Production Program
Written by Lucy Kirkwood
Directed by Ted Weil
From The Producing Artistic Director
I love launching a new season at Falcon! Each year I get the privilege of talking about the exciting work we’re planning for the upcoming year and this season is one of the best, most well-rounded seasons we’ve ever put together. It’s full of premieres again so we’re continuing to bring new work to Greater Cincinnati audiences and I think you’re going to love what we have on tap!
The world around us is constantly changing and that’s never been a more dominant part of our psyche than it is right now. From the political turmoil and social conflict our country is going through to the effects of global warming and other environmental threats to the meteoric rise of AI in almost every aspect of life, the world is changing faster than ever. But theater offers us a chance to slow down; to look at the world through new eyes; to broaden our minds and hearts in ways that have never been more important.
The plays we have chosen for this season have a little bit of everything. From futuristic musings to reimagined classics to quieter places where mysterious things happen, Falcon will take you to so many places this year and I’m incredibly excited to invite you to come with us on this journey.
For years, the common misconception has been that live theater is a dying art. It Is Not. We may no longer be in the so called “golden age” of theater but the stage and the tales we tell there are very much alive and well. They have been an essential part of our humanity since the very beginning of civilization, and they will continue to be as long as people gather and share stories.
Welcome…to Falcon’s 2026-2027 season!
Sincerely,
Ted Weil
Producing Artistic Director
CAST (in order of appearance):
Clown 1— Torie Pate Perdue
Clown 2 — Mike Spitz
Perchik — Phineas Clark
Vanessa — Samantha Joy Weil
Saul — Jamie Sivrais
PRODUCTION TEAM
Assistant Director — Ella Prather
Production Stage Manager — Katie Ruwe
Scenic Design — Ted Weil
Intimacy Coordinator — Amanda Marasch
Dialect Coach — Kate Glasheen
Lighting Design — Chad Brinkman
Sound Design — Ted Weil, Samantha Joy Weil, Ella Prather
Props Design — Faith Von Handorf
Costume Design — Corinne Felt
Wardrobe — Katie Ruwe
Set Decor — Ella Prather, Katie Ruwe
Lighting & Sound Execution — Katie Ruwe
Set Construction — Ted Weil, Ella Prather, Clint Ibele, Chad Brinkman, Steve Luhn, Samantha Joy Weil
Graphic Design — Steve Luhn
Lobby Display — Samantha Joy Luhn
Dramaturg — Julie Carpenter
Marketing — Rachel Mock, 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
Wooden Cask Brewery
Urban Chick Bar & Bottle Shop
Cast Biographies
Phineas Clark (Perchik) Phineas Clark is a Cincinnati-based actor, voice actor, and director. He’s happy to be working with friends both old and new in his return to Falcon. Recent roles include Elliot in Two Point Oh (Hoops Of Iron), Bill in Late Company (GEDS), and Roland in Constellations (KNOW Theatre of Cincinnati). Phineas is grateful for the love and support of his amazing wife, family and friends.
Torie Pate Purdue (Clown 2) Torie Pate is excited to be back on stage at Falcon! An actor, singer, director/choreographer, and teaching artist, she is also Co-Artistic Director of Cincinnati LAB Theatre. Some of her performance credits include A Streetcar Named Desire (Eunice) & Poor Behavior (Maureen) at Falcon; Enemy Of The Good (Dr Janet Noble), Zelda & Hadley: Together At Last (Hadley Richardson), & Four Horses (Pestilence) with Cincinnati LAB Theatre; Deaf Republic: A Visual Presentation (Mama Galya) with Pones; Castaways (Mary Ann) at the 2024 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Torie has also performed with such companies as The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Landmark Productions, The Carnegie, The Drama Workshop, The Powel Crosley Theatre in Sarasota, FL, and at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Torie is also a teaching artist (drama, dance, and visual art) with The Carnegie in Covington.
Jamie Sivrais (Saul) Jamie is extremely excited to be a part of this absurd, outlandish, and hopefully hysterical show – his first at Falcon Theatre. His recent productions include Addams Family the Musical (Gomez) and Guys and Dolls (Nathan Detroit) with Footlighters, Rabbit Hole (Howie) and Clybourne Park (Karl/Steve) with Mariemont Players, Matilda the Musical (Mr. Wormwood), Ragtime (Tateh), Kinky Boots (Don), and Sweet Charity (Herman) with Cincinnati Music Theatre. Jamie forever thanks and sends so much love to his fiancée Amanda, his friends and family, and to you for supporting local theatre. He thanks you for being here and for taking a chance on lesser-known titles, but encourages you to avoid the meat!
Mike Spitz (Clown 1) Mike Spitz appeared as Albert Pierrepoint in Falcon’s 2025 production of Hangmen. Other recent local theater performances include Man vs. Machine at Clifton Players and Touch the Moon at Cincinnati Lab Theater. Recent TV and film credits include Sugarcreek Amish Mysteries, and the short film, Anodynus, currently making the festival circuit including Pennsylvania’s Centre Film Festival in November.
KySamantha Joy Weil (Vanessa) Samantha is thrilled to bring this bawdy and bonkers play to Falcon’s stage, and couldn’t imagine collaborating with a cooler cast and production team! She was seen on Falcon’s stage last season as Alannah in Crocodile Fever and in András Visky’s one-woman show, Juliet. Some of Samantha’s other favorite roles include Stephanie in POTUS, Lisa in Well, Gretchen in Boeing, Boeing and Eden in During/After. Earlier this year, Sam directed Falcon’s regional premier of A Girl in School Uniform (walks into a bar). She previously co-directed Hangmen, alongside her incredible husband. She wrote, produced and performed in the sold-out run of Locusta’s School for Assassins in the 2026 Cincy Fringe Festival, winning the Audience Pick of the Fringe Award. Her 2024 Fringe production of Meet Me at the Bathtub: The short life and tumultuous times of Charlotte Corday also enjoyed a successful run and critical acclaim. Samantha holds a B.F.A. in Theatre Performance from Northern Illinois University. Her other passions include folk herbalism and her dog, Nellie Bly. Sam would like to thank her family for always cheering her on. She is infinitely grateful to her husband, Ted, for his unwavering love and ability to make every moment brighter.
Production Team Biographies
Ted Weil (Director) Ted is the Co-Founder and Producing Artistic Director at Falcon Theatre. Over the past 37 seasons, he has been seen on stage in productions including Hamlet, Henry V, Down the Road, Assassins, Rabbit Hole and Yankee Tavern. As a director, he has guided productions of The Rocky Horror Show, Angels In America, To Kill A Mockingbird, Master Harold…and the Boys and last season’s Crocodile Fever, among others. He holds a BA in Theater from Northern Kentucky University and has worked in local radio and films as well as a few other theater companies in town in addition to his work at Falcon. He was most recently seen on stage as Roy Scheider in 2025’s The Shark Is Broken. His favorite role was that of “groom” in his wedding to Samantha in November of 2024…it was a smash hit! “Thanks to Mom and Dad…I know you’re watching everything we do and we miss you so much. And deepest thanks and love to my wonderful wife Samantha who is the bright light in my life and Nellie Bly who keeps us from taking ourselves too seriously (yeah…she’s our spoiled dog).”
Katie Ruwe (Stage Manager) Katie Ruwe is pleased to be joining this production of Tinderbox. 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 Eureka Day, The Apiary, Crocodile Fever, Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, The Secretary, The Shark is Broken, Mr. Parker, POTUS, The Other Place, Breaking the Code, Vincent, 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. She would like to thank her fiance for his outstanding support and the staff at Falcon for their continued trust in her. She sincerely hopes you enjoy this show as much as she has enjoyed working on it!
Chad Brinkman (Lighting Design) Chad Brinkman – Chad’s career spans more than a hundred productions including work in theatre, film, dance, and music. 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 has also served as a guest teaching artist at NYU, directing and designing for the BFA and MFA playwriting programs. Locally, Chad has acted in, directed, produced, and designed numerous productions for several organizations. Chad is excited to work again with this incredible team at Falcon Theatre. He gives love to Amanda, Calloway, and the rest.
Lucy Kirkwood (Playwright): Ms. Kirkwood is a British playwright and screenwriter whose plays include: The Human Body (Donmar Warehouse, London, 2024); Rapture (promoted as That Is Not Who I Am, Royal Court Theatre, London, 2022); The Welkin (National Theatre, London 2020); Mosquitoes (National Theatre, 2017); The Children (Royal Court Theatre, 2016); Chimerica (Almeida Theatre & West End, 2013; winner of the 2014 Olivier Award for Best New Play, the 2013 Evening Standard Best Play Award, the 2014 Critics’ Circle Best New Play Award, and the Susan Smith Blackburn Award); NSFW (Royal Court, 2012); small hours (co-written with Ed Hime; Hampstead Theatre, 2011); Beauty and the Beast (with Katie Mitchell; National Theatre, 2010); Bloody Wimmin, as part of Women, Power and Politics (Tricycle Theatre, 2010); it felt empty when the heart went at first but it is alright now (Clean Break & Arcola Theatre, 2009; winner of the 2012 John Whiting Award); Hedda (Gate Theatre, London, 2008); and Tinderbox (Bush Theatre, 2008). She won the inaugural Berwin Lee UK Playwrights Award in 2013.
Falcon Theatre Management Board
Chad Brinkman – Technical/Artistic Consultant
Piper N. Davis – Diversity & Inclusion Director
Clint Ibele – Falcon Takes Flight Director, Volunteer Coordinator
Katie Ruwe – Resident Stage Manger
Samantha Joy Weil – Company Coordinator
Ted J. Weil – Producing Artistic Director
Patrons for our 2026-27 Season
ANGEL:
Douglas & Carol Burks
Elden Golden
BENEFACTOR:
Judy & Lou Belli
Dale Hayes & Terry Miller
Lynn Krabacher, CPA
Barbara & David Reaman
Suzana & Randy Waterhaus
Michael & Susan Whitehead
PLAYWRIGHT:
Clint Ibele
Kathy & Steve Luhn
Joe & Nora Mock
Greg Schaper
Wendy & Andrew Vogel
Ted & Samantha Joy Weil
DIRECTOR:
Tom & Chris Comte
Rob Dorgan & Steve Bolia
Rita Larkin
Diane Larson & Steve Forrester
Rick Pender
PRODUCER:
In memory of Renee Alper
Mark, Jane & Parker Culp
Patrick Cusick
Anthony Howser
Leonard Kuntz
Rita Larkin
Dana Noeske
STAGE MANAGER:
In honor of Ted Weil
Toni Alterman
Vyneta Barnett
Melody Brauninger
Diann Bridenbaugh
June Broadbeck
Dee Anne Bryll & Ed Cohen
Nancy Jentsch & Phil Enzweiler
Keith Fischer
Beth & Steve Joos
Roger & Mary Ann Fix Meyer
Dave Osburg
Sue Thompson
Stephanie Vogel
Karen Whitney
ACTOR:
Countless wonderful people who believe in what we do!
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.
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