2009-2010 Season
2009-2010 season information for the Theatre Department at Middlebury College.
14th Annual First Year Show: Tales of Love, Loss and Laughter: A Relationship Study
October 15-17 | Hepburn Zoo Theatre
Tales of Love, Loss and Laughter: A Relationship Study is an evening of contemporary scenes about the good old thing called Love. From beginning flirtations of complete strangers to the well-worn battles of familiar partners, the scenes present a variety of situtations and characters for whom relationships don’t come easy. But the people you’ll meet, like most of us, keep on trying. And they just might have us laughing a little along the way.
Directed by Ami Formica ‘03
Road by Jim Cartwright
November 12-14 | Seeler Studio Theatre
Playwright Jim Cartwright takes us on a tour of an English town on a Saturday night, where unemployment is the 9-to-5 job, and fun is a memory lost in a haze of alcohol. The story is riotously funny and determinedly grim and unsentimental. As America creeps deeper into poverty and dreams become nightmares, Road is uncomfortably relevant for America’s youth.
Directed by Richard Romagnoli
9 Parts of Desire by Heather Raffo
November 12-14 | Hepburn Zoo Theatre
9 Parts of Desire is a one-woman show based upon the experiences of the play’s American-born, half-Iraqi author Heather Raffo, who traveled to Iraq in 1993 to live, eat ad talk with women from many different places in Iraqi society. The Middlebury performance of 9 Parts of Desire differs from Raffo’s—its cast is an American actress whose identity does not include an Iraqi family or memories of sitting in a room with a Bedoin woman as she discloses her secret love affair. This version of the play is about memories that we as Americans do not have.
Senior 700 Work in Acting of Lili Weckler ‘09.5
Directed by Elizabeth Goffe ‘09.5
Novecento by Alessandro Baricco, adapted by Nerina Cocchi ‘10
November 18-21 | Wright Memorial Theatre
Adapted from Alessandro Baricco’s monologue into a five-actor play, Novecento tells the amazing story of Dany Boodman T.D. Lemon Novecento. A genius jazz pianist born in 1900 aboard the oceanliner Virginian, Novecento spends his entire life onboard, until one day… The performance will swirl you through movement and live jazz piano into the Virginian’s magical world of music, ocean and desires, and transport you to a suspended universe, where the spirit of childhood will reign over everything.
Senior 700 work in Directing of Nerina Cocchi ‘10
Independent 500 work in Lighting Design of Heather Pynne ‘11
Desdemona: A Play About A Handkerchief by Paula Vogel
November 20-22 | Hepburn Zoo Theatre
Written in 1979 by the critically acclaimed playwright Paula Vogel, this play follows the central and reimagined female characters of Shakespeare’s Othello, creating a feminized universe unseen in the master text. Vogel’s uproariously ironic spin on this work features the backstory account of the days leading up to Desdemona’s death by exploring the dynamic of three women, each distinct in their social class, yet prisoners of their collective womanhood.
Senior 700 work in Acting of Claire Graves ‘09.5 and Emily Kron ‘09.5
Directed by Schuyler Beeman ‘10
Mikey: A 1950s Teleplay
December 3-5 | Hepburn Zoo Theatre
Come step back in time for this unique theatrical event. You’ll be sure to leave with at least a few tomatoes under your arms.
Senior 700 work in Acting of Mike Tierney ‘09.5
I Hate Hamlet by Paul Rudnick
December 3-5 | Wright Memorial Theatre
Andrew Rally seems to have it all: celebrity and acclaim from his starring role in a hit television series; a rich, beautiful girlfriend; a glamorous, devoted agent; the perfect New York apartment; and the chance to play Hamlet in Central Park. There are, however, a couple of glitches in paradise. Andrew’s series has been canceled; his girlfriend is clinging to her virginity with unyielding conviction; and he has no desire to play Hamlet. The laughs are nonstop as Andrew wrestles with his conscience, Barrymore, his sword, and the fact that he fails as Hamlet in Central Park.
Senior 700 work in Acting of Jimmy Wong ‘09.5
Directed by Ross Bell ‘10
Lovesong of the Electric Bear by Snoo Wilson
January 22-24 | Wright Memorial Theatre
Snoo Wilson’s poignant and fantastical play follows the life and death of Alan Turing, British code-breaker and father of the modern computer, whose brilliant mathematical career was marred by his tragic biography. The story is told by his tedy bear, Porgy, who acts as both a cheerleader and Greek chorus.
Senior 700 work in Costume Design of Danielle Nieves ‘09.5
Directed by Cheryl Faraone
The Night is Over by Elizabeth Goffe ‘09.5
January 27 | Mahaney Arts Center 232
A reading of Elizabeth Goffe’s playwriting thesis. Goffe’s play tells the mystical story of an old Jamaican man who has become embittered in his last days. In a world where the supernatural meets the real, and the mischievous spirits play with his conscience, he is forced to face his fears and search for meaning before his time runs out.
Senior 700 work in Playwriting of Elizabeth Goffe ‘09.5
Wonder of the World by David Lindsay-Abaire
April 1-3 | Hepburn Zoo Theatre
“Someone disappointed me in an unspeakable way, and now my synapses don’t work properly,” says Cass, a normal housewife in David Lindsay-Abair’s comedic exploration of marriage, loss, and everything in between. Cass’s journey starts with the discovery of her husband’s bizarre secret life and leads to a trip answering love’s mysteries at the world’s most famous honeymoon and suicide destination, Niagra Falls. Join for Cass’s maiden voyage to life after marriage.
Senior 700 work in Acting of Christine Chung ‘10 and Directing of Oscar Loyo ‘10
La Malasangre (Bad Blood) by Griselda Gambaro
April 1-3 | Seeler Studio Theatre
In this compelling play about power, violence, and love, a controlling father is determined to dictate his daughter’s future—but his plans go awry when she falls in love with the wrong man. Argentinean playwright Griselda Gambaro’s tragedy serves as a metaphor for the dictatorships that have oppressed her country. The production promises an intense exploration of the violence that we perpetrate against others, and how institutionalized violence affects our personal lives.
Senior 700 work in Acting of Cassidy Boyd ‘10
Directed by Cláudio Medeiros
After Miss Julie by Patrick Marber
April 15-17 | Hepburn Zoo Theatre
After Miss Julie, Patrick Marber’s daring adaptation of Miss Julie, reimagines August Strindberg’s masterpiece and theatre’s first ‘naturalistic tragedy,’ On the night of the British Labour Party’s election victory in July of 1945, Miss Julie and her father’s chauffeur, John, envision a life together. As the two ultimately push each other towards self-destruction, Marver strips bare modern British society revealing a love story about the impossibility of social movement.
Senior 700 work in Acting of Mathew Nakitare ‘10.5 and Martha Newman ‘10
Directed by Willy McKay ‘11
Jekyll by R.L. Stevenson, adapted by Ross Bell ‘10
April 16-18 | Seeler Studio Theater
Set in an alternate version of the year 1916, Jekyll is an adaptation for stage and screen of R.L. Stevenson’s classic novel.
Senior 700 work in Sound Design of Ben Schiffer ‘10 and Directing of Ross Bell ‘10
Independent 500 work in Set Design of Ryan Bates ‘11
Perform
April 22-24 | Hepburn Zoo Theatre
Schuyler Beeman will perform a night of monologues, dialogues, solos, and duets for his thesis work. Through song and spoken work, Schuyler will play multiple types of characters through a varied selection of classical and contemporary scenes as a culmination of his work in musical theatre, physical theatre, and drama here at Middlebury College.
Senior 700 Work in Acting of Schuyler Beeman ‘10
Directed by Lindsey Messmore ‘12
The Good Woman of Setzuan by Bertolt Brecht
April 29-May 1 | Wright Memorial Theatre
In this parable for the theatre by Bertolt Brecht, three gods come to earth in search of one good person. They find her in Shen Te, a prostitute. With money from the gods she tries to lead a decent life, but in order to survive she must impersonate her nasty male cousin.
Directed by Cheryl Faraone
Airswimming by Charlotte Jones
May 6-8 | Hepburn Zoo Theatre
Lyrical, charming and unsentimental, Airswimming tells the story of two women, simultaneously liberated and bound by their imaginations. Together, and with the help of Doris Day, they navigate the troubling realities of womanhood and its duality as boon and affliction.
Senior 700 work in Acting of Martina Bonolis ‘10 and Michaela Lieberman ‘10