Dear Friends,

Welcome! Confederates marks the third work PlayMakers has produced by the remarkable Dominique Morisseau. In fact, aside from Shakespeare and Lynn Nottage, no playwright has been produced more frequently during my nine-year tenure, which speaks volumes to Morisseau’s emergence as one of this generation’s most impactful American playwrights (as well as one of my personal favorites.)

Many of you may remember our productions of Morisseau’s evocative period piece Detroit ‘67 and her raw and prescient Skeleton Crew. Now, we are proud to present Confederates, an electric work in a different key that once again showcases her unique ability to craft compelling American narratives with deeply human, complex characters and sharp social insight.  

I am profoundly grateful to the talented team that has worked to realize this thought-provoking production. Under the care-full, visionary direction of Christopher Windom and his excellent creative team and cast, the play feels dynamic and urgent, simultaneously a theatrical satire and a slice of naturalism. In fact, the conversation between life and art takes on an extra layer in this production. The two actresses playing the roles of Sandra, chair of a university department, and Jade, a junior faculty member, are played by two gifted PlayMakers acting company members, Kathryn Hunter Williams and Tia James, who also happen to be the current Chair and a junior faculty member of UNC’s Department of Dramatic Art. I think Morisseau would delight in this meta-resonance.  

As we come to the last offerings of our American Dream season— with Little Shop of Horrors a highly anticipated finale— I hope you’re as excited as I am by the announcement of our 2025/26 season — it is truly a knockout! And one of the best ways you can support PlayMakers is by becoming a subscriber.

Enjoy the show! Here’s to art always enriching our lives, entertaining us and helping us see and understand each other better.

Warmly,

Vivienne

Table of Contents

Letter from Vivienne

Support PlayMakers

About the Author

Program Notes

Who We Are

Title Page

Actor Bios

Creative Team Bios

Abridged Constitution

PlayMakers Staff

Friends of PlayMakers

Corporate and Foundation Partners

Desktop Computer Version of playbill available here

Welcome, welcome, welcome!

We are so happy to have you in this space with us.  

When I first immigrated to the United States in 1994, America seemed like a land of bounty – full of wonder and opportunity under the banner of “The American Dream.” After living here for over 30 years, I’ve learned that this dream means very different things to different people. As our society evolves, we grapple with questions about whether that opportunity is equally afforded to all, what success truly means, what we value, and how we balance rugged individualism with collective responsibility. 

This season at PlayMakers, we invite you to join us on a journey that promises to challenge, entertain, and inspire. The American Theatre provides a unique space to explore the American Dream – where ideas come to live and breathe, allowing the nuances of our shared ideals and our differences to be examined. What a gift to our community that we have a company like PlayMakers to offer this space for reflection, dialogue, and change.  

We hope you will continue to join us throughout this season and beyond. Your support is crucial in bringing these powerful stories to life, enriching our community, and protecting the magic of live theatre. Share your experiences here with your friends, follow us on social media, and consider a donation – however you choose to support, we are truly grateful to have you with us this season. 

Peace,

Jackie Tanner, Chair

PlayMakers Advisory Council

Jackie Tanner, Chair

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

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About the Author

Dominique Morisseau is the author of The Detroit Project (A 3-Play Cycle), which includes the following plays: Skeleton Crew (Atlantic Theater Company), Paradise Blue (Signature Theatre), and Detroit ’67 (Public Theater, Classical Theatre of Harlem and NBT). Additional plays include: Pipeline (Lincoln Center Theatre), Sunset Baby (LAByrinth Theatre); Blood at the Root (National Black Theatre) and Follow Me To Nellie’s (Premiere Stages). She is also the Tony-nominated book writer on the new Broadway musical Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations (Imperial Theatre).

Dominique is alumna of The Public Theater Emerging Writer’s Group, Women’s Project Lab and Lark Playwrights Workshop, and has developed work at Sundance Lab, Williamstown Theatre Festival and Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference. She most recently served as Co-Producer on the Showtime series Shameless (3 seasons).

Additional awards include: Spirit of Detroit Award, PoNY Fellowship, Sky-Cooper Prize, TEER Trailblazer Award, Steinberg Playwright Award, Audelco Awards, NBFT August Wilson Playwriting Award, Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama, Obie Award (2), Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellowship, Variety’s Women of Impact for 2017-18, and a recent MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow.

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Dramaturgy Fellow Series

If We Don’t Laugh, We’ll Cry 

by Lexi Silva

Following Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, our American Dream season continues with another contemporary American playwriting giant, Dominique Morisseau’s CONFEDERATES. A play filled with equal parts nail-biting tension and tongue-in-cheek humor, Morisseau employs comedy as a means of exploring how systemic oppression permeates the past and present through the lens of two Black women on parallel timelines.  

In her playwright’s note, Morisseau writes: “If you don’t think this play is funny, you are missing a lot of my play. In fact, this play hits every humorous funny bone, in the past especially, but also in the present.” (Author’s Note). Throughout CONFEDERATES Morisseau employs situational humor to do the work of inviting us in, then provoking critical thought, like a set up to a punchline. As she introduces us to new characters in Sara’s orbit in the past, the following scene shows us how those characters’ traits, perspectives and actions translate into Sandra’s modern timeline. The doubling of supporting roles further emphasizes the dichotomy between humor and discomfort in the play.  

As Sara and Sandra navigate challenges, make discoveries, and assert themselves in the face of adversity, we bear witness to absurdity that is oftentimes so frustrating and ridiculous that it necessitates laughter to relieve the tension. Akin to NBC’s hit 2000’s sitcom The Office, (but without the direct eye contact) Morisseau’s characters appeal to us with their subjectivities and imperfections, resulting in laughter that often comes at the cost of secondhand embarrassment. Morisseau understands that a characters’ perspective is more complex if audiences understand their pains and absurdities to be earnest. There is a striking honesty in the way that each character in CONFEDERATES chooses to seek self-preservation that complicates our laughter as the play goes on. As the play moves forward, I notice a blooming curiosity about what lands as funny or painful, and why. Morisseau asserts that “by the end of the play, we are stealing everyone’s breath. And the only way to get them open enough to achieve this is to find and explore the humor along with the pain.” (‘Authors’ Note’). Divisive, sharp, and fiercely funny, CONFEDERATES does steal our breath in gasps and laughter and long exhales. 

In the broader context of the ‘24-’25 season, I find that plays we programmed over a year ago are becoming increasingly more relevant as time moves forward. Theatre often proves itself a mirror, and sometimes a smoke signal. It is a cry out into a void that isn’t a void at all if we’ve managed to sell tickets. In a time when headlines read like punchlines and we see the powerful punching down, CONFEDERATES is right on time–and comedy is all in the timing. 

Program Notes

By Jacqueline E. Lawton, Dramaturg

PlayMakers Repertory Company continues its exploration of the American Dream with Dominique Morisseau’s award-winning play, Confederates. Originally commissioned by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) and Penumbra Theatre, this bold, daring, and raucously funny satire premiered off-Broadway in March of 2022 at Signature Theatre (New York). With this play, Morisseau asks us to consider the lives of two extraordinary women who embody the American dream in their fight for freedom, justice, and a better tomorrow.

Morisseau is the author of several powerful, moving, and engaging plays, including Skeleton Crew, Detroit ’67, Pipeline, Paradise Blue, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations, Sunset Baby, and Blood at the Root 2017. She grew up in Detroit, Michigan and received her BFA in Acting from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It was in college where she began writing plays. After graduation, she moved to New York to pursue a career as an actor, dancer, and poet. Her plays have been widely produced across the country, and she now serves as Executive Artistic Producer at Detroit Public Theatre. 

In Confederates, we travel back and forth from a private liberal arts college rocked by a misguided, offensive meme to a cotton plantation during the height of the Civil War. First, we meet Sandra, a highly regarded political science professor, who has authored several books and frequently appears on news programs to share her opinion on the hot button issues of the day. Then, we meet Sara, a quick-witted, intelligent enslaved woman who has mastered the skills of nursing and midwifery. She has fast hands for picking cotton and is hungry to fight alongside her brother. What unites these two women, more than 160 years apart, is not just their attempts to survive in worlds that were not built for them, but also their clear sense of purpose and self-determination. These are women who want to live life fully and on their own terms. They want to be free.  

In an interview with OSF, Morisseau shares why freedom is such a powerful and urgent theme to explore:

“For me, freedom is not something that comes on the back of other people’s oppression. Real freedom is contagious. In liberating yourself, you liberate others. You inspire acceptance with oneself. You do not seek to restrict anyone else’s existence so that yours can be more comfortable. Freedom is not comfort. Freedom is healthy disruption and positive growth.”

At first the rehearsal of Confederates, artistic director Vivienne Benesch and I marveled at how relevant this play would be for our audiences. This play asks us to see the world through the eyes of two women who are determined to have their piece of the American Dream, and they won’t stop until the people in their lives can take their share as well. Similar fights are happening right now in classrooms, boardrooms, and courtrooms across the country.  It’s remarkable when a playwright can capture the lived experiences of individuals and a community with such clarity, depth, compassion, and humor. Quite honestly, this is theatre at its very best and we’re thrilled to share this production with you!

Top Row (L-R): Mengwe Wapimewah, Kathryn Hunter-Williams, Kristofer Wilson

Bottom Row (L-R): Elizabeth Dye, Tia James, Christopher Windom

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by Dominique
Morisseau

Directed by Christopher Windom

Scenic Designer
Lex Liang

Costume Designer
Pamela A. Bond

Lighting Designer
Latrice Lovett

Sound Designer & Composer
Elton Bradman

Vocal Coach
Gwendolyn Schwinke

Dramaturg
Jacqueline E. Lawton

Stage Manager
Aspen Blake Jackson

Assistant Stage Manager
Sarah Smiley

March 5-23, 2025

“Confederates”is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

New York Premiere produced by Signature Theatre, New York City Paige Evans, Artistic Director

World Premiere Produced by Oregon Shakespeare Festival Commissioned as Part of American Revolutions: the United States History Cycle by Oregon Shakespeare Festival Nataki Garrett, Artistic Director and Penumbra Theatre Sarah Bellamy, President

Any 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

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Actor Bios

in Alphabetical Order

Missy Sue/Candice: Elizabeth Dye
Sandra: Kathryn Hunter-Williams*
LuAnne/Jade: Tia James*
Sara: Mengwe Wapimewah
Abner/Malik: Kristofer Wilson

Stage Managers: Aspen Blake Jackson* Sarah Smiley*

*Appearing through an Agreement between this theatre and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Setting:
A modern-day university. A plantation.

Time Period:
Present Day and American Civil War Era.

Confederates will be performed with no intermission.

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Elizabeth Dye

Missy Sue/Candice

PlayMakers: Company member in their second year of UNC’s Professional Actor Training Program with the Department of Dramatic Art. Death of a Salesman,The Christmas Case of Hezekiah Jones, Crumbs from the Table of Joy, The Game, Much Ado About Nothing. The Taming, Stupid F**king Bird (PlayMakers/DDA Ground Floor). 

University: Cabaret, Animal Farm, Three Sisters, Violet, Henry IV Part One (University of Evansville)

Education: BFA Theatre Performance at the University of Evansville.

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Kathryn Hunter-Williams

Sandra

PlayMakers: Company member for 26 seasons. Recent highlights include directing The Christmas Case of Hezekiah Jones, They Do Not Know Harlem, Stick Fly, No Fear & Blues Long Gone, Count, plus acting in The Game, Fat Ham, Hamlet, A Wrinkle in Time, The Skin of Our Teeth, Edges of Time, Julius Caesar, Everybody, Life of Galileo, Skeleton Crew, Leaving Eden, Tartuffe, Dot, Intimate Apparel, The Crucible, Trouble in Mind, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Raisin in the Sun, Imaginary Invalid, The Parchman Hour, Angels in America, Fences, Doubt, among others.

New York/Regional: Living Stage, The Negro Ensemble Company, Manhattan Class Company, New Dramatists, Archipelago Theater.

Education/Other: BFA, UNC School of the Arts; MFA, UNC-Chapel Hill. Kathryn is chair of the Department of Dramatic Art at UNC-Chapel Hill and Associate Director of HiddenVoices, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing life-changing stories into a public forum.

Tia James

LuAnne/Jade

PlayMakers: Company member for six seasons. Actor: Much Ado About Nothing, Clyde’s, Hamlet, Blues for an Alabama Sky, A Wrinkle in Time, Julius Caesar, Native Son. Vocal coaching includes Death of a Salesman, The Christmas Case of Hezekiah Jones, Misery, 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: Crumbs from the Table of Joy, 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.”

Directing: By the Way, Meet Vera Stark  (The College of William and Mary), Pride and Prejudice (Montclair State University)

Teaching / Coaching: 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.

Mengwe Wapimewah

Sara

PlayMakers: Company member in their second year of UNC’s Professional Actor Training Program with the Department of Dramatic Art. Death of a Salesman,The Christmas Case of Hezekiah Jones, Crumbs from the Table of Joy, Fat Ham, Much Ado About Nothing. The Lifespan Of A Fact, Stupid F**king Bird (PlayMakers/DDA Ground Floor).

University: Recycling Theater; The Quiet Zone (Stella Adler Studio of Acting). 

Film: MAGICKY; Sisyphus (Pace University); Vices (JG Filmworks); Out of Luck (RK Productions).  

Education: BFA Acting for Film, Television, Voiceovers, and Commercials at Pace School of Performing Arts.

Kristofer Wilson

Abner/Malik

PlayMakers: Debut.

Regional: The Comedy of Errors, The Winter’s Tale (Dir. Tina Packer), Oak (Shakespeare & Company). 

University: Intimate Apparel dir. John Gould Rubin, The Tempest, In Arabia We’d All Be Kings (NYU Tisch/Stella Adler Studio of Acting); The Oresteia, The Orchard (Columbia University). 

Education: NYU Tisch School of the Arts

Training: Shakespeare & Company Summer Shakespeare Institute. 

www.kristoferwilson.com

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Christopher Windom

Director

PlayMakers: Debut. Christopher choreographed the feature film RESPECT for MGM, starring Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin.

Off Broadway: Choreographer, Kid Victory (The Vineyard Theatre).

Regional: Director: Fences, Fairview, A Christmas Carol (Trinity Repertory Company); Light It Up! (Cleveland Play House); Annie (Alabama Shakespeare Festival). Choreographer: Beautiful (Marriott Theatre); Cabaret (Alabama  Shakespeare Festival); Melancholy Play (Trinity Repertory Company); Les Miserables (Dallas Theatre Center); Frozen: Live at the Hyperion for Disney Resorts. He was the Drama League Fellow Assistant Director for the Broadway production of Pippin, directed by Diane Paulus (HAIR, Waitress, Porgy & Bess). He was Associate Director for the national tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, directed/choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler (Hamilton, In The Heights, Bandstand). Christopher has performed on Broadway and National Tours of Fosse and Damn Yankees starring Jerry Lewis.Member of SDC, and a Drama League Fellow. MFA, Brown/Trinity.

Lex Liang

Scenic Designer

PlayMakers: Emma.

Off-Broadway: 60+ productions.

Selected Regional: Alliance Theatre, The Asolo, Cleveland Play House, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Dallas Theatre Center, Denver Center, The Goodman, The Guthrie, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, and many others.

Other: Founder and owner of LDC Design Associates, an experiential event and production company in NYC.  Recent projects/clients include Ubuntu Pathways: Fight For Good, Operation Smile’s 35th Anniversary Gala, Absolut Vodka, Invesco, The Tony Awards Gala, and BCBG’s 30-Year Retrospective.

Pamela A. Bond

Costume Designer

PlayMakers:  Company member for 2 seasons. The Christmas Case of hezekiah Jones, The Game, Stick Fly.

Regional: House of George (National Black Theatre Festival); FENCES (Arts Center of Coastal Carolina); White (Bulldog Theatre); Black Nativity (Justice Theatre Project). She also performed in Dance on Widows Row (Agape Theatre).

Education/Other: B.A. in Theatre, a B.S. in Textiles & Apparel, and an M.A. in Textiles & Apparel from North Carolina Central University. Ms. Bond is a member of Alpha Psi Omega Honor Society, Gamma Xi Phi Art Society, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. Pamela A. Bond is a native of Durham, North Carolina. Ms. Bond is an Assistant Professor of Dramatic Art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Latrice Lovett

Lighting Designer

PlayMakers: As You Like It, Stick Fly

Regional: The Coffin Maker (Pittsburgh Public Theater) 5 Guys Named Moe, Evita (Skylight Musical Theatre

Professional: Dear Jack, Dear Louise,The Niceties, The Mountaintop (Virginia Theatre Festival).

Community: Savior Samuel, Gem of the Ocean, Jitney, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (Pittsburgh Playwrights) A Christmas Carol, Little Shop of Horrors, Cinderella the Musical, Matilda the Musical (High Point Community Theatre).

Education: MFA, University of Missouri Kansas City 

www.lovettlightingllc.com

Elton Bradman

Sound Designer & Composer

PlayMakers: Debut.

Regional: Fences, Trinity Rep; Mindplay, Arena Stage; Black Cypress Bayou, Geffen Playhouse; Cinderella: A Pantomime, University of Las Vegas – Nevada; Murder on the Orient Express, Pioneer Theatre Company; Stew, Pasadena Playhouse; Twelfth Night, Oregon Shakespeare Festival; A Distinct Society, TheatreWorks; Lear, Cal Shakes; resident sound designer 2021-2022, Oakland Theater Project.

Education/Other: BS in Journalism, Florida A&M University; MFA in Music & Sound Design for Visual Media, Academy of Arts University. 

Stop by and say hello at eltonsounds.com!

Gwendolyn Schwinke

Vocal Coach

PlayMakers: Company member in her fifth season. Voice/Dialect Coach: What The Constitution Means To Me, Fat Ham, Much Ado About Nothing, Clyde’s, 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: Murder on the Orient Express, Much Ado About Nothing, 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.

Jacqueline E. Lawton

Dramaturg

PlayMakers: Company member in her 9th 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: Crumbs from the Table of Joy, Murder on the Orient Express, Much Ado About Nothing, Clyde’s, They Do Not Know Harlem, Native Gardens. The Prom, The Drowsy Chaperone, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Summer Youth Conservatory).

Aspen is thrilled to be returning for her third mainstage season. She graduated from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in Vocal Performance and Dramatic Arts. Aspen has also thoroughly enjoyed spending the last three summers serving as the Production Stage Manager for our Summer Youth Conservatory program of which the most recent production, The Prom was a hit! 

Sarah Smiley

Assistant Stage Manager

This is Sarah’s 13th season with PlayMakers, since first joining the company in 2005. She has worked professionally for over 30 years in the entertainment and theatrical industries, in theme parks and road houses in eight states and the U.K. 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.

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UP NEXT

Mar 5-23

As hilarious as it is outrageous, this wild musical is a cult-classic set to a Motown groove. A mysterious plant promises fame and fortune to the downtrodden Seymour and his failing flower shop. But as the plant grows, so does its appetite. Will Seymour succumb to the allure, or can he resist the plant’s insatiable cravings?

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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.

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 is…

(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. 

“One of America’s Best Regional Theatres”

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.

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PlayMakers’ 2024/25 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, Orange County Arts Commission, The Strickland Family Foundation, UNC Parents Council

Additional Funding for Guest Artists is Provided by

Jeffrey Hayden Guest Lectureship Fund, Robert Boyer and Margaret Boyer Fund, Louise Lamont Fund, Emeriti Professors Charles and Shirley Weiss Fund

Corporate Council

Craven Allen Gallery & House of Frames, Larry’s Coffee, Mediterranean Deli, Bakery, and Catering, Metal Supermarkets Raleigh, Pineapple Sol Catering, Pinsieline Properties LLC, University Florists, Vimala’s Curryblossom Cafe

Associates

Glasshalfull, Infinium Spirits

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.

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Administration

Vivienne Benesch, Producing Artistic Director

Artistic

Jeff Aguiar, Director of Engagement
Tracy Bersley, Movement Coach/Choreographer
Chelsea James, Associate Producer
Tia James, Vocal Coach
Gregory Kable, Dramaturg
Jacqueline E. Lawton, Dramaturg
Mark Perry, Dramaturg
Gwendolyn Schwinke, Vocal Coach
Lexi Silva, Dramaturgy Fellow
Adam Versényi, Dramaturg
Andrew Wade, Assistant to Producing Artistic Director

Management

Lenore Field, Special Events Coordinator
Lisa Geeslin, Accountant
Charisse Holloway, Admin Support Specialist
Emily N. Kelly, General Manager
Zoë Lord, Company Manager
Maura J. Murphy, Director of Operations
Ella Hawn, Work Studies

Marketing & Audience Services

TJ Carr, Graphic Designer and Marketing Associate
Rebecca Edmonds, Audience Services Associate
Hannah LaMarlowe, Marketing Specialist
Thomas Porter, Box Office Manager
Rosalie Preston, Director of Marketing & Sales
Jenna Zottoli, Audience Services Manager
Ava Lytle, Cora Willis, Student House Managers
Aryan Kale, Database Assistant
Micah Kennel, Student Box Office Manager
Albert Carlson, Alicia Norman, Sophie Taylor, Maggie Thornton, Student Assistants
Swetha Anand, Lynlee Collins, Kali Dao, Tygia Drewhowell, Evan Jeppson, Gali Jones-Valdez, Lindsay Kanipe, Alex Lankford, Leah Page, Kas Perez, Watson Pope, Dani Urgiles, Ava Wells, Box Office and Front of House Work Studies

Department of Dramatic Art

Kathryn Hunter-Williams, Chair and Associate Professor

FACULTY

Judy Adamson, Professor Emerita 
Milly Barranger, Professor Emerita
Vivienne Benesch, Professor of the Practice
Tracy Bersley, Associate Professor
Pamela Bond, Assistant Professor
James Bray, Teaching Assistant Professor
Jan Chambers, Professor
McKay Coble, Professor
Jeffrey Blair Cornell, Associate Chair, Teaching Professor
Ray Dooley, Professor Emeritus
Samuel Ray Gates, Associate Professor
Julia Gibson, Professor
Douglas Hall, Associate Professor
David Hammond, Professor Emeritus
Rachel Hynes, Teaching Assistant Professor
Letitia James, Assistant Professor 
Gregory Kable, Teaching Professor
Jacqueline E. Lawton, Associate 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, Lecturer
Bonnie Raphael, Professor Emerita
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

Administration

Weston Barker, Program Specialist
Lucas Branch, KTC Technical Director
Jocelyn Chatman, Costume Inventory Specialist
Lisa Geeslin, Accounting Technician
Taylor McDaniel, Student Services Manager
Karen Rolleri, Business Coordinator
Sarah Tackett, Business Officer

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
Manda Apony-Moriarty, Jillian Gregory, Kris Kingsolver, Jessica Land, Bailey Mae Doran, Zachery Morrison, Sally Rath, Costume Production Graduate Students
Ellie Steever, First Hand/Stitcher
Katherine Craig, Leah Schraff, Costume Shop Work Study
Arcadia Hilton, Clara “Hock” Hockenberry, Undergraduate Assistants
Natasha Harm, Wardrobe Assistant Work Study

Lighting

Benjamin Bosch, Electrics Supervisor
Nick Rodgers, Production Swing for Lighting & Sound
Alex Mitropoulos, Work Study
Mauridi “Simba” Masumbuko, Undergrad Assistants

Props

Lauren Reinhartsen, Properties Supervisor
Sam Gainer, Props Artisan Leah Jarrell, Props Undergraduate Assistant
Ava Casey, Cami Crocker, Lydia McRoy, Evan Wilker, Work Studies

Stage Management

Aspen Blake Jackson, Stage Manager
Sarah Smiley, Stage Manager
Sarah Patisaul, Production Assistant

Sound

David Bost, Sound Supervisor
Jayden Alexander Peszko, Undergrad Assistant
Nubia Orellana, Work Studies

Scenic

Brandon “Bruce” Hearrell, Production Carpenter
Gwendolyn Van Denburg, Alec Westmoreland, Production Carpenters
Corrinne LaVergne, Scenic Artist
Laura Pates, Technical Director
Diane Zimmerman, Scenic Charge Artist
Rachel Van Namen, Joel Ernst, Benjamin Fink, Roark, Technical Production Graduate Students
Gabrielle Hall, Kee Meh, Charlene Nguyen, Gabrielle Shulikov, Veta “Koa” Torres, Scenic Painting Work Studies
Connor Gould,  Laurel Everett,  Enoch Joo, Ian McDuffie, Kathryn Ouyang, Danielle Mou, Carpentry Work Studies

PlayMakers’ Resident Acting Company

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

Professional Actor Training Program:

Reez Bailey
Matthew Donahue
Elizabeth Dye
Jadah Johnson
Nate John Mark
Mengwe Wapimewah

For this Production

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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-quality theatre you love. If you believe in the transformative power of theatre as much 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

Kathryn Banas
banask@email.unc.edu

919.843.2745

Mail

Send your check to:
Kathryn Banas 
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, visit us at playmakersrep.org.

Donate

Friends of PlayMakers

Director’s Circle ($10,000+)

Anonymous

American Endowment Foundation
Betsy Blackwell and John Watson Jr.
Cindy and Thomas Cook 
Druscilla French and Stephen M. Cumbie 
David G. Frey ~
Joanne and Peter Garrett
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
The Farley Fisher Gift Fund
Deborah Gerhardt
Joan Gillings ~
Cynthia Strickland Graham 
Susan and Dustin Gross
Garrett Hall and Zachary Howell
T. Chandler and Monie Hardwick
Mrs. Frank H. Kenan ~
Thomas S. Kenan III *
Sharon Lawrence and Thomas Apostle
Paula Noell and Palmer Page
John and Debra Ratliff 
Wyndham Robertson
Coleman Ross
Schwab Charitable
Shubert Foundation
The Robert Strickland Family Foundation 
The Robertson Foundation 
T. Rowe Price Program for Charitable Giving 
Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program
Alan H. Weinhouse
Jim and Bonnie Yankaskas 

Angel ($5,000–9,999)

Anonymous
Patrick Brennan and Lillian Jenks
Kymberly Burkhead-Dalton and Stephen Dalton 
Thomas and Holly Carr 
Charities Aid Foundation of America 
Munroe and Becky Cobey 
Amy and Kevin Guskiewicz + 
Mr. and Mrs. Matt Hapgood
Dorothy Heninger Kim Kwok
Duncan and Stuart Lascelles
Prentice Foundation
Ken Smith

Investor ($2,500–4,999)

Anonymous 
Alicia and Bill Allred 
Richard and Deirdre Arnold ^
Vivienne Benesch 
Ed and Eleanor Burke ^ 
Jennifer D. Cannizzaro Adam Cifu 
Susan E. Hartley
Carol Hazard and Winston Liao
Johnson & Johnson Matching Gift Program 
Susan J. Kelly
Dr. Moyra Kileff and Mr. Brian Kileff
Harriet W. Martin
Louis and Jodi Patalano
Nick and Amy Penwarden
Pinsieline Properties LLC 
Renaissance Charitable Foundation Inc
Robert and Tobi Schwartzman + 
Mrs. Carol Smithwick 
Jackie and James Tanner  
Jennifer Werner
Jennifer and Sandy Williams
Katherine Woodbury 
Sara M. Wright

Page to Stage ($1,500–2,499)

David and Judy Adamson
Mary Altpeter +  
Keith and Iris Archuleta + 
Andrew and Katherine Asaro ^ 
Steve Benezra ^
Ed and Eleanor Burke ^
Cliff R. Butler
Ed and Virginia Cockrell +
Emerald HPC International 
Cornell University Foundation 
Mrs. Linda Whitham Folda and Dr. Jaroslav
Thayer Folda, III 
John and Diane Formy-Duval
Dana and Robert Greenwood 
Hugon Karwowski and Joanna Karwowska ^
Dr. Catherine Kuhn and Glenn Tortorici
Shirley and Tom Kunkel 
Metal Supermarkets Raleigh
Paul and Linda Naylor
Abigail Panter and George Huba
Jay and Cris Preble
David Price 
Andrew Sisson and Karen Levine
Dr. William L. Stewart
The Rev. Wendy R. and W. Riley Waugh + 
Michael Weil and Peggy Link-Weil
Roger and Marlene Werner
Paul and Sally Wright

Partner ($1,000–1,499)

Anonymous (4)
Michael and Marie Andreasen
Jeremy Arkin and Marian Fragola
Bruce and Dianne Birch
Dr. Stanley Warren Black, III
Fiona Brady and Carl Mehling ^
Carolyn and Jackson Breaks 
Peggy Britt
Joan Clendenin
Bill Cobb and Gail Perry
Julie and M. Brian Daniels
Georgia and Alec Donaldson
Dr. Carrie Donley and W.P. Gale ^
Shelley Earp
Dr. and Mrs. John P. Evans
John and Carolyn Falletta
Kausik Gangopadhyay
Alison Friedman
Buck and Kay Goldstein
Julia and Bill Grumbles
Eric and Elizabeth Gutt 
David J. Howell+
Robert Huddleston
Johnson & Johnson – HQ
Jack Knight and Margaret Brown
William W. Kohr 
Katie Kosma+
Robert and Kathryn Kyle
Anand and Sandhya Lagoo
Douglas MacLean and Susan Wolf
Carolyn Maness 
Elaine Mangrum and Michael Freedberg
Bruce and Marlee Margulies +
Holly and Ross McKinney
Herbert and Jean Miller
Cathy O’Connell
Bettina Patterson
Suzanne and Charles Plambeck
Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund
Jean and Joseph Ritok
The Shelby Family Foundation
Carole L. Shelby
Kyle and Jenn Smith
Lucy and Sidney Smith
David B. Sontag
Stephen Tell and Rosemary Hoban
Triangle Community Foundation
J. Stephen and Denise Vanderwoude, in honor of John Vanderwoude +
Amanda and Mal Watlington 
Dr. Jesse L. White
Derek and Louise Winstanly
David and Heather Yeowell
Alan Young
Miriam and Thomas Zietlow

Backer ($500–999)

Anonymous (4)
Richard and Susan Allison  
Brent R. Bailey 
Christine S. Berndt 
Bailey and Tammy Hoffmeister
Susan and Tony Barrella
Deborah Barrett and Charles Kurzman
Evelyn Barrow  Adam C. Beck ^
John W. Becton and Nancy B. Tannenbaum
Shula and Stephen Bernard
Patricia Beyle
Dr. Stephen Shaw Birdsall
Jerri Lynne Bland
Lisa and Greg Brown
Lyndon E. Brown 
Keith Burridge and Patricia Saling
Kris and Alisha Byrd 
Ann and John Campbell
Philip and Linda Carl
Anne and Bayard Collins
Roy A. Cooper
Britta Couris 
David Doll
Elizabeth Eagle and David Crews
Bob and Connie Eby
Thorsten A. Fjellstedt
Windi and Roger Glogowski
James P. Gogan ^
Arthur Gerber
Dr. and Mrs. Robert S. Greenwood
Elizabeth Grey
Dede Hall 
Toby and Cheryl Harrell
C. Hawkins ^
David and Leslie Henson
Don and Kay Hobart
Ann Holloman
Steve and Lisa Jones
Laura Kline and David Robinson
Richard H. Kohn
Joseph J. Kusa
K.A. and Carol Lawrence
Nelda and Douglas Lay
Karen and Stephen Lyons
Dr. and Mrs. Morton D. Malkin 
Michael Maness and Lois Knauff
Ann McCracken
Ed and Connie McCraw
Amy McEntee
Mary McMorris and Leonard Santoro
Dr. James C. and Dr. Susan D. Moeser
Fred and Anne Morris +
Kathryn D. Murphy
Betsy and Jefferson Newton
Linda W. Norris
Pat and Mary Norris Oglesby
David and Elizabeth Nuechterlein
David and Mary Ollila
Sarah Owens
Ariana Pancaldo and Michael Salemi
Mark and Eugenea Pollock
Jodi and Glenn Preminger
Elizabeth Raft
Vikram and Susan Rao +
Dr. William W. Smith and Brenda W. Kirby
Susan Stedman and Charles Higgins Jr.
Tim and Judy Taft
Karen and Tom Tierney
Steven A. Thompson
Nancy L. Tunnessen
Carol Uphoff
Peter Vitale and Stephen Nelson
Wegmans Chapel Hill
George Weinhouse

~ indicates deceased 

^ indicates PlayMakers Sustainer 

+ indicates Summer Youth Conservatory Supporter 

This list is current as of February 7, 2025. If your name is listed incorrectly or not at all, please contact the PlayMakers Development Office at 919.962.4846. We will ensure you are recognized for your
thoughtful support.

Jump to: Letter from Viv | Support PlayMakers | Program Notes | Who We Are | Title Page | About the Author | Actor Bios | Creative Team Bios | General Information | PlayMakers Staff | Friends of PlayMakers | Corporate and Foundation Partners

Jump to: Letter from Viv | Support PlayMakers | Program Notes | Who We Are | Title Page | About the Author | Actor Bios | Creative Team Bios | PlayMakers Staff | Friends of PlayMakers | Corporate and Foundation Partners