TN Tech's English Department and the Tech Players present the 31st Annual Dorothy Printz Pennebaker Memorial Spring 2021 Production
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TN Tech’s English Department and the Tech Players present
the 31st Annual Dorothy Printz Pennebaker Memorial
Spring 2021 Production
Produced by special arrangement with Playscripts Inc. (www.playscripts.com)
The Setting of the Play
The Fail Clockworks on the corner of Lumber
and Love in Chicago, Illinois.
The Time of the Play
Early 1900’s.
Failure: A Love Story will have a 15 minute
intermission.
Due to COVID 19 precautions,
we are only selling bottled water.
The Persons of the Play
In alphabetical order
Chorus…………………...Briley Barnett
Nelly Fail…….…………..Emily Barnett
Mortimer Mortimer………David Cheek
Chorus…………………...Miranda Davis
John N. Fail……………...Vaughn Gavigan
Jenny June Fail…………..Ashley Hale
Gertrude Fail……………..Emma Olsen
The Production Staff
Director/Producer: Mark Harry Creter*
Technical Director/Head of Design: Jeff Kean*
Facilities Manager: James Lyle Alder*
Stage Manager: Tess Longmire
Assistant Stage Manager: Daniel Augustus
Set and Lighting Design: Jeff Kean*
Master Carpenter: James Lyle Alder*
Light Board Operator: Emma Waltenbaugh
Sound Board Operator: Austin Lane
Stage Hands: Coe Olsen, Douglas Buckner
Sound Editing: James Lyle Alder*
Set Construction/Painting: Jeff Kean*, James Lyle Alder*,
members of the Stagecraft 1 class.
Music Coordinator: Miranda Davis
Props: James Lyle Alder*, Daniel Yatsko*
Costumers: Anthony Herd, Amy Ing, Erin Hunter
Box Office Manager: Kenny Payne
House Manager: James Lyle Alder*
Program Design: M. Creter*
Poster Design: Joseph R. Clark*
Photography: Ty Kernea
Streaming Service: Broadway On Demand
Playhouse Emeritus: Colin Forsyth*
Video services provided by the TTU Office of Communications and Marketing
*signifies member of Alpha Psi Omega Dramatic Honor Society
About the players… Emily Barnett (Nelly Fail) is making her Backdoor Playhouse debut in Failure: A Love Story. She participated in theater throughout middle and high school in her hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. She is honored to be part of such a talented cast and has grown as an actor un- der the direction of Mark Creter. Ashley Hale (Jenny June Fail) is excited to be acting in her first show at the Backdoor Playhouse. She would like to thank someone that she could not have done this play without: Johnny Weissmuller, the love of her life and the man who gave her something to live for. Emma Olsen (Gerty Fail) is making her first appearance on the Playhouse stage. Vaughn Gavigan (John N. Fail) is currently a second semester freshmen studying computer science. During high school, he performed in musical theater and choir. This will be his first time preforming in a play. Vaughn Gavigan would like to personally dare the editors to keep this sentence in the bio. Briley Barnett (Chorus Member) has been performing on the Backdoor Playhouse stage for the last 3 years with the improv troupe she founded in 2018, the Backdoor Improv Troupe, but this is her first time performing a traditional show with Tech Players. A long time performer and lover of the arts, she could not be more glad to be a part of such a unique show. Miranda Davis (Music Coordinator, Chorus) is new to the Backdoor Playhouse, but not to the stage. She is pursuing a degree in musical theatre. One of her favorite roles was “Ado Annie” in Oklahoma! She would like to thank everyone who made this show possible, and she would like to thank Briley Barnett for convincing her to do the show the day before the auditions. David Creek (Mortimer Mortimer) is making his first appearance on the Playhouse stage.
About the staff…
Jeff Kean* (Head of Design/Production Manager) was delighted to
return to Tennessee from California where he served as Executive
Director of the Historic (and haunted) Woodland Opera House (they
didn’t do Opera) for 18 years and taught at Cal Poly Pomona. He began
his design career in Tucson AZ in ……well, shall we say a long time
ago. Since then he has designed for companies in Pennsylvania, North
Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, Texas, and California. He is a co-founder
and first Artistic Director of East Tennessee Shakespeare in the Park in
Knoxville and has also taught for Penn State, Pellissippi State, Findlay
College, and Woodland Community College. He has a MFA degree in
Directing from UNC Greensboro (we rule the South). He is a dues
paying member of the Screen Actors Guild and his film career proudly
grossed $50 last year.(-$58 net after dues). Still looking for that big
break....
James Lyle Alder* (Facilities Manager/Shop Foreman) is proud to
be collaborating on his sixteenth consecutive production with the TTU
Tech Players. James is President Emeritus of the Pi Upsilon Cast of the
Alpha Psi Omega National Dramatic Honors Society, and also proudly
serves as the Backdoor Playhouse Shop Foreperson and Facilities Man-
ager—all while maintaining a prolific community theatre resume, with
dozens of technical and artistic credits spanning over a decade. He ex-
presses his everlasting gratitude and appreciation for Mark and Jeff—
and for the dedication of both crew and cast. Most paramount, he’d like
to thank his family.
Jojo McCaig (Stage Manager) is excited to be working on their sec-
ond production as stage manager. They enjoy participating in this thea-
ter and are grateful for the opportunity to learn under such wonderfully
considerate instructors and mentors.
*signifies member of Alpha Psi Omega Dramatic Honor Society
Please consider becoming a patron.
Donations of any amount will help
our program continue to grow.
Please use form on back page of the
program.
About the staff… Daniel Augustus (House Manager/Assistant Stage Manager) is a junior. This is his second show he’s helped with here at the Backdoor Playhouse. He helped build the set for Playing with Fire: After Frank- enstein. This is the first time he has been an assistant stage manager. “I have enjoyed this learning experience and I am thankful for the crew allowing me to be apart of this show.” Emma Waltenbaugh (Sound Engineer) is a sophomore at Tennessee Tech studying Human Ecology. This is her third production that she's worked on at the Backdoor Playhouse. She loves being involved in the theatre program and looks forward to working on more productions and learning more about theatre. Emma would like to thank her par- ents for helping her become the woman that she's become. Tess Longmire (Foley Artist) is a junior at TTU. She is very excited to be a part of this production and to finally see it being performed. She is an English and creative writing major from Nashville. She would like to thank everyone for coming in person or virtually and supporting the Backdoor Playhouse! Samia Anderson* (Box Office Manager) is ecstatic to be part of an- other Backdoor Playhouse production! She is an adjunct professor of English here at TTU. Over the last seven years she has had the won- derful privilege of working on and being in shows with the amazing people in this program. This time, she is tech crew, but you may have seen her previously on stage as “Magenta” in The Rocky Horror Show, “Kate Monster” in Avenue Q, “Velma Kelly” in Chicago, or “Cerberus” in Pluto. She hopes you enjoy the show (and the lights)! Daniel Yatsko* (Props) is currently a junior at Tennessee Tech and president of the Pi Upsilon cast of Alpha Psi Omega. His first stage introduction was in a one act called, Seminar (The Cutting), portraying “Douglas”. He was prop master for The Rivals, Ruthless! The Musi- cal, and now Hughie. He is a long-term member of the Backdoor Playhouse Improv Troupe and the current theatre assistant at the BDPH. He would like to thank his family, girlfriend, friends, cast, and crew for their continued inspiration and support towards his work in theater.
Our Lovely and Talented Cast
Briley Barnett Ashley Hale Emily Barnett
Emma Olsen Miranda Davis
Vaughn Garigan David Cheek
Plays Under Consideration for
The Tech Players’
67th Season
***********************************
The Fantasticks
A Musical
Music by Harvey Schmidt,
Lyrics by Tom Jones,
Loosely based on The Romancers by Edmond Rostand
***********************************
The Fisherman’s Wife
A Sex Farce. With Sea Creatures
by Steve Yockey
************************************
Wolves
by Sarah DeLappe
***********************************
Richard II
by William Shakespeare
****************************************
The Sophisticated Ladies
by Moliere
****************************************
Exit, Pursued by Bear
By Lauren Gunderson
For Your Information:
No person shall be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be
subject to discrimination under any
program or activity of the TTU Backdoor
Playhouse on the grounds of race, color, sexual
orientation, or national origin.
Every semester has its share of challenges.
Forging ahead with a theatre season in the midst of a
pandemic is the craziest and most challenging
experience I have yet faced in my many years in the
theatre. Still, moving ahead with the live performances
seemed extremely important. Choosing to act in a
A few thoughts from the director...
stressful year was not one of my smarter choices but it
turned out to be very fulfilling.
Failure: A Love Story was a play I had read a
few years ago and knew I wanted to direct at some
point. How it ended up as the spring show is a bit of a
mystery to me except that at some point or another I
decided that Failure was perfect for the season. In
retrospect it now seems like a perfect choice. There is
a magical hopefulness at the heart of this play that
seems appropriate in these dark and uncertain times.
Taking the opportunity to work with the next
generation of Tech Players has been a gift for me
creatively and spiritually. It has been a number of years
since I have worked with a completely new group of
talented young performers and this cast has really been
a joy. From day one I have asked a lot of them and
they never let me down. Their willingness to tackle the
challenges in this production have been so impressive.
I can honestly say I look forward to working with this
group of actor again.
Finally, I barely know where to begin to discuss
Jeff Kean retiring and moving back West. This past
five years has been a gift. Getting to work with
someone everyday who I am so artistically in synch
with and who has been a source of so much inspiration
is a rare and special thing. I am grateful for all he has
done for me, our students and our theatre program.
Keep theatre alive and in person.
Mark H. Creter
Artistic Director, 1992-present
The beautiful costumes
for this production
provided byPhilip Dawkins Philip Dawkins is a Chicago playwright and educator whose plays have been performed all over the world. His plays include Failure: A Love Story (Victory Gardens Theater), Le Switch (About Face Theatre, The Jungle), The Homosexuals (About Face Theater), The Burn (Steppenwolf for Young Audiences), Dr.Seuss’s The Sneetches, the Musical with composer David Mallamud and Spamtown, USA (both with Children’s Theater Company, Minneapolis), The Gentleman Caller (Raven Theatre, Chicago; Abingdon Theatre, NY), Charm (Northlight Theatre; MCC), Miss Marx: Or The Involuntary Side Effect of Living (Strawdog Theatre), and his solo play, The Happiest Place on Earth (Sideshow Theatre/ Greenhouse Theater Center). Philip has won some awards and not won some others. He's been a fellow at the Hawthornden Castle International Retreat for Writers in Scotland and the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire, and has taught playwriting at his alma mater, Loyola University Chicago, Northwestern University, Victory Gardens Theater and for the Playwrights Center in Minneapolis. Many of Philip’s plays, including his scripts for young performers, are available through Dramatists Play Service, Playscripts, Inc. and Dramatic Publishing. He is currently working on an American English translation of Michel Tremblay’s Messe Solennelle Pour Une Pleine Lune D'Ã for Sideshow Theatre.
Artistic Director
Mark Harry Creter is a Professor of Theatre for the Department of English
at Tennessee Technological University as well as the artistic director of TTU's
Backdoor Playhouse. He recently directed productions of Chicago by Kander and
Ebb, Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, and Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca.
His favourite performance is the role of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman by
Arthur Miller. He was a regular at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, TN
for many years where he taught interactive theatre workshops with many of his
cohorts.
He received his Bachelor of Arts in Theatrical Production from
Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, Virginia and his Master of Fine Arts in
Acting and Directing from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
After finishing his college training he spent a number of years performing
professionally in regional theatres and dinner theatres from Greensboro, North
Carolina to Omaha, Nebraska. Eventually he settled in Tennessee, first in
Knoxville where he co-founded the Tennessee Stage Company and now in
Cookeville where he continues to get into all kinds of theatrical trouble.
He has received awards for outstanding directing and acting from the
Knoxville Area Theatre Coalition. He received the artist patron award from the
Cookeville Arts Council and the Intellectual Freedom Award from the National
Council of Teachers of English for his work on The Vagina Monologues. He
received the QEP Award of Excellence in Innovative Instruction for 2008-2009
with his friend and colleague Andy Smith. He was winner of the College of
Arts & Sciences Award for Research and Creative Activity for 2015.
He is professionally associated with the Tennessee Theatre Association,
the South Eastern Theatre Conference, the Kennedy Centre American College
Theatre Festival and the David Mamet Society.
He lives in Cookeville with his beautiful wife, independent business owner
and local dance instructor Jennifer Dotson-Creter. They have a fantastic blue-eyed
son named Gus, who spends a significant amount of his life in dance studios and
theatres. Mark remains grateful for the constant support he receives from family
and friends.College of Arts and Sciences
Department of English
Theatre Concentration
The Theatre program operates as part of the English
Department in the College of Arts and Sciences. Students
who are interested in theatre can work towards a Bachelor
of Arts degree in English with a concentration in Theatre.
The student can pursue their interest in many different
aspects of theatre such as acting, directing, and technical
theatre work. Areas of study include stagecraft, theatre
design, theatre history, dramatic literature, and film
studies. Students can also pursue a minor in Theatre. But
there’s more! The theatre program is available to all
students at TN Tech no matter what degree you are
pursuing. We have students from all disciplines on campus
who get involved in productions at the Backdoor
Playhouse as actors, technicians, designers and house
personnel.
The theatre program currently produces three
productions a year. The productions are presented in the
Backdoor Playhouse located in the historic Jere Whitson
Building. Auditions are held on campus during the school
year and are open to anyone with an interest in theatre not
only students in the theatre concentration.
For more information about the theatre program
visit our homepage at www.tntech.edu/bdph/ or contact
Mark Creter at mcreter@tntech.edu.
Also, Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or
Instagram.Miss Dorothy Printz Pennebaker,
the Patron Saint of the TTU Backdoor
Playhouse.
The Dorothy Printz-Pennebaker Memorial Production Fund is
an endowment established in 1991 to support the Tech Players annual
spring production.
The endowment was established by her daughter, Dr. Martha
Lee Osborne, a retired Professor of Philosophy and former chairperson
of the Women’s Studies Program at the University of Tennessee-
Knoxville. Miss Pennebaker, a member of Tennessee Tech’s English
faculty from 1946 until her retirement in 1972, died in 1989 at the age
of 82.
“My mother was a dedicated teacher,” Osborne said. “Her
personal effects include countless letters from students and former
students who attribute their academic success largely to encouragement
and caring.”
As sponsor of the English Club, Pennebaker was co-founder of
“Homespun”, Tennessee Tech’s first literary magazine and of the Tech
Players, the university’s first dramatic society. She was instrumental in
bringing the first chapter of Alpha Psi Omega National Dramatic Honor
Society to the campus.
Anyone wishing to make a contribution to the endowment may do so by writing to the Office
of University Advancement, P.O. Box 5111, Cookeville, TN 38505, or
calling (931) 372-3206.
(From the Cookeville Herald-Citizen, March 25, 1991)The 66th Season of the
Tech Players Drama Club
on the Campus of TN Tech
Autumn 2020
Gross Indecency:
The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde
by Moises Kaufman
***********************************
Winter 2021
Hughie by Eugene O’Neill
***********************************
Spring 2021
Failure: A Love Story by Phillip Dawkins
************************************
Thank you for supporting our 66th Season!
Found out about upcoming events at
TechPlayersNews.blogspot.com
BECOME A FACEBOOK FRIEND!
www.facebook.com/pages/Cookeville-TN
/Backdoor-Playhouse/
For further information please contact Mark Creter at
931-372-3478 or mcreter@tntech.edu. Visit our webpage at
www.tntech.edu/bdph/.STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS AT THE
TTU BACKDOOR PLAYHOUSE
Tech Players Drama Club
The official drama club of TTU celebrates its 66th season. Founded in 1954 by
members of the senior class under the guidance of English faculty member
Miss Dorothy Printz Pennebaker, the Tech Players continues to provide the
campus and community with quality productions of both classic and
contemporary plays. The Tech Players currently produce three shows a year in
their newly renovated home in the Backdoor Playhouse located in the rear of
the Jere Whitson Building. For further information about the TTU Tech
Players, please contact Mark Creter at mcreter@tntech.edu or visit our website
at www.tntech.edu/bdph.
********************************************************
Alpha Psi Omega Dramatic Honor Society
Originally chartered on May 13, 1957, the TTU chapter of Alpha Psi Omega, a
national dramatic fraternity, was reactivated in the spring of 1993 by members
of the Tech Players and faculty advisor Mark Creter. Current members invite
interested students to become active in theatre at TTU. For further information
about Alpha Psi Omega, please contact faculty advisor Mark Creter at
mcreter@tntech.edu or visit our website at www.tntech.edu/bdph.OUR LOYAL PATRONS
Clay Robertson $1,000.00
Scott Muir $ 500.00
Dana Grantham $ 500.00
F Troupe, Inc. $ 350.00
Angelo & Jeanette Volpe $ 300.00
Jere Mitchum $ 200.00
Prit & Sharon Chowdhuri $ 200.00
Becky Magura & Jennifer LeFevre $ 100.00
Special Thanks To…
Evan & Dierdre Cole $ 100.00
Jon Jonakin & Julia Gruber $ 100.00
Michael & Michelle O’Rourke $ 100.00
Janey Bassett $ 100.00
Rita Barnes $ 100.00
Chad & Sarah McDonald $ 100.00
Alan & Joyce Tatum $ 100.00
Glennys Ulsehak $ 100.00
Steve & Robin Stark $ 100.00
Paul Hammonds $ 50.00
Susan Frey $ 50.00
Liz Kasera $ 40.00
Shirley Laird $ 40.00
Del and Linda Delventhal $ 30.00
OUR FAITHFUL SUPPORTERS
Cookeville Performing Arts Center, Stage One Dance Studio,
F Troupe, Inc., Center Stage, Linda Fisk, Ashley Wright, Liz Kassera,
Rita Barnes , Shirley Laird,
Graham and Bettye Kash, Albert and Pat Wilhelm, Janey Bassett, Chad
and Sara McDonald, Steve Gwilt,
Kathy and Michael Gilpatrick, The Herald-Citizen,
TN Tech Photographic Services, Public Affairs,
and Chartwell’s Catering.Become a Patron
of the Playhouse!
We implore you to become a member of our
patron’s organization. Your tax-deductible contribution, along
with funds provided by the University and the TTU Center Stage
Series, will be used to support our annual theatre season. If you
desire, donations can be marked for certain parts of the theatre,
such as lighting or sound equipment. Please sign up now and
become a patron by making a tax-deductible contribution to the
TTU Theatre Program.
Mail to: TTU Dept. of English, Theatre Concentration
Backdoor Playhouse
Box 5053
Cookeville, TN 38505
Name___________________________________
Address_________________________________
_________________________________
Phone #_________________________________
E-mail__________________________________
Amount of gift ____________
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