Production Program
Written by Wendy Vogel
Directed by Ed Cohen
From The Producing Artistic Director
One of my favorite things about my job as Artistic Director is developing new seasons. We have a great team of dedicated artists on our play reading committee who read dozens of plays every year to help me pare the list down to a manageable level. I can’t possibly thank them enough for their hard work. But ultimately, both the pressure and privilege of finalizing each season rests with me.
We try to come up with better seasons every year…which keeps getting harder. But here we are…our 2024-25 season is ready to launch and it’s one of the most exciting slates of plays we’ve ever put together. Each one will be brand new to the Greater Cincinnati area…fresh, new, powerful and provocative!
Last year’s season was focused on Identity…this year’s scripts all play on the theme of chaos! From the chaos of dark minds, to the changes that alter our lives irrevocably, to the outrageous (and farcical) inner workings of the White House, this season offers drama, mystery, comedy and pathos. You won’t want to miss a single show! I am honored by the hard work and artistry of the wonderful people who choose to share their talents and passion with us at Falcon Theatre. And I’m thrilled have this wonderful season to offer these artists and you, our amazing and supportive audience. Now, please sit back, relax and enjoy…our 2024-2025 season.
Sincerely,
Ted Weil
Producing Artistic Director
CAST (in order of appearance)
Eden — Samantha Joy Weil
Lucas — Rick Grant
Aaron — Ryan Bowron
Nate — Tristan Pianovski
James — Bill Keeton
PRODUCTION TEAM
Production Stage Manager — Ben Dudley
Scenic Design — Ted Weil
Lighting Design — Ted Weil
Sound Design — Ted Weil & Ed Cohen
Costume Design — Hannah Richardson
Lighting & Sound Execution — Ben Dudley
Set Construction — Ted Weil, Clint Ibele
Graphic Design — Steve Luhn
Lobby Display — Samantha Joy Weil
Dramaturg — Julie Carpenter
Marketing — Kara Ann Scullin
Social Media Marketing — Rachel Mock
House Staff Coordination — Clint Ibele
Photography — Claudia Herschner
Box Office — Kathleen Luhn, Clint Ibele
Falcon thanks these organizations for their support:
Special Thanks
Jared Joplin
Wooden Cask Brewery
Urban Chick Bar & Bottle Room
Cast Biographies
Ryan Bowron (Aaron): Ryan is stoked to appear as Aaron in this show and has never done a world premiere before. The fluidity of it and having access to the thoughts of this talented playwright is a unique experience. He has really enjoyed working with his talented collaborators, new and old, and is excited to appear again before Falcon audiences. He was last seen on this stage just in January in Hangmen. He has performed in many shows over the past few years in the Cincinnati area including with the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, Mariemont Players, Beechmont Players, and Village Players. Some other favorites include Cyrano on the Moon, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Gods of Comedy, and The Outsider. He gives much thanks and love to his incredible friends and family for all their support. Additional thanks to Joe Pera!
Rick Grant (Lucas): Rick is thrilled to return to the Falcon Theatre and was last seen in Mindgame as Dr Farquhar. Last season at Falcon, he played Alan Turing in Breaking the Code. This past summer, he participated in Cincinnati LAB Theatre’s new works festival in their production of Synapse. Rick graduated with his B.F.A. in Acting from CCM. Favorite productions at CCM include Angels in America, The Hostage, The Madwoman of Chaillot, and Amadeus. Rick went on to the New York stage and performed in A Flea in Her Ear at Pulse Ensemble Theatre, John R at MuseWorks, and One Moment Please with the New York City Fringe Festival. Rick took a hiatus from acting while completing his Doctorate in Clinical Psychology in California and returned to acting 14 years later in Sacramento. Productions there include Small Mouth Sounds and Othello at Big Idea Theatre, Leading Ladies and A Little Murder Never Hurt Anybody at Main Street Theatre Works. Currently, Rick works as a psychologist and provides psychotherapy at his private practice, Empowered Living Therapy. More information on current and past productions can be found at www.RickGrantActor.com.
Bill Keeton (James): Bill is thrilled to be back on stage and working with the amazing Falcon Theatre. Bill has been treading the boards on area stages for about four decades appearing with many community theatre groups as well as various professional venues. Though partially retired now, Bill spent the majority of his working years as a voice over, on camera, and live presentation actor and spokesperson. Bill has known both the playwright, Wendy Vogel, and the director, Ed Cohen, for many years, and is honored to be included in this exciting, thought provoking production with this very talented cast.
Tristan Pianovski (Nate): Tristan is a 19-year-old actor attending NKU to graduate in 2027 with a BFA in acting. He has recently performed as Fluellen in NKU’s main stage performance of Henry V, as well as Wadsworth in Clue. He has been acting since the age of 7, and has no plans on stopping anytime soon, striving to explore characters in every medium whether that be theater, film, or voice acting! He is extremely honored to be a part of this first showing of this show, and hopes that everyone can find some relatability and truth in what this show has to say about life, choices, and what it means to be alive.
Samantha Joy Weil (Eden): Samantha is honored to be on stage with these incredibly talented actors for the world premier of During/After! She is eager to share this moving piece by the incomparably brilliant Wendy Vogel, under Ed’s insightful direction. Samantha recently made her directorial debut with Falcon’s Winter production of Hangmen. Sam has been seen at Falcon in past productions as Stephanie in POTUS, Catherine in Two Point Oh, Fran in Home, I’m Darling, Emma in Betrayal, Lisa in Well, and also in the Falcon Takes Flight production of The Head of Pearl Bryan. Samantha has also performed with Cincinnati Landmark Productions as Gretchen in Boeing Boeing, and at Cincy Fringe Festivals in 2022 (Banned from Heaven, Barred from Hell) & 2023 (To Spite One’s Face). Last Spring, she wrote, produced and performed her own critically acclaimed 2024 Fringe play, Meet Me at the Bathtub: The short life and tumultuous times of Charlotte Corday. Samantha began her acting career in Portland, Oregon, in various productions with the Working Theatre Collective and with the Imago Theatre in the role of Sanae for the English world premier of Yukio Mishima’s The Black Lizard. She holds a B.F.A. in Theatre Performance from Northern Illinois University. Sam lives in Covington with her amazing husband, Ted, and her dog-daughter, Nellie Bly. She is grateful to her family for endless encouragement, and thankful for Ted, who makes every day brighter.
Production Team Biographies
Ed Cohen (Director): Ed is pleased to return to Falcon after having directed Breaking the Code, The Lifespan of a Fact, Marjorie Prime, The Pillowman, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, In the Heat of the Night, Down the Road (twice) and Assassins (with his wife, Dee Anne Bryll). Other directing credits include the regional premieres of such works as Tina Howe’s Pride’s Crossing, Israel Horovitz’ Lebensraum, Lanford Wilson’s Sympathetic Magic and All the Way for Mariemont Players; his work was also seen in the 2004, 2007 and 2008 Cincinnati Fringe Festivals, with A Poster of the Cosmos. Mad by Jennifer Dalton and The Hotel Plays by Israel Horovitz (co-directed with Dan Doerger). Ed directed Breaking the Code, The Foreigner, Encore, Encore, Persona, The Pig Farm, and Some Enchanted Evening for Northern Kentucky University, Recent Tragic Events and Sarah Ruhl’s In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play) for CCM Drama (the latter as a co-production with The Carnegie), The Wild Partyfor Miami University, Conor McPhearson’s Shining City for New Stage Collective, Death of a Salesman and Slow Descent From Heaven for New Edgecliff Theatre and Chapter Two, A Few Good Men and last fall’s Bright Star for The Covedale Center for the Performing Arts. With Dee Anne, Ed co-directed the world amateur premiere of Windy City, along with productions of Assassins and Evita; they also directed Falsettos and Paradefor CCM Musical Theatre, Big River, Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Story and Chicago at The Carnegie, Some Enchanted Evening for NKU, The Music Man and Ragtime for Xavier University and Singin’ in the Rain, Annie Get Your Gun, I Do, I Do, I Love a Piano, Gypsy and The Sound of Music for the Covedale. Ed teaches Playscripts Analysis and Directing II at NKU and was an acting instructor for CCM’s High School Musical Theatre Intensive Program for 17 years. He and Dee Anne received the Trailblazer Award from the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Acclaim Panel in 2010 for ongoing contributions to area theatre and their productions of Parade and Chicago at the Carnegie were voted as the Best Musicals of 2013 and 2014, respectively, by The League of Cincinnati Theatres.
Ben Dudley (Stage Manager): Ben is a writer and performer from Cincinnati. Since earning his master’s in creative writing, he has worked as a teacher, a copywriter, and an editor of books and articles. His writing credits include the plays Occupational Pleasures, Home, and The Opinions of Men: A Stupid History of the Protestant Reformation. As an actor, he has appeared in shows at the Know Theatre and Falcon Theatre, in addition to his own Fringe Festival productions. He co-created the comic Hell Is Empty with Rory Sheridan; more information about his graphic novel The Day the Cat Got Shot can be found at Ben-Dudley.com.
Wendy Vogel (Playwright): Wendy Vogel is a veterinarian, author, playwright, board game designer, and cancer warrior. Her work has been showcased in festivals throughout the Midwest including the 2024 William Inge Festival. Her play Virtual Reality was named finalist for the Louise Wigglesworth Excellence in Playwriting award from the Laboratory Theater of Florida, and Cincinnati Playwrights’ Initiative recently featured Finding Mickey Mantle in their 2024-2025 season. Novels include the Horizon Alpha science fiction series and new horror release Trouble the Water. She lives in Cincinnati with her husband Andrew and a houseful of special needs cats.
Falcon Theatre Management Board
Piper N. Davis – Diversity & Inclusion Director
Clint Ibele – Falcon Takes Flight Director, Volunteer Coordinator
Tom Lawry – Management/Operations Consultant
Samantha Joy Luhn – Company Coordinator
Ted J. Weil – Producing Artistic Director
Patrons for our 2024-25 Season
ANGEL:
Doug & Carol Burks
BENEFACTOR:
Lynn Krabacher, CPA
Don Leonard
Sophia McAllister
Dale Hayes & Terry Miller
Barbara & David Reaman
PLAYWRIGHT:
Robert & Patricia Clary
Ron & Claudia Cropper
David Derringer
Greg Schaper
Suzana Waterhous
Ted & Samantha Joy Weil
Michael & Susan Whitehead
DIRECTOR:
Robert Arlinghaus & Christina Kelley
Rebecca Campbell
Steve Bolia & Rob Dorgan
Joseph Gorman
Clint Ibele
Janet Mott
Phil & Marjorie Paradis
Wendy & Andrew Vogel
PRODUCER
In Memory of Renee Alper
Joseph Collier
Thomas $ Chris Comte
Patrick Cusick
Joanne Glaser
Karen Grass
Patricia Hoffman
Lisa Koepke
Rita Larkin
Tom Lawry
Mary & Kevin McKenna
Joe & Nora Mock
Kathie Morbitzer & Mary Ann Meyer
Allison Rapp
Dan & Mary Beth Sheridan
Brenda Villa
DESIGNER:
Eileen Bolia
Tiffany Brennan
Steven Broadbeck
Carolyn Cann
Rilla Foster
Karla Lalosh
Sherry McCamley
Rick Pender
Ellen Stillpass
David Sundin
Jeff & Nancy Work
Anne Wrider
STAGE MANAGER:
Suzanne Beane
Colette Carson
John Crow
Liz Eichler
Cheryl Hamilton
Ann Harding
Jeri Hines
Becky Jauch
Lila Knott
Ginny Krone
Mary Kroner
Bonnie Mill
Patricia Miller
Craig Patterson
Carla Sarakatsannis
Carol Sherman Jones
David Tape
Susan Tyler
ACTOR:
Toni Alterman
Jacob Breese
Liz Carman
Antonio Cervantes
Robin Conners
Jane Culp
Andrea Dobrozsi
Eileen Finch
Myndi Gardt
Johan Hayden
Lori Kelley
Carol Leslie
Shannon Rae Lutz
Janet Manning
Charles Massarella
Joann Meyer
Akina Morriss
Christine Neyer
Cheri Patterson
Alex Prezeau
Jennifer Riser
Michaela Ruebel
Carle Self
Cindy Sellars
Rebecca Stadtlander
Mary A. Stewart
Worley Stidham
Amanda Sublette
Kathy Thomas
Erin Trentel
F. Keith Wahle
Annette Wick
Patty Young
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
Want To See A Show For Free?
We have Flex Passes on sale to save you money and help you see only the shows you want. A Flex pass is a block of tickets you can use whenever you want at Falcon and it’s a great way to save money and see some great theater.
Click Here For Flex Pass Information