Matt Bowdren’s direction is nuanced and precise. The strong ensemble cast…portrayed multiple characters with commitment and expertise.

—Kathleen Allen, The Arizona Daily Star

…great night of theatre! This complex world come to life…took me on a ride and reminded me of the importance of connection and acceptance.

—Sarah M., Audience Member

We have had to cancel this week’s Thursday and Friday performances due to COVID illnesses among the cast. We’ve also added a new performance on Sunday, November 19 at 7:30 PM.

Following CDC guidelines, by Saturday, the performers who had been ill will have isolated for five days or more, and will return to perform on Saturday. Because the performers have recently carried the virus, and because the virus is once again prevalent in our community, we strongly encourage our audiences to wear masks and take whatever precautions you feel appropriate.

Performance run time of The Left Hand of Darkness is 2 hours 20 minutes,
including one 10-minute intermission.
If you’d like to stay, post-show discussions with the director and cast follow every performance. Guest speakers from the Southern Arizona Psychological Association will be participating in post-show discussions following all Saturday matinee performances.

The Left Hand of Darkness will change your way of looking at both history and society…high octane brain candy…

—Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com

…the set, the music, and the actors were awesome. Well done, Rogue!

—Sharon D., Audience Member

It was an incredible piece of art.

—Ryan L., Audience Member

Supporting Materials

Free “Open Talk” Video

Click here to see the video

Ursula K. Le Guin: Galactic Anthropologist

A Free Open Talk presented on Saturday, October 28 at 2:00 P.M.

Dr. Jen Croissant, Associate Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Arizona, discusses Ursula K. Le Guin and her seminal work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness. Actors from the Rogue adaptation perform a short scene from the play.

This open talk is supported in part by a generous gift from
the Arizona Humanities Council and Christina Bascom

The Left Hand of Darkness Trailer

Click here to see the video

Here’s a glimpse of the play in action, set to Russell Ronnebaum's thrilling original score!

Audio interview on Arizona Spotlight

For some more background on the play and insights from its adapter, Cynthia Meier, and lead actor, Kevin Aoussou, check out their 10-minute interview in this recent episode of Arizona Public Media’s Arizona Spotlight, starting around the 8:20 mark.

The Left Hand of Darkness Set-Build Time-Lapse

Click here to see the video

Led by artist and designer John Farrell, the Rogue staff assemble “The Object,” which will serve as the scenic centerpiece of our stage adaptation of The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin.

Essay

Science Fiction’s visions of the future are very much rooted in the era in which they were written. Read Jerry James’ essay about the many concurrent threads of American culture in the year that The Left Hand of Darkness was originally published.

1969: The Year Too Much Changed, Too Fast

Poster

View the full-sized poster for the play

Reviews

A classic feminist sci-fi tale has been adapted for the stage in Tucson
Review by Kathleen Allen on November 7, special to the Arizona Daily Star

Matt Bowdren (Director) is an Artistic Associate for The Rogue Theatre. Previous directing credits at the Rogue include Angels in America Part 1 (2016 Mac Award for Best Director), Macbeth and Death of a Salesman. Matt has performed in many plays at the Rogue including Hamlet (2015 Mac Award for Best Actor), The Crucible, Waiting for Godot, Uncle Vanya, Grapes of Wrath, As I Lay Dying, and The Goat. Other Arizona credits include Romeo and Juliet with Southwest Shakespeare, and Frankenstein and Othello as a faculty fellow and teaching artist with The Arizona Repertory Theatre. Matt is based in Chicago and has performed with a number of theaters there including The Goodman Theatre, Raven Theatre, TimeLine, Windy City Theatre, The Shakespeare Project of Chicago, and The Story Theatre. Matt is a co-founder and collaborator with The Small Giants Band, a multi-disciplinary arts collective. Small Giants recently premiered their original work, Notes on Nothing at IndyFringe. Matt holds an M.F.A. in Performance from the University of Georgia and is represented by DDO Artists Agency.

Matt Bowdren’s direction of The Left Hand of Darkness is supported in part
by generous gifts from Lori Levine & Gary Benna and John & Diane Wilson

Author

Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (1929–2018) was an American author known for her works of science fiction set in her Hainish universe, of which The Left Hand of Darkness is a part. Her literary career spanned nearly sixty years, and she has been described as a “major voice in American Letters.” Le Guin’s parents were both anthropologists. Many of her stories used anthropologists or cultural observers as protagonists, and Taoist ideas about balance and equilibrium abound in her writings. The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), which has been described by Harold Bloom as her masterpiece, won both the Hugo and Nebula awards for best novel, becoming the first works of science fiction by a woman to win the prestigious awards.

Adaptor

Cynthia Meier (Adaptor) holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from the University of Arizona. For her doctoral dissertation, she created a stage adaptation of a series of poems by Diane DiPrima called The Loba Poems. She is co-founder of Bloodhut Productions, a women’s theater company performing original monologues and comedy improv, which toured throughout the western United States and was published by St. Martin’s Press. For The Rogue Theatre, Cynthia adapted to the stage The Left Hand of Darkness, Mrs Dalloway, Moby Dick (with Holly Griffith), The Lady in the Looking Glass, Metamorphosis, and The Dead. She also trimmed and adapted A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, King Lear, Macbeth, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, Richard III, The Winter’s Tale, The Tempest, and Othello for The Rogue stage. Cynthia’s adaptation is supported in part by generous gifts from Susan Tiss and Brock & Chantal McCaman.

Adaptor’s Notes

I first read Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness while taking a class called “Anthropology through Science Fiction” in 1977. I was immediately struck by the idea of what it would mean to live in a world where my gender didn’t matter, where being born female wouldn’t shape or limit my behavior or choices in life. Science fiction writing often contains thought experiments like this—an imaginary “what if” that allows us to explore our own attitudes and beliefs about our current culture.

The Left Hand of Darkness takes place on the planet of Gethen, peopled by individuals who are neither male nor female. They enter a phase of “kemmer” once a month and become sexually active. During these kemmer phases, the individuals become either male or female—so that an individual may be the father of one child and the mother of another. In the novel, an envoy named Genly Ai from an earth-like planet visits Gethen to encourage its leaders to become members of the Ekumen—a galactic federation of planets.

The book is part science fiction, part anthropological exploration, part political thriller, part love story, and part polar adventure. But, for me, the most prominent theme is what it means to be “the other.” Genly Ai is alone on an icy alien world, and it is only through his personal relationship with Estraven that he connects with the culture of the planet. Their friendship develops because of their differences, not in spite of them.

Our production is the fruit of an extraordinary collaboration of artists including a flexible and creative group of actors, musicians, stage crew and design team members, our puppet designer Matt Cotton, our composer Russell Ronnebaum, and, perhaps most significantly, sculptor John Farrell. I am especially grateful to Matt Bowdren for joining us as Director and Co-creator to collaborate and lead us all in this timely exploration.

A lot has changed in our world since 1977. Yet I’ve found that The Left Hand of Darkness still speaks to me. It speaks of an aspiration for us all to go beyond gender and race and every other type of “otherness” to find wholeness and connection. I hope it speaks to you as well, dear Rogues.

—Cynthia Meier
director@TheRogueTheatre.org

“The Object”—the beautiful wooden sculpture central to our production of The Left Hand of Darkness by John Farrell (with Technical Advisor Duncan Wood)—has an interesting history. In his studio in Maine, John was exploring paper-folding techniques when a small version of “The Object” emerged. At the invitation of a major ballet company, John created a large prototype and erected it on the stage at Bates College. Shortly thereafter, Cynthia Meier and her husband Tom were visiting John and his wife Carol in Maine, and the small paper “object” made its way to the dinner table. It was love at first sight. Cynthia immediately connected its crystalline structure to the icy planet of Gethen, and the shadows and light inherent in the folds of the sculpture spoke to the yin/yang themes of the novel. John shipped the pieces of the sculpture to The Rogue and then flew out to “build” the sculpture with the Rogue staff. The Object is made of 58 identical wooden triangles tied together with special Polynesian knots, mounted on a base with rolling casters. If one were to stretch out the sculpture on the floor, it would lay flat as a single layer. What a wonderful collaboration of art and technology across a continent!

CAST

GENLY AI – Kevin Aoussou
the first envoy from the Ekumen

ESTRAVEN – Matt Walley*
the prime minister of Karhide (a country on the planet Gethen), Lord of Estre

PLAYER 1 – Joseph McGrath*
King Argavan, Foreteller, Asra, Humery, & others 

PLAYER 2 – Ryan Parker Knox*
Tibe, Landlady, Zany, Yegey, Hot-shop Cook, & others

PLAYER 3 – Shannon Elias
King’s Attendant, Zany, Gaum, Lang Heo Hew, & others

PLAYER 4 – Hunter Hnat*
Goss, Slose, Sorve, Fisherman, & others

PLAYER 5 – Christopher Johnson*
Faxe, Second Guard, Mersen, & others

PLAYER 6 – Chelsea Bowdren*
Om Pot On Ah, Zany, Messenger, Obsle, & others

PLAYER 7 – Aaron Shand*
Foreteller, Inspector, Shusgis, Thessicher, & others

PLAYER 8 – Christopher Pankratz
Foreteller, Ashe, First Guard, Alshel, & others

*Member of The Rogue Resident Acting Ensemble

Biographies

Chelsea Bowdren (Player 6) is excited to be in her second season as a member of The Rogue Resident Acting Ensemble. She has previously performed on The Rogue stage as Hesione Hushabye in Heartbreak House, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Biddy/Camilla Pocket in Great Expectations, Jessie in Sweat, Miss Killman in Mrs Dalloway, Jenny/Miss Forsythe in Death of a Salesman and Maria in Twelfth Night. Her Rogue Theatre debut was 15 years ago as Rosalind in Immortal Longings. Chelsea received her BFA in Acting from the University of Arizona and performed in Taming of the Shrew, Diary of Anne Frank, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Medea, & Titus Andronicus as a member of Arizona Repertory Theatre. For Archer, Eloise, and Felix.

Chelsea Bowdren’s performance is supported in part
by generous gifts from Sally Krusing and Todd Hansen

Shannon Elias (Player 3) is thrilled to be returning to The Rogue stage after previously appearing in Babette’s Feast and The Oresteia. She can usually be seen in the box office, and is very excited to be back on the stage. She’s performed in a number of productions in both Phoenix and Tucson. Favorite roles have included Olive Madison in The Odd Couple, Aunt Letty in The Magician’s Nephew, and The Activist in Power 2K10, a devised theatre piece with the University of Arizona’s Studio Series. She has also been seen in Faustus: That Damned Woman and The Thanksgiving Show at The Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre and Job: A Story at Strada Company. Shannon holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from the University of Arizona with a minor in Special Education and Rehabilitation Psychology.

Shannon Elias’ performance is supported
in part by a generous gift from Clay Shirk

Hunter Hnat (Player 4) is grateful to be in his sixth season as a member of The Rogue Resident Acting Ensemble. You may have seen him in previous Rogue productions as Randall Utterword in Heartbreak House, Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Young Loewenhielm in Babette’s Feast, Pip in Great Expectations, Jason in Sweat, Inner Septimus in Mrs Dalloway, M in Passage, Happy in Death of a Salesman, Sebastian in Twelfth Night, Robert in The Awakening, Le Beau/Sylvius in As You Like It, Brenden in The Weir, Orestes in The Oresteia, Lord Byron/Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Rodolpho in A View from the Bridge, Ray Dooley in The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Flask in Moby Dick, Edmund Tyrone in Long Day’s Journey Into Night, the Mechanic in Middletown, Ezekiel Cheever in The Crucible, Ensemble in The Secret in the Wings, Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing, Christopher in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Andrea in Galileo, Oswald in King Lear, Steindorff in Bach at Leipzig, and Ensemble for A House of Pomegranates. Other credits include Salomé (Scoundrel & Scamp), U/S in Romeo and Juliet (Arizona Theatre Company), and How the House Burned Down (Live Theatre Workshop). He is a U of A alumnus with his BFA in Musical Theatre, class of 2015. Enjoy the show!

Hunter Hnat’s performance is supported in part by
generous gifts from Julie Cohn and Chris Wozney

Christopher Johnson (Player 5) first came to The Rogue in 2011 to play Jewel in As I Lay Dying and now serves as Assistant Artistic Director, Play-reading Producer, and Resident Ensemble Member. Select acting credits include Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Biff Loman in Death of a Salesman, Joshua in Corpus Christi, Peter in Bug, The Master of Ceremonies in Cabaret (2013 Mac Award Winner – Best Actor, Musical), Doug in Gruesome Playground Injuries, The Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show, Alan in Lemon Sky, Betty/Gerry in Cloud 9, Pale in Burn This, Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Chicklet in Psycho Beach Party, Thom Pain in Thom Pain (based on nothing), Danny in Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, and Prior Walter in The Rogue’s production of Angels in America, Part 1: Millennium Approaches (2016 Mac Award Winner – Best Actor, Drama). In 2022, he was recognized by ON Media as Tucson Arts Hero.

Christopher Johnson’s performance is supported in part by 
generous gifts from Todd Hansen and Meg & Peter Hovell

Ryan Parker Knox (Player 2) is so pleased to be back at The Rogue for his ninth season in The Rogue Resident Acting Ensemble. He is particularly excited to unravel such a challenging collection of titles with his fellow compañeros. Ryan is a South Dakota native who returns to the Old Pueblo from an Eastern sabbatical where he found that Tucson is where he wanted to be all along. Some of his favorites at The Rogue have been Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, Long Day's Journey into Night, Betrayal, and Moby Dick. RPK would like to thank his lovely partner and biggest fan CM, his family for the decades of support, and his damn pets for making sure no one sleeps in our house.

Ryan Parker Knox’s performance is supported in part by
generous gifts from Carol Mangold and Todd Hansen

Joseph McGrath (Player 1) is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Drama and Co-Founder and Artistic Director for The Rogue Theatre. He has recently appeared in Heartbreak House, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Seafarer, Great Expectations, Mrs Dalloway, Passage, Death of a Salesman, Twelfth Night, The Awakening, As You Like It, The Weir, A View from the Bridge, Moby Dick, Long Day’s Journey into Night, The Crucible, The Secret in the Wings, Galileo (2018 Mac Award for Best Actor), and King Lear. He also received the Mac Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Tobias in A Delicate Balance. Joe has toured with John Houseman’s Acting Company and has performed with the Utah Shakespearean Festival. He has been a frequent performer with Ballet Tucson appearing in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and for seventeen years as Herr Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker. He has also performed with Arizona Theatre Company, Arizona Opera, and Arizona Onstage.

Joseph McGrath’s performance is supported in part by
generous gifts from Chris Wozney in memory of Hildy Smith, & Marianne Leedy

Christopher Pankratz (Player 8) is honored to be both an actor and a member of the production staff at The Rogue Theatre. Christopher’s acting credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Great Expectations, The Awakening, As You Like It, Everybody, A View from the Bridge, Moby Dick, The Crucible, Much Ado About Nothing, King Lear, and The Grapes of Wrath at The Rogue Theatre, as well as Lovers at the Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre and Sunday in the Park with George at Arizona Onstage Productions. He has directed An Enemy of the People and Constellations for the John and Joyce Ambruster Play-Reading Series. Christopher has written and produced numerous plays while teaching theatre at Flowing Wells High School, including Black Friday, Frankenstein, Cuando Soñamos, Spinning Tales, Leave It to the Snakes, Cuando Mentimos, Cuckoo, Cuando Perdonamos, Spinning Tales The Musical, and The Snow Queen. His three recently-published plays: The Longest Day of April, The Story Seller’s Tale, and You Can’t Make Wine from Raisins are now available online for licensing and performance. While attending the University of Arizona as a Baird Scholar, Christopher earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the UA School of Theatre, Film, and Television, as well as a Master’s Degree from the College of Education. While teaching, he was named the 2018 Arizona Thespians Teacher of the Year, the 2019 National High School Musical Theatre Awards Southern Arizona Best Director, and the 2020 Raytheon Leaders in Education High School Teacher of the Year. Christopher would like to thank his colleagues, family, and friends for their support and inspiration.

Christopher Pankratz’s performance is supported
in part by a generous gift from Kristi Lewis

Aaron Shand (Player 7) was last seen on The Rogue stage as Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. . Now in his sixth season as a member of The Rogue Theatre’s Resident Acting Ensemble, Aaron has also appeared as James “Sharky” Harkin in The Seafarer, Mr. Wopsle/Bentley Drummle in Great Expecations, Howard Wagner in Death of a Salesman, Duke Orsino in Twelfth Night, Leonce Pontellier in The Awakening, Orlando in As You Like It, Jim in The Weir, Agamemnon in The Oresteia, Eddie Carbone in A View from the Bridge, Ishmael in Moby Dick, The Cop in Middletown, Hathorne in The Crucible, The Sea Captain in The Secret in the Wings, Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing, Sagredo in Galileo, Noah Joad in The Grapes of Wrath and Duke of Albany in King Lear. Born and raised in Tucson, he received his B.F.A. in Acting from the University of Arizona, performing for the Arizona Repertory Theatre in Bus Stop, The Miracle Worker and Romeo & Juliet. He also spent a season with the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, performing in The Cherry Orchard, State of the Union and A Christmas Carol.

Aaron Shand’s performance is supported in part by
generous gifts from Marianne Leedy and Katherine Jacobson

Matt Walley (Estraven) is a member of The Rogue Theatre Resident Acting Ensemble and was most recently seen as Boss Mangan in Heartbreak House. Other appearances include Francis Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard in The Seafarer, Stan in Sweat, Stubb in Moby Dick, Dr. Bradman in Blithe Spirit, Thomas Putnam in The Crucible, Mr. Walley in The Secret in the Wings, Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing, Roger in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Matti in Galileo, Edmund in King Lear and Uncle John in The Grapes of Wrath. He enjoyed previous roles at The Rogue in Bach at Leipzig, Macbeth, Richard III, Journey to the West, The Winter’s Tale, Shipwrecked!, As I Lay Dying and Major Barbara. He also co-created and performed in Oaf at The Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre. He received an MFA from Dell’Arte International.

Matt Walley’s performance is supported in part by generous gifts from
Peggy Houghton & Paul Garner and Jim Wilson & Adam Hostetter

Music Director’s Notes

I had the opportunity to sit down with artist and sculptor John Farrell, the creator of the towering figure on stage (lovingly called “The Object”). I was inspired by his tale of how a friend gave him a book on paper pleating. As a novice in this art form, John, in a carefree way, explored the book and experimented by folding thick paper into panels. His explorations led to a model of the object that would become the curvaceous cave seen on the stage.

I wrote the piece, Creating the Object based on John’s experience of wonder and creativity. My piece has five major sections: Curiosity, Working It Out, On to Something, Discovery, and Reflection.

The second piece I composed for the preshow is in the musical tradition of the dialogo, which is a setting of musical dialogue between two or more opposing characters. In this case, the cello represents one part of the dialogue, and the clarinet, the other. The piece is titled The Left Hand of Darkness and is influenced by the two main characters, Genly Ai and Estraven.

The musical dialogue begins with a curious introduction of both character themes that gradually form into a conversation. Eventually, there is a misunderstanding, which leads to a heated argument in the middle of the piece. That tension is ultimately relieved, and the two contrasting themes between the cello and clarinet find common ground again and harmonize even more deeply than when they first began.

—Russell Ronnebaum, Music Director and Composer

Preshow

Creating the Object
The Left Hand of Darkness

Production

Original score by Russell Ronnebaum

Russell Ronnebaum (Music Director & Composer) serves as The Rogue Theatre’s Director of Music and Resident Composer. He holds a Master of Music degree in collaborative piano from the University of Arizona and is the assistant director of music at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church in Oro Valley. As a pianist, Russell often performs with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and various ensembles and choirs in the greater Tucson area. Russell made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2016, performing the music of Dan Forrest. Past Rogue credits include productions of Heartbreak House, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Seafarer, Babette’s Feast, Great Expectations, Mrs Dalloway, Passage, Death of a Salesman, Twelfth Night, The Awakening, As You Like It, The Weir, The Oresteia, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, A View from the Bridge, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Moby Dick, Blithe Spirit, Long Day’s Journey into Night, and Much Ado About Nothing. Russell also composes the music for Rogue Radio, a radio play series produced in partnership with Arizona Public Media, NPR 89.1 FM. Recordings, videos, sheet music, and upcoming concert dates can be found at www.RRonnebaum.com.

Russell Ronnebaum’s music direction is supported in part by
generous gifts from George Bradbury & C.M. Peterson and Kristi Lewis

Daniel Becker (Clarinet) is principal clarinet of the Sierra Vista Symphony Orchestra, and the owner and operator of the Becker Woodwind Studio. Dr. Becker has served as principal clarinet of the Yakima Symphony Orchestra, and as second clarinet of the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed extensively with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, and Tucson Pops Orchestra. As an educator, Dr. Becker has taught at Valley City State University (ND), the University of Jamestown (ND), and the University of Arizona. He has performed and given clinics and master classes throughout the United States and abroad in Costa Rica, Japan, Mexico, and Canada.  Also a music theorist and public speaker, Dr. Becker has presented his research and given talks multiple times at the University of Arizona, abroad at the 2nd Annual Conference for the Study of Progressive Rock in Edinburgh, Scotland, at the International Clarinet Association Research Competition, and at the Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression at Central Washington University. Originally from Henderson, Nevada, Dr. Becker holds Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees, both in Clarinet Performance, from the University of Arizona and Bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Wind Performance from Central Washington University.

Brian Hanner (Percussion) is a professional drummer and percussionist living in Tucson, Arizona. He is Principal Percussionist for the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra and has also performed with the Tucson Symphony, Arizona Opera, and True Concord Voices and Orchestra. Brian has an extensive background in a diverse list of musical styles—rock, funk, country, and everything in between. In addition to a career as a performer, he is co-owner, producer, and recording engineer at Hanner House Records with his lovely and talented wife, Syndenn. 

Robert Marshall (Cellist) began studying cello at age 12 in his hometown of Marietta, Georgia. He earned his Bachelors of Music in 2012, having studied with Dr. Robert Jesselson at the University of South Carolina and Charae Kruger at Kennesaw State University. In 2016, Mr. Marshall graduated from the University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music, where he studied with Dr. Theodore Buchholz and served as the founding member of the Graduate String Quartet. His continued educational pursuits have taken him to festivals in Switzerland, Italy, and cities across the United States. Mr. Marshall currently serves as the principal cellist of the Sierra Vista and Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestras, and frequently performs with the Tucson Symphony and Tucson Pops Orchestras. In addition to orchestral and chamber music, Robert is passionate about collaborating on theatrical productions. He has worked with the Arizona Theatre Company, Arts Express, and the University of Arizona Repertory Theater. His first appearance at The Rogue Theatre was in 2020 for Martin McDonough’s Beauty Queen of Leenane, and he has enjoyed continued collaboration on productions of Frankenstein, As You Like It and Passage.

Designers and Production Staff

Cynthia Meier (Costume Design) worked her way through college at Eastern Michigan University by assisting in the costume shop. Most of what she knows about Costume Design, she learned from Katie Holkeboer, the costume designer and professor at EMU. After graduating with her MA in Speech & Theatre, Cynthia stayed on at EMU to teach Costume Design, Costume Construction, Stage Makeup, and Introduction to Technical Theatre while designing the university mainstage plays and supervising the costume shop. She has designed costumes for each and every one of The Rogue plays since 2005. 

Cynthia Meier’s costume design is supported in part
by a generous gift from Karen DeLay & Bill Sandel

Joseph McGrath (Scenic Design) worked in the scene shops at West Virginia University and the Juilliard School of Drama while he was studying to become an actor. He served as Technical Director for Arizona Theatre Company from 1987–88, and opened his own scene shop, Sonora Theatre Works, in the 1990s. Joe has designed and built scenery for Ballet Tucson for most of their ballets for over 20 years, as well as various projects with UA Opera Theatre. He has designed each and every set for The Rogue since its inception in 2005.

Joseph McGrath’s scenic design is supported
in part by a generous gift from Gay Miller

John Farrell (Sculpture Design) John’s artistic explorations are rooted in his love of poetry and sculpture. As an undergraduate at Yale he pursued studies in fields as diverse as African history, Vedanta Mysticism, the anthropology of law, and Sioux religion. In 1982, he co-founded Figures of Speech Theatre with dancer/designer Carol Llewellyn. Together they forged a unique vision of performance incorporating puppets and actors, masks, music and dance, and have created and toured the world with 18 original works of theater. John has been an artist-in-residence at numerous colleges and arts centers, has studied with the Japanese master puppet builder Toru Saito, and was awarded a Creative Artists' Program Fellowship from the Japan-United States Friendship Commission, allowing him to spend six months in Japan studying Japanese theater and gardens. In 2015, John presented a performance of T. S. Eliot’s epic poem “Four Quartets” at The Rogue as part of a national tour.

Deanna Fitzgerald (Lighting Design) is a member of United Scenic Artists whose lighting design credits include theatre, dance, opera, circus-themed, puppets, architectural lighting and more. She is a yoga and meditation teacher, and conducts classes and workshops focused on using these and other “quietive” practices to aid creative process. Deanna is the author of The Heart of Light, published in January 2022. At the University of Arizona, she is the Vice-Dean for the College of Fine Arts and a Professor in the School of Theatre, Film, and Television. She serves on the Western Region Exam Committee of United Scenic Artists, the Boards of Directors for URTA (University Resident Theatre Association) and USITT (United States Institute of Theatre Technology), and as a general editor for the Theatre Design and Technology magazine. Deanna has been smitten with her Rogue family since 2014 when she designed their extraordinary creation, Jerusalem, and has since designed a couple dozen Rogue productions, including some of these favorites of hers: Sweat, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Penelope, The Secret in the Wings, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Beauty Queen of Leenane, Celia A Slave, Tales from the Jazz Age, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. She is grateful for every moment she gets to spend making things with The Rogue, and for the very talented associate-LD Shannon Wallace and ME Peter Bleasby whose collaborations make it possible for her do that.

Deanna Fitzgerald’s lighting design is supported
in part by a generous gift from Phil & Kay Korn

Hannah Al-Baiaty (Stage Manager) is thrilled to be working with The Rogue Theatre again after previously stage-managing The Seafarer, Great Expectations, Twelfth Night and Passage. Hannah earned her BFA in Technical Theatre Production and Design from the University of Arizona. Her previous credits include Stage Manager for Under Construction Series: Ralph Lemon & Friends at Park Avenue Armory, Helen Simoneau Danse’s Flight Distance at Joyce SoHo, Tucson Folk Festival, Arizona Repertory Theatre’s productions of Avenue Q and Voice of the Prairie, Assistant Stage Manager for Eugene Opera's production of Nixon in China and Assistant Production Manager for Pipeline Theatre Company’s world premiere of Byuioo. She also spent five seasons as a Costume Technician for The Gaslight Theatre. Hannah would like to thank her husband, family, and friends for their endless support and love.

Hannah Al-Baiaty’s stage management is supported
in part by a generous gift from Paul & Mary Ross

Christopher Pankratz (Property Master) is honored to be both an actor and a member of the production staff at The Rogue. Christopher has acted onstage at the Rogue since its 13th season and has been creating props for The Rogue since its 15th season. Christopher was overjoyed to join the production team full-time at the Rogue last season. Christopher has also stage-managed Rogue productions including Death of a Salesman, Sweat, Babette’s Feast and Heartbreak House. Christopher has also worked as a scenic designer and/or property master for numerous plays and musicals at Arizona Onstage Productions including Les Miserables, Tell Me on A Sunday, Songs for a New World, The Story of My Life, and Sunday in the Park with George. Christopher has interned at Arizona Theatre Company in Literary Management and worked as the archivist for the Peter Wexler Scenic Design collection at UA Library Special Collections. Highly critical, he served for several years as the Arts and Entertainment Editor for The Observer Weekly, where he even reviewed several Rogue Productions before joining the theatre. A certified K-12 teacher, Christopher also taught Theatre and Stagecraft for seven years at Flowing Wells High School where he directed and designed over fifty productions. He has written over a dozen plays, including three recently published originals: The Longest Day of April, The Story Seller’s Tale, and You Can’t Make Wine from Raisins, which are now available for licensing and performance. When not acting onstage or calling cues from the booth, he can be found sewing in the costume shop, building in the scene shop, or tending to the flower garden out front.

Shannon Wallace (Production Stage Manager, Associate Lighting Design) first came to The Rogue in 2015 to stage manage The Picture of Dorian Gray, and now serves as their Production Stage Manager and Operations Manager. She has worked on over 30 shows with The Rogue, some of her favorites include: The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, The Grapes of Wrath, King Lear, Curious Incident, Much Ado About Nothing, Secret in the Wings, The Crucible, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, As You Like It and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, focusing on both stage management and lighting design. During her time in school she worked on over 25 productions with Arizona Repertory Theatre. She has also worked for Arizona Theatre Company, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and the Contemporary American Theatre Festival. She spent a year living in Chicago and worked as the Operations Assistant for Mudlark Theater Company. She is grateful to be working full-time as a theater artist in her hometown.

Shannon Wallace’s production stage management is supported in
part by a generous gift from Tim Wernette & Carolyn Brown

Amy Novelli (Scenic Artist) is originally from Ohio and Pennsylvania. She received her Cum Laude BFA from the Columbus (Ohio) College of Art & Design in 1987 and her MFA from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh in 1994. Novelli’s scenic art career began in New York City at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Studio. Charge Scenic Artist for the Arizona Theatre Company 2010–2014, Amy also painted several sets for Arizona Opera and UA Opera, and presently paints for The Rogue Theatre and until COVID at the Arizona Broadway Theatre in Peoria (Phoenix). Amy created monstrous Halloween decor for Hotel Congress for 20 years and was lead painter for Marshal-Fields 1998 award winning Easter Window display “Alice in Wonderland.” She supervised four public art projects in the Tucson area with high school youth and won commissions to design and paint five large scale outdoor murals across the country as well as at the Biosphere II and La Posada Hotel on Oracle Blvd. She has taught at the University of Arizona and Pima Community College. Novelli’s fine art work has been exhibited at several Tucson Galleries and in May-August 2020 she had a one woman show at the Tucson International Airport. Amy Novelli has been living in Tucson since 1996. When not painting, Novelli trains rescue horses and dogs and enjoys riding wilderness trails all over the western states.

Peter Bleasby (Master Electrician) lit his first show at 13. Professionally, he was with BBC Television for several years, and was an assistant to the UK lighting designer Richard Pilbrow during the inaugural production of the National Theatre (Hamlet, directed by Olivier.) Although his career was in architectural lighting, he maintained some theatre lighting involvement on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2009, he volunteered for The Rogue’s initial season at the Historic Y. He has been master electrician at The Rogue for every show from 2013 to the present, supporting our lighting designers. He devised the system that enables lights to be quickly re-arranged, allowing more time for the creative process. Elsewhere in Tucson, he directed the technical and logistical aspects of fundraisers for the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, including the fashion show Moda Provocateur.

Susan Collinet (House Manager) earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Creative Writing and English Literature from the University of Arizona in 2008. Decades before returning to college as a non-traditional student, Susan spent twenty years in amateur theater, mostly on the East coast, as well as in Brussels, Belgium in the American Theater of Brussels, and the Theatre de Chenois in Waterloo. She has worked in such positions as a volunteer bi-lingual guide in the Children’s Museum of Brussels, the Bursar of a Naturopathic Medical school in Tempe, Arizona, an entrepreneur with two “Susan’s of Scottsdale” hotel gift shops in Scottsdale, Arizona, and as the volunteer assistant Director of Development of the Arizona Aids Project in Phoenix. Susan continues to work on collections of poetry and non-fiction. Her writing has won awards from Sandscript Magazine, the John Hearst Poetry Contest, the Salem College for Women’s Center for Writing, and was published in a Norton Anthology of Student’s Writing. In addition to being House Manager, Susan serves on the Board of Directors for the Rogue.

Matt Elias (Assistant House Manager, Sound Engineer) is constantly seeking out art whether it be theatre, music, television or video games. He became enamored with live performance at The Rogue Theatre in 2014 while joining his wife, Shannon, as an usher. His experience as a touring musician, his penchant for audio production and his general obsession with how stuff works, makes him useful in all sorts of tight places throughout the production process. Nowadays you’ll see him as Assistant House Manager, trading off shows with Susan Collinet and you won’t see him sneaking a peek at each of those shows from the couch in the hallway or the back hallway behind the curtains. Matt has experience as a Master Bicycle Technician, Emergency Medical Technician, Fire/EMS 911 Dispatcher, and most recently a Production Brewer at Dragoon Brewing Company.

Thomas Wentzel (Box Office Manager, Program, Website) is a Scientific Programmer for the National Solar Observatory and holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Arizona. Previously he has worked as a Data Manager for several prevention programs in the Arizona Cancer Center and the Mel and Enid Zuckerman Arizona College of Public Health. He has served on the Board of the Tucson Men’s Cooperative, editing its newsletter for five years, and on the Executive Committee of Sons of Orpheus—The Male Choir of Tucson. He has sung with Furry Day Singers, Sons of Orpheus, AwenRising and Arizona Repertory Singers, and has performed with Tucson Art Theatre in Viktor Slavkin’s Cerceau and Clifford Odets’ Waiting for Lefty. Thomas has designed and built The Rogue Theatre Web site (with great assistance from Bill Sandel and Bryan Falcón in creating the 2020 Website update), and serves as Webmaster and Business Manager. He has also served on The Rogue’s Board of Directors since the founding of the theatre.

Shannon Elias (Box Office Associate, Volunteer Coordinator) got her first big break in theatre at age 11 when she was cast as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz in school. After that first applause, she was hooked. She began at The Rogue Theatre as an usher in 2008, and volunteered in various roles until she was hired to the box office in 2018. She made her debut on The Rogue stage in The Oresteia in 2020 and has since appeared in Babette’s Feast and the staged-readings of Everybody and The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window. She also worked backstage with The Rogue as Assistant Stage Manager for The Awakening, Mrs Dalloway and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Shannon holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from the University of Arizona with a minor in Special Education and Rehabilitation Psychology.

Our Thanks

Performance Schedule

Performance run time of The Left Hand of Darkness is 2 hours 20 minutes,
including one 10-minute intermission.