Snow Child

JOHN STRAND

Book

Arena Stage commissions include Snow Child, The Originalist, The Miser, Lovers and Executioners (MacArthur Award) and Tom Walker. Recent works include the book and lyrics for Hat! A Vaudeville (South Coast Repertory); Lincolnesque (Old Globe); and Lorenzaccio (Shakespeare Theatre Company), and the book for the musical The Highest Yellow (Signature Theatre). Additional plays are The Diaries (Signature Theatre, MacArthur nomination); Otabenga (Signature Theatre, MacArthur nomination); Three Nights in Tehran (Signature Theatre); and The Cockburn Rituals (Woolly Mammoth). Strand spent 10 years in Paris, where he worked as a journalist and drama critic, and directed NYU’s Experimental Theater Wing in Paris. His novel Commieland was published by Kiwai Media, Paris in 2013. He is currently at work on a new play about President Teddy Roosevelt for Arena Stage and on the film adaptation of The Originalist.

BOB BANGHART

Composer

has been performing throughout Alaska, Canada and the Pacific Northwest since the mid-70s. He co-founded the Alaska Folk Festival and Juneau Jazz and Classics, which are annual weeklong festivals in their 43rd and 30th years, respectively. He began composition work with the 1991 Perseverance Theatre production The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, directed by Molly Smith, and has since scored over a dozen theater productions, an opera and numerous independent TV shows and films. Recent works include The Little Prince directed by Katie Jensen, Metamorphoses directed by Dave Hunsaker and the opera Hansel and Gretel directed by Henning Hegland. Bob lives in Juneau, Alaska with his wife Laura Lucas and dog Jasmine.

GEORGIA STITT

Composer/Lyricist

is currently writing the musicals Snow Child, Blue Ridge Sky, Juliette et Romeoand a large-form choral oratorio. Other shows include The Danger Year, Big Red Sun (Arlen Award), Samantha Spade: Ace Detective (National Youth Theater Award), Mosaic and The Water. Albums include This Ordinary Thursday, Alphabet City Cycle (featuring Kate Baldwin) and My Lifelong Love. Her choral piece with hope and virtue (using text from President Obama’s 2009 inauguration speech) was featured on NPR and her orchestral piece, Waiting for Wings, co-written with husband Jason Robert Brown, was recorded by the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Other credits include music director for 2016’s Sweet Charity (Off-Broadway), The Last Five Years (film) and The Sound Of Music Live!(NBC). She is on the Board of Directors for The Lilly Awards Foundation. www.georgiastitt.com

MOLLY SMITH

Director

has served as Artistic Director since 1998. Her more than 30 directing credits at Arena Stage include The Originalist, Fiddler on the Roof, Camp David, Carousel, Mother Courage and Her Children, Oklahoma!, A Moon for the Misbegotten, My Fair Lady, The Great White Hope, The Music Man, Legacy of Light, The Women of Brewster Place, Cabaret, South Pacific, All My Sons and How I Learned to Drive. Her directorial work has also been seen at Canada’s Shaw Festival, Pasadena Playhouse, The Old Globe, Asolo Repertory, Berkeley Repertory, Trinity Repertory, Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre, Montreal’s Centaur Theatre and Perseverance Theater in Juneau, Alaska, which she founded and ran from 1979-1998. Molly has been a leader in new play development for over 30 years. She is a great believer in first, second and third productions of new work and has championed projects including Dear Evan Hansen; Next to Normal; Passion Play, a cycle; and How I Learned to Drive. She has worked alongside playwrights Sarah Ruhl, Paula Vogel, Wendy Wasserstein, Lawrence Wright, Karen Zacarías, John Murrell, Eric Coble, Charles Randolph-Wright and many others. She led the re-invention of Arena Stage, focusing on the architecture and creation of the Mead Center for American Theater and positioning Arena Stage as a national center for American artists. During her time with the company, Arena Stage has workshopped more than 100 productions, produced 39 world premieres, staged numerous second and third productions and been an important part of nurturing nine projects that went on to have a life on Broadway. In 2014, Molly made her Broadway debut directing The Velocity of Autumn, following its critically acclaimed run at Arena Stage. She was awarded honorary doctorates from American University and Towson University. This summer, she will direct The Originalist Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters.

LYNNE SHANKEL

Music Supervisor/Orchestrations

has written orchestrations and arrangements for everyone from Chita Rivera, the New York Pops and Raul Esparza to Tony Award winner/Bon Jovi member David Bryan and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. On Broadway, she was music supervisor/arranger/orchestrator for Allegiance, music director/arranger for Cry-Baby, and resident music supervisor for the Tony Award-winning revival of Company. She was music director/arranger for the Off-Broadway hit Altar Boyz, for which she received a Drama Desk nomination for orchestrations. Lynne received a second Drama Desk nomination for The Extraordinary Ordinary (by Paul Loesel and Scott Burkell). She recently orchestrated the critically acclaimed premiere of Life After in Toronto. As a composer, credits include bare: The Musical and Postcard American Town.

WILLIAM YANESH

Music Director

returns to Arena Stage after serving as Associate Music Director on Carousel. His music and lyrics were performed Off-Broadway in Caps for Sale (New Victory Theater; National Tour). D.C.-area credits as music director include Me…Jane (Kennedy Center TYA), Floyd Collins (1st Stage), Ordinary Days (Round House), Jesus Christ Superstar and The Last Five Years (Signature Theatre, Helen Hayes nomination for music direction). His orchestrations include Man of La Mancha (Shakespeare Theatre Company) and Alexander and the Terrible…, and Miss Nelson is Missing! (Adventure Theatre MTC). William has served as associate conductor for Caroline, or Change(Round House) and A Little Night Music and West Side Story (Signature Theater). Education: Carnegie Mellon University.

JOSE C. SIMBULAN

Associate Music Director

is honored to be back at Arena Stage where he previously worked on The Music Man, South Pacific and Sunday in the Park with George. Earlier this season, he served as the music director for the acclaimed production of Lookingglass Alice at Baltimore Center Stage. On Broadway, he has been in the pits of Lestat and A Chorus Line. Other D.C.-area credits include productions at The Kennedy Center, Ford’s Theatre and Signature Theatre. Jose is a proud graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, and has been the pianist for both the Unified Professional Theatre Auditions and the Southeastern Theatre Conference for over 20 years. Twitter and IG: @JoseSPiano. Many thanks to Molly and Georgia for this opportunity, and to George for that “first” opportunity. For DAS.

ERIC WRIGHT

Puppetry Direction

is happy to return to Arena Stage, since his puppetry performance in Mabou Mines’ Peter and Wendy. He is one of the co-founders of the Puppet Kitchen, which has designed and built puppets for stage and screen productions around the world since 2008, including The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, The San Diego Zoo’s Centennial Celebration and Thom Browne’s Paris Fashion Show. Eric’s performance credits include Compulsion (Public Theater), Madama Butterfly (Metropolitan Opera), Disfarmer (St. Ann’s Warehouse) and The Firebird (New York City Center). puppetkitchen.com @puppetkitchen

TODD ROSENTHAL

Set Designer

Broadway credits, August Osage County (Tony Award), The Motherf**cker with the Hat (Tony nomination), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Of Mice and Men (filmed by National Theatre Live), This is Our Youth and Fish in the Dark, and the upcoming Straight White Men. Off-Broadway credits, Red Light Winter (Barrow Street), Domesticated (Lincoln Center) and Qualms (Playwrights Horizons). Designer for six years for Big Apple Circus. International credits, August Osage County (London & Australia), The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Ireland), Nice Fish and Downstate (London). Regional credits, Arena Stage, Steppenwolf (28 productions), Goodman (artistic partner), Guthrie, Berkeley Repertory and others. Museum exhibitions include “Mythbusters: The Explosive Exhibition” and “The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes.” Awards include Olivier, Helen Hayes, Ovation, Garland, Joseph Jefferson, Bay Area Critics Circle and Michael Merritt. Professor, Northwestern University. Graduate, Yale Drama.

JOSEPH P. SALASOVICH

Costume Designer

is the costume director at Arena Stage, where he has worked for 17 seasons in various capacities on over 100 productions. He most recently designed costumes for Molly Smith’s Mother Courage and Her Children and the world premiere of The Originalist. He held internships with Williamstown Theatre Festival and Actors Theatre of Louisville. Joe studied at the University of Dayton. For Karen and Marjan.

KIMBERLY PURTELL

Lighting Designer

is thrilled to be part of the creative team for Snow Child and to be making her Arena Stage debut. She is a Toronto-based lighting designer in theater, opera and dance. Kimberly first collaborated with Molly Smith at the Shaw Festival on Our Town. Recent credits include Mamma Mia (Citadel Theatre); The Humans(Theatre Calgary); Life After and Declarations (Canadian Stage Company); Madness of King George and Androcles and the Lion (Shaw Festival); Timon of Athens, The Virgin Trial and The Madwoman of Chaillot (Stratford Festival); The Barber of Seville (Pacific Opera Victoria). She designed the Canadian tour of Life Reflected (National Arts Centre Orchestra) and the North American tour for Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton. Kimberly received the Pauline McGibbon Award, three Dora Mavor Moore Awards and a Montreal English Theatre Award.

ROC LEE

Sound Designer

is a D.C.-based composer and sound designer. Arena Stage credits include The Price, The Year of Magical Thinking and Mother Courage and Her Children. Additional credits include Charm, Hooded: Or Being Black for Dummies and Ulysses On Bottles (Mosaic Theater); Aubergine, Annie, Fickle Fancy Farce and Dial M for Murder (Olney Theater Center); Curve of Departure (Studio Theatre); Love and Information (Forum Theatre); Hello My Name Is… (The Welders); The Lathe of Heaven (Spooky Action Theater and Georgetown University); Our Town (Faction of Fools); Romeo and Juliet (We Happy Few); Sleeping Beauty (Pointless Theatre); and Seneca El Raton de Bibliotecaand In the Heights (Gala Hispanic Theatre). He holds a Master of Music in stage music composition from Catholic University. www.roclee.net

SHAWN DUAN

Projection Designer

is a New York-based projection designer and media consultant. Select credits include Broadway’s Chinglish (Longacre), and Off-Broadway/New York with The Public Theater and Abrons Art Center. Regional credits include The Guthrie, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, South Coast Repertory, Seattle Repertory, Berkeley Repertory, Trinity Repertory, Pittsburgh Public, Flat Rock Playhouse, North Shore Music Theatre and Virginia Stage Company. Opera credits include New York City Opera and Center for Contemporary Opera. Tours/commercial work includes An Evening with Pacino (US/international), numerous US commercial entertainment tours, Chinglish (HK Arts Festival) and numerous Las Vegas shows/concerts.

EMILY DeCOLA

Puppet Designer

works with puppets as a designer, director and performer. Favorite credits include Peter & Wendy (Arena Stage); Compulsion (The Public); ImaginOcean (national tour); The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show(Sydney Festival, New York, West End); The Soldier’s Tale and Four Seasons in Buenos Dairies (Orchestra of St. Luke’s); and the many many creatures of the San Diego Zoo Centennial Celebration. She’s a proud co-founder of the Puppet Kitchen (www.puppetkitchen.com) and is thrilled that puppets are finally hip.

LEWIS SHAW

Fight Director

returns to Arena Stage after working on Sovereignty and A Raisin in the Sun. Regional credits include A Streetcar Named Desire, Wait Until Dark, Great Expectations, Deathtrap and Ruined (Everyman Theater, resident company member); Nabucco and Don Giovanni (Washington National Opera); and A Skull in Cinemas, Snow Falling on Cedars and Bus Stop(Baltimore Center Stage). Lewis is the owner/operator of Vulcan’s Forge, and has made weapons and action props for many regional and Broadway productions, as well as The Vampire Diaries, Gotham, Daredevil, Iron Fist and the upcoming Defenders.

JOCELYN CLARKE

Dramaturg

is currently Theatre Adviser to the Arts Council of Ireland and Dramaturg at American Voices New Play Institute at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. He has taught dramaturgy at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Columbia University and Trinity College Dublin. He was the Commissioning and Literary Manager of the Abbey Theatre for four years, and lead theater critic with The Sunday Tribune for nine years. He is an associate artist with The Civilians and Theatre Mitu in New York. He has written six plays for Anne Bogart and the SITI Company — Bob, Alice’s Adventures Underground, Room, Score, Antigone and Trojan Women (After Euripides) – and Chess Game No. 5, his new collaboration with the company, premiered in New York in March.

ANITA MAYNARD-LOSH

Text Director

is in her 14th season at Arena Stage. She directed the world premiere of Our War and served as associate director on several productions, including Sovereignty, Carousel, Oliver! and Oklahoma. Anita trained and taught at American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, was on the faculty at Webster University in St. Louis, headed the theater department at the University of Alaska Southeast and was the associate artistic director of Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska. The Alaska Native-inspired production of Macbeth that Anita conceived and directed was performed in English and Tlingit at the National Museum of the American Indian in D.C. Through Arena Stage’s devised theater program, Voices of Now, Anita has collaborated on creating and directing original plays with communities in India and Croatia.

SUSAN R. WHITE

Stage Manager

is thrilled to be a part of Arena’s 68th season and to be working, once again, with Artistic Director Molly Smith. Congratulations to Molly on her 20th Anniversary at Arena's helm. Susan is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association

TREVOR A. RILEY

Assistant Stage Manager

previous Arena Stage credits include Sovereignty, The Price, Intelligence, Carousel, Destiny of Desire and Our War. Other D.C.-area credits include My Fair Lady, The Diary of Anne Frank, Bakersfield Mist, Godspell and A Christmas Carol (Olney Theatre Center); The Jungle Book, Jack and Phil, Slayers of Giants-INC, A Year with Frog and Toad and Sinbad: The Untold Tale (Imagination Stage); and Just the Two of Each of Us, Appropriate, Detroit and The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Woolly Mammoth).