A NOTE FROM THE SCHOOL OF THEATRE DIRECTOR
Welcome to our Season!
The School of Theatre at Boston University is delighted and honored for you to join us as we present our work to the world–all of the rehearsal hours, production meetings, technical rehearsals culminate in an experience that is not complete without you, our audience. The theatre is one of the only spaces in our lives where we gather in witness together, be it in joy, grief, curiosity, or even anger. In this, the theatre is a special space, a sacred space, and we invite your imagination to take flight with us during these performances, and hope you will return again (and again) to witness all of what makes us human as it is expressed on our stages.
With warmth and gratitude,
Kirsten Greenidge Director, BU College of Fine Arts School of Theatre
Written by
CARYL CHURCHILL
CARLA MIRABAL RODRÍGUEZ
Runtime
NOVEMBER 24-26, 2024
STUDIO ONE
CFA 104
Boston University College of Fine Arts
855 Commonwealth Ave Boston, MA
90 minutes with no intermission
Caution
Please note that this production contains simulated violence, themes of child loss, strobe lighting effects, and theatrical haze
CAST
THE SKRIKER
JOSIE LILY
LOST GIRL
HAG
GRANDDAUGHTER
JENNIE GREENTEETH
KELPIE
PASSERBY
DEAD CHILD
NELLIE LONGARMS
Lillian Devlin
Jayce Ross
Lila English
Eva Luna Cirilo
Alexa Connors
Rachel Kanter
Ella Blumenthal
Christian Donnerson
Annika Helgeson
Emery Genga
Amanda Reynolds
DESIGN & PRODUCTION TEAM
STAGE MANAGER
SCENE DESIGNER
SOUND DESIGNER
LIGHTING DESIGNER
COSTUME DESIGNER
ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER
PRODUCTION ELECTRICIAN
PROGRAMMER
MOVEMENT DIRECTOR
MOVEMENT COORDINATORS
Rowen Bailey
Tommaso Rotella
Kat Mehler
Grant Powicki
Emme Livingston
Noah Wrafter
Alisa Saisakorn
Frankie Kraus
Eva Luna Cirilo
Christian Donnerson
Amanda Reynolds
Jayce Ross
PRODUCTION CREW
LEAD USHER
LIGHTING CREW/LIGHT BOARD OP.
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
Johnny Burrell
Qin Caldwell Keira Bertram
Lily Harper
DIRECTOR & PLAYWRIGHT
Carla Mirabal Rodríguez (DIRECTOR)
Carla Mirabal Rodríguez (she/her) is thrilled to be working with the students at Boston University! Carla is a director, actor, and producer proudly from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Recent directing credits include Nüwa in Fairyland (Chuang Stage), John Proctor is the Villain (Asst. Director, The Huntington), In the Time of the Butterflies (Newton Theatre Company), El voicenote tiene que ser menos de 1 minuto (Dream Boston powered by The Huntington), Things You Should Know When Setting Up an Ofrenda (Huntington Theatre at Boston Theatre Marathon), Temporary (Teatro Chelsea’s A-Típico New Play Festival), Romeo + Juliet (Asst. Director, Teatro Chelsea), and Sonia Se Fue (Asst. Director, Teatro Chelsea). CarlaMirabalRodriguez.com
Caryl Churchill (PLAYWRIGHT)
Caryl Churchill was born on 3 September 1938 in London and grew up in the Lake District and in Montreal. She was educated at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. Downstairs, her first play written while she was still at university, was first staged in 1958 and won an award at the Sunday Times National Union of Students Drama Festival.
Caryl Churchill’s plays include: Owners, Traps, Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, Cloud 9, Top Girls, Fen, Serious Money, Ice Cream, Mad Forest, The Skriker, Blue Heart, This is a Chair, Far Away, A Number, Drunk Enough To Say I Love You?, Seven Jewish Children, Love & Information, Here We Go and Escaped Alone. Music theatre includes Lives of the Great Poisoners and Hotel, both with Orlando Gough. Caryl has also written for radio and television. (Concord Theatricals)
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
The Skriker oscillates between the human realm and the underworld, they blur and bleed into each other. Caryl Churchill addresses a multitude of topics through this play, including generational trauma, global warming, capitalism, the rapid advancement of technology, postpartum psychosis, and so much more. Our production spawns from a Psychiatric Hospital, where we meet our two human characters, Josie and Lily.
I've loved working with this cast to excavate the feral, horror-filled scenes of this play, as they embody characters that are not human, but ancient creatures derived from British folktales and lullabies. Much like Grimm's Fairy Tales, these folktales go far beyond tales told to children to keep them from going near lakes or forests. The Skriker and these creatures invade the human realm to unmask the deep, dark underbelly of society, which makes it clear they are not the ones to fear at all. This play explores the depths of our collective subconscious as it questions expectations of motherhood and fertility, and exposes then perpetuates cycles of trauma. At its core, the play challenges the fundamental values of womanhood in a patriarchal society: being a mother, being agreeable, and being quiet.
I've been thinking about how all art is inherently political, all performance is political, and especially, how all art is resistance. I'll leave you with a quote from the late literary giant Toni Morrison: “Art takes us and makes us take a journey beyond price, beyond cost, into bearing witness to the world as it is and as it should be. Art invites us to know beauty and to solicit it, summon it, from even the most tragic of circumstances.”
-Toni Morrison
I hope this play sparks conversation, deep feeling, and resistance. Thank you for joining us.
-Carla Mirabal Rodríguez, Director
"The Skriker" by Caryl Churchill is a dark and surreal play that blends elements of folklore, mythology, and contemporary urban life. The story follows an ancient and malevolent fairy creature known as the Skriker, who takes on various guises as she haunts two young women named Lily and Josie. The Skriker's motives are mysterious and sinister as she manipulates and torments the women, weaving a web of deception and chaos around them. Set in a modern, dystopian world, the play explores themes of ecological collapse, psychological trauma, and the erosion of human connection in an increasingly fragmented society. Through its poetic language and eerie atmosphere, "The Skriker" immerses the audience in a haunting and hallucinatory experience that challenges conventional notions of reality and identity.
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