Event Date:
Everybody's Favorite Mothers
by James Still
directed by Risa Brainin
featuring guest actors Paul Canter and Julie Fishell
and UCSB student actors Jacob Marshall, Netta Nakash, Indigo Runge, Travers Tobis
EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE MOTHERS is a theatrical celebration of unconditional love and unlikely activism that started in the summer of 1972 when one mother marched in a parade with her gay son. She carried a home-made sign boldly declaring her support - and a new kind of movement was born.
On that day, she was an unknown hero to dozens of shocked gays and lesbians - but the story didn't end there. Jeanne Manford and her husband Jules went on to co-found a support group for parents - an organization that would eventually become known around the world as PFLAG which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023.
EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE MOTHERS is also about young queer men and women coming out, standing up to power, and accelerating the fight for gay rights. It was a time when homosexuality was illegal in 49 states, when the American Psychiatry Association still diagnosed homosexuality as a mental illness, and police raids on any kind of same-sex gatherings were common and life-threatening. With violence now against the transgender community and LGBTQ+ youth at an all-time high, EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE MOTHERS isn't nostalgic - it's a warning that there's still work to do and that history can inspire us to find ways forward.
The Creative Team
Playwright / JAMES STILL
Director / RISA BRAININ
Scenery / ANN SHEFFIELD
Costumes / NICOLE JESCINTH SMITH
Lighting and Projections / MICHAEL KLAERS
Sound and Music / MICHAEL KECK
Choreography / CHRISTINA McCARTHY
Dramaturg / LIZ ENGELMAN
Assistant Director / Gabrielle Baltzell
Asst. Scenic Designers / Linyi Chen, Joseph Hernandez
Associate Costume Designer / Leslie Cohrt
Associate Lighting & Projections Designer / Elijah Frankel
Stage Manager / Trinity Wicklund
OUR ARTISTS...
James Still's plays have been produced throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, South Africa, China and Japan. His new plays include The Cratchits (in America); Dinosaur(s); (A) New World; and Joy Waves to You from a Distance. Recent work includes a trilogy of linked-plays: The House that Jack Built (Indiana Repertory Theatre), Appoggiatura (Denver Center Theatre), and Miranda (Illusion Theater, Minneapolis). Also: April 4, 1968: Before We Forgot How to Dream (Indiana Repertory Theatre); two plays about the Lincolns: The Widow Lincoln and The Heavens are Hung in Black (both premiering at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.); a play for one actor about culinary icon James Beard called I Love to Eat (Portland Center Stage); a play for 57 actors called A Long Bridge Over Deep Waters (Cornerstone Theater Company in Los Angeles); Looking Over the President’s Shoulder at theaters across the country; and And Then They Came For Me at theaters around the world (most recently at Alabama Shakespeare Festival). His short plays have appeared in many festivals including When Miss Lydia Hinkley Gives A Bird The Bird which was a winner of Red Bull Theater’s Short New Play Festival in New York. Still is an elected member of both the National Theatre Conference in New York and the College of Fellows of the American Theatre at the Kennedy Center. He received the Otis Guernsey New Voices Award from the William Inge Festival, the Indiana Authors Award for "The Jack Plays", and the Todd McNerney New Play Prize from Spoleto. His plays have been developed at the New Harmony Project, the O’Neill Conference, Sundance, Seven Devils, the Colorado New Play Festival, Denver Center's Summit, LAUNCH PAD, Fresh Ink, and many others. He is a four-time Pulitzer nominee for his work in the theater, and a five-time nominee for his work in television. He is the Playwright in Residence at Indiana Repertory Theatre, Artistic Affiliate at American Blues in Chicago, and lives in Los Angeles.
Ann Sheffield (scenic designer) joined the Department of Theater and Dance at the University of California, Santa Barbara as Head of Design and Director of Performance. Concurrently, Ann continues her work with regional theaters across the country including Indiana Repertory Theatre, Laguna Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera House, D.C.’s Ford’s Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Oklahoma Festival Ballet, Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis, the South Coast Repertory Theatre, and locally with Ensemble Theater Company Santa Barbara. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Ann further honed her design skills assisting award-winning Broadway designer Tony Walton. During her tenure with Tony, she worked on a number of major productions including Anything Goes, The Will Rogers Follies, Lend Me a Tenor, and The Grand Hotel. Ann enjoys teaching, oil and watercolor painting, and beach walks with her Covid pup, Trooper.
Nicole Jescinth Smith is a costume designer based in New York City. Ms. Smith has both a Master’s of Fine Arts (Univ. of Tennessee, 06’) and a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts (Univ. of Miami 03) in Theatrical Costume Design. Nicole has worked on everything from Drag Race All-Stars, The Metropolitan Opera to The Old Globe Theatre. Receiving an Emmy nomination for her work on POSE was a career highlight and she has continued to pursue her own projects as lead designer in both film, television and commercial production. As ever, Ms. Smith remains ecstatic at any opportunity to return to theatre. (she/her)
Michael Klaers' (lighting designer) regional theatre credits include the Guthrie Theater, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Theater, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Pacific Conservatory Theatre, Ensemble Theater Company and more. Michael was the lighting designer forTriple Espresso – A Highly Caffeinated Comedy, which played in 50 cities in the US and Europe. He has been the lighting designer for UCSB's Santa Barbara Dance Theater since 2014. Everybody's Favorite Mothers marks Michael’s 14th preview production for LAUNCH PAD.
Michael Keck’s music has accompanied productions at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Rep, Mark Taper Forum, Arena Stage, TheatreWorks - Silicon Valley, Syracuse Stage, Rep St Louis, Seattle Rep, Indiana Rep, Portland Center Stage, Westport Country Playhouse, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Playhouse, and many others. His international credits include the Market Theatre Johannesburg South Africa, National Theater of Croatia–Zagreb, the Barbican Theatre Center, and Bristol Old Vic. His acting credits include the McCarter Theatre, Pacific Conservatory, Berkeley Rep, Portland Center Stage, the Alliance Theatre, and various stages in New York, where he currently resides. Excerpts from his solo play Voices in the Rain are published by Temple University Press and Alta Mira Press. Michael received three Barrymore Award nominations for his work in Philadelphia. He is a member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA, ASCAP, PEN and the Dramatists Guild.
Liz Engelman is the Executive Director of Tofte Lake Center, a creative retreat for artists of all disciplines. She recently moved back to Minneapolis from Austin, TX, where she taught in the Playwriting/Directing Area at UT Austin. Liz has worked at Hedgebrook as the Alumnae Coordinator and Festival Dramaturg, and has served as the Resident Dramaturg at Mixed Blood Theatre, as the Literary Director of the McCarter Theatre, the Director of New Play Development at ACT Theatre in Seattle, Literary Manager/Dramaturg at Seattle’s Intiman Theatre, and as Assistant Literary Manager at Actors Theatre of Louisville. She has worked on the development of new plays across the country and abroad. Liz has served as President, Board Chair and is a current Board Member of LMDA. She is on the board of NNPN and is a recent board member of the National Theatre Conference.
First Week of Rehearsals ~ January 2024
Top Row: Mikayla Buhbe, Liz Engelman, Julie Fishell, James Still, Risa Brainin,
Paul Canter, Indigo Runge, Jacob Marshall, Gabi Baltzell
Bottom Row: Kaitlyn Capps, Trinity Wicklund, Netta Nakash, Travers Tobis, Albert Amador
LAUNCH PAD in rehearsal ~ January 2024
Table Work ~ January 2024
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