James Ijames, Playwright
Photo by Kim Carson
James Ijames is a Philadelphia-based performer and playwright. He has appeared regionally in productions at the Arden Theatre Company, the Philadelphia Theatre Company, InterAct Theatre Company, The Wilma Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, Mauckingbird Theatre Company, and People’s Light and Theatre. James’s plays have been produced by Flashpoint Theater Company, Orbiter 3, Theatre Horizon (Philadelphia, PA), the National Black Theatre (NYC), Ally Theatre (Washington DC) and have received development with PlayPenn New Play Conference, the Lark, Playwright's Horizon, Clubbed Thumb, Villanova Theater, the Gulfshore Playhouse, Wilma Theater, Azuka Theatre, and Victory Garden. James is the 2011 F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Artist recipient, and he also won two Barrymores for Outstanding Supporting Actor in A Play for Superior Donuts and Angels in America and one Barrymore for Outstanding Direction of a Play for The Brothers Size with Simpatico Theatre Company. James is a 2011 Independence Foundation Fellow, a 2015 Pew Fellow for Playwriting, the 2015 winner of the Terrance McNally New Play Award for White, the 2015 Kesselring Honorable Mention Prize winner for… Miz Martha and a 2017 recipient of the Whiting Award. James is a founding member of Orbiter 3, Philadelphia’s first playwright producing collective and a mentor for the Foundry. He received a BA in drama from Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA, and a MFA in acting from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. James is assistant professor of theatre at Villanova University and resides in South Philadelphia.
M. Graham Smith, Director
Photo by David Allen (DavidAllenStudio)
M. Graham Smith is a San Francisco-based director, educator, and Producer. He is an O’Neill National Directing Fellow, an Oregon Shakespeare Festival FAIR Fellow, and a resident artist at SF’s Crowded Fire. He’s directed around the country and at venues in San Francisco including A.C.T., Aurora Theatre, Central Works, Crowded Fire, EXIT Theatre, Brava, the Playwright’s Foundation, Cutting Ball Theatre, Berkeley Playhouse, Golden Thread, SF Opera, and New Conservatory/Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor. He directed the west coast premiere of Jerry Springer: The Opera in San Francisco and Truffaldino Says No at Shotgun Players, winning Best Director for the Bay Area Critics Circle. Recent credits include Deal with the Dragon at Edinburgh Fringe, Mia Chung’s You for Me for You at Crowded Fire, and Qui Nguyen’s Beget’s at ACT’s Strand Theatre. He teaches at A.C.T.'s actor-training programs and Berkeley Rep School of Theatre.
The Cast
Adam Donovan, Gus
Santoya Fields, Diana/Vanessa/Balkonaé*
Luisa Frasconi, Jane*
Jed Parsario, Tanner
The Crew
Ulises Alcala, Costume Designer†
Nina Ball, Set Designer†
Cliff Caruthers, Sound Designer†
Kevin Clarke, Intimacy Choreographer
Perry Fenton, Production Assistant
Erin Gilley, Projection Designer
Annette Koehn, Stage Manager*
Devon LaBelle, Props Designer
Victoria Langlands, Assistant Lighting Designer
Samira Mariama Hamid, Assistant Director / Wig Designer & Maker
Lisa Marie Rollins, Dramaturg
M. Graham Smith, Director
Caitlin Steinmann, Master Electrician
Ray Oppenheimer, Lighting Designer
Sandra Young-Cellilo, Costume Assistant
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers. This Theatre operates under an agreement with Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
†Member of United Scenic Artists Local 829
The Sponsors
Production Sponsors
Al Hoffman & David Shepherd
Patricia & Merrill Shanks
2018 Season Sponsors
Peet's Coffee & Tea
Carol Amyx & Donald Kaufman
Kitty Bosher
DeYoe Wealth Management
Craig & Kathy Moody
Guy Tiphane
