Download American Hero AUDIENCE GUIDE

BY
BESS WOHL
DIRECTED BY
SUZANNE BEAL
NOVEMBER 2-20, 2016
REP Stage presents
AMERICAN HERO
BY
BESS WOHL
DIRECTED BY SUZANNE BEAL
PREPARED BY:
Lisa A. Wilde
Dramaturg
Zheyan Damavandi
Graphic Design
REP STAGE STAFF:
Suzanne Beal & Joseph Ritsch
Co-Producing Artistic Directors
Valerie Lash
Founding Artistic Director
Zheyan Damavandi
Business Manager
Lisa A. Wilde
Resident Dramaturg
Jenny Male
Resident Fight Director
REP Stage
REGIONAL THEATRE IN RESIDENCE
Howard Community College
10901 Little Patuxent Parkway
Columbia, MD 21044
Tickets: 443.518.1500
WWW.REPSTAGE.ORG
From the Dramaturg
The American dream—a belief that with enough hard work and enterprise anyone,
including recent immigrants can make it big in the free enterprise capitalist American
economy unencumbered by the protectionist government policies in so many other parts of
the world. And for some, particularly in the earlier part of the twentieth century, it worked.
The children of immigrants went to public schools then to colleges and were able to live a
lifestyle far more comfortable than their parents or their families in their country of origin.
Fast forward to the beginnings of the twenty first century, where corporations and
franchised stores and restaurants have replaced small local enterprises. Some of these
original businesses—the McDonald’s restaurants and Subways of the country—had their
origins as Mom and Pop businesses then went on to unprecedented national success.
And now these franchises offer a new path to the American dream, offering immigrants
a fast track to a visa through a 1990 federal program if they purchase a franchise that
will create ten new jobs for Americans but not allowing for any kind of business autonomy
and ensuring that corporate headquarters reaps large financial benefits. The average
franchisee, on the other hand, clears less than $50,000 year, so the only real way to
make a profit is to own multiple franchises.
Further down the economic chain are the workers at these franchises, including the
“sandwich artists” Bess Wohl lists in her dedication to American Hero. With a minimum
hourly wage and almost always part-time in nature, these jobs were typically filled by
teenagers who were not relying on them to support families and were typically fairly
uncommitted. However, with several financial recessions and major corporate layoffs in the
past decades, more “adult” workers are moving into these jobs, like the character of the
former banker with an MBA in Wohl’s play. Recent college graduates are finding fewer
paths to the American dream. However, the businesses themselves and the corporations
that run them are ill-disposed by design to people trying to make a full-time job from this
work. How can these workers then become the hero of their own stories rather than a cog
in a larger company machine?
—Lisa A. Wilde
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Play
About the Playwright.........................................................................................3
Structure...............................................................................................................6
Themes.................................................................................................................7
References.........................................................................................................11
Questions for Discussion...............................................................................10
The Production
2 . American Hero AUDIENCE GUIDE
From the Director............................................................................................14 Design.................................................................................................................15
Cast.....................................................................................................................17
Theater Etiquette..............................................................................................18
AMERICAN HERO
The Play
About the Playwright
BIOGRAPHY
Bess Wohl’s plays include Small Mouth Sounds, American
Hero, Barcelona and Touched. They have been produced or
developed at theaters in New York and around the country,
including Second Stage, Ars Nova, The Williamstown
Theatre Festival, People’s Light and Theatre Company,
Center Theatre Group, The Contemporary American
Theater Festival, Vineyard Arts Project, The Pioneer
Theatre, The Pittsburgh Public Theater, The Northlight
Theater, TheaterWorks New Works Festival, The Geffen
Playhouse, The Vineyard Arts Project, Ojai Playwright’s
Conference, the Cape Cod Theatre Project and the New
York International Fringe Festival (award for Best Overall
Production).
Currently, the world premiere of her play, Small Mouth
Sounds, is enjoying a sold-out run at Signature Theatre in
New York, directed by Obie-award winner Rachel Chavkin.
Her original musical about the adult entertainment industry,
Petty Filthy, in collaboration with the composer/lyricist
Michael Friedman and The Civilians, also premiered off-Broadway, and was recently nominated for the Lucille Lortel
award for Outstanding Musical. Her play, Barcelona, had its west coast premiere at LA’s Geffen Playhouse in early 2016.
She also writes for film and television. She is currently in post-production on Broad Squad, an original pilot for ABC.
She is also at work on a new feature for Disney, and has written two features for Paramount Pictures: The Luxe (based
on the book) and Virginia (the true story of mob queen Virginia Hill). Her screenplay adaptation of her play, IN, was
included on Hollywood’s Black List of best scripts. She has also developed original television pilots for HBO, USA, FOX
and the CW.
Her work has been supported by a MacDowell Fellowship, PlayPenn, the Sewanee Writer’s Conference and Ars Nova.
She has been the recipient of new play commissions from Manhattan Theatre Club, Hartford Stage and Center Theatre
Group. In her previous life as an actress, Bess appeared onstage in New York and regionally, and in numerous films
and TV shows where she has given birth, solved crimes, committed crimes, been wrongly accused, and come back
from the dead.
She is a graduate of Harvard, Magna Cum Laude, where she studied with Seamus Heaney and Jamaica Kincaid and was
awarded the Rona Jaffe Writing Prize and the Tennessee Williams Scholarship. She earned her MFA from the Yale
School of Drama, where she was a recipient of the Rebecca West Scholarship. She is originally from Brooklyn, New
York, and divides her time between New York and Los Angeles.
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AMERICAN HERO
The Play
INTERVIEW WITH PLAYWRIGHT BESS WOHL
By Adam Szymkowicz, August 2011
Adam Szymkowicz: What are you working on now?
who you are as a writer or a person:
Bess Wohl: In the past few weeks, I’ve been in
rehearsals for my play, Touch(ed) at the Williamstown
Theater Festival, rewriting and tweaking a lot. I’m also
currently writing the book for Pretty Filthy, a new musical,
with the composer/lyricist Michael Friedman about the
adult entertainment industry. It’s a commission from
Center Theater Group and The Civilians. Finally, because
even playwrights need to make a living, I’m writing a
feature for Paramount Pictures based on the bestselling
book series, The Luxe, and will be developing TV for CBS
this fall.
This is really the defining story of my life, and it’s a simple
one: When I was about four or five years old, I went to
a summer camp with swimming classes. There was an
Olympic sized pool, with a very high diving board—it
seemed like it was ten miles up in the air. The swimming
teacher marched all the campers up the diving board
ladder and stood us on the platform, asking who wanted
to jump first. Nobody ever had before. It was absolutely
terrifying. We all stood there shivering in our swimsuits,
as one boy after another walked to the edge, then balked
and turned around. Suddenly—I still don’t know exactly
why—I stepped forward. This was completely out of
character for me, a shy, chubby, awkward bookworm,
always picked last for every team. But somehow, in that
moment, I realized that all I needed to do was step off the
edge, and gravity would do the rest. I also knew I had to
do it or I would regret it forever. And so, I walked to the
edge, and jumped. It was probably the bravest moment
of my life—which I guess is a bit sad, really!—but I still
think about it every time I do a play.
How does your acting inform your playwriting and
vice versa?
I actually first started playwriting while I was getting my
MFA in acting. There was a little student-run space called
The Cabaret, and I began writing plays for my actor
classmates and producing them in the theater there. (The
Cabaret also served booze, which probably helped those
first plays go down easier...) Wanting to create great parts
for actors was the initial spark that made me start writing.
Nothing pleases me more than seeing an actor find a way
to be great, with the help of words I’ve written.
On a deeper level, what draws me to writing is the same
thing that drew me to acting—it’s all about character.
In both art forms, I hope to get inside characters and
create living, breathing people. I try to write parts that
actors will want to play, and lines that I think would be
fun to say. What I’ve had to subsequently learn, as a
writer, is how to be in charge, critical and decisive. As an
actor, you’re trained to be continually open and pliable,
to “always say yes.” As a playwright, you have to be able
to articulate a clear vision and must stay in control of
the story that is being told. You have to be willing—and
able—to say no.
Tell me a story from your childhood that explains
4 . American Hero AUDIENCE GUIDE
If you could change one thing about theater, what
would it be?
I wish it were less expensive, of course. I also usually
wish it were less stuffy. I wish that it were more relevant
to a wider array of people, which would probably come
with it being less expensive and stuffy.
Who are or were your theatrical heroes:
Well, I have to go for the obvious—Shakespeare. I
took a class Freshman year in college with the amazing
Shakespeare scholar, Marjorie Garber. We read all the
plays and the experience pretty much changed my life
in every way. It was like a religious conversion—I still
look to Shakespeare for lessons in drama and in life. The
moment at the end of Twelfth Night when Viola, in the
hope of finding her lost brother, exclaims, “Prove true,
The Play
imagination, O, prove true!” for me speaks to what we’re
always trying to accomplish in theater: to take something
imagined and make it feel true. I think about that line all
the time, as a silent prayer. And his characters—Lady
M, Caliban, Brutus, Hermione, Mercutio, I could go on
forever-- they are the bravest, most complicated and
heartbreaking and sexy and fascinating group of people I
could possibly imagine.
Of course, in terms of modern playwrights—there are
so many I adore. Tony Kushner. Stephen Adly Guirgis.
Paula Vogel. And actors like Janet McTeer, whose Nora
in A Doll’s House is etched in my mind. Simon Russel Beale
whose Iago I’ll never forget. Mark Rylance who blows
me to bits every time I see him on stage. I’m also lucky
enough to have some amazing writer, director and actor
friends who have mentored me, reading drafts after draft
of my work and giving advice: Keith Bunin, Itamar Moses,
Trip Cullman, Chuck Morey, Susan Pourfar. I learned
from them that writing doesn’t have to be lonely and
solitary—it takes a lot of support. I could never write
without their help.
room. Choose subject matter that feels important to
you, and stick with it even when it feels crappy. I heard
the amazing Ira Glass speak once about how there’s this
gap, when you’re first starting out, between what you
would LIKE to have made, and what you actually did
make. His advice? To make a ton of work, and eventually
your product will catch up with your taste, and the gap
between what you are making and what you want to
make will close.
Finally, I’d say you have to find a way to enjoy the process
as much as the result, because you never know what the
result will be. A playwright friend once told me that you
have to look at each step in the process—from the first
draft on—as if it’s the last one, and derive full satisfaction
from it. Because if you’re waiting for some magical pot
of gold at the end of the rainbow... Well, you miss the
rainbow, which is the best part.
What kind of theater excites you:
I’m attracted to theater that’s language driven—theater
that feels excessive and messy and generous, where
words flow freely. I love the musicality of language, and
I love people and characters who can’t shut up. I get an
almost physical thrill from hearing talking—language that
hits me hard, in the gut, and feels visceral and chewy and
delicious. I love sloppy words. I myself can’t shut up about
them right now... But okay, okay, I will. I’m done. Really.
Okay. Now. Done.
What advice do you have for playwrights just starting
out:
Find actors you love and bribe them with snacks or beer
to read your work out loud. There is no substitute for
hearing your work, even if it’s just in your own living
5
AMERICAN HERO
The Play
Structure
NATURALISM
Previous to the nineteenth century, there was no effort to make theater seem like real life. Theater was meant to be
heightened and follow characters and events that were more elevated and more important to the public good. Following
the revolutions at the end of the eighteenth century, the focus in arts turned to depicting the experiences of the middle
class and the working class and, in plays by writers such as Ibsen and Chekhov, replicating life in its emotional and
experiential reality.
Writers such as Emile Zola wanted to go one step further and wanted to put all of life’s sensual realities on stage
through naturalism. Naturalistic plays depicted the lives of peasants and workers to show the middle-class theater
audiences the struggles of these lives. These writers wanted to depict the earthiness, grit and struggles of these lives by
putting not just the sights but the smells and sounds of real life. Any time real food, real animals or actual dirt and sand
are on stage, we are in the realm of naturalism. The majority of American Hero follows this style.
SURREALISM
At the beginning of the twentieth century, several anti-realistic art movements emerged in reaction to realism and
naturalism. One of these forms was surrealism which suggests that we can find other kinds of truth in our subconscious,
our imagination, and our dreams. One of the main practitioners of surrealism was Salvador Dali who would famously fall
asleep holding a spoon. When the spoon dropped he would wake and have immediate access to his dreams. Surrealist
films and drama did not follow causal logic and often featured surprising characters or non-human figures with human
attributes. There is a surrealist moment in this play that may be a hallucination, a dream, or a step into another world.
6 . American Hero AUDIENCE GUIDE
The Play
Theme
IMMIGRANTS AND FRANCHISES
Facts about Franchises
n
n
n
n
The EB-5 visa federal program, launched in 1990, gives foreign nationals the chance to obtain permanent residency by
investing a minimum of $500,000 in a U.S. business.
The catch: The investment must create at least 10 new jobs within two years, or the foreign investor is sent back
home.
Despite the risk, franchisers see it as a chance to lure buyers who are set up to seal a deal quickly. And for foreign
applicants who lack the entrepreneurial chops to launch a venture from scratch, franchises offer a ready-made
business model with a proven record.
Last year, 6,343 foreign nationals applied to the EB-5 program, up from 6,040 in 2012, and just 470 in 2006, according
to the latest data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The agency estimates that as of September 2013,
the program has raised more than $8.6 billion and has created some 57,300 jobs.
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AMERICAN HERO
n
n
n
The Play
Some 40% of New Yorkers are immigrants, and one half of all small businesses in the city are owned by immigrant
entrepreneurs (immpreneurs). Furthermore, 27.1% of new businesses were started by immigrants in 2012.
(immigrantbiz.com)
The total investment to own a Subway is an estimated $116,000 to $263,000 in the United States and $102,000 to
$234,000 in Canada. SUBWAY® Franchisees pay 12.5% every week (gross sales minus the sales tax); 8% goes toward
the franchise royalties and 4.5% goes towards advertising.
The average franchisee clears less than $50,000/ year so the only real way to make a profit is to own multiple
franchises. (https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/228698)
—Read more at http://www.franchise.org/the-rising-trend-of-immpreneurs
THE GREAT RECESSION
The Great Recession, which officially lasted from December 2007 to June of 2009, began with the bursting of an
$8 trillion dollar housing bubble. The resulting loss of private wealth led to sharp cutbacks in personal spending—a
disaster for a consumerist-based economy, as the loss of consumption then led to cutbacks in business investments,
followed by massive job losses. In 2008 and 2009, 8.4 million jobs (6.1 per cent of the payroll employment) were lost,
the greatest downturn since the Great Depression. The recession was felt on a global scale.
Poverty status is determined by income and family size. In 1989 a family of four—with 2 adults and 2 children with
an income of $12,575 was considered poor. In 1999, a family of four—with 2 adults and 2 children with an income of
$16,895 was considered poor.
Median household income was $53,657 in 2014, not statistically different in real terms from the 2013 median of
$54,462. This is the third consecutive year that the annual change was not statistically significant, following two
consecutive years of annual declines in median household income.
In 2014, real median household income was lower than in 2007, the year before the most recent recession, and the
household income peak that occurred in 1999.
The real median income of non-Hispanic White households declined 1.7 percent between 2013 and 2014. For Black,
Asian, and Hispanic origin households the 2013-2014 percentage changes in real median income were not statistically
significant.
8 . American Hero AUDIENCE GUIDE
The Play
Working at minimum wage jobs and poverty
n
Hourly workers are almost never offered 40 hours work/week making all hourly workers part-time
n
Shifts and schedules change weekly so it is very difficult for hourly workers to take on a second job
n
Because hourly workers are considered part-time, they probably will not be eligible or receiving benefits at many of
these corporations.
Barbara Ehrenreich discusses these issues extensively in her book Nickled and Dimed. Here is an excerpt: http://www2.
widener.edu/~spe0001/266Web/266Webreadings/nickledanddimed1999.pdf
9
AMERICAN HERO
The Play
FIGHT FOR $15
Fast food workers have not been included as workers available to unionize and, until recently. As most were adolescents prone to rapid turnover in jobs, there has not been a substantial group willing to agitate for changes. However,
recently a study at the University of California found that 52 % of fast food workers are dependent on public subsidies
—a huge cost to tax payers and a situation that traps these workers in a cycle of poverty. (laborcenter.berkeley.edu).
On November 29, 2012, over 100 fast-food workers from McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Domino’s, Papa John’s,
Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut walked off their jobs in New York City, New York in strike for higher wages,
better working conditions and the right to form a union without retaliation from their managers. In 2014, a movement
began to demand a $15 minimum wage for fast food workers and the right to unionize for collective bargaining. The
$15 minimum hourly wage has been passed across New York and California and in Seattle and Washington DC and is
currently part of the Democratic Party platform.
10 . American Hero AUDIENCE GUIDE
The Play
References
WORKING AT A FRANCHISE SANDWICH SHOP
Quiznos
Quiznos is a franchised fast-food restaurant brand based in Denver, Colorado, which specializes in offering toasted submarine sandwiches. The restaurant chain was founded in 1981 by Jimmy Lambatos and sold to Rick and Richard Schaden
in 1991, and grew to nearly 5,000 restaurants. As of the end of 2013, the chain had about 1,500 domestic locations and
about 600 international locations. Quiznos is the second-largest submarine sandwich shop chain in North America, after
Subway.
In 2006, Quiznos sent letters to 300 franchises saying mystery shoppers would be coming to test their services. The
company sued franchise owners Richard Piotrowski and Ellen Blickman for not putting enough meat in a prime rib sandwich. Piotrowski and Blickman countersued and won the lawsuit in 2009. Judge Morris Hoffman called the meat-weighing
exercise and subsequent termination letters a “charade” aimed at bolstering a national ad campaign against rival Subway.
As of July 1, 2010, Quiznos was close to reaching a settlement over the multiyear class-action lawsuit that covers nearly
10,000 of its current and former franchisees. The case comprises four separate class-action lawsuits dating back to 2006
which consolidated in 2009—involved allegations by attorneys for franchisees that Quiznos Franchise Co. LLC and other
entities with ownership or control of the Quiznos chain had violated U.S. racketeering and corruption statutes. Also at
issue was the chain’s supply chain and food costs, marketing and advertising funds, and disputes among franchisees that
agreed to, but did not open, locations and whether royalties are owed. Quiznos has denied all claims made in the lawsuits and the settlement agreement involves no finding or admission of liability. The cost to Quiznos has been estimated
from $100 to $200 million.
On November 27, 2006, Bhupinder Baber, franchise owner of two Long Beach, California, Quiznos locations, committed
suicide after a legal battle with the company. In his suicide note, Baber attributed mistreatment by Quiznos to driving
him to suicide. The Toasted Subs Franchisee Association (TSFA), a group of franchisees, posted Baber’s suicide note on
its website, and intended to raise money for Baber’s family. Quiznos attempted to terminate the TSFA’s franchises. The
TSFA in turn filed an injunction on December 15, 2006, in the District Court of Colorado. A 2014 article in the Long
Beach Post suggested that the factors that contributed to Baber’s suicide also led to the parent company’s bankruptcy in
2014. Over the past five years, Quiznos has closed about 2,500 locations, out of more than 4,000 before the recession
hit. The company’s sales and market share both dropped by more than 50 percent between 2008 and 2013. It’s now
third in market share in sandwiches, behind Subway and Jimmy John’s. In comparison, Subway has about 40,000 stores
worldwide.
—(Wikipedia)
Jobs at sandwich restaurants such as Subway
Job Title
Subway Salary Averages
(varies by state)
Subway Sandwich Artist - Hourly
Assistant Manager - Hourly
Store Manager
$7.16-9.36/hr
$7.49-13.65/hr
$17,379- 31,317
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AMERICAN HERO
The Play
Sandwich Artist® Position Summary
The Sandwich Artist® greets and serves guests,
prepares food, maintains food safety and sanitation standards, and handles or processes light
paperwork. Exceptional customer service is a
major component of this position.
Prerequisites:
Education
Some high school or equivalent.
Experience & Skills
No previous experience required. Ability to understand and implement written and verbal instruction.
Physical
Must be able to work any area of the restaurant when needed and to operate a computerized Point of Sale system/cash
register. Position requires bending, standing, and walking the entire workday. Must have the ability to lift 10 pounds
frequently and up to 30 pounds occasionally.
Store Manager Position Summary
The Manager performs and directs overall restaurant management. Directs staff to ensure that food safety, product
preparation, and cleanliness standards are maintained. Maintains standards of restaurant safety and security. Recruits
staff and oversees training program. Responsible for inventory and money control systems—may establish inventory
schedules. Responsible for local marketing initiatives—may contact prospective customers to promote sales. Maintains
business records. Exceptional customer service is a major component of this position.
Tasks and Responsibilities
1. Completes and posts the staff work schedules.
2. Recruits, rewards and terminates staff as needed.
3. Communicates changes of food preparations formulas, standards, etc. to staff.
4. Ensures that all local and national health and food safety codes are maintained and company safety and security policy
are followed.
5. Maintains business records as outlined in the SUBWAY® Operations Manual. Analyzes business records to increase sales.
6. Supports local and national marketing initiatives.
7. Identifies and contacts prospective customers to promote sales.
8. Plans special events and promotions.
9. Completes University of SUBWAY® courses as directed.
12 . American Hero AUDIENCE GUIDE
The Play
Prerequisites
Education
High school diploma or equivalent, college degree preferred.
Experience & Skills
A minimum of two (2) years in a restaurant environment, experience in supervising and training staff. Excellent verbal
and written communication skills.
Physical
Must be able to work any area of the restaurant when needed and to operate a computerized Point of Sale system/
cash register. Position requires bending, standing, and walking the entire workday. Must have the ability to lift 10 pounds
frequently and up to 30 pounds occasionally.
BANK OF AMERICA
Bank of America received $20 billion in the federal bailout from the U.S. government through the Troubled Asset Relief
Program (TARP) on January 16, 2009, and a guarantee of $118 billion in potential losses at the company. This was in
addition to the $25 billion given to them in the Fall 2008 through TARP. The additional payment was part of a deal with
the U.S. government to preserve Bank of America’s merger with the troubled investment firm Merrill Lynch. Since then,
members of the U.S. Congress have expressed considerable concern about how this money has been spent, especially
since some of the recipients have been accused of misusing the bailout money.
During 2011, Bank of America began conducting personnel reductions of an estimated 36,000 people, contributing to
intended savings of $5 billion per year by 2014.
In December 2011, Forbes ranked Bank of America’s financial health 91st out of the nation’s largest 100 banks and thrift
institutions. Bank of America cut around 16,000 jobs in a quicker fashion by the end of 2012 as revenue continued to
decline because of new regulations and a slow economy. This put a plan one year ahead of time to eliminate 30,000 jobs
under a cost-cutting program, called Project New BAC.
Questions for Discussion
1. What do you think is a reasonable annual salary for someone with a high school degree in the United States? What
kinds of jobs would provide this?
2. Discuss these areas in which the economic downturn is affecting the lives of students: housing, transportation,
tuition, food costs and the prices of goods and services. Which of these sectors will cause the most difficulty for
students? Explain your answer.
3. The play’s title American Hero may have a double meaning. Hero is another term for a submarine sandwich as is
grinder. On another level, the styles of realism and naturalism suggested that everyday people like Willy Loman in
Death of a Salesman could be considered heroes. How would you define an American hero? How could someone
working at a fast food franchise be considered a heo?
13
AMERICAN HERO
The Production
From the Director
I loved this play the minute I read it. I was immediately drawn to the characters, those hapless sandwich artists
and their enigmatic, erstwhile employer. I laughed out loud at their antics and sympathized with their predicament.
As I have delved more deeply into the play with this wonderful cast and talented design team, my appreciation for
Bess Wohl has deepened. She touches on all the major themes of the American theater—the perennial attempt
to attain the illusive American Dream, the transcendental search for meaning in a brutally capitalist society, the
effort to make a human connection however fleeting or fragile. At the same time, her characters are so ordinary.
I knew all of them as will you. You may even find yourself here. Which of us hasn’t worked in a dead end job?
Who among us has not made a mess of our emotional lives, at least occasionally? And haven’t we all, at one time
or another, found ourselves having to support someone else? Barbara Ehrenreich in her now classic exploration
of the low wage economy, Nickel and Dimed, discovered that “No job, however lowly, is truly unskilled.” American
Hero pays tribute, albeit with a very light touch, to all of the “sandwich artists” who work long hours, for very
little pay and often less regard but still manage to retain their self - respect and sense of humor.
— Suzanne Beal
14 . American Hero AUDIENCE GUIDE
The Production
Design
SET DESIGN, By James Fouchard
15
AMERICAN HERO
The Production
COSTUME DESIGN, By Jessica Welch
Ted
Sheri
16 . American Hero AUDIENCE GUIDE
Jamie
Sandwich
Gregory
The Production
AMERICAN HERO Cast
Megan Andersonv
Gary-Kayi Fletchervv
Eric M. Messnerv
Liliana Evans
v Denotes Member of Actors’ Equity
vv Equity Membership Candidate
Association
17
AMERICAN HERO
The Production
Theater Etiquette
Attending the theater will be a positive experience for everyone if you observe a few simple courtesies:
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Turn off and put away all electronic devices prior to entering the theater.
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Taking photographs and video recording in the theater is prohibited.
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Do not place your feet on the seat in front of you.
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The actors onstage can see and hear the audience just as well as the audience can see and hear them. Please refrain
from talking or moving around during the performance as it can be distracting to the actors, as well as to other
audience members.
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Feel free to respond to the action of the play through appropriate laughter and applause. The actors enjoy this type of
communication from the audience!
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Have fun! Attending theater should be an enjoyable experience.
REP stage
REGIONAL THEATRE IN RESIDENCE
Howard Community College
10901 Little Patuxent Parkway Columbia, MD 21044