DIGITAL SHOW CARD
THE STORY: Clybourne Park explodes in two outrageous acts set fifty years apart.
- Act One takes place in 1959, as white community leaders anxiously try to stop the sale of a home to a black family.
- Act Two is set in the same house in the present day, as the now predominantly African-American neighborhood battles to hold its ground in the face of gentrification.
Recipient of the Tony Award® for Best Play and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Bruce Norris' second Horizons play is Clybourne Park, about white flight and gentrification, which features racist jokes, unspeakable contempt, and mental images that would make Mamet blush. It’s also a subtle and well-crafted piece of theater.
While Clybourne Park rips the p.c. mask off polite gentrifiers, Norris notes that his parents moved his family from their Houston neighborhood in part to avoid busing, and that “my primary exposure to anyone African-American up until I was 14 was our maid. There’s no way to escape the fact that I’m a racist,” he adds. “I’d like to imagine I was an android who had only pure thoughts, but I’m a human, and I’m an animal. And I think that’s true for everyone.” (New York Times)
When I began to write Clybourne Park as a way of looking at how white Americans like me have dealt with issues of race, past and present, and to ask myself whether, in our supposedly sophisticated, post-modern, post-racial world, anything had changed. While working on the play, the US elected its first black President. And we white people congratulated ourselves and celebrated how far we’d come. But then… lo and behold, as the year dragged on and all of the change we’d so eagerly anticipated failed to materialize and as more and more appalling examples of our entrenched, old-fashioned impulses continued exactly as they always had, I began to think… aren’t we more enlightened than that? Aren’t we able to choose? Can’t we change like Obama promised us? Or is it maybe that racism, per se, isn’t really the problem. Maybe it’s the denial of it. Maybe it’s our unwillingness to admit that we all once belonged to a tribe of greedy, violent apes contending over territory with other apes, and that we’re still figuring out what to do with that legacy, as we suspiciously regard each other across the boundaries we live within. (Bruce Norris on Clybourne Park with the Royal Court Theatre, London, UK)
There is no official rating system for live theatre. We encourage you to use your judgment based on your child's age and maturity level.
CLYBOURNE PARK .... Scenes and Settings
Scenes/Settings: A house at 408 Clybourne Steet, Clybourne Park, Chicago, Illinois
Act 1
408 Clybourne St., Clybourne Park, Chicago
September 1959, 3pm
Intermission
(15 mins, please enjoy your refreshments in the lobby. Only Bottled water is allowed into the theatre.)
ACT II
408 Clybourne St., Clybourne Park, Chicago
September 2009, 3pm
Run Time: 2 Hours, 15 Minutes including a 15 minute intermission
- Act One takes place in 1959, as white community leaders anxiously try to stop the sale of a home to a black family.
- Act Two is set in the same house in the present day, as the now predominantly African-American neighborhood battles to hold its ground in the face of gentrification.
Recipient of the Tony Award® for Best Play and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Bruce Norris' second Horizons play is Clybourne Park, about white flight and gentrification, which features racist jokes, unspeakable contempt, and mental images that would make Mamet blush. It’s also a subtle and well-crafted piece of theater.
While Clybourne Park rips the p.c. mask off polite gentrifiers, Norris notes that his parents moved his family from their Houston neighborhood in part to avoid busing, and that “my primary exposure to anyone African-American up until I was 14 was our maid. There’s no way to escape the fact that I’m a racist,” he adds. “I’d like to imagine I was an android who had only pure thoughts, but I’m a human, and I’m an animal. And I think that’s true for everyone.” (New York Times)
When I began to write Clybourne Park as a way of looking at how white Americans like me have dealt with issues of race, past and present, and to ask myself whether, in our supposedly sophisticated, post-modern, post-racial world, anything had changed. While working on the play, the US elected its first black President. And we white people congratulated ourselves and celebrated how far we’d come. But then… lo and behold, as the year dragged on and all of the change we’d so eagerly anticipated failed to materialize and as more and more appalling examples of our entrenched, old-fashioned impulses continued exactly as they always had, I began to think… aren’t we more enlightened than that? Aren’t we able to choose? Can’t we change like Obama promised us? Or is it maybe that racism, per se, isn’t really the problem. Maybe it’s the denial of it. Maybe it’s our unwillingness to admit that we all once belonged to a tribe of greedy, violent apes contending over territory with other apes, and that we’re still figuring out what to do with that legacy, as we suspiciously regard each other across the boundaries we live within. (Bruce Norris on Clybourne Park with the Royal Court Theatre, London, UK)
There is no official rating system for live theatre. We encourage you to use your judgment based on your child's age and maturity level.
CLYBOURNE PARK .... Scenes and Settings
Scenes/Settings: A house at 408 Clybourne Steet, Clybourne Park, Chicago, Illinois
Act 1
408 Clybourne St., Clybourne Park, Chicago
September 1959, 3pm
Intermission
(15 mins, please enjoy your refreshments in the lobby. Only Bottled water is allowed into the theatre.)
ACT II
408 Clybourne St., Clybourne Park, Chicago
September 2009, 3pm
Run Time: 2 Hours, 15 Minutes including a 15 minute intermission
Cast & Creative Team
|
CAST
Russ/Dan: Greg Guyton Bev/Kathy: Laura Weeldreyer Francine/Lena: Joi Kai Jim/Tom/Kenneth: Joe Ernest Albert/Kevin: J. Purnell Hargrove Karl/Steve: Carl Olivi Betsy/Lindsey: Cat Bustos |
CREATIVE TEAM
Director . . . Jen Sizer Stage Manager . . . Jane Nitsch Assistant Stage Manager . . . Bill Kohlhoff Lighting & Sound Design . . . Jen Sizer Set Design & Props Master: Jen Sizer Costume Design . . . Jen Sizer, Julia Golbey, Zoe Nowoslawski Fight Choreographer . . . Erin Klarner |
SPECIAL THANKS
Danae Nick Zoe Nowoslawski
Danae Nick Zoe Nowoslawski
Cast & Creative Team Bios
Cat Bustos (Betsy/Lindsay) is delighted to make her first appearance on the Spotlighters stage. Cat has been performing in some capacity for over 20 years and holds a degree in Theatre from Indiana University. Some of her favorite stage roles include: Kayleen in Gruesome Playground Injuries, A Weird Sister in Macbeth and Marat in Marat/Sade. Most recently you may have seen her as Sam Craig in Manor Mill’s inaugural production of Our Town. She also made her TV debut in 2018 on an episode of NBC’s Chicago Med. When not in the theatre you can find her hiking with her dog, crafting or watching movies. She would like to give acknowledgment to the Deaf community and gratitude to her family for their unwavering support over the years.
Joey Ernest (Jim/Tom) is excited to appear in his first performance on the Spotlighters' stage. When he is not performing, Joey is an English teacher here in Baltimore city and has enjoyed reading plays and novels with his students for the past several years. He would like to thank his friends and family for coming out to support him.
Greg Guyton (Russ /Dan) is delighted to return to Spotlighters Theatre for the third time. Greg’s favorite roles include Gomez in Addams Family, Lancelot in Spamalot, Osbourne in Journey’s End, Jekyll in Jekyll and Hyde, Sharky in The Seafarer, Jonathan in Arsenic and Old Lace, and anything he’s ever done with his beautiful and talented wife Michele! When not on stage he is an orthopaedic surgeon just up the road at Union Memorial. Many thanks to our supremely talented cast and crew and, as always, his unfailingly supportive family!
J Purnell Hargrove (Albert/Kevin) is returning to Spotlighters Theatre after pinch-hitting as Clifford Anderson in Deathtrap. They are the co-founder of The Greasy Utterson, a podcast company which released a long-form audio drama version of The Secret Garden, found on all major podcast platforms. They are also the Vice President of Fells Point Corner Theatre, helping to shape the arts scene of Baltimore and becoming the person they wanted to look up to as a child. When not theatering, J has been seen doing live DnD with The WRPG, gambiting through the 12 Fantasy, and repairing the hearts of various Disney worlds. Past credits include but are not limited to: Professor Hidgens in The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals (CJ Productions), Lola in Kinky Boots (Dundalk Community Theatre), Pongo in The Starlight Barking (Mercury Theatre), Agatha Trunchbull in Matilda (Charm City Players), Lion in The Wiz (Spotlighters Theatre). linktr.ee/actorjph Carpe Noctem
Joi Kai (Francine/Lena) (she/her/ella) is happy to be a part of her first production at Spotlighters Theatre. An enormous thank-you to everyone who helped her bring these characters to life. Joi’s a Spanish-bilingual actor based in Maryland. You may have also seen her doing drag, improv, or stand-up around Baltimore. Past roles include Shea in Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea, Susie in Wit, Aide Williams in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Touchstone in As You Like It, Carole/Starr/Julie in 26 Pebbles, and Raquél in Bailes de Salón. She also played Joe in Three Guys and a Brenda, which she directed. Education: Circle in the Square Theatre School (Summer Intensive), Queens University of Charlotte (Theatre Performance Minor).
Bill Kohlhoff (Assistant Stager Manager) is happy to be returning to Spotlighters Theatre this time behind the scenes. He has appeared here in Laughing Stock and Raisin in the Sun. Bill has also appeared at Miracle Players (South Pacific, & Murder on the Nile) and Laurel Mill Playhouse (Twelfth Night). He is grateful to Jen and Jane for this opportunity.
Jane Nitsch (Stage Manager) is happy to be back at Spotlighters Theatre. She has performed this role here for Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike, as well as for several other plays in the region. As an actor her favorite roles include Mrs. Cliveden-Banks in Outward Bound, Prosecutor in The Trial of the Catonsville Nine and Mildred Wild in The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild. Jane is proud to be part of an incredible cast in such a timely and important work of theater. Thanks to Gerry for his enthusiastic support.
Carlo Olivi (Karl/Steve) is thrilled to make his fifth appearance on the distinctive Spotlighters Theatre stage. Previously, Carlo appeared here as Freddy Eynsford-Hill in Pygmalion, as Henry Mills in Laughing Stock, as Bill/Jake in Love/Sick, and as Porter Milgrim in Deathtrap. Elsewhere, Carlo's theater credits include a turn as Detective Sgt. Trotter in The Mousetrap (Prince George's Little Theatre), the role of Jud Templeton in Tribute (Greenbelt Arts Center), and as Jack in The Tin Woman (PGLT). Carlo is grateful for all the support and encouragement given to him by his friends and family, especially from his amazing wife Kayla. Carlo would like to dedicate his performance to his dear friend, Paula Einaudi, without whom he would not have taken the plunge into the wonderful world of local theatre.
Zoe Nowoslawski (Costume/Wardrobe) is an artist and bartender in Baltimore city, she loves and collects clothing. This is her first show with Spotlighters!
Jen Sizer (Director, Set/Lighting/Sound Designer) is directing at Spotlighters’ for the second time, having previously Co-Directed Scharf’s Shorts. Her prior directing credits include One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Breaking the Code and To Kill a Mockingbird. Jen has served as Lighting Designer many Spotlighters’ productions, including Raisin in the Sun, Pillar Rabbit, Fag Gods, Outward Bound, What Was Done, and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. She has also performed many area theatres, most recently here at Spotlighters’ as Sarah McKay in Laughing Stock. Favorite roles include Touchstone in As You Like It and Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet. Love to Mom, Aunt Chris, and this unbelievably talented cast and crew!
Laura Weeldreyer (Bev/Kathy) is thrilled to be returning to the stage at Spotlighters Theatre in such an important and relevant piece of theater. She has acted at other local theater companies including Laurel Mill Playhouse, Memorial Players, Cockpit in Court, and Phoenix Festival Theater. When Laura isn't on stage, she runs a statewide nonprofit organization. Big thanks to family and friends who support her theatre adventures. "The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls” ~Pablo Picasso.
Joey Ernest (Jim/Tom) is excited to appear in his first performance on the Spotlighters' stage. When he is not performing, Joey is an English teacher here in Baltimore city and has enjoyed reading plays and novels with his students for the past several years. He would like to thank his friends and family for coming out to support him.
Greg Guyton (Russ /Dan) is delighted to return to Spotlighters Theatre for the third time. Greg’s favorite roles include Gomez in Addams Family, Lancelot in Spamalot, Osbourne in Journey’s End, Jekyll in Jekyll and Hyde, Sharky in The Seafarer, Jonathan in Arsenic and Old Lace, and anything he’s ever done with his beautiful and talented wife Michele! When not on stage he is an orthopaedic surgeon just up the road at Union Memorial. Many thanks to our supremely talented cast and crew and, as always, his unfailingly supportive family!
J Purnell Hargrove (Albert/Kevin) is returning to Spotlighters Theatre after pinch-hitting as Clifford Anderson in Deathtrap. They are the co-founder of The Greasy Utterson, a podcast company which released a long-form audio drama version of The Secret Garden, found on all major podcast platforms. They are also the Vice President of Fells Point Corner Theatre, helping to shape the arts scene of Baltimore and becoming the person they wanted to look up to as a child. When not theatering, J has been seen doing live DnD with The WRPG, gambiting through the 12 Fantasy, and repairing the hearts of various Disney worlds. Past credits include but are not limited to: Professor Hidgens in The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals (CJ Productions), Lola in Kinky Boots (Dundalk Community Theatre), Pongo in The Starlight Barking (Mercury Theatre), Agatha Trunchbull in Matilda (Charm City Players), Lion in The Wiz (Spotlighters Theatre). linktr.ee/actorjph Carpe Noctem
Joi Kai (Francine/Lena) (she/her/ella) is happy to be a part of her first production at Spotlighters Theatre. An enormous thank-you to everyone who helped her bring these characters to life. Joi’s a Spanish-bilingual actor based in Maryland. You may have also seen her doing drag, improv, or stand-up around Baltimore. Past roles include Shea in Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea, Susie in Wit, Aide Williams in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Touchstone in As You Like It, Carole/Starr/Julie in 26 Pebbles, and Raquél in Bailes de Salón. She also played Joe in Three Guys and a Brenda, which she directed. Education: Circle in the Square Theatre School (Summer Intensive), Queens University of Charlotte (Theatre Performance Minor).
Bill Kohlhoff (Assistant Stager Manager) is happy to be returning to Spotlighters Theatre this time behind the scenes. He has appeared here in Laughing Stock and Raisin in the Sun. Bill has also appeared at Miracle Players (South Pacific, & Murder on the Nile) and Laurel Mill Playhouse (Twelfth Night). He is grateful to Jen and Jane for this opportunity.
Jane Nitsch (Stage Manager) is happy to be back at Spotlighters Theatre. She has performed this role here for Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike, as well as for several other plays in the region. As an actor her favorite roles include Mrs. Cliveden-Banks in Outward Bound, Prosecutor in The Trial of the Catonsville Nine and Mildred Wild in The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild. Jane is proud to be part of an incredible cast in such a timely and important work of theater. Thanks to Gerry for his enthusiastic support.
Carlo Olivi (Karl/Steve) is thrilled to make his fifth appearance on the distinctive Spotlighters Theatre stage. Previously, Carlo appeared here as Freddy Eynsford-Hill in Pygmalion, as Henry Mills in Laughing Stock, as Bill/Jake in Love/Sick, and as Porter Milgrim in Deathtrap. Elsewhere, Carlo's theater credits include a turn as Detective Sgt. Trotter in The Mousetrap (Prince George's Little Theatre), the role of Jud Templeton in Tribute (Greenbelt Arts Center), and as Jack in The Tin Woman (PGLT). Carlo is grateful for all the support and encouragement given to him by his friends and family, especially from his amazing wife Kayla. Carlo would like to dedicate his performance to his dear friend, Paula Einaudi, without whom he would not have taken the plunge into the wonderful world of local theatre.
Zoe Nowoslawski (Costume/Wardrobe) is an artist and bartender in Baltimore city, she loves and collects clothing. This is her first show with Spotlighters!
Jen Sizer (Director, Set/Lighting/Sound Designer) is directing at Spotlighters’ for the second time, having previously Co-Directed Scharf’s Shorts. Her prior directing credits include One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Breaking the Code and To Kill a Mockingbird. Jen has served as Lighting Designer many Spotlighters’ productions, including Raisin in the Sun, Pillar Rabbit, Fag Gods, Outward Bound, What Was Done, and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. She has also performed many area theatres, most recently here at Spotlighters’ as Sarah McKay in Laughing Stock. Favorite roles include Touchstone in As You Like It and Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet. Love to Mom, Aunt Chris, and this unbelievably talented cast and crew!
Laura Weeldreyer (Bev/Kathy) is thrilled to be returning to the stage at Spotlighters Theatre in such an important and relevant piece of theater. She has acted at other local theater companies including Laurel Mill Playhouse, Memorial Players, Cockpit in Court, and Phoenix Festival Theater. When Laura isn't on stage, she runs a statewide nonprofit organization. Big thanks to family and friends who support her theatre adventures. "The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls” ~Pablo Picasso.
