Theatre Speech and Dance
CYMBELINE
CAMINO REAL
ATREUS
DAWN
THREE SISTERS
AN IRISH PLAY
QUILLS
SPRING DANCE CONCERT
COMMENCEMENT:
THE BELLE OF AMHERST
William Shakespeare's
CYMBELINE
Directed by Mark S. Cohen
Set and Lighting Design by John R. Lucas
Costume Design by Phillip Contic
Sound Design by David P. Crowley
Technical Direction by William C. Roche
THE CATHERINE BRYAN DILL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
September 24-27, October 1-3, 1998 at 8 pm
October 4, 1998 at 3 pm
LEEDS THEATRE
CATHERINE BRYAN DILL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
CAST
CYMBELINE - Adam Arian
IMOGEN - Katharine Powell FIDELE
POSTHUMUS - David Edison CLOTEN
QUEEN.......................Alison Cimmet GHOST
PISANIO.......................TJ Morton JAILER
GUIDERIA....................Rebecca White FRENCH GENTLEWOMAN
ARVIRAGUS..................Brooks Witter SATYR
BELARIUS....................Noam Katz PHILARIO
IACHIMO.......................Norm Lee
CORNELIUS................Chi-Wang Yang CLOWN, A GHOST
CAIUS LUCIUS.............Gregory Howe A SERVANT
There will be a ten-minute intermission between Acts I and II
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
"A dream is the fulfillment of a wish."
The Interpretation of Dreams, Sigmund Freud, 1900.
In times long past, Britain was ruled by a King called Cymbeline. He had two infants, a daughter named Guideria and a son called Arviragus. When these children were very young, they were kidnapped, never recovered, and presumed dead. Cymbeline's wife died giving birth to a third child who was called Imogen. The King remarried, acquiring as he did so a step-son called Cloten, his new Queen's child by her first marriage. But for twenty years, Cymbeline never forgot his lost children.
"Mourning is the state of mind in which feeling revives the empty world in the form of a mask, and derives an enigmatic satisfaction in contemplating it. ...mourning is capable of a special intensification, a progressive deepening of its intention...introversion leads only too easily into the abyss. This is illustrated by the theory of the melancholy disposition."
The Origin of German Tragic Drama, Walter Benjamin, 1925.
"Galen...thinks that the spirits being darkened, and the substance of the brain cloudy and dark, all the objects thereof appear terrible and the mind itself, by those dark, obscure gross fumes, ascending from black humors, is in continual darkness, fear and sorrow; divers terrible monstrous fictions in a thousand shapes and apparitions occur, with violent passions by which the brain and phantasy are troubled and eclipsed...so that melancholy men have an inward cause that they carry with them; an object which cannot be removed, but sticks as close, and is as inseparable as a shadow to a body, and who can expel or over-run his shadow?"
The Anatomy of Melancholy, Sir Robert Burton, 1621.
"...it is evident that melancholia may be the reaction to the loss of a loved object...the most remarkable characteristic of melancholia...is its tendency to change round into mania - - a state which is the opposite of it in its symptoms...the content of mania is no different from that of melancholia...all states such as joy, exultation, or triumph, which give us the normal mode of mania depend on the same economics (of pain)..."
Mourning and Melancholia, Sigmund Freud, 1917.
--MSC
PRODUCTION STAFF
Stage Manager Alex Aixala
Assistant Technical Director David P. Crowley
Technical Assistants Sandy Barrack. Jonathan Doughty,
Ben Samuels, Joshua Saulle
Assistant Stage Manager Julie Cramer
Dimmerboard Operator Laura Boutelle
Sound Design Sam Kyusnetz
Sound Operator David Laibstain
Running Crew Jenny Gaskins
Set Crew TA25
Costume Shop Manager Ann S. Smith
Costume Shop Assistants Naomi Bernstein, Justin Bernstine,
Jenny Ekberg, Xochitl Gonzalez, Amy Hofer
Wardrobe Gabriella Kaplan, Katherine MacMillan, Anne Wohlfeld
Makeup Design Heather Wilson
Prop Special Effects Tom Carruthers, Ben Samuels
Costume Construction Jordan Batty, Thea Grant, Carson Harkarder,
Abigail Joseph, Emily Koch, Kay Lee, Alissa Levine
Style and Movement Coach Leslie Woodies
Front of House/Box Office Manager Karen Longest
Box Office Assistants Joanne Chapman, Alexis Prussack
Poster Design Jonathan Fortmiller
Publicity Photographer Jess Brakeley
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Nancy Dunbar, Alan Tannenbaum, Delari Johnston, Roger Bender, Anne Barylick, Barbara Bell, Tom Carruthers, Lisa Arkin, Valerie Bernstein, Christina Nicosia, Josh Scher, Jon Wolanske, Kate Weisburd, Doug Langworthy of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival,
Ken Duke of the American Repertory Theatre, Elijah Moshinsky of the Royal Shakespeare Company
SOCK & BUSKIN BOARD
David Pressman (Chair), Rebecca White (Vice-Chair), Eric Green (Secretary), Alex Aixala, Alison Cimmet, Lucas Fleischer, Seth Goldberger, Sarah Gurfield, Margaret Marx, Katharine Powell, Justin Vogt, Christy White, Taylor White
Tennessee Williams'
CAMINO REAL*Directed by Lowry Marshall
Set and Lighting Design by John R. Lucas
Costume Design by Phillip Contic and Ann S. Smith
Sound Design by Sam Kusnetz
Technical Direction by William C. RocheOctober 22-25, October 29-31, 1998 - 8 pm
November 1, 1998 - 3 pm - STUART THEATRE
CATHERINE BRYAN DILL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS"In the middle of the journey of our life
I came to myself in a dark wood where
the straight way was lost."
Canto I, Dante’s InfernoCAST
DON QUIXOTE Jonathan Fortmiller
SANCHO PANZA Kerry Silva
GUTMAN Antonio Cabral
PRUDENCE DUVERNOY Rachael Miller
OLYMPE Carmen Gill
SURVIVOR Chris Elam
ROSITA Gina Hirsch
OFFICER Selim Tezel
JACQUES CASANOVA Harry Kellerman
LADY MULLIGAN Alix K. Sobler
LORD MULLIGAN Chi-wang Yang
LA MADRECITA DE LOS PERDIDOS Laura Chen
THE DREAMER Jose Fuste
KILROY Lucas Fleischer
FIRST STREET CLEANER Jordan Cerruti
SECOND STREET CLEANER Josh Eichenbaum
ESMERALDA Justine Williams
GYPSY Shana Harvey
NURSIE John Krasinski
ABDULLAH Doug Costello
BUM Darius Pierce
A. RATT Ben Steinfeld
THE LOAN SHARK Bryan Tallevi
BARON DE CHARLUS Jonathan Fortmiller
LOBO Patrick Halliday
MUMMERS Chris Elam, Emily O’Dell
MARGUERITE GAUTIER Sharon Ambielli
EVA Sarah Aldrich
WAITER Dmitri Seals
LORD BYRON Taylor D. White
CUSTOMS AGENT Gina Hirsch
PILOT John Krasinski
THE MEDICAL INSTRUCTOR Jonathan DoughtyENSEMBLE Margaret Hander, Adam Lelyveld, Courtney Naliboff, Andrew Robertson, Kerry Silva, Rebecca Winsor
* Use Anglicized pronounciation: Ca-mino Real
MUSICIANS
Jose Fuste Guitar, percussion, vocals
Courtney Naliboff Recorder, trumpet, vocals
Kerry Silva Clarinet
Adam Lelyveld Guitar, vocals
Rebecca Winsor vocals
Dmitri Seals ViolinThere will be two brief intermissions
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
What follows are excerpts from an essay Tennessee Williams wrote prior to the Broadway premiere of Camino Real , which was directed by Elia Kazan. The complete essay was published in the New York Times on Sunday, March 15, 1953, and appears as a Forward to the printed text of Camino Real .
It is amazing and frightening how completely one's whole being becomes absorbed in the making of a play. It is almost as if you were frantically constructing another world while the world that you live in dissolves beneath your feet, and that your survival depends on completing this construction at least one second before the old habitation collapses....
To me the appeal of this work is its unusual degree of freedom. When it began to get under way I felt a new sensation of release, as if I could "ride out" like a tenor sax taking the breaks in a Dixieland combo or a piano in a bop session. You may call it self-indulgence, but I was not doing it merely for myself. I could not have felt a purely private thrill of release unless I had hope of sharing this experience with lots and lots of audiences to come.
My desire was to give these audiences my own sense of something wild and unrestricted that ran like water in the mountains, or clouds changing shape in a gale, or the continually dissolving and transforming images of a dream. This sort of freedom is not chaos nor anarchy. On the contrary, it is the result of painstaking design, and in this work I have given more conscious attention to form and construction than I have in any work before. Freedom is not achieved simply by working freely.
Elia Kazan was attracted to this work mainly, I believe, for the same reason--its freedom and mobility of form. I know that we have kept saying the word "flight" to each other as if the play were merely an abstraction of the impulse to fly...
In his Afterword to Camino Real, written after the Broadway production, Williams reflects:
The printed script of a play is hardly more than an architect's blueprint of a house not yet built or built and destroyed. The color, the grace and levitation, the structural pattern in motion, the quick interplay of live beings, suspended like fitful lightning in a cloud, these things are the play, not words on paper, nor thoughts and ideas of an author, those shabby things snatched off basement counters at Gimbel's.
Deciphering Tennessee Williams' blueprint and building the "Blocks" of his soaring masterpiece has been a gravity-defying experience for us all! Discovering form in the chaos of a mind-bogglingly complicated text, and creating order out of the natural anarchy of a cast and crew more than 50 strong, has been a fabulous challenge for us all. Improvisational glee has been the hallmark of this dynamic young company.
The production's musical score, conceived in a series of crazy jam sessions and hatched out live in rehearsals, could never have existed without the unique talents of a group of extraordinary young actor/musicians, many of whom are in their first semester at Brown.
"Where in the world did you find all these people?" I've been asked again and again by students dropping in on rehearsals to watch the behemoth take shape. My answer? They washed up on the shores of our auditions like treasures from the sea.
-- Lowry MarshallPRODUCTION STAFF
Stage Manager Julie K. Novacek
Assistant Technical Director David P. Crowley
Assistants to the Director Adam Arian, Melinda Pinto (Trinity Conservatory)
Technical Assistants Sandra Barrack. Jonathan Doughty, Ben Samuels, Joshua Saulle
Assistant Stage Manager Margaret Hander, Michele Traub
Choreographer Chris Elam
Fight Choreography Adam Arian
Dimmerboard Operator Todd Boerema
Follow Spots Joseph Blodgett, Greg Machlin
Sound Operator Alicia Wolcott
Fly Operator Ryan Maxwell
Set Crew TA25
Costume Shop Manager Ann S. Smith
Costume Shop Assistants Naomi Bernstein, Justin Bernstine, Jenny Ekberg, Amy Hofer
Costume Construction TA27, TA189
Dialect Coach James O. Barnhill
Voice/Movement Coach Mark Cohen
Dramaturgical Assistant Avriel Hillman
Front of House/Box Office Manager Karen Longest
Box Office Assistants Joanne Chapman, Alexis Prussack
Poster Design Jonathan Fortmiller
Publicity Photographer Jess BrakeleyACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Kung Foo Chin, Jr., Brenda Foley, Brian McEleney and Steven Berenson of Trinity Conservatory, John Emigh, John Pacheco and the Grounds crew, Phil O’Hara, Sarah Gurfield, Lauren Bass, Orwig Music LibrarySOCK & BUSKIN BOARD
David Pressman (Chair), Rebecca White (Vice-Chair), Eric Green (Secretary), Alex Aixala, Alison Cimmet, Lucas Fleischer, Seth Goldberger(on leave), Sarah Gurfield, Katharine Powell, Justin Vogt, Christy White, Taylor WhiteCamino Real is presented by arrangement with Dramatists Play Service on behalf of the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee.
BROWNBROKERS presents ATREUS DAWN
Book by Abi Basch
Music Composition and Arrangement by Georg Bissen and Dave PeckDirected by Sara Ciarelli
Set Design by Eric Green
Costume Design by Justin Bernstine
Lighting Design by Kate Shaw
Choreography by Jessica Gaynor
Musical Direction by Isaac Robert Hurwitz
Technical Direction by Brian HershcopfNovember 12-15, 19-21, 1998 - 8 pm
November 22, 1998 - 3 pm - LEEDS THEATRE
CATHERINE BRYAN DILL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSCAST
in order of appearance
ORESTES Kristian Imai
IPHIGENIA Marisa Quintanilla
CHORUS Megan Hart, Jori Ketten, Jonathan Martin, Nikki Phillips, Anne Robinson, Nate Stumpff, M. Paco Tolson, Jason Yust
AGAMEMNON Alex Threadgold
PYTHIA Sarah Cocuzzo Pete
CLYTEMNESTRA Marieke Beeuwkes
ACHILLES M. Paco Tolson
PERSEPHONE Susanna HarrisTime: Ancient Greece. The Future. Now.
Place: A land torn by famine. A world on the dawn of the new millenium. A future of hope. Aulis. Tauris. Argos. The Underworld Intertwined.
There will be a ten-minute intermission between Acts I and II MUSICAL NUMBERS
ACT I
Overture
"Dreams, Lies" Orestes
"Ritual to the Den Mother", "Battle at Aulis", "Mother's Hymn" Chorus, Iphigenia, Agamemnon, Pythia
"Dreams, Lies Again" Orestes
"The Letter Home" Agamemnon
"Queen of His World" Clytemnestra and Servants
"Underworld Ballet" Iphigenia and Chorus
"Tales from a Sleeping Goddess" Persephone
"Mother's Hymn" (reprise) ChorusACT II
"Dreams, Lies Yet Again" Orestes
"Mighty King" Orestes and Chorus
"The Letter Home" (reprise) Agamemnon
"Clytemnestra’s Fantasy" Clytemnestra, Achilles, Iphigenia, Chorus
"Tales from a Sleeping Goddess" (reprise) Persephone and Iphigenia
"The Love of a Half-God" Achilles
"The Argument" Clytemnestra, Agamemnon, Achilles, Iphigenia, and Chorus
"Pythia's Passion" Pythia
"Surprise! Dreams, Lies" Orestes
"Ritual to the Den Mother" (reprise) Company
"Aria" Iphigenia
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
"The metamorphic "birth" into the Level Above Human occurs as follows: In any given civilization on a fertile planet such as Earth (and Earth has had many period/cyclical civilizations), the Level Above Human plants all the new life forms (including humans) for that civilization in a neutral condition so that they have a chance to choose the direction of their growth. The Level Above Human - or Next Level - directly (hands on) relates significantly to the civilization at its beginning stage, and subsequently (with few exceptions) at approximately 2000-year intervals (48-hour intervals from a Next Level perspective) until that civilization's final "Age".....If you have grown to hate your life in this world and would lose it for the sake of the Next Level, you will find true life with us - potentially forever. If you cling to this life - - - will you not lose it?"
Jwnody, student, Heaven's GateTechnological advancement allows for absolute control over existence. How grateful do we become when a train schedule is reliable down to the minute? How often do we dismiss ecological problems as a nuisance that Scientists and technologists will eventually solve? Airlines boast that technology makes the world smaller and smaller, and that we can travel faster and faster. What happens, then, when technology becomes so advanced that time and space disappear? And then what happens when we reach a millennium, a transition in the space-time continuum?
Technology approaches a sophistication so extreme that it may become unseen except for within ourselves. Perhaps one day we will be able to control our entire life on earth with thought.
Atreus Dawn merges the spheres of hyper-technology and Greek myth onto a stage created by Iphigenia's psyche. Her imagination embodies a civilization searching for truth, justice, and faith in a world that has been technologically comprised by the hands of Man. A world made by humans and lost in a labyrinth of time is no longer a place for humanity. The Den Mother, acting under the guise of a cult to bring back the ancient Gods, takes advantage of the absence of faith in a world starved for spiritual sustenance that the controlling forces of technology induces. Atreus Dawn is the clash between hyper-technology, faith and humanity that ultimately bows to the hand of fate.
If a world can exist within a thought, what happens when we dream? -- Sara Ciarelli
WRITER'S NOTE Atreus Dawn is created from the mighty influences of Euripides, Marshall Applewhite, and Herbert T. Beaver. We dedicate our electronic musical extravaganza to our families. Without your support and inspiration, we never could have recreated the House of Atreus, a family of epicly absurd proportions. Thank you. - Abi Basch, Georg Bissen and David Peck
PRODUCTION STAFF
Assistant Director Alex Aixala
Stage Manager Amy Sonnenborn
Production Manager Lauren Bass
Assistant Stage Managers Rita Lindahl, Liz Loza
Assistant Production Managers Elana Berkowitz, Rita Lindahl
Master Electrician Sarah Osten
Sound Engineer Steve Schwartz
Dimmerboard Operator Jason Sobel
Electricians Celia Adelson, Devin Borland, Jarrett Byrnes, Sam Kusnetz, Tracy Schultz
Costume Shop Manager Ann S. Smith
Assistant Costume Designer Kay Lee
Prop Design Rebecca White
Hair/Makeup Design Kenneth Jones
Costume Shop Assistants Naomi Bernstein, Justin Bernstine, Jenny Ekberg, Amy Hofer
Dressers Amy Hofer, Rebekka Paynter
Costume Crew TA27, TA189
Props Amber Dance
Vocal Coach Isaac Robert Hurwitz
Dramaturg Jasmine Syedullah
Set Crew TA25
Running Crew Jarrod Fischer, Andre Lepine, Shahzia Rahman, Magen Tracy
Box Office Manager/Front of House/Publicity Karen Longest
Box Office Assistants Joanne Chapman, Alexis Prussack
Poster Designer Lucas Fleischer
Publicity Photographer Jess BrakeleyACKNOWLEDGMENTS Brown University Theatre Department, Bill Roche, Phillip Contic, Anne S. Smith, John Lucas, Dave Crowley, Charles Mee, Mark Cohen, Lowry Marshall, Production Workshop, Musical Forum, Targetlink Solutions, Rites and Reason, Kara Feely, Sam Basch. xoreo, Christina White, Valerie Green, Paul Grellong, Dan Sandler, Brown Film Society, Howard Fredrics, Todd Winkler, Barry Moon, Akemi Fujita, Daniel Rios, Jesse Chan-Norris, Sara Nolan, Professor Wyatt, Psychorobotica, Alison Cimmet
BROWNBROKERS BOARD Lauren Bass, Sara Ciarelli (on leave), Alison Cimmet, Eileen Connor, Thea Grant (Chair), Noam Katz, Channing Moore, Alix Sobler, Jasmine Syedullah , Rebecca White, Taylor White, Joe Zarrow Brownbrokers Faculty Advisors: Phillip Contic, Michelle Bach-Coulibaly
THREE SISTERS
by Anton Chekhov
translated by Paul Schmidt
March 11-14, 18-21, 1999 - 8PM - March 21, 1999 3PM
STUART THEATRE
CATHERINE BRYAN DILL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Directed by Spencer Golub
Set and Lighting Design by John R. Lucas
Costume Design by Phillip Contic
Technical Direction by William C. Roche
CAST
in order of appearance
ANDREI PROZOROV Christopher Hayes
his sisters:
OLGA Alison Cimmet
MASHA Susan Deily-Swearingen
IRINA Katharine Powell
NATASHA Caroline Sharman
his fiancée, later his wife
KULYGIN Bryan Tallevi
Masha's husband, a high school teacher
VERSHININ Adam Arian
colonel, battery commander
BARON TUZENBACH Michael Crane
first lieutenant
SOLYONY Harry Kellerman
captain
CHEBUTYKIN TJ Morton
army doctor
FEDOTIK Victor Holtcamp
second lieutenant
ROHDE Taylor White
second lieutenant
FERAPONT Paco Tolson
janitor at the County Council, an old man
ANFISA Laura K. Chen
the Prozorovs' nurse
Time and Place: Now and Then
There will be a ten-minute intermission between Acts II and III
PRODUCTION STAFF Stage Manager Jasmine K. Syedullah
Assistant Stage Managers David Laibstain, Leslie Nuñez
Sound Engineer John R. Lucas
Sound Operator Ryan Maxwell
Dimmerboard Operator Tracy Schultz
Assistant Technical Director David P. Crowley Technical Assistants Sandy Barrack, Jonathan Doughty, Rebecca Lee, Ben Samuels
Costume Shop Manager Ann S. Smith
Assistant Costume Designer Anne Wohlfeld
Costume Shop Assistants Naomi Bernstein, Justin Bernstine, Amy Hofer, Rainy LaVenture
Wardrobe Running Crew Emily Carmichael, Taylor White
Costume Construction TA28, TA129
Set Crew TA26
Box Office Manager/Publicity Karen Longest
Box Office Assistants Joanne Chapman, Alexis Prussack
Poster Designer Jonathan Fortmiller
Publicity Photographer Lauren Shapiro
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Barbara Bell, Jana Howland, Henry DuBois, Circa Vintage Clothing, Clyde Tyndale and College Light Opera Company
SOCK & BUSKIN BOARD
David Pressman (Chair), Rebecca White (Vice-Chair), Eric Green (Secretary), Alex Aixala, Alison Cimmet, Julie Cramer, Seth Goldberger(on leave), Sarah Gurfield, Isaac Hurwitz, Nikki Phillips, Katharine Powell, Justin Vogt(on leave), Christy White, Taylor White(on leave)
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow. To Moscow.
If only we knew. If only we knew. If only we knew.
If only we knew. If only we knew. If only we knew.
If only we knew. If only we knew. If only we knew.
If only we knew. If only we knew. If only we knew.
If only we knew. If only we knew. If only we knew.
If only we knew. If only we knew. If only we knew.
If only we knew. If only we knew. If only we knew.
If only we knew. If only we knew. If only we knew.
If only we knew. If only we knew. If only we knew.
If only we knew. If only we knew. If only we knew.
If only we knew. If only we knew. If only we knew.
If only we knew. If only we knew. If only we knew.
If only we knew. If only we knew. If only we knew.
If only we knew. If only we knew. If only we knew.
If only we knew. If only we knew. If only we knew.
If only we knew. If only we knew. If only we knew.
BROWN UNIVERSITY THEATRE
presents
The Premiere Production of
An Irish Play
by Dan O'Brien
April 15-18, 22-24, 1999 - 8PM - April 25, 1999 3PM
LEEDS THEATRE
CATHERINE BRYAN DILL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Directed by John Emigh
Set and Lighting Design by John R. Lucas
Costume Design by Ann Smith
Technical Direction by William C. Roche
CAST:
EDWARD DEEVEY Antonio M. Cabral
JOAN MACCARTHY Sarah Cocuzzo Petersiel
DECLAN O’SULLIVAN Adrian Jevicki
JOE O’SHAUGNESSY Darius Pierce
WILLIE BURKE Josh Landay
TISH REGAN Avriel Hillman
JOACHIM SAMPSON Russ Hammonds
Time: Evening, the present
Place: An amateur theatre in downtown Cork City, Ireland
There will be two ten-minute intermissions
A while drunk
A while mad
A while tearing harp-strings to shreds
Smoking tobacco, going insane
This new fashion we practiced
And never will we part from it
- O'Carolan 1670-1738
Seal ar meisce
Seal ar buile
Seal ag réabadh téada
Caithheamh tobaic agus dul ar mir
An fáisiún nua do chleachtamar
Ní scarfaimid leis go deo
Uí Chearbhalláin 1670-1738
PLAYWRIGHT'S NOTE:
A couple of years ago I received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship and went to Ireland to write a play about Brian Boru. By way of research, I drank a lot, acted some, and felt tremendously lonely.
The one place I felt at home was a pub-theatre in Cork City, a lot like the setting of this play. My friends at this theater were always asking me, not without a hint of sarcasm, "How's your Irish play coming?"
When I came home after a year, I realized that the "Irish" Play I'd written had little or nothing to do with my experience in Ireland. So I chucked that play and started a new one about some actors in present-day Cork, getting together one night to begin rehearsing a play about Brian Boru, written by a well-meaning but mostly clueless American playwright.
Thanks to the Thomas J. Watson Foundation; to my colleagues, friends and professors in the Creative Writing Program, especially Aishah Rahman and Charles Mee; to Sock and Buskin and the Theatre Department; to the talented cast and crew; to John Emigh, for his insight, patience, and vision.
Special thanks to my family, and to Jessica. -- Dan O'Brien
DIRECTOR'S NOTE:
This is the second year in a row now that Sock and Buskin is producing a new play by a Brown author as part of the faculty directed season. Last year, Lynn Nottage's Las Meninas had its premiere here. Lynn has since had other plays produced at Yale Rep and Off-Broadway. This year, it's a play by MFA candidate Dan O'Brien (who happens to have played Louis XIV in that production). It's a good trend, and one in keeping with the historical emphasis on playwriting within this University. Best of all, these plays surfaced by dint of their own merits through the rigorous, painstaking, and sometime rancorous process of play selection by a joint student-faculty board that discusses the merits of well over 100 plays a year in making up our season. The enthusiasm for Dan's writing in last year’s discussions has carried over into this year’s rehearsals. I have rarely seen a cast so happy to be able to speak a playwright's words, or so eager to bring to first life the characters that lurk inchoate behind those words. Dan has been a very active participant in this process, paring and fine-tuning the dialogue throughout rehearsals and enduring with good will and humor our sometimes wayward efforts to embody his world, while his friend from the very real City of Cork, Thomas Conway, has done his best to teach us the unique inflections and byways of that place. Dan never finished his play about Brian Boru (not yet, not unless this is it); but that loss is our gain. His encounters with Ireland, reformulated and refracted through the prisms of theatre, have yielded a far richer, less sentimental, and ultimately more loving recreation of the life he encountered there. The rest, since this is, after all, an Irish play, is not silence, but rancorous disputation, laced with quick humor, lacerating rage, and a passion for language. - John Emigh
Playwright's Biography
Dan's plays have been read or performed at the Kennedy Center, the Sundance Theatre Lab, Trinity Rep. Conservatory, and Perishable Theatre here in Providence. In 1996 his play THE LAST SUPPER RESTORATION won the National Student Playwriting Award and the AIDS/Vogue Initiative Award through the American College Theatre Festival. His play LAMARCK, has been awarded the 1998 Osborn Award for Emerging Young Playwrights by the American Theatre Critics Association.
Historical Note
Brian Boru was born in 941 A.D., the youngest son of an obscure Dal gCais clan in Thomond (near present-day Limerick). After the murder of his brother at the hands of a rival Munster clan, Brian himself became king of Thomond in 976 and embarked on a campaign of intimidation, eventually "uniting" Ireland under his one solitary rule. In 1002, Brian crowned himself Ardi of Ireland, and instructed his scribes to sign his name, "Briain Imperatoris Scotorum", or "Brian, Emperor of the Irish".
The remaining years of his life were dedicated to fighting the Danes of Limerick and the Norse of Dublin. On Good Friday in 1014, at the age of 73, while his armies were engaged with the Norse outside Dublin at the Battle of Clontarf (a battle they eventually won), Brian was murdered in his tent by a Norse assassin know only as Brodar, the Black Dane, a mercenary Viking reputedly skilled in black magic. After Brian’s death, Ireland fell into widespread political disorganization and clan warfare, leaving itself vulnerable to future colonization by the British.
Brian Boru remains to this day a half-mythical figure, his story taught in schools as a hybrid of the Celtic hero and a martyr to the Christian faith. He is perhaps Ireland’s most cherished tragic symbol.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Nick Malone - for getting us started on Irish accents, Chuck Kelleher and the Coca Cola Company, Rob Beck and Wayne Distributing, Giant Beer Company, John Pacheco and the Grounds crew, Phil O'Hara
Music by Lauryn Hill, The Pogues, and traditional Irish ensembles
PRODUCTION STAFF
Stage Manager Madeline Diaz
Assistant Stage Managers Jenny Gaskins, Ana Carmen Martinez-Ortiz
Sound Engineer John R. Lucas
Sound Operator Andre Lepine
Assistant Technical Director David P. Crowley
Technical Assistants Sandy Barrack, Jonathan Doughty, Rebecca Lee, Ben Samuels
Costume Shop Manager Ann S. Smith
Costume Shop Assistants Naomi Bernstein, Justin Bernstine, Amy Hofer, Rainy LaVenture
Costume Construction TA28, TA129
Set Crew TA26
Dialect Work Thomas Conway
Box Office Manager/Publicity Karen Longest
Box Office Assistants Joanne Chapman, Alexis Prussack
Poster Designer Jonathan Fortmiller
Publicity Photographer Lauren Shapiro
Alley Cat Theatre posters Jonathan Fortmiller, Lucas Fleischer
SOCK & BUSKIN BOARD
David Pressman (Chair), Rebecca White (Vice-Chair), Eric Green (Secretary), Alex Aixala, Alison Cimmet, Julie Cramer, Seth Goldberger(on leave), Sarah Gurfield (on leave), Isaac Hurwitz, Nikki Phillips, Katharine Powell, Justin Vogt(on leave), Christy White, Taylor White (on leave)
BROWN UNIVERSITY THEATRE
presents
the Senior Director's Showcase production of
QUILLS
by Doug Wright
February 24-28, 1999 - 8 PM
LEEDS THEATRE
CATHERINE BRYAN DILL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Directed by David Pressman
Set Design by Lee Savage
Costume Design by Amy Hofer
Lighting Design by Channing Moore
Sound Design by Benj Gerdes
Technical Direction by Sandra Barrack
CAST
in order of appearance
DOCTOR ROYER-COLLARD Chi-wang Yang
Chief physician of the Charenton Asylum
MONSIEUR PROUIX Harry Barandes
A celebrated architect
RENÉE PÉLAGIE Justine Williams
The grief-stricken wife of a madman
ABBE de COULMIER Lucas Crandon Fleischer
Administrator at the asylum
THE MARQUIS Max Finneran
The asylum’s most notorious inmate
MADELEINE LECLERC Gina Hirsch
The seamstress at Charenton; sixteen and quite lovely
THE LUNATIC Rufus L. Tureen
A madman
MADAME ROYER-COLLARD Kate L.S. Marks
The Doctor’s wife, a woman of considerable appetites
Place: The Charenton Asylum
There will be a ten-minute intermission between Acts I and II
Produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
Originally produced in New York by the New York Theatre Workshop (1995)
Jim Nicola, Artistic Director
Nancy Kassak Diekmann, Manager
PRODUCTION STAFF
Stage Manager Julie K. Novacek
Production Manager Kate Shaw
Assistant Stage Managers Susan Bickerstaff, Michelle R. Traub, Alicia Wolcott
Dramaturg Jessica Lamb-Shapiro
Imagist Eric Green
Master Electrician Sarah Osten
Master Carpenter Ariel Boles
Master Painter Molly Smith
Sound Engineer Sam Kusnetz
Sound Operator Ciara Kehoe
Dimmerboard Operator Jesse Chan-Norris
Electricians Celia Adelson, Rachael Bibby, Jarrett Byrnes, Jarrod Fischer, Dea Hunsicker, Sam Kusnetz, Greg Machlin,Tracy Schultz, Chad Wolfsheimer
Costume Shop Manager Ann S. Smith
Assistant Costume Designer Justin Bernstine
Props Brie McDonnell, Ilana Crispi, Amy Hofer, Molly Smith
Costume Shop Assistants Naomi Bernstein, Justin Bernstine, Amy Hofer, Rainy LaVenture
Wardrobe Running Crew Susanna Harris, John Nguyen, Alix Sobler Costume Construction TA28, TA128, Ilana Crispi, Brie McDonnell
Set Crew TA26, Carl Henschel, Jasmine Syedullah
Running Crew Amy Joyce, Tamina Stephenson
Lowering Crew Jarrett Byrnes, Daniela Frankenberg, Sam Kusnetz, Blodgett
Lowering Advisor Karen Longest
Faculty Advisor John Emigh
Box Office Manager/Front of House/Publicity Karen Longest
Box Office Assistants Joanne Chapman, Alexis Prussack
Poster Designer Lucas Crandon Fleischer
Publicity Photographer Lauren Shapiro
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Rhode Island Rock Gym (Lary Norin and Nadav Minkin), William C. Roche, David P. Crowley, John R. Lucas, Julie A. Strandberg, Karen Longest, Phillip Contic, Don B. Wilmeth, Ann S. Smith, Eugene and Brooke Lee, Harry Matheu, RISD, PW, Leslie Falk, Dan Silver, Ron Klein, Phoebe Segal, Jane Hait, S&B Board, Trinity Rep, Judy and Joel Pressman, Dana Edell
SOCK & BUSKIN BOARD
David Pressman (Chair), Rebecca White (Vice-Chair), Eric Green (Secretary), Alex Aixala, Alison Cimmet, Julie Cramer, Seth Goldberger(on leave), Sarah Gurfield, Isaac Hurwitz, Nikki Phillips, Katharine Powell, Justin Vogt(on leave), Christy White, Taylor White(on leave)
DANCE ENSEMBLE SPRING CONCERT '99
May 5-8 - 8 PM -- May 9 - 3PM & 8PM
STUART THEATRE
CATHERINE BRYAN DILL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
PRODUCED BY MICHELLE BACH-COULIBALY
John R. Lucas, Managing Director
Phillip Contic, Costume Coordinator
David P. Crowley, Lighting Coordinator
William C. Roche, Technical Director
EIGHT POINTS OF DEPARTURE
Choreographed by Jessica Gaynor
Costumes designed by Phillip Contic, assisted by Heather MacKenzie
Lighting designed by Giselda Beaudin
Music: Passion by Peter Gabriel
DANCERS: Hannah Blitzblau, Felice Le, Cara Murray, Sara Nolan, Wendy Rein, Nancy Rimmer, Andros Zins-Browne
Section I: Ensemble
Section II: Cara Murray, Wendy Rein, Nancy Rimmer, Andros Zins-Browne
Section III: Ensemble
Section IV: Nancy Rimmer, Hannah Blitzblau, Felice Le, Sara Nolan
Section V: Ensemble Thank you to my dancers for their strength, beauty, and generosity.
RAINBOW ETUDE (1997)
Choreographed by Donald McKayle
Costumes designed by Bernard Johnson
Lighting designed by John R. Lucas
Music: Traditional, arranged by Donald McKayle and Alan Terricciano
Vocals: The Spirit Chorale of Los Angeles, Byron J. Smith, Director; Versell Smith, Roderick Hines, Richard Jackson, Perry Hayes
Reconstructed from the Labanotation score by Mary Corey
DANCER: Nancy Rimmer
"The Rainbow Etude" is based on Mr. McKayle’s 1959 classic, "Rainbow Round My Shoulder." The Etude was commissioned by the American Dance Legacy Institute to make works of the masters available to young dancers for ongoing study and performance.
THE BIRDS
Choreographed by Daryl Springer
Costumes designed by Daryl Springer
Lighting designed by Devin Borland
Music: Talkshow Host by Radiohead
DANCERS: Cristina Betances, James Brown, Beth Earl, Steven Hunter, Jamal Jackson, Lauren Rosskam, Czarina Tuelen, Catherine Wong, and Jessica Zenk
LE KOTEBA
Choreographed by Seydou Coulibaly and GISP10:The Rythm of Change
Costumes designed by Michelle Bach-Coulibaly, construction by Alicia Wolcott
Lighting designed by Jason Yust
Musicians: Seydou Coulibaly, joun-joun
Bakari Kane , lead jembe
Upton Savoire, accompaning jembe
Annie Geissinger, accompaning jembe
DANCERS: Hannah Blitzblau, Aaron Ferschke, Jessica Gaynor, Lauren Hale, Ben Harvey, Jamal Jackson, Camilla Mager, Leta Malloy, Kevin Murphy, Sara Nolan, Nancy Rimmer, and Sally Tressler
GISP 10, entitled "The Rythm of Change", was organized by thirteen students who have been studying West African Dance with Michelle Bach-Coulibaly between four months and three years. Desiring to continue this study at an advanced level, they proposed this course, under the tutelage of Malian master dancer and choreographer, Seydou Coulibaly. In addition to dance, they have been exposed to Malian culture through readings, interviews, proverbs, song, music, and ritual. Five members of this GISP will be continuing their study of Mande culture, music and dance this summer in Mali with Mr. Coulibaly, and his award-winning troupe, Komme Josse.
The Koteba is a traditional dance of the Bamana peoples of Mali, West Africa. Sada Sissoko, in his book "Koteba and the Evolution of Modern Theater in Mali", tells us "The Koteba's main function is to maintain and reinforce the cohesion among the community by establishing organizational, artistic, spiritual, physical, and moral values. Koteba regroups and organizes all its inhabitants. Koteba is a direct response to the need for originality, expression and communication."
KING OLIVER CANCELLED
Organized by Leigh Fitzgerald, Emily Bartholomew, Jessica Zenk, Jennifer Livaudais, and Alison Friedman
All of the dancers contributed to the choreography of the piece.
Costumes designed by Eric Green, assisted by Krishna Hathaway
Lighting designed by Sarah Osten
Music: The Mooche by Duke Ellington, Truckin’ by Irving Mills & Ted Koehler
DANCERS : Leigh Fitzgerald, Miriam Friedel, Sarah Coogan, Sara Kaplan, Irene Klein, Jonah Rosen, Jessica Zenk, Monica Herrera, Bridget Picano, Jennifer Livaudais, Alison Friedman, Emily Bartholomew
Inspired by the music and dance styles associated with Duke Ellington and his contemporaries, this piece explores the characters, sounds and styles of a late 1920’s jazz club.
FLOW FORM
Choreographed by Ruth Andrien
Reconstructed by Laura Bennett
Costumes designed by Phillip Contic, assisted by Sara Levi
Lighting designed by David Crowley
Music: Flow Form by Mike Ford
DANCERS : (Wed., May 5, Sat., May 8, Sunday matinee, May 9) Victor Holtcamp, Felice Le, Leta Malloy, Cara Murray
(Thurs., May 6, Fri., May 7, Sun. eve. May 9) Jessica Gaynor, Nancy Rimmer, Miriam Ryvicker, Ryan Smith
PUT UP YOUR DUKES
Choreographed by Michelle Bach-Coulibaly
Costumes designed by Phillip Contic, assisted by Caden Williamson
Lighting designed by Jason Yust
Music by Duke Ellington
I. Concerto For Cootie - Sophisticated Lady: Wendy Rein
II. Koko
III. Passion Flower
IV. Jack the Bear
DANCERS :
GIRLS: Jessica Gaynor, Lauren Hale, Cara Murray, Sara Nolan
GUYS: James Brown, Jamal Jackson, Steven Hunter, Andros Zins-Browne
“Put Up Your Dukes” premiered in 1990 as part of a collaboration with the Brown Jazz Band entitled “The Duke and His Mistress”. Since then, the show has toured to London, and, most recently, to Manhattan in commemoration of Duke Ellington’s 100th anniversary.
I N T E R M I S S I O N
ENDANGERED SPECIES (1981)
Choreographed by Danny Grossman
Reconstructed by Trish Armstrong
Original costume design by Mary Kerr
Original lighting design by Nicholas Cernovitch
Lighting designed by John R. Lucas
Music: Threnody For The Victims of Hiroshima by Kryszof Penderecki
The General Jordana Starr
The Father Victor Holtcamp
The Mother Felice Le
The Child Sara Nolan
The Soldiers Hannah Blitzblau, Miriam Friedel, Jessica Gaynor, Cara Murray, Wendy Rein, Katie Rhodes
The inspiration for this dance came from Goya’s masterful etchings, “The Disasters of War.”
TENANT OF THE STREET (1938)
Choreographed by Eve Gentry
Reconstructed by Mary Anne Newhall
Costume reconstruction by Phillip Contic
Lighting designed by John R. Lucas
Music: Street sounds
SOLOIST: Miriam Ryvicker
TWELVES
Choreographed by Michelle Bach-Coulibaly
Costumes designed by Phillip Contic and Rainy LaVenture
Lighting designed by David Crowley
Music by Michelle Bach-Coulibaly and Ken Atkins
DANCERS: Hannah Blitzblau, Ama Codjoe, Miriam Friedel, Alison Friedman, Jessica Gaynor, Lauren Hale, Rainy LaVenture, Sarah Leddy, Cara Murray, Nancy Rimmer, Jordana Starr, Jessica Zenk
TRYST
Choreographed by the ensemble
Costumes designed by Justin Bernstine, assisted by Erica DeRosa
Lighting designed by David Laibstain
Music: Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu by Photek
DANCERS: Jonathan Martin, Courtney Rowe, Kerry Silva, and Ryan Smith
Special thanks to Julie and Michelle for encouragement and rehearsal space.
REQUIEM (1990)
Choreographed by Colin Connor
Costumes designed by Deb Newhall
Lighting designed by David Crowley
Music: Requiem by Gabriel Faure
DANCERS: (in order of appearance)
(Wed., May 5, Thurs., May 6, Fri., May 7): Jordana Starr, Thea Grant, Felice Le, Cara Murray, Wendy Rein, Miriam Ryvicker
(Sat., May 8, Sun. matinee and evening): Hannah Blitzblau, Ama Codjoe, Sara Nolan, Katie Rhodes, Miriam Friedel, Nancy Rimmer
DANCE BOBO
Choreographed by Seydou Coulibaly, GISP 10, and members of New Works/World Traditions
Costumes designed byAlexandra Huttinger ‘97
Lighting designed by David Crowley
Musicians: Seydou Coulibaly, joun-joun Bakari Kane, lead jembe Upton Savoire, accompaning jembe Annie Geissinger, accompaning jembe
DANCERS: Hannah Blitzblau, Aaron Ferschke, Jessica Gaynor, Lauren Hale, Ben Harvey, Jamal Jackson, Camilla Mager, Leta Malloy, Kevin Murphy, Sara Nolan, Nancy Rimmer, and Sally Tressler, Ebonee Williams
The Bobo peoples of Mali and Burkina Faso are divided into four large factions. The two largest are known in Bambara as Bobo-fing (black Bobo) and Bobo-ule' (red Bobo). The Bobo-fing are commonly known as the Bwa. The Bobo in Mali are primarily Bobo-ule’ farmers who, to a remarkable degree, have retained their traditional religious beliefs and customs. Legend has it that at one time these peoples were professional dancers called the "Red Horsemen", and were servants of the Masai chief of Upper Volta. It was the duty of these men to care for the horses belonging to the chief. The movements performed in the dance represent those of the galloping horses. Their bodies were painted a deep red hue, the same color as that of the saddle blankets used on the horses. The dancers carry horse tail whisks as a reminder of their former station in the community.
PRODUCER’S NOTE
May is National Dance Month in America. Throughout recorded history, the changing of the seasons has been expressed with intense emotional release through the dance, sanctioned with all manners of merriment, festivals, feasting, magic, and ritual sexuality. The month of May has signified the return of Spring and the renewal of life, "when the earth is freed from the shackles of winter". Paleolithic cave paintings depict seasonal dances of masked animal figures, the Babylonians performed ritual re-enactments of Spring re-creation myths, while the early Greeks held a Spring Festival of Flowers in praise of Dionysis, the god of fertility, with sacrifices, feasting and excessive public drinking. These traditions were carried through time with the Roman celebration of Floralia, which combined vegetation magic and ritualized sex. Spring evokes great dramas and passions as seen in all cultures with processions, communal feasts, liturgical rites, miracle plays, masques, and the driving off of Demons with mock battles between the forces of good and evil. Our own present day adaptations of the Italian "carneavale", can be witnessed in this country as Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Spring Weekend, and now the Spring Dance Concert. This is the season for renewal, release, and communal healing. The semester is coming to an end. Many long hours of study and rehearsals are coming to fruition and celebration. We wish those students, who have toiled and worked endless hours on this program, the best in the coming years and seasons. We will miss you and will keep you in our hearts. Thank you all. MBC
New Works/World Traditions
Special projects in the Dance Department..NEW WORKS/WORLD TRADITIONS. This year has seen the formation of Brown's own WestAfrican Dance Company, New Works/World Traditions, under the co-directorship of Michelle Bach-Coulibaly and Seydou Coulibaly. The mission of the company is to research, develope, and perform new works that honor the traditions of Mande culture specific to Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso. One particular new work, MAlIBA, explores characters from Bamana-Segou masquerade theater, the Dogon Dama,the Bamana creation myth of the Chiwara, and a dance from the griot caste of women. To date, New Works has performed at the Cambridge Multicultural Center in the Boston area, in the Providence public schools, and at several high schools in Fairfield County, Connecticut. They have been invited to open the ceremonies for SCENE 99:Arts and Culture Fundraiser for The Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Co-chairs of this event will be Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci and Governor Almond. New Works has also been invited to share an evening of work with the Ethnomusicology Department at Wesleyan University and to teach and perform at the Walnut Hill Performing Arts School. New Works involves four professional musicians and oral historians from Mali and Guinea, 14 current Brown students, faculty, and Brown alums Maggie Husak and Dina Gricenko. One important aspect of each students' involvement is to research and help develop programs for outreach performances for children, incarcerated adults and the aging. These programs are educational, participatory, and interactive. Their goal is to help empower the artists and audience members to engage in an active dialogue that crosses economic, generational, and racial barriers.
MALIBA CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM TO WEST AFRICA:
Summer of 1999 August 4th-24th Drumming, Dance and Cultural Studies Tour to Mali, West Africa. Students of Malian oral history, music and dance will have an opportunity to work in close mentorship with Mande scholars, artisans and performing artists, visit traditional villages and participate in ceremonies of the Bamana, Bobo, Malinke, and Dogon peoples. This year we will travel to the Bandiagara escarpement to study with the internationally acclaimed Dogon Drummers and Dancers of Sanga, under the direction of Sekou Dolo.
THE AMERICAN DANCE LEGACY INSTITUTE
The American Dance Legacy Institute of Brown University is committed to preserving American dance by making its masterworks, both classic and contemporary, accessible to the public through performance and educational programs. The Brown Rep-Co, featured in this concert in "Angels In The Attic", "Tenant of the Street", and "The Envelope", is the official company of the Institute. The Institute is working with the choreographers of these works and with others, including Katherine Dunham, Donald McKayle, Sophie Maslow, Anna Sokolow, Pauline Koner, and Danny Grossman on making repertory accessible to young dancers for performance and study. Rep-Co, through the Institute also encourages young choreographers to explore the creation of new works.
TECHNICAL CREW
Stage Manager Elizabeth Seater
Running Crew Eric Block, Cristina Bonuso
Assistant Technical Director David P. Crowley
Technical Assistants Sandra Barrack, Jonathan Doughty, Rebecca Lee, Ben Samuels
Costume Shop Manager Ann S. Smith
Assistant Costume Coordinator Rainy LaVenture
Costume Shop Assistants Naomi Bernstein, Justin Bernstine, Amy Hofer, Rainy LaVenture
Costume Construction TA28, TA129
Box Office Manager/Front of House Karen Longest
Box Office Assistants Joanne Chapman, Alexis Prussack
Poster Design Lucas Fleischer
Publicity Photographer Jessica Brakeley, Lauren Shapiro
The Friends of Brown University Theatre presents
THE BELLE OF AMHERST
by William Luce
May 26-30, 1999
7:30 PM LEEDS THEATRE
CATHERINE BRYAN DILL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
starring
Melanie Jones*
as
Emily Dickinson
Directed by Margaret Middleton
Set and Lighting Design by John R. Lucas
Costume Design by Betsey Potter
Technical Direction by William C. Roche
Produced by Don B. Wilmeth
The entire action of the play takes place in the Dickinson household in Amherst, Massachusetts, 1845-1886.
"Characters" in the play are Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, Maggie Maher, Austin Dickinson, James Francis Billings, Abby Wood, Jennie Hitchcock, Tutor Crowell, Edward Dickinson, Mary Lyon, Lavinia Dickinson, Buffy, Susan Gilbert Dickinson, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Charles Wadsworth, Emily Norcross Dickinson.
There will be one 10-minute intermission.
* Melanie Jones appears through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
Produced by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
MELANIE JONES, Brown graduate class of ‘74, has acted in over two-hundred stage productions and has been directing for over twenty years. She was a ten-season member of the Tony award-winning Trinity Rep company here in Providence, where she was the first woman to direct a mainstage production. Favorite roles at Trinity include Molly in Tom Jones, Meg in Crimes of the Heart, Regan in King Lear, Joanne in Vanities and June in Fifth of July.
A resident of Los Angeles since 1983, Melanie made her episodic television debut delivering the youngest Keaton on Family Ties. She has appeared in a number of feature films, including the original Robocop. She is a company member of the Weston Playhouse in Vermont, where most recently she appeared as Germaine in Picasso at the Lapin Agile. On LA stages, her current appearances as Miss Dickinson in The Belle of Amherst were preceded by a Dramalogue award-winning production of Fool for Love, in which she played May.
As a director, Melanie has worked with adults and children, directing productions as wide-ranging as the ages of the actors. This season, she directed the inaugural production of the new musical, Mouse Soup, which she and George Howe adapted from Arnold Lobel’s popular story. Her most recent adult production, A Play of One’s Own, authored by Providence writer Barbara Bejoian, premiered at the New End Theatre in London and subsequently played the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where it won the Evening Critics Choice Award.
Melanie and her journalist husband, Peter Warren, are the proud parents of two beautiful daughters, Mollie and Roslyn.
MARGARET MIDDLETON (Director) is a long-time member of The Actors Studio and has studied with Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler and Uta Hagen. Her acting career has encompassed stage, film and television. During the past few years, she has enjoyed directing a number of plays, including Fool for Love, starring Melanie Jones, a collaboration that led to the present production.
BETSEY POTTER (Costume design and execution) designed costumes at Trinity Square Repertory Company and at Northshore Music Theater, where she was part of a very creative group. She costumed a variety of television shows, including One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, and Silverspoons. She was nominated for 5 Emmys for The Charmings and Beakman’s World. She was the costume designer for the 5 International casts of Up With People for 18 years. Currently, she owns The Wardrobe Wing, a costume rental company in Los Angeles, where she continues to increase her knowledge of history through clothing.
PRODUCTION STAFF
Assistant Technical Director David P. Crowley
Dimmerboard/Sound Operator Alexis Prussack
Technical Assistant Jonathan Doughty
Box Office Manager/Front of House Karen Longest
Box Office Assistants Joanne Chapman, Alexis Prussack
Poster Design Jonathan Fortmiller