Program for the Secret Garden

Name: Character & Couture
Start: 2025-01-14T16:00:00-08:00
End: 2025-01-14T18:00:00-08:00
Location: Olympia Family Theater

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR'S NOTE:

Thank you so much for joining OFT as we reopen our doors for our first full season since 2020. Although I’ve only been at OFT for one short year, I have come to know this place as a community full of love, creativity, courage, and integrity. It is an honor to be part of this story.
In our 2022-2023 season, every play we produce is intended to bring us together around ideas and themes that spark conversation, build empathy, and help us to heal from the last two years: in The Secret Garden we are directly talking about healing, grief and community. In the shows coming up we’ll have dance parties, hero’s journeys, and critical analysis of equity in America.
You’ll also notice that every play centers young people in leading roles. The last two years have been difficult for people of all ages, but have had a profound impact on our youth. We need to uplift, center, and celebrate their resilience and talent – especially as we rebuild our communities.
In closing, I’ll ask you these questions: What is the world you want to see in the future? What does it look like? What does it feel like? How do people treat one another? I believe that theater can play a critical role in helping us to visualize that world, and to share our ideas for transformation with one another. I hope the plays we’re sharing with you this season embody some of your hopes and dreams – and I can’t wait to sit next to you in the theater to share these stories.

Big, BIG love,

Lily

CAST/CREW:

Daniela Acuña, Mary

Oliver Garcia, Carlos

Beckham Barehand, Dee

Raphael Venegas, Don Benicio

Lucy Elle Balls, Medlock

Lex Langguth-Torres, Mouse

Victor Velazquez, Mary’s Uncle

Elise Garcia, Angelie Negron, Christine Yorba, June Eventyr, Ensemble

CREW

Puppetry design by String & Shadow Puppet Theater (as part of their 2022-2023 Artist Residency).

Mabelle Reynoso, Playwright

Emily McHugh, Director

Marissa Rivera Bolaños, Assistant Director

Jordanna Averett, Stage Manager

Maren McBeth, Assistant Stage Manager

Jill Carter, Set and Graphic Designer

Iri Alexander, Costume Designer

Olivia Burlingame, Lighting Designer

Jacob Dinklage, Properties Designer

Finn Foley, Sound Designer

David Nowitz, Scenic Engineer

Bonnie Reese, Backstage Hand

Jupiter Sky Shellman, Light Board Operator

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Roger McIntosh and the Washington Center for Performing Arts Community Youth Services

Production Electrician:
Kefa Crow

Carpentry:
Mike Taylor

Flower Painter:
Lori Campbell – Local artist, see her website.

Scenic Painters:
Eugene Ryser, Yazmin Buhanghang, Faith Buhanghan, Nora Walsh, Dana Kiehl, Donna Myers, Ashlen Hodge, Julie Bloom, Maiya Sandberg, Nadine Threadwell, Ged Heo, Bambi Strong, Lerah Putty, Veronica And, Anna Valibergh, Teresa Gibson, Faith Hagenhofer, Erin Gray, Charlotte Cerry, Jordan Richards, Julie Salamonik, Lucy Ziskis, Blue Ziskis, Joelle Montez, Carter Brown

Technical Assistance:
Raoul Berman

No photography or video recording is allowed during the show.

Spanish Glossary

¿De qué hablas? – What are you talking about?

Niña – Girl

Motocicleta – Motorcycle

Tu tío – Your Uncle

Mocosa – Brat

¿Sabes qué? Ni Quiero Saber! – You know what? I don’t want to know!

No Señor – No Sir

Mira, Niña Podrida – Look, Spoiled Brat

Parale – Stop It

‘Mana – Sis’

Nada – Nothing

Largate – Scram

Mija – Girl (endearing)

Callate – Be quiet

¿Mandé? – Excuse me

¿Desdé Cuándo? – Since When?

Desdé Hoy – Since Today

El Patron – The Boss

Chismoso/á – Gossip

No séas chismosá – Don’t be a gossip

¿Qué no tienes papás? – Don’t you have parents?

Lo Siento – I’m sorry

Si lo es – Yes, it is

Graciás – Thank you

Amigo – Friend

Qué Chistoso – What a wise guy

Hola – Hello

Pajárito – Little bird

Ni Sabes lo que estás diciendo, Escuincla – You don’t even know what you’re saying, Brat

Qué dramática – How dramatic

Mira qué bellezá – Look at that beauty

Escoba – Broom

O Qué la canción – Oh Brother

No es Posible – Not Possible

Saluda – Say Hello

Malcriada – Rude Girl

Ven acá – Come here

Calmaté – Calm down

Pues Se necesitan muchas cosas – Well, we need a lot of things

¿Por qué no? – Why Not?

Qué ridiculez – How ridiculous

Canicás – Marbles

Mirá – Look

Qué hermoso – How cute

¿Qué Paso? – What happened?

Oyé – Listen

¿Quién estaba gritando? – Who was screaming?

Gritos – Screams

Con Razón – Makes sense

¿Cómo qué con razón? – What do you mean ‘makes sense’?

Andalé – Go on

Pulparindo – A popular brand of candy from Mexico

Qué lástima – What a shame

¿Entendidó? – Understood?

Tranquila – Calm down

Hijo – Son

Papá – Dad

Brujériá – Witchcraft

Dilé – Tell her

Pues yo también – Me too

La verdad? – Truth is

CAST BIOS:

Daniela Acuña - Mary

Hello I am Daniela Acuña. I have done theater all my life through school programs. I recently graduated high school and wanted to start doing productions in my community. I am a Thespian and last year I participated in Thespys where I qualified for state in stage makeup. In my free time I like to do art and read comics. I also have a leopard gecko named Rico!

Oliver Garcia - Carlos

Oliver is currently a senior in high school. He always enjoys working with the Olympia Family Theater, where he previously performed in Starry Messenger as young Galileo and in Fully Vaxxed as El Cruel. He is incredibly excited to be joining the team for The Secret Garden as Carlos.

Beckham Barehand - Dee

Beckham is thrilled to make his debut performance at the Olympia Family Theater. He was recently seen in Tumwater High School’s Frog and Toad and Almost, Maine both directed by Harrison Fry. He is a company dancer with Ballet Northwest currently cast in An American in Paris. He recently completed an intensive dance program with the Portland Ballet Theater which solidified his love of movement. He also loves to sing showtunes with his dad, destroy his brother as Link in Super Smash Bros, and is looking forward to skydiving when he turns 18.

Raphael Venegas - Don Benicio

Raphael has loved acting ever since he can remember. While still in high school in his native Puerto Rico, he was invited to the Teatro Universitario, where he performed in various plays and musicals. This led to performances in telenovelas (soap operas), under the name Adrián. His love for acting continued when he moved to the U.S. to study, mixing his university career with stage work. George M, Mame, Our Town, The Fantastiks are some of the plays and musicals he has been involved in – either acting, stage-managing, or directing. He worked in Kiss me Kate, A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and A Prayer, and Side by Side by Sondheim in Theater Victoria, Victoria, Texas. Now retired from the University of Houston and Victoria College as a professor of Spanish and Hispanic Lit., and being named Professor Emeritus, Raphael moved to Olympia 7 years ago, where he has volunteered at OFT working on sets and ushering, and now is excited about returning to his first love, acting.

Lucy Elle Balls - Medlock

Lucy Elle Balls has been performing on stage for over 15 years! In her experience she has played multiple roles including Tulsa in Gypsy! A Musical Fable, Cogsworth in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing! Lucy has also been a part of many improv performances including murder mysteries and touring dinner theater troups. Lucy began her career as a Drag Queen about 6 years ago in Long Beach, CA. Lucy now hosts her own show and is excited to join the Olympia Arts Community. ‘Medlock’ is Lucy’s first role at OFT and the first role she has been non-binary in (besides in the role of daily life). She would like to thank Mabelle, the Directing team, and OFT for allowing such representation that is important for the Queer Community.

Lex Langguth-Torres - Mouse

Lex is thrilled to return to the stage for their second performance with Olympia Family Theater! When Lex isn’t acting, dancing, or singing they work to engage youth and young adults in enacting system changes in the housing systems. But one day they hope to become a full-time silly goose. Lex appeared in another play at OFT called “Lucha Virus” which has the same playwright as “The Secret Garden”. They can’t wait to bring another one of Mabelle Reynoso’s projects to life with such an extraordinary and special cast.

Victor Velazquez - Mary's Uncle

Victor Velazquez has been involved in Theater arts every single year from 1994 – 2010 as an actor, director, playwright, manager and teacher. He performed in over a dozen full length productions before starting to write and direct. Half a dozen of his plays were produced before he completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Theater Management and Performance. He managed a box office in a Theater in Long Island, New York before coming back to Washington to work on his Master’s Degree in Theater Arts. He became an adjunct instructor teaching Drama at his local community college in 2009. After his twins were born in 2010, he left the world of Theater behind.

Elise Garcia - Ensemble

I am Elise Garcia, a second generation Puerto Rican-Mexican American. I’m sixteen-years-old, and a junior attending Olympia High School. The Secret Garden has been my first production with OFT and another first in community theater. My ensemble role has been a fun new experience with puppets and with other talented people.

Angelie Negron - Ensemble

Angelie is thrilled to be a part of the ensemble in this production of The Secret Garden! She is a recent high school graduate and has been a part of theater for the past 3 years. Some previous roles include Susie Bones in PUFFS and Howie Newsome in Our Town. She loves art and music and is looking to continue her creative career at college next year.

Christine Yorba - Ensemble

Christine is a community activist, artist, zinester, outdoor enthusiast, amateur rockhound, Spanish teacher, and self-titled “scholarly homie”. This is her first production with Olympia Family Theater and she is using this opportunity as a way to reinforce a growth mindset and push herself out of her comfort zone. Christine is a Californian transplant who came to Olympia to pursue a Master’s in Teaching degree at The Evergreen State College. Through her teaching, Christine creates opportunities for students to develop authenticity and introduces them to their superpower, their voice. Christine is passionate about modeling authenticity and is muy feliz (very happy) to be part of a cast that represents the Latino community, she believes that everyone needs to see themselves represented in places they want to exist. If you aren’t represented, be that representation.

June Eventyr - Ensemble

June Eventyr is thrilled to be playing flower number 3 in the Secret Garden. June is 17 years old and has been a part of Olympia Family Theater since they were 13. They enjoy walls and doors.

Crew Bio's

Mabelle Reynoso - Playwright

Mabelle Reynoso (she/her/ella) is delighted to be working once again with OFT and is grateful for the opportunity to share the story of The Secret Garden from the perspective of a 12-year-old Latinx punk rock girl. It’s the kind of play Mabelle wished she saw when she was a kid. When not writing plays, Mabelle may be found doing homework (she is working on her PhD), watching Gravity Falls, or losing at Splatoon 3. Mabelle lives in San Diego, CA and was proudly born in Tijuana, Mexico. Gracias a mi familia por siempre apoyarme. So much love and gratitude to everyone at OFT, and thanks to Lily, Emily, and Marissa for taking this city girl to see a volcano! More at mabellereynoso.com

Emily McHugh - Director

Emily McHugh is a puppet-maker, paper-cutter, and performer who grew up in Olympia. She began making giant puppets as a studio artist with Paperhand Puppet Intervention in North Carolina, and in 2017, she co-founded String and Shadow Puppet Theater with Donald Palardy. There have been scraps of cardboard and hot glue in her hair ever since.

Marissa Rivera Bolaños - Assistant Director

Marissa is a Mexican audiovisual artist, writer, birth worker and birth rights activist who has been living in Olympia since 2015. She has a BFA in Film and Video from the School of Visual Arts in New York City and is passionate about the power of the arts to connect people with each other.

Jordanna Averett - Stage Manager

Jordanna Averett is an Olympia local and budding theater creative. She started as an OFT painting volunteer in 2019 and has been hooked ever since! Her recent projects include set design for The Originals, and Life is Complicated at Olympia Little Theater and stage managing for [title of show] with the South Puget Sound Theater Collective. She is stoked to be working with this talented team on this witty, inclusive, and heartfelt adaptation of The Secret Garden. Infinite thanks to Danny for his unwavering support, encouragement, and love.

Maren McBeth - Assistant Stage Manager

Maren McBeth was last seen on stage at OFT playing a dragon and a shrimp in Who’s Afraid of the Rain? for the Fully Vaxxed project this past spring, and is excited to be helping behind the scenes for our green-and-growing version of The Secret Garden. Maren is a firm believer that gardening and punking out are not mutually exclusive activities, and she would like to send particular thanks to her potted-plant friends Keith Richards, Jeffrey, and Petra for their support during this production.

Jill Carter - Set and Graphic Designer

Jill is delighted to be OFT’s Resident Designer. She has decades of experience in scenic, lighting, and projection designs, for a variety of theaters in the Pacific NW. Some of her favorite OFT designs include Corduroy, Cinder Edna, Orphan Train, BusyTown, The Wind in the Willows, and Fishnapped!.

Iri Alexander - Costume Designer

Iri Alexander has been sewing and designing costumes since they started LARPing in high school. They have a degree in Theater from Florida State University. Here in Olympia they’re the Creative Director at Olympia Lamplighters and teach art classes for the community. Most of their time is spent on projects and being told to go to sleep by their cat.

Olivia Burlingame - Lighting Designer

Olivia is grateful to be designing for OFT once again! Olivia has designed in Olympia for the last ten years. Some favorites include Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Little Shop of Horrors, and The Wind in the Willows. Olivia graduated from Central Washington University with a BFA in Theater Design and Technology. She has also worked with Harlequin Productions, Tacoma Opera, Theater Artists Olympia, Tacoma Arts Live, SMU, SPSCC, and Seattle Children’s Theater. Olivia is a proud member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe. Thank you to all her friends and family! * Drawing by the awesome Kate Arvin*

Finn Foley - Sound Designer

Finn Foley is an Olympia local who has recently graduated Evergreen State College, studying audio engineering and sound design. He enjoys creating soundscapes and recording folk, jazz, and blues.

David Nowitz - Scenic Engineer

David is happiest tinkering around in his scene shop coming up with imaginative ways to make things. Recent favorite engineering challenges for Olympia Family Theater include building an escalator for Corduroy, making a recycling machine with working wooden gears for Cinder Edna, making an under bed and over bed/jungle gym in The Monster Under the Bed, making a ski slope for A Year with Frog and Toad, and making a bed fall through a ceiling in Mercy Watson to the Rescue. Also, for Open Road Productions, David made an underwater/ overwater transforming touring set for The Incredible Undersea Trial of Joseph P. Lawnboy, and for Ballet Northwest, a candy cane throne.

Bonnie Reese - Backstage Hand

Bonnie is a student at SPSCC. She took theater classes through high school and is continuing them with her college courses. She had the pleasure of working on productions at SPSCC as a Production Assistant on The Thanksgiving Play and the Lead Assistant Stage Manager to Jordanna Averett on [title of show]. In her daily life, she is a mother and supports her children as they participate in schools and community activities. She is a cheer mom for her daughter Aliya, who cheers for The Black Hills Wolves with TCYFL and for her son Ayden who is a leader for multiple teams at Black Hills High School and who has also had the pleasure of learning about Theater at OFT in their Theater summer camps. She is always their number one fan cheering them on in everything they do, reminding them they can do anything they put their minds to and still shows off pictures of their successes with a giant grin! She loves singing, paranormal stories, travel and absolutely loves to learn and meet new people.

Jupiter Sky Shellman - Light Board Operator

This is Jupiter’s eighth show with OFT, and they are so happy to be back and to be running lights designed by their sister Olivia! Previous favorites include The Wind in the Willows, Flora & Ulysses, Fishnapped! (OFT), Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom, Legally Blonde, and The Pirates of Penzance (Olympia High School). Special thanks to their family for always supporting them!

OUR DONORS:

Donors from March 2021 – March 2022. Join them in a quick, painless way to support OFT. Ask us how here! If your info is missing or incorrect, please contact Mike Taylor here. * Denotes monthly donors/Combined Fund Drive donors.

Friends of Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum ($1000 & up)

Linda & Ronald Moon
David & Jane Nowitz
Elizabeth Gross
Paul D. Shepherd
Diana & Stephen Purvine*

* Denotes monthly donors/Combined Fund Drive donors.

ORGANIZATION CREDITS:

OFT Staff

Artistic Director
Lily Raabe

Deputy Director
Kate Arvin

Education Director
Rachel Carlson

Communications Director
Natalie Coblentz

Operations Coordinator
Angel Ramirez

Box Office Staff
Tracy Thomas

Scenic Engineer
David Nowitz

Resident Designer
Jill Carter

Company-in-Residence
String & Shadow

Volunteer Bookkeeper
Diana Purvine

OFT Board of Directors

Executive Committee:
Samantha Chandler
Sara Thiessen
Annie Severson
Mike Taylor

Members at Large:
Jonnita Thompson
Lauren Love
Edsonya Charles
Doreese Norman
Nicole Miller

Next Show:

Upcoming Season:

Upcoming Classes & Camps: