(synopsis)
Meet the Freemans -- your average,
ordinary, all-American Family:
Kayla: Earthy woman, wife and mother. 40’s. She is headstrong, and possesses enormous reserves of warmth and humor, although, very little patience when her family is caught up in her daughter, Polly’s eating disorder. Kayla’s sense of determination to overcome any adversity causes her to place her son, Zachary in the position of being put aside and she tends to fill the empty spaces when her husband Robert goes quiet.
Robert: Kayla’s husband, father of Polly and Zachary. 40’s. Loving husband, and father. He has a good heart and an easy kind of charm,although a bit clumsy when it comes to disciplining his children and making decisions separately from Kayla. He takes boxing lessons to relieve stress and tension from the family dilemma.
Polly:(Character ages from 15-18) Possessing a sensitive and quiet
nature, similar to her father, she is struggling with teen-age self-esteem, a
changing body, and craving good friends, who tend to bully her. She undergoes
the anguish of being challenged by her expectations of trying to be the perfect
girl. She is often vexing and controlling.
Zachary:(Character ages from 17-20) Polly’s caring older brother.
High-spirited and charismatic with an intuitive sensibility, he is the
grounding energy of the family and smart enough to make sense of the challenge
being met by his parents and Polly.
Photos above are from the 2005 Off-Broadway world premiere production at Transport Group Theatre Company:
(from top) Barbara Walsh, Adam Heller, Erin Leigh Peck and Nicholas Belton.
NOTE: From the Playwright
Loving relationships can endure and a meaningful life can be
attained.
Creative Team:
Yvonne Adrian (book) Playwright; Librettist B.M.I. Musical Theatre Workshop; (Harrington Award) NORMAL THE MUSICAL: Transport Group Theatre Company, Directed by Jack Cummings III. Bare Bones Production Lark Theatre Co. Jonathan Larson & TRU Award with creative team, Cheryl Stern & Tom Kochan. GENE GAME: commissioned by Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: First Light Production. THE AUDIENCE: Jack Cummings III Director, Drama Desk Nomination, NYFA grant, Artists Arts Award. LEGENDARY SIREN: NYFA New York Foundation Award. FLYBOY: Ensemble Studio Theatre Marathon, published by Smith & Kraus. Additional writer: ARE WE THERE YET. FAMOUS, A HOLLYWOOD MUSICAL: with creative team Stern and Kochan. Ensemble Studio Theatre Octoberfest; The Lark Theatre Company Writers Winter Retreat. LOIE FULLER, A DANCER: Composer Pat Rasile. Member of The Ensemble Studio Theatre and The Dramatist’s Guild.
Cheryl Stern (lyrics) Cheryl is currently featured in the Tony award-winning musical LA CAGE AU FOLLES on Broadway and happily splits her time as actress and writer. Cheryl contributed lyrics to Transport Group Theatre Company’s Off Broadway hit production THE AUDIENCE (Drama Desk nom. Best Musical), REQUIEM FOR WILLIAM, and BEING AUDREY. Other writing credits include: ARE WE THERE (miracleor2.com), THE GENE GAME (Alfred P. Sloan Grant winner with Yvonne Adrian and Tom Kochan), THAT'S LIFE! (Outer Critic’s Nomination) and A CHRISTMAS SURVIVAL GUIDE (Samuel French). Cheryl has written and performed her solo show BUFFALONIA (with music by Tom Kochan), and also IN THE CRACKS (Triad, CNBC’s America’s Talkin’).
Broadway acting credits include: THE WOMEN (Roundabout; filmed for PBS.) LAUGHING ROOM ONLY with Jackie Mason and CANDIDE (New York City Opera). Off B’way: FIRST LADY SUITE (Drama Desk nom. at Transport Group), GAMESHOW, I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT and BEING AUDREY. TV: All My Children, As the World Turns and Law and Order: Criminal Intent. Film: Brooklyn Lobster. Cheryl is a graduate of Northwestern University.
Cheryl, Tom, and Yvonne are currently developing their new musical, FAMOUS which has had two workshop performances at Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York.
Tom Kochan (music)
Career highlights include:
two plays with Arthur Miller (at Roundabout and Williamstown), five CD's with James Galway (on RCA Records), three NYC productions with film maker Mike Leigh
(for Scott Elliott's New Group), the Drama Desk nominated THE AUDIENCE (for
Transport Group Theatre Company) and Dave Eigenberg's movie Fish. He is the proud recipient of
an Emmy Award for his work on As The World Turns.
Jack Cummings III: currently serves as Artistic Director of Transport Group Theatre Company, a New York theatre company devoted to plays and musicals, both revivals and premieres, that deal with American life in the 20th and 21st centuries. Jack received his MFA in Directing from the University of Virginia and his Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from The College of William and Mary. He is married to actress Barbara Walsh.
Robyn Hussa: co-Founded Transport Group Theatre Company with Jack Cummings and for the six years she served as Founding Executive Director, she produced and performed in Transport Group productions for which the company received the 2007 Drama Desk and Obie awards for its breadth of vision and presentation of challenging productions and several Drama Desk award nominations. As an actress, Hussa was introduced to the NORMAL writing team in the late 1990's by Cummings. Hussa and Cummings eventually decided to produce the musical at their company in 2005. Shortly thereafter, Hussa left her work in New York City to create the NORMAL In Schools program, curriculum and the national nonprofit organization, serving as its President and CEO. She holds an MFA-Acting from the University of Virginia, is a member of SAG, AFTRA, AEA, the International Association for Eating Disorders Professionals (iaedp), the Academy for Eating Disorders (AED) and is an E-RYT Certified Yoga Instructor with the Yoga Alliance. She is the proud recipient of the 2010 Champion in Women's Health award from former Wisconsin First Lady, Ms. Sue Ann Thompson and is a regular Keynote speaker at national educational, medical and arts conferences. www.robynhussa.com.
Eric R. Christiansen: is the Theatre Director at Greendale High School (Greendale, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee) where he has directed over 40 productions since 2002. His theatre education has included professional theatre training programs at The National Theatre Institute (O’Neill Theatre Center, New London, CT), and the Hartman Theatre Conservatory (predecessor to the Brown University/Trinity Rep Consortium, Providence, RI). He has performed and worked backstage in professional, educational and community theatres in Wisconsin and New England, including three summers at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and two years at the former Hartman Theatre, Stamford, CT. He holds a BA in Philosophy from Marquette University, a JD from University of Wisconsin Law School and an MA in Directing from the Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University. Mr. Christiansen brought the musical NORMAL into Greendale High School in 2006 and worked alongside Ms. Hussa to co-adapt and co-direct the musical in award-winning performances by his Advanced Theatre Class students and to develop the NIS Curriculum. He did all of this while his daughter was in residential treatment for an eating disorder. Mr. Christiansen serves as Chairman of the Board of the NORMAL In Schools national nonprofit organization and dedicates this work to her in celebration of her health and recovery.