Artistic Director’s Welcome
Welcome to the 45th Season at the A.R.T.!
I am thrilled to welcome Ayodele Casel back to the A.R.T. She last graced our stage in Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic in 2022. This unforgettable and joyful show was the first to welcome audiences back to the Loeb after the pandemic had forced theaters to close. A trailblazing tap dancer and choreographer, Ayodele is now back with an electric new play that shares the story of her life and career.
Ayodele’s relationship with Harvard began in 2018, when she was the ArtLab’s first Artist-in-Residence, organized in collaboration with Harvard University Committee on the Arts (HUCA) and Harvard Dance Center. In 2019, she returned as a Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute, where she continued the developmental research for Diary of a Tap Dancer. After hearing her lecture at Radcliffe in 2020, the A.R.T. commissioned Ayodele to create the full length work you will see on our stage. Four years later, we are excited for our audiences to see the culmination of Ayodele’s research, her artistry, and her determination to tell her story and the story of the many powerful women tap dancers that came before her.
The creative team includes a brilliant roster of artists, many making their A.R.T. debuts. At the helm of this project is director Torya Beard (Chasing Magic), who has been a long-time collaborator with Ayodele and leads the charge with her inspired vision and boundless passion.
One of the A.R.T.’s core values is to lead with inquiry. In collaboration with our creative and engagement teams, we develop an Essential Question for every production that we stage, which we share with our audiences, our students, our staff and our community. For this work, we invite you to engage with this question: As we reflect on our past and look towards our future, whose shoulders are you standing on?
Thank you for coming to the theater and joining us for this world-premiere production!
Diane Paulus
Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director
American Repertory Theater
Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director:
Diane Paulus
Executive Director:
Kelvin Dinkins, Jr.
presents
DIARY OF A TAP DANCER
Creative Team
Written and Choreographed by
Ayodele Casel
Written and Choreographed by
Ayodele Casel
(she/her) A.R.T.: Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic. Ayodele Casel, a Doris Duke Artist in the dance category, is an award-winning and critically acclaimed tap dancer and choreographer. Casel is hailed as a “tap dancer and choreographer of extraordinary depth” (The New York Times). Known for her skilled and imaginative improvisation, Casel’s projects include her concert and Bessie Award-winning film Chasing Magic, and her Drama Desk-nominated work as tap choreographer for the Broadway revival of Funny Girl. Casel was a 2019/
Directed by
Torya Beard
Directed by
Torya Beard
(she/her) A.R.T.: Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic. Broadway: Funny Girl (Assistant Director), Waitress (Assistant Director), The Lion King (Swing, Dance Captain). Educational: Sophisticated Ladies (Co-Director/
Scenic Design
Tatiana Kahvegian
Scenic Design
Tatiana Kahvegian
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: The Outsiders (Tony Award nomination, Drama Desk Award nomination), Bernard B. Jacobs Theater. Off-Broadway: Give Me Carmelita Tropicana!, Soho Rep. Regional: Attempts On Her Life, TUTA; Sisters, Northern Stage; A Christmas Carol, Trinity Rep; The Late Wedding, Brown/Trinity Rep. Other media: Invest in Women and Girls, UNFPA United Nations. TV: “Coisa Mais Linda,” Netflix; “Unidade Básica” (Season 1), HBO. Education: M.F.A., NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Costume Design
Camilla Dely
Costume Design
Camilla Dely
A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: Mary Gets Hers, Playwrights Realm; Love + Science, MTC Stage II. UK: King Lear, Almeida. Regional: The Little Comedies, Alley Theatre; Sisters, Sense and Sensibility, Northern Stage; Hurricane Diane, People’s Light; A Christmas Carol, Trinity Rep; Attempts on Her Life, TUTA; The Ding Dongs, Kitchen Theatre. Opera: La Traviata, City Lyric Opera. Education/
Lighting Design
Brandon Stirling Baker
Lighting Design
Brandon Stirling Baker
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Illinoise (Tony Nomination). Over 30 collaborations worldwide with director and choreographer Justin Peck. Recent: Lincoln Center, Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Kennedy Center, Sydney Opera House, Park Avenue Armory, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Australian Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Recipient of the Knight of Illumination Award.
Sound Design
Sharath Patel
Sound Design
Sharath Patel
A.R.T.: Wig Out!. Regional: The Alley Theatre, Alliance Theatre, A.C.T., Dallas Theater Center, Portland Center Stage, TheatreWorks of Silicon Valley, Indiana Rep, Asolo Rep, Seattle Rep, Artists Rep, Milwaukee Rep, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Cal Shakes, Alabama Shakes, Cleveland Play House, Theatrical Outfit, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Tantrum Theater, Marin Theatre Company, Contemporary American Theater Festival, Arena Stage, Hypokrit Theatre Company, Virginia Stage Company, East West Players, Company One. Education: M.F.A. Sound Design, Yale.
Projection Design
Katherine Freer
Projection Design
Katherine Freer
A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: Sunset Baby, Dream Machine, Number Our Days, Lizard Baby, Confederates, Ajijaak on Turtle Island, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, Meredith Monk’s Cellular Songs. Regional: Little Mermaid, Family Ball, Bulrusher, Rent, Peculiar Patriot, Sweat, Ride the Cyclone, Revenge Song, Inside Ashland, Freedom Rider. Opera: La Bohème, This Little Light of Mine, Stuck Elevator. Awards: MacDowell Fellowship, Drama Desk (Nominee), Lucille Lortel (Nominee). Director of the MFA in Integrated Media Program at UT Austin.
Hair, Wig & Make-up Design
Earon Chew Nealey
Hair, Wig & Make-up Design
Earon Chew Nealey
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Fat Ham, Macbeth, Chicken and Biscuits, Sweat. Off-Broadway: Bad Kreyòl, Three Houses, Signature; Table 17, MCC; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Malvolio, Twelfth Night, Classical Theatre of Harlem; Hamlet, The Harder They Come, Fat Ham, cullad wattah, Mojada, Public Theater; On Sugarland, NYTW; On Killing, Soho Rep; Little Girl Blue, New World Stages. Regional: Sojourners, Toni Stone, Fat Ham, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, The Huntington; Dames at Sea, Kinky Boots, Bucks County Playhouse; The Last Supper, SOPAC; Little Girl Blue, Goodspeed; By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, Matilda, Colorado University; Nina Simone: Four Women, Berkshire Theatre Group; Little Women, Dallas Theater Center; Oklahoma!, Patsy Cline, Weston Playhouse; Memphis, Dream Girls, Cape Fear Regional Theatre; Cadillac Crew, Twelfth Night, Yale Rep.
Design Dramaturg and Artistic Advisor
Susan Hilferty
Design Dramaturg and Artistic Advisor
Susan Hilferty
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Swept Away, Parade, Funny Girl, Wicked (Tony Award), Spring Awakening. Off-Broadway: Over 125 productions. Regional: Over 150 productions. Opera: Aida, Rigoletto, La Traviata, Metropolitan Opera. Dance: Alvin Ailey. Concerts: Speak Now World Tour, Taylor Swift. Honors: Tony Award, Obie Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Awards, and three Lifetime Achievement Awards. Faculty: NYU/Tisch Graduate Design (25 years as Chair). Worked with Athol Fugard for 40 years as designer and associate director.
Compositions, Orchestrations, and Arrangements by
Carlos Cippelletti
(he/him) A.R.T.: Debut. Performances: Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra; JM Jazz World Orchestra & Luis Bonilla; Piaf, voz y delirio: The Musical; Ayodele Casel: Rooted; Embassy of Spain; Spain Arts & Culture. Grants: Fulbright; Latin Grammy Foundation; AIE Spain. Awards: Dean’s Award, The New School; Academic Excellence, Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio; First Prize, 7 Virtual Jazz Contest; First Prize, Portón del Jazz Festival; NUMAD Award, United Nations. Education: Advanced Public & Cultural Diplomacy, Università Cattolica; MM, Performer-Composer, The New School; World Music & Latin Jazz, Codarts; BM, Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio; Liceu Conservatory.
Compositions, Orchestrations, and Arrangements by
Ethan D. Pakchar
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Hamilton, Wicked, The Lion King. Film: Morning Joy (Emmy Nomination), Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca X, Boston, Woodstock, Cleveland, Dumbo Film Festival. Ethan D. Pakchar is a NYC-based writer and musician. As a guitarist, Pakchar has played for Sara Bareilles, Jennifer Hudson, and Cynthia Erivo.
Music Director
Nick Wilders
Music Director
Nick Wilders
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Wicked, Company. Off-Broadway: Dead Outlaw, Audible Theatre; Titanique, Daryl Roth Theatre; Crave, Cherry Lane Theatre; Notes From Now, Prospect Theater Company. Regional: Ride The Cyclone, Arena Stage/
Dramaturg
Jesse Cameron Alick
Dramaturg
Jesse Cameron Alick
A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: Sally & Tom, Cyclops: A Rock Opera, The Odyssey, This Land Was Made, Misty, Hearts Beat Loud, Theater of the Mind, Lessons in Survival: 1971, Coal Country, The Vagrant Trilogy.
Casting Director
Jason Thinger, CSA
Casting Director
Jason Thinger, CSA
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Just in Time, Sunset Boulevard; Pirates of Penzance; Merrily We Roll Along; A Beautiful Noise; New York, New York; Almost Famous; Funny Girl; Take Me Out; A Christmas Carol; Tootsie. Off-Broadway: Little Shop of Horrors; Ghost of John McCain; Medea, BAM. Regional: Ride, Old Globe; Galileo, Berkeley Rep. UK: Sinatra, Birmingham Rep; Local Hero, Chichester Festival Theatre; The 47th, Old Vic. Benefits/
Actors’ Equity Association member
Associate Director
Yasmine Lee
Associate Director
Yasmine Lee
A.R.T.: Once. Broadway: A Beautiful Noise, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Crucible, Once, Rent. Off-Broadway: Wild Goose Dreams, Tender Napalm, Knives in Hens, My Name’s Not Indian Joe, Sweeney Todd. Regional: DiscoShow, Las Vegas. International: Opening and Closing Ceremonies, World Expo ’20; Opening Ceremonies, XXII Winter Olympic Games. TV/
Associate Choreographer
Naomi Funaki
Associate Choreographer
Naomi Funaki
(she/her) A.R.T.: Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic. Performances at Infinity Tokyo, Guggenheim Bilbao, Lincoln Center, New York City Center, Radio City Music Hall, Met Gala, Joyce Theater. TV/
Additional Choreography
Adesola Osakalumi
Additional Choreography
Adesola Osakalumi
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Skeleton Crew (choreographer, performer), Fela! (performer), Equus (performer). Off-Broadway: cullud wattah, Coal Country, Othello, Public Theater; runboyrun (performer), Eyewitness Blues, NYTW; Syncing Ink (choreographer, performer), Victoria Theater; Good Grief, Vineyard; Jam on the Groove, City Center Fall For Dance; Jam on the Groove, Minetta Lane. Regional: The Grove (upcoming), The Huntington; Leroy and Lucy, Steppenwolf. TV/Film: “Harlem,” “The Endgame,” “Ice,” “Blue Bloods,” School of Rock, Red Pill, IBRAHIM, Enchanted, Across the Universe, Sex and the City 2. Awards: Bessie Award.
Production Stage Manager
Erin McCoy
Production Stage Manager
Erin McCoy
A.R.T.: Moby Dick. Broadway: Bernhardt/Hamlet, Hamilton. Off-Broadway: Ain’t No Mo, #BARS, Tiny Beautiful Things, Dry Powder, Buzzer, Fidelis; Public Theater Under the Radar Festival; Twelfth Night, Public Works; The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, Public Theater Shakespeare in the Park. Sugar In Our Wounds, MTC. Regional: The Folks at Home, Shakespeare in Love, Jazz, Baltimore Center Stage; Invisible Thread, Second Stage Theater; Appropriate, Westport County Playhouse; A View From the Bridge, Center Theatre Group. Other: Max Roach 100, The Joyce Theatre; Rooted, Fall for Dance ’22, New York City Center. Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic, The Joyce Theater; Spoleto Festival. Lincoln Center Directing Labs, Lincoln Center Theater; PLAY ON! Festival; Classic Stage Company/OSF. Education: Otterbein University.
Actors’ Equity Association member
First performance at the Loeb Drama Center on December 12, 2024.
Production Support of Diary of a Tap Dancer is provided by Leslie and Howard Appleby.
Media Support of Diary of a Tap Dancer is provided by WBUR.
A.R.T. Season support is provided by Harvard University, The Barr Foundation, The Bob and Alison Murchison New Work Development Fund, The Shubert Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Barton & Guestier, and Meyer Sound.
The A.R.T. 2024/25 Season is supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which receives support from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Runtime: Two hours and thirty minutes, including one intermission
This production contains racial slurs, discusses domestic violence and drug use, and includes historical references to enslaved and oppressed people. It also contains haze and flashing lights.
Company & Staff
Cast & Musicians (in Alphabetical Order)
Performer
Ayodele Casel
Performer
Ayodele Casel
(she/her) A.R.T.: Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic. Ayodele Casel, a Doris Duke Artist in the dance category, is an award-winning and critically acclaimed tap dancer and choreographer. Casel is hailed as a “tap dancer and choreographer of extraordinary depth” (The New York Times). Known for her skilled and imaginative improvisation, Casel’s projects include her concert and Bessie Award-winning film Chasing Magic, and her Drama Desk-nominated work as tap choreographer for the Broadway revival of Funny Girl. Casel was a 2019/
Actors’ Equity Association member
Piano
Carlos Cippelletti
Piano
Carlos Cippelletti
(he/him) A.R.T.: Debut. Performances: Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra; JM Jazz World Orchestra & Luis Bonilla; Piaf, voz y delirio: The Musical; Ayodele Casel: Rooted; Embassy of Spain; Spain Arts & Culture. Grants: Fulbright; Latin Grammy Foundation; AIE Spain. Awards: Dean’s Award, The New School; Academic Excellence, Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio; First Prize, 7 Virtual Jazz Contest; First Prize, Portón del Jazz Festival; NUMAD Award, United Nations. Education: Advanced Public & Cultural Diplomacy, Università Cattolica; MM, Performer-Composer, The New School; World Music & Latin Jazz, Codarts; BM, Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio; Liceu Conservatory.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Performer
Naomi Funaki
Performer
Naomi Funaki
(she/her) A.R.T.: Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic. Performances at Infinity Tokyo, Guggenheim Bilbao, Lincoln Center, New York City Center, Radio City Music Hall, Met Gala, Joyce Theater. TV/
Actors’ Equity Association member
Performer
Afra Hines
Performer
Afra Hines
(she/her) A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: The Who’s Tommy (u/s Acid Queen, u/s Mrs. Walker), Bob Fosse’s Dancin’, Funny Girl (u/s Emma), Hadestown (u/s Persephone), Summer (u/s Disco Donna), Shuffle Along, Motown (u/s Teena Marie), Soul Doctor, Ghost (u/s Clara, u/s Louise), In The Heights, Wicked. National Tour: Hamilton. TV: “Annie Live!” (Tap Soloist), “Fosse/
Actors’ Equity Association member
Drums
Keisel Jiménez Leyva
Drums
Keisel Jiménez Leyva
(he/him) A.R.T.: Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic. Current member of Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and Ayodele Casel’s ensemble. Performances with the Symphony Orchestra of Louisville and Los Angeles Philharmonic. Collaborations include Isaac Delgado, Orlando “Maraca” Valle, Alexander Abreu and Havana D’Primera, and Jon Batiste. Owner, One Way Beat. Awards: Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album. Education: MM, The New School.
Performer
Quynn L. Johnson
Performer
Quynn L. Johnson
(she/her) A.R.T.: Debut. Projects: Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic, The Joyce Theatre; Great Gatsby, The Washington Ballet; Dormeshia: Unsung Sheroes of the 20th Century, Jacob’s Pillow; Zaz: The Big Easy; Latida Negro; Savion Glover’s TiiDii3000 Company. Tour: After Midnight (Soloist), Norweigan Cruise Line. Co-founder of SOLE Defined, International Arts Based Educator and recipient of the John F. Kennedy Center Local Dance Commissioning Project 2020. Education: Harvard University and Howard University. Quynn has designed and implemented arts-based programs in Uganda, South Africa, New York, Iowa, DC, and Michigan.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Bass
Raul Reyes Bueno
Bass
Raul Reyes Bueno
(he/him) A.R.T.: Debut. Performances with Arturo O’Farril & the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Edmond Jazz Orchestra, San Angelo Symphony Orchestra, Ayodele Casel, Tia Fuller, Victor Lewis, Joe Magnarelli, Tim Armacost, Alphonso Horne & The Gotham Kings, Mambo Legends, Carlos Rivera, Maelo Ruiz, David Bixler, Miki Yamanaka, Mark Sherman, Freddie Bryant, Quincy Davis, Scott Tixier, Summer Camargo. Education: Artist Diploma, Jazz Studies, The Juilliard School; MM, Jazz Studies, University of North Texas; BM, University of Central Oklahoma.
Performer
Funmi Sofola
Performer
Funmi Sofola
(she/her) A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: Jelly’s Last Jam, Encores!. Regional: Bzzz, The Joyce Theater; Anything Goes (Pre-Production Dancer), The Muny. Education: BFA, Commercial Dance, Pace University.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Performer
Liberty Styles
Performer
Liberty Styles
(she/they) A.R.T.: Debut. International Tour: Rhythm-a-Ting. Other Live Performance: Aquatic, The Yard; Orlando Hernandez and the Knee-Heart Connection, New York Live Arts; Love Movement, AMP by Strathmore; Gotham Kings, The Django; NYC Queer Music Festival, 3 Dollar Bill; Amateur Night at The Apollo, Apollo Theater; Hot & Fresh Burlesque, House of Yes. Music: On a Modern Genius (Vol. 1), Stoney Lane Records; Flipside, Roam Wide, “Drive!!,” Self-released. Education: B.A., American Studies, Columbia University.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Performer
Annaliese Wilbur
Performer
Annaliese Wilbur
(they/them) A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway National Tour: Funny Girl (ADC, Swing, Rat Tat Duet Cover). Regional: Pippin (u/s Fastrada), Reagle Music Theatre. Education: BA, Musical Theater, Boston Conservatory at Berklee.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Performer
Ki’Leigh Williams
Performer
Ki’Leigh Williams
(she/her) A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: Tap Kids (Myself). Theater: Cirque Du Soleil’s Reflekt, (Dancer); Syncopated Ladies Live! (Tap Dancer). TV/
Actors’ Equity Association member
Keyboard Programmer
Nick Wilders
Keyboard Programmer
Nick Wilders
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Wicked, Company. Off-Broadway: Dead Outlaw, Audible Theatre; Titanique, Daryl Roth Theatre; Crave, Cherry Lane Theatre; Notes From Now, Prospect Theater Company. Regional: Ride The Cyclone, Arena Stage/
Dance Captain
Naomi Funaki
Dance Captain
Naomi Funaki
(she/her) A.R.T.: Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic. Performances at Infinity Tokyo, Guggenheim Bilbao, Lincoln Center, New York City Center, Radio City Music Hall, Met Gala, Joyce Theater. TV/
Actors’ Equity Association member
Assistant Dance Captain
Quynn L. Johnson
Assistant Dance Captain
Quynn L. Johnson
(she/her) A.R.T.: Debut. Projects: Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic, The Joyce Theatre; Great Gatsby, The Washington Ballet; Dormeshia: Unsung Sheroes of the 20th Century, Jacob’s Pillow; Zaz: The Big Easy; Latida Negro; Savion Glover’s TiiDii3000 Company. Tour: After Midnight (Soloist), Norweigan Cruise Line. Co-founder of SOLE Defined, International Arts Based Educator and recipient of the John F. Kennedy Center Local Dance Commissioning Project 2020. Education: Harvard University and Howard University. Quynn has designed and implemented arts-based programs in Uganda, South Africa, New York, Iowa, DC, and Michigan.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Understudies never substitute for listed players unless a specific announcement for the appearance is made at the time of the performance.
Additional Staff
Assistant Stage Manager
Eloia Peterson
Assistant Stage Manager
Eloia Peterson
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: I Need That. Off-Broadway: The Low Road, White Noise, Mojada, A Bright Room Called Day, The Visitor, Fat Ham, Plays for the Plague Year, Jordans, The Public Theater; Endlings, NYTW. Regional: The Folks at Home, Baltimore Center Stage. Education: Northwestern University.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Substitute Assistant Stage Manager
Kendyl Trott
Additional Arrangements
Nick Wilders
Additional Arrangements
Nick Wilders
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Wicked, Company. Off-Broadway: Dead Outlaw, Audible Theatre; Titanique, Daryl Roth Theatre; Crave, Cherry Lane Theatre; Notes From Now, Prospect Theater Company. Regional: Ride The Cyclone, Arena Stage/
Actors’ Equity Association member
Associate Scenic Designer
Matthew Buttrey
Associate Scenic Designer
Matthew Buttrey
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, The Notebook, Swept Away, Macbeth, MJ the Musical. Regional: Betrayal, The Goodman Theatre. National Tour: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, The Notebook, The Wiz. Off-Broadway: Is This A Room.
Associate Costume Designer
Amanda Roberge
Associate Lighting Designer
Jessica Creager
Associate Sound Designer
Joshua Nguyen
Associate Sound Designer
Joshua Nguyen
A.R.T.: Debut. Regional: Clue, Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, The Rocky Horror Show, Dallas Theater Center; In the Heights, Cleveland Playhouse; Side by Side by Sondheim, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Education: B.F.A., Theatre Design and Technology, Baylor University ’21.
Assistant Projection Designer
Arash Baqipur
Projection Programmer and Engineer
Jackson Cobb
Tap Sound Specialist
Patrick Middlebrook
Tap Sound Specialist
Patrick Middlebrook
A.R.T.: Debut. Regional: Oklahoma!, Reefer Madness, Crazy for You, Always Patsy Cline, The Addams Family, Spring Awakening. Festivals: Opera Saratoga, Spoleto Music Festival USA, Live Design International. Awards: KCACTF (Outstanding Sound Design for a Musical, 2nd Place).
Production Assistants
Charlie Berry
Kendyl Trott
Additional Sound Loops
Liberty Styles
Additional Sound Loops
Liberty Styles
(she/they) A.R.T.: Debut. International Tour: Rhythm-a-Ting. Other Live Performance: Aquatic, The Yard; Orlando Hernandez and the Knee-Heart Connection, New York Live Arts; Love Movement, AMP by Strathmore; Gotham Kings, The Django; NYC Queer Music Festival, 3 Dollar Bill; Amateur Night at The Apollo, Apollo Theater; Hot & Fresh Burlesque, House of Yes. Music: On a Modern Genius (Vol. 1), Stoney Lane Records; Flipside, Roam Wide, “Drive!!,” Self-released. Education: B.A., American Studies, Columbia University.
Music Consultant
Ryan Cantwell
Music Consultant
Ryan Cantwell
A.R.T.: Debut. International: Waitress (Japanese Premiere), Pippin (Australian Premiere), Pippin (Japanese Premiere). First National Tours: Waitress, Finding Neverland, Pippin, La Cage Aux Folles. Off-Broadway: The Golden Toad; Mark, The Nomad (Liz Swados), La MaMa; Bat Out of Hell, NY City Center. TV/Film: CBS’ “Jim Hensen Special,” “Race,” (Gloria Allred). MD/Composer: A Helluva Life (George Hamilton). As Dawn&Ryan: Wicked, Last Ship, Dogfight. Awards: ASCAP’s Singer-Songwriter Grant (05’ & 06’), Robert Preston Award for Musical Theatre Excellence.
Additional Sound Design
Connor Wang
Additional Sound Design
Connor Wang
A.R.T.: Debut. Recent: Sorry For Your Loss, Audible/Minetta Lane; How to Dance in Ohio, Syracuse Stage; The Hot Wing King, Alliance Theatre; Kim’s Convenience, TheatreSquared; The Ripple, The Wave That Carried Me Home, KC Rep. In addition to his work in design, Connor is a mix engineer for The Disney Princess Concert and Disney’s premier a cappella group, DCappella. connorwangdesigns.com
Additional Lyrics
Anthony McPherson
Research Consultant
Sonja Thomas
Voice Coach
Erika Bailey
Voice Coach
Erika Bailey
A.R.T.: Romeo and Juliet; Gatsby; Becoming a Man; Life of Pi; 1776; WILD: A Musical Becoming; Jack and the Beanstalk; Gloria: A Life; Moby-Dick; We Live in Cairo; Endlings; Othello; ExtraOrdinary; The Black Clown; Jagged Little Pill; WARHOLCAPOTE; Burn All Night; The Night of the Iguana; Trans Scripts, Part I: The Women; Fingersmith; In the Body of the World; Waitress; O.P.C. Broadway: Mary Stuart. Regional: Vanity Fair, Central Square Theater; New Electric Ballroom, Gloucester Stage Company; Arms and the Man, Guthrie Theatre; The Foreigner, Cabaret, To Kill a Mockingbird, Kansas City Repertory Theatre. As Head of Voice and Speech at A.R.T., Erika also teaches in the Theater, Dance & Media concentration at Harvard as well as coaching public speaking skills across the university. Education: M.A., Voice Studies, the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama; M.F.A., Acting, Brandeis University.
Technical Direction Consultant
Chris Swetcky
Physical Therapists
Artistic Athletes Health Collective
Access Staff
Director of ASL
Shana Gibbs
ASL Interpreters
Letitia Bynoe
Jennifer Gibbons
Audio Description
Cori Couture
David Heard
Open Caption
c2
Sensory Inclusive
Spectrum Theatre Ensemble
A.R.T. Staff
Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director:
Diane Paulus
Executive Director:
Kelvin Dinkins, Jr.
SENIOR STAFF
Director of Facilities and Capital Projects: Peter Atkinson
Public Relations Director: Rebecca Curtiss
General Manager: Connor Davis
Managing Director: Anna Fitzloff
Executive Administrator: Kathleen Fowkes
Director of Finance: Julia Goldmacher
Senior Theater and Facilities Manager: Tracy Keene
Chief Development Officer: Eileen Kennedy
Producer: Mark Lunsford
Director of Production: Krystin Matsumoto
Director of Artistic Programs & Dramaturg: Ryan McKittrick
Associate Artistic Director: Dayron J. Miles
Chief Marketing Officer: Jennifer Weissman
STAFF
Artistic & EngagementArtistic Coordinator & Special Assistant to the Artistic Director: Karina Cowperthwaite ProducingAssociate Producer: Emma Watt Marketing & CommunicationsAssociate Director, Marketing and Communications: Susanna Jackson DevelopmentAssociate Director, Institutional Giving: Anna Cline FacilitiesAssistant Project Manager: Alex Giorgetti FinanceController: Toufiq Aitelfqih Patron ServicesHead of Patron Services: Emma Putnam |
ProductionProduction Manager: Skip Curtiss ScenicTechnical Director: Jim Bernhardt PaintCharge Scenic Artist: Gerard Vogt Stage OperationsStage Operations Manager: Kevin Belcher CostumesCostume Manager: Muriel Mangual-Bennett WardrobeWardrobe Manager: Alycia Marucci SoundSound Manager: Camilo Atehortua LightingLighting and Projections Supervisor: Matthew Adelman PropertiesProperties Manager: Erin Kehr Production OverhireScenic Overhire: Thomas Eckenfels, Matthew Kadam, John Larson, Aiden Marshall, Em McGrory, Mac Weaver |
Special Thanks
Priscilla H. Douglas, Shihan Van Clief, Ryan Johnson, Brynne Oster
Rehearsed at The Huntington Theatre and the Boston Center for the Arts
Piano and Tuning Services provided by East Cambridge
Additional Scenery Fabrication by Mystic Scenic Studios, Inc.
Additional Draping and Construction by William Andrew Young
Additional Projections Equipment provided by Sound Associates, Inc.
Additional Lighting Equipment provided by Christie Lites
Dance Floor Structural Consultants: Wooden Kiwi Productions, Inc.
Been Rich All My Life © Toots Crackin Productions