2016-2017 Season
“Permanent Collection”
By Thomas Gibbons
February 9, 2017 - March 4, 2017
At the West Campus of A.S.U., Second Stage West
9, 10, 11 at 7:30 pm
Feb. 12 at 3 pm
At Herberger, Kax Stage
Feb. 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, March 2, 3, 4 at 8 pm
Feb. 19, 26 at 2 pm
Premiered February/March 2017
Presented by iTheatre Collaborative
Soon after African-American businessman Sterling North becomes the new director of the Morris Foundation, he discovers that this world-famous art collection includes several significant African sculptures tucked away in storage. His proposal to add them to the public galleries is opposed by the foundation's long-time education director, who is loyal to the idiosyncratic wishes of the late Dr. Morris. Spurred on by a zealous local journalist, this clash quickly escalates to public accusations of racism and a bitter struggle for control of the collection. “Permanent Collection” is a searing examination of racial politics that ultimately asks how much space -- literally and figuratively -- the white world gives to African-Americans. What is the cost of failing to view the world through another's eyes?
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Cast (Alphabetically)
T.A. Burrows
as Sterling North
T.A. is making his third appearance at iTheater, having previously been in Love Disorder and The Exonerated. He’s been active in valley theater for 15 years and is a four-time AriZoni award winner. He’s appeared in such shows as A Few Good Men, Driving Miss Daisy,Guys and Dolls, Damn Yankees, Annie Get Your Gun, and Purlie. In addition to being an actor, he’s a professional vocalist and the owner/executive producer of Act Two Productions. T.A. thanks Charles and Chris for the opportunity to be part of this timely play, and he thanks God for his talents and the opportunities he’s had to share them.
Bill Chameides
as Paul Barrow
Bill a newly minted resident of the Grand Canyon State, is thrilled to be walking the boards at iTC for the first time. New York theater credits include the Off-Off-Broadway productions of As You Like It (Dukes Frederick and Senior), Rough Draft (Author) and Twelve Angry Jurors (Juror #4). Regional theater credits include: Copenhagen (Niels Bohr), The Skin of Our Teeth (Antrobus), Much Ado About Nothing (Balthasar), An Inspector Calls (Birling), Love Letters (Alan M. Ladd III), and Peachtree Battle (Sherwood), the longest running show in Atlanta's theatrical history. Movie credits include: Trois: The Escort and The Sugar Creek Gang. You can view his videos on sustainability and the environment at TheGreenGrok.com. Bill holds a Ph.D. from Yale University and trained at the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute.
Mitch Etter
as Alfred Morris
Mitch is pleased to be a part of this production. He is an experienced film and commercial actor with an extensive stage history including Vinnie in The Odd Couple, Charlie in Death of A Salesman, Justice Wargrave in And Then There Were None (DST), Howard in Picnic (DFT) and Lord Capulet in Romeo and Juliet (The Story Is Theatre). He won an ariZoni Award as Robert in Proof for Stagedoor Players. Thanks to the cast, crew and iTheatre staff for this great experience.
De Angelus Grisby
as Ella Franklin
De Angelus is happy to return to the iTheatre Collaborative stage for the third time with this production. She was in Passing Strange and The Colored Museum . Ms Grisby is currently working on a one woman show and several screenplays. De Angelus is looking forward to greater opportunities in theatre and film. She always wants to thank God for the gift, her sons Roman and Elijah for allowing their mother to grow. A very special thank you for Charles St. Clair for this chance. #actsingdanceoutloud
Ryan L. Jenkins
as Kanika
Ryan L. is excited to be working with iTheatre Collaborative and making her ASU/Herberger debut! Her Arizona credits include Stray Cat Theatre’s world premiere of Anything You Hear and Only Half of What You See (Jackie), C*CK (W) with Nearly Naked Theatre, and Bloom/Views (Ensemble) with Last Line Theatre. She is also a member of The Murder Mystery Company. Before she moved to Arizona, she received her BFA in acting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2014. Previous credits include Around the World in 80 Days (Aouda), O Beautiful (Sondra), The Tempest (Ariel), Lady Macbeth: A Kabuki Play (Koken), and Dracula (Nurse Grice). When she’s not surprising people who don’t know Ryan is a unisex name, she enjoys studying Japanese and Mandarin Chinese and exploring the city of Phoenix in her (ever decreasing) spare time.
Carrie Ellen Jones
as Gillian Crane
Carrie Ellen is delighted to be experiencing her first iTC project with such an important script and amazing cast. While it is her first time on the ASU West stage she is enjoying a return to the Kax theatre where she was part of Class 6's inaugural season in 2010 (Sure Thing). A few of Carrie's favorite credits include Sister Rita (Runner Stumbles), Ann (All My Sons), Mollie (Mousetrap), Kat (Mom's Gift) and Sally (Talley's Folly). While her work on stage has garnished Carrie multiple ariZoni nominations and provided wonderful opportunities to grow in the art of theatre, it is her real-life roles that keep her busiest and most proud – wife of Shawn, mom to four, kindergarten teacher, auntie, daughter, sister and friend. She thanks Charles and Chris for this great opportunity and dedicates these performances to her favorite artist, daughter – Makya.
Playwright
Thomas Gibbons
Thomas is playwright-in-residence at InterAct Theatre Company in Philadelphia, which has premiered nine of his plays: Pretending to America, 6221, Axis Sally, Black Russian, Bee-luther-hatchee, Permanent Collection, A House With No Walls, and Silverhill. His most recent play, Uncanny Valley, was a Continued Life of New Plays Fund selection; it premiered at Contemporary American Theater Festival in 2014 and in 2015 at InterAct, San Diego Rep, and Capital Stage (Sacramento) and is published by Dramatists Play Service. Other plays include The Exhibition and Homer. His plays have also been seen at the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, off-off-Broadway at Blue Heron Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Florida Stage, Unicorn Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, New Repertory Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Center Stage, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, Kirk Douglas Theatre/Center Theater Group, Aurora Theatre, Madison Repertory Theatre, Roundhouse Theatre, and many others. He is the recipient of seven playwriting fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Roger L. Stevens Award from The Fund for New American Plays, the Barrie and Bernice Stavis Playwriting Award, the NAACP Theatre Award, two Barrymore Awards for Outstanding New Play, and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts. Permanent Collection was the pilot selection of the National New Play Network’s Continued Life of New Plays Fund, and A House With No Walls was a subsequent selection. Both plays, along with Bee-luther-hatchee, are published by Playscripts.
Creative Team (Alphabetically)
Elizabeth Broeder
Sound and Media Design, Dramaturg
Elizabeth is so happy to be working with iTheatre Collaborative this season. She is an interdisciplinary artist who has been artistic associate with iTheatre since 2017. Her recent iTheatre productions include Kunstler (sound design), Frost/Nixon (stage management/sound design) and Actually (acting/sound design). She is a Core Member of Southwest Shakespeare Company and a dance instructor/choreographer with Phoenix Country Day School and Prima Dance Arizona. She sends all of her love and gratitude to dad, mom, Sarah, Charles, Chris & Rosie, John, Johnny and Jake.
Rosemary Close
Costume Design, Producer
Rosemary has been involved in theater in the Valley for over thirty years. Her work dates back as far as the Arizona Contemporary Theater Company, Northwest Studios and the Glendale Little Theater to name a few oldies. Her onstage credits include: Frozen, Harvey, Chapter Two, Barefoot in the Park, Cabaret, The Balcony, The Way We Live Now, Royal Gambit, Loves Scenes from Romeo and Juliet, Reel to Real, The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, The Maids, Skimpies and The Bad Seed. Her recent directing credits include: last season’s Velocity of Autumn and Hughie, previous season’s Grounded and An Almost Holy Picture. In 1991, Rosemary began her longtime association with the New York theater company, Mabou Mines. She appeared in numerous productions with that company both in Phoenix and New York. The highlight of that work with Mabou Mines was a leading role in the multimedia stage production, Wrath of Kali, directed by the award winning and acclaimed, Lee Breuer. Currently, she is the Managing Director for iTheatre Collaborative and is proud to be a part of the impact iTheatre has made in the Phoenix downtown community.
Christopher Haines
Scenic Design, Producer
Christopher is a theater veteran with over thirty years of experience as an actor, producer, stage manager, writer, director and designer. He graduated in 1991 from Duke University and in 2016 from Arizona State. Directing credits include: (for iTheatre) White Guy on the Bus, A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay about the Death of Walt Disney, A Bad Friend, The Fish Must Die, Molly Sweeney, and Cat’s Paw. As a designer his work includes: Topdog/Underdog, A Raisin in the Sun, Gunplay, Peter Pan and Wendy, The Wizard of Oz, The Colored Museum, The House of Bernarda Alba, and Horn in the West, a 1500-seat outdoor amphitheater in Boone, N.C. In 1994, Mr. Haines collaborated with the internationally acclaimed director, Lee Breuer (founder of Mabou Mines), on his project Wrath of Kali, as the Director of Videography, both in its debut in Phoenix, AZ and in New York. Other design work in video, photography and media includes; the Daniel Lentz Group's “A Crack in the Bell,” such plays as Jack, Reel to Real, Romeo and Juliet, Sweet Thunder, Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope, and he has worked as the Director of Photography on the feature films Wake of the Hero and Means of Escape and was the production designer for the independent film Hack. In 2002 he co-founded iTheatre Collaborative. His work at iTheatre has garnered national attention and recognition with invited performances at the National Black Theater Festival in Winston-Salem, N.C., the Black Arts Movement Festival in Austin, TX and the Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Valdez, AK. For iTheatre he has produced well-over sixty productions in the Valley with numerous regional and world premieres.
Kalley Mattheisen
Production Stage Manager
Kalley is an artist with multiple years of experience in a variety of areas including theatre, creative writing, photography, dance, and film. Her Stage Manager credits include Veronica’s Room, Passing Strange, Hostages, and now Permanent Collection. Also, for iTheatre she was the lighting designer for Velocity of Autumn. When Kailey is not in the theatre she can be found managing the City of Chandler swimming pools where she has worked for the past 9 years. She would like to thank Charles, Chris, Rosie, and Mercedes for sharing their knowledge of the theatre to help her pursue her passion. She would also like to thank all her family and friends who help support and encourage her every day.
Hussein Mohamed
Lighting Design
Hussein is a senior at Arizona State University majoring in Interdisciplinary Arts and Performance. He has been the lighting technician for recent shows like Passing Strange, four installments of "Second Stage: One Acts," and many others in the past two years. He would like to thank the rest of the production team for making this a spectacular show.
Charles St. Clair
DIrector
Charles is an interdisciplinary artist with over 400 major productions to his credit in theatre, lm and video. Some directing credits include: By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, Race, Indivisible, August in April, TopDog/UnderDog, Death and the Maiden, The 36th, Underneath the Lintel, Venus, Bee-Luther-Hatchee, The Piano Lesson, A Raisin in the Sun, Mozart’s Opera The Marriage of Figaro, The Impresario, as well as The Three Penny Opera, Faust, Tosca, La Traviata, Carmen and the ve- time ariZoni award winning production of Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. Mr. St. Clair was Resident Equity Stage Manager for Burt Reynolds’ Theatre in Jupiter, FL, the Ruth Foreman Theatre in Miami, FL and the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival. He has been a technical director and production manager for over 300 productions and events, including the Closing Ceremonies of the Winter Special Olympics, the Orange and Sun Bowl half time productions and tours to Europe, China, India and the Middle East. He has also had the opportunity of lighting such well-known performers as Liza Minnelli, Barbara Mandrell, Pia Zadora, Alabama, Harry Belafonte and tours of the Broadway shows A Chorus Line, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Into My Parlor, I’m Not Rapport and Arsenic and Old Lace. Mr. St. Clair presently serves on the faculty of Arizona State University at the West campus where he teaches Acting and Directing and serves as the Technical Director for the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies in the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences.