Written by Erin McCarson
Directed by Jessica Johnson
PLAYWRIGHT’S NOTE
I am wholly a theater person. Theater is my home. I love acting, directing, watching, designing, creating... I adore all the many things, big and small, it takes to make a show come to life. I wrote this play hoping to challenge and excite all involved. How can we explore universal themes, in a new way, in a normal family's living room? How would it feel to act it? How would it feel to watch it? How much can we challenge the audience? How much can we challenge the actor? I wanted to experiment with stillness, time, and twisting tropes. I want every audience member to recognize these characters, cheering for their successes and mourning their losses. I want you to leave the theatre sharing stories of your family traditions and strangenesses. Writing this play has been an honor. It's forced me to sit in what makes me uncomfortable and work toward finding peace. It's also allowed me to reflect upon and celebrate the unique, silly, nonsensical moments that make up a lifetime. Those moments are the good stuff! I hope you enjoy the show. Happy Holidays! - Erin McCarson
PLAYWRIGHT
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Erin McCarson
Erin McCarson is an actor, director, and writer living in WNC. Special thanks: To my Husband and Toddler for endless support and kisses. To my Mama, Daddy, and Brother for a lifetime of traditions and memories. To Dwight Chiles and Bekah Brunstetter for friendship and inspiration. To Katie Jones and Jess Johnson for telling me I am a writer and holding my sweaty hand the whole journey. To the Cast, Crew, Production Team, and The Magnetic Theatre, you are the best in the business and it's an honor to work with you. And YOU, friend! Thank you for supporting theatre. I wish you a safe and happy holiday! Deuces Mooses!
Watch the Most ___ Trailer
See what audiences had to say about It’s the Most _____ Time of the Year
CAST (in order of appearance)
Jean……………………Jane Hallstrom
Doug……...…………..David Mycoff
Rosemary….………Clara Burrus
Mike…………………….Peter Smith-McDowell
Bing…………..…….….Dillon Giles
Paul……………..……..Strother Stingley
Girl……………….……..(played alternately by) Katie Green, Stephanie Nusbaum, Heather Bronson
ABOUT THE CAST
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Heather Nicole Bronson (Girl)
Heather Nicole Bronson is thrilled to be returning to The Magnetic Theatre and theatre in general! She has been acting in the WNC area since 2015 after graduating from Mars Hill University with a BFA in musical theatre. Previous Magnetic Theatre roles include Persephone in Kore, Dru in something i cared about, Heather in Dry Weather Wind, and Eli in The Misanthrope. Other treasured roles include Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods (Haywood Arts Regional Theatre) and Ruby in Dames at Sea (Mars Hill University). Offstage, Heather enjoys knitting, riding her bike, and petting animals.
Dillon Giles (Bing)
Dillon is a locally based professional actor who has been seen recently in shows in the area at SART, HART, ACT, and other local establishments. He's excited to be a part of another production with Magnetic after something i cared about. You can reach me on Facebook or Instagram- @dillpicklegiles. He would like to thank his friends and family for all their support.
Stephanie Nusbaum (Girl)
Stephanie is thrilled to return to the Magnetic Stage. Her favorite productions include A Serial's Killer's Daughter (Shared Radiance), Shakes Collage Tour (Shared Radiance, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Montford Park Players), and The Legacy of Amelia Aldean (Magnetic Theatre). She thanks her fiancé David, as well as her cats, Hamlet and Sebastian, for their love and support!
Clara Burrus (Rosemary)
Clara has been performing for over two decades and is a native of WNC. This is her first show at The Magnetic and she is thrilled to be working with such a wonderful cast and crew. She is a graduate of UNCG’s School of Music (Bachelors of Music in Voice Performance) and ETSU’s School of Nursing (Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing). Excited to finally be back performing, she was last seen in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Narrator) at Haywood Arts Repertory Theatre, and in Asheville pre-Covid at Montford Park Players in Robin Hood: Quest for Justice (Maid Marian). Clara currently works as a Registered Nurse at the Charles George VA. But all her free time is spent with her amazing family, her wonderful husband Dominic, and their various fur and feather babies.
Jane Hallstrom (Jean)
You may have seen Jane at the Magnetic as Linda in Death of a Salesman or as Pat in American Arcade. At the Utah Shakespeare Festival she was Duchess of Gloucester in Richard II and played other Shakespeare roles here in Asheville with Montford Park Players and Mountain Arts Theatre. She has worked with Attic Salt Theater, Parkway Playhouse, HART, Immediate Theater Project, and American Myth Center. Mother of 5, mother-in-law to 4+1/2, and grandmother to 8, she wishes to thank Erin McCarson for the theater therapy. “I can’t imagine a script that could do me more good at this time of my life,” says Jane. As always and forever she thanks her loving husband Frank who supports her theater habit. And thanks also to Becca Banner for the awesome Asheville accommodations.
Peter Smith-McDowell (Mike)
Asheville native Peter Smith-McDowell is a stand up comedian who has been traveling around the country telling jokes since 2009. He has opened up for Hannibal Buress, Trevor Noah, and Rory Scovel.
Katie Green (Girl)
Katie loves her bikes (the one that pedals up all the hills and the one that goes nowhere), loves fermenting things, hearts her old dog and kitty, and adores her best pal and super supporter, Ramin S.
David Mycoff (Doug)
David Mycoff is a recently retired college professor who has performed in many Asheville area stage productions with a number of theatre companies, including Magnetic Theatre, Different Strokes! Performing Arts Collective, Montford Park Players, Warren Wilson Theatre, Attic Salt Theatre Company, and Hendersonville Community Theatre.
Strother Stingley (Paul)
Strother is rather relieved (and very pleased) to be back on The Mag's stage. With floods cancelling shows which Covid hadn't already squashed, it's so good to keep trying to make theatre happen, as safely as possible. Thank you to The Magnetic for doing just that. Strother's grateful for this opportunity and can't wait for you to see this wonderful show. He's been acting professionally for 15+ years, mostly in the form of character roles, and feels lucky to play a subtler, more "real" role here now. Past roles/shows include quite a few musicals and comedies regionally as well as radio theatre tours across the Northeast and Midwest US.
PRODUCTION TEAM
Director…………………………..…………Jessica Johnson
Stage Manager………………..……..Ever Ray
Set Designer………………………..….Tyler Johnson
Scenic Designers…….……………..Amanda Brown, Jessica Johnson, Tyler Johnson
Sound Designer…………………….Abby Auman
Lighting Designer………………..Abby Auman
Props………………………………………….Amanda Brown, Tippin
Costume Designers…………….Kyrstin Ezzell, Will Ezzell, Kimbo States
Dramaturgy………………….………..Cheyenne Dancy, Katie Jones
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION TEAM
ABBY AUMAN (LIGHTING & SOUND DESIGNER) - Abby is the Technical Director of The Magnetic Theatre. She also works as a lighting designer in theaters all over WNC.
AMANDA BROWN (PROPS & SCENIC DESIGNER) - Amanda is sort of a Jill of all trades. She is a pastry chef, a stained glass artist and is apparently now doing props.
CHEYENNE DANCY (DRAMATURG) - Cheyenne Dancy is an Asheville based theatre photographer and graphic designer. Follow her on Instagram @cheyennedancyphotography to see more of her work!
WILL EZZELL (COSTUMER DESIGNER) - Will is a visual and performing artist living and working in the Asheville area. He has worked on prop design and set-dressing in the past alongside his brilliant wife Kyrstin at SART and before that in Hollywood on several Marvel films at SoCal Production Specialists, as well as having performed at HART, SART, ACT & Parkway Playhouse since moving to Western North Carolina from Los Angeles.
JESSICA JOHNSON (DIRECTOR / SCENIC DESIGNER) - Jessica has worked in theatre since the early 2000s, primarily as a stage manager, but also as a director, props and scenic designer, and dramaturg. In addition to her behind the scenes theatre work, she has a background in nonprofit development, works for the nonprofit software company Neon One, and currently serves as the Co-Artistic Director for The Magnetic Theatre.
TYLER JOHNSON (SET DESIGNER) - Tyler is a woodworker and furniture designer who moonlights as a set designer. When not figuring out ways to transform spaces, he’s busy taking big pieces of wood, turning them into smaller pieces of wood, then sometimes turning them back into big pieces of wood. You can see some of his work on Instagram at @tothebonewoodworking.
KATIE JONES (DRAMATURG) - Katie is a director, performer, and educator. She has worked with regional theatres in Sarasota, Chicago, and Denver, where she directed community-focused programming. Katie specializes in new play development and is an alumnus of Directors Lab New York and Chicago. She founded Wishbone Theatre Collective in 2009 and continues to perform with them, throughout the country. Katie has a BA from Clemson University and an MFA in from Naropa University. In addition to serving as The Magnetic's Co-Artistic Director, Katie has worked locally with Asheville Creative Arts and the Asheville Fringe Arts Festival.
EVER RAY (STAGE MANAGER) - Ever, a recent graduate of UNC Asheville, is excited to be working on It’s The Most _____ Time of the Year. They have been stage managing for a few years, but this is their first time stage managing with The Magnetic, most of their work being done at UNC Asheville and Asheville Community Theater. They would like to thank their sibling and brother-in-law for being a consistently supportive them in their creative endeavors.
TIPPIN (PROPS) - Since diving into theatre in 2013, Tippin has worked as an actor, stage manager, technical director, assistant director, producer, props master, office manager, collaborative writer, dramaturg, and sound designer for over fifty productions for stage, film, restaurant, hallway, and oversized camera obscura. She has a particular interest in socially progressive, original, experimental, fringe, and immersive theatre, as well as in poetry performance.
PHOTOS BY CHEYENNE DANCY
GALLERY
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THE MAGNETIC THEATRE STAFF
CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTOR…….……JESSICA JOHNSON
CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTOR…………..KATIE JONES
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR………….…ABBY AUMAN
BOX OFFICE MANAGER……………TIPPIN
MARKETING MANAGER……………CHEYENNE DANCY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
GEORGE AWAD
ELIZABETH MCCORVEY
CARIN METZGER
JASON PHILLIPS
JOSH SULLIVAN
ELIZABETH ZIEGLER
SPECIAL THANKS TO…
Dwight Chiles and Bekah Brunstetter
Tabitha Judy, Rachel Menna, Carin Metzger, Jason Phillips
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
