About Last Night - A Magical Evening of New Theatre & Unique Visual Art with Chad Henderson & Nate Puza

L to R: Jon Tuttle - PRS director, Chad Henderson - playwright, Marybeth Gorman Craig - director, Kayla Machado - very pregnant actor, Libby Campbell - actor & Jasper Project board member, G. Scott Wild - actor

Last night was a wonderful night for the Jasper Project as we were privileged to celebrate two artists from two different disciplines at Harbison Theatre for a double dose of Jasper goodness. We opened the evening with a reception for our featured visual artist in the Harbison Theatre Gallery, Nate Puza and ended it with the premier staged reading performance of the 2024 Play Right Series winning play, Let It Grow by Chad Henderson.

Visual Artist Nate Puza offers and artist talk at the opening reception for hi exhibition at the Jasper Project’s Harbison Theatre Gallery

Nate Puza is a South Carolina based artist, designer, and illustrator with over a decade of experience working with some of the biggest bands and brands in the world including Jason Isbell, the Avett Brothers, Chris Stapleton, Phish, and more. Internationally known for his meticulous attention to detail and high level of craftmanship, Puza created the new design for the Columbia, SC flag. When not creating art for your favorite band Nate can be found playing music with friends, being outside, wrenching on his motorcycle, mowing the lawn, or drinking a beer on the back porch.

Chad Henderson is a professional theatre artist from South Carolina. He is known for directing contemporary plays, musicals and original works that mix music, movement, imagination and invention to create unforgettable works for the stage. Henderson served as the Artistic Director of Trustus Theatre (2015-2021) in Columbia, SC, and is the current Marketing Director for the South Carolina Philharmonic, where he most recently produced Home for the Holidays at Koger Center for the Arts. Selected Trustus Theatre credits include: The Brother/Sister Plays, Green Day’s American Idiot, Evil Dead, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Last 5 Years, Assassins, The Great Gatsby, Next to Normal, and The Restoration’s Constance - an original musical for which Henderson also authored the book.

Libby Campbell and David Britt on the stage for Let It Grow!

L to R: Libby Campbell, David Britt, G. Scott Wild, Kayla Machado

Jasper expresses our sincerest appreciation to Kristin Cobb, executive director of Harbison Theatre at MTC and her team for welcoming us into their home and supporting our mission. Check out all the exciting performances coming up at Harbison theatre here and support this state-of-the-art performance space the way they support the SC Midlands performing artists!

Kristin Cobb, executive director - Harbison Theatre at MTC welcomes the crowd.

Announcing the Cast & Crew of Chad Henderson's Let It Grow -- Jasper's 2024 Play Right Series Winning Play

SAVE THE DATE

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2024

The Jasper Project is delighted to announce the cast for the premier staged reading of our 2024 Play Right Series winning play, Let It Grow, by Chad Henderson.

The performance will take place on Saturday, September 14th at 7:30 at Harbison Theatre. The evening will also feature the launch of the book, Let It Grow, by Chad Henderson, the 4th original play for the Play Right Series, and the third manuscript we’ve published and registered with the US Library of Congress. (It’s important to Jasper that we preserve for posterity as much of the art coming out of South Carolina as possible. )

Now, onto our cast.

LIBBY CAMPBELL-TURNER

We couldn’t be more excited to announce that Libby Campbell-Turner will lead the performance in the role of gardening talk show creator and host, Mary Lily.

Libby Campbell-Turner has worked in theatre (regional, professional, and community) for a number of years. She is currently a litigation paralegal with a law firm here in Columbia. (She was forced to seek out "normal" employment once she aged out of ingenue and district attorney roles.) She has also worked in television and film. In fact, she just received a royalty check for her work in Robbie Benson's  1990 rom-com film, Modern Love, and says “That 3 cents will go a long way toward paying off my credit card debt.” (Libby also loves shoes.) Libby works with the Jasper Project as its Theatre Editor for Jasper Magazine and is a member of our board of directors. She was most recently seen on stage in Death of a Salesman.

G. SCOTT WILD

G. Scott Wild will be playing the part of Christophe, a celebrated author, and a new panelist on Let It Grow.

A graduate of the Stella Adler Studio of acting, Scott has been around the Columbia theatre scene for many years now. He was last seen on stage in the Trustus production of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize winning Fairview. 

DAVID BRITT

David Britt will be playing the part of Jeb, a long-time panelist on the show.

Britt is in his18th year in the UofSC Dept. of Theatre and Dance. Directing credits at UofSC include Spinning into ButterProofBecky ShawA Piece of My Heart and Of Mice and Men. At Workshop Theatre here in Columbia he has directed Brighton Beach MemoirsBiloxi BluesBroadway Bound and Jakes Women. He also performed in Workshop's production of Barefoot in the Park… see a pattern? David appeared on stage at Theatre South Carolina in Measure for MeasureA View from the BridgeBus StopDancing at Lughnasa, Legend of Georgia McBride and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He is from Raleigh, NC, where he appeared in more than 30 roles. He has trained at the New Actors Workshop in New York City and at the world-renowned Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, MA, and also completed the Second City Comedy Improvisation Boot Camp. David is a member of SAG/AFTRA. 

KAYLA CAHILL MACHADO

Kayla Cahill Machado will be playing the part of Charlotte, a panelist and co-producer of Let It Grow.

Machado is a Jersey-born writer and actor who lives in Columbia with her husband, Daniel; two-year-old son, Ben; and soon-to-be daughter, Harriet (and cat, Tate). She is a part of the Trustus Theatre company as well as The Mothers, most recently directing the group’s spring sketch comedy show. Acting credits include The Thanksgiving Play (Logan), Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Rachel), Silence! The Musical (Clarice), Rock of Ages (Regina), The Rocky Horror Show (Columbia), Godspell (Ana Maria), and The House of Blue Leaves (Corinna). She is excited for this chance to bring new work to life. 

MARYBETH GORMAN CRAIG

And Marybeth Gorman Craig will be captaining the ship as the director.

Marybeth Gorman Craig is an actor, director, intimacy choreographer, and text/dialect coach currently on faculty at the University of South Carolina in the Department of Theatre and Dance. A member of Actors' Equity Association, Marybeth has performed on local stages such as Trustus Theatre and UofSC, as well as at theatres across the country such as Arden Theatre Company, Walnut Street Theatre, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, The Hippodrome, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Lantern Theatre, Theatre Horizon, and 11th Hour. She is an advocate for consent and inclusion through her work as intimacy coordinator/director in professional and educational film and theatre projects, most recently this summer with Local Cinema Studios and the Texas Shakespeare Festival. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of South Carolina, and Bachelor of Arts from Temple University. Marybeth is thrilled to be a part of Jasper's Play Right project and is grateful to Jasper for all they do to support the arts in our community.

It’s not too late to support this new and original theatrical art by becoming a Play Right Series Community Producer or Sponsor. All the info you need is here!

Mark your calendars for Saturday September 14th at Harbison Theatre for the premier staged reading of Let It Grow, by Chad Henderson. Tickets will be available via Harbison Theatre and should be on sale soon!

REVIEW: COMPOSURE at Trustus Theatre, Written and Directed by Jason Stokes

Composure brings to light major issues that, after one-hundred and nineteen years, are still prevalent today. Fact versus interpretation of fact, truth versus bias, opinion-based reporting, righteous versus self-righteous, and the checks and balances between the press and the government…” - Jason Stokes, Playwright

Pictured Clint Poston as James Tillman (left) and Jon Whit McClinton as N. G. Gonzales (right)

It’s been a long time coming for Jason Stokes, writer and director of the play Composure, which premiered Thursday night at Trustus Theatre. The inkling of the idea for presenting this story was born almost 20 years ago when Stokes first learned about this particularly sordid excerpt from South Carolina history that, in 1903, finds a white supremacist lieutenant governor, James Tillman, murdering in broad daylight N.G. Gonzales, journalist and co-founder of The State Newspaper, then walking away a free man. Stokes first developed the story as a screenplay before transforming it for the stage. It was scheduled to be premiered pre-Covid in cooperation with Chad Henderson, former artistic director of Trustus, along with Charlie Finesilver’s original production of House Calls, which premieres August 18th.

A larger story to be told than the one incident of the murder, Stokes does an impressive job of integrating the lead-up and aftermath of the shooting and trial into two acts. In fact, the structure of the play is highly sophisticated as the events and dialogue jump logically across place and time in order to explain not just most efficiently and dramatically the events, but the contributing causes of the events that took place.

The cast is, for the most part, stellar, with some of the finest actors Columbia has to offer on the stage in support of their colleague. It was a treat to see such accomplished actors as Hunter Boyle in the commanding role of Pitchfork Ben Tillman, Stan Gardner as attorney Patrick Nelson, G. Scott Wild as attorney William Thurmond, Kevin Bush as journalist J.A. Hoyt, and Terrance Henderson as Ambrose Gonzales, brother to murder victim N.G. Gonzales. Libby Campbell Turner displayed remarkable theatrical chops in her multiple cross-gendered roles as C.J. Terrel and additional characters, often changing characters on a dime just by adjusting the fit of her tie and her own composure. Her facial features and posture reminded the audience that she is a cast of characters unto herself. And Katie Leitner, as the long-suffering wife of the murderer, displayed a grace and elegance even when called upon to deliver the rare mellow-dramatic line. It was great, too, seeing Nate Herring back on the Trustus stage as George Lagare.

We were surprised, however, by some of the casting decisions.

With powerhouse artists like Bush, Wild, and Gardner on board, why were some of the most demanding roles assigned to some of the weaker actors on the team? As James Tillman, Clint Poston, though a fine supporting actor, was saddled with an incredibly challenging role, a role that seems made for the likes of G. Scott Wild who could so easily slide into the character of the blustery and entitled white Southern fascist Tillman must have been. Poston doesn’t seem to have a handle on how deluded and despicable Tillman was, sometimes coming off as somewhat sympathetic and misunderstood.

And while Brandon Martin at times rises to the level of contemptibility of future SC Governor and Senator Coleman Blease, a man who embraced white supremacy and lynching and violently opposed miscegenation, his physical appearance, posture, and contemporary hairstyle, as well as his time spent on stage when not speaking, make it difficult to believe him as the robust character of Cole Blease. Stan Gardner, on the other hand, would have soared in this role. (Since writing this, we have learned that Mr. Martin joined the cast at a late date to take the place of Stann Gwynn, an artist inordinately well suited to take on the role of Cole Blease. Jasper wishes the best both to Mr. Martin as he acclimates to the role and to Mr. Gwynn as he fully recovers from his medical procedure.)

But the most poorly cast actor, in a slate of otherwise excellent theatrical artists, was Jon Whit McClinton in the critical role of N.G. Gonzales. While McClinton was able to manage the side-role of judge most of the time, though he did break character and snicker at his own mistake at one point, he was out of his element among the artists with whom he shared the stage. The particularly jarring reality is that McClinton played opposite Terrance Henderson as Ambrose Gonzales in the majority of his scenes. Henderson’s stage presence, professionalism, and experience would have delivered a far more serious, and certainly less giddy, character than McClinton was able to provide.

We’re not sure whether Stokes conceptualized the set or if this was the singular purview of veteran scenic designer Danny Harrington, whose work has been a gift to most if not all theatre stages in the Columbia area, but the set for Composure, though problematic for the actors in places (Damn those pipes!), is a work of art itself. A play as complex as Composure could have required a multitude of scene changes. But Harrington’s innovative design—and the flexibility of the actors—allows for one large multi-use set that presents as something quite beautiful from the audience.

With a cast this size costuming can be a financial challenge and for the most part costume designer Andie Nicks does a fine job and, in some cases—like Katie Leitner’s elegant black and white skirted pants ensemble—an exceptional job. If financially possible, more consistency of style would be appreciated, too, particularly when it comes to pleats and cuffs for the gentlemen’s pants, hats vs. no hats, and the standard three button coat of the turn of the 20th century. And a good fit, no matter what the wardrobe, is ideal. Similarly, standardized hairstyles for men invite no comparison whereas the juxtaposition of a contemporary style, like that of Mr. Martin’s, stands out and begs notice, disrupting the flow of the play.

While kicking off the sound and lights posed a problem on Friday night, which Stokes managed with grace and humor, the lighting design by Teddy Palmer was helpful in guiding the audience’s attention to a stage in which, at times, as many as three scenes moved from frozen to active in a matter of seconds. In the best of all possible worlds (and budgets!) more intense spotlights would have been available, but in this world, this lighting worked fine. Background sounds by Jason Stokes were appropriate and complementary, with music added in places to enhance the setting but not overwhelm it.

Overall, it was a delight to see the vision of local multi-talented theatre artist and writer Jason Stokes become a reality. This play and its production are important to this community and beyond for a number of reasons.

Kudos to interim artistic director Dewey Scott-Wiley for following through on this project, begun by Stokes and Henderson, which could have fallen by the wayside once Covid forced its delay. We see far too little new stage work from an abundance of literary artists in SC and Columbia in particular. But local theatre and literary artists will continue to produce new art if given the opportunity to see it come to fruition, as Composure has. South Carolina and South Carolina playwrights have fascinating—and sometimes barely believable—stories to share, such as this story and that of Dr Ian Gale in next week’s premiere of House Calls: The Strange Tale of Dr. Gale.

Sadly, we are not as far removed from the issues and behavior depicted in Composure as we would like to think—we’re simply better at subterfuge. As Stokes writes in his playbill notes, “Composure brings to light major issues that, after one-hundred and nineteen years, are still prevalent today. Fact versus interpretation of fact, truth versus bias, opinion-based reporting, righteous versus self-righteous, and the checks and balances between the press and the government. Both are vital to American existence, both must keep careful watch on the other; but when these powerful forces become more self-aggrandizing entities than protectors of the people they serve, the American existence is lost.”

The question now is What’s next for Composure? Without question, the play should live on, possibly with a shorter first act, possibly continuing the model of more actors performing multiple roles to condense the cast. Some degree of workshopping might be helpful, but not a lot. This project strikes us as a good candidate for festivals. It’s a fascinating story that despite the passage of more than a hundred years still resonates and begs the same questions today that it did in 1903.

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Composure, a new play written and directed by Jason Stokes.

The Jasper Project