Into the Side of a Hill
by James Anthony Tyler directed by Ken-Matt Martin
stage manager Norman Anthony Small
dramaturg Dezi Gibbs
Into the Side of a Hill was originally developed with The Vagrancy Playwrights' Group in Los Angeles. It received additional development support from Flint's Repertory Theatre's 2022 New Works Program, and The Fire This Time Festival Cycle 5 New Works Lab.
Cast
Zarrel Zuttah Brandon Michael Hall
Allen Bishop Julian Robertson
Stanley Plummer Victor Musoni
Fred Bynes Ricardy Fabre
Vic Norris Antonio Michael Woodard
Perry Sample Freddie Fulton
James Anthony Tyler (playwright - he/him) is the recipient of the 3rd Annual Horton Foote Playwriting Award, an inaugural playwright to receive a commission from Audible, and a 2016 Theatre Masters Visionary Playwrights Award recipient. He is currently a Playwrights Center Core Writer, and most recently was the recipient of The Playwrights Center’s McKnight National Residency and Commission, a member of The Fire This Time Festival’s New Works Lab Cycle 5, and a member of Circle X Theatre Company’s Evolving Playwrights Group. His plays include Some Old Black Man (Berkshire Playwrights Lab at St. James Place and 59E59 Theaters, and a University Musical Society filmed production), All We Need Is Us (Keen Company, currently streaming on all podcast platforms) hop thA A (Currently streaming on Audible), Artney Jackson (World Premiere at Williamstown Theatre Festival, 2018 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award), and Dolphins and Sharks (LAByrinth Theater Company and Finborough Theatre in London). He’s a 2021/2018 MacDowell Fellow, a 2021 Hermitage Artist Resident, a 2018 Djerassi Fellow, 2018-2019 Amoralists Wright Club Playwright, 2017-2018 Nashville Rep Ingram New Works Playwright, 2016-2017 Ars Nova Play Group Resident, 2016 Working Farm Playwrights Group Resident at SPACE on Ryder Farm, 2015-2016 Playwrights’ Center’s Many Voices Fellow, 2014-2015 Dramatists Guild Fellow, and he was a member of Harlem’s Emerging Black Playwrights Group. He has a MFA in Film from Howard University and a MFA in Dramatic Writing from New York University. He is also a graduate of The Juilliard School's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program. For television, he was the Staff Writer for the OWN Network show “Cherish the Day” created by Ava DuVernay, and was most recently in the writers’ room for a new Apple + Drama Series starring an Academy Award winning actress.
Ken-Matt Martin (director - he/him) is a producer and director that has worked at many theaters across the country. Martin is a co-founder of Pyramid Theatre Company in Des Moines, IA where he served as Executive Director until 2018. Pyramid is the first and only theatre in the state of Iowa to produce plays by August Wilson including Martin’s productions of Fences and The Piano Lesson. Martin’s producing and directing credits in Des Moines have received numerous Cloris Leachman Excellence in Theatre Award nominations, including two awards for Best Play and a Special Honor for Martin in 2016. As a director he has developed new plays at Vineyard Theatre, The Playwrights Center, Primary Stages and Space at Ryder Farms. Next season he will direct world premiere plays and musicals at Flint Rep, Mosaic Theatre Company, and Olney Theatre Center. Martin has also served as Producing Director at Williamstown Theatre Festival where his tenure included the Broadway transfers of The Sound Inside and Grand Horizons. Additionally, he has served as Associate Producer at the Goodman Theatre where he co-created the Future Labs program. He was recently appointed Interim Artistic Director of Baltimore Center Stage and Arkansas Repertory Theatre. He received two degrees from Drake University and his MFA in Directing from Brown University.
Norman Anthony Small (stage manager - he/him) is a Brooklyn, NY born and Orlando, FL raised production stage manager. As a stage manager, Mr. Small has worked on Broadway, off-Broadway, regionally, and virtually. Some of Norman’s stage management credits include the Broadway productions The Shark Is Broken by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt (Winner of 4 Tony Awards including Best Play), and David Mamet’s American Buffalo (4 Tony Award nominations). He has also stage managed Where We Stand by Donnetta Lavinia Grays (The Lucille Lortel Awards Nomination for Outstanding Solo Show) at WP Theater and Baltimore Center Stage, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven by Stephen Adly Guirgis (The Lucille Lortel Awards Nomination for Outstanding Play and multiple Drama Desk Awards nominations) at the Atlantic Theater Company, A Night of Wild Beauty (a tribute to Ntozake Shange) at The Public Theater, Twisted Melodies at Baltimore Center Stage and the Apollo Theater, and Water + at National Public Radio (NPR). Norman earned a Bachelor of Music (BM) degree in Music Engineering Technology from the University of Miami as well as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in Media Management from the Metropolitan College of New York. He also studied classical acting at the British American Drama Academy’s (BADA) Midsummer in Oxford Program in Oxford, UK. Mr. Small is the recipient of the Off-Off Broadway Review (OOBR) Award for Excellence in Theatre, The President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA), and the Charlie Blackwell Symposium Scholarship for Stage Managers of Color. He is also a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), the union for actors and stage managers. When he’s not working, Norman enjoys traveling, learning new things, going to the theater (to see films, but mainly live theater productions), listening to all types of music, eating Häagen-Dazs Strawberry ice cream, and sleeping.
Dezi Gibbs (dramaturg - they/she)Dezi Tibbs (Dramaturg | they/she) seeks to find our common humanity through specificity. They’re often drawn to stories that center subsets of society that are familiar yet misunderstood. She always leads with an inquisitive mind and a whimsical heart—sometimes the best way to a person’s brain is through their funny bone! Previous credits include: Luna and the Starbodies (Joe’s Pub/Powerhouse Theatre), When the Rain Stops Falling (Lenfest Center for the Arts), Cockroaches (Breaking and Entering Theatre Company), Vile Isle (Lenfest Center for the Arts.)
Brandon Michael Hall (Zarrel - he/him) - Brandon Micheal Hall most recently appeared in Rian Johnson's "POKER FACE" on Peacock and starred in the Amazon limited series "CHLOE." Brandon gained recognition for his lead role in the CBS drama series "GOD FRIENDED ME" and played the title role in the ABC comedy "THE MAYOR." He also had a breakout role in the TBS/HBO Max series "SEARCH PARTY." Brandon made his Broadway debut in "TROUBLE IN MIND" and voiced Cyborg in the HBO Max animated film "INJUSTICE." He has appeared in various TV shows, including "POWER," "BROAD CITY," "THE CHARACTERS," and "UNFORGETTABLE." In film, he has been featured in "MONSTER PARTY," "LEZ BOMB," "THE SURROGATE," and "ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID." On stage, he starred in the world premiere production of "TRANSFERS." Brandon received his training at the Juilliard Drama Division, the British American Drama Academy, and the South Carolina Governor School of the Arts and Humanities.
Julian Robertson (Allen - he/him) is an actor from Jacksonville, Fl. Broadway: THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, PASSOVER. Off Broadway: THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG. He is a graduate of the Juilliard Drama Division. A 2016 Young Arts Theater Finalist and recipient of the 2019 Grace Le Vine award from the Princess Grace foundation.
Victor Musoni (Stanley - he/him) is an actor, writer and dancer hailing from Chicago. Select theater credits include: Toni Stone (Goodman); The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington, Columbinus (Steppenwolf); What to Send Up When it Goes Down (Congo Square); Queen of the Night (Victory Gardens); America V2.1, are you ready to smash white things?, No Child (Definition Theatre Company); La Havana Madrid (The Den Theater); Television and film: Me,We; The Tensile Strength of Air; 61st Street; WHOLE; Chicago Med and 6×9. Choreography: Alaiyo (Definition); Musoni is an ensemble member of Definition Theatre and is represented by Paonessa Talent Agency.
Ricardy Fabre (Fred - he/him)Theatre Credits Include; Wine in the Wilderness (Two River Theatre); New Golden Age (Primary Stages), Stick fly (Rep. Theatre of St. Louis), The Christians (Chautauqua Theatre Company), A Raisin in the Sun (Seattle Rep), Our Town (Portland Center Stage), Christmas Carol (Trinity Rep), Lessons in Survival (Vineyard Theatre), I and You (The People’s Light), The Convert(Central Square Theatre); Film: Mr. Harrigan’s Phone (Netflix). Education: Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Acting.
Antonio Michael Woodard (Vic - he/him) Antonio Michael Woodard Is excited to be apart of Normal Ave's NAPSeries. He was born and raised in Oakland, CA. His credits include Off-Broadway: Macbeth at Classic Stage Company (director: John Doyle). Regional credits include: The Till Trilogy at Mosaic Theatre Company (director: Talvin Wilks); Need Your Love at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (director: KJ Sanchez); The Amen Corner at Shakespeare Theatre Company (director: Whitney White); A Human Being Of A Sort at Williamstown Theatre Festival (director: Whitney White); Ragtime at Trinity Rep (director: Curt Columbus); also The Amen Corner and Mississippi Gotdamn at Pyramid Theatre Company (director: Ken-Matt Martin). Television credit includes: Evil CBS (director: Peter Sollett). Awards: Helen Hayes nominated Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play (The Ballad of Emmett Till); Cloris Leachman nominated Best Actor in a Play (The Amen Corner-Pyramid Theater); Irene Ryan Best Actor Region IV Finalist KCACTF. He received his MFA in Acting from Brown University/Trinity Rep and is also a graduate of Alabama State University with a BA in Theatre Arts. At Alabama State University he had the opportunity to become a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. through the Gamma Beta Chapter. As an artist I’ve always been interested in telling stories that reflect the world in which we live especially from the Black experience and perspective. Also excuse my colloquialism If we ain’t havin’ fun what we doin!!?? Turn up!
Freddie Fulton (Perry - he/him) is an actor from Little Rock, Arkansas. Graduate of Drake University/BFA & Columbia University/MFA. TV/Film: Genius: MLK/X (Reginald Little), Lyrical (Terrence), Glenbury 12 WP (Troy), Last Call (Franco) NYC: Confederates (Signature Theatre), Julius Caesar (Classic Stage Company) International: Someone Dies at the End (Edinburgh Fringe Festival/59e59) Regional: Paradise Blue (Long Wharf Theatre), Detroit ‘67 (Virginia Stage Company), Too Heavy For Your Pocket (Pyramid Theatre Company, A Soldier’s Play (Kum & Go Theatre), Shoebox Picnic (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), The Merchant of Venice (RTI), A Soldier’s Play (Kum & Go Theatre). Thank you to all my friends & family, your support means the world! Matthew 19:26. @freddiefulton
