CORKTOWN
Or, Through the Valley of Dry Bones
by Jeff Augustin
Directed by Chamara Jewel Kwakye
Assistant Director Ural Grant
Michigan State University Land Acknowledgement
We collectively acknowledge that Michigan State University occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Lands of the Anishinaabeg – Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples. In particular, the University resides on Land ceded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw. We recognize, support, and advocate for the sovereignty of Michigan’s twelve federally-recognized Indian nations, for historic Indigenous communities in Michigan, for Indigenous individuals and communities who live here now, and for those who were forcibly removed from their Homelands. By offering this Land Acknowledgement, we affirm Indigenous sovereignty and will work to hold Michigan State University more accountable to the needs of American Indian and Indigenous peoples.
Costume Design
Gabriela Castillo*
Scenic Design
Kasee Arnett*
Lighting Design
Nicklas Casella*
Media Design
Erin R.
Properties Artisans
Ariana Moreno
Vee Rose
Sound Design
Lucas Nunn
Stage Manager
Rachel Kramer
Dramaturgy
Basil Winters
CAST
Rashad Bates – Jackee
Jewell Redman – Corner Prophet
Bobby Conlan – Ty/Barista
Joshua Sowers – Cop
Nakayla Morgan – Phylicia
Michale Coffey – Sherman
Bashar Byrouthy – Atlas
Ural Grant* – Reverend Johnson
Reese Martin -Bus Driver/Coffee Shop Owner
Samantha Stanton – Teach for America Girl
Kim Seabright Martin* – Ellen
Ben Barber – Clarke
Alana Denard – Homeless Person
Ebony Battle – Cop 2
Cayla Hadaway – Cop 3
Ben Corsi – Sammy/Customer 2
Taelor Burrell – Mother
Harley Harris – Customer 1
Nealmonté Alexander – u/s Jackee & Rev. Johnson
Mortimer, courtesy of Woodchuck Farms – Pig
*Denotes Master of Fine Arts Candidate
WHEN ENTERING THE THEATRE
During the performance, please turn off cell phones, mobile devices, alarm watches and anything that makes noise. The video and/or audio recording of this performance by any means are strictly prohibited.
RUN TIME
The performance runs approximately 2 hours with one 15-minute intermission.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
Call—“We’re telling this story, why?”—Ural Grant, Corktown Assistant Director
Response—“Because it’s important!”—Corktown Cast
This was our cast’s Call & Response to why we want to tell the story of Corktown.
At the start of rehearsals, a cast member pulled me aside and said, “So this is a play about gentrification, but it feels like we’re talking about so many big and small things at the same time, notions of home, racism, family, community, gentrification, how we fix it, can we fix it?…” I could see the twinkle in their eye at “the possibility to bring something so complex and nuanced to life.” So, how do we solve a problem as old as the United States? Gentrification may be a relatively recent phenomenon, but it is not one without roots in colonialism, imperialism, and racialized capital. As more and more people return to cities to call them home, those cities were inevitably built by Black labor and undoubtedly on Indigenous land. As Jackee tells us, “People underestimate the meaning of home.”
This play is intensely special to me, not only because I was given the opportunity to direct it, but because I see so much of myself in the playwright. Jeff Augustin, child of Haitian immigrants, committed to communal storytelling traditions and its importance to Black diasporic survival is in harmony with my own notions of survival, freedom, and child of a Ghanaian immigrant upbringing. I see so much of myself in the characters. I am Phylicia’s Black girl swag, moving down urban pavement, wanting to protect both her dreams and her family in equal measure. I am Jackee’s queer, precocious, off on adventure, whether in my mind or in real life, to see beauty where other people have forgotten to look. I was raised by Corner Prophets.
I cannot imagine a timelier story and characters to exemplify MSU’s Department of Theatre’s annual theme of community or one that speaks directly to our contemporary moment. Corktown asks us to consider if the communities we live in provide space for everyone, every living thing, to grow and thrive or just a select few? What is organic to our needs as humans? Friendship? Family (biological and chosen)? Valuing beauty in the complex? Or is it consumption? More organic lattes, muffins? My sincerest hope is that you too see yourself in Corktown without ever taking for granted the complex meaning of home.
DRAMATURG’S NOTE
Discussing the complex issues of race, gender, class, and sexuality, Corktown, or Through the Valley of Dry Bones, is a play written by Jeff Augustin that focuses on gentrification in the micro and the macro scales within the city of Detroit, Michigan, and other similar cities. Macro-gentrification is what the audience is most likely familiar with: the idea that People of Color are displaced from their home and culture due to rising housing prices and racist institutions in the housing market. Yet, Augustin pushes both those on stage and in the house to think deeper about the effects of gentrification, and to consider what it does to the human body, the human mind, and even the human soul. What the audience will see is not always easy to process, and sometimes it can feel uncomfortable. Augustin does not attempt to shy away from that, because in discomfort we are able to find growth.
“Through the Valley of Dry Bones” itself is a Biblical reference to Ezekiel 37:1–14, a story of how no man-made power can bring dead bones to life, only God has this power. As we see Corktown start to become a skeleton of what it once was, who can bring it back to life? Would it take an intervention from God themself? This, combined with other religious symbolism throughout the play, strike at the historical importance of religion in the foundations of the Black Community. This adds more complexity to our issues of queerness, gender, and race for our characters and for the audience watching in the seats.
-Basil Winters
SPECIAL EVENTS
Pre-Show Performance by MSU Gospel Choir on
Sunday, October 16 at 1:15PM
Performers:
Christen Murray
Rahsun Watson
Amyiah Shaw
Quamari Brown
Ana Johnson
Walter Kearney
Christa Young
Eddie Gardner
Ivy Peoples
DaMiah Davis
Marcus Martin
Brian Allen
Jason M Brown
Jonathan Muir-Cotton
Joshua Hezekiah Watkins
SPECIAL THANKS
Thank you to the MSU Gospel Choir, LaShondra “Rynea Soul” Hemphill, Woodchuck Farms for the use of sweet Mortimer, and Dr. Ruth Nicole Brown and the African American & African Studies program.
PRODUCTION TEAM
Department of Theatre Chairperson
Stephen Di Benedetto
Department of Theatre Production Manager
Abbie Tykocki
Director
Chamara Jewel Kwakye
Assistant Director
Ural Grant
Scenic Design
Kasee Arnett
Lighting Design
Nick Casella
Sound Design
Lucas Nunn
Media Design
Erin Riley
Costume Design
Gabriela Castillo
Props
Vee Rose and Ariana Moreno
Stage Manager
Rachel Kramer
Assistant Stage Managers
Jen Lowe and B Beethem
Production Assistant
Brynna Wesley
Technical Director
Levi Galloway
Assistant Sound Design
Bunni Gutierrez
Paint Charge
Thalia Pearce
Master Electrician
Lilian Meyers
Lighting Board Op
Bee Neuhouser
Sound Board Op
Bunni Gutierrez
Media Board Op
Andrew Brown
Deck Crew Head
Kamryn Sarratt
Costume Crew Head
Rebecca Kolloen
Publicity
Ryonn Clute, Kelsey Southwick, Abbie Tykocki, Zach Deande, Lauren Spiegel
Photography
Josh Auten
Office Operations
Brian de Vries
Fiscal Officer
Sara Allison
Lighting Crew
Bunni Gutierrez
Madison Ramsey
Lauren Spiegel
Stage Crew
THR 111 Students
Faculty Mentors: Alison Dobbins, Karen Kangas-Preston, Tina Newhauser, Ranae Selmeyer, Shannon Schweitzer
CAST & CREW BIOS
Dr. Chamara (Sh’Mar’Rah) Jewel Kwakye (Kwaa’Chee) is an award-winning womanist scholar-educator with interdisciplinary interests at the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, ethnography, performance, and pedagogy. She’s co-edited, Wish to Live: The Hip-hop Feminism Pedagogy Reader and has also co-written, starred in, and produced several ethnographic performances based on the lives of Black women and girls. She is the past recipient of the University of California, Riverside Gluck Fellowship, the University of Illinois Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship, the AERA Mentorship award, and the Kentucky Foundation for Women’s Radical Art for Social Change Award. She is currently an Academic Specialist at Michigan State University in the Department of African American & African Studies, a department that embraces, without apology, Black feminisms, Black Gender Studies, and Black Sexuality Studies.She has published works on qualitative methods, hip-hop feminist pedagogy, Black girlhood, and is currently working on her newest book project Cimmaron, which explores Black Girlhood and the African Diaspora.
She can be found on social media at the following:
Instagram: @chamarajewel & @TheInitiativeForCreativeArts
Facebook: @TheInitiativeForCreativeArts
NEALMONTÉ ALEXANDER (Jackee, Reverend Johnson (u/s) Detroit, MI; Senior, BFA Acting for Stage Screen and New Media, BFA Apparel and Textiles Design. This is his first MSU Department of Theatre Stage Production, previously writing, directing, & acting for the D.E.I. Audio Anthology. Nealmonté, known as Puck at MSU, would like to thank his cast & crew for being amazing and welcoming him in and his family & friends for their support and their love.
BENNETT BARBER (Clarke) Knoxville, TN; Junior, BA in Games and Interactive Media and BFA Acting for Stage, Screen, and New Media. Ben has been involved in various productions at MSU and is proud to share the story of Corktown! He would like to thank his family and friends back home as well as his curious cat, Tennessee. Thank you for your support and enjoy the show!
RASHAD BATES (Jackee) Chicago, IL; Sophomore, BA Acting for Stage, Screen, and New Media. This Is Rashad’s first MSU production and is proud to share the story of Corktown! He would like to thank his family and friends for their support and love and hopes everyone gets a sense of how important and real the message of the show truly is. Thank you for your support and enjoy the show!
EBONY BATTLE (Cop 2) Kalamazoo, Mi; Junior, BFA Acting for Stage, Screen, and New Media. This is her first main-stage show at MSU. Ebony would like to thank her family for all the support and the cast and crew for all their amazing work.
B BEETHEM (Assistant Stage Manager) Hadley, MI; Junior, BFA Stage Management. They recently transferred to MSU after two years at University of Michigan–Flint, where they were involved in projects such as Twelfth Night (Assistant Stage Manager) and Trying Times (Assistant Stage Manager) and are very excited to continue their theatrical journey here in East Lansing.
TAELOR BURRELL (Mother) Pontiac, MI; Senior, BA Theatre. She first started out acting in church and got her first real performance as an orphan in the play Annie with the Farmington Hills Players. She continued acting in plays throughout high school. This is her first show at MSU, and she is very excited. She would like to thank her cast & crew for their hard work, and her family for their continuous support.
BASHHAR BYROUTHY (Atlas) Accra, Ghana; Senior, BS Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science Minor. With this being his debut performance at MSU and his first theatrical performance in five years, Bash is thrilled and incredibly grateful to be back on stage! He would like to thank his family back home and his second family here at MSU for being his backbone.
NICKLAS CASELLA (Lighting Design) Livonia, MI; Third-year MFA Design candidate. Nick has a primary focus in lighting design with a secondary focus in media design. His design work at MSU has included Head Over Heels(lighting), Wendy and the Neckbeards (lighting), 2020: The S#%t Show (scenic), and Julius Ceasar (lighting). Nick would like to thank the lighting crew and production team for all of their incredible work, and his wife and family for all of their support.
GABRIELA CASTILLO (Costume Design) Columbia, MD; Second-year MFA Design candidate. This is Gaby’s first costume design at MSU. Her primary focus is in scenic design, having designed Head over Heels last year. Other designs include Man of God (scenic), James and the Giant Peach (scenic), and Sojourners (scenic).
MICHALE COFFEY (Sherman) Detroit, MI; Junior, BFA Acting. His most recent work was Noble Intentions in the Title role of Noble alongside acting powerhouses Obba Babatunde, Aaron D. Spears and Lori Hayes. He would like to thank his amazing cast, crew & family and specifically his mother for her constant support since day one.
BOBBY CONLAN (Ty/Barista) Grosse Pointe, MI; Junior, BFA in Acting. He has played other roles such as Sly, Randy and Earl in the MSU Second Stage production of Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here. However, this is Bobby’s first time on the main stage of MSU with a speaking role. He would like to thank his Family, Friends and beautiful partner Bunni for supporting him the whole way, and after the shows he will also be accepting challengers in Mario Kart 8. He would like to see you try and beat him. ENJOY!!!
BEN CORSI (Sammy & Customer 2) Macomb, MI; Junior, BFA Acting, Psychology BA. An amazing, and most recent, performance of Ben’s at Michigan State University, The Impracticality of the Modern-Day Mastodons (Clarence/Clint), a storefront initiative! He would like to thank his family for all of the endless love and support, as well as the amazing cast and crew!
ALANA DENARD (Homeless Person) Detroit, MI; Sophomore, BS in Horticulture. This is her first (and perhaps only) theatrical performance, so she would like to make it one to remember. She also wants to thank everyone who came out to see the show, and all the amazing cast and crew.
URAL GRANT (Reverend Johnson/Assistant Director): Memphis, TN; Second-year MFA Acting Candidate. Previously seen at Summer Circle 2022 in Distracted (Son) and The Play That Goes Wrong (Johnathan). Past productions at MSU DOT include Hit the Wall (Carson), A Contemporary American’s Guide to a Successful Marriage (Jeremy). Ural is grateful for the hardships and learning moments shared throughout this production, because the pressure has only further refined him as a diamond in the rough! #wontbreakmysoul
BUNNI GUTIERREZ (Assistant Sound Designer) Sterling Heights, MI; Junior, BFA in Theatrical Design with a focus in lighting and sound design. They have previously worked on Orchesis Dance Show, Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here, and Hit The Wall as a Lighting Designer. This will be their first-time doing sound for the stage, so they are incredibly exited to showcase their work. Bunni would like to thank their friends at Howland and their incredible boyfriend Bobby for always being the most supportive.
CAYLA HADAWAY (Cop 3) St. Joseph, MI; Sophomore, BFA Acting for Stage, Screen, and New Media. She is very excited to be a part of this production, as this is her first main-stage show at MSU. Cayla would like to thank her friends and family for all the support and the cast and crew for all their amazing work.
HARLEY HARRIS (Customer 1) Austin, TX; Senior, BFA Acting. Last fall, Harley was a Neckbeard in MSU’s production of Wendy and The Neckbeards. He also regularly performs with After School Special Improv, a group sponsored by Second Stage Productions. Harley is excited to bring the important story of Corktown to MSU audiences, and would like to thank his family, friends and his partner Elyse for their amazing support.
RACHEL KRAMER (Stage Manager) Carlsbad, CA; Junior, BFA Stage Management, Minor in Arts and Cultural Management. Her most recent projects include Hit the Wall (stage manager) and Orchesis Dance Show (lighting designer) at MSU. She would like to thank her friends and family for their love and support! Rachel also thanks the cast, crew, and Chamara for their amazing work on this show! Go green!
JEN LOWE (Assistant Stage Manager): Dewitt, MI; Senior, BFA Stage Management, Minor in Arts and Cultural Management. Her most recent productions include Wharton’s Disney Musicals (Stage Manager), Orchesis Dance Show (Stage Manager), Dance Minor Showcase (Stage Manager) Abandon All Hope (Production Manager), Head Over Heels (Stage Manager), and What if Wilhelmina (Stage manager). Thank you, friends and family, and cast and crew for their hard work.
KIM SEABRIGHT MARTIN (Ellen): Cleveland, OH; Second-year MFA Acting candidate. Previously seen at Summer Circle 2022 in Pippin (Berthe), Distracted (Mama), and The Play That Goes Wrong (Chris). Past productions at MSU DOT include The Impracticality of Modern-Day Mastodons (Delores), The Whirligig (Trish), and Wendy and the Neckbeards (Mama, KBQ). To the cohort, you’re a pal and a confidant.
REESE MARTIN (Bus Driver, Coffee Shop Owner): Manhattan Beach, CA; Sophomore, BFA Acting. Reese has done theatre for years, but Corktown is her first main stage production at Michigan State. Reese is extremely excited to be a part of this incredible team! She’d like to thank the creative team for all their hard work. And to her mom for her constant support and for flying all the way from California to see the show!
NAKAYLA MORGAN (Phylicia) Detroit, MI; Senior, BA Theatre. She recently made her first collegiate debut last spring semester, starring in Monsieur d’Eon is A Woman as Beaumarchais. She would like to thank her family and friends for their endless love and support, Chamara for being such an important role model, director, and professor, and lastly her fellow cast and crew for being amazing!
JEWELL REDMAN (Corner Prophet) Redford, MI; Junior, BFA Acting, Communications. Acknowledging previous fantastic theatre performances, her most recent project, Mealworms (Dawn), an MSU film initiative, is something Jewell is extremely excited to share! She would like to thank her family for their constant support and love, and her fellow cast and crew for being the absolute best.
JOSHUA VANN SOWERS (Cop) Warren, Mi; Senior, BFA Acting for Stage Screen and New Media with a Minor in Fiction Filmmaking. His previous works include Head Over Heels (Ensemble), Seeds of Corruption (Richard), and The Penelopiad (Suitor). Josh is passionate about this story being told and believes everyone in the cast and crew has done beautiful work in helping it come to life! He would like to thank his family for their constant and unrivaled support, the cast and crew for entertaining his silly antics, his director for helping him grow through this process, and finally his dear friends for being there. I love you all.
SAMANTHA STANTON (Teach for America Girl) Lansing, MI; Junior, BA Theatre. She has appeared in school and community theatre shows in the Lansing area for over a decade, notably Oliver! (Oliver) and The Little Mermaid (Ariel). She’d like to thank her cast and crew for their continued hard work on this incredible show!
VEE ROSE (Properties Designer) Senior; BFA Stage Management. Vee was born and raised in Eaton Rapids, MI, and grew up hearing about the gentrification of the general Detroit area. As a current Lansing resident, living in the Downtown area that is experiencing many of the same events pictured in this play, Vee was thrilled to be on the production team to help share a story that is very near to their heart. Some of Vee’s most recent productions include ImaGen: In Emily’s Words (assistant stage manager) and Monsieur d’Eon is a Woman (assistant properties designer) here with MSU’s Department of Theatre, and The Hat Box (assistant stage manager) at Williamston Theatre. They’d like to thank Ranae Selmeyer for being an incredible mentor and a continual source of encouragement and Ariana Moreno for being a fantastic co-designer.
Kasee is a third year MFA Design student who specializes in Costume and Scenic Design and Technology. Starting from a small town in Kentucky, she has progressed past her expectations as a person, student, and designer. She is excited to be finishing up her last year with this scenic design as well as her future assistant scenic design with Kirk Domer and costume design for 2023 Spring production of Charolette’s Web. Kasee’s previous recognitions are her costume design for MSU’s 2022 Spring production of Hit The Wall and her scenic design for 2021 Fall production of A Contemporary American’s Guide to a Successful Marriage, where she won the KCACTF Region III Theatre Design Excellence Scenic Design and the KCACTF National Scenic Design Award Distinguished Achievement. She wishes to thank all who have been a part of this design and build process, as well as thank and show gratitude for her support group; MSU’s MFA Design Graduates, Scene Shop faculty and staff, her mentors Karen Kangas-Preston and Ranae Selmeyer. She also thanks you for your contributions and support towards the arts. To see more of her past works visit: www.kaseearnett.com.
In November 2021, LaShondra joined MSU’s Prevention, Outreach, and Education department as the Climate and Response Specialist. In this role, she supports units with developing positive work and learning environments via education, outreach, and social change.
Friends of Theatre is a membership organization promoting, encouraging and enhancing activities of the MSU Department of Theatre. We organize events and programs that expand the community experience of theatre. We also create fund-raising opportunities and promote improvements in the programs and facilities of the MSU Department of Theatre. How can you join? Make a donation to the Michigan State University Department of Theatre and you will become a most welcome member. Click here to learn more.
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