ONE LAST THING BEFORE I FORGET
by Rebecca Gorman O’Neill
APRIL 20-30, 2023
7:30 pm (Thursday-Saturday)
2:00pm (Sunday)
The Roaming Gnome Theatre
10255 E. 25th Ave., Aurora, CO
TICKETS
“Two women, both ghosts….for now. The rule is, when your last story is gone, you cease to exist. And they are both down to their last story. One of them wants to stay, the other is eager to go. But they need each other’s help…”
Director Melissa McCarl
Set/Sound Design Darren Smith
Light Design Alexis Bond
Rehearsal Stage Manager Harrison Lyles-Smith
Starring Cyndi Parr and Kate Poling
PROGRAM
PLAYWRIGHT
REBECCA GORMAN O’NEILL(sHE/hER/HERS)
Rebecca Gorman O’Neill was born in Akron, Ohio; she left at age 17 to attend Dartmouth College where she earned a B.A. in Drama and English. Rebecca went on to earn her M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University. Her original plays have been produced across the United States, and those published can be found through Dramatic Publishing, Eldridge Publishing, and Next Stage Press. Rebecca is a Professor of English at Metropolitan State University of Denver, where she teaches playwriting, screenwriting, film and media studies, and the graphic novel.
DIRECTOR
MELISSA MCCARL
Melissa has directed plays and musicals all over Denver, including Littleton Town Hall, the Mizel Arts and Culture Center, Aurora Fox, Theater on Broadway, Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret, and Athena Project. Some of her favorite productions include Anna in the Tropics, Real Women Have Curves and the musical Swingtime Canteen. An award -winning playwright, she is the author of Painted Bread, a play about Frida Kahlo produced most recently by the Aurora Fox. She was commissioned by the Mizel Arts Center to write Poignant Irritations, a play about the life of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. She wrote a short play about the Sand Creek Massacre for Curious Theatre’s War Anthology. In recent years her play Lost Creatures about the film star Louise Brooks was produced by And Toto too Theatre Company. She has been named Best Local Playwright by Westword and Best Actress in a Musical by the Denver Post for her role in Ruthless the Musical. She currently teaches dramatic writing for Lighthouse Writers Workshop and the Denver Center.
THE CAST
KATE POLING(she/her)
HARRIET/lIZBET
Kate Poling is excited to be performing with And Toto too again! She is an actor, director, and teaching artist based in Denver, Colorado. She holds a BFA in Acting from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. New York Credits: Puppet Julius Caesar (Puppet Shakespeare Players). With And Toto too: Gertrude and Ophelia in Hell (Edinburgh Fringe 2022); Smoke; South Star; The Way Station; Show of Force. Other Colorado credits: Miss Bennet: Pemberley at Christmas, Pride and Prejudice, Towards Zero, Three Tall Women (Firehouse Theatre); Rumpelstiltskin, The Story of the Nutcracker, The Pied Piper (Miners Alley Playhouse); Twelfth Night (Foothills Theatre Company); Inheritance (Curious Theatre Co) and Almost Maine (Town Hall Arts Center). Enjoy the show!
CYNDI PARR
VIOLET
Cyndi Parr is excited to be making her debut at And Toto too. She is the program director and co-founder for Dragon Theatre Productions, where everyone who auditions gets a role, and has helped create over 500 roles in 14 years for actors of all ages and abilities. She has performed over the last 25 years as an actor, writer, director, puppeteer and magician in over 200 productions. Last year she performed in two shows in Chicago for the Chicago International Puppet Theatre Festival, and has had her film in two puppet slams with the Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry. She has been the MC for six Rocky Mountain Puppet Slams, including recently at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, is the treasurer for the Rocky Mountain Puppetry Guild, and over the summer performs her baby dragon puppet in Green Mountain Falls and in Santa Fe. More information at: https://cvparr.wixsite.com/cyndiparrcreations
SOUND DESIGN
DARREN SMITH (HE/HIM)
Darren Smith- serves as vice-president as well as technical director for And Toto too, he is responsible for the technical operations of the theater, determining technical staffing and equipment requirements for productions, and acts as the central coordinating point for the designers, the stage management team, the craftspeople, etc. – throughout each production. With more than 30 years of experience both on-stage and in almost every capacity behind the scenes, he brings a wealth of ideas and best practices to And Toto too. Mr. Smith is not, despite what a 'vanity search' on the internet may lead you to believe, an editor and writer specializing in travel directories and feature magazine stories, an Australian rugby league player, the 1997 World Irish Dancing Champion, a football player for the Grand Valley State University Lakers, a new age composer living in Texas, or a Christian comedian and illusionist. He lives in Denver with his wife, sons, and their two dogs, and is also the co-founder of the leading B2B customer reference company Point of Reference.
LIGHT DESIGN
ALEXIS BOND(SHE/HER)
Alexis is delighted to be collaborating with And Toto Too again, and to be making her post-Covid design debut! Alexis is a Denver native with experience in local theatre, rental and staging, and most recently has been using her logistics skills for Summit Integrated, an audio visual install company for churches. Alexis would like to thank her incredible circle of friends that have never wavered in their support.
Proverbs 19:22
stage crew
Harrison Lyles-Smith (HE/HIM/THEY)
Mr. Lyles-Smith is a senior at Denver School of the Arts. he is an AEC, and is SAG eligible. His work includes, Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Aurora Fox), Jerusalem (Edge Theatre), Medea (Edge Theatre), Appropriate (Curious Theatre), A Chorus Line (Denver School of the Arts), Radium Girls (Denver School of the Arts), A Scouts Guide to Brutal Honesty, and Blow Ins (And Toto too) Film credits include: Liam, 7th Son, Son of Lies and Whispers, Second String Villians, and the soon to be released feature film The Engagement Plot . He would like to thank all his friends and family for their support.