Download Stalag 17 - The American Century Theater

The American Century Theater
presents
About The American Century Theater
The American Century Theater was founded in 1994. We are a
professional nonprofit theater company dedicated to presenting great,
important, and worthy American plays of the twentieth century—what
Henry Luce called “the American Century.”
The company’s mission is one of rediscovery, enlightenment, and
perspective, not nostalgia or preservation. Americans must not lose the
extraordinary vision and wisdom of past playwrights, nor can we afford
to surrender the moorings to our shared cultural heritage.
Our mission is also driven by a conviction that communities need
theater, and theater needs audiences. To those ends, this company is
committed to producing plays that challenge and move all Americans,
of all ages, origins, and points of view. In particular, we strive to create
theatrical experiences that entire families can watch, enjoy, and discuss
long afterward.
Board of Directors
Chair
Vice-Chair
Treasurer
Secretary
Board
Staff
Jack Marshall
Sherri L. Perper
Jason Beagle
Rip Claassen
Brian Crane
Ellen Dempsey
Kate Dorrell
Tom Fuller
Wendy Kenney
Ann Marie Plubell
Kimberly Ginn
Peri Mahaley
David T. Austern, Richard Barton,
Elizabeth Borgen, Rebecca Christy,
Vivian Kallen, Jack Marshall
CEO and Artistic Director
Producing Director
Rhonda Hill
Gloria Holder
Lesley Irminger
Steven Scott Mazzola
David Olmsted
Ginny Tarris
Jessica D’Arcy, Kristen Northrop, Erin Shannahan, Interns
Sandra Lindamood, Solomon Lomax, Yorktown High School Interns
Become a fan of The American Century Theater on Facebook.
Keep up with shows, auditions, volunteer opportunities, podcasts,
videos, and more. www.AmericanCentury.org
The American Century Theater
presents
March 26–April 17, 2010
Gunston Theater II
2700 South Lang Street, Arlington VA
Director
William Aitken
Producing Director
Sherri L. Perper
Stage Manager
Bob Pierce
Set Design
Anndi Daleske
Technical Director/
Master Carpenter
Jameson Shroyer
Costume Design
Rip Claassen
Lighting Design
Cheryl Ann Gnerlich
Sound Design
Ian Armstrong
Properties Design
Ceci Albert
Scene synopsis
A barracks of Stalag 17, somewhere in Germany during World War II
Act 1 Scene 1—December 23, 1944,
early morning
Scene 2—Later that evening
Act 2 Scene 1—Afternoon the next day
Scene 2—Later that night
Act 3 Scene 1—Christmas 1944, afternoon
Scene 2—That night
There will be one 15-minute intermission.
There will be cigarette smoking onstage and loud noises.
Please—Silence cell phones and other sound-producing devices.
The use of recording equipment and/or the taking of photographs
during the performance are strictly prohibited.
Stalag 17 is produced by special arrangement
with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
Cast
S.S. Captain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Karl Bittner
Stosh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Stange
Harry Shapiro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Donald L. Osborne
Price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jon Townson
Herb Gordon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Eisman
Hoffman (Hoffy) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bill Gordon
Sefton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tony Bullock
Duke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gabriel J. Swee
McCarthy, S.S. Guard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matthew Meixler
Horney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Olmsted
Marko . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jay Hardee
Corporal Shultz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hans Dettmar
Dunbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James Finley
Reed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve Lebens
Geneva Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James Svatko
Production staff
Producing Director . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sherri L. Perper
Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Aitken
Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bob Pierce
Assistant Stage Managers . . . . Rachel Loose, Jim Vincent, Larissa Norris
Set Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anndi Daleske
Technical Director/Master Carpenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jameson Shroyer
Costume Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rip Claassen
Lighting Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cheryl Ann Gnerlich
Sound Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ian Armstrong
Properties Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ceci Albert
Fight Choreography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Casey Kaleba
Fight Captain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jon Townson
Sound Board Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Callery
Wardrobe Mistress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jessica Branch
Program Design and Cover Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Sherman
Production Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dennis Deloria
Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesley Irminger, Jessica D’Arcy (intern)
Dramaturgy Intern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erin Shannahan
Development Intern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kristen Northrop
Archivist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kim-Scott Miller
Special thanks to—
Chris Anderson
Backstage, Inc.
Don Barton
Cassatt’s Kiwi Café & Gallery
Deborah Rinn Critzer
Brian Dettling,
Stage Armament Solutions
Lorraine Hitchcock
Richard Kamenitzer
Stalag 17 (1951) by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski
Following shortly after the Vietnam War memory play, A Piece of My Heart,
in the 2009–2010 TACT season, Stalag 17 is a World War II drama—and one
that solves the difficult problem of portraying war on stage very differently.
A Piece of My Heart uses a collage of sights, sounds, and narration to evoke
the chaos of war as psychological damage. Stalag 17, in contrast, aims at
literal realism in its evocation of existence at the famous German prisonerof-war camp. More importantly, however, it uses the physical limitations of
the stage to recreate the psychological impact of confinement on men with
little in common except their shared plight. Stalag 17 thus signals that it is
more than a war play: It is a “men in a box” play.
Men-in-a-box plays are, more than anything else, about men: how they
relate to strangers they can’t avoid, how they deal with rivals they don’t
like, how they approach stress, how they handle impulses like bias,
bigotry, jealousy, hate, pity, and violence, and how all of it is influenced
by testosterone and male egos. These are not plays for the indulgence of
nontraditional casting: if there is a woman in such plays at all, she appears
only to show how the men in the box react to one.
To a great extent, the characters in a men-in-a-box play are the playwright’s
lab rats, as he or she (although virtually every such play has a male author
or, in the case of Stalag 17, two) introduces various stimuli and watches
how his creations respond while they are simultaneously given a problem
to solve. Reginald Rose, in the ultimate men-in-a-box play, Twelve Angry
Men, injected bigotry and bias into his jury box of men trying to settle on a
verdict in a murder trial. In Jason Miller’s That Championship Season, the
men in the box have to reconcile reality with frozen memories while trying
to preserve their personal integrity. The men trapped in the floating coffin
of the Pequod in Moby Dick Rehearsed must try to do their jobs while in
the clutches of a mad captain, as the actors portraying them must somehow
tell the whalers’ story while confined to a bare rehearsal room. In Stalag 17,
continued
Special thanks, continued
George Mason University,
MA in Arts Management
Program
Elizabeth Malone
Scott Parfumi
Bridget Serchak
Studio Theatre
Yorktown High School
Office of Transition Services
the main variable is distrust: How does a group of men, dependent on each
other to survive, deal with the knowledge that there is a traitor in their box?
Rehearsing a men-in-a-box play is unique, far closer to the atmosphere on
an athletic team or in a locker room than a normal rehearsal process, and it
often places the director in the unfamiliar roles of brother, warden, referee,
parole officer, and animal trainer. The rehearsals of these dramas are, or
should be, unsettlingly similar to the experience portrayed in the plays.
The inspiration for Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski to write Stalag 17
was almost certainly another, epically successful men-in-a-box play, Mister
Roberts. Like Stalag 17, it was a loosely autobiographical play about the
World War II experiences of an American serviceman, for Mister Roberts
playwright Thomas Heggen had served on a Pacific cargo ship, just as both
Bevan and Trzcinski had been imprisoned in the real Stalag 17. Bevan,
who was already a playwright, had to notice the success of the 1948 comic
drama on Broadway as well as its main theme of being “trapped” on a
ship while fighting “the enemy” among them (their soul-crushing captain)
while trying to fight the real enemy, the Japanese. He recruited his nonplaywright prison camp alumnus (Heggen also had a collaborator, director
Joshua Logan) Trzcinski, to work with him, and, three years after Mister
Roberts conquered New York, Stalag 17 premiered to whispers that it was
Son of Mister Roberts.
It was not, however. This men-in-a-box play was far more serious in tone
and intent, and there were not a lot of laughs from audiences and critics
who may have been expecting them. Stalag 17 still found its audience
and had a successful run, but when Hollywood pro Billy Wilder agreed to
direct the film version, Bevan and Trzcinski must have seen the writing on
their box’s wall. Wilder’s specialty was comedy with an edge, and his M.O.
was rewriting any property he got his hands on to play to his strengths
(which were considerable: among his classic films are The Seven Year Itch,
Some Like It Hot, and Sunset Boulevard). Sure enough, the movie version
of Stalag 17 was a comedy in the Mister Roberts mold. It was a bigger
success than the play, and the playwrights didn’t seem to mind.
They should have. Their Stalag 17 is different but excellent—and one of the
very best men-in-a-box plays ever written.
—Jack Marshall, Artistic Director
Stalag 17 . . . When most people hear that phrase, they either have no idea
what it means or they think of the famous 1953 Billy Wilder movie. But
for people of an earlier generation, it is immediately recognized as the
name of a German POW camp, and, for a select few, the words bring back
horrendous memories of the very specific time and place when they were at
the mercy of their fellow human beings . . . but were given none.
Both Wilder’s film and the play by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski
use humor to offset violence, anger, and treachery. That Bevan and
Trzcinski were able to write about their experience and still find a way, not
only to laugh about it but to make others laugh, is a testament to the power
that this play must have had when it first premiered. Since then, it has been
overshadowed by the famous movie. Put aside the celluloid memory and see
this story as it was originally meant to be seen—on the stage.
—William Aitken, Director
Download the podcast
Listen in as Artistic Director Jack Marshall discusses the TACT
production of Stalag 17 with director Bill Aitken and actors Tony
Bullock (Sefton), Jon Townson (Price), and Hans Dettmar (Shultz).
Podcast available at http://americancenturytheater.blogspot.com
The American Century Theater dedicates this production of Stalag 17 to all
American veterans, with special gratitude to family members and friends
who have served . . .
From the extended Manger family
In loving memory of our father,
father-in-law and grandfather
John Thomas Manger, Jr.
b.1923 d.2010
T/Sgt.—flying radio operator and gunner
in WWII
Army Air Forces 5th Airforce, 90th
Bomber Group
Jolly Rogers, 320th Squadron (Moby
Dick)
In honor of (L to R) Joe Rous,
Bob Kenney, and Oliver Johnson,
pictured here shortly after their
liberation from Stalag VII-A in May
of 1945.
Rous, Kenney, and Johnson were all
members of the First Battalion of the
117th Regiment of the 30th Infantry
Division, which won a Presidential
Unit Citation for its heroic resistance
to the German counter-attack at St.
Barthelemy at the Battle of Mortain
in August 1944.
Rous was from the Chicago area,
Kenney was from outside Boston,
and Johnson was from southern
Ohio, near the hills of Appalachia.
Their backgrounds were very
different, but in POW camp they
bonded into a close-knit group and
kept each other alive.
Capt. Joseph S. Mahaley
United States Navy Reserve (Ret.)
1969–2002
Vietnam, 1970 and 1973–1975
In honor of his service, with love
and great respect from his wife,
Peri Mahaley
Cpl. John F. Nash, III
3rd Battalion, 5th Marines—Kilo Company
April 2005–April 2009
In honor of my son, my hero, and all
those who served with him in Operation
Iraqi Freedom
From his proud mother, Peri Mahaley
In loving memory of Lt. Col. Alexander M. Teets
(second from left, bottom row)
US Army Air Corps 1942–1946
B-24 Pilot, 13th Air Force, 5th Bombardment Group (H)
US Air Force 1953–1973
WWII—Korea—Vietnam
In loving memory
Lt. Hazel Adele
Flickinger
US Army Nurse Corps
South Pacific
1942–1946
The Marshall family
honors husband, father,
grandfather, hero
Major Jack Anderson
Marshall Sr.
b.1920 d.2010
317th Infantry Regiment,
80th Division
Recipient of the Silver
Star, Bronze Star, and
Purple Heart
Inducted into OCS Hall of
Fame at Ft.Bragg (2000)
In loving memory of
Sgt. Richard Walker Ewing,
Jessica and Kayla honor
loving husband, father,
their father, Staff Sgt.
and grandfather.
Jeffrey B. D’Arcy (Ret.)
Richard served 6 years
Served in the Army for
in the Marine Embassy
20 years
Guard and was a veteran
Veteran of the Gulf War,
of the Korean War.
1st Armored Division
Afterwards, he served our
We are very proud of all
country as a police officer.
you’ve done for our country Your family loves
and grateful for all you are and misses you.
doing for us.
1st Lt. Paul H. Kenney, a
P-51 fighter pilot, was shot
down while on a strafing
mission over Germany
on 15 April 1944. He was
captured and held as a
POW in Dulag Luft Dulag
12 in Grosstychow, Poland.
Thank you for your service:
Robert Killion, Sgt.,
USMC
Gene Townson, SSgt.,
USAF
Jeff Townson, SSgt.,
USMC
In honor of my father
Col. Harris R. Hill (Ret.)
who served our country in
the U.S. Army for 30 years.
A veteran of both Korea
and Viet Nam
I’ve always been so proud
of you.
—Rhonda
Dedicated to those
currently serving—
I’m proud of you two.
—Bob
SALUTING
Second Lieutenant Robert W. Fuller (1921–2006) (front row, 6th from left)
United States Army Ordnance Department
444th Heavy Automotive Maintenance Company, 78th Battalion
August 1942–December 1945
Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central Europe
Bronze Star 1945
AND ALL WHO SERVED WITH HIM
Commander Alan
Sherman (Ret. 1982)
21 year US Naval career
USNA Class of 1963
Executive Officer on the
USS Cayuga LST 1186
3 tours in Vietnam
We are so proud of you
Lt. Jerry Champion
United States Army
82nd Airborne Division
Haiti Relief Effort
B Co. 1-325 AIR
2BCT 82nd ABN
Sgt. Jess Decker
United States Army
Dialya Province, Iraq
209th Military Intelligence
Company, 1st Regiment
14th Calvary Squadron,
3/2nd Stryker Brigade
Combat Team
Karl Bittner (S.S. Captain) is pleased to be working with TACT again,
having been seen last season as Clarence, Jr., in Life With Father. Most
recently, he appeared as Lean in The F Word (The Inkwell). Other local
credits include Late Bloomers and Glory Days (Capital Fringe Festival
2009), Princess Peanut’s Rainy Day (Charter Theatre), and Man of La
Mancha (Keegan Theatre). On film, he portrayed David Koresh in the
MSNBC documentary, Witness to Waco. Karl is a graduate of the National
Conservatory of Dramatic Arts.
Tony Bullock (Sefton) has worked professionally as an actor in Florida,
Mississippi, and South Carolina. His introduction to the DC area theatre
scene was as Lord of Essex in Kit Marlowe (Rorschach Theatre), where he
also played Hamlet (the zombie king) in Living Dead in Denmark. Tony
received his BFA in Theatre from William Carey College in Mississippi,
attended the journeyman program at the Warehouse Theatre in Greenville,
South Carolina, and earned his MFA from Florida State University Asolo
Conservatory for Actor Training in Sarasota, Florida.
Hans Dettmar (Shultz) is happy to be debuting with The American
Century Theater. He was most recently seen playing Ludie in The Trip to
Bountiful (Reston Community Players) and has also appeared as Irwin
in The History Boys, John Merrick in The Elephant Man (earning a 2008
WATCH Award nomination for outstanding lead actor in a play), Cradeau
in No Exit, Cohen in The Underpants, Chris in All My Sons, Demetrius in
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Banquo in Macbeth. Musical theatre
roles include John Dickinson in 1776, Barber/Quixote understudy in Man of
La Mancha, Emile DeBeque in South Pacific, and Harold Hill in The Music
Man. Thanks to his best friend, Marianne.
Tom Eisman (Herb) is pleased to be playing in Stalag 17, his first show
with The American Century Theater and his first since returning to the DC
area after a year in Chicago acting and studying improv. A 2007 graduate of
Ball State University with a degree in Acting, he thanks his parents, sister,
and friends for their wonderful love and support.
James Finley (Dunbar) made his American Century Theater debut as
Bronk Brannigan in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? Other recent area
credits include Schwarz/Jack in Lulu, Armand Duval in Camille, and Bill
in Small Craft Warnings (Washington Shakespeare Company), Sam/Jim in
MAY 39th/40th (11:11 Productions/Capital Fringe Festival), and Pedro in
Man of La Mancha and Thomas Jefferson in 1776 (Keegan Theatre).
Bill Gordon (Hoffy) was last heard on The American Century Theater
stage as “Jingle Bill” Gordon in An American Century Christmas, for
which he also designed and ran sound. Previous TACT roles include Von
Konigswald in Happy Birthday, Wanda June and The Cabbie and Lt.
Buchevski in Cops. TACT sound design credits include The Titans and
Life With Father. Other local stage credits include Boo in The Marriage of
Bette and Boo (Spooky Action Theater). A former radio professional, Bill
also produces TACT’s “Before the Curtain Is Raised” podcasts, as well
as a number of podcast programs for the American Shakespeare Center in
Staunton, Virginia.
Jay Hardee (Marko) is an acting company member at Washington
Shakespeare Company, where he received rave reviews as the titular
courtesan in Camille: A Tearjerker earlier this season. At WSC, he also
played Alan Strang in Equus and roles in Lulu, Caligula, The House of
Yes, Macbeth, The Children’s Hour, Richard II, Hapgood, The Milk Train
Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore, and Titus Andronicus. He directed the WSC
hit production Small Craft Warnings and co-directed Red Noses. He
has worked with Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, Journeymen Theater
Ensemble, Scena Theatre, Forum Theatre, Ganymede Arts, Solas Nua, and
DC Dollies and the Rocket Bitch Revue. Next, he will direct the Englishlanguage world premiere of Chilean playwright Marco Antonio de la
Parra’s Every Young Woman’s Desire at WSC, co-direct de la Parra’s Secret
Obscenities at Capital Fringe, and co-direct Richard III to open WSC’s new
home at the new Arlington Cultural Center in Rosslyn. He will also appear
in Cat’s Cradle this summer at Longacre Lea Productions.
Steve Lebens (Reed) has performed with The American Century Theater
in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, An American Century Christmas,
Hellzapoppin’, Drama Under the Influence, and Call Me Mister. Steve
has also appeared at regional theaters such as the Guthrie Theater and in
DC at Studio Theatre Secondstage, Folger Theatre, Signature Theatre,
and Horizons Theatre. Overseas, he has worked with the Theater of the
Americas in Bogota, Colombia, and the Karachi Drama Circle in Karachi,
Pakistan. Film credits include Browncoats/Redemption, and television
credits include Law and Order:Criminal Intent, C-47 (pilot).
Matthew Meixler (McCarthy, S.S. Guard) spent the past seven years
studying and acting in NYC. He is pleased to be making his area debut with
The American Century Theater—and returning to contemporary text. An
original member of the New York Neo-Classical Ensemble (newyorkneo.
org), he played Francis Flute/Thisby in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
and Arviragus in Cymbeline. He graduated with a BFA from New York
University Tisch School of the Arts, completing his primary training in
the Meisner Extension Studio and advanced training with Associate Dean
Louis Scheeder in The Classical Studio. Much love and thanks to family
and friends for their continued support.
David Olmsted (Horney) is very happy to make his first onstage
appearance for The American Century Theater, where he has recently
joined the staff. He has worked backstage with TACT for two years, most
recently as Assistant Stage Manager for Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
Other TACT credits include Native Son (ASM), Life With Father (Stage
Manager), and The Titans (Costume Master). Upcoming: Stage Manager
for TACT’s world premiere, The Amazing Sophie.
Secondstage); and Cape in White Biting Dog (Project Y/Source Theatre).
He has appeared on film, TV, and commercials. Jon earned a BFA in Acting
from Auburn University and an MFA in Acting from the University of
Florida. He holds Actor/Combatant status with the Society of American
Fight Directors.
Donald L. Osborne (Shapiro) recently made his debut in the Washington
area as George MacCauley in The American Century Theater production
of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? Donald earned his BFA in Acting from
Utah State University and MFA in Shakespeare and Renaissance Theatre
Performance from Mary Baldwin College. Past performances include Edgar
in King Lear (MFA project at Blackfriars Playhouse), Vince in Tape
(B Street Theatre, Sacramento), and Bill in Western Big Sky (The Met
Theatre, Los Angeles). He has also performed in films and commercials.
John Stange (Stosh) is pleased to make his debut at The American Century
Theater and to (finally) be certified lice free. John is a recent graduate of
The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts Honors Conservatory, where
a year of honing his metaphorical kung fu in the proverbial mountains
culminated in a turn as Jerry in Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story. He also
recently took a road trip to the Universal Theatre Festival in Provincetown
MA to play Ant in Reina Hardy’s Andalusia.
James Svatko (Geneva Man) is grateful for the opportunity to contribute
to the ensemble performance of Stalag 17. His theatre credits include Larry
in Immoral Combat (McLean Drama Company: Alden Theatre and the
2009 Capital Fringe Festival) and ensemble with The Shakespeare Theatre
Company production of Julius Caesar. Film credits include principal roles
as Harold Wagner in Til Deaths Do Us Part (Merge Films) and Frank
Catalano in Disorganized Crime (Big Moustache Productions).
Gabriel J. Swee (Duke) was born and raised in the heartland of Illinois,
where he earned his BA in Theatre Performance from Illinois State
University and performed as King Polixenes in The Winter’s Tale, as Kyle
Kalke in Toni Press-Coffman’s Touch, and as Yousef in the world premiere
of Relatively Close by Jim Sherman. Gabriel pulled up roots and traveled to
the DC area to perform with TACT in his professional debut. He thanks you
for your support of the theatre.
Jon Townson (Price) is pleased to return to TACT, where he appeared
as John F. Kennedy in The Titans (world premiere). Recent work as a
company member with Keegan Theatre includes Jonathan Edmund in
Elizabeth Rex, Owen in Translations, King Henry VIII in A Man for All
Seasons, Paddy Brabazon in An Island of No Land at All (world premiere),
Tybalt/Father Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet, and Gentleman Caller in
The Glass Menagerie (Ireland Tour and U.S.). Area credits include: Jamie
in Long Day’s Journey into Night and Bazarov in Nothing Sacred (Firebelly
Productions); Jackson/Garin in The Death of Meyerhold (Studio Theatre
Sherri L. Perper (Producing Director) produced The American Century
Theater’s last-season hits, Native Son and Life With Father. Of the many
shows she has produced in the DC theatre community, her favorites are
The Wiz, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Last
Night of Ballyhoo, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Sherri is also TACT
Director of Outreach and Marketing.
William Aitken (Director) returns to directing at The American Century
Theater after last appearing there as General Curtis Lemay, Adlai
Stevenson, Anatoly Dobrynin, and Rodion Malinovsky in The Titans.
He directed the TACT production of Eugene O’Neill’s Desire Under the
Elms and has appeared at TACT as Harold Ryan (Happy Birthday, Wanda
June), Ned Crossman (The Autumn Garden), Ishmael/Actor (Orson Welles’
Moby Dick Rehearsed), Herb Lee (Tea and Sympathy), McCarthy/Society
Gentleman (The Time of Your Life), and Phil Foley (Paradise Lost). He
has also performed for: Washington Shakespeare Company as Diego (The
Royal Hunt of the Sun), Old Jew (Incident at Vichy), and Dr. Joe Cardin (The
Children’s Hour); Arena Stage as Robert (u/s) in Proof; Keegan Theatre as
Baylen (Glengarry Glen Ross), Juror Ten (Twelve Angry Men), Pedro (Man
of La Mancha), Capulet (Romeo and Juliet), IRA Officer (The Hostage),
The Bear (Elizabeth Rex), and Scanlon (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest);
and Rorschach Theatre as Sir Walter Raleigh (Kit Marlowe).
Ceci Albert (Properties Design) is pleased to be working on her third
production with The American Century Theater, having designed costumes
and properties for Life With Father and A Piece of My Heart. She has
designed costumes for Joseph (The Arlington Players), props for Saturday,
Sunday, Monday and Scapino (Little Theatre of Alexandria), and has
provided costume and/or prop support to seven seasons of productions
with the St. Mark’s Players, most recently designing costumes for Lion in
Winter. Ceci offers special thanks to her family and friends who have been
so generous in offering their personal treasures to be used in these shows.
Ian Armstrong (Sound Design) is pleased to be working with Bill Aitken
again at The American Century Theater, having designed his production
of Desire Under the Elms. Other TACT designs include Steven Scott
Mazzola’s Drama Under the Influence. Ian’s other recent designs include
The Children’s Hour (Washington Shakespeare Company), Bad Hamlet
(winner, best experimental play, 2009 Fringe Festival), the world premiere of
Photograph 51 (Active Cultures Theatre), Low Level Panic (Story Theatre),
and Songs for a New World (Open Circle Theatre). He designed I French
Kissed a Zombie, and I Ain’t Scared of Your Brother Neither in Los Angeles
and Enter the Poet for CollarborAction Theatre in Chicago. Ian is a graduate
of the Corcoran School of Art and The Catholic University of America.
Jessica Branch (Wardrobe Mistress) is a longtime admirer of the theatre,
enjoying her journey from patron to participant. Her first backstage venture
was with Amadeus (The Arlington Players). Jessica recently completed
a sewing workshop with the Arlington Adult Education program and
is grateful for the opportunity to integrate her sewing skills into the
performing arts.
Jim Callery (Sound Board Operator) is excited to be working on his first
production with The American Century Theater. His most recent backstage
credits include: Lion in Winter (St. Mark’s Players); Dog Sees God (Little
Theatre of Alexandria); Glorious!, Jeffrey, and Musical of Musicals:
The Musical (Dominion Stage); and the WATCH-nominated Follies
(The Arlington Players). Jim would like to thank Bob and Sherri for this
opportunity, his aunt and uncle for their support, and his wonderful friends.
Rip Claassen (Costume Design) has been a fixture on the Washington
theatre scene for many years, perhaps best known as dramaturge at
Backstage, Inc., Washington’s theatre supply store. Rip has taught theatre
and acting at the Institute for the Arts for Fairfax County Public Schools,
Duke Ellington School of the Arts, and other local theatre programs.
For The American Century Theater, he has directed (Life With Father),
produced (Native Son), and costumed innumerable shows. He has directed
for Natural Theatricals as well as other local venues. Rip founded the
Northern Virginia Theatre Festival for high schools and provides coaching
to theatre students seeking admission to competitive college theatre
programs, the Virginia Governor’s School for Humanities and Visual and
Performing Arts, roles in community and professional theatres, and other
competitive programs. He is Artistic Director of Teens and Theatre (TnT),
a nonprofit theatre education company.
Anndi Daleske (Set Design) designed the set for The American Century
Theater’s recent production of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? She has
designed costumes, sets, or props for the Shakespeare Festival at Tulane,
The Jefferson Performing Arts Society, The Summer Lyric Theatre,
St. Mark’s Players, Olney Theatre Center, and the DC Fringe Festival,
among others. Some favorite shows include Fiddler on the Roof (props,
puppets, and masks), A Comedy of Errors (costumes), Cymbeline (set),
Rabbit Hole (props), Bad Dates (props), The Lion, the Witch, and the
Wardrobe (costumes), and Seneca’s Medea (shadow puppets and props).
She earned her MFA in Theatrical Design from Tulane University and was
Properties Master at Olney Theatre Center from 2007–2009.
Cheryl Ann Gnerlich (Lighting Design) has lighting design credits for
Pirates of Penzance (Sinfonicron Light Opera Company), What the Butler
Saw (Virginia Shakespeare Festival), Cover Me in Humanness (Capital
Fringe Festival), and On the Verge (William and Mary Second Stage).
Her assistant lighting design credits include Romeo and Juliet and Love’s
Labour’s Lost (Virginia Shakespeare Festival) and Stop Kiss (William
and Mary Mainstage). Thanks to Mom, Dad, and friends for their love
and support.
Casey Kaleba (Fight Director) has arranged violence for Olney Theatre
Center, Folger Theatre, Round House Theatre, Signature Theatre, and
Studio Theatre Secondstage. He is a company member with Rorschach
Theatre and a member of the Society of American Fight Directors, Fight
Directors Canada, and the Nordic Stagefight Society.
Rachel M. Loose (Assistant Stage Manager), originally from Lancaster
County, PA, earned her BA with Honors in Drama from Washington
College. She is happy to be working with The American Century Theater
for the first time. Since moving to the DC area, she has been stage manager
for By the Bog of Cats and Prisoner of Zenda (1st Stage) and stage manager
and assistant director at Silver Spring Stage. Rachel is pursuing her MA in
Arts Management at George Mason University.
Bob Pierce (Stage Manager) is delighted to return to The American Century
Theater to work on Stalag 17. Previous credits include: Medea (Theatre Lab);
A Piece of My Heart (DC run, TACT); The Left Hand Singing, Hearts, and
Falsettos (The New Jewish Theatre, St. Louis); Ain’t Got Time To Die and
Capacity (First Run Theatre, St. Louis); Invention of Love (Elden Street
Players); Richard III (Tapestry); On Golden Pond and The Underpants
(Prince William Little Theatre); and Jeffrey (Dominion Stage).
Jameson Shroyer (Technical Director/Master Carpenter) is Master
Carpenter at the Olney Theatre Center. He worked as Technical Director/
Master Carpenter on The American Century Theater’s production of Will
Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and also works in that capacity for various
theatre companies in DC and Virginia.
Jim Vincent (Assistant Stage Manager) is excited to be working on his first
production with The American Century Theater. He just finished working
as light board operator for Reefer Madness, The Musical (Dominion
Stage). On stage, Jim played Henry Potter in It’s a Wonderful Life! (Elden
Street Players). He recently worked as the co-lighting designer/light board
operator for Glorious! and as stage crew for Jeffrey (Dominion Stage).
Other recent productions include stage crew for On Golden Pond (Prince
William Little Theatre) and the role of Sir Robert Brakenbury in Richard
III (Tapestry Theatre Company).
Thank you to the many generous donors who provided support from April 1, 2009
through March 10, 2010.
Group Theater Goers ($5,000+)
Arlington Commission for the Arts
Virginia Commission for the Arts
Bob and Wendy Kenney
Provincetown Players ($2,500–$4,999)
David T. Austern
Theater Guilders ($1,000–$2,499)
Rebecca and Gene Christy
Steve Cohen and Mary McGowan
John Dawson
Mercury Theater Backers ($500–$999)
The Arlington Community Foundation
Robert DuBois
Alison Fields
Constance McAdam
Mrs. Robert M. McElwaine
Vivian and Arthur Kallen
Peri Mahaley
Eleanor Marshall
Patricia Payne
Suzy Platt
The Plubell Firm
Sheldon and Marilyn Wallerstein
Living Theater Lovers ($250–$499)
John Acton
Jean and Richard Barton
Marvin and Ellen Cantor
W. Seth Carus
Joya Cox
Dennis Deloria and
Suzanne Thouvenelle
Ellen Dempsey and Lou George
Gloria Dugan
Tracy Fisher
Tom and Kathryn Fuller
Bill Gordon
Marjie Mayer
Robert Half International
Bill and Connie Scruggs
David and Willa Siegel (in memory
of Jack Marshall, Sr. and
Robert M. McElwaine)
Marcia Neuhaus Speck
Frontis Wiggins
The Players ($100–$249)
Pete and Cherry Baumbusch
Tom and Loretta Beaumont
Sally Beth Berger
Janet and David Bond
Elizabeth Borgen
R.G. Bowie
Ron Brandt
Alan and Susan Branigan
David Briggs
Boris Cherney
Wendy Cohen
Janet and Marty Fadden
Dr. Coralie Farlee
Timothy Farris
Sharon Galm
Jean F. Getlein
Ed Gofreed
Gabe Goldberg
Alan Herman
Rhonda Hill (in memory of
Jack Marshall, Sr.)
Robert Honeygosky
Roger and Katharine Hood
Elaine Howell
Thomas Hoya
Angela Hughes
Richard Kamenitzer
Ellen and Stu Kennedy
Robert L. Kimmins
Alan King
Paul Klingenberg
Nathan and MaryLynn Kotz
The Players ($100–$249) continued
David Lamdin
Mary Ann Lawler and Neil Sigmon
Gudrun Luchsinger
Winnie Macfarlan
Angus MacInnes
Carol MacLean
Donald Adams and Ellen Maland
Lory Manning
Judith and David McGarvey
Margaret Mulcahy
Susan and M. B. Oglesby
Daniel Ross
Charline Rugen
Robert F. Schiff
John Seal
Henry Shields
Jean V. Smith
Pat Spencer Smith
Jennifer Sosin and Adam Posen
The Hon. and Mrs. John M. Steadman
Robin Suppe-Blaney
David Tannous
Virginia Tarris
Professor Heathcote W. Wales
Doug and Evelyn Watson
Bonnie Williams and Bob Skelly
The Federal Theater Funders ($10–$99)
Cheryl Bailey
Wendy Cohen
Sally Hill Cooper
Dorothea de Zafra Atwell
Michael deBlois
Robyn Dennis
Patricia Dowd
Susan Duka
Charles Feingersh
Donna Feirtag
The Hon. Jay Fisette
Rosann Garber
Cathy Garman
James and Maria Gentle
Margaret Gough
Robert and Patsy Graves
Madi Green
William Hamilton
Jean Handsberry
Bill and Donna Hannay
Rachel Hecht
Linda Hill and Paul Steinmetz
Steve Hornstein
Howard and Myrna Kaplan
R.M. Kraft
Helen Kress
Steven Laterra
Sharon Leiser
Wilbur A. Leventer
Mark Linton
Margaret Lorenz
James Mangi and Kathleen Schmidt
Martin Marks
Phebe K. Masson
Evelyn and Milan Matey
Barbara and Kenneth McLean
Undine and Carl Nash
Richard and Rebecca Pariseau
John Perlman
Susan Prytherch
Rhoda Ritzenberg
Michael and Loretta Rowe
Dennis Ryan
Sharon Schoumacher
Carole Shifrin
Bertha Shostak
Linda and William Smith
James and Patricia Snyder
Robert L. Spatz
Barbara Stearns
Kathryn Tatko
Marjorie Townsend
Wilma Ucker
Jo Ursini and Ken Krantz
George and Kay Wagner
Adrienne White
Carol and Henry Wolinsky
Annette Zimin
Donors-in-kind
Jason Beagle, The Burdette Smith Group, P.C., Brian Crane, Karen Currie,
Dennis Deloria, Ellen Dempsey, Kate Dorrell, Kimberly Ginn, Bill Gordon,
Rhonda Hill, Jack Marshall, Steven Scott Mazzola, Sherri L. Perper,
Loren Platzman, Ann Marie Plubell
The American Century Theater
2009–2010 Season
World Premiere:
Allyson Currin’s The Amazing Sophie [Treadwell]
May 27–June 19, 2010
Rescue Series: Rodgers and Hart’s Babes in Arms (1937)
July 8–11, 2010 (New dates!)
Lanford Wilson’s Serenading Louie (1976)
July 23–August 21, 2010
Apply tonight’s ticket value to the price of a subscription
for the remainder of TACT’s 2009–2010 season.
See the box office manager tonight
or call 703.998.4555 for more information.
Stalag 17 is funded in part by
Arlington County through the Cultural Affairs Division of the
Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources,
and the Arlington Commission for the Arts.
This arts event is made possible in
part by the Virginia Commission
for the Arts and the National
Endowment for the Arts.