Gin Mummy is a drawing-room comedy in which a young Victorian aristocrat comes to terms with what she wants and what her family expects on the night of her engagement party. Also, there is a mummy.
We are pleased to offer ASL interpretation for the performance on Wednesday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m., sponsored by the UVU Accessibility Office.
The playwright would like to thank Harrington Center for the Arts, An Other Theatre Company, and Plan-B Theatre Company for supporting the development of this play.
1. Introduction
Gin Mummy
Study Guide
By Belle Frahm, dramaturg
2. Egypt-o-mania
At some point in this play you might turn to your neighbor and ask, “Who actually brings back a mummy from Egypt??” This is a really good question! Isn’t it so weird? However, it’s also something that really happened!
Throughout the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, Europe experienced "Egyptomania." Victorian London was a common center for people obsessed with the “exotic land.” The first institutionalized pursuit of Egyptian studies was created in 1741 by a group of British amateurs who would travel to Egypt to add to their private collections of ancient Egyptian objects. These amateurs would meet and display their collections and interests as a part of the Egyptian Society.
This trend of collecting and displaying Egyptian artifacts quickly caught on. Soon after, it became almost common for aristocrats to have unwrapping parties where folks would gather around to unwrap a mummy on their dining room table. They would also use mummies, or parts of mummies, as decorations around their homes. A morbid fascination with things from other cultures quickly spread across Victorian England, often resulting in many insensitive practices.
You may see some of these insensitive practices onstage in the play tonight. We recognize these insensitive practices and choose to portray them in order to share stories of the past, not to condone them in the present. However, we also encourage you to be on the lookout for genuine interest in Egyptian studies. Which of the characters actually knows their stuff?
3. Dating in Victorian England
Lasting from 1837 to 1901, the Victorian era and its standards affected many people. Especially in the realm of dating.
For example, at this time it was highly scandalous for a man and a woman to be left alone in a room together. Chaperones were needed for all stages of courting, and even during large balls.
Victorian dating guides taught ladies to “learn to govern yourself and to be gentle and patient. Silence is more valuable than speech. Deny yourself and prefer others.” To men it said, “The definition of a gentleman is one who never inflicts pain.”
Once a couple became engaged, it was acceptable for couples to take long walks with minimal supervision in order to get to know each other better. While couples were allowed physical contact when they were engaged, it remained very limited.
Additionally, it was quite common for couples in the Victorian era to have long engagements, lasting years, and to spend them apart. In place of physical contact or quality time, gifts and letters were often exchanged.
In our view, the Victorian era was strict with courtship rules. However, at the time it was considered progressive! For at this time couples were increasingly encouraged to marry for love, in addition to status. We invite you to notice the occurrences of strict rules as well as the progressive ones. How do the standards you see onstage in Gin Mummy also reflect our day?
4. The Playwright: Melissa Leilani Larson
Gin Mummy was written by notable local playwright Melissa Leilani Larson. As with all new plays, it has undergone several steps to get it where you see it tonight, including two public readings, a first production at Mesa Community College, and several changes made during our rehearsal process!
As the dramaturg on this production, I had the wonderful opportunity to work with Melissa and even ask a couple of questions regarding the show:
What inspired you to write Gin Mummy?
As a kid, I was fascinated with the history of ancient Egypt. I poured over books outlining Egyptian history, hieroglyphs, and rituals. One of my favorite episodes of Reading Rainbow explained the mummification process. I remember reading about the Victorian obsession with all things Egyptian; one book mentioned that English tourists visiting Egypt would buy mummies—actual human remains—as souvenirs and unwrap them. It’s such a ghastly idea that it has been stuck in my head ever since. When I started writing plays, I knew I wanted to write a play about someone attempting to have an unwrapping party. It’s just such an interesting (and slightly immoral) premise that I’ve never been able to let it go, not for years. That grain of an idea was the beginning of what would eventually become Gin Mummy.
I have always wondered if Oscar Wilde would write openly about queer characters if he had lived in a different time and a place. I don’t dare claim that this play is something Wilde would write, but I hope that it’s something he might appreciate.
What do you hope audiences get out of the show?
I like to think of Gin Mummy as a modern play dressed up in Victorian clothes; I hope its themes of self love and discovery will be relatable to a contemporary audience. One of the joys of the theatre is that setting a story in a different time and place can help us better see and understand ourselves.
I also really hope people will have a good laugh and enjoy themselves.
Larson is a mixed-race Filipino American writer based in Salt Lake City. Her award-winning work has been seen on five continents. Additionally, amongst many other awards, she is the youngest writer ever to be presented with the Smith-Pettit Foundation Award for Outstanding Contribution to Mormon Letters, which she received for her body of work in 2019. Read her full bio here.
5. Dramaturg’s Note
This play is hilarious. There’s absolutely no question about that. Every time that I watch it, I find myself catching different jokes than I did the time before. With that being said, there’s also something more that I find every time I interact with this script. More than the wit of Rebekah or the comedy of Old Hans, I find myself in Beth.
Beth yearns for something more, and this play is a raucous exploration of her trying to find it. I relate to Beth’s struggle to know just how to go about her life and accomplish her desires. I, fortunately, live in a society where it is much more welcome for a woman to have a career. However, there are other limitations that still exist. Watching Beth navigate the best way to accomplish her dreams inspires me to find a way to achieve mine, no matter how improbable they may be.
I hope that you are able to relate to one of these characters in the play as well. While they are quirky, silly, and even a little goofy, there is also a lot of depth. I encourage you to look for the humanity amongst all the silly.
| Beth Carlisle | ABBY HAWS |
| Amy Dunbar | Grace Fillmore |
| Marshall Fowler | Tyler Mccabe |
| Franklin Mint | Kolby Jenkins |
| Rebekah Meyers | Isabel Eardley |
| Old Hans Shingle | Ethan Freestone |
| Dr. Lydia Sterling | KaT Balanzategui |
| Great Aunt Normandy | Paola Molina GuzmÁn |
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Scenic and Props Designer Graham Whipple Costume Designer Candice Nielson Lighting Designer Sound Designer Hair and Makeup Designer Dramaturg Stage Manager |
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Intimacy Coordinator and Acting Coach Vocal Coach Assistant Director Assistant Stage Managers Lucinda Lai |
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Wardrobe Supervisor Wardrobe Technicians HMU Supervisor HM Technicians Deck/Wardrobe/HMU swing Light Board Operator Sound Board Operator A2 Light and Sound Swing |
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Lighting & Sound Design Stage Management |
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Chase received an M.F.A. from the University of Exeter in the UK, studying theatre performance and directing with an emphasis in staging Shakespeare. Chase consistently directs and performs in productions throughout Utah Valley and in the UK, including Macbeth and King John at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, A Midsummer Nights Dream at The Dell in Stratford-Upon-Avon at the invitation of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Wait Until Dark at the Sandy Hale Theater, and many Shakespeare productions for local theatre companies, including Utah Valley University, Creekside Theatre Festival, Grassroots Shakespeare Company, and Renaissance Now Theatre Company. Chase currently serves as a full time instructor at UVU as Lecturer of Directing. Chase's most recent projects include directing Stephen King's Misery with Dirty Birdy Theatre Company, originating the role of Ethan in the premier of Relative Space: An Atypical Musical, a new play by local playwright Melissa Leilani Larson, and adapting and directing Lady M at UVU, based on Shakespeare's Macbeth.
melissa leilani larson
Mel is a mixed-race Filipino writer from Salt Lake City. She is thrilled to return to UVU, where her produced plays include PERSUASION and THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON. Her 2024 productions include: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE at the Wayne Theatre (March) and the Grand Theatre (May); BITTER LEMON at Plan-B Theatre (April); PERSUASION at Snow College (October). Recent productions: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE at Texas Shakespeare and Hale Center Theater Orem; RELATIVE SPACE at Creekside Theatre Fest; THE ORPHANAGE at Liahona Preparatory Academy (commission); LITTLE HAPPY SECRETS at Brick Theatre; MESTIZA, or MIXED at Plan-B Theatre and American Stage; SWEETHEART, COME at PYGmalion Theatre and Tabor College; MOUNTAIN LAW at Mad Cow Theatre. A FORM OF FLATTERY is a Bay Area Playwrights Festival finalist/honorable mention and a Portland Center Stage JAW finalist. THE POST OFFICE received the 2022 AATE Distinguished Play Award. Mel is a proud member of the Plan-B Playwrights Lab, Honor Roll!, and the Dramatists Guild. MFA, Iowa Playwrights Workshop. melissaleilanilarson.com
The playwright would like to thank Harrington Center for the Arts, An Other Theatre Company, and Plan-B Theatre Company for supporting the development of this play.
Chris Vlamakis is a senior Stage Manager in the BFA Theatrical Design and Production
at UVU and this is his final mainstage production with the department. He has spent
most of his life surrounded by the performing arts, sparked by his mother’s singing
and work in local community theatre in his hometown of Helper, Utah. Without the support
of both of his parents, he would not have been able to go to school. Chris spends
his non- existent free-time playing games with his friends and trying his best to
support his friends, who have become his family, in the arts.
Although he doesn’t say it out loud enough, he dedicates each and every project he
has been a part of to his brother Stephen “Bub” Vlamakis. This project has been a
hilarious blessing to be a part of and he asks you also join him this April for his
directorial debut of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead.
Lucinda is a senior in the UVU Theatre Arts BA program. She spent quite some time to figure out what she likes in theatre, and she fell right into the scenic design world when she started her career in UVU. She is very excited to be part of any production and be able to grow her experience from it. She's looking forward to knowing more about this industry outside of school!
Belle Frahm is a senior dramaturgy undergraduate student at BYU. She has worked on many productions during her college career as a dramaturg, making Gin Mummy her 10th show! She loves exploring new pieces of history and working to engage actors and audiences alike. Belle is also passionate about graphic and exhibition design, new play development, and community outreach. She is excited to graduate this spring and work locally to continue her journey in the theatre world.
Graham Whipple is a Utah based designer and the Assistant Professor of Lighting Design at Utah Valley University. Although Graham is more often found working in lighting design, he has dabbled in scenery for several years and this is his third mainstage scenic design at UVU. His previous UVU scenic designs were for Noises Off in the Smith Theatre and Persuasion in the Bastian Theatre. In addition to scenic design, Graham works in lighting design, sound design, properties, and video.
Collin is a full-time programmer for HCT who has been designing shows across Salt Lake City. Recently, for Center Point Legacy Theatre, production of Seussical, Beetle Juice JR, Matilda, and She Loves Me—and UVU’s productions of Romeo and Juliet and Lucky Stiff. He has been at HCT for over two years, designing and programming events, shows, and Education productions.
Devon is in his 3rd year in the BFA design and technology program at UVU. This is his 3rd design at UVU as a lead designer. Chris Vlamakis invented Devon as well as sound design in the early 2000’s for the sole purpose of completing this show, and he will cease to exist the moment the show closes.
Candice Nielsen is excited to design her first show at UVU! She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Brigham Young University studying Theatre Arts. She earned her Master of Fine Arts from Sarah Lawrence College studying Theatrical Costume Design. After graduate school, Candice stayed in New York and worked for several years costuming for theatre, dance, tv, and film. She has worked on such television shows as Law & Order, Blue Bloods, Almost There, Cupid, Blood & Oil and such films as Eat, Pray, Love, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, and Tomorrow Comes Today. Theatrical productions included, The Sound of Music, Annie, Tartuffe, Hamlet, Ghost Dancer, Dubliners, Bright Ideas, and more. Here in Utah, Candice has recently designed costumes for See How They Run (Hale Center Theatre) and Cosi fan Tutte (BYU). She designed contemporary dance costumes for SALT Dance company and was able to present those designs during Utah Fashion Week. Candice has worked in the Utah tv, film, and commercial industry as both a costumer and as an actor. Candice also worked as a Fashion Editor for Jane.com where she was responsible for fashion styling for marketing photoshoots and commercials. Candice has had such a fun time designing costumes for this show and working with a skilled production team and talented artisans in the Costume Shop.
Shannon earned her MFA in Theater Design & Production from CCM in 2017 and has worked as a freelance hair/makeup designer and makeup artist at various companies for the last 9 years. Favorite credits include Henry IV ft. Tom Hanks at the LA Shakespeare Company, The Flying Dutchman at the Utah Opera and The Winter’s Tale at A Noise Within. Television credits include 4+ seasons as a Makeup Artist on the hit sketch comedy series, Studio C, as well as making wigs for the films Glass and Vice, among many others. She currently teaches makeup and design classes at UVU.
This is Melanie Velasco's first project at UVU, working with the production team as an Assistant Stage Manager. As a first-year student she is excited to continue to learn and grow from her talented peers and team.
Ruth is a first year transfer student from SUU and is excited to be involved with her first production at UVU. She intends on pursuing a BFA in the design and production program. As the scenic charge she has enjoyed seeing the whole process from start to finish, and single handedly painting the snail wallpaper.
Abby Haws is in her last semester in the BFA acting program and is thrilled to be continuing her stint of stressed and anxious characters here at UVU, but this time with a new flavor of a pretty rich girl. She appreciates being able to be working on a comedy after her last show filled lobotomies and depression and looks forward to the absurdities to follow in TAG’s upcoming production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. After finishing her time here, she hopes to have her next adventure across the sea with a master's acting program in the UK.
Grace is a Junior in the BFA Acting program here at UVU. Some of her favorite theatre roles have been Margot in The Diary of Anne Frank, Helena in a Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Henrietta in Persuasion. In her free time Grace likes to write, watch movies, and spend time with friends and family. She has had a blast performing as Amy and hopes you enjoy all the silliness and antics of the show.
Tyler is thrilled to be playing Marshall Fowler in Gin Mummy! Tyler is a sophomore in the acting BFA at UVU. Some previous credits include Machinal, The Divine: A Play for Sarah Bernhardt, Falsettos, Bright Star, and Pride and Prejudice. Tyler would like to thank Melissa Leilani Larson for writing such a lovely piece, Chase Grant for his guidance, Chris Vlamakis for his leadership, his fellow cast for their collaboration, and the entire design team and crew for their excellence and creativity. He would also like to thank his professors at UVU for these opportunities! Enjoy the show!
Kolby is a Sophomore in the BFA acting program at UVU. He did a little theatre in high school and enjoyed it but decided to pursue it fully after taking acting classes in college and realizing how much he loved it. He is excited to be in this show and for what’s to come after.
Isabel Eardley is a Senior in the BFA musical theater program here at UVU! She trained
at Utah Conservatory of Performing Arts where she now teaches classes to the most
amazing kids. Her favorite performing credits are “#14” in The Wolves, “Nadine” in
The Wild Party, and “Izzy”, singing ‘By My Side’ in Godspell. She has learned SO MUCH
from the rehearsal process of this show and is extremely grateful for both the
creative and stage management team.
Ethan is a Sophomore at UVU, and is currently undergoing hell for his BFA in Musical Theatre. When asked why he subjected himself to such torture, he simply quoted Hamlet incorrectly and shuffled off into the darkness in a crablike motion whispering to himself. Not much is known of his whereabouts outside of the stage or school, other than the fact that he absolutely loves his cast mates, and that his director is teaching him mountains of valuable information. If you are at a local Wendy's, beware; he may be watching you from the rafters. Keep your nuggets safe.
A senior in the Acting BFA program, Kat has played a variety of roles from TYA to Shakespeare to leading Student Films and developing new work in UVU's ten-minute play festival, "Short Attention Span Theatre." Last season she entertained audiences as Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, a role that has become one of her favorites to date. Kat currently spends her Friday evenings performing with Hot Tea Improv and invites you to join them next week here at UVU!
Paola Molina Guzmán is a sophomore in the UVU Musical Theatre BFA program. Past roles at UVU include Cordelia in Falsettos, Mrs. Desnoyers in The Divine, and Mrs. Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, she always dreamed of pursuing a career in the performing arts. Paola wants to thank everyone that worked on this production and made the process so gratifying. She hopes you enjoy the show and indulge in the little things like the characters on stage do.
Utah Valley University acknowledges that we gather on land sacred to all Indigenous people who came before us in this vast crossroads region. The University is committed to working in partnership—as enacted through education and community activities—with Utah’s Native Nations comprising: the San Juan Southern Paiute, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Uintah & Ouray Reservation of the Northern Ute, Skull Valley Goshute, Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation, Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute-White Mesa Community, and urban Indian communities. We recognize these Native Nations and their continued connections with traditional homelands, mountains, rivers, and lakes as well as their sovereign relationships with state and federal governments. We honor their collective memory and continued physical and spiritual presence. We revere their resilience and example in preserving their connections to the Creator and to all their relations, now and in the future.
With this statement comes responsibility and accountability. We resolve to follow
up with actionable items to make the School of the Arts at UVU and The Noorda Center
for the Performing Arts an inclusive, equitable, and just space for all. There is
much work to be done, and we are committed to putting these words into practice.
Artwork by Shane Walking Eagle (Sisseton Dakota).
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The arts possess the unparalleled power to inspire, educate, liberate, and transform. They elevate moments, mark milestones, soften edges, and generate profound meaning. Experience the beauty and wonder of the arts with us this season at The Noorda and begin at once to live!
Courtney R. Davis, J.D., M.A.
Dean, School of the Arts
Plan-B Theatre Presents: Bitter Lemon
A (SORT OF) WORLD PREMIERE BY MELISSA LEILANI LARSON
APRIL 11-28, 2024
AT THE ROSE WAGNER IN SLC
Click Here for Tickets
Chair, Associate Professor
LA BEENE, MFA
Associate Chair, Associate Professor
JULIE HEATON, MFA
Administrative Assistant
CURTIS CLUFF, MFA
Associate Professor
AMANDA CRABB, MM
Assistant Professor
JENNIFER DELAC, MFA
Lecturer
ELIZABETH GOLDEN, MFA
Lecturer
M. CHASE GRANT, MFA
Professor
LISA HALL, PHD
Professor
LAURIE HARROP-PURSER, MFA
Lecturer
SHANNON HUTCHINS, MFA
Assistant Professor
RICHARD LORIG, MFA
Professor
JOHN NEWMAN, PHD
Assistant Professor
STEVEN RIMKE, MFA
Lecturer
GRAHAM WHIPPLE, MFA
