The UofSC Department of Theatre and Dance
presents
Contains adult language and situations
that are not appropriate for children.
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
The UofSC Department of Theatre and Dance
presents
CAST
Frances..............................................................................SUSANNA MCELVEEN
Meredith..........................................................................................BROOKE SMITH
Trisha........................................................................................HALEY SPRANKLE
Georgeanne.................................................................................JASMINE JAMES
Mindy.........................................................................................ASHLEY GRAHAM
Tripp...................................................................................................SAM EDELSON
CREW
Stage Manager........................................................................WILLIAM QUANT
Assistant Stage Manager..............................................CHARLOTTE ZURAW
Lighting Designer...............................................................MEGAN BRANHAM
Sound Designer......................................................................SALLIE SARGENT
Costumer Designer....................................................................BAILEY ENLOW
Technical........................................................................................CURTIS SMOAK
Lab Assistants.......................................EDDIE BATES and BROOKE SMITH
This show contains adult language and situations
that are not appropriate for children.
FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS is presented by special arrangement
with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.
FROM THE DIRECTOR
While directing Five Women, I was taking a Southern Studies class on “The
Literary South,” reading books and poems that embodied the South and
its people. I signed up because I needed another fine arts credit, but have
fallen in love with it. Many of the themes found in southern literature are
in this funny play about five bridesmaids in Knoxville. A prevalent theme
in Southern literature, especially in more recent works, is nostalgia, what
we remember and what we choose to forget with time. These women drink
and laugh and dance, but more than anything, they remember. Tonight,
they will tell stories from high school and college, of love and loss, for
better or for worse. These memories are things that we’ve all heard before
now because, in some ways, I think we’ve all met Meredith, Frances, Mindy,
Georgeanne, and Trisha before. I certainly have. I’ve met them in my mom,
my aunts and grandmothers, and my best friends.
Working with this incredible cast has only made these women more vivid
and whole, giving them depths that I never could’ve imagined last year
when I first read the play. Everyone has gone above and beyond, including
the charming Tripp, who will win you over so quickly in his time on stage.
This cast has worked, going out of their comfort zone sometimes, being
thrown into movement explorations and improvised scenes, but they have
handled it so well. As a first-time director, they have made my job easy.
This is a play about remembering, about love and life, and how we
each seek home and happiness. I encourage you to answer some of the
questions the women ask for yourself and maybe tell those stories. I am
grateful to be able to share this show with so many awesome people
and cannot wait to tell these stories years from now. It makes closing so
bittersweet, but I’m ready.
(PS: Shout-out to my Southern Studies professor, Dr. Simmons. See? I was
paying attention.)
Thank you for joining us! Enjoy the show!
Abigail McNeely
SPECIAL THANKS
Jon Whit McClinton, Ryan Stevens, Freddie Powers, Alex Herstik,
Kira Neighbors, Carin Bendas, Andy Mills, Sam Gross, David Britt,
Sarah Barker, Robert Richmond, Kevin Bush, Spencer Henderson,
HipWaZee, Toast! Improv, Green Room Productions, Theatre South
Carolina, my awesome family, and Dolly Parton (just because).
ALSO ON STAGE