by YOUNG JEAN LEE
directed by MARK LAMOS

CAST
(in order of appearance)

PERSON IN CHARGE
Akiko Akita*

PERSON IN CHARGE
Ashton Muñiz*

DREW
Nick Westrate*

JAKE
Billy Army*

ED
Richard Kline*

MATT
Denver Milord*

CREATIVE TEAM

SCENIC DESIGN
Kristen Robinson

COSTUME DESIGN
Fabian Fidel Aguilar

LIGHTING DESIGN
Masha Tsimiring

COMPOSER / SOUND DESIGN
Michael Keck

CHOREOGRAPHER
Alison Solomon

FIGHT DIRECTOR
Michael Rossmy

PROPS SUPERVISOR
Sean Sanford

PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER
Christine D'Amore*

PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER
Shane Schnetzler*

CASTING
Tara Rubin Casting, CSA
Claire Burke, CSA

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association

RUNNING TIME
~90 minutes, no intermission 

PRODUCTION SPONSORS

Athena & Daniel Adamson, Paige & Jodi Couture, Joyce Hergenhan, Mary Ellen & Jim Marpe, and Alison & Mark Smith.

In-kind sponsorship for Straight White Men is provided by Parker Ear, Nose & Throat

Straight White Men was co-commissioned by the Public Theater, the Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University, Center Theatre Group, Steirischer Herbst Festival, Festival d’Automne à Paris, and Les spectacles vivants du Centre Pompidou, with further development at Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
It was produced by Young Jean Lee’s Theater Company (Young Jean Lee, Artistic Director; Aaron Rosenblum, Producing Director).
With special thanks to Heebel am Ufer.

When starting a play, I ask myself “What’s the last show in the world I would ever want to make?” Then I force myself to make it. I do this because going out of my comfort zone compels me to challenge my assumptions and find value in unexpected places. I feel a lot of resistance towards the idea of identity-politics art, which is why I make so much of it. For STRAIGHT WHITE MEN, I asked myself “What’s the last identity I would ever want to make an identity-politics show about?”

***

I had never written a straight linear play before and had no interest in doing so, but I saw the traditional three-act structure as the “straight white male” of theatrical forms, or the form that has historically been used to present straight white male narratives as universal. And I thought it would be interesting to explore the limits of that form at the same time as its content – to bring the two together into one big nightmare.

***

For me, the biggest thing was that the characters had to stay within the believable human bounds of consistency. And there had to be some kind of linearity to it story-wise. The limits of the form is that you can’t have the characters suddenly come out and confront the audience directly and say things that they want the audience to hear. Everything has to happen through identification with fictional characters. I feel like I departed from tradition at the end, since nobody got shot or killed themselves or revealed a dark secret or solved all their problems.

An excerpt from “Crossing Paths: A conversation between playwrights Lucas Hnath and Young Jean Lee” by Greta Honold from Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Photo of Young Jean Lee by Paola Kudackl

Associate Producer / Director of Production
David Dreyfoos

Technical Director / Associate Director of Production
RJ Romeo

Company Manager
Bruce Miller

Company Manager
Max Hunt

Head Shop Carpenter
Jason Thompson

Shop Carpenter
Scott A. Trichka

Wardrobe Supervisor
Lisa Ficco

Head Electrician / Lightboard Operator
Charlestone Gourdet

Head Sound
Jon Damast

Assistant Costume Design
Lisa Ficco

Flyman
Brian Munroe

Dresser/Crew
Jessica Camarero

Production Assistant 
Gwen Sewell

Scenic Artist
Jess Ploszaj
Nick Schons
Rachel Waters

Fight Captain
Bill Army

Dance Captain
Denver Milord

Stage Management Intern
Abigail Wilson

Wardrobe Intern
Kathryn Duffner

This Theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

The Director is a member of the Society of  Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc., an independent  national labor union.

Westport Country Playhouse employs members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Local 74.

The scenic, costume, lighting and sound designers in LORT Theatres  are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE.