Sundown Collaborative Theatre presents…
Witches
Oct. 23-24 & 30-31 @7:30 pm
Oct. 25 & Nov. 1 @2:30 pm
Theatre Denton Annex, Golden Triangle Mall, Denton TX
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synopsis | director’s note | cast & crew | bios | coming soon | special thanks
~Synopsis~
Drawing from centuries of witch folklore and the lived experiences of women and gender-diverse people today, Witches traces how fear, control, judgment, and survival echo across time.
Across the piece, stories of identity, power and connection begin to overlap. As those experiences come together, isolation gives way to recognition. Strangers find one another, stories that once seemed separate begin to connect, and shared experiences become a source of strength.
Created collaboratively by an ensemble of local performers and writers through research, personal experience, and original material, Witches explores the ways people hold onto themselves even when others try to define, control, or erase them.
When the hunted find one another, they may just remember they have teeth.
~Director’s Note~
Throughout my artistic career, I’ve always felt a pull toward original work and devised storytelling, though the thought of stepping into the unknown often kept me at a distance.
When this concept first came to me, it arrived in a flurry of thoughts the night before I pitched it to our company. When it was chosen for our season, I was thrilled—and immediately horrified. Suddenly, the idea was no longer just an idea. It was real, and needed to be formed.
What I’ve learned through this process is that we are meant to venture into the unknown, to make something out of nothing, to trust the things we cannot yet see. Especially with the right people beside you. We all have them and will find them at the right times.
This production has been a truly collaborative effort, brought into being by brilliant, feeling, endlessly imaginative minds for whom I have so much admiration. It is woven from the experiences of many of us—our nightmares, our sweetest dreams, and the realities we carry with us. This journey has remained close to the heart, through and through. We have found pieces of ourselves in it, and in doing so, found pieces of one another.
This process has also taught me the beauty of creative surrender and more about trusting the people around me. It has encouraged vulnerability and openness in my heart. To always invite new people in, tell them what frightens you and what you love, and to make room for all the strange, wonderful things that happen when people gather and create together. To be silly and play together. To laugh and cry and sigh and feel. To discover that making something meaningful is, in many ways, an act of learning how to be with one another.
There is something precious about finding another person who understands what you feel, who recognizes your experience even if the world tries to convince you it isn’t real. To be seen, to be believed, to be understood—to find that kind of connection is no small thing, and is truly the core of this story.
It is also about discovering the strength that has always existed within you, and learning to trust it.
I am endlessly grateful to our design team and to every person who has poured a piece of themselves into this production. I could not have done this without my stage manager, Mars Phillips, or my assistant director, Courtney Dobelbower, both of whom wrote and edited tirelessly, offered their wisdom, and held my hand when I felt lost and needed a reminder to take a deep breath. I love them very much.
This began as a handful of thoughts, a flicker of something not yet known, and has grown into a world we are so proud to share with you.
I am most grateful for the time we have spent making it together—for the discoveries, the vulnerability, the laughter, and the sacred moments that belong to us. We only have so much time on this earth to treat it well and to love others, and I’m so fortunate I got to spend some of mine with this team.
For the mothers and grandmothers, and for all those who recognize themselves somewhere in these woods, in these fears, and in these stories.
~Cast & Crew~
| Director | Julia Bodiford |
| Assistant Director | Courtney Dobelbower |
| Stage Manager | Mars Phillips |
| Producing Member | Lauren Juckniewitz |
Written by
Julia Bodiford, Courtney Dobelbower, Mars Phillips, Lindsey Hall, Lee Howard, Amanda Fae Landry, Jessica Barnes, Betti Tristan, Brandy Townsend, Gabrielle Perkins, Donnie McHenry, Jacob Drum, Carrissa Davis, & Lauren Juckniewitz
Tech Team
Props Designer – Creative team with a special thanks to Amanda Fae Landry
Sound Design – Carrissa Davis, Julia Bodiford, Courtney Dobelbower, Joshua Dobelbowers, Mars Phillips, Creative team
Lights Design – Ames Brennan
Lights Support – Ryan Davilla
Lighting Board Operator – Mason Harden, Ryan Davilla
Sound Board Operator – Carrissa Davis
Costume Design – Erin Gern
Costume Support – Patty Mills, Gabby Perkins, Creative team
Blood – Lindsey Hall
Projectionists – Joshua Dobelbower, Lauren Juckniewitz
Set Designer – Sharon Barnhill
Scenic Painting Head – Jordan Desmarais
Scenic Painting Support – Betti Tristan, Lauren Juckniewitz
Special Equipment – Nathan Probst
Backstage Hands/Puppeteers
Xander Davis
Jacob Drum
Creative team
Cast
Lindsey Hall (she/her)
Lee Howard (they/them)
Amanda Fae Landry (she/her)
Jessica Barnes (she/her)
Betti Tristan (she/they)
Brandy Townsend (they/them)
Gabrielle Perkins (she/her)
Donnie McHenry (he/him)
Film Direction
Julia Bodiford
Betti Tristan
Tyler Lucas
Camera Work
Tyler Lucas
Film Cast
Madison Claire Fountain (she/they)
Lauren Juckniewitz (she/her)
Carrissa Davis (she/her)
Jacob Drum (he/him)
Mars Phillips (he/they)
~Coming soon~
Stay tuned for Season 19!
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~Special thanks~
Huge thanks to Theatre Denton for sharing their Annex space with us as well as costumes and props, and to Aura Coffee for the rehearsal space.
Special thanks to The Morris Family, The Maxon Family, The Howard Family, Lauren Juckniewitz, Courtney Dobelbower, Joshua Dobelbower, Donnie and Kristin McHenry, Sharon Barnhill, Theatre Denton, Amanda Fae Landry, Tyler Lucas, Mars Phillips, Nick Castro, Erin Gern, Caleb Norris, David Pierce, Erica Cole, Emily Chambers, Christine Early, and the grandmothers, mothers, and matriarchs that supported our journeys..
Eternal thanks to Tyler Lucas, Sundown’s Husband™, for the beautiful photographs and undying love and support.
Exceptional thanks to our generous and gorgeous Patreon supporters!
~Cast & Crew Bios~
Lindsey Hall (she/her) serves as co-Artistic Director for Sundown Collaborative Theatre. She has performed in several productions with the company, including Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms, and Love Stories (a working title), a devised piece she conceived and collaboratively guided. She also co-directed and performed in the company’s first round of Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: 30 plays in 60 minutes with Ryan Davila. She had the opportunity to serve as Julia’s assistant director for The Great Impresario Boris Lermontov Would Like to Invite You to Dinner and most recently conceived and directed the short film Boy Crazy for the company’s 2026 Pride Short Works Fest, The Gay Agenda.
She is still pinching herself over this incredibly talented and committed group of artists and honored to have jumped into this weirdness and wonderfulness with each and every one of them. Finally, she is endlessly grateful to Sundown’s husband™, Tyler, for everything he does, and promises to actually be home more soon….for real this time. <3
Witches marks Betti Tristan‘s second devised piece and fourth original production with the company, following Body Stories (a working title), the 24-hr Playwriting Festival, and their recent Short Works Fest, The Gay Agenda. She is grateful and glad to have another opportunity to collaborate with such a thoughtful group of storytellers, who are some of the cleverest, kindest, most dedicated creatives that were available for the duration of this rehearsal period.
Thank you to our beloved matriarchs, without whom this play could not exist.
Lee Howard (they/them) is excited to be working with Sundown Collaborative Theatre again, having just done their first show with them, with their 2026 Short Works Fest, The Gay Agenda. They have been rubbing elbows with the cast and crew doing tech for shows with Theatre Denton as well, and are excited to get more time with everyone involved!
Amanda Fae Landry is thrilled to be a part of Sundown Collaborative Theatre’s production of Witches! Amanda Fae has loved acting and performing since childhood. After a long hiatus, she providentially found her way back to the stage this year. Amanda Fae’s recent roles include the short film Boy Crazy and Louise in the play Max, from the 2026 Short Works Fest, The Gay Agenda, and Lillian Troy in Theatre Denton’s I Hate Hamlet. In addition to acting, she enjoys cooking, spending time with the people she loves, and gazing lovingly at her dog, Anouk. Amanda Fae believes in looking up and out so she doesn’t miss the small beautiful and magical moments!
Brandy Townsend (they/them) has been a member of Sundown since December of 2019. They have performed in, directed, and staged managed many wonderful shows in their time with the company, and found a place that feels like home. They are beyond thrilled to be a part of this magical experience and invite you to fall under our spell.
Jessica Barnes (she/her) is a Denton actor, singer, and poet. She is thrilled to be part of Witches, her first devised piece with Sundown Collaborative Theatre, and to explore the ways poetry, music, movement, and performance can collide to create something unexpected. For Jessica, Witches has offered the rare opportunity to meet a character already living somewhere inside her rather than simply craft one—to discover who she is through words that had never existed before. The process has also invited her to explore the history of the witch: how “witch” became a legal and cultural category, and what it means to reclaim a word once used to define, condemn, and control women. Jessica’s previous credits include Deirdre in I Hate Hamlet (Theatre Denton, 2026), ensemble in Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, Vols. 1 & 2, and Annie Wilkes in Misery (Theatre Denton, 2022). She is grateful to Sundown for making space to experiment, create, and discover what happens when an artist follows a character into the unknown.
Donnie McHenry (he/him) was first introduced to Sundown when he saw their production of The Amphibians (2025) and became enamored with the idea of local theater. With absolutely zero theater experience, he showed up to open auditions for Sundown’s Stage Frights! Short works festival and got cast as Adam in Fresh Meat. Donnie worked with Sundown again in 2026 in a short film Boy Crazy in their 2026 Short Works Fest, The Gay Agenda. Witches is Donnie’s third time working with Sundown and his first full production. When not acting, Donnie enjoys writing short fiction and then abandoning it within the first few pages because he feels it’s too derivative of Stephen King. He’s also an avid film and horror buff with over 1,000 films in his physical media collection. Donnie loves working with Sundown over and over again but he couldn’t do it without the support of his wife, Kristin, and son, Miles, who graciously let him spend so much time away from home rehearsing and performing with Sundown.
Gabrielle Perkins is over the moon to be joining Sundown Collaborative Theatre for their devised piece known as Witches. She has previously performed in shows with Sundown, most recent being their 2026 Short Works Fest, The Gay Agenda (and has a blast!), and is delighted especially to join them on this fun, different, and exciting piece. She would like to thank her family and friends for their encouragement and, also, would like to honor this piece to everyone who’s been through the different facets of the woman experience. 🙂
Madison Claire Fountain is an actor, playwright, and intimacy director based in Dallas. Recent acting credits include Simone in The Amphibians at Sundown Collaborative Theatre, Mae West in The Mad Dog Blues at Hip Pocket Theatre, multiple roles in the Stamped Project and Courtney/Jamie in Jet Fuel, both at Bishop Arts Theatre Center, and Young Wife and others in Beyond the Yellow Wallpaper at Echo Theatre. She holds a BFA in acting from The University of Oklahoma. She wants to thank her mom for being the best.
Lauren Juckniewitz is a writer, teacher, and humorist. She has appeared on stage in Body Stories (a working title), as Mother Darling in As Small as Stars, and most recently as part of a puppeteer team in The Amphibians. This summer, her short plays The Dinner Party and Lurking were featured in Sundown’s most recent Short Works Fest. She is always so happy to be part of a Sundown production and hopes you really enjoy the show!
Carrissa Davis (she/her) has sound designed several shows with Julia and with Sundown, and even performed a couple times. Her short plays Max and Good Charlotte were featured in Sundown’s last Short Works Fest, and she has stage managed for Sundown’s last devised piece, Body Stories. She’s excited to celebrate fall with this brilliant work and these lovely people.
Jacob Drum has been lucky enough to be a part of Sundown Collaborative Theatre for 5 years. In that time, he has appeared in the two entries in the “Working Title” series, Love Stories and Body Stories. He has appeared in Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind, both Volumes 1 and 2. He submitted an original piece for the 24-Hour Play Festival, held the leading role of George Darling in As Small As Stars, appeared alongside Brandy Townsend as The Narrator in Sundown’s virtual rendition of She Kills Monsters, and in many roles across multiple Short Works Fests. He hopes the audience enjoys all the hard work the cast and crew have put into the show!
This is Mars Phillips‘ first time working as a stage manager for a production! They have loved theatre and the performing arts grade school! He feels truly lucky to continue as a member of Sundown! Whether performing on stage or working behind the curtain to create amazing and unique experiences. He can never quite get enough of this inspiring team!