The UAB Department of Theatre is committed to supporting new voices in theater and moving new works forward. The latest is “Don’t Ask” from 2018 graduate Hayley Procacci.This spring, Theatre UAB will present the world premiere of a new, original play, “Don’t Ask,” written and created by 2018 graduate Hayley Procacci.
In the play, a former ROTC graduate and commissioned second lieutenant fights a deeply personal battle, making history as one of the first LGBTQ soldiers to fight the ban on gays in the military. “Don’t Ask” is based on the true events of Procacci’s courageous family member and her important role in the fight for gay rights in America during the early 1990s.
“It is based on the true story of my aunt, Maureen ‘Mo’ Keenan, who was pressured by her family to join ROTC to pay for an Ivy League education,” Procacci said. “Growing up, my aunt’s story was a family secret. I had no clue that my Aunt Mo had made the front cover of The Boston Globe and was featured in The New York Times.”
Procacci is committed to creating bold work that directly addresses the current social and political landscape in society: “When my aunt told me this story, I knew it had to be a play.”
Exploring one of the most masculine of cultures, the military, the play “portrays one woman’s fight for queer people to be acknowledged and allowed to serve without political or personal ramifications, says Professor of Directing and Acting Karla Koskinen, co-director with Procacci of “Don’t Ask.”
Koskinen believes Procacci has written a powerful script, viscerally connecting the audience to the central question: What is the cost of denying people the right to claim their identity and their voice?
Procacci, a director and playwright based in Chicago, interviewed Keenan for six months, then took an abridged version of the story to small Chicago stages to see how it would land.
Soon after, Procacci called Koskinen in 2024 about collaborating, and she immediately signed on. Koskinen then approached Roy Lightner, fellow faculty colleague at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and artistic director of Red Mountain Theatre, who offered them a slot in Red Mountain’s Human Rights Festival last fall. At Red Mountain, they were given the resources to rehearse the show, work on rewrites, and perform a staged reading for an audience and receive feedback. This opportunity was invaluable to the development of the script, and they were in excellent shape as they began rehearsals for the full production.
“Don’t Ask” will have performances at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25-28 and 2 p.m. March 1, in the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center’s Odess Theatre. Tickets are $15; $10 for UAB students. Buy tickets at AlysStephens.org or call 205-975-2787. This production explores mature themes and is recommended for adults 18 and up. It contains strobe lights, adult language and content, violence, and gunshot sounds.
“Don’t Ask” is relentless, they say, and employs humor, choreography, song, and realistic and nonrealistic scenes as it rapidly moves through various locations between 1983 and 1996. It is performed in the Alys Stephens Center’s Odess Theatre, a spare, flexible “black box” theater that is endlessly adaptable. The setting changes will be manipulated by the ensemble, with minimal props to help ground the location. A unit set evokes a military world without being too specific, a world with tension that can still house realistic, intimate scenes. The cadences drive the show and set the tone of how music functions, Procacci says.
Theatre UAB is the performance company of the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Theatre, and the department has a history of producing new works and helping them move forward.
“University support for the development of new plays has become more important as professional theaters struggle under grant and budget cuts,” Koskinen said.
The production is the result of collaborative artists, who believed in their work from the beginning, and the support of UAB, Koskinen says. This project was developed over a two-year period. “Don’t Ask” is one of many new works that have been produced at UAB.
“As a director, working on new scripts is an ongoing passion, and I relish the opportunity to work with writers and help them realize their vision,” Koskinen said.
The UAB Department of Theatre program has benefited greatly from the commitment to new works, she says.
“Student actors learn what it is like to participate in a professional stage reading,” Koskinen said. “They are often given new script pages daily, and they learn to be nimble and flexible during a very condensed process.”
When the show is then moved into a formalized rehearsal process, actors may also be given changes in the script, see material they have rehearsed cut, and learn to adapt and stay open to making the play as effective as possible. There is no roadmap from another production to rely on, she says.
“All the students who work on the show are getting firsthand experience in bringing a new play to life,” Koskinen said. “We are also committed to supporting our graduates who are creating new work. Our current students see the success of a student who shares their educational experience, and this encourages them to claim their artistic voice.”
The cast and crew of “Don’t Ask”
Assistant director is Kris L. Brooks. Choreography by Procacci, with ballet choreography by Lightner. The production is stage managed by Alexander DeWolfe of Hoover, Alabama, with assistant stage managers Abby Abruzzese of Birmingham, Alabama, and Brook Powell of Mobile, Alabama. Scenic design by Alan Schwanke and prop design by Inji Ha. Costume design by Dana Guajardo Anaya of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, with scenic and props crew directed by Katelyn Douglas of Springville, Alabama. Dramaturg for the production is Selby Whaley. Intimacy directed by Mona Eldashoury. ROTC consulting by Jasmine Chaney.
Hayley Procacci as a child with their aunt Maureen ‘Mo’ Keenan.The ensemble cast is:
Cheslee Duke of Munford, Alabama, as Mo
Georgia Williams of Rainsville, Alabama, as Jess
Sammy Sledd of Huntsville, Alabama, as Barbara/Ensemble
Evelyn Shores of Marietta, Georgia, as Amy/Ensemble
Owen McManus of Huntsville, Alabama, as Don/Dick Cheney/Ensemble
Isaiah Leslie of Decatur, Alabama, as Cadet Nelson
Charlie Brownd of Cumming, Georgia, as Major Dominick/Ensemble
Jared Owens of Fort Payne as Dave/Ensemble
Key Lewis-Sayles of Bessemer, Alabama, as Mary Bonauto/Ensemble
Patrick Wilson of Atlanta Georgia, as Dan/Ensemble
Emery Hammer of Knoxville, Tennessee; Jack Fortner of Chelsea, Alabama; and David Sipin of San Jose, California, as understudies