TheaterWorks USA presents
The Claire Shulman Theatre
April 3, 2022 at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM
Musical Numbers
The Overture
Storytellers
Mr. Pout-Pout Fish
Storytellers
Right Outside Your Reef
Shimmer Fish, Mr. Pout-Pout Fish
With A Face Like Mine
Mr. Pout-Pout Fish
The Big Blub
Storytellers
The Worm Waltz
Storytellers
The Seaweed Forest
Storytellers
Now You See It, Now You Don’t
Lucky Mr. Seven, Mr. Pout-Pout Fish
The Chase
Storytellers
Stay Afloat
Bully-Bully Shark, Mr. Pout-Pout Fish
Missin’ Pearl
Storytellers
The Slimy Showdown
Storytellers
Right Outside Your Reef (Reprise)
Mr. Pout-Pout Fish, Storytellers
The Big, Big Dark
Storytellers
Notes
With the colorful illustrations and the sing-song text from The Pout-Pout Fish book series, we thought it would be fun to fuse puppetry and musical theater to tell this story in a unique way. We paired acclaimed puppeteers Matt Acheson and Fergus J Walsh of Acheson Walsh Studios with musical theater writers Chris Anselmo and Jared Corak, and challenged them to figure out how their two art forms could best tell the story. They dove right in and explored what elements could be dramatized in a more visual way, relying less on words, and what elements might be enhanced by songs to communicate heightened feelings and emotions.
In musical theater, characters sing when words alone are not enough, and Pout-Pout’s inner, emotional journey is just as transformative as his underwater journey to reach his home again. We hope your family enjoys this aquatic adventure!
Barbara Pasternack
Artistic Director, TheaterWorksUSA
Michael Harrington
Executive Director, TheaterWorksUSA
TWUSA Staff
Jillian Carucci
Associate Artistic Director
Margaux Chanel
Development & Artistic Assistant
Kevin Condardo
General Manager
Bob Daley
Technical Advisor
Elisa Galindez
Assistant Producer
Kristen Gensinger
Marketing and Communications Associate
Alexis Gilliard
Artistic & Education Coordinator
Paige Gober
Associate Producer–Orlando
Sylvia Jimenez
Business Associate
Steve Lattanzi
Director of Systems and Administration
Erin Leddy
Tour Sales Manager
Brendan J. O’Brien
Production Manager
Lisa Petersen
Director of Digital Learning and Southern California Partnerships
Beth Prather
Director of Sales
Jacob Stahl
Associate Producer–St. Louis
Mary St. Angelo
Sales Coordinator
Ashley Watson
Human Resources Manager
Jason Bailey
Sub Music Director
Camille Bela
Assistant to the Director and Covid Compliance Officer
Ryan Roberge
Covid Compliance Officer
Who's Who
GRACE GUSTINO (Shimmer Fish) is a Musical Theatre performer from Winter Garden, Florida and is so excited to be on her very first tour! She’s done many professional shows in Florida, but is so excited to be sharing her love of Theatre with kids all over the U.S. of A.! A huge thank you to TheaterWorksUSA and the Kelsey + Morales Company for believing in her abilities and giving her such an amazing opportunity! And an even BIGGER thank you to her Parents and Boyfriend for always believing in her and helping her follow her dreams no matter what! ALWAYS FOLLOW YOURDREAMS! Remember that if it makes you happy, it doesn’t have to make sense to anybody else! IG @grace.gustino
WHITLEY BODY (Stage Manager) is ecstatic to be making her debut at TheaterWorksUSA. Before this, she was blessed to return to in-person theater at The REV Theater. During the pandemic, Whitley embraced her other artistic side by becoming a produced playwright and sharing her talents with others who needed a break from reality. Whitley would like to thank her family and friends for supporting her through all her crazy endeavors!
TROY A. JACKSON She/Her (Tour Manager) is excited to take part in her first touring production with TheaterWorks USA. It has been a dream to work with the company and now being the Tour Manager alongside the talented performers of The Pout-Pout Fish is such an honor. She has spent the majority of her career doing regional theatre and her credits include: Nell Carter, Ain’t Misbehavin; Queenie, Showboat; Motormouth Maybelle, Hairspray; Bloody Mary, Big River; Effie, Dreamgirls; and Ronnie, HAIR, Levora Verona, Disaster! among many others. She is also an assistant productor for Phantasmagoria, a roaming theatrical troupe based in the Central Florida area. She is also committed to be the Board Chair and Director of events and promotions for the Nonprofit Black Theatre Girl Magic (BTGM). She is also a part of the legendary Blues Brothers Show at Universal Studios Florida, where she appears as Mabel. She would like to dedicate her tour and all performances to her mother who has never let her down and taught her how to stand up. You can follow he rjourney at @troyajacks
SCOTT SILSON (Tour Co-Director) has 30+ years of entertainment experience and 22 years creating &developing shows, parades and spectaculars with the Walt Disney Company, worldwide, including leading the puppetry direction for THEA award-winning “Finding Nemo the Musical” and “Frozen Live at the Hyperion”. He also contributed to the opening creative team for Shanghai Disneyland. He was a Creative Associate with Walt Disney Imagineering, supporting the Star Wars studio team and writing show/entertainment concepts for Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland Paris, and Epcot. He was also a writer/director on the "Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge Grand Openings". Puppetry credits include work with The Jim Henson Company, Sesame Street, and Comedy Central’s “Crank Yankers”. He currently freelances as a consultant director, writer, and puppet master for prestigious entertainment companies around the world, including Cedar Fair and Universal Studios Japan.
JAMES SILSON (Tour Co-Director) currently acts as Show Director with Disney Live Entertainment, creating shows and spectaculars for Disney theme parks around the world. Credits include Happily Ever After – A Nighttime Spectacular, The Muppets Present - Great Moments in American History, and most recently, Illuminate – A Nighttime Celebration at Shanghai Disneyland. He also served as Puppet Master, leading the puppet direction for notable works including the THEA award-winning Finding Nemo - The Musical. And he contributed to the opening creative teams for Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland. Apart from Disney, James has enjoyed a career as a freelance director, actor, and puppeteer, including credits with The Jim Henson Company and Sesame Workshop. He also provided puppet direction for the play White Fang, which premiered in London and the US, as well as an imaginative production of The Fantasticks, for which he won the Tampa Bay Theatre Award for Outstanding Choreography.
BERT RODRIGUEZ (Music Director)has love getting to know The Pout-Pout Fish! He has music directed many productions throughout Florida. In 2021he was proud to musically helm Man of La Mancha and A Class Act (Garden Theatre). He most recently enjoyed music directing and piano conducting Broadbend, Arkansas (The Studio Theatre at Tierra Del Sol). Other recent Central Florida favorites include Always, Patsy Cline (Theater West End), The Fantasticks (The Athens Theatre), Marie and Rosetta (freeFall Theatre), and the professional regional premiere of Matilda (Theatre South Playhouse). He spent 10 years as a music director for Norwegian Cruise Line. Bert holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre Performance from the University of Oklahoma. He is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association.
MATT ACHESON (Original Direction, Staging, Book & Production Design) designed, built, and directed the marionettes for Rinna Groff’s Compulsion, directed by Oscar Eustis. He was the Puppetry Director for Warhorse during its run at Lincoln Center and for the North American tour. Matt was also the director and curator of the annual St. Ann’s Warehouse Puppet Lab with Krissy Smith.
FERGUS J WALSH (Original Direction, Staging, Book & Production Design) has won awards from the Henson Foundation and the Irish Arts Council. He has been an Artist in Residence at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City and is an Associate Professor of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut.
ACHESONWALSH STUDIOS (Production Design) a kinetic creation studio. Their clients include Amazon Studios, Broadway Theatres, Cirque Du Soleil, Disney, Lincoln Center Theater, and Radio City Music Hall. AchesonWalsh Studios was founded by Matt Acheson and Fergus J Walsh in 2014. Recent work includes Loch Ness at the Fingerlakes Musical Theatre Festival, Hey Willy and Candide at the Alliance Theater, The Lightning Thief (National Tour), The Wizard of Oz at the Kansas City Ballet, and William Johnson Hippopotamus in development as part of LabWorks at The New Victory Theatre.
CHRISTOPHER ANSELMO (Book, Music & Lyrics) is an award-winning songwriter & playwright whose work has been performed in venues across the country and internationally. His musicals include: Atlantinc (Edinburgh, AMTP, RCS); Fable (NYMF) and Haunted Train (TNC). By day, he works for composer Jeanine Tesori. Member of ASCAP, Dramatists Guild, and the BMI Advanced Workshop. Northwestern ’16.
JARED CORAK (Book, Music & Lyrics) is a writer and performer originally from sunny South Florida. He has written countless musicals as a teaching artist with the Lovewell Institute for the Creative Arts and is a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. He holds a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Science in Leadership for Creative Enterprises from Northwestern University. When he’s not writing musicals, he works on the CBS television show FBI.
CONOR KEELAN (Orchestrator) is an award-winning orchestrator, arranger, music director, and guitarist based out of NYC. His arrangements have been sung by Jon Batiste, Jessie Mueller, Alice Ripley, and Patti LaBelle ,among others. Select credits include: (B’Way) A Bronx Tale, (Off B’Way) Merrily We Roll Along, Painted Alice, The Lilliput Troupe. (Regional) Pride and Prejudice, A Knight’s Tale, Letters From War, Generation Me, October Sky. B.M. Northwestern University. In addition to theatre, Conor is producer for rock and folk bands as well as the orchestrator for the American Pops Orchestra. www.cmkeelan.com
DAVID LANDER (Lighting Designer) New Victory Theater: David Gonzalez’s The Frog Bride. TheaterWorksUSA at the Lortel: Dog Man: The Musical, Pete The Cat, The Lightning Thief, The Civil War. Daivd’s designs have been seen on Broadway, including The Lightning Thief currently running, Off-Broadway, regionally throughout the USA, and internationally in places such as Tokyo, Caracas, Mumbai, and London.
KELSAY + MORALES COMPANY (Casting) Joshian Morales and Kayla Kelsay Morales are the owners of Kelsay + Morales Company, an Orlando based professional entertainment company that focuses on theatrical producing, content creation, talent development, and casting services. Joshian and Kayla are two dynamic entertainment professionals with over a decade of experience in the entertainment community .Favorite casting credits include: ENCORE! (Disney+;Kristen Bell, Executive Producer), Flying Lessons (New York Musical Festival; Off-Broadway), Be Original Theater Festival (New Generation Theatrical; Dr. Phillips Center), and The Renaissance Theatre Company. @kelsaymoralescompany
ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION, founded in1913, represents more than 45,000 actors and stage managers in the U.S. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions, providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. Equity seeks to foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. www.actorsequity.org.
THEATERWORKSUSA (Barbara Pasternack, Artistic Director; Michael Harrington, Executive Director) has led the Theater for Young and Family Audiences movement in New York City and across North America for over half a century. At TWUSA, we believe that access to art—and theater, in particular—is vital for our youth. Since 1961, the 501(c)3 not-for-profit has captured the imaginations of100 million new and veteran theatergoers with an award-winning repertoire of over140 original plays and musicals. Acclaimed alumni include Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (Disney’s Frozen), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent), Jerry Zaks (The Music Man), Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen), Miguel Cervantes (Hamilton), Kathleen Chalfant (Angels in America), and Chuck Cooper (Tony award winning actor, The Life). Prior to suspending live production due to the pandemic, TWUSA’s 2019-2020 season included touring eleven shows around the country, the Broadway premiere of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical and three world premieres: Warriors Don’t Cry, based on the autobiography of Melba Patillo Beals; Dog Man: The Musical Off-Broadway; and The Pout-Pout Fish which opened the New Victory Theater’s season in October 2019. Visit www.TWUSA.org for more information.
Queens Theatre
Staff
Taryn Sacramone, Executive Director
Connie Baker, Rentals and Events Manager
Charles Bennett, Building Attendant
Victor Catano, Production Manager
Jeanmarie Conley, Technical Director
Dominic D'Andrea, Director of Community Engagement
Richard Hinojosa, Director of Education
Tony Lackram, Operations Assistant
Vasilios Leon, Box Office Assistant
Willy Mosquera, Front of House Manager
Bernadette Ott, Development Manager
Angelica Rodriguez, Finance Manager
Gabriel Rodriguez, Box Office Supervisor
Jerry Rodriguez, Sound Associate
Jay Rogers, Director of Operations/GM
Jordi Toro, Box Office Assistant
Jorge Toro, Building Attendant
William A. Smith, Building Attendant
Rob Urbinati, Director of New Play Development
Steve Wolf, Assistant Production Manager/Lighting Supervisor
Marketing and PR: Anat Gerstein, Inc.
Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Gary Kesner, President
Tracy Capune, Vice President
Bruce Levine, Treasurer
Mark Misk, Secretary
Alfonso Quiroz
Members
Jennifer Bai
Georgiana Benatti
Salvatore DiMartino
Cameron R. Hernandez
Susan B. Lipsky
Irene Zoupaniotis
Ex-Officio
Eric Adams, New York City Mayor
Donovan Richards, Queens Borough President
Laurie Cumbo, Commissioner, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs
Jacqueline Langsam, Queens Borough Commissioner, NYC Department of Parks & Recreation
Board President Emeritus: Frances A. Resheske