THOMAS KAIL
LETTER FROM THE EDITORS
THE 2016-17 SEASON AT SIGNATURE THEATRE
REPRESENTS A TIME OF GREAT CHANGE
FOR THE COMPANY.
Director of Daphne’s Dive
“Quiara’s interest
is in exposing the
nooks and crannies
and finding people
that are not often
given a voice.”
Around
The
Center
We recently said goodbye to our beloved Founder James Houghton,
who stepped down as Artistic Director in June and passed away in early August.
Jim led us all in boundless service of Signature’s mission, and we will honor
his legacy by continuing the great work he always inspired us to do.
And there is a lot of great work ahead of us. Paige Evans, our new Artistic Director,
dove in headfirst after officially joining us in July. Paige has spent her career working
with playwrights, as she discusses in an interview in this issue, and we know she’s
going to lead Signature’s next chapter with great thoughtfulness and skill.
In this, the 17th (!!) edition of the magazine, we are thrilled to introduce Signature Stories readers to this year’s Residency One
playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright with a style and voice all her own. Watching “SLP” re-engage
with one of her earliest plays has been very exciting to witness; we look forward to our audiences being able to immerse
themselves in her body of work over the next year. Plus – she’ll be playing with her band Sula and the Noise in the Café!
We are also excited to continue our conversation with Legacy playwright Athol Fugard, who is returning for his 5th
production at Signature. We are proud that Athol calls Signature an artistic home and it’s inspiring to see him revisit
his seminal 1982 play “Master Harold” … and the boys.
This issue also features a discussion between Residency Five playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, whose new play Everybody
will have its world premiere at Signature in early 2017, and Lileana Blain-Cruz, director of The Death of the Last Black
Man in the Whole Entire World AKA the Negro Book of the Dead. These two accomplished artists are longtime friends,
and we’re privileged to eavesdrop on them discussing their work and their mutual affection for Suzan-Lori Parks.
As always, thanks for joining us at Signature – we’re happy to have you along for the ride in our 26th season!
AS THE 2015-16 25TH ANNIVERSARY
SEASON CAME TO AN END THIS SPRING,
we welcomed Residency Five playwright
Quiara Alegría Hudes for her first production
at Signature, the vibrant world premiere of
Daphne’s Dive, and revisited the influential
works of Legacy playwrights Edward Albee,
María Irene Fornés, and Adrienne Kennedy
in Signature Plays. The excitement continued
offstage with special Signature events like our
Sig Socials, and at this year’s annual gala we
lovingly honored our late Founder James Houghton.
David Hatkoff and Beth Whitaker
Signature Stories Editors
EDWARD ALBEE
(top) Director of Marketing and Audience Services David Hatkoff and Associate Artistic Director Beth Whitaker; (above) Legacy Playwright Edward Albee and Founding Artistic Director Jim Houghton.
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Sig Socials: Trivia
team member
“I had so much
fun at Trivia.
I got to hang out
with friends and
meet new people,
not to mention,
that just feet
away you can
also go see a show.
Sig Socials are
the place to be!”
DAPHNE RUBIN-VEGA
1928 - 2016
Signature Theatre mourns the loss
of our beloved Legacy playwright
Edward Albee, who passed away on
September 16, 2016. Edward was
Signature’s third playwright-inresidence, and we were so lucky
to have had a part in sharing his
body of work with audiences.
He was an integral part of the
Signature family, and we will deeply
miss his talent, humor, and heart.
ASHLEY HEVEY
Inez in Daphne’s Dive
MIKÉAH ERNEST JENNINGS
Pea in Drowning and Jesus
in Funnyhouse of a Negro
I’ve never done anything
like Funnyhouse before.
It’s probably one of the
most charged live pieces
of performance I’ve ever
been invited to be a part of.
“I love working at
Signature Theatre.
I love everything
about this place.
This is like church.
THIS PLACE
IS SACRED
GROUND.”
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