Hand to God

Performing Arts at CCBC
presents

HAND TO GOD

By Robert Askins

Director
Julie Lewis

Set & Lighting Designer
Terri Raulie

Technical Director
Jason Randolph

Costume Designer
James J. Fasching

Puppet and Puppetry Designer
Jess Rassp

Stage Manager
Mya Tamburello

October 17 at 11:10am & 7pm
October 18, 19 at 7pm
October 20 at 3pm
October 21 at 10 am
October 22 at 2:20pm

Please note: Hand to God contains adult language, sexual content, and scenes of violence and religious blasphemy that may be offensive or triggering to some viewers. Adult audiences only.

Hand to God is produced by special arrangement with Dramatist Play Service, Inc.

THE COMPANY

SETTING

A church basement. A church basement in Texas. A church basement in Cypress, Texas.

TREVOR MERRITT (Jason)

DOMINIQUE BURGESS (Jessica)

PAIGE PASSANTINO (Margery) is ecstatic to be playing the role of Margery in CCBC’s production of Hand to God. She dabbled in theatre during high school, but this will be her first production in almost ten years. She is currently pursuing a degree in Creative Writing and plans to transfer to a four year institution in 2020.

JEREMIAH JOHNSON (Timothy) is enthusiastic to be performing in “Hand to God” by Robert Askins. This is his first production at CCBC Essex. He is currently enrolled as a student as a Theatre major.

NICHOLAS WYNN (Pastor Greg) is currently in his fifth semester at CCBC. He is now majoring in Business Administration and enjoys various activities such as baseball, music, and riding his bike. He is a big fan of the Baltimore Orioles and predicts they will win the 2024 World Series. He also drums for local bands Waldo Disc (@_waldodisc), No Data (@nodata.band), and Kratom Leeks (@kratomleeks). This is his second theater production ever and is honored director Julie Lewis found him fitting to play the role of Pastor Greg. He formerly appeared as Oddsee Dog in Father Comes Home From the Wars , also directed by Julie, and thanks her with encouraging him to take the plunge into theater acting back in the 2018-2019 theater season.

PRODUCTION STAFF

PRODUCTION STAFF BIOS

ROBERT ASKINS (Playwright) was born in Cypress, Texas, in 1980. He moved to New York in 2005. His Obie Award-winning play Hand to God enjoyed a 2014 run Off-Broadway at MCC Theater after three sold-out runs at Ensemble Studio Theatre in 2011-2012. In 2009 his play Princes of Waco was produced by EST/Youngblood. His one-act play Matthew and the Pastor’s Wife was a part of Marathon 2010 at EST, and Love Song of the Albanian Sous Chef won a Dallas Outer Circle Critics Award in 2011. Mr. Askins is proud to be an alumnus of I-73, Youngblood, and a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre. He has received two EST/Sloan grants, an Arch and Bruce Davis Award, and is one of the 2012 recipients of the Helen Merrill Award for emerging playwrights. His newest play Permission made its world premiere off-Broadway in spring 2015 at MCC Theater. His play Fish Display was part of the 2012 Ojai Playwrights Conference and Permission was part of the 2014 conference.

JULIE LEWIS (Director) is a Professor, Playwright, Director and Coordinator of the CCBC Theatre Program. She received her BA in Writing Arts and Theatre from SUNY Oswego and her MFA in Playwriting from Brooklyn College. Her original plays include Henry’s Holiday (Winner of the Perishable Theatre’s Women’s Playwriting Festival), Obituary Mambo (Abingdon Theatre, NYC), Plastic Haircut, Three Hundred Out of Hades, Quiver and Sink (Mohawk Valley Community College), and Smolder and an adaptation of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (CCBC Essex). Her works have been produced in the Samuel French New Play Festival, Manhattan Theatre Source’s Estrogenius Festival, NYC’s Ensemble Theatre’s Opal Series, and Fitchburg State’s Americulture Festival. Locally, her plays have been produced at The Strand, Glass Mind Theatre, Vagabonds, The Kennedy Center (staged reading) and Fells Point Corner Theatre. Julie’s directing credits include Lysistrata, The Skin of Our Teeth, Marco Polo Sings a Solo, Blithe Spirit, The Maids, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Metamorphoses, Kid Simple: A Radio Play in the Flesh, M. Butterfly, Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom and Pullman, WA, and most recently Suzan Lori-Parks’ Father Comes Home for the Wars. Julie is most proud of the devised work she has created with her students, including War Stories Staged (Winner of the League of Innovations Award) and The Consumables (performed at the KCACTF Region 2 Fringe and Baltimore’s ArtScape). Her devised production of Hamlet Lost/Found was chosen to perform on the main stage of the 2017 KCACTF Region 2 Festival, as well as her production of Waiting for Godot (set in Baltimore), which garnished two National Kennedy Center Awards in 2018.Julie is a 2012 recipient of a Maryland State Arts Council Grant in Playwriting and English Writing Arts Alumni Award in Playwriting, SUNY Oswego, 2013. She directs annually in the CCBC Academic Theatre Program and teaches Script Analysis, Introduction to Theatre and Writing for the Stage.

TERRI RAULIE (Scenic & Lighting Designer) is an Assistant Professor in the Performing Arts and Humanities Department at CCBC. She holds a BFA and an MA in Theatre Design and Production from Montclair State University in New Jersey. Professional and regional credits include The Whole Theatre, The Hangar Theatre, and Playwright Horizons in New Jersey and New York. Locally, she has designed sets and/or lights for productions with Cockpit-in-Court Theatre, Phoenix Festival Theatre, and the Baltimore School for the Arts.

JAMES J. FASCHING (Costume Designer) is the resident costumer in the Performing Arts and Humanities Department at CCBC. His career in design has taken him from designing for the Miss America Pageant, to having his own television spot on KDKA-TV for interior design tips, to designing hundreds of productions for Cockpit-in-Court Summer Theatre, Dundalk Community Theatre, Peabody Opera Company, Theatre Hopkins, and The School for the Arts in Philadelphia, to name a few. Mr. Fasching teaches Makeup Design for the Theatre program.

MYA TAMBURELLO (Stage Manager) is a Theater Design and Production major and this is her second academic year as a full-time student at CCBC. She was the Assistant Stage Manager for Father Comes Home From the Wars Parts 1, 2, & 3 at CCBC Essex, the light board operator for Working the Musical, the Stage Manager for Eastern Technical High School’s production of Willy Wonka, and light board operator/projection designer in their production of Mary Poppins. At Eastern Technical High School, Mya was also employed to work tech for a variety of events such as talent shows, fashion shows, professional events, and more. She hopes you enjoy the show!

JASON RANDOLPH (Technical Director)
BS Math, College of William and Mary
MFA Rinehart School of Sculpture, MICA
MFA Technical Theatre and Design, UVA
TD/Resident Scenic Designer Single Carrot Theatre 2014-2017
TD CCBC Essex 2015-present
TD Cockpit in Court Summer Theater 2016-present

Special Thanks

Dr. Sandra Kurtinitis | CCBC President
Mr. Jack McLaughlin | Interim Vice President of Instruction
Dr. Rich Lilley | Vice President of Enrollment & Student Services
Dr. William Watson | Dean of Liberal Arts
Professor Patti Crossman | Chair of Performing Arts and Humanities
Dr. Rebecca Ocampo | Arts Pathways Coordinator
Dr. Kim Jensen | Community Book Connection
Kim Bleakley | Graphic Designer
A.T. Jones and Sons, costumers