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KEN LUDWIG’S
Leading Ladies
PROFESSIONAL THEATRE FROM THE HEART OF THE ROCKIES
HARPER LEE’S
By CHRISTOPHER SERGEL
A madcap romp from the
creator of Lend Me a Tenor
Delightfully silly, Leading Ladies follows the adventures of
Jack and Leo, two down-on-their-luck Shakespearean actors
who hope to scam their way out of the Moose Lodge circuit.
Slapstick goofiness, scrambled Shakespeare, and good-natured
laughs make this comedy an irresistible treat!
Professional Theatre-in-Residence
School of Fine Arts, Department of Drama/Dance
The University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812
PHOTO: TERRY CYR
PHOTO: LAURIE LANE
MONTANA REP TOURING SINCE 1968
From the Artistic Director
Montana Rep, an Equity company based at
The University of Montana in Missoula, has
been touring for 40 years. In recent years
the company has toured its productions
of To Kill a Mockingbird, It’s a Wonderful
Life, The Diary of Anne Frank, Death of a
Salesman, The Miracle Worker, A Streetcar
Named Desire, Steel Magnolias, The Trip to
Bountiful, Lost in Yonkers, and Cat on a Hot
Tin Roof, presenting more than 450
performances in over 350 communities
from California to New York.
Like many other fourteen-year-olds of my
generation, I was asked to read To Kill a
Mockingbird over my summer vacation.
Sitting on the warm sand of the Jersey
shore, about to embark on my high school
career, I cracked the binding of Harper
Lee’s incredible story about Scout, Tom
Robinson, Boo Radley, and Atticus Finch
and instantly fell in love…in love with the
poetry of the language, with the sassiness of
Scout, the quiet dignity of Tom, the mystery
of Boo, and ultimately with the courage of
Atticus. He was the father we all wanted.
This is the story we all grew up with. My
life changed in that summer of ’62. I would
never again look at prejudice, intolerance,
the South, or family with the same eyes.
The Professional Ensemble
Principal roles are played by actors whose
past credits have included Broadway runs
and national tours of A Chorus Line, Crimes
of the Heart, Into the Woods, Biloxi Blues,
Steel Magnolias, Pump Boys and Dinettes,
Cabaret, The Will Rogers Follies, George M!,
and Execution of Justice, as well as major
motion pictures.
The Montana Rep operates under
an agreement with Actors’ Equity
Association and the University/
Resident Theatre Association.
www.montanarep.org
The University of Montana
The University of Montana, with a student
population of approximately 14,000, is
located in the Rocky Mountains in Missoula
(population 65,000), less than a day’s drive
from Glacier and Yellowstone national
parks.
Montana Rep is in residence in the School
of Fine Arts, which includes art, drama/
dance, media arts, and music. BA, BFA,
MA, and MFA degrees are offered.
As the professional theatre-in-residence at
The University of Montana, Montana Rep
offers drama students unique educational
opportunities. UM is one of very few
universities in the nation to house a
professional touring company, and the only
one that incorporates students and faculty
into that company. Students who tour with
Montana Rep work alongside seasoned
actors, directors, designers, and technical
crew members, gaining experience that
other academic programs cannot offer.
To learn more about our theatre seasons
and academic programs, please visit
these websites:
MONTANA REPERTORY THEATRE
www.montanarep.org
[email protected]
DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA/DANCE
www.sfa.umt.edu/drama
www.umtheatredance.org
[email protected]
SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS
www.sfa.umt.edu/intro.html
EXCLUSIVE BOOKING MANAGEMENT
THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA
Rena Shagan
16A West 88th Street
New York, NY 10024
(212) 873-9700
www.shaganarts.com
www.umt.edu
All grown up now, I am fortunate, thanks to
Christopher Sergel’s honest and compelling
adaptation, to reacquaint myself with this
quintessential American tale and to once
again share it with our audiences.
On June 11, 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird
was published. On January 20, 2009, Barack
Obama was inaugurated as the forty-fourth
president of the United States of America.
As we present Harper Lee’s remarkable
story to you this evening, we reflect on the
incredible fifty-year journey our country
has taken since the book’s publication.
We quietly celebrate, as Atticus would
have, American virtue.
Greg Johnson
Artistic Director
Actors’ Equity Association was
formed in New York City on May 26, 1913.
For many years exploitation had been a
permanent condition of actors’ employment.
Theatrical producers set their own work
conditions, and there was no required minimum level of compensation. There were no
payments for rehearsal, and rehearsals were
unlimited. Actors in a failed company were
often stranded in a town miles from home,
costumes were furnished by the actors,
holiday matinees were numerous and
performed without pay, productions closed
during lean weeks, and dismissal took place
without any notice to the actors. Previous
attempts by individual actors to organize
in order to rectify these abuses had been
unsuccessful. However, by May 1913, a
committee of actors drafted a constitution
for what was to become Actors’ Equity
Association.
On July 18, 1919, the American Federation
of Labor (later to be the AFL-CIO) granted
a charter to the newly formed union. In the
ensuing years, with each successive negotiation, Equity has secured provisions that
further protect the actor, including bonding
of productions, minimum salaries, payment
for rehearsal, pension and health trust funds,
and principal and chorus auditions, providing an opportunity for actors without agents
to be seen by producers before the final
casting of a show.
Adopted almost a century ago, Equity’s
constitution states that the goal of the
association is “to advance, promote, foster,
and benefit all those connected with the art
of theatre.” This straightforward directive
still remains the finest statement of Equity’s
mission.
MONTANA REP is funded in part by a grant from the Montana Arts Council (an agency of state government),
with support from the Montana State Legislature, The University of Montana, the Montana Cultural Trust,
Dr. Cathy Capps, and Dr. Sandy Sheppard.
Professional Theatre from the Heart of the Rockies
The Rep’s Crew
CHRISTOPHER SERGEL’S dramatization
of the novel by HARPER LEE
Directed by GREG
JOHNSON
Original score composed by PHILIP AABERG
Scenic Designer ............................................................... Bill Raoul
Lighting Designer........................................................... Mark Dean
Costume Designer ...................................................... Holly Monsos
Sound Designer ........................................................ Dan Hartmann
Properties Artisan .................................................... Pamela Hickey
Stage Manager .......................................................... Jessica Owen*
Cast
Jean Louise Finch (Scout) ....................................... Marie Fahlgren
Jeremy Finch (Jem) ................................... Jennifer Fleming-Lovely
Atticus Finch .................................................... Mikel MacDonald*
Calpurnia ......................................................... Lindsey McWhorter
Maudie Atkinson ................................................. Kathleen Conry*
Stephanie Crawford ....................................... Martha Anne Neslen
Mrs. DuBose .............................................................. Lily Gladstone
Arthur Radley (Boo)...................................... Robert M. Gutierrez*
Charles Baker Harris (Dill) ................................. Heather Schmidt
Heck Tate ...................................................................... Aaron Bartz
Judge Taylor ............................................................. Jackson Palmer
Reverend Sykes .................................................... William Hall, Jr.*
Mayella Ewell ............................................................ Aspen Marino
Bob Ewell ........................................................................ Jim Sontag
Walter Cunningham ................................................ Jackson Palmer
Mr. Gilmer ..................................................... Robert M. Gutierrez*
Tom Robinson......................................... Robert Karma Robinson*
Clerk ............................................................................. Jessica Veen
Setting
Place: Maycomb, Alabama / Time: 1935
There will be one fifteen-minute intermission.
To Kill a Mockingbird, adapted by Christopher Sergel, is presented
by arrangement with The Dramatic Publishing Company.
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association
Company Manager..................................................... Katie Hanson
Assistant Director ...................................................... Deborah Voss
Assistant Stage Manager/Props..................................... Jessica Veen
Tour Technical Director ....................................... Aaron Torgerson
Master Electrician ....................................................... Alan Hanson
Electrician ........................................................ Robert M. Gutierrez
Audio Engineer ........................................................ Dan Hartmann
Wardrobe................................................................ Sara Gunderson
Costume Shop Manager ..................................... Lisa Marie Hyslop
Costume Shop Staff ............................. Andrew Jones, Brynn Moll,
......................................... Lela O’Bryant, Sarah Pak, Staci Weigum
Costume Crafts .............................................................. Brynn Moll
Wigmaster .................................................................. Holly Monsos
Construction Technical Director ........................... Jason McDaniel
Scene Construction Staff..... Jason Blanchard, Tennison Coughlan,
.................................... Doug Dion, Jessica Dumke, Dan Hartmann,
....................... Shane Hermes, Karl Mitchell, Trevor Muller-Hegel,
...................................... Schandor Rabe-Wolf, Annie Rottenbiller,
.......................... John Strzelecki, Aaron Torgerson, Gerald Weaver
Scenic Painter ....................................................... Catherine Dixon
Assistant to the Lighting Designer ........................ Bryan Kaschube
Light Shop Manager .............................................. Bryan Kaschube
Prop Shop Manager .......................................... Annie Rottenbiller
Welding Advisors ........................... Mark Raymond, Robert Shook
The Rep’s Staff
Artistic Director......................................................... Greg Johnson
Production Manager ..................................................... Steve Wing
Assistant to the Artistic Director ........................... Salina Chatlain
Educational Outreach Coordinator ......................... Teresa Waldorf
Office Assistant ....................................................... Nichole Pellant
Playwright-in-Residence ........................................... Roger Hedden
Director of Development ................................................ Rose Ayers
Photographs and recordings are not permitted at any time.
The Rep’s Equity Company
MIKEL MacDONALD* (Atticus Finch) This production marks Mikel’s
thirtieth year in professional regional theatre and his third national tour
with Montana Repertory Theatre. He recently performed at the Eugene
Hult Center with Kirk Boyd’s Willamette Repertory Theatre as Moss in A
Body of Water and as Captain Keller in The Miracle Worker. In August Mikel
will appear in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure with Ashland’s Cynthia
White at the Globe Theater in Odessa, Texas.
KATHLEEN CONRY* (Maudie Atkinson) is delighted to be returning
to Montana Rep and to be part of this production. Previously she toured as
M’Lynn in the Rep’s 2005 production of Steel Magnolias. She recently toured
for three months in the new musical Unbeatable, playing multiple roles, at
the Phoenix Theatre and Stages Repertory Theatre in Houston. Originally
from Cleveland, Kathleen has been working professionally for over forty
years on Broadway (George M! and No, No, Nanette) and in several national
tours, as well as appearing in hundreds of productions across the country. As
a director/choreographer she has staged almost 100 shows from coast to coast and has taught
theatre arts in numerous colleges.
WILLIAM HALL, JR.* (Reverend Sykes) is returning to Montana for a
third tour of To Kill a Mockingbird. Currently based in Seattle, he performs
on many of the city’s stages, including the Seattle Repertory Theatre (Birdie
Blue, The Breach, and Gem of the Ocean); ACT Theatre (Wine in the Wilderness and Fathers and Sons); the Seattle Children’s Theatre (True Confessions
of Charlotte Doyle and The Red Badge of Courage); and the Intiman Theatre
(To Kill a Mockingbird). He worked on the Oscar-winning film Driving Miss
Daisy and on the Tony-winning play I’m Not Rappaport. In William’s 25-year
career, he has performed in every state of the Union and in Canada, Russia, and China.
ROBERT KARMA ROBINSON* (Tom Robinson) is a recent
graduate of the National Theatre Conservatory with a MFA in performance.
He is humbled to be working on such a profound piece and honored to
be part of Montana Rep’s production. His recent credits include The
Blowin of Baile Gall at the Vineyard Playhouse on Martha’s Vineyard and
Expedition Six, a new work written and directed by Bill Pullman, at the
Kennedy Center and at the Magic Theater in San Francisco.
ROBERT M. GUTIERREZ* (Boo Radley/Mr. Gilmer) earned a BFA
in acting from UM in 1998. He has served as artistic director of the Fort
Peck Summer Theatre, as company manager of the illustrious Virginia City
Players, and as a company member of the Brewery Follies. Bobby has toured
three times with Montana Rep’s educational outreach tour and has been
involved with seven of the Rep’s national tours. His directing credits include
The Proposal, The Cripple of Inishmann, Parallel Lives, and Suicide in B Flat.
He directed Betty’s Summer Vacation, Bug, The Pillowman, and Stones in His
Pockets for Montana Rep Missoula. He also directed Roger Hedden’s play As Sure as You Live.
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association
ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION (AEA), founded in 1913, represents more than
45,000 actors and stage managers in the United States. Equity seeks to advance, promote, and foster the
art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions,
providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO
and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. The Equity emblem is our
mark of excellence. www.actorsequity.org
JESSICA OWEN* (Stage Manager) is thrilled to join the Rep for her
fifth tour in a row. She began as assistant stage manager on the Rep’s tour
of A Streetcar Named Desire and has been back for more ever since, having
assumed the position of stage manager two years ago. In the summer Jess
now stage-manages for the Alpine Theatre Project in her hometown of
Whitefish, MT. Before that she spent three summers at the Bigfork Summer
Playhouse on Flathead Lake, managing four musicals each season.
The Rep’s Company
MARIE FAHLGREN (Scout Finch) is delighted to be back on the road
with Montana Rep, portraying Harper Lee’s wonderful character Miss Jean
Louise Finch. In 2007, Marie toured with the Rep as Arty Kurnitz in Lost in
Yonkers. Other past roles include Dainty June in Gypsy, Kim McAfee in Bye
Bye Birdie, and a newsboy in The Time of Your Life. Currently a senior at The
University of Montana, Marie majors in acting, with minors in dance and
psychology. She greets and thanks her family and friends in Montana.
JENNIFER FLEMING-LOVELY (Jem Finch) is thrilled to be here.
She first appeared on stage at the age of four as the littlest seed in Missoula
Children’s Theatre’s production of Johnny Appleseed. Shortly afterward, her
father asked her if she had given any thought to what she wanted to be
when she grew up. She simply looked at him and said, “I am an actress.” She
thanks her father and MCT for their support.
LINDSEY MCWHORTER (Calpurnia) is an actress, dancer, and singer
and, giving glory to God, is excited to be making her debut with Montana
Repertory Theatre. She has recently appeared in In the Continuum with Up
You Mighty Race Theatre Company and recently graduated from Brandeis
University, where she received her MFA in acting. She received her BA
in theatre arts from Alabama State University and has performed with
Berkshire Theatre Festival, Commonwealth Shakespeare Co., Hangar
Theatre, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre, and Double Edge Theatre Co.
MARTHA ANNE NESLEN (Stephanie Crawford) is a recent graduate
of The University of Montana’s Department of Drama/Dance. In 2007,
Martha toured with Montana Rep as Gert in Lost in Yonkers. She is incredibly excited about her second tour and pleased to share this beautiful tale
with so many people. Past productions include Tartuffe, The Ginger Man,
and Stop Kiss. To Kill a Mockingbird has been one of Martha’s favorite stories
since childhood. Thank you for supporting the art of live theatre.
LILY GLADSTONE (Mrs. DuBose) is thrilled to be part of this amazing
production. A recent graduate of The University of Montana, Lily received
her BFA in acting and minored in Native American studies. Previous productions include Coyote on a Fence, Stop Kiss, The Good Person of Setzuan,
Miss Julie, Richard III, and Riders to the Sea. Lily plans to continue her work
with Montana Rep by helping to establish a new branch company presenting Native American theatrical arts. She would like to thank her family and
friends for their support and Greg Johnson for this wonderful opportunity.
The Rep’s Company
The Artistic Director / Director
HEATHER SCHMIDT (Dill Harris) is thrilled to be joining Montana
Rep for the first time this season. Originally from St. Louis, Heather recently
graduated with her BFA in acting from Wright State University in Ohio.
She discovered Montana last summer when she worked with the Virginia
City Players, learning firsthand about the quirks of working alongside ghosts
in the historic ghost town. Falling in love with the state, she then traveled
northwest and worked in Montana’s Big Sky Rep as Juliet in Romeo and
Juliet. Some of her favorite past roles include Alice in Closer, Young Vi in
Violet, Celia in As You Like It, Frenchie in Grease, and Susan Kerner in Veronica’s Room.
GREG JOHNSON has served as artistic director of the Montana Rep
since 1990. He brought with him a commitment to excellence developed
during years of experience in the New York theatre, where he worked with
the best directors, choreographers, actors, designers, and playwrights in
the country. From Neil Simon and Gene Saks to Hugh Leonard, Melvin
Bernhardt, Elizabeth Ashley, Beth Henley, Christine Baranski, Andie
MacDowell, and Barnard Hughes, Greg has been privileged to work with the
finest. He brings his energy and expertise to every aspect of his involvement
with Montana Rep.
Greg Johnson’s Broadway credits include Biloxi Blues; Crimes of the Heart; Is There Life
After High School?; Da; and Hide and Seek. National tours include the Broadway productions
of Steel Magnolias, Crimes of the Heart, and Biloxi Blues. Greg spent nineteen years
working in the professional theatre in New York City as an actor, stage manager, and director
before coming to Montana to head Montana Rep.
Since joining Montana Rep, Greg has directed and produced over 100 theatre events,
including Broadway Bound; The Heidi Chronicles; Someone Who’ll Watch over Me; Lend Me a
Tenor; Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll; The Real Thing; The Voice of The Prairie; Thom Pain; Ashes to
Ashes; The Dumbwaiter; Anton in Show Business; Eating ’round the Bruise; and Antigone: 2026.
He also directed the national tours of It’s a Wonderful Life, Death of a Salesman, A Streetcar
Named Desire, The Trip to Bountiful, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. In addition, he is responsible
for development of The Missoula Colony: A Gathering of Artists in Support of the Writers’
Craft at The University of Montana, and Montana Rep Missoula, which brings cutting-edge
theatre to downtown audiences. Greg has served as a panelist
for the National Endowment for the Arts and, with the Rep, is a member of Theatre
Communications Group, a national network of regional theatres. He serves on the faculty
of The University of Montana School of Fine Arts.
AARON BARTZ (Heck Tate) recently graduated from The University
of Montana with a BFA in acting and is thrilled to be making his debut with
Montana Repertory Theatre. Past productions include Proof, The Time of
Your Life, Richard III, Miss Julie, and Stop Kiss. Aaron currently resides in
New York City.
JACKSON PALMER (Judge Taylor/Walter Cunningham) was born
and raised in the small town of Somers, Montana, at the north end of
beautiful Flathead Lake. His father is a highway engineer, his mother works
construction, and his brother just returned from South Korea, where he
taught English to kindergartners. A broken leg led Jackson to try out for
a play in high school, and he hasn’t looked back since. Past productions
include Tartuffe, Burn This, The House of Blue Leaves, Bash, and Bus Stop.
This is Jackson’s first outing with Montana Rep and he is overjoyed to be
part of such a timeless show as To Kill A Mockingbird. Mom, Dad, Nick, James, Tony, Cody,
Brad, Claire, and everyone else whose support I couldn’t do without––thank you.
ASPEN MARINO (Mayella Ewell) is a native of Montana. A third-year
acting student in the Department of Drama/Dance at The University of
Montana, Aspen is excited about her first national tour with Montana Rep
in this production of To Kill a Mockingbird. Past productions include The
Ginger Man, Tartuffe, and Cabaret.
JIM SONTAG (Bob Ewell) is a senior BFA student at The University
of Montana in his hometown of Missoula. He is proud to perform in this
heartfelt, intelligently written play that combines classic theatre with contemporary concerns. This is his first tour. He would like to thank Montana
Rep for this opportunity, his friends and family for their unending support,
the cast and crew for their patience, and most importantly, the audience
for helping us to create the magic of live theatre.
KATIE HANSON (Company Manager) A native of Montana, Katie is
ecstatic to be touring again with the Rep. After stage-managing Montana
Rep’s statewide production of Frankenstein, she moved to Portland, Oregon,
with her partner in crime. Having so much pride in the Rep, she is
absolutely thrilled to assume the role of company manager. When not
touring, Katie freelances in technical services and stage management. She
would like to thank her family, friends, and Vance for always supporting
her fascination with the arts, no matter where it may take her.
The Composer
Philip Aaberg, composer of the score for Montana Rep’s production of
To Kill a Mockingbird, has long regarded Harper Lee’s classic story as one
of his favorites.
Philip’s concert performances have consistently drawn standing
ovations, leaving crowds dazzled by his dynamic and emotional range
and captivated by his musical composition and storytelling.
Philip writes music that connects a global audience to the sweeping landscape of the
West. By translating Montana’s farms, ranches, and native cultures into musical concepts,
he’s forged a unique keyboard style that paints an audible portrait of his home state.
Although classically trained, Philip celebrates many traditions with his compositions.
He weaves strains of blues and bluegrass as well as rock and new music throughout his
melodic tapestries.
Besides playing piano with the Boston Pops and participating in the Marlboro Chamber
Music Festival, Philip has appeared with Peter Gabriel, Elvin Bishop, and the Doobie
Brothers. He has cut eight solo albums, one of which, Live From Montana, received a 2002
Grammy nomination. As a guest artist, Philip has performed on over 200 albums and on
PBS’s All-American Jazz, which earned him an Emmy nomination.
“He is a true composer, as well as a great interpreter,” says fellow pianist George Winston.
“His music so deeply captures the essence of Montana and yet it is so universal.”
The Designers
BILL RAOUL (Scenic Designer) retired from The University of
Montana after twenty-seven years in the Department of Drama/Dance. His
professional design work began in Seattle, where he designed twenty-one
productions for A Contemporary Theatre. His textbook Stock Scenery
Construction: A Handbook is used in schools across the country. His lifelong
love of music is reflected in The Sound Designer’s Companion (2008).
Both are published by Broadway Press.
MARK DEAN (Lighting Designer) is currently chair of the Department
of Drama/Dance and professor of lighting design at The University of
Montana. In previous seasons with the Montana Rep, Mark designed
lighting for the productions of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Death of a Salesman,
The Glass Menagerie, and Smoke on the Mountain. Some of his most recent
lighting designs include Tartuffe, The House of Blue Leaves, Christmas Carol,
and Amadeus for The University of Montana. Mark has designed for such
companies as the Hilberry Repertory Theatre, Western Washington
University Summer Stock, Opera Roanoke, Missoula Children’s Theatre, and the Bigfork
Summer Playhouse.
HOLLY MONSOS (Costume Designer) received a BA in theatre with
secondary teaching certification from Michigan State University and an
MFA in costume design from The University of Montana. She taught
and designed at the Dillard School of Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida, and spent several years as a cutter/draper in professional theatre,
including work with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Actor’s Theatre of
Louisville, and the San Francisco Opera. She joined the faculty of the University of Toledo’s Department of Theatre and Film in 1991, and her design
work has been seen at the Toledo Rep. Recently she has designed for Ms. Unseen Productions
in New Zealand and for the Glacity Theatre Collective in Toledo, where she also serves as
executive director. Holly is active in the United States Institute for Theatre Technology and
currently serves as the institute’s vice president for members, sections, and chapters.
DAN HARTMANN (Sound Designer) is thrilled to be working with
Montana Rep on his fourth national tour. A native of Sun River, Montana,
Dan began his career as a student at The University of Montana in 2002
as a vocal performance major and later changed emphasis, studying sound
design, lighting design, and technical direction as part of the BFA design/
technology program. Dan is currently the vice president of operations for
Stageworx in Missoula. He is busy throughout Montana as a stagehand
for Rocky Mountain Rigging and serves as audio designer and engineer
for Headwaters Dance Company, in addition to teaching sound design at The University
of Montana. Dan’s recent show credits include sound design for the Rep’s 2007 tour of
Lost in Yonkers and The University of Montana productions of Bat Boy: The Musical;
Evita; A Christmas Carol; and Picasso at the Lapin Agile, directed by Roger Hedden.
He stage-managed UM’s production of Peter Pan and served as technical director for
The Good Person of Setzuan.
The Staff
STEVE WING (Production Manager) has been with the Montana Rep
for over 25 years. He has managed the office; run rehearsals; loaded, driven,
and unloaded trucks...he’s done it all! Steve toured with the company
11 times as a technician, company manager, stage manager, and managing
director. At The University of Montana he is production coordinator for
the Department of Drama/Dance and teaches stage management classes.
Steve holds degrees from The University of Montana and Montana State
University. A Helena native, he has worked for The Old Brewery Theatre,
The Loft Theatre, and Shakespeare in the Parks.
SALINA CHATLAIN (Assistant to the Artistic Director) is thrilled to
be part of the Rep family and enjoys her various responsibilities as paperpusher, playwright-wrangler, spell-checker, and master coffee-maker. Salina
earned a BFA in acting from UM in 2000 and spent a term studying at the
Utrecht School for the Arts in Utrecht, Netherlands. She has appeared
in productions with the Montana Rep Educational Outreach Tour as well
as Montana Rep Missoula.
TERESA WALDORF (Educational Outreach Coordinator) In addition
to her work with Montana Rep, Ms. Waldorf serves as publicity coordinator
and adjunct professor in the Department of Drama/Dance at The University
of Montana. She earned her MFA in acting and directing from UM in
1991 and is an actress, director, wife, and mother. She has acted in
Missoula for more than fifteen years and was recently seen in the Montana
Rep Missoula productions of Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You and
Mrs. Farnsworth (in which she played the title roles). Her directing credits
with The University of Montana Department of Drama/Dance include Still Life with Iris;
Bat Boy: The Musical; Waiting for Godot; The Rocky Horror Show; and Gypsy.
ROSE AYERS (Director of Development) received her BFA from The
University of Montana in May 2007, just before her youngest son was born.
She lives in Missoula with husband, Michael, and when she is not working
for the Rep or directing plays, she is very busy raising her two boys, Monroe
and Elias. While working off and on with the Montana Rep for the last eight
years, Rose cultivated a deep passion for developing professional theatre in
Montana and beyond.
Montana Rep’s National Tour tells the great stories of our world to enlighten, develop,
and celebrate the human spirit in an ever-expanding community.
Montana Rep’s Educational Outreach Tour serves rural communities across the state,
offering plays, workshops, and post-performance talkbacks for student and adult audiences.
Montana Rep Missoula presents cutting-edge new works and revitalized classics that
captivate the imagination, challenge the intellect, and stir the senses.
The Missoula Colony: A Gathering of Artists in Support of the Writer’s Craft
brings noted playwrights and actors to Missoula to study and celebrate the craft of writing
for the stage and screen.
The Playwright / Christopher Sergel
The Author / Harper Lee
Meeting with Harper Lee to discuss the
stage adaptation of her extraordinary book
To Kill a Mockingbird was an event about
which I felt some trepidation.
Nelle Harper Lee was born on April
28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama. Her
father, Amasa Coleman Lee, was a lawyer,
newspaper editor, and state senator during
her formative years. Harper Lee’s childhood
in a small Southern town decades before
the triumph of the Civil Rights movement
provided all the material she needed for
her celebrated, and only, novel, To Kill a
Mockingbird.
My father, Roger Sergel, who had been
Professor of English at the University of
Pittsburgh and who had been close to many
leading writers of his day...particularly
admired Harper Lee’s book. He died before
I met with Harper Lee, but I can still
remember his unqualified enthusiasm for
her work. When To Kill a Mockingbird won
the Pulitzer Prize, my father said, “This
is the first time I entirely agree with the
Pulitzer Prize.”
The meeting with Harper Lee, as I recall
it from twenty years ago, took place at the
Hotel Pierre in New York City. It began
as an early lunch and lasted several hours.
As we discussed the adaptation and the
reasons for the choices being made, I had a
sense that she felt the work was on the right
track.... The good discussion continued with
Harper Lee as we walked down the hotel
corridor. Passing a row of public phones I
had an irrational wish that I could call my
father and tell him that I’d met with Harper
Lee herself and the meeting had gone
very well.
A taxi stopped in front and I opened the
door for Harper Lee. She embraced me and
was gone. I’ve never seen her again.
Perhaps the essence of what I believe
she does better than any writer I know is
captured in a brief response Atticus makes
to a question from his daughter Scout. In
the book as in the play, Tom Robinson, a
black man, is wrongly convicted of a crime
he did not commit and is later shot down
by prison guards as he tries to escape. In
anguish Scout asks her father how such a
thing could be done to Tom. Atticus replies,
“Because he wasn’t ‘Tom’ to them.” The
special beauty of Harper Lee’s work is that
she takes us inside the people of her book,
and in their various individual ways, each
becomes “Tom” to us.
~Christopher Sergel
Christopher Sergel’s interests and
talents led him on many adventures
throughout the world. As captain of the
schooner Chance, he spent two years in the
South Pacific; as a writer for Sports Afield
magazine, he lived in the African bush for
a year; as a lieutenant commander during
WWII, he taught celestial navigation; as
a playwright, his adaptation of Sherwood
Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio was seen on
Broadway.
But throughout his life, his greatest
adventure and deepest love was his work
with Dramatic Publishing, where he served
as president from 1970-1993. During this
time, he wrote adaptations of To Kill a
Mockingbird, Cheaper By the Dozen, The
Mouse That Roared, Up the Down Staircase,
Fame, Black Elk Speaks, and many more.
His love of theatre and his caring for
writers made him a generous and spirited
mentor to many playwrights here and
around the world. His inspiration and
integrity attracted to the company fine
writers including C. P. Taylor, Timberlake
Wertenbaker, Arthur Miller, Roald Dahl
and E. B. White, to name just a few. He
once said he hoped to be remembered as
E. B. White described Charlotte: “a true
friend and a good writer.”
Biography from Dramatic Publishing
Though narrated by a child, Mockingbird
was not a story Lee could have written
without experience in the larger adult
world. She studied at Huntingdon College,
the University of Alabama (where she
never finished a law degree), and at Oxford
University in England. In 1950, she moved
to New York City, where she worked as
an airline reservation clerk. Convinced
she had a story to tell about her own
magical childhood, she moved to a coldwater apartment and, in earnest, took up
the life of a struggling writer.
In 1957, her attempt to publish the novel
failed. On the advice of an editor, she
decided to turn what was a manuscript of
short stories into a longer, more coherent
narrative about the Depression-era South.
She gained valuable inspiration when,
in 1959, she traveled to Kansas with
childhood friend Truman Capote (the
inspiration for Dill in Mockingbird). There
she helped Capote research In Cold Blood,
a novel published to wide acclaim in 1966.
To Kill a Mockingbird, finally published in
1960, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in
1961. The following year the book was
adapted as a movie with an Academy
Award-winning screenplay by Horton Foote.
Virtually overnight Lee became a literary
sensation. A resolution was passed in her
honor by the Alabama legislature in 1961,
and in 1966 she was named to the National
Council of the Arts by President Lyndon
Johnson.
In the last 40 years, Lee has received
numerous honors, including several
honorary university degrees. Most recently
she was awarded the Los Angeles Public
Library Literary Award in 2005.
Expectations notwithstanding, Lee has
never published another book. Her entire
published oeuvre consists of a brilliant
novel and miscellaneous articles, mostly
from the 1960s.
From “The Big Read,” National Endowment
for the Arts, 2006-2008, neabigread.org
Quotations from
To Kill a Mockingbird
“I wanted you to see what real courage is,
instead of getting the idea that courage is a
man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you
know you’re licked before you begin but
you begin anyway and you see it through no
matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes
you do.”
“Before I can live with other folks I’ve got
to live with myself. The one thing that
doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s
conscience.”
“So it took an eight-year-old child to bring
’em to their senses.... That proves something––that a gang of wild animals can be
stopped, simply because they’re still human.
Hmp, maybe we need a police force of
children.”
Messages
GEORGE M. DENNISON
President, The University of Montana
The Montana Repertory Theatre––fondly known as “The Rep”––has served
Montana and The University of Montana for over 40 years, bringing live
theatre to communities throughout Montana and the region. By providing
cultural opportunities to the far-flung towns and cities of the state, The Rep
enriches the social life and helps to sustain some proud traditions. In all its
efforts, The Rep complements, but does not supplant, local school and community theatre.
The rising enthusiasm for the arts throughout the state offers a wonderful tribute to the good
work of the professionals and students associated with The Rep.
The University of Montana actively pursues excellence in art, music, dance, and theatre.
The presence of The Rep on the Missoula campus enhances that effort and assists the
University to fulfill its mission as a center for the arts in Montana. The lure of involvement
with the film and theatre professionals associated with The Rep attracts outstanding faculty
and students from across the state and the country to the University. Without The Rep,
we will all suffer. With it, we all benefit.
We expect many more years of successful and dedicated service from The Rep, a
mainstay of the University community. As President of The University of Montana,
I take great pleasure and pride in the good work of our own Montana Repertory Theatre
as it becomes increasingly national in its outreach and reputation.
DR. STEPHEN KALM
Interim Dean, School of Fine Arts
Eleven years ago at The University of Montana, I attended my first
Montana Repertory Theatre production, To Kill A Mockingbird. I was deeply
moved by the powerful message of the play and the eloquence of The Rep’s
presentation. As a relatively new faculty member, I felt a certain amount of
pride that the University and School of Fine Arts were being represented
throughout the nation in such a compelling fashion. As interim dean, I am excited to support
the revival of this wonderful production, which I hope will inspire and transform the hearts
and minds of audiences as it did for me many years ago.
On behalf of the School of Fine Arts and The University of Montana, I thank you for your
presence and support. I believe you will enjoy this production of To Kill A Mockingbird and
hope you have many occasions in the future to spend time with the Montana Rep and UM’s
School of Fine Arts.
Faculty & Staff
SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS
Dr. Stephen Kalm, Interim Dean
DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA/DANCE
CHAIR:
Mark Dean
FACULTY:
Heather Adams, Michele Antonioli,
Randy Bolton, Nicole Bradley
Browning, Alessia Carpoca,
Mark Dean, John Kenneth DeBoer,
Heidi Jones Eggert, Jere Hodgin,
Greg Johnson, Karen Kaufmann,
Ezra LeBank, Mike Monsos,
Linda Parker, Wendy Stark Prey,
Teresa Waldorf, Ann Wright
STAFF:
Bob Athearn, Salina Chatlain,
Teresa Clark, Lisa Marie Hyslop,
Erin McDaniel, Kathy White,
Steve Wing
PRODUCTION
ADMINISTRATION STAFF
PRODUCTION MANAGER:
PUBLICITY, PROMOTIONS,
& PROGRAM:
Greg Johnson, Erin McDaniel,
Teresa Waldorf, Kathy White
POSTER DESIGN &
ILLUSTRATION:
Kirk Johnson, Becki Johnson
Anthony Licitra
BOX OFFICE PERSONNEL:
Montana Repertory Theatre’s relationship with the Department of Drama/
Dance is an important component of our students’ educational experience.
The Rep plays a critical role in the success of our professional theatre
training programs by providing students with unique opportunities to work
alongside accomplished actors, directors, designers, and technicians in a
variety of situations. Students work with these theatre professionals during The Rep’s
semester-long national tour and through involvement with its other programs, including
the statewide educational outreach tour, the Missoula Colony playwriting workshop, and
Montana Rep Missoula. Touring with Montana Rep as a student prepared me to succeed in
this highly competitive profession. Now, as department chair, on a daily basis I see students
succeed because of the outstanding hands-on educational experiences offered by The Rep’s
integration with our curriculum.
Each year this award is given to an outstanding individual
whose hard work and devotion to the theatre literally
keeps the lights lit and the halls filled.
Golden Halo Award
recipients include:
2009––UM President George Dennison
2008––Dr. Firman H. “Bo” Brown
2007––Kirk & Becki Johnson
2006––Lindy Coon
2005––Jean Morrison
2004––Bob Zingmark
2003––The Rotary Club, Michael Duffield, Liaison
2002—David Aronofsky
2001—Susan Estep
2000—John Keegan & Tony Cesare
1999—Mary Ann Riddle
1998—A. Thomas Alfrey & USWEST Foundation
1997—Bryan Thornton
1996—Mickey Hawkins
1995—Anne Guest
1994—Steve Wing
1993—Sue Talbot & Helen Guthrie Miller
Steve Wing
HOUSE MANAGER:
MARK DEAN
Chair, Department of Drama/Dance
Golden Halo Award
Casey Cronin, Carl Hansen,
Anna Penner-Ray, John Strzelecki
Congratulations and thank you from
Montana Rep.
THE REP wishes to especially
thank the following:
Interim Dean Dr. Stephan Kalm and the faculty
and staff of the Department of Drama/Dance at
The University of Montana
Erin McDaniel and Kathy White
Bryan Thornton and The Bookstore at UM
Carol Seim and the School of Fine Arts Advisory Council
Gus Miller
Ken Price and UM Printing and Graphic Services
Rus Dooley, Terri Orser, and the Campus Inn
Dr. Cathy Capps
Dr. Sandy Sheppard
Terry Cyr
Lisa Marie Hyslop
Acknowledgments
MONTANA REP wishes to thank the members of the
Gala Opening Committee for their continuing support:
Rosie Ayers, Cathy Capps, Lindy Coon, Susan Hay Cramer,
Salina Chatlain, and Anne Guest.