Run Time: The play is in three acts.  There are 2 ten-minute intermissions between acts.  Total run time with intermissions is two hours and thirty minutes.

Director: Scout Davis
Music Director: Ian Liedke
Music Supervisor: Matthew Marco
Fight Director: Danielle Rosvally
Intimacy Director: Lindsay Brandon Hunter
Stage Manager: Sophia Larish
Assistant Stage Manager: Faith Marsala
Set Designer: Sheila Fastoff
Costume Designer: Max Teicher
Asst. Costume Designer: Crissy Iglesias
Lighting and Projection Designer: Ethan Borrok
Asst. Lighting and Projection Designer: Marcus Harter
Sound Designer: Lisa Gallagher
Asst. Sound Designer/Mixer: Noah Beckwith
Props Manager: Chris Ochman

Edna Krabappel: Alissa Di Cristo
Gibson / Sideshow Bob / Homer: Juno Hunter
Jenny / Marge: Paige Kent
Maria / Lisa + FBI Agent + Itchy: Julia Pitarresi
Matt / Homer + Scratchy: Alex Reiser
Colleen / FBI Agent + Lisa: Larisa Rivera-Vasquez
Sam / Bart Act 2 / Mr. Burns: Cameron Slutzky
Quincy / Bart in Act 3: Indira Surage

Jamya Haygood-El: Maria & Jenny / Act 3 Voices
Christopher Ng: Sam & Matt / Act 3 Voices
Melina White: Quincy, Colleen, Edna / Act 3 Voices

Ian Liedke: Keyboard
Joe Goretti: Percussion
Daniel Hull: Accordion

ACT II
“Hectic Day”
Medley of pop songs
“Say Goodbye”

ACT III
“The Call Came on the Radio”
“I Stand on the Deck”
“Theme from Cape Feare”
“Two Little Darling Lads”
“Messing With the Simpsons”
“Everything Will Be Alright”
“Toxic”
“Love and Hate”
“And Now the Sky”
“Say Goodbye”
“Keep On”
“The Rapids”
“Burns’ Last Speech”
“The Clouds Have Parted”
“Last Song”

This play is about our past, present and potential future. This play explores how a piece of cultural iconography transforms overtime within a larger pursuit of human survival through colossal insurmountable circumstances.

Now looking at this play 12 years after its’ original production; we have seen so much of what the play has previously prophesized. We are beginning to understand the relationship of nuclear energy and electricity, currently surviving through an ongoing global pandemic, natural disasters every week and evil figures like Elon Musk or the 45th President and other political officials attempting to be our contemporary Mr. Burns in a crumbling capitalistic society.

We begin the play in October 2024 in Wolcott, Connecticut, just weeks after a series of life-altering events that will forever change the course of the lives of the individuals within the world of this play.

The play speaks volumes to this multi-layered cake of circumstances that plague the characters in this play-begging them to ask, ‘why are we all alive today?’ This question evolves as we begin to see how these individuals wrestle with their continual need to shift at any given moment due to the unpredictable world they are now attempting to operate inside of. The shifts deepen and widen our connection points and needs to the materiality of the Simpsons as a pop cultural pillar in their ever-changing ecosystem.

Within this play, we travel space and time, genre, performance styles and ways of sharing stories as a collective community negotiating how to co-exist with one another. This negotiation is what is most ripe in this play, seeing individuals beginning to navigate loss, sacrifices, existence and much more in their lives as a newly formed community. We built this process from pillars of a collectively liberated community and cornerstones of safety and transparency in communication amongst all departments involved. As director I facilitate the building foundation of our ensemble. The foundation of this ensemble allows for us all to discover the inner workings of the play through means of group consensus and trial and error experimentation-all rooted in radical joy.

This is a wild ride. Please take care of yourself and others around you. Feel free to respond back, remain alive and be present with us as we go on this journey with you. Thank you for taking the time out of your lives to join us for this story.
 - Scout Davis (they/them)

Scout Davis (they/them) is a non-binary queer creator of live communal performance works. Their work has been seen at The LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, HERE Arts Center, The Clemente Center, The Brick, The Wild Project and Dixon Place. Recent directing credits include Putting it Together and Small Mouth Sounds at Pace School of the Performing Arts and Everybody by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins at Seton Hill University, and As I Eat The World by Luis Roberto Herrera at The Tank. They are currently developing new work with playwrights Eliza Bent, Krista Knight and Calley Anderson to name a few. Scout is an alumni of The John Wells MFA Directing Program at Carnegie Mellon University. 

Ian Liedke is an accomplished pianist and music director currently based in Buffalo, NY. He has over 20 years of experience playing the piano in a variety of different styles and graduated from SUNY Fredonia with a degree in Music Performance with a minor in Jazz Studies.

While Ian is very experienced in performing all genres of music, he is most well-known for performing jazz throughout Buffalo, NY, and parts of NYC. He is also an accomplished music director and has taken on this role for numerous shows including the La Grange Theatre's production of Tintype's

Tintypes, in Woodstock, Vermont. Ian's teaching history includes teaching jazz at the Chautauqua Institute School and currently providing private lessons to a number of students in the WNY area.

Ian’s expertise has led him to be able to play keys for several musical productions. Ian was elected president of the famous student-run jazz program at SUNY Fredonia before they instituted a jazz program of their own. He has played alongside such artists as Arturo Sandoval, Cory Henry, and Bruce Johnstone.

Rehearsal Assistant Stage Managers: Quinn Petkus, Alex Fawkes
Head Electrician: Molly Crandall
Scenic Artist: Elle Dixon
Scenic Artists: Elisabetta Antonacci, Sheila Fastoff, Crissy Iglesias, Maili Novak, Max Teicher, additional support from TH136
Dresser Supervisor: Alex Fawkes
Dresser: Alexandria Connolly
Light Programmer/Light Operator: Ash Ferguson
Deck Crew: Mackenzie Leone
Sound and Projections Operator: Selena Pereyra
Props Crew: Adriana Vetcha

Graphic Designer: Elisabetta Antonacci
Props Warehouse Manager: Lukmaan Arif
Scenic Artists: Molly Crandall, Aurora Shao
Projections Technologist: Ethan Borrok
Costume Shop Assistants: Theresa Banks, Jen Marquez, Jonathan Zotamba
Sound Supervisor: Jacob Clouse
Electricians: Lisa Gallagher, Alaina Herman
Head Carpenter: Luigi LoCascio
Info-Tech: Braxton Stone
Properties Director: Cameron Thompson

Assistant Technical Director; Light, Sound, and Video Supervisor: Tom Burke
Paint and Props Mentor: Jennifer Lynn Carter
Costume Technician: Judy Curtis
Assistant Costume Shop Manager: Cindy Darling
Technical Director: Erich Frank
SM Mentor/Production Stage Manager: Melinda J. Lamoreux
Sound/Lights/Projection Design Mentor: Nicholas Quinn
Costume Mentor/Costume Shop Manager: Zechariah Saenz
Senior Staff Assistant/Scene Shop Supervisor: Tom Tucker
Crew Instructor: Hannah S. Wolland

Department Chair: Eero Laine
Associate Chair/Producing Director: Lynne Koscielniak
Production Manager: Rick Haug
Assistant Production Manager: Ally Hasselback
Department Administrator: Rachel Olszewski, Veronica Sedota
Senior Staff Assistant: Rob Falgiano
Administrative Assistant: Kristin Mann

The UB Department of Theatre and Dance is a proud member of the UB College of Arts and Sciences.

With a firm commitment to the advancement of creative research, experiential learning, and community engagement, the UBTHD 2023-2024 Production Season is administered by the Department of Theatre and Dance. We acknowledge our full faculty and staff for their part in preparing students for work on stage and behind the scenes.

We thank UB Center for the Arts for their support in making these productions possible.

UB Theatre and Dance wishes to acknowledge the generous continued philanthropic support of Fox Run at Orchard Park, an official contributing sponsor of the UBTHD 2023-2024 season.

Our season of programming is also made possible by ticket purchases and donations from patrons like you. To further support our work, please join the Celebration Rising donor wall.  Gifts to Celebration Rising expand opportunities for students to engage with guest artists and new theater technology during our 24-25 gala season.