Juilliard's Drama Division Presents Four Fully-Staged Works Featuring Fourth-Year Actors During the 2008-09 Season
Juilliard’s Drama Division presents a series of four fully-staged productions this season featuring students in their fourth and final year of acting training at Juilliard. Led by James Houghton, Richard Rodgers Director of Drama, the Drama Division also presents two Shakespeare plays in repertory performed on a modern designed version of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater by its 3rd year actors in May. In addition, the Drama Division presents five matinee performances of Shakespeare, followed by post-show discussions between the students and the cast members, for middle school students in the New York City schools through Lincoln Center Theater’s Open Stages. For many New York City school students, the opportunity to participate in the Open Stages program is their first introduction to the theater and to Shakespeare. The Drama Division also showcases the graduating actors in presentations on both coasts.
While the plays are not open for review, Juilliard invites members of the press to attend and enjoy the productions, which take place in the Stephanie P. McClelland Drama Theater, located at 155 West 65th Street on the 4th Floor of Juilliard, and are open to the public. FREE tickets will be available to the public for each production, two weeks prior to the opening date of each show and a wait list for each performance will begin one hour prior to the start of the show. For more information, call the Juilliard Box Office at (212) 769-7406 or visit the Web site at www.juilliard.edu. The Juilliard Box Office, which is now located in the newly renovated lobby of the School, is open Monday through Friday, from 11 AM to 6 PM.
The new season opens with Molière’s The Misanthrope, translated by Richard Wilbur and directed by Lucie Tiberghien, on Wednesday, October 22 (8 PM), Thursday, October 23 (8 PM), Friday, October 24 (8 PM), Saturday, October 25 (2 and 8 PM), and Sunday, October 26 (7 PM). In the play, the misanthropic Alceste, disenchanted with the flattery and duplicity of his peers, has decided to speak only the truth from now on – consequences be damned! Ironically, Alceste is enamored with the young widow Célimène, whose malicious tongue and constant coquetry embodies all that he has foreswarn. Despite the best effort of his friend, Philinte, to dissuade him from his oath, Alceste finds his troubles increasing the more honest he becomes. Molière’s classic satire examines the hypocrisies of 17th century French aristocracy with enormous wit and insight, challenging a world founded on the comforts of false and fashionable pretense.
While the plays are not open for review, Juilliard invites members of the press to attend and enjoy the productions, which take place in the Stephanie P. McClelland Drama Theater, located at 155 West 65th Street on the 4th Floor of Juilliard, and are open to the public. FREE tickets will be available to the public for each production, two weeks prior to the opening date of each show and a wait list for each performance will begin one hour prior to the start of the show. For more information, call the Juilliard Box Office at (212) 769-7406 or visit the Web site at www.juilliard.edu. The Juilliard Box Office, which is now located in the newly renovated lobby of the School, is open Monday through Friday, from 11 AM to 6 PM.
The new season opens with Molière’s The Misanthrope, translated by Richard Wilbur and directed by Lucie Tiberghien, on Wednesday, October 22 (8 PM), Thursday, October 23 (8 PM), Friday, October 24 (8 PM), Saturday, October 25 (2 and 8 PM), and Sunday, October 26 (7 PM). In the play, the misanthropic Alceste, disenchanted with the flattery and duplicity of his peers, has decided to speak only the truth from now on – consequences be damned! Ironically, Alceste is enamored with the young widow Célimène, whose malicious tongue and constant coquetry embodies all that he has foreswarn. Despite the best effort of his friend, Philinte, to dissuade him from his oath, Alceste finds his troubles increasing the more honest he becomes. Molière’s classic satire examines the hypocrisies of 17th century French aristocracy with enormous wit and insight, challenging a world founded on the comforts of false and fashionable pretense.
Director Lucie Tiberghien’s recent credits include Great Falls, by Lee Blessing (Humana Festival 2008) Hoodoo Love, by Katori Hall (world premiere, Cherry Lane), Geometry of Fire, by Stephen Belber (world premiere, New York Stage and Film), A Small Melodramatic Story, by Stephen Belber (world premiere, LAByrinth), Augusta, by Richard Dresser (world premiere, Contemporary American Theater Festival), Air Conditioning, by Tommy Smith (Juilliard, 2nd year workshop), The Pavilion, by Craig Wright (Rattlestick Theater and CATF), The Winning Streak, by Lee Blessing (George Street Playhouse), Quand j’avais cinq ans je m’ai tué, by Howard Buten (Théâtre Jean Vilar, Paris), Flag Day, by Lee Blessing (CATF), Only the end of the world, by Jean Luc Lagarce (Directors Company), The Last Schwartz, by Deborah Laufer (CATF). Ms Tiberghien also assisted and/or remounted operas at the New York City Opera (Falstaff, Salome, Barber of Seville, Rigoletto,) The Washington Opera (I Puritani, Simon Boccanegra), the Milwaukee opera (Falstaff), and the Théâtre du Châtelet (Falstaff). She recently completed her first short film The Things We Know and is developing the film version of the The Pavilion, combined with Orange Flower Water by Craig Wright. Ms. Tiberghien, who is French, has a degree in political science/international studies from Webster University in Geneva, Switzerland.
Lanford Wilson’s Burn This, directed by Pam MacKinnon, follows on Thursday, November 13 (8 PM), Friday, November 14 (8 PM), Saturday, November 15 (2 and 8 PM), Sunday, November 16 (7 PM), and Monday, November 17 (8 PM). As the play begins, Robby has just died, drowned in a freak boating accident. In the aftermath of his funeral, four New Yorkers, tied together by their shared grief, must confront their past choices, current relationships and one another in order to move beyond their pain and go forward with their work and their lives. Commissioned by the Circle Repertory Company in the 1980s, Lanford Wilson’s explosive drama taps into the pain that can follow the collision of love and loss, and examines the personal cost of aspiring to be a great artist.
Director Pam MacKinnon’s recent credits include Erin Courtney’s Alice the Magnet (Clubbed Thumb), Itamar Moses’ Bach at Leipzig (New York Theatre Workshop), David Mamet’s Romance (Goodman Theatre), Gina Gionfriddo’s After Ashley (Philadelphia Theatre Company), and world premiere productions of Sheri Wilner’s Father Joy (CATF) and Victor Lodato’s 3F, 4F (Magic). Ms. MacKinnon works frequently with Clubbed Thumb, Inc., where she is an Affiliated Artist, and at New York Stage and Film and the O’Neill Playwrights’ Conference on new play development. She is an alumna of the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, the Women’s Project Directors’ Forum, the Drama League Fall Production Fellowship and is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.
The season continues with Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel, directed by Ethan McSweeny, on Thursday, December 11 (8 PM), Friday, December 12 (8 PM), Saturday, December 13 (2 and 8 PM), Sunday, December 14 (7 PM), and Monday, December 15 (8 PM). The play takes place in 1936, and it is harvest time again in Donegal County, Ireland. In a small house outside the local village, the five Mundy sisters, all unmarried and barely making ends meet, have acquired their first wireless radio as their brother Jack returns home after 25 years of working as a missionary in Uganda. Written by one of Ireland’s most celebrated modern playwrights, Dancing at Lughnasa explores historical change, the power of the church and pagan ritual, and the nostalgia of Irish cultural identity through the eyes of Michael, the grown-up son of one of the sisters and a man still haunted by the memories of one very special summer.
Director Pam MacKinnon’s recent credits include Erin Courtney’s Alice the Magnet (Clubbed Thumb), Itamar Moses’ Bach at Leipzig (New York Theatre Workshop), David Mamet’s Romance (Goodman Theatre), Gina Gionfriddo’s After Ashley (Philadelphia Theatre Company), and world premiere productions of Sheri Wilner’s Father Joy (CATF) and Victor Lodato’s 3F, 4F (Magic). Ms. MacKinnon works frequently with Clubbed Thumb, Inc., where she is an Affiliated Artist, and at New York Stage and Film and the O’Neill Playwrights’ Conference on new play development. She is an alumna of the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, the Women’s Project Directors’ Forum, the Drama League Fall Production Fellowship and is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.
The season continues with Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel, directed by Ethan McSweeny, on Thursday, December 11 (8 PM), Friday, December 12 (8 PM), Saturday, December 13 (2 and 8 PM), Sunday, December 14 (7 PM), and Monday, December 15 (8 PM). The play takes place in 1936, and it is harvest time again in Donegal County, Ireland. In a small house outside the local village, the five Mundy sisters, all unmarried and barely making ends meet, have acquired their first wireless radio as their brother Jack returns home after 25 years of working as a missionary in Uganda. Written by one of Ireland’s most celebrated modern playwrights, Dancing at Lughnasa explores historical change, the power of the church and pagan ritual, and the nostalgia of Irish cultural identity through the eyes of Michael, the grown-up son of one of the sisters and a man still haunted by the memories of one very special summer.
Director Ethan McSweeny is artistic director of Chautauqua Theater Company and has directed The Just ('07), The Cherry Orchard ('06), All My Sons ('05), Cobb ('03), and the New Play Workshops of Kate Fodor's 100 Saints You Should Know, Quincy Long's Aux Cops, and Rinne Groff's What Then. He directed the New York premieres of 100 Saints You Should Know and Jason Grote's 1001, which, in a rare double-header, were chosen to be among the top ten productions of 2007 by Time Out and Entertainment Weekly magazines. His other New York direction includes a star-studded Broadway revival of Gore Vidal's The Best Man (Tony nomination, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards), Aeschylus' The Persians in a new translation by Ellen McLaughlin, Willy Holtzman's Sabina and John Logan's Never the Sinner (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards). Mr. McSweeny’s recent national highlights include a revival of Shaw's Major Barbara at the Shakespeare Theatre (featuring Ms. Benesch in the title role); the world premieres of In This Corner at the Old Globe, 1001 at the Denver Center Theatre (Ovation Award) and Lee Blessing's A Body of Water at both the Guthrie and the Globe (San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award); the new musical Chasing Nicolette at the Prince Music Theater (Barrymore Award nomination); the world premiere of Noah Haidle's Mr. Marmalade at South Coast Rep (OCIE Award); and revivals of Romeo and Juliet and Six Degrees of Separation at the Guthrie (Star-Tribune Award). Mr. McSweeny currently sits on the executive board of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, an independent national labor union. This season, Mr. McSweeny's work will be seen at the Guthrie (Miller's A View from the Bridge), CenterStage (Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), The Juilliard School (Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa), The Shakespeare Theatre (Euripides' Ion) and the Old Globe (the world premiere of Cornelia by Mark Olsen).
During the past two seasons, the Juilliard Drama Division presented The Greeks, Part I, The War, and Part II, The Murders. This season it completes the trilogy with The Greeks, Part III, The Gods. The play has been adapted by John Barton and Kenneth Cavander, and will be directed again by Brian Mertes. Performances take place on Thursday, February 12 (7 PM), Friday, February 13 (7 PM), Saturday, February 14 (1 and 7:30 PM), Sunday, February 15 (7 PM), and Monday, February 16 (7 PM). The final installment of The Greeks questions why we lose our way and who is to blame for life’s unhappiness. In this stark, beautiful adaptation, The Greeks sets out to tell the complete story of ancient Greece’s mythic history by weaving together the works of Aeschylus, Euripides, Homer, and Sophocles. Highlighting themes of sin, punishment and redemption by exploring the trials of three great households – the house of Tantalus, the Royal House of Troy, and the family of Peleus and Thetis – the third part of this trilogy looks at patterns of contradiction, change, corruption, decay, and the relationship between man and the gods.
Director Brian Mertes has worked on plays locally and nationally at such venues as New Dramatists, Actors Theater of Louisville, and The Juilliard School. He also has directed drama for CBS, NBC, ABC and the Fox Network, including Law & Order and Guiding Light.
Juilliard fourth-year actors (Group 38) appearing in these productions include: Maechi Aharanwa, Kristine Chandler, Adam Driver, Gabriel Ebert, Brandon Gill, Raymond Lorini, Jessica Love, Dylan Moore, Geoffrey Allen Murphy, Jonathan Patrick O’Brien, Sean Timothy Parker, Teyonah Parris, Alejandro Rodriguez, Stacey Sherrell, Joanne Tucker, Zach Villa, Leah Walsh, Anthony Wofford, and Sheldon Woodley.
Juilliard’s Drama Division co-founded in 1968 by John Houseman and Michel St. Denis, is an intensive four-year conservatory program. In its 40 year history, the Drama Division has developed the talents of some of our most distinguished artists of stage and screen; they work across the country and internationally, acting, directing, writing, and teaching. Under the current leadership of Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division, James Houghton, the Juilliard Drama Division continues to uphold the best traditions of classical training and repertory while making the creation of new work one of the cornerstones of the program.
The Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program, created in 1993, has been led by Marsha Norman and Christopher Durang since 1994. Other esteemed playwrights who have led Juilliard’s up-and-coming writers include John Guare and Terrence McNally, who co-created the program with Drama Division director Michael Kahn, as well as Jon Robin Baitz and Romulus Linney. Now in its 15th season, the program allows up to eight playwrights each season to focus on the practical aspects of dramatic writing, while at the same time they are encouraged to take advantage of the wealth of resources within Juilliard’s walls. Among Juillliard’s playwright alumni are 2001 Pulitzer Prize-winner David Auburn, 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lindsay-Abaire, Stephen Belber, Julia Cho, Julia Jordan, Noah Haidle, and Adam Rapp, recipient of the Benjamin H. Danks Award in Drama from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
During the past two seasons, the Juilliard Drama Division presented The Greeks, Part I, The War, and Part II, The Murders. This season it completes the trilogy with The Greeks, Part III, The Gods. The play has been adapted by John Barton and Kenneth Cavander, and will be directed again by Brian Mertes. Performances take place on Thursday, February 12 (7 PM), Friday, February 13 (7 PM), Saturday, February 14 (1 and 7:30 PM), Sunday, February 15 (7 PM), and Monday, February 16 (7 PM). The final installment of The Greeks questions why we lose our way and who is to blame for life’s unhappiness. In this stark, beautiful adaptation, The Greeks sets out to tell the complete story of ancient Greece’s mythic history by weaving together the works of Aeschylus, Euripides, Homer, and Sophocles. Highlighting themes of sin, punishment and redemption by exploring the trials of three great households – the house of Tantalus, the Royal House of Troy, and the family of Peleus and Thetis – the third part of this trilogy looks at patterns of contradiction, change, corruption, decay, and the relationship between man and the gods.
Director Brian Mertes has worked on plays locally and nationally at such venues as New Dramatists, Actors Theater of Louisville, and The Juilliard School. He also has directed drama for CBS, NBC, ABC and the Fox Network, including Law & Order and Guiding Light.
Juilliard fourth-year actors (Group 38) appearing in these productions include: Maechi Aharanwa, Kristine Chandler, Adam Driver, Gabriel Ebert, Brandon Gill, Raymond Lorini, Jessica Love, Dylan Moore, Geoffrey Allen Murphy, Jonathan Patrick O’Brien, Sean Timothy Parker, Teyonah Parris, Alejandro Rodriguez, Stacey Sherrell, Joanne Tucker, Zach Villa, Leah Walsh, Anthony Wofford, and Sheldon Woodley.
Juilliard’s Drama Division co-founded in 1968 by John Houseman and Michel St. Denis, is an intensive four-year conservatory program. In its 40 year history, the Drama Division has developed the talents of some of our most distinguished artists of stage and screen; they work across the country and internationally, acting, directing, writing, and teaching. Under the current leadership of Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division, James Houghton, the Juilliard Drama Division continues to uphold the best traditions of classical training and repertory while making the creation of new work one of the cornerstones of the program.
The Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program, created in 1993, has been led by Marsha Norman and Christopher Durang since 1994. Other esteemed playwrights who have led Juilliard’s up-and-coming writers include John Guare and Terrence McNally, who co-created the program with Drama Division director Michael Kahn, as well as Jon Robin Baitz and Romulus Linney. Now in its 15th season, the program allows up to eight playwrights each season to focus on the practical aspects of dramatic writing, while at the same time they are encouraged to take advantage of the wealth of resources within Juilliard’s walls. Among Juillliard’s playwright alumni are 2001 Pulitzer Prize-winner David Auburn, 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lindsay-Abaire, Stephen Belber, Julia Cho, Julia Jordan, Noah Haidle, and Adam Rapp, recipient of the Benjamin H. Danks Award in Drama from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
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