2022-2023 Season

Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility

Adapted by Jessica Swale

September 14 - October 9

OneAmerican Mainstage

Three sisters and their widowed mother lose their family home and must create new lives for themselves in a tiny seaside cottage. Along the way, they face kindness and cruelty, duty and deception, as they try to navigate the complex social rules for proper young ladies. What will lead to lasting happiness and true love: practical good sense or following the sensibility of your heart? Sit back and indulge in the wit and wisdom, the beauty and charm of Jane Austen.

Show Resources

Digital program

Student Study Guide

Know Before You Go

  • Approximate run time is 2 hours and 45 minutes, with a 15-minute intermission.
  • Contains adult situations and themes present in the classic novel by Jane Austen. Recommended for patrons 8th grade and older.

Special Programming

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Cast Members

La Shawn Banks
Colonel Brandon
La Shawn Banks
Colonel Brandon
Cereyna Jade Bougouneau
Marianne Dashwood
Cereyna Jade Bougouneau
Marianne Dashwood
Caroline Chu
Lucy Steele, Servant, Gossip
Caroline Chu
Lucy Steele, Servant, Gossip
Casey Hoekstra
Edward Ferrars, Robert Ferrars, Thomas Palmer
Casey Hoekstra
Edward Ferrars, Robert Ferrars, Thomas Palmer
Claire Kashman
Margaret Dashwood
Claire Kashman
Margaret Dashwood
Elizabeth Laidlaw
Mrs. Dashwood
Elizabeth Laidlaw
Mrs. Dashwood
Helen Joo Lee
Elinor Dashwood
Helen Joo Lee
Elinor Dashwood
Priscilla Lindsay
Mrs. Jennings
Priscilla Lindsay
Mrs. Jennings
Priscilla has appeared in more than 60 productions at the IRT, including Sense and Sensibility, The Game’s Afoot, Shirley Valentine, Doubt, Death of a Salesman, Driving Miss Daisy, The Grapes of Wrath, and The Glass Menagerie. She directed IRT productions of To Kill a Mockingbird, Romeo and Juliet, The Miracle Worker, and many editions of A Christmas Carol. From 2010 to 2021, Priscilla was Chair of the Department of Theatre and Drama at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (her alma mater). In 2018 at Michigan she appeared as Linda Loman with Alec Baldwin in Death of a Salesman.
Devan Mathias
Fanny Dashwood, Charlotte Palmer, Sophia Grey, Gossip
Devan Mathias
Fanny Dashwood, Charlotte Palmer, Sophia Grey, Gossip
Devan has appeared at the IRT in Clue, Sense and Sensibility, Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!,” and The Little Choo Choo That Thinks She Can. She is grateful to be part of the thriving arts community in Indianapolis as both an actor and a teaching artist. Credits include productions with the Phoenix Theatre Indianapolis, Actors Theatre of Indiana, Beef & Boards, American Lives Theatre, Summit Performance Indianapolis, and the Indianapolis Shakespeare Company, where she is a company member. Devan received her B.A. in Musical Theatre from Ball State University.
Ron E. Rains
John Dashwood, Thomas, Sir John Middleton, Mr. Perks, Doctor
Ron E. Rains
John Dashwood, Thomas, Sir John Middleton, Mr. Perks, Doctor
Nate Santana
John Willoughby
Nate Santana
John Willoughby
Nate made his IRT debut in Sense and Sensibility. He has worked with various theatres throughout Chicago including Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Northlight Theatre, Steppenwolf, TimeLine Theatre Company, First Folio, Griffin Theatre, and BoHo Theatre. He is an ensemble member with Teatro Vista and Shattered Globe Theatre. He has also worked at the Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis. On screen, he’s worked on Chicago Med, Chicago PD, The Exorcist, and Suits. His favorite role, though, happened this year when he became a father to sweet baby Vincent

Creative Team

Jessica Swale
Playwright
Jessica Swale
Playwright
Peter Amster
Director
Peter Amster
Director
Ann Sheffield
Scenic Designer
Ann Sheffield
Scenic Designer
Tracy Dorman
Costume Designer
Tracy Dorman
Costume Designer
(she/her) Tracy is pleased to return to IRT where she has designed Sense and Sensibility, You Can’t Take It with You, Appoggiatura, The Great Gatsby, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Game’s Afoot, and many others. She has designed at such regional theatre and opera companies as The Old Globe in San Diego, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Gulfshore Playhouse, Pittsburgh Public, Maltz-Jupiter, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Cleveland PlayHouse, Syracuse Stage, Milwaukee Rep, and Actors Theatre of Louisville. She was an associate costume designer on the CBS daytime drama As the World Turns, for which she won an Emmy award for Costume Design.
Dawn Chiang
Lighting Designer
Dawn Chiang
Lighting Designer
Dawn has designed King James, Little Shop of Horrors and Shakespeare’s Will and Sense and Sensibility at the IRT. Broadway: Zoot Suit and co-designer for Tango Pasión. Off Broadway: Manhattan Theatre Club, Roundabout Theatre; Encores! Concert Musicals, co-designer. Opera: resident lighting designer, New York City Opera. Regional: Guthrie Theater, Mark Taper Forum, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, South Coast Repertory, Syracuse Stage, Denver Center Theatre Company, Trinity Repertory Company, and many more. Awards: One Broadway World award, two Syracuse Area Live Theatre Awards, two Drama-Logue Awards, and USITT Distinguished Achievement Award. Mentor for Theater Development Fund’s “Wendy Wasserstein Project” outreach program for New York City high school students.
Mike Tutaj
Projections Designer
Mike Tutaj
Projections Designer

At the IRT, Mike has designed projections for Fannie, Sense and Sensibility, The Book Club Play, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and The Mountaintop. Based in Chicago, his credits include the Goodman, Steppenwolf, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Second City, Victory Gardens, Lookingglass, Writers’ Theatre, the Court Theatre, and many more. Off-Broadway credits include MCC Theater, p73, EnGarde Arts, and the York Theatre. Regional credits include the Alliance Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, South Coast Rep, Center Stage, Syracuse Stage, and more. Mike is an artistic associate with TimeLine Theatre and a member of United Scenic Artists local 829.

Michael Keck
Composer
Michael Keck
Composer
At the IRT, Michael has composed for Sense and Sensibility; Cyrano; Murder on the Orient Express; Looking Over the President’s Shoulder;  April 4, 1968 (in which he also acted); and many others. His music has accompanied productions at Syracuse Stage, Guthrie Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Rep, The Alliance, Rep St. Louis, Mark Taper Forum, and many others. His international credits include the Market Theatre Johannesburg South Africa, the Barbican Theatre Center, and Bristol Old Vic. He is a member of AEA, SAG–AFTRA, and ASCAP.
Richard J Roberts
Dramaturg & Assistant Director
Richard J Roberts
Dramaturg & Assistant Director
This is Richard’s 192nd and last production over 28 years as the IRT’s resident dramaturg; he is retiring after 36 seasons with the company. His favorite dramaturgy projects have included Finding Home, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, Boeing Boeing, Our Town, Arcadia, State of the Union, Amadeus, and The Gentleman from Indiana. He has directed a dozen shows at the IRT, including four editions of A Christmas Carol and five one-woman shows with the luminescent Milicent Wright. Next season he directs A Little Night Music for Actors Theatre of Indiana. “A thousand thanks to the IRT staff, artists, and audiences over the years!”.
Nathan Garrison
Stage Manager
Nathan Garrison
Stage Manager
(he/him) This is Nathan’s 30th season at the IRT. He has also worked with Center Stage in Baltimore, Utah Shakespeare Festival, and Brown County Playhouse; and he is an emeritus company member with the Indianapolis Shakespeare Company.
Rebecca Roeber
Assistant Stage Manager
Rebecca Roeber
Assistant Stage Manager
(they/them) Rebecca is a local AEA Stage Manager—originally from the Pocono Mountains but now calling Indianapolis home. They are proud to call IRT their artistic home for their ninth season. They also can be found working with Phoenix Theatre, Indy Shakes, and Summit. They are grateful for the opportunity to work with so many incredible theatre artists in this city and are thankful for the support from their friends and family!

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