Yale Rep Presents GOOD FAITH By Karen Hartman, Directed By Kenny Leon

Yale Repertory Theatre will present the world premiere of Good Faith: Four Chats about Race and the New Haven Fire Department by Karen Hartman, directed by Kenny Leon, February 1-23, 2019 at Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street). Opening Night is Thursday, February 7.

Good Faith features scenic design by Stephanie Osin Cohen, costumes by Beatrice Vena, lighting by Stephen Strawbridge, sound by Kathryn Ruvuna, projections by Zak Borovay, dramaturgy by Amy Boratko, technical direction by Kevin Belcher, vocal coaching by Ron Carlos, and stage management by John Carlin.

The cast of Good Faith includes René Augesen, Ian Bedford, Rob Demery, Laura Heisler, and Billy Eugene Jones.

MORE ABOUT GOOD FAITH

Can the stories of a small American city tell the truth of an entire nation? In 2009, the Supreme Court ruled that the City of New Haven violated the civil rights of a group of firefighters who were passed over for promotion. Two national election cycles later, the lead plaintiff, now an instructor at the Fire Academy, schools new recruits on the methods and values of the department. Across town in a Greek diner, two former Fire Department colleagues continue to debate the personal and political impact of the decision. Through distinct, at times directly oppositional, individual voices, Good Faith reveals the soul of New Haven.

Inspired by the landmark labor case Ricci v. DeStefano, Good Faith is an imaginative response to transcripts, interviews, and the many histories of New Haven.

Good Faith was commissioned by Yale Repertory Theatre. Development and production support are provided by Yale's Binger Center for New Theatre.

TICKET INFORMATION AND PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Tickets for Good Faith range from $12-99 and are available online at yalerep.org, by phone at (203) 432-1234, and in person at the Yale Rep Box Office (1120 Chapel Street). Student, senior, and group rates are also available.

THE CREATIVE TEAM

Karen Hartman (Playwright) In spring 2018, Karen Hartman's The Book of Joseph became the highest grossing play in the Everyman Theatre's history. Joseph and two other recent plays, Roz and Ray (Edgerton New Play Prize) and Project Dawn (NEA Grant, NNPN Rolling World Premiere), had ten productions in the 2016-18 seasons. Other works include Goldie, Max, and Milk (Steinberg and Carbonell nominations); SuperTrue (Kilroy's List, Theater Know); Goliath (Dorothy Silver New Play Prize); Gum; Leah's Train (Weissberger Finalist); Going Gone (NEA Grant); Girl Under Grain (Best Drama, NY Fringe); ALICE: Tales of a Curious Girl (Music by Gina Leishman, AT&T Onstage Award); and Troy Women. Regional: Center Stage, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Cincinnati Playhouse, Dallas Theater Center, People's Light, San Diego Rep, Seattle Rep, Theater J, Victory Gardens. New York: Women's Project, NAATCO, P73, Summer Play Festival. Publications: TCG, Dramatists Play Service, Playscripts, Backstage Books, NoPassport. Honors: McKnight Residency, New Dramatists alumna, Bellagio, Helen Merrill Foundation, Hodder Fellowship, Jerome Fellowship, Fulbright Scholarship. Prose: New York Times and The Washington Post. Ms. Hartman is Senior Artist in Residence at University of Washington and has just returned to Brooklyn after four years in Seattle. She holds a B.A. and an M.F.A. from Yale. karenhartman.org/

Kenny Leon (Director) is a Tony Award-winning Broadway and television director. His Broadway credits include American Son starring Kerry Washington and Steven Pasquale; the revival of Children of a Lesser God; the Tupac musical Holler If Ya Hear Me; A Raisin in the Sun starring Denzel Washington (Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and Best Revival of a Play); The Mountaintop starring Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett; Stick Fly produced by Alicia Keys; August Wilson's Fences (which garnered ten Tony nominations and won three Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Play), Gem of the Ocean, and Radio Golf; as well as A Raisin in the Sun starring Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Phylicia Rashad, and Audra McDonald. He also directed Smart People for Second Stage. Leon's television work includes Hairspray Live! and The Wiz Live! on NBC. He is the recipient of the 2016 Mr. Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement in Directing and the 2010 Award for Excellence in Directing from the Drama League. Mr. Leon serves on the board of New York's Public Theater and is Artistic Director Emeritus of Atlanta's Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company.

STEPHANIE OSIN COHEN (Scenic Designer) is a third-year M.F.A. candidate at Yale School of Drama, where her credits include Pentecost and Much Ado About Nothing. Other credits include Lear (Yale Summer Cabaret); Fade, Ni Mi Madre, The Guadalupes, The Slow Sound of Snow, Circling the Drain (Yale Cabaret); North of Providence (Yale Cabaret, Satellite Series); This American Wife (Next Door at New York Theater Workshop); and the short film Candace, which was screened at Cannes. Prior to Yale, Stephanie worked in theater and television in New York, where her credits include scenic artist for Hamilton (The Public Theater) and King Lear (Shakespeare in the Park); art clearance coordinator for HBO's Girls and ABC's The Family. She received her B.A. in art history and theater arts from Brandeis University and is a Fulbright Scholar.

Stephen Strawbridge (Lighting Designer) has designed over 200 productions on and off Broadway and at most leading regional theatres and opera houses across the U.S. Internationally his work has been seen in Bergen, Copenhagen, The Hague, Hong Kong, Linz, Lisbon, Munich, Naples, São Paolo, Stockholm, Stratford-upon-Avon (for the Royal Shakespeare Company), Wroc?aw, and Vienna. Artistic collaborators have included such notable directors and choreographers as Robert Brustein, Martha Clarke, Ron Daniels, Graciela Daniele, Barry Edelstein, Richard Foreman, Athol Fugard, Loretta Greco, Mark Lamos, Emily Mann, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Trevor Nunn, Bartlett Sher, Rebecca Taichman, John Tillinger, Robert Wilson, Mark Wing-Davey, and Robert Woodruff. He has numerous pieces in the repertories of Pilobolus Dance Theatre and Alison Chase/Performance. Recent credits include Madame Butterfly (Lyric Opera of Kansas City); Turn Me Loose (Arena Stage); Much Ado About Nothing (Old Globe, San Diego); Flyin' West (Westport Playhouse) and The White Card (American Repertory Theatre). He has been recognized with numerous awards and nominations including the American Theatre Wing, Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, Connecticut Critics Circle, Dallas-Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum, Drama Desk, Helen Hayes, Henry Hewes Design, and Lucille Lortel. He is co-chair of the design department at Yale School of Drama and resident lighting designer for Yale Repertory Theatre.

BEATRICE VENA (Costume Designer) is a third-year M.F.A. candidate at Yale School of Drama, where her credits include The Winter's Tale and Sweat. Other credits include fuck her, Circling the Drain, and The Quonsets (Yale Cabaret). Regional credits include Wondrous Strange, That High Lonesome Sound (Actors Theatre of Louisville); Alice in Wonderland (Creede Repertory Theatre); and In a Tilted Place (IRT Theater). Beatrice is a company member of the New York-based theater company The Associates, and received her B.A. in theater arts from Hendrix College.

KATHRYN RUVUNA (Sound Designer) is a third-year M.F.A. candidate at Yale School of Drama, where her credits include Tent Revival, Pentecost, and Much Ado About Nothing. Her work has also been heard in Taking Warsan Shire Out of Context on the Eve of the Great Storm, In the Red and Brown Water, The Meal, The Red Tent, Ni Mi Madre, Enter Your Sleep (Yale Cabaret); and Mies Julie (Yale Summer Cabaret). She holds a B.F.A. in sound design from the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University.

Zachary Borovay (Projection Designer) Selected Broadway credits include the long-running hit Rock of Ages (also London, Australia, Vegas, Toronto, Norwegian Cruise Line, National and European tours), No Man's Land/Waiting for Godot (with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen), Evita, Lombardi (Drama Desk nomination), Elf, A Catered Affair (Drama Desk nomination), and Xanadu. Selected regional credits include In The Heights (The Kennedy Center), Jesus Christ Superstar (Signature Theatre, Virginia; Helen Hayes Award), Sunday in the Park with George (Huntington Theatre Company), Smart People (Second Stage, Hewes Award nomination), and The Colored Museum (Huntington, IRNE Award). Additional designs include The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Peepshow (Las Vegas), and Voyage de la Vie (Singapore). He is a partner at MODE studios and also an accomplished bassist (Berklee College of Music).

AMY BORATKO (Production Dramaturg) is the Literary Manager at Yale Rep and has previously served as dramaturg on the Yale Rep productions of Field Guide, Mary Jane, Imogen Says Nothing, peerless, Indecent, War, The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls, Dear Elizabeth, The Realistic Joneses, Good Goods, Belleville, Autumn Sonata, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Battle of Black and Dogs, Compulsion, Notes from Underground, A Woman of No Importance, Eurydice, and The Cherry Orchard. Other dramaturgy credits include The Time of Your Life, The Summer People, Romeo and Juliet, The War Is Over (Yale School of Drama), as well as Voice and Vision's ENVISION Retreat at Bard College. She has been a teaching fellow at Yale College and Yale School of Drama and was a managing editor of Theater magazine. A graduate of Rice University, she received her M.F.A. in dramaturgy and dramatic criticism from Yale School of Drama.

KEVIN BELCHER (Technical Director) previously served at Yale Rep as assistant technical director for Father Comes Home From the Wars, Parts 1, 2 & 3. He is a third-year M.F.A. candidate at Yale School of Drama, where his credits include Death of Yazdgerd, A Midsummer Night's Dream (technical director); 2018 Carlotta Festival of New Plays (stage carpenter); 2017 Carlotta Festival of New Plays (assistant technical director); and Bulgaria! Revolt! (master electrician). Prior to Yale, Kevin was an Operations Supervisor for the AT&T Performing Arts Center. After earning a B.A. in theater arts from the University of North Texas, he worked at WaterTower Theatre, Dallas Children's Theater, and Shakespeare Dallas.

Ron Carlos (Vocal Coach) is a lecturer at Yale School of Drama. Coaching credits include Native Son, Mary Jane, Assassins, Seven Guitars, War (Yale Rep); The Glass Menagerie, It's Only a Play (Broadway); Oedipus El Rey, Gently Down the Stream, Party People, Sweat, Plenty, Privacy (The Public Theater); The Capables (Judson Gym); The Piano Lesson (Hartford Stage); Misalliance, Love's Labour's Lost (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey); The Lily's Revenge (American Repertory Theater); television: Orange Is the New Black (Netflix), Madam Secretary (CBS), Power (STARZ), Unforgettable (CBS), and Fringe (Fox); film: Look Away, The Week Of. Ron received his M.F.A. in voice and speech pedagogy from the ART Institute at Harvard. Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework.

Tara Rubin/Laura Schutzel, CSA (Casting Director) has been casting Yale Rep since 2004. Selected Broadway/National Tours: King Kong, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, The Band's Visit, Prince of Broadway, Indecent, Bandstand, Sunset Boulevard, Miss Saigon, Dear Evan Hansen, A Bronx Tale, Cats, Falsettos, Disaster!, School of Rock, Les Misérables, The Heiress, The Phantom of the Opera, Billy Elliot, Shrek, Spamalot, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Producers, Mamma Mia!, Jersey Boys. Off-Broadway: Smokey Joe's Café, Jersey Boys, Here Lies Love. Regional: Paper Mill Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, Bucks County Playhouse, Westport Country Playhouse. tararubincasting.com

John Carlin (Stage Manager) is a third-year M.F.A. candidate at Yale School of Drama, where his credits include Death of Yazdgerd, Othello, Blood Wedding, and If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be a Muhfucka. Other credits include Assassins (Yale Repertory Theatre, production assistant); Brigadoon (Goodman Theatre); At the Old Place (Arden Theatre Company); Funnyman, You Can't Take It With You, Mothers and Sons, Butler, Discord (Northlight Theatre); Fantastical Family Nights, Fascinating Rhythm (Transcendence Theatre Company); and Current Location (Yale Cabaret). He has also worked with About Face Theatre, Pegasus Theatre Company, and Piccolo Theatre Company. John is a proud graduate of Loyola University Chicago where he received his B.A. in theater with a focus in stage management and lighting design.

THE CAST

RENÉ AUGESEN (Karen) previously appeared at Yale Rep in Arcadia, A Streetcar Named Desire, A Woman of No Importance, and The Beaux' Stratagem. She was a core acting company member at American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco for twelve seasons, where she appeared in more than three dozen productions. In New York, she has appeared in Spinning into Butter (Lincoln Center Theater), Macbeth (The Public Theater), It's My Party... (ArcLight Theatre), and Overruled (Drama League). Her other regional theatre credits include productions at South Coast Repertory, Great Lakes Theater Festival, Baltimore's Center Stage, the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival, and Stage West. Film and television: The Battle Studies, Law & Order, Guiding Light, Another World, and Saint Maybe (Hallmark Hall of Fame). As a 2011 Ten Chimneys Foundation Lunt-Fontanne Fellow, she was recognized for her extraordinary contributions to her community and to the overall quality of the American theater. She is a graduate of Yale School of Drama.

Ian Bedford (Frank) Recent stage credits include Eddie in Ivo van Hove's A View from the Bridge (Goodman Theatre), Murder on the Orient Express (Hartford Stage), and Oslo (Pioneer Theatre). Ian has also appeared with the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Mark Taper Forum, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and La Jolla Playhouse, among others. Television credits include Shameless, Chicago PD (recurring), The Path, Law & Order: SVU (recurring), and How to Get Away with Murder. Ian was the associate producer on The Promise starring Oscar Isaac and Christian Bale and is a graduate of Yale College and University of California, San Diego.

Rob Demery (Tyrone) Stage: Holler If Ya Hear Me, Fetch Clay, Make Man (Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company); Too Heavy For Your Pocket (Alliance Theatre, world premiere); Sarafina!, Othello The Remix (St. Louis Black Rep); Cardboard Piano (Actor's Express); Lombardi, To Kill a Mockingbird, A Soldier's Story, Twelfth Night, A Christmas Carol (New Stage Theatre); The Waiting Room (Gas Light Theatre); Power to the Eight (Climb Theatre). Film and television: The Resident, The Gifted, Underground, Get On Up, 90 Minutes in Heaven, Devil's Knot, and Second Generation Wayans. Rob is the Founder/Artistic Director of Red Light Arts in Riverdale, Georgia. robdemery.com

Laura Heisler (Writer) is thrilled to make her Yale Rep debut. Broadway: Coram Boy. She received both Lucille Lortel and Drama League Award nominations for her performance in Kin by Bathsheba Doran, directed by Sam Gold (Playwrights Horizons). Other Off-Broadway and regional credits include People Be Good, Doris to Darlene, The Patron Saint of Sea Monsters (Playwrights Horizons); Everything Will Be Different (Soho Rep.); The Mistakes Madeline Made (Naked Angels); and productions at Rising Phoenix, Clubbed Thumb, The Geffen, Williamstown Theatre Festival, McCarter Theatre Center, South Coast Rep, The Shakespeare Theatre, Old Globe, Humana Festival, and Woolly Mammoth, among many others. Television and film: Chicago Med, Elementary, The Americans, Madam Secretary, Grey's Anatomy, The Middle, Bones, Ugly Betty, The Defenders, Numb3rs, We Go On, As Good As You, and Yellowbrickroad.

Billy Eugene Jones (Mike) has previously appeared at Yale Rep in Breath, Boom; Richard II; Death of a Salesman; and August Wilson's Seven Guitars. His Broadway credits include A Raisin in the Sun, The Trip to Bountiful, The Big Knife, The Mountaintop, Passing Strange, Radio Golf, and Gem of the Ocean. Off-Broadway credits include Pitbulls (Audelco nomination for Best Actor; Rattlestick Playwrights Theater), The Jammer (Atlantic Theatre Company), In the Footprint (The Civilians), Waiting for Godot and Three Sisters (Classical Theatre of Harlem). Regional credits include Macbeth (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), The Good Negro (Goodman Theatre), Stick Fly (Elliot Norton nomination for Best Supporting Actor; Arena Stage, Huntington Theatre Company), Othello (California Shakespeare Theater), Spunk (Actors Theatre of Louisville), and The People Before the Park (Premiere Stages). Other stage credits include productions at Two River Theater, Alliance Theatre, Hartford Stage, and numerous productions at The Dallas Theater Center. Billy is a graduate of Yale School of Drama