Sisters, Love Alone, RED and In The Next Room. In her eight seasons with the theatre, she is particularly proud to have produced 12 world-premieres and launched PlayMakers Mobile, a touring production aimed at reaching under served audiences around the Triangle.

For 12 seasons, she served as Artistic Director of the renowned Chautauqua Theater Company and Conservatory, presiding over the company’s transformation into one of the best summer theatres and most competitive summer training programs in the country. Vivienne directed both the world premiere of Noah Haidle’s Birthday Candles for Detroit Public Theatre and, in 2022, its Broadway production starring Debra Messing. She has also directed for the Folger Shakespeare Theatre (Helen Hayes nomination for best direction 2019), The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Trinity Repertory Company, NY Stage & Film, and Red Bull Theatre, among others. As an actress, Vivienne has worked on and off-Broadway, in film and television, at many of the country’s most celebrated theatres, and received an Obie Award for her performance in Lee Blessing’s Going to St. Ives. Vivienne is a graduate of Brown University and NYU’s Graduate Acting Program.

As an educator, she has directed for and served on the faculty of some of the nation’s foremost actor training programs, including The Juilliard School, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Professional Actor Training Program, Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Program, and at her alma mater, NYU’s Graduate Acting Program. She is the 2017 recipient of the Zelda Fichandler Award given by the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation.

Maura Murphy

General Manager

Maura is here for her eighth full season, returning after a 23-year hiatus. In that time, she honed her administrative skills at Duke, NCSU and of course, Carolina. She was production stage manager for PlayMakers from 1993-1996 and general manager from 1996-1999. Education: EdD and MS in Higher Education Administration, NCSU; BA in Drama, Muhlenberg College.

Jeffrey Meanza

Associate Artistic Director

An actor, director and educator, Jeffrey Meanza has spent the last 15 years working at two of the country’s most celebrated regional theatres overseeing the artistic, educational and community engagement efforts of the organizations. As a member of PlayMakers’ resident acting company, he has appeared in Hamlet, Angels in America, Into the Woods, Lisa Kron’s Well, Amadeus, Assassins, and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby among others, and directed The Cake and The Legend of Georgia McBride.

From 2015 to 2021, he served as the Guthrie Theater’s associate artistic director, overseeing the theater’s education and community engagement initiatives, the literary team, casting, and the theater’s professional training programs, as well as helping to guide the work on the Guthrie’s three stages. During his tenure, Meanza managed the expansion of educational programming to serve over 35,000 students annually, including the creation of an artist residency program that put full-time teaching artists in high school classrooms throughout the state of Minnesota. In addition, under his leadership, the Guthrie piloted a new Fellowship program that offers paid training opportunities for emerging leaders to experience work at one of the nation’s leading regional theaters. In 2021, Meanza returned to PlayMakers Repertory Company as Associate Artistic Director, charged with overseeing the artistic, educational and engagement operations of the theater.

He holds an M.F.A in Acting from the Professional Actor Training Program at UNC-Chapel Hill and a B.A. in Theater and Performance Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.

Michael Rolleri

Production Manager

Michael is in his 37^th season with PlayMakers Repertory Company. He has been Technical Director, Project Manager, Exhibition Technician, and Lighting Designer for industrial shows in the Southeast region, as well as lead carpenter for films, the U.S. Olympic Festival, and scenic studios. He has also been a rigger in the Southeast region and has served on the executive board and as President of IATSE Local 417. Michael is a 30 year Gold Pin member of IATSE. An active member of United States Institute For Theatre Technology (USITT), he is a three-time winner at USITT’s Tech Expo. He is a full Professor/Head of the Technical Production Program at UNC-Chapel Hill and was an instructor at High Point University and Tufts University.

Education: MFA in Design and Technical Production, UNC-Greensboro.

PlayMakers is…

“One of America’s Best Regional Theatres”

(American Theatre Magazine), PlayMakers Repertory Company is North Carolina’s premier professional theatre company, proudly in residence on the dynamic campus of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The professional company was founded in 1976, growing out of a storied 100-year tradition of playmaking at Carolina.

At the very heart of the PlayMakers experience is one of the nation’s last remaining resident theatre companies, made up of accomplished performers, directors, designers, artisans, and technicians, and supported by exceptional graduate students in UNC’s Department of Dramatic Art. Our company works side by side with guest artists from all over the world and our alumni include Pulitzer Prize, Tony®, Emmy®, and Grammy Award® winners.

Creating Tomorrow’s Classics, Today

Producing Artistic Director Vivienne Benesch is continuing PlayMakers’ tradition of producing vibrantly reimagined classics, large-scale musical theatre, and significant contemporary work, but is also broadening the company’s reach to become a home for new play development and a true hub of social and civic discourse in the region. Her first seven seasons have already given life to twelve important new American plays.

A Hub of Engagement

PlayMakers seeks to provoke thought, stimulate discussion, and push the boundaries of the theatrical form in everything we do. Whether through our intimate @PLAY series, our mainstage offerings or our virtual line-up, we look for opportunities for direct, dynamic engagement between audiences, artists, and thinkers. We also offer a host of unique engagement opportunities designed to enrich our audience’s experience of the live arts.

Theatre for the People

PlayMakers Mobile is an initiative that seeks to contribute positively to the civic and social life of our region by taking world-class theatre out of our building and into the community. We create a streamlined production of a play and take it to schools, transitional housing facilities, and long-term treatment facilities around the Greater Triangle area. And best of all, it’s all free of charge.

Passing the Torch

PlayMakers’ award-winning Summer Youth Conservatory is the only professionally supported training program of its kind in the region. The Theatre Quest program provides camps to area middle school and high school students, while the Theatre Intensive and TheatreTech programs allow Triangle high schoolers to apprentice directly with professional directors, choreographers, musical directors, and technicians, culminating in a professional quality production on the PlayMakers mainstage for the whole community to enjoy.

Eliminating Barriers

With a commitment to eliminating barriers for attendance, PlayMakers offers All Access performances for our patrons living with disabilities. We also offer accessible $20 tickets for all performances and ticket prices are reduced to just $10 for UNC students. For more information, please contact prcboxoffice@unc.edu.

Our Mission

PlayMakers Repertory Company is North Carolina’s premier professional theatre company, proudly in residence on the dynamic campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Our mission is to produce relevant, courageous work that tells stories from and for a multiplicity of perspectives. We believe that theatre can have a transformational impact on individuals and entire communities, and we are committed to the journey of becoming an anti-racist organization whose work is accessible to all. Inextricably linked to UNC’s Department of Dramatic Art, PlayMakers is devoted to nurturing and training future generations of artists and audiences.

Our Vision

Provoke

Represent

Create

Keith DaSILVA, Private Wealth Financial Advisor and 2023 Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors are proud to support PlayMakers Repertory Company

The Knott Private Wealth Management Group at Wells Fargo Advisors

Antiracism Accountability Statement

At the heart of PlayMakers Repertory Company’s mission is the belief that theatre has the power to transform individuals and entire communities. There is no more aspirational or urgent a use of that power than working to dismantle the systems of oppression, white supremacy, and racism that pervade American life and consume the American Theatre. PlayMakers continues to assess and evaluate our own practices in order to embed equitable, antiracist policies into strategic planning, our mission, and our operations.

PlayMakers Repertory Company, and those of us who work here, commit to the following:

To work intentionally to create an antiracist culture in our company.
To continually educate ourselves on the ways in which we can combat racism locally and nationally as we move to create an inclusive, diverse, and equitable sense of belonging for every one of our constituents.
To demonstrate our values through action in our policies, practices, and procedures.

Land Acknowledgment

We acknowledge that the Center for Dramatic Art is located on the unceded lands of one or more of Abiayala’s (the Americas’) original sovereign nations, the name(s) of which have not yet been affirmed. The unjust acquisition of these Indigenous lands came about through a history of racism, violence, dispossession, displacement, and erasure of cultures by settlers as part of the larger, land-centered project of settler colonialism.

As we look to the future, may. webuild upon the memories and goodwill of all who walked and labored here before us with truth, integrity, and honor. Learn more: UNC American Indian Center

PlayMakers Repertory Company

Joan H. Gillings Center for Dramatic Art
CB# 3235, UNC-Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3235

Box Office: 919.962.7529
Website: www.playmakersrep.org

Clyde’s is 1 Hour, 45 minutes long with no intermission

THE 23/24 SEASON

SEP 6–24, 2023: Clyde’s by Lynn Nottage, directed by Melissa Maxwell

OCT 11–31, 2023: Stephen King’s Misery adapted William Goldman, directed by Jeffrey Meanza

NOV 15–DEC 3, 2023: Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, directed by Lavina Jadhwani

JAN 31–FEB 18, 2024: Fat Ham by James Ijames, directed by Jade King Carroll

MAR 6–24, 2024: Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express adapted by Ken Ludwig, directed by Tracy Bersley

APR 10–28, 2024: The Game by Bekah Brunstetter, directed by Vivienne Benesch

Special Events:

DEC 16–17, 2023: Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol adapted by William Leachman, directed by Michael Perlman (More info soon)

JAN 11–16, 2024: Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe, directed by Tom Quaintence (More info soon)

Health and Safety

In accordance with recent changes to state and University safety guidelines, PlayMakers will no longer require proof of COVID vaccination or negative PCR test for our productions.
Additionally, mask-wearing is encouraged but not required.

Box Office Hours

Tuesday-Friday, 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. and 90 minutes before each performance.

Use of Cell Phones and Other Electronics

Texting and using cell phones, laptops, smart watches, and other devices light- or sound-emitting devices are strictly prohibited during the performance. Please turn all electronic devices to silent, theatre mode, or off during the show.

Cameras or Recording Devices

Taking photographs or videotaping inside the theatre is strictly prohibited during performances. However, before the show, during intermission, and after the show, you are invited to take and share your photos of the stage and scenery.

Parking

There are several paid and free parking options available near PlayMakers. We recommend arriving 30 minutes before the show so that you have time to park and pay (Monday-Thursday evenings only) and find your seat. For more information and an interactive map of nearby parking options, please visit www.playmakersrep.org/parking

Policy on Young Children

As a courtesy to our patrons, it is the policy of PlayMakers not to admit children under the age of 5. All of our shows have content ratings for each production (for example: Rated PG-13). If you are considering bringing your child, please refer to website or contact our Box Office for further information. All patrons, regardless of age, must have a ticket.

Headsets for Hearing Impaired Patrons

Our theatres are equipped with sound systems that amplify the sound from the stage. Patrons who wish to use the system may obtain headsets on a first-come, first-served basis from the coat check. Headsets must be returned immediately after the performance.

Late Seating and Leaving Your Seat During the Performance

To minimize disruptions to the actors and other patrons, late seating will be provided at the discretion of the house manager at an appropriate break in the action on stage. Patrons who need to be seated late must be escorted by house staff to seats at the rear entrance of the auditorium, which entails climbing a flight of stairs. Patrons can take their regular seat at intermission.

Administration

Vivienne Benesch, Producing Artistic Director

Artistic

Jeff Aguiar, Director of Engagement
Tracy Bersley, Movement Coach/Choreographer
Chelsea James, Producing Assistant
Tia James, Vocal Coach
Gregory Kable, Dramaturg
Jacqueline E. Lawton, Dramaturg
Jeffrey Meanza, Associate Artistic Director
Mark Perry, Dramaturg
Gwendolyn Schwinke, Vocal Coach
Sarah Tackett, Administrative Operations Associate
Adam Versényi, Dramaturg

Administration

Matara Hitchcock, Company Manager
Kate Jones, General Manager
Lisa Geeslin, Accountant
Maura Murphy, Director of Operations
Undergraduate Assistants: Erica Bass, Alexis R. Steele-Kubuano, Dani Elliott, Ella Hawn, Sage Howard, Sarajane Carty

Development

Kymberly Burkhead-Dalton, Director of Development
Kyle Kostenko, Assistant Director of Annual Giving
Lenore Fields, Events and Gala Coordinator

Marketing & Audience Services

Hannah LaMarlowe, Marketing & Communications Specialist
Thomas Porter, Box Office Manager
Rosalie Preston, Associate Director of Marketing
Lauren Van Hemert, Marking Consultant
Kori Yelverton, Audience Services Associate
Jenna Zottoli, Audience Services Associate
Lucy Albani-Rangel, Marketing Undergraduate Assistant
Box Office and Front of House Undergraduate Assistants:
Ayriana Agard, Albert Carlson, Kali Dao, Tygia Drewhowell, Evan Jeppson, Lindsey Kanipe, Micah Kennel, Alex Lankford, Ava Lytle, Alicia Norman, Leah Page, Asher Pierce, Morgan Perry, Sophie Taylor, Maggie Thornton, Ava Wells, Ava West, August Williams, Nicholas Williams, Cora Willis

Department of Dramatic Art

Kathryn Hunter-Williams, Chair and Associate Professor

FACULTY

Milly Barranger, Professor Emerita
Vivienne Benesch, Professor of the Practice
Tracy Bersley, Associate Professor
Pamela Bond, Assistant Professor
Jan Chambers, Professor
McKay Coble, Professor
Jeffrey Blair Cornell, Associate Chair, Teaching Professor
Ray Dooley, Professor Emeritus
Samuel Ray Gates, Assistant Professor
Julia Gibson, Associate Professor
David Hammond, Professor Emeritus
Letitia James, Assistant Professor
Gregory Kable, Teaching Professor
Jacqueline E. Lawton, Associate Professor
Matthew Mallard, Teaching Assistant Professor
Adam Maxfield, Teaching Professor
Triffin Morris, Professor of the Practice
David Navalinsky, Professor
Bobbi Owen, Distinguished Professor Emerita
Laura Pates, Teaching Assistant Professor
Kathy Perkins, Professor Emerita
Mark Perry, Teaching Associate Professor
Rachel E. Pollock, Teaching Assistant Professor
Michael Rolleri, Professor
Gwendolyn Schwinke, Assistant Professor
Lexi Silva, Dramaturgy Fellow
Aubrey Snowden, Teaching Assistant Professor
Craig Turner, Professor Emeritus
Adam Versényi, Professor
Tao Wang, Assistant Professor

STAFF

Victoria Danielik, Program Assistant
Lisa Geeslin, Accounting Technician
Taylor McDaniel, Student Services Manager
Karen Rolleri, Business Coordinator
Jamie Strickland, University Manager

Production

Michael Rolleri, Production Manager

Costumes

Amy Evans, Costume Shop Manager
Marissa Lupkas, Wardrobe Supervisor
Matthew Mallard, Assistant Costume Director
Triffin Morris, Costume Director
Rachel Pollock, Costume Craftsperson
Costume Production Graduate Students:
Matty Blatt, Jocelyn Chatman, Jillian Gregory, Emma Hoylst, Jessica Land, Zachery Morrison, Sally Rath
Undergraduate Assistants: Madeline Gibson, Clara “Hock” Hockenberry
Bao-Nhi Vu, Costume Lab Assistant
Katherine Craig, Costume Department Assistant
Natasha Harm, Wardrobe Assistant
Georgia Wood, Costume Stock Assistant
Arcadia Hiton, Costume Clerical Assistant
Amanda Tenzlinger, Costar Vintage Archivist

Lighting

Benjamin Bosch, Electrics Supervisor
Nick Rodgers, Production Swing for Lighting & Sound

Props

Lauren Reinhartsen, Properties Supervisor
Emma Madison, Props Artisan
Rebecca Xhajanka, Props Artisan

Scenic

Brandon “Bruce” Hearrell, Production Carpenter
Adam Maxfield, Technical Director
Laura Pates, Technical Director
Diane Zimmerman, Scenic Charge Artist
Technical Production Graduate Students:
Rachel Van Namen, Joel Ernst, Benjamin Fink, Roark

Sound

David Bost, Sound Supervisor
Andrew Fleming, Sound Undergraduate Assistant

Stage Management

Aspen Jackson, Stage Manager
Sarah Smiley, Stage Manager
Zoe Lord, Production Assistant

PlayMakers’ Resident Acting Company

Jeffrey Blair Cornell
Samuel Ray Gates
Julia Gibson
Kathryn Hunter-Williams
Tia James
Gwendolyn Schwinke

Professional Actor Training Program:

Reez Bailey, Hayley Cartee, Matthew Donahue, Elizabeth Dye, Heinley Gaspard, Jadah Johnson, Jamar Jones, Nate John Mark, Saleemah Sharpe, Sanjana Taskar, Adam Valentine, Megwe Wapimewah

For this Production of “Clyde’s”

Tracy Bersley, Intimacy Coordinator
Jeff A.R. Jones, Fight Choreographer
Drew Eberhardy, Chef Consultant
Izzy Flores, Lighting Assistant
Laura Pates, Production Technical Director
Adam Maxfield, Production Assistant Technical Director
Brandon “Bruce” Hearrell, Shop Lead
Livian Kendedy, Scenic Charge Artist
Matthew Mallard, Assistant to the Costume Designer
Zachary Morrison, Draper
Sally Rath, Crafts Assistant
Jillian Gregory, Jessica Land, Stitchers

THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A MORE IMPORTANT TIME TO SUPPORT PLAYMAKERS AND THE ARTS

PlayMakers Repertory Company is a nonprofit theatre. We rely on the generosity of our community to continue delivering the Broadway-wuality theatre you love. If you believe in. thetransformative power of theatre. asmuch as we do, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help theatre thrive.

You can help support and sustain all our work, both on stage and off, by making a tax-deductible gift which enables us to:

Bring innovative, entertaining, and relevant theatre to the Triangle
Serve students across the state through our award-winning educational programs
Engage with our audiences through artist and community conversations
Remain flexible, safe, and better prepared for the future

Every gift, big or small, makes a huge difference!

Ways to Give

Online

Donate

Phone or Email

Kymberly Burkhead-Dalton, Director of Development
kbdalton@email.unc.edu
919.962.4846

Mail

Send your check to:
Kymberly Burkhead-Dalton
PlayMakers Repertory Company Development Department
Joan H. Gillings Center for Dramatic Art
CB 3235
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3235

PlayMakers is grateful to the members of the Friends of PlayMakers for their generous support. For more information about how to join this dynamic group of supporters, call the Director of Development Kymberly Burkhead-Dalton at 919.962.4846 or visit us at playmakersrep.org.

Donate

Friends of PlayMakers

Director’s Circle ($10,000+)

Anonymous
Susan Arrington
American Endowment Foundation
Betsy Blackwell and John Watson Jr. *
Munroe and Becky Cobey
Mr. and Mrs. David G. Frey ~
Joanne and Peter Garrett
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
Joan Gillings ~
The Charles Goren and Hazen Family Foundation, Trustees Tom and Lisa Hazen
The Estate of Linda K. Griffin
Susan and Dustin Gross *
Amy and Kevin Guskiewicz
Garrett Hall and Zachary Howell *
T. Chandler and Monie Hardwick
Mrs. Frank H. Kenan ~
Thomas S. Kenan III *
Paula Noell and Palmer Page *
John and Debra Ratliff
Wyndham Robertson *
Coleman and Carol Ross
Schwab Charitable
Shubert Foundation
Ken Smith
Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program
Alan H. Weinhouse

Angel ($5,000–9,999)

Anonymous
Patrick Brennan and Lillian Jenks *
Linda and Cliff Butler *
Jan and Stephen Capps
Thomas and Holly Carr
Keith DaSilva of the Knott Private Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors *
The Educational Foundation of America
Mr. and Mrs. Matt Hapgood
Sumeetha and Tanner Hock
Kim Kwok
Prentice Foundation
Joh Powell *
Raymond James Cheritable Endowment Fund
Rivers Agency, LLC *
David and Jenny Routh
Jackie Tanner *
Jennifer Wener-Cannizzaro and Thomas Cannizzaro
Ford and Allison Worthy
Jim and Bonnie Yankaskas

Investor ($2,500–4,999)

Richard and Deirdre Arnold ^
Andrew and Katherine Asaro ^
Vivienne Benesch
Charities Aid Foundation of America
Evan and Erin Gwyn
Susan E. Hartley
Stacy and Chris Hovey
Susan J. Kelly
Knack Technologies
Duncan and Stuart Lascelles
Nick and Amy Penwarden
Suzanne and Charles Plambeck
Samyr Qureshi
Dr. and Mrs. Edward Smithwick
Roger and Marlene Werner
Jennifer and Sandy Williams
Louise and Derek Winstanly
Katie Woodbury

Page to Stage ($1,500–2,499)

Steve Benezra ^
Dr. Stephen Shaw Birdsall
Ed and Eleanor Burke ^
Cindy and Thomas Cook
Dr. Steven Dalton and Mrs. Kymberly Burkhead-Dalton
The Rich and Tracy Harris Fund of the Triangle Community Foundation
Carol Hazard and Winston Liao
David J. Howell
Hugon Karwowski and Joanna Karwowska ^
Dr. Moyra Kileff and Mr. Brian Kileff
Dr. Catherine Kuhn and Glenn Tortorici
Mark & Bette Morris Family Foundation
Mark and Julie Morris
Paul and Linda Naylor
Panter Foundation
Dr. Abigail T. Panter and Dr. George Huba
Bettina Patterson
RR Donnelley
Carole L. Shelby
Dr. William L. Stewart
The Rev. Wendy R. and W. Riley Waugh
Michael Weil and Peggy Link-Weil
Jenny and Julian Wiles

Backer ($500–999)

Anonymous (3)
Elisabeth Allore, in memory of John Allore
Pete and Hannah Andrews
Dr. Thomas C. Apostle and Sharon E. Lawrence-Apostle
Adam C. Beck ^
John W. Becton and Nancy B. Tannenbaum
Shula and Stephen Bernard
Patricia Beyle
Ann and John Campbell
Philip and Linda Carl
Sama nd Michelle Brittenden
Anne and Michelle Dusek
Bob and Connie Eby
Thorsten A. Fjellstedt
Mrs. Linda Whitham Folda and Dr. Jaroslav Thayer Folda, III
Alison Friedman
James P. Gogan ^
Dr. and Mrs. Robert S. Greenwood
Elizabeth Grey
Janet and D. Scott Guthmiller
Toby and Cheryl Harrell
C. Hawkins ^
Mr. and Mrs. David L. Henson
Don and Kay Hobart
Michael Maness and Lois Knauff
Anand and Sandhya Lagoo
K.A. and Carol Lawrence
Nelda and Douglas Lay
Dr. and Mrs. Morton D. Malkin
Ed and Connie McCraw
Amy McEntee
Laurie E. McNeil and Patrick W. Wallace
Jeanne and Herbert Miller
Dr. James C. and Dr. Susan D. Moeser
Betsy and Jefferson Newton
Linda W. Norris
Pat and Mary Norris Oglesby
Lois P. Oliver
David and Mary Ollila
Sarah Owens
Ariana Pancaldo and Michael Salemi
Louis and Jodi Patalano
Mark and Eugenua Pollock
Jodi and Glenn Preminger
Elizabeth Raft
Vikram and Susan Rao
Lucy and Sidney Smith
Dr. William W. Smith and Brenda W. Kirby
Tim and Judy Taft
T. Rowe Price Program for Charitable Giving
U. S. Charitable Gift Trust
Wegmans Chapel Hill

^ Sustainers Club Member
* PlayMakers Special Event Supporter
~ Deceased

This list is current as of August 1, 2023. If your name is listed incorrectly or not at all, please contact the PlayMakers Development Office at 919.962.2481. We will ensure you are recognized for your thoughtful support.

PlayMakers’ 2023/24 Season is Made Possible in Part by Grants from

Foundation Support

National Endowment for the Arts, North Carolina Arts Council, The Shubert Foundation, Fidelity Foundation, Truist Foundation, The Educational Foundation of America

Additional Funding for Guest Artists is Provided by

Robert Boyer and Margaret Boyer Fund, Louise Lamont Fund, Emeriti Professors Charles and Shirley Weiss Fund

Producing Council

Mebane Lumber, Residence Inn Chapel Hill, Spoonflower, Larry’s Coffee, The Siena Hotel/Il Palio Restaurant

Corporate Council

De Maison Selections, Aloft

Associates

Cambria Suites

PlayMakers Repertory Company is a program of the Department of Dramatic Art, The College of Arts and Sciences, and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, recognizes PlayMakers as a professional theatre organization and provides grant assistance to this organization from funds appropriated by the North Carolina General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts. PlayMakers is a beneficiary of the Elizabeth Price Kenan Endowment and the Lillian Hughes Prince Endowment.

PlayMakers Repertory Company is a Member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre.

This Theatre operates under an agreement between the League Of Resident Theatres (LORT) and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

The scenic, costume, lighting and sound designers in LORT Theatres are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE.

The Director and Choreographer are members of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.

Table of Contents

PlayMakers Advisory Council

About the Author

Program Notes

Dramaturgy Fellow Series

Clyde’s

By Lynn Nottage

Directed by Melissa Maxwell

September 6 – 24 , 2023

Actor Bios

Samuel Ray Gates

Montrellous

Tia James

Clyde

Xavier Reyes

Rafael

Saleemah Sharpe

Letitia

Adam Valentine

Jason

Melissa Maxwell

Director

Riw Rakkulchon, He/They

Scenic Designer

Gregory J. Horton

Costume Designer

Cheyenne Sykes

Lighting Designer

Scott O’Brien

Original Music & Sound Designer

Gwendolyn Schwinke

Vocal Coach

Jacqueline E. Lawton

Dramaturg

Aspen Blake Jackson

Stage Manager

Sarah Smiley

Assistant Stage Manager

In Memoriam

Milly S. Barranger

PlayMakers Leadership

Vivienne Benesch

Producing Artistic Director

Maura Murphy

General Manager

Jeffrey Meanza

Associate Artistic Director

Michael Rolleri

Production Manager

PlayMakers is…

Creating Tomorrow’s Classics, Today

A Hub of Engagement

Theatre for the People

Passing the Torch

Eliminating Barriers

Our Mission

Our Vision

Keith DaSILVA, Private Wealth Financial Advisor and 2023 Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors are proud to support PlayMakers Repertory Company

Antiracism Accountability Statement

Land Acknowledgment

PlayMakers Repertory Company

Clyde’s is 1 Hour, 45 minutes long with no intermission

THE 23/24 SEASON

Health and Safety

Box Office Hours

Use of Cell Phones and Other Electronics

Cameras or Recording Devices

Parking

Policy on Young Children

Headsets for Hearing Impaired Patrons

Late Seating and Leaving Your Seat During the Performance

Administration

Artistic

Administration

Development

Marketing & Audience Services

Department of Dramatic Art

FACULTY

STAFF

Production