One Slight Hitch

By Lewis Black

Set in Ohio, satirical comedian Lewis Black’s production opens the door to the Coleman’s house on the day their daughter is to marry a stuffy, wealthy emblem of the Reagan era. Hilarious family drama is set in motion with the unannounced arrival of the ex-boyfriend, a beatnik poet who is unaware of her engagement and came to share the enlightenment he experienced on his recent travels. Doors slam, secrets erupt, chaos ensues.

SHOW PHOTOS

2014 Performance Dates

November 7, 8, 14 & 15 at 8 p.m.
November 9 & 16 (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 October 27.
• 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.

Ticket sales begin October 27 at 8 a.m.

Cast

David Sponhour: Doc
David has been active in theater for over 30 years. He has performed on many local stages, and acted at Kent State Stark in Cat’s Paw and Buried Child, where he is a full time theatre student. David served as assistant director for Voices From Hurt Street, and sound design assistant for The Maiden's Prayer. He is also a founding member of “Scared Scriptless," Canton’s premiere professional Improv troupe. Some of his favorite past performances include Crumpet in Santaland Diaries, Comet in The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, Jerry in Zoo Story, and Hal in Proof starring All My Children’s David Canary. He spends what little free time he has with his wonderful, spectacular, and supportive wife, Christine. 

Tracy Mastri: Delia
Tracy is a recent graduate of Kent State Stark, earning her BBA in Business Management in December 2013. She has been employed in the Business Office on campus for over eleven years.She is delighted to be working with this inspirational group for her debut performance. 

Lauren Paulis: P.B.
Lauren was a student at Kent State University at Stark for her freshmen year. She then transferred to Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, majoring in Musical Theatre. For the year Lauren studied at Marymount Manhattan, she was given incredible opportunities to work and study with current Broadway personnel. Lauren has performed for Broadway composer Frank Wildhorn and cast in Twyla Tharp’s Sweet Fields. While she is still student at Marymount, she decided to take the year off to explore more at the Kent State Stark Theatre. Lauren will be seen in an up and coming Lifetime Movie entitled With This Ring featuring Jill Scott (Steel Magnolias), Eve (Single Ladies) and Regina Hall (Think Like a Man Too). Her past Kent State Stark productions include Voices From Hurt Street (ASM) and The Crucible: An Opera (Bridget Booth/ Sarah Good US). Other productions include Anything Goes (Hope), Beauty and the Beast (Silly Girl), Mulan (Ancestor Zhang), and Ax of Murder (Darliene). In the near future, Lauren would love to work in entertainment at The Walt Disney World Resort and eventually relocate to L.A. to further her career with the film and television industry.

Tess Roholt: Courtney
Tess is a graduate of psychology from Eastern University, where she also participated in an Actor’s Lab, consisting of a small group of students, dedicated to the exploration of greater openness and risk taking through acting. Tess’s previous roles include Margot in The Diary of Anne Frank at the Player’s Guild in Canton, and Cynthia in The Maiden’s Prayer, performed at Kent State Stark, where she also performed in Voices From Hurt Street, and Jenny in The Shape of Things at the North Canton Playhouse. Tess is excited and honored to play Courtney in One Slight Hitch, as it will be her first time ever working on a comedy. Outside of theater, Tess also performs in an improv group, Just Go with It, based out of Akron. The performing arts have become a strong medium of play and creative expression for Tess, and she is thrilled to be working again at Kent State Stark Theatre. In the near future, she plans on traveling to Canada and the west coast, studying Drama Therapy and continuing her passionate pursuit of theater, dance, music and psychology as she advances in self-discovery.

Maya Nicholson: Melanie
Maya is majoring in Theatre, with a minor in marketing. She graduated from Copley High School in Copley, Ohio, and was the president of the Thespian Club. There she performed in Smokey Joe’s Café, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Little Shop of Horrors; and she also directed George Washington Slept Here and Copley’s Got Talent (the annual talent show). She acted in Kent State Stark's Voices From Hurt Street as various characters; one being “Winifred Oprey” doing a play-off of the Oprah Winfrey Show. She was costume design assistant here for I Love You Because, and last season was the sassy sister, Libby, in The Maiden’s Prayer. She is also currently enrolled in theatre courses, and aspires to be a director for Broadway, film and television. 

John Walker: Ryan
John has appeared at Kent State Stark in Dating is Tough to Do…And Funny, Too!, Songs For a New World, Plumfield, Iraq, Evil Dead, The Musical and Voices From Hurt Street. He also was assistant stage manager for The Glass Menagerie. John has performed elsewhere in Les Miserables, Oliver Twist, South Pacific, Man of La Mancha, Fiddler on the Roof, Annie and many more. 

Zach Manthey: Harper
Zach is beyond ecstatic to be making his Kent State Stark debut in the impeccably funny One Slight Hitch. Zach, although a newbie to the Kent State Stark stage, is no stranger to the theatre community, appeared in a number of plays around Ohio, including: Twelve Angry Jurors as the cynical Third Juror, Annie as the eccentric Rooster Hannigan, and A Christmas Carol as the cheerful Bob Cratchit. Once a theatre major at Ashland University, Zach now spends his latter days as a self proclaimed creative writing and film major, working to create the next greatest film the world has ever seen since Sister Act 2, in hopes to make acting legend James Spader proud. 

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 (over eighty production credits) includes Broadway, Regional, Equity Waiver, industry showcases, new work development, and many college productions. He has extensive experience as an actor (over seventy 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 over 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.

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 Franki 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 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 North East 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 andAnton in Show Business.

Hilary Jackson: Stage Manager
Hilary is a sophomore majoring in theater production. She was a costume design assistant for Our House at Kent State Stark. Hilary grew up in Amherst, Ohio, and began her theatrical career as a member of The Cleveland Singing Angels. She was in choir and theater all through school. She spent a year in Nashville, Tennessee, studying music at Belmont University. She then relocated to Orlando, Florida to live her dream of being a part of the Entertainment Department of Walt Disney World. She plans to finish her degree at Kent State, then return to Florida to be an Entertainment Manager at Disney. She enjoys yoga, dancing, song writing, and spending time with her husband, Josh. 

C.J. Pinter: Stage Manager
C.J. is a sophomore at Kent State Stark, and is majoring in marketing, as well as theatre.He played Stu in Our House, and Paul in The Maiden's Prayer at Kent State Stark. C.J. has done theatre in high school, snagging multiple leads in Rehearsal for Murder, and being plant operator for Little Shop of Horrors. He also started the One Act Festival at his high school, and was also president of the Improv club. Aside from theatre, he enjoys a nice healthy lunch from Chipotle, head banging to music, and quoting Will Ferrell as much as humanly possible. He would like to thank the director for challenging him and giving him this great opportunity. 

Bryan Steffee: Scenic/Lighting Design Assistant
Bryan has been part of many productions, such as Bye, Bye Birdie, Lil’ Abner, Annie, and The Sound of Music. He was a member of the writing ensemble and cast for Voices From Hurt Street, scenic/lighting design assistant for I Love You Because, and a costume design assistant for The Crucible and Buried Child at Kent State Stark. He is majoring in theatre with a minor in English. Bryan works as a theatre technician for the Kent State Stark Theatre Department. 

Belinda Gall: Costume Design Assistant
Belinda is a senior in the bachelor of arts program with a major concentrationin theatre performance at Kent State University. She is a recent graduate of Stark State College, where she received an associates of arts degree. She has studied the arts and humanities at North Central State College, as well as therapeutic recreation at North Central State College in Mansfield, Ohio. She has attended the Barbizon School of Modeling in Columbus, Ohio. She has competed in multiple beauty pageants including the Miss Black Mansfield Beauty Pageant, where she placed second runner-up, and she also received the Miss Congeniality Award, as well as winning the Miss Poise and Appearance award. Belinda has aspirations of being in the entertainment business, including acting, singing, and dancing. She would also like to start her own non-profit organization for inner city youths who aspire to begin their careers in the arts and humanities. 

Lynda Wilkinson: Sound Design Assistant
Lynda is a sophomore at Kent State University at Stark, majoring in theatre. Lynda was in a play her senior year of high school entitled Senile Senior Bliss. She began singing as a young child with her father, who was a musician. She performed on a local television show that aired weekly, and in clubs and churches. Lynda has done some commercial acting for a local college and restaurant. She also is the voice over voice for DentalWorks auto attendant. Her first involvement in theatre at Kent State Stark was the privilege of being the sound design assistant for Cat’s-Paw and Our House. She looks forward to furthering her theatrical involvement at Kent State Stark. 

Makayla Leslie: Sound Design Assistant

Jillian Dailey: Crew
Jillian 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 junior at Kent State Stark, where she has performed in Anton in Show Business and Plumfield, Iraq, was the costume design assistant for I Love You Because, Evil Dead: The Musical and Voices From Hurt Street, a member of the crew for The Maiden's Prayer, Cat's-Paw, and Our House. She was a member of the writing ensemble for Voices From Hurt Street. Jillian works as a theatre technician for the Kent State Stark Theatre Department. 

Caitlin Roberts: Crew
Caitlin is a junior as Kent State University at Stark. She is pursuing a major in theatre studies: design & technology, and a minor in music. Caitlin has worked on a number of shows at Kent State Stark: makeup & special effects design assistant for Evil Dead: The Musical, lighting/scenic design assistant for Buried Child, stage management for Plumfield, Iraq and Our House; and helped in the production of the student written Voices From Hurt Street (as a member of the writing ensemble and makeup designer) and assistant stage manager for Our House. Caitlin has worked as a Theatre Department technician in the scene shop at Kent State Stark for the past three years. She is a member of multiple choirs, as well as various performing ensembles here on campus.

James McKeon: Crew
James is a music technology major at Kent State Stark. He has an extensive background in music performance and writing, as well as painting. James has performed in various bands since 5th grade, and has created original artwork all his life. He learned about scenic design through his first full theatre experience at Kent State Stark with Evil Dead: The Musical. He recently was a crew member for The Maiden's Prayer, Cat's-Paw and Our House. James works as a theatre technician for the Kent State Stark Theatre Department.

Stephen Ostertag: Crew
Stephen is a theatre major, who is excited to be involved in the Kent State Stark Theatre scene, where he was a costume design assistant for The Crucible,scenic/lighting design assistant for the production of Buried Child, and was part of the writing ensemble for Voices From Hurt Street. Some of his favorite onstage credits include Lennie in Of Mice and Men, The Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz, and Nick in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Stephen also enjoys directing, writing and designing. When not busy with school, or his two children, Stephen runs the Silver Star Youth Theatre Company with his wife, Tricia. Stephen works as a theatre technician for the Kent State Stark Theatre Department.

Michaela Muckelrath: Crew

Samantha Wadsworth: Crew