Supporting Materials

Free “Open Talk” Video

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Caryl Churchill’s Heavenly Bodies

A Free Open Talk on Saturday, October 25 at 2:00 P.M.

Christopher Johnson, director of Cloud 9, gives a presentation on the life of playwright Caryl Churchill and a summary of the play, with an extended scene from the play presented by our actors.

This open talk is supported in part by generous gifts from Vicki Ettleman and Bill & Nancy Sohn.

Essay

For more background on the play, check out Jerry James’ essay

The White (Wo)Man’s Burden:
British Colonialism—in Africa and in Gender

Poster

View the full-sized poster for the play.

Christopher Johnson (Director) first came to The Rogue in 2011 to play Jewel in As I Lay Dying and now serves as Assistant Artistic Director, Play-reading Producer, and Resident Ensemble Member. The recipient of eight Arizona Daily Star Mac Award nominations for Best Director, his directing credits include the Rogue productions of Romeo and Juliet, Marjorie Prime, Under Milk Wood, Heartbreak House, The Seafarer, Great Expectations, Passage, The Awakening, The Weir, A View from the Bridge, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Middletown, The Crucible, Three Tall Women, Penelope, and The Picture of Dorian Gray; as well as Rogue’s Play-readings of The Year of Magical Thinking, Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, The Great God Pan, Of Mice and Men, Seascape, Heroes of the Fourth Turning, I Am My Own Wife, Our Country’s Good, Loveplay, Let Me Down Easy, Everybody, The Illusion, No Exit, Don Juan in Hell, A House of Pomegranates, The River, and Elizabeth Rex. Elsewhere in Tucson Christopher has directed boom, Cabaret, The Altruists, and Speech & Debate for Winding Road Theater Ensemble; as well as Wit, Persephone or Slow Time, The Book Of Liz, My Name is Rachel Corrie, Killer Joe, The Rocky Horror Show, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Savage In Limbo, Bug, Titus Andronicus, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Etcetera at Live Theatre Workshop (where he served as late-night series Artistic Director from 2007-12). Christopher has acted in over 30 plays at The Rogue, is the author of three of The Rogue’s original stage adaptations, has served on the Board of Directors, and creates all of The Rogue’s social media and video content.

Christopher Johnson’s direction of Cloud 9 is supported in part by
generous gifts from Julia Annas and Brock & Chantal McCaman

Director’s Notes

Caryl Churchill’s Cloud 9 is a broad comedy about the roles we play to survive in the world, regardless of whether or not those roles fit. Many of the characters you’ll encounter are giving performances that don’t suit their bodies, desires, or cultural backgrounds, primarily for the benefit of patriarchy and empire. The first act of the play takes place in British Colonial Africa, 1879, where we’re introduced to a typical family unit of the time: father, mother, son, and daughter.

The daughter, Victoria, is portrayed by an inanimate toy doll, being the role in the family afforded the least autonomy. The son, Edward, is played by an adult woman, reflecting the standard Western perception of young boys as feminine by default and who must be taught to act sufficiently masculine. The young mother of the family, Betty, is played by a man––reminding us that the traditional idea of a good and submissive wife is not inherently female but merely an act performed solely for a husband’s benefit. In Betty’s words, “I am a man’s creation as you see, and what men want is what I want to be.”

Betty’s husband, Clive, is a straight white man who is portrayed on stage by…a straight white man. This comparatively un-theatrical casting clues us in to the fact that Clive is the standard by which all of the characters playing roles that don’t suit their bodies must measure themselves against and in relation to. In 1879, Clive is the bearer of the White Man’s Burden of domesticating not only the native peoples of foreign lands but also the members of his own family. And so we see the historical impulse to colonize and plunder isn’t all that different from the impulse to govern and oppress the bodies and behavior of women, children, and minorities.

We also meet Joshua, the family’s native African manservant, a black character played on stage by a white actor. Joshua says, “My skin is black, but oh, my soul is white. I hate my tribe. My master is my light. I only live for him, as you can see. What white men want is what I want to be.” If this idea bothers you at all, the play is already doing its job.

Despite evoking drag and minstrelsy, you’ll find no attempt to deceive the audience in these portrayals. No wigs or makeup or body padding. The white actor playing the black character isn’t pretending to be a black man. The white actor playing the black character is, in action, just a white actor pretending to be a white man who we are then told is black. This is pure theatre, the lie that reveals the truth. The playwright’s intention is not to validate stereotypes but undermine them, illustrating the historical coercion of colonial subjects to play against type and the resulting dissonance we call polite society.

But as the madcap farce of Act I unfolds we gradually come to learn that, despite their best efforts to inhabit their roles correctly within the family unit, most of these people are leading some manner of double-life under the surface of their public performance. Not only are many of these roles played by the “wrong” actors, they’re also all desperately in love with the “wrong” person. Act I is a powder keg set to blow at any moment, as oppression of any kind invariably leads to revolt. If you find yourself at intermission thinking things can’t go on like this, you’re absolutely right.

100 years pass between Acts I and II, where we pick up the story in London, 1979, in the aftermath of the fall of the British Empire and the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 70s. Despite the passage of a century, the characters who return from Act I (daughter Victoria, son Edward, and mother Betty) have only aged 25 years, or a single generation. Since Cloud 9 was written in 1979, these characters are functionally making the leap from Victorian times to modern day.

The returning Act I characters are played in Act II by different actors of corresponding age and gender, thanks to the social progress achieved in the intervening years. But now that they’re presumably free to live their lives as they choose, these characters are even more lost and confused than they were in the first act of the play. Freedom, it seems, comes with its own set of challenges. In the absence of oppressive restrictions on how they should live and who they should love, Churchill’s characters struggle to inhabit their authentic selves without re-enacting a history that never served them in the first place.

The human brain, of course, is hard-wired to seek comfort in the habitual, even when it entails self-harm. We prefer a familiar hell to an unfamiliar heaven. In Cloud 9, liberation isn’t about the freedom to do whatever we want, but the courage to make choices that haven’t already been made on our behalf. Finding happiness within ourselves is no easy feat, but we aren’t likely to find it anywhere else.

—Christopher Johnson, Director
director@theroguetheatre.org

About the Playwright

Caryl Churchill (born September 3, 1938, in London) is a British playwright known for her innovative use of form and her exploration of social and political themes. Her writing often examines power, gender, and identity through unconventional structures and sharp dialogue. Her 1979 play Cloud 9 brought her international recognition for its inventive structure and fearless critique of colonialism and sexual repression. Developed with the Joint Stock Theatre Company, the play reflects Churchill’s collaborative process and her interest in how social systems shape personal lives. Churchill’s other plays, including Top Girls, Serious Money, and A Number, continue to explore how personal choices are shaped by wider systems. Churchill’s drama is widely recognized for abandoning realist approaches to theater in favor of surrealist experimentation, postmodern exploration of language, and an emphasis on the sexual politics and legacies of feminism.

CAST

*Member of The Rogue Resident Acting Ensemble

Stand-Bys: Leslie Monthan & Carley Elizabeth Preston

Biographies

Sophie Gibson-Rush (Edward / Victoria) is a musician and actor based in Tucson, Arizona. She is proud to be a resident ensemble member with The Rogue Theatre and the front woman and primary songwriter for critically acclaimed alternative rock quintet Holy Faint. She attended Boston University and London Academy of Music and Drama where she earned a BFA in acting. She continued her education at Double Edge Theater studying devised theatre. Favorite acting credits include Polly Garter (& others) in Under Milk Wood, Katherine in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Marc Antony in Julius Caesar, Peggy in The London Cuckolds, and Thomasina Coverly in Arcadia. She's honored to be included in The Rogue ensemble—a group of people as kind as they are curious. She looks forward to her full season of acting with The Rogue Theatre, and can be found playing music on stages all around Tucson and Southern Arizona. Always for Jojo with love. IG: @soatgoat

Sophie Gibson-Rush’s performance is supported in part by generous gifts
from Julia Annas, Peggy Houghton & Paul Garner and Ed & Nancy Landes

Hunter Hnat (Betty / Gerry) is grateful to be in his eighth season as a member of The Rogue Resident Acting Ensemble. He was most recently seen as Valère in Tartuffe. He has performed in over 30 shows with The Rogue, some notable favorites include Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Christopher Mahon in The Playboy of the Western World, Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Pip in Great Expectations, Happy in Death of a Salesman, Sebastian in Twelfth Night, Edmund Tyrone in Long Day’s Journey Into Night, and Christopher in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Other credits include Salomé (Scoundrel & Scamp), U/S in Romeo and Juliet (Arizona Theatre Company), and How the House Burned Down (Live Theatre Workshop). He is a U of A alumnus with his BFA in Musical Theatre, class of 2015. Enjoy the show!

Hunter Hnat’s performance is supported in part by
generous gifts from Julia Annas and Ann & Andrew Lettes

Cynthia Jeffery (Ellen + Mrs. Saunders / Betty) has been a resident of both Hawaii and Arizona for 35+ years. This is her eighth production with The Rogue Theatre; the first being The New Electric Ballroom, followed by Richard III, The Lady in the Looking Glass, No Exit, Mrs Dalloway, Sweat and Romeo and Juliet. Cynthia co-owned and operated Wide-Eyed Theatre, and co-produced three videos on Teen Crime Prevention with the Maui County Prosecutor’s Office and is a Tiki Award recipient for A Streetcar Named Desire, Macbeth and Crimes of the Heart. Favorite performances include Beyond Therapy, The Little Foxes, The Big Meal, The Glass Menagerie, Relatively Speaking, The Subject was Roses, Humble Boy, The Busy World is Hushed, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Gloria: A Life and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Film credits include Lost River: Lincoln’s Secret Weapon, The Greening of Eritrea, Spin, Animal Planet’s I Shouldn’t be Alive, Finley Wade, Dead West, Survive, and The 3 O’clock.

Cynthia Jeffery’s performance is supported in part by generous
gifts from Todd Hansen and Jim Wilson & Adam Hostetter

Joseph McGrath (Harry / Martin) is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Drama and Co-Founder and Artistic Director for The Rogue Theatre. He has recently appeared in Romeo and Juliet, The Playboy of the Western World, If on a winter’s night a traveler, Under Milk Wood, The Left Hand of Darkness, Heartbreak House, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Seafarer, Great Expectations, Mrs Dalloway, Passage, Death of a Salesman, Twelfth Night, The Awakening, As You Like It, The Weir, A View from the Bridge, Moby Dick, Long Day’s Journey into Night, The Crucible, The Secret in the Wings, Galileo (2018 Mac Award for Best Actor), and King Lear. He also received the Mac Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Tobias in A Delicate Balance. Joe has toured with John Houseman’s Acting Company and has performed with the Utah Shakespearean Festival. He has been a frequent performer with Ballet Tucson appearing in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and for seventeen years as Herr Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker. He has also performed with Arizona Theatre Company, Arizona Opera, and Arizona Onstage.

Joseph McGrath’s performance is supported in part by generous
gifts from Lori Levine & Gary Benna and Chris Wozney

Christopher Pankratz (Joshua / Edward, Property Master and Scenic Artist) Christopher’s Rogue acting credits include Tartuffe, Romeo and Juliet, The Playboy of the Western World, If on a winter’s night a traveler, The Skin of Our Teeth, Love’s Labor’s Lost, Under Milk Wood, The Left Hand of Darkness, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Great Expectations, The Awakening, As You Like It, A View from the Bridge, Moby Dick, The Crucible, Much Ado About Nothing, King Lear, and The Grapes of Wrath. Christopher also directed An Enemy of the People, Constellations, and The Sun Also Rises for the John and Joyce Ambruster Play-Reading Series. Christopher formerly taught theatre at Flowing Wells High School where he wrote and produced numerous new plays including The Longest Day of April, The Story Seller’s Tale, and You Can’t Make Wine from Raisins, which are available online for licensing and performance. While attending the University of Arizona, Christopher earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts, as well as a master’s degree from the College of Education.

Christopher Pankratz’s performance is supported in part by
generous gifts from Susan Tiss and Barbara & Gerald Goldberg
His work as Prop Master is supported in part by a generous gift from John Blackwell & Denice Blake
His work as Scenic Artist is supported in part by a generous gift from Gay Miller

Teri Lee Thomas (Maud / Lin) is delighted to return to The Rogue, after playing Madame Lebrun in The Awakening and Lady Bruton in Mrs Dalloway. A regional theatre veteran, she’s enjoyed diverse roles across four decades in seven states. Credits span Shakespeare, classics, new plays, musicals, TV, film. Select highlights: Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Gertrude in Hamlet, Mistress Page in Merry Wives of Windsor, Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest, Josie in A Moon for the Misbegotten, Shaw’s Candida, Creon in Oedipus, Countess de Lage in The Women, Jacob Marley, Christmas Present and Fezziwig in productions of A Christmas Carol. Select musicals: Cabaret, Pirates of Penzance, My Fair Lady, Something’s Afoot, Fiddler on the Roof, Secret Garden, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Notables: Village Theatre, Taproot, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Harlequin Productions, Texas Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Shakespeare, Oregon Cabaret, Oregon Repertory Theatre, Montana Shakespeare, Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan, TV’s Northern Exposure. Next: Miss Lynch in Grease, Seattle’s Village Theatre.

Teri Lee Thomas’ performance is supported in part by
generous gifts from Julia Annas and Marianne Leedy

Matt Walley (Clive / Cathy + Soldier) is a member of The Rogue Theatre Resident Acting Ensemble and was most recently seen as Tartuffe in Tartuffe. Other appearances include Lord Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Jon in Marjorie Prime, Jimmy Farrell in The Playboy of the Western World, Marana in If on a winter’s night a traveler, Mr. Antrobus in The Skin of Our Teeth, Don Armado in Love’s Labor’s Lost, Captain Cat in Under Milk Wood, Estraven in The Left Hand of Darkness, Boss Mangan in Heartbreak House, Francis Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard in The Seafarer, Stan in Sweat, and Stubb in Moby Dick. He co-created and performed in Oaf at The Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre. He is also a strength coach at The Protocol gym in Tucson. Thank you to Laura for thinking ‘clown’ a decent occupation. 

Matt Walley’s performance is supported in part by generous gifts
from John Blackwell & Denice Blake and Eloise Gore & Allen Hile

Musician

Russell Ronnebaum - Piano

Russell Ronnebaum (Music Director/Pianist) has served as The Rogue Theatre’s Resident Composer and Director of Music since 2019. Some favorite productions include Tartuffe, Marjorie Prime, If on a winter’s night a traveler, Under Milk Wood, The Left Hand of Darkness, Mrs. Dalloway, Death of a Salesman, The Awakening, As You Like It, Frankenstein, Moby Dick, and Much Ado About Nothing.

Russell holds a Master of Music degree in collaborative piano from the University of Arizona. He is the assistant director of music at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church in Oro Valley. As a pianist, Russell often performs with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. Russell made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2016, performing the music of Dan Forrest. 

 Russell also composes music for Rogue Radio, a radio play series produced in partnership with Arizona Public Media, NPR 89.1 FM. Recordings, videos, sheet music, and more can be found at www.RRonnebaum.com.

Russell Ronnebaum’s music direction is supported in part by generous
gifts from Carol Mangold and Elaine Rousseau & Don Baron

Music Director’s Notes

What a rip-roaring experience this show has been.  Act 1 focuses on the British colonization of Africa, so I chose to center the preshow music on British patriotic music.  Ethel Smyth wrote The March of the Women, which became the anthem for the women’s suffrage movement.  There’ll Always Be an England was a popular song during World War II, and Rule, Britannia! is the theme of Britain’s mighty Naval forces. Colonial Song, written by Australian-born Percy Grainger while living in London, evokes British folk elements, and, of course, God Save the Queen (King) is the most powerful tune in British music, serving as the national anthem of the United Kingdom.

Act 2 takes a 180-degree turn from the first half, and the boundary-pushing music of David Bowie seemed like a great fit for the universe of 1979.

—Russell Ronnebaum, Music Director, Pianist and Composer

Preshow Music

The March of the Women—Ethel Smyth
There’ll Always Be an England—Ross Parker & Hughie Charles
Rule, Britannia!—Thomas Arne
Colonial Song—Percy Grainger
God Save the Queen (King—Traditional

 Act 1

Sons of England—Russell Ronnebaum
The First Nowell—Traditional English carol
Traditional Ohangla drumming from the Luo people of Kenya
Omujaguzo (talking drums) from the Baganda people of nearby Uganda

Act 2

Music by David Bowie

Changes
Space Oddity
Starman
Life on Mars?
Changes

Designers and Production Staff

Cynthia Meier (Costume Design) worked her way through college at Eastern Michigan University by assisting in the costume shop. Most of what she knows about Costume Design, she learned from Katie Holkeboer, the costume designer and professor at EMU. After graduating with her MA in Speech & Theatre, Cynthia stayed on at EMU to teach Costume Design, Costume Construction, Stage Makeup, and Introduction to Technical Theatre while designing the university mainstage plays and supervising the costume shop. She has designed costumes for each and every one of The Rogue plays since 2005. 

Cynthia Meier’s costume design is supported in
part by a generous gift from Marianne Leedy

Joseph McGrath (Scenic Design) worked in the scene shops at West Virginia University and the Juilliard School of Drama while he was studying to become an actor. He served as Technical Director for Arizona Theatre Company from 1987–88, and opened his own scene shop, Sonora Theatre Works, in the 1990s. Joe has designed and built scenery for Ballet Tucson for most of their ballets for over 20 years, as well as various projects with UA Opera Theatre. He has designed each and every set for The Rogue since its inception in 2005.

Joseph McGrath’s scenic design is supported in part
by a generous gift from Katherine Jacobson

Domino Mannheim (Lighting Designer) is a freelance Lighting Designer from Tucson, Arizona. She graduated from the University of Arizona in 2017 with a BFA in Technical Theatre and Lighting Design, and graduated in 2022 from Rose Bruford College in London with her Masters in Lighting In Performance. Some recent productions she has designed include Kiss Me Kate in Crawford, NE, Chicago, The Musical in Chicago, and Marjorie Prime here at the Rogue Theatre! As a traveling designer, she is very grateful to have the opportunity to work with such a talented team back in her hometown!

Domino Mannheim’s lighting design is supported in part
by a generous gift from Rick & Debby Apling

Megan Coy (Stage Manager) is extremely excited to be back with her friends at the Rogue! As the resident stage manager in 2019-2020, she worked on Middletown, Long Day’s Journey into Night, Moby Dick, and The Beauty Queen of Leenane. After leaving The Rogue in 2020 to be home with her daughter Eleanor, she began making jewelry to flex her creative muscles. Megan started Coy Creative in June 2020 and makes whimsical handmade jewelry inspired by Tucson and all things weird. Her son, Esben, was born during that time as well. Prior to working at the Rogue, she worked at The Magik Theatre in San Antonio, traveled internationally with a touring production, and graduated from the U of A in 2013 with a BFA in Theatre Production, emphasizing in stage management and lighting design. Thank you Casey, for loving and supporting me. Eleanor and Esben, I love you always. Thanks for letting me play with my friends. @shopcoycreative ShopCoyCreative.com

Megan Coy’s stage management is supported in part
by a generous gift from Sylvia Pozarnsky & Tom Riley

Shannon Wallace (Production Stage Manager) first came to The Rogue in 2015 to stage manage The Picture of Dorian Gray, and now serves as their Production Stage Manager and Operations Manager. She has worked on over 30 shows with The Rogue, some favorites include: The Bridge of San Luis Rey, The Grapes of Wrath, Curious Incident, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, As You Like It, and If on a winter’s night a traveler. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Arizona, with a dual emphasis in stage management and lighting design. During her college years, she worked on over 25 productions with Arizona Repertory Theatre and dabbled in production & company management at Arizona Theatre Company and the Contemporary American Theatre Festival. After graduating, she continued to expand her breadth of experience to include different arts management positions such as Operations Assistant at Mudlark Theater Company. Apart from a one-year sojourn to Chicago, The Rogue has been her home for almost 10 years, and she is grateful every day to be a part of this vibrant and loving community.

Shannon Wallace’s production stage management is supported
in part by generous gifts from Pam & Dick Duchaine

Nanalee Raphael (Costume Shop Supervisor) has known from age five that she would work in theatre. Of course, she thought it would be as an actor, not as someone who flings fabric around. She feels blessed that she has always been employed in costuming, for both professional and academic theatres, and has never had to have a “day job.” Until moving to Tucson in 1995, she was peripatetic in her work situations, desiring to work with theatres all over the country. She has worked as a costume designer, costume director and/or draper in professional theatres in Michigan, (Hope Summer Repertory, Holland), Wisconsin (American Players Theatre, Spring Green), Illinois (Goodman, Wisdom Bridge, and Steppenwolf, Chicago), New York (The Public, NYC), Arizona (ART & ATC, Tucson), at Shakespeare Festivals in Vermont and New Jersey, and California (The Old Globe, San Diego). She received both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Costume Design and Technology from Syracuse University. She is one of the “Pioneering Seven,” the first group of women to study full-time at Dartmouth College.

Peter Bleasby (Master Electrician) has been actively involved with lighting for theatre and other entertainments for 70 years. That is not a typo! Professionally it includes stints with BBC Television, and with UK lighting designer Richard Pilbrow for the opening of the National Theatre (Director: Laurence Olivier). Non-theatrical lighting has included Commercial/Industrial, Cathedrals, Major Sports Venues and Fashion Shows. He assisted with The Rogue’s initial lighting rig at the Historic “Y” in 2009 and has been the master electrician for every show since the 2013/14 season. His most recent contribution was the design and oversight of the $95K LED lighting installation in time for Tartuffe - the 100th production - in September 2025. From light bulbs in coffee cans to LED lights with internal software, it’s been an amazing  technological journey, but always in the service of the productions.

Connor J. Greene (Assistant Master Electrician) first came to The Rogue as a volunteer electrician on Miss Julie in 2016. In 2018, he interned for Peter Bleasby on The Grapes of Wrath. Starting with The Awakening in 2020, he began drafting for Deanna Fitzgerald’s designs. In 2021, when a piece of lighting technology misbehaved during Twelfth Night, he became a special projects electrician. Now, in 2025, Connor is excited to serve as The Rogue’s Assistant Master Electrician. He is looking forward to the learning and growth that comes from making good art with the wonderful community who supported and fostered him throughout his entire career. Connor holds a BFA from the University of Arizona, with an emphasis in lighting design. He was a Journeyman Electrician for Williamstown Theatre Festival in 2019, a freelance electrician in NYC from 2019-2020, and the Lighting Programmer for Arizona Opera Company from 2021-2023. He would like to thank his families of both blood and water.

Matt Elias (House Manager, Sound Consultant) is constantly seeking out art whether it be theatre, music, television or video games. He became enamored with live performance at The Rogue Theatre in 2014 while joining his wife, Shannon, as an usher. His experience as a touring musician, his penchant for audio production and his general obsession with how stuff works, makes him useful in all sorts of tight places throughout the production process. Nowadays you’ll see him as House Manager, trading off shows with Woods Fairchild and you might not see him sneaking a peek at each of those shows from behind the scenes. Matt has experience as a Master Bicycle Technician, Emergency Medical Technician, Fire/EMS 911 Dispatcher, and most recently a Production Brewer at Dragoon Brewing Company.

Woods Fairchild (House Manager, she/they) first met the Rogue by assisting their installation of “The Object” art piece in preparation for The Left Hand of Darkness. The Object’s designer, John Farrell, is a dear friend of Woods’ through her work with his wife, Carol Farrell, in costume design. John’s invitation to Woods to help assemble the art kindled an immediate friendship between Woods and the Rogue team. Woods formally joined the Rogue family in October 2023. In overlap with performance arts, Woods has an artistic background in dance and movement practice studies, as well as sewing and costume design. Woods also worked as a Project Manager with the Arts Foundation who manage public art projects, as well as distribute funding to support artists and arts organizations in Southern Arizona, including the Rogue Theater! Woods is a photographer, crafter, biker and her little old pickup truck is her true love. Grateful to be with the Rogue!

Thomas Wentzel (Box Office Manager, Program, Website) is a Scientific Programmer for the National Solar Observatory and holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Arizona. Previously he has worked as a Data Manager for several prevention programs in the Arizona Cancer Center and the Mel and Enid Zuckerman Arizona College of Public Health. He has served on the Board of the Tucson Men’s Cooperative, editing its newsletter for five years, and on the Executive Committee of Sons of Orpheus—The Male Choir of Tucson. He has sung with Furry Day Singers, Sons of Orpheus, AwenRising and Arizona Repertory Singers, and has performed with Tucson Art Theatre in Viktor Slavkin’s Cerceau and Clifford Odets’ Waiting for Lefty. Thomas has designed and built The Rogue Theatre Web site (with great assistance from Bill Sandel and Bryan Falcón in creating the 2020 Website update), and serves as Webmaster and Business Manager. He has also served on The Rogue’s Board of Directors since the founding of the theatre.

Shannon Elias (Box Office Associate, Volunteer Coordinator) got her first big break in theatre at age 11 when she was cast as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz in school. After that first applause, she was hooked. She began at The Rogue Theatre as an usher in 2008, and volunteered in various roles until she was hired to the box office in 2018. She made her debut on The Rogue stage in The Oresteia in 2020 and has since appeared in The Playboy of the Western World, The Skin of Our Teeth, Babette’s Feast, The Left Hand of Darkness, and the staged-readings of Everybody and The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window. She also worked backstage with The Rogue as Assistant Stage Manager for The Awakening, Mrs Dalloway, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Love’s Labor’s Lost. Shannon holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from the University of Arizona with a minor in Special Education and Rehabilitation Psychology.

Our Thanks

Performance Schedule

Performance run time of Cloud 9 is 2 hours 15 minutes, including one 10-minute intermission.