Land Acknowledgement
The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival operates on the unceded territory of the Lenape, Munsee, and Wappinger people, which is colonially known as Philipstown, New York. We gratefully acknowledge their stewardship of this land in the past and present.
HVSF offers this land acknowledgement as a formal statement to recognize and respect the Indigenous Peoples who are the traditional stewards of the land on which we operate and their enduring relationship with this place.
Dear Friend,
Welcome to the 2024 Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival season!
2024 is a big year for HVSF, as this is the year in which we plan to break ground on the construction of our new permanent open-air theater, designed by celebrated architect Jeanne Gang. Our new home will carry forward the energy and intimacy that we all love about the Tent, while at the same time improving the experience for both artists and patrons. Utilizing renewable building materials such as mass timber, our new theater will be the first purpose-built theater in the United States to achieve LEED Platinum status, the highest level of green building certification. There’s more information about our future — as well as stunning renderings of the theater — on pages 47–49 in this program.
That same sense of boldly venturing into the future is manifest in this season’s lineup, which brings HVSF’s trademark playfulness and imagination to the timeless stories of Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, and Euripides, in thrilling new adaptations by three living American playwrights — Whitney White, Heidi Armbruster, and Luis Quintero, respectively.
Some folks have noted the lack of a familiar Shakespeare title on the docket this year, and wondered, Where’s Will? Of course, four of Shakespeare’s plays are at the heart of By The Queen, but I see echoes of Shakespeare throughout this entire season. It’s sometimes easy to forget that every Shakespearean classic was once a brand-new play, penned by an anxious writer in the hopes of capturing the imagination of an audience in an open-air theater, one not too different from the one you’re sitting in right now. One thing we know for sure: Shakespeare didn’t see himself as “the Bard,” writing works of literature to be preserved for posterity. What he cared about most was the present-tense alchemy of the actor, the audience, and the text. And the same is true of all three of this season’s brilliant adaptor/playwrights, and I am honored and delighted to share their work with you. (And to those who love your Shakespeare straight-up, I say: stay tuned! We have several juicy Shakespeare titles on the boards for next year and beyond.)
One other thing that’s central to our 2024 Season is YOU. Characters in each of these plays talk directly to the audience in the here-and-now of live performance, and you will soon discover that you have a key role to play in each of these stories – to puzzle out whodunnit with a famous mustachioed detective, or to decide whether you will keep Medea’s confidence as she plots her stunning revenge, or to raise a celebratory glass to toast the survival of Queen Margaret. So, buckle up! We’re going to need your help to bring these pieces to life.
On behalf of Managing Director Kendra Ekelund and HVSF’s Board and staff, I am so grateful to you for going on the ride with us. ENJOY THE SHOW!
Warmly,
Davis McCallum, Artistic Director
“Classical
Make the Most of Your Visit
Joy, gentle friends! We’ve assembled a few tips and tricks to help make your visit to the Theater Tent an enjoyable one…
Entrances and Exits
Watch your toes! Actors enter and exit from multiple points in the theater throughout the show.
Restrooms
If you need to use the restroom during the show, please make your way to the top of the stairs at the back of your section. Staff are available to guide you from there.
Stash Your Stuff
No need to trek to the parking lot to stow your stuff. Storage space is available for your picnic items. Remember to pick them up after the show!
Unsavory Souvenirs
Though they are a natural part of life in the valley, we’d hate to see you leave covered in bug bites. Arm yourself with complimentary bug spray.
Late Seating and Reseating
Our staff will help you get to your seat at an appropriate break in the action.
Regroup or Take a Call
A quiet space is available during the show near the restaurant for a sensory regroup or to take a private call.
Intermission
Pre-order your snacks and drinks on your mobile device before the show to skip the line during our intermission this evening. Our staff will notify you when it’s time to return to your seat. See page 8 for details.
Low Waste Station
Drop recyclable materials, compostable scraps, and landfill-bound trash into separate bins at the Low Waste Station near Concessions. Not sure which bin something belongs in? Ask anyone wearing a blue HVSF tee shirt!
A Helping Hand
Please don’t hesitate to alert a member of our CPR- and First Aid-trained staff if something feels amiss. Your comfort matters, and we’re ready to lend a hand!
Accessibility
Ask our staff about accessible seating.
Ask our staff if a digital or print copy of the script is available for this performance.
Ask our staff about accessing the Golf Cart shuttle to and from the parking lot.
Ask our staff to access our fidget collection.
RESTROOMS
Actors enter and exit during the show
Take the stairs at the back of your section to access the restroom
Store your picnic gear before showtime
Load up on bug spray
Concessions Menu
Sweet & Savory
• Grain Bowls
• Salads
• Sandwiches
• Desserts
Grab & Go items are available at the concessions tent two hours prior to curtain and at intermission. Use this QR Code to pre-order your food and drinks for easy pick-up at intermisson and skip the line:
Scan to pre-order now and skip the line at intermission!
Snacks
• Popcorn
• Potato Chips
• Nuts & Candy
Frozen Treats
Daily variety and prices subject to change.
Ice Cold Beverages
• Iced Tea, Iced Coffee & Lemonade
• Soft Drinks
• Seltzer
• Spring Water
Fat Boy Ice Cream Sandwich
Jane’s Ice Cream
• Cappuccino Kahlua Calypso: Cappuccino Ice Cream & Toffee Bits
• Coconut Almond Joy: Coconut Ice Cream, Shaved Coconut & Choco-Chunks
• A Mint Summer Night’s Dream: Minty Chocolate Ice Cream & Chocolate Chips
• Chai Latte: Made with Oat Milk
Hot Beverages
• Gramercy Park Regular & Decaf Coffees
• SerendipiTea Single Sachets
Cocktails
• Daily Selection of Signature Cocktails
Craft Beers & Cider
• Sloop Juice Bomb IPA
• Captain Lawrence Clear Water Kölsch
• Allagash White
• Farnum Hill Dry Farmhouse Cider
Wine & Cocktails
• Expertly Curated Red, White, Rose
• Sparkling Wines & Cocktails
Engaging exhibitions and events year-round, including: Boscobel Chamber Music Festival Aug. 30-Sept. 8 tickets + info at boscobel.org
artistic director
Davis McCallum
managing director Kendra Ekelund
PRESENTS
MEDEA: RE-VERSED
by
LUIS QUINTERO
co-conceived and directed by NATHAN WINKELSTEIN** adapted from e U ripide S
Nicole Wee+ .......................................................
Carolina Ortiz+
Matt Otto+ ..............................................
Buffy Cardoza
Costume Designer
Lighting Designer
Sound Design and Composition
Props Designer
Mark Martin Music Director
Alithea Phillips Voice and Dialect Coach
Janelle Caso* ..................................................
Casting .
Production Stage Manager
.Calleri Jensen Davis (James Calleri, Erica Jensen, Paul Davis)
Ligature Creative Key Art
a
co-prod U ction
with red b ULL theater and bed L am
Medea: Re-Versed was Originally Commissioned and Developed at Red Bull Theater.
This production is supported in part by
SHS Foundation
Steven L. Holley
*Appearing through an Agreement between this theatre, HVSF, and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
+Represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829 of the IATSE.
**Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.
The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production and distributing recordings or streams in any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited.
“There’s more to her than anyone could ever infer — You can kick my words to the curb. I think it’s time that we heard from her.”
An ice-cold, high-octane adaptation of Euripides’ play written in battle rap verse, this brand-new hip-hop version of Medea sheds contemporary light on the classic tragedy of family, power, and revenge – as stunning today as it was two thousand years ago. Quintero’s version of the story reignites the sacred rage of our ancestors and illuminates the extraordinary lengths that some people will travel to even the scales of justice.
Siena D’AddarioCC
Melissa Mahoney*
Mark Martin
(alpha by last name)
Guitar
Bass
Beatboxer
Jacob Ming-Trent* Creon
Luis Quintero* Chorus Leader
Stephen Michael Spencer* Jason
Sarin Monae West* Medea
*Member of
Medea: Re-Versed Co-Producers
Red Bull Theater brings rarely seen classic plays to dynamic new life for contemporary audiences. Our work unites a respect for tradition with a modern sensibility. Red Bull Theater is named for the rowdy Jacobean playhouse that illegally performed plays in England during the years of Puritan rule, and was the first London theater to reopen after the Restoration. This bold spirit is central to our identity. With the Jacobean plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries as our cornerstone, Red Bull Theater is New York City’s destination for dynamic performances of great plays that stand the test of time. The company also produces new works that are in conversation with the classics. Red Bull Theater delights and engages the intellect and imagination of audiences. A home for artists, scholars and students, we strive to make our work accessible, diverse, and welcoming to all theatergoers. Educational as well as entertaining, our work keeps a rich and vital tradition thriving. Red Bull Theater believes in the power of great classic stories and plays of heightened language to deepen our understanding of the human condition. We believe in the special ability of live theater to create unique, collective experiences. And we believe in the limitless capacity of classical theater to illuminate the events of our times.
Founded in 2003 with a production of Shakespeare’s Pericles, Red Bull Theater has been acclaimed by The New York Times as “a dynamic producer of classic plays” and by Time Out as “the most exciting classical theater in New York.” Red Bull Theater serves adventurous theatergoers with Off-Broadway Productions, Revelation Readings, and the annual Short New Play Festival. The company also offers outreach programs including Shakespeare In Schools, bringing professional actors and teaching artists into public school classrooms; Bull Sessions, free post-play discussions with leading scholars; Podcasts, and Acting Intensives in classical actor training led by veteran theater professionals. In our 20-year history, Red Bull Theater has produced 24 Off-Broadway Productions and over 200 Revelation Readings of rarely seen classics, serving over 5,000 artists and providing quality artistic programming to an audience of over 200,000. Notable recent productions include Coriolanus, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, The School for Scandal, The Government Inspector, Macbeth, and The Alchemist. The company’s unique programming has received ongoing critical acclaim, and has been recognized with Lortel, Drama Desk, Drama League, Calloway, Off Broadway Alliance, and Obie nominations and Awards. For more information, visit redbulltheater.com
Bedlam was founded in 2012 with a commitment to the immediacy of the relationship between the actor and the audience. Bedlam creates works of theatre that reinvigorate traditional forms in a flexible, raw space, collapsing aesthetic distance and bringing its viewers into direct contact with the dangers and delicacies of life. Bedlam’s shows have been noted as Ben Brantley’s “Critics’ Picks” for The New York Times six times, noted on The New York Times and New York Magazine’s “Top Ten Best Show Lists” five times, and on those of The Wall Street Journal and Time Magazine. The Wall Street Journal also noted Artistic Director, Eric Tucker as “Director of the Year” in 2014 and 2021 and called him “America’s Best Classical Director”. Bedlam has won three Irne Awards, two Off Broadway Alliance Awards, and an Obie Grant. Bedlam has also been nominated for two Lucille Lortel awards, two Drama League awards, and seventeen Elliot Norton awards, winning four awards to date. In addition to Bedlam’s seasonal shows, Bedlam also offers a Veterans Outreach Program, educational opportunities, and support for emerging artists through its Do More: New Plays series.
Director’s Note
“When passion ignites both ends of the candle It’s double the light but hard to handle”
Euripides’ Medea has long been recognized as one of the greatest classical theater pieces ever written. It has been translated, adapted, and ‘improved upon.’ It has been the source of inspiration for countless productions for almost two and a half millennia. At first blush, that made it an odd play for Luis and me to focus on in April of 2020 when we began discussing a revolutionary (but not irreverent) way of adapting non-English language classics. Perhaps Medea’s isolation spoke to us in those early Covid days, or perhaps it was the rampant stories of the mistreatment of women and children in the emotional hotbox of being trapped inside for months on end. Whatever the reason, Medea was a play that needed to be heard now, and needed to be heard in a new, and at the same time, quite old, way. An adaptation that celebrated the spirit of the original rather than the letter.
But how to do that? How do we find the spirit of a piece first heard in 3,000 year old amphitheaters, with theatrical concepts being invented in real time and in a language sung out in contemporary and deeply personal verse structure?
Enter Rap.
Despite the fact that Rap (and the entirety of Hip Hop culture) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, it is only just now beginning to be recognized as one of America’s great dramatic verse structures. Its flexibility, muscularity, and density of language makes it a perfect American verse form for heightened language theater. Luis Quintero’s unique style, with his background both in Hip Hop and Theater, worked brilliantly to bring forward the themes of Medea in a way that is both deeply loyal to Euripides’ tale and astonishingly, unabashedly, and undeniably of today.
Because the use of Rap is still relatively nascent in theater (though many, like the great Will Power and of course Lin Manuel Miranda have come before), we have had to explore what new form of theater best serves this Medea This required creativity and support. Through a series of developmental workshops beginning at Red Bull Theater and continuing at HVSF we have developed a form that is 50% concert, 50% traditional Shakespeare–and 100% theater; a form that I hope will make you sit up and say ‘This is new!
This is now! This is needed!’, just as I imagine the Greek audiences did 2,000 years ago.
Of course, in the end, theater is always about the story. Yes, this brilliant adaptation that Luis wrote is about creating a true American verse Medea, but in the end what makes it great is that it is a Medea that reminds us that women thousands of years ago dealt with the same misogyny, racism and gaslighting that they do today; a Medea that has at its center a demigoddess who does the extra-ordinary in the face of a social hatred and indifference that is distressingly ordinary; a Medea that has us bopping our heads with the music but also challenges us to do better.
This play doesn’t try to answer the hard questions – we aren’t smart enough for that. All we can do, as a great playwright once said, is “hold as t’were the mirror up to nature: to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure.”
I hope audiences walk away from this play changed in some way, asking new questions, perhaps, or just having had the time of your life, and remember…
“Y’all the kinda people who came here to see a tragedy You can’t get mad at me when the ending happens unhappily.”
— Nathan Winkelstein
Director’s Bio
Nathan Winkelstein he / him
Nathan is the Associate Artistic Director of Red Bull Theater. As a freelancer Nathan has directed for numerous companies around the country. Favorite credits include Seascape (The Alley), Zoo Story (Guild Hall), Romeo & Juliet (LCT and WHAT), Midsummer Nights Dream (American Shakespeare Center) as well as numerous reading and workshops at Red Bull Theater. He has taught for Red Bull, STC, LCT, TGS, and Maggie Flanagan Studio. Nathan received his BA in Theater from the University at Buffalo and his MFA in Classical Acting from the prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in the UK. Nathan is a proud member of AEA and SDC.
Playwright’s Note
Dear Audience,
“I can no other answer make but thanks and thanks and ever thanks.”
– Twelfth Night, Act III, Scene iii
These were some of my first words I spoke as an actor at HVSF and now I find these words returning to me as I speak my first words as a playwright here at HVSF. This Tent molded me into who I am as an artist and I am forever grateful for the support this Theater and you its audience have invested in my artistry. Tonight, by your grace, I look to return the favor with a piece that I believe honors the essence of what Shakespeare was all about.
One of the biggest critiques of Shakespeare’s contemporaries was that the bard was merely doing adaptions of the literature and history that existed at the time. And it’s actually true. All but two scripts have direct evidence of plays that pre-date Shakespeare. As Samuel Astley Dunham said, “He was not the author, but the adapter on them to the stage.” Shakespeare took old stories and rewrote them to fit the poetry, verse and cultural metaphor of his time. This is exactly what I did with Medea: Re-versed. I honored the script penned by Euripides but adapted it using a process Shakespeare might have used if he lived with us today. This meant I had to focus on Theater as an auditory experience.
Most people’s first interaction with Shakespeare is a visual one. In English class, we see this 400-year-old text with Doth’s and hath’s and all sorts of oth’s and aths. Then we try to read it to understand it. This is fundamentally the opposite of how Shakespeare designed his plays to be experienced. Why? Most of Shakespeare’s audience was illiterate. His audience had no choice but to understand story through sound. This is how I believe he came up with the word “Puke.” The sound of the word is indicative of its meaning. This is also why rhythm and rhyme are so intuitive to Shakespeare, they are fundamental tools of an auditory experience. The Ancient Greeks themselves wrote in Rhyming Verse. They used Hexameter, Shakespeare used Pentameter, and me, I use Hip-Hop as Hip-Hop is our form of poetry for the masses. It celebrates the skill of Lyricism, Rhythm, Rhyme, Metaphor, Imagery, and Storytelling through the proficient use of words. These are the exact qualities that I admire in Shakespeare.
Now, A Word about Medea.
Music and myth making is one the oldest of human traditions. In excavating the past, I discover what resonates with the present. When I set out to modernize Medea I asked myself, who am I writing this for? First, I needed to honor the memory of the original Medea, the very woman who fought for her own justice when no one else would. Her suffering was not a play, it was lived and I was compelled to write with that reverence in mind. Second, I am writing to expand the traditional theater audience. Musically, I wanted to compose a piece that broke out of the mold of musical theater. A threepiece band with simple music that anyone could play and, most importantly, that non-theater goers would headbang to in their cars the same way they would to Joyner Lucas, Rage Against the Machine, or Evanescence. Thirdly, it needed to accentuate the live theatrical experience. In a world of streaming, the communal exchange of vibration and energy in the present moment is what sets theater apart. So by looking back to Shakespeare, I set out to create a new form of theater that encourages audience participation and channels it into the storytelling itself. Using these three pillars as my compass, I began writing Medea.
I looked up the testimonies of women who had committed filicide, intrigued by why they felt that was their only option and the kind of spousal relationships that fostered these outcomes. In particular, toxic narcissistic males, like Medea’s husband Jason, were a common theme. I researched the societal opinions of foreigners in Ancient Greece, who were considered to be barbarians. I exposed myself to several adaptations of Medea and was captivated by the apathetic nature of the gods/universe. I tried to imagine the terror that a pregnancy in ancient times meant for a woman. Despite the high mortality rate of childbirth and lack of medicine, Medea survives childbirth only to be left out of the village alone, emotionally abused and abandoned. Tonight, I invite you to honor her suffering and the sacrifice of all of our ancestors who suffered so we would not.
— Luis Quintero
Playwright’s Bio
Luis Quintero he / him
Luis Quintero is an actor, playwright, lyricist and composer hailing from Houston, Texas. As an actor he has performed at The Alley Theater, The Old Globe San Diego, Denver Center for Performing Arts, Two River Theater, Stages Repertory Theater and Fourth Wall Studios among others. This year will be his fifth year under the Tent at HVSF where is also making his professional playwriting debut with Medea: Re-Versed!
artistic director
Davis McCallum
managing director Kendra Ekelund
PRESENTS
THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD
by HEIDI ARMBRUSTER
directed by RYAN QUINN** adapted from AGATHA CHRISTIE
Charlotte Palmer Lane+
Lucrecia Briceño+
Matt Otto+
Costume Designer
Lighting Designer
Sound Design and Composition
Buffy Cardoza Props Designer
Alithea Phillips Voice and Dialect Coach
Susannah Millonzi
Movement Director
Daniel Vaughn* ............................................... Production Stage Manager
Casting ......................... Calleri Jensen Davis: James Calleri, Erica Jensen, Paul Davis
Ligature Creative
Key Art
This production is supported in part by
SHS Foundation
Pepper Evans and Bob Lieber; Dan Kramer and Judy Mogel; Laura Jean Wilson and Mark Menting
*Appearing through an Agreement between this theatre, HVSF, and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
+Represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829 of the IATSE.
**Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.
The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production and distributing recordings or streams in any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited.
“Everyone has something to hide.”
The murder of Roger Ackroyd sends shockwaves through the tight-knit community of King’s Abbot, a drowsy village now awash with suspicion and secrecy. Not to fear — a certain mustachioed Belgian detective is on the case! This highly theatrical adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1926 masterpiece delves deep into the human psyche’s intricate dance with truth and deception, re-inventing the pleasures of the theatrical whodunnit with HVSF’s signature playful and freewheeling style.
Cast
(alpha by last name)
Siena D’AddarioCC Understudy
Melissa Mahoney*
Ursula, Mrs. Folliot, The Inspector, Agnes
Sean McNall* Sheppard
Bobby Moreno* Ralph, Parker
Travis Raeburn* Blunt, Hammond
Kurt Rhoads*
Mssr. Detective, Mr. Ackroyd
Malika Samuel* Flora, Miss Gannet
Kevin Thrower Understudy
Nance Williamson* Caroline, Mrs. Ackroyd, Mrs. Ferris
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
cc Member of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival Conservatory Company
Director’s Note
In 2024, it is hard to find a reliable truth. With AI bots writing marriage vows, conspiracy influencers polluting social media feeds, and political leaders blatantly masquerading disinformation as facts, the work of sourcing information before we trust it is taxing. So what a delight to escape from a world where the math of truth doesn’t quite add up, to the sleepy little village of King’s Abbot, where “our little gray cells” can actually put the clues together to solve a puzzle with a satisfying solution.
Escaping now is not so different from 1926. Technology is different, but the heart of our questions remains the same, and Agatha Christie’s stories endure because the hope of justice endures. The investigation of finding a certain moral truth. Who gets to speak it? Where does it come from, and where is it adjudicated? What is the cost of withholding it? And what happens when we reconcile the intimate truth of what we’ve become in the face of what we hoped to be?
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd then leaps off the page and begs to be spoken by contemporary actors in communion with a live audience because Christie’s stories are for everyone of every era. She is a master storyteller, creating unforgettable characters that speak with wit and life as they lay breadcrumbs for us “apprentice detectives” to gobble up. While the genre may demand a clear-cut solution, the heart of the story lies in the grey areas: the intricate humanity of the characters fighting for their lives. But in the end we still get our satisfying answer to whodunit.
I confess it wasn’t until I was in my forties that I read my first Agatha Christie, but immediately felt initiated into Fan Club Christie. Whenever I mentioned working on an adaptation, I was met with smiles. Everyone, it seems, has a favorite book or character, and there is an immediate union… like sitting down at a bar and noticing someone is wearing the same team jersey or the knowing nod of a kindred spirit on the HVSF lawn bonding over the Bard.
Heidi’s brilliant adaptation honors that union and elevates all that is Christie, serving it up for aficionados and first-timers alike. It is elegant, personal, and intoxicatingly funny. Christie and Armbruster, two masters at work under our tent in the Hudson Valley, serving up the truth with Tunisian daggers concealed by champagne smiles. As Christie reminds us, “The truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to seekers after it.” Amidst the current cacophony of misinformation, our company can’t wait to seek out the beauty together in our quaint little village under the tent.
– Ryan Quinn
Director’s Bio
Ryan Quinn he/him
Ryan is an actor, director, teacher, husband to Katie, and dad to Zoë. His work with HVSF spans over 20 years, filling various roles. HVSF Directing: The Tempest, Macbeth (tour), The Two Noble Kinsman (conservatory company), and two productions of Romeo and Juliet (tour and conservatory company). HVSF Acting (favorites from 9 seasons): Edmond (King Lear), Friar Lawrence (Romeo and Juliet), and Ferdinand (Tempest). Additional Directing: God of Carnage and Dad’s Season Tickets at Milwaukee Rep, Fences at The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, The Mountaintop at Arc Stages, Everybody, Lost Girl (world premiere) and So Thrive My Soul at Milwaukee Rep (PTI Program), A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Fordham, Comedy of Errors at LIU Post, God of Carnage, Everybody, Stick Fly, and Macbeth at AADA. Ryan is a co-founder and the artistic director of Esperance Theater Company, directing Twelfth Night, Youth and Ambition, and Breitwisch Farm (world premiere). MFA: Yale School of Drama.
Playwright’s Note
“I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow; but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.”
–Agatha Christie
I’ve been a great fan of Agatha Christie since I was a child. (Yes, I hung my Cabbage Patch Kids over the banister and filmed them with a betamax camera in my very own adaptation of And Then There Were None, circa 1986).
As an adult, I drifted away from Christie, but found her again at a difficult moment in my personal life. Her books were a good friend to me; easy to pick up and put down, surprising, witty, puzzling, fun, and most importantly, reliable. Christie makes a contract with her audience that by the end of her stories, the world that she has broken down into chaos, will be righted again into miraculous and meticulous order. At a difficult time, that reliable journey from chaos to order helped me to survive.
Christie wrote and published Ackroyd at what I imagine was a difficult moment in her personal life. In 1926, the year of Ackroyd’s publication, Christie’s mother had just died, her marriage was falling apart, and she was struggling under the weight of grief. In 1928, Christie will be a divorced single mother who makes her own living. In 1929, she will be able to vote in the “Flapper Election.” In the 1930’s, she will rise to prominence. And in our time, Christie will soar to iconic stature as “The Queen of Crime.”
But of course, as she is writing The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Agatha doesn’t know any of this. She is a 37-year-old mother, living in the suburbs, writing in her spare time, worrying over her cheating husband (who’s playing A LOT of golf),
mourning her mother’s passing, and wondering what could possibly be next. Who of us can’t empathize?
History and biography offer us a puzzle within a puzzle: where does Christie herself reside inside each of the characters in Ackroyd? How do the characters’ desires and fears mirror Christie’s own? What does she yearn for? What is the life that she feels she deserves? And what is she willing to do to get it? How does the nihilism at the center of the story; the foundational concept of the murder mystery genre that all of us are capable of taking a human life, manifest in Christie herself? Shame? Anger? Self-sabotage? What secrets does she hold? Which characters in Ackroyd are harboring the same kinds of secrets? And why does Christie make these stories? Satisfaction? Revenge? Fantasy? Who are these bold people who will stop at nothing to get what they want, as they carry their secrets through Victorian England and on into the Jazz Age? The speculative puzzle makes for a good time. (But maybe that’s just me, dangling my Cabbage Patch Kids over the banister). And let’s be honest, if we wonder these things about Agatha Christie, then don’t we actually wonder them about ourselves?
What I feel certain about is that at its core, Ackroyd is a novel about writing. And I feel certain that in a moment of personal distress and transition, Agatha chose to keep writing. She survived by storytelling.
In Ackroyd, Christie wrote a story about storytelling, from which we have made a play about playmaking. This is the string that connects us over almost a hundred years. Faced with a world teetering on the brink of potentially terrifying change, despite the temptation of despair, we choose to survive by storytelling. We are sharing a story about the indefatigable craving for life and the possibility that stories help us survive.
Whether you have come to the theater tonight for a good story, a puzzle, escape, comfort, or survival, I am honored to share this story with you.
– Heidi Armbruster
Playwright’s Bio
Heidi Armbruster
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: HVSF, Mrs. Christie: Theatreworks, Dorset Theatre Festival, Primary Stages (workshop), Orchard Project (residency). Dairyland: Playmakers Rep, Chautauqua, workshops at Playhouse on Park, Primary Stages, The Lark, Luna Stage. Scarecrow: Next Act, Weidner Center, Dorset Theatre Festival, Vermont Public Theater. Murder Girl: Forward Theatre Company (2024), TAP (2024), workshops at Page 73, Kansas City Rep. Heidi was a member of the Working Farm, Page 73, and Women Artists Writing. As an actress, Heidi has extensive theater, film, and TV credits.
artistic director
Davis McCallum
PRESENTS
BY THE QUEEN
by WHITNEY WHITE
directed by SHANA COOPER**
managing director Kendra Ekelund
An-lin Dauber+
Costume Designer
Carolina Ortiz+ Lighting Designer
Lee Kinney+ Sound Design and Composition
Buffy Cardoza Props Designer
Alithea Phillips Voice and Dialect Coach
Tiffany Rachelle Stewart Movement Director
Carman Lacivita Fight Choreographer
Janelle Caso*
Casting .
Production Stage Manager
. .Calleri Jensen Davis (James Calleri, Erica Jensen, Paul Davis)
Ligature Creative Key Art
This production is supported in part by
Robin and Ralph Arditi; Frederic C. Rich; Ned Whitney and Martha Howell
*Appearing through an Agreement between this theatre, HVSF, and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
+Represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829 of the IATSE.
**Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.
The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production and distributing recordings or streams in any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited.
“What does it take to survive? Everything. It takes everything.”
Experience Shakespeare’s story of the War of the Roses through the lens of Queen Margaret, the ultimate survivor in a country coming apart at the seams. Part disco party, part riotous post-mortem on a life lived to the fullest, By The Queen puts one brilliant woman at center stage, and the light and heat given off by her stories of resistance and resilience will make you want to call the queens in your own life — your mother, your grandmother, your sister, or your daughter — and ask, “What was it like for YOU?”
Cast
(alpha by last name)
Siena D’AddarioCC Understudy
Jacob Ming-Trent* Ensemble 5
Bobby Moreno* Ensemble 1
Luis Quintero* Ensemble 2
Travis Raeburn* Ensemble 4
Malika Samuel*
Stephen Michael Spencer*
Kevin Thrower
Sarin Monae West*
Nance Williamson*
Margaret 1
Ensemble 3
.Understudy
Margaret 2
Margaret 3
Director’s Note
“If some people forget their past as a way to survive, others remember it for the same reason.”
— Malidoma Patrice Somé, Of Water and the Spirit
In By the Queen, Whitney White’s love letter to the female self, an ensemble gathers to radically excavate the story of Queen Margaret of Anjou, an historical figure who was the unique woman who survived not just one but four of Shakespeare’s history plays. Given how most of those tragedies end, this is no small feat and a testament to the power of Margaret herself. By giving us three different Margarets, at three different moments in her life, we are all invited to see ourselves or the women in our lives as Margaret.
And while the War of the Roses might have taken a particular kind of strength, tenacity, and Will to survive, one could argue that Whitney’s question regarding female resilience “What does it take to survive?” remains the same today.
“Everything. It takes everything.”
As the world gets faster, the investigation of how and when we take the time to mine the wisdom of the survivors who came before as well as those who still walk among us becomes more urgent. In By the Queen Whitney invites us to reflect on all the surprising, irreverent, joyful, fierce stories that live locked inside the female bodies who surround us. How might we get curious and vulnerable enough to ask for these stories and more importantly listen to them before it’s too late? And how much fun and surprise might lie in store once we take that leap?
– Shana Cooper
Director’s Bio
Shana Cooper
Shana Cooper directed The Taming of the Shrew (NYTimes Critic’s Pick) at HVSF in 2018. Her directing credits include classics and new work across the country from New York (Julius Caesar at Theatre For A New Audience and the world premiere of Barbara Hammond’s Terra Firma Off-Broadway with The Coop) to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, most recently directing Paula Vogel’s Indecent. Other directing credits include regional productions at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The Old Globe, American Conservatory Theater, Yale Repertory Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, Court Theatre in Chicago, Studio Theater, Seattle Rep, California Shakespeare Theater, and Playmakers Repertory Company. Ms. Cooper is an assistant professor in Northwestern University’s Directing M.F.A. program where she serves as a faculty lead for The Rehearsal Dinner, NU’s Anti-Racism + DEI Initiative, a company member at Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington D.C. and has served as Associate Artistic Director of Cal Shakes (2000 to 2004) and Co-Founder of New Theater House (2008 to present). She received a 2014 Leadership U Grant, funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and administered by Theatre Communications Group; a 2010 Princess Grace Award; a Julian Milton Kaufman Memorial Prize from Yale School of Drama; and a Drama League Directing Fellowship. Ms. Cooper received her M.F.A. from Yale School of Drama. Upcoming projects include the world premiere of The Odyssey by Kate Hamill at A.R.T. shanacooper.com
Meet the Acting Company
Siena
D’Addariocc S he/her
Guitar (Medea), Understudy (Ackroyd), Understudy (Queen)
(in alphabetical order)
Siena D’Addario is an actor, writer, and producer. BFA: NYU Tisch (PHTS). Classical Training: RADA. Recent theatre: Much Ado About Nothing (HVSF), The Winter’s Tale (VSF), Sisters on the Ground (Clubbed Thumb). Recent film & VO: The Space Within starring Jessica Chastain (Audible Podcast), Semper Fi (Lionsgate), “Wild Fire” (AppleTV), K2 TOG (Short – Producer & Writer) 38 Official Selection’s and 12 Award Wins. Siena is thrilled to be under the tent with HVSF this summer after years of fan-girling over this beautiful company and place! @sienadaddario sienadaddario.com
Melissa Mahoney* S he/her
Bass (Medea) and Ursula, The Inspector, Agnes (Ackroyd)
Melissa is thrilled to be back for her third summer under the tent! HVSF: Love’s Labor’s Lost, Henry V, As You Like It, Measure for Measure, So Please You, The Sword in the Stone/The Tempest (Tour), and The Comedy of Errors (Tour). Off-Broadway & New York: Ivy & Bean: The Musical, The Pirate La Dee Da, This Girl Laughs… (Atlantic Theater Company), The Comedy of Errors (Smith Street Stage), and Boats And (Ars Nova). Regional: The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night (Shakespeare in the Square), and A Christmas Carol (Portland Playhouse). Melissa is also a teacher (Atlantic Acting School & NYU Tisch), a solo performer (Melissa Mahoney is a Robot), and a hospital clown with the Healthy Humor Red Nose Docs. BFA: NYU Tisch. melissamahoney.me
Mark Martin
Beatboxer (Medea)
Mark Martin celebrates and explores the middle ground between music and language, and how we communicate and connect with one another. From winning international beatbox battles to performing on Broadway and at Carnegie Hall, Martin is a passionate educator and the co-founder of The Academy of Noise; a beatbox, music, and leadership program presenting at institutions like Yale, Harvard, NYU, USC, and The New School. You can learn more by checking out his Tedx Talk “You’re a Beatboxer. Let Me Show You.” Linktr.ee/markmartincreative
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
CC Member of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival Conservatory Company
Sean McNall* he/him
Sheppard (Ackroyd)
Before joining HVSF’s administrative staff (Associate Artistic Director and Director of Education) in 2014, Sean spent 12 years as a member of The Pearl Theatre Resident Acting Company in New York City, where he appeared in over forty productions, receiving an OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance and a Drama Desk Award. His recent productions include Terrence McNally’s And Away We Go, Shaw’s You Never Can Tell, and Henry IV, Part One, directed by Davis McCallum. He and his wife, Abigail, have a wonderful son named Declan. Sean is a member of the Haldane School Board.
Jacob Ming-Trent*
Creon (Medea) and Ensemble 5 (Queen)
TV: “White Famous” on Showtime (series regular), “Watchmen” on HBO (series regular), “Ray Donovan” on Showtime (recurring), “Feed the Beast” on AMC (recurring), “Only Murders in the Building,” “WU-TANG: An American Saga,” “New Amsterdam,” “God Friended Me,” “High Maintenance,” and more. Film: Superfly, Forty-Year-Old Version, Snakes, R+J, Possession of Hannah Grace, The Bygone, Julie Taymour’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Shallow Tale of a Writer... starring Steve Buschemi, Friendship starring Paul Rudd and others. Broadway: Shrek the Musical (original cast) and Hands on a Hardbody (original cast). Off-Broadway: The Harder They Come (Public Theater, Lucille Lortel Nom, AUDELCO, Nom), Falstaff in Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare in the Park (Drama Desk Nom), Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night (Public Theater), Father Comes Home from the Wars (Public Theater, Lortel Award, AUDELCO Nom), Cymbeline and The Tempest (Public Theater), Mother Courage (Classic Stage Company), The Alchemist (Mammon at Red Bull Theater, Lortel Nomination), Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Theatre for a New Audience), Widowers’ Houses (Epic Theater Ensemble), and On the Levee (Lincoln Center Theater).
Bobby Moreno*
Ralph, Parker (Ackroyd) and Ensemble 1 (Queen)
Bobby Moreno was last seen in The Comeuppance at Signature Theatre. Other theater credits include 72 Miles to Go (Roundabout Theater Company), Lazarus (NYTW) Mankind and Grand Concourse (Playwrights Horizons), Fulfillment Center (MTC) Hand to God and Year of the Rooster (Ensemble Studio Theatre). Selected Film /TV: “Living With Yourself,” “High Maintenance,” “Bull,” “The Hot Zone.” A prolific emcee, his band’s debut album, We Are The US Open, is available to stream. He’ll release his solo album, Between You and Me this winter under his nom de plum, Ol’ Bob.
Luis Quintero*
Chorus Leader (Medea) and Ensemble 2 (Queen)
Luis Quintero is an actor, playwright, lyricist and composer hailing from Houston, Texas. As an actor he has performed at The Alley Theater, The Old Globe San Diego, Denver Center for Performing Arts, Two River Theater, Stages Repertory Theater and Fourth Wall Studios among others. This year will be his fifth year under the Tent at HVSF where is also making his professional playwriting debut with Medea: Re-Versed! Also, a teacher, Luis has been serving the community working with students from kindergarten to college. When he is not working in the theater, Luis enjoys surfing, cooking, and training in martial arts. He’d like to thank his mother, father and brother for their infinite support and would like to shout out all his artistic peers who challenge, inspire and encourage his contribution to the culture. BFA UNCSA 2016.
Travis Raeburn* he/him
Blunt, Hammond (Ackroyd) and Ensemble 4 (Queen)
Travis Raeburn was recently in the Packages O’ the Things We Deliver with The National Black Theatre. Some credits include Acting Company’s National Tour of Romeo & Juliet and Three Musketeers, MCC Theater’s Soft, WU-TANG: An American Saga, First Match, commercials for MasterCard USA, Xfinity, and Pop Tarts, and In the Southern Breeze at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Raeburn thanks his mother, grandmother, and family for their support. Along with acting, he is also a teaching artist serving predominantly students of color. His music is streaming on all platforms under TravRae. Black lives always will matter. Training: SUNY Purchase BFA Acting and LaGuardia Arts High School (Drama). Instagram @travierae
Kurt Rhoads*
Mssr. Detective, Mr. Ackroyd (Ackroyd)
This is Kurt’s 26th season at HVSF! Since last season he has performed in Love Letters (East Lynne Theatre Co.) and Munich Medea: Happy Family (Women’s Project/Playco). Broadway: Julius Caesar. Off Broadway: Off Peak (59E59 St Theatre); Fashions for Men (Mint Theatre); Othello, and The Good Natur’d Man (Pearl Theatre); The Case of Kaspar Mayer (Ubu Rep); Americana Absurdum (Present Company). Regional: Arena Stage: How I Learned to Drive, and Agamemnon and his Daughters. Everyman Theatre: Long Day’s Journey Into Night and Sweat. Old Globe: Fiction and Dinner with Friends Denver Center: Book of Will. 73 plays with his wife, Nance Williamson. Education: University of Chicago, DePaul University. Previous Agatha Christie plays: Sgt Trotter in The Mousetrap at Casa Manana and Lombard in Ten Little Indians at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
CC Member of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival Conservatory Company
Malika Samuel*
Flora, Miss Gannet (Ackroyd) and Margaret 1 (Queen)
Malika Samuel is an interdisciplinary storyteller with a career spanning over two decades in Broadway, Television, Film, and Stage. She is a faculty member and guest director at her alma mater, NYU Tisch, and has contributed movement direction for various NY Theater projects. She applies her experiences and proficiencies to medical/healthcare curricula and published research. Broadway: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (OBC), The Music Man NY Theater: Bite Me (WP and Colt Coeur) A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Double Feature), Bernarda’s Daughters (TNG/TNBT and TNG/Audible Theater), Crumbs from the Table of Joy (Keen), Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (WP), Once on This Island (OBC Reunion) TV: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, EVIL, Orange Is the New Black, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Chicago P.D., Law & Order: SVU, The Good Wife, Person of Interest, The Big C Hosting: Nick Studio 10, 2013 Kids’ Choice Awards Pre-Show, Kidz Bop Kidz Star USA Film: Holiday Rush, Submission, Central Park, Hello Apartment, Kilimanjaro.
Stephen Michael Spencer* he/him
Jason (Medea) and Ensemble 3 (Queen)
Broadway: Clyde’s (u/s performed). Off-Broadway: Bedlam (Theatre for a New Audience). Regional: four seasons as a company member at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, McCarter Theatre, The A.R.T., Arena Stage, The Rep. at St. Louis, Great Lakes Theatre, Idaho Shakespeare, Cleveland Play House, Triad Stage, Ensemble Theatre Co., and Chautauqua Theatre Co. International: The Heart of Robin Hood with Mirvish Productions in Canada. TV/ Film: “FBI: Most Wanted” (CBS) and This Wild Abyss (winner of best student short at Savannah Film Fest ‘22). Education: BFA UNC-Greensboro, MFA Case Western Reserve/Cleveland Play House. Stream “stephenspencer” original music on all platforms. @stephenmspencer | stephenmichaelspencer.com
Kevin Thrower
Understudy (Ackroyd) and Understudy (Queen)
Kevin Thrower is thrilled to be back with the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, this time joining them for his very first season under the tent! Other roles include Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing Tour (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival), Jesus in Godspell (Algonquin Arts Theatre), and Ben in Night of the Living Dead: The Musical (Exit 82 Theatre Company). Many thanks to all members of the company for their guidance and wisdom. Much love to Nicholetta and Oliver.
Sarin Monae West* they/them
Medea (Medea) and Margaret 2 (Queen) Sarin (Medea/Margaret 2) is so excited to debut in the tent playing such powerful women. Broadway: Skin of Our Teeth (Lincoln Center). Off-Broadway: Enemies (Epic Theater Ensemble), Merry Wives of Windsor (Shakespeare in the Park), and The Rat Trap (Mint Theater). Huge thank you to Whitney, Nathan, Lauran, Lauriana, CLA Partners, Mom & Dad. Catch Sarin on HBO (“And Just Like That,” “The Other Two”), CBS (“Equalizer”), Paramount (“Evil”). BFA: Oklahoma City University. MFA: NYU Grad Acting. @sarinmonae
Nance Williamson* S he/her
Caroline, Mrs. Ackroyd, Mrs. Ferris (Ackroyd) and Margaret 3 (Queen) Nance is so grateful to return to HVSF for a 23rd season having performed in 45 plays. This year Nance celebrates 40 years as a professional actress. Broadway: Henry IV, Romeo and Juliet, Cyrano de Bergerac, and Broken Glass Recent Off-Broadway: Off Peak, Cyrano de Bergerac, and Pride and Prejudice among others. Regional Theater: 120 plays. Movies and Television: “The Hating Game,” “Walking Dead: The World Beyond,” all the Law and Orders, and “The Good Wife”. Nance and her husband Kurt Rhoads have been married for 40 years performing in 73 plays together. Remembering Clairey and Jeanny.
The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival Conservatory Company is a performancebased training program for committed, early career actors considering joining Actors Equity Association, who have a passion for Shakespeare, and want to develop the skills necessary to create innovative, collaborative theater in extraordinary spaces. It’s an artistic home to train and take risks. Working alongside our nationally recognized acting company on and off stage, the actors we will invite into the program this season will be offered an unmatched opportunity to enter the profession.
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
CC Member of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival Conservatory Company
The Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail is a proposed 7.5-mile linear park along the Hudson River that is being designed to solve existing safety concerns around visitation, provide welcoming access to people of all abilities, restore and protect natural resources, and enhance quality of life in local communities.
Connecting the Village of Cold Spring and the City of Beacon, the Fjord Trail will be a resource for residents, distribute visitors across 7.5 miles of new trail via six main entry points, and keep pedestrians off neighborhood streets and dangerous Route 9D.
The Fjord Trail will provide and manage organized parking, sidewalks, public restrooms, and trash/recycling collection— meeting the needs of residents and visitors alike.
To learn more about the Fjord Trail, please visit hhft.org.
SEPT
Special Events
Made possible by Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area
Member Exclusives!
Season Opening Party
Saturday, June 29, 5:30 pm
Help us kick off the 2024 Season! Members of the Festival Circles program will enjoy pre-show wine, hors d’oeuvres, and more at The Valley Restaurant. To join visit hvshakespeare.org/support.
Midsummer Mingle
Saturday, July 27, 5:30 pm
Join your fellow members for a night of revelry as we celebrate another wonderful season of summer theater. Open to Festival Circles and Saints & Poets Members at the $500 level and up. Join now to receive your invitation to the party!
Closing Weekend Toast
Saturday, August 31, 5:30 pm
We hope you can join us to raise a glass of wine and toast another exciting summer season of theater. Festival Circles Members enjoy the chance to celebrate together one more time over drinks and light bites.
Experience new stories and old friends. Our popular new works series features brand new plays read by HVSF company members and other great actors. Catch these titles here before they hit stages in New York and across the country.
Out at the Tent
Sunday, June 23, 6:00 pm
Get to know local LGBTQIA+ organizations and enjoy a complimentary reception with drinks and light fare while you mix and mingle before the 7:30 pm performance of By The Queen.
Family Day
Saturday, July 20, 5:30 pm
Celebrate with a fun-filled family picnic on our beautiful grounds. Indulge in our delicious menu offerings or bring your own feast. Stay for the sunshine, or for the afternoon matinee performance!
Thursday Night Prologues
Thursdays, 6:15 pm June 13–August 29
Picnic? Check. Wine? Check. Insightful, behind-the-scenes commentary from industry experts? Check! Join us for engaging discussions about our productions, the theater industry, and the world at large. This program is free and available to all. Find the full list of speakers at hvshakespeare.org/prologue.
Aaron Posner
PERICLES
by William Shakespeare directed by Orlando Pabotoy
by
based on an old play by Anton Chekhov directed by Davis McCallum
Sunday Encores – Pizza Nights at Valley Restaurant
July 7 – September 1
5 pm curtains on Sunday means the show is done around 7:00 pm! To keep the party going, Valley Restaurant is open late on Sundays for post-show food & beverages with the HVSF acting company. Come meet your favorite performers, enjoy a great meal, and watch the sun set over the Hudson River from the outdoor deck.
Enhanced Performances
Open-Captioned Performances
Monday, August 19 – Ackroyd
Wednesday, August 21 – By The Queen Thursday, August 22 – Medea: Re-Versed
American Sign Language-Interpreted Performances
Thursday July 18 – Ackroyd
Monday July 29 – By The Queen Sunday August 4 – Medea: Re-Versed
We strive to make our performances and facilities accessible. For additional information, questions, or if you need assistance, please call the box office at 845.265.9575.
Relaxed Performances
July 20 and August 31
Relaxed performances offer a more accommodating atmosphere, and are tailored especially for individuals with learning disabilities, autism, or those who simply prefer a less formal environmenwt. During these performances, thoughtful adjustments to the show’s elements may be made in consideration of the audience’s needs.
Neighborhood Nights
We know that what makes the Hudson Valley so special is the people who live here. Our neighborhood nights welcome our diverse, vibrant, and creative community, across every county in this region and on both sides of this river.
Save 15% when you purchase full-price tickets for specific dates with a local zip code on file.
Discounts will automatically apply online at checkout once you are logged in. Proof of residency is required.
Putnam & Dutchess Counties:
July 5, 22, 24 | Aug 9, 26
Westchester County:
July 8, 17, 19 | Aug 7, 30
Ulster & Orange Counties
July 10, 15, 26 | Aug 2, 23
Rockland & Bergen Counties
July 12, 29 | Aug 2, 14, 30
Annual Gala | October 13 at 4:45 pm
Join us at The Garrison to celebrate and support our mission and programs with cocktails, dinner, a live auction, and performance highlights under the stars! The Annual Gala is our primary fundraising event. It’s a festive way to toast the 2024 season, and get a sneak peek of what’s to come in 2025!
We can’t do this without you. We look forward to raising a glass together to support the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival.
Education
At HVSF, Shakespeare is not merely a static text from long ago and far away, but a dynamic and present-tense experience of shared discovery and active play. We firmly believe that Shakespeare’s plays continue to resonate with our world today, and our programs empower students to discover elements of their own lived experiences reflected in Shakespeare’s language, stories, and characters.
15
In-School Performances of Much Ado About Nothing. Youth served through in-school education and summer outreach programs through the tri-state region. of students show more confidence speaking in front of peers after participating in our programs.
Major
15,000 85% of our summer audience use our youth, senior, military, and veteran ticket discounts. 25%
support for Education Programs at HVSF provided by THE LOUISE ESTE BRUCE FOUNDATION SHS FOUNDATION
Support for Education programs at HVSF are provided by
The Thomas and Agnes Carvel Foundation, Crosswicks Foundation Ltd., Ann and Abe Effron Donor Advised Fund of the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley, The Michael Tuch Foundation, Peckham Family Foundation, Putnam Arts Council.
Much Ado About Nothing Spring Educational Tour (2024)
About
Founded in 1987, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (HVSF) is a critically acclaimed, professional, non-profit theater company. The Festival has established a reputation for lucid, engaging, and highly inventive productions staged in rotating repertory under an iconic, open-air theater tent.
Core Values
Mission
Rooted in the landscape of the Hudson Valley, with the plays of William Shakespeare as our touchstone, HVSF engages the widest possible audience in a theatrical celebration of our shared humanity.
Vision
We are a classical repertory theater that embraces the present moment, and our work springs from the most essential of elements — actor, audience, language, and landscape. As both a local community hub and a national arts destination, we foster meaningful human connections at the convergence of nature and culture.
As a 501(c)3 not for profit organization and a public trust, our theater belongs to you.
Our Future
For over 35 years, the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival has been a beacon of creativity and inspiration, enchanting audiences of all ages and backgrounds with the magic of live theater.
Today, we stand on the brink of a new era that will forever change the landscape of American theater. Thanks to the incredible generosity of philanthropist Chris Davis, we have been gifted with our first-ever permanent home on 98 acres of stunning land in the heart of the Hudson Highlands, where you may have picnicked today. With the visionary expertise of architect Jeanne Gang, we are breaking ground this summer on a permanent open-air theater that will be the first LEED Platinum purpose built theater in the nation, and a model for environmental sustainability and design innovation.
Our ambition is to create one of the most extraordinary open-air theaters in the world, nestled in one of the most beautiful and important landscapes in America. We are committed to making this experience accessible to everyone. We are designing the campus and its structures as models of inclusivity and accessibility, with a deep institutional commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
To learn more about our plans visit hvshakespeare.org/newhome
Sustainability
“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”
We are grateful for the many gifts we’ve been given; a new home and the opportunity to use our mission, programming and operations in deep and meaningful ways to actively pursue climate leadership. We aim to be the greenest theater in the country, and serve as a national model for environmental sustainability in the performing arts. We have committed to building a certified LEED Platinum theater, the first in the nation, and have set the ambitious target of being a completely carbon neutral campus by 2040.
Our sustainability planning effort examines our campus operation through five lenses: land, water, energy, materials, and community.
We have assembled a sustainability task force made up of Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival staff and board members, and members of the community with a breadth of knowledge and experience in sustainability. The Sustainability task force is engaged in both short-term and long-term planning for sustainability at the festival, ranging from researching clean energy options to rethinking food service to reduce food miles and packaging waste.
This Season:
• We’re working to make our picnics more sustainable, transitioning to reusable bags, cutlery, and containers.
• Bring your own cup! Our concessions staff are prepared to serve your drink purchased at concessions in a cup of your choice from home.
• Please sort your waste! We have compost pickup — help us avoid contamination and put any picnic or concession scraps in the correct bin.
• We have engaged an emissions reduction consultant to track our course to a carbon neutral campus by 2040.
Nature is our stage, so we’re going to treat it right, and ensure that it lasts for generations to come. If you would like to learn more or volunteer with HVSF Sustainability initiatives please contact Lana Russell at lrussell@hvshakespeare.org
HVSF would like to thank Sustainability Task Force Members
Sandra Goldmark
Davis McCallum
Kendra Ekelund
Lana Russell
Fred Rich
Nora McNally-Reif
Krystal Ford
Erik Brown
Kale Roberts
William Nesbitt
Toshi Yano
Elli Hobson
Adam Cardonell
Seth Knapp
Marti Ajello
How To Support HVSF
Whether you have been a fan since the very beginning, or only recently discovered HVSF, whether you come to us from a neighboring state, just across the River, or from around the world, we are so pleased that you have decided to join us this summer. This is our 37th season and our third on site at our new and permanent home. We hope you will consider supporting our theater by making a donation that helps us to provide exceptional plays, education programs, and community initiatives for our audiences.
Did you know that our ticket sales only cover about 40% of our total costs? That means that we need your help more than ever to keep our theater strong for generations to come...We simply cannot do it without you!
When you give, your gift supports HVSF in the following ways:
• $1,000 helps HVSF to support our Conservatory Company actors, increasing their participation
• $750 underwrites our traveling Shakespeare school tour productions, helping to bring plays to more local and regional schools
• $500 allows HVSF to purchase essential costumes and materials for our plays
• $150 subsidizes one child to participate in our in-school theater workshops
Become a Member Today
There are lots of reasons to become a member at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, and we hope you will consider joining or increasing your membership level this season. With membership, wonderful benefits will help you to enjoy the summer theater season even more, and all while you are supporting theater in the Hudson Valley!
With a fully tax-deductible annual gift of $100–$1,499, gain access to:
• Advance Ticketing
• Free Exchanges
• Complimentary Drink Tickets
• Seat Upgrades and more!
Your generous investment of $1,500 or more is rewarded with the finest service we have to offer! Benefits include:
• Complimentary House Seats and Advance Ticketing Concierge Service
• Free Ticket Exchanges
• Invitations to Events and Opening Nights
• Access and Insight into the Creative Process
Annually, tens of thousands of people attend HVSF’s summer plays and performances, as well as our year-round education programs and a wide range of community offerings. We are so proud to reach diverse audiences, students, teachers, neighbors, and families, and it’s in large part thanks to your generosity.
Questions? Contact Semra Ercin, Director of Development, at 845-809-4339 or sercin@hvshakespeare.org.
Supporters
Heroes Circle
$50,000+
The Appleby Foundation, in memory of Sheila Allen Colby
The John and Rosemary Brown
Family Foundation
The Louise Este Bruce Foundation
Richard Feldman, SHS Foundation
The Shubert Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts
Artistic Director’s Circle
$25,000–49,999
Anonymous (1)
Robin and Ralph Arditi
Pepper Evans and Bob Lieber
Steven L. Holley
Derrick and Heather Hopkins
Dan Kramer and Judy Mogul
Chip Loewenson and Susan Brune
K. Ann McDonald
The New York State Council on the Arts
Frederic C. Rich
Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest
The Educational Foundation of America
Byron and Siew Thye Stinson
Westchester Community Foundation
Ned Whitney and Martha Howell
Laura Jean Wilson and Mark Menting
Producers Circle
$15,000–24,999
Anonymous (1)
Libby Anderson and Joseph C. Mahon
Mary Elizabeth and Jeffrey Bunzel
Marie E. Fabian and Genie CesarFabian
Friedrike Merck
HVSF gratefully acknowledges the following generous donors to the 2024 Season (gifts from May 1, 2023 to May 1, 2024).
Rod and Christine Patton
Drs. Elliott and Anne Sumers
Insiders Circle
$10,000–14,999
Marie Alpert
The Thomas and Agnes Carvel Foundation
Natalie Fishman
Jay Francis and Elizabeth Bradford
William and Lucy Friedman
Patricia King
Deborah McManus
James Stanford and Kate Farrell Stanford
Opening Night Circle
$5,000–9,999
Anonymous (2)
Nan H. Altmayer Charitable Trust
Raoul Bhavnani
Christopher Buck and Dr. Hara Schwartz
Helen and Ted Buerger
Crosswicks Foundation
Linda Findley and Mike Effle
Tanya E. Friedman
Greenway Heritage Conservancy
HRV, Inc.
David Goldberg and Wesley Weissberg
Nick Groombridge
Hudson Valley Credit Union
Greg Lozier and Meg Armstrong
M&T Charitable Foundation
Sheila and Marty Major
Doris and David May
Colin McKenna and Molly Smith Metzler
The Peckham Family Foundation
Matthew Quigley
Kathleen and Michael Schoen
Theatre Development Fund
Angela and Tyson ThompsonTinsley
Michael Tuch Foundation
Martha Upton and Peter Davis
Ken Vittor and Judith Aisen
Wong Family Foundation
Lloyd and Lisa Zeiderman
National Endowment for the Humanities/Humanities New York
Actors Circle
$2,500–4,999
Rachel Bernstein and Alan Milton
Luis Castro
Anne Champion
Mary Beth Cresci
Elizabeth and Irv Flinn
Jim and Theresa Kilman
Marit Kulleseid
Doug Land and Lynn Peebles
David and Catherine Lilburne
Michael McKee and Christine Foertsch
Richard Menaker
Belle and Blake Newton
Ru and Sheila Rauch
Cornelia Small
Andrea P. Wood
Tent Raisers Circle
$1,500–2,499
Jonathan Bank
John Beurket
Ellen Blackler
Douglas and Samara Braunstein
Mimi Brown
The Bye Family
Joseph T. Conklin and Rita Kilduff
James and Carolyn Copeland
T. Jefferson Cunningham III
Prof. Patrick Driscoll and Ms. Marie Samples
EASTER Foundation/Anne and Fred Osborn III
Shari and Ken Eberts
Anne and Abe Effron Donor
Advised Fund of the Community Foundation of the Hudson Valley
Pamela and Ray Endreny
If you would like to join our growing family of supporters, please contact Semra Ercin, Director of Development, at 845-809-4339 or sercin@hvshakespeare.org
Matt and Kelly Fairweather
Krystal and Darien Ford
Phoebe Geer and Dr. Matt
Speiser
Bruce and Diana Geller
Gilbert Giannini and Lily Paris
Sandra Goldmark
Eva Marie Graham
John T. Graham
Meg Helmreich
Kirby Family Foundation
Betty and Arthur Kowaloff
Rocco and Debby Landesman
Karin and Al Lemke
Roger and Susan Lipsey
Clara and Bevis Longstreth
Judith and George Lowry
John Mahedy
Carol Marquand and Stan Freilich
James Menick and Liz Pereira
William G. Nesbitt and Marie
Michelle DeSavigny
Francis Parr and Sakiko FukudaParr
Carrie Preston and Michael Emerson
Jay Saunders and Betsey NevinsSaunders
Martha and Philip Scott
Scott and Tinka Shaw
Betsy and John Simons
Connie Steensma and Richard Prins
Dr. Susan Stewart
Pat Truscelli and Bud Ellisi
Daphne Uviller
Terry Young
Saints & Poets Society
$500–1,499
Anonymous (2)
Sebastian T Abbot
Cynthia M. Ashworth
Sarah and Douglas Banker
Sarah Bayne and Gilman Burke
Dr. and Mrs. Francis Belloni
Mary A Benjamin
Ethan Berman and Fiona Hollands
Nancy and Tom Berner
Royd Bjornoy and Joy Plaisted
Chris Bockelmann and Floyd Norris
Dick Bradford
Bethany Goldpaugh Brown
Elizabeth Bryson
Robert Calderisi
Andrew Chmar and Gayle Watkins
John and Maureen Clancy
Robert Cutler
Laura Dower
Dorothy Dunn and Steve
Brosnahan
Stefano Ferrari
Eli and Laura Fishman
FJC A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds
Franklin Cole Foundation
Bill and Anna Gannett
Libbie F. Gerry
Linda Gerstel and Ed Joyce
John Ham
Andrew D. Hamingson and Sarah McLellan
Jessica and Matt Harris
Philip and Ellen Heidelberger
Michele Hilmes and Bruce Croushore
Lawrence Hirschhorn
Jewish Communal Fund
Kurt Knight
Emily and George Lansbury
Candace Latham
Michael and Jenna Lebowich
Juhee Lee-Hartford and James Hartford
Arthur Lowenstein and Ann Patton
John and Karen Magerlein
Mr. and Mrs. William McCabe
Sean Meehan
Margaret and James Nicholls
Kevin and Hedi O’Connor
Mark O’Donnell and Max Araujo
Orentreich Family Foundation
Don and Sarah Patterson
Pepsi Cola of the Hudson Valley
Nat and Anita Prentice
Putnam Arts Council
Hon. Jed S. and Dr. Ann R. Rakoff
Kamakshi Rao and Maneesh Deshpande
Denise Rempe and Mark L. Wilson
Drs. Cynthia and William Roberts
Christopher and Mary Ann Robinson
Hon. and Mrs. Albert M. Rosenblatt
Sarit Roy
Tatiana Serafin and Mick Kalishman
Dr. Nina Shoulberg and Michael Schilsky
Leigh Seippel
Paul Serritella
Maria and Brian Shydlo
Anne Sidamon-Eristoff
Jodie Staton
The Stebbins Fund, Inc.
Adam Stolorow
Michael and Kathleen Stringer
Bente Strong
Tim and Carolyn Tenney
David and Carol Trower
Ellen P. Wales
James M. Walsh Jr. and Brigitte Walsh
Lauri Washington-Sawyer
Mr. Stanley J. and Mrs. Laura G. Wiegand
Saints & Poets Society
$100–499
The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival receives many donations under $500, which we gratefully acknowledge. All gifts to HVSF are extremely appreciated and are essential to our theater in helping us to support artists and to present exceptional plays for generations to come. Thank you for your support!
Powerhouse performances, robust education productions and workshops, community events and humanities initiatives, nature and art, together for generations to come.
When you include the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in your estate plans, you join a generous group of supporters who safeguard the HVSF experience for future audiences. If HVSF has made a difference to you and your family, we hope you will consider remembering the Festival in your estate plans.
“No
— William Shakespeare All’s Well That Ends Well, Act III, Scene V
HVSF Administration
Davis McCallum Artistic Director
Kendra Ekelund ............................................ Managing Director
(in alphabetical order by last name)
Semra Ercin Director of Develpmoent
Elli Hobson Director of Marketing and Communications
Sean McNall Associate Artistic Director and Director of Education
Nora McNally-Reif Director of Production
Yolanda Medina Finance Associate
Julia Ohara ......................................................... Executive Assistant
Samir Patel ...................................................... Development Manager
Linda Patterson
Lana Russell .
Karen Simonson.
Creative Teams
Medea: Re-Versed
Buffy Cardoza Props Design
Mark Martin Music Director
Carolina Ortiz
Lighting Design
Matt Otto Sound Design & Composition
Alithea Phillips Voice & Dialect Coach
Luis Quintero Playwright
Nicole Wee
Costume Design
Nathan Winklestein Director
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Heidi Armbruster Playwright
Lucrecia Briceño
Lighting Design
Buffy Cardoza Props Design
Charlotte Palmer Lane Costume Design
Susannah Millonzi Movement Director
Matt Otto
Sound Design & Composition
Alithea Phillips Voice & Dialect Coach
Ryan Quinn Director
Daniel Vaughn Stage Manager
Controller
General Manager
Director of Finance
(in alphabetical order by last name)
By the Queen
Buffy Cardoza Props Design
Shana Cooper Director
An-lin Dauber
Costume Design
Lee Kinney Sound Design & Composition
Carman Lacivita Fight Choreography
Carolina Ortiz
Lighting Design
Alithea Phillips Voice & Dialect Coach
Tiffany Rachelle Stewart Movement Director
Whitney White Playwright
(in
Production Staff
Anastasia Blanchet
Costume Assistant (Ackroyd)
Kiana Duggan-Haas
Costume Assistant (Queen)
Issa Kamara
Sound Supervisor
Daniel Mackle
Lighting Programmer
Lorelei McCarthy
Production Management Assistant
Nora McNally-Reif Director of Production
Daniel J. Mullins
Lighting Director
Charlotte Palmer-Lane
Costume Shop Manager
Jack Richards
Assistant Wardrobe Supervisor
Andrew Rovner
Audio Director & Audio Rep Plot
Designer
Aidain Sartori
Assistant Production Electrician
Savanna Starks
Sound Assistant
Claudia Stefany
Wardrobe Supervisor
Elise Tuckwood
Deck Carpenter
Madeline Webb
Lighting Assistant
Maggie Young
Costume Assistant (Medea)
Cassandra E. Zeugin
Interim Production Manager /
Lighting Supervisor
Press Representatives
Print Shop PR
Matt Ross
Liz Lombardi
Sarah Sgro
Load in Crew
Josh Foreman
Tent Facilities Manager
Ben Arsenault
Zoe Bararsh
Jack Bebinger
Alex Brock
Aaron Conover
Frederick Czaszar
Nikeem DeLeon
Jesse Dewane
Emily Darone
Will DeJianne
Mark Firestone
Dale Gibbons
Jamie Johnson
Kyle Kobetitsch
James Latzel
Joseph Lutsky
Daniel Mackle
James Merritt
Emmanuel Nobel
Noah Phillips
Chiara Pizzirusso
Michael Roche
Aidan Sartori
Chloe Schweizer
Emma Sheehan
Anthony Thorn
Adam Williams
Facilitators
Alejandro Rodriguez
Melle Powers
Stage Management
Janelle Caso
Festival Stage Manager / Production Stage Manager (Medea) and (Queen)
Daniel Vaughn
Production Stage Manager (Ackroyd) / Assistant Stage Manager (Queen)
Mary Ruth “MR” Knackstedt
Assistant Stage Manager (Ackroyd) and (Queen)
Kelsea Sibold
Production Assistant
Company Management
Alexandra Lombardo Department Assistant
Eleanor O’Meara Company Manager
Meg Plunkett
Assistant Company Manager
Front-of-House
Luca Vladimiroff
Box office and Customer Service Manager
Patrice Hatch Assistant Box Office Manager
Tyler Larson
Theater Operations Manager
And a big thank you to our Front-of-House Team!
Casting
Calleri Jensen Davis
James Calleri
Erica Jensen
Paul Davis
Meet the Hudson Valley Team
HVSF Leadership
Davis McCallum he / him
Artistic Director
Davis is in his tenth season as HVSF’s Artistic Director, and is honored to lead the company alongside Managing Director Kendra Ekelund. Under McCallum’s leadership, HVSF established HVStories, a multi-year exploration of the people, history, and culture of the Hudson Valley, and Full Circle, a community engagement program inspired by 2016’s citizen-driven production of Our Town. For HVSF, he has directed productions of Henry V, Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play, Cymbeline, Richard II, The Winter’s Tale, Measure for Measure, and the rolling world premiere of Lauren Gunderson’s The Book of Will. Notable productions in New York include Greater Clements (LCT), Lewiston/Clarkston (Rattlestick – Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), The Harvest (LCT3); Stupid Fucking Bird (Pearl), Fashions for Men and London Wall (Mint – Drama Desk and Lortel nomination for Best Revival); The Whale (Lortel Award for Best Play, and Calloway nomination for Best Director) and Pocatello (Playwrights Horizons); Water by the Spoonful (Second Stage – Pulitzer Prize for Drama); and February House (The Public). Other NYC credits include Signature Theatre, The Acting Company, 13P, Clubbed Thumb, Play Company, Page 73, and the New Victory. Regional credits include the Denver Center, Dallas Theater Center, South Coast Rep, Old Globe, Guthrie, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the O’Neill, American Shakespeare Center, Williamstown, Humana Festival, others. A graduate of Princeton, he studied Shakespeare at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and trained as a director at LAMDA. He has taught acting and directing at Princeton and The New School for Drama. He lives in Cold Spring, and is the father of two teenage sons, Thomas and Angus.
Kendra Ekelund S he / her Managing Director
Entering her second season at HVSF, Kendra is passionate about the power of the arts to foster and enrich inclusive and creative communities, and is committed to advancing environmental, human, and financial sustainability in the performing arts. Kendra previously served as the General Manager of the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, NY, overseeing financial management, operations, human resources, systems and technologies, and leading the organization’s capital projects planning. During that time, the Jacob Burns Film Center welcomed over 200,000 visitors annually, expanded their theater facility from three to five cinemas, and strategically enhanced approaches to customer service and visitor experience over several years. Kendra has also previously worked in casting and talent management for New York based theater, film, and television projects. Kendra holds a BFA in Drama from Syracuse University, and a certificate in Arts Management from SUNY Purchase. She is a lower Hudson Valley native hailing from Ossining, a community which nurtured her love for and commitment to the arts which make the Hudson Valley a great place to live. She lives in the village of Cold Spring with her family.
Terrence O'Brien
Founding Artistic Director
Terrence O'Brien co-founded HVSF with actress Melissa Stern in 1987, and for 27 years, O'Brien was HVSF's artistic leader. During that time, he directed more than 30 of HVSF's productions, garnered significant critical acclaim in major press nationally, and built a very loyal audience who enthusiastically returned to our tent theater year after year. He co-authored, with Stern, HVSF's original Statement of Purpose, he developed and evolved HVSF's signature performance style, and he remains deeply dedicated to the idea that Shakespeare's plays can be made accessible without sacrificing any of their depth and integrity. O'Brien was instrumental in developing the design of the HVSF tent theater and in integrating HVSF's acting style with the theater space. Over several years he developed an informal company of actors and artists, many of whom have developed lasting friendships, marriages, and in some cases, have had children. He performed his original one-man play, Popular Mechanics, for Bedlam in New York City, in Garrison, and in Gainesville, GA. Last May, he directed a cast of prisoners in his own adaptation of On The Waterfront at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. He is currently adapting Investigating Sex into a theatre piece, and he'll be doing studio work on that project at the Baryshnikov Arts Center this summer. O'Brien is the director of the New World Shakespeare Lab in New York City, a group that seeks to evolve a more spontaneous style of acting Shakespeare. He and his wife, Jane Praeger, live in Manhattan with their daughter, Jenne, and son, Leo.
HVSF Team
Lucrecia Briceño S he / her
Lighting Designer (Ackroyd)
Lucrecia Briceno is a Peruvian artist currently based in Brooklyn. Much of her work has been associated with artists developing innovative and original pieces. Her work includes theatre, opera, puppetry & dance, and collaborations in several non-performance projects. She is an associate artist with The Civilians, coartistic director of Anonymous Ensemble, and resident designer with Pregones Theatre/ PRTT and La Micro; she has also been a guest artist/lecturer at NYU, Princeton University, Hunter College, the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and JMU. MFA: NYU Tisch School of the Arts USA829
Buffy Cardoza
Props Designer (Medea, Ackroyd, Queen)
Off Broadway: The Good John Proctor (Henry Hewes Design Nomination), Fall River Fishing, Arcadia, Daniel’s Husband, Drinks With Dead Poets, Crime and Punishment, SMALL, After, Small World, Sabbath Girl. Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival: Love’s Labors Lost, Henry V, Penelope, Much Ado About Nothing, By The Queen, Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Medea (co-production with RedBull/Bedlam), Rip Van Winkle
Penguin Rep Theatre: Gene and Gilda, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Mr. Parker, You and I, Let There Be Love and many more. Phoenix Theatre Ensemble: Wind In The Willows, Metamorphosis. Buffy is the Festival Production Manager and Props Designer for 2022, 2023, 2024 Phoenix Live Arts Festival. (in alphabetical order by last name)
Janelle Caso S he / her
Festival Stage Manager and Production Stage Manager (Medea, Queen)
HVSF: Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play; Romeo & Juliet; The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington; Into the Woods; Cyrano The Public Theatre: Manahatta, Public Works’ The Tempest, ShadowLand, Plays For The Plague Year, Cullud Wattah, The Line, Shipwreck, Romeo y Julieta, Coal Country, Wild Goose Dreams, Mobile Unit’s The Tempest, Mlima’s Tale, Oedipus El Rey, Los Desdichados Broadway: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Noises Off Regional: Frost/Nixon, Hurlyburly, Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy, Columbia University MFA in Stage Management.
An-lin Dauber S he / her Costume Designer (Queen)
An-lin Dauber is a set and costume designer based in New York and Seattle. New York: Paul Swan is Dead and Gone; What You Are Now (The Civilians), Letters That You Will Not Get (American Opera Project), H*tler’s Tasters (New Light Theater), Salesman (Yangtze Repertory Company). Company member of The Feast, a Seattle based theatre that builds maximalist, collectivist, welcoming events. Assistant Professor of Costume Design at the University of Washington. MFA Yale School of Drama. anlindauber.com.
Kiana Duggan-Haas S he / her Costume Assistant (Queen)
Kiana Duggan-Haas is a costumer, actor, and creative originally from WNY currently based in New Paltz. She holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts and Linguistics from SUNY New Paltz, and a love for Shakespeare from her nerdy upbringing. Some favorite past productions include: As You Like It, The Wolves, Pages From a Love Manifesto and Everybody at SUNY New Paltz, Shakespeare & Love at Shakespeare in Delaware Park, Sive at Irish Classical Theatre Company, and Performing Art with the Hudson Valley Performing Arts Laboratory.
Semra
Ercin S he / her Director of Development
Semra Ercin joined HVSF in 2021, moving to the Hudson Valley after over 20 years in New York City. As the Director of Development, she is responsible for planning and executing HVSF’s individual, institutional, corporate, and government fundraising initiatives, as well as cultivation events and strategic partnerships. She brings over 15 years of experience in non-profit arts and cultural fundraising, administration, and event planning from organizations such as Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn Music School, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Princeton Club of New York, among others.
Patrice
Hatch
Assistant Box Office Manager
Patrice is very excited to be back at HVSF for her third season! Patrice has previously volunteered for numerous positions, including box office, at Pinewood School of Dance, where her three daughters all danced. She lives in Stormville with her husband and their bunny, Pancake.
Elli Hobson S he / her Marketing and Communications
Elli returns to HVSF for the 2024 season having thoroughly enjoyed a Marketing Internship with us in 2019. Elli is passionate about watching short funny videos on her cell phone and traveling the world in search of Earth’s best candy. She proudly worked on the ‘Be An Arts Hero’ national campaign and raised money for various mutual aid funds by producing digital theater beginning in 2020. Elli has a BFA in Theatre Arts (Oregon Center for the Arts) and a minor in Business Administration from Southern Oregon University.
Issa Kamara he / him
Sound Supervisor
Issa Kamara is an audio engineer for live performance, musician and music producer. His engineering work has been heard at New World Stages and El Museo Del Barrio among other venues. Issa studied sound at the Institue of Audio Research and holds a BA in Communications from St John’s. Book.AudioEngineer.Expert
Lee Kinney he / him
Sound Design & Composition (Queen)
Lee Kinney is a sound and music artist for theatre, film, events. Broadway: Is This A Room. Off-Broadway: You Will Get Sick, Exception To The Rule (Roundabout); Help (The Shed); Prayer For The French Republic, Morning Sun (MTC); Selling Kabul (Playwrights Horizons); “Daddy” (New Group/Vineyard); Thom Pain (Signature); Gnit (Theatre for a New Audience). Other projects include work with Rolex, Almeida Theatre, Google, Virgin Voyages. Outer Critics Circle Honors for Outstanding Sound Design. Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk, and Henry Hewes nominations. thanks to Kris. @thisisleekinney
Mary Ruth “MR” Knackstedt they / S he Assistant Stage Manager (Ackroyd, Queen)
MR is excited to be working with HVSF for the first time! They’re proud to be an AEA stage manager; select regional credits include: Mountain Octopus and Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Creede Rep), The Gin Game, A Sherlock Carol, And Then There Were None (Florida Rep), Into the Woods, Trouble In Mind, Our Town/Nuestro Pueblo, and Cake Ladies Public Works: As You Like It (Dallas Theater Center), Big Scary Animals (T3), If Pretty Hurts (Jubilee Theatre), and 10 Seconds (Dallas Children’s Theater). maryruthknackstedt.com
Carman Lacivita
Fight Director (Queen)
Broadway: Cyrano De Bergerac-Assistant Fight Choreographer. Off-Broadway: Terra Firma (The Coop w/ Shana Cooper), The Last Seder (The Mint), One for the Road (Drama League) Leonce and Lena (The Connelly) Regional: Romeo & Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare), The Tempest (Bermuda Arts Festival), 1001 (CATF) The Understudy (Amphibian Stage). Film: Advent (short) New Book Press; Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. MFA Rutgers University, BFA Texas Christian University. Williamson Movement Technique Instructor. Love to Tony.
Tyler Larson he / him Theater Operations Manager
Alex Lombardo S he / her Department Assistant to Management
Alex is so excited to be Department Assistant to the Company Management team for her first season with HVSF! 2023 Graduate of SUNY New Paltz BA in Theatre Studies. Previous work includes: Princeton Festival, Royal Family Productions, LIVE! from NYPL. Big thanks to family and friends for all the love and support :-)
Lorelei McCarthy they / S he Production Management Assistant
Lorelei McCarthy is a student at Oberlin College, studying theatre and economics. This is their third summer working at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. Recent stage management work includes an original musical, All in Your Mind (Oberlin Student Theatre Association) and Pipeline (Oberlin Theatre Department).
Sean McNall he / him Associate Artistic Director and Director of Education
Before joining HVSF’s administrative staff in 2014, Sean spent 12 years as a member of The Pearl Theatre Resident Acting Company in New York City, where he appeared in over forty productions, receiving an OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance and a Drama Desk Award. His recent productions include Terrence McNally’s And Away We Go, Shaw’s You Never Can Tell, and Henry IV, Part One, directed by Davis McCallum. He and his wife, Abigail, have a wonderful son named Declan. Sean is a member of the Haldane School Board.
Mark Martin
Music Director (Medea)
Mark Martin celebrates and explores the middle ground between music and language, and how we communicate and connect with one another. From winning international beatbox battles to performing on Broadway and Carnegie Hall, Martin is a passionate educator, and cofounder of The Academy of Noise, a beatbox, music, and leadership program, presenting at institutions like Yale, Harvard, NYU, USC, and The New School. You can learn more by checking out his Tedx Talk “You’re a Beatboxer. Let Me Show You.”
Yolanda Medina
Finance Associate
Yolanda is currently celebrating her 2nd year under the tent. She graduated from Lehman College with a BS in Accounting and from Hostos Community College with an AAS in Accounting. She has held positions as a Staff Accountant at HH Brown Shoe Company, Accounting Manager at Structural Contracting Services Inc and Assistant Controller at Atlantic Westchester Inc. After being involved in finance for commerce and construction she is thrilled to apply her financial background in the not for profit sector. She has a daughter Sophia, who is heavily involved in the art of dance.
Susannah Millonzi S he / her
Movement Director (Ackroyd)
Susannah is thrilled to return to HVSF after working on Henry V last season. Actor credits include Bedlam: Fall River Fishing, Hedda Gabler, The Crucible (Drama League nom. Distinguished Performance), Uncle Romeo Vanya Juliet, Peter Pan, New York Animals (WSJ Performance of the Year), Dead Dog Park, and Twelfth Night(s); Classic Stage Company: Prometheus Bound (w/ David Oyelowo); David Neumann/Advanced Beginner Group: tough, the tough, 21st Annual Bessie Awards; Clubbed Thumb: Pageant; Regional: HVSF, Shakespeare & Company, Seattle Shakespeare Company (Footlight Award: Best Actor), Georgia Shakespeare Festival, and Orlando Shakespeare Company. Choreographer credits: Bedlam, American Academy of Dramatic Art, HVSF, Orlando Shakespeare Company and Esperance For my mom and dancing babuhs.
Daniel J. Mullins he / him Lighting Director
Dan is pleased to be returning for another season under the tent. When he’s not at HVSF, Dan is the Lighting & Sound Supervisor for Manhattan Theatre Club Stage I & II, as well as other projects in NYC. Dan enjoys spending his time off with his wife and children, Katy, Lucy, and Oliver.
Eleanor O’Meara S he / her Company Manager
This is Eleanor’s first time in the Hudson Valley with HVSF and is so excited to be a part of this wonderful, creative community. She is an actor, intimacy director, and company manager based in NYC. Thanks to my family, and Erik for all of the love and support!
Julia Ohara S he / her Executive Assistant
Julia Ohara is thrilled to be spending her second season under the tent with the HVSF company and patrons. She has been working in non-profit arts and education for ten years, with her most recent role as the A/V Department Assistant at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies. Julia lives her life guided by creativity, sustainability, embodied play, and collaborative endeavors. Outside of HVSF, you can find her alchemizing with foraged materials, rock climbing, or reading while a delicious candle burns.
Carolina Ortiz Herrera S he / her Lighting Designer (Medea, Queen)
Carolina Ortiz is a Mexican-born and New York-based Lighting Designer for theatre, opera, and dance. Selective credits include: Good Night, Oscar (Broadway); Born with Teeth (Guthrie & Alley Theatre); Cruzar (Minnesota & Austin Opera); Native Gardens (Dallas Theater Center); All’s Well That Ends Well (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Everything Rises (BAM); Seven Guitars (Yale Repertory Theatre); Doubt: A Parable, 4000 Miles (Westport Country Playhouse); Yellowman, nominated for Best Lighting Design at Audelco’s Awards (Billie Holiday Theatre). carolinaeortiz.com
Matt Otto
Sound Design & Composition (Medea, Ackroyd)
Matt Otto is a composer, sound designer, and adoptee based in New York City. He has designed productions for; Audible, Pipeline Theater Company, New York City Children’s Theater, Tectonic Theatre Project, The Barrow Group, Cherry Lane, The Folger Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, GALA Hispanic Theater, Imagination Stage, Arkansas Rep, Alabama Shakespeare, and Theatre Alaska and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Matt received his
MFA from the Yale School of Drama, his BFA from Boston University and is a member of USA 829.
Charlotte Palmer-Lane S he / her Costume Shop Manager, Costume Designer (Ackroyd)
Charlotte is thrilled to be returning for her 15th season with HVSF, happily collaborating with Ryan Quinn, designing the Costumes for Roger Ackroyd. She also serves as the costume shop manager for the season. Previous credits for HVSF include: Hamlet, Twelfth Night, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, A Winters Tale, Richard 2 and The Tempest. Charlotte is a proud member of USA 829 and also teaches at SUNY New Paltz in the Theatre Arts Dept. charlottepalmerlane@squarespace.com
Samir Patel he / him Development Manager
Samir joined HVSF in March 2021 after a decades long career in the NYC not-for-profit sector. One of his proudest accomplishments came in the wake of the 2016 presidential election, where a community of artistic supporters came together to develop an unique take on the standard arts fundraiser. Geared towards feminist protest art, over 700 women around the country donated their art to raise critical funds for reproductive rights. Through a spectacular weekend event, the show sold out! Currently, a Hudson Valley iteration is in the works.
Linda Patterson S he / her Controller
Linda has been working in the entertainment industry for over 30 years in all areas of finance management, and is currently celebrating her 15th season under the tent. Linda oversees HVSF’s financial operations, including budgeting, expense management, reporting and audits. Before joining HVSF, she worked as a Finance Manager and Coordinating Producer on dozens of critically-acclaimed, nationally-broadcast documentaries. Linda graduated from the University of Delaware with a BA in English Literature, and holds an MBA in Accounting from the Fordham Gabelli School of Business.
Alithea Phillips S he / her Voice & Dialect Coach (Medea, Ackroyd, Queen)
HVSF: Henry V, Love’s Labor’s Lost, Romeo & Juliet, Mr. Burns a Post-Electric Play, The Tempest, Cymbeline, Much Ado About Nothing, Cyrano, R2, Taming Of The Shrew, The Heart Of Robin Hood, Rip Van Winkle Other coaching credits include: The Public Theater. The Delacorte: Troilus and Cressida, King Lear, Love’s Labour’s Lost. TFANA: Midsummer Night’s Dream. She is the Head of Voice and Text at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting where she has taught since 1997.
Meg
Plunkett S he / they Assistant Company Manager
Meg Plunkett is excited to be working their first season with HVSF! They graduated from the Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University with a BA in Dramaturgy. Meg has worked with theatres such as the Asolo Repertory Theatre, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and the Drury Lane Theatre. They’re grateful to their friends and family for all of their support and hope you enjoy the amazing season everyone has worked so hard to produce this year!
Melle Powers Season Facilitator
Melle Powers’ current and recent projects include DEI/Culture for The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window (BAM & Broadway), CoProducing the Celebration of Black Voices festival for Barrington Stage Company; the development of anti-racism trainings for several NYC metro school districts (working with Boards of Ed, Leadership Teams, faculty and students), and others. Melle teaches at NYU, delivering a course she created called “Resilience.” Melle is a “Certified Diversity Professional” (Diversity Society of America: MFA from NYU.)
Jack Richards
Assistant Wardrobe Supervisor
Jack Richards is thrilled to be making his return to HVSF this summer for his second season. After graduating with a B.F.A. in Costume Design from Hofstra University in 2019, Jack has gone on to design and work for several theatres, film, and television in the New England area. Off-Broadway: Arcadia - Bedlam. Regional: Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, ACT of CT, Ridgefield Playhouse, Seven Angels. Film & Television: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “American Horror Story,” Bloodline Killer, Call Jane, Code Name Banshee IMDB: Jack Richards @Jackrichardsdesigns
Alejandro Rodriguez Season Facilitator
Alejandro is a writer, director and facilitator. He’s created numerous roles off-Broadway, played the title role in The Acting Company’s national tour of Romeo and Juliet, and the part of Edgar opposite Billy Porter’s King Lear. His writing has been featured in award-winning collaborations with musicians, choreographers and filmmakers all across the globe. As a facilitator, Alejandro specializes in inclusive communication across diverse populations. The son of two Cuban immigrants, Alejandro earned his degree from The Juilliard School where he received the Michel St. Denis Prize for Outstanding Achievement.
Andrew Rovner he / him / hi S Audio Director
Andrew is a sound designer, composer, and audio engineer for live performance. His work has been heard at Audible Theater, Yale Repertory Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Lincoln Center Theater, Jackalope Theatre Company, First Floor Theater, Walkabout Theater Company, and others. MFA: Yale School of Drama. BA: Vassar college. andrewrovner.com
Lana Russell S he / her General Manager
Lana Russell is a producer, director and arts administrator focusing on artistic programming, new play development and advocacy. She is committed to producing theater that is artist/community driven and empowering in practice, process and performance. She has directed, produced and/or developed plays with The Fifth Avenue Theatre, The Civilians, The Lark, Primary Stages, Cal Shakes, Woolly Mammoth, The Public Theater of San Antonio, All For One, Naked Angels, Gettysburg College, Bedlam, New York Stage and Film and Broadway and Beyond Theatricals. Lana is also the creator and Director of OP Forward at The Orchard Project which focuses on actionable futures for artists and works to reimagine and reframe arts resources in order to form new collaborations between industries, expanding the potential for further growth of new work in theatre, audio and TV storytelling. Member, Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab. MFA Directing, The New School.
Kelsea Sibold S he / her Production Assistant
Kelsea Sibold is an east coast stage manager from Colorado. Regional credits include: A Thousand Maids (World Premiere), The Scarlet Letter (World Premiere), Hair (Two River Theater); Mountain Octopus (World Premiere), Cinderella, Native Gardens (Creede Repertory Theatre); Theater of the Mind (DCPA); The Odyssey, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Colorado Shakespeare Festival). Kelsea holds her BFA in Stage Management from University of Colorado Boulder. Special thanks to the team at HVSF and sends love to family and friends out west.
Karen Simonson S he / her Director of Finance
Karen Simonson joined HVSF as the Director of Finance in 2024 after relocating from Queens to Westchester. Karen has an MBA from the Zicklin School of Business at CUNY Baruch College and BA degrees in Accounting and Economics from CUNY Queens College. Karen brings expertise from her 20+ year career leading financial operations at nonprofit organizations where she has focused on designing financial systems and processes to further efficiency, controls, and transparency. Having a personal affinity for arts and cultural institutions, Karen is thrilled to be part of HVSF.
Savanna Starks
Sound Assistant
Savanna is a technician and theater artist based in the West Coast. She has 7 years of live mixing experience with a myriad of genres including live orchestras and bands, jazz concerts, dance shows, musical theater, and plays. She worked as an audio technician for Huntington Beach High School District and currently is the audio engineer for Putnam Theater in Salem, Oregon. Savanna is getting her BA in technical theater and design from Willamette University.
Claudia Stefany S he / her Wardrobe Supervisor
Claudia Stefany is a freelance Costume Designer and Wardrobe Supervisor in the greater NY/NJ/CT area. She previously served as the Associate Artistic Director at the SHAPE Performing Arts Centre outside of Brussels, Belgium, and is currently on the board of directors at Elmwood Playhouse in Nyack, New York.
Tiffany Rachelle Stewart S he / her Movement Director (Queen)
Broadway: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (Barrymore). Off-Broadway: Twilight: Los Angeles (Signature), Sugar In Our Wounds (MTC), Pericles (Public), and Julius Caesar (TFANA). Regional: Twilight: Los Angeles (The ART), The House That Will Not Stand (Berkeley & Yale), Winter’s Tale (The Alley), Animal Farm (Baltimore Center Stage/Milwaukee Rep), Vera Stark (Alliance),
and Love’s Labour’s Lost & The African Company Presents... (Oregon Shakespeare). Choreo: Taming of the Shrew (Old Globe), The Unfortunates (OSF), among others.
TV/Film: “The Blacklist,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Black Rose,” “All My Children,” “Royal Pains,” and “Hotel Pennsylvania.” Awards: Best Actress in a Drama NYTVF, Outstanding Ensemble AUDELCO, Lucille Lortel Nominee. MFA in Acting, Yale. Head of Physical Acting at NYU’s New Studio on Broadway.
Elise Tuckwood they / them
Deck Carpenter
Elise Tuckwood is a recent graduate of Emerson College, earning their BFA in Stage and Production Management while also working as a scenic carpenter for Emerson Stage. Regional Credits: American Repertory Theater’s Gatsby and Becoming a Man (scenic overhire) and Half-God… (Production Assistant). Emerson College credits: A Doll’s House (Asst. Stage Manager), The Loyals (Production Supervisor), Paris (Stage Manager). Last summer they were the Associate Production Manager for the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, and they are excited to be spending this summer with Hudson Valley!
Daniel Vaughn
Production Stage Manager (Ackroyd)
Assistant Stage Manager (Queen)
Previous credits include Romeo & Juliet, Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play; and The Tempest (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival). Off Broadway: shadow/land, cullud wattah (The Public Theater), This Beautiful Future (Cherry Lane Theater), Coal Country (Audible Theater / The Public Theater), Superhero (Second Stage). Regional: Mary Poppins, Grease, Beauty and the Beast (Argyle Theatre), Treasure Island Reimagined (Dallas Children’s Theatre), Caught Dreaming (NYTF), The Last Word (NYMF). MFA: Columbia University. Love to Mom, Dad, and Seth.
Luca Vladimiroff
Box Office and Customer Service Manager
Luca is pleased to be back for his sixth year with HVSF where he started out as an usher on the front of house team. Previously, he has worked at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn and at the National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene off-broadway. He is also a student at NYU Tisch studying directing.
Madeline Webb S he / her Lighting Assistant
Madeline is a Southern California born and raised artist that is excited to be joining HVSF for her first season! Having recently graduated from Cal Poly University of San Luis Obispo, where she earned her BA in Theatre Arts, Madeline is eager to continue her career in New York. Madeline has had the privilege to work for the Soka Performing Arts Center, San Luis Obispo Performing Arts Center, San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre, and the Children’s Youth Coastal Theatre Company.
Nicole Wee S he / her Costume Designer (Medea)
National Tour: Martin Luther on Trial and The Great Divorce (Fellowship for the Performing Arts). Off-Broadway: Desperate Measures (New World Stages), Closer Than Ever, and Storyville (Henry Hewes and Audelco nominations - Outstanding Costume Design, York Theatre Co.), and Surely Goodness and Mercy (Keen Co.). Regional: Seascape (The Alley), The Great Leap (Portland Center Stage), Vietgone (Geva Theater Center), The White Snake (Baltimore Center Stage), and Indecent (Chautauqua Theater Co.). She is currently the Director of the Playwrights Horizons Theater School. MFA: New York University. nicolewee.com
Whitney White S he/her Playwright (Queen)
Playwright: Macbeth In Stride (Philadelphia Theatre Company, American Repertory Company, Shakespeare DC), By the Queen (Trinity Rep), Semblance (NYTW), Definition.
Directing: Jaja’s African Hair Braiding (Broadway), Jordans (The Public), Soft (MCC), On Sugarland (NYTW), Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, What to Send Up When
it Goes Down (The Public, ART, Woolly Mammoth, The Movement), For All the Women Who Thought They Were Mad (Soho Rep), The Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Mia Martha Washington (Steppenwolf), The Amen Corner (Shakespeare DC). TV: “I’m a Virgo” (Media Res, Amazon). Awards and Fellowships: Rolex mentor and Protegé Arts Initiative, Jerome Fellow, Herb Alpert and more. BA Northwestern, MFA Brown University / Trinity Rep.
Maggie Young S he / they
Costume Assistant (Medea)
Maggie is so glad to have joined the costume shop for this season! She is a current student at Vassar College, where she has costume designed many shows including but not limited to: Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea by Julia Izumi; Fury, a Retelling of the Oresteia by Sydney Duncan; (Assistant Designer on) Mad Forest by Caryl Churchill. They love to partake in beautiful theatre with a joyous community, and are thrilled to be doing that here!
Cassandra E. Zeugin
Associate Production Manager / Lighting Supervisor
Cassandra is excited to return for a 9th season at HVSF! She is a production electrician and lighting designer based in New Jersey. Cassandra has worked on numerous Off-Broadway shows, including Americano (New World Stages), Is God Is (Soho Rep), and A Sherlock Carol (New World Stages). BFA, Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts. MBA, Rutgers Business School. Cassandra would like to thank electrician Bob Morf (1953–2021) for doing the “Bob jobs.” His contribution to the festival was immeasurable, and he is missed dearly.
Calleri Jensen Davis
Casting www.callerijensendavis.com
Calleri Jensen Davis (James Calleri, Erica Jensen, Paul Davis) Casting. CJD casts for theatre, television and film and are grateful to be back with HVSF for another season! Recent Broadway: Topdog/Underdog, The Piano Lesson, For Colored Girls..., Thoughts of a Colored Man, Burn This, Fool for Love, Venus in Fur, Hedwig & The Angry Inch
This Theatre operates under an agreement between the League Of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
CC Member of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival Conservatory Company
HVSF Board of Directors
Board of Directors
Robin Shelby Arditi, President
Pepper Evans, Vice President
Edward B. Whitney, Secretary
Heather Hopkins, Treasurer
Raoul Bhavnani
Mary Elizabeth Bunzel
Luis Castro
Heidi Ettinger
Marie Fabian
Randy Florke
Krystal Ford
Sandra Goldmark
Steven L. Holley
Patricia King
Daniel J. Kramer
Chip Loewenson
Frederic C. Rich
James Stanford
Byron Stinson
Sarena Straus
Dr. Elliott Sumers
Lauri Washington Sawyer
Laura Jean Wilson
Vernon Wilson
Christine Wong Lent
Advisory Board
Lee Balter
Sarah Griffin Banker
Nancy Meiselas Berner
Mary Beth Cresci
Patrick J. Driscoll, Ph.D.
Elizabeth Flinn
Don Foster, Ph.D.
Sarah Geer
Peter Gergely, M.D.
Jerry Gretzinger
Marit Kulleseid
Susan Landstreet
Melissa Stern Lourie
Carol Marquand
Jason D. McManus
Belle Blanchard Newton
Anne Todd Osborn
Katharine Plummer
Sheila Rauch
Betsy Simons
Kristin Sorenson
Jennifer Stebbins
Carolyn Clark Tenney
Terrence O’Brien, Founding Artistic Director
Special Thanks
4 Wall Lighting
About the Work
Accounting Solutions NY
Actors’ Equity Association
Advance NYC
Adventure We Can
Andrew Pidala
Armand Ajello
Assemblyman Matt Slater
Assemblywoman Sandy Galef (Retired)
Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg
B&L Deli
Best Western Fishkill
Bill Metzger
Charlie Polhemus
Chris Fisher and Alejandro Carranza
CMW Strategies
Cold Spring Area Chamber of Commerce
Cold Spring Film Society
Dutchess County Executive
Sue Serino
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Erica Jensen, James Calleri and Paul Davis
Folger Shakespeare Library
Gabe Palacio
Grey Printing
Hudson Stage Company
Jarod Castelblanco
Jeff Tighe, Anura Technology
Josh Karp
Ligature Creative
Maar Printing
Marti Ajello
Materials For The Arts
Michael Banta
Michael P. Carr, P.E.
Miriam Machado and Juan Tutas
Nat & Anita Prentice
Nelson, Byrd, Woltz
Nimesh Patel
Northguild
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
PCW Management
Peak Construction
Penguin Rep Theater
Pepsi-Cola of the Hudson Valley, Tim Tenney
Phoebe Geer
PKF O’Connor Davies
Polhemus Construction
PRG Lighting and Sound
Print Shop PR
Production Resource Group
Proppins Closet
Putnam County Executive
Kevin Byrne
Putnam County Legislator
Nancy Montgomery
Putnam County Visitors Bureau, Tracey Walsh
Rachael Paradise
(in alphabetical order by first letter)
Representative
Sean Patrick Maloney
Richard Termine
Robert A. McCaffrey Realty
Senator Charles Schumer
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Spektrix
Split Rock Books
Stage Directors and Choreographers’ Society
State Senator James Skoufis
State Senator Jose Serrano
State Senator
MIchelle Hinchey
State Senator
Peter Harckham
State Senator Rob Rolison
State Senator Sue Serino
Stephanie DiDonato
Studio Gang
T. Charles Erickson
Texas Roundup BBQ
The Garrison
The Main Course
The Philipstown Depot Theatre
Tony Brickner
United Rentals
United Scenic Artists
United State Military Academy at West Point
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