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The Kentucky Cycle.
Winner of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize. This sweeping epic of three families in eastern Kentucky spans 200 years of American history from 1775 to 1975. Fast-paced and finely drawn, Schenkkan's stunning six-hour, nine-play cycle examines the myths of the American past which have created, for better or for worse, the country we are today.

Written by Robert Schenkkan
Directed by Michael Barker

Running time:
Part One - 3 Hours with one intermission
Part Two - 3 Hours with one intermission

Recommended for ages 14 and above.

Exploring violence as a part of American life -- whether that violence is racial, gender-based, or environmental -- and how each generation deals with and works through the American tendency to use force first and ask questions later.

"A cautionary parable about American character…" – Joe Adcock, Seattle P-I


The Stories.

The Songs.

The Families.

The Essays.

The Benches.


"I’m very interested in American mythology and in what I regard as the heart of that mythos, which is the myth of the frontier. I see it as having twin components. The first is very self-evident: the myth of abundance, which says that natural resources are infinite and if you use up something here you simply move on to something else. I’m sure that’s how the continent must have first appeared to people. But obviously that’s not the case; things are finite and you cannot replace underground aquifers, you cannot remake topsoil, you cannot restore extinct species. If you destroy them, the legacy of that is forever and does not change.

The second is a little more insidious -- the myth of escape. It’s the idea of a disposable identity. If you don’t like who you are, then you can change it. What you did yesterday doesn’t matter. It’s only who you are today. Again, that’s part of the promise of a new country. It must have been very potent for people, the idea that they could recreate themselves, start anew. I’m sure that’s, in part, why we overran the continent as quickly as we did.

And there’s an enormous psychic liberation in that, but there’s also a terrible price. It’s not just Santayana’s trenchant warning that those who forget the past are doomed to relive it. It’s also that if you don’t have the history, if you don’t have a past, if what you did yesterday doesn’t matter, then actions don’t have consequences. And if actions don’t have consequences, you have no basis for morality. You are essentially cut loose from the universe." -- Robert Schenkkan






The Playwright



The Creative Team

Michael Barker (Director), Jim Scullin (Assistant Director), Susan Melman (Dramaturg), Michael Barker, Jim Scullin (Scenic Design), Valerie Johnson (Costume Design), Ann Deacon (Lighting Design), Katie Woodzick (Properties), Bristol Bloom (Hair Design), Caitlin Goldbaum (Music Consultant / Education Assistant), Mikkel Hustad (Choral Director), Mike McVay (Fight Director), Damien Cortez (Weapons Master), Chris Spencer (Projections), Serena Hill (Stage Manager - Part One), Robert W. Prosch (Stage Manager - Part Two)

The Cast

Bob Atkinson, Ethan Berkley, Bristol Bloom, Laura Boram, Matt Bursell, Tony Caldwell, Carrie Carpenter, Tom Churchill, Barton Cole, Adrian Cook, Jameson Cook, Damien Cortez, T. Addelle Dierking, Gail Fleming, Hairston Hamby, Sommer Harris, Eric Hood, Mikkel Hustad, Kent Junge, Paul Mathews, Pat McVay, Shellie Moore, Laura Persaud, Daniela Rose, Ryan Ramie Rose, Zachary Schneider, Rob Scott, Jim Scullin, Eric Vanderbilt-Mathews, Erick Westphal, Larry Woolworth, Dwight Zehm, Jenny Zisette

The Musicians

Ron Swenson (guitar, banjo), Eric Vanderbilt-Mathews (concertina), Mira Yamamoto (violin)

The Crew

Assistant Production Stage Manager
Kate Scott (Part One / Part Two)
Sam Estill (Part One)
Thoomas Allen (Part Two)

Rehearsal Stage Manager
T. Addelle Dierking

Assistant Stage Manager
Thoomas Allen (Part One)

Sound Board Operator
Diana Maddox (Part One)
Frank O'Brochta (Part Two)

Light Board Operator
Dylan Gibson (Part One)
Ann Deacon (Part Two)

Projectionist
Dylan Gibson (Part One)
Kenna Prosch (Part Two)

Stage Crew
TBA

Scenic Painters/Builders
Thoomas Allen, Michael Barker, Charlie Bieber, Cally Beers, David Beers, Dale Boose, Chris Spencer, Jim Troxel, Larry Woolworth

Seamstresses
Carrie Carpenter
Joy Williams

Technical Intern
Jamesan Gavac

AmeriCorps Intern
Caitlin Goldbaum





special thanks
Ron Atlee; Gay Bitts; Patrick Bitts; Todd Bitts; The Everett Daily Herald; FightDesigner.com; Fine Balance Imaging Studios; Genealogical Society of South Whidbey Island and Maureen MacDonald; David Gignac; Caitlin Goldbaum; The Inn at Langley, Paul and Pam Schell; Langley United Methodist Church; Robert Schekkan; Sound Publishing; Claudia Walker; Whidbey Daily; Whidbey Institute; Denis Zimmerman