Picnic

Picnic

A Summer Romance
by William Inge
directed by Preston Lane

September 6 – 27, 2009

The greatest risk is love.
It’s a peaceful time for a quiet Kansas town in the early 1950s and summer is drawing to a close with the excitement of the annual Labor Day picnic. But the sudden arrival of Hal Carter, a handsome young drifter, stirs the emotions of a group of neighbors as he develops an instant attraction with Madge, one of the most beautiful girls in town. As Hal hides deep insecurities with grand shows of bravado, Madge is torn between her heart and her head in this Pulitzer Prize-winning drama where passions turn one small community upside down.

Running time: 2 hours and 10 minutes (including two 10-minute intermissions)

“Director Preston Lane dares to show the power of passion in raw scenes that seem to combust before our very eyes. This dirty, dusty, superb rendition of a theater classic will hang in your memory like clouds in a Kansas sky.” 
– Lynn Jessup, Classical Voice of North Carolina
Click here to read the full review.

“Triad Stage has opened their ‘Season Together’ with a winner! Their production of William Inge’s ‘Picnic’ was energetic and moving, comedic and heartbreaking, much like the human condition.”
–Christine McCarthy, The Community Arts Café
Click here to read the full review.

Sponsored by
Lincoln Financial Foundation		   Production SponsorWell Spring

Cast (in order of appearance)

Helen Potts
Lorraine Shackelford*
Hal Carter
Joe Tippett*
Millie Owens
Cheryl Koski
Bomber
Philip Eggers
Madge Owens
Meg Chambers Steedle*
Flo Owens
Elisabeth Ritson*
Rosemary Sydney
Amy da Luz*
Alan Seymour
Matthew Carlson*
Irma Kronkite
Joby Lee Strachan
Christine Schoenwalder
Emily Mark
Howard Bevans
James Crawford*

Creative Team

Director
Preston Lane
Scenic Designer
Howard C. Jones
Costume Designer
Kelsey Hunt
Lighting Designer
John Wolf
Sound Designer
David E. Smith
Dramaturg
Drew Barker
Resident Fight Director
Jim Wren
Choreographer
Donna Baldwin Bradby
Resident Voice/Dialect Coach
Christine Morris
Casting Director
Cindi Rush Casting
Stage Manager
Eric Tysinger*
Assistant Stage Manager
Christy Weikel*

 

 

Biographies

Cast

Lorraine Shackelford Lorraine Shackelford* (Helen Potts) is making her second appearance at Triad Stage. She played Frau Fahrenkopf in The Night of the Iguana last season. A member of the Performance Faculty at UNC-G, her favorite roles include: Grandma in Jersey Shore House,Sister Hubert in Nunsense (with Pat Carroll), and Mrs. Norman in Children of a Lesser God. Lorraine has an MFA in Acting from Virginia Commonwealth University and her undergraduate degree in Drama at East Carolina University, where she was mentored by Mavis Ray, long-time assistant to Agnes de Mille.  .
Joe Tippett Joe Tippett* (Hal Carter) Triad Stage debut! Regional/New York: The Three Sisters, The Corn is Green, Peter & the Star Catchers, Thursday, Double Double, Romeo & Juliet, The Pugilist Specialist, Small Talk, Almost Main,(Williamstown Theatre Festival); The Young Left (Cherry Lane Mentor Project); Prayer (Manhattan Theatre Source); Lucky in Love (Brooklyn Playwrights Festival); Equus (Washington Shakespeare Co); The Idiots Karamazov, Twelfth Night, SuBurbia, Three Sisters (West Virginia University). Film/TV: Revealing Nicky (Me & the Wife Productions), All Saint’s Day (Washington Square Films), Last Ride of the Raven (Palmetto Moon Studios). Education: BFA, West Virginia University. 
Cheryl Koski Cheryl Koski (Millie Owens) Triad Stage debut! Regional/Local: The Revenger’s Tragedy (UNCG); Eleemosynary (GTCC). Film/TV: 3 Teeth (North Carolina School of the Arts); The 12 Trials of My Patience. Education: Sophomore in the BFA Acting program at UNCG.
Philip Eggers Philip Eggers (Bomber) Triad Stage debut! Regional/Local: Go, Dog. Go! (NCTYP); Big River, Sweeney Todd (UNCG). Education: Junior BFA Acting candidate at UNC Greensboro.
Steedle Meg Chambers Steedle* (Madge Owens) Triad Stage debut! Regional: A Year with Frog and Toad (Two River Theater Company), Real Girls Can’t Win (Victory Gardens Theater). American Music Theatre Project: Asphalt Beach (world premiere musical by Andrew Lippa), The Boys are Coming Home (directed by Gary Griffin). Northwestern University: Cabaret (Sally Bowles-William Daniels Award), The Bald Soprano (Mary). Education: Bachelor of Arts in Theatre (cum laude) from Northwestern University; graduate of Greensboro Day School.
Elizabeth Ritson Elisabeth Ritson* (Flo Owens) was last seen wandering around Mexico as Hannah in Triad Stage’s production of The Night of the Iguana. Other Triad Stage roles include holding down the trailer as Ada in Tobacco Road, originating the roles of Grin Dell’s Maw and Hessie Geeter in Brother Wolf, running Grace’s diner in Bus Stop, Lizzie in The Rainmaker and Mrs. Webb in Our Town. This past summer Beth performed with The Paper Lantern Theatre Co’s production of Dead Man’s Cell Phone as Jean. Beth is currently a professor of Theatre at the awesome Bennett College for Women.
Amy Da Luz Amy da Luz* (Rosemary Syndey) Triad Stage: The Night of the Iguana, The Little Foxes, A Streetcar Named Desire. Off-Broadway: Brutality of Fact (Cardinal Group at Urban Stages). Regional/Local: Reynard the Fox (North Carolina Shakespeare Festival); Absent Friends, Voice of the Prairie, Crimes of the Heart (Summer Repertory Theatre). Film/TV: Main Street (with Ellen Burstyn and Colin Firth) directed by John Doyle, Lost Stallions (with Mickey Rooney), One Tree Hill. Education: MFA Acting, University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Matthew Carlson Matthew Carlson* (Alan Seymour) New York: Road Show by Stephen Sondheim and Hamlet (The Public), DR.C: Or How I Learned to Act in 8 Steps (Mitu/3 Legged Dog). Regional: The Miracle Worker (St. Louis Rep), Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Theatre, DC), Singing Forest (Long Wharf), Kind Hearts and Coronets (Sundance Theater Lab), The Just and Much Ado About Nothing (Chautauqua Theater Company). He is also the author of the plays home, sweet and These Northern Stars. Education: BS, Northwestern. MFA, NYU Graduate Acting Program.
Joby Lee Strachan Joby Lee Strachan (Irma Kronkite) Triad Stage: Bloody Blackbeard. New Mexico State University Theatre: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Incorruptible, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. UNCG Theatre: The Rimers of Eldritch, Jersey Shore House, Holiday, Lysistrata. THTR 232: Redbeard’s Revenge, Mere Mortals. Education: BA Theatre, New Mexico State University; BB Marketing, New Mexico State University. Currently pursuing MFA in Acting at UNCG. 
Emily Mark Emily Mark (Christine Schoenwalder) Triad Stage: Bloody Blackbeard. Regional:  Evil Dead: The Musical (Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte), Much Ado About Nothing (NC Shakespeare Festival), Redbeard’s Revenge, Mere Mortals (Theatre 232). UNCG: Sweeney Todd, The Revenger’s Tragedy, The Clean House. Third Year MFA Candidate at UNCG. 
www.emilymark.net
James Crawford James Crawford* (Howard Bevans) Triad Stage: A Streetcar Named Desire and Art. Dallas Theatre Center: Pride & Prejudice, Joe Egg, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Real Thing, Our Town, Twelfth Night, The Night of the Iguana, A Christmas Carol, and Inexpressible Island. Other Dallas productions: Stones in his Pockets, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, As Bees in Honey Drown, Cloud Nine, Off the Map, Betrayal, Angels in America, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Shadowlands. In 2007,James was named Best Actor by The Dallas Observer, The Dallas Voice and D Magazine. James teaches acting at SMU.

Creative Team

Preston Lane Preston Lane (Artistic Director/Co-Founder & Director) is in his 9th season at Triad Stage where he has directed 30 productions. Preston is the recipient of the 2008 Betty Cone Medal of the Arts and is in his third year as the Artistic Partner for Theatre for An Appalachian Summer Festival. He was formerly Artistic Associate at the Dallas Theater Center, where his productions included the US premiere of Inexpressible Island (Dallas Observer Best of Dallas Awards: Best Director, Best Production) and The Night of the Iguana (Dallas Morning News:2002 Top Ten Theatre List). Other productions include work Off Broadway, Regional and the National Black Theatre Festival. As a playwright, his adaptations and original works include: Tartuffe, Ghosts, Hedda Gabler, Dracula, Mirandolina, and Julie’s Dance (Triad Stage); A Christmas Carol (Dallas Theater Center, Sonoma County Rep, Kids Who Care), Three Weeks After Marriage and Helen! (Summer Cabaret) and with Laurelyn Dossett: Brother Wolf (Triad Stage, An Appalachian Summer Festival, The Human Race Theatre Company and upcoming: St. Olaf College), Beautiful Star (Triad Stage and WaterTower Theatre), Bloody Blackbeard and the upcoming Providence Gap. He has taught at UNCG, NC A&T, NCSA, Greensboro College, SMU, and the Professional Actors Workshop at the Dallas Theater Center. He is an alumnus of the Drama League of New York’s Director’s Project. A native of Boone, NC, Preston received his MFA from the Yale School of Drama.
  Howard C. Jones (Scenic Designer) Triad Stage: The Night of the Iguana, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Tobacco Road, Hedda Gabler (recipient of a World Stage Design 2005 honor), August Snow, A Moon for the Misbegotten,The Matchmaker and A Streetcar Named Desire. Regional: Starlight Theatre, Goodspeed Opera, Missouri Repertory Theatre, North Shore Music Theatre, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, American Heartland Theatre and NC Shakespeare Festival. NC School of the Arts faculty member since 1996. Prior to that, founder and owner of Cobalt Studios, an apprentice painting studio in upstate New York, working for Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional theatres across the country.
  Kelsey Hunt (Costume Designer) is Resident Designer at Triad Stage. Favorite past productions include: Ghosts; Black Pearl Sings!; The Night of the Iguana; Bloody Blackbeard; Mrs. Warren’s Profession; The Little Foxes; Tobacco Road; The Diary of Anne Frank; Brother Wolf; On Golden Pond; A Streetcar Named Desire (honorable mention, best production design, Independent Weekly); A Moon for the Misbegotten and Bus Stop. Kelsey has worked with UNCG Theater, Peace College, New York’s Glimmerglass Opera House, Firebrand Theory Theater Company, The Lortel Theater and Lisa Zinni of Broadway’s Rent).
  John Wolf (Lighting Designer) Triad Stage: 25 productions including the world premieres of Bloody Blackbeard, Brother Wolf, Debunked and Beautiful Star. Regional: North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, Mill Mountain Theatre. University Theatre: UNCG, University of Florida, University of Tennessee, University of Nebraska Opera, plus designs at Lion Theatre, Center Stage, Trinity Theatre, Symphony Space and Lincoln Center in New York. John is a Professor of Theatre at University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Education: MFA, University of Alabama; The Julliard School of Music.
  David E. Smith (Sound Designer) is director of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts theatre sound design program. David spent eight years with the Royal National Theatre in London, England. Triad Stage: Oleanna, Tartuffe, Ghosts, The Night of the Iguana, Bloody Blackbeard, The Little Foxes, Tobacco Road, Beautiful Star, The Diary of Anne Frank, A Streetcar Named Desire and Dracula. Regional: Arena Stage, North Shore Music Theatre, Trinity Repertory Theatre, Alliance Theatre. Local: Little Theatre of Winston-Salem. 
  Drew Barker (Dramaturg) is Triad Stage’s Artistic Associate and Resident Dramaturg, and a former Theater and Advanced Placement English teacher. Regional: Assistant to the Director of five shows at Triad Stage, Assistant Director of Oleanna at An Appalachian Summer Festival. Education: UNC-Greensboro, BFA Theater Education & English, Study Abroad at the University of Hull, and Undergraduate Research Assistantship in Greensboro Theater History.
  Jim Wren (Resident Fight Director) has staged the violence for many Triad Stage productions including the fantastical fights in Brother Wolf, the behavior of the Lesters in Tobacco Road and the battles of Bloody Blackbeard. He has choreographed violence for the Hippodrome State Theatre, Roanoke Valley Opera and The University of Florida. Education: MFA, University of Florida. Jim is Performance Program Coordinator for the UNCG Department of Theatre, and is a two-time recipient of the Kennedy Center Gold Medallion for Excellence.
  Donna Baldwin-Bradby (Choreographer) is Adjunct Professor and Director of Marketing and Publicity for the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at North Carolina A&T State University. Donna earned a BFA in Professional Theatre from NCA&T and an MFA in Arts Management from Virginia Tech. She has directed, choreographed and performed for professional, community and educational theatres locally and regionally. Donna appeared in Crowns at Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte, directed Eubie! at NCA&T, and directed The Old Settler, From the Mississippi Delta and Mad at Miles and was choreographer for Das Barbecü, ballroom dancing coach for ‘MASTER HAROLD’…and the boys, and movement coach for The Matchmaker and The Diary of Anne Frank at Triad Stage.
  Christine Morris (Dialect Coach) is resident voice and dialect coach for Triad Stage and an associate professor of theatre at UNCG, where she teaches voice/speech and acting. As an actor, she most recently appeared at Triad Stage as Mme. Pernelle in Tartuffe. Her professional memberships include Actors Equity Association, Screen Actors’ Guild, and the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA).
  Cindi Rush (Casting Director) New York: “Rooms”, The Time of Mendel’s Trouble, Peaceman, Jacques Brel, Six Dance Lessons In Six Weeks, The Thing About Men, Showtune, I Sing, Urinetown, Say Goodnight Gracie. Regional: Triad Stage, Act II Playhouse, Arena Stage, Goodman, Cape Cod Theatre Project, NOHO Arts Center (including “Pest Control”,“Dorian” and “Ghost and Mrs. Muir”), Actors Theatre of Louisville Humanafest. Film: Offspring, Made For Each Other, Home Movie, Jack Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door, Headspace, Funny Valentine, Master Class. Other: Hats (Denver, New Orleans, Chicago). Tours: “Kidz Bop”, “The Case of Curious George”. Casting Society of America Member, Casting Consultant for National Alliance For Musical Theatre, Casting Consultant for NYU Graduate Program for Musical Theatre Writing.
  Eric Tysinger* (Stage Manager) Triad Stage: Angel Street; Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Old Wicked Songs; North Star; Bloody Blackbeard; The Night of the Iguana; Bell, Book and Candle; Beautiful Star; Black Pearl Sings!; Ghosts; The Blonde, The Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead and Tartuffe. Off-Broadway: Elvis People. Regional: Tonight At 8pm, Light Up The Sky, Hedda Gabler starring Kate Burton (Williamstown); Dreamgirls, Annie Get Your Gun, Peter Pan, The Sound Of Music  (North Carolina Theatre); A Christmas Carol, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, As You Like It (North Carolina Shakespeare Festival); Elvis People, Great Expectations (both world premieres, Mill Mountain Theatre). Proud member of Actors Equity.
  Christy Weikel* (Assistant Stage Manager) Triad Stage: Suddenly Last Summer, Baby with the Bathwater, The Mystery of Irma Vep, Mirandolina, The Night of the Iguana. Regional: The Misanthrope, The Illusion, I Am My Own Wife, A Christmas Carol, Inexpressible Island, The Seagull, The Night of the Iguana (Dallas Theater Center); Much Ado about Nothing, Julius Caesar (Shakespeare Festival/LA); Galileo, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Glass Menagerie (Yale Rep). Teaching Experience: Assistant Professor, Ball State University; Adjunct Faculty, High Point University. Education: MFA, Yale University.

*Member of Actors Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

 

 

 

 
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