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The Velveteen Rabbit

2012-12-04 BnB Velveteen Rabbit_0518

Show Dates & Times

  • August 7, 2018 @ 9:26 pm

Runs: 12/13/12 — 12/22/12
Event Time: 2:00pm all shows (Thursdays through Saturdays)
Tickets: $18 for adults and seniors (age 65 and over); $10 for students (age 18 and under, or with valid college ID) and children

The Velveteen Rabbit is one of the most beloved children’s books ever written. First published in 1922 and written by Margery Williams, it is the story of how love can make all things possible! Bag&Baggage is delighted to present a world premiere adaptation by B&B patron David Jenkins in a co-production with Tears of Joy Puppet Theatre. Starring some of your favorite B&B performers, this show promises to be a holiday experience the whole family can treasure!

Performances are at The Venetian Theatre, located at 253 E. Main Street, Hillsboro, OR 97123.

 

ABOUT TEARS OF JOY

Tears of Joy Theatre is recognized as one of the nation’s outstanding puppet companies. Four of the theatre’s productions have been awarded American puppetry’s highest honor, the UNIMA-USA “Citation of excellence in the Art of Puppetry.” Now in its 41st season, Tears of Joy is a resident company in the Winningstad Theatre at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts and has extensive touring programs to theatre venues, schools and libraries throughout the western states, as well as tours to the east coast and abroad. Last year, Portland Magazine named Tears of Joy “Portland’s Best Kids’ Theatre.” Learn more at www.tojt.org.

Branden McFarland – Boy

The Velveteen Rabbit marks Branden’s debut with Tears of Joy, and he is thrilled for the opportunity of this co-production. Branden McFarland was most recently seen this summer as Chiron in Bag&Baggage’s outdoor Shakespeare adaptation, Kabuki Titus. Branden has been seen before with Clackamas Repertory Theater in CRT’s production ofOklahoma!, and in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Branden has also been seen in Clackamas Community College’s theater in 2012 as Aimwell in the adapted The Beaux’ Strategem by George Farquhar, Thornton Wilder, and Ken Ludwig; Reverend Parris inThe Crucible by Arthur Miller; and Joe & Si Crowell in Our Townby Thornton Wilder. Last year, Branden was seen at CCC as Prologue in Will Eno’s The Flu Season, and as Peter Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He would like to thank his family and his friends for their unending support that has made this possible.

 

Nancy Aldrich – Velveteen Rabbit

Since becoming Tears of Joy’s Artistic Director in 2000, Nancy has writtenMalika, Queen of the Cats, based on a Palestinian folk tale, and directed The Ugliest DucklingPinocchio, The Tell-Tale Heart, StellalunaLittle One InchThe Shoemaker and the Elves, and The Adventures of Perseus. She both directed and adapted the scripts for When Animals Were PeopleRide the Red MareThe Reluctant Dragon, and Anansi the Spider. Collaborations include directing and performing in Peter and the Wolf with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, A Soldier’s Tale with the musical group Bravo! Vancouver, Façade with Portland Chamber Orchestra, andThe Long Christmas Ride Home with Theatre Vertigo for which they won a drammy for ‘Best Puppeteering.’ Nancy has also performed in Tears of Joy’s CinderellaStellaluna, Monkey King, and the adult production of Between Two Worlds/The Dybbuk.

 

Louise Stinson – Nana, The Nursery Fairy, and others

Louise Stinson is thrilled to be making her Bag&Baggage debut! She is a graduate of Portland State University with Bachelors of Art in Music. Favorite credits include: Magnolia (Show Boat), Peggy (The Andrews Brothers, Broadway Rose), Georgia (Curtains, Lakewood Theater), Alison (Bingo, Broadway Rose), Younger Woman (Putting It Together, Salem Rep), Ivy (Stardust for Christmas, Harlequin Productions), Laurey/Dream Laurey (Oklahoma, Lakewood Theater), Philia (A Funny Thing…, Anonymous Theatre), and Ensemble in Evita (Broadway Rose). Thanks to Scott, Audra, Jennifer, the cast and crew for this wonderful opportunity! Thanks also to Camille, and love to Eric and my family.

 

Nevan Richard –

Nevanis very excited to be working again with Bag& Baggage (he was previously seen in Kabuki Titus as Demetrius,) and to appear onstage in the Venetian! Nevan has been living in Portland for just over a year, having just finished an Acting Apprentice with the Portland Playhouse. Aside from theatre, he also enjoys exploring the outdoors, playing soccer, and nursing sick animals back to health. Nevan is happy to be working with the cast, crew, and puppets of Velveteen, and is thankful for the love and support of his friends and family who have helped to make his dreams real. Enjoy!

 

Kristi Bogart –

This is Kristi’s debut performance at Bag&Baggage. Before moving to Portland last year, Kristi performed professionally in Chicago. Some of her credits include False Reverence; a one woman show that she adapted from a short story by Randall Colburn; at the Art of Adaptation Festival at City Lit Theatre, stage managing The Devilish Children and performing in The Grisly/Glorious Adventures of Christopher Robin, Winnie-the-Pooh, and Billy Moonat Dream Theatre Company. Her training credits include a BFA in Acting from Central Michigan University, Second City Training Center of Chicago, and has studied under many of Portland’s local talent including Ted Rooney, Robert Blanche, Stacy Hallel and Devon Allen. She is currently a company member of Dream Theatre Company and PATA. Kristi is currently pursuing her Masters in Acting at Portland State University and resides in NE Portland with her husband.

Chris Ringkamp –

Chris is thrilled and delighted to be working with Bag&Baggage and Tears of Joy for their upcoming production of The Velveteen Rabbit. You may have previously seen Chris in Willamette Shakespeare’s production of Much Ado About Nothing where he took on the role of Claudio. Chris has also performed in a devised ensemble piece titled, Who do we Think we are?, and a devised solo piece titled,Prometheus, as a part of the Portland Playhouse acting apprenticeship. Some of his favorite roles include: Charlie in The Foreigner, Dr. Parker in Bat Boy the Musical, as well as Frank inFlyin’ West.

Peter Schuyler – Director

This is Peter’s first show as a director for B&B. He appeared as Doc Porter inCrimes of the Heart in 2011, and most recently as George in Of Mice & Men. He’s thrilled to bring this co-production to the stage for both companies. A theatre veteran for over 20 years, Peter has directed and produced shows in both Portland and NYC, including: Arsenic and Old LaceBeautiful BodiesThe Eight: Reindeer MonologuesMastiphicus Meglodon, and W.B. Yeats’ Purgatory. He is the former of Director of Development for Dysfunctional Theatre Company’s Classics Series, a former Board Member of Native Aliens Theatre Collective, and was the director for Nytheatre.com’s short-lived Indie Theatre Now! TV series. Peter is proud to be an alumnus of Northern Arizona University. He would like to thank both Bag&Baggage and Tears of Joy for their trust, his cast and crew, and send extra special thanks to his amazing and supportive wife, Dawn.

 

Megan Wilkerson – Scenic Designer

A new arrival in Portland, Megan comes from the Milwaukee/ Chicago area after having spent two seasons as a Scenic Design Assistant at The Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. She’s a member of Chicago’s Rivendell Theatre Ensemble and received an After Dark award in scenic design for Psalms of a Questionable Nature. In Milwaukee Megan helped found the artistic collective Bad Soviet Habits and designed for both Opera & Theatre. She holds an MFA in Design for the Theatre from the University of Texas at Austin and a BA in Theatre from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis/St. Paul.

 

Melissa Heller – Costume Designer

With a lifelong interest in apparel, Melissa always knew that her life would be devoted to fashion. It wasn’t until college that her interest in costuming was born. Hailing from Oregon State University, with a B.S in Apparel Design (and several side projects with Oregon State University Theatres), she graduated in 2008 and promptly moved to Portland to pursue her career in the fashion industry. Melissa decided, relatively quickly, that the consumer apparel world was not for her, so she began work with Oregon Ballet Theater, where she helped to create costumes for several productions for the stage during their 2010/2011 season. Most recently she has been designing costumes for Bag&Baggage’s productions of A Christmas CarolDangerous LiaisonsKabuki Titus, and Of Mice and Men. Melissa continues her partnership with Bag&Baggage for their 5th season as their resident Costume Designer, working also on this year’s Farndale Avenue…A Christmas Carol.

 

Jonathan Hart – Lighting Designer

This is Jonathan “Bearclaw” Hart’s third season designing with Bag&Baggage. Bearclaw received his MFA in lighting design and technical direction from the University of South Dakota and brings lighting design experience from all across the country. His recent designs here include Shakesepare’s R&JA Christmas Carol,The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge, and The Mystery of Irma Vep. You can also see his work for the Broadway Rose Theatre Company where he acts as their resident Technical Director and occasional lighting designer. He would like to thank his family and friends for their ongoing support.

 

Audra Petrie – Props Master

Audra has been B&B’s Production Manager since the start of the 2008-2009 season and the Company Manager since January 2011. She has also stage managed numerous Bag&Baggage shows in the past – most recently Kabuki TitusShakespeare’s R&J, and The Tempest, or the Enchanted Isle. Audra has done other stage management work for CoHo Productions, Salem Repertory Theatre, and Willamette University. Audra also enjoys dabbling in props work. Besides this show, her most recent prop credits at Bag&Baggage include: Of Mice and Men, Kabuki Titus,Dangerous LiaisonsShakespeare’s R&JA Christmas Carol(both the 2009 and 2011 productions), Crimes of the Heart, and many others.

David Jenkins

David Jenkins grew up in Eastern Oregon. He graduated from Eastern Oregon State College with a B.A. in Music Education. In 1981 he graduated from Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO with a Master’s Degree in Religious Studies.

Dave was co-founder of Sunshine Club Ministries, which was a unique blend of music, drama, puppetry, and magic. He toured across America with college students performing in city parks and backyards.

David has served as a pastor in churches ranging from the one-room country church to urban inner-city ministry. He describes his preaching style as a cross between Prairie Home Companion and Mad magazine. David is currently office manager and graphic artist for Portland’s First United Methodist Church. He writes a blog called, “Homily and Haircuts.” His musings are meant as a tribute to his father, Homer Jenkins … Oregon’s worst barber and best storyteller.

David’s writing career began with writing a list. He puts it this way, “While in seminary I was experiencing a crisis of faith. At midnight, I sat at my desk and began writing a list of words. The first word on the list was: “authenticity.” I filed the list but I kept in my personal files. When my father died, his last request was that I preach at his funeral service. Under normal circumstances, it would have been difficult. But the timing made is extraordinarily difficult. As it turned out, it would be the first funeral as a pastor that I would conduct. As I considered what to say about my father, I pictured him in early morning light in his reading chair. He began each day reading the Bible or American history. Next to him was a dictionary. I rummaged through my files and found my list of important words. I had added to list over the years, but each word became a description of my father. That love of words and that list became the impetus for a one-man show exploring faith and identity, called Coming Home, performed at the Coho Theater in 2003.

David’s writing have appeared in places as diverse as portlandfoodanddrink.com and the Christian humor magazine, “The Door.”

David would like to thank Scott Palmer and Bag&Baggage for believing in his slim eight page treatment of The Velveteen Rabbit and seeing it through to its present form as a full-length play. “This play brings me full circle back to a list of important words. In the words of the wise Rocking Horse, ‘It doesn’t happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time.’”