Monthly Archives: February 2017

February 21 – March 12, 2017

(Cincinnati, OH) Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (ETC) travels back to the 1970s with WHEN WE WERE YOUNG AND UNAFRAID, an intriguing drama by Sarah Treem, one of the writers behind Netflix’s House of Cards and co-creator of Showtime’s award-winning drama The Affair. In this moving piece, a new arrival’s influence forces the residents of an underground women’s shelter to confront their own secrets. This powerful drama explores the passion of youth, the wisdom of age, and the people who awaken us to new possibilities. Playing February 21-March 12, 2017. Directed by Drew Fracher.

In the early 1970s, before Roe v. Wade, before the Violence Against Women Act, Agnes, a single mother and former nurse, has turned her quiet bed and breakfast into one of the few spots where victims of domestic violence can seek refuge. But to Agnes’s dismay, her latest runaway, Mary Anne, is beginning to influence Agnes’s college-bound daughter Penny. As the drums of a feminist revolution grow louder outside of Agnes’s tiny world, Agnes is forced to confront her own presumptions about the women she’s spent her life trying to help.

“I think we’re doing the right play at the right time,” says ETC’s Producing Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers. “When I chose [When We Were Young and Unafraid], I had no idea our country would be in the place it is now with women’s rights on the table. I was deeply touched by the honesty of Sarah Treem’s piece. It doesn’t play the melodramatic card or work too hard to make a point, it just simply is.” 

About the Cast

Christine Dye (Agnes) last performed at Ensemble Theatre in the Two Weeks with the Queen. She has also appeared onstage in August: Osage County, Riverside, and Sarge, The Clifton Performance Theatre; Dracula, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; House of Yes, Untethered Theatre; Jeffery, Parallel Lives, Valhalla, Ovation Theatre; Power Failure, Night of the Iguana, and Bus Stop, New Edgecliff Theatre; Groucho: A Life in Revue, Damn Yankee’s, and Don’t Drink the Water, Showboat Majestic; Steel Magnolias, Covedale Center for the Performing Arts; Vagina Monologues, Miss Reardon Drinks a Little, and Shirley Valentine, Middletown Lyric Theatre; Sarge, CincyFringe Festival. Film credits include Carol, A Case of Murder, Mom and Dad, Aftermath, and First Kill. Ms. Dye was awarded a CityBeat Entertainment Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role for Shirley Valentine and also a League of Cincinnati Theatres Award for Best Supporting Actress in Bus Stop. 

Kat McCaulla (Mary Anne) makes her ETC debut with this production. A current member of the ETC Professional Acting Apprenticeship Company, she graduated from Missouri State University with a BFA in Acting and Minor in Screenwriting. Ms. McCaulla previously attended the Conservatory of Theatre and Dance and has worked at Ozark Actors’ Theatre, Tommy O’s Playhouse, and Springfield Little Theatre. A few of her previous roles include Linda in Cucumbers, Tricia in Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, Violet in It’s A Wonderful Life, Mercy Lewis in The Crucible, and Darlene in The Diviners. Credited assistant directing includes Peter Pan, Into the Woods, Runaways, and Leaving Iowa. She also has directed and written for television and film.

Delaney Ragusa (Penny) was last seen at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati as Young Violet in Violet. Seen in the Off-Broadway U.S. premiere of A Little Princess, Ms. Ragusa’s other New York performances include two appearances in Lyrics for Life at Symphony Space. Locally, she has played leading roles in Eleemosynary, Ensemble Theatre; A Christmas Carol, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; You Can’t Take it With You, SCPA. Film credits include singer/dancer in A Christmas Melody, the Hallmark Channel Movie directed by Mariah Carey.

Zak Schneider (Paul), a Cincinnati native, previously worked as an intern at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati during the 2013-2014 season, performing and understudying in multiple productions that year. He has since been living in New York City and working at various regional theatres across the country.

Tess Talbot (Hannah) was an ETC intern during the 2012-2013 season and appeared at Ensemble in Around the World in 80 Days, Alice in Wonderland, and Swimming in the Shallows. She is a proud ensemble member with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, where her favorite credits include Henrey VI Part 1 and 2, Julius Ceasar, and Death of a Salesman. Ms. Talbot has also performed in Chase the Dragon with Cincinnati LAB Theatre, and Bus Stop with New Edgecliff Theatre. She holds a BFA from Wright State University.

Production team includes Brian c. Mehring (Resident Scenic & Lighting Designer), Jack Murphy (Technical Director), Matthew Hollstegge (Production Manager & Master Electrician), Shannon Rae Lutz (Properties Master & Design Assistant), Matt Callahan (Sound Designer), and Mary Murphy (Costume Designer). Production Stage Manager is Brandon T. Holmes. Assistant Stage Manager is Elizabeth Freyman.  

Performance Information
Performances run Tuesday through Sunday. Tuesday-Thursday, 7:30 pm; Friday and Saturday, 8:00 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 2:00 pm; and Sunday, 7:00 pm. A complete calendar of performances is available online at www.ensemblecincinnati.org.  

Ticket Prices
Ticket prices start at $28 for adults; student tickets are $25; and children are $18. For the 2016-2017 Season, ETC continues its popular $15 student and half-price rush tickets for all performances, which are available two hours prior to show time and may be purchased by phone or in person at the box office.

Available Discounts
Military, Educator, ArtsWave ArtsPass, AAA, and Enjoy the Arts discounts available; tickets and seating are subject to availability.

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Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is supported, in part, by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign.

The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati also receives funding from the Shubert Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

2016-2017 Season Presenting Sponsor is the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation. 

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is a professional theatre dedicated to producing world and regional premieres of works that often explore compelling social issues. We fulfill our mission through our stage productions and educational outreach programs that enlighten, enliven, enrich and inspire our audiences.