The performance will run 70 minutes with no intermission.

Director: Edgar Landa* Assistant Director: Maria Pasquarelli Set: Meg Cunningham Lighting: Barbara Kallir* Sound: Becca Kessin

Costumes: Stephanie Petagno Stage Manager: Lyndsay LucasComposer/Music Director: Brenda Varda

* member of Son of Semele Ensemble

THEOFFENDING GESTURE THE

by Mac WellmanFeaturing:

Rachel Appelbaum Melina Bielefelt* Anastasia CoonKyla Ledes Flor San Roman* Erin Scerbak

Ashley Steed* Kate Williams Grabau

Off-Broadway premiere produced by The Tank (Rosalind Grush and Rania Jumaily, Artistic Directors), directed by Meghan Finn, at The Connelly Theater as part of The Tank’s Flint &

Tinder Series in association with 3-Legged Dog on January 5, 2016.

FROM THE DIRECTORThe Offending Gesture is puzzling and funny and unset-tling. The first time I read it I fell in love with it, although I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. I was a fan of how Wellman deconstructed the idea of the well-made play. I laughed at the ridiculousness of the words and stage di-rections (how do you perform the following stage direc-tion: “Paws. Pause. Paws?” Is it a stage direction? Or is it silliness embedded in the construct of the play? I was un-

settled by the idea of seeing the Nazi salute performed over and over and over again. And, yet, there was humor in the repetition of that gesture.

I am interested in pushing the boundaries of the experience of theatre. In our production we are delighting in the words Mac Wellman has written and let-ting them inform the silliness that they evoke ultimately to perhaps leave the residue of an idea or the spark of an idea in the viewer’s mind... perhaps a few days later.

— Edgar Landa

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Son of Semele believes that the impact of a theatrical experience should resonate beyond the theater door. As an ensemble of artists, we integrate complex design and performance, producing theatre that embraces the friction between emotion and intellect. Through a process of discovery, collaboration and creative risk-taking, we illuminate and amplify univer-sal questions.

Through our work, we make an earnest commitment to the artistic sus-tainability of the greater community. Our resident company, Son of Se-mele Ensemble, produces two productions each year. In addition, Son of Semele presents the annual Solo and Company Creation Festivals, and welcomes a variety of guest productions by like-minded theater artists through our Guest Productions program. For more information on Son of Semele programming, please visit our website.

We mooncats are the cat’s meowHurrah for mooncatocracyHurrah for mooncats ah yi ah yi.Hurrah for mooncatocracy!Bonk we in bonk we out ah yi.Down there arf dogs arf dogs crazee.

“The Mooncat’s Ballad”

LOCATIONSThe Land of Evening (Germany), Yarth (Earth), and The Moon

CASTRachel Appelbaum (Mooncat) has an MFA in acting from USC and a BA in Biology from Cornell University. She is currently employed as an actress (SAG & EMC), pianist (The Queen Mary) and puppeteer (Henson trained) since assuredly those three things go together. Recent TV cred-its include The Last Ship, Stevie TV, The Eric Andre Show, and Just Seen It. Rachel is currently writing and producing

a children’s puppet pilot. She is hugely thankful to Edgar Landa for the chance to be musical and ridiculous with this wonderful all female cast. I am Mooncat hear me rawr. www.rachelactor.com

Melina Bielefelt (Noble Wolf) THEATRE: Molly Sweeney (*LA Weekly Nom./Best Actress), Trial of the Catonsville 9 (Movement & Assoc. Director) at Actor’s Gang (Nat’l/Int’l), WOYZECK, Robert Wilson; Agents and Assets, LAPD, John Malpede & Peter Sellars (Nat’l/Int’l). Bulgak-hov Festival, Kiev, Zoo District. Theatre Movement Bazaar, La Mirada, Cornerstone, Chalk Rep, Oasis, Fabulous Mon-

sters, shrimps, John Fleck, Melinda Ring, Will Geer Theatricum & Highways, Getty Center, HBO Workspace, A.S.K., LAMEC, & Marina Abramovic Gala at MOCA. FILM & TV: Bill Viola’s Ocean Without a Shore (Venice Biennale) & Go-ing Forth By Day (Guggenheim Berlin/NYC), CSI, The Forgotten, Cellar Door [seeking representation]

Anastasia Coon (Jackie) was recently seen in Friends In Transient Places by Jonathon Caron (Gypsy on Netflix). Ms. Magazine named Anastasia’s award-winning solo show Gracie and Rose a “Top 10 Feminist Pick of the Hol-lywood Fringe Festival.” Next, she’s Movement Designer on Citizen: An American Lyric at the Kirk Douglas Theater remount, originally produced at the Fountain (NAACP

Best Choreography Nominee). She’s a proud graduate of Dell’Arte Interna-tional School of Physical Theatre and UT Austin’s MFA Acting program. Thank you Amielynn. www.AnastasiaCoon.com

Kyla Ledes (Mooncat) is thrilled to be making her Son of Semele debut with this wonderfully strange show. She has her MFA in acting from the University of Southern Cali-fornia where some of her favorite credits include Electra in The Oresteia Project, Street Singer in The Threepenny Opera, and Phoebe in As You Like It. Kyla’s character is greatly inspired by her cat, Remi, but not her dog, Monty,

who would be deeply offended by her feline inclinations.

Flor San Roman (Mooncat) is excited to step onstage in a Son of Semele Ensemble production for the first time, after working behind the scenes in more than half a dozen company productions as a stage manager or dramaturg. She has also stage managed plays for Playwright’s Arena and Open Fist. Flor is a USC Theatre alumna and a voice actor and takes cats’ superiority to dogs as a given.

www.florsanroman.com

Erin Scerbak (Mooncat Alternate) is a Los Angeles-based actor who is making her Son of Semele debut. Past LA credits include Pericles, A Christmas Carol (A Noise With-in) and Dry Land (The Echo Theatre Co.) as a member of the swim team. When not acting, you can find Erin ob-sessing over her dog (Hi Finny!), eating as much pizza as possible, and daydreaming. Erin would like to thank Edgar,

Brenda, Son of Semele Ensemble, and the cast and crew for welcoming her with open arms. Love to C and F. IG @nirekabrecs | www.erinscerbak.com

Ashley Steed (Blondi) is a theatre maker, creative produc-er and writer. In Los Angeles, she started a company that devises new works called The Visceral City Project and is also a member of Son of Semele Ensemble. She’s worked on numerous projects as a director, performer or producer here in LA as well as London. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Better Lemons, an online arts and culture publication. Ash-

ley holds a BA in Theatre from USC and an MA in Theatre and Performance from Queen Mary, University of London. @ashleysteed | www.ashleysteed.com

Kate Williams Grabau (Mooncat/Assistant Music Director) is delighted to be making her Son of Semele debut with these crazy cats. She has performed regionally at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, and was recently seen in the national touring company of Camelot as Lady Anne. Lo-cally, she has performed with Coeurage Theater Co, The Blank Theater, and The Grand Guignolers. She is also the

Co-Artistic Director of Better Than Shakespeare Co. Kate holds BM from Cath-olic University, and an MFA from USC.

PRODUCTION TEAMMeg Cunningham (Scenic Designer) studied architecture at Cal Poly, SLO and scenic design at Carnegie Mellon. Her favorite theater designs include: The ALICE Project with Marianne Weems, Linthead at Santa Monica Playhouse, and helping with Wilderness’ The Day Shall Declare It in 2015. For Son of Semele Ensemble: Woman Parts and If You Can Get to Buffalo. As an Art Director for themed entertainment, she works on a variety of theme-park-esque projects, including the Walking Dead attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood.www.megcunningham.com

Barbara Kallir (Lighting) lighting credits with Son of Semele Ensemble in-clude: Slaughter City, If You Can Get To Buffalo, Wallowa, Preludes and Fugues, and 365 Plays/365 Days. Other theatre lighting credits include: Small Tragedy (Odyssey Theatre); adciwham (Pappas & Dancers); Lost and Found (Lounge Theatre), and Absurd Person Singular (Morgan-Wixon), for which she also designed the sets. She is a Director and Literary Manager at Son of Semele Ensemble and a founding member of Rogue Machine Theatre. Select direct-ing credits: Sex & God, Roadkill Confidential, Slaughter CIty (Son of Semele Ensemble); Half of Plenty (Rogue Machine.) Barbara is a member of IATSE 728, and has worked in film and TV as both a Gaffer and a Best Boy.

Rebecca Kessin (Sound) Recent designs include Die, Mommie, Die!, Dream Boy (LADCC Nomination), Bootycandy, The Homosexuals, Revolver (Cel-ebration Theatre), A Singular They, The Why, Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers, Young Playwrights Festival (The Blank Theatre), Niagara Falls, The Whiskey Maiden (Theatre of NOTE), If You Can Get to Buffalo (Son of Semele Ensemble), The Max Factor Factor (NoHo Arts Center), Object of Her Affec-tion (Automata), Woman Parts (Son of Semele), Wrap Your Heart Around It (Falcon Theatre), Vera Stark, Next Fall, The Savannah Disputation, On Gold-en Pond, The All Night Strut!, Educating Rita (The Colony), Gypsy, Three Tall Women, Crumbs..., Fabulation!, Miss Witherspoon (West Coast Ensemble), Stranger (Bootleg Theatre, Garland Nomination), Kiss of the Spiderwoman (Havok, Garland Nomination), The Miracle Worker (High Street Arts Center, Four Star Award). Becca also has also worked as an assistant or associate de-signer at leading venues including the Ahmanson Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, Kirk Douglas Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse and Mark Taper Forum. www.rebeccakessin.com

Edgar Landa (Director) is an actor/director and creates fights & violence for theatres large and small. Recent directing credits include: Taming of the Shrew and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Thin Air Shakespeare – Jackson Hole, WY); Chavez Ravine (Loyola Marymount University); If You Can Get To Buffalo (Son of Semele Ensemble). Edgar serves on the faculty of the USC School of Dra-matic Arts and is a long-time collaborator of Son of Semele Ensemble. He is a proud AEA member and Pro99 supporter of small theatre in Los Angeles.

Lyndsay Lucas (Stage Manager) is a member of Son of Semele Ensemble and has stage managed here on If You Can Get To Buffalo by Trish Harnetiaux and Love and Information by Caryl Churchill. Staged managed at The Lounge The-atre on Grow a Pair of…Wings by Fresh Produce’d and the Hollywood Fringe. She also staged managed Summer and Smoke by Tennessee Williams at The Actor’s Co-op. Enjoy the show!

Matthew McCray (Founding Artistic Director, Son of Semele) has produced 16 seasons at Son of Semele. He’s directed productions and workshops at Cen-ter Theatre Group, South Coast Rep (StudioSCR), Deaf West, Boston Court, among others. In 2014 he accepted a SAGE Award and LA Drama Critics Cir-cle Award for Best Direction (Ovation and LA Weekly noms) for Our Class. Recently, his 2015 production of Love and Information was nominated for 6 Stage Raw Awards. Other work: The City (LA Weekly nom), Death of a Sales-girl (LA Weekly nom), Machinal and the musicals Rent, Legally Blonde and In

The Heights. Board member: LA’s Producers League. Member: SDC, AEA & SAG/AFTRA. @matthewmccray | matthewmccray.com

Maria Pasquarelli (Assistant Director) received her MFA in Acting from the University of Southern California. Since graduating, Maria has been acting, producing and directing in the LA area. She created and starred in the web series, MAKIN’ IT, producing 9 episodes. Maria is now focusing on directing, having worked on several short pieces in LA, a show in the Hollywood Fringe, and assistant directing in the MFA program at USC.

Stephanie Petagno (Costumes) worked as a sculptor, costume designer, illus-trator, and puppeteer spans theatre, themed environments, site-specific ex-periences, print and film. Before migrating westward, Stephanie was associate costume designer for Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More during its first year in New York City. Her recent, select Los Angeles collaborations as costume designer include The Institute of Memory (Redcat), The Day Shall Declare It (Imperial Arts), Circle Jerk (Redcat), The Fasting Girls (Automata), Metamorphosis (The Moving Art Collective), Strings Attached (LA Shakespeare Center), The Last Shift (Persian film), and Murder on the Dancefloor (MV/Maxi Wild). She is cur-rently working on a surrealist series of characters as new humans actualized by their REAL news-worthy hijinks. By day, Stephanie develops and imple-ments animation into character costumes and walk-arounds for themed, im-mersive worlds and parades. MFA CalArts. www.stephaniepetagno.com

Brenda Varda (Composer/Musical Director) is playwright, composer, and musical director (MFA) who develops original works, coaches singers, and performs her own original compositions. Recent projects include Nine Dresses, her award-winning solo show, A (wasted) Evening With Tom Lehrer (a cabaret with JPL & Caltech scientists) and A Play in a Restaurant With a Piano and a Bar, a new musical. Produced plays include Fables Du Theatre, Reactor, Things That Fall From the Sky, and Liquid. She is the artistic director of wordspace, providing creative development opportunities for writers. Other upcoming new works include This is My Garbage and the musical The Small, Small Time.

Mac Wellman (Playwright) Recent work includes: The Offending Gesture; Horrocks (and Toutatis Too) Woo World Wu; Muazzez; 3 2’s; or AFAR, The Difficulty of Crossing a Field; and 1965 UU. He has received numerous honors, including NEA, Guggenheim, and Foundation of Contemporary Arts fellow-ships. In 2003 he received his third Obie, for lifetime Achievement. In 2006 his third novel, Q’s Q, was published by Green Integer, and in 2008 a volume of stories, A Chronicle of the Madness of Small Worlds, was published by Trip Street Press as well as a new collection of plays The Difficulty of Crossing a Field from Minnesota Press. His novel Linda Perdido won the 2011 FC2 Cath-erine Doctorow Prize for Innovative Fiction. He is Distinguished Professor of Play Writing at Brooklyn College.

THANK YOU!Junko Goda, Ariadne Lucas, Jon Ward and Center Theatre Group

3301 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90004Web: www.sonofsemele.org | Facebook: /sonofsemele | Twitter: @sonofsemele

Son of Semele is supported by generous grants from the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. Son of Semele Ensemble is a member of the Theatrical Producers League of Los Angeles and of LA Stage Alliance.

Advisory BoardSara Adelman, General Manager, Cornerstone Theater CompanyPhyllis Moberly, Senior Press Associate, Center Theatre GroupHerbert Seguenza, Founding Member, Culture ClashAl Sgro, Founder, Answer ProductionsDiane Rodriguez, Director, New Play Development, Center Theatre Group

Ensemble MembersDarren Bailey

Hilletje Bashew

Melina Bielefelt

Don Boughton

Sarah Boughton

Kristen Carmi*

Sharyn Gabriel

Betsy Holt

Erith Jaffe-Berg

Barbara Kallir

Edgar Landa

Gabriel Liebeskind

Michael Evans Lopez

Matthew McCray*

Betsy Moore

Kate Motzenbacker

Michael Nehring*

Tope Oni

Melissa R. Randel

Ashley Regan

Paula Rebelo

Flor San Roman

Sarah Rosenberg

Ashley Steed

Dan Via

Alexander Wells

* founding member

StaffMatthew McCray Producing Artistic DirectorDarren Bailey Membership DirectorBarbara Kallir Literary ManagerKate Motzenbacker Company Creation FestivalAshley Regan Individual Giving DirectorAshley Steed Social Media Manager, Solo Creation FestivalDan Via PR & Marketing ManagerAlex Wells Volunteers Director

Box Office: Fin McAree, Paula Rebelo, MJ Silva, Ashley Steed

Board of DirectorsKristen CarmiPamela EzellMatthew LarsenMatthew McCray, chairMichael Nehring

Son of Semele Ensemble 2016 Annual Fund DonorsSon of Semele Ensemble couldn’t continue our work without these tremen-dous supporters. Thank you!

Get Involved: Volunteer!To be notified of volunteer opportunities, email volunteers@sonofsemele.org.

Stay in the Know!Please join our e-mail list at the box office so we can keep you informed about up-coming productions, news and discounts. You can also like our Facebook page (facebook.com/sonofsemele) and follow us on Twitter (@sonofsemele).

DIONYSUS CIRCLE ($2,500+)City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs, Matthew Larsen, Los Angeles County Arts Commission

SEMELE CIRCLE ($1,000 - $2,400)Matthew McCray, Brad Smith & Myron Yeager, Sara Vagliano

ZEUS CIRCLE ($500 - $999)Tom Jacobson & Ramone Munoz, John Kallir, Finlay McAree & Ashley Steed, Monica Moore, Doris Syme

DEITY CIRCLE ($250 - $499)Darren Bailey, Melina Bielefelt, Don & Diane Boughton, Patricia Holt, Erith Jaffe-Berg & Adam Berg, Myron Meisel, Michael Lopez & Maria Pasquarelli, Ashley Regan, Flor San Roman, Tyece Smith Okamura, Alex & Susan Wells

PROPHET CIRCLE ($100 - $249)Johan Alwall, Julie Anderson, Matthew Bombeck, Sarah Boughton, Ann Bronston & John Flynn, Brian Carroll & L. Stephanie Tait, Elizabeth Clemmons, Jill Davidson, Kerry English, Terry Jones, Jane Kallir, Edgar Landa, Ray Paolantonio, S. Quinn, Diane Sabatini, Ray Simmons, Ryan Stathos, Catherine Suraci, Gabe Wolosky, Paul Wong, Tomm Wells & Buddy

MORTAL CIRCLE (up to $99)Many wonderful people! Thank you!

Want to join the list? Visit sonofsemele.org to make your tax-deductible donation

ALL ACCESS PASSOne full year. Unlimited admissions. Just 99 bucks.

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