JEROME DAVIS, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

SIMMIE KASTNER, MANAGING DIRECTOR

P R E S E N T S

Arcadia

by Tom Stoppard

Directed by Jerome Davis TECHNICAL DIRECTOR / MASTER ELECTRICIAN: Barry Jaked PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER: George Waller Scenery Design Stephen R. White Lighting Design Chris Popowich Costume Design Beth Gargan Properties Design Randy Carter Sound Design David Marschall Graphics Designer Natalie Wykle House Manager Carry Vaughn Assistant Stage Manager Ryan Vasconcellos Board Operator Kat Cupp

 

Burning Coal Theatre Company's permanent home is Murphey School Auditorium at, 224 Polk Street, Raleigh. Burning Coal is a member of Theatre Communications Group, a national consortium of professional theatres, the North Carolina Theatre Conference and Arts Carolina.

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A Note From the Artistic Director

The first play I ever performed (that I didn’t write myself) was Tom Stoppard’s The Real Inspector Hound.  As I spoke the words, I had only a rudimentary idea of what I was saying, but I knew the words were communicating something in a way that I had never managed to do in my own young life.  The first play my wife, Simmie, remembers being involved with was Tom Stoppard’s Albert’s Bridge.  Among Burning Coal’s past productions, Tom Stoppard’s Travesties and Night and Day stand out in my mind as strong representations of what I have wanted our theatre to be: challenging, mercurial, inventive, fierce, like the final round of a very close heavy weight title fight, and sharp in its use of language.  Stoppard ticks all those boxes for me. 

But what is “language”, exactly?  There’s an idea going around these days that language can be used to suppress people.  Sure, unscrupulous people might choose to do so, but had they not language, then certainly the rock, the tree limb or the bare fist would do them just as well.  Like all tools, language can be misused.  If you doubt that, listen honestly to your favorite news source.  You’ll be astonished at what isn’t being said.  That is a cruel and crushing form of the abuse of language called censorship.  But when used for good, language is what lifts people up.  It is how we communicate what is imagined, thought, felt, and turns those thoughts into what is tangible and true.  In short, language is the only way we express our feelings clearly.  Without language, we are alone, as alone as we could ever be.  But when we are able to communicate, then surely we have moved, even just a bit, closer to that other person across the way.  And isn’t that the only true way to empower ourselves. 

Stoppard had a very interesting (terrifying) childhood.  Born in Czechoslovakia, fled the Nazi invasion to Singapore, just in time to have to flee the Japanese invasion.  Father killed at sea on ship following behind Tom and his mother’s.  Grew up in India, mother remarried to an icily remote British military man and into a world thick with silences.  But young Tom was watching … and listening.  And perhaps it was in that environment where he learned the power of language.  His adult life has been spent in pursuit of the perfect word, the masterful phrase, the hilarious retort, as in this from Arcadia:

Thomasina You did not like my discovery?

Septimus A fancy is not a discovery.

Thomasina A gibe is not a rebuttal.

Is it possible that a 13 year old would speak to her teacher in such a glib and insouciant manner?  This one does.  And in doing so, language is used to tell a part of this story that, were it being written in novel form, would take pages to describe, were it being painted, might take gallons, were it being photographed … well, might not be understood at all.  She is his superior, intellectually, though she doesn’t yet know it, and through the use of language, Thomasina Coverly expresses herself, and we come to know her.  And we come to care for her.  And that achievement, so rare, is what Tom Stoppard does and has been doing now for the best part of his 86 years on this earth.  We are rich in his presence.

-Jerome Davis, August 2023

Meet the Company

Jacob Berger

Ezra Chater

Jacob Berger is represented by Talent One Acting Agency. He is humbled and excited to play Ezra Chater in Burning Coal's Arcadia! He has played Kenny in Fuddy Meers through Switchyard Theatre Company, Edward in Sense and Sensibility through the Fuquay Arts Center, and has acted with Cary Playwright's Forum, Agape Theatre Project, Duke University Theatre, and NC University Theatre. In addition to theatre, Berger has co-starred in independent short films and television pilots and in professional commercials. He is very thankful to work with the creative, supportive people at Burning Coal!

Thom Christiansen

Captain Brice

Thom Christensen is excited to be making his Burning Coal debut. Ongoing love and gratitude to Margaret-Ellen and Roosevelt for their support.

Jeffrey Dillard

Jellaby

Ian Finley

Valentine Coverly

Ian Finley (Valentine) - holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from the Tisch School at New York University, where he received the Harry Kondoleon Award for playwriting. Favorite roles include Malvolio (Twelfth Night), Jacob (The Jesus Fund), The Soldier (Sunday in the Park with George), and The Courier (1776) for Burning Coal, and Mother's Younger Brother (Ragtime) and Simon Stimson (Our Town) for The Justice Theatre Project.. He served as Resident Playwright for Burning Coal Theatre Company, from 2004 through 2012, for which he was named the 2012 Piedmont Laureate in the field of Playwriting and Screenwriting by the arts councils of central North Carolina.

Matara Hitchcock

Chloe Coverly

Matara Hitchcock is a practitioner and strategist passionate about creating work that supports sustainable employment for actors. She has her MA/MBA from CU Boulder, where she was on the New Play Festival committee and a founding and resident artist of the CU Playback Ensemble. Matara works for PlayMakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill and previously worked for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival as an administrator and actor, swinging for "Two Gentlemen of Verona," "The Book of Will,” and "Charles III." This past summer she played Viola (“Shakespeare in Love”) directed by Jim Warren with Sweet Tea Shakespeare. Other recent credits include Beatrice (“Much Ado About Nothing”), Agnes (“She Kills Monsters”), Claudius/Polonius/others (“Hamlet”), Dina (“The Dead Man”), Syme (“Thursday”), Lady Katherine (“Falstaff in Love”), Miss Havisham (“Great Expectations”) and immersives "Information for Foreigners" and "A Dickens Experience."

Byron Jennings

Bernard Nightingale

Byron is excited to be returning to the stages of Burning Coal! Previous credits include Marc in "Art" Bruce in "The Normal Heart, "Colin Powell in "Stuff Happens, and the one-man show, "Until the Flood (all with Burning Coal Theatre Company),Coalhouse Walker, Jr. in NC State University Theatre's production of "Ragtime," Henry Drummond in Justice Theatre Project’s “Inherit the Wind,” Lopakhin in Little Green Pig’s “Cherry Orchard” Othello in Bare Theatre’s “Othello,” and Williamson in Deep Dish Theater’s “Glen Garry Glenross." All of the thanks and love to supporters of local theater.

Maggie Lea

Lady Croom

Maggie Lea is excited to be rejoining Burning Coal Theatre. She acquired her BFA in Acting from UNCG and studied Drama in the UNCSA high school program. Her local credits include the local and London productions of The Iron Curtain Trilogy with Burning Coal, Fuddy Meers with Switchyard Theatre Company, W;t with NCT, The Illusion with Triad Stage and Yes, to Nothing with Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern.

Emily Rieder

Hannah Jarvis

Emily Rieder is an actor and teaching artist based in Greensboro, NC, where she lives with her husband and two daughters. She holds a BFA in Acting from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a MFA in Acting from Northern Illinois University. Additionally, she has trained with Upright Citizens Brigade (NYC), The Barrow Group (NYC) and The Moscow Art Theatre. Recent theatre credits include: Jekyll (Triad Stage Developmental Reading series), Talley’s Folly, The Weir, and Skylight (Burning Coal Theatre), Constellations, The Seagull and Crumbs from The Table of Joy (Bartlett Theater).

Daniel Ryder

Septimus Hodge

Daniel Cryer-Muthedath Ryder is a voiceover artist and actor local to the Raleigh area. You may have seen him in shows such as JTP's All the Way and RLT's Blood Wedding, or heard his voice narrating Audible titles like 22 Dutch Road, Level-Up Mentality, and Showtime. He is excited to make his Burning Coal debut with Arcadia, and looks forward to working with all these lovely people again soon. When not on stage, you can find Daniel riding his motorcycle to the local rock-climbing gym or playing Terraforming Mars at the nearest board game cafe.

Susanna Skaggs

Thomasina Coverly

Susanna Skaggs is an actor and full-time student based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Her professional theatre career began at Burning Coal Theatre in their 2016 production of David Edgars’ Written on the Heart. Since then, she has worked in film, television, and theatre. Her most recent film credit was playing Lina in the Netflix Original Rom-Com Love and Gelato and she has just finished an 8 week program studying at LAMDA in London over the summer. She is currently in her senior year at UNC Chapel Hill with a major in Film Studies and a minor in Russian language and literature. When she’s not acting or doing her readings, she loves to knit sweaters, watch as many movies as she can, have multiple crises about graduation, and cuddle with her tuxedo cat, Pepper.

Chance Thompson

Augustus Coverly/Gus Coverly

Chance Thompson was trained for the past year with Bronwen Carson and Gus Allen for both film and theatre. He enjoys drawing in his spare time and is currently working on his stand up routine!

Chandler Vance

Richard Noakes

Chandler is thrilled to be a part of his first production with Burning Coal Theatre Company. Some of his recent work includes Curtains, at Raleigh Little Theatre, Away Home with Honest Pint Theatre, Jersey Boys with Theatre Raleigh, and Showtime’s George and Tammy. “It's beyond exciting to work with such a committed and intentional group of artists, many many thanks to Burning Coal for this opportunity and experience. I look forward to more.

Jerome Davis

Director

Jerome Davis (Director). For Burning Coal Theatre: Evita, Ashe in Johannesburg, The Weir (twice), Rat in the Skull, Pentecost, Winding the Ball, Steward of Christendom, Night & Day, Company, Road to Mecca (twice), Juno & the Paycock, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Taming of the Shrew, Inherit the Wind, Hamlet, Hysteria, Prisoner’s Dilemma, 1960, The Seafarer, Shape of the Table, Enron, Jude the Obscure Parts 1 & 2, Shining City, The Heretic, Iron Curtain Trilogy (Raleigh and London), Sunday in the Park with George, Spoonface Steinberg, Written on the Heart, Dark Vanilla Jungle (London), Iphigenia in Splott (Raleigh and Washington DC). Acting: Love’s Labours Lost, Mound Builders, St. Nicholas, Skylight and Talley’s Folly (Raleigh and London). Also, Skylight in Orlando and King Lear (Lear/Wilmington). Other: See How They Run (Southern Pines), Twelfth Night in Apex and Turn of the Screw for NC Opera. Jerry worked with or studied with Uta Hagen, Adrian Hall, Richard Jenkins, Hope Davis, Horton Foote, Denis O’Hare, Nikos Psacharapolous, Julie Bovasso, Ralph Waite, Oliver Platt, Ben Gazzarra and Ellen Burstyn at Trinity Rep (Providence), People’s Light & Theatre (Philadelphia), New Jersey Shakespeare, SoHo Rep, Barrow Group, Columbia University, Phoenix Theatre (SUNY/Purchase). This is his 27th year running Burning Coal which he and his wife, Simmie Kastner, founded in 1995. In 2019 he received the Raleigh Medal of Arts.

George Waller

Production Stage Manager

George Waller is a Production Stage Manager native to the Raleigh area who has recently returned after an education in New York in Technical Theatre and Dramaturgy. This is his first production with Burning Coal and he would like to thank his family for support, along with the cast and crew of Arcadia for the wonderful experience he had working with them.

Chris Popowich

Lighting Designer

Christopher Popowich has designed the lighting for numerous productions for Theater, Opera, and Dance in Canada, the UK, Asia, and the United States. His professional highlights include the world premiere of Balls and the Asian premiere of Art, for Singapore Rep; Nunsense in Rome for Teatro Dell’Orologio; Journey West in London and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; Terrorism and A Midsummers Night’s Dream in London. He is a frequent designer for Burning Coal Theatre Company in Raleigh. Recent productions include The Cherry Orchard, Mlima’s Tale, Road to Mecca, Oscar and Walt, I and You, Evita, Camelot, The Weir, King Charles III, and The Royale. Christopher’s opera design credits include The Ring Saga, Magic Flute, Lost in the Stars, and Soldiers Tale for Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh. Other Pittsburgh credits include The Skull of Connemara, House, Julius Caesar and the Beckett Festival for Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre. In Canada, Christopher’s work includes shows for Alberta Theatre Projects, Calgary Opera, Toronto Workshop Productions, Stephenville Festival, and the Globe Theatre. He is Co-owner and Principal Designer in C & C Lighting, an architectural and entertainment lighting design company in Pittsburgh (cclightingdesign.com). Major projects include lighting for the Gulf Tower, the Koppers Building, the Hunt Library and the Randy Pausch Memorial Bridge.

Randolph Carter

Properties

Randolph Carter (Properties Design) is tackling his first Props Manager role in The Cherry Orchard - before his recent retirement he was an award-winning industrial designer and UX architect. He’s excited to combine skills working in plastic, wood, metal, machining and finishing with decades of electrical, acoustic and digital design research - to help our director, actors, and production crew create inspiring experiences.

David Marschall

Sound Designer

David Marschall played viola in the North Carolina Symphony and Santa Fe Opera for over 25 years. Since retiring in 2018 he has sung in ten productions as a member of the NC Opera Chorus, and last year he joined Durham-based SONAM chorus (Singers of New and Ancient Music). This is his second production designing music for Burning Coal (Silent Sky).

Lissa Pope

Asst. Director/Female Understudy

Lissa Pope (Assistant Director/Female Understudy) is ecstatic to be working on Arcadia in her hometown! Lissa was born and raised in Raleigh and currently studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro and will be graduating in 2024 with a BFA in Acting. Her most recent credits include Blood Suede Shows at Pioneer Playhouse and UNCG’s Flora and Ulysses, Spongebob the Musical, and A Midsummer Nights Dream. She would like to thank her family, friends, professors, and the LINK program for their love and support. You can find her on Instagram @lissa.pope

Kirby Wahl

Dialects Coach

Kirby Wahl (Dialects Coach) teaches at Elon University, where he has directed many productions, including Macbeth, August: Osage County, Clybourne Park, and Once On This Island. He was the dialect coach for Duke University’s 2018 production of Dancing at Lughnasa and has dialect coached other Burning Coal productions, including The Seafarer, The Road to Mecca, Jude the Obscure, and 2014’s The Iron Curtain Trilogy. He is also an actor, whose performances include The Mystery of Irma Vep and The Illusion, at Greensboro’s Triad Stage, and Burning Coal productions of The Prisoner’s Dilemma and Jude the Obscure. Other professional acting credits include: North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, New York City's Riverside Shakespeare Company, Arizona Theatre Company, and The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. A Certified Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework and of Knight-Thompson Speechwork, professional memberships include Actors’ Equity Association, VASTA, and Body-Mind Centering Association.

Steven R. White

Set Design

Stephen Roy White (Scenery Design) is a Midwest based designer, USA member (lighting), and on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Design credits include Chapatti, The Train Driver, Detective’s Wife and Lobby Hero at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre; Zombies From the Beyond at Skylight Music Theatre; Trying, Talley’s Folly, Murder For Two, Silent Sky, Wait Until Dark, Making God Laugh, Heroes, The 39 Steps, The Tin Woman, A Little Night Music at Peninsula Players; National Veterans Theatre Festival at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre; and Othello Deployed, and And Comes Safe Home with Feast of Crispian – “Shakespeare With Veterans”. Chicago credits include productions at Northlight, Drury Lane, Organic, and a Joseph Jefferson nomination for The Woman in Black. Steve is a graduate of Northwestern University, and after being involved with Silent Sky at Burning Coal last December, is excited to be back for BC’s 27th season. StephenRoyWhite.com

Barry Jaked

Resident Technical Director / Master Electrician

Barry started working with Burning Coal in 2012 as the Technical Director for Jude the Obscure and continued in this roll through 2017 when he took a position as the Technical Director for Aberdeen Community Theatre in Aberdeen, SD. In November of 2019 he returned to the Raleigh area and Burning Coal as the Master Electrician. Once the pause for Covid was over he resumed his roll as the Master Electrician. In August 2023, he was hired by Burning Coal as the Resident Technical Director and Master Electrician

Beth Gargan

Costume Design

Beth Gargan (Costume Design). An avid theater goer and quilter, Beth is relatively new to costuming for theater. This past summer she was costumer for Annie Jr. with 120 lively campers at Justice Theater Project’s summer camp. In addition to Arcadia, Beth is also the costumer for JTP’s current production of 12 Angry Jurors. She’s looking forward to where this new gig takes her! Thanks to Jerome Davis for his support and to the wonderful cast for their cooperation. Much love to Sean, my biggest fan.

Courtney Pisano

ASM

Addison Florio

ASM

Addison Florio (ASM). Addison attends Score Academy and has been a part of the arts since elementary and has since been an on stage actor as well as technical crew. As well as being an ASM for Burning Coal’s ‘KidsWrite’ Festival in 2022, Addison’s playVelious was selected to be produced for this summer’s production.

Meredith Riggan

Scenic Charge

Meredith Riggan (Scenic Charge Artist). Meredith is a North Carolina based artist and is excited to be returning to Burning Coal Theatre Company for a 6th season. After receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in Scenic Art from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Meredith worked as the Scenic Charge Artist at several theatres around North Carolina including The Carolina Ballet, William Peace University, Half Pint Theatre, Sweet Tea Shakespeare, Triad Stage, City Arts-Greensboro Children's Theatre, The Winston Salem Theatre Alliance, ECU Loessin Playhouse, along with several freelance jobs such as repairing sculptures for the Greensboro Children's Library and the Raleigh International Festival.

Veronica Dress

Intimacy Coordinator

Veronica Dress (Intimacy Coordinator) is thrilled to support the cast of Arcadia . Founder of The Dress Rehearsal, a sexuality education and coaching practice, Veronica is passionate about creating consent-forward creative spaces that support the art of physical storytelling. Thank you to the cast and team of Arcadia for allowing her to join in on this fun production!

Juan Isler

Sound Engineer

Juan Isler (Sound Engineer). A native of Kinston, NC, Juan grew up singing and earned a music-business degree at Winston-Salem State in 1993. He worked as a deejay before coming to Raleigh, where he got a job as technical director at what is now Spectrum News in 2004. He has worked on more than 50 plays in venues across the Triangle on both sides of the stage, as actor, technician and director. He is the resident sound designer at Justice Theater Project. He is the board chair at Beltline To Broadway. He is the host of the show “TORN,” where he is one of the public faces of the online hub Beltline To Broadway (beltlinetobroadway.org, formerly RDU On Stage). All of this, while working as an Event Manager at NC State University.

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