STAMP Q4 SENIOR THEATRE ARTS MAJOR PRODUCTIONS April 22 - May 8, 2022
MANEATER R O O T S
THE CHARIOT
REVERSED CFA 356 “Jewels 2” Juliane Ethel Leilani Miller Studio Theatre 855 Commonwealth Ave
Welcome to STAMP! STAMP (Senior Theatre Arts Major Productions) is a collection of interdisciplinary artists connected through a common goal of creating meaningful and inclusive stories. They work with, and for, eachother to elevate and highlight the stories they want to tell. Members of STAMP are Designers, Directors, Playwrights, Dancers, and Actors among many other things. I am excited for audiences to witness the dedication, collaboration, and artistry of this STAMP team! Jeb Burris, STAMP Faculty Advisor
MANEATER
April 22, 7:30pm April 23, 2:00pm May 24, 10:00am
roots
April 29, 7:30pm April 30, 2:00pm May 1, 10:00am
The Chariot Reversed
May 6, 7:30pm May 7, 2:00pm May 8, 10:00am
Upcoming Projects Shakespeare in Love APR 30 - MAY 8 Joan and Edgar Booth Theatre | 820 Commonwealth Ave by Lee Hall, Mark Norman, and Tom Stoppard | Directed byJudy Braha Tickets are $20
Murder Ballad MAY 5 - 7 CFA 105 | 855 Commonwealth Ave Conceived by and with book and lyrics by Julia Jordan, Music and Lyrics by Juliana Nash Directed by Shamus Admission is free; seating is limited.
Exit the King MAY 4 - 7 Studio ONE, CFA 104 | 855 Commonwealth Ave by Eugéne Ionesco | Directed by Clay Hopper Tickets are $20
For more details, visit www.bu.edu/cfa/theatre/season
MANEATER BY MADDIE KARTOZ April 22 - 24
Production Team Director Playwright Projection, Sound, and Lighting Design Stage Manager Puppet Design and Creation
Trevor Turnbow Maddie Kartoz* Carter Ringo* Chloe Kolbenheyer Cleo Brooks Sofia Schreiber Lily Bitner
Cast Stevie Robin the Wolf, the Devil, and the World’s Ugliest Fish
Claire Gardner Dylan Fineman Julian X
SPECIAL THANKS to Tanner Horst, Morgan Peterson-Park, and Laura Marcus. Love to the whole Tidelines cohort.
*This production is the thesis of Maddie Kartoz and Carter Ringo.
A Note from the Playwright A year ago from you reading this, I was living in a yurt in Alaska with five people I hadn’t known beforehand. I found myself there through a series of decisions that can only seem highly logical when everything is falling apart: I absconded my Boston apartment, took a leave of absence from school, left behind my family and friends, and traveled to Alaska at the height of the pandemic to study at Tidelines Institute. I confess; I was running. When I finally stopped, I found myself back in this building with the same people I had walked into it with three years ago. Except now everything was different, and I didn’t know how to explain where I had been, what I had been doing, or who I had become. I kept my eyes wide open while I ran. I saw whales, eagles, and moose. I saw a way of living entirely different from anything I’d known before. I saw the lines of stratification in rock where tectonic plates buck against each other. I saw the cycles of birth, death, and decay that govern our world. I saw data describing what would happen to Alaska when the earth warmed two degrees celsius, and I began to search for answers about what would happen to us. In my first term at Tidelines, my classmate brought forth a reading from Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown. In it, she pens a question that has haunted and spurred me since the day that I read it, and I find it necessary to pose it to you now. What is compelling about surviving the climate crisis? Welcome to MANEATER. Eat, be eaten. The only way out is through. Maddie Kartoz, Maneater Playwright
A Note from the Designer As an artist from the Maryland Institute College of Art, I am proud to collaborate with such talented creators at Boston University. Historically, my artistic practices combine the use of projection, robotics, sound, and 3D modeling to disintegrate the confines of immersive art and interaction while exploring the empathy between people and machines. For MANEATER, I work to combine the aspects of fantasy and the subliminal with the very real impacts of the climate crisis, blurring the boundaries of perception and memory. We reflect the spaces we have inhabited, and it has been said that people are where they have been. No story is told the same way twice, and the spaces we exist in are ever changing in reaction to an infinite number of stimuli. Carter Ringo, Maneater Designer
roots BY WILL EDELSON & KEN YOTSUKURA April 29 - May 1
Credits Co-creators Collaborator Stage Manager Scenic Designer Lighting Designer Sound Designer Projection Design
Film and stills Production Assistant Movement Consultant
Will Edelson & Ken Yotsukura Jojo Shai Vaknine Madeline Riddick-Seals Anjeli Smith Irene Wang Ken Yotsukura Madeline Riddick-Seals Anjeli Smith Ken Yotsukura Jesse Kodama Isabel Van Natta
A Note from Will As an actor, I’m most inspired by activating my imagination through movement and collaboration. I was lucky to spend summer 2019 at Double Edge Theatre, where I was introduced to their unique style of actor training and ensemble-based devising. Intrigued, I returned to Double Edge with Michael Valladares in summer 2020, where we began our own investigation into a devising process focused on movement, imagination, and the actor as artist. Now, in collaboration with Ken and this new ensemble of artists, we are continuing the investigation that Michael and I began by exploring how embodied exploration, actor training, and design translate directly into performance. Additionally, the themes of this piece speak to my deep love for nature and my artistic impulse to reimagine the possibilities of the ways we connect with each other and the world around us. My dream for roots is that it highlights the genius of its ensemble and represents an early stage of a lifelong artistic process that realizes the why, what, and how of my own artistry. My deepest thanks to my collaborators and mentors: the roots ensemble, Ken, Michael, Yo-El, Elaine, Jeremy, and Double Edge Theatre. Will Edelson, roots Co-creator
A Note from Ken I have always found myself drawn to movement and film. As a kid, I used to steal my dad’s camera and make stop-motion LEGO shorts on my kitchen table or film intricately choreographed lightsaber duels with my best friend in the woods. Since coming to BU, I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to study and practice the various mediums of storytelling that continue to give me joy today. So, when I joined forces with Will on this project last fall, I really wanted to explore how I could harmoniously combine my interests in acting, movement, film, and photography for our senior thesis. Having spent the past four years honing my craft in each of these disciplines, I wanted to create an immersive non-conventional experience that challenged the limitations of interacting with a still or moving image in physical space. Over the past six months, Will and I found a common interest and passion for nature and began exploring how to bring “the outdoors indoors” using movement and film. During these explorations, we found ourselves talking about how humans interact with and curate nature in the modern world. For instance, aquariums, zoos, and parks are built in the middle of bustling cities; this performance, in of itself, at times is emulating nature in a blackbox theatre. I invite you to question our experiences with nature, curated escapism, and how our relationship with nature and land has been influenced by capitalism and colonialism. I’d like to give my deepest thanks to Will, the cast and team of roots, Yo-EL, Jeb, Becca, Lola, Jacob, and my family for all their love and support. Ken Yotsukura, roots Co-creator
The Chariot Reversed BY ERIN DAVIS & JULIA HERTZBERG May 6 - 8
Production Team Director Playwrights Composer Stage Manager Assistant Director Scenic Designer Assistant Scenic Designer Costume Designer Lighting Designer Assistant Lighting Designer Sound Designer Sound Support Intimacy Director
Jennie Gorn Erin Davis & Julia Hertzberg Sydney Meyer Gabriela Tovar Jayna Shoda Meyer Riley Satterfield Cleo Brooks Cleo Brooks Angus Goodearl Celeste Delgadillo Jennie Gorn Sam Bliss Erin Davis
Cast Bailey Martin Yara Syd Phoebe Jo
Sydney Meyer Kendall Mood Lila Heller Charlotte Weinman Jacob Schmitt
A Note from the Director This process signals the end of the most hectic four years of my life. College is a whirlwind of emotions and growth, but to throw a global pandemic in halfway through really takes the cake. These past two years have felt so much longer, and a year ago, I didn’t even think I wanted to keep doing theatre, but when Erin and Julia mentioned writing this play in the first weeks of STAMP, I knew it was what I needed to do for my thesis. They talked about the sweaty basements of Allston and writing new music and maximalist mayhem that I knew I needed to be a part of. But on top of all that, they just wanted to have fun. In hearing that, I realized that that’s what I had been lacking: fun. So we joined forces - adding in STAMP members Sydney, Charlotte, and Kendall - to create a room and a piece of work that is first and foremost a fun time. It has been an absolute joy to be in many many spaces with all of the wonderful people who have worked on this project. Thank you, Sydney, for helping me realize the thing I was meant to do. Thank you to my cast for bearing with me as my chaotic brain tried to piece this all together. Thank you to my design and production team for being more collaborative and imaginative than I could ever dream a team could be. And thank you, Erin and Julia, for letting me bust open the heart of this play in the safest space possible. Together, we have made something truly special and truly real. Something that signifies a specific moment in time, one that we are all living in as a collective within the School of Theatre. Together, we not only had a good time, we made a good time last, and that will be something I will treasure for a long time :) Jennie Gorn, The Chariot Reversed Director