A Night w/ David Ives

October 24th @ 7 p.m. | October 25th @ 7:30 p.m. | October 26th @ 2:30 p.m.

A Night w/ David Ives
Florence Busby Corriher Theatre

“Featuring six diverse but equally hysterical one-act comedies, David Ives’ All in the Timing is a witty, romantic, absurd, and existentially-minded evening of theatre.” 

Mere Mortals contains six comedic one-act plays by David Ives. The six plays in Mere Mortals involve a wide variety of subjects and settings.”

From the Director

Usually, a director’s note waxes philosophically on the show they directed. What does the show mean? What does it say about our current society? What deeper meaning do they hope you glean from their direction of the production? But this production has had a unique trajectory from its start, so why stick with tradition now? Instead, I’ll fill you in on all the dirt. Besides, the only takeaway I hope you have is, “Damn, that was a fun night at the theatre.”

I came to direct this evening of scenes written by David Ives via a very unconventional path. I was not hired to direct this play. In fact, the Department of Theatre and Dance had no intention of even producing this play. Tonight you were supposed to be seeing Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, a hilarious Mel Brooks-style send-up of the classic Bram Stoker tale. But four days before auditions, the publishing house pulled the rights, presumably in support of an upcoming national tour. With no show to produce and only four days to fix it, the department (myself included) scrambled to find a new show and landed on John Proctor is the Villain, the hit Broadway play which closed last month amid seemingly unanimous praise. It is a timely and important work about power dynamics, coming of age, inappropriate relationships, and the #metoo movement. We auditioned and cast the production. And the next day, the publishing house pulled the rights on that show as well. As my late mother used to say, “You plan and God laughs.”

With this newfound hole in our season, and a cast of students that now needed a performance
opportunity, I found myself in a predicament not many directors experience. Instead of casting a group of actors to fit a play, I was now tasked with casting a play to fit a group of actors. This new play had to not only accommodate the makeup of the cast, but also provide them with enough “meat on the bone” to make it worth their while, lest an actor who was cast as a lead now finds themselves in a minor role.

While other plays were considered, I kept coming back to a production I saw while I myself was a freshman in the Catawba theatre department, which was directed by one of this evening’s Hall of Fame inductees, Andrew Tucci. It was the late 1900s, a time of no social media or digital evidence of all the college rules being regularly broken. Gas was $0.99 at the station on the corner of W. Innes and Mahaley. A simpler time indeed. That show was All in the Timing, a collection of scenes by playwright David Ives.

Ives’s incredible wit, proclivity for the absurd, and constant examination of how we communicate with one another certainly fit my own personal tastes, and upon further examination, by cobbling together scenes from two of his collections, it fit the cast as well. I found myself not only with a play that would work, but one that I was just as excited to direct as I had been the previous two selections.

Sometimes the universe provides you with what you didn’t know you needed, and finding myself directing this cast in this play has turned out to be just that. From watching the actors pivot without hesitation, to being able to essentially direct eight plays in one go (if you are reading this before the show, don’t worry, you’ll see what I mean). I could not have asked for a better experience directing my first show at my beloved alma mater. I am proud of the team of student performers and designers who you will soon see knock it out of the park. I am proud of my fellow professors, who stepped up to help in any way they could. I am proud of my son for understanding why Dad isn’t at bedtime for a few weeks, and my wife for taking on the responsibility of said bedtime solo. But most importantly, this experience has given me a new reason to be a proud alum of Catawba College.

— Director, Tom Lapke

The Blue Masque
The Shuford School of Performing Arts
The Theatre Arts Department

Presents

All In The Timing
&
Mere Mortals

Written By

David Ives

with


AG Anderson
Aslyn Goodwin
Andrew Grissom
Gary Lane
Katie Sosa
Brenton Taylor
Eva Walters
Nyla Ward


Directed by

Professor Tom Lapke '01

Assistant Directed by

Ila Deese

Scenic Design

David Pulliam

Costume, Hair & Makeup

Allie Rahman

Lighting Design

John Wampler


Cast Members

  • Swift, May — AG Anderson
  • Betty, Joe — Aslyn Goodwin
  • Milton, Charlie, Trotsky — Andrew Grissom 
  • Ramón, David Attenborough — Gary Lane
  • Mariah, Dr. Fritz, Dawn Divito — Katie Sosa 
  • Bill, Frank, Don, Horace — Brenton Taylor
  • Kafka, Al — Eva Walters 
  • Tom, Mrs. Trotsky, Waitress — Nyla Ward 

Creative

  • Director — Tom Lapke
  • Assistant Director — Ila Deese*
  • Scenic Design — David Pulliam
  • Costume/Makeup/Hair Design — Allie Rahman
  • Lighting Design — John Wampler  

Stage Operations

  • Stage Manager — Ila Deese*
  • Assistant Stage Manager/Wardrobe/Run Crew — Rose Moore
  • Lightboard Operator/Sound Board Operate — Viper Schenck
  • Crew Member — Kamora Allen
*Denotes membership in Alpha Psi Omega, Alpha Alpha Pi Chapter

All In The Timing and Mere Mortals are produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service Inc. (440 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10016)

Content Warnings: This production contains the use of a Prop Weapon and Sexual Language

The use of any recording device, either audio or video, and the taking of photographs, either with or without flash, is prohibited. Please turn off all electronic devices such as cellular phones, beepers, and watches.

This production of
All In The Timing & Mere Mortals runs 1 Hour and 45 Minutes with a 15-Minute Intermission


Scenes

Words Words Words

AG Anderson, Andrew Grissom, Eva Walters

Sure Thing

Aslyn Goodwin, Brenton Taylor

Dr. Fritz

Katie Sosa, Nyla Ward

Mere Mortals

Andrew Grissom, Aslyn Goodwin, Brenton Taylor

Trotsky

Andrew Grissom, Gary Lane, Nyla Ward

Universal Language

Katie Sosa, Brenton Taylor

The Philadelphia

Aslyn Goodwin, Nyla Ward, Eva Walters

Time Flies

AG Anderson, Gary Lane, Brenton Taylor

 

David Ives
Who is David Ives?

David Ives was born in Chicago in 1950 and educated at Northwestern University and Yale School of Drama. A 1995 Guggenheim Fellow in playwriting, he is probably best known for his evening of one-act comedies called All in the Timing, which ran for over 600 performances off-Broadway and was subsequently presented in many cities here and abroad.

The show won the Outer Critics Circle Playwriting Award, was included in “The Best Plays of 1993-94,” and in the 1995-96 season was the most-performed play in the country after Shakespeare productions. It has been translated into German, French, Italian, Brazilian and other languages.

Another evening of short comedies, Mere Mortals, enjoyed a long off-Broadway run in 1997-98. A third evening of one-acts called Lives Of The Saints has premiered in Philadelphia. Vintage has published a volume of David Ives’ short comedies under the title All in the Timing: Fourteen Short Plays. A follow-up anthology has appeared from GroveAtlantic titled Time Flies: Thirteen Short Plays. Four of David Ives’s short comedies have been included in the “Best Short Plays of the Year” volumes.

Among David Ives’ full-length plays are Polish Joke, Ancient History, Don Juan in Chicago, The Red Address and The Land of Cockaigne (the last four are available from Dramatists Play Service). He wrote the libretto to an opera based on Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden, and the book for the musical Make Someone Happy with Phyllis Newman, using the songs of Comden and Green. He has adapted nine classic American musicals for the celebrated Encores! series at City Center, he adapted Cole Porter and Moss Hart’s Jubilee for Carnegie Hall, in 1996 he wrote Ira Gershwin’s 100th birthday celebration for Carnegie Hall, and in 1997 he adapted David Copperfield’s Dreams and Nightmares for Broadway.

  • WORDS, WORDS, WORDS was first produced at the Manhattan Punch Line Theatre in New York City, in January 1987, Steve Kaplan, Artistic Director.
  • SURE THING was first produced at the Manhattan Punch Line Theatre in New York City, in February 1988, Steve Kaplan, Artistic Director.
  • VARIATIONS ON THE DEATH OF TROTSKY was first produced at Manhattan Punch Line Theatre in New York City, in January 1991, Steve Kaplan, Artistic Director
  • THE PHILADELPHIA was first produced at the 1992 New Hope Arts Commission, New Hope, Pennsylvania, Robin Larsen, Executive Director.
  • THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE was first produced by Primary Stages Company in New York City, in November 1993, Casey Childs, Artistic Director

Who’s Who — Cast

Katie Sosa

Katie Sosa (She/Her) (Mariah/Dr.Fritz/Dawn Divito) is so happy to be working on her third show at Catawba College! She is a sophomore with a double major in Entertainment Industries & Film and double minor in Theater Arts & Creative Writing. You may recognize her from No Exit (Estelle) or Breadcrumbs (Alida). She hopes you have fun and enjoy the show! 

Brenton Taylor

Brenton Taylor (He/Him) (Bill/Frank/Don/Horace) is ecstatic to be a part of his second show at Catawba College, A Night With David Ives. Some audience members may remember him from Carrie: The Musical (George) and previously from You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Schroeder). He would also like to express his gratitude to his friends and family for all of their support. Brenton has had a blast rehearsing and preparing this show for your viewing entertainment and promises that a good time is a Sure Thing.

Eva Walters

Eva Walters (Kafka/Al) is a first year student at Catawba College. She is a Psychology and Theatre student. Some of her favorite and most transformative shows throughout her experience at a multitude of community theatres (Lee Street, Uwharrie Players, Lexington Youth Theatre, Piedmont Players, Old Courthouse Theatre) include Dorothy in Wonderland (The Mad Hatter), She Kills Monsters (Tilly), and The Little Mermaid (Mersister). She cannot wait to further her theatrical experience here at Catawba College and she hopes you enjoy the show. 

Nyla Ward

Nyla Ward (Tom/Mrs.Trotsky/Waitress) is a first-year student at Catawba College and is majoring in Theatre Performance. She started theatre her sophomore year of High School and decided to pursue that as her career. She cannot wait to see her journey prosper during her four years here at Catawba. She especially wants to thank all her family and friends for their unwavering support throughout the years. 

Who’s Who — Creative

Tom Lapke

Tom Lapke (Director) is still surprised to find himself as an adjunct professor in theatre at his beloved Catawba College, which just happens to be where he received his own BA in Theatre before his current students were born. He then went on to receive his MFA in Performance from the University of Florida.

Lapke was a NYC-based actor for many years and has performed all over the country and internationally. While in New York, he served on both the nominating and technology committees for Actors’ Equity Association, the union that represents professional actors and stage managers in the United States. An entrepreneur at heart, in 2010, he created Audition Update, a website that aggregated real-time audition information from community input. In 2012, he sold the website to Backstage, the longest-running casting platform in the world. He also accepted a position with the company and served as their Director of Education and Events for three years, before leaving to cofound Six Legions Media. 6LM was the parent company of both Actors Launchpad, an education and services platform for actors, and Reelarc, a production company that creates original film-quality content for actor demo reels. Reelarc now has locations in NY and LA with its own full production studio in Brooklyn, NY. While no longer involved with the day-to-day operations, he remains a minority owner.

After programming more than 1500 classes, events, and workshops with casting directors, agents, and managers in both NYC and LA, Lapke accidentally fell bass-akwards into being considered an expert on the business of acting, which shocked no one more than himself. He has lectured on the topic at numerous institutions, including the Actors’ Studio Drama School and NYU, the latter of which he was an adjunct professor for in the Musical Theatre Department. He also served as producer for the separate industry showcases for both institutions.

When not molding the hearts and minds of future theatre artists, Lapke can be found doting over his six-year-old son, trying to find two minutes to hang out with his wife (another proud Catawba graduate who he met doing the Swingin’ Nutcracker years ago on Catawba’s Keppel stage, where she was literally blocked to fall in his lap) appreciating films 30 minutes at a time because of the aforementioned six year old, crying about how bad the Florida Gators football team is this year, and cooking.

Ila Deese

Ila Deese (she/her/hers) (Stage Manager/Assistant Director) is proud to work on another Catawba theatre production and to stage manage for the first time! She is a senior BFA Directing and Devising major. You may have seen the show she directed last semester, Breadcrumbs, or the other shows she's assistant directed, Carrie: The Musical and Avenue Q. She'd like to thank her family and friends for their support, and thank you for supporting local theater! Enjoy the show.

Allie Rahman

Allie Rahman (they/them) (Costume Designer) is a second-year theatre arts student from Louisville, KY, with a dual major in Entertainment Industries and Theatre Arts Performance, as well as a Musical Theatre minor. This is their first solo design project, having Assistant Costume Designed I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, as well as costuming Tone Clusters, a one-act play at Classworks last Spring. Allie would like to give a huge shoutout to their classmates in Costume Studio for all their help on this production, and wish the cast and crew so much positive energy. Break legs, everyone!

Who’s Who — Stage Operations

Rose Moore

Rose Moore (Assistant Stage Manager) is a sophomore at Catawba College. She’s been interested in theater/acting her whole life. And is excited to learn even more about the craft.

Viper Schneck
Viper Schneck (Singing Telegram Man, Ben, Keith, Mark, Jake) (they/he) is a Freshman at Catawba College and a part of the BFA Theater Arts program. They graduated from Colgan High School, where they enjoyed working in various positions, including stage manager, choreographer, director, and more. They’re thrilled to be acting in their first college production, and hope you enjoy the show!
Kamora Allen
Kamora Allen is a freshman majoring in theatre design and Production. She is excited to be part of David Ives helping with backstage including lights, moving sets around, etc. 

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