Strings Attached

Strings Attached
April 18-20, 2024 | 2:00pm & 7:30pm
Logan Center, Theater West
$6 advance | $8 at the door

The year is 2012. Strings Attached is the tale of self-discovery of a puppet named Walt who thinks he's a human being, and his actual human brother Jason, who is under pressure to propose to his girlfriend of ten years, Amy. After a disastrous first proposal attempt, Jason, Amy, and Walt take a trip to Niagara Falls that ends in disaster yet again after an evil oil baron, Dallas, interrupts their plans. 

Written by Jefferson Lind
Music by Althea Li and Adrian Lo
Directed by Jefferson Lind and Eleni Lefakis 

Walt — Joseph DePaula
Joseph DePaula (Walt) is a 2nd-year Medieval Studies/History double-major. On top of his recent acting credits—"The Taming of the Shrew" (Dean's Men); "Dead Fun Society" (UT); "The Physicists" (CoT); and "Marian, or the True Tale of Robin Hood" (UT)—he is also Events Manager for Cup of Theater, Production Manager/Co-Outreach Coordinator for Attori Senza Paura (the Commedia dell'Arte troupe on campus) and Co-Outreach Chair for University Theater Committee. His 'man in the mirror' is Paul Giamatti, for reasons both myriad and cryptic.

Jason — Spencer O'Brien
Spencer O'Brien (Jason) is a third year MAAD Major and RDI minor. He has previously directed two shorts for Fire Escape Films, 'Remember Paul?'(2023) and 'Eunomia' (2022), as well as acting in... eh... a bunch of other stuff. If he was a puppet looking in a mirror who was to have a human counterpart staring back at him, his human would ideally be the Mars Cheese Castle

Amy — Abigail Scharf
Abigail Scharf (Amy) is a third-year Political Science and Gender & Sexuality Studies double major. She has previously acted in Twelfth Night (Olivia), Macbeth in Space (Lady Macbeth), Marion, or The True Tale of Robin Hood (Marion/Robin Hood), and King Lear (Gloucester). If she were a puppet, her human would be Faye Dunaway in Mommy Dearest.

Dallas — Robert Stimpson
Robert Stimpson (Dallas) is a first-year student in the college, originally from Helena, Montana. Dallas Richman is his University Theatre Debut! His favorite roles in the past include Laurie in Little Women, Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Sven in Frozen Jr., all of which were at Grandstreet Theatre in Helena. If he was a puppet a la the Muppets 2011, his human counterpart would probably be Owen Wilson.

The Marionettist — Henry Kerrey

Hilton — Jacob Halabe
Jacob Halabe (Hilton) is a third year history and economics major. He's participated in Romeo and Juliet (Prince Escalus), Macbeth in Space (Assistant Stage Manager), and served as the director for Twelfth Night. When he's not busy being a lackey for a cruel god, Jacob does improv as a member of Occam's Razor. If he were a puppet, his human would be Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Astoria — Maisie Thompson

Conductor — Althea Li
Althea Li (Conductor) is a fourth year Music and Statistics double major at the College. In UT, she has previously worked on Falsettos (Choreographer), the Strings Attached Workshop (Co-Composer, Choreographer), and Be More Chill (Choreographer), but you may have also seen her dance for UCDancers and UBallet. Althea is immensely grateful for this opportunity to showcase her work and for all the people who have made this story come to life. She is endlessly grateful to the band for their passion and support, as well as Adrian for being her partner in crime throughout the entire process; it's a real dream come true conducting and playing with them. If Althea were a puppet (she isnt. ofc!!...) (Why would she be a puppet haha... like....), she would like her human counterpart to be Jihyo from Twice.

Keyboard — Adrian Lo

Violin/Guitar/Ukulele — Surya Chinnappa*
Surya Chinnappa (Violin/Guitar/Ukulele) is a second year Linguistics and Cognitive Science major, playing Violin, Guitar, and Ukulele in the band. He has previously worked on the workshop Strings Attached: in Concert (Vocal Director), and acted in last year’s mainstage Be More Chill (Jake) and Theater[24] (Winter ‘23). He extends thanks to Althea and Adrian for being the best musical marionettists a music-puppet could ask for, and to the rest of the band for helping bring his work to life.

Violin — Genevieve Evans
Genevieve Evans (Violin) is a second year Creative Writing major and History minor. She previously acted in the Winter 2023 workshop "Queen Of Spades" (Tomsky), and has acted and written for Theater 24.

Violoncello — Peter Scheidt

Contrabass — Abby Kanes

Percussion — Arjun Singh*
Arjun Singh (Percussionist) is a second year Molecular Engineering student. He assisted in composing the music for Strings Attached. In addition to this show, Arjun drums in UChicago’s jazz ensemble and is part of the local Chicago bands Temp Hold and Directrix. Strings Attached is his first time performing in a UT production.

*The asterisk denotes contributions to orchestration.

Director — Jefferson Lind

Director — Eleni Lefakis
Eleni Lefakis (Director) is a third-year TAPS major. Her UT mainstage credits are The Heirs (Stage Manager); The Trail to Oregon! (Assistant Director/Dramaturg); Romeo and Juliet (Co-Production Manager); Marian, or the True Tale of Robin Hood (Assistant Director/Dramaturg); MacBeth in Space (Dramaturg); The Laramie Project (SM Collective™); Be More Chill (Co-Director); Twelfth Night (Pre-Production Manager); The Taming of The Shrew (Stage Manager/Assistant Dramaturg); Falsettos (Dramaturg); Richard III (Assistant Costume Designer); and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Dramaturg). She genuinely can’t thank everyone enough for putting up with the unadulterated chaos that this process has been, and yet she has to double that thanks to Althea, Adrian, and Jeff, who have been working on this for far too long. The human to Eleni’s puppet is factually contractually Danielle Yablonovskiy (they even look alike).

Music Director — Althea Li
Althea Li (Music Director) is a fourth year Music and Statistics double major at the College. In UT, she has previously worked on Falsettos (Choreographer), the Strings Attached Workshop (Co-Composer, Choreographer), and Be More Chill (Choreographer), but you may have also seen her dance for UCDancers and UBallet. Althea is immensely grateful for this opportunity to showcase her work and for all the people who have made this story come to life. She is endlessly grateful to the band for their passion and support, as well as Adrian for being her partner in crime throughout the entire process; it's a real dream come true conducting and playing with them. If Althea were a puppet (she isnt. ofc!!...) (Why would she be a puppet haha... like....), she would like her human counterpart to be Jihyo from Twice.

Music Director — Adrian Lo

Vocal Director — Crystina Windham
Crystina Windham (Vocal Director) is a third year Music and Cognitive Science major. She has previously worked on Scientific Method (Sound Designer), Marian, or The True Tale of Robin Hood (Sound Designer), and Twelfth Night (Music Director). If she is a puppet, then her human is Morgan Freeman.

Choreographer — Jess Aaron
Jess Aaron (Choreographer) is a joint fourth year and Master's student in the Humanities. She serves as President of the Dean's Men Shakespeare group, and has worked on the production team of several Dean's Men shows. She is also on the board of the dance group Rhythmic Bodies in Motion, and is excited to bring her dance experience to this show! When she's not dancing, you can find her crocheting in the audience or working on her feminist video game studies thesis.

Production Manager — Yufei Chen
Yufei Chen (Production Manager) is a second year CEGU and Comparative Literature major. Yufei has previously worked on Dead Fun Society (PM), Macbeth in Space (co-SM), Marian, or the True Tale of Robin Hood (ASM), Laika’s Coffin (ASM), and Twelfth Night (ALD). Yufei would like to thank everyone on cast and crew for making this wonderful show happen, but especially Jasmine, the most responsible and helpful friend you could possbly ask for ;)

Stage Manager — Coco Liu
Coco Liu (Stage Manager) is a third-year Chemistry and Linguistics major. Her previous credits include Taming of the Shrew (Production Manager), Macbeth in Space (Production Manager), King Lear (Co-Stage Manager), and The Light (Stage Manager). She thinks that three years is an unreasonably short amount of time to come up with a fun fact, so she's still thinking about it. If she were a puppet, her human would be Kelly Mao.

Stage Manager — Danielle Yablonovskiy
Danielle Yablonovskiy (Stage Manager) is a fourth year Economics and Psychology major. She has previously worked on The Trail to Oregon (Stage Manager), Be More Chill (Stage Manager), Muscle Memory (Production Manager), Welcome Back to My Channel (Asst. Stage Manager), Taming of the Shrew (Asst. Stage Manager), and a wide variety of workshops and other random UT credits. She also served as the Chair of University Theater from Spring 2023-Winter 2024. She would like to thank the entire company of Strings Attached for the most incredible conclusion to her college theater career. She couldn't be more obsessed with you all. Specifically she would like to thank Coco for being the partner she needed, Aitana and Nate for being the greatest kids, Eleni for being her other half, and Jeff for the 5am phone calls and all the trust he has put in her. Outside of this company, she would like to thank her roommates and best friends, Charitha and Doreen for dealing with her chaotic schedule and her mom for coming all this way for another show. If she were a puppet, Eleni would certainly be her human.

Scenic Designer — Emma Linderman
Emma Linderman (Scenic Designer) is a fourth-year studying TAPS and CMST. She has acted in many UT and TAPS shows, but this is her first time scenic designing! She would like to thank everyone involved with Strings Attached for helping her realize her dream of sanding wood, and would especially like to thank Natalie for helping her with the sanding. If she was a puppet, her human would be an unsettling Victorian child with eyes full of wonder.

Props Designer — Ryan Cairns
Ryan Cairns (Props Designer) is a third-year Political Science and Human Rights Major with a minor in Classical Studies. They have previously worked on the Strings Attached Workshop (Jason), Twelfth Night (Production Manager), Romeo and Juliet (Stage Manager), King Lear (Cordelia) and more. Outside of theater, they are on the board of W+ Women and Gender Minorities in Public Service, and they organize with Chicago Abortion Fund and UChicago United for Palestine. They would like to thank Jeff Lind and Eleni Lefakis for letting them make these silly little props, and Nat Lam, their forever Walt. 

Costume Designer — Asia Quizon-Colquitt
Asia Quizon-Colquitt (Costume Designer) is a recent UChicago graduate who majored in East Asian Languages and Civilizations. She has previously worked on The Trail to Oregon! (Assistant Costume Designer) and Muscle Memory (Costume Designer). She is immensely grateful for the opportunity to be involved in UT post graduation. If she was a puppet, her human would be John Wick.

Costume Designer — Tori Ogiste

Lighting Designer — Emily Curran
Emily Curran (Lighting Designer) is a second year Public Policy Major and TAPS minor. Her work has been seen in Falsettos (Dr. Charlotte), Be More Chill (Assistant Lighting Designer), Twelfth Night (Lighting Designer), Macbeth in Space (Lighting Designer), and Romeo and Juliet (Assistant Lighting Designer). She is thrilled to have had the opportunity to work on this fantastic show and would like to thank the incredible cast and crew for all of their amazing work. She loves them all endlessly. Enjoy!

Sound Designer — Nathalie Lam
Nathalie Lam (Sound Designer) loves all of America's idyllic state parks. As a puppet, her human is most definitely Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker. She would like to endlessly thank her marionettist, the one and only Will Rehmus.

Sound Designer — Will Rehmus
Will Rehmus (Sound Designer) is a first-year astrophysics major. They have previously worked on Weekend of Workshops: Cassandra (Lighting and Sound), Muscle Memory (Asst. Lighting), and Falsettos (ASM). They are currently also working on The Play that Goes Wrong (Asst. Lighting).

Projection Designer — Yifan Zou
Yifan Zou (Production Designer) is a third-year Media Arts and Design and Computer Science major. She has previously worked on The Ballad of Oedipus (Associate Projection Designer), Taming of the Shrew (Assistant Scenic Designer), Dead Fun Society (Scenic Designer), Macbeth in Space (Assistant Projection Designer), and King Lear (Assistant Scenic Designer). Outside of theatre, she enjoys reading manga, drawing, crocheting, and cooking.

Assistant Director — Claudia Roth Hesson
Claudia (Assistant Director) is a first year and major-less. This is her first credit with UT but hopefully not the last. She is probably a puppet of the youth activist Greta Thunberg, though some have said she's more of an Edna Mode.

Assistant Music Director — Surya Chinnappa

Assistant Vocal Director — Cilcan Pierce

Assistant Vocal Director — Lucienne Totti

Assistant Choreographer — Kelly Mao

Assistant Production Manager — Jasmine Li

Assistant Stage Manager — Aitana Rosas Linhard
Aitana (Assistant Stage Manager) is a first year with an undecided major. She previously worked on Taming of the Shrew (Assistant Stage Manager) fall quarter. If Aitana were a puppet, her human would be "Impractical Joker's" Sal Vulcano.

Assistant Stage Manager — Nate LePelley

Assistant Scenic Designer — Ike Peng

Assistant Scenic Designer — Natalie Floreancig

Assistant Props Designer — Anna German

Assistant Costume Designer — Kaden Kaden
Kaden Kaden (Assistant Costume Designer) is a first-year Linguistics and History major with a love for kombucha and bogs. They've previously worked on Muscle Memory (Lighting Designer), Winter Workshops (Costume Designer), and three-quarters of Theater [24] (Lighting Designer). Currently they're also working on The Play That Goes Wrong (Lighting Designer).

Assistant Lighting Designer — Kaden Kaden
Kaden Kaden (Assistant Lighting Designer) is a first-year Linguistics and History major with a love for kombucha and bogs. They've previously worked on Muscle Memory (Lighting Designer), Winter Workshops (Costume Designer), and three quarters of Theater [24] (Lighting Designer). Currently they're also working on The Play That Goes Wrong (Lighting Designer).

Assistant Projection Designer — Rosemary Li

Fight Captain — Aitana Rosas Linhard

Fight Captain — Nate LePelley

UT Committee Liaison — Maya Carlos Doyle
Maya Carlos Doyle (UT Committee Liason) is a third-year English major. She is excited to make her debut as a liaison. She is even more excited to have been able to play a small part in bringing this grand vision almost two years in the making to life.