BootStrap Theater Foundation is proud to produce its thirteenth World Premiere
Arctic Requiem: The Story of Luke Cole and Kivalina
Nancy Shelby and Sharmon J. Hilfinger are serving as the producers for this production.
Nancy Shelby A long-standing member of the San Francisco theater community, Nancy works as an actor and director. She is a founding member of Word for Word Performing Arts Company which is celebrating twenty-one years of bringing short works of fiction to life on stage. She has appeared in the award winning ensembles of Olive Kitteridge, Stories by Tobias Wolff, and Winesburg Ohio, as well as stories by Alice Munro, Richard Ford, John Sayles, Virginia Wolf, Barbara Kingsolver, Edith Wharton. Nancy has appeared on numerous stages in the Bay Area and in Los Angeles, on film, and on television, and has directed works by Julie Orringer, Greg Sarris, Susan Lori Parks, and a number of poets. She also has a consultancy - preparing writers for public readings. As Luke Cole’s widow, she has provided significant guidance to the script of Arctic Requiem, and she is instrumental in promoting the play to the community that knows Luke and his work.
Sharmon J. Hilfinger Founder and Executive Director of BootStrap Theater Foundation, Sharmon has worked closely as producer, playwright or dramaturg on all of the BootStrap premieres. As producer, she has worked with the Pear Avenue Theatre and TheatreFirst, and she is on the Board of Directors of both of these companies. As playwright, this is her eighth full-length play to be produced. She is a founding member of the Pear Avenue Theatre Playwright’s Guild and three of her short plays have been produced in Pear Slices. She is fortunate to have studied playwriting with Rick Foster, Ellen McLaughlin and Oskar Eustis.
For Sharmon, this adventure of writing and producing a play to honor Luke Cole, his work and his friends in Kivalina has been steeped in learning, riddled with unforeseen difficulties, and blessed by the constant collaboration and friendship of Nancy Shelby.