Pittsburgh Public Theater Presents
Dragon Lady
Billing Credits
Artistic Director: Marya Sea Kaminski
Managing Director: Shaunda McDill
Written and performed by Sara Porkalob*
Directed by Andrew Russell*
with
Pete Irving, Jimmy Austin, and Mickey Stylin
Scenic Designer: Sasha Jin Schwartz
Lighting Designer: Spense G. Matubang
Sound Designer: Erin Bednarz
Band Manager: Ani Banani
Stage Manager: Kelly Haywood*
Assistant Director: Alex Manalo*
*Denotes Actors' Equity Association membership
Letter from the Artistic Director
Hello friends,
You are about to be one of the select audiences across the nation to experience the singular star power of Sara Porkalob, whom the Boston Theatre Critics Association awarded "Most Outstanding New Script" for Dragon Lady. As Edward Rutledge in Broadway’s recent 1776 revival, she stole the show and then spoke truth to power. And last fall, Dragon Lady took San Francisco by storm with a “knockout performance” that “roars with fire.” I believe Sara Porkalob is a once-in-a-generation talent. A playwright. A performer. A provocateur. And I could not be more thrilled to welcome her and this first installment of her DRAGON CYCLE to Pittsburgh.
There is a rich sweetness to her storytelling. An empathetic, loving incarnation of both her family’s turmoil and their toughness. In Dragon Lady, she embodies countless polarities — proving that true sweetness comes from knowing bitterness, true love from risking loneliness, and true courage from facing desperation.
The breadth and gravity of her work reflect the visionary solo work of Anna Deavere Smith, Sarah Jones, and John Leguizamo. She speaks from a fiercely unique perspective and is unflinching and hilarious in the face of her complicated family history. But one of the things that separates Sara from this legacy of prolific solo performers is that she sings. Like an angel who pulls no punches. Like her grandmother did before her. I can’t wait for you to meet them both.
It’s almost time. Please sit back, relax, and get ready. The party is about to start.
Onward,
Artistic Director
Meet the Cast
Sara Porkalob* ALL CHARACTERS
Sara Porkalob is a theater maker, cultural worker, and the creator of the DRAGON CYCLE. DRAGON CYCLE is a trilogy of matrilineal musicals about her Filipino American gangster family: one play for each generation built around a central female protagonist — grandmother, mother, granddaughter — and her specific hero's journey. Dragon Lady is the recipient of three 2018 Gregory Awards for: Outstanding Sound/Music Design, Outstanding Actress in a Musical, and Outstanding Musical Production. The second in the cycle, Dragon Mama, won Best Original Script and Best Solo Performance for the 2019 Elliot Norton Awards. The third play, Dragon Baby, is currently in development. Awards and nominations include: 2021 Princess Grace Award Winner for Theater, 2020 nominee Seattle Mayor’s Arts Award, The Seattle Times' 11 Movers and Shakers to Watch this Decade, 2019 nominee for Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities, Seattle Magazine’s 2018's Most Influential People, and 2017 City Art's Future List. She is a co-founder of DeConstruct, an online journal of intersectional performance critique. She recently made her Broadway debut playing Edward Rutledge in the official revival of the musical 1776. She’s a consultant with the City of Seattle and its Creative Strategies Initiative (CSI), a new City effort that uses arts- and culture-based approaches to build racial equity in non-arts policy areas like the environment, housing, workforce, and community development. @sporkalob, www.saraporkalob.com
Pete Irving COMPOSER/LYRICIST/BANDLEADER/GUITAR
Pete Irving has been pursuing music professionally for nearly half of his life. He's been the band leader for Hot Damn Scandal since it formed on his birthday just over 15 years ago, he's been composing scores and lyrics for theater and circus for almost seven years, and just last year he wrote and directed his first production — Chronopolis: Crime in Time City. He lives most of the year in Bellingham, Washington.
Jimmy Austin TROMBONE
Jimmy Austin inherited his name and first trombone from his grandfather. He brings his intense, expressive, and collaborative style to many projects around the Pacific Northwest and is particularly active in Seattle’s Yiddish music community. Jimmy has performed with Dragon Lady for seven years and Hot Damn Scandal for 10.
Mickey Stylin BASS
What started as a bad habit playing house shows in punk bands as a teen, Mickey's journey as an audial artist has since expanded into the realms of circus and theater. He challenges the stereotypical boundaries of the upright bass and continuously seeks to utilize it to its full potential.
*Denotes members of the Actors' Equity Association
The Creative Team
Andrew Russell* DIRECTOR
Andrew is a director of new work often inspired by real life events. This includes the DRAGON CYCLE (Dragon Lady, Dragon Mama, Dragon Baby) by Sara Porkalob, which has performed at Intiman Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, Cafe Nordo, Diversionary Theatre, and Marin Theatre Company. He’s the former artistic director of the Tony-winning Intiman Theatre, and a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama.
Alex Manalo* ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Alex Manalo is ecstatic to be working with the Public in this capacity on this beautiful show. Point Park Univ. Alum. Since graduating, Alex has been grateful to work and perform with several theater companies in the Pittsburgh area such as CLO, MTAP, City Theatre, Arcade Comedy Theater, RealTime Art, Pittsburgh Playhouse, Front Porch, Academy Theater, Throughline, and Hiawatha Project. Represented by the Docherty Agency. Member of AEA and also a member of the Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh. Much love to this cast and crew; family and fiance. Mabuhay! @alexmanalo_, www.alexmanalo.com
Kelly Haywood* STAGE MANAGER
Past Pittsburgh Public Theater productions: Steel Magnolias, A Tell-Tale Heart, Noises Off, An Iliad, Slow Food, Little Shop of Horrors, Barefoot in the Park, A Raisin in the Sun, A Christmas Story: The Play. Kelly has also done several productions with Pittsburgh CLO, Pittsburgh Opera, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theater.
Sasha Jin Schwartz SCENIC DESIGNER
Selected Designs: What the Constitution Means to Me (City Theatre), Kentucky (Pittsburgh Playhouse), The Devil is A Lie (Quantum Theatre), the dance floor... (Kelly Strayhorn Theater), Off Peak (59e59), Selling Kabul (Northern Stage), Thanksgiving Play (Dorset Theatre Festival). TCG Rising Leader of Color, PQ Featured Emerging Designer. BFA CMU Drama. www.sashaschwartzscenic.com
Spense G. Matubang LIGHTING DESIGNER
Spense Matubang is a lighting and projections designer currently based in Oakland, California. They received their degree in theater arts from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 2020. Recent credits include Little Women with A.C.T. Young Conservatory, The Emissary with Opera Parallèle, and Baskerville at Hillbarn Theatre.
Erin Bednarz SOUND DESIGNER
Erin works in sound, production, film, and performance. Since 2015 she has designed for off-Broadway, regional, educational, academic, and new works plays, musicals, and dance experiences. Her work has earned awards in Seattle, Boston, throughout California, and garnered press attention such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
Ani Banani BAND MANAGER
Ani Banani has been playing saw and singing with Hot Damn Scandal for more than seven years, but when it comes to Dragon Lady she's all business. As the band's manager she handles contracts, logistics, and all the details that make the Laddies' experience with the show go as smoothly as possible.
*Denotes members of the Actors' Equity Association
Staff List
Artistic Director
Marya Sea Kaminski
Managing Director
Shaunda McDill
Artistic
Casting & Literary Director: Brian Pope
Resident Director: Justin Emeka
Artist in Residence: Demeatria Boccella
Resident Fight & Intimacy Director: José Pérez IV
Resident Playwrights: Mora V. Harris, Brian Pope, Kelly Trumbull, Alec Silberblatt, TJ Young
Administrative & Finance
Director of Finance & Administration: Stewart Urist
Director of Human Resources: Lisha Logan
Finance Manager: Jim Overton
Accounts Payable Coordinator: Anna Skeels
Systems Coordinator: Fred Noel
Executive & Equity Coordinator: Meleana Felton
Executive Assistant & Board Liaison: Lindsay Barr
Workforce Director: Morgan Overton
Development
Senior Manager of Development: Devan Mercurio
Development Associate: Milton Melendez
Education & Engagement
Director of Education & Engagement: Parag S. Gohel
Engagement Manager: Jalina McClarin
Education Manager: Jenny Malarkey
House Management
Operations Manager: Jamie Dawson
Assistant House Manager: Shawn Israel
Accessibility Concierge: Jay Chapman, Alana Moye
Marketing & Communications
Director of Marketing & Communications: Aja Jones
Graphic Designer: Lucy Chen
Digital Content Manager: Ben Geibel
Marketing & Communications Manager: Christie Snyder
Patron Services
Associate Director of Patron Services: Fred Frances
Patron Services Data Associate: Ali Mohammed Srour
Production
Director of Production & Operations: Monica Bowin
Associate Director of Operations: Trent Wolfred
Company Manager: Savannah Merrill
Technical Director: Rob McLeod
Scene Shop Manager: Lisa Harshbarger
Head Shop Carpenter: Drew Palajsa
Scene Shop Carpenters: Sean DeKonty, Joseph Paski, Shannon Seibel
Charge Scenic Artist: Celeste Parrendo
Assistant Charge Artist: Adalgisa Bosonetto-Schwerin
Properties Head: Gay Kahkonen
Properties Coordinator: Kelly Yann
Costume Shop Head: Venise St. Pierre
Costume Shop Coordinator: Christyann Trbovich
Costume Shop Associate: Kyle Huber
Head Electrician: Joshua Beumer
Production Key: Christina Dragen-Dima
Head Sound Engineer: Zach Moore
Production Key: Philip Cassidy
Interim Wardrobe Supervisor: Johanna Cahill
Head Stage Carpenter: Mikey Abate
This performance of DRAGON LADY runs approximately 2 hour and 10 minutes with one 15-minute intermission.
This performance will contain haze, strobe lights, and a gunshot.
Rated R/MA (mature audience) for adult language and themes. Recommended for ages 17+ and parental guidance for younger audiences.
The Supporting Cast
Land Acknowledgement
The ground on which we stand, at the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers, is home to the Seneca People. They called this area Jaödeogë’ (Jaonh day ō gent’), Between Two Rivers, the crossroads of the Seneca, Lenni Lenape, Shawnee, and numerous nations who lived before, with and after them.
These Peoples, along with other nations in the Haudenosaunee (Hoe-dee-no-SHOW-nee) Confederacy, stewarded the land of this greater region; and like other First Nations across North America, their spiritual roots are buried deep within Mother Earth. We acknowledge this land and their continued spiritual connection to it as sacred.
We must also recognize the painful destruction of this connection and the injustices perpetrated on Native Communities through broken treaties and colonial occupation, resulting in enslavement, cultural genocide, forced assimilation, and dissolution of their right to independent self-governance.
Through awareness and action, we can write a new history that honors First Peoples’ spiritual connection to the land and combats Indigenous erasure, systemic racism and continued marginalization. We invite you to join us in action. Insightful information can be found at https://americanindian.si.edu and our website: https://ppt.org
This statement was crafted in collaboration with Dr. Joe Stahlman (Ska:ru:re), Ja:no’s Bowen (Onöndowa’ga:’), and Jamie Jacobs (Onöndowa’ga:’).
Commitment to Racial Justice
Health and Safety
Union Information
The Actors and Stage Manager employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
The scenic, costume, lighting and sound designers in LORT Theatres are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE.
This Theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
The Director is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and The National Theatrical Labor Union.