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O N L I N E   P L A Y B I L L

ME:2

An Autobiographical Musical Journey

The Long Room
Saturday, September 6th, 7:30 PM

CREATIVE TEAM

 

Written & Performed by Tommy Foster
 

Musical Arrangements by Jordan Wolfe
 

Musical Direction by Jessica Borgnis
 

Dramaturgy by Steven Levine

 

Photography by Aleigha Tucker​

THE BAND

PIANO/CONDUCTOR:  Jessica Borgnis

 

BASS:  Harley

​​​

PERCUSSION:  Natalya Petrova
 

ME:2 runs
approximately 90 minutes
with no intermission.

WARNING:

ME:2 deals with mature themes

of a graphic nature,

including sexual assault,

and is not appropriate for children.  

Not recommended for anyone

under the age of 15. 

All music licensed through BMI/ASCAP.

All rights reserved by the original creators.

DISCLAIMER:

These stories are mine alone. A few names have

been adjusted for privacy, but the truth of the events

remains unchanged. And if a person or place seems

uncannily familiar, that’s because...

🤐

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Thank you......

Stephen Mosher, Heather Wilson-Bowlby, James Webb, Kelly Price, Wesley Campbell, AJ White, Lilly Vanderbilt, Jimmy Andrews, Craig Laurie, Dana Steer, Aleigha Tucker and Marina Velos at Fenix Fotography, Wesley Campbell, Parker & Marshall Foster-Campbell, Megan Payne & Sarah Harkness at The Long Room, everyone who invested in me through GoFundMe OR purchased a ticket.  

 From the
Artist...

“What if everyone saw?

What if everyone knew?

Would they like what they saw?

Or would they hate it, too?”

from DEAR EVAN HANSEN

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey tonight. It’s still very much a

work in progress — as am I. As are we all.

 

This isn’t really a theatre piece about sexual assault, though that is certainly a

part of it. At its core, it’s about something deeper and more universal: the lifelong process of learning to love and accept ourselves. That’s something I’m still learning to do.

 

For years, I thought something was fundamentally wrong with me. That I was

broken: too emotional, too needy, too angry, too much. (Funny how I can name all the things I think are “wrong” with me, while the people who really know me would name everything that’s right.)

 

What I know now is this: none of those things were “me.” They were trauma

responses — survival tools programmed in my first twenty years, all of which I share in tonight’s journey. And they weren’t my fault. There is nothing wrong with me. And my guess is… there’s nothing wrong with you either.

 

Yes, I am a recovering addict with body dysmorphia, living with anxious

attachment disorder. But none of those things define me. For too long, I diminished myself — code-shifted to fit what I thought would make others comfortable. I tried to please everyone else.

 

But the truth is, I am the only person guaranteed to be with me until the very

end. So I’d better start learning how to please me.  Creating this piece is my attempt to lay that baggage down. To tell the truth out loud. To remind myself (and maybe remind you, too) that the only way to is through — and that none of us is getting out alive, so don’t put off living.

 

I am still on this journey: learning to love myself, learning to believe that healing

is possible, learning to let joy in. My hope is that by sharing all of this, you feel a little less alone, too.

 

Thank you for being here. Remember: choose kindness, choose integrity,

choose love.    (Except in some cases, in which I say: “F!#@ Those Bitches!”)

 

Namaste,
Tommy

Meet the Artists

Tommy  foster

Writer / Actor

Tommy Foster is a theatre artist and

survivor. He has spent more than 20 years in this career chasing truth through storytelling.   A graduate of the University of Michigan (BFA, Musical Theatre) and the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University (MFA), Tommy began his career in New York City, where he performed regionally, toured nationally and internationally, and appeared on camera in commercials for Nickelodeon, McDonald’s, Food Lion, and the final season of Sex & the City. In cabaret, his one-man show The Method to My Madness earned him a Backstage Bistro Award and was featured on CNN, Playbill.com, and NY1.

 

Since relocating to North Carolina in

2013, Tommy has become a fixture in the Charlotte theatre community as both director and actor known for bold honesty, humor, and heart:  directing productions for Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Lee Street Theatre, CAST, Old Courthouse Theatre, and CPCC Summer Theatre. As an actor, his credits include title roles in Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel), and the roles of Ned (The Normal Heart), Miss Trunchbull (Matilda), and Aslan (Narnia the Musical). He is also a passionate educator, teaching at Children's Theatre of Charlotte, Catawba College, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Davidson Community Players, and through his private studio, The Acting School, where he has helped students gain admission to top collegiate theatre programs.

 

ME:2 continues his mission of

transforming pain into performance, inviting audiences to laugh, cry, and recognize themselves in the lifelong journey of healing and self-acceptance.

www.TommyFosterNYC.com | www.TheActingSchoolNC.com

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Jess

Borgnis

Musical Director,

piano

Jess Borgnis is a pianist,

vocalist, and music director. Recent music directing credits include Invisible Boy, School of Rock, and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs at Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, as well as Rock of Ages, Lizzie, and Trailer Park Christmas Musical at Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte. Jess is also a collaborative pianist with Charlotte Ballet and performs regularly with her jazz quartet.

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Harley

Bass

Harley (they/them) is a Charlotte native and lifelong musician with an unquenchable passion for theater and all things creative. They share their love of music and creativity both by teaching at We Rock Charlotte (offering instruction on bass, piano, and clarinet) and by baking tasty treats at VisArt Video and Cafe. Harley dedicates their performances to their Mothership, and to the snails. 

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Natalya

petrova

Percussion

Natalya Petrova is a drummer and

percussionist based in North Carolina. She holds a master’s degree as an orchestral artist specializing in drums and percussion. Natalya performs with a variety of bands across multiple genres and is an active participant in musicals and conceptual music projects. Her versatility and artistry allow her to move seamlessly between classical, jazz, rock, and experimental settings, bringing depth and creativity to every performance.

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JOrdan

wolfe

Musical arrangements

Jordan Wolfe is a New York-based actor/singer, writer/composer, arranger, and musician.

 

He is the creator of Off-Broadway hit comedy “Night of the Living Dead! The Musical”. He is also featured on the shows concept album which reached the top 50 of the US Soundtrack Chart. The show has been produced both nationally and internationally.

 

As an actor, Jordan was in the original Off-Broadway cast of the musical Neurosis at the Daryl Roth Theatre. His other NY credits include lead roles with New York Classical Theatre, Prospect, Musicals Tonight! The Tank, Theatre for a New City, The Duke Theatre, The Kirk at Theater Row, MITF, MTF, and four shows with NYMF. Jordan has also appeared nationwide, starring in plays and musicals at over 15 regional theaters. He has performed as a jazz vocalist at the Iridium Jazz Club, The Cutting Room, and Birdland. His TV credits include Law & Order: Criminal Intent and S.P.L.A.S.H for PBS. He recently wrote and starred in the upcoming short horror film “Real Dead”.  For more, visit JordanWolfe.net and

 TheNightoftheLivingDeadMusical.com.

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STEVEN

LEVINE

DRAMATURGY

Steven Levine: A native of

Charlottesville, Virginia, Steven, graduated from the University of South Carolina, where he earned a B.F.A. in Acting, and the Dell’ Arte School of Physical Theatre. As an actor, he has worked at some of this country’s major regional theatres, including Seattle Children’s Theatre, San Diego Rep, and A Contemporary Theatre where he created the role of the Soldier in the world premiere of Philip Glass’ opera, In the Penal Colony – a production directed by JoAnne Akalaitis. Charlotte audiences may have seen him as Mr. Banks in Mary Poppins at Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, or as Oberon/Theseus in A MIdsummer Night’s Dreamat the dearly departed Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte. Also at CTC, he’s directed Pigs is Pigs, Pinocchio, Hare & Tortoise and Doggie on my Doorstep, which he co-created with Caleb Sigmon. He also directed Three Bone Theatre’s production of Seminar by Theresa Rebeck. Steven serves as the Director of Production at Children’s Theatre of Charlotte.

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The
Journey


 

***Writing credits are listed
for your reference after the performance.  
I encourage you to immerse yourself in the experience without looking ahead.
Enjoy the journey!***

THE MUSICAL JOURNEY

Please refer to this list after the performance.

I encourage you to immerse yourself in the

experience without looking ahead. 

SONGS MARKED WITH AN *

ARE ARRANGED BY

JORDAN WOLFE

 

PART 1:  CHILDHOOD

*Overture

-music by Tim Minchin

*The Childhood Medley                                                                *The Hiccup Smurf, from Smurf's Party Time

-written by Ch. Twinhill, Ferry Wienneke,

Günther Behrle, &  Jean Frankfurter                    

 

*The Best Friend of All, from Best of Friends: The Smurfs

-written by Barry Corbett & John de Plesses    

 

*The Growing Up Medley     

*When I Grow Up, from Matilda the Musical                      

-music & lyrics by Tim Minchin

*Electricity, from Billy Elliott the Musical

-music by Elton John, lyrics by Lee Hall                         

Words Fail, from Dear Evan Hansen

-music and lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul

PART 2:  COMING OF AGE

*I Want You to Want Me

   -by Cheap Trick, arranged by Chase Holfelder

PART 3:  ASSAULT WITH A SMELLY PENIS

Colorblind

-by Adam Duritz & Charlie Gilligham  

PART 4:  LAID BARE 

Bare, from BARE the Musical

-music by Damon Intrabartolo, lyrics by Jon Hartmere

-additional music by Lynne Shankel

 

*Animal 

-by Chris Allen, Branden Campbell, Elaine Bradley, 

Tyler Glenn, Tim Pagnotta

-arranged by Chase Holfelder

 

PART 5:  POSSIBILITIES

Maybe It’s Me 

    -by Georgia Stitt

 

PART 6:  CREEPS

Creep

-music by Albert Hammond & Mike Hazlewood,

-lyrics by Thom Yorke

 

PART 7:  BOYS

*Animal 

-by Chris Allen, Branden Campbell, Elaine Bradley, 

Tyler Glenn, Tim Pagnotta

 

PART 8:  DRUGS

Bad Habits

-Ed SheeranFred GibsonJohnny McDaid

 

PART 9: THE RESCUE

*The Safety Pop Sequence                                  

Puffin’ Billy, from CAPTAIN KANGAROO  

-composed by Edward White                    

Say Something

-written by Ian Axel, Chad King, Mike Campbell

              

*The Closing

*When I Grow Up, from Matilda the Musical                      

-music & lyrics by Tim Minchin

*Electricity, from Billy Elliott the Musical

-music by Elton John, lyrics by Lee Hall   

 

PART 10: FORGIVENESS

Forgiveness

   -written by, and used with special permission from,

Peter Katz

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