THE DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND DANCE PRESENTS
Everybody by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Directed by Gary DeWitt Marshall
March 17-20, 2022
Stern Center Garden, 71 George Street
Rain location: Chapel Theatre, 171 Calhoun Street
Director: Gary Dewitt Marshall
Collaborative Design Team: Eddie Frye, Jessica Shamble, Chris Warzynski
Production Manager: Caleb Garner
Technical Director: JD Stallings
Costume Shop Manager: Ellen Swick
Dramaturg: Molly Crary
Stage Managers: Haley Vaccaro and Mollie Davis
Choreographer: Gretchen McLaine
Cast
Everybody | Cat Champlin
God | Caroline Magee
Death | Mason Monti
Usher | Mekhi Gaither Burress
Greek Chorus Ensembles:
ROY G BIV Ensemble
Yellow/Beauty | Aidan Wunderley
Green/Mind | Carson Cantey
Orange/Senses | Levi Moyer
Blue/Strength | Zae-Breaughn Barr
MOURNERS Ensemble
Friend, Kinship | Claire Arnold*
Friend, Cousin | Daniel Sessions*
Friend, Cousin | Steven Hand*
Friend, Kinship | William Carretto*
Friend, Little Girl, Time | Sylvia Jones
*Rotating lottery role(s): Love, Understanding, Evil
Production Team
CofC Stages Artistic Director: Janine McCabe
Director of Theatre: Vivian Appler
Stage Management Advisor: Susan Kattwinkel
Costume Design Advisor: Janine McCabe
Sewing and Alterations: Savannah Fatigante
Wardrobe Crew: Ashton Boland, Queen Hamilton
Lighting Design Advisor: Lauren Duffie
Electric Shop Staff: Eddie Frye, Alex Jones, Joey Kirkman, Chris Warzynski
Properties Master: Abbie Lemaster
Stage Hand: Sophie Weiss
Video Editor: Rob Alexander
Camera Operator: Molly Crary
Subtitle Creation: Julia Mimo
Operations Coordinator: Miles Boinest
Marketing & Communications: Nandini B. McCauley
Graphic Designer: Rob Alexander
Box Office: George Street Box Office
DRAMATURGS’ NOTE:
Everybody is not the first play by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins that rewrites a classic play. His 2014 play An Octoroon is similar in many ways to Everybody: they both take a pre-existing play that was old enough to be considered “historic” (with An Octoroon being an adaptation of the antebellum melodrama The Octoroon and Everybody being an adaptation of the medieval morality play Everyman), “perform” them, and respond to them from within a postmodern lens. A very clear example of this postmodernism can be seen in the way Jacobs-Jenkins employed the Brechtian technique of direct address in both plays: in An Octoroon, he and the character Playwright, a caricature of The Octoroon’s playwright Dion Boucicault, debate their intentions in writing their respective plays; and in Everybody, the character of Usher explains to the audience the history of the original play Everyman and the moral of Everybody, not unlike in the original Everyman, where a Doctor of Theology delivers a monologue of the same sort. In Everybody, there are scenes where the character Everybody is interrogated by abstract voices on the contents of their “dream,” which consists of the action of the rest of the play, and what those contents say about Everybody as a person. However, the criticisms that some of the voices give, in turn, reveal aspects of themselves. One voice makes fun of the way the character Friendship uses the word “homey,” pointing out how that’s not how they think Everybody normally talks. In return, Everybody later accuses this voice of being a “cryptoracist,” which is to say, a racist who pretends not to be a racist. A conversation ensues in these scenes about racialization and the concept of universality, and whether the idea of there being just one mode of universality is even reasonable— as Everybody says in scene XII, “I am a different Self from your Self.”
The original play Everyman fully intended to portray the struggle of literally every man, everyone, as they come to face their end, as if every single person would have the same history and the same reaction. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins examines this idea through a current lens in Everybody by asking, how can one figure represent every single person? Even the name, Everybody, evokes more of a sense of variety in a modern audience than Everyman does, and this was fully intentional. Just as he utilized direct address as it was originally designed, he also subverts it by questioning whether all audience members will receive the same moral from the play.
As Usher proclaims in his ending monologue, “‘For after death amends may no man make, for then Mercy and Pity doth him forsake.’ Or something. Maybe let’s just all be a little better about recycling. Also really really listening to each other, and maybe being less judgmental and more forgiving but, also, owning up to our mistakes and being open to changing our own mind. Lead with our Understanding. You know: just being nice to each other. For once. And I’m talking about Everybody.
“Have a good night.”
-Molly Crary, Theatre Studies and Creative Writing, College of Charleston
SPECIAL THANKS: Mandi Copeland and Stern Center Staff, Anja Kelley and GSBO Staff, Pam O’Briant, Charlie J. Smith
Special thanks to our Guardian-level donors, whose commitment and personal connection to their “Clarence” students enhance the overall student experience and the Department of Theatre and Dance as a whole.
Brandon Alston…………………..Nancy and Sam Stafford
Taylor Bennett……………..Chester and Arlene Williams
Glenna Durbin………………………Tap and Jean Johnson
Savannah Fatigante………………………………Anonymous
Joey Kirkman……………………Eveylynn and Bill Putnam
Claire Natiez…………….Mindy Seltzer and Bob Lovinger
Sidney Shanahan…….Drs. Louis and Andrea Weinstein
Maddy Smith……………………..Karl and Charlene Bunch
Thanks to all of our generous donors. Add your name to our list of generous arts supporters by making a contribution today.
Design Team Bios
Molly Crary (Dramaturg) is a senior with a major in Theatre Studies and a minor in Creative Writing. They have been Assistant Stage Manager for College of Charleston’s Antigone and Stage Manager for the 2021 production of Centerstage’s Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Mollie Davis (Stage Manager) is a sophomore majoring in Psychology and minoring in Theatre. She was the assistant stage manager for Pipeline earlier this season.
Eddie Frye (Designer) is a senior majoring in Theatre. He has worked on multiple department productions in several capacities, the most recent being Pipeline. He also served as the costume designer for Rocky Horror Picture Show (Center Stage).
Caleb S. Garner (Production Manager) is a lighting and sound designer based in Charleston, SC. A North Carolina native, Caleb received his BA and BFA from Catawba College in Salisbury NC, and his MFA from The University of Southern Mississippi. Garner’s designs, ranging from concerts and ballets to musicals and straight plays, have earned him eight regional and national design awards. Caleb has been a featured designer from New York to Mississippi, designing in the Northeast, Midwest, East Coast and Deep South. Caleb enjoys turning large pieces of wood into smaller pieces of wood (sometimes mistakenly called furniture), screaming with students (often recognized as teaching), and playing with things that spark and smoke. Caleb Currently serves as the Resident Lighting Designer at the Charleston Stage Company and serves as an adjunct lecturer at the College of Charleston.
Jessica Shamble (Designer) is an MAT Performing Arts Education student who just finished her BA in Theatre at the College last year. She was previously the lighting designer for Antigone.
Haley Vaccaro (Stage Manager) is a senior majoring in Theatre. Her previous work includes Pipeline as the stage manager. She also served as the Live Entertainment Operations Supervisor for Cedar Fair Parks.
Chris Warzynski (Designer) is a freshman majoring in Theatre. Chris served as assistant lighting designer on Die Zauberflöte and played Jaxton in The Thanksgiving Play (Center Stage).
Cast Bios
Claire Arnold (Mourners Ensemble) is thrilled to be performing in this season’s production of Everybody. This is her first performance with the College theater department and is a Studio Major, concentrating in Sculpting. She would like to thank the incredible cast and crew as well as Gary DeWitt Marshall for this unique opportunity.
Zae-Breaughn Barr (Roy G Biv Ensemble) is a junior double majoring in Biology and Theatre Performance. This is her first mainstage performance with the College of Charleston. She was last seen in Center Stage’s Rocky Horror Picture Show. Zae-Breaughn is grateful for the opportunity to work with the cast and crew to put on an amazing production of Everybody!
Mekhi Gaither Burris (Usher) is a junior at the College with a major in Theatre for Youth. This is his second mainstage production. He was last seen as Dun in Pipeline. He is beyond grateful for the cast and crew and is excited to be a part of this production.
Carsyn Cantey (Roy G Biv Ensemble) is a senior double majoring in Arts Management and Theatre (Performance). This is her seventh mainstage show at the College of Charleston. She was last seen as Laurie in Pipeline. She is extremely thankful for all of the wonderful cast and crew that has helped make this show possible.
William Caretto (Mourners Ensemble) is a senior majoring in Theatre and minoring in Japanese Studies. This is his first time acting on the College of Charleston mainstage, but has appeared in Director’s Showcase and worked as Assistant Stage Manager for 2018’s Into the Woods, and in the College’s Comedy Club performances.
Cat Champlin (Everybody) is a senior double majoring in Arts Management and Theatre (Performance). This is her third time performing in a mainstage show. She was last seen as the stage manager for last Fall’s dance concert Once More. She would like to thank her constant support system both within and outside of the cast and crew.
Stephen Hand (Mourners Ensemble) is a freshman who is currently undecided in his major. This is his first mainstage performance at the College of Charleston, and is grateful for all of the support and amazing help from the cast and crew.
Sylvia Jones (Mourners Ensemble) is a senior double majoring in Theatre (Performance) and Communication. This is her third mainstage show at the College of Charleston. She was last seen performing in Living Dead in Denmark as Juliet. She is beyond grateful for the cast, crew, and being able to be a part of this production.
Caroline Magee (God) is a junior double-majoring in Theatre (Performance) and English (Creative Writing). This is her second CofC mainstage performance. She was last seen as Eddie in Center Stage’s Rocky Horror Picture Show. Caroline is grateful for the opportunity to bring Everybody to life with such an amazing cast & crew.
Mason Monti (Death) is a junior majoring in Theater (Performance). This is his second mainstage show and he was last seen as Caden in Center Stage’s The Thanksgiving Play. He is thankful to be in this show and to be working with such talented people in the cast and crew.
Levi Moyer (Roy G Biv Ensemble) is a sophomore majoring in Psychology. This is his first show at the College of Charleston. Levi would like to thank his parents for the encouragement and support.
Daniel Sessions (Mourners Ensemble) is a senior majoring in International Studies. This will be his first show at the College of Charleston, and he is very excited to make his debut. He is extremely thankful for this opportunity, and getting a chance to work with this cast and crew.
Aidan Wunderley (Roy G Biv Ensemble) is a freshman majoring in Theatre (Performance). This is her second mainstage show and she was last seen as Woman in A Sudden Spontaneous Event. Aidan is extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with an amazing cast and crew to make this production of Everybody unique!
Center Stage presents The Cake April 1-3, 2022. For more information visit their website.
