Land Acknowledgement

Theatre@First rehearses and performs on the ancestral land of the Pawtucket and Massachusett tribal nations. We honor these communities and the elders of these nations—past, present, and future—and recognize the enduring relationships between Indigenous and Native communities and their traditional territories. We extend our respect to citizens of these nations who live here now, to their ancestors who have lived here for over five hundred generations, and to all Indigenous people.

We affirm that this acknowledgement is insufficient. It does not undo the harm that has been done through violence and injustice over the past 400 years and that continues today. We recognize that land acknowledgements are only a small yet important step towards ensuring a culture of respect, truth, and accountability in our community.

We commit ourselves to working toward a greater understanding of our relationship with this land and its people, and to sharing this growing understanding with the Theatre@First participants and audience.

About Theatre@First

The mission of Theatre@First is to work together to provide a fun, friendly, and creative theater experience for cast, crew, and audience alike. We welcome volunteers at all levels of experience and offer a supportive environment in which to work, play, grow, and explore new areas of the theater arts. We offer affordable and eclectic entertainment to the community, aiming to surprise, delight, entertain, and educate our audiences.

We fill an important niche in the vibrant Davis Square arts scene, drawing upon the talents and contributions of individuals and organizations throughout the community to provide a venue for thought-provoking and entertaining performing arts for all those who love to be on either side of the curtain.

Each production we undertake is the dream of someone in our community. When you support Theatre@First you make these dreams a reality for our participants and the wider community. Please help us to continue this work through your generous donations.

In lieu of a director's note, Mary Parker notes that she was honored to take up the mantle of this show, in Jaie's honor. You can read her obituary here.

...to Elizabeth Hunter and Beckie Hunter for all they do.

...to Shelley MacAskill and Stephanie Haddad for their expertise.

...to Speakeasy Stage Company, for the loan of costumes.

...to Hannah Baker and Meg Boeni for their assistance with props.

...to Pauline Chu for her amazing artistry.

... to Brad Smith for his help with the sound cues.

...to Sadye and Nina Lissarrague for their help building the set.

...to Rev. Betty Walker and Unity Somerville.

Rose Conley (they/them, Hair and Makeup) is excited to be working on the crew for T@F's production Web of Murder doing hair and makeup. While this is their first time working as a crew member they have appeared onstage in T@F's Festival 11 Myths and Legends. Rose has always had a love for Theatre makeup and is excited to be a part of this year's production. In their spare time, Rose is a clinic coordinator at Dana Farber.

Brie Frame (Set Designer/Construction-y Person) hasn't designed a set with this few colors since City of Angels (The Longwood Players, 2010), and even then, only half of the set was in black and white. This has been really fun. More directors should be so bold as to work in monochrome.

Amelia Green (Makeup & Miscellany) has a long history of ensemble roles and small-to-medium speaking parts in everything from one-act plays to High School Musical (Stage Version) to Shakespeare, and is excited to be back in the world of theater after a few years away. This is her first production with T@F. She's just happy to be here.

Theresa Griffin (Assistant Director/Wardrobe Assistant) is pleased to be working with T@F again, this time in an offstage capacity! Recent onstage roles with T@F include Lyubov (Cherry Orchard), Joan of Arc, the Dark Lady, and Witch #1 (Double Bill), and Big Stone (Eurydice). Other favorite performances include Belinda/Flavia (Noises Off!), Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), and Elaine Harper (Arsenic and Old Lace). In real life, Theresa is a medical writer and crazy cat lady. 

Delphine Kaiser (Producer) is excited to check one more role off her T@F tech positions bingo card. She couldn't have asked for a better group to work with to bring this gorgeous noir mystery to life. Many thanks to all of them and to her husband for pampering her after long hours of making the magic happen.

Lauren Kimball (House Manager) is delighted to be managing House for a second time at T@F. She relishes each opportunity to provide a pleasant audience experience & craft a thematic concessions menu. 

Jamie Lin (Graphic Designer) is honored to serve a small part here, having worked with Jaie when she dazzled as the titular character in First Works: Haunted by Hypatia. She also works as the T@F Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator and is always open to hearing how to better support our marginalized communities. edic@theatreatfirst.org

Kate Louderback (Publicity Coordinator) is excited to be working on their first show with T@F! After moving to Somerville post-college, they were happy to find such a vibrant community theatre scene to be a part of. In their spare time, Kate loves baking, crafting, and looking after their many plants.

Mary Parker (she/her, Director) has directed several shows for T@F pre-pandemic, including The Revenger's Tragedy, R.U.R., and The Knight of the Burning Pestle. She also worked with Jaie as cast and crew in several shows, and was honored to take over this production.

Sean Phillips (Assistant Technical Director) started his T@F tenure as a stage manager for The Cherry Orchard, and he's been coming back for more ever since. Hi Mom!

Jason Rhode (Rehearsal Assistant/Assistant Stage Manager) has appeared in two T@F productions. As "House Manager" in Double Bill, he insisted you buy snacks. As "Heracles" in Myths and Legends, he wore a fraternity cap for the first and last time. He hopes you enjoy his performance as "Rehearsal Assistant" tonight. He filled in for several roles at rehearsal, including playing a corpse.

As a fan of old movie mysteries, Elizabeth Ross (Disability Advocate) is happy to have been able to help out behind the scenes with this terrific production. She has most recently been seen onstage at T@F as Charlotta in The Cherry Orchard. Other favorite roles include: Lussurioso in The Revenger’s Tragedy (also directed by Mary Parker!) with T@F, Malvolio in Twelfth Night and Touchstone in As You Like It with Dream Role Players; Cora Little in Gentlemen Never Tell with Breaking Light Productions, Miss Prism in The Importance of Being Earnest with North Shore Players, Sub-Commander Tal in Star Trek: The Enterprise Incident and Kate Warne in Confidence Confidant with The Post-Meridian Radio Players.

E. Rosser (she/her, Costume Designer) moonlights as a backstage wizard and freelance designer in the Boston theater scene for various groups including Speakeasy Stage Company, the A.R.T., the Young Company at GBSC, Company One, and Moonbox Productions. She costumed a T@F Festival long ago and is honored to be back among friends, remembering Jaie. See more at erosser.com!

August Schlubach (Lighting Designer) worked on dozens of light and sound crews throughout college and into the aughts before transitioning to music writing and performance. He's hoping to become a fixture on the light scene. And make puns, which in this case is light work.

Kevin Schult (Stage Manager) has previously been the stage manager for Double Bill at T@F. Prior to working with T@F, he directed The Impromptu at Versailles at Tufts 3Ps, and appeared as Anton Antonovich (The Government Inspector) and Colonel Brandon (Sense and Sensibility) at the Tufts drama department. If Kevin had spare time, he would spend it cooking and reading.