The American Premiere of
Spear
by CN Smith
Directed by Joy Nesbitt
Feb 16-Mar 10, 2024
Thu – Sat @ 7:30pm, Sun @ 2pm
White fragility simmers in the wake of Black success.
Three white Irish men meet at their childhood athletic field to catch up, drink, and discuss the recent Olympic success of their former Black friend, Amir. Their vulnerabilities, jealousies, and perceived failures seethe below the surface as they recall their teenage years. In a parallel reality, the young men wrestle with flashes of the past when they enact scenes from Amir’s diary.
Recommended for ages 15 and up.
Season sponsor: Ronni Lacroute
Scenic Design Supported by Charlotte Rubin
Dialect Coaching Supported by Jessie Jonas
Emigrant Support Programme
CN Smith and Joy Nesbitt are two of the most exciting artists working in Ireland today. This collaboration is not to be missed!
Talkback with Director Joy Nesbitt: Saturday, February 17th
ASL interpreted performance: Thursday, February 29th 7:30 PM
Content Warning: Descriptions of racism, sexual assault. Use of slurs against homoesexuality, mental disability, and Pakistani nationality.
About the Playwright
CN Smith is a playwright and director from County Louth, Ireland. He was a recipient of The Lir Academy’s Patricia Leggett Playwriting Scholarship for 2020, allowing him to complete his MFA. His play Spear was a Dublin Fringe Festival commission for 2022, and was presented at Smock Alley. An excerpt of his play Corktown was presented as part of the 2023 Trans-Atlantic Commissions readings in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
“Spear is a play about race, mediocrity, and misunderstanding. It was born out of a recognition of (and frustration with) the prevalence of one-hander confessional plays written by non-white people about our trauma. I recognised the immediate value these plays provided both for the artists and for audiences – the stories they allowed to be shared, the visions they platformed, and the solidarity they allowed to be built. However, their prevalence raised some questions for me, chief among them being: Why do white people love them so much? And why are we so quick to put our bodies and traumas under the microscope for their entertainment? Aren’t they the ones who should be examined? I then began to think about whether there might be a way to explore the same themes present in all of that great confessional work while also attempting to answer those questions for myself. Spear was written as an effort to thread that needle. It follows three friends as they drink in a field and read passages from their former friends’ diary.”
Cast
as Joe
as Nate
as Sean
Creative Team
Director
Stage Manager
Scenic Design
Costume Design
Lighting Design
Sound Design
Dialect Coach
Production Photos
by Owen Carey
Spear visited the Pub!
Photos by Owen Carey
The cast of Spear presented a preview of the play at TC O’Leary’s Irish Pub as part of the Portland-wide St. Brigid’s Day celebration!
Ryan Edlinger
Ryan Edlinger (he/him) is excited to be working on his first show with Corrib Theatre. He recently appeared in Anonymous Theater’s production of Pirates of Penzance, and has worked with theaters across the country before moving to the Pacific Northwest. Ryan is always eager to develop new plays, whether working closely with a playwright or devising as part of an ensemble. Some favorite pieces of his include Fire on the Water and TITUS: A Grand and Gory Rock Musical with Cleveland Public Theatre, the interactive science fiction thriller Don’t Wander Off with Maelstrom Collaborative Arts, and True Believers with Vagabond Theatre Group. Ryan graduated from Salem State University with a BFA in Theatre.
Dylan Hankins
Dylan Hankins (Nate) is an alumnus of Lewis & Clark ('22) and PETE's Institute for Contemporary Performance (ICP '21), and he is delighted and honored to be making his Corrib Theatre début. He's translated two works from the Spanish, Miguel Romero Esteo's Tartessos: A Memorial (to/from) the Darkness and Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba. He's directed two pieces, (De)composition (Tango Vortex Ensemble) and Confessions of a Garbage Collector (Lewis & Clark College), and he's not beyond shamelessly plugging his new show REM 0: S p r a w l, which will he performed as part of his CoHo residency in June. For more information about S p r a w l, or just about Dylan, you can follow him on instagram @icpdylan
Rocco Weyer
A Lewis and Clark graduate with a BA in theater, Rocco Weyer is thrilled to join Corrib Theatre. Hailing from Spain and Argentina, he is continually assuring his family that everything will be fine by pursuing acting, comedy, photography, writing, and music in Portland. Previous credits include The Bridegroom in Blood Wedding, Joaco in (de)composition, Art in This is my Something, the Tyrant in Passion Play, Elder Jay in The Christians, and Trigorin in Stupid F***ing Bird.
Cynthia Shur Petts
Cynthia Shur Petts (she/her) is an actor, writer, comedian, and teaching artist. She is happy to return to Corrib Theatre, where she previously played Rusty in Hurl. Other Portland credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Anonymous Theatre) and a reading of Lisa Kron’s solo piece 101 Humiliating Stories (Profile Theatre). She worked for many years in Chicago storefront theatres, and has performed as a comedian and storyteller at clubs and bars all over Chicago, and at festivals around the country. Cynthia has taught workshops in writing and performing at local companies including Portland Center Stage, From the Ground UP, and PlayWrite, Inc. She is a staff member and company member with Third Rail Repertory Theatre.
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Joy Nesbitt
Joy Nesbitt is a director, writer, and musician originally from Dallas, Texas. Joy is inspired by stories of Black Femininity and postcolonial imagination. In 2022, Joy attended the Theatre Directing MFA at The Lir National Academy of Dramatic Arts. She is a 2021 recipient of the Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts for the sum of her artistic activities at Harvard University. Joy is currently a 2023 Director SEED for Rough Magic Theatre Company and a member of the 2023 cohort of the Rachel Baptiste Programme at Smock Alley Theatre. Joy’s directing credits include Listen, A Black Woman is Speaking by Marlow Wyatt (2023, Project Arts Centre), The King of All Birds by Martha Knight (2023, Project Arts Centre), endings. by Fionntán Larney (2023, Project Arts Centre and Smock Alley Theatre), Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (2022, The Lir Academy), Reflections by Joy Nesbitt and Pedro Pacheco (2022, The Lir Academy), Canonical by Scout Black (2022, Smock Alley Theatre), Reasons to be Pretty by Neil LaBute (2021, Harvard University); R+J: An Ultramodern Fantasia by William Shakespeare (2020, Harvard Univeristy); God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza (2020, Harvard University); Dreamgirls by Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen (2020, American Repertory Theatre); Mamma Mia (2019, American Repertory Theatre); and A Very Potter Musical (2018, American Repertory Theatre). She has assisted on productions by Ronan Phelan, Dan Colley and Tom Creed. Joy has also written three full plays: Good, Julius Caesar Variety Show, and Meditations on Somebodiness.
Colin Herring
Colin works as both a stage manager and lighting tech around town, and was most recently stage managing Myra's Story with Corrib Theatre. In addition to Myra's Story, Colin's previous stage managing credits include Trade, The Smuggler (Corrib Theatre), Smokefall (Defunkt Theatre), The Delays (Theatre Vertigo), and Care of Trees (Enso Theatre Ensemble), as well as numerous productions as an assistant stage manager and stagehand. Amidst the turmoil of the world around us, he is ecstatic to be able to play a part in story telling, particularly a story as enthralling and poignant as this one. They hope you enjoy the show!
Kyra Sanford
Kyra Sanford is a freelance scenic designer, props master, carpenter, and painter in the Portland area, working for theatres such as Bag&Baggage, Broadway Rose, 21Ten, Milagro, PassinArt, and various others. She is the technical director and resident scenic designer at Clark College. She received her BFA in scenic design from The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University. Instagram: @sanfordscenic sanfordscenic.com
Kyra's scenic design is supported in part by a generous contribution from Charlotte Rubin.
Viola Horton
Viola is pleased to be returning and working with the Design Team at Corrib Theatre.
Her most recent show was “Myra’s Story” at Corrib Theatre, working as Costume Technician under Gregory Pulver.
Prior Shows include “American Fast” as Lead Costume Designer with Artist Repertory Theatre, Costume Technician with Passinart Theatre in “A Song For Coretta”, Portland Playhouse in “Bella! An American Tall Tale”, and Artist Repertory Theatre in “The Children” with Lead Costume Designer Wanda Walden.
Other collaborations include Costume Technician work on an independent film called “Gone Two”, with Lead Costume Designer Ashley Russell, and many other theatre productions around the Portland Metro area.
She is the owner of Every Body’s Beautiful, sewing, tailoring and alterations and PanAfrican Hip, an Afrocentric menswear line that was featured in the Spring 2020 catalog edition of Africa Imports – Authentic African Fashions & More.
She holds a Master’s Degree in Music Education, from Lewis & Clark College, and a certificate in Apparel Design from the Portland Fashion Institute.
She and her husband Steve enjoy spending time with their daughter Stephanie and granddaughter Naomi, going to live theatre, play readings, travelling, antiquing, spending time on the beach, and working on various home improvement projects.
Jeb Stuart
Jeb Stuart - Lighting Designer
She/Her/Hers
Jeb is excited and honored to be a part of Corrib theater and this production of SPEAR. A graduate of the Evergreen State College in Olympia WA, Jeb has spent several years honing her production and lighting talents in the Portland area. When not creating beautiful lighting designs, Jeb enjoys her local dive bars, yelling at the TV over Hockey, or just cozying up on the couch with a cup of coffee and her loved ones.
Jonathan Castillo
Jonathan Castillo is currently an Austin resident who has been working an actor in shows such as Romeo and Juliet, Water by the Spoonful, Tech Director for Much Ado About Nothing, and writer and director of In the Space of: _____. They are extremely excited to be part of this production of SPEAR with Corrie theater with some old friends and new collaborators!
Karl Hanover
Originally from Ireland, Karl moved to the U.S. in 1994 to pursue acting, and received his MFA degree from the National Theatre Conservatory in Denver. Theatres at which he has appeared include Cal Shakes, the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Magic Theatre, Profile Theatre, and Portland Center Stage. In addition, he has voiced characters for the gaming industry, including those of Atlas and Fontaine in Bioshock, Biochock 2 and Bioshock Infinite: Burial as Sea. As a theatre administrator he has worked in various capacities at Portland Playhouse, Profile Theatre, and Artists’ Repertory Theatre.
Karl's Dialect Coaching is supported in part by a generous contribution from Jessie Jonas.
Sophina Flores
Sophina Flores holds a BA in Theatre and Dance from Amherst College. She is the founder of local dance theatre company Roots & All Theatre Ensemble, centering marginalized identities and breaking the boundaries of realism, who you may know from productions such as Liminal and The Between Spaces. She has stage managed for shows such as Sweeney Todd, Urinetown, Big Love, Peer Gynt, and The Importance of Being Earnest. Most recently she stage managed Milagro’s Duende de Lorca. As a theatre maker, playwright, director, deviser, and choreographer, her work centers the intersectionality of identities as a bisexual Puerto Rican woman, and prominently features themes of mental illness and trauma, with surrealist or magical realist motifs.
