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Written by Patrick W. Lord and Megan Thrift

​Directed by Patrick W. Lord

Original Music Composed by Emily Erickson
& Produced by navi

March 10-25, 2023 

Best for children ages 2-5 and their families
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Three siblings find themselves in a room full of possibilities and one not so simple task- to put things in their proper place.  However, they soon discover that throwing this and that into a box is not the same as finding where it fits in.

Through clowning, movement, and original music, three performers will transform everyday objects into something extraordinary. Is a blanket a blanket? Or is it the sail of a boat setting off on an epic voyage? Together, we can find the magic buried in the bottom of every box, and hidden inside the world around us!

Performance Schedule:
Theatre on the Run in Arlington, VA: March 10-25, 2023

​Local Tour to Alexandria preschools: March 14-28, 2023​
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1st Stage in Tysons Corner, VA: March 31-April 2, 2023

Press:
"A Treat for Tots: 'Fitting In' Makes Magical Art With Loose Parts"
All photos by Ryan Maxwell Photography.
Check out the Fitting In program here! 

Touring

Fitting In is also touring to Alexandria preschools, weekdays: March 14-28, 2023.
Fitting In is funded in part by 
The City of Alexandria, The Morgan Fund at Seattle Foundation,
​The National Endowment for the Arts, and The Virginia Commission for the Arts

Study Guide 

​Continue the experience in the classroom with our Fitting In Study Guide. Enjoy activities inspired by the show and extend learning beyond the production.  

Artistic Team

Patrick W. Lord (Co-Creator, Director, and Set/Props Designer) is thrilled to be back at Arts on the Horizon and making his directorial debut with this new show.  He previously designed projections for Outside the Lines.  Patrick works largely as a projection designer across the country, including designing the National Tours for On Your Feet and Hairspray.  His work creating theatre for young audiences has included multiple critically acclaimed world premieres at the Kennedy Center, with playwrights like Lauren Gunderson, Fin Kruckemeyer, and Laura Schellhardt.  Patrick has designed all across the country but locally you may recognize his work at theatres like Shakespeare Theatre, Olney Theatre, Everyman Theatre, Synetic Theater, 1st Stage, Theater Alliance, and many more.  He also is the author of a children’s book Start with a Spark, available through DC bookstore Politics and Prose.  More about him and his work can be found at www.patrickwlord and more photos of his dog are available on his instagram @pwlord 
Megan Thrift (Co-Creator) has worked as a multidisciplinary theatre artist and full-time educator for the past eighteen years in D.C., Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia. She has worked on over 30 productions in the DC theatre scene primarily at Keegan Theatre and Theatre Alliance. Most of the time, she is a high school theatre teacher and the artistic director of the student driven Rambunctious Theatre Company. Additionally she works with educators in Mosul, Iraq to develop their pedagogy, shape community building programs, and learn to support the psychological health of themselves and their students.  Degrees: B.A. in Theatre and M. Ed Cert in Theatre Education K-12 from George Mason University. 
Jeannette Christensen (Costume Designer) Is a Helen Hayes nominated costume designer, illustrator, and fashion stylist based in Baltimore, MD. Selected design credits include: The Broadway national tour of On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan 2022-2023 and the national tour, world premiere of Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Also for the Kennedy Center - the world premieres of Show Way, How to Catch a Star, and Earthrise. Gala Hispanic Theatre, DC - Jardin Salvaje, On Your Feet!, La Casa de la Laguna, Ella es Tango, El Perro de Hortelano, Picasso, and Que las Hay! Adventure Theater MTC -  Elephant & Piggie: We are in a Play! (Helen Hayes Nominated - Outstanding Costume Design), Blueberries for Sal, and Luchadora. Theater Alliance Films- The Blackest Battle, Quadrant Series, and Protest in 8. Olney Theater Center - National Players Tour 70 and Thanksgiving. Other regional credits include 4615 Theatre, Pointless Theatre, Imagination Stage, Monumental Theatre, Dance Exchange, and Mosaic Theatre. She has assisted with costume designs for American Players Theater, Roundhouse Theatre, Folger Theatre, Wolf Trap Opera, and Studio Theater. She has worked as a costume designer/mentor with Arizona State University, University of Maryland, Bowie State University, American University, and George Washington University. She recently launched her own sustainable clothing brand, called Ronni-X. Education: BA in Design & Production from Arizona State University, MFA in Design from the University of Maryland. Find more of her work at jchristensendesign.com.
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Dean Leong (Lighting Designer) is a freelance Lighting Designer from the Washington DC area. Recent design credits include: Lighting: Our Town, The Importance of Being Earnest, and The Wolves with CUA Drama Dept. A Tuna Christmas, BURST, and Ghost Light with Parlor Room Theater Co. The Infinite Tales, Museum 2040, and Tempered: A Caberet with 4615 Theatre Co. Chemical Exile: Synthesis, Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really with Rorschach Theater Co. Scenic: The Wolves with CUA Drama Dept. Museum 2040 with 4615 Theater Co. He would like to thank his wife and daughter for their love and support. To view more of his work you can visit: www.deanleongdesigns.squarespace.com
Matthew Pauli (Puppet Designer) is a performer based in Maryland. He toured six seasons as a clown with Big Apple Circus spent five years as a principal puppeteer with Beale Street Puppets, based in Baltimore. At Imagination Stage in Maryland he built the Brontosaurus for Lulu and the Brontosaurus, Bunnicula for two different productions of Bunnicula, and giants for a production of The BFG, and the humans for 101 Dalmations. He built puppets for Mary Poppins at Olney Stage. He has built full size puppets of children for the Smithsonian, as well as for Spooky Action Theater’s production of The Oldest Boy.  His basement currently contains a full-size rhino that a person can ride. 
Natalie Cutcher (Dramaturg) is a local theatre maker, educator, and proud company member of Arts on the Horizon. In addition to teaching summer camps and leading storytimes with AOTH, she's worked on a handful of productions wearing hats ranging from director, playwright, actor, deviser, and props refurbisher. Productions include Snow Day, Point A to Point B, By the Seashore, Jingle Journey, and Squeakers and Mr. Gumdrop. She has roots in stylized, physical theatre including Commedia dell'Arte and Clowning, but also gained a love for rich, poetic language after completing her MFA with Shakespeare Theatre Company Academy. If you're a fan of podcasts, keep an eye out for Season 5 of the sci-fi, radio-drama EOS 10 dropping spring 2023.
Amber Smithers (Props Artisan and Winter/Spring Arts on the Horizon Emerging Artist) has recently graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.A. in Theatre. She is a Theatre Practioner, who was a part of The National Players Tour 73’s production of Much Ado About Nothing as (Beatrice/Borachio). She is also a local playwright whose work has been produced by Adventure Theatre’s Q-fest, as well as We Happy Few. Amber is ecstatic to be working with Arts On the Horizon as an Emerging Theatre Artist this season.
Kaitlyn Shifflett (Stage Manager) is a current student at George Mason University pursuing a B.F.A in Theater performance and a minor in Dance. She is a working actor/stage manager/mentor in the wonderful niche world of physical theater. Past credits include Romeo & Juliet (Synetic Teen Co.), Hamlet (CUA), Host and Guest, and Dracula (Synetic Theater). Kaitlyn is excited to be working with Arts on the Horizon for this magical production of FITTING IN this spring.

Cast

Emily Erickson (Middlest and Composer) is an actor, teaching artist, voice coach, and multi-instrumentalist based in DC. Her recent credits include People, Places & Things (Studio Theatre), Our Black Death (Taffety Punk), Much Ado About Nothing (Chesapeake Shakespeare), Man Covets Bird (Spooky Action), Richard II (Her Majesty & Sons), This Beautiful Future (TheaterLab), Fantastagirl and the Math Monster (Adventure Theatre), Julius Caesar (Academy for Classical Acting), and Working: A Musical (Labor Heritage Foundation). Emily serves on the NTI faculty at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and works as a teaching artist at Shakespeare Theatre Company and Round House Theatre. Proud MFA graduate of The Academy for Classical Acting at STC/GWU. BFA: NYU. emilynerickson.com / @emierickson 
Pablo Guillén (Oldest) is an actor and fashion lover, born and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. He trained at the National School of Dramatic Arts of Honduras, Miami Dade College, The Carpetbag Brigade Physical Theater, and Odín Theater. Some of his credits include Teatro de la Luna: A Lecture for an Academy, GO; Gala Hispanic Theater: Seneca; Synetic Theater: The Tempest, The Miraculous Magic Balloon, Cinderella, Snow Queen (understudy role), The Servant of Two Masters, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dracula, Host and Guest (understudy role). Arts on the Horizon: Birds of a Feather, Squeakers & Mr. Gumdrop. 
Graciela Rey (Youngest) ​DC area credits include: GALA Hispanic Theatre: On Your Feet! ¡En español!. Olney Theatre Center: Beauty and the Beast. Flying V Theatre: Vanishing Girl.  Imagination Stage: Paper Dreams and The Snow Queen. Rorschach Theatre: ¡Nails! A Happy, Gay, Latinx Play and Klecksography. Adventure Theatre: Make Way for Ducklings. REGIONAL: Gloucester Stage Company: Athena. Graciela has a BA in Musical Theatre from American University. Find her online at www.Gracielarey.com and  @graci_rey. 
Covenant Babatunde (Middlest Understudy) is a DMV choreographer, dancer, and actor who has presented work at several venues in the East Coast. She's recently presented work in concerts hosted by Glade Dance Collective, Light Switch Dance Theater, Anacostia Arts Center, and performed as Stepsister in Synetic Theater's Cinderella. Covenant has a BA in Creative Writing and a minor in Musical Theatre from the University of Mary Washington. Her strong background in writing has greatly influenced her as an artist - with her focal point always being the creation of well-rounded characters and thought-provoking stories. As best said by two of her favorite spoken word artists: “Turn off the music, listen to the quiet. Whisper: Thank you for stopping by.”
Rebecca Ballinger (Youngest Understudy) Past credits include The Playboy of the Western World at Solas Nua, The Outsider and Shakespeare in Love at Keegan Theatre, A Civil War Christmas and The Member of the Wedding at 1st Stage, Every Christmas Story Ever Told and Beehive at NextStop Theatre, as well as Make Way for Ducklings and Fairytales in the Sun at Adventure Theatre. She also understudied Heroes of the Fourth Turning at Studio Theatre. Upcoming: Audrey at Creative Cauldron. Becca has a BA in Theatre from the University of Maryland. RebeccaBallinger.com
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Joshua Lucas (Oldest Understudy)  is a DC based actor, dancer, and teaching artist.  He has worked primarily with Synetic Theater, credits include Tempest, Snow Queen, Phantom of the Opera, Shakespeare Revue, Cinderella (understudy), Servant of Two Masters (understudy), Midsummer Nights Dream, Host and Guest, and Dracula. Other credits include Round House Theater: Tempest (Caliban understudy) and Arts on the Horizon: Birds of a Feather (understudy).
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