Exit, Pursued by a Bear
Directed by Aubrey Snowden
November 16th - 20th, 2023
Nan has decided to teach her abusive husband Kyle a lesson. With the help of her friend Simon (acting as her emotional—and actual—cheerleader), a stripper named Sweetheart, and the words of William Shakespeare, she tapes Kyle to a chair and forces him to watch as they reenacts scenes from their painful past. In the piece de resistance, they plan to cover the room in meat and honey so Kyle will be mauled by a bear. Through this night of emotional trials and ridiculous theatrics, Nan and Kyle are both freed from their past in this smart, wonderfully dark yet hopeful revenge comedy.
Simon - Andrew Wade (he/him)
Andrew is a senior Dramatic Arts major and English and Philosophy double-minor who is making his KTC debut as Simon. Andrew has worked with Playmakers as an undergraduate assistant for the past year, and acted in their Ground Floor Series production of Circle Back. He is excited for everyone to see the show, and to wear a cheerleading uniform.
Kyle - Ben Ketchum (he/him)
Ben is in his last semester at UNC, and is taking the stage for the last time with KTC. His previous roles with the company include Vronsky in Anna K, Mr. McQueen in Urinetown: the Musical, and Georg in Spring Awakening. He wants to shout out everyone in this wonderful cast and crew for making this a great final experience, and he’d be remiss to not thank Aubrey Snowden and Jeff Cornell for being real mentors for him throughout his time in the DDA.
Nan Carter - Kiersten Johnson (she/her)
Kiersten is a sophomore Drama major, and she couldn’t be more excited to make her debut on the Kenan stage as Nan and share this story with you. Most recently, she played #08 in “The Wolves” with Company Carolina last fall. She would like the whole cast and crew to know that she hearts them with her whole heart and that nothing’s gonna stop us now. She would NOT like to thank the people of 30,000 years ago for deciding we shouldn’t domesticate bears. Bad move.
Sweetheart/ Peaches/ SuperKyle - Caroline Marques (she/her)
Caroline is a senior majoring in Dramatic Arts and Global Studies with a minor in Spanish. She is beyond excited to be in her third KTC production, and she would like to thank her family, friends, and incredible cast and crew for their hard work (and for being so amazing). She hopes you enjoy getting classical tonight!!
Stage Manager - Ella Hawn (she/her)
Ella is a first-year Dramatic Art and Women's and Gender Studies double major. She has been involved in theatre since she was 12, and is an actor as well as a stage manager. She wants to thank the wonderful cast and crew for making her first show at UNC so amazing!
Producer - Anna Rui Dou (she/her)
Anna is a senior dramatic art & sociology double major student. This is her second time producing with KTC! Past credits include producing with Pauper Players as the executive director for yr 23-24 and stage managing for LAB! Theatre and Company Carolina. As she explores her final year at UNC, infinite love to her mom, mentors in the UNC dramatic art community, and partner.
Producer - Erica Bass (she/her)
Erica is a senior and is so thrilled to be producing this show! As a verified KTC Stan™, Erica has acted in four productions with the company and has produced shows for Lab! Theatre and Company Carolina. She's so proud of everyone's work and really excited to eat cake on opening night!
Fight Choreographer - Kira Cornell (she/they)
Kira is currently a junior at UNC, and holds the Advanced Actor Combatant position with the Society of American Fight Directors. She enjoys choreographing and teaching for theaters in the area, the most recent of which was The Play that Goes Wrong at Durham Academy. In her free time, she feeds horses. She also thinks these actors are super cool and did great work on the show!
Lighting Designer - Skyler Clay (she/her)
Skyler is a junior majoring in African American Studies and Communications with a minor in Chinese. This is the 10th show she has designed lights for at UNC. Suffice to say, Skyler thinks lights are really cool.
Costume Designer - Alyssa Hancock (she/her)
Alyssa is a Sophomore double majoring in Dramatic Arts and Human Development and Family Sciences. She loves participating in theatre through both designing and acting. Fun fact: her favorite hobby is singing!
Sound Designer - Christine Johnson (she/her)
Christine hopes you enjoy the show. her favorite breakfast food is french toast.
Set Designer - Loxley Wayland (she/they)
Loxley is an aspiring set designer who loves nearly every aspect of theatre. While still an enjoyer of the spotlight onstage, she's turned her artistic talents towards behind-the-scenes. Fueled by boba tea and plushies, she passionately puts her all into each new project.
Projection Designer - Megan Cvijanovich (she/they)
This is Megan's third production at UNC so far and they have had so much fun getting to work in a design role for this show. She would like to thank everyone who helped this show come together into such a fun and poignant production.
Props Crew - Alex Woo (he/him)
Alex is a first year student at UNC. He marked his props crew debut with Men On Boats, and is continuing his journey with Exit, Pursued by a Bear. Sending big loves to his props crewmates, Katie and Darby!
