People of the Production

Murray McGibbon (Director) is an Associate Professor of Acting and Directing at IU. He has directed extensively at IU and the Brown County Playhouse. This past winter he staged Athol Fugard's classic “ MASTER HAROLD”…and the boys to great acclaim. As Joel Pierson in the Herald-Times said, “It's hard to go wrong when Professor Murray McGibbon is directing a play.” His Brown County Playhouse credits include this season's Greater Tuna .

One of South Africa 's leading stage directors and producers, Murray McGibbon is the recipient of the South African Airways Young Artists Award (1989) and the American Biographical Association Distinguished Young Leadership Award (1990). He was awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 1983 which enabled him to undertake his graduate studies in the USA. Murray McGibbon has won South Africa 's highest theatrical award, the VITA, five times and is internationally recognized as a dynamic and innovative director equally at home with the classics, modern drama, theatre for young audiences and musicals. For six years he served as Artistic Director of Drama for the Playhouse Company in Durban, South Africa, where he directed and produced over a hundred productions.

Since joining the faculty at Indiana University in 1996, Prof. McGibbon has directed The Foreigner, Romeo and Juliet, Cole, "Art", I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, Scapino!, Noises Off, Equus, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Nunsense- The Second Coming, The Servant of Two Masters, The Oblong Man, The Fantastics, A Piece of My Heart, All in the Timing, Nunsense, and Kindertransport. He is the recipient of a Teaching Excellence Recognition Award (2000) from Indiana University and is currently working on New Directions—A Collection of Post-Apartheid South African Drama .

Prof. McGibbon was recently awarded a New Frontiers Grant sponsored by the Lilly Foundation to create and direct an African version of The Tempest in South Africa in association with the University of KwaZulu/Natal in Pietermaritzburg at the Hexagon Theatre. He currently has two productions running in his native country, the cult classic FRANK&STEIN and the world premiere of John Van Der Ruit and Ben Voss's BLACK MAMBA.

Chris Wych (Scenic Designer) is a first-year M.F.A. scenic design student who received his B.A. from Illinois State University. ISU credits as scenic designer or props artisan include Morning Star, Secret Garden, and Prides Crossing. This winter he designed the Magical Starlight Theatre production of Beauty and the Beast . He is from Naperville , IL.

Angie Burkhardt (Costume Designer) is a first-year M.F.A. costume design student who received her B.F.A. from the University of North Texas. Previous costume design credits include Eternal Romeo and Juliet and Woyzeck (UNT) and Hank the Cow Dog and Space Pandas (Plano Repertory Theatre). Stage management credits include Forever Plaid, 1940's Radio Hour , and Pump Boys and Dinettes (Rocky Mountain Repertory). She is from Grapevine, Texas .

JoJo Percy (Lighting Designer) is a first-year M.F.A. lighting design student who received her undergraduate degree from Kansas State University. Last semester she was the assistant lighting designer for Macbeth. KSU lighting design credits include Two Rooms, Macbeth, Beyond Therapy, The Game of Life, Art, and A Cryin' Shame. She is from Americus, KS .

Allison Ackmann (Stage Manager) is a junior majoring in Theatre and Drama. Previously for IU she has assistant stage managed Arcadia and Pal Joey. Recently she did a stage management internship with the Indiana Repertory Theatre on their production of Intimate Apparel. She is from Indianapolis, IN.

Alex Young (Assistant Stage Manager) is a sophomore majoring in theatre and drama. Acting credits include Cindi in Chicks with Dicks (BPP) and Ensemble in Pimple the Pirate (Independent Student Production). She is from Reno, NV .

Cast

Alyson Bloom (Sophie) is a freshman majoring in theatre and drama. Since coming to Bloomington she has appeared as Margot in The Diary of Anne Frank for IU Hillel. Honour is her debut performance in the Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center. She is from Deerfield, IL .

Jeff Grafton (Gus) is a first-year M.F.A. acting student who received his B.S. from Illinois State University. Last semester he appeared as Bernard in Arcadia. Credits include Asylum (Beckmann Theatre), Downsize (Steppenwolf Theatre Garage), King Lear (Illinois Shakespeare Festival), Porcelain (Trap Door – Joseph Jefferson Citation), All My Sons (Illinois Theatre Center), and Moon Over Buffalo (Theatre at the Center). He also appeared in the 2003 film Sunset Town. Jeff is from St. John , IN.

Jessica Rothert (Honor) is a junior majoring in theatre and drama and English. Previously at IU she has appeared as Lady Croom in Arcadia and Lady Montague in Romeo and Juliet. Other Bloomington credits include The House of Bernarda Alba, Why is John Lennon Wearing a Skirt?, Uncle Vanya (all Independent Student Productions), and Julie D ( John Waldron Arts Center ). In 2005 she was the recipient of the Nota School McGreevey Scholarship and the NSAL Borkenstein Memorial Award. She is from Covington , KY.

Rosalind Rubin (Claudia) is a senior majoring in theatre and drama. Previously in the Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center she has appeared as Lady Macduff in Macbeth, Chorus in Bacchai, and Servant in The Cherry Orchard. Other Bloomington credits include Funnyhouse of a Negro, The Day I Found Out I Was Black, and Can You Hear Me Now (Black Curtain), Stop/Kiss (Lovers and Madmen), The Late Henry Moss (Independent Student Production), Pumpboys and Dinettes and Always…Patsy Cline (Swine Palace Productions), HMS Pinafore (Bloomington Music Works), and Chess (Union Board). She was a recipient of the 2005 Palmer Brendan Award. She is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana .

• Press Release
• Jessica Rothert Steps Into HONOUR'S Spotlight
• Honour Homepage