Anton in Show Business

By Jane Martin

As three actresses of wildly varied backgrounds pursue their dream of performing in a San Antonio production of Chekhov’s Three Sisters, they take a tumble down the rabbit hole and into the strange wonderland of theatre. This satirical, backstage comedy conveys the joys, pains and absurdities of "putting on a play," while poking hilarious fun at American culture.

Viewer discretion is advised due to some sexual content.

SHOW PHOTOS

2012 Performance Dates

April 6, 7, 12, 13 & 14 at 8 p.m.
April 15 (ASL interpreted) at 2:30 p.m.

Ticket Information

Adults - $10
Seniors (55 and over) - $7
Non-KSU Students (17 and under) - $7
KSU Students - Free with current ID

• Tickets go on sale March 26.
• Purchase tickets online, by phone or in person at the Box Office.
• Visa, MasterCard and Discover accepted. Checks and cash accepted in person at the Box Office.
• Tickets purchased online or by phone will be available at Will Call.
• Will Call opens one hour prior to curtain time and closes when the performance begins.
• Kent State Students: Free admission with current Kent State ID. Seats must be reserved in person at the Box Office.
• No refunds for purchased tickets. Exchanges for the same production can be made by contacting the Box Office prior to the reserved performance date.
• Tickets held at Will Call will be forfeited if not picked up by curtain time.

Cast

Devonn Patterson: T-Anne / Announcer / Andwyneth / Don / Gate Manager
Devonn Patterson graduated from Hoban High School and has appeared in various productions since 4th grade. Her first lead role was in a production of Stage Door. She has appeared in Hoban's productions of The Nerd and Almost, Maine, and Kent State Stark's Plumfield, Iraq. Most recently, Devonn was the assistant stage manager for Evil Dead: The Musical.

Sarah Peters: Actress #1 / Kate / Ben / Jackey
Sarah Peters is a "super sophomore," majoring in electronic media while minoring in theatre. After attending a year at Kent, she transferred to and graduated from NYCDA: School for Film and Television located in New York City. In addition to NYCDA, she also received voice-over training from Howard Ross, her voice-over coach; voice-over character training from Paul Liberti; and improv training from the Red Tie Mafia improvisational group. She has now returned to Kent to finish where she left off. Before college, she appeared in numerous community plays at the Canal Fulton Players Guild, and was active in her high school theatre and choir productions. Some of her past shows include The Music Man, The Odd Couple, Bus Stop, Fiddler on the Roof, The Wizard of Oz, The Man Who Came to Dinner, and Blithe Spirit. "This goes out to Mom, Dad, Matt, my partner in crime Nicky, and also Bryan and Aaron, the best two bronies a pegasister could ask for."

Caitlin Roberts: Actress #2 / Ralph / Wikewitch / Joe Bob
Caitlin Roberts is a freshman at Kent State Stark and is pursuing degrees in music education and theatre. Previous theatre experience includes acting in Lil Abner, Anything Goes and Oklahoma. Cait is a graduate of Northwest High School, and is involved in worship at her church and working on youth drama there. Caitlin was an assistant stage manager for Plumfield, Iraq and the makeup/special effects design assistant for Evil Dead: The Musical.

Gabrielle Scopel: Casey
Gabrielle Scopel says "Yay!" to being in her first production at Kent State Stark. Gabrielle is a junior electronic media management and production major. She has performed stand-up and improv comedy in Chicago and Akron under the name Gabrielle Henri.

Jillian Dailey: Lisabette
Jillian Dailey began her theatrical training at Lake Center Christian High School where she was involved in all the musicals and plays during her four years there. This included leading roles in Seussical and Little Women. She is a freshman at Kent State Stark and performed in Plumfield, Iraq and was the costume design assistant for Evil Dead: The Musical.

Olivia Durell: Holly
Olivia appeared on the stage as Laurie in Oklahoma, Grace in Annie and Melody in Dating Is Tough To Do... and Funny, Too! She stage-managed Songs for a New World and Plumfield, Iraq. She is in her second year at Kent State Stark studying theatre.

Megan Lombardi: Joby
Megan graduated from Louisville High School where she was in the high school concert choir and a majorette in the band. She also acted in elementary school. She was the costume design assistant for Plumfield, Iraq and is studying theatre and psychology at Kent State Stark.

Production Team

Brian Newberg: Director
Brian Newberg is an Assistant Professor of Theatre and Theatre Director at Kent State University at Stark. Brian’s directing experience (more than 80 production credits) includes Broadway, regional, equity waiver, industry showcases, new work development and many college productions. He has extensive experience as an actor (more than 70 production credits) in the New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Oregon areas. He has also served as an associate artistic director for a regional theatre company, run his own private acting studios, and taught at a number of colleges on the West Coast before coming to Kent State. Brian is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), and received his M.F.A. in Directing from the University of California, Irvine.

Louis Williams: Scenic & Lighting Designer
Louis Williams is the resident technical director and scenic and lighting designer at Kent State Stark and has designed more than 200 productions in 30 years in theatre, opera, ballet and rock 'n' roll. This includes work with such theatre companies as: the American Ballet Theatre II; the Joffrey Ballet II; the Arizona Theatre Company; the Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis; the Kenley Players; the Ohio Light Opera; the Cleveland Opera; the Cinncinnati Opera; Southern Arizona Light Opera Company; Carousel Dinner Theatre; the Agora, Cleveland Ohio; the Temple of Music and Art, Tucson, Arizona; ChildsPlay Inc., of Phoenix, Arizona; and the Scottsdale Civic Center, Scottsdale, Arizona. Read more about Louis Williams.

Susan Blurton: Costume Designer
Susan Blurton has designed costumes for various productions over the past 16 years including the Canton Palace Theater, Canton Civic Center, Players Guild, Porthouse Theatre, John F. Knight Center, Akron Civic Theater and The Christmas Spectacular, which was recorded and aired on PBS. She began her venture into theatre while living in New York and freelancing for Off-Broadway shows, mainly as a stitcher and pattern maker. She designed sportswear for the 7th Ave. design house Ellen Tracy/Liz Claiborne. Her duties included designs for sportswear and the dress division, purchases of all fabric and trims, and dressing models at runway shows and photo shoots. While living in L.A., she served as a dresser to Frankie Valli, The Pointer Sisters, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and she was a personal shopper for Aaron Spelling. Along with designing costumes, she is an active artist and art teacher. She received her B.S. in Fashion Design from the University of Cincinnati, teaching certification from Mount Union University and an M.A. from Marygrove College.

Ron Jarvis: Sound Designer
You might recognize Ron Jarvis as a performer, producer, music director, and/or composer for such stalwart Northeast Ohio acts as The Buckeye Biscuit Band, Ital, First Light, Alex Bevan, Pat Dailey and, most recently, Macaw: the American Worldbeat Band. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Kent State where he has taught Art of the Theatre and Theatre Criticism classes as well as the three-part series of Sound Design and Technology classes for the Entertainment Arts and Technologies certificates program. Ron has worked with world renowned directors Vincent Dowling (composition for The Winter’s Tale at Kent State) as well as Ping Chong (Blindness: The Irresistible Light Of Encounter at La Mama Theatre in NYC) and has served as a live-mix consultant at Geauga Lake and Cedar Point amusement parks. Although his first sound design for Kent State Stark was for the 2002 production of Dancing at Lughnasa, since 2007 he has designed many of the Kent State Stark theatrical productions including Oklahoma!, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, Into the Woods, The Revenger’s Tragedy, The Mikado, Crazy for You, Dating is Tough to Do... and Funny, Too!, Songs for a New World, Plumfield, Iraq, Evil Dead: The Musical and Anton in Show Business.

John-Michael Roberts: Stage Manager

Joshua Brown: Assistant Stage Manager
Joshua Brown has performed in many plays throughout his high school career (including roles in Once and Future King and Oklahoma) and appeared in Plumfield, Iraq and Evil Dead: The Musical at Kent State Stark.

Anthony Antoniades: Lighting Design Assistant
Anthony Antoniades appeared in Huck Finn’s Story and Dating Is Tough To Do... and Funny, Too! and Plumfield, Iraq at Kent State Stark, where he also stage managed Songs for a New World and Evil Dead: The Musical. He is a theatre major at Kent State.

Kerry McCarthy: Sound Design Assistant
Kerry McCarthy is currently a junior majoring in theatre studies at Kent State University. She assisted costume crew in Huck Finn's Story, and was costume design assistant for Songs for a New World, stage managed Dating is Tough to Do... and Funny,Too! and The Glass Menagerie, and was the sound design assistant for Plumfield, Iraq and Evil Dead: The Musical. Kerry has also designed costumes for Puss in Boots and was head costumer for Aladdin Jr. at Medina Performing Arts Center for summer theatre.

Chris McDaniel: Scenic & Lighting Design Assistant
Chris McDaniel is a second semester freshman majoring in Classical Greek and minoring in theatre. He graduated from Pell City High School in Pell City, Alabama, where he performed in Everafter and Our Town, stage-managed Wizard of Oz, and was a technician on all three shows. He has taken several theatre classes at Kent State Stark, and is excited and anxious to be involved in more shows down the road.

Jered Rossow: Costume Design Assistant
Jered Rossow is a freshman at Kent State Stark, with a few previous plays under his belt, such as crew of Evil Dead: The Musical at Kent State Stark, and a few performances in high school including Robin Hood: A New Generation. He is very excited to be a part of the Anton team, as well as tackling even more challenging roles in theatre down the road.