_(_Flyer_(5.5_x_8.5))_(1).jpg)
.png) |
||||||||||||
| COSUMNES RIVER COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE & DANCE/RIVER STAGE | ||||||||||||
| proudly present | ||||||||||||
|
ORLANDO |
||||||||||||
|
By SARAH RUHL Adapted from the novel by VIRGINIA WOOLF |
||||||||||||
| at the Black Box Theatre | ||||||||||||
| 2024-25 #THETIMEISNOW Season | ||||||||||||
|
Follow Us on Instagram: @seeaplayatCRC |
||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||
Featuring |
||||||||||||
|
ANISSA RODRIGUEZ AVALON BARTH CAMERON MATTHEWS CANDY LEMUS CASS EGGLESTON |
ELFIE MARCEWICZ EMMA ROSE WEHRLI JAELYNN CARR JAYDEN WYNN HAYLI CRANDALL |
MARAJADE SAPP PURJON BICKHAM TAYLOR BRENNAN-MACIEL |
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||
Creative Team |
||||||||||||
| Scenic Design | Lighting & Sound Design | Costume Deisgn | ||||||||||
| MARTIN FLYNN | CARY BABKA | AUDREY WALKER | ||||||||||
| Dramaturgy | Music Director & Composer | Props Master | ||||||||||
| MICHELLE TORRES MAXSON | GRAHAM SOBELMAN | TRICIA TECSON | ||||||||||
| Production Stage Management | ||||||||||||
| AUDREY DI PAOLO, NATASHA LARSON-SWENSON & MACIE UTILE | ||||||||||||
| Directed by | ||||||||||||
| AMBRE SHONEFF & RYAN PEREZ ADAME | ||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||
MARCH 7-15, 2025PerformancesFridays, March 7 & 14 @ 7:30 pm Saturdays, March 8 & 15 @ 7:30 pm Saturday, March 15 @ 2:00 pm Sunday, March 9 @ 2:00 pm Wednesday, March 12 & Thursday, March 13 @ 1:00 pm Tickets PAY WHAT YOU CAN
SHOW INFORMATIONSetting & Time
Photography & RecordingPlease take selfies and pictures before the show - and don't forget to tag our Instagram account @seeaplayatCRC! During the show, there is no photography or recording of any kind. |
||||||||||||
Licensing Information“Orlando (Ruhl)” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com |
||||||||||||
Follow Us:
LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We acknowledge the land currently occupied by Cosumnes River College as the traditional home of the Miwok and Nisenan people. These sovereign people have been caretakers of the area since time immemorial. The state of California is home to more than 110 Federally Recognized Indian Tribes, representing the most diverse set of tribal nations anywhere in the United States. Despite centuries of genocide and occupation, the Miwok and Nisenan people continue as vibrant and resilient federally recognized tribes, bands, and rancherias. The waters of the Sacramento, American, and Cosumnes Rivers have nourished Miwok and Nisenan tribal communities with cultural and dietary sustenance throughout time. ‘Cosumnes’ of Cosumnes River derives from the Plains Miwok language. Stemming from the words "kosumu," meaning salmon and "umne," meaning the place of, it translates as "The Place of the Salmon." Today, we celebrate our Miwok and Nisenan tribal neighbors as the ancestral stewards of this land and honor their sustained existence. It is with their blessing and continued guidance that Cosumnes River College seeks to provide an accessible, equitable, and principled institution of learning.
Support Indigenous Communities
Native Governance Center: Supporting Indigenous Changemakers & Nations.
Native Land: Learn more about the Indigenous communities in your area.
Find Campus Resources
About the Show
DIRECTORS' NOTES
By AMBRE SHONEFF
Recently I was sorting through some boxes I had long ago stored at my dad’s house between moves and came upon one whose contents instantly brought me back in time. It was labeled “HBAs” and held two dainty glass bottles. The first was small, round, and filled with an amber colored liquid labeled: Jasmine Perfume Oil. I remember feeling very grown up for buying it at The Body Shop in the Sherwood Mall as a young teenager. The second was a tall, slender, rectangular bottle, filled with a sloshing pink potion called True Love by Elizabeth Arden, which I’m guessing I purchased at Walmart later in high school. These were my FAVORITE perfumes of the 1990s and early 2000s. They transported me back to that tender time when I was navigating the transition from childhood to becoming a woman. I was delighted to stumble upon them again, and was set to spritz – but to my great surprise, I found that I didn’t like them anymore. They were too sweet, too heady, too saccharine. I had changed. My go-to perfume today is Ilaun, “A fresh light perfume whose top notes of wild Fragrant Orchid blend with the woody base notes of ferns, lichens and mosses.” The base notes. I didn’t have them at 13 or 17. They are something life, love, joy, sorrow and heartbreak have added to my blend through the years.
One of the most compelling aspects of Orlando’s story for me is all of the different people Orlando is at different points in their life. “For she had a great variety of selves to call upon: the boy who sat under the oak tree, the young man who fell in love with Sasha, the boy who handed the Queen a bowl of rose water, the poet, the fine lady, the woman who called Mar or Shelmerdine or Bontrhrop”
Directing this play has allowed me to look back on Ambre the precocious Shirley Temple of a child, the self-conscious girl picking out perfume, the pastor’s daughter, the jr. high teacher, the actor, the American abroad, the auntie, the professor. I, like Orlando, and perhaps like you, have been many people throughout my life. My hope is that as you engage with Ruhl’s adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s epic tale, you might be visited by some of the selves you have left behind.
By RYAN PEREZ ADAME
One of the biggest influences on my artistic life and my personal outlook was the late mythologist Joseph Campbell. Of the many quotables and words of wisdom in his voluminous written work (including his seminal Hero with a Thousand Faces, which greatly influenced George Lucas' Star Wars saga), it's his 1988 PBS series with Bill Moyers, "Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth" that I return to time and again for this pearl: "You as you know yourself are not the final term of your being."
I think about that quote, that idea, each and every day. I think of how easy it is to think of ourselves as being at an end point, to grow up and calcify into a marble statue version of the person we were born as. Campbell's notion doesn't just challenge that idea of permanence, it forces us to think forward to whom we may yet be. Perhaps even to embrace the self we've had to keep stifled and let them run free.
What a gift to all of one's selves: to simply exist in fullness. To throw off the weight of what others think. To embrace the freedom from some politician's idea of how you should live and whom you should love. To liberate yourself from dusty norms of what it means to be a woman, a man, or any of the myriad possibilities that exist on the spectrum of gender identity.
What has drawn me to ORLANDO the play and Orlando the character is that they exist. All at once. They exist as a testament to the wild variety of human experience. Orlando the character exists across time and place. Orlando the woman exists. Orlando the man exists. Orlando in transition exists before our eyes in a way that only theatre can give life to. All the iterations, all the "terms of being" exist, not just in Orlando's life, but yours and mine. All the iterations of this production will exist in the minds and memories of the actors and the audiences. One production, many experiences; one life, many beings.
It's a big, messy, beautiful thought that both the play and the character Orlando wrestle with and ultimately come to embrace. As Orlando says: "I am ready to understand."
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We want to express our gratitude to the following:
- JULIE ZALASKY, Cosumnes River College Business Office
- MARI CARSON, Faculty, & Students of TA 430 Costume Construction, Cosumnes River College
Cast
Creative Team
AMBRE SHONEFF
RYAN PEREZ ADAME
GRAHAM SOBELMAN
MARTIN FLYNN
CARY BABKA
AUDREY WALKER
TRICIA TECSON
MIKE RUIZ
AUDREY DI PAOLO
MACIE UTILE
NATASHA LARSON-SWENSON
CALEB BEADLES
GIGI LEWKOWITZ
SARAH EDWARDS
MIA DANIELS
MIKEY VAUGHN
MICHAELLA REYES
TAIYU OU
LILLY KISNER
CAMERON MATTHEWS
HAILEY MCCAIN
MADELINE NICKEL
NICHOLAS SEEL
JAYASON TOWNES
STEVEN BAILS
ALANA MOSLEY
SAVANNA STUPEFERT
Meet the Company
ANISSA RODRIGUEZ
Embarking on an exciting new journey, Anissa makes their stage debut in this thrilling CRC production. Although new to the stage, they have dedicated countless hours behind the scenes refining their abilities as well as showing persistent commitment to learning and growing in the world of theatre. Anissa is eager to take this next step in their career bringing their energy and enthusiasm to a new playing field.
AVALON BARTH
Avalon has been involved in theatre for 3 1/2 years, starting in highschool. Her most notable performances would be FLY BY NIGHT, ALMOST, MAINE, and LEGALLY BLONDE where she played Paulette. Most recently, Avalon played Mrs. Millennium in URINETOWN THE MUSICAL here at River Stage. Avalon takes pride in expressing herself through her acting in theatre but has always been interested in costume design. Her main goal is to broaden her acting range and experiment with more shows and different styles of characters.
CAMERON MATTHEWS
Cameron is excited to be a part of his first theatre production at Cosumnes River College-River Stage. He has participated in a ton of plays in when he was in school. These included Gomez Addams in THE ADDAMS FAMILY, Bloat in FINDING NEMO, JR., Stefan Livingston in A FAMILY REUNION TO DIE FOR, and Young Simba in THE LION KING, JR. He's even been in tech crew for this school's production of URINETOWN THE MUSICAL in the fall. Cameron is excited to get to know all of the people he will work with in the cast. This will be a great show!
CANDY LEMUS
Candy began her acting journey as far back as she can remember and has taken apart of many creative projects. She is passionate and excited about taking part of ORLANDO which is now her second college production after ELECTRICIDAD, also here at River Stage. She is very grateful for everyone involved and those who have given her the opportunity to continuously grow as an actor and embracing diverse roles that challenge her range. Off stage Candy enjoys traveling and exploring new places, as well as experimenting with fashion and style.
CASS EGGLESTON
This Cass' second play ever after doing tech for many, many years. Cass is excited to continue their education/love for theater. Theater will always have a place in their heart especially their first play, CHICAGO, which was very fun. Cass tends to go for musicals a lot and loves musicals more than most.
ELFIE MARCEWICZ
Elfie is a mortuary science major with a lifelong passion for acting. She’s been involved in many productions at River Stage (ASSASSINS, ELECTRICIDAD, ANTIGONE, PLAY IT STRAIGHT, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST) and hopes to continue her acting journey in the future.
EMMA ROSE WEHRLI
Emma Rose Wehrli is a 24 year old actress. This is her second show back after a 5 year long hiatus, as well as her second show here at River Stage. Her most recent performance being as Josephine "Ma" Strong in URINETOWN THE MUSICAL. ORLANDO is her first straight play after her hiatus. Her love for theater is deeply inspiring to her, as she has been immersed in the world for the bulk of her life. She is so excited to test her abilities by playing the seductive, deceitful Russian princess Sasha.
HAYLI CRANDALL
Hayli is a Theatre Major at CRC and auditioned for their first show at Elk Grove High school where they were in the shows FLY BY NIGHT and LEGALLY BLONDE. They attended California State Summer School of the arts theatre program in 2024 were they learned about the creative process of Theatre. They are looking forward to learning more about theatre at CRC and pursue their passion for performing arts. Hayli recently appeared as Robby the Stockfish in URINETOWN THE MUSICAL.
JAELYNN CARR
Jaelynn is a dedicated thespian based in Sacramento. With a passion for storytelling, and dedication to their craft, they have appeared in a variety of roles ranging from Lorraine in ALL SHOOK UP to Henrietta in HONK, with her most recent performance as Hope Caldwell in River Stage's URINETOWN THE MUSICAL. She is diving into the world of straight plays, with ORLANDO being her first, after solely performing in Musicals for seven years. She is so excited to continue her acting journey with Cosumnes River College.
JAYDEN WYNN
Jayden is an international man of mystery, vegan chef, amateur pilot, and is on the FBI's most wanted list for his criminally radiant personality. He speaks more than a dozen languages and moonlights as a cabaret singer under the stage name "Wynn-ie the Pooh" and is considered the leading interpreter of the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber in the greater Stockton region. His upcoming album "I Forgot to Submit a Bio" from the label MY PROFESSOR WROTE THIS drops March 7th and was produced by Ryan Perez Adame.
MARAJADE SAPP
MaraJade has been acting for 12 years with this being her first show at River Stage. She is a sophomore at Sac State with a passion for musical theatre and dramatic acting.
PURJON BICKHAM
Purjon Bickham is a current student at Consumnes River College where he formerly appeared as Senator Fipp in URINETOWN THE MUSICAL and Dr. Chasuble in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. Additional past performances include THE BREAKFAST CLUB, THE OUTSIDERS, CLUE, and SURE THING at the Lenaea Festival with Valley High School. He is thankful as well as thrilled to be a part of ORLANDO.
TAYLOR BRENNAN-MACIEL
Taylor Brennan-Maciel is a current Cosumnes River College student who is very invested in the field of theatre, and her debut production ORLANDO. She has worked on the tech crew of two previous productions, such as PLAY IT STRAIGHT and the student one-act playfest SHORTAGE. She’s very excited to be able to perform on stage in front of an audience for the first time
AMBRE SHONEFF
Professor Shoneff has felt so blessed to work with and get to know the CRC students and community members in this her second semester at Cosumnes and show at River Stage! Ambre is a graduate of Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) and The Ohio State University, with a background in performance, pedagogy, devising and movement. She especially would like to thank her co-director Ryan Perez Adame for showing her the ropes at CRC and for another exciting collaboration. Ambre’s next directorial project is Story Explorers: A Musical Experience for children with Autism & Other Special Needs, part of CRC’s Children’s Theatre relaunch this Spring.
RYAN PEREZ ADAME
Ryan is a theater and visual artist who has taught and performed in schools and theaters in L.A. and Sacramento for 25 years. Acting credits include: the California premier of THE HOMBRES (Julián) at Capital Stage, DURANGO 66 with Mexico City-based company Teatro Línea de Sombra at REDCAT, DAVID LANG: CROWD OUT at Disney Concert Hall/L.A. Philharmonic, ANTIGONE (Kreon) at the Walt Disney Modular Theater, HEDDA GABLER (Brack) at Studio 407, THE CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS (Sparrow) at B Street Theatre, THE FANTASTICKS (El Gallo), OKLAHOMA! (Ali Hakim), THE DROWSY CHAPERONE (Aldolpho), THE MUSIC MAN (Harold Hill), and THE PRODUCERS (Roger DeBris). TV: THE MELS. Directorial credits include: the original work CASULATIES OF WAR (Hollywood Fringe Festival), THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, ELECTRICIDAD, ASSASSINS, and URINETOWN THE MUSICAL (all at River Stage), CHICAGO, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, NUNSENSE, and THE DROWSY CHAPERONE. He is the co-founder of “The Pinkys”, an all-BIPOC performance collective whose work WITNESS THE YELLOW PERIL premiered at the Son of Semele and Hollywood Fringe Festivals in L.A. and was selected for the Edmonton Fringe Festival in Canada. He earned his BA from UC Davis, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California, and his Master of Fine Arts in Acting from the California Institute of the Arts. Ryan is an Affiliate Artist at Emory University as well as an Adjunct Professor of Theatre Arts and the PRIDE Center Faculty Coordinator here at Cosumnes River College. He is a proud member of Actors’ Equity, SAG/AFTRA, and LRCFT.
GRAHAM SOBELMAN
Graham Sobelman is a music director, pianist, and composer residing in Northern California. His music direction credits include Forbidden Broadway, I Love You, You’re Perfect, ...Now Change (Broadway Sacramento); 35mm, Songs for an Unmade Bed, Passion, Tell Me On A Sunday, Little Fish, Celebration, It’s Only Life, tick, tick…BOOM!, They’re Playing Our Song, [title of show] (New Helvetia Theatre); Tell Me On A Sunday (Ensemble Theatre Company), Ruthless, A Christmas Carol (Sacramento Theatre Company); Mr. Burns, Pippin, Flora The Red Menace, & The Who’s Tommy (UC Davis); john & jen (Hillbarn Theatre); A New Brain (Cosumnes River College); Pippin, Hair, The Who's Tommy (Folsom Lake College).
Graham also conducted Gregg Coffin’s rightnextto me at B Street Theatre and has worked with children’s programs at Music Circus since 2000. He enjoys accompanying master classes and has had the honor of playing for Jonathan Groff, Sutton Foster, Megan Hilty, Laura Bell Bundy, Rachel Bay Jones, Betsy Wolfe, Natalie Weiss, Jessica Phillips, Rory O'Malley, Jared Gertner, Stafford Arima, & many others. He started local cabaret series Graham-A-Rama in 2009 & has released (with Maggie Hollinbeck) Another Shade of Blue (covering the entirety of Joni Mitchell’s 1971 masterpiece, Blue) and Jane Kenyon Sessions: Volumes One, Two, Three, & Four (consisting of poems by Jane Kenyon that Graham musicalized for Maggie). Graham also composed songs with lyricist Emily Melander and released an EP of those five songs called Reach (featuring vocalists Omari Tau, Dani Hansen, & Maggie Hollinbeck). Other recordings include This Is Ain't Betty (featuring original music he co-wrote with Meleva Steiert) and A Sunday Polaroid (featuring Nanci Zoppi and cellist Tim Stanley performing songs from the musical Tell Me on a Sunday).
Additionally, as a composer, Graham has written Love Is Eternal (a song-cycle with British lyricist David Kent), a trio of choral pieces premiered by Sacramento choral ensemble RSVP (A Dozen Fires Alight) with lyricist Omari Tau, & many other art songs using the poems of Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, William Shakespeare, and others. He has also written underscoring for A Tale of Two Cities and Orlando for SacImpulse Theatre and the score for short film, Lily. He was commissioned in 2012 to write a piece for the Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus - "Voices Carry."
Songs From Eagle Pond (featuring Graham's compositions using poetry by Jane Kenyon and Donald Hall) had its first concert reading in Andover, NH in October 2022.
Graham completed his BA in Cultural Anthropology and an MA in Spanish. He is avid soccer player. He and his husband are raising a Bernese Mountain Dog named Henry.
MARTIN FLYNN
Martin Flynn, Professor of Technical Theatre, has been teaching at CRC since 2017. Martin has designed scenery for over 150 productions, mainly in Northern California, for theatre companies such as American Conservatory Theater, Broadway at Music Circus, Capital Stage, Berkeley Playhouse, Shotgun Players, Town Hall Theatre, TheatreFIRST, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, and over 40 shows for Bay Area Children's Theatre where he was the resident scenic designer. In the academic world, Martin has designed for U.C. Berkeley, U.C. Davis, Montclair State University, Chabot College, Napa Valley College and Cosumnes River College. Martin's design for PICASSO AT THE LAPINE AGILE at Town Hall Theatre won a Shellie Award for Outstanding Scenic Design. His work has been nominated 3 times for the Theatre Bay Area Awards, 5 times for the Shellie Awards, and 4 times for Elly Awards. From 2007-2010 Martin was the Scenic Design Associate at American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Some of his favorite experiences were assisting Tony Award winning director John Doyle on SWEENEY TODD and THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE and designing the world premiere of Lauren Gunderson's FIREWORK, directed by the amazing Mina Morita, at TheatreFIRST in Berkeley.
CARY BABKA
Cary made his stage debut in 1st grade, playing the Wizard in THE WIZARD OF OZ behind a cardboard palace wall. He’s still interested in wizardry, but now it tends to run on A/C current or RF mic packs…. He is an Adjunct here at Cosumnes River College, where he teaches theatre and film, while designing and occasionally still busting out the top hat and handlebar moustache to act in shows around the Sacramento area.
AUDREY WALKER
TRICIA TECSON
MIKE RUIZ
AUDREY DI PAOLO
MACIE UTILE
NATASHA LARSON-SWENSON
CALEB BEADLES
GIGI LEWKOWITZ
SARAH EDWARDS
MIA DANIELS
MIKEY VAUGHN
MICHAELLA REYES
TAIYU OU
LILLY KISNER
CAMERON MATTHEWS
HAILEY MCCAIN
MADELINE NICKEL
NICHOLAS SEEL
JAYASON TOWNES
STEVEN BAILS
ALANA MOSLEY
SAVANNA STUPEFERT
Our 2024-25 Season: The Time Is Now
WATER BY THE SPOONFUL
April 25-May 4, 2025
By QUIARA ALEGRÍA HUDES
Directed by ANTHONY D'JUAN
In the 2012 Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama, the past is always present for a young veteran who comes home to the ghosts of war and his mother’s addiction.
WATER BY THE SPOONFUL is the second part of the ELLIOT TRIOLOGY, a three play collection tracing three generations of a Latino family. The first part, ELLIOT, A SOLDIER'S FUGUE was also a nominee for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007; the final installment, THE HAPPIEST SONG PLAYS LAST premiered in 2013.
TWELFTH NIGHT
July 18-August 3, 2025
Presented in community with the Cosumnes Community Services District under the stars at Laguna Town Hall in Elk Grove
($10 General Admission)
By WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
A shipwreck, a love triangle, mistaken identity, a Fool (and a whole lot of foolishness) collide in one of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies and most beloved works.
Sponsors
