Written by Fairlith Harvey
Directed by Megan Behm
Featuring
Bri Houtman as Pudding
Paige O'Malley as Kit
Gabby Wolfe as Viola
&
Robert Pike as A Lot of Men
Produced by
Kerry McGee
Production Management
Rachel Dixon
Stage Management
Makenzi Wentela
Assistant Stage Management
Katie Gallagher
Fight Choreography
Casey Kaleba
Set Design
Megan Holden
Lighting Design
Jason Aufdem-Brinke
Technical Direction
Martin Bernier
Costume Design
Madi Wentela
Original Composition & Sound Design
Ethan Balis
Props Design
Rose Talbot
Dialects
Jenna Berk
Dramaturgy
Alex Berrios
Graphic Design
Stefany Pesta
Photographer
Mark Williams Hoelscher
Artistic Director
Kerry McGee
Executive Director
Raven Bonniwell
Managing Director
Rachel Dixon
Marketing Director
Kerry McGee
Box Office Manager
Keith Hock
Grants Writer
Kiernan McGowan
Literary Director
Keith Hock
Kill the Ripper is performed at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, on the ancestral land of the Piscataway and Anacostan people.
A Note from the Dramaturg
Jack The Ripper was an infamous unidentified serial killer who terrorized the women of Whitechapel, London in 1888. Women specifically; his victims were all female sex workers in Whitechapel and there is no account of him ever attacking a man. Why is that important? This story, Kill The Ripper by Fairlith Harvey, follows three Whitechapel women during these knife attacks who refuse to be his next victims. However, they make a mistake – they ask men for help. Men, who could help, but are instead willfully ignorant and dismissive of the dangers facing them.
Perhaps this sounds familiar. Still to this day there is an expectation that a woman in trouble must need help from a man. But what happens when the man is not helpful? Or, worse and more common, what if the man simply isn’t invested enough in the woman or her safety to care? If he doesn’t have a personal attachment to her he is unlikely to. Women should not need to rely on someone else to protect them. Quite the contrary, in fact. Women are more than capable of defending themselves, if given a reason and provided access to the right resources.
Kill The Ripper highlights this issue of women being unable to rely on outside protection and instead discovering the empowering potential of relying on themselves and each other. 1888 Whitechapel was not the greatest time or place to be a woman. It was impoverished, overcrowded, polluted, and the most common job for women was sex work. No one took an interest in protecting the most vulnerable members of that desperate rookery; the prostitutes, most of whom were also alcoholics. The characters in this story find a way to protect themselves, since no one else will do it for them – even if it means murder. Meeting violence with violence is seldom the ideal path, but if bloodshed is inevitable, then it is only fair that both parties be capable of dealing it out. As Rebekah says in The Vampire Diaries: “A woman can easily kill a man. With the right motivation.”
- Alex Berrios
A Note from the Director
Kill the Ripper is set in a historical era, but this play is not about history. To me, this play is about what it means to feel powerless--and how satisfying and thrilling it is to wrestle some of that power back for yourself. The women at the center of Kill the Ripper decide to spit in the face of a world that doesn't care about them and give themselves permission to finally live in their full, unrestrained power.
I wish these themes weren't so relevant to today's world, but they are. This show is for anyone who has ever been marginalized, has been made to feel invisible, has been scared on their commute home, or has been one moment of street harassment away from snapping. I hope this show makes you feel seen.
Raise hell. Kick ass. Enjoy the show.
- Megan Behm
Bios
JASON AUFDEM-BRINKE (Lighting Designer) he/him
We Happy Few Company Member and Resident Lighting Designer. Select WHF designs include: Iphigenia, La Llorona, Desdemona, Lovers Vows, Macbeth, The Tempest, Hamlet. Recent designs elsewhere Twelfth Night (Chesapeake Shakespeare Company), mosaic (Georgetown University Dance Club), Soul Memories (Black Movements Dance Ensemble), Masters of the Fighterverse (Flying V), Elvis’ Birthday Fightclub (Astro Pop Events)
ETHAN BALIS (Composer, Sound Design) he/him
Ethan Balis (sound designer, composer) has composed music and designed sound for two productions with We Happy Few: 2018’s Pericles and 2019’s Macbeth. Other recent credits include sound design and compositions for The Chosen, Secret Things, Trying, and Helen-Hayes-nominated The Farnsworth Invention (1st Stage); Coolatully (Solas Nua); scoring the hit DC Fringe Festival play Ambien Date Night; and string compositions for the Doha Tribecca Film Festival selection Blue Dive. He also arranged strings for the National Archives Foundation's ceremony honoring the creators of the musical Hamilton.
MEGAN BEHM (Director) she/her
Megan is a DC-based director and arts administrator. Recent directing credits include Ada and the Engine and A Misanthrope at Avant Bard Theatre; 45 Plays for 45 Presidents, Pride and Prejudice, and 46 Plays for America's First Ladies at NextStop Theatre; Cymbeline at the Virginia Shakespeare Festival; to tell my story and Switch with The Welders; The Head that Wears the Crown at Ally Theater Company; and Safe as Houses at Pinky Swear Productions. Megan is a graduate of The College of William and Mary. www.megan-behm.com
JENNA BERK (Dialect Coach) she/her
Jenna is an actor and dialect coach who has been working in DC theater for over a decade. She has worked as a voice/dialect coach with Rorschach Theatre, Flying V Theatre, Constellation Theatre, HB Woodlawn Secondary Program, and Yorktown High School. Jenna most recently collaborated with We Happy Few as an actor in Pericles. She has performed across the DC region, including at Constellation Theatre Company (Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Helen Production, nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Helen Musical Production), the Folger Theatre, Taffety Punk Theatre Company, Keegan Theatre, Avant Bard, 4615 Theatre Company, Longacre Lea, Pinky Swear Productions, LiveArtDC, No Rules Theatre Company, 1st Stage, Brave Spirits Theatre Company, and The American Century Theater. Jenna has a BA in Drama and English from the University of Virginia and a BA (Honours) from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
MARTIN BERNIER (Technical Director) he/they
Marty is excited to make their We Happy Few debut with Kill the Ripper! After graduating from George Mason's Theater program, he received a bachelor's degree in Theater, with concentrations in Theater Performance and Design & Technical Theater, and a minor in Event Technical Production. Last seen as Prop Designer for Synetic’s production of Cyrano de Bergerac and their Teen Company's Taming of the Shrew, George Mason University's recent production of 9-5 and Head Over Heels, Theater Alliance’s The Bluest Eye, and Workhouse Art Center's Urinetown and Women Playing Hamlet. They have also worked as Technical Director for Acting for Young People's Beauty and the Beast Jr., Seussical Jr., and Puffs. They can be seen next as Prop Designer for Workhouse Art Center's Tommy, and Technical Director for Acting for Young People's Newsies Jr. Marty would like to thank their close friends and loved ones for all their love and support, and We Happy Few for the opportunity to work with a wonderful group of artists.
ALEX BERRIOS (Dramaturgy) she/her
Alex Berrios is a graduate of GMU where she received a B.A. in both Theater and Foreign Languages. Besides Kill The Ripper, she has been dramaturg with We Happy Few for their production of La Llorona and for George Mason’s productions of Our Country’s Good, The Women of Lockerbie, and Everybody. Aside from dramaturgy, she enjoys playwriting and performance. She hopes everyone enjoys the show and gives many thanks to We Happy Few for allowing her to be a part of such a genuinely talented, dedicated company.
RACHEL DIXON (Production Manager) she/her
Rachel Dixon is the Managing Director for WHF. Her previous credits with the company include La Llorona (co-director and production manager), Iphigenia (production manager), and Desdemona: A Play About A Handkerchief (stage manager). She also works with Arena Stage as a Teaching Artist with the Voices of Now program, as well as the Camp Assistant for Camp Arena Stage. Rachel is also the DC correspondent for TheaterHound.com. She graduated from George Mason University, where she received a BFA in Theater Performance and a minor in psychology.
KATIE GALLAGHER (Assistant Stage Manager) she/her
Katie is a playwright and theatre practitioner living and working in DC. This is her first time working with We Happy Few and she’s thrilled to be here!
MEGAN HOLDEN (Scenic Designer) she/her
Megan is excited to be working on her second show with We Happy Few Productions. Before moving to the area in 2019, Megan graduated from James Madison University with a degree in Technical Theater with a focus in scenic design and painting. Since then, Megan has worked as a scenic designer and painter at companies across the DMV. Some area credits for scenic design include La Llorana (We Happy Few Productions), Dorthy’s Dictionary, Major Barbara and Ben Butler (Washington Stage Guild), A Misanthrope, How I Learned What I Learned, and Billy and George (Avant Bard Theatre), Príncipe y Príncipe (Gala Hispanic Theater), and 46 Plays for America’s First Ladies (Nextstop Theater).
BRI HOUTMAN (Pudding) they/she
Bri is a DC based actor who is thrilled to be working with We Happy Few again in their second feminist revenge fantasy. Bri received their B.A in 2022 from George Washington University in theater and criminal justice. Local credits include Dracula A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really and Angel Number Nine (Rorschach Theatre), Love Like Tuesday (Faction of Fools), Iphigenia (We Happy Few), The Very Hungry Caterpillar U/S (Imagination Stage) and Arco Iris U/S (Arts on the Horizon). Coming this January: A Commedia Romeo and Juliet (Faction of Fools).
CASEY KALEBA (Fight Choreography) he/him
Casey Kaleba has worked with We Happy Few on a number of revenge-tinged plays, including Hamlet, The Duchess of Malfi, and Macbeth. A Certified Teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors, Casey has arranged fights, intimacy, and movement for nearly six hundred productions: recent work includes Romeo and Juliet with the Washington National Opera, Ragtime at Signature Theatre, and The Seafarer at Round House Theatre. www.ToothAndClawCombat.com
KERRY MCGEE (Producer) she/her
Kerry is the Artistic Director and Marketing Director for WHF. Kerry has directed La Llorona, Desdemona: A Play About A Handkerchief, Lovers' Vows, Treasure Island, Hamlet Project: A Rock 'n' Roll Mixtape, Henry V and Chalk for WHF and acted in The Adventure of the Norwood Builder, Pericles, Dracula, A Midnight Dreary, and The Winter's Tale. Additionally, Kerry has directed and adapted the Loveday Brooke series for WHF, written Iphigenia, and has designed the packages for the Sherlock and Poe audio experiences. Other DC credits: Visions of Love (Pointless Theatre), Peepshow; Beertown; Toast (dog & pony dc), and Love's LaBeers Lost (LiveArtDC). Kerry worked in Richmond for many years, where she received awards for her work on A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity. Kerry received her MFA in Theatre Pedagogy from VCU.
PAIGE O'MALLEY (Kit) she/her
Paige is a company member of We Happy Few and has worked on numerous prior projects including, Desdemona: A Play About a Handkerchief (title character); Frankenstein (devisor, performer, designer, puppeteer); and Treasure Island (devisor, performer, designer, songwriter). She has also voiced roles in all of the WHF Audio Dramas, currently available for at-home download (Poe, Loveday, & Sherlock). Paige works by day as an audiobook narrator for the Library of Congress, a puppeteer for the DC Public School system, and a rep for Bookshop.org. For more on Paige’s work visit: www.paigeomalley.com
ROSE TALBOT (Props Design) she/her
ROBERT PIKE (A Lot of Men) he/him/his
Robert is ecstatic to be back onstage with We Happy Few! Previous WHF theatre credits include acting and sound designing Iphigenia, Henry V, and Chalk, sound designing The Dog in the Manger, The Duchess of Malfi, and adapting/directing Dracula and Frankenstein. Previous onstage credits in the DMV area include Rorschach Theatre (company member), NextStop Theatre, WSC Avant Bard, Washington National Opera, Ally Theatre, Brave Spirits Theatre, and Parlor Room Theater. Robert holds a BA in Drama from the Catholic University of America and an MA in English Literature from Georgetown University. Upcoming: A Commedia Romeo and Juliet with Faction of Fools! robert-pike.com
MADI WENTELA (Costume Designer) she/her
Madi is a recently graduated theatre artist, sculptor, and arts administrator from Stafford, Virginia who earned her B.S. in Theatre and Entertainment Technology from Michigan Technological University, with a background in stage management and costuming. She is thrilled to be working on her first production with We Happy Few!
MAKENZI WENTLA (Stage Manager) she/her/hers
Makenzi is an educator and technician who works in the DMV area, and is a Michigan Technological University graduate with a BS in Theatre and Entertainment Technology. She has previously worked with We Happy Few on Iphigenia, Desdemona a Play about a Handkerchief and La Llorona as a stage manager, as well as with the Discovery Theatre on Seasons of Light as a stage manager. Enjoy the show!
GABBY WOLFE (Viola) she/her
Gabby is an actor and playwright in Washington D.C, and also works in marketing at Studio Theatre. Her selected credits include: La Llorona (actor & playwright) at We Happy Few Productions, Desdemona: A Play about a Handkerchief (Bianca) at We Happy Few Productions, The Dinner Party (workshop) at Studio Theatre, The Burn (Mercedes) at the Hub Theatre, Tinkerbell (understudy) at Adventure Theatre, Romeo & Juliet (Juliet) at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company. Prior to moving to D.C she toured with VA Rep on Tour, and performed with the Virginia Shakespeare Festival in The Tempest as Miranda. Awards: Helen Hayes Nomination for Outstanding Performer in a Play, Gabby is a recipient of DCAH FY24 Fellowship. Gabby is also a proud company member of We Happy Few Productions, and Only Make Believe, a non-profit children's theatre company serving across the DMV. gabbyrwolfe.com.
We Happy Few is:
We Happy Company Members
Jason Aufdem-Brinke
Raven Bonniwell
Debora Crabbe
Rachel Dixon
Keith Hock
Kerry McGee
Kiernan McGowan
Paige O'Malley
Sam Reilly
Jon Reynolds
Hannah Todd
Gabby Wolfe
We Happy Board Members
John McGowan
Christine Callsen
Raven Bonniwell
Kerry McGee
Hannah Todd
We Happy Thanks
CHAW
Catholic University of America
Taffety Punk
Literary Adventure Society
Eddie Van Dyke
Yaritza Pacheco
Caroline Austin
The Free Theater
Marci Shegogue
Lauren Evans
Landon School Theater Department
Montgomery College Theater Department
We Happy Few Supporters
Baker Street Irregulars ($50+)
Ellys Abrams, Thomas Holzman, Kerry McGee, Lucy Scott, Kathryn Zoerb
The Bards ($100+)
Rose Ann Cleveland, Sarah Cochran, Jason Ditto, Kathy Goos, Melanie Harker & Sean Ellis, Jon Reynolds, Peter Smith, Lynn Soukup, Shelley Steuer, Ryan Aurori, Benjamin Djain, Kiernan McGowan & Raven Bonniwell, Hannah Todd, Maria Coppola, Eileen Gillooly
Peg Leg Pirates ($200+)
Thomas & DawnBonniwell, Jeremy Hilgert, James Nemetz, Pamela Schwartz, Jocelyn Callister, Jessica Jackson, Jeff Gee, Mary McGann, Jonathan Zucker, Keith Hock
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