Director's Note:
The Giver, Lois Lowry’s 1993 Newbery Award winning novel, was first published in 1993. At the time, my oldest child was in middle school, and we read the book together. A couple of years later, I included the novel in my eighth grade English curriculum. It provoked much opinion and discussion, and students loved it. In fact, according to the school library Journal, The Giver is one of the top five popular young adult novels of all time. Today, it is also one of the most banned young adult novels in schools.
Lowry herself has said that she wrote The Giver after her father began exhibiting symptoms of memory loss and dementia. She began to think about the results of memory loss on individuals, and on society, and she captured those thoughts in a novel – a story of a society which has eliminated memory, and thereby eliminated personal choice and individuality in favor of uniformity. It is a society which is seemingly without conflict, but also without moral principle.
This adaptation of Lowry’s novel by Eric Coble is one of several, including a film, other plays, and even a musical! I am delighted that Olympia Family Theater chose this adaptation as part of their season. I am even more delighted to have had the opportunity to direct a story that I have loved for so long. As a theatre educator and director, I believe with my whole heart in the power of theatre, and all art, to tell stories that inspire and uplift us, and give us reasons to think about who we are and what we do. I am grateful to the OFT community for including me in this adventure. Their dedication to making theatre accessible for all ages and circumstances is inspiring, their staff is welcoming and accomplished, and their work enriches our community. Thank you for supporting OFT, and the art of storytelling through theatre. I want to thank them, and this cast of talented actors, and you, the audience, for being here with us.
– Kathy Dorgan, Director
Estimated duration:
90 minutes with a 15 minute intermission
Please Note:
Flashing lights and sounds of war are used in this production.
CAST:
John Serembe – The Giver
Owen Yarwood – Jonas
Alex Daugherty – Mother
Jerry Romasco – Father
Royal McEachern – Asher
Twana Beedle – Fiona
Olive Beardsley – Lily
Laurie O’Brien – Larissa & Chief Elder
April Sunshine – Rosemary
Alex Sheesley – Rosemary
CREATIVE CREW:
Kathy Dorgan – Director
Kaiah Costa – Stage Manager
Elijah Bellis – Lighting Designer
Jordanna Averett – Set Designer
Vanessa Cat – Sound Designer & Prop Designer
Alayna Chamberland – Costume Designer
SPECIAL THANKS!
Thanks to the following people and organizations that helped us put this production on stage!
Nathan Groome
Charlotte Darling
Anna Holbrook
Mike Taylor
Danny Denniston
Anna Bobcova
Lakewood Playhouse
Capital High School
James Koval Center for the Performing Arts
CAST BIOS:
John Serembe
(he/him)
The Giver
John Serembe has performed locally with Harlequin Productions in Baskerville, The 39 Steps, The Highest Tide, The Art Of Racing In The Rain, Little Shop Of Horrors, Hedda Gabler, and others. He is also Harlequin’s Graphic Designer and Projection Designer. With Theater Artist’s Olympia performing in Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol, 1984, and The Head That Wouldn’t Die and others, and directing Much Ado and Midsummer Night’s Dream at Lakewold. In Los Angeles: Inspecting Carol, The Imaginary Invalid, Tartuffe and many others. He has appeared around the country, including ten years at Nevada Shakespeare. On TV: Cheers, Scrubs, The Young And The Restless, and others. John is also Vice President of the board of Theater Artists Olympia, he is the publisher of OLYARTS, the local non-profit magazine serving the South Sound arts community.
Owen Yarwood
(he/him)
Jonas
This show is Owen’s very first time performing in a show! He has enjoyed all of the new experiences this has opened him up to. When not onstage, you can find Owen skiing or playing tennis. He would like to thank his mom for all the support.
Alex Daugherty
(she/her)
Mother
This is Alex’s second show outside of a school as well as her second show at OFT, the last being Honk! the Musical as Jaybird, Penny, and Cat Understudy! She has found such a wonderful family over here at OFT and looks forward to being in more productions with them in the future! Alex was a part of all of her high school theatre shows at Black Hills High School and knew from there she wanted to be an actor. As of 2024, she has graduated with her Bachelors in Theatre Arts from Saint Martin’s University while also being a part of the staff and Pacific Northwest Theatre, a non-profit program that teaches kids the beauty of musical theatre. She has both choreographed, assistant directed, and directed a few shows with them; the most recent project being Newsies Junior over the summer, directing it and her current show being Children of Eden as Choreographer and Assistant Director. She wants to thank her wonderful family, friends, and partner for supporting her in making her dreams of being an actor come true and thanks everyone in the audience for coming and supporting live theatre! Enjoy the show!
Jerry Romasco
(he/him)
Father
Jerry is pleased to return to the OFT stage after playing Tigger in The House at Pooh Corner. He has enjoyed playing the role of The Father, a character with the tension of being a loving figure with a chilling coldness discovered later. Most of his acting career has been through improv comedy with local troupe The Real Faker’s Dozen. He also enjoys reading, playing drums, cooking, playing dungeons and dragons, and copious amounts of time spent with his spouse and fluffy cats.
Royal McEachern
(he/him)
Asher
Royal McEachern has been doing shows since elementary school. His favorite roles he has ever performed are Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast, Stage Manager in Our Town, and Miss Scarlet in Clue. He feels like this show has been so much fun to put on because the cast and crew were so welcoming and fun and it has been really nice to continue being in theatre. When not acting, Royal is working for Make a Way doing excavation and land clearing, studying for his classes at SPSCC, or spending time with his friends and family. He would like to thank his dad for always coming to his shows and believing in him, his brother and sister in law for always being awesome, and his partner for supporting him no matter what.
Twana Beedle
(she/her)
Fiona
Twana is very excited to return to Olympia Family Theater! Some of her favorite shows include: A Christmas Carol (2021, 2022) at Harlequin, The Wizard of Oz at OFT, and the short film Basket Lady in 2023, from the Intertribal Youth Film Project produced by OlyFilm. Twana has loved being part of Creative Theater Experience (CTE) since first grade. In addition to theater, she enjoys horseback riding, playing the stand-up bass.
Olive Beardsley
(she/her)
Lily
Olive is excited to be making her debut in this play. She’s loved seeing how the other actors bring their characters to life. When she’s not on stage, Olive loves reading, spending time with her friends, and hanging out with her Girl Scout troop.
Laurie O'Brien
(she/her)
Larissa & Chief Elder
Laurie was last seen on the OFT stage as the letter Z in the original musical The Alphabetastics. She has also participated as both an actor and a writer during a number OFT’s Tales Told in Ten playwriting festivals. Recent favorite roles include Janine Bosko in The Niceties and Gingy in Love, Loss, and What I Wore, both at the Lakewood Playhouse. Laurie can be seen regularly turning audience members’ stories into art with The HeartSparkle Players, an Olympia based Playback Theatre company. As always, much love to Brian.
April Sunshine
(they/them)
Rosemary
April is very excited to be in an OFT show for the first time! They’ve been doing theater camps here and other productions of plays and musicals for a long time, with their all-time favorite role as Mr. D. in The Lighting Thief over this summer. April is a big fan of “The Giver” and books with similar themes such as “The Hunger Games”, “Celestial Monsters”, and they are currently reading through “Animal Farm”.
Alex Sheesley
(any pronouns)
Rosemary
Alex is excited to be making their OFT debut as Rosemary. Alex’s favorite past roles include: Wickersham Brother (Suessical), Roger Goodman (Jolly Roger and the Pirate Queen), Paul McCartney (We Will Rock You), and Lum (Attack of the Zombies). Outside of theater Alex loves to dance and play the violin and piano. Special thanks to Leo Shiley and Alex’s dog, Toby.
CREWS BIOS:
Kathy Dorgan
(she/her)
Director
Kathy retired from teaching after 22 years as Theatre Arts teacher at Olympia High School, and served as Artistic Director for Creative Theatre Experience from 2003 to 2022. She has directed local productions at St. Martin’s University, Harlequin Productions, South Puget Sound Community College, Olympia Little Theatre and Olympia Family Theatre. Kathy received her BFA in Theatre at Pacific Lutheran University and an MFA from the University of Portland. She has also trained at the Teaching Artist Lab at Seattle Repertory Theater and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She is a Juilliard School Directing Fellow. Kathy is delighted to work with Olympia Family Theatre again. She wholeheartedly believes in the power of storytelling through theatre to transform perspectives, minds, and hearts, and is committed to working in and promoting the arts wherever and whenever opportunity presents.
Kaiah Costa
(she/her)
Stage Manager
Kaiah is excited to be part of The Giver, a novel she loved as a teen. Kaiah can be seen around OFT serving on the board, on stage, and behind it. Previous OFT roles include Mirror Toad in The Wind in the Willows, Toto in The Wizard of Oz, Kanga in The House on Pooh Corner, and numerous daytime show appearances. She has worked as a tech on Barney Carey Gets His Wings and Honk! The Musical. Outside of OFT Kaiah works as an archaeologist. She would like to thank Kathy and the rest of the cast and crew for the opportunity to work on such an important and impactful story.
Elijah Bellis
(he/they)
Lighting Designer
Elijah is so grateful to have gotten to design The Giver. He loved the book growing up, so getting to light this drastically different world has been a dream. Previously at OFT, they have lit The Wizard of Oz and Honk!, and they recently led the overhaul of the lighting system. Outside of OFT, they have designed and worked electrics for Lakewood Playhouse, Tacoma Little Theatre, SPSCC, The Evergreen State College, and Harlequin Productions. He is currently lighting The Laramie Project at Lakewood Playhouse.
Jordanna Averett
(she/her)
Set Designer
Jordanna is an Olympia artist and theater creative. She loves working behind the scenes for our local theaters – most especially when she can build, paint, or otherwise get her hands messy. Recent work includes designing props for Sweeney Todd, creating the set for The House on Pooh Corner, and helping build String and Shadow’s giant puppet show: Or So it Would Seam. Jordanna is grateful to our community for their support of the arts, and to the dedicated and passionate folks at OFT. Infinite thanks and love to Danny.
Vanessa Cat
(she/her)
Sound Designer & Props Designer
Vanessa is an Olympia based performing artist, dancer, choreographer, producer, musician, actor, Teaching Artist, mama, and lover of cats. Vanessa has been working in theater and performance for over 20 years, and is very grateful to be part of this production here at OFT with this talented rockstar cast! The Giver has always been one of her favorite books, and it has been a lifelong dream to work on this story in theater.
Alayna Chamberland
(she/her)
Costume Designer
Alayna had so much fun costuming this show! She got to bust out her new sewing machine (best Christmas present ever, thank you family!) and went through over 8 bottles of grey dye (trust her, that’s a lot of dye). When not reading, crafting, or hanging out with her family and zoo at home, Alayna spends her time as the Production Manager for us here at Olympia Family Theater. She hopes that you enjoy the show!
ORGANIZATION CREDITS:
OFT Staff
Executive Director
Mark Alford
Production Manager
Alayna Chamberland
Development Manager
Melissa Sampson
Box Office Manager & Bookkeeper
Tracy Thomas
Education Manager
Lex Langguth-Torres
Company-in-Residence
String & Shadow
Graphics & Web Design
Jill Carter
Graphics & Web Assistant
Jupiter Shellman
OFT Board of Directors
Deane Shellman
Victor Velazquez
Korja Giles
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Special Thanks to our MEMBERS:
Ensamble Members:
Kerry Beardsley
Michael Corcoran
Laura Deaton
Jennifer Guyant
Marcia Haggerty
Bonnie Jacques
Leah Kosik
Tom Lockhart
Hugh McGavick
Donna Myers
Pier Petersen
Cara Preuss
Diana Purvine
Ryan Rodriquez
Katie Stemmene
Christopher Taylor
Janelle Tyler
Aaron Wiggett
Director’s Circle Members:
Krishna Chowdary
Trina and Gary Delaney
Toni Dewees
Lori Fascilla
Susan Faubion
Lacy Fehrenbach
Korja Giles
Wally and Linda Mead
Jeannie Simpson
Kenneth Thiessen
Members:
Dave Alford
Jay Allen
Susan L Allen
Bret & Mary Anderson
Patricia Atkins
Victoria Book
Stefanie Booth
Priscilla Bowerman
Linda Boyer
Martha S Buck
Edsonya Charles
Leslie Christenson
Wanda A Cross
Thaddeus Curtz
Carolyn Darrow
Marisa Dillard
Marla Elliot
Christopher Ertel
Lori Fascilla
William Gallin
Lee Ann Gekas
Korja Giles
Karen Hanan
Elizabeth J Hauser
Carolee Johnson
Kursta Joslin
Amy Keltner
Leah Kosik
Jonathan LeFaive
Kelly Leonard
John Linderman
Thomas Lockhart
Vicki Lovegren
Pamela Lykins
Valerie Lynn
Britt Madsen
Claudia McClain
Linda Mead
Nicole Miller
Patricia Mix
Patricia Moore
Donna Myers
David and Jane Nowitz
Penny Purkerson
Diana & Stephen Purvine
Melanie Ransom
Karen Ray
Stacey Ray
Jena Regan
Jerry Romasco
Sarah Rossman
Kristi Rutledge
Lillian Ryan
Jennifer Ryle
Alexis Sarah
Deane Shellman
Jeannie Simpson
Patricia Starzyk
Amanda Stevens
Oliver Stormshak
Trista & Michael Tempke
Tracy and Eric Thomas
Angela Tobias
Cathy Wasserman
Eli Wasserman
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Thank You to our GALA PARTICIPANTS:
Thank you to the generous supporters who bid on items and/or attended our very successful GALA fundraiser at SPSCC in early May.
Mark Alford
L.M. Attea
Susanna Bailen Acevedo
Toby Batcheldor
David Bayne
Kerrie Blackburn
Alyssa Bleckwehl
Derek Bumrungsiri
Nicole Butigan
Clay Campbell
Jill Carter
Marisa Caughlan
Alayna Chamberland
Samantha Chandler
Edsonya Charles
Heather & Michael Christopher
Stephanie Claire
Aaron Coby
Sandy Cocanour
Mary & Patrick Concannon
Kaiah & Pete Costa
Bonnie Cotton
Max Crabapple
Sarah Davis
Sara Develle
Peter & Robin Downey
Allison Dumas
Debe Edden
Meredith Ehlers
Keith Eisner
Caroline Flores
Veronica, Carlos & Elise Garcia
Luz Gaxiola
Yulia, Leopold & Irina Gendelman
Korja Giles
Christine Goode
Meghan Goodman
Andrew Gordon
Anya Guadamuz
Miriam Hathaway
Tealah Hill
Jeff Hsu
Hiroko Ishii
Bonnie Jacques
Matt Jarbo
Keoki Kauanoe
Morgan Kelley
Elisabeth Kingsbury
Lexis knight
Brian & Aylis Lind
Lauren Love
Valerie Lynn
Margaret MacRae
Ben & Heather Matthews
Ashley McBee
Maren McBeth
Emily McHugh
Robin McPherson
Melissa Mead
Nicole Miller
Lily Montoya
Liam Mooney
Titus Mutchler
Elizabeth Napolitano
Jimmy Nguyen
Doreese Norman
Jane & David Nowitz
Debbie Overstreet
Donald Palardy
Kristine Pepper
Pier Petersen
Constance Phegley
Rebeca Potasnik
Travis Prather
Diana & Stephen Purvine
Kristina Ralls
Angel Ramirez
Stacey & Tyler Ray
Ashleigh Rhinehart
Rebecca Rogers
Oswaldo Rosaro
Kristi Rutledge
Jen & Ted Ryle
Mandy Ryle
Melissa Sampson
Thomas Sanders
Mike Santana
Alexis Sarah
Andrea Schmitt
Bryanna Selders
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Andrea Severson
Nick & Deane Shellman
Micah Sherman
Wesley Shoemaker
Sara St.Clair
Jan Teague
Sara Thiessen
Kyle Thiessen
Jonnita Thompson
Karen, Michael & Sonja Ulrich
Victor, Kaelyn, Joaquin & Katherine Velazquez
Lauren & Steven Wells
Chris Wickham
Teresa Winstead
