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Ashville
Written by Lucy Thurber
Directed by Todd Ristau
Performed February 9 - 14, 2010.
Credits
Cast:
CELIA: Katelyn Hansell
SHELLY: Kris Laguzza
JAKE: Patrick Lyster
JOEY: Kevin McAlexander
HARRY: Brian Turner
AMANDA: Susanna Young
JOE: Chad Runyon
Technical Director: Jason "Blue" Herbert
Technical Intern: Lorraine Rhoden
Stage Manager: Shay Mullins
Costume Design: Todd Ristau
Scenic Design: Todd Ristau
Scenic Construction: Jason "Blue" Herbert, John Forsman, Lorraine Rhoden, Todd Ristau, JD Ruelle, Chad Runyon, Liz Shinkle, Brian Turner, Ty the Theatre Dog
Lighting Design: Jason "Blue" Herbert
Lighting Crew: Jason "Blue" Herbert, Todd Ristau, Chad Runyon
Marketing and Program Design: Steven V. Rice
Volunteer Crew: Rachel Linkous, Nancy Maurelli, Adrien Monti, Jonathan Overturf, Teresa Vasquez, JD Ruelle
Special Thanks to our Corporate Sponsors: Playwright's Lab at Hollins University, Roanoke Times/Roanoke.com, City Magazine, and New City Media
Special Thanks to those who loaned us props, costumes, or other material support: John Forsman, Hollins Theatre Department, Nancy Maurelli and Good to Go Foods, Paul Meshejian, Lucy Thurber, Daryn J. Warner and Greg Watts
About the Play
Ashville is a dark, sad little comedy about blue collar small town America, mothers, daughters, drug dealers and love. The kind of Valentine’s Day card you’d expect from Studio Roanoke.
About the Playwright
Lucy Thurber is the author of seven plays: Where We’re Born, Ashville, Scarcity, Killers and Other Family, Stay, Bottom of The World and Monstrosity. The Atlantic Theater Company opened its 2007-08 season with Scarcity. Rattlestick Playwrights Theater has produced three of her plays, Where We’re Born, Killers and Other Family and Stay. Bottom of The World was commissioned and workshopped by Women’s Expressive Theater, Inc. at the Eugene O’Neill, the first Tribeca Theater Festival and The Public Theater. Monstrosity was workshopped at Encore Theatre Company (San Francisco). She was the recipient of the 2000-01 Manhattan Theatre Club Playwriting Fellowship and has been a guest artist at Alaska’s Perseverance Theatre twice, where she helped to adapt both Desire Under The Elms and Moby Dick. She has had readings and workshops at Manhattan Theatre Club, The New Group, Primary Stages, MCC Theater, Encore Theatre Company, PlayPenn, Williamstown Theatre Festival, New River Dramatists and Soho Rep. She was one of three playwrights in residence at The Orchard Project, summer 2007. Her 10-minute play Dinner is published in Not So Sweet, a collection of plays from Soho Rep’s 10-minute play festival. Scarcity was published in the December 2007 issue of American Theatre. Her produced plays are published by Dramatists Play Service. Thurber is a member of New Dramatists, 13P, MCC Playwrights Coalition and Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group at Primary Stages. She is currently writing a new play under commission from Playwrights Horizons. She is the recipient of the 1st Gary Bonasorte Memorial Prize for Playwriting 2008.
About the Director
Todd Ristau is a distinguished graduate of the Iowa Playwright’s Workshop. He serves as Artistic Director of Studio Roanoke and also Program Director for the Playwright’s Lab at Hollins University, a unique graduate program in playwriting. Todd’s work has been performed in theatres across the US and England, including London’s West End. He founded No Shame Theatre in 1986 and oversaw its evolution into a national network of venues for new work in dozens of cities. Todd worked for six years with Mill Mountain Theatre as producer for Underground Roanoke's alternative programming, Overnight Sensations, the Centerpieces Reading series and the Norfolk Southern Festival of New Works. As Literary Associate he read and evaluated all submitted playscripts. In addition to his expertise in playwriting, Ristau is an accomplished director, designer, and an actor who has performed over 400 roles in academic, professional, and amateur theatres. He is an Active Member of the Dramatists Guild as well as a member of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of America.
Cast and Crew
Katelyn Hansell (Celia)
Katelyn is currently a second year student at Hollins University from Staunton, Virginia. She started acting in elementary school and continued through middle school, taking a brief break in high school to hang out with the band. She returned to the stage (and backstage) during her first year at Hollins, jumping onboard with Improv Madness. During the course of her younger years, she worked with ShenanArts, a theatre children’s group located in the Shenandoah Valley, doing six shows with them. She is a double major in English and Theatre.
Kris Laguzza (Shelly)
Kris has been a part of the local theatre scene for many years, both acting in and directing several shows for Attic Productions, Showtimers, Gamut and, of course, Studio Roanoke. Credits include: Nunsense (Sister Mary Amnesia); Rosalee Was Here (Ms. Holliday); She Loves Me (Illona Ritter); Reckless (Rachel); Annie Get Your Gun (Annie Oakley); Sweeney Todd (Mrs. Lovett); The Diary of Anne Frank (Mrs. Van Daan); and, many others. Kris would like to thank Ross for his love and support and would like to thank you for supporting the mission of Studio Roanoke!
Patrick Lyster (Jake)
Patrick is currently not enrolled to school due to finical reasons. He is taking the time off to "work on his writing". He started doing theatre in his freshman year of high school at Patrick Henry High School. After graduation he took two years off from theatre. He started hanging around Studio Roanoke in September and he hasn't left since. This is his first time acting in a major production at Studio Roanoke. He is also a frequent at No Shame and has taken a vow to perform at everyone this year.
Kevin McAlexander (Joey)
Kevin has performed in numerous theatres including: Papermill, Hedgerow, and locally with Mill Mountain Theatre, The Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre, and Hollins. Kevin received his BS from Radford University. Favorite roles include Edward in Cricket on the Hearth, Gordon/Dwight in Deadman's Cellphone, and multiple roles in an original production of The Spoon River Anthology. In his real life Kevin works in the fitness industry and enjoys playing guitar and spending time with his beautiful wife. All his thanks go to the talented cast, crew, director, and playwright for making his first production at Studio Roanoke an excellent and memorable experience.
Chad Runyon (Joe)
A No Shame regular, Chad is Studio Roanoke's Development Director and currently our General Manager. He recently performed in Studio Roanoke's holiday production, Yes, Svetlana, There is a Grandfather Frost. He has also acted in several Lunchbox Readings, and will be in the March 6 reading of A Lesson Before Dying. Chad has been accepted into the graduate program in playwriting at Hollins University and will begin classes this summer.
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