Little Wars
By Steven Carl Mccasland
This acclaimed all-female drama is set in a country home in the French Alps during the Second World War. A unique dinner party unites celebrated writers Agatha Christie, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker, Gertrude Stein, and Alice B. Toklas ...along with a mysterious guest. This gripping play offers a thrilling blend of historical drama and unexpected twists to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Little Wars is part of the Studio 400 series, and audiences can expect a powerful exploration of complex themes, pushing boundaries, and challenging societal norms. It is important to note that this play includes mature content, specifically, frank discussions about graphic sexual violence against women. Viewer discretion is extremely advised.
About the Playwright
A true multi-hyphenate, STEVEN CARL McCASLAND is a playwright, pianist, director and producer dedicated to telling the stories of remarkable women and their contributions throughout history.
Steven burst onto the New York City theatre scene as the founder and Artistic Director of The Beautiful Soup Theater Collective, for which he directed the American premiere of Craig Adams and Ian Watson’s musical Lift, rare revivals of Rags, Moose Murders, Yentl and A Doll's Life, Crossing Brooklyn: The Musical and more. The revivals of Rags and A Doll's Life featured heavily revised librettos, painstakingly put together using many lost drafts. The end results were comprehensive looks at long-troubled musicals in rare New York revivals. In 2009, Steven was commissioned to adapt poet Jack Wiler's anthologies into a solo performance about Wiler's struggle with HIV. That play, Fun Being Me, was workshopped with Jack in the title role before his passing in 2009. His other plays, When I'm 64, Hope & Glory, The Tip, Opheliacs Anonymous, Fifth Position, Blue, Pulchritudinous (Huntington Award in Playwriting - First Place), neat & tidy and Billy Learns About Captain Kirk have all received productions regionally and in Manhattan.
In June of 2011, Steven premiered his original adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Setting Wonderland in the heart of Paris, he also directed and was featured in the cast as the Mock Turtle. After its one week workshop, Alice Au Pays Des Merveilles was picked up for an extended run at The SoHo Playhouse through September. His play neat & tidy made a splash on the Bowery in May of 2012, with critics hailing McCasland as a new Thornton Wilder and the play as one of the Top Dramatic Plays of the year.
After The Beautiful Soup Theater Collective ended its five-year run, Steven turned his focus to writing. His critically acclaimed plays Little Wars, What Was Lost and Shades of Blue: The Decline and Fall of Lady Day received various workshop productions, before running in repertory at The Clarion Theatre when several of Steven’s plays enjoyed a month-long run in May of 2015. Also featured in repertory were his works 28 Marchant Avenue: Six Summers at Hyannis Port, Der Kanarienvogel (The Canary) and the first revival of neat & tidy.
His writing has been acclaimed by New York critics as "brilliant", "riveting", "mesmerizing" and “extraordinary”. Since its premiere, Little Wars has been performed in four U.S. states, five countries and virtually for the globe, in a reading starring Juliet Stevenson, Linda Bassett and more.
While not at the theater, Steven maintains life as a private vocal and acting coach, prepping New York actors on new material and for upcoming auditions. A classically trained pianist, Steven enjoys musical directing and conducting (credits include Falsettos, The Wizard of Oz, Aida, Godspell, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Imagine That, The Secret Garden and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown).
Steven's plays Little Wars (published by Nick Hern Books), Shades Of Blue: The Decline and Fall of Lady Day, What Was Lost, 28 Marchant Avenue: Six Summers At Hyannis Port are available for purchase at Amazon.com.
NO VIDEO OR PHOTOGRAPHY ALLOWED DURING THE PERFORMANCE.
Little Wars is presented by special arrangement with nick Hern books.
There will be a brief intermission for this performance. Little Wars is typically produced without an intermission, but playwright Steven McCasland, has granted us special permission.
crew
DIRECTOR - BILLY BUFF
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND STAGE MANAGER - ERIC MICHAEL
STUDENT INTERN AND ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER - KG USLAN
SET DESIGN AND DECORATION - KAYLA STEPHENSON, BRYAN CHAPMAN, AND BILLY BUFF
LIGHTING DESIGN - NIC FENGER
LIGHTING MENTOR - CHOH MAN TENG
SOUND DESIGN - BILLY BUFF
COSTUMER - LAURA LANE
COSTUME ASSISTANT - CRISTINA FENGER
PROPERTIES - STEPHANIE HEWLETT
STAGE PAINTING AND CONSTRUCTION - BILL MANKINS, CAROL MANKINS, JONATHAN MANKINS
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR - CRISTINA FENGER
PLT MARKETING DIRECTOR - ASHLEY MCGLOTHREN
PLT SHOP SUPERVISOR - BRYAN CHAPMAN
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR - KAYLA STEPHENSON
PLT ARTISTIC DIRECTOR - KATHY HOLSWORTH
Cast
Barbara Jacobs as Gertrude Stein
Barbara has thought of PLT as her favorite playground since 2000. She is deeply involved with Studio 400 and serves as its chairperson. She plays on stage whenever she has the opportunity and was most recently seen as Patricia Highsmith in Switzerland. She also enjoys directing and has recently directed Hand to God and The Lieutenant of Inishmore.
Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946)
Godmother of the Lost Generation, Gertrude Stein was an international celebrity, an artistic iconoclast, and a self-proclaimed genius. She’s considered one of the most significant modernist writers of the early twentieth century. Though some consider her writing incoherent or absurd, others view it as a singular voice from the era of literary modernism.
In 1907 Alice B. Toklas became Stein’s lifelong companion. At the Atelier at 27 Rue de Fleurus in Paris they reigned at the center of a flourishing Parisian salon whose guests included Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Edith Sitwell, Harold Acton, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. Later they spent part of the year at Bilignin in the French Alps, where they rented a house.
Eleanore Armani as Alice B. Toklas
Eleanore was most recently seen in Pensacola Little Theatre's production of Mindgame as Nurse Paisley and Unrequited as Lady Capulet. Before that, she performed in Short Attention Span Theatre. Eleanore also portrayed Gwen O'Gara in the original staging of Taking Stock. She enjoys frequently performing with Improbable Cause Mystery Theatre productions in and around Pensacola. When not acting, she can be found caring for Pensacola's dogs and cats as a small animal veterinarian.
Alice B. Toklas (April 30, 1877 – March 7, 1967)
Alice was an American-born member of the Parisian avant-garde of the early 20th century, and the life partner of American writer Gertrude Stein. Described as Stein’s housekeeper, cook, typist, secretary, and friend, she kept the household running smoothly, typed all of Stein’s writings, helped to publicize and publish her works, and served as gatekeeper to weed out friend from foe.
After Stein’s death in 1946, she became a well-known cookbook writer and memoirist and was sought after for her many stories about her famous friends, acquaintances, and enemies. Sometimes Toklas’ assessments did not coincide with Stein’s—but Toklas always prevailed. She doted upon F. Scott Fitzgerald, who was welcome at the salon but feared that Ernest Hemingway was trying to seduce Stein, and he was barred.
Renee Jordan as Agatha Christie
Renee, a veteran of many stages, found her home at PLT over 15 years ago. She has most recently been seen in Rumors and Venus in Fur. Studio 400 is her favorite place to play as an actor and as a director. In 2021, she directed the original staging of Taking Stock, a locally written family drama. Renee also thoroughly enjoys being the reigning Overlord of our 24 Hour Theatre event and will continue to be a champion for locally written stories.
Agatha Christie (September 15, 1890 – January 12, 1976)
The renowned British author, was known for her observations of the world and people surrounding her. Dubbed “The Queen of Mystery” and “The Queen of Crime,” she has remained the world’s best-selling fiction author of all time, with billions of copies sold, and is an icon in the world of mystery, thriller, and crime novels.
The most successful female playwright of all time, Christie holds a world record as the only female playwright to have three plays running simultaneously in London’s West End, of which the most famous, The Mousetrap, is the longest-running play in the world, having debuted in 1952. Despite her worldwide renown, Agatha strove to live a quiet life. She felt that the public had no need to know of her private affairs and that her books spoke for themselves. The blandly titled An Autobiography wasn’t published until nearly two years after her death.
Emily Mixon as Lillian Hellman
Emily is the Owner and Artistic Director of Mixon Magic Performing Arts and holds a BFA in Musical Theater from The Boston Conservatory. Recent roles at PLT include Stepmother in Cinderella and Mrs. White in Clue: Live on Stage. Fierce thanks to Billy + Team for the opportunity! ENJOY THE MADNESS!
Lillian Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984)
Lillian was a renowned American playwright and memoirist. Her plays dealt with complex political, social, and familial subjects. Hellman sustained a complex, passionate, and tempestuous relationship with the mystery writer Dashiell Hammett from 1930 until his death in 1961. The two of them, individually and together, became important figures in left-wing literary and intellectual circles.
She is remembered not only for writing powerful and controversial plays like The Children’s Hour (which was met with both wild success and widespread criticism) but also for her public refusal to name colleagues to the House Un-American Activities Committee. Indeed, their left-wing activities led to Hellman being blacklisted from Hollywood in 1948. She returned to writing in the 1960s.
Lisa Goodness as Dorothy Parker
Lisa has been seen on the PLT Mainstage and in Studio portraying such roles as Cassie in Rumors, Mae in Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, Belinda in Noises Off, Veronica in God of Carnage, and Lois in Wonder of the World. She recently performed in the premiere production of Evidence! by local playwright AJ. Lisa was a company member of the Loblolly Theatre for ten years, performing and honing her craft in over 25 productions.
Dorothy Parker (August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967),
The American journalist, author, and poet, was known for her acid wit. Many of Parker’s stories highlight the lack of possibilities faced by many women. Big Blonde, one of her most widely read short stories, won the O. Henry Award in 1929. Other well-known works included Enough Rope, Here Lies, and Laments for the Living.
Parker and her second husband became a Hollywood screenwriting team whose credits included the original A Star Is Born (1939). Parker became involved with the Communist Party in the 30s, which would later lead to being blacklisted in the 1950s. More importantly, she was an avid supporter of the Civil Rights movement. She left her estate to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with the stipulation that if something should happen to Dr. King that her estate should go to the NAACP. To this day, the NAACP is in charge of her literary estate.
Jackie Goodman Martorell as Mary Buttinger
Jackie is excited to return home to Pensacola Little Theatre, where she last volunteered as an assistant stage manager for 2005's Forever Plaid. She most recently produced, directed, and performed in an online staged reading of An Inspector Calls to benefit The Actor's Fund and has most recently appeared onstage as Marie Curie/Ensemble in Radium Girls at Slidell Little Theatre in Slidell, LA, and as Katie Nanna/Ensemble in Mary Poppins at Jefferson Performing Arts Society in New Orleans, LA. She has also stage-managed and directed numerous productions at these theatres. Jackie is a proud graduate of New York University with a minor in Educational Theatre. Many thanks go to Billy Buff and the entire creative team for this incredible opportunity, the Literary Ladies for sharing their talent and wisdom, and her husband, Jeffrey, and the rest of her family for their unwavering support.
Mary Buttinger (a.k.a. Muriel Gardiner) (November 23, 1901 – February 6, 1985) Mary was an American psychoanalyst and psychiatrist. In 1926 she came to Vienna to undergo psychoanalysis with Sigmund Freud. After rejecting her as a patient, she studied medicine in order to become a psychoanalyst. In 1934, together with her husband, the Austrian Joseph Buttinger, she joined the Revolutionary Socialists and was active in the political resistance against Fascism. Using the code name “Mary” she smuggled passports and money and offered her home as a safe house for anti-Fascist dissidents and fellow Jews. In 1939 she emigrated to the USA, where she worked as a psychoanalyst and wrote a number of books. In the 1980s, Gardiner became entangled in the controversy between authors Mary McCarthy and Lillian Hellman, when she claimed that she was the character called Julia in Hellmans memoirs, Pentimento (1973).
Alexis Hall as Bernadette Marienthal
Alexis is so excited to be back on the PLT stage! She has been in theatre for eight years and has taken on diverse roles. Some of her favorites include the Capulet Maid (Unrequited; PLT), Magenta (Rocky Horror Picture Show; UWF), and Hero (Much Ado About Nothing, Chipola College). She cannot wait to see the story this cast brings to life.
Bernadette Marienthal (June 17, 1908 – unknown)
Bernadette is a composite of numerous young Jewish women who survived WWII and the Holocaust in various ways. All of their lives were drastically changed. According to playwright, Steven Carl McCasland, “Bernadette is a bit like Anne Frank would have been if she had gotten older. She was playful and curious and hopeful - until what happened to her, and then she became very withdrawn from society out of a fear of other humans.
About THE DIRECTOR
Director, Billy Buff
Billy Buff has been involved with Pensacola Little Theatre since he was a teenager in the 1980s. He graduated from the University of West Florida with both a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre and a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education. He studied directing at The University of Mississippi under Scott McCoy. He has performed in numerous shows including Boeing, Boeing, The Odd Couple, and Rumors and directed both musicals and non-musicals including The Wedding Singer, The End of Jack Cruz, and The 39 Steps (codirected with Barbara Jacobs).
SPECIAL THANKS
WARDROBE WITCHERY
up next
ALABAMA STORY
October 20-29, 2023 | A Studio 400 Production
WRITTEN BY KENNETH JONES
DIRECTED BY GAVIN PARMLEY
Inspired by true events from 1959, as the Civil Rights movement is brewing, a segregationist State Senator and a no-nonsense State Librarian clash over the content of a children’s book. Meanwhile, a reunion of childhood friends — an African American man and a woman of white privilege — provides a private counterpoint to the public events swirling in the state capital. Political foes, star-crossed lovers, and one feisty children’s author inhabit a Deep South of the imagination that brims with humor, heartbreak, and hope.
Studio400 productions are intended for mature audiences.
