Swimming in the Shallows
By Adam Bock
Eva Marie Saint Theatre
February 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, & 21 at 8:00 PM
February 14, 15, & 21 At 2:00 PM
Wolfe Center for the Arts
Produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc. (www.playscripts.com)
New York City Premiere by The Second Stage Theatre, New York, June 28, 2005. Carole Rothman, Artistic Director
TIME AND PLACE
The Present. Twig, Rhode Island
Performed without an Intermission
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
Sometimes highly consequential events result from seemingly simple decisions. For instance, information gleaned from an incidental read of a Readers Digest article might lead to the breakup of your long-term marriage. Or the decision to marry your partner might stall on the question of which food to serve at your wedding reception. Or a mundane visit to the aquarium might make you tumble into love with a mako shark. Well, okay, maybe that last decision isn’t so simple. Yet Adam Bock’s deceptively simple play invites us to consider the challenge of finding meaning while we navigate through life’s dangerous shores. If we fail to find depth in our lives, we may crash upon the rocks of insignificance. If we choose to take risks in our quest for meaning, we may run aground on the rocks of calamity.
Toward the end of the play, after the emotional whiplash of planning her wedding, Carla Carla realizes, despite her earlier reservations, that it’s okay to be happy. She sees that she is happy with Donna. Upon that realization, she says, “It’s just simple.” Bock invites us to find and savor such simplicity. However difficult it is to do, however momentary that simplicity might be, he urges us to stop, take stock in the good we have and mindfully to move forward. Of course, as I said, sometimes highly consequential events result from seemingly simple decisions. Sharks may indeed be swimming nearby.
CAST
Barb – Gina Marra
Bob – Chris Plonka
Carla Carla – Mariah Niezgoda
Donna – Oreofeoluwa Okonrende
Nick – Owen Minchau#
The Shark – Kyle Metzler#
PRODUCTION
ARTISTIC AND PRODUCTION STAFF:
Director: Lesa Lockford
Assistant Director: Zahra Shirvani Saadatabadi
Scenic Designer: Steve Boone
Lighting Designer: Baxter Chambers
Costume Designer: Margaret McCubbin U.S.A.A.
Sound Designer: Jason Walton
Props Coordinator: Kelly Mangan
Choreographer: Colleen Murphy
Intimacy Coordinator: Sara Lipinski Chambers
Dialect Consultant and Coach: Chris Plonka
Stage Manager: Ella Sidder#
PRODUCTION PERSONNEL:
1st Assistant Stage Manager: Gabrielle Guyton#
2nd Assistant Stage Manager: Daisy Berry#
Technical Director: Leta Jorda-Talevich#
Technical Direction Consultant: Daniel S. Mangan
Costume Shop Supervisor: Laurel Daman
Sound Engineer: Jason Walton
Sound Board Operator: Jo Jensen#
Master Electrician: Christopher L. Jones
Light Board Operator: Leo Sears
Scenic Artist: Kelly Mangan
Wardrobe Crew Head: River Slone
Wardrobe Crew: Laci Haller & Usee Mclaughlin
Deck Crew: Gavyn Sanchez & Alex Meade#
COSTUME SHOP STAFF SPRING 2026:
Costume Shop Supervisor: Laurel Daman
Graduate Assistants: Thokozani Kapiri and John Jordan
Student Employees: Liv Lutz#, Frankie Grey#, Eden Sheidler#, Gabrielle Dunn#, Brooke Spark, and Kinsie Willis
And students from THEA 1010/3010 Production Participation and THEA 1480/4690/5730 Costume Construction/Design
SCENE SHOP STAFF SPRING 2026:
Shop Supervisor: Daniel S. Mangan
Graduate Assistant: Chris Smith
Student Master Carpenter: Patch Kelch
Technical Director: Leta Jorda-Talevich#
Student Employees: Max Collins, Jo Jensen#, Bartholomew Reamer, Ella Sidder#, Henry Mediate, and Jonathon Norden#
And students from THFM 1010/3010 Production Participation
BOX OFFICE AND FRONT OF HOUSE:
Box Office Supervisor: Story Moosa
Box Office Manager: Sarah Nesselroade Hopson
Assistant Box Office Manager & Front of House Manager: Gifty Tay
Ushers: Department of Theatre and Film Ambassadors
#-Membership in Alpha Psi Omega
SPECIAL THANKS:
Vikki Krane
Please consider making a donation to the Department of Theatre and Film. Your support helps the development of future theatre and film professionals.
The region in which Bowling Green State University and its campuses are situated inhabit the Great Black Swamp and the Lower Great Lakes region.This land is the homeland of the Wyandot, Kickapoo, Miami, Potawatomi, Odawa and multiple other Indigenous tribal nations, present and past, who were forcibly removed to and from the area. We recognize these historical and contemporary ties in our efforts toward decolonizing history and thank the Indigenous individuals and communities who havebeen living and working on this land from time immemorial.
This production is entered in the American College Theatre Festival (ACTF), a national educational network founded in 1969 to identify, promote, and celebrate college and university theatre production and training.
ACTF seeks to:
• Encourage, recognize, and celebrate the finest and most diverse work produced in university and college theatre programs;
• Provide opportunities for participants to develop their theatre skills and insight, and achieve professionalism;
• Improve the quality of college and university theatre in the United States; and
• Encourage colleges and universities to give distinguished productions of new plays, especially those written by students; the classics, revitalized or newly conceived; and experimental works.
Through ACTF participation, each production is eligible for a response by a regional ACTF representative. Selected students and faculty may also be invited to participate in regional and national ACTF programs, including scholarships, awards, professional development opportunities, and educational initiatives for actors, directors, dramaturgs, playwrights, designers, stage managers, critics, and arts leadership.
Productions entered at the Participating level are eligible for invitation to a regional ACTF festival and may be considered for regional or national recognition for outstanding achievement in production, design, direction, and performance, in accordance with current program guidelines.
Each year, ACTF engages hundreds of productions and thousands of students nationwide. By entering this production, our theatre department joins a national community committed to artistic rigor, educational excellence, access, and professional development in collegiate theatre.
Additional support for the American College Theatre Festival is provided through national and regional partners committed to advancing excellence in collegiate theatre education.
SPECIAL SERVICES/ ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES:
To our patrons with disabilities, please indicate if you need special services, assistance or appropriate modifications to fully participate in this event by contacting Accessibility Services, access@bgsu.edu, or 419-372-8495, or Theatre and Film. Please notify us prior to the event
Updated: 02/12/2026 03:03PM