BEAUTIFUL CAGES

Written By Jamie Knox

Directed By Mandy Bean

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Playwright’s Note
About the Cast
About the Production Team
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PLAYWRIGHT’S NOTE FROM JAMIE KNOX

I began writing Beautiful Cages in 2015. I was living in Texas, teaching high school theatre, and dreaming of more. All I can say is that the story just came to me, like it needed to be told and found a way into my brain. It was different-Amanda was 18 and leaving her loving family in New Jersey to travel to New York City to meet her birth mother. Her 40 year old self narrated for the most part. But it lacked—me.

I knew it wasn’t quite right, but I didn’t want to let it go. So I gutted it and I pulled more from my own experience than what I was dreaming up. It took me a week to come up with the title, and once I quieted my mind, it jumped right in. My story gently flavors this one: My mother was a catholic-raised Italian woman whose virtue was of upmost importance. She finished high school in 1958 and married my father in 1960 once he was home from the navy. Like James, he was in-between wars, and I always wondered how that affected him.

My mother’s mother willed herself to death after losing her cheating, abusing husband, who she had been raised with and who was also her first cousin. Anecdotes found their way from my father’s mouth to the page and since I tend to write underdeveloped fathers, I suppose this is my homage. So even though a lot of the story is fiction, presented to me from some other world saying “write me, write me,” adding a bit of my own story made it start to come to life. Except for fathers (sorry David and Scott), I’m not a fan of underdeveloped characters, and I hope you are able to see the journey most of these characters go through that defines them.

I am also not a fan of life just happening to a character, so what I really hope comes through is the choices they make and how those choices weave their story. I am, however, a big fan of secrets being revealed and the rattle it creates. I didn’t write this play to make social change or dismantle our political climate. I just want it to be interesting, nostalgic, a little funny, a little heartbreaking, and a little sexy. If nothing else, I hope the rattle is palpable.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Jamie Knox is thrilled to see Beautiful Cages come to life with such an amazing cast and crew. She moved to Asheville six years ago jumping head first into the theatre scene. Thanks to The Magnetic Theatre for trusting in her work and to Mandy Bean for believing in the script. Past produced works include: The Shorthand Job, No One Gives a Crap about VH1, Gladiolas, Letters to Joe, Sherlock Holmes and the Pepper Perpetrator, and The Education of Ted Harris. She is the owner and founder of Burning Sage Yoga, offering pop-up yoga at different locations around town. When she is not being all theatre-y and yoga-y she is at home with her three year old helping her to grow and become. She would like to thank her husband for being the best man she's ever met.

ABOUT THE CAST
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PRODUCTION TEAM

Director…………………………..…………………..Mandy Bean

Stage Manager………………..………………Amanda Sims McLoughlin

Set Designer………………………..……………Walker Linkous

Set Builder…………………………………………Walker Linkous

Props Designer………………………………..Evan Eckstrom

Sound Designer………………………………Scott Bean

Lighting Designer…………………………Abby Auman

Costume Designer……………………….Danielle King

Makeup & Hair Designer……………Emily Tucker

Dramaturgy………………….…………………..CJ Breland

Intimacy Coach……………………………….Lilly Mills

Fight Choreographer……………………Jered Shults

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION TEAM

ABBY AUMAN (Lighting Designer) - Abby is the Technical Director of The Magnetic Theatre. She also works as a lighting designer in theaters all over WNC.

MANDY BEAN (Director) - Mandy Bean (Director) is a Weaverville native who has been directing shows in and around Asheville since 2008. She holds a B.S. in Theatre Education from Appalachian State University. Most recently, she directed the Montford Park Players' 50th anniversary production of As You Like It. Coming up in December, she'll be heading up The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley with Multiverse Theatre Collective. She has thoroughly enjoyed bringing Beautiful Cages to the stage with this wonderful cast and crew. Please enjoy the show, and thank you for supporting local theatre!

SCOTT BEAN (Sound Designer) - Scott has been involved in theatre locally in some capacity or other for over 12 years. He is happy to have designed sound for this production and for getting a chance to perform for you tonight! He would like to thank his wonderful wife, the director, for the opportunity and his two boys for their patience while their parents get to play.

CJ BRELAND (Dramaturg) - CJ Breland is happy to be back at Magnetic Theatre, where she was performing in Traitor when the world shut down in March 2020. As an actor, she has appeared locally with Asheville Community Theatre, Different Strokes! PAC, Magnetic Theatre, SART, Parkway Playhouse, Immediate Theatre Project, and several NC Stage Company Catalyst Series productions. CJ taught high school Theatre Arts for 35 years, the last 19 as Theatre Director at Asheville High School. She would like to thank her husband Frank for running lines with her and Mandy for trusting her with this role. CJ encourages you to vote all the way down the ballot this fall.

EVAN ECKSTROM (Props Designer) - Evan is delighted to be performing in his second show with Magnetic this season. He was a cast member in Algorithm & Blues: A Dating Sketch Show early in the Spring of 2022 here. Prior to working with Magnetic. Evan was Managing Director for Strange News Theatre in Boston, MA.

DANIELLE KING (Costume & Makeup Designer) - Danielle is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with this awesome cast and crew as the costumer and makeup designer for Beautiful Cages. After being on stage in many productions around town, she's loving working behind the scenes to help shows look fabulous.

WALKER LINKOUS (Set Builder) - Walker has been working in local theater for about eight years now. He’s proud of the work he’s done with the Montford Park Players and the Multiverse Theater Collective, as well as his work as a grip in several local short films.

AMANDA SIMS MCLOUGHLIN (Stage Manager) - Amanda McLoughlin is excited to be working her first show with The Magnetic Theatre. She has always been enamored of wonderful storytelling, which naturally led her to answer the call of the theatre. Some of her favorite past shows include THE LITTLE PRINCE with Montford Park Players and SHIPWRECKED! AN ENTERTAINMENT with Haywood Arts Regional Theatre. When she isn’t at the theatre she can be found doing fiber art, mothering her adorable offspring, and eating eggplant parmesan. Thank you for supporting local theatre, and enjoy the show!

EMILY TUCKER (Makeup & Hair Designer) - Emily Tucker (Evelyn/Hair and Makeup Designer/Artist?)- Emily has been working in Asheville’s theatre community for nine years; highlights include Titania in Midsummer Night's Dream (Montford Park Players), Jane Bingley in Miss Bennet Christmas at Pemberly (Multiverse Theatre Collective), Algorithm & Blues (The Magnetic Theatre), Dr. Gutierrez in Court of the Grandchildren (The Magnetic Theatre), & most recently as Celia in As You Like It and Margaret in Much Ado About Nothing (Montford Park Players) She is very grateful to be back with the Magnetic Theatre bringing to life this beautiful work with a perfectly assembled cast and crew.

LILLY MILLS (Intimacy Director) - Lilly is beyond grateful to have been able to immediately bring her intimacy training to the theatre community she grew up in after having just moved back to Asheville in early February. She has over 100 hours of training through the SAG-AFTRA accredited Intimacy Directors and Coordinators organization (formerly Intimacy Directors International) and has loved every second of learning how to create safe and beautiful consent-based theatre. She is incredibly grateful to have already Intimacy Directed seven productions this year so far with her next project being Frankenstein Rubrics here at the Magnetic Theatre!

JERED SHULTS (Fight Choreographer) - Jered is always happy to utilize his skills as a fight choreographer for The Magnetic Theater. Jered has choreographed fights at Parkway Playhouse and Montford. Shows that he has choreographed have been Bloodbath at The Magnetic Theatre, Dead in Denmark at Montford, Treasure Island at Parkway Playhouse, and Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood at Parkway Playhouse.

GALLERY
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THE MAGNETIC THEATRE STAFF

CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTOR…….……JESSICA JOHNSON
CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTOR…………..KATIE JONES
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR………….…ABBY AUMAN
BOX OFFICE MANAGER……………TIPPIN
MARKETING MANAGER……………CHEYENNE DANCY

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

GEORGE AWAD
ERIN MCCARSON
ELIZABETH MCCORVEY
BRET MURPHY
JASON PHILLIPS
MAX REID
JOSH SULLIVAN

SPECIAL THANKS TO…

Asheville High School Theatre Program

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Aaron and Gus Ballard