Cactus Playbill
The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus
by Eric Coble
Director
Alex Ungerman
Featuring
Rebecca Yeager as Dust Cloud
Costume Design & Construction
Charity Sellers
Tour Manager
Colin O’Brien
Rehearsal Stage Manager/Understudy
Megan Pecot
Scenic Design
Alex Ungerman
Scenic Construction
Justin Kirkpatrick
Properties Design and Construction
Kathleen Jensen
The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus runs approximately 45 minutes with no intermission.
Produced by special arrangement with
DRAMATIC PUBLISHING, Woodstock, IL
It’s the day of the show, y’all!
We are so glad to welcome you back to BCT this season. Just a few months ago we were unsure how or if we’d be able to produce theatre this fall. It has taken some creativity and imagination, but we are here - safely - and so thrilled to bring you The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus!
I think it’s very fitting that we are opening the season with a show so immersed in the world of imagination, of taking everyday objects and reimagining their use, and repurposing our surroundings to create something magical. It feels like we’ve all been doing some version of this since March. I find myself often seeking the inner child, that part of me that can still imagine impossible ideas, and then pushing my adult brain to take just the next step towards making the impossible possible. It’s a gift that comes so naturally to youth, and one I think we might all learn from in these current times.
Thank you, again and again, for your support of BCT. By being here today you are telling us that theatre is important to your life, your childrens’ lives, and the community. This is just the first of imaginative, creative, and at-one-time impossible ideas we look to bring you this season. Stay tuned, and I hope to see you again soon!
~ Ashley Woods, Interim Executive Artistic Director
A Note from the Director
Hello! And thank you for joining us for The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus!
This story is all about the power of imagination.
Simply, it's about a girl and her four best friends who find a pile of junk and turn it into a castle fortress. When I first read this script, I was immediately drawn in by the way Dust Cloud creates these junk-puppets to be the other characters. I wanted to bring this same energy into the staging: we're taking a pile of junk and creating the magical world of the story.
I hope this play inspires kids to combine their creativity with what they have at hand to create their own magical worlds.
~ Alex Ungerman, Director of The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus
Thank You to Our Sponsors!
Who’s Who
Alex Ungerman (Director) is the Associate Artistic Director of Birmingham Children’s Theatre, and The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus is his BCT Directorial debut! Recent directing credits include: The Ice Front (Birmingham Festival Theatre), Mr. Burns, a post-electric play (Theatre Downtown), Hindsight (Sackerson), and The Weird Play (Plan-b Theatre). Alex is originally from Salt Lake City and is co-founder of Grassroots Shakespeare Company, and Sackerson.
Rebecca Yeager (Dust Cloud) is thrilled to bring The Girl Who Swallowed A Cactus to Birmingham students and families. While she performs for many companies in Birmingham, BCT audiences are her favorite! She is an actor and teacher who specializes in integrated movement and vocal technique for the actor, including yoga, stage combat, Lugering technique, and classical theatre including Greek tragedy, Shakespeare, and Commedia dell’Arte. Rebecca received her Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance from the University of Southern Mississippi and graduated Cum Laude from Birmingham-Southern College with a Bachelor of Arts in Musical Theatre. Thank you to BCT’s amazing staff of artists and administrators for their tireless work, Megan Pecot for her support and readiness, Alex for his guidance during this delightful creation process, and most of all, Charles and the Yeagerlings for their love and encouragement.
Colin O’Brien (Tour Manager) is very excited to be working with BCT for his first touring production! Recently relocated to Birmingham from Florida, he is an Auburn Grad with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. A self-professed Sound Engineer and Musician, Colin has a passion for the stage as a way to tell stories. He believes that art and technology can go hand-in-hand to express oneself in an infinite number of ways.
Megan Pecot (Understudy/Dust Cloud) is excited to be back performing with Birmingham Children's Theatre! You last saw her in The Three Little Kittens and The City Mouse and The Country Mouse! She is an Alum of Birmingham-Southern College’s Theatre Department where she is currently the Costume Shop Supervisor. She also works as the Costume Assistant at Red Mountain Theatre Company. She is thankful to have the opportunity to return to BCT during these crazy times!
If you love the show and want to support more theatre at BCT, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today!
Birmingham Children’s Theatre
Celebrating 73 years of educating, enriching, and entertaining through the magic of professional theatre.
STAFF
Interim Executive Artistic Director
Ashley Woods
Associate Artistic Director
Alex Ungerman
Director of Education
Jessie Kisor
Office & Booking Manager
Stephen Pierce
Board of Trustees
President
Mr. Chris Cain
Vice President
Ms. Takeria N. Stephens
Secretary
Mr. Ricky Stricklin
Treasurer
Mr. Robert Cole
Vice President, Development
Mr. Gordon Stewart
Vice President, Personnel
Ms. Anne Sanders Rand
Past President
Mr. Paul P. Bolus
Ms. Katherine Beshear, Dr. Terrence Brown, Dr. Larry J. Contri, Ms. Carolyn Featheringill, Ms. Catherine Crosby Long, Ms. Robin Beardsley Mark, Ms. Julia Gibbs Matson, Mr. Steven McClinton, Ms. Glenda E. Nagrodzki, Mr. Jason K. Reynolds, Mr. Tad Snider, Mr. Dax Swatek, Dr. Wayne Vickers, Ms. Stacy Watts.