Production Program

Written by Leonard Nimoy
Based on the Play Van Gogh by Phillip Stephens

Directed by David Derringer

Produced with permission from The Dramatic Publishing Company

From The Producing Artistic Director

The past several years have been a blur of changes, adaptations and challenges for all arts organizations but as we look toward our 2023-24 season, it feels like all our energies can once again be turned toward doing what we do best…producing great live theater.  This season includes some fantastic shows that will challenge us as artists and, we believe, engage our audiences in new and exciting ways.

We rarely have “themed seasons” at Falcon and that wasn’t an initial goal for this coming year, but as I look at the titles we’ve chosen, a theme keeps cropping up…one that is incredibly timely and important:  Identity.  All our shows explore the concept of identity…from what it actually means to be human to the ways gender roles have changed to an individual’s inner search for their true self.

We all go through crises of identity and we all have our own views on identity challenged at times in our lives.  Look at the news on any given day and you will find story after story about the triumph or devastating disappointment associated with an individual or identity group.  Given the landscape we find ourselves in, these plays (some brand new and some well established) have never been more relevant or more important.

As a theatre company, we believe that the arts have an essential purpose in society and that is to challenge people to think…to question…to open themselves into the worlds of others.  We hope you enjoy every minute you spend at Falcon Theatre and that those minutes lead to hours of later conversation and exploration.  Welcome to our 2023-24 season: The season of Identity.

Sincerely,
Ted Weil
Producing Artistic Director

A Full Length Play for One Actor
Performed by Chad Brinkman

Vincent Van Gogh — the artist
Theo Van Gogh — the artist’s brother

ACT 1:
The time is July, 1890, the week after Vincent’s death. The period of time covered in this act ranges from the late 1870’s until Vincent’s first hospitalization in an asylum on September 24, 1889.

ACT 2:
The time is continuous until after Vincent’s death which occurred on the morning of July 29, 1890.

PRODUCTION TEAM

Assistant Director — Samantha Joy Luhn
Production Stage Manager — Katie Ruwe
Rehearsal Stage Manager — Jake Schaub
Scenic Design — Ted Weil
Sound Design and Video Adaptation — David Derringer
Lighting Design — Ted Weil
Costume Design — Riley Caldwell
Props Design — David Derringer
Lighting, Sound & Video Execution — Katie Ruwe
Set Construction — Ted Weil, Clint Ibele
Graphic Design — Nikole Friend
Souvenir Poster Design — Steve Luhn
Lobby Display — Ted Weil
Dramaturg — Julie Carpenter
Marketing — Kara Ann Scullin
House Staff Coordination — Clint Ibele
Photography — Claudia Herschner
Box Office — Kathleen Luhn, Clint Ibele

Falcon thanks these organizations for their support:

Special Thanks

Milford High School Theatre Department
Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati
Wooden Cask Brewery
Beards & Bellies Barbecue

Cast Biographies

Chad Brinkman (Theo Van Gogh): Chad’s career spans more than a hundred productions and has included work in theatre, film, dance, and music. Chad is grateful for this inaugural journey with Falcon Theatre and is excited to be part of such an incredibly talented team and company. Some of Chad’s representative credits include White Elephant, a new work brought to life through puppetry, movement, mask, super 8 film and live music at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, and has included work at the Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, and the Atlantic Theater Company. Chad also served as a guest teaching artist at NYU, directing and designing for the BFA and MFA playwriting programs. Locally, Chad has directed and designed numerous productions for The Footlighters, Inc. and Cincinnati Music Theatre – recently including A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and Ragtime. He gives love to Amanda, Calloway, and the rest.

Production Team Biographies

Riley Caldwell (Costume Designer): Riley is excited to be involved with her first show at Falcon Theatre. She is grateful for the opportunity to work on Vincent with all of the other creative minds involved. Riley hopes to continue her work in art and design in the future and present her work to an audience once more. She hopes you enjoy the show as much as she does.

David Derringer (Director): David is thrilled to be directing his first show at The Falcon Theatre after making his acting debut at the theatre in previous season’s Betrayal. While David is happy to take all the credit for your enjoyment of the show, ultimately the majority of the credit must be given to Chad Brinkman (Theo/Vincent) for bringing the character to life and taking on the challenge of performing a one-man show. The great Sandra Forman (NKU Professor Emeritus) once said, “Directing is 75% casting,” and for this play that couldn’t be truer. Special thanks to Artistic Director Ted Weil for entrusting him with this endeavor, Samantha Luhn for her keen insights, and Jake Schaub for coming in last minute and saving the day – couldn’t ask for a better Captain Ahab to man the Pequod and help steer this ship to glory every night. “I know not all that may be coming, but be what it will, I’ll go to it laughing.” When not burning the midnight oil at the Falcon, David can be found directing the mainstage productions at Milford High School, selling real estate, or at home reading a good book with his wife, Anna, dog, Bowie, and cat, Odin.

Samantha Joy Luhn (Assistant Director): Samantha is thrilled to be working on this outstanding piece with this fantastic team.  She was recently seen on Falcon’s stage as Catherine Powell in Two Point Oh, Fran in Home, I’m Darling, and previous seasons as Emma in Betrayal and Lisa in Well.  Samantha holds a B.F.A. in Theatre Performance from Northern Illinois University.  She spent several years working as an actor in Oregon, and then several more as a wildlife biologist in Hawaiʻi. Reinvigorated with a move back to her beautiful hometown, Sam is loving being a part of Cincinnati theatre!  Samantha has also performed with Cincy Landmark Productions as Gretchen in Boeing Boeing and at the 2022 & 2023 Cincy Fringe Festivals.  Sam lives in Covington with her dog-daughter, Nellie Bly. She is grateful to her family for always supporting her endeavors and thankful for Ted who makes every day brighter.

Katie Ruwe (Production Stage Manager): Katie is pleased to be joining this production of Vincent. Born and raised in Cincinnati and a graduate of NKU, she has worked throughout the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky region. At Falcon Theatre, she has also managed Lifespan of a Fact, Silent Sky, Ben Butler, The Agitators, and Yankee Tavern. She has also stage managed with Queen City Opera on productions of Cenerentotla, Iolanta, Der Freischütz, Die Valkyrie, and the world premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Undina Eco-Opera. She has also managed Spinning Into Butter with American Legacy Theater, 100 Days with the KNOW Theater of Cincinnati, Steel Magnolias with The Story Collective, as well as several Fringe Festival shows with many different and wonderful creative minds. Look forward to her upcoming productions at Falcon Theatre; Breaking the Code & The Other Place. She would like to thank her partner for his outstanding support and Ted Weil for bringing her on to this production and believing in her to help produce this piece of art. She sincerely hopes you enjoy this show as much as she has enjoyed working on it!

Jake Schaub (Rehearsal Stage Manager): Jake Schaub has been involved in theater for as long as he can remember; from elementary school through his 3 semesters as a Theatre Major at Thomas More University, stagecraft had fascinated him. A few of his past credits include Henry in Next to Normal at The Footlighters Inc., Lewis in Pippin at The Footlighters Inc., and Jason Dean in Heathers: The Musical at Centerstage Players. He also previously stage managed Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and Home I’m Darling at Falcon, and is ecstatic to be back for Two Point Oh! Enjoy the show!

Leonard Nimoy (Playwright): Leonard Nimoy was an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy’s most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series 1966–1969.

Nimoy began his career in his early twenties, teaching acting classes in Hollywood and making minor film and television appearances through the 1950s. In 1965, he made his first appearance in the rejected Star Trek pilot, “The Cage”, and would go on to play the character of Mr. Spock until 1969, followed by seven further films and a number of guest slots in various sequels. His character of Spock generated a significant cultural impact and three Emmy Award nominations; TV Guide named Spock one of the 50 greatest TV characters. Nimoy also had a recurring role in Mission: Impossible and a narrating role in Civilization IV, as well as several well-received stage appearances.

Nimoy was born to Yiddish-speaking Orthodox Jewish immigrants from Iziaslav, Ukraine. His father, Max Nimoy, owned a barbershop. His mother, Dora, was a homemaker. Nimoy began acting at the age of eight in children’s and neighborhood theater. His parents wanted him to attend college and pursue a stable career, or even learn to play the accordion—which, his father advised, Nimoy could always make a living with—but his grandfather encouraged him to become an actor. His first major role was at 17, as Ralphie in an amateur production of Clifford Odets’ Awake and Sing!. Nimoy took Drama classes at Boston College in 1953 but failed to complete his studies, and in the 1970s studied photography at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has an MA in Education and an honorary doctorate from Antioch University in Ohio. Nimoy served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army from 1953 through 1955, alongside fellow actor Ken Berry and architect Frank Gehry.

Falcon Theatre Management Board

Piper N. Davis – Diversity & Inclusion Director
Clint Ibele – Falcon Takes Flight Director, Volunteer Coordinator
Tom Lawry – Management/Operations Consultant
Ted J. Weil – Producing Artistic Director

Patrons

ANGEL:
Doug & Carol Burks

BENEFACTOR:
Ron & Claudia Cropper
Sophia McAllister
Terry Miller & Dale Hayes

PLAYWRIGHT:
David Derringer
Greg Schaper
Ted J. Weil
Michael & Susan Whitehead

DIRECTOR:
Robert Arlinghaus & Christina Kelley
Rebecca Campbell
Robert & Patricia Clary
Rob Dorgan & Steve Bolia
Clint Ibele
Lynn Krabacher
Phil & Marjorie Paradis

PRODUCER
In memory of Renee Alper
Sandra Grinkmeyer & Ernie Franz
Patricia Hoffmann
Steve & Beth Joos
Lisa Koepke
Mary & Kevin McKenna
Joe & Nora Mock
Barbara Reaman
Kim & Lori Southwood

DESIGNER:
Charita Berewer
Crystal Kendrick
Rita Larkin
Sherry McCamley
Susan Tyler

STAGE MANAGER:
Rilla Foster
Gail Ginther
Michael Murphy

ACTOR:
Paul F. Anderson
Christine Feldhaus
Marilyn Hurrell
Scott Ledyard
Dana Noeske
Jessica Tubesing

Your Support Makes It All Possible!

Falcon has been creating quality theater for our audiences since 1989 and we remain committed to our vision to lead our community through artistic expression and inclusive creativity.  Like all arts organizations, we can’t do it without you.  Your tax-deductible donation helps us continue to produce affordable theatre while offsetting the cost of creating professional productions. The generosity of patrons continues to allow Falcon Theatre the opportunity to expand its horizons, reaching new audiences, new markets and a new generation of theatre minds.  Your gift goes a long way in helping us grow, thrive and continue this success.
Click Here to visit our Patron Information page.

Falcon is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and your donations are tax-deductible. Please consult your tax advisor for more information.

Patron Levels:

  • Angel   $5000+   (Includes 2 five-show Flex Passes)
  • Benefactor   $1000+   (Includes 1 five-show Flex Passes)
  • Playwright    $500+
  • Director    $250+ 
  • Producer    $100+
  • Designer    $50+
  • Stage Manager    $25+
  • Actor    Up to $25

Flex Passes

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