Recipient of the
2012 American Theatre Wing
National Theatre Company Award

PRODUCTION SPONSOR: PAM SHACK Directed by David Morden Additional Direction by Laura Lippman November 5 –29, 2009 Thursday–Saturday 7:30 P.M., Sunday 2:00 P.M. Musical Preshow directed by Harlan Hokin begins 15 minutes before curtain Discussion with the cast and director follows all performances No performances Friday November 6 or Thursday November 26 Preview Night Thursday November 5, 7:30 P.M. Pay-What-You-Will Nights Thursdays November 12 & 19, 7:30 P.M. Half-price Student Rush 15 minutes before curtain Performance Schedule The Rogue Theatre at The Historic Y 300 East University Boulevard See Map and Parking Information

If you liked The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, you won’t want to miss this return trip into the intricate and intense world of Edward Albee. In this stunning examination of personal relationships, he asks, “Who do you turn to when life becomes too much to bear?” You could seek the warmth and security of family, except that loved ones are sometimes more dangerous than the outside world. Funny, biting and tragic all at the same time, this is a high-definition look at the minefield we call modern living.

Joseph McGrath (Tobias) and David Morden (Harry)

Photo by Tim Fuller

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Press

Rogue’s Albee is disturbing theater but awfully good

Review of A Delicate Balance by Kathleen Allen in the November 13 Arizona Daily Star

Tipping Point: Edward Albee’s brilliant language stars in the disturbing Delicate Balance at Rogue

Review of A Delicate Balance by Sherilyn Forrester in the November 12 Tucson Weekly

Captivating Drama in A Delicate Balance at The Rogue Theatre

Review of A Delicate Balance by Chuck Graham on November 9 in Let The Show Begin! at TucsonStage.com

Rogue Theatre tackles ambitious plays

Previews of A Delicate Balance and Some Girl(s) by Anna Swenson in the November 4 Arizona Daily Wildcat

Albee’s characters thrive in Balance:
Rogue Theatre stages famed playwright’s story of folks on a path of self-discovery

Previews of A Delicate Balance and Some Girl(s) by Kathleen Allen in the October 30 Arizona Daily Star

Joseph McGrath (Tobias) and Cynthia Meier (Agnes)

Photo by Tim Fuller

	David Morden (Director, Harry) has directed The Rogue Theatre’s production of The Goat (2008 Arizona Daily Star Mac Award) and Six Characters in Search of an Author. David has appeared with The Rogue Theatre in the ensembles of Animal Farm and Orlando, as Madame Pace in Six Characters in Search of an Author, The Pope in Red Noses, Yephikhov in The Cherry Orchard, The Man in the Silver Dress in the preshow to The Maids and Glaucus in Endymion. As a singer, he has performed in the chorus of Arizona Opera’s production of The Threepenny Opera, Die Fledermaus, The Flying Dutchman, Susannah, and The Mikado. He has acted locally with Arizona Onstage Productions (Assassins), Actors Theatre (The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged)) and Green Thursday Theatre Project (Anger Box, Rain), of which he was a co-founder. David has directed productions with Green Thursday (Shakespeare’s R&J, White Garden), Oasis Chamber Opera (Sing to Love), DreamerGirl Productions (The Dreamer Examines His Pillow) and Arts For All (The Apple Tree).
Laura Lippman (Additional Direction) recently relocated to Tucson from Orlando, Florida, and considers her collaboration with The Rogue to be an incredible introduction to the Tucson theater scene. Recent Orlando directing credits include Rockaby and Endgame for Empty Spaces Theatre Co’s Beckett Festival and movement director for Equus at Rollins College. In addition, Laura has directed and developed new plays for over a decade, including recent works such as Charm and Letters to Sala at Orlando PlayFest, The Toymaker’s War for the National New Play Network Showcase, Upright Position, Destination: Reality and Transference with the Women Playwrights’ Initiative and Songs my Brother Sang for the GLBT New Works Series. She also adapted and directed Euripides’ Cyclops for the 2008 American Philological Association’s Annual Conference in Chicago along with her husband Mike. Laura studied acting at Bennington College and The Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, Wales. She received her MFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University.

Director’s Notes

Working on an Edward Albee play is always a fascinating experience. First, because his work always tackles the big issues and asks the big questions (“What is a life well lived?”, “What is the nature of love?”, “What is the purpose of religion?” etc.). Spending several months grappling with questions like these—examining our own beliefs, facing our own fears, sharing them with others—can be thrilling. Second, Edward Albee writes with a musicality and a rhythm that is very rare among modern playwrights. Not only does he choose his words with excruciating care, he also assembles them in a way that we are affected by their music as well as their meaning. Learning how to say an Albee line with the correct timing and truth is sometimes as intricate as learning to sing an operatic aria. Yet, as with an aria, when it all comes together and we find that the meaning of a phrase or a speech affects us both intellectually and viscerally, it is powerful stuff. Finally—and with this play, in particular—Edward Albee not only writes what his characters say on the surface, he intimates a whole additional meaning to his dialogue with clues to suppressed emotions, unsaid feelings and unspoken yearnings for something much larger than what’s going on onstage. A simple request for a martini, say, is often covering a plea for love, understanding or acceptance. It is an enthralling journey, learning what really drives these characters (and seeing ourselves mirrored in them).

I am deeply grateful to the cast and crew of A Delicate Balance for taking this journey with me and with The Rogue Theatre. It is a courageous crew that has grappled with the issues in this play. I am grateful to you, our audience and our partners, as well, for your willingness to look at some very big questions with us. We look forward to discovering even more about the play in your reactions to and insights about this performance. Thank you for taking this journey with us at The Rogue Theatre.

—David Morden, Director of A Delicate Balance
director@theroguetheatre.org

Joseph McGrath (Tobias), Avis Judd (Julia), Cynthia Meier (Agnes) and Amy Almquist (Claire)

Photo by Tim Fuller

 

Cast
Claire		Amy Almquist
Edna		Maxine Gillespie
Julia		Avis Judd
Tobias		Joseph McGrath*
Agnes		Cynthia Meier
Harry		David Morden*
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States, appearing under a Special Appearance Contract

Cast Biographies

	Amy Almquist (Claire) has worked professionally in film, stage and commercials for over 25 years. She studied acting at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago and received her MFA in Directing from the University of Montana. Amy worked with Montana Repertory Theatre, Missoula Children’s Theatre, Seattle’s Annex Theatre, and has performed locally and/or directed with Arizona Opera, Beowulf Alley Theatre, Live Theatre Workshop and Invisible Theatre as well as The Rogue. A few of her local productions include: Letters to Sala, Spinning into Butter, The Threepenny Opera, Criminal Hearts, A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking, The Dining Room, Kindertransport and The Rogue’s The Dead, as well as directing the acclaimed production of Doubt. Amy currently teaches theatre-based presentation skills and communication strategy to prosecutors with the County Attorney’s Office and state-wide. She is a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild and proud to be a cast member of LaughingStock Comedy Company.
Maxine Gillespie (Edna) appeared as Desdemona in last season’s Immortal Longings at The Rogue. She earned her B.A. in Theatre from Williams College. After an internship with the the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC, she appeared in their production of The Merchant of Venice with Kelly McGillis and Marcia Cross. She has twice traveled to the United Kingdom to study Shakespeare—attending the Midsummer in Oxford program, co-administered by Yale University. In New York City, Maxine trained at the Circle in the Square Theatre and upstate at the Powerhouse Theatre at Vassar College during its inaugural summer season. She has performed in professional and community theatre productions in Virginia and North Carolina, as well as in Tucson. Maxine’s latest ventures include serving as actor and executive producer on a Los Angeles-based campy-comic horror film, Crustacean—coming soon to a theatre (or cable channel) near you!
	Avis Judd (Julia) has previously performed with The Rogue Theatre in Animal Farm, The Good Woman of Setzuan, as Dunyasha in The Cherry Orchard, as Sasha in Orlando and Beatrice in Immortal Longings. She received her theatre degree from Northwestern University. Other favorite roles include Olga in The Three Sisters, Fury in the English language premier of Héléne Cixious’ The Perjured City, or the Awakening of the Furies; Faith in Invisible Theatre’s production of Kindertransport, Emilia in Othello; and the title role in a one woman show, which she adapted and directed, about Bahá’í heroine Martha Root.
Joseph McGrath (Tobias) is the Artistic Director for The Rogue Theatre for which he has performed in many of the productions. He wrote and directed Immortal Longings for The Rogue and has also directed The Balcony, Endymion, The Maids (winner of the Arizona Daily Star 2007 Mac Award for Best Play) and Red Noses. Joe is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Drama. He has toured with John Houseman’s Acting Company and performed with the Utah Shakespearean Festival. In Tucson, he is a frequent performer with Ballet Tucson appearing in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Cinderella, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dracula and perennially in The Nutcracker. He has also performed with Arizona Theatre Company, Arizona Opera, Tucson Art Theatre, Arizona OnStage, Green Thursday, Damesrocket Theatre, and Old Pueblo Playwrights in such plays as The Seagull, Assassins, Oleanna, Threepenny Opera, and Anger Box. Joe is also a scenic designer and owns Sonora Theatre Works with his wife Regina Gagliano, producing theatrical scenery and draperies.
	Cynthia Meier (Agnes) is the Managing and Associate Artistic Director for The Rogue Theatre for which she has adapted and directed James Joyce’s The Dead, directed Animal Farm, Orlando, Happy Days, The Good Woman of Setzuan, The Fever and The Cherry Orchard, and performed in Six Characters in Search of an Author, Red Noses, The Goat (Best Actress, Arizona Daily Star 2008 Mac Award), The Maids, Endymion and The Balcony. She also directed The Seagull (featuring Ken Ruta) for Tucson Art Theatre. For Chamber Music Plus Southwest, she has directed Talia Shire in Sister Mendelssohn and Edward Herrmann in Beloved Brahms. A co-founder of Bloodhut Productions, Cynthia has also performed in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Arizona Repertory Theatre), A Streetcar Named Desire (Arizona Theatre Company), Blithe Spirit and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Michigan Repertory Theatre), Romeo & Juliet and Chicago Milagro (Borderlands Theatre), A Namib Spring (1999 National Play Award winner), and Smirnova’s Birthday, The Midnight Caller, and The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (Tucson Art Theatre). Cynthia is a Faculty member in Speech at Pima Community College and holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from the University of Arizona. In 2000, Cynthia was awarded the Tucson YWCA Woman on the Move Award.

Amy Almquist (Claire) and Joseph McGrath (Tobias)

Photo by Tim Fuller

 

Preshow Music
Lost in the Stars		Kurt Weill
Matelot		Noël Coward
You’re Nearer from Too Many Girls		Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
I Concentrate on You		Cole Porter

 

Musicians
Piano		Harlan Hokin Dawn Sellers
Vocals		Maxine Gillespie David Morden

 

	Harlan Hokin (Musical Director) has performed extensively as a singer in Europe and the United States, including a stint with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He earned a doctorate in historical performance practice from Stanford, and has taught at Stanford and UC Santa Cruz. Harlan is an active workshop teacher and writer on topics of interest to singers and early music performers. Recent theatrical involvement has been with The Rogue Theatre as Musical Director for Animal Farm, Immortal Longings, Orlando, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Red Noses, The Goat, The Cherry Orchard, The Good Woman of Setzuan, The Maids, Endymion, The Dead and The Balcony, and Arizona Onstage Productions as Vocal Director for their production of Assassins. Harlan has also served as music director for Arizona Theatre Company’s Summer On Stage program. He is currently serving as Artistic Director for the Arizona Early Music Society and is the father of two nearly perfect children.

Amy Almquist (Claire)

Photo by Tim Fuller

 

Production Staff
Stage Manager		Casey Hanners
House Manager		Susan Collinet
Assistant House Manager		JoAn Forehand
Box Office Manager		Thomas Wentzel
Electrician		Peter Bleasby
Scenic Intern		Cori DiSimone
Furniture and Prop Consultation		Norma Davenport, Nancy Reeder, Pam Shack, Judith Treistman, Judith Wallingford
Recreation of Ocean Park #107 by Richard Diebenkorn		Cori DiSimone
Poster and Program		Thomas Wentzel
Marketing and Publicity		Norma Davenport, Carol Elliott, Sylvia Feldman, David Morden, Patricia Harmon, Pam Shack, Ward Wallingford, Thomas Wentzel, Jim Wilson
Lobby Art		Kathy Young
Designers
Scenic Design		Joseph McGrath
Costume Design		Cynthia Meier
Lighting Design		Clint Bryson

 

	Clint Bryson (Lighting Designer) has designed lights for The Rogue Theatre’s productions of The Balcony, The Dead, Endymion, The Cherry Orchard, Happy Days, The Goat, Red Noses, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Orlando, Immortal Longings, and Animal Farm. Other lighting design credits include As Bees in Honey Drown and Golf Game for Borderlands, Woman in Black for Beowulf Alley, and The Seagull for Tucson Art Theatre. Clint is currently the Shop Foreman, Production Technical Director and Marketing Director for Catalina Foothills Theatre Department where he designs and coordinates the construction of all scenery. He is also a member of Rhino Staging Services, and a regular participant in Arizona Theatre Company’s Summer on Stage program where he designs and builds the scenery as well as teaches production classes. Clint thoroughly enjoys the passion and integrity that The Rogue brings to their productions and looks forward to playing his part in their creative journeys.
Casey Hanners (Stage Manager) is graduating from the UofA this semester with a degree in stage management. In addition to her work here and her class load, she is a Company Management Intern with Arizona Theatre Company. In the past four years at the University she has had the privilege to work on many amazing shows, the most recent being The Music Man and Rum and Coke. Last fall, Casey had the opportunity to follow her dream and work as a Production Assistant Intern with Walt Disney Entertainment at Walt Disney World in Florida. She had the time of her life being able to combine her skills as a stage manager with her love of Disney. She hopes that she will be able to return to WDE at some point after graduation.

 

Our Thanks
Shawn Burke		Dawn Sellers
Anthony Allen Taylor		Kathy Allen
Peter Bleasby		Jim Periale
Joe Schwanz		Carol Elliott
Susan Collinet		Tim Fuller
Our Advertisers		Jesse Greenberg
Judy Wallingford		Norma Davenport
The Rogue Theatre Board of Directors

Cynthia Meier (Agnes)

Photo by Tim Fuller

 

Performance Schedule for A Delicate Balance

Location: The Rogue Theatre at The Historic Y, 300 East University Boulevard
See Map and Parking Information

Thursday November 5, 2009, 7:30 pm PREVIEW
Friday November 6, 2009 NO PERFORMANCE
Saturday November 7, 2009, 7:30 pm
Sunday November 8, 2009, 2:00 pm matinee

Thursday November 12, 2009, 7:30 pm PAY-WHAT-YOU-WILL
Friday November 13, 2009, 7:30 pm
Saturday November 14, 2009, 7:30 pm
Sunday November 15, 2009, 2:00 pm matinee

Thursday November 19, 2009, 7:30 pm PAY-WHAT-YOU-WILL
Friday November 20, 2009, 7:30 pm
Saturday November 21, 2009, 7:30 pm
Sunday November 22, 2009, 2:00 pm matinee

Thursday November 26, 2009 NO PERFORMANCE
Friday November 27, 2009, 7:30 pm
Saturday November 28, 2009, 7:30 pm
Sunday November 29, 2009, 2:00 pm matinee