Intimate Apparel to Open
Tickets to the Clarence Brown Theatre Production of Intimate Apparel are on sale now!
“Intimate Apparel is a beautiful story of strength and resilience, of a talented woman with few opportunities but with an indomitable spirit. It is also a story of a time and place, and an experience that has had little attention from a writer of great compassion and insight. We are very excited to present this play,” said Calvin MacLean, artistic director of the Clarence Brown Theatre and head of the UT Theatre Department.
Set in 1905 New York City, Intimate Apparel tells the story of Esther, an African American seamstress who lives in a boarding house for women and sews intimate apparel for clients who range from wealthy white patrons to prostitutes. Her skills and discretion are much in demand, and she has managed to stuff a goodly sum of money into her quilt over time. One by one the other women in the boarding house marry and move away, but Esther remains, lonely and longing for a husband and a future. Her plan is to find the right man and use the money she¹s saved to open a beauty parlor. She begins to receive beautiful letters from a lonesome Caribbean man named George who is working on the Panama Canal. Over time the correspondence becomes increasingly intimate until George persuades her that they should marry. Esther¹s future and her spirit are held in trust with her decision.
Director Andrea J. Dymond is currently Resident Director at Victory Gardens Theater, in Chicago. Formerly Literary Manager at Victory Gardens Theater, Andrea has worked in new play development for more than twenty years. A recent TCG New Generations Grant recipient she was Co-Artistic Director of American Blues Theater and Artistic Associate at City Lit Theatre Company, where her directing work included the long-running production Coffee Will Make You Black. Andrea teaches acting and directing on the faculty of Columbia College, Chicago.
Performing the role of George Armstrong, Adeoye is a resident of Chicago where he most recently appeared in the Jeff Nominated World Premier production of Black Diamond - The Years the Locusts Have Eaten at Lookingglass Theatre. He also has performed at the Steppenwolf Theatre, Goodman Theatre and the Kansas City Repertory Theatre.
Third year MFA candidate Shinnerrie Jackson will perform the role of Esther. A graduate of Oberlin Conservatory of Music, she received her Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance. CBT credits include: A Christmas Carol; Major Barbara; No Exit; King Lear; A Year with Frog and Toad; All My Sons. Favorite non CBT roles include: (Ariel) The Tempest (Shakespeare in the Square), Ruth in A Raisin in the Sun (Stage Aurora Theatre), and Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Oberlin College).
Playing Mr. Marks, Zack Fine is a third year MFA candidate. He received a B.A. from Oberlin College, trained at the Actors Center in New York City, and proudly hails from Chicago, IL.
Tracey Copeland Halter (Mrs.Dickson), a member of the UT faculty since 2005, has an MFA in Theatre from New York University. She has performed in several CBT productions. Other credits include: Broadway and in regional theatres across the country.
Samantha D. Tanner (Mayme) received her BFA in Theatre from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 2007 she received a nomination for Most Promising Actress by the Black Theatre Alliance and is a proud member of the Screen Actors Guild.
Lindsay Torrey (Mrs. Van Buren) is a third year student in the graduate acting program at UT. A native New Yorker, Lindsay trained at The Actors Center and received her BA from Columbia University.
Christopher Pickart, Scenic Designer, has designed over 150 productions at theatres including the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Children’s Theatre in Minneapolis, the Arden Theatre in Philadelphia, the City Theatre in Pittsburgh, the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis, the Coast Playhouse in Los Angeles, Virginia Stage Company, the Olney Theatre Centre in Washington, DC, among many others. In 1999, he received the Young Designer’s Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Theatre Communications Group.
Costume Designer Emily Strickland, is currently in her second year of MFA study in Costume Design. She received her BFA in Theatre Design and Technology from the University of Central Florida. Most recently she received the SETC Graduate Costume Design Award for The Birds and the Marian A. Smith Scholarship for 2007.
Lighting Designer Catherine Girardi is a second year UT Lighting Design graduate student. Previous designs include Antigone and All My Sons for The Clarence Brown Theatre, It’s a Wonderful Life for North Carolina Stage Company, Goodly Creatures for The Virginia Stage Company, and The Catcher in the Rye and The Walker Project for The Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, VA.
Mike Ponder Sound Designer, has been the Resident Sound Designer for the UT theatre program and it¹s associated Clarence Brown Professional Company for 10 years.
Preview for Intimate Apparel is Thursday, February 21, followed by Opening Night Friday, February 22. The show runs through Sunday, March 9. Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Matinees begin at 2 p.m. UT faculty/staff, senior citizens, children and students and groups receive discounts. For tickets, call the Clarence Brown Theatre box office at 865-974-5161, Tickets Unlimited at 865-656-4444 or online at www.clarencebrowntheatre.com.
Photo caption: Shinnerrie Jackson as Esther Mills and (uppper rr) Adoeye as George Armstrong in CBT’s Intimate Apparel
