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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<H4 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><FONT
size=5><FONT face=Arial>NEWS RELEASE<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></I></H4>
<H5 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><FONT size=5><FONT face=Arial>Weathervane
Playhouse<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></I></B></H5>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><FONT
size=3><FONT face=Arial>CONTACT: Janis L.
Harcar<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></I></H1>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">330-836-2626<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Weathervane
Playhouse’s ‘Yellowman’<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<H6><FONT size=5 face=Arial>Explores the Complicated Dimensions</FONT></H6>
<H6><FONT size=5 face=Arial>of Racial Distinction and Prejudice</FONT></H6>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<H1 style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align=center><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><FONT size=3><FONT face=Arial>Provocative
Drama by Celebrated African-American
Playwright<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></I></H1>
<H1 style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align=center><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><FONT size=3 face=Arial>Dael Orlandersmith
to be Staged in Weathervane’s Intimate Dietz Theater</FONT></I></H1>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">(Jan.
4, 2012 – Akron, Ohio – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE) </SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Weathervane
Playhouse ushers in 2012 with the Pulitzer Prize-nominated play <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Yellowman</I> – a thought-provoking drama
that explores the complicated dimensions of racial
distinction.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Yellowman</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
is presented live on stage in Weathervane Playhouse’s intimate Dietz Theater
from Jan. 12 to 28, 2012. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Dael
Orlandersmith’s play features one man and one woman, each of whom plays multiple
characters. From black to white and to all shades in between, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Yellowman</I> delves into the persistence of
both racial prejudice and the impact of internalized racism. The play also
explores the negative associations surrounding male blackness as well as the
effect these racial stereotypes have on black women.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Yellowman</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
is directed by Jennifer Jeter.<EM><SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal"> The
production is underwritten by Margaret J.
Dietz.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></EM></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<H3
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>Ticket and Performance Information<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></H3>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Yellowman
</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">plays
in Weathervane Playhouse’s John L. Dietz Theater between Jan. 12 and 28, 2012.
(The Dietz Theater is Weathervane Playhouse’s intimate, 50-seat “second stage”
within its Weathervane Lane facility.)<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The
preview performance is Thursday, Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m.; the official
opening-night performance is Friday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoBodyText><FONT face=Arial>Between Jan.
12 and 28, 2012, performance days and times are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays
at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at both 2:30 and 8 p.m.; and Sundays at 2:30
p.m.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT
size=2> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoBodyText><FONT face=Arial>Tickets for
all performances of the play are $18 each. The 50-seat Dietz Theater features
general-admission seating only.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Due
to language and themes,<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> Yellowman</I> is
recommended for ages 13 and older. For tickets, call the Weathervane Box Office
at (330) 836-2626 or connect online to <A
href="http://www.weathervaneplayhouse.com/"><FONT
color=#800080>www.weathervaneplayhouse.com</FONT></A>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<H3
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>The <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Yellowman</I> Cast and their
Ohio Residences<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></H3>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">NICHOLE
STRONG</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> of Akron
plays the role of Alma<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">MARC
JACKSON</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
of Bedford Heights plays the role of Eugene<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<H3
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>The <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Yellowman</I> Creative
Team<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></H3>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">DANIELLE
M. TERLONGE</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
of Wooster serves as the stage manager.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">RYAN
DURFEE</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
of Cuyahoga Falls serves as the lighting designer.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">TODD
DIERINGER</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> of
Wadsworth serves as the properties designer.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">JASEN J.
SMITH</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"> of
Akron serves as the costume designer.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">ALAN SCOTT FERRALL</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> of Cuyahoga Falls serves as the
scenic designer and technical director.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<H3
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT size=3>About the
Play’s Director<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></H3>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">JENNIFER JETER <SPAN
style="COLOR: black">JENNIFER KAY JETER (Director) Trained as a performance
artist, Jeter will often collaborate with traditional artists or with non
traditional partners including social service organizations to create
curriculum, programming, and theatrical works in order to spotlight societal
concerns such as homelessness, addiction and sexual abuse. This Ohio native is
an advocate of the arts. Jeter works in educational, community and professional
theatre. Her thesis entitled, The Rites of Being: An Analytical Review of
Performance Art, was an attempt to legitimize the abstract art form of
performance art. As a Social Artist, she continues to develop art constructions
that address the changing needs of the community. Jeter creates commentary
through her photography, writing, directing, painting and/or a combination of
select media. Jeter previously directed <SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">Fifteen Minute
Hamlet</SPAN> for Weathervane’s First Night contribution several years ago.
<B><I>Yellowman</I></B> will be her first full-length production for Weathervane
in the Dietz Theatre. Concentrating primarily on African American theatre,
Jeter’s past directing credits include <B><I>Black Girl</I></B><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">, <B><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">The Amen Corner</SPAN></B>, <B><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">For Colored Girls…, On Striver’s Row,
Crowns</SPAN></B></I> and <B><I>The Piano Lesson</I></B><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3 face=Arial>About the Play, its
Production History and Awards</FONT></H1>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Yellowman</SPAN></I></B><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">is
a multi-character “memory play” about an African-American woman who dreams of
life beyond the confines of her small-town Southern upbringing and the
light-skinned man whose fate is tragically intertwined with hers.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">In
his 2002 review of the original off-Broadway production, Ben Brantley of <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The New York Times </I>described the basic
story line of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Yellowman</I>: “In its
baldest terms, its plot suggests a brutal variation on <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Romeo and Juliet</I>, recast according to
the arcane sociology of Gullah society in the South: light-skinned boy and
dark-skinned girl fall in love and are torn asunder by their squabbling
families.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">“But
the divisions in <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Yellowman</I>, presented
as a narrative counterpoint delivered by [the play’s two actors] are as much
within families as between them, and even more so within the individuals who
make up families. The play's central characters and storytellers, Eugene and
Alma, are determined not to turn into their parents. The odds, needless to say,
are ominously against them.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Yellowman</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
was first commissioned and developed by three regional theater companies –
McCarter Theatre Center (in Princeton, New Jersey), Wilma Theater (in
Philadelphia) and Long Wharf Theatre (in New Haven, Connecticut) – and it was
developed in part with the support of the The <EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal">Sundance</SPAN></EM> Institute <EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal">Theatre</SPAN></EM><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> </I>Program (of Park City, Utah). This
three-way co-production of the play opened on Jan. 10, 2002, at McCarter Theatre
Center. Thereafter, Manhattan Theatre Club produced the first New York
production of the play; it opened on Oct. 22, 2002, at New York City Center’s
Stage I, where it played for a limited two-month engagement. Playwright Dael
Orlandersmith played the role of Alma in both of these first two productions of
her play.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Yellowman</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
received three 2003 Drama Desk Award nominations, two 2003 Outer Critics Circle
Award nominations and was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
(which that year was awarded to another African-American female playwright,
Suzan Lori-Parks, for <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Topdog/Underdog</I>).<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">About
the Playwright<o:p></o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">DAEL
ORLANDERSMITH</SPAN></STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
was born in New York City in 1959 as Donna Dael Theresa Orlander Smith Brown. As
a child, she grew up in public housing in New York's rough-and-tumble East
Harlem neighborhood and her parents sent her to Catholic schools. When she was
still a child, her father died and her mother struggled to afford the tuition
for her daughter’s parochial-school education. During the late 1960s and early
1970s, Orlandersmith’s neighborhood was a dangerous place, and so was the South
Bronx neighborhood her best friend lived. Several decades later, in an interview
with <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">American Theatre</I> magazine,
Orlandersmith recalled that “Heroin was at its height then. I remember people
would carry an extra $5, in case a junkie came up to them, so they wouldn't lose
their life." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Outside
of her schooling, she began writing a journal at the age of 10, in which she
wrote of her budding interests in reading and music – both of which she devoured
voraciously. A teacher suggested that she sign up for an acting class, which she
did, and during her teens she performed with The Nuyorican Poets Cafe on New
York’s Lower East Side. After high school, she enrolled at Hunter College for a
while but then returned to perform with the Nuyorican group as a poet/performer
and even toured to Europe and Australia with the troupe. She soon began to get
small acting jobs here and there (such as a bit part on one episode of the
ABC-TV situation comedy, <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Spin
City</I>).<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Eventually,
however, Orlandersmith turned her artistic energies toward writing. She traveled
west to Park City, Utah to hone her writing skills at the famed <EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal">Sundance</SPAN></EM> Institute <EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal">Theatre</SPAN></EM><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> </I>Program (established by actor/director
Robert Redford). Following her stint at Sundance, she returned to New York to
star in her new play, <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Beauty’s
Daughter</I>. For this tale of a young woman in Harlem growing up under the
wings of an alcoholic mother, Orlandersmith won a 1994-1995 OBIE Award (the <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Village Voice</I> honor for the best in the
off-Broadway season).<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoBodyText><FONT face=Arial>Her next play,
<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Gimmick</I>, played at the Long Wharf
Theater in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1998 and at the New York Theater Workshop
the following year. This one-woman play – starring the playwright herself –
confronts the consistent temptation of sex, drugs and money that can surround
and drown a creative, artistic person.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Her
next solo play, <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Monster</I>, was staged
at A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) in Seattle. Another story of a young woman
growing up in Harlem, Orlandersmith played nine different characters. The play
deals with the cycles of family violence that can occur over several
generations. When <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The New York Times</I>
asked her to write an article about her plays, she admitted that she often went
back to the same subjects. “There is a theme throughout the work that I write,"
Orlandersmith wrote, "about childhood and the sins of the father, the sins of
the mother, and how people take on the very thing they don't like about their
parents and they become them."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Yellowman</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">,
Orlandersmith’s next play, marked the first time she wrote a play for more than
one actor. She set her play in the coastal South Carolina area that is home to
the distinctive Gullah culture, and here she was able to expose the issue of
black-on-black racism through a star-crossed love story between two characters,
Alma and Eugene. As a child, Orlandersmith had spent summers with relatives in
this rural South Carolina area. In an interview with <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The New York Times</I>, she remembered a
light-skinned black family who "for generations...had interbred to keep the
light-skinned color line going. And they would condemn people who were darker.
So you had people who hated this family and whom this family
hated."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Orlandersmith
continues to live, write, and perform in New York City.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoBodyText><FONT face=Arial>* *
*</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Weathervane
Playhouse and its dedicated volunteers offer vital performing arts resources for
the people of Northeastern Ohio. We create exciting and thought-provoking shows
with impressive production values. Through educational programs and volunteer
opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds, Weathervane serves the
theater community, our patrons and our volunteers.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The
Ohio Arts Council helped fund this program with state tax dollars to encourage
economic growth, education excellence and cultural enrichment for all
Ohioans.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><U><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Additional
2010-2011 season sponsors<o:p></o:p></SPAN></U></I></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">89.7
WSKU-FM<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">OMNOVA
Solutions Foundation<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Sisler
McFawn Foundation<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Akron Community
Foundation<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Kenneth L. Calhoun Charitable
Trust<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The Margaret Clark Morgan
Foundation<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Janis Harcar<BR>Director of Advancement<BR>Weathervane
Playhouse<BR>330-836-2323 X16<BR><A
href="http://www.weathervaneplayhouse.com">www.weathervaneplayhouse.com</A></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>