Cabaret Playbill

GU Theater & Performance Studies Home Season with Nomadic Theatre and the GU Music Program presents

CABARET

Book by Joe Masteroff
Based on the play by John Van Druten and
Stories by Christopher Isherwood
Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Directed by Matt Phillips (C’22)
Advised by Profs. Maya E. Roth & Michael T. Williams

Stage Manager
Olivia Martin (C’23)

Director of Production
Alicia DiGiorgi

Music Director
Joe Walsh, Guest Artist

Technical Director
Bethany Taylor

Choreographer
Ava Gaus (C’23)

Costume Designer
Martha Winslow (C’21)

Student Co-Producer
Marion Cassidy (C’23)

Associate Music Producer
Owen Posnett (C’24)

Set/Projections Designer
Amy Li (C’22)

Lighting Designer
Alberto Segarra, Guest Artist

Sound Designer
Justin Schmitz, Guest Artist

Properties Designer
Joey LaScala (C’23)

Hair & Makeup Designer
Anna Milstein (C’22)

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S NOTE

Welcome (back) to the Davis Center! It’s a gift to share the embodied pleasure and complex power we’re finding in making theater, together, again for Cabaret—a focal production in our Makers in the Space Season. Directed by Humanities Student-and-Artist Matt Phillips, this Cabaret reframes history, risk-taking, and inattention to violence in layered, creative ways. As advisor and artistic director, I couldn’t be prouder of how we’ve grown student-makers from TPST and far beyond in collaboration with faculty, guest artists, and each other here. A co-production Matt hatched with TPST and Nomadic Student Theatre two years ago, this project offers a “fresh take” on this socially-engaged and sometimes sassy musical. Together, we’ve embraced pluralism, bodies-in-space (albeit masked), ripples of mentoring, and genderqueer as well as racial diversity as values amid the flux.

Conjuring a Bohemian nightclub, Matt’s semi-immersive staging invites what I call a “civic poetics,” activating playful, poignant movement between historical and contemporary lenses, fiction and social world, belonging and rights, self and collective, leveraging the interactive potential of the Devine.

Hundreds of hours—and dozens of co-creators engaging over time —shape the theater here: from Matt’s interdisciplinary and creative research to Martha Warner’s Costume Designs created for her TPST Senior Project last year; from the Design Cohort which explored historical, artistic and emotional research beginning last June to Choreographer Ava Gaus’s kinetic play and co-creation with cast members this fall; and from dramaturgy to stage management, artistic workshops to reflective engagement, poster designs to tech/ dress rehearsals. Cabaret benefits greatly from the expertise of my colleagues in the Davis Center as well as Music, who collaborated with the student creative and production teams to manifest its high theatricality, quality, and scope. You will be wowed, too, by this buoyant ensemble of performers —multitalented and generous—who activate Cabaret’s provocative stakes with creativity, depth, ensemble-maker ethics, wit, and stamina. Like Matt, I have loved working with them all.

This Season in the Davis Center fosters pluralism and creativity, equally, across the year. Most events are designed for small audiences to center Makers and protect public health. Those who missed our hybrid Seeds of Change Season last year can access many of its featured performances virtually, still.

Creatively, the Davis Center engages the world: integrating collaborative research and artistic rigor, learning and life, diversity and cross-disciplinary stakes. It’s good to be back: differently!

Prof. Maya E. Roth, Ph.D.
Artistic Director, Davis Performing Arts Center

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

Though this is called, on your playbill, the Georgetown University Theater & Performance Studies Program’s and Nomadic Theatre’s co-production of CABARET, November 2021, that is, in many respects, not quite accurate. Let me clarify.

We did indeed return to campus at the end of August, sharing space together, which felt weird but also good—and we began work casting, designing, and rehearsing what you will see tonight. But here are a couple of other things to realize: This project was originally slated to open in November 2020—planning for that CABARET began in February 2020. And, for a handful of us, CABARET really began earlier than that, in 2019 or even 2018, in late-night conversations about what we thought musicals could do—and what we might want to say if we ever got the chance to steer one to fruition.

CABARET is looking at empire—how and in what circumstances one rises, soon after the fall of another—but it is looking askance, from a specific angle. CABARET is concerned with different kinds of everyday people; they are at once fully fleshed characters and also lenses through which we see how the rise of fascism in Germany affects groups of people. For some, how I am affected means slight change; for others, it means many permanent destructions at once, including, of course, the fundamental destruction—that of communities, of groups of people.

I suppose it is fitting that CABARET was first realized in tired dawns because tired dawns are the hallmark of any good rehearsal process. And the sheer length of time (two years!) that CABARET took to get here allows me, as I get ready to graduate from this place I love, to demonstrate something true about making theatre: When it’s good—as it often is on this campus filled with brilliant people—it is a long and lovely work. And something like two years’ worth of stuff goes into them all—including those not on a delayed, CABARET-like timeline.

All I can say about that is Wow, and that’s all I want to say about it. And, through it all, what CABARET has to tell us—if we listen closely, allow it to disquiet us, can look past its (many) catchy tunes—has continued to feel relevant. Even more relevant, this is the musical that made me fall in love with theatre, and it is the musical my gut tells me America still might need.

For all of these reasons, it is a very special gift to have undertaken this long and lovely work—to have gotten to do theatre again—and to have been supported all the way through by my mentors I hardly deserve. And I think, lastly, that the postponement and eventual realization of this CABARET—the long wait for it to come—point tangibly to what artmaking at Georgetown, and far away from here, has done during these strange few years: It has survived, and, I’m tempted to add, thrived. Many other things notwithstanding, it has been a great pleasure to watch it thrive here.

My heartfelt thanks to this team of gracious collaborators, both those behind the scenes and onstage. And thank you for joining us tonight.

Matt Phillips (C’22)

CAST

Emcee
Colum Goebelbecker (C’21)

Cliff
Jacob Livesay (C’23)

Sally
Maddie Wasson (C’22)

Fraulein Schneider
Ava Foster (C’23)

Herr Schultz
Will Hammond (SFS’23)

Ernst
Pace Schwarz (C’23)

Fraulein Kost
Courtenay Kim-White (C’24)

Ensemble
Al Castillo (SFS’22)
Ann Corigliano (MSB’23)
Caitlin Frazier (C’23)
Caroline Slater (C’23)
Jake Teall (C’23)
Maggie Cammaroto (C’22)
Matt Luneburg (MSB’22)

ORCHESTRA

Kit Kat Klub Pianist
Owen Posnett (C’24)

Clarinet
JoJo Farina (C’23)

Trombone
Jaron Berman (C’23)

Drums
Adora Adeyemi (C’24)

Piano
Joe Walsh, Music Director

ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION STAFF

Assistant Directors
Daisy Steinthal (SFS’23)
Caitlin Waugh (C’24)

Assistant Stage Managers
Abby Hames (C’24)
Katherine Martinez (C’24)

Technical Advisor
Tobin D. Clark

Assistant Technical Director
Kennedy Burroughs (SFS’23)

Costume Shop Manager
Dorothy Barnes Driggers

Costume Shop Staff
Suzy Mazur (SFS ’22)
Avery Van Natta (C ’23)
Jamia Ross (NHS ’22)
Caroline Slater (C‘23)

Assistant Choreographer
Calissa Grady (C’24)

Wardrobe Run Crew
Chace Chester (C’21)

Patron Services Staff
Amanda Lin (C’22)
Casey Ferrante (C’22)
Farran Dougherty (MSB’22)
Iliana Diaz (C’23)
Jean-Paul Nguyen (C’24)
Jenna Thomas (C’24)
Lara Santana (SFS’24)
Liz McDermott (SFS’22)
Rhys Lossman (C’25)

Production Technicians
Allison Sacamano (C’25)
Victoria Hanna (C’23)
Jamia Ross (NHS’22)
Claire Smith (SFS’23)
Sarah Tyree (C’24)
David Higgins
Jarrod DiGiorgi

Asst. Set Designer
Molly Kenney (C’25)
Elyza Bruce (C’25)

Asst. Projections Designer
Margaret Neely (C’23)

Asst. Lighting Designer
Grace Tourtelotte (C’25)

Asst. Sound Designer
Molly Evanko (MSB’25)

Asst. Props Designer
Alexandra Lenehan (C’25)
Michael Parker (C’24)

Asst. Hair & Makeup Designer
Rachel Gaudreau (C’22)
Ruth Axton (NHS’22)

Costumes Assistant
Lily Brown (SFS’23)

Artistic Director & Mentor
Prof. Maya E. Roth

Social Engagement Coordinator
Alysha Orbach (SFS’23)

Asst. Social Engagement Coordinator
Zahra Wakilzada (SFS’23)

Social Engagement Mentor
Ashanee Kottage (SFS’22)

Intimacy Coordinator
Prof. Michael T. Williams

Dramaturgy
Leigh Meyer (C’23)
Benjamin Eneman (C’22)

Publicity Director
Joseph Ravago (C’23)

Asst. Publicity Director
Mary Kovacs (MSB’23)

Asst. Cruise Director
Caroline Hecht (SFS’22)

Build Crew
Jack Buckley (MSB ‘22)
Molly Kenney (C’25)
Owen Wiley (SFS ‘25)

Nomadic Executive Producer
Sydney Cook (C’23)

Associate Producer and Board Liaison
Paul James (SFS’23)

DRAMATURGY

Cabaret is a loose adaptation (by way of a play) of Christopher Isherwood’s 1939 short story collection, Goodbye to Berlin, a semi-autobiographical work inspired by Isherwood’s stay in Berlin from 1929 to 1933. For our production of Cabaret, we were particularly interested in exploring avenues to ground certain principal characters in the historical figures who inspired them. In Cabaret, Cliff Bradshaw is based on Isherwood himself, while Sally Bowles draws inspiration from a woman named Jean Ross.

Both Ross and Isherwood share little with the characters who have immortalized them, however. Jean Ross was nineteen, a talented actress and performer, and lived in an apartment with Isherwood for a time, but that is where the similarities between Jean Ross and Sally come to an end. Unlike Sally, Ross was politically minded and self-reliant, with values that would align with those of modern-day feminists, in her desire to work and choose her life arc. She never had a sexual relationship with Isherwood, who was gay and in a relationship with a German man throughout his stay in Berlin. (This most recent version of the script makes his sexuality more clear, albeit complex, and our production emphasizes how the Kit Kat Club was a haven for transgressive culture and sexual expression, as part of what drew Cliff from his closeted life in the U.S.) While the character of Sally Bowles has been remembered and adapted, the individual behind her has been largely forgotten. We reflected on the politics of adaptation and historical revisionism baked into memoir and history as much as fiction; yet we also were struck, through Leigh’s research, by Jean Ross’s independent spirit and ability to chart her own legacy, through her involvement in the Spanish Civil War and British communist circles, as her daughter noted. Isherwood and Cliff have been similarly blended due to the nature of Isherwood’s semi-autobiographical writing style.

To prepare for the project, Matt delved into the source materials, which we then brought into the room through dramaturgy. The lives of those Isherwood met were translated through many forms—from notes into short stories into a play and then a musical—but our attunement to these sources helped us find a fuller, more grounded picture, recognizing that each character of Cabaret has a claim to the role of storyteller, not just Cliff. In his fiction, Isherwood casts himself as more moral—attuned to Hitler’s rise— and casts Sally as uniquely self-absorbed. We embraced Sally’s talent and leaned into Cliff’s moral ambiguity and relative safety, in voyeurism. Thus the song “What Would You Do?” becomes a touchstone, for us as audience and artists, and we center Cliff’s relative freedom to leave, while other characters get caught in the rising partisan tides in their own lives.

For a musical that tackles serious themes—prompting us to reflect on history, civic and social climates and our role in political apathy—it felt important to bring the history behind the characters back to the forefront. While unable to change the written text, this adaptation via performance seeks to adjust intonation, body language, relationship dynamics, and line delivery to bring some Jean back to Sally and Christopher back to Cliff.

Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome!

Leigh Meyer, Matt Phillips, Maya Roth

BIOGRAPHIES

Lily I. Brown (SFS’23, Costumes Assistant & Board Publicity Director) notes that theatre means so much to her. It has become her HOYA family and her happy place, and she could not be more excited to see this wonderful show finally go up, after all the trials it has been through to get to its opening night!

Elyza Bruce (C’25, Assistant Set/Projections Designer) is from Woodbury, CT, and is currently a freshman in the College planning to major in either English or Government. In high school, she designed and painted the sets for many musical productions at her school, so is thrilled to participate in set design for Cabaret!

Kennedy Burroughs (SFS’23, Assistant Technical Director) is just very excited to be back on campus working on an in-person production and is really looking forward to seeing everything come together!

Jack Corrigan Buckley (MSB’22, Build Crew) is a senior in the business school studying Accounting, Finance, and Mathematics. After beginning his career in the pit band of Little Shop of Horrors, Jack is excited to rekindle his passion for theater as a member of the build crew. He hopes that everyone enjoys the show, admires the set, and gets in on ViacomCBS (NYSE: VIAC) at any price under $40.

Magdalen (Maggie) Rose Cammaroto (C’22, Ensemble) would like to remind you that despite the qualms of modern life, smiley fries, the song “Monster Mash,” and horses with bangs still exist.

Marion Cassidy (C’23, Student Co-producer) is a junior from Brooklyn, NY studying History and Art History with a minor in Theater & Performance Studies. She is incredibly excited to be working on Cabaret and to have live theater back!

Al Castillo (SFS’22, Ensemble) is happy to be back on stage! He is grateful for Texas, Britney Jean Spears, and Insomnia Cookies. He is also thankful for all the love and support from his friends and mentors here at Georgetown, as well as the entire Cabaret cast and crew. Thanks y’all for an amazing ride! From Texas with love, Al <3

Chace Chester (C’21, Wardrobe Run Crew) is pleased to be working on his first-ever co-production with Nomadic Theatre and the Department of Performing Arts on wardrobe crew. He hopes you enjoy the show.

Tobin D. Clark (Technical Advisor) Is so excited to be back in person doing live theater. He is in his 15th year at Georgetown where he has been an Advisor, Designer, Teacher, and Manager. His design work has been seen at Georgetown, The National Museum of the American Indian, Fringe Festival, Perseverance Theater, and Juneau Jazz and Classics. He thanks his wife, Anita, for supporting his long hours and hopes you enjoy the show.

Sydney Cook (C’23, Executive Producer of Nomadic Theatre) is overjoyed to see this process come to fruition. Helping to facilitate the collaboration between students and professionals has been so exciting, and she is immensely proud of every single person who contributed to this process. She cannot thank them enough for their hard work and flexibility as we navigated our first show back in person. She would also like to give a special shoutout to former EPs Liz and Cristin for the work they put into this co-production during their time onboard and for being superstar mentors. Welcome back to in-person theater and enjoy the show!

Antoinette Corigliano (MSB’23, Ensemble) is extremely excited to make her return to the stage after almost two years of not performing live! While this is her first Georgetown DPA production, she is heavily involved in the music community here through the Georgetown Phantoms Acapella group, her Performing Arts minor, PAAC, and Georgetown Cabaret. Some of her previous roles include Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, Berthe in Pippin, and Cinderella in Brothers Grimm Spectaculation. She would like to thank the cast and crew of this production, and most importantly, her family and friends, for the constant love and support!

Alicia DiGiorgi (Director of Production) welcomes her first season with TPST and The Davis Center. Alicia most recently served as the Director of Production and Head of the Stage Management program for Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse. She has served in numerous production roles for dozens of companies and has a passion for immersive theatre creation. Some favorite productions include STRATA and OjO for Bricolage Production Company; The Lonesome West and Death of A Salesman for THE REP; The Lieutenant of Inishmore and Hedda Gabler for PICT; Talley’s Folly and Good People for The Pittsburgh Public; Cafe Puttanesca and The Missionary Position for City Theatre; Killer Joe and The Grey Zone for barebones productions.

Dorothy Barnes Driggers (Costume Shop Manager) is a costume designer and technician in Washington, DC. Currently, she is the costume shop manager at Georgetown University and the costume coordinator/designer for Maryland Lyric Opera. Her most recent design credits include Snow day for Arts on the Horizon, Mary Poppins at Central Piedmont Summer Theatre, and Madeline’s War at the Volks Theatre in Vienna, Austria. While designing, she has worked as a costume technician at The Washington National Opera, Folger Theatre, The University of Maryland, and The Santa Fe Opera.

Benjamin Moshe Eneman (C’22, Co-Dramaturg) is super stoked to be working with Leigh in doing dramaturgy for this production of Cabaret! This is his first time doing dramaturgy, but he has acted in a number of Georgetown theater productions. He hopes that this show will serve as an opportunity for Georgetown to reflect on antisemitism and other forms of pervasive and oppressive bigotry on campus and in society at large. Much love to the cast and crew; bis hundert und zwanzig!

Molly Evanko (MSB’25, Assistant Sound Designer) is very excited to be working on her first Nomadic production! Thank you to the production team for allowing her to be a part of this show!

Ava Foster (C’23, Fraulein Schneider) is a junior in the college majoring in psychology and minoring in Japanese. She’s done a whole bunch of theater stuff. Also single, just in case you were wondering.

Caitlin Frazier (C’23, Ensemble) is a junior in the college studying English and Theater & Performance Studies. This is Caitlin’s first in-person production at Georgetown and she couldn’t be happier to have done it with some of her closest friends. She would like to thank her sister, Arianna, for being her best friend and biggest supporter even from across the country <3. She is so overwhelmingly grateful to have been involved in this process and to have gotten to work with such an extraordinary group of people.

Rachel Gaudreau (C’22, Assistant Hair and Makeup Designer) is a senior in the College studying Biology and Justice and Peace Studies. She didn’t necessarily have the qualifications for this role and doesn’t know how she ended up here, but she is thankful to be a part of this production nonetheless. She would like to send a huge thanks to Ruth and Anna for putting up with her.

Ava Gaus (C’23 Choreographer) is so excited to be a part of this production and is thankful to everyone who played a part in giving her this opportunity. This is her second time working on a Nomadic show, her second time choreographing for Georgetown theater, and her first time working with the Department. As a member of the Nomadic board, being on this show’s directing staff was an extra special experience. She would like to congratulate the cast, crew, the board, and the Department for all their hard work in putting this show together. Break legs and yay camels!!

Colum Greeley Goebelbecker (C’21, Emcee) is an aspiring actor eager to pursue a career in theater after his graduation in December. At Georgetown, he has starred in numerous roles, including Ren McCormack in Footloose, Rysiek in Our Class, and Haemon in Antigone. After a year and a half without live theater, Colum is thrilled to welcome everyone in-person to the Kit Kat Club. He sends special thanks to Emma Jaster, Sarah Marshall, Derek Goldman, Michael T. Williams, his co-workers at the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, and the incredibly supportive Georgetown theater community. You may contact Colum at cgg47@georgetown.edu.

Calissa Grady (C’24, Assistant Choreographer) is an actress and dancer returning to school after a professional ballet career. As a full-scholarship student in Boston Ballet School’s Pre-Professional program, Calissa danced in many Boston Ballet company productions, including the role of Clara in Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker. Upon graduation, Calissa joined Cincinnati Ballet’s Second Company, CB2. She has now turned her focus to acting, and her favorite roles include Nina in Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, Beth in Sam Shepard’s A Lie of the Mind, and Imogen in Shakespeare’s Cymbeline.

Abby Hames (C’24, Assistant Stage Manager) is a sophomore in the College studying something that has no connection to theatre whatsoever (neurobiology). This is her second show with nomadic (and her first live one!). She is incredibly grateful for the wonderful cast and crew who worked on this process and would like to give a special shoutout to her head SM, Olivia, for being a phenomenal leader and organizer of the chaos that is a theatre production. Lastly, to everyone in the audience she says “Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome!” Enjoy the show!

Will Hammond (SFS’23, Herr Schulz) loves pineapples…He really does…but he also thinks people here are a little too obsessed with them? They’re literally making him sing an entire song? About them? Idk man it just feels a little cult-like to him… But anyway, this process has been immaculate and he has deeply loved working with everyone! He hopes you all enjoy it as much as he has! Oh! And be careful around Hans…he’s a pretty shifty dude.

Paul James (SFS’23, Associate Producer, nomadictheatre and Board Liaison) würde euch gern herzlich willkommen heißen und freut sich, wieder im Theater zu sein. As an informal German advisor and board liaison to the process, he has done absolutely no heavy lifting but can’t wait to see everyone else’s hard work pay off.

Molly Kenney (C’25, Assistant Scenic Designer) is a first-year in the College majoring in Biology on the pre-med track. This is her first theatrical production as a member of the Georgetown community, and she is beyond thrilled to be a part of the Cabaret team with Nomadic Theatre!

Courtenay Kim-White (C’24, Fraulein Kost) told herself that she’d stop doing theater after high school… clearly she’s relapsing.

Mary Kovacs (MSB’23, Assistant Publicity Director) is very excited for her first non-stage related role in a show. She loves working on productions and this one has been a lot of fun! She is so glad she could be a part of it.

Joey LaScala (C’23, Properties Designer) is excited to be working with such a great team to bring live theatre back to Georgetown!

Alexandra Lenehan (C‘25, Assistant Props Designer) has been involved in theater for more than seven years. Living in New York, she loves to watch Broadway musicals and has been in many musicals such as Spelling Bee, Into the Woods, and Guys and Dolls. This is her first experience working with the production team and props, and she is so excited to be a part of the Cabaret team!

Amy Q. Li (C’22, Set/Projections Designer) is a senior in the college studying history and is very excited to see Cabaret! Hurra! Jippi! Juhu!

Jacob Livesay (C’23, Cliff Bradshaw) is in such a pickle! Please help! He is being forced against his will to do this musical. The Executive Producer of Nomadic Theatre has dirt on him, and he has been bitterly blackmailed into putting on this performance. Please, dear audience member, find him after the show and whisk him away to some faraway place where the Nomadic board can’t find him. His very life may depend on it.

Matthew Joseph Luneburg (MSB’22, Ensemble) is a senior transfer from Long Island, NY studying Finance and Performing Arts. His past experience includes playing a T-Bird in Grease and starring as Nathan Detroit in Guys & Dolls. He is hyped to make his Nomadic Theatre debut and share the stage with this talented cohort in Cabaret.

Olivia Martin (C’23, Stage Manager) hopes you enjoy the show (and her bartender costume)! She is so proud of this production, which is the second TPST program project she has stage-managed and her first directing staff role on a Nomadic show. There are too many people to thank in this incredible cast and crew, so she’ll just go for one special thank you: to Matt, who is a great director and even better friend. It’s been an honor to get to finally come back to campus and work with everyone to help this project come to life!

Katherine N. Martinez (C’24, Assistant Stage Manager) is a sophomore in the College. She has always loved the theater and has tried her hand both on stage and backstage in many student-run productions throughout high school. She is beyond grateful to have been able to work on this production with such lovely, talented people for her first-ever college theatrical production. This whole process has been so much fun to witness unfold, and she is sure the amazing cast, crew, and production team will make this show a “perfectly marvelous” success!

Leigh Meyer (C’23, Co-Dramaturge) says to ask her about Jean Ross.

Anna Milstein (C’22, Hair & Makeup Designer) is a senior in the College studying Government. Many thanks to her two ladies, Rachel and Ruth, for somehow getting involved in this with her.

Margaret Neely (C’23, Assistant Projections Designer) …. . .-.. .-.. … .–. .- .– -.

Alysha Orbach (SFS’23, Social Engagement Coordinator) is a junior in the SFS studying CULP. This is her first time working on a theater process while at Georgetown, but she’s excited that she got the chance to meet so many wonderful people and play a role in helping put on Cabaret!

Michael Parker (C’24, Assistant Props Designer) joined Cabaret because of the lovely people in the show. He hopes everyone enjoys watching it as much as he’s enjoyed being a part of it.

Matt Phillips (C’22, Director), a senior in the College studying English and Classics, wants you to know that this has been the longest and most wonderful of rides.

Owen Posnett (C’24, Associate Music Director) has been playing piano for twelve years and saxophone for nine. A proud member of the Georgetown Jazz Ensemble, he is honored and excited to serve as the club pianist in the Davis Center for the first time after playing for last year’s Mask and Bauble online production of Man of La Mancha. Previously, Owen has served as assistant music director and/or piano conductor for a variety of theater companies; some of his favorite shows that he played include Chicago, Into the Woods, and Curtains. He wishes all the cast and crew a successful show!

Joseph Ravago (C‘23, Publicity Director) is a junior in the College double majoring in African American Studies and Women & Gender Studies. This is his first time working on publicity for a show and he is super excited to be a part of the process! He also serves as nomadictheatre’s Social Engagement Coordinator on a board level so he is involved in a few different ways in the process. Most importantly though, he wants you to know that the Pink Power Ranger is the best one by far.

Maya E. Roth (Davis Center Artistic Director) was the founding Artistic Director of the Davis Performing Arts Center. As an artist and scholar, she specializes in plays that engage cross-culturally and theater that interweaves psychic and social stakes. She has incubated and worked on premieres of dozens of new works, including Heather Raffo’s developmental dramaturge for Fallujah! (City Opera Vancouver, NY City Opera) and Noura (Shakespeare Theatre & Playwrights Horizon). Maya also stewards the Jane Chambers Prize for feminist playwriting. She finds great joy in teaching. She thanks her sassy son Yul and funny spouse Bill for laughter. Her Ph.D. is from Berkeley.

Justin Schmitz (Sound Designer) is a proud member of USA 829, TSDCA, and USITT. Credits include productions at: The Kennedy Center, Signature Theatre, Round House, Woolly Mammoth, Studio Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Constellation Theatre Company, Imagination Stage, amongst many others. Additionally, he has collaborated Off-Broadway with 59E59 Theaters and Round House Theatre on HANDBAGGED as associate sound designer, The Dixon Place Theatre as sound designer for COW PLAY, and with the St. Louis Black Rep Theatre Company for NINA SIMONE: FOUR WOMEN, and DON’T BOTHER ME I CAN’T COPE. He has been the designer of three national touring productions through the Kennedy Center’s Theatre For Young Audiences including: DARIUS AND TWIG, ME, JANE…THE DREAMS AND ADVENTURES OF YOUNG JANE GOODALL, and most recently DON’T LET PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS, THE MUSICAL! in collaboration with Mo Willems. For more information please visit www.justinschmitztheatre.com

Pace G. Schwarz (C’23, Ernst Ludwig) is a junior studying History with minors in [Science, Technology, and International Affairs] and [Theater and Performance Studies]. Cabaret is his sixth production at Georgetown (4th on stage), and he also serves as the Technical Director for Nomadic Theatre. He would like to extend a huge thank-you to everyone in the cast, crew, and department for their hard work and dedication to such an ambitious project. He would also like to encourage everyone to buy a pair of bolt cutters.

Alberto Segarra’s (Lighting Designer) selected DC credits include: The Thanksgiving Play at Olney Theatre Center; Quixote Nuevo at Round House Theatre, Good People at Keegan Theatre; Tender Age at Studio Theatre; Earthrise at The Kennedy Center; Blood at the Root at Theater Alliance (Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lighting Design); and An Act of God at Signature Theatre. Alberto received his MFA in Lighting Design from the University of Maryland, College Park, and he is a USA 829 member. Upcoming projects include: White Noise at Studio Theatre, Dear Mapel at Mosaic Theatre; and The Joy that Carries You at Olney Theatre. albertosegarra.com.

Caroline C. Slater (C’23, Ensemble) is from Spokane, Washington and grew up singing, dancing, and acting wherever possible. After transferring in the fall of 2020 from Millikin University’s musical theater program and spending her first year at Georgetown on Zoom, she is thrilled to finally be on campus with her classmates. Majoring in Theater & Performance Studies and minoring in Film & Media Studies, Caroline is honored to be part of a program that combines challenging performance opportunities with an awareness of the arts’ cultural impact through projects like Cabaret.

Daisy Steinthal (SFS ’23, Assistant Director) is honored to have assistant directed for Cabaret. Daisy has worked in various roles for student theatre throughout her time at Georgetown. Most recently, she produced Mask and Bauble’s 35th annual DBMOAF in the Spring of 2021. Daisy would like to thank Matt for believing in her, taking her on as his assistant freshman year, and for sticking with her more than 18 months later as they’ve watched this show grow, change, and come to fruition. The entire Cabaret team has poured their hearts and souls into this process, and she hopes that everybody enjoys the performance!

Jake Teall (C’23, Ensemble) is just happy to be here. He is studying Theatre and Film. And technically Business (gotta please the parents somehow). He loves coffee, likes doing the coffee grinder, used to be in love with grinding coffee, and has always hated grinding. RIP Legally Blonde. For context, he has a mustache; if that changes your perception of him, he doesn’t care. This one’s for you, Todd Olson — In all seriousness, he would like to thank you for sharing this moment in time and space, spending your energy interacting with this incredibly important story.

Grace Tourtelotte (C’25, Assistant Lighting Designer) is grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from Alberto and be a part of this great production. She is so excited to continue working with theater at Georgetown and loved being a part of this process!

Zahra Wakilzada (SFS’23, Assistant Social Engagement Coordinator) is a junior at the School of Foreign Service studying International Politics and Women’s and Gender Studies. She started her work on Cabaret in June of 2021 and has worked on a variety of events on different topics for students including allyship, interfaith, and inclusion. As Zahra spoke, arranged, and worked closely with the Cabaret staff, her excitement for the show continued to flourish. She is beyond excited for the rest of Georgetown to witness the result of this great work very soon.

Joe Walsh (Music Director) has presented and served as music director for opera and musical theater productions in Virginia, across the country and internationally. He served on the musical staff at Virginia Opera for 17 years where, most, recently, he held the positions of Associate Artistic Director and Associate Conductor. Joe was music director for Riverside Dinner Theater’s acclaimed production of The Pirates of Penzance during the summer of 2019. He has been a regular Music Director with the In Series and Alexandria’s Metro Stage. He is on the faculty at Levine Music and has served as artistic advisor for the National Society of Arts and Letters Vocal Programs, Washington D.C. chapter. He is a member of the faculties of both the School of Music and the School of Theater at George Mason University. Joe has served as music director for productions of Gaining Ground, Spring Awakening, Rags, Merry We Roll Along, Big River, Dido and Aeneas, and Hansel and Gretel.

Madeline Q. Wasson (C’22, Sally Bowles) transferred to Georgetown two months before the Covid-19 pandemic and is incredibly grateful to have spent her first semester on campus working on this amazing show with such a talented and passionate cast and crew. She is honored to make her return to live theatre by playing a dream role of hers, Sally Bowles. She wants to thank her friends and family for supporting her throughout this process, especially her parents, and hopes you all enjoy the show!

Caitlin Waugh (C’24, Assistant Director) is a sophomore in the College double majoring in Theater & Performance Studies and Women and Gender Studies, with a minor in Arabic. She is so excited to be a part of her first D-Staff and in-person show at Georgetown! Special thanks and much love to all of the amazing artists who made this show possible.

Michael T. Williams (Artistic Advisor to Co-Curricular Theater, Intimacy Coordinator) is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Theater & Performance Studies Program and Artistic Advisor to Co-Curricular Theater at Georgetown. He is a devised and ensemble theater practitioner and pedagogue: part director, performer, and educator working in collectively-authored performance. Driven by visual storytelling and sonic languages, his work explores the marriage of the divine and the profane, unreliable first-person narratives, and theatricalization of non-dramatic and autobiographical texts. With his collective Antigravity Performance Project and solo Michael has worked with: FringeArts, La MaMa ETC, Pig Iron Theatre Company, Soho Rep, Trinity Rep, and Sleeping Weazel, and has been presented at FringeArts, Ars Nova, Ice Factory Festival, New Ohio Presents, and Haverford College through the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship. M.F.A. in Devised Performance from University of the Arts/Pig Iron Theatre, B.A. in Theatre Arts and Performance Studies and Education Studies from Brown University.

Martha J. Winslow (C’21, Costume Designer) is a May 2021 graduate from Georgetown College who majored in TPST. She is now living in Dallas, Texas, pursuing a Master’s in Education and working as an elementary school teacher. She is thrilled and honored to be involved in this production and that her designs are coming to life on an in-person stage. She is deeply grateful to the TPST Program and Nomadic for letting her stay connected to this community even from far away. Many thanks to Matt, Olivia, Maya, the cast and crew, and most of all Dorothy for all her guidance and support.

SPECIAL EVENTS

DISCUSSIONS

Thursday, November 18 at 5 p.m.
CONTEXTS for CABARET:
A Conversation with Georgetown Faculty and the Creative Team
Including Prof. Katrin Sieg, Prof Maya E. Roth, Matt Phillips (C‘22),
Ben Eneman (C‘22), and others

Saturday, November 20 at 5 p.m.
MAKERS in the SPACE:
Engaging CABARET’s CREATIVE TEAM

Saturday, November 20 at 9 p.m.
OUT AT THE KIT KAT CLUB
Emceed by Orpheus*
Hosted by the Davis Center in honor of Cabaret, with guest acts by Caitlin Waugh (C‘24), Matt Luneburg (C‘22), alumnus *Ryan Davis (C’21), and
glimpses from TPST’s Performing Cabaret Class
DAVIS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, DEVINE STUDIO THEATRE
FREE, Registration required.

CABARET SPECIAL THANKS

Georgetown College for support of the Theater & Performance Studies (TPST) Home Season
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater for loans
and the Arena Stage, Georgetown University &
Andrew R. Ammerman Partnership
Signature Theatre
Rosebrand
T. Sampson and Tim Jarmon for Scenic Assistance
Daisy Steinthal (Bar Cart)
Emma Jaster for Movement Workshop, Naomi Greenberg (C’24) for
German Coaching
Professors Anthony DelDonna, Fred Binkholder, and David Murray of the GU Music Program
Professors Caetlin Benson-Allott (Film & Media Studies) and
Natsu Onoda Power (TPST)
Dr. Amena Johnson, LGBTQ+ Resources Center; Cameron Clark, Student, BSA; Reverend Ebony Grisom; Rabbi Rachel Gartner;
Isabel McHenry, Catholic Women of Georgetown;
and Jenna Antonacci, Catholic Women of Georgetown
for Social Engagement Coordinator events
DPA Staff, including Vanessa Gilbert, Sarah Ginnetti, Laura Mertens,
and Ron Lignelli
Volunteer Ushers
Nomadic Theatre Boards from 2019-20 and 2020-21
Families, Friends, and All those who Support our Well-being and Creative Life!

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY THEATER & PERFORMANCE STUDIES PROGRAM

Derek Goldman, Ph.D., Director

Housed in the Davis Performing Arts Center, the Theater & Performance Studies Program offers a dynamic interdisciplinary major that emphasizes the interaction of artistic and analytic inquiry. The distinctive curriculum integrates the political and international character of Georgetown, a commitment to social justice, and high-quality, cutting-edge production seasons, including world premieres. Our major prepares students for lives as professional theater artists, scholars, activists, and entrepreneurs, as well as for careers in the wider fields of education, cultural criticism, and public service.

Led by an internationally recognized faculty of leading scholar/artists and professional practitioners, the program has been named as one of the top five college theater programs outside of New York City (Backstage, 2012), and faculty and student collaborations have been recognized with Helen Hayes Awards and invitations to leading festivals around the world. Our courses provide in-depth instruction in adaptation, new work development, interdisciplinary research-to-performance projects, cross-cultural performance studies, theater for social change, and innovative approaches to design and multi-media, as well as playwriting, directing, dramaturgy, ensemble, and solo performance.

The Program invests in a distinctive array of professional partnerships and guest artists who collaborate deeply with students, including our ongoing partnership with Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Frequent residencies with leading artists from around the world bring diverse modes of performance to campus. The establishment of the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, a joint signature initiative with the School of Foreign Service, represents our growing focus on the role of theater and performance in the context of international affairs, engaging global challenges such as the migration and refugee crisis, climate change, conflict, and polarization.
performingarts.georgetown.edu

SUPPORT OUR INITIATIVES

We depend on the generosity of our supporters and audience members for the majority of our production and programming funds. By supporting our dynamic range of programming, you can change students’ lives and underwrite our commitment to continuing to make Georgetown a national leader and a destination for the arts.

For information on supporting TPST programs and other initiatives in the Department of Performing Arts, contact Department Chair Derek Goldman at dag45@georgetown.edu. For information about becoming a production sponsor, please contact Davis Performing Arts Center Artistic Director Maya E. Roth at mer46@georgetown.edu.

“Georgetown…in recent years has established itself
as the region’s most imaginative academic outpost for drama….
The programming…bristles with professional-grade ambition.”
—THE WASHINGTON POST

Ranked one of the “5 Top College Theater Programs Outside of New York”
—BACKSTAGE

MAKING NEW WORLDS FUND

The Georgetown University Theater & Performance Studies Program would like to thank our friends and alumni who have contributed to the Making New Worlds Fund, especially the following for their generosity:

James and Susannah Prout
Rita Ciocca
Art Murphy
Thomas Scanlan
The Leen Foundation
The Children’s Trust
Sharmila Achari (C’04)
Adam (C’16) and Elly (C’16) Bacigalupo
Henri and Jaye (N’67) Barre
Matt Beshke (SFS’18)
Brian Bies (B’18)
Kevyn Bowles (C’09)
Nancy Brensson (C’96)
Jack Buckley (B’22)
Meg Cairns (C’90)
Anna Calogero (F’18)
Tom O. Casey (C’07)
Dave Childs (F’04)
Christina M. Ciocca (C’05)
Gabriel Cohn (N’19)
Kate Creevy (C’94)
Fred Dews (F’91, MPP’96)
Catherine Dolan (C’12)
Michael Donnay (C’16)
Bill Doyle (C’91)
Olivia Duff (C’16)
Jem Dyson (C’22)
Thomas B. Evans (C’08)
Patrick Flynn (C’09)
Danny Frumento (C’18)
Greta Gaines (C’89) and Mike Haje
Ray Gao (C’19)
Diane Giangreco (C’13)
Jess Gitner (C’09)
Matthew Green (F’78)
Jeremy Guyton (C’12)
David Hanna (C’14)
Samuel Hartmann (C’19)
Jordanna Hernandez (C’15)
Anne Marie Huntington (C’19)
Mary Ann (C’86, L’90, P’19/23) and Kent Huntington (L’91, P’19/23)
Analise Irigoyen (B’22)
Jeffrey (F’88) and Shannon Jamison
Josh Karch (C’91)
Kathy Kelly (F’99)
Wieslaw and Mariola Klis (P’10)
Sarah Kelly Konig (C’16)
Alex Kostura (F’09)
Rachel League (B’18)
Elise Lemle (C’10)
Ann Ludtke (MSB’18)
Dustin Maghamfar (C’06)
Alexandra McCourt (B’15),
Chase Meacham (C’14)
Catherine Meyendorff (F’11)
Beth A. Mirzai (C’03)
Michael Mitchell (C’10)
Thomas Moakley (SFS’17)
Christian Navarro (C’01)
Joseph (B’94) and Nancy Nowalk
Caitlin Ouano (C’17)
Cynthia E. Pekron (SFS’07)
Matt Phillips (C’22)
Kate Porterfield (C’86)
Colin Pritchard (F’99)
Brendan Quinn (C’14, L’18)
Jennifer Rogers (C’06)
Alexandra Rose (L’19)
Erika (F’92) and Jeff (C’87) Schoppert
Caroline (C’00) and Brent Stone
William (C’05) and Eleanor (C’06) Strumolo
Shawn Summers (C’12)
Susan Swope (F’65)
The Burke Family Charitable Fund
Joelle Thomas (F’10)
Bridget (F’79) and Russell (D’79) Tibbetts (P’06/18/23)
David Turer (B’16)
Obehi Utubor (F’09)
Annie Valik (B’06)
Amelia Walsh (SFS’20)
Jasmine Wee (SFS’13)
Cornell Womack (C’93)
Isaiah Wooden (C’04)
Allison Zatta (C’07)

The Making New Worlds Fund supports the academic, artistic, and professional development of our students. To make a donation to the Fund, please visit performingarts.georgetown.edu/participate/give.

DAVIS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Prof. Maya E. Roth, Ph.D., Artistic Director

Opened in November 2005 as Georgetown University’s first building designed for the arts, the Davis Performing Arts Center is the research and teaching laboratory for the Theater & Performance Studies Program and houses the administrative office of the Department of Performing Arts. The Center honors Father Royden B. Davis, beloved former Dean of the College and a patron of the arts. Nationally recognized architect Hugh Hardy transformed the former Ryan Administration Building (expanding on the site of Georgetown’s first gymnasium) for the Davis Center.

Since its inaugural season, the Davis Center has hosted a thematically linked home season for the Theater & Performance Studies Program, featuring cutting-edge productions committed to diversity and artistic risk-taking. We have presented numerous new works and adaptations, DC premieres, bold re-imaginings of classics, important contemporary plays, and student-devised productions.

Our mainstage productions have engaged deep collaborations with nationally renowned artists (Sojourn Theatre, Heather Raffo, The Neo-Futurists), acclaimed local companies (Synetic Theater, Spooky Action Theater, a 15-year partnership with Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater), local universities (Gallaudet University, University of Maryland), and frequent co-productions with Alumni (including LubDub Theatre Co., Swedian Lie, Isaiah M. Wooden) and GU’s student theater companies (including Black Theatre Ensemble, Mask and Bauble, and Nomadic Theatre).

The Davis Center is a hub for interdisciplinary exchange with the wider community, both locally and globally. In addition to mainstage TPST productions in the Gonda and Devine Theatres, the Davis Center hosts annual residencies of the theater, music, and dance programs, and the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, placing students from the entire Georgetown community in regular contact with leading professionals from the US and beyond, as well as presenting work and hosting residencies with leading artists from around the world. Through our partnerships with local organizations, DC public schools, and numerous community partners, we actively engage Georgetown’s social justice mission through the performing arts.

FACULTY & STAFF

at the Georgetown University Theater & Performance Studies Program

Derek Goldman, Ph.D.
Chair, Dept. of Performing Arts; Director, Theater & Performance Studies Program; Co-founding Director, Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics; Professor

Maya E. Roth, Ph.D.
Della Rosa Distinguished Associate Professor of Theater; Artistic Director, Davis Performing Arts Center

Soyica Colbert, Ph.D.
Idol Family Professor, Georgetown College; Professor of African American Studies and Performing Arts

Reginald Douglas (C’09), B.A.
Adjunct Lecturer

Dorothy Barnes Driggers, M.F.A.
Adjunct Assistant Teaching Professor; Davis Center Costume Shop and Properties Manager

Christine Evans, Ph.D.
Professor

Anita Gonzalez, Ph.D.
Founding co-leader of the Racial Justice Institute; professor of African American Studies and Performing Arts

Robert Jansen, M.F.A.
Adjunct Assistant Professor

Emma Crane Jaster, B.A.
Adjunct Lecturer (TPST & Dance); Global Fellows Program Manager and Resident Movement Artist, The Lab

Sarah Marshall, B.F.A.
Adjunct Associate Professor of the Practice

Kate Eastwood Norris, M.F.A.
Adjunct Lecturer

Natsu Onoda Power, Ph.D.
Professor

Alexandra Templer (C’15), M.F.A.
Adjunct Lecturer

Michael T. Williams, M.F.A.
Assistant Professor of Practice; Artistic Adviser to Co-Curricular Theater

ADDITIONAL DEPARTMENT OF PERFORMING ARTS AND DAVIS CENTER PERSONNEL

Tobin Clark
Technical Adviser to Co-Curricular Theater

Vanessa Gilbert, M.F.A.
Community Engagement and Development Manager

Sarah Ginnetti
Academic and Faculty Affairs Manager

Ron Lignelli
Administrative Director

Laura Mertens
Public Relations and Special Events Manager

Alicia DiGiorgi
Director of Production

Bethany Taylor
Technical Director

NOMADIC THEATRE

Mission Statement

Founded in 1982, Nomadic Theatre is one of Georgetown University’s premier co-curricular student theatre groups. Since its inception, Nomadic has committed itself to creating theatre that is both technically ambitious and socially engaged. In that spirit, Nomadic pushes its designers and actors alike to create innovative productions that take artistic risks and feature challenging themes. You can help us live out our mission by donating.

tinyurl.com/DonateToNomadic

Nomadic Board 2021-2022

Executive Producer
Sydney Cook (C’23)

Associate Producer
Paul James (SFS‘23)

Technical Director
Pace Schwarz (C’23)

Business Manager
Ava Gaus (C’23)

Publicity Director
Lily Brown (SFS‘23)

Social Engagement
Coordinator
Joseph Ravago (C’23)

www.nomadic-theatre.com

NEXT IN THE TPST HOME SEASON

GU Theater & Performance Studies Program in collaboration with Mask & Bauble Dramatic Society and the GU Music Program presents

Thursday, March 17–Sunday, March 20, 2022
Friday, March 25 and Saturday, March 26, 2022

Violet

An American Chamber Musical
Music by Jeanine Tesori
Lyrics and Book by Brian Crawley
Based on “The Ugliest Pilgrim” by Doris Betts
Directed by Margaret Gleason (C’22)
Musical Direction by Guest Artist Tori Pergerson
A Senior Thesis Project
Advised by Prof. Derek Goldman

It’s 1964 in Spruce Pine, North Carolina and Violet Karl, a young woman, is on a mission to take charge of her destiny. Scarred by a childhood accident and feeling like an outsider in her small community, she takes off on a Greyhound bus for Tulsa, Oklahoma — seeking a TV preacher who claims to work miracles. On the road she travels with two soldiers from the Vietnam War —one Black, one White— stirring her to discover that her past is more present than she realized, and that her difference may be a strength, instead of a shame to hide. With rollicking and powerful music from Tony Award-winner Jeanine Tesori and a witty, engaging book by Brian Crawley, Violet asks us to challenge our perceptions of ourselves, find beauty in the life we’ve been given, and never hide our joy.

DAVIS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, DEVINE STUDIO THEATRE
Violet is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com

GU Theater & Performance Studies Program and Davis Performing Arts Center

Friday, April 8–Saturday, April 9

Davis Center Sweet 16
Anniversary Celebration

Celebrate the Sweet 16th anniversary of Georgetown’s arts hub in an exciting array of events with alumni, faculty, and current students!

DAVIS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, ACROSS THE BUILDING