Presents

Quit Bitchin’

Feb. 28 – March 15, 2025
Claire Trevor Theatre Stage

Written by Anna Marjorie Fitzgerald

Scenic Designer | Rojin Bolandbakht
Lighting Designer | Aria Roach
Costume Designer | Christian Alvarez
Sound Designer | Melanie Falcon
Movement | Jax Dean
Intimacy Director | Cynthia Bassham
Dramaturg | Emily Parise

Director
Juliette Carrillo

Composer
Jeremiah Turner

Production Stage Manager
Daniel Rosales 

Content Warning: Strong and graphic language, mature content, strobing lights and haze

Major support for Quit Bitchin’ is provided by Robert and Lorna Cohen Endowment for Excellence in Drama,
the Theatre Guild and the Claire Trevor Society.

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

The birth of a play can be unpredictable—sometimes it comes together quickly, while other times it takes months, years, or even decades of effort. Anna came into my Playwright-Director Relationship class last winter with just the seed of an idea. That class is typically focused on refining existing drafts, but she assured me she could produce a draft early in the quarter. True to her word, she delivered something with impressive depth and complexity, and I knew almost immediately that her new play would be an exciting addition to the drama mainstage season.

Lucas Nelson, a third-year graduate director at the time, partnered with her, and together they developed the play further in a workshop production that spring, aiming to create a production draft for the following season. When we began rehearsals earlier this year, the play was already in a strong and significantly revised state. Still, I encouraged Anna to keep digging and refining. With its unique structure and intertwining storylines, the play demanded bold, ongoing exploration.

Now, three weeks into rehearsal, we’ve received another major rewrite—a clear reflection of Anna’s relentless dedication to the work. Watching her courageous process has been exhilarating for everyone involved. It feels as though the story has a life of its own, one that Anna listens to with extraordinary care. I often tell my students to “listen to what the play wants to say,” and Anna embodies this principle beautifully.

We are trusting the play, the process, and Anna’s voice as a playwright. I’m profoundly grateful to Anna, the cast, the understudies, and the design team for their commitment and contributions. Each person has added something of themselves to this project, and together we’ve created something truly special. I can’t wait to see how this play continues to grow as it moves out into the world.

– Juliette Carrillo, director

DRAMATURG’S NOTE

What do communities offer us? What do we lose if they fall apart?

Quit Bitchin’ tells two parallel stories. The story of the younger women shows the development of a new community, as the three become friends in the town’s laundromat. The story of the older women shows the breakdown of a community, as the three are torn apart by tragedy and anger. In between these stories are the ancient days. Ancient days reveal who these women are: Medea, Antigone and Jael. By connecting contemporary women to these ancient figures, the play identifies a cycle of violence and destruction that accompanies communities in chaos. These cycles began in the ancient world but continue into the present.

The six women are each based on one of three ancient women. Medea is a character from Greek mythology. She is a sorceress most known for killing her two sons. Antigone is another Greek character; her parents are Oedipus and his mother-wife Jocasta. When her brother is killed on the opposite end of a civil conflict, she sacrifices her life to bury her brother. Jael is from the Biblical Book of Judges. When the general Sisera enters her tent, she drives a tent spike through his temple while he sleeps; his death ensures victory for Isreal over the Canaanites.

These violent, deadly stories are set in communities in crisis; the women are left in isolation. All six contemporary women arrive in this play isolated, restricted by patriarchal forces outside of their control, and left to bottle up their anger until it explodes. When this anger explodes, it can be violent, as it has been for the ancient women. But it may also facilitate change. Quit Bitchin’ searches for a way out of these ancient cycles of violence and anger. It tells us that there is a way out, but you cannot make it out alone.

For more information on the play, the characters, and the production, please visit our website: https://sites.uci.edu/quitbitchin/.  

– Emily Parise, dramaturg

PLAYWRIGHT’S NOTE

Why can’t I get angry? Like really angry?

As a woman, I had internalized that an aggressive or rageful response was off-limits because, in our cultural context, female rage is feared and shunned. Of course, I don’t think we should all be walking around rageful all the time, but my suppression of rage seemed to be counterproductive. I wondered, can rage be good? Can it actually help us understand what is oppressing us? What if I created a world in which women could productively express their rage?

As I started writing, I turned to the classics, and I found MEDEA, ANTIGONE and JAEL—three women who expressed their rage in ancient texts. But then I thought, what if these women met each other in present day rural America across two generations? How would their stories be different? Could their stories be different?

QUIT BITCHIN’ is my answer to those questions, and I hope you enjoy what I found.

– Anna Marjorie Fitzgerald, playwright

CAST

UNDERSTUDIES

Read Cast Bios

CREW

Scenic
Andrea Brambila, Mikyoung Han, Ashley Johnson, Amanda Ree

Costumes
Catherine Dosier, Sebastian Tellez, Olivia Williams

E-Run
Melissa Fuerst, Katie McCarthy

E-Hang
Jenna Lang, Lyss McGhee, Soren Patel, Clarissa Robles, Sam Sun

Audio
Sophie Babcock, Allie Rincand, Maliyha Woodson

DRAMA FACULTY

Joel Veenstra, Chair

Lonnie Alcaraz
Cynthia Bassham
Andrew Borba
Richard Brestoff
Juliette Carrillo
Myrona DeLaney
Efren Delgadillo Jr.
Zachary Dietz
Holly Poe Durbin
Marcy Froehlich
Michael Hooker
Daniel Keeling
Anthony Kubiak
Daphne Lei
Tiffany Ana López
Annie Loui
Ian Munro
Yee Eun Nam
Vincent Olivieri
Andrew Palermo
Zachary Price
Bryan Reynolds
Tara Rodman
Eli Simon
Jaymi Lee Smith
Philip Thompson

DRAMA STAFF

Marcus Beeman, Management Services Officer
Charmayne Durham, Department Analyst

In addition to our MainStage shows, the Department of Drama invites you to join us for other exciting productions throughout the year, created by artists in the following student clubs:

	Brown Bag Theatre Company
	Improv Revolution
	The Black Door Theatre Company
	Theatre Woks
	Brick Theatre Company
	30 Plays in 60 Minutes – Schrodinger’s Cast
	Metro Theatre Company
	Director Class Projects

Thank You!

The Claire Trevor School of the Arts would like to recognize those donors who gave $1,000 or more during the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

Visionaries $1 million+
Mr. J.S. Kim

Ambassadors $100,000–$250,000
Beall Family Foundation
Matthew and Janet Proudfoot

Partners $50,000–$99,999
Susan Hori *+

Investors $25,000–$49,999
Matt Bailey *+
Joseph Huszti ‡
Leo Freedman Foundation
James and Sheila Peterson *+
Richard B. Siegel Foundation
Steven M. Sorenson Foundation *+

Patrons $10,000–$24,999
Anonymous Donors
Dennis and Diane Baker
The Estate of Ann and William Cullen
Farmers & Merchants Bank Foundation
Mary Gilly and John Graham +
Tyler Holcomb
Cloud Hsueh ‡ and Fang Hsu
The Estate of Bobi Keenan
James and Katie Loss
Robert Peirson +
Cheryll and Richard Ruszat *+
The Segerstrom Foundation
The Shubert Foundation

Benefactors $5,000–$9,999
Kimberly Burge
Anthony Chen, M.D. and Yali Chen
Robert Farnsworth and Lori Grayson +
Valerie Glass
Pamela and Carl Lagoni
Helen and Fritz Lin
Goran Matijasevic +
Julia Reinhard Lupton and Kenneth Reinhard +
Kenneth and Helene Rohl
Diane Silber +
Susan and Eugene Spiritus
Socorro and Ernesto Vasquez +
Mary Watson-Bruce *+

Fellows $2,500–$4,999
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Gerald and Veronica DeVries
Albert and Anne Encinias +
Tamara Fabian
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James and Gail Lopes
Tiffany López *+
Chris Mesel
Howard and Ellen Mirowitz +
The Robert and Doreen Marshall Fund for Dramatic Arts and Classical Music
Orange County Community Foundation
Pacific Art Foundation
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Advocates $1,000–$2,499
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Jaime DeJong +
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Barbara Finlayson-Pitts
John and Michele Forsyte +
Douglas and Lynn Freeman +
Diana Ghoukassian +
Donald and Pamela Gilmour
Michael and Karol Gottfredson +
Carol Greenwald +
Loreen and Andrew Guilford
Edwin and Norma Henderson
Jamison Judd +
Mary Karyl and John Thorne
Timothy and Pamela Kashani +
Yang-Uk Kim +
Jennifer Klein +
Michael and Elaine Kleinman
Susan and Lynn Lasswell +
Jeff Lefkoff and Mary Gholson
Nancy Locke +
Heather MacDonald and Erich Eichman
Margaret and Mark Marshall
Jared and Kathryn Mathis +
Gary and Maya Matkin +
Anthony and Rachel Maus
Kathleen Mellon
William and Lane Minton
James Nelson
Michael Oppenheim
Karine Rivet +
Carolyn Scheer
Paula and Steve Schwartz
Nina Scolnik
Ronald and Sandi Simon +
Gary and Melanie Singer +
Mitchell and Maureen Spann +
Vina Spiehler
Richard and Alison Stein *+
Thomas and Marilyn Sutton +
The Tigger Fund
Jason and Desiree Valdry
Joel Veenstra and Family +
Irwin and Michele Walot
James White
Lorri and Mike Whitney
S. Ama Wray
Katy Young and Christopher Lee
Shirley Zanton and Michael Whalen

Legacy and Endowment Donors
We are grateful for the trust and foresight of those who have ensured the Claire Trevor School of the Arts’ brilliant future by establishing an endowed fund or have included us in their estate plans.
Anonymous Donors
Diane and Dennis Baker
Edna Beach ‡
The Donald Bren Foundation
Ann Cullen ‡
Robert ‡ and Lorna Cohen
Frank D’Accone ‡
William Daughaday
Kris and Linda Elftmann
Leo Freedman Foundation
William J. Gillespie ‡
Henry W. Bull Foundation
Gunther Holland ‡
Bobi Keenan ‡
Victor Klein ‡
Beth Koehler ‡
Walter Koehler ‡
Michael and Stacy Koehn
Elaine Koshimizu ‡
Lucille Kuehn ‡
Betty C. Leidal ‡
Alice S. Lowell ‡
Fariborz and Azam Maseeh
Meyer Sound
Thomas Nielsen
Virginia and Norman Nixon ‡
Ronald C. Offen ‡
Michael R. Oppenheim
Lois J. Osborne ‡
Matthew and Janet Proudfoot
Marjorie and Robert Rawlins ‡
Sylvia and Frederick Reines ‡
Ryna H. Rothberg
Nancy Ruyter
Helene Santley ‡
Audrey M. Schneiderman ‡
H. Colin Slim ‡
Winifred Smith ‡
Thomas and Elizabeth Tierney
Claire Trevor ‡
Andrew Vacca
Bette Warner ‡
Hal B. Yolen ‡

* Dean’s Arts Board Members
+ Claire Trevor Society Members
‡ In Memoriam

This list represents generous gifts, pledges and pledge payments made between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. Multi-year pledges are recognized for their full amount in the fiscal year they are made, and subsequent payments are recognized for their cash value. Please accept our apologies for any errors or omissions in this list. For questions, please contact ctsadevelopment@uci.edu.

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