“I miss those days when I used to take a paper towel roll or a bath towel and go on numerous adventures as a pirate or a super hero.  It was awesome.  Harold shows us, or better yet reminds us that the imagination is powerful and should never to be taken for granted.  Would we have the internet or cell phones or ipods had it not been for someone’s imagination?  The imagination should be stewarded and nursed.”  Says Michael J. Bobbitt, Producing Artistic Director for Adventure Theatre (who is also the director of “Harold and The Purple Crayon.”)

About the Writer
Adam Robert’s musical theatre adaptation of the beloved children's book Harold and the Purple Crayon was developed and had its first reading in 1997 at Wesleyan University. It had its 2007 Educational Theatre premiere at Seacoast Repertory Theatre in Portsmouth, NH.  Adam W. Roberts is a Boston-area screenwriter, playwright, and composer.  His debut TV pilot script, "Life Without Green," is slated to be shot in the coming year.   He has composed scores for the musical Subway Days (Theatre at Old South), and the plays Molly's Dream (Boston Theatre Works), Marat/Sade (Bridge Theatre Company), I Go Solo, Learn from the Self-Made Man, and A Random Bit of Nonsense About Yul Brynner (Essays on Theatre Company). Music directing credits include Company (Longwood Players), Molly's Dream (Boston Theatre Works), Marat/Sade (Bridge Theatre Company), and Assassins (Manhattan Project Theatre Company). Roberts sings with Boston-area a cappella sensation Honorable Menschen, serves on the board of The Longwood Players, and works for the Huntington Theatre Company.

Adventure Theatre's Community Engagement Program
Adventure Theatre will host a Crayon Recycling Project. Partners include Bethesda Green, GreenKids Program Audubon Naturalist Society, McCormick & Schmick'sSeafood Restaurant, BlackFinn Restaurant and Saloon, and Gaffney's Restaurant.  Student and patrons are encouraged to bring their old crayons to any of these locations for donations.  On Oct. 26th at Adventure Theatre, some of the crayons will be melted down in a fun interactive arts project with/for kids at the Children's Inn at NIH.  Volunteers and recyclers that participate in the art project or bring crayons to the theatre will be entered into a raffle to win four free tickets to our next production. 

CAST

The whole cast are recent graduates from American University, Susquehanna University, Howard University, University of Miami, and Catholic University.

	Josh Sticklin (Harold) was last seen as Scarron in Washington Shakespeare Company's Red Noses. His other credits include: Kit Marlow (Young Actor) and Myth-Appropriation: Creation Stories (Actor) at Rorschach Theatre, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (Robert Syverton) at the Volkov International Theatre Festival in Yaroslavl', Russia, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (William Cartwright), Into the Woods (The Baker), Godspell (John the Baptist/Judas), The Country Wife (Master Horner), and Our Country's Good (Lieutenant Ralph Clark) at American University. Sticklin is a recent graduate of American University's Political Science and Musical Theatre programs.
	Branda Lock (Purple Crayon) is so happy to be debuting at Adventure Theatre for her favorite audience age demographic.  Most recently she was seen at the Cumberland Theatre as Emma Carrew in Jekyll&Hyde.  Other regional theatre credits include: Oliver (Nancy) at Theatre on the Hill, Seussical the Musical (Gertrude McFuzz) at the Pennsylvania Youth Theatre, and Twelfth Night and Call of the Wild on Tour 59 with Olney Theatre's National Players.  Branda is a graduate of Susquehanna University where she earned her BA in Theatre and her BS in Economics.
	John Dellaporta (Dragon) has spent most of the last two years appearing in numerous shows at Toby's Dinner Theatre in both Columbia and Baltimore, including the Helen Hayes-nominated Titanic: The Musical.  Other favorites: Songs for a New World with Open Circle Theatre and Archibald in The Secret Garden at Catholic University.
	Florrie Bagel (Moose) favorite roles are Baby Jane in Jerry Springer: The Opera (Studio Theatre 2ndStage), Miss Pennywise in Urinetown and Mama Morton in Chicago (Montgomery College), Godspell (Olney Theater Center), Florinda in Into the Woods (Signature Theatre) and, most recently, she originated the role of Bethany in the new musical Nobody’s Perfect at The Kennedy Center and was in the World Premiere of the Stephen Schwartz Project (Metro Stage). Upcoming projects include: Peter Pan (Olney Theatre Center).
	Ayanna Hardy (Porcupine), originally from Pitman, NJ, is a recent BFA graduate from Howard University where she studied Musical Theatre.  She has been recently seen in The Samson Musical at New Horizons Theatre in Alexandria, VA.  Her other credits include Working, A Chorus Line, and Into the Woods.
	Javi Harnly (Police Officer) Education: BFA University of Miami, FL Reagional: OKLAHOMA! Will Parker (Sterling Playmakers), WEST SIDE STORY- Chino (NOOA), AND THE WORLD GOES ROUND- Man #5, ON THE TOWN, MUSIC MAN, GOOD NEWS!, PIPPIN, THE NUTCRACKER (Washington Ballet), MANNON (Boston Ballet)
	Katie Nigsch (Moose U/S) is a B.F.A. Music Theatre graduate from Shenandoah University, and has been all over doing theatre, but is happy to finally settle in the Washington DC area.

PRODUCTION TEAM

**Michael J. Bobbitt (Director/Choreographer) has directed, choreographed and performed at many theatres in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area, including Arena Stage, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, Studio Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Center Stage, Roundhouse Theatre and the Kennedy Center. His National and International credits include the NY Musical Theatre Festival, Mel Tillis 2001, 1996 Olympics, and the Washington Post Music and Dance Scholarships Awards.  He studied creative writing and music at Susquehanna University and theatre and dance at The Washington Ballet, The Dance Theatre of Harlem, The American Musical and Dramatic Academy and NY University’s Tisch School of the Arts (Cap 21).  Michael has taught theatre and dance at George Washington University, Catholic University, Montgomery College, Howard University, and the Washington Ballet.  Recently, Michael directed Petite Rouge, Off-Broadway, at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, Queen of the Bohemian Dream at the Capital Fringe Festival, NOLA for the Source Theatre Festival and conceived, directed and choreographed a new musical revue, The Stephen Schwartz Project, in collaboration with Broadway and Film composer, Stephen Schwartz at MetroStage.  His choreography and movement was seen in Measure for Pleasure and Vigils at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, the 24th Annual Helen Hayes Awards, Shlemiel, The First at Theatre J, Spunk at Tribute Productions, Arsenic and Old Lace at CenterStage, and Souvenir at Studio Theatre.

Kurt Boehm (Assistant Choreographer) was previously seen as Bunny in Goodnight Moon.  Choreography/teaching credits include: Kids In Dramatic Study (Footloose), Columbia Center for Theatrical arts, and Creative Arts Institute.  He has performed at the Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, Signature Theatre, Toby’s, Adventure/Tribute Productions, and Theatre of the First Amendment.  This spring he will be choreographing Damn Yankees at Centennial High School. 

Julia Cain (Assistant Director) assistant directing credits in Washington include Boom (upcoming) and Measure for Pleasure with Woolly Mammoth Theatre, The Way of the World (upcoming) with The Shakespeare Theatre, and Cymbeline with dog & pony dc.  She has also directed at Princeton University and Courthouse Theatre Company and taught at the Charles River Creative Arts Program. She graduated from Princeton University in 2007.

++ Andrew F. Griffin (Lighting Designer) is a Resident Artist for Adventure Theatre where he has also designed Babe the Sheep Pig; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Dorothy Meets Alice; and Alexander Who is Not, Not, Not, Not Going to Move.  A freelance lighting designer in Washington, DC, Andrew’s designs have been seen at Olney Theatre Center, Woolly Mammoth, Toledo Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre Children’s Chorus, Washington Shakespeare Company, Studio Theatre, Imagination Stage, Rorschach Theatre, Journeymen Theatre, Forum Theatre, The Delaware Shakespeare Festival, and Longacre Lea. Upcoming projects include the lighting design for Host and Guest with Synetic Theatre and returning to Michigan Opera Theatre for their Fall season where he is the resident assistant lighting designer.  For more information, see www.andrewfgriffin.com.

Colin Grube (Stage Manager) has worked as Stage Manager for Rorschach Theatre (Skin of Our Teeth), Production Manager for Theatre of the First Amendment (Mariela in the Desert), as well as in a variety of positions at Round House Theatre. 

Camille Kashaka (Production Assistant) is a graduate of Howard University where she studied Theatre Arts Administration. She has worked since high school and throughout college as an actor, director, stage manager, lighting designer and production manager.  Camille has worked on plays such as Parting, A Chorus Line, Oedipus Rex, Working, and Yellowman.  Also, she has taught theatre to elementary school age children for the past two years.

* ¥ Elizabeth Jenkins McFadden (Scenic Designer) serves as the resident set designer for Montgomery College-Rockville; she is also resident designer for the Washington Savoyards and serves on their board of directors.  She is a 2006 recipient of the Theatre Lobby’s Mary Goldwater award and she is a member of the theatrical designers' union, United Scenic Artists Local 829.  Recent designs elsewhere include productions of Winter’s Tale for Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, Eccentricities of a Nightingale for American Century Theatre, Chicago, Evita, and Ragtime at MC; The Government Inspector, Candide and Romeo and Juliet at Catholic University; Man of La Mancha,The Merry Widow, and Pirates of Penzance for the Savoyards; and New Kid, Snow Angel, and Looking for Roberto Clemente at Imagination Stage.  Favorite design projects in past seasons have included Hapgood at Washington Shakespeare Company, The Shkspr Prjct at Catalyst Theatre, Hothouse and Dogg’s Hamlet/Cahoot’s MacBeth for LongAcre Lea Productions, Nixon’s Nixon and Jack and Jill at Round House, and The Birds at Catholic University.  An active designer throughout the DC area since 1989, her design work has been seen often at Round House Theatre where she was a company member for many years, as well as at Washington Jewish Theatre, Source Theatre, Gallaudet University, Washington Revels, Adventure Theatre, American University, Theatre J, MetroStage, Discovery Theatre, and many others.  www.mcfaddenarts.com/elizabeth

++Matt Otto (Sound Designer) recent design credits include As You Like It at Imagination Stage, David in Shadow and Light, The Price and 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother for Theatre J.  Five Flights for the Theatre Lab Honors Conservatory Alumni Class of 2007  K of D at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Kafka’s Dick and House of Yes for The Washington Shakespeare Company, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the University of Mary Washington, Olney Theatre’s production of Godspell, Adventure Theatre’s Stuart Little, and Eccentricities of a Nightingale, Ah Wildreness, Hellzapoppin, That Championship Season, and MacBird! for The American Century Theatre company. Some of Matt’s assistant credits are Three Changes at Playwrights Horizons. Measure for Pleasure, Stunning, Current Nobody, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, and Vigils for Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. Ambition Facing West, In On It and Insurrection: Holding History for Theatre Alliance. And The Tempest for The Folger Shakespeare Library. Matt Otto received his degree in Sound Design from Boston University. For more details of Matt’s work please go to www.mattottosound.com.

Adam W. Roberts (Playwright/Composer) is a Boston-area screenwriter, playwright, and composer. His debut TV pilot script, "Life Without Green," is slated to be shot in the coming year.  He has composed scores for the musical Subway Days (Theatre at Old South), and the plays Molly's Dream (Boston Theatre Works), Marat/Sade (Bridge Theatre Company), I Go Solo, Learn from the Self-Made Man, and A Random Bit of Nonsense About Yul Brynner (Essayons Theatre Company). Music directing credits include Company (Longwood Players), Molly's Dream (Boston Theatre Works), Marat/Sade (Bridge Theatre Company), and Assassins (Manhattan Project Theatre Company).  Adam sings with Boston-area a cappella sensation Honorable Menschen, serves on the board of The Longwood Players, and works for the Huntington Theatre Company.

Julie Roedersheimer (Props) As a sort of Jack (or is that Jill?) of all trades, Julie has worked all over the DC Metro area as a props designer, carpenter, scenic painter and electrician. She has worked in those many capacities for Firebelly, Washington Shakespeare Company, Summer Opera Theatre Company, The Shakespeare Theatre, Washington Savoyards, Rorschach Theatre, Theatre J, and more.

Darius Smith (Music Director) can most often be seen on campus at Howard University where he serves on faculty as a Professor of Voice for Musical Theater and director of Standing Room Only:  The Howard University Musical Theater Ensemble.  He also has served as musical director for several area organizations, productions, and readings, including Go, Dog, Go (Adventure Theater), Queen of the Bohemian Dream (Source Theater), City @ Peace (DC), Songs For A New World (Towson, MD), Bingo Long (Kennedy Center), Say It Ain't So (Silver Spring, MD) and The Children's Theater Workshop (DC).  An alumnus of NYU's Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program, Darius has written music and lyrics for Samson: The Musical (New Horizons Theater), R/J:  The Fatal Tour (commissioned by the Lincoln Theater), Amorous Ruminations:  a song cycle and Breaks (book and lyrics by Jermaine Hardy).  His music was used both in NYC (Aaron Davis Hall) and DC (Kennedy Center) with a 2007 Kennedy Center commission for choreographer, Princess Mhoon-Cooper – Dangerous Liasons.  He is currently writing book, music and lyrics for a new musical entitled, U.G.L.Y., that is scheduled to workshop this Fall and premiere in January 2009 at Howard University as part of their current season.

++Katie Touart (Costume Designer) is an artist whose costuming career began with seventy-five kimonos made from dyed and painted bed sheets for an elementary school production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Mikado, one of seven shows she costumed for her local school. Since 2002, she has designed and created work for established Washington children’s theaters. Recent credits include: The Secret Garden, Clara Barton: The Courage Within,Winnie the Pooh, and Ferdinand the Bull (Adventure Theatre) Black Diamond, HowOld is a Hero? andGoing the Distance (Smithsonian’s Discovery Theater) The Grid and Below the Horizon (Imagination Stage). Since 2006, Katie has worked for the Kennedy Center’s Musicals In The Schools program, first as costume assistant and now lead costume designer, helping to costume DC school children for productions of Mulan,Aladdin and Alice In Wonderland. She previously worked as a commercial artist and designer and holds degrees from the University of Chicago and Massachusetts College of Art.

Deborah Wheatley (Projection Designer) is a 3rd year Scenic and Costume Design MFA candidate at the University of Maryland (UMD).  Recent & upcoming productions include: To Be Young, Gifted and Black at UMD (scenic design); Alice in Wonderland, Jr. for the Kennedy Center’s Musicals in the Schools (scenic design); Blue’s Journey National Tour (associate scenic designer) & Chasing George Washington (projections designer) at the Kennedy Center’s Theatre for Young Audience); Macbeth at Folger Shakespeare (assistant scenic designer); The Neverending Story at Imagination Stage (projections designer); The Rocky Horror Show at The University of South Florida (headdress design); and Fever Dream at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Co. (assistant scenic designer).

Christopher Youstra (Orchestrations) - Recent Music Directing - Jerry Springer the Opera (Studio Theater 2nd Stage), The Producers, Titanic, Godspell, Aida, Ragtime, Kiss Me Kate, Beauty and the Beast (Toby's), Nobody's Perfect, Chasing George Washington (Kennedy Center TYA),  1776, Fiddler on the Roof, Cinderella (Olney Theater) A Murder, A Mystery, A Marriage, Summer of '42 (Round House), Sleeping Beauty (Imagination Stage).  Composition - Several children shows produced, as well as Coming Home for the opening of the Atlas Center.  Works with the Washington National Opera as an artist mentor in composition and as music director for St. John the Evangelist in Columbia.  Past experiences include for both Phoenix and Troika Entertainment and toured Europe with Smoky Joe's Cafe.  3 Helen Hayes Nominations for Outstanding Music Direction, and received the award for last year's Titanic.

Check out the rest of our 2008-09 Season