PERSEVERANCE THEATRE LAND
and STEWARDSHIP ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We’d like to acknowledge that we are gathered here today on Dena’ina Ełnena, colonially known as Anchorage, Alaska. We are grateful for the stewardship and incredible care of this land by the Dena’ina, since time immemorial.
We recognize the series of unjust actions that attempted to remove the Dena’ina from their land, including the seizing of natural resources and the introduction of an influenza epidemic. We aspire to work toward healing and liberation, recognizing our paths are intertwined in the complex histories of colonization in Alaska.
We would also like to acknowledge that Perseverance Theatre is located on the sacred homelands of the Áak’w Kwán and T’aaku Kwáan, adjacent, on Lingít Aani, also colonially known as Douglas and Juneau, Alaska.
We are grateful to the Dena’ina, Lingít and all Alaska Native and Indigenous Peoples, for our ever-growing relations and collaborations with their leaders, elders, descendants, and organizations. Thank you for blessing us to continue the stewardship of our organizations on Native land.
We encourage our neighbors and friends to join us in the continued re-Indigenization of the field of theatre, as we decolonize, work towards our collective liberation, and become good stewards of our relationships, our community, our land, air, and sea.
Chin’an and Gunalchéesh!
A NOTE FROM THE DEAN
Welcome to the UAA campus. We are excited to be partnering with Perseverance Theatre to bring you this performance of Little Women. This is an important partnership that allows us to use UAA space to support community theater and to host high-quality theatre productions open to the Anchorage community. The partnership also provides opportunities for UAA students to be involved in theatrical productions and provides Perseverance Theatre with high-quality resources and a top-notch performance space. The College of Arts and Sciences at UAA is particularly interested in continuing and expanding this relationship in support of student learning and education in the arts and humanities.
We are striving toward making the Fine Arts building at UAA a center for creativity, communication, discovery and performance. Our goal for the space is to expand student capacity, transform the learning experience and enhance the community’s engagement within the space. The confluence of disciplines housed within the building allows for a new Fine Arts experience that fully embraces a modern, multi-disciplinary approach to higher education.
We hope you enjoy our space and enjoy the program.
Dean Jenny McNulty, College of Arts and Sciences
A NOTE FROM THE DEPARTMENT CHAIR
I’d like to welcome you to the Mainstage Theatre and to this performance of Little Women. As you may know, this is our final year as an academic department, and we’re happy to be partnering with Perseverance to continue to offer our remaining students (and several of our alumni) opportunities they might not have gotten otherwise.
The announcement that our department would be eliminated happened just weeks before the arrival of COVID-19. Since then, our students have pushed through the difficulties and continued to learn and create: they adapted to new procedures and limitations on proximity, they sanitized chairs and props after they touched them and wore masks in rehearsals. They performed for cameras instead of live audiences, and they collaborated via computers, instead of in a shared space together. And many of them graduated and moved on with their lives, some in Alaska, some elsewhere, doing theatre and dance, or film or TV, or even pursuing other opportunities.
We have UAA theatre and dance alumni all over the place, doing all kinds of things, and it’s their training here that has set them up for success. I’ve told them that it takes real bravery to major in the arts, because people are always asking you, “what are you going to do with that?” or “how will you live?” People don’t think theater and dance are stable fields for a career, but over 5.4 million jobs in America are based in the arts and cultural industries. Corporations actively seek out theatre and dance students because they have the out-of-the-box thinking, collaboration, creative problem solving, public speaking, and people skills they are looking for.
Beyond all that, though, our students and alumni have empathy. They’ve stood in the shoes of characters who are very unlike them and they’ve had to ask the question, “how do I make this person come alive?” They’ve had to adjust their expectations, open their minds, listen, and observe. They’ve done this alongside other people who are different than them, and they’ve had to learn to work together, listen to each other, and learn to trust each other. They’ve taken risks together, made themselves vulnerable in front of each other, and more than anything else, they’ve supported each other. I am so very proud of all of them, regardless of where they are, what they’re doing now, or what they’ll be doing in the future.
We will be partnering with Perseverance on a second show (The Great Leap) in the spring, as well as creating our own final theatre and dance productions which will both happen in April. More information is forthcoming on our plans, but as we begin our final season, I’d like to dedicate it to our students and alumni. UAA will not be the same without them.
Dr. Brian E.G. Cook, Chair, UAA Department of Theatre and Dance
A NOTE FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Welcome to Perseverance Theatre’s 44th Season in Partnership with the Department of Theatre and Dance, University of Alaska, Anchorage!
Louisa May Alcott said, “I want to do something splendid…something heroic or wonderful that won’t be forgotten after I’m dead…. and I mean to astonish you all someday.”
We are so proud and excited to share this Perseverance Theatre and UAA Department of Theatre and Dance co-production of Little Women adapted by Kate Hamill from the novel by Louisa May Alcott.
It is so fitting we are in a place of great examination and learning here at UAA and our Perseverance Theatre season planning process, that includes great inquiry, has us aligned to open our season in Anchorage with this new adaptation.
It is indeed astonishing to us all that Alcott’s book is still so beloved and the conversations still so crucial! How important this adaptation is at a time when we’ve elected Mary Sattler Peltola (Yu’pik), Alaska’s first woman to the House of Representatives! At this critical time, when womens’ reproductive rights are overturned and their freedom and ability to choose what is healthiest for their body, mind, and spirit is at risk, how fundamental it is that theatre keeps the issues of our time at the forefront!
Set during the Civil War as our country “...went to war….To war with itself….”, Little Women’s matriarch Marmie and her daughters struggle with societal scrutiny and the pressure to be “proper ladies.”
Jo says, “If I were a boy, people would care more about what I could do rather than what I should do and I’d be thought a tremendous talent instead of a — a big ugly stone in the flower garden…”
During our technical rehearsals as the work of the talented, all-female design team, and a gender-diverse cast and crew, brought this production to fruition, Jo’s quote brought to mind more questions and I wanted to share and ponder them with you, our audience:
Should a person assigned “female” at birth be considered immature or inept if they are not fulfilling what society says is their gender role? From our gender-identities, how often do we default to what has always been and then struggle?
Jo: “...I never will be a woman like you…”, and Marmie replies, “...Jo–you don’t have to be.” What can we achieve if we embrace our creativity and imaginatively rethink our roles, our worlds?
In our communities I am witnessing inclusivity that is leveling antiquated gender roles and liberating our imaginations to bring forth a just and equitable world. How will we support the Jo’s in our workplaces, homes, neighborhoods, and communities?
As 2022 comes to a close and we usher in 2023, I invite you to join me in my new years resolution of valuing gender-diversity and the women in our lives, their inventions, and all of their imagination and talent that will continue to bring our communities forward into a better world for our non-binary cousins, sisters, daughters, nieces, mothers, aunties, and grandmothers! My deepest gratitude to the “Little Women” and Louisa May Alcotts of the entire world for all of their splendid contributions!
Happy Holidays! We are here because of you and your support. Aatlein Gunalchéesh, Haw’aa, T’oyaxsn, Chin’an to you, our audience, for your support of Perseverance Theatre and our partner, UAA Department of Theatre and Dance!
Leslie Ishii, Artistic Director Perseverance Theatre
Perseverance Theatre and UAA Department of Theatre and Dance Present
Written by
Kate Hamill
Adapted from the novel by
Louisa May Alcott
Directed by
Cara Hinh
Scenic Designer Tekla Butcher-Monson
Costume Designer Colleen Alexis Metzger
Lighting Designer Kat C. Zhou*
Sound Designer Lucy Peckham
Dance Choreographer Gabriel Harvey
Fight Choreographer Frank Delaney
Intimacy Choreographer Hali Duran
Stage Manager Julia Bregy
Cast In Alphabetical Order
Maya Carter Meg March
Frank Delaney Mr. Laurence / Robert March
Grace Goodyear Amy March
Valorie Kissel Hannah / Mrs. Mingott / Messenger
Isaac Kumpula John Brooks / Parrot / Mr. Dashwood
Jack Scholz Theodore “Laurie” Laurence
Vivian Melde Marmee / Aunt March
Jiayi Ying Beth March
Ema Zivkovic Jo March
Musicians
Lucy Peckham Music Arrangements
The Chamberliners
Katie Wasko-Klink Violin
Kyle Lindsey Viola
Brett Lindsay Cello
Zach Akins Bass
Kade Bissell Drums
Additional musicians
Rachel Morgan Piano
Mischa Shimek Electric Guitar
Celina Farmer Violin
Additional Production Staff
Robin Bidwell Anchorage Carpenter
Blake Blanning Anchorage Wardrobe Crew
Buzzy Ezell Anchorage Carpenter / Electrician
Derek Haukaas Anchorage VOD Audio Engineer
Brian MacMillan Anchorage Lead Carpenter
Shawn Main Anchorage Carpenter
Tekla Monson Anchorage Scenic Charge Artist
Ellie Moore Anchorage Carpenter
Daniel Norton Anchorage Electrician
Yéilyádi Olson Anchorage Carpenter / Electrician
Donna Strait Anchorage Carpenter / Electrician
Joe Tapangco Anchorage Carpenter
Kira Weiler Costume Shop Assistant
Lida Zakurdaew Costume Shop Assistant
Special Thanks
TBA Theatre, Martin Severin, Rick Zelinsky, Abby Alley, Katie Walter, Tara O’Hanley, and UAA Disability Student Services for providing ASL translations.
About the Playwright
Kate Hamill is a playwright and actor based in NYC. For the last three seasons she has been included on the most produced playwright list in American Theatre Magazine. Her most recent work includes the virtual production of Badass Galboss Power Hour for Primary Stages; Dracula at Classic Stage Company; the New York premiere of Little Women by Primary Stages (commissioned and received its world premiere at The Jungle Theater in Minneapolis); and Mansfield Park which was commissioned by and debuted at Northlight Theater. This past season she debuted Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson-#2B at Kansas City Rep and Emma at The Guthrie.
Kate’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility (in which she originated the role of Marianne Dashwood) had its world premiere off-Broadway, produced by Bedlam. Sense & Sensibility was named one of the “Top Ten Plays of 2014” by both Ben Brantley of the New York Times and by the Huffington Post, which called it “the greatest stage adaptation of this novel in history.” It reopened in New York in January of 2016 at the Gym at Judson where it ran for almost 300 performances.
Sense & Sensibility had its regional debut in spring 2015 at Dallas Theater Center. It has been produced at the Folger Theatre in Washington DC (four Helen Hayes awards), The Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis and theaters around the country.
Her adaptation of Vanity Fair debuted at The Pearl Theater in 2017 with an extended run and was seen in a co-production between Shakespeare Theater in DC and American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.
Her adaptation of Pride And Prejudice started at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in a production that moved to Primary Stages, in an extended production. Pride And Prejudice received an Off Broadway Alliance nomination for Best Unique Theatrical Experience. The play was also seen at WaterTower Theater in Addison, TX and Seattle Rep and has now been licensed nationwide.
She is currently working on an adaptations of The Odyssey which will be produced by ART, as well as several new original plays, including The Piper (2019 O’Neill NPC finalist; PlayPenn selection) and The Prostitute Play (developed at Cygnet Theater).
More information at www.katehamill.com.
Profiles In Alphabetical Order
Daniel J. Anteau (Associate Lighting Designer) is currently a Professor of Lighting Design at the University of Anchorage Alaska. Dan’s Lighting has been seen across the US from Alaska, Hawaii, to New York City. Dan fancies himself a dreamer, and a storyteller with light. When not in the theatre you will find him with his family enjoying the great outdoors of Alaska.
Julia Bregy (Stage Manager)(she/her/hers) is a graduate of Suffolk University in Boston. She is so excited to be reunited with Cara on this project. She would like to thank Helen and the cast for all of thier hard work on this production. Julia would also like to thank her parents and family for all of their support. New York: DiscOasis NYC (Constellation Immersive), Proud Ladies (James William Productions). Regional: Measure for Measure (Fiasco Theatre/Actors Theatre of Louisville) Christmas Carol (Actors Theatre of Louisville) The Wolves (Actors Theatre of Louisville) Fun Home (Speakeasy Boston) International: Little Mermaid (Metta Theatre London) I Do Need Me (Metta Theatre) I’m Not a Bit Like a Clown (Metta Theatre)
Maya Carter (Meg March) is an interdisciplinary performer + theatre-maker + teaching artist based in Brooklyn, NY—on the unceded land of the Lenape People. Maya is thrilled to debut at Perseverance Theatre with this incredible company + creative team! Performance credits include: Ruth Younger in A Raisin in the Sun (Sharon Playhouse), Gum-Gum in It Will Rise Soon Enough (Lenfest/Columbia), and The Pilot in Grounded (Irondale). Offstage, Maya strives to prioritize ease + creative liberation while facilitating the emergence of new plays and devised work. Developmental projects include: Tanya’s Lit Clit with ExB (Dramaturg), Elle S’envoie with Linked Dance Theater (Co-Creator + Director), and For Home Amusement (Deviser/Ensemble Member). Maya sends an ocean of gratitude to family + friends + ancestors + mentors + english teachers. BFA: Theatre Performance: Hofstra University. Feel free to connect on Instagram: @maya_n_carter.
Frank Delaney (Mr. Laurence / Robert March / Fight Choreographer) (he/they) see leadership pg 23.
Hali Duran (Intimacy Choreographer) studied at the International Ballet School, Colorado Conservatory of Dance, and the University of Colorado, Boulder. Notable local production credits include directing for La Liberazione di Ruggiero dall’ isola di Alcina, Juneau’s Got Talent, choreography for Where the Summit Meets the Stars, Fun Home, West Side Story, Next to Normal, Whale Song, Peter and the Starcatcher, and Sweeney Todd, and was a performer in productions of A Wolf Called Romeo, Guys and Dolls, Chicago, and Princes Sophia. She studies at Intimacy Directors and Coordinators and is a member of the Juneau Capital Civic Center Partnership board.
Mary Giles (Props Master) graduated from the Theatre program at UAA in 2018. Though primarily a stage manager, she is thrilled to be the properties manager for Little Women. Other design credits include And Then There Were None (properties) and New Dances (lighting). Her stage management credits include Into the Woods, Metamorphosis, Stalking the Boogeyman, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Shaula: Queen of the Universe, Tiny Beautiful Things, and The Play That Goes Wrong. Outside of theatre, Mary has a practice as a Kinleiner and is the worship director at Kaleo Church.
Grace Goodyear (Amy March)(they/them/theirs) is a mixed-media artist with theatrical training from the National Theater Institute (Waterford, CT) and Willamette University (Salem, OR), where they hold a BA in Women’s & Gender Studies. They continue to learn how to create and advocate for braver spaces through theatrical intimacy and consent-based practices (TIE, IDC, ICOC), as well as devise performances using projections, sculptures, and short writings. Grace is excited to be making their Perseverance Theatre debut, previously having worked with many theater companies in Alaska as well as Oregon and Michigan. Recent theatrical performance credits include Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. (WUT), No Exit (Dir. Caroline Gschwind), an/ (one’s) ivory tower (NMUT), Stinky Kids: the Musical (CTC), Dead City (WUT), and Shakespeare in Hollywood (ACT).
Gabriel Harvey (Choreographer) Founder and Creative Director of Underground Dance Company out of Anchorage Alaska has over 24 years of experience in the dance industry as a competitive dancer, team & theatre choreographer, and competition judge. He believes strongly in the ability of dance to enrich the lives of his students, the audience, and his community. Gabe has sent numerous teams to national competition stages, brought widely respected entertainment to local charitable events, produced community centered engagements, and promoted compassion, hard-work, and dedication throughout his career. His choreography specialties include Broadway, Hip-Hop, Pom, Street Style Jazz, Tap, and Contemporary styles.
Cara Hinh (Director)(she/they) is an Indiana-born queer, fat, mixed Viet theatre maker currently based in Brooklyn. They rejoice in work that speaks to the complicated and messy intersectionalities of holding a multiplicity of cultures and identities. Recent select credits include Buried Ruins with the Sống Collective, love you long time (already) at Atlantic MixFest and Transfer/Associate direction of Sanctuary City at Arena Stage and Berkeley Rep. Prior, Cara has been a Drama League Hangar Fellow, part of the Roundabout Directors Group, a Directing Apprentice at Actors Theatre of Louisville, SDC Observer on Hadestown and a Fellow at Baltimore Center Stage. carahinh.com
Valorie Kissel (Hannah / Mrs. Mingott / Messenger)(she/her/hers)is an Alaskan actor born and buttered in Juneau. She earned her masters from the New School for Drama in NYC and continues exploring with the Michael Chekhov School. Most recently, she’s romped “onstage” as Helena in Theatre Alaska’s Midsummer Night’s Dream and can be found next in Juneau Ghost Light Theatre’s production of Puffs in the new year. She’s eternally grateful to the wonderful cast&crew, mom&dad, Em, CVSB, and TCM for their unceasing love&support!
Isaac Kumpula (John Brooks / Parrot / Mr. Dashwood) (he/him/his) is a local Anchorage actor and life-long Alaskan joining Perseverance Theatre onstage for his first time. A graduate of UAA, he has earned his bachelors in Theatre Performance and has enjoyed putting it to use in recent productions of The Play that Goes Wrong (Jonathan), The Rocky Horror Show (Riff Raff), She Kills Monsters (Chuck Biggs), and as the Red Baron Dante Fortunati with Anchorage’s 3 Barons Renaissance Faire. Isaac is also a long-practiced saxophonist, avid hiker, and sometimes author of poems that will never see the light of day. When not avoiding conventional approaches to livelihood, he owns and operates a general contracting business with his partner and fellow actor Aaron.
Vivian Melde (Marmee / Aunt March)(she/her/hers) In February 2022, Vivian debuted with her first Perseverance Theatre show in Juneau with The Brothers Paranormal. As a life-long actor, dancer, and singer, Vivian first stepped on stage in Anchorage at the age of 10 years old. Dance led to musical theater and contemporary works with Eccentric Theater Company, Cyranos, Anchorage Community Theatre, Alaska Festival Theatre, Alaska Light Opera Theatre, and ACT Dance Ensemble. Vivian was a community performer for UAA’s Theatre and Dance since the late 1970s, and is excited about returning to UAA’s Mainstage venue. Numerous performance productions have given her an opportunity for international travel, including Russia, Lausanne, Switzerland, Victoria, BC, Amsterdam, The Hague, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Most recently before Covid shutdown in Anchorage, Vivian was a principal player with the Saturday Storytelling Theater at the Anchorage Museum. Vivian retired from a career as an environmental consultant in 2018 and enjoys exploring her vast “backyard” in the Chugach Mountains and beyond with her husband, Pete, grandkids Giani and Henry, her dog, Taz and granddog Coco.
Colleen Metzger (Costume Designer) Colleen’s costume design and technology work has taken her across the country. Previous design works include Steel Magnolias (Perseverance Theatre), Machinal (University of Alaska Anchorage), Newsies: The Musical (Utah Festival Opera), and Why Torture is Wrong, and The People Who Love Them (Cornell College). She has been a theatre professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage for the past ten years. Please visit colleenmetzgerdesigns.com
Tekla Butcher-Monson (Scenic Designer) is a Fairbanks based designer and dog musher. Tekla graduated with a degree in Theater from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. She worked in theater design for two years in New York City before returning to her home to Alaska. Her latest NYC set design credits include: The Neon Coven’s OSCAR at The Crown at 3 Dollar Bill, Access Theater’s Maverick at The Connelly, Onomatopoeia Theater Company’s The Picture of Dorian Gray at The Gene Frankel Theater and Everyday Inferno’s Quicksand at IRT Theater. Tekla is currently the general manager and lead musher/guide at Trail Breaker Kennel.
Lucy Peckham (Sound Designer) would like to say “It’s absolutely wonderful to be a part of Perseverance Theatre!” Regional credits: Betrayal, Our Town, Annapurna, In the Next Room, and others, (Perseverance Theatre) Hello, Dolly! (TBA Theatre), Alaxsxa|Alaska (Ping Chong & Co.) Europe (Thalia’s Umbrella) The Boiler Room (Old Globe Theatre; Drama-Logue Award) International: Arjuna’s Dilemma (One World Theatre, Kathmandu, Nepal) Film/TV: Alaska’s Marine Highway (360 North/PBS)
Jack Scholz (Theodore “Laurie” Laurence)(he/him/his) is delighted to make his Perseverance Theatre debut in Little Women. His most recent roles include Friar Francis (and a slew of supporting characters) in Much Ado About Nothing, Gerald in An Inspector Calls and Tommy in Blue Ticket. He credits UAS drama classes with whipping him into shape, as well as learning from Leslie Ishii in the Alaska Summer Theatre Intensive. Aside from acting, Jack has also played percussion for musicals such as The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Next to Normal, and performs as the drag queen Ripley Rose. When he’s not on or around a stage, you can find him on a paddle board or clacking away at a keyboard working on his book. He wants to thank his partner Ryan for putting up with his rehearsal schedules and for always supporting his passions.
Jiayi Ying (Beth March) (she/her/hers) is a New York-based actor. Born in China and raised in Belgium and the US, she now considers New York home. Most recently, she was Mary in Not Paul (Blue Otter Theatre), Michelle in Al Pacino Eyes (The Players Theatre), and Renata in Miss Memphis (Rogue Theater Festival). She first visited Alaska in 2019 for a friend’s wedding, and was awed by the glaciers, seals, and vast nature she saw. She’s excited and humbled to be back this time as part of the March family. She is a long-time student at HB Studio and, in her spare time, throws clay around a wheel.
Kat C. Zhou (Lighting Designer) is an NYC-based lighting designer for theatre, dance, and opera. She is delighted to be making her Perseverance/UAA debut with Little Women. Recent credits: The Butcher Boy (Irish Repertory Theatre), Mr. Fullerton, Between the Sheets (Gloucester Stage), X: the Life and Times of Malcolm X (BMOP/Odyssey Opera), KIN (WP Pipeline Festival), BLKS (Speakeasy Stage, Elliot Norton Award for Best Design), and Wolf Play (Company ONE). She holds an MFA in lighting design from Boston University and an AB in mathematics from Harvard College. More info: katzhoudesign.com
Ema Zivkovic (Jo March)(they/them/theirs) is an immigrant actor, choreographer, writer, and bartender. They have worked on productions at the Drama League, Actors Theatre of Louisville, The TEAM, The 24 Hour Plays, The Hangar Theatre, Target Margin Theatre, Colt Coeur, National Theatre Institute, Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Public Theatre, and many more. They are a proud alum of the British American Drama Academy & Sarah Lawrence College. For more juice & if you’d like to be Ema’s agent, reach out through Instagram @donut_cry__joe, or the soon-to-be-finished website www.emazivkovic.com.
UAA Department of Theatre and Dance
Faculty and Staff
Dr. Brian E. G. Cook Associate Professor and Department Chair
Daniel J. Anteau Professor
Dr. Jill Flanders-Crosby Professor
Colleen Alexis Metzger Associate Professor
David Fink Scene Shop Supervisor
Kaie Promish Costume Shop Manager
UAA College of Arts and Sciences
Jenny McNulty Dean
Meghan Owens Student, Academic & Divisional Support
for the Fine Arts
Perseverance Theatre Staff
Leslie Ishii Artistic Director
Frank Delaney Managing Director
Rio Alberto Director of Marketing &Engagement
Joseph W. Biagini Associate Producer
Tristan Cameron Arts Administration Apprentice
Erik Chadwell Technical Director / Facility Manager
Bryan Crowder Bookkeeper
Kylie Ferguson Artistic Apprentice
William Todd Hunt Juneau Master Electrician
Joshua Lowman Associate Managing Director
Lucy Peckham Anchorage Audio Engineer
Bradley Perkins Interim Development Director
Richard Perry Company Manager
Betsy Sims Juneau Audio Engineer
Salissa Thole Administrative Assistant
Laura Wallrath Juneau House Manager
Shelly Wright Costume Shop Manager
Elgee Rehfeld, LLC Accounting & Financial Advisor
Alaska Technical Solutions IT Support
Perseverance Theatre board of directors
Joe Bedard President
Allison Holtkamp Vice President
Eric Vang Secretary
Indra Arriaga Member-at-Large
Susan Churchill Member-at-Large
Terry Cramer Member-at-Large
Liz La quen náay Medicine Crow Member-at-Large
Ericka Lee Member-at-Large
About Perseverance Theatre
The mission of Perseverance Theatre is to create professional theatre by and for Alaskans.
Perseverance values community engagement, cross-cultural and cross-racial collaboration, professional rigor, and regional voice. Alaska is full of stories and characters that aren’t found anywhere else in the world. Perseverance is committed to creating theatre that represents all that is great about Alaska, and to bringing great live theatre to our Alaskan audiences.
Perseverance Theatre believes theatre-going creates shared experiences for our communities, which foster empathy, build relationships, and cultivate communication skills, and in the process better equip us all to solve problems together and create more vital and just communities.
In 1979, Molly Smith founded Perseverance Theatre, following her dream of starting a professional theatre company in her hometown. Over forty years, Perseverance has grown to serve 20,000 audience members, in both Juneau and in Anchorage, employ over 400 artists, and engage 300 volunteers annually to produce a season of classical, contemporary, and world premiere productions on our stages.
Perseverance believes that professional theatres play a vital role in training and cultivating the next generation of artists and audiences. The theatre’s education department produces extensive education and training programs, including Summer Theatre Arts Rendezvous (STAR), mainstage student matinees, and season-long internships.
Perseverance has premiered more than 70 new plays by Alaskan and national playwrights. Perseverance has a national profile, known for its commitment to developing artists and engaging programming reflective of the highly diverse communities of Alaska, to deliver the finest professional theatre anywhere to our loyal and local audiences.
Perseverance Theatre Leadership
Frank Delaney (Managing Director) After completing his MFA in acting Frank worked as a fight choreographer and actor throughout the Midwest. He returned to Alaska to work on Othello at Perseverance. Born and bred in Anchorage, Frank is excited to have the opportunity to help lead Perseverance into it’s next chapter. He has more than twenty years of experience in the IT world as a manager, technician, and project manager. That work took him to every corner of the state. As an actor and choreographer some of the companies Frank has worked within addition to Perseverance Theatre include Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Shawnee Summer Theatre, Midnight Summit Ensemble, the Know Theatre, Cyrano’s Theatre Company, and Anchorage Opera.
Leslie Ishii (Artistic Director) is a leader in the American Theatre in many capacities. (Stage Director) Perseverance Theatre: Upcoming, The Great Leap, and Voyager One, Devilfish, Silent Sky, We Hold These Truths; East West Players: Takarazuka!!!, Taking Flight: The Katherine Cheung Story, Crimes Of The Heart; Artists At Play: 99 Histories; productions at UC, Irvine, USC, CSLA; Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Founder/Director of API 2x2 Lab New Works Residency, Dramaturgy, FAIR Assistant Director Program Recipient; and where she began, Northwest Asian American Theatre. (Actor) Broadway, other regional theatre—Penumbra Theatre Company, Theater Mu, El Teatro Campesino, American Conservatory Theatre, and South Coast Repertory to name a few. She has also appeared in TV and film. (National Scope) Board President: Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists; Co-Founder National BIPOC/BITOC Coalition/Commons for the sustainability of artists and theatres of color; Board Member/Membership Committee: National New Play Network; Steering Committee: Anchorage Arts Group; Co-Chair of Coalition Building/Website Subcommittees: Professional Non-Profit Theatre Coalition; BIPOC Advisory Circle and co-facilitated the launch of the E/D/I Institute: Theatre Communication Group; Core faculty, artEquity working throughout the US with arts and culture organizations.
Original Founders
Alaska Community Foundation
Alascom
Alaska Coastal Real Estate
Alaska Ship Chandlers
Chevron Company U.S.A.
Bruce & Sharon Denton
Don Abel Building Supply
First National Bank of Anchorage
Gross Alaska Theatres
Juneau Travel
Miner Publishing
Kitty Mullins
Pomtier, Duvernay & Horan
Rasmuson Foundation
SOHIO (BP Exploration)
Larry Spencer& Carola Thompson
Foundation Sponsors
Alaska Community Foundation
Anonymous Family Foundation
Atwood Foundation
Richard L. & Diane M. Block Foundation
Charlotte Martin Foundation
Douglas-Dornan Fund of the Juneau Community Foundation
Houston In Action
Juneau Community Foundation
National New Play Network
Pride Foundation
Rasmuson Foundation
Sealaska Heritage Institute
Shubert Foundation
University of Alaska Foundation
Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF)
Government & Civic Organization Sponsors
City & Borough of Juneau- (Major Grant through the Juneau Arts & Humanities Council)
City & Borough of Juneau Youth Activities Board
Connie Boochever Endowment
National Endowment for the Arts
US Small Business Administration
Alaska State Council on the Arts
Business Sponsors
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Auto Repair
Alaska Waters, Inc.
Alaska Railroad Corporation
Alaska Technical Solution
Alaska’s Capital Inn Bed & Breakfast
Alaskan Brewing Company
Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center
Anchorage Night Out
Art Sutch Photography & Digital
Imaging
Avis Alaska
Baranof Hotel/Four Point by Sheraton
Bauer/Clifton Interiors
Baxter Bruce & Sullivan P.C.
Broken Tooth Brewing Company
The Canvas Community Art Studio
Coastal Helicopters
Coeur Alaska – Kensington Mine
Coppa
Cycle Alaska
Douglas Café
Driftwood Hotel
Elgee Rehfeld, LLC
El Sombrero
Fred Meyer (Kroger Co.)
Glacier Auto Parts
Goldbelt Tramway
Gross Alaska Cinemas
Heritage Coffee Roasting Company
Historic Skagway Inn
Home Depot
IBEW – Local 1547
In Boca Al Lupo
Island Pub
Juneau Arts & Humanities Council
Juneau Dance Theatre
Juneau Mediation Center
Juneau Pro-Choice Coalition
Juneau Self Storage Management
Juneau Symphony Orchestra
Kindred Post
Lemon Tree Café
Louie’s Douglas Inn
Merrill Lynch
MRV Architecs, PC
Northern Alaska Tour Company
NorthStar Trekking
Northwind Architects, LLC
Nugget Alaskan Outfitter
Oscar Gill House
Pel’meni
Rainforest Yoga
Robe Lake Lodge
Salt
Sandpiper Café
Suwanna Thai Cafe
Seong’s Sushi Bar
Shattuck & Grummett
Silverbow Inn
Specialty Imports
Stan Stephens Glacier & Wildlife Cruises
Taku Smokeries
Triangle Club
V’s Cellar Door
Valley Medical Center
Valley Paint Center
Wells Fargo
Westmark Fairbanks
White Pass &Yukon Route Railway
Yak & Yeti Café
Individual Sponsors
Producers $10,000+
Frank Delaney
An Anonymous Donor
Directors $5,000+
Robert and Susan Churchill*
Terry Cramer*
James Hoagland
Julie Kristin North
Chris and Bob Urata
Leslie Ishii and Wesley Mann
Designers $2,500+
David Hitz
Leon Shaul and Kathleen Jensen
Amanda and Anthony Mallott
Ann and Mac Metcalfe
Gail and Jan Sieberts
Anne and Doug Standerwick
Playwrights $1,000+
Carole Anderson
Jean Ann and Jim Alter
Alexandra Barsekian
Bruce Conant
Susan Cox
Leslie Daugherty
Gary Fournier & Kathleen Rhea
Chelsea Gagnon
Kathleen Harper and Bo Anderson
Michelle Hurtubise
Cheryl Ikemiya in Honor of Leslie Ishii
Adelaide Johnson
James and Shannon Keene
Denise Koch
Stanley Lujan
Steve McKeever and Nancy Wainwright
Patricia Partnow
Virginia Ragle
Susan Reilly
Phyllis Rude
Demian Schane
Jackie Schulz
Josephine Stiles
In Memory of Larry Spencer
Ensemble $250+
Erika Bergren
Darian Biagini
Gretchen H. Bishop
Judy and Chris Bockmon
Alicia Brown
Marsha Buck
Jean Butler
Portia Carney
Annie and Bud Carpeneti
Dave Clausen
Julie Coppens
Laurie Craig
Amber DeBardelaben
Frank Delaney
Peg Faithful and Bob Hume
Leah Farzin
Madeleine Grant
John Greely and Marla Berg
Dora Gropp
Constance Harris
William Todd Hunt
Bronze Ickes and Martin Phelan
Jill Jaeckel in Honor of Justic Humphrey
Lyle and Kolene James
Frank and Stacy Katasse
Terry Kelly
In memory of Ryan Norman Staton
Sue Koester
Brennon Land
Andrew Leman
COL. (Ret.) Audrey Lewis
Roby Littlefield
Richard Martinko
Marjorie Menzi and Bill Heumann
Jean Overstreet in Memory of Bill Overstreet
Katie Perry
Verena Reed
Deborah Rudis
Leon Shaul and Kathleen Jensen
Gina Spartz in Memory of Tom Linklater
John Staub and Stephanie Hoag
Terry Tavel
Jessica Tullius
Joseph L. Ver and Mary Riggen-Ver
Allison*, Jake, and Henry Waid
Ben Williams
Musicians Up to $249
Lizzie Acuna
Deane Adams
JoMarie Alba
Kevin Allen
Jayne Andreen
Jane Barnes
Tom and Sheila Barrett
James L. Barron
Grace Hutson
Patsy Bearden
Vivian Bearden in Memory of Sharon Lowe
Joel Bennett and Ritchie Dorrier
Brenda Bergsrud
Nathaniel Berry
Francis Bickford
Inua Blevins
Taryn Bliss
NorthWind Architects
Mary Borthwick
Kate Bowns and Mike Peterson
David and Dom Boyer
Linda Brandenburg
Kweku Brewoo
Benjamin Brown and Nicholas DeHart
Glen Burger and Mary DeSmet
Marian Call
Dan Cannon
Jack Cannon and Jamie McLean
Megan Carlson
Bing Carrillo
Tresvant Causey
Mike Christenson
Robert and Susan Churchill*
Christopher Clark
Susan and Jim Clark
Marylynn Clyne
M. Susan Condon
Anne Connelly
Tamara Cook
Jeffrey and Kayti Coonjohn
Carolyn H. Covington
Multiple
Jean Daniels
Karen Darnell
Shirley Dean
Terra Dean Stark
Nancy DeCherney
Benjamin Brown and Nicholas DeHart
Alexandra Di Suvero
MaryCait Dolan
Suzanne Downing
Amy Dressel, MD
Alexander Drummond
Hali Duran
Lisa Eagan-Lagerquist
Ginny Eckert
Marian Eiben
Margritt A. Engel
Kayla Epstein
Brita Fagerstrom
Terri Fagerstrom
Jacque Farnsworth
Robin Riley Fast
Erika Frankel
Anne Fuller and Michael Sakarias
Sharon Gaiptman
Myra Gilliam
Jane Ginter and Bob Coghill
Daniel & Wendy Glidmann
Bill Glude
Mary Grande
Susie Hackett
Ellen Harju
Elisabeth Hauser
Beverly Haywood
Brandy Hebert
Sheri L. Heritage
Jeffrey Herrmann and Sara Waisanen
Patrice and James Higgins
Nicole Hill
Marianne Holtkamp
Lily Hope
Peggy Horton
James Houck
Dave Hunsaker and Annie Caulkins
In Loving Memory of Steve Wolf
Sarah Isto and Gordon Harrison
Julie Jensen
Nancy L. Jones
Emily Kane
Diane Kaplan
Barbara Karl
Carmen Katasse
Kevin Keith
Senator Jesse Kiehl
Wendy Kilpatrick
Conor Kincaid
Doris Kirchhofer
Mary Knopf
Nobu Koch
Lisa Kramer
Teresa Kriletich Bruce
Linda Kruger and Jeff Gnass
Kathryn Kurtz
Elizabeth Lafleur
Laurie Lamm
Sara Lamont
Annie Landrum
Nathan Larson-Alexander
William Leighty
Sante Lesh
Sarah Lewis & Sean Boily
Maureen Longworth & Lin Davis
Carmen Lowry
Peter Macdougall
Reid Magdanz
MoHagani Magnetek
Amanda and Anthony Mallott
Meg Marsh
Jenny McBride
Marcia and Craig McKenzie
Shauna McMahon
Scott and Denice McPherson
Nancy McWilliams
Liz La quen náay Medicine Crow
Robin Merritt
Nellie Metcalfe
Christopher Metz
Joshua Midgett
Mark and Esther Millea
Catrina Mitchell
In Honor of Sarah Brownstein
Roman Motyka
Kayla Mount
Kimberly Naylor
Bonita D. Nelson and Ron Heintz
Jay W. Nelson and Rachel Stewart
Jo Ann Nelson
Julie Nelson
Julie Neyhart
Julie Kristin North
Eric Olson
Vicki Bassett and Eric Olsen
Lester Padilla
Daniel Parks
Catherine Perry
Arthur H. Peterson
Caryl Pines Curry in Honor of Irene Martinko
Amy Pinney
Mark Pipkin
Sara Poor
Barb Potter
Don Poulton
Multiple
John and Margaret Pugh
Jenny Pursell in Memory of Betsy Pursell
Linda Rabideau
Kenny Ramos
Glenn Ray
George and Deb Reifenstein
Sarah Ribeiro
Constance Riker
Ilene Risley Sackett
Katy Ritter
Bonnie Robinson
Margaret (Peggy) Robinson
Martha Robinson
Linda Rosenthal
Arthur Rotch
Joseph Roth
Susan Sacaloff
Mike Sakarias
Rachel Samuelson
Carl and Sue Schrader
Bonnie and Edward Shanley
Barbara Sheinberg
Don and Sherry Shiesl
Gail and Jan Sieberts
Sandy Harris and John Sivertsen
Jeff and Susan Sloss
Beverly Smith
Jennifer Smith
Sally Smith
Sara Smith
Elise Sorum-Birk
Cindy Spanyers
Larri Spengler
Anne and Doug Standerwick
Michael Stark and MJ Grande
Jennifer Stryker
Geran Tarr
Sue Ellen Tatter
Brenda Taylor and Joe Roth
Louise Taylor
Emily Thompson
Shelaine Thompson
David and DJ Thomson
Michael Tobin
Michael and Mary Tullius
Chris and Bob Urata
Monika Walker
Laura Wallrath
Charles and Anne Ward
Tom and Sharon Warren
David Waters
LARRY WEEKS
Jennifer Weinlaeder
Peggy and Alex Wertheimer
Marc Wheeler
Laura White
Jetta Whittaker and Rob Steedle
Karen Wood
Stefan Zijlstra
Gleb Zimmerman