2018 Season Presented by Sustainable South Sound, Washington State Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts and The Shari and Les Biller Family Foundation

I Am My Own Wife

Drama January 19-February 11, 2018 The State Theater 1hrs 43mins PG

I Am My Own Wife

by Doug Wright

directed by Aaron Lamb

Drama January 19-February 11, 2018 The State Theater 1hrs 43mins PG

Based on a true story and inspired by interviews conducted by the playwright over several years, I Am My Own Wife tells the fascinating tale of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a German transvestite who managed to survive both the Nazi onslaught and the repressive East German Communist regime.

Actor Corey McDaniel plays 39 characters to bring Charlotte’s improbable story — and her even more improbable passion and charm — to life.

I Am My Own Wife is a vivid portrait of a unique person whose ability to endure has been turned into a highly theatrical journey.” —Associated Press

…an experience that is intellectual, theatrical, funny, and poignant… it teaches us a history we never knew we had, and without forgiveness and sentiment unravels the story of one life.” —NYTheatre.com

Cast & Creative

Director Aaron Lamb

Aaron Lamb

Aaron has worked in Seattle for Village Theatre, Taproot Theatre, Book-It Repertory Theatre, and Seattle Shakespeare Company and has worked regionally throughout the country. Aaron was awarded a Seattle Critics (Footlight) Award for his work as Lord Goring in An Ideal Husband at Taproot Theatre, the Memphis Critics (Ostrander) Award for Best Actor for his work as Jerry in The Full Monty at Playhouse on the Square, a Kennedy Center award for Best Actor for his work as Samuel Coleridge in Grasmere, and an OC Weekly Award for his work as Peck in How I Learned to Drive. Aaron holds an MFA in acting from California State University, Fullerton, and a BA from Washington State University.

In 15 seasons and 39 shows at Harlequin:

A Bright Room Called Day (Gottfried Swetts, Director, Sound Design) A Christmas Carol (Player 6 (Fred, others), Director, Player 4) A Doll's House (Director) August: Osage County (Director) Cabaret (Director) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Brick) Deathtrap (Director) Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Dr. Jekyll) Enchanted April (Mellersh Wilson) Every Brilliant Thing (Director) Falsettos (Musical Director, Piano and Synth) Five Women Wearing the Same Dress (Director) Hedda Gabler (Director) Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Director) Hundred Days (Director) I Am My Own Wife (Director) Love and Information (Director) Man of La Mancha (Director) Mating Dance of the Werewolf (Ken) Middletown (Director) Noises Off (Frederick Fellowes) Philadelphia Story (Macaulay Connor) Present Laughter (Garry Essendine) Ruthless (Director / Music Director, Piano 1) Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol (Director) Sweeney Todd (Director) The 1940s Radio Hour (Director / Music Director, Piano) The 39 Steps (Richard Hannay) The Highest Tide (Director) The Language Archive (George) The Last Five Years (Jamie Wellerstein / Piano, Musical Director) This Flat Earth (Director) Three Days of Rain (Director) Time Stands Still (Director) To Kill a Mockingbird (Atticus Finch)

Scenic Design Bruce Haasl

Bruce Haasl

Other favorite roles include Roger in Rent, Claude in Hair and Jamie in The Last Five Years. Bruce also works behind the curtain. He has designed and built sets for over 300 productions, including some here at Harlequin. He is very proud and honored to be a part of this beautiful and significant show.

In 9 seasons and 22 shows at Harlequin:

Baskerville (Scenic Design) Blackbird (Scenic Design) Cabaret (Ernst Ludwig) Cymbeline (Scenic Design) Falsettos (Mendel) First Date (Aaron) Five Women Wearing the Same Dress (Tripp) Fun Home (Understudy Bruce and Roy/Mark/Pete/Bobby Jeremy) I Am My Own Wife (Scenic Design) Jesus Christ Superstar (Jesus) Magical Mystery Midsummer Musical (Vocalist, Properties Design) Present Laughter (Hugo Lyppiatt) Sweeney Todd (Ensemble) Tenderly (The Doctor) The 1940s Radio Hour (Clifton A. Feddington) The Stardust Christmas Blizzard (Eddie Compton) The Stardust Christmas Commotion (Eddie Compton) The Stardust Christmas Enchantment (Eddie Higgsby (Compton)) The Stardust Christmas Fandango (Eddie Higgsby) The Women (Scenic Design) This Flat Earth (Scenic Design) What the Constitution Means to Me (Scenic Design)

Costume Design Darren Mills

Darren Mills

Darren Mills is the Resident Costume Designer for Harlequin Productions. Additional regional credits: La Cage Aux Folles and Angels In America (SPSCC), Equivocation (SMU), and Murder Ballad (Sidecountry Theater). NYC hairdressing credits: Broadway: Phantom, Mamma Mia!, The Music Man. Film: The Stepford Wives, War of the Worlds, Lonesome Jim, The Notorious Bettie Page. TV: The Sopranos.

In 26 seasons and 68 shows at Harlequin:

A Christmas Carol (Costume Design) A Doll's House (Costume Design) A Long Day's Journey into Night (Wig/Makeup Designer) A Rock 'n' Roll Twelfth Night (Hair & Wig Designer) A Rock N' Roll Twelfth Night (Costume Designer) A Streetcar Named Desire (Hair & Makeup Designer) And a Nightingale Sang (Costume Co-Designer) As You Like It (Costume Designer) Assassins (Costume Designer) August: Osage County (Costume Design) Cabaret (Costume, Wig, Hair and Makeup Design) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Costume Designer) Dancin' in the Aisles (Costume Designer) Deathtrap (Costume Design, Wig, Hair and Makeup Design) Enchanted April (Costume Designer) End Days (Costume Designer) Falsettos (Costume/Hair/Makeup Design) Forever Stardust (Costume Designer) Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Costume, Hair and Makeup Design) Henry V (Company Dresser) I Am My Own Wife (Costume Design) Intimate Apparel (Costume Designer) La Béte (Hair/Makeup Designer) Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill (Costume Design) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Costume Designer) Little Shop of Horrors (Costume Designer) Love and Information (Costume Design) Man of La Mancha (Costume Design) Murder in the Cathedral (Costume Designer) My Old Lady (Costume Designer) Noises Off (Costume Design) Operation Stardust (Costume Designer) Philadelphia Story (Costume Designer) Present Laughter (Costume Design) Rock 'n' Roll Twelfth Night (Costume, Wig, Hair & Makeup Designer) Rough Crossing (Costume Designer) Ruthless (Costume Designer / Hair and Wig Designer) Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol (Costume Design) Six Hotels (Costume Designer) Stardust Radio Review (Costume Designer) Sweeney Todd (Costume Design, Wig, Hair and Makeup Design) Swingtime Stardust (Costume, Wig, Hair & Makeup Designer) Sylvia (Costume, Wig, Hair & Makeup Designer) Tenderly (Costume Design) The 39 Steps (Hair & Wig Designer) The Art of Racing in the Rain (Hair/Wig Design) The Constant Wife (Costume Designer) The Elephant Man (Costume Designer) The Glass Menagerie (Costume Designer) The Importance of Being Earnest (Costume Designer) The Ladies of the Camellias (Costume Designer) The Last Schwartz (Costume Designer) The Love List (Costume Designer) The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Costume Designer) The Real Thing (Costume, Hair & Makeup Designer) The Rocky Horror Show (Costume Designer) The Seafarer (Costume Designer) The Stardust Christmas Commotion (Costume Designer) The Stardust Christmas Enchantment (Costume Design) The Taming of the Shrew (Costume Designer) The Twelfth Night of Stardust (Costume Designer) The Understudy (Costume Design) The Women (Costume Design) To Kill a Mockingbird (Costume Designer) Unexpected Tenderness (Costume Designer) Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike (Costume Designer)

Lighting Design Mark Thomason

Mark Thomason

Mark is a local lighting designer based in Tacoma and teaches technical theatre and design at Tacoma School of the Arts and occasionally at the University of Puget Sound, having spent most of the last 20 years as a lighting designer, production manager, and technical director; he also works with Zombie Orpheus Entertainment and much of his film work can be seen on The Fantasy Network. BA in Theatre Production from Bradley University.

In 11 seasons and 20 shows at Harlequin:

A Doll's House (Lighting Design) Dry Powder (Lighting Designer) Falsettos (Lighting Design) First Date (Lighting Design) Fun Home (Lighting Design) I Am My Own Wife (Lighting Design) Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill (Lighting Design) Murder for Two (Lighting Design) My Name is Rachel Corrie (Lighting Design) Noises Off (Lighting Design) Richard III (Lighting Designer) Sweeney Todd (Lighting Design) The Art of Racing in the Rain (Lighting Design) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) (Lighting Design) The Glass Menagerie (Lighting Designer) The Lady's Not for Burning (Lighting Designer) The Language Archive (Lighting Designer) The Last Five Years (Lighting Designer) The Lonesome West (Lighting Designer) Until the Flood (Lighting Design)

Video Design Amy Chisman

Amy Chisman

In 6 seasons and 22 shows at Harlequin:

A Rock N' Roll Twelfth Night (Lighting Designer) August: Osage County (Lighting Design) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Lighting Designer) Clybourne Park (Lighting Designer) Cymbeline (Lighting Design) Fighting Over Beverley (Lighting Designer) Gloucester Blue (Lighting Designer) Hedda Gabler (Lighting Designer) Henry V (Lighting Designer) I Am My Own Wife (Video Design) Jesus Christ Superstar (Lighting Designer, Video Designer) Or, (Lighting Designer) Present Laughter (Lighting Design) Recent Tragic Events (Asst. Lighting Designer) Sixties Chicks Too (Lighting Designer) The 39 Steps (Lighting Designer) The Last Five Years (Video Designer) The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (Lighting Designer) The Stardust Christmas Commotion (Lighting Designer) To Kill a Mockingbird (Lighting Designer) Two Gentlemen of Verona (Lighting Designer) Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike (Lighting Designer)

Asst. Video Design Marko Bujeaud

Marko Bujeaud

In 10 seasons and 12 shows at Harlequin:

Accomplice (Scenic Designer) Baltimore Waltz (Orderly) Henry V (Asst. Scenic Designer) I Am My Own Wife (Asst. Video Design) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Video Designer) Operation Stardust (Scenic Designer) The Ladies of the Camellias (Benoit Constant Coquelin) The Lonesome West (Scenic Designer) The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (Scenic Designer) The Understudy (Video Design) The Weir (Scenic Designer) Time Stands Still (Video Designer)

Sound Design Gina Salerno

Gina Salerno

In 20 seasons and 90 shows at Harlequin:

A Christmas Carol (Co-Sound Design, Stage Manager) A Christmas Survival Guide (Stage Manager) A Doll's House (Sound Design) A Midsummer Night's Dream (Asst. Stage Manager) A Rock N' Roll Twelfth Night (Stage Manager) A Stardust Christmas Carol (Asst. Stage Manager) And a Nightingale Sang (Asst. Stage Manager) Blackbird (Sound Design) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Stage Manager) Clybourne Park (Sound Designer) Dancin' in the Aisles (Asst. Stage Manager) Dry Powder (Sound Designer) Enchanted April (Stage Manager) Enrico IV (Sound Designer/Asst, Stage Manager) Fighting Over Beverley (Sound Designer) Five Women Wearing the Same Dress (Stage Manager) For Peter Pan On Her 70th Birthday (Sound Design) Gloucester Blue (Sound Designer) Hedda Gabler (Stage Manager) Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Stage Manager) I Am My Own Wife (Sound Design) I Ought To Be In Pictures (Sound Designer) Jesus Christ Superstar (Stage Manager) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Stage Manager) Let the Good Times Roll! (Asst. Stage Manager) Little Shop of Horrors (Stage Manager) Love and Information (Stage Manager) Macbeth (Asst. Stage Manager) Man of La Mancha (Stage Manager) Mauritius (Sound Designer) Measure for Measure (Prostitute, Asst. Stage Manager) Middletown (Stage Manager) Murder for Two (Stage Manager) My Name is Rachel Corrie (Sound Design) My Old Lady (Sound Designer) Noises Off (Sound Design) Operation Stardust (Asst. Stage Manager) Or, (Sound Designer) Philadelphia Story (Stage Manager) Present Laughter (Sound Design) Pride and Prejudice (Sound Design) Psychopathia Sexualis (Sound Designer/Asst. Stage Manager) Rabbit Hole (Sound Designer) Recent Tragic Events (Sound Designer) Romeo and Juliet (Citizen/Party Guest) Ruthless (Stage Manager) Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol (Stage Manager) Shining City (Sound Designer) Sins of the Mother (Sound Designer) Six Hotels (Sound Designer) Sixties Chicks (Asst. Stage Manager) Sixties Chicks Too (Stage Manager) Soul on Fire! (Asst. Stage Manager) Sovereignty (Sound Design) Stardust for Christmas (Esther Bartoli, Asst. Stage Manager) Stardust Serenade 1942 (Stage Manager) Summer in the Sixties (Stage Manager) Sweeney Todd (Stage Manager) Tenderly (Stage Manager) The 1940s Radio Hour (Properties Designer / Stage Manager) The American Pilot (Sound Designer) The Americans Across the Street (Stage Manager) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) (Sound Design) The Elephant Man (Sound Designer) The Elsinore Diaries (Stage Manager) The Highest Tide (Stage Manager) The Ladies of the Camellias (Sound Designer/Asst. Stage Manager) The Language Archive (Sound Designer) The Last Five Years (Stage Manager) The Last Schwartz (Sound Designer) The Life and Times of Leonardo da Vinci (Asst. Stage Manager) The Love List (Asst. Stage Manager) The Rocky Horror Show (Asst. Stage Manager) The Seafarer (Sound Designer) The Stardust Christmas Blizzard (Stage Manager) The Stardust Christmas Commotion (Stage Manager) The Stardust Christmas Dazzle (Stage Manager) The Twelfth Night of Stardust (Asst. Stage Manager) The Woman in Black (Asst. Stage Manager) The Women (Sound Design) This Flat Earth (Sound Design) Three Days of Rain (Sound Design) Time Stands Still (Sound Designer) To Kill a Mockingbird (Stage Manager) Under a Mantle of Stars (Sound Designer/Asst. Stage Manager) Unexpected Tenderness (Sound Designer) Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike (Sound Designer)

Properties Design Jeff Leigh

Jeff Leigh

In 7 seasons and 31 shows at Harlequin:

A Christmas Survival Guide (Properties Designer) August: Osage County (Properties Design) Clybourne Park (Properties Designer) Dry Powder (Properties Designer) First Date (Properties Design) Five Women Wearing the Same Dress (Properties Designer) Gloucester Blue (Properties Designer) Hedda Gabler (Properties Designer) Henry V (Properties Master) I Am My Own Wife (Properties Design) Jesus Christ Superstar (Properties Designer) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Properties Designer) My Name is Rachel Corrie (Properties Design) Or, (Properties Master) Philadelphia Story (Properties Designer) Present Laughter (Properties Design) Recent Tragic Events (Properties Designer) Ruthless (Properties Designer) The 39 Steps (Properties Designer) The Language Archive (Properties Designer) The Last Schwartz (Properties Designer) The Stardust Christmas Blizzard (Properties Designer) The Stardust Christmas Dazzle (Properties Designer) The Stardust Christmas Enchantment (Properties Design) The Stardust Christmas Fandango (Properties Design) The Understudy (Properties Design) Three Days of Rain (Properties Design) Time Stands Still (Properties Designer) To Kill a Mockingbird (Properties Designer) Two Gentlemen of Verona (Properties Designer) Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike (Properties Designer)

Dialect Coach Marianna de Fazio

Marianna de Fazio

Marianna performs around Seattle, and has performed in several Harlequin shows, including as Eve in The Art of Racing in the Rain, Daphne in Present Laughter and Mrs. Linde in A Doll’s House. Before the shutdown, she was playing Julia in an adaptation of 1984 with Radial Theatre Project. She has cut her teeth voice acting with Sandbox Radio Live, Imagination Theater and on various video games. Since receiving her MFA at the University of Washington, Marianna has been coaching individuals in accent modification, public speaking and voice and speech: www.mariannadefazio.com

In 8 seasons and 10 shows at Harlequin:

A Christmas Carol (Tiny Tim/Ensemble, Dialect Coach) A Doll's House (Kristine Linde) Baskerville (Dialect Coach) Cabaret (Dialect Coach) Dracula (Mina Murray) I Am My Own Wife (Dialect Coach) Present Laughter (Daphne Stillington) Pride and Prejudice (Mrs. Bennet/Servants, Dialect Coach) The Art of Racing in the Rain (Eve/Ensemble)

Corey McDaniel Charlotte von Mahlsdorf

Corey McDaniel

Corey McDaniel is the Director of Development for Harlequin Productions. Mr. McDaniel served as the founder and producing artistic director of Seattle’s Theatre22 during their 10-year cycle. As an actor, he has worked throughout the US and internationally and his performance credits have placed him in such reputable arenas as the Fox Theatres, the Hollywood Bowl, Theatro Sistina in Rome, and the Metropolitan Opera House of NYC. Outside of Harlequin, Mr. McDaniel’s recent directing credits include White, Burn This, The Pride, Wizzer Pizzer, and The Hours of Life for Theatre22, The Merry Wives of Windsor with Wooden O/Seattle Shakespeare Company, Treasure Island with Book-It Repertory Theatre, Sister Act the Musical, Bonnie and Clyde, and Good Kids at Cornish College of the Arts, Julius Caesar with Island Shakespeare Festival and The Wild Party for Sound Theatre Company (Gregory Award for Best Musical).