THE FEW | 2018/19 SEASONTHEATRE HORIZON

Executive Honorary Producers: Doug & Sherry KargherArtistic Sponsor: Nancy DeLucia

“The Few” is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.

New York premiere produced by Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. World Premiere at The Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, CAArtistic Director, Managing DirectorBarry EdelsteinMichael G. Murphy

Workshopped and developed in the 2012 Pacific Playwrights Festivalat South Coast RepertoryDeveloped at the Perry-Mansfield Performing Art New Works Festival, June 2012

THE FEW was workshopped at JAW: A Playwrights Festival produced by Portland Center Stage THE VIDEOTAPING OR MAKING OF ELECTRONIC OR OTHER AUDIO AND/OR VISUAL RECORDING OF THIS PRODUCTION OR DISTRIBUTING RECORDINGS ON ANY MEDIUM, INCLUDING

THE INTERNET, IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED, A VIOLATION OF THE AUTHOR’S RIGHTS AND ACTIONABLE UNDER UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT LAW. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT: WWW.SAMUELFRENCH.COM/WHITEPAPER.

The taking of pictures or the making of recordings of any kind during the performance is prohibited.*Member of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), the Union of Professional Actors & Stage Managers in the United States.

** The Director is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union

COSTUME DESIGNER

KATHERINE FRITZSET DESIGNER

CHRISTOPHER HAIG

David Bardeen*Jessica Bedford*

Taysha Marie Canales*

8

DIRECTOR

MATTHEW DECKER**

LIGHTING DESIGNER

MARIA SHAPLIN

SOUND DESIGNER/ORIGINAL MUSIC

MICHAEL KILEY

STAGE MANAGER

REBECCA KESTEL*

We are proud to acknowledge The Few

Opening Night Sponsors Opening night ticket holders are invited to join us for cocktails in our lobby, provided by our friends at the neighborhood distillery Five Saints Distillery, as well as a post-show reception in the lobby with food

courtesy of Seasons 52 and Wegmans.

OPENING NIGHT SPONSORS

Five Saints Distilling129 E Main St, Norristown, PA (610) 304-3081Receive 10% off your total bill.

Conshohocken Brewing CompanyBridgeport Brewpub3 DeKalb St, Bridgeport, PA(610) 239-5999Receive 10% off your total bill.

Production Brewery & Taproom739 E. Elm St. Conshohocken, PA(610) 897-8962Receive 10% off your total bill.

MAKE IT A NIGHT OUT IN NORRISTOWN!

2 0 1 8 / 1 9 S E A S O N D I N I N G PA R T N E R STheatre Horizon is proud to partner with local restaurants, bars and distilleries. Present your ticket stub, program book, or show an email confirmation (with the date of that night’s performance) to receive

discounts at our fantastic dining partners.

August Moon 300 E. Main St., Norristown(610) 277-4008Receive 10% off your total bill.

Bahama Breeze320 Goddard Blvd, King of Prussia, PA 19406(610) 491-9822Receive one complimentary small plate.

Almaz Cafe22 West Main St, Norristown(484) 704-7251Receive 10% off your total bill.

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER

COURTNEY BANKS*

410 East Fornance StreetNorristown, PA 19401

610-272-0157800-648-0255

www.josephgenuardiflorist.com

By Samuel D. Hunter

PROPS DESIGNER

EMILY SCHUMANFIGHT DIRECTOR

J. ALEX CORDARO

DRAMATURG

ANDREA KENNEDY HART

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

BARBARA GARCIA-LIPSCOMB ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

ABBY WEISSMAN

THE FEW | 2018/19 SEASONTHEATRE HORIZON2 7

ABOUT THE ARTISTS & STAFF

Rebecca Kestel (STAGE MANAGER) is thrilled to be returning to Theatre Horizon. Previous Theatre Horizon credits include Bloody, Bloody, Andrew Jackson and New Voices, New Viewpoints. Rebecca also served as an administrative intern at Theatre Horizon in the summer of 2012. Other regional credits include Such Things As Vampires (People’s Light), Issei, He Say (NJ Repertory Theatre), Rock of Ages, Peter and the Starcatcher, and The Fantasticks (Eagle Theatre), and Love’s Labour’s Lost (Revolution Shakespeare). Rebecca received a B.A. in Theatre Design Technology and a B.A. in Anthropology from Bloomsburg University. Courtney Banks (ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER) is a Temple University alum of 2017 originally from the Midwest. Her stage management credits with Theatre Horizon include The Laramie Project and the fall hit, The Color Purple. She has also worked with Theatre Exile as a Stage Manager and now as their season Production Manager. In the summers she travels to Santa Fe, New Mexico to work with the Santa Fe Opera orchestra in shows such as Madame Butterfly and Alcina. Barbara Garcia-Lipscomb (PRODUCTION ASSISTANT) is thrilled to be working with Theatre Horizon for the second time this season. She last worked with them on The Laramie Project (Production Assistant). She is so excited to be working with such a talented and dedicated cast and crew. Bobbie is currently a student at MontCo studying theatre. Past credits include: We Are Proud to Present (Costume Designer), The Visit (Lighting Designer) and A Raisin in the Sun (Master Electrician). Thanks to my family and friends for all their support. Special thanks to Tim for always believing in me.Elliot Konstant (MASTER ELECTRICIAN) is happy to be returning to Theatre Horizon after working on The Color Purple. He is an electrician and lighting designer in the Philadelphia area, and has recently worked as Master Electrician with Theatre Exile (Completeness, An Oak Tree), InterAct Theatre Company (Hype Man), and Theatre by the Sea (Chicago, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Mamma Mia, Ain’t Misbehavin’) in Rhode Island.__________________Erin Reilly (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR) A King of Prussia native and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, in 2005 Erin co-founded Theatre Horizon with Matthew Decker, and led a $1 million campaign to build and open a new venue for the company in Norristown in 2012. Erin has directed over 15 productions, working with both professional actors and students. As an Equity actress she has performed on numerous area stages including the Walnut Street Theatre and The Wilma Theater. She established Theatre Horizon’s Education Department twelve years ago, and its programs now serve over 1,000 children per year. She helped to found Theatre Philadelphia and currently serves as Board President. Erin was named one of Philadelphia’s 76 Creative Connectors by Leadership Philadelphia. Molly Braverman (MANAGING DIRECTOR) has returned to her native Montgomery County after working in New York, on Broadway, and on tour. Stage Management credits include, Broadway and Workshops: Wicked, Collected Stories, Zorba (with Antonio Banderas and Chita Rivera), Scandalous, Magic Mike. 1st National Tours: Wicked, Little House on the Prairie. Benefit performances: Ann Harada’s Christmas Eve with Christmas Eve, Wicked Rocky Horror Show (Las Vegas, Denver). Molly has directed regionally and worked around the country to build bridges between arts and service organizations. She received the Greater Philadelphia Arts and Business Council’s Dina Wind Designing Leadership Fellowship, founded the Philadelphia Green Theatre Alliance, and is a graduate of Columbia University.Jennifer Pratt Johnson (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR) is originally from Virginia, where she earned her BA in Theatre and History from The College of William & Mary before moving to Philadelphia by way of Portland, Maine. Prior to joining the team at Theatre Horizon, Jenny was the Marketing & Development Director at Lantern Theater Company. She is also a co-founder, former Managing Director, and former board member of Simpatico Theatre Project. Jenny has her MS in Arts Administration from Drexel University and is passionate about arts marketing and fundraising as important means of building community and ensuring organizational stability.

ABOUT OUR LOBBY DISPLAY

Steven Rishard is a multidisciplinary artist, a maker of things, with body, with paint, with space and found objects. He has been a performer of stage and screen for over 20 years and a visual artist for the last 7 years, focusing mostly on paintings and small sculptures. He believes in Beckett’s claim that it is an artists job to “find a form that accommodates the mess”.

His work is all for sale and can be seen at StevenRishardArt.com and on Instagram @srishard.

STEVEN RISHARD

THE FEW | 2018/19 SEASONTHEATRE HORIZON36

A LETTER FROM THE DRAMATURG

ABOUT THE CREW & STAFF

time Barrymore Award winner, a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and a Senior Lecturer of Musical Theatre at the University of the Arts. He next will be directing the world premiere of Kittson O’Neil & Rob Kaplowitz’s Minors at the Lantern Theater. MatthewSeanDecker.com/@MatthewSean12Christopher Haig (SET DESIGNER) A proud graduate and faculty member at the University of the Arts, Chris has worked professionally as a set and prop designer in Philly since 2001. The Few marks his 11th collaboration with Theatre Horizon and his 15th show with director Matt Decker. Chris is currently enjoying his 8th season as Props Master at Arden Theatre Company. He has designed sets and/or props for the Arden, 1812 Productions, Inis Nua Theatre Company, 11th Hour Theatre Company, Tribe of Fools, Shakespeare in Clark Park, Delaware Theatre Company, Mazeppa Productions, Commonwealth Classic Theatre Company, Delaware Shakespeare Festival, Plays and Players, Contemporary Stage Company and Simpatico Theater, including their production of Time Is On Our Side for which he received a Barrymore nomination for Best Scenic Design. See more of his work at www.ChrisHaigDesigns.com Maria Shaplin (LIGHTING DESIGNER) is a Philadelphia-based lighting designer who received her MFA from Temple University. She has a BA in Anthropology and Sociology from Hampshire College. Maria designs for many Philadelphia-based companies including: Applied Mechanics, The Riot Group, Swim Pony Performing Arts, InterAct Theatre Company, Arden Theatre Company, The Wilma Theater, New Paradise Laboratories, 1812 Productions, Nichole Canuso, Headlong Performance Institute, UArts, Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium and Quintessence Theatre Group. Maria is the co-founder of Applied Mechanics, a company who devises immersive, multi-narrative performance art. www.mariashaplin.comMichael Kiley (SOUND DESIGN AND ORIGINAL MUSIC) Original Work: Close Music for Bodies (FringeArts Festival), As The Eyes of the Seahorse (HERE Arts Center), Kuerner Sounds (Brandywine River Museum), With Happiness for You, World (American Composers Forum), The Empty Air, Animina and Grindstone Devotional (GPS controlled installations via iTunes, Google). Theatrical Work: The Gap (Azuka Theatre, Barrymore Award Winner), The Invisible Hand (Theatre Exile, Barrymore Award Winner), Mr Burns - A Post Electric Play (The Wilma Theatre), Ludic Proxy (The Play Co.), As You Like It, Hamlet, R&G Are Dead (The Acting Company), John, Stinky Cheese Man (Arden Theatre Company). Dance Work: Thank You for Coming: Attendance (Faye Driscoll), Otro Teatro (Luciana Achugar), The Garden, Takes (Nichole Canuso Dance Company), Only Sleeping (SubCircle), The Shame Symposium, The Vulgar Early Works (Chelsea and Magda).Emily Schuman (PROPS DESIGNER) is a freelance props designer, actor, and musician. She is thrilled to be working with Theatre Horizon! Recent props credits include Hype Man (InterAct Theatre Company), This Is On Record (Applied Mechanics), Big Red Sun (11th Hour Theatre Company), and The Brownings (Orbiter 3).Katherine Fritz (COSTUME DESIGNER) is a costume designer, writer, and educator, and happy to be working again with Matt Decker and Theatre Horizon. Recent Design Work: Delaware Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, Arden Theatre Company, Theatre Exile (Barrymore Nomination, Outstanding Costume Design), Act II Playhouse, InterAct Theatre Company, Philadelphia Artists’ Collective (Resident Designer, 7 seasons), among many others. Publications include The New York Times, The Washington Post, American Theatre Magazine, and MTV Style. Katherine teaches at The University of the Arts and Montgomery County Community College, was a 2015 and 2017 finalist for the F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Theatre Artist, and is the Managing Director of Pennsylvania Theatre Institute, a summer performing arts camp at West Chester University. www.katherinefritz.comAbby Weissman (ASSISTANT DIRECTOR) is thrilled to be working on her first show at Theatre Horizon! Abby is a teaching artist, director, and actor from Washington DC. She is a proud alumnus of Northwestern University and the Arden Professional Apprentice Program. A big thank you to Matt Decker for his support and wisdom. Love to the BLGSS. Andrea Kennedy Hart (DRAMATURG) is thrilled to be working with the folks at Theater Horizon. She received her MA in Theatre from Villanova University and her MFA in Playwriting from Boston University. She has served as a Production Dramaturg for Metamorphoses (Villanova University), Sense & Sensibility (Wellesley College), and Holiday (Wellesley Repertory Theatre). She currently teaches English Composition & Literature at Southern New Hampshire University and Post University.

SPECIAL THANKS

Courtney Banks, Ronnie Polaneczky & Noel Weyrich, Theatre Exile, Timshel Coffee

The Few takes place in a region of northern Idaho called the Silver Valley, an area known for its rich soil and its richer history. In 1881, Andrew Prichard struck gold in the Idaho panhandle. His discovery inspired thousands of prospectors and hopeful miners to migrate to the northern part of the state. Within a few years, prominent mines lined the narrow valley along the Coeur D’Alene River. By the 1890s, these mines were producing record-breaking quantities of silver, lead, and zinc.

Success, however, came at a cost. In 1892, mine owners reduced worker wages and extended hours to defray increased production and transportation costs. Outraged by these measures, the miners declared a strike. A confrontation between a union worker and a strikebreaker escalated into a riot, and six men were killed. The situation became so volatile that the governor called upon the National Guard and declared a state of martial law. In 1899, yet another violent confrontation erupted when disgruntled miners bombed the Bunker Hill mill. The 1899 conflict ended much like the 1892 strike – with the government detaining union workers. Both major labor confrontations in the Silver Valley incensed union workers and sympathizers and led to calls for widespread labor reform.

In the early 20th century, the Silver Valley mines and the surrounding towns flourished. During WWI and WWII, the federal government relied on the mines to produce metal for bullets and machinery. Once the war ended, people began to question the sustainability of mining practices. Increased public pressure and increased government regulations led to mine closures, job loss, and population decline. In 1980, the price of silver plummeted, and more mines closed. Many of the old mining towns faded into oblivion. The towns that survived tried to redefine themselves as historical centers or recreation sites. Today, only a few of the original Silver Valley mines remain in operation. Mechanization and globalization have significantly reduced the number of jobs these mines supply to the locals. The towns in the Silver Valley, the towns that spurred the industrial expansion of America, that sustained America through two wars, have been largely forgotten.

The Few is about people who are left behind -- people like the inhabitants of the mining towns in the Silver Valley and the dying industrial and manufacturing towns all over the country, people struggling to find meaning, connection, and a sense of belonging in a world that has gotten too big, too quickly.

- Andrea Kennedy Hart

THE FEW | 2018/19 SEASONTHEATRE HORIZON54

CAST & CREW

Samuel D. Hunter (PLAYWRIGHT) Samuel D. Hunter’s plays include The Whale (Drama Desk Award, Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, GLAAD Media Award, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle nominations for Best Play), A Bright New Boise (Obie Award, Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), The Few, A Great Wilderness, Rest, Pocatello, Lewiston, Clarkston, and most recently, The Healing and The Harvest. He is the recipient of a 2014 MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship, a 2012 Whiting Writers Award, the 2013 Otis Guernsey New Voices Award, the 2011 Sky Cooper Prize, the 2008 PONY/Lark Fellowship, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Idaho. His plays have been produced in New York at Playwrights Horizons, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Clubbed Thumb and Page 73, and around the country at such theaters as Seattle Rep, South Coast Rep, Victory Gardens, Williamstown Theater Festival, The Old Globe, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Denver Center Theatre Company, Marin Theater Company, and elsewhere. His work has been developed at the O’Neill Playwrights Conference, the Ojai Playwrights Conference, Seven Devils, and PlayPenn. A published anthology of his work, including The Whale and A Bright New Boise, is available from TCG books. He is a member of New Dramatists, an Ensemble Playwright at Victory Gardens, a member of Partial Comfort Productions, and was a 2013 Resident Playwright at Arena Stage. A native of northern Idaho, Sam lives in NYC. He holds degrees in playwriting from NYU, The Iowa Playwrights Workshop, and Juilliard.

Suli Holum (QZ) is thrilled to be working with Theatre Horizon! A Philadelphia-based theatre artist, her recent projects include directing the Bearded Ladies Cabaret’s You Can Never Go Down the Drain, a Barrymore nominated performance in Cabaret at The Arden Theatre, and writing A Fierce Kind of Love which will be presented as part of the High Pressure Fire Service Festival at Fringe Arts this spring. Suli was a founding member of Pig Iron Theatre Company, and is currently Co-Artistic Director of Stein | Holum Projects (www.steinholum.org) whose works include Drama Desk nominated Chimera, and The Wholehearted. She is the recipient

of a Drama Desk Award, Fox Resident Actor Fellowship, Barrymore Award, and Independence Fellowship.

Steven Rishard (BRYAN) His local credits include A Doll’s House Part 2 and Cabaret at The Arden Theatre, The Arsonists at Azuka Theater, Straight White Men at Interact Theater, Detroit at Philadelphia Theater Company, and Romeo and Juliet, When the Rain Stops Falling, Adapt, The Hard Problem, Antigone, Hamlet, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at The Wilma Theater. New York credits include Luz at La Mama, P.S. Jones and the Frozen City with Terra Nova Collective, The Bacchae at The Public

Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park, In the Penal Colony at Classic Stage Company, Act Without Words with Division 13 Productions at the Brooklyn Can Factory, and Cascado and Journeys Among the Dead at HERE. Regional credits include Quartet at The Court Theater, The Rainmaker at Triad Stage, and The Beautiful Dark at Premiere Stages. TV credits include Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, The Americans, Kings, Unforgettable, and Treme. Film credits include Shelter (6 Souls), Hal Hartley’s Meanwhile, and Joy D. Vee.

PJ Barth (MATTHEW) is a graduating Senior Acting major at The University of the Arts & is happy to join Theatre Horizon’s production of The Few as his first professional theater performance. He was last seen in Sonnets For An Old Century and It’s A Match? at The University of the Arts.

Matthew Decker (DIRECTOR) is the Co-Founder and Resident Director of Theatre Horizon where he has directed Rick Elice’s Peter and the Starcatcher, William Finn’s A New Brain, Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods, Annie Baker’s Circle Mirror Transformation, Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik’s Spring Awakening, and Rachel Sheinkin and William Finn’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. He was the Associate Artistic Director at the Arden for eight seasons where he directed Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret, Annie Baker’s John, The Stinky Cheese Man, Great Expectations,

Michael Hollinger’s Incorruptible and Greg Banks’ adaptations of The Jungle Book, Pinocchio and Robin Hood. Other recent credits include Rounding Third at Cardinal Stage, She Loves Me at Villanova University, Company at 11th Hour Theatre Company, and American Idiot at the University of the Arts. Matthew is a three-

ABOUT THE ARTISTS & CREW

CAST

QZ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Suli Holum*

Bryan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steven Rishard*

Matthew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PJ Barth*

Time: August, 1999.Setting: A small town in Northern Idaho

VOICE OVER RECORDINGS:Trey Lyford (Danny, Billy), Jennie Eisenhower (Cindy), Michael McCoy Reilly (Bradford), Melissa Joy Hart (Mandy),

Michael Kiley (Bruce), Nichole Canuso (Jessie), David Bardeen (Bobbie), Cara Frisina (Female Voice 5), Susan Riley Stevens (Female Voice 6), Kevin Meehan (Bent Nickel, Tom), Jim Schneider (Kent F.),

Matthew Decker (Male Voice 9), Kevin Maurer (Male Voice 10)

PRODUCTION TEAMDirector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matthew Decker**Set Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christopher HaigCostume Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Katherine FritzLighting Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maria Shaplin Sound Designer/Original Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael KileyProps Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Emily SchumanDramaturg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrea Kennedy HartFight Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J. Alex Cordaro Assistant Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Abby WeissmanStage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rebecca Kestel*Assistant Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Courtney Banks*Production Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barbara Garcia-Lipscomb Technical Director/Facilities Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tom MacagnoneProduction Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cara Frisina Carpenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Daniel BarlandMaster Electrician . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elliot KonstantScenic Painter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Sindelar

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), the Union of Professional Actors & Stage Managers in the United States.**The Director is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.