Azuka Theatre presents

Carroll County Fix

By VAL DUNN
Starring LORENZA BERNASCONI, ADAM HOWARD, ANNA FAYE LIEBERMAN, PAIGE WHITMAN and *STEVEN ANTHONY WRIGHT
Scenic Design JACK MCMANUS
Lighting Design BLESS RUDISILL
Costume Design ANNA SORRENTINO
Sound Design AVA WEINTZWEIG
Properties SARIA ROSENHAJ
Intimacy Director ELI LYNN
Dramaturg QUINN D. ELI
Production Manager LAUREN A. TRACY
Production Stage Manager HUNTER SMITH

Directed by PRIYANKA SHETTY

Honorary Producers PAT & ROBIN TRACY

On Stage MARCH 2 - 20, 2022

CAST

Lorenza Bernasconi……………………..Tess
Anna Faye Lieberman………………….Rach
Paige Whitman……………………………..Crash
Adam Howard………………………………Stinky Pete
*Steven Anthony Wright………………Paul

Location & Time: Carroll County, Maryland. The 2010’s.
There will be NO intermission.
Please turn OFF all electronic devices prior to the performance. Photography or recording of this production, including cell phones, is strictly prohibited.
This production contains the following: Vape use

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Azuka Theatre respectfully acknowledges that our work places are situated on land that is not ours - Lenapehoking, the ancestral and spiritual homeland of the Lenni Lenape. We pay respect and honor to the caretakers of this land, past to present, and into the future. Furthermore, we acknowledge the legacy of slavery in Philadelphia and that we benefit from systems and structures funded by the sale of and built by the hands of enslaved people.

FROM THE DIRECTOR

Welcome to Carroll County! Fancy seeing you here. It’s not every day that big city folk stop by, so it’s good to have you here. Full disclosure, you might find it boring, real ordinary at first glance, but I assure you - there's more than meets the eye. You have to listen with all your senses. Take it in, pay attention, really listen to it. Hear the familiar sound of crickets and the spring peepers collide with the neon buzz of the Walmart sign. Breathe in the smell of pond water and manure intermingled with the burnt coffee from the Dunkin’ Donuts right around the corner. Somewhere between this forced companionship of rural and concrete, you’ll find the spirit of the town still pulsing and beating underneath.

Now you're ready to meet the people who live here. Tess lives down that street - she has big dreams of someday leaving this town and going to film school. She'll probably come back here eventually, but for now she’s doing what she can to get out, make films and get a taste of the big city life. Like her best friend Rach - we’re excited to have her back this summer! Everyone seems to be leaving one by one. Is this the same place where they grew up anyway? Out there in the corner is Stinky Pete, our local seer and unlikely source of worldly wisdom, he’s part of that Carroll County charm. A little further down is Paul the schoolteacher, our local legend who's finally got his life going the way he always wanted - it's quiet and peaceful for the most part, what more do you need? And then there's Crash - they're visiting this summer. Big city kid, just like you! I can’t tell you more about this town and its people, you have to see it for yourself. So, buckle up, this ride is bumpy but full of surprises. Once you get your fill, you’ll find that nothing about this town is ordinary, and I hope you'll be back again to get your "Carroll County Fix."

Priyanka Shetty

SOME CONTEXT FROM OUR DRAMATURG

Early in Carroll County Fix, a character utters a line that pretty much sums up the world of the play: “That development behind my house used to be a dairy farm.” In other words, this is a world that’s undergoing a distinct change. Marked by rolling hills and evanescent forests, Carroll County is bordered on the north by the Mason Dixon Line with Pennsylvania, and the events of the play take place less than an hour from Baltimore. In this way, then, it inhabits different identities at once—a farming community that’s just a stone’s throw from a major city and, in recent years, a rural area that has become increasingly “suburbanized.” Tourist brochures note that during the Civil War, the population of Carroll County was “sharply divided between supporters of the Union and the Confederacy.” An area with long traditions of conflicting—and often incompatible—interests is not just the setting of the play; it also mirrors a similar tug-of-war that is occurring throughout the country.

For a Philadelphia audience in particular, we might recognize in Carroll County’s suburbanization a faint echo of gentrification; it’s not an exact analogy, to be sure, but in both instances there is a sense of larger forces arriving in an area and overwhelming the inhabitants. With suburbanization and gentrification alike, a transformation occurs that strips a place of its unique character, turning it into a generic “non-town.” The results can be especially hard on young people, who often experience a kind of “placelessness”—that is, a lack of attachment to place caused by the homogenizing effects of commercialism. Shopping malls, highways, Dunkin Donuts, box stores—these are typically described as symptoms of placelessness, so the centrality of Walmart in the play is no accident. It symbolizes a world that is being redefined in a single image, forcing everyone around it to make a choice—either embrace the beast, or fight it to the death. The play, though, wonders aloud about other options—finding peace in the shadow of change, and learning to reconcile oneself to the fact that nothing stays the same for long. Carroll County—both now and in the past—is a place where transition and change are ongoing, and while this can impose a kind of placelessness on its residents, it also opens the possibility to create one’s own space. The central characters of this play are engaged in just such an act of creation. Witnessing how they navigate the chaotic change of their surroundings gives us some clue of how we might navigate our own.

-Quinn D. Eli

CAST

Click on the headshots to read artist bios

CREATIVE TEAM

STAFF & CREDITS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2021-2022

Lee Porter - President
Dustin Dove - Vice-President
Rosie McNamara-Jones - Treasurer
Larry D. Fowler, Jr. - Secretary
Jonathan V. Edmondson
Kimberly Engel
Kevin Glaccum
Steven Wright

We’re looking to grow our Board! Want to know more?

AZUKA THEATRE COMPANY MEMBERS

Artistic Director - Rebecca May Flowers
Artistic Director - Reva Stover
Executive Director - Kevin Glaccum
Marketing Director - Mark H. Andrews
Resident Dramaturg - Quinn D. Eli
PR Representation - Kory Aversa / Aversa PR & Events, LLC

FRONT OF HOUSE

House Manager - Talia Speak
Box Office Managers - Kassidy Carlese & Abby Toll
Box Office Staff - Robert Charles Avigdor; Victoria Crenshaw; Sydney K. Holts; Marc D. Johnson, Jr.; Caroline Juelke; Jessica Merkins; Liz Oakley & Katie Pelensky

PRODUCTION CREW & CREDITS

Additional Recorded Voices - Andrew Criss & D’Arcy Dersham
Design Mentors - Dirk Durossette (Scenic), J. Dominic Chacon (Lighting), Ariel Wang (Costumes), Damien Figueras (Sound), Amanda Hatch - Avista Custom Theatrical (Properties)
Master Electrician - Tydell Williams
Audio Engineer - John Kolbinski
Carpenters - AJ Garrigus, Reilly Walker & Dylan Bickhart
Scenic Painters - Anastassia Vertjanova & Annemarie Branco
Electricians - Rob Butler, Raine Canty & Andrew Cowles
Production Photographer - Johanna Austin
Graphic Design - Mark H. Andrews & Derek Carnegie
IT Support - Andrew Nelson
Website Design - PIC Designs
Printing - Quaker Printing

SPECIAL THANKS
InterAct Theatre Company, Erin Washburn, Core Playwrights, Wilma Theatre, Dom Chacon, Matt Saunders, Amanda Hatch, Reem Rosenhaj and Mira Saxe-Smith, Jay Bergen and the Germantown Mennonite Church, Mount Airy Weavers Way Co-op, Scott Sorrentino

THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS!

If your name has been omitted or misprinted, please accept our apologies and kindly notify us by contacting Kevin Glaccum at 215.563.1100

Thanks to the following funders for their generous organizational and programmatic support:

FOUNDATION SUPPORT

William Penn Foundation • The Wyncote Foundation • Free 2 Be Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation • Independence Foundation • MKM Foundation • The Shubert Foundation • PA Council on the Arts • Philadelphia Cultural Fund • June & Steve Wolfson Family Foundation • PIDC Community Capital Corp • Lida Foundation • Virginia Brown Martin Fund • Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation • Lindback Foundation • National Philanthropic Trust

CORPORATE SUPPORT

Harmelin Media

Thank you to our individual supporters, many of whom supported us during the shut-down:
This list represents gifts made since March 1, 2020.
∞ indicates RAD, Recurring Azuka Donors

PRODUCERS CIRCLE

HONORARY PRODUCERS ($5,000+)
Dr. & Mrs. Joel & Bobbie Porter • Pat & Robin Tracy • Anonymous

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS ($2,500 - $4,999)
David & Karen Jones • ∞Andi Sheaffer • David & Gayle Smith • Lee & Chris van de Velde • Jean Weaver

PRODUCERS ($1,000 - $2,499)
Martin Bodtmann • Karl Carter • Fern & John Culhane • ∞Kimberly Engel • David Fedor • ∞Kevin Glaccum • Marta Nolan-Alley • Michael Norris & Matt Varrato • Lee Porter • Paulette Singleton • ∞David J. Wierz

ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS ($500 - $999)
∞Jay & Nancy Berkowitz • Dr. Marie Antionette Bey • David Bushnell & Kimberly Pelkey • James Crawford • Zach Dilks • Dustin Dove • Elizabeth Gemmill • Bryan & Kathy Glaccum • Michael Glaccum • Annie Goldenberg • Craig Jorgensen • Drs. Ken & Julie Kendall • ∞Tom Korman & Ann Kirshner • ∞Lisa & Chris McLean • Tom Mendocino & Nick Ifft • Ed & Lyn Tettemer

INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT

IDEALIST ($100 - $499)
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REALIST (up to $99)
Robin Admana • Cassandra Alexander • Phil & Karen Allmen • Mark H. Andrews & Derek Carnegie • Rob & Stephanie Andrews • Peter Appelbaum • Johanna Austin • Lena Barnard • Christopher Baughman • Benjamin Behrend • Kerry Berkowitz • BA Bigham • Bruce Billow • ∞Ivy Brock • Jeff Burger • Keyonna Butler • Jake Buttery • Gail Byrne • Patricia Callahan & Bill Double • Timothy P. Carey • Eve Chamberlain • Peilin Chen • John Paul Christy • Katherine Coleby • Christopher Colucci • Kenneth Cruz-Dillard • Jess DeStefano • Dorrie Dillalogue • Karen DiLossi & Josh Schulman • ∞Rebekah Doyle • Michael Drzik • Jennifer Enslen • Leesha Fagan • Tony & Sue Faillace • Julie Fialkow • ∞Robin Fieler • Damien Figueras • M.J. Fine • Krissy Fraelich • Donald Friedman • Vincent Fumo & Amanda Jensen • The Fussersons • Linda Dubin Garfield • Robyn & Bill George • Scott & Nancy Geryk • Emma Gibson • Nan Gilbert & Lou Grimaldi • ∞Austin Ginsberg • Lavelle Glenn • Leigh Goldenberg & Aaron Bauman • Johanna Goode • Barbara Grabias • Danie Greenwell • Caitlin G. • Catherine Hagele • Kate Hanley • James & Jenna Harris • Jean Haskell • Amanda & Pete • Kate Heaney • Tom Helmer • Josh Herren • Brenda Hillegas • Peter Hoefler • Megan Hoffman • Esther & Bob Hornik • Caren & Stuart Hosansky • Sean Huber • Fred Jackes • Gilda Jackson • M. Jackson • Karl Janowitz • Cyndi Janzen • Elizabeth Johnson • ∞Lisa Johnson • Ira Josephs • Karin & Mark Kaplan • Elizabeth Kean • Patrice Kelly • James Kern • Julia King • James Kirby • Sharon Kling • Andrea Kocerha • Cindi Landmesser • Annette LareauFreeman • Margarete Larese-ortiz • ∞Kissy Lazo & Andrew Guyon • Felicia Leicht • Margaret Lonzetta • Gianna Lozzi • MaryAnne Lyons • Michael MacGowan • KC MacMillan • Stephen Mandato • Gene Mannelli • Noah Mannix • Sabina Mauro & Gerald Roche • Christopher McCarrick • Kathleen McCauley • Toitimeblog • Patricia McGovern Gorchov • Liam McLean • Shawna McMenamin • Lily Meier • Byron Merrick • Marnie Mielke • Frances Miller • Scott & McKenna • Lori Mudd • Michele & Leah Murray • Barbara Nardi • Charlene Nolten • Marie O’Donnell • Lorraine Osinski • Michael Osinski • Kasual Owens-Fields • Brian Papendic • Rosemary Parrillo • Cybele & Paul • Sonya Peterson & John Samas • Anthony Pires, Jr. • Steven Porter • Madison P. • Olive Prince • Mary Quick (Stewart) • Gary Rantz • Catalina Read • Veronica Redd • Keisha M. Richburg • ∞Kathleen R. • ∞Brittany Schmitke • Tattooed Love Boy • Lee & Linda-Jean Schneider • Megan Schumacher • Jonathan Silver • Dana Smith • The Smiths • Stephanie Smith • Talia Speak • Caitlin Speers • William Stuart • Arin & Taylor • Diana Swidler • Miriam Szapiro • Anne Taylor • Thomas Taylor • R. Eric Thomas • Phaedra Tinder • Maureen Torsney-Weir • John Turnbach • Hannah Vaughn • Michele Volansky • Harry Watermeier • Renee Lucas Wayne • Douglas Williams • Shirley Young • Anonymous (22)