Middlebury College Department of Theatre presents
Greek Tragedy A NEW PLAY BY LIA ROMEO
Directed by Michole Biancosino Thursday through Saturday October 26, 27, 28 • 7:30 pm | Saturday, October 28 • Matinee 2 pm Wright Memorial Theatre
Middlebury College Department of Theatre presents
Greek Tragedy By Lia Romeo Directed by Michole Biancosino Scene & Co-Projection Designer Costume Designer Lighting & Co-Projection Designer Sound Designer Properties Choreography Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager Flute Composer/Musician Second Flute
Anna Jennifer Brandon/Chorus Agent/Chorus Chorus Chorus Chorus Chorus Chorus Chorus
Mark Evancho Summer Jack Courtney Smith Amit Prakash and Allison Rimmer Jim Dougherty Michole Biancosino Caroline Armour Jayda Gilyard Urian Vasquez Chandni Desai CAST Aiden Amster Brianna Beach Ethan Fleming Maggie Blake Hannah Alberti Norah Santoni de Castro Chandni Desai Sarah Furtado Celia Kadoi Molly Snow
Running Time: 90 minutes, no intermission If you leave during the show, you will not be allowed to reenter. Content Warning: Depictions and references to drug addiction and alcohol abuse. Patrons are requested to turn off cell phones prior to the performance. Photography and the use of audio and video equipment are strictly prohibited. Produced with permission of the playwright.
A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR A ghost light is a single bulb left burning whenever a theatre is dark. Some argue that its function is to chase away mischievous spirits; others insist it lights the way for the ghosts that are said to inhabit virtually every theatre, keeping them happy and contented. Either way, that light ensures that no one takes an accidental tumble off the stage. —Playbill, 2008 We start our play with a ghost light. This is to honor the historical traditions of our contemporary theatre—at least the history since theatres moved plays indoors and came up with ways to light them using gas and, later, electricity. It is also to call attention to the ghosts in the theatre, in literature, in art. There is a ghost in this story, and she is invited in by the character, Jennifer, who wants desperately to get the story right, to work it all out, to tell the truth. Or to try through an imperfect, subjective, completely alive form: a play. Greek Tragedy welcomes you in as an essential part of the messy, strange, experimental form that is theatre. Each time a play is performed, it’s an opportunity to witness, to feel, to wonder, and to open ourselves up to something new. What are the questions—never answers—the play brings up for you? Who are the ghosts in the theatre that are playing on you tonight? Greek Tragedy is a play I’ve had in my desktop folder, “Plays to direct at Middlebury,” for a few years. From the commercial takeover of social media to the polarizing online social structure that separates people into fanatical followers or anonymous trolls to the difficulty of defining authenticity when we live our lives partially (or entirely) online, the play captures the contemporary moment in its treatment of the intersection of culture, technology, and identity. It features a world of tech-savvy, inventive young women, breaking barriers to create new uses for technology, writing, and social platforms, then features the highs and lows that follow the public nature of such work. However, it’s the metatheatrical elements of the script that most appealed to me and kept it in the folder. There is a long history, indeed around 2000 years, of playwrights calling attention to the methods of theatre within a piece of theatre, of asking an audience to consider their relationship to the work as they are watching. Greek Tragedy builds on these tropes and then does something completely fresh, unnerving, and unsettling: it offers a chance for a new relationship between audience and actor. Then, by extension, it invites you to consider your status as an anonymous audience member in your everyday life, each time you pick up your device to watch or scroll. What does that do to you, the person watching in the dark? What does it do to those performing in empty rooms in front of their ring lights? What is it doing to our society? —Michole Biancosino
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT Lia Romeo is a recent graduate of the Juilliard playwriting program. Her plays have been developed at the O’Neill, La Jolla Playhouse, the Lark, and elsewhere, and have been produced off-Broadway at 59E59 and ART/NY as well as regionally at venues such as Dorset Theatre Festival, Laguna Playhouse, Unicorn Theatre, New Jersey Repertory Theatre, and others. Four of her plays have been recognized by the Kilroys List. Her plays are published by TRW, Broadway Licensing, and Broadway Play Publishing. She is the associate artistic director with Project Y Theatre Company and the cofounder of the Parent-Caregiver Playwrights Group. Lia teaches playwriting at Primary Stages/ESPA and in the MA program in creative writing at Fairleigh Dickinson University. THE COMPANY Hannah Alberti ’26 she/her (Chorus) her thesis in the spring, she reflects is a physics and theatre double major upon her gratitude for the Theatre from Fredericksburg, Virginia. She is Department here at Middlebury for an acting focus (you may have seen the amazing learning opportunities her as Tom in A Woman Left Lonely they have granted her. She looks or in the Dogteam productions this forward to continuing to develop her summer), however, this is her first personal style and aesthetic in the faculty show. She has also been an future. Thank you, Michole, for your ASM for Hamlet in the past semester. grace and mentorship throughout this She is so excited to be participating in process! Enjoy the show. this show and is eager to continue her acting career at Middlebury. Aiden Amster ’23.5 she/her (Anna) is a joint theatre and English major Caroline Armour ’24 she/her (Stage from San Francisco, California. Her Manager) is a senior theatre and Middlebury acting credits include French double major who is thoroughly The Moors (Huldey), Mr. Burns, A excited to be working on all types of Post-Electric Play (Maria), The Pussy fun projects in her last year here at Grabber Plays, and Jump! (first-year Middlebury. As a directing focus, she show 2019). She completed her senior has been so lucky to direct Dinner work in directing Bright Half Life, With Friends (2022), assistant direct by Tanya Barfield in the Spring ’23 Which Way is Up (2021), and Storm season, and worked as a production Still upcoming fall 2023. She has also intern for Project Y Theatre Company worked in the shop, assisting with over the summer. This semester the production and subsequently she will be completing her thesis in run crew-ing for Everybody (2021), acting, as Cordelia in Gab Reisman’s She Kills Monsters (2021), Mexican Storm Still. Outside of theatre, she Revolution/Revelation (2022) and Mr. loves singing with her acappella Burns (2022). She also had a brief bout group, the Middlebury Mischords, with set designing for I and You (2021) playing acoustic and electric guitar, and is excited about working hard in and in particular, playing music her stage-managing debut on Greek with her younger sister, when her Tragedy. As she prepares to direct sister’s schedule permits. Greek
Tragedy is Aidan’s last faculty show at Middlebury, and she is so grateful to the cast and crew for providing such a memorable, wonderful experience. Brianna Beach ’23.5 she/her (Jennifer) is a theatre and English double major from Thomasville, Georgia. Acting credits include Hamlet, She Kills Monsters, Everybody, Until I Do, Working, The Pussygrabber Plays, and The Crucible. Directing, design, dramaturgy, and stage management credits include A Woman Left Lonely And Baby Makes Seven, The Moors, PTP/NYC’s Standing On the Edge of Time, Writer’s Block, Giants Have Us in Their Books, and Julius Caesar. She is also presenting her thesis, Storm Still, this semester. She’s grateful for the opportunity to work with such an incredible team during her last faculty show at Middlebury! Maggie Blake ’24 she/her (Agent/ Chorus) is a theatre and psychology double major at Middlebury College from Scituate, Massachusetts. Some of her acting credits at Middlebury include Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play (Bart Simpson), and Rhinoceros (Iris). This summer she workshopped A Hundred Circling Camps (Cadey) and La Viuda (Good Angela) in the inaugural season of Dogteam Theatre Company, as well as acting in Arms and the Man (Louka) and a reading of Lessons (Olivia). She’s so excited to act in her third faculty show with such an amazing group as she prepares for her thesis in the spring! Heart heart heart! Norah Santoni de Castro ’26 she/her (Chorus) is a political science major (with a possible minor in theatre and French) from the Dominican Republic. While she grew up acting, she only
has one previous Middlebury acting credit in last year’s first-year show. She is very excited to be working on her first faculty show and to continue participating within the department! Chandni Desai ’25 she/her (Chorus) is a psychology major and global health minor, on the premed track from Rome, New York. Her previous acting credits include Mr. Burns, MCMT’s production of Big Fish, and the J-term musical Fun Home! She’s so grateful to be apart of the wonderful Middlebury theatre community and she has absolutely loved getting to work with such an amazing group of people on this show! Ethan Fleming ’24 he/him (Chorus/ Brandon) is a senior physics major from Tampa, Florida. He has fallen dangerously in love with theatre over the past two years, and is super happy to be a part of Mr. Burns (Sam), And this awesome production. Past acting credits include Botticelli in the Fire (Leonardo da Vinci), Baby Makes Seven (Peter), Destroying Angels (Zooey), and Somewhere (Alexander). Sarah Furtado ’25 she/her (Chorus) is an English major and theater minor from Orlando, Florida. This is her first time being on stage in a production here at Middlebury, after having previously stage managed, and she could not be more excited for this opportunity. She hopes to continue to be a part of the lovely Middlebury theater community in the coming years, and she’d like to thank everybody involved in this production for being so talented and kind and for making working on this show such a great experience all around. Sarah hopes that you enjoy the show!
Jayda Gilyard ’26 she/her (Assistant Stage Manager) is a computer science and theater major hailing from New York City. A lighting design focus, her lighting design credits include La Viuda and A Hundred Circling Camps (Dogteam 2023). She has also ran the lightboard for Somewhere (spring 2023) and ran followspot for Tick Tick Boom! (Spring 2023). While she is no stranger to backstage work, this will be her first time being an assistant stage manager. However, she is more than ready to take on the task, and she hopes that you enjoy the show! Celia Kadoi ’26 she/her (Chorus) is an intended Japanese studies and physics double major hailing from Los Angeles, California. This is her first experience acting in a Middlebury College theatre
production but she was a theatre production assistant on Rhinoceros (Fall 2022), The Moors (Fall 2022), Somewhere (Spring 2023), and Hamlet (Spring 2023). She is honored to be a part of such a spectacular cast and crew, and she hopes that you enjoy the show. Molly Snow ’26 she/her (Chorus) is a conservation psychology major (with potentially a theatre minor) from Portland, Maine. Her only previous Middlebury acting credit was in the J-Term musical, Fun Home (Medium Alison/Swing), so she is beyond excited to be a part of Greek Tragedy! She’d like to thank her wonderful cast and everyone who put their time and effort into the show. She is also a huge fan of Aidan Amster (duh).
SHOW STAFF Director Michole Biancosino Scene & Co-Projection Design Mark Evancho Costume Design Summer Lee Jack Assistant Costume Design Sophia Glenister Lighting & Co-Projection Design Courtney Smith Sound Design Amit Prakash and Allison Rimmer Properties Jim Dougherty Technical Director Allison Rimmer Master Electrician Tony Bader Stage Manager Caroline Armour Assistant Stage Manager Jayda Gilyard Costume Shop Director Robin Foster Cole Associate Costume Shop Dir. Katie Knauber Light Board Operator Julian Lord Sound & Video Operator Lucy Curtis-Cherry Costume Construction and Wardrobe Brianna Beach, Julia Breckenridge, Lile Casey, Emma Dobson, Hope Jarris, Aria Kamal, Carl Kellogg, Elsa Marrian, Kayla Schwartz, Kendall Shilling Assistant Sound Designer Kirin Prakash Biancosino
Technical Production Crew Lucy Curtis-Cherry, Kamryn You Mak, Sam Kulasingh-Larriere, Charley Moore, Hazel Traw, Julian Lord, Iggy Gamero, Sawyer Yasenchack, Ruby Ly, Caelyn Macky, Ewan Inglis, Alex Garcia, Camilo Gonzalez-Williamson, Joe Gehl, Kristen Morgenstern, Paige Cusanelli, Natalie Penna, Isaac Mays-Smith, Jose Mena, Gerrit Blauvelt, Theo Stanforth, Evan Berger, Revy Mack, John Masiello, Julian Wu, Nathan Jackson, Amanda Lee, Per Alexander, Lisandra Tuesen, Ellie Ianno, Emma Mills, LeShaun Warner THEATRE DEPARTMENT STAFF Professors Alex Draper: Acting, Directing, Literature Mark Evancho: Scene and Lighting Design Cláudio Medeiros: Acting, Directing, History and Literature (Department Chair) Associate Professors Michole Biancosino: Acting, Directing, History, and Literature Dana Yeaton: Playwriting Assistant Professor Olga Sanchez Saltveit: Directing, Acting, Literature Visiting Assistant Professors Summer Lee Jack: Costume Design Craig Maravich: Acting Co-Technical Director/ Production Manager Allison Rimmer Co-Technical Director/ Facility Manager Jim Dougherty Production Designer: Department of Theatre; Company and Budget Manager: Summer Immersive Learning Experiences Courtney Smith Costume Director Robin Foster Cole Associate Costume Director Katie Knauber Master Electrician Tony Bader Theatre Administration Mirjam Brett Theatre Office Assistant Sophie Butler-Rahman LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT The production was rehearsed and performed on land which has served as a site of meeting and exchange among the Indigenous Peoples since time immemorial. The Western Abenaki are the traditional caretakers of these Vermont lands and waters, which they call Ndakinna. We give thanks for the opportunity to share in the bounty of this place and to protect it.
SPECIAL THANKS Lia Romeo, Amit Prakash, Miguel Castillo, Urian Vasquez Daniel Houghton, Alex Draper, Cheryl Faraone, Marcy Michaud, Sharon Strassner ***** THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE ARTS AT MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE! The Theatre Program wishes to thank Drue Cortell Gensler ’57, Mr. & Mrs. Edward Barlow, Marie & Edward Matthews, Christian & Gerry-Jo Cranmer, John J. Morrissey ’72, and Mr. & Mrs. Lee Freeman, Jr. for their generous support of our program’s work. The Theatre Department would also like to thank Jean Seeler ’60, in whose honor the Seeler Studio Theatre is named, for her continued support of and belief in the work of this department.
COMING ATTRACTIONS Dad Rock Senior work of Beck Barsanti in acting November 2–4 | Hepburn Zoo Beta Bitches By Emily Walborn Sophie Butler-Rahman 500 work in directing November 9–11 | Hepburn Zoo Polaroid Stories By Naomi Iizuka directed by Alex Draper November 30–December 2 | Seeler Studio Theatre Storm Still by Gab Reisman Senior work in acting by Aidan Amster, Brianna Beach and Annabelle Iredale; 500 work in directing by Caroline Armour and 500 work in Design by Julia Breckenridge December 7–9 | Hepburn Zoo