Production Program
Written by Sam Steiner
Directed by Liz Carman
From The Producing Artistic Director
Every year, as I put together this message, I look back at what I wrote the previous year. Most years my comments are all about our season and what we’ve built for the year ahead and while that’s still true, the world in which we’re living has changed. Our world is darker and more dangerous now. We’re standing on a precipice at this moment in American history and only the future will tell us how we, as a country and a people, will choose to respond.
As I look at the plays we’ve selected for our 2025-26 season, they all reflect this world in some way. Every play in our season is, again, a premiere for the Greater Cincinnati area with several of these titles coming from across the Atlantic. Yet despite some plays being written in different countries, they all speak loudly and clearly about the challenges and dangers we face in America right now.
The topics are wide ranging…from gun violence to ecological issues…from historical perspectives to future times we can only imagine…but each one in its own way addresses something urgent and important that’s facing us right now.
However this is not a season of doom…far from it! It’s an exciting, energized season of plays that explore powerful topics in fascinating, often funny or even absurdist ways. Theatre has never been more important than it is right now and each play we’ve selected for this season contains a message of past, present and future that speaks to current events while at the same time transcending them.
Welcome…to Falcon’s 2025-2026 season!
Sincerely,
Ted Weil
Producing Artistic Director
CAST
(in order of appearance):
Oliver — R. Graham Rogers
Bernadette — Natalie Hayslett
PRODUCTION TEAM
Production Stage Manager — Katie Ruwe
Scenic Design — Ted Weil
Lighting Design — Chad Brinkman
Sound Design — Faith Von Handorf, Samantha Joy Weil, Ted Weil, Liz Carman
Costume Design — Averie Shutters
Lighting & Sound Execution — Katie Ruwe
Intimacy Coordinator — Amanda Marasch
Dialect Coach — Kate Glasheen
Set Construction — Ted Weil, Clint Ibele
Graphic Design — Steve Luhn
Lobby Display — Samantha Joy Luhn
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
Wooden Cask Brewery
Urban Chick Bar & Bottle Shop
Cast Biographies
Natalie Hayslett (Bernadette): Natalie is thrilled to be making her debut with Falcon Theater this season! She is a Northern Kentucky University alum where she received her BFA in Acting. Her recents credits include Witch/Hecate in Macbeth (Southbank Shakespeare Company), and she has worked with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company on a summer and educational tour. When not on stage, Natalie can be found enjoying a dirty martini or sitting on her porch with a book. She would love to shout out everyone in the audience for making this show possible, especially her loved ones who traveled to see the show.
R. Graham Rogers (Oliver): Graham (He/They) is thrilled to be making their Falcon Theatre debut. Graham holds a BFA in Acting from CCM. Local acting credits include: Sex and Education (Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati), Sam in The Flick (The Esquire), and UDFCC (Cincinnati Fringe Festival ‘23). Additionally, Graham is an off-Broadway produced playwright. His work has been produced at the Lucile Lortell Theatre with Young Playwrights Inc, The Cincinnati Fringe Festival (2018, 2019, 2023), Whiskey Theatre Factory in Orlando, FL, and in basements and backyards near you. Off stage, Graham is an avid meditator, yogi, and distinguished wine snob. Graham wants to offer their heartfelt gratitude to the entire production team for giving them the opportunity to work on one of their favorite plays.
Production Team Biographies
Liz Carman (Director): Liz returns to her beloved Falcon Theatre after directing another twisty love story last year in Mr. Parker. As an actor, her work has been seen locally with Falcon itself (Two Point Oh), the Carnegie (Motherhood Out Loud; In Love and Warcraft), Know Theatre of Cincinnati (Credible, and too many SecondStage appearances to list), InBocca Performance (Like Demons), the Cincinnati Fringe Festival (SOFT), SouthBank Shakespeare (The Merry Wives of Windsor; Much Ado About Nothing), and Queen Mab’s Players (Twelfth Night; Hamlet). She’s directed, stage managed, and dramaturged at many of these places too. She’s on the admin team at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, and she has degrees in English Lit and also pastry, because hey, life’s a journey.
Katie Ruwe (Stage Manager): Katie is pleased to be joining this production of Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons. Born and raised in Cincinnati and a graduate of NKU, she has worked throughout the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky region. At The Falcon Theatre, she has also managed 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 partner 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 Designer): 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 directed and designed numerous productions with 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.
Averie Shutters (Costume Designer): This is Averie’s second show with Falcon Theater, having also designed costumes for The Secretary earlier this season. Averie is a senior at Milford High School where she has designed costumes for many shows in the past including Little Shop of Horrors, Harry Potter and the cursed child, and SIX: Teen Edition. She wants to say thank you to David Derringer for opening doors to allow her to have this amazing opportunity! she hopes you enjoy the show!
Sam Steiner (Playwright): Sam Steiner is a playwright and screenwriter from Manchester. His plays include: A Table Tennis Play (Walrus Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe, 2019); You Stupid Darkness! (Paines Plough & Theatre Royal Plymouth, 2019); Kanye the First (HighTide, 2017) and Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons (Walrus Theatre, 2015; revived in the West End in 2023). He is a co-founder of Walrus, a new writing and touring theatre company.
Falcon Theatre Management Board
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 2025-26 Season
ANGEL:
Douglas & Carol Burks
BENEFACTOR:
David Derringer
Elden Golden
Lynn Krabacher
Kathleen & Steve Luhn
Sophia McAlister
Terry Miller & Dale Hayes
Barbara & David Reaman
Michael & Susan Whitehead
PLAYWRIGHT:
Tom & Angela Ogonek
Greg Schaper
Ted & Samantha Joy Weil
DIRECTOR:
Robert Arlinghaus
Rebecca Campbell
Tom & Chris Comte
Robert Clary
Rob Dorgan & Steve Bolia
Clint Ibele
Joe & Norah Mock
PRODUCER:
Patricia Hoffman
Rita Larkin
Jane MacKnight
Dana Noeske
Allison Rapp
DESIGNER:
Toni Carman
David Lazarus
Shannon Rae Lutz
Douglas Ignatius
Tim & Sylvia Smith
Judy Stober
STAGE MANAGER:
Bridgit Chayt
Susan Frank
Gail Ginther
David Lazarus
ACTOR:
Eric Chase
Erik Jensen
Charles Massarella
John Martinson
Linsey Rogers
Ross Royce
Julie Walls
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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