DAVE STEAKLEY, Producing Artistic Director
JAMIE HERLICH, Managing Director

WRITTEN BY MICHAEL FRAYN
DIRECTED BY MONIQUE MIDGETTE

June 14-July 9, 2023
THE TOPFER AT ZACH THEATRE

Original Scenic Design by Todd Rosenthal with adaptation by Lindsay Fuori.
Scenery and Properties built in part by Skylight Music Theatre

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
† Stage Directors and Choreographers Society
** Member of IATSE 829

Noises Off is a play in three acts.
There will be one 15-minute intermission,
and one 10-minute intermission.
Drinks and snacks are welcome in the theatre.

Executive Producers Plus
Dan Jackson III and M. Jeremy Guiberteau

Executive Producers
Chari and Adam Schramek

Supporting Sponsor

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

† Stage Directors and Choreographers Society

*Actors’ Equity Association, founded in 1913, represents more than 49,000 Actors and Stage Managers in the Understudy Equity negotiates wages and working conditions, providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. Equity seeks to foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. actorsequity.org

PHOTOS AND VIDEOS
The videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production and the taking of photographs, with or without flash, or by camera phone, is strictly prohibited. Please turn off all electronic devices — such as cell phones, pagers, etc. — and refrain from texting and/or tweeting during the performance.

TAKING PHOTOS IN THE THEATRE
Audience members may take photos in the theatre lobby before and after the show and during intermission. If you post photos on social media or elsewhere please credit the production's designers.

I never GOT Noises Off. I knew it was a beloved farce every theatre kid performed in high school and college, but it just wasn’t funny to me. I felt like I was barely given the chance to identify with the characters before they were slamming doors or falling down stairs and the audience was supposed to think this was hysterical.

When Dave Steakley asked me to direct it here at Zach, those were the feelings I brought with me into my initial read of the play. This time, I thought about my own experiences as an actor and eventually a director in rehearsal rooms, backstage, and on the road in high-anxiety situations. I finally GOT it! The humor leapt off the page! Maybe it was all of those years watching Frasier and Saturday Night Live, or a life of reimagining stories to appeal to a wider audience. I know these people. Hell, I have been most of them myself!

I think the point is, the PEOPLE. That’s what was always missing for me. Seeing a diverse community of people telling the story from their own points of view. Once you know the people, you want to follow them down the road where comedy will inevitably ensue. And there isn’t a cast more perfectly suited to tell this story, than the ridiculously talented bunch of Austin and Houston actors assembled here in the Topfer at ZACH Theatre.

Isn’t that what we need right now—a fun time with new friends to sit back and laugh the day away? I hope you recognize your friends, neighbors,
or even yourself in this Noises Off romp, and L(augh) O(ut) L(oud).  Places Please!

Monique Midgette
Director

SCENIC

PROPERTIES

COSTUMES

LIGHTING & VIDEO

AUDIO

STAGE OPERATIONS