Native Son - The American Century Theater

About The American Century Theater
The American Century Theater was founded in 1994. We are a professional
nonprofit theater company dedicated to presenting great, important, and
worthy American plays of the twentieth century—what Henry Luce called “the
American Century.”
The company’s mission is one of rediscovery, enlightenment, and perspective, not
nostalgia or preservation. Americans must not lose the extraordinary vision and
wisdom of past playwrights, nor can we afford to surrender the moorings to our
shared cultural heritage.
Our mission is also driven by a conviction that communities need theater, and
theater needs audiences. To those ends, this company is committed to producing
plays that challenge and move all Americans, of all ages, origins, and points of
view. In particular, we strive to create theatrical experiences that entire families
can watch, enjoy, and discuss long afterward.
The American Century Theater Board of Directors and Staff
Chair
Vice-Chair/Secretary
Treasurer
Board
Jack Marshall
Steven Scott Mazzola
Rhonda Hill
Rebecca Hunger
Yvonne Hudson
Jason Beagle
Rip Claassen
Brian Crane
Deborah Rinn Critzer
Karen Currie
Ellen Dempsey
Kate Dorrell
Tom Fuller
Sherri Haddad
Ginny Tarris
Robert McElwaine
Wendy Kenney
Steven Scott Mazzola
Ann Marie Plubell
Richard Barton, Elizabeth Borgen, Rebecca Christy,
Kimberly Ginn, Vivian Kallen, Peri Mahaley,
Jack Marshall, Loren Platzman
CEO and Artistic Director
Associate Artistic Director
Production Projects Coordinator
Director of Operations
Marketing and Publicity Director
Volunteer Manager
Outreach Manager
Communications Manager
Volunteer Manager
Production Associate/Inventory Control
Controller
Publications Manager
General Counsel/Resident Musical Director
Director of Outreach and Volunteers
Director of Development
Resident Playwright
Native Son is funded in part by Arlington County through the Cultural Affairs
Division of the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources and the
Arlington Commission for the Arts.
This arts event is made possible in part by the Virginia Commission on the Arts and
the National Endowment for the Arts.
The American Century Theater
presents
by Paul Green and Richard Wright
April 14–May 9, 2009
Gunston Theatre II
2700 South Lang Street • Arlington, Virginia
Director
Bob Bartlett
Stage Manager
Jared Shamberger
Sound Designer
Ed Moser
Hair and Makeup
Designer
Jen Durham
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.
Technical Director/
Set Designer
Michael Null
Lighting Designer
Andrew F. Griffin
Fight Choreographer
Lex Davis
Co–Producers
Rip Claassen and Sherri Haddad
Setting
The Black Belt of Chicago, mainly—1939–1940
Native Son will be presented without an intermission.
Master Carpenter
Trena Weiss–Null
Costume Designer
Rachel Morrissey
Properties Designer
Kate Dorrell
Scenes
The Thomas one-room apartment, an early midwinter morning
A street in front of Ernie’s Kitchen Shack, later the same day
The Dalton breakfast room, a few hours later
Mary Dalton’s bedroom, late the same night
The Dalton breakfast room, the following morning
The kitchenette apartment of Clara Mears, evening of same day
The basement of the Dalton home, the next afternoon
A room in a ruined apartment house, night, a day later
A hearing room in the City Courthouse, some days later
The Courtroom, a week later
The death cell, some days later
There will be a post-show discussion after every performance of Native Son.
Native Son is produced by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
Please—Silence cell phones and other noise producing devices.
The use of recording equipment and the taking of photographs
during the performance are strictly prohibited.

Cast (in order of appearance)
Bigger Thomas .............................................................................. JaBen A. Early
Hannah Thomas ........................................................................... Reneé Charlow
Vera Thomas .................................................................................... Iman Hassen
Buddy Thomas ............................................................................ Kalon Hayward
Miss Emmet/Stenographer ............................................................ Megan Graves
Jack Henson ............................................................................... Mark McKinnon
Clara Mears ....................................................................................... Farah Lawal
Gus Mitchell ............................................................................. Jivon Lee Jackson
“G.H.” Rankin .......................................................................... Jared Shamberger
Ernie Jones/Reverend Hammond .......................................... Paul Andrew Morton
Henry G. Dalton ................................................................................. Mick Tinder
Jeff Britten ........................................................................... Bruce Alan Rauscher
Peggy MacAulife ......................................................................... Christine Hirrel
Ellen Dalton ................................................................................... Danni Stewart
Mary Dalton ................................................................................. Julie Roundtree
Jan Erlone ......................................................................................... Evan Crump
Jed Norris ....................................................................................... Brian Razzino
Edward Max ..................................................................................... Bud Stringer
David A. Buckley .......................................................................... John Geoffrion
Judge Alvin C. Hanley ................................................................... Rob Weinzimer
Production staff
Co-Producers ........................................................... Rip Claassen, Sherri Haddad
Director ............................................................................................ Bob Bartlett
Stage Manager .......................................................................... Jared Shamberger
Assistant Stage Managers ............. Frances Burnett, Nicole Carter, David Olmsted
Technical Director/Set Designer ....................................................... Michael Null
Master Carpenter ...................................................................... Trena Weiss–Null
Sound Designer ..................................................................................... Ed Moser
Lighting Designer ...................................................................... Andrew F. Griffin
Costume Designer .................................................................... Rachel Morrissey
Hair and Makeup Designer .................................................................. Jen Durham
Fight Choreographer ............................................................................ Lex Davis
Properties Designer ........................................................................... Kate Dorrell
Program and Graphics ............................................................... Michael Sherman
Special thanks to—
Our fascinating April 5th telesymposium panelists:
Hazel Rowley, Professor Lawrence Avery, and Professor Arnold Rampersad
The Arlington County Costume Shop
Bowie State University
The Catholic University of America
The Clarice Smith Performing Arts
Center at the University of Maryland
George C. Marshall High School
Bob Greenwood, Redwolf Taxidermy
Robb Hunter, Preferred Arms
Micah Hutz, Photographer
The Little Theatre of Alexandria
Olney Theatre Company
The Shakespeare Theatre Company
Venus Theatre Company
Lexi Haddad and Richard Yingling
for load in assistance
Artistic Director’s Notes
Native Son (1941) by Paul Green and Richard Wright
Native Son, the 1940 Richard Wright novel, is an American classic, frequently
assigned in high school and college, and undeniably secure as one of the books that
educated people will always want to read and think about. Native Son, the 1941
play based on the novel, is barely remembered, seldom performed, and survives
primary as a historical and theatrical footnote. Why?
One might assume that the reason is that the play was an unsuccessful adaptation
of the novel, but that is far from the case. As Hazel Rowley notes in her essay,
“Backstage and Onstage: The Drama of Native Son,” the critical reaction was
overwhelmingly positive:
Brooks Atkinson, in the New York Times called it “the biggest American
drama of the season.” This was “theatre that tingles with life.” According
to the New York World Telegram: “It proves . . . that Orson Welles, whether
you like to admit it or not, is no boy wonder but actually the greatest
theatrical director of the modern stage.” Canada Lee [who played the
protagonist, Bigger Thomas] was unanimously hailed as a brilliant new
discovery. Eslanda Robeson said that even her husband, Paul Robeson,
could not have performed better than Lee did. Several reviewers billed
Native Son the season’s best play. There were murmurs about the Pulitzer
Prize for drama.
Add to the critical favor the fact that Welles was the hottest commodity on
Broadway, and you have all the ingredients of a runaway hit. Well, almost all. Had
Native Son been about the Von Trapp family rather than an unsympathetic African
American criminal, then it would have had all the ingredients.
There, sadly, lies the dilemma. Serious, uncompromising novels of ideas can
become indispensable teaching tools and sources of intellectual enlightenment. But
serious, uncompromising plays, even about exactly the same characters and ideas,
almost never become commercially reliable, and contemporary theater companies
usually shy away from producing them, especially when they are about race. It is
one thing to try to attract black and white audiences to an uplifting drama about
appealing African American characters, like Raisin in the Sun. But the wonderful
thing about a book that attacks your world view and batters your optimism and
self-esteem is that you can stop reading at any time and watch a rerun of Friends,
an episode of The Amazing Race, or the DVD of an Adam Sandler movie. Tough
plays can be relentless, and while the ancient Greek audiences may have enjoyed
getting emotionally battered by life’s verities, the majority of modern American
audiences want escape. Native Son is not about escape. Indeed, its message may be
that there is no escape.
Orson Welles understood this in the first production of Native Son, ignoring, as
usual for him, Aristotle’s assertion that spectacle was the least important feature of
drama and attaching every bell and whistle he could dream up to the show—and
no one could dream up bells and whistles like Welles. In one memorable episode,
he kept adding more and more lights to the play’s design until their weight
pulled down part of the theater ceiling during a tech rehearsal. A few critics even
wondered in print whether Wright’s story was well served by such flamboyant

presentation. It wouldn’t have been the first time Orson Welles’ ambitious concepts
undermined a script: by most accounts, his famous production of The Cradle Will
Rock was insanely burdened by gimmicks, effects, and set pieces, and was only
saved when a court order forced the cast to perform opening night without set,
costumes, theatrical lighting, or even a stage. But most observers felt that in Native
Son, Welles’ flamboyant presentation was an asset, not a detriment.
Even with its visual and auditory magic tricks, its rave reviews, the epic
performance of star Canada Lee, and the kind of controversy that warms the
cockles of any producer’s heart (the show was picketed by both the Urban League
and the Communist Party), Native Son achieved only moderate box office success.
Like Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal, another terrific, hard-edged social protest play
that frightens off more audiences than it attracts, Native Son the play ended up in
the script file labeled “too hot to handle,” as companies opted instead to mount
shows like its 1941 Broadway competition, Arsenic and Old Lace. As tough as
Wright’s novel is, live theater makes it seem tougher, more personal, closer, and
harder to forget. The same features that make Native Son a remarkable play all but
ensured its obscurity.
Director’s Notes
Jack Marshall, Artistic Director
It was as if that great rush of anger had washed me clean, emptied me of
hope, and, gazing up at the dark sky spangled with its signs and stars, for
the first time, the first, I laid my heart open to the benign indifference of the
universe. To feel it so like myself, indeed, so brotherly, made me realize that
I’d been happy, and that I was happy still. For all to be accomplished, for
me to feel less lonely, all that remained to hope was that on the day of my
execution there should be a huge crowd of spectators and that they should
greet me with howls of execration.
—Albert Camus in The Stranger
translated from the French by Stuart Gilbert, 1942
More than 25 years after first reading Wright’s novel, I find myself searching for
what it has to say to us today. From its meager beginnings—sheared to nothing
more than a salacious detective story and book-of-the-month club sensation to
Orson Welles’ famed Mercury Theatre production to its overdue 1991 literary
restoration—Native Son continues to haunt America’s struggle to make sense of
its racist history. The problem? America’s worst fear—Bigger Thomas, a man who
refuses to accept his condition, who unearths freedom by the basest of means, an
accidental dissenter who Wright declares “will not become an ardent, or even a
lukewarm, supporter of the status quo.” Wright bequeaths America an anti-hero
who responds to horror with horror, an unapologetic and arguably reckless creation,
incapable of advancing the cause of racial and economic equality.
As I approached directing Native Son, I considered, among many things, how as a
species we respond to entrapment. Do we tremble in fear like a cornered rat? Do
we run? Do we submit to our maddening fate, trying our best to comprehend it?
Or do we fight back—lash out and strike everything within our furious reach?
Bob Bartlett, Director
The Company
Reneé Charlow (Hannah Thomas) has appeared as Sonya in Sassy Sonya’s
24-Karat Gold Revue (a writing/directing commission from Maryland–National
Capital Parks), Georgia in Exonerated, Louise in Waiting To Be Invited, Ruth in
A Raisin in the Sun, and Calonice in Lysistrata. Her last TACT role was Lily in
Porgy. TV/film: HBO’s The Wire, Hannibal, and Bones. Directing credits: A Raisin
in the Sun, Indigos, Short Stack, Antigone, and A Tribute to August Wilson. Reneé
is an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Bowie State University.
Evan Crump (Jan Erlone) has performed Talbott in The Other Room (Kennedy
Center), Yepikhodov in Cherry Orchard (WSC), and Richard Miller in Ah,
Wilderness! (TACT). His first love is Shakespeare: favorite roles are King
Richard in Richard II, Orlando in As You Like It, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek in
Twelfth Night.
JaBen A. Early (Bigger Thomas) appeared onstage most recently in The Death of
Bessie Smith at Liberty Free Theatre. He produced, as well as acted in, the just–
completed feature film by Streamline Filmworks, Money Matters. Other roles include
Alec in Spell Number Seven, Orestes, and several male roles in Marisol. JaBen
studied Drama at Morehouse College and holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence.
John Geoffrion (David A. Buckley) appeared with TACT as Simeon in Desire
Under the Elms. Other area credits include Gayev in The Cherry Orchard,
Graleo in Peace, Rochfort in Red Noses, Sydney in Kafka’s Dick, and Prince
Charles in Edward III (WSC); God #2 in Good Woman of Setzuan and multiple
roles in Arabian Nights (Constellation); John Houseman in War of the Worlds
(Scena); Winston in 1984 (Meat & Potato Theatre); and Psychiatrist in Terrorism
(Studio Secondstage). John received his MFA in Acting from Catholic University
of America.
Megan Graves (Miss Emmet/Stenographer) returns to TACT after appearing as
Mary Skinner in Life With Father. Recent area credits include Hansel and Gretel,
The Importance of Being Earnest, Hamlet: Part II, Red vs. the Wolf, Father of the
Bride, A Christmas Carol, and To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday. Megan can also
be seen in a recurring role as storyteller at Hooray for Books! in Alexandria and is
pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in English and theatre.
Iman Hassen (Vera Thomas) last appeared in an area production of Museum. Other
performances include When Sex Isn’t Enuf!, Gabriela in References to Salvador
Dali Make Me Hot, Norma Jean in The Colored Museum, and Lady in Red/Lady in
Blue in For Colored Girls Who’ve Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf.
Iman assistant directed the film, A Month to Live. She participated in the V-Day
initiative, performing the Vagina Monologues. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts from
Virginia Tech.
Abbreviations for area theatres—
LTA, Little Theatre of Alexandria
TACT, The American Century Theater
WSC, Washington Shakespeare Company

Kalon Hayward (Buddy Thomas) is honored to be in his first production with
TACT. He has been in many productions in the DC area, including A Streetcar
Named Desire, The Wiz, and Antigone.
Christine Hirrel (Peggy MacAulife) is returning to the stage after an eight-year
absence. Among her favorite credits are Little Red in The Universal Wolf, Storm in
Floating Rhoda, and Glueman with The Theatre Conspiracy. By day, Christine is a
speech-language pathologist, dialect coach, and acting teacher.
Jivon Lee Jackson (Gus Mitchell) is making his debut with TACT. He has
appeared in the DC area in Foul Line, Piano Lesson, Colorblind: The Katrina
Monologues, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and, most recently, as Sterling in Two
Trains Running. Jivon wrote and co-directed the award-winning short film, Shades
of Gray. He is a graduate of Howard University.
Farah Lawal (Clara Mears) was seen most recently in R/evolution: Deconstructing
the Myth of the Booty with her theatre collective, The Saartjie Project. Other credits
include Associate Clown in 500 Clown and the Elephant Deal and Lulu/Joanne
in How Much for This? in the Washington DC Source Festival. At University of
Maryland, Farah assistant directed To Be Young, Gifted, and Black; performed Spider
in Ash Girl, Matron Boll in The Physicists, Kid/Topsy in The Colored Museum, and
Sister Boxer in The Amen Corner; and earned a BA in Theatre Performance.
Mark McKinnon (Jack Henson) is a senior majoring in acting at Howard
University. His work includes roles in Day of Absence, West Side Story, Little
Women, Sexposé, Church Mafia, Love Forgotten, Making It Big and Chains.
This summer, he moves to Los Angeles to study acting with TVI Actors Studio.
Paul Andrew Morton (Ernie Jones/Reverend Hammond) has performed in
Fences, Once on this Island, The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White
Magnolia, Hair, The Taming of the Shrew, The Comedy of Errors, The Music
Man, Victor/Victoria, The Teahouse of the August Moon, A Christmas Carol, The
Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever, Intimate Apparel, The Crawlspace Waltz, The
Curious Savage and Romeo and Juliet. TV/film: HBO’s The Wire, Trapped by the
Mormons (film) and commercials and training videos. Paul is a three-time WATCH
award nominee.
Bruce Alan Rauscher (Jeff Britten) Favorite roles include Joseph Merrick in
The Elephant Man (ACT Best Actor Award), Alan Strang in Equus, Alan Turing
in Breaking the Code (ACT Best Actor Award), Edgar in King Lear, Gary/Roger
in Noises Off, Rev. Hale in The Crucible, Edward III, and Col. Chipman in The
Andersonville Trial (Helen Hayes Best Actor nominee). He has been honored with
a Mary Goldwater Award. Bruce recently completed a run off Broadway in The
Keegan Theatre’s Love, Peace and Robbery for the 1st Irish Play Festival.
Julie Roundtree (Mary Dalton) is working with TACT for the first time. Favorite
roles include: Ophelia (Maryland Shakespeare Festival), a Fury in The Oresteia
(Constellation Theatre), Cossette in Les Miserables (Sycamore Rouge), Maid
Marian in Robin Hood (Golden Duck Productions), and Honey Buhns in Murder
on the Mountain (Massanutten Mystery Theatre). Julie earned her BFA in
Theatrical Performance from Shorter College and MFA (Acting) through Mary
Baldwin College and the American Shakespeare Center.
Jared Shamberger (“G.H.” Rankin) is also Stage Manager for this production.
See his bio in the Production Staff pages.
Danni Stewart (Ellen Dalton) makes her first appearance at TACT. Area credits
include Dawn in Unamunda, Vicar’s Wife in Mystery at the Vicarage, Ruth in
Collected Stories, and performances in the Washington Revels and the British
Players Annual Music Hall. Danni holds a BFA in Acting from UCLA and has
trained at Studio Theatre Conservatory and Shakespeare Theatre’s Master Class.
Bud Stringer (Edward Max) returns to the stage after 20 years directing plays
and musicals and writing/producing for educational TV (PBS, MPT, and Prince
George’s Office of Television), earning a Cable Ace Award, a NY Film Festival
Silver Medal, and a Prism Commendation. Bud is Executive Director of the
Indian Head Cultural Center’s Black Box Theatre and teaches acting for Kids
International. He last appeared onstage as Harold Hill in The Music Man.
Mick Tinder (Henry G. Dalton) performed John Adams for the 200th time in
LTA’s 2008 Diamond Jubilee Season opener, 1776. He was featured in TACT’s
American Century Christmas and The Eccentricities of a Nightingale; has
performed Teddy in Faith Healer, Sagot in Picasso at the Lapin Agile, and
Finbar Mack, Jack Mullen, Nathan Detroit, John Proctor, Deputy Governor
Danforth, Lycus, Asher, Potiphar, and Paul Bratter in professional and community
productions and has directed, produced and stage managed throughout the DC area.
Rob Weinzimer (Judge Alvin C. Hanley) makes his TACT debut. He has
performed at Woolly Mammoth and Theater J in staged readings in collaboration
with the Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts and is a graduate of the Honors
Conservatory program at Theatre Lab.
Brian Razzino (Jed Norris) was seen recently as Hal in a WATCH-nominated
production of Picnic (LTA). He has performed for TACT in The Titans, Cops, and
Happy Birthday, Wanda June; at LTA as Dexter Haven in The Philadelphia Story,
and at WSC as Edward III. He completed the Theatre Lab Honors Conservatory,
where he played Iago, his favorite role. Brian also created Theatre Lab’s Arts Fund
for Child Health and Development, a scholarship program to train kids in the arts.

Production Staff
Bob Bartlett (Director) teaches theatre at Bowie State University where he has
recently directed Sizwe Bansi is Dead, Two Trains Running, and A Lesson Before
Dying. Other recent directing credits include: an O’Neill trifecta, Ah, Wilderness!
(for TACT), Long Day’s Journey into Night (Quotidian), and A Moon for the
Misbegotten (Colonial Players); regional premieres of Rounding Third, Matt &
Ben, and Colorblind: The Katrina Monologues (AccokeekCreek Theatreco);
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Quotidian), Streamers (Elden Street
Players), and The Piano Lesson (Colonial Players). Bob is in the MFA in
playwriting program at The Catholic University of America.
Frances Burnett (Assistant Stage Manager) is a graduate of Bowie State
University with a BS in Theatre. She has stage managed, directed, and performed
in The Samson Musical, Two Trains Running, A Raisin in the Sun, Susan Lori
Parks’ 365 Plays in 365 Days, Colorblind: The Katrina Monologues and
Absolutely Positive (promoting HIV prevention/awareness).
Nicole A. Carter (Assistant Stage Manager) is a senior theatre major at Bowie
State University. She has stage managed and performed in Two Trains Running (as
Risa), The Samson Musical, Bodywasher, Constellation, Colorblind: The Katrina
Monologues, Platinum, HIV Awareness Performance Troupe, AccokeekCreek’s
Short Stack series at the Kennedy Center’s Page-to-Stage Festivals, and other
shows.
Rip Claassen (Co-Producer), a fixture on the Washington theatre scene, is
Dramaturg at Backstage, Inc. and has taught theatre and acting at The Institute for
the Arts for Fairfax County Public Schools, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, and
other local programs. He has costumed for TACT and numerous other companies;
directed for Natural Theatricals among other venues; and coached students seeking
admission to competitive college theatre programs, Governor’s School, and roles
in community and professional theatre. Rip founded the Northern Virginia Theatre
Festival for high schools and is Artistic Director of Teens and Theatre (TNT)
Company, a nonprofit educational theatre company.
Lex Davis (Fight Choreographer) has worked as a fight choreographer and fight
captain mostly at the University of Maryland for such shows as The Pillowman,
The Froegle Dictum, The Illusion, Winter’s Tale, and The Physicists. He has also
helped teach and perform fights for Gallaudet University and the Shakespeare
Theatre Company.
Kate Dorrell (Props Designer) assisted with props for TACT’s Life With Father
and has stage managed for Senior Moments Theatre Company. She recently joined
the TACT staff.
Jen Durham (Hair and Makeup Designer) is on her second production with TACT,
having designed hair and makeup for Life With Father. Other design work includes
St. Mark’s Players’ The Wiz (WATCH Nomination), M. Butterfly, and the upcoming
Parade; LTA’s Saturday, Sunday, Monday and the upcoming Scapino!; and The
Arlington Players’ Sweet Smell of Success.
Andrew F. Griffin (Lighting Designer) returns to TACT where he last designed
Ah, Wilderness! A freelance lighting designer, his recent credits include Dante with
Synetic, The Receptionist with Studio, Marisol with Forum Theatre, and Brundibar
with Michigan Opera Theatre Children’s Chorus. Andrew has created designs for
Olney Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, Adventure Theatre (where he is resident artist),
and Washington Shakespeare Company, as well as the Toledo Opera and Delaware
Shakespeare Festival. He is also resident Assistant Lighting Designer for Michigan
Opera Theatre in Detroit.
Sherri Haddad (Co-Producer) is returning to TACT after producing Life With
Father. She has produced many shows in the DC theatre community, but her
favorites include The Wiz, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The
Last Night of Ballyhoo, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Saturday, Sunday,
Monday. Sherri is pleased to have joined the staff of TACT.
Rachel Morrissey (Costume Designer) holds a BFA with performance emphasis
from Utah State University. While a student, she earned food money as a
seamstress in the costume shop and designed many shows. Recently, she helped
costume and design The Wiz at St. Mark’s, but most of Rachel’s recent theatre work
has been onstage, including appearances in A Little Night Music, Dearly Departed,
and Saturday, Sunday, Monday. She also directed The Most Massive Woman Wins.

Ed Moser (Sound Designer) is pleased to be joining TACT for Native Son. Recent
theatrical design credits include A Bad Friend (Silver Spring Stage), Long Day’s
Journey Into Night (Quotidian), Rounding Third (AccokeekCreek theatreco),
and As You Like It and 1984 (National Players Tour 60). Musical credits include
Urinetown (U of M/CSPAC), Godspell (Olney Theatre), David (Theater J), Señor
Discretion Himself (Arena Stage) and in concert for The Picture Is Dead Quartet,
Walt Egan, and Bill Danoff. Ed is a graduate of the Phoenix Conservatory and a
member of the Audio Engineering Society.
David Olmsted (Assistant Stage Manager) returns to TACT after having stage
managed Life with Father and worked on the crew for The Titans. David trained
at Duke Ellington School of the Arts and Salem State College. He has been
involved in theater for over 15 years and has performed in Washington and in
Salem, Massachusetts.
Jared Shamberger (Stage Manager) is a senior theatre major at Bowie State
University who has worked both on and off the stage. He appeared in Sizwe Bansi
Is Dead and was nominated for the Irene Ryan Scholarship through the Kennedy
Center’s American College Theatre Festival. He most recently stage managed
the one-act Neglect, which was directed by Nicole Carter. Very involved in HIV
awareness and prevention, Jared co-wrote and directed AIDS Has No Color, which
has been performed around the U.S. for the past 3 years.
Michael Null (Technical Director/Set Designer) has experience in four states doing
anything technical, most recently with TACT as TD for Life With Father and An
American Century Christmas. He previously worked with TACT as TD on Dr.
Cook’s Garden, The Titans, and Stunt Girl, sound design/TD for Cops, lighting
design for A Passion for Justice, and stage manager for Ah Wilderness! Michael
has been TD for Encore Stage and Studio’s Act III Company and TD/lighting
designer for Encore’s Children’s Theatre. In addition, he has done directing and
even a little acting.
Trena Weiss–Null (Master Carpenter) has designed and built the set for TACT’s
productions of Life With Father, An American Century Christmas, Dr. Cook’s
Garden, The Titans, Happy Birthday, Wanda June, and Cops. She works as a
director, designer, and theatre teacher in professional, community, and educational
venues and has a Bachelor’s in Acting–Directing and Master’s degrees in both
Theatre and Education. Theatre Director at the award-winning GC Marshall
Theatre Department, Trena is currently directing Company there.
Don’t miss TACT’s final 2008–09 season offering
Edward Albee’s July 30–August 22, 2009
Get the podcast!
The History, Significance, and
Controversy of Native Son
If you missed the April 5th telesymposium on Native
Son, you can soon download it as a podcast from www.
americancentury.org. A distinguished panel, moderated by
TACT Artistic Director Jack Marshall, discusses the 1941
stage adaptation of Richard Wright’s classic novel, which
sparked a debate about civil rights, social policy, and racism
that still burns hotly today. Panelists include:
Hazel Rowley, author of the biography Richard Wright: The
Life and Times, now in its second printing;
Professor Lawrence Avery, Professor of English at the
University of North Carolina, whose current research focuses
on the development of African American drama in the context
of American culture;
Professor Arnold Rampersad, noted biographer and literary
critic, Professor of English and the Sara Hart Kimball
Professor in the Humanities at Stanford. His Life of Langston
Hughes was a Pulitzer Prize finalist; and
Bob Bartlett, director, playwright, and director of The
American Century Theater’s production of Native Son.
He is a member of the Theatre Department of Bowie State
University.
The telesymposium was sponsored by the Arlington County
Cultural Affairs Division of the Department of Parks,
Recreation and Community Services.
Visit www.americancentury.org or call 703-998-4555

Donors
This list reflects donations received from February 2008 through February 2009.
Group Theater Goers ($5,000+)
Robert and Sandra McElwaine
Arlington Commission for the Arts
Provincetown Players ($2,500–$4,999)
Wendy and Bob Kenney
Peri Mahaley
Theater Guilders ($1,000–$2,499)
The Arlington Community Foundation
Jason Beagle
Gene and Rebecca Christy
John Dawson
Mercury Theater Backers ($500–$999)
Alan and Susan Branigan
Citi Foundation
Steve Cohen and Mary McGowan
Deborah Rinn Critzer
Robert DuBois
Bill Gordon
Jacqueline Manger
Constance McAdam
Living Theater Lovers ($250–$499)
Donald Adams and Ellen Maland
Joya Cox
Brian Crane
Dennis Deloria and Suzanne
Thouvenelle
Gloria Dugan
Alison Fields
Tracy Fisher
Thomas and Kathryn Fuller
Ellen Dempsey and Louis George
Lou and Jane Kriser
The Players ($100–$249)
John Acton
Rick Albani
Sally Beth Berger
David Bernstein and Deborah Brudno
Jim Bertine
Tom and Loretta Beaumont
Elizabeth Borgen
David W. Briggs
Marvin and Ellen Cantor
W. Seth Carus
Dr. Coralie Farlee
Virginia Commission for the Arts
Kim–Scott Miller
Vivian and Arthur Kallen
Peter S. Kellogg
Jack and Eleanor Marshall
Bruce Alan Rauscher
Janet Reingold and Philip Yasinsky
David and Willa Siegel
Jennifer Sosin and Adam Posen
John Tweel
Sheldon Wallerstein
Annette Zimin
Jim and Marjie Mayer
Constance McAdam
Harriet McGuire
Thene Martin and George Mernick
Carl and Undine Nash
Dennis R. Nollette
Ann Marie Plubell
Bill and Connie Scruggs
The Troy Foundation
Frontis Wiggins
Bonnie Williams and Bob Skelly
Timothy Farris
Sharon Galm
Kimberly Ginn
Gabriel Goldberg
Hilton Lee Graham
Hal Handerson
Alan Herman
Roger and Katherine Hood
Elaine Howell
Michael Kahn
Charles Kennedy
The Players ($100–$249) cont’d.
Alan King
Alicia and John Klaffky
Paul Klingenberg
Nathan and MaryLynn Kotz
Jo Ursini and Ken Krantz
Diane Lambert
Phil and Pat Larson
Mary Ann Lawler
Judith and David McGarvey
Margaret Mulcahy
Suzy Platt
Robert Schiff
Henry Shields
Alan Simon
Pat Spencer Smith
Jean V. Smith
James and Patricia Snyder
John and Alison Steadman
Patricia Sullivan
Virginia Tarris
Kathryn Tatko
Heathcote W. Wales
Glenn and Nancy White
The Federal Theater Funders ($10–$99)
Jules Abrams
Mark Linton
Cheryl Bailey
Margaret Lorenz
Richard and Jean Barton
Gudrun Luchsinger
James T. Bennett
Winnie Macfarlan
Barney Black
Angus and Sharon MacInnes
Janet and David Bond
Phebe Masson
Barbara Bonnet
Evelyn and Milan Matey
Ron Brandt
Margaret Meath
Ann Caracristi
Dennis O’Connor
Patricia Chapla
Richard Pariseau
Boris and Earlene Cherney
Sherman and Anastasia Pratt
Peter Garcia and Diane Clark
Pearl and Cecil Richardson
Ronald Cogan
Loretta Rowe
Judy Davis
Charline Rugen
Kate Dorrell
John Seal
Janet and Marty Fadden
Sigrid Schaefer
Charles Feingersh
Ryan Schmelz
Donna Feirtag
John Schneider
Cathy Garman
Sharon Schoumacher
James and Maria Gentle
Carole Shifrin
Mark Graboyes
Bertha Shostak
Patsy Graves
Linda and William Smith
Madi Green
Robert L. Spatz
Jean Handsberry
Barbara Stearns
Virginia Harris
Robin Suppe–Blaney
Angela Hughes
Sue Swift
Howard and Myrna Kaplan
Marjorie Townsend
William Kelleher
George and Kay Wagner
Robert Kimmins
Douglas and Evelyn Watson
Shirley Kostik
Maura Burke Weiner
Dianne Levine
Adrienne White
Donors-in-Kind
Steve Cosby, Karen Currie, Ellen Dempsey, Ayun Fedorcha, Rhonda Hill,
Wendy Kenney, Jack Marshall, Steven Scott Mazzola, Kim–Scott Miller,
Ann Marie Plubell, Lonny Smith, Mariano Vales, Anne Paine West

2009 Summer Theatre Camp
for Ages 7–17
Fairlington Community Center
3308 S. Stafford Street, Arlington, VA 22206
June 29–July 3
9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Improvisational Theatre Games (Theatre Sports)
Cost $250
July 6–July 10
9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
American Variety and Vaudeville
Cost $250
July 13–July 17
American One-Act Plays
Cost $250
July 20–July 24
Radio Theatre
Cost $250
9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Special discounts are available for siblings and
repeat campers.
Each session will include workshops on theatre
crafts and makeup techniques as well as an
introduction to theatre appreciation.
Sponsored by The American Century Theater
(TACT) and Teens and Theatre, Inc. (TNT)
To register contact Rip Claassen at 703-765-3648
For more information visit
http://www.teensandtheatre.org or
http://www.americancentury.org