FAIRHAVEN
SUMMER REPERTORY THEATRE
THREE DIFFERENT PLAYS
In Search of a Common Language
JUNE 24-JULY 20, 2025
Three different award-winning and thought-provoking plays.
Audience members will experience the intimacy of being in the round at the Firehouse Arts and Events Center, sitting with the actors while they explore a hilarious satire, a lyric look at the past, and a heartfelt comic hug.
All three plays have multiple scenes where the characters desperately want to communicate with each other but are faced with a language barrier. This summer’s offerings promise to explore how language is deeply aligned with culture and identity, and how it can lead to unexpected interpersonal challenges.
Our company combines many members of the community: students and educators, parents and children, as well as guest artists from far beyond Bellingham Bay, all working together to bring these three plays to life.
All performances take place in the historic Firehouse Arts and Events Center at:
1314 Harris Avenue in Fairhaven, WA
1
TRANSLATIONS
by Brian Friel
Directed by Kayla Adams
A British soldier falls in love with an Irish peasant girl, with a backdrop of the British Army’s campaign to change the names of native Gaelic locations.
This lyric play explores language as the soul of a nation, during a time of complicated social upheaval.
MEET THE DIRECTOR
Kayla Adams
Video by Ava Nicholas & Adeline Roesler-Begalke.
POST-SHOW DISCUSSION
Sunday, July 6
led by Josh Krenz & Heather Jefferson
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Josh Krenz is a writer, producer, and educator who believes that storytelling is one of the most powerful ways that we make sense of the world, and each other. He holds a MFA in screenwriting and has been the Director of Educational Programming for the Bellingham Script Studio since 2016, where he’s helped develop and mentor screenwriters across the region. Josh also has moderated the CASCADIA International film festival script studios for the past five years. He currently is the Director of Content Services at Steyer Content, a full-service agency, supporting enterprise clients where he’s led creative teams since 2021.
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Heather Jefferson is a Lummi Nation member, a mother and grandmother, and an educator who is committed to providing high-quality education with humility and grace. She brings a wealth of experience from over 30 years of working in classrooms with students from Pre-K through adult professionals. For the past 8 years, she has been supporting local schools and social agencies with training and facilitation on ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and REACH (Respecting Ethnic and Cultural Heritage).
2
THE FOREIGNER
by Larry Shue
Directed by Mark Kuntz
In a fishing lodge in rural Georgia, a tragically shy proofreader for a science fiction magazine tries to hide from life, only to put himself in the middle of a family squabble over money and power.
This hilarious comedy earned multiple Obie and Outer Critics Circle awards as Best New American Play and Best Off-Broadway Production.
MEET THE DIRECTOR
Mark Kuntz
Video by Ava Nicholas & Adeline Roesler-Begalke.
POST-SHOW DISCUSSION
Sunday, July 13
led by Marlowe Lawson
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Marlowe Lawson is a 2025 WWU graduate in Energy Policy and Management. Through the research undergone for their capstone, they have developed and led discussions centered around applied hope and community joy, and how to use these concepts to restore agency during times of crisis. They believe that fostering strong communities is the first step to widespread change and through building mutual respect and finding common ground, a better future can be made. They have facilitated conversations on a wide variety of topics including civic involvement and stakeholder engagement.
3
THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE
by Julia Cho
Directed by Cara Phipps
George is consumed with preserving and documenting the dying languages of the world. At home, however, despite all the languages he speaks, words fail him in his marriage with his wife.
This heartfelt bittersweet comedy won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for new plays.
MEET THE DIRECTOR
Cara Phipps
Video by Ava Nicholas & Adeline Roesler-Begalke.
POST-SHOW DISCUSSION*
Sunday, June 29
led by Mauri Ingram &
Brad Tuininga
*Reception following in the Firehouse garden.
Led by Whatcom Community Foundation President and CEO, Mauri Ingram, and VP of Philanthropy, Brad Tuininga. The vision of the Whatcom Community Foundation is “Everyone who lives here thrives.” Achieving it means cultivating neighborliness, lifting community voices, and investing in equity and hope.