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The Memorandum by Vaclav Havel Translation by Vera Blackwell Cast Gross Ballas Stroll/Maria Savant/Hana Helena Lear/George Pillar/Column
Edmund Stapleton Lianna Makuch Patricia Cerda Cayley Thomas Samantha Jeffery Mat Simpson Perry Gratton
Creative Team Director Set Designer Costume Designer Lighting Designer Projection Designer Sound Designer Assistant Lighting Designer Voice, Speech,Text Coach: Movement Coach:
Trevor Schmidt Nathan Brown Sean McMullen Jamie Plummer Mel Geary Matt Skopyk Victoria Krawchuk Betty Moulton Marie Nychka
Stage Management Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager
Tanya Schwaerzle Julie Ferguson
There will be one 15 minute intermission. Rights for this production are courtesy Samuel French, Inc.
Contents
4 Director’s Notes • 6 Production Team • 8 Drama News 12 Photos • 14 Havel Timeline • 20 Staff / Front of House 22 Donors 3
Director’s Notes
So much of directing is about communicating. I met my team of MFA designers by e-mail. I explained my initial ideas about the world of Havel’s play - how we might interpret it for a contemporary, North American audience. We sent pictures back and forth. We talked around things. It seemed we all agreed what the world would look like. When we finally met in person, I found out there had been some confusion. E-mails can be misinterpreted. We might not have been communicating as well as I had thought. We clearly weren’t speaking the same language. How oddly fitting, I thought. A play about language and communication - and I have problems being understood and understanding! We continued talking, drawing, sharing personal stories, getting to know each other better. And the world we were creating became clearer. The set informed the lights, the lights informed the costumes, the costumes informed... well, you get the idea. But each of my MFA designers and stage management team also have instructor supervisors that want to be kept up to date on their work. There are department heads - props, wardrobe, construction- and they all spoke a different kind of language, too each with its own specialized vocabulary and terms. The university’s chain of command sent me bouncing from one to another, down long hallways, with a map and a temporary swipe-card to get me through locked doors - only to find that I needed to go back to the very person who had sent me on the journey in the first place. Bureaucracy. I was beginning to see some unnerving similarities... Then we added the cast. On the second day of rehearsal, one of the actresses lamented that she felt she was failing. She feared I was getting upset with her for not understanding my direction quickly enough. I was able to remind her something I had learned (again) over the previous three months or more - We were doing something that happens to EVERYONE. We were learning how to communicate with each other. She needn’t learn MY language. I don’t have to learn HER language. We need to figure out –together - a new way that WE communicate with each other. Sometimes it’s through charades, sometimes it’s deeply intellectual discussions. Sometimes it’s as simple and silly as smacking someone on the behind. Very often on this production, it has been through laughing together. My experience with this production? I am sure this quote says it all: “Rek Nybek flagyryp gox extorezes, jylz gahap ch ch zyt!” Maluz, Trevor 4
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Production Team Production Manager: Technical Director: Assistant Production Manager: Production Administrative Assistant:
Gerry van Hezewyk Larry Clark JoAnna Black Jonathan Durynek
Wardrobe Manager: Cutter: Stitchers:
Joanna Johnston Ann Salmonson Feng Yi Jiang Avishta Lena Seeras Judy Morley Darrell Cooksey Finn McConnell Barbara Hagensen Andre Lavoie Jane Kline Audra Stevenson Jeff Osterlin Mel Geary Joel Adria Lore Green Devin Lavigne Audra Stevenson Matthew Skopyk Andrea Murphy
Wigs: Head Scenic/Stage Carpenter: Scenic Carpenters: Properties Master: Head of Props: Lighting Supervisor: Video Supervisor: Head of Lighting/Video: Lighting Technicians: Sound Supervisor: Sound Technicians:
Running Crew:
Lighting/Video Operator: Sound Operator: Head Stage Carpenter:
Advisors & Consultants: Stage Management Advisor:
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Joel Adria Jessica Parr Finn McConnell John Raymond
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Drama Alumni News The Banff Playwrights Colony announced Mieko Ouchi as the 2013 Senior Playwright in Residence. Mieko is not only an accomplished playwright whose Governor General’s Award-nominated work is widely produced across North America. She is a UAlberta BFA Acting grad, a skilled actor, a fine director, a much-lauded filmmaker, and co-artistic director of Edmonton’s Concrete Theatre, one of Canada’s leading theatres for young audiences. A past Colony attendee, Mieko will be present throughout the 2013 Banff Playwrights Colony to work on her own writing projects, offer mentorship and guidance to participants, and lead discussions on topics relevant to the artists attending the sessions. MFA Directing alumna, Brenda Finley, formerly of Global TV Calgary and CKUA, is now senior producer at Alberta Primetime, a daily current affairs show airing weeknights across Alberta on CTV Two. Outside the March Theatre Company’s production of Terminus, which recently received the Prize for Production at Toronto’s SummerWorks 2012, was picked up by Mirvish Productions for a run as part of the brand new off-Mirvish Second Stage Season. The production, directed by MFA Directing grad Mitchell Cushman, features Ava Jane Markus (BFA Acting) in the original cast and Nick Blais (BFA Theatre Design) in the creative team, and will hit the Royal Alexander stage November 21 to December 9, 2012. Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship MFA Theatre Practice student, Michelle Rios, was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship - Master’s Level at the University of Alberta recognizing academic and scholarly achievement. Ms. Rios was also invited to be a member of the International Golden Key Honour Society because of her recent accomplishments. Up Next ABBEDAM Productions presents Mad Forest by Caryl Churchill November 14 to 18, 2012 in the Second Playing Space, Timms Centre for the Arts 7:30 pm nightly / Preview November 13 / Matinee November 17 at 2:00 pm Mad Forest tells the story of the people of Romania - before, during, and after the revolution of 1989 when Nicolae Ceaușescu’s government was overthrown by the people. Tickets available at the door, or in advance at the HUB Mall InfoLink. More information: facebook.com/abbedam 8
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The Edmonton Sun called
The Ghost Sonata “Brilliant and bizarre� what did you think?
1 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Richard Lam as the Student with Serean Malan, the Daughter Marie Nychka as the Mummy Sereana Malani as the Daughter, sets and lights by LLARS Design Melissa Thingelstad as the Dark Lady Dream figures: Bailey MacPhee, Tori Switzer and Janelle Jorde
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All photos by Ed Ellis
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Havel Timeline
1957-1959 Havel is drafted into the Czechoslovakian army, and begins experimenting with theatre therein. His staging of Pavel Kahout’s September Nights earns him a demotion for insubordination, but he continues to experiment with theatre throughout his time in the army. (Keane, 144-145) 1959 Havel begins working as a stagehand in Prague’s ABC Theatre. July 1960 The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia,(KSC) establishes a new constitution, declaring itself the “Czechoslovak Socialist Republic”. They claim this as a worldwide victory for socialism. 1960 Havel receives a job offer from the Theatre on the Balustrade, also in Prague. Many of Havel’s first works will be produced here. 1961 Havel writes Hitchhiking, a short play that marks his playwriting debut at The Balustrade. 1963-1964 The economy goes into decline, particularly in the industrial and agricultural sectors, and the KSC begins to lose influence and credibility in the public eye. (Keane, 167) 1964 The Garden Party, Havel’s first fulllength play is performed. The play is 14
an absurdist comedy dealing with the impersonalization of language. 1965 The Face, a monthly young writers’ magazine that Havel sits on the editorial board for, is shut down by the state-controlled Writers’ Union of Czechoslovakia for presenting non-socialist and foreign writing. 1966-1967 Havel is active within the Writers Union, lobbying for liberalization and reform policies, with particular regards to freedom of speech and the press. (Keane, 170) 1968 The Memorandum is first performed. January 1968 Alexander Dubcek is appointed First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. He implements “The Action Program”, a set of reforms granting more civil freedoms to citizens. These reforms notably include a reprieve from federal censorship of the press, in direct opposition to the tactics of the Soviet Union. This period of reform becomes known as “The Prague Spring”. (Heimann, 228-9) May 1968 Though Dubcek’s reforms are well received by much of the Czechoslovakian public, these new political freedoms are considered threatening to the control of other Warsaw Pact nations, notably Poland, East Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, and the USSR. Tensions between Czechoslovakia and these nations
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Havel Timeline continued continue to grow over the subsequent months. (Heimann, 240-241)
August 1968 The Warsaw Pact nations intervene with Dubcek’s administration, sending ground troops to occupy Czechoslovakia. April 1969 Gustav Husak takes over control of the KSC from Dubcek. He ushers in the “Normalization Period”, and over the course of several years dismantles Dubcek’s reforms and observes Soviet Union regulations. During this period, political forces become split between pro-reform moderates and hardline communists. (Heimann 273-274) 1970 “The Dissident Movement” begins with organized protests. Tensions simmer.
is launched, beginning with a televised event composed of speeches decrying the “Chartists” as treasonous and anti-socialist. (Heimann, 287) 1978 Havel, along with a collection of intellectuals and dissidents, establishes the Czechoslovak Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Prosecuted (VONS). 1978 Havel publishes his famous essay, “The Power of the Powerless”, which dissects the ideological framework of the communist regime. (Keane 268) May 1979 Ten members of VONS, Havel included, are arrested and taken to Ruzyne Prison on a charge of “Subversion”. He remains in prison until January 1983, and is released only when he becomes seriously ill with pneumonia.
January 1977 Havel and other dissidents publish “Charter 77”, an indictment of illegal civil rights abuses in Czechoslovakia under communist regime and a call for political reforms. The document is published internationally in an attempt to expose and embarrass the KSC. Possession of the document quickly becomes a federal crime.
November 1989 Police forces in riot gear attempt to suppress a peaceful student protest in Prague. The resulting backlash creates a series of escalating protests that spread across the country. Dubbed “The Velvet Revolution”, these protests will be instrumental in the dismantling of communism in Czechoslovakia. (Heimann, 298)
January 1977 Havel, for his involvement in Charter 77, is charged with “committing serious crimes against the basic principles of the Republic” and held in solitary confinement for more than four months. While he is imprisoned, a campaign to smear the Charter and its supporters
November 1989 In response to the increasing protests of the Velvet Revolution, Vaclav Havel declares himself spokesman for the “Civic Forum”, a group of citizen dissidents and protestors condemning the current administration’s tactics and civil rights abuses and calling for reform.
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December 1989 The KSC announces that free elections will be held in Czechoslovakia for the first time since 1946. December 1989 Vaclav Havel is elected President of Czechoslovakia. July 1992 Havel steps down from office before the country is split so as not to preside over the country’s separation. January 1993 Czechoslovakia separates into Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The transition is non-violent, and is dubbed “The Velvet Divorce”.
February 1993 Vaclav Havel is elected Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. Works Cited Havel, Vaclav, and Paul R. Wilson. Open Letters : Selected Writings, 1965-1990. 1st Vintage Books ed. New York: Vintage Books, 1992. University of Alberta. Web. Heimann, Mary. Czechoslovakia: the State that Failed. U.S.: Yale University Press, 2009. Print. Keane, John. Vaclav Havel: A Political Tragedy in Six Acts. 1st ed. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 1999. Print. Timeline compiled by Lucy Collingwood (MFA Directing candidate)
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Administrative Staff
Kathleen Weiss: Chair, Department of Drama Julie Brown: Assistant Chair Administration David Prestley: Theatre Administrator / Events Coordinator Jonathan Durynek: Box Office Coordinator / Events Assistant Ruth Vander Woude: Graduate Advisor / Administrator Connie Golden: Undergraduate Advisor Susan Reynolds: Accounting Assistant Helen Baggaley: Administrative Assistant / Office Coordinator With assistance from Faculty of Arts staff: Salena Kitteringham: Fine Arts Communications Associate Terah Jans: Fine Arts Communications Assistant Joanna Manchur: Fine Arts Recruitment Coordinator
Production Staff
Gerry van Hezewyk: Production Manager / Administrative Professional Officer Larry Clark: Technical Director, Timms Centre for the Arts Darrell Cooksey: Head Carpenter Jonathan Durynek: Production Administrative Assistant Mel Geary: Lighting Supervisor Joanna Johnston: Costume Manager Jane Kline: Property Master Don MacKenzie: Technical Director, Fine Arts Building Ann Salmonson: Cutter Matthew Skopyk: Second Playing Space Technician / Sound Supervisor Karen Swiderski: Costumer, Fine Arts Building
Front of House
Staff: Bonita Akai, Kristy Condon, Danielle Dugan, Peter Fernandes, Al Gadowsky, Becky Gormley, Caitlin Gormley, Tasreen Hudson, Marie-Andrée Lachapelle, Laura Norton, Emily Paulsen, Andrew Shum, Faye Stollery, Jane Toogood Volunteers: Cristian Badiu, Debbie Beaver, Susan Box, Patricia Cerda, Franco Correa, Jonathan Durynek, Mary and Gene Ewanyshyn, Terri Gingras, Ron Gleason, Sydney Gross, Darcy Hoover-Correa, Paula Humby, MarieAndrée Lachapelle, Don Lavigne, Sareeta Lopez, Tom and Gillian McGovern, Marlene Marlj, Laura Metcalf, Jennifer Morely, Alice Petruk, David Prestley, Joyanne Rudiak, Clio Unger, Catherine Vielguth, Jane Voloboeva, Diane Wright, Anisa Youseffi, Danoush Youssefi. 20
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Donors
Heartfelt thanks to the individuals, foundations and organizations listed below for recognizing the importance of the arts and directly investing in the Department of Drama’s innovation and leadership within theatre training and performance. A round of applause to our supporters. Baha & Sharon Abu-Laban Ella May & Leonard Apedaile Dorothy Ayer Bacon Family Fund Joan Baird Roderick E Banks David Barnet & Edith Mitchell William & Carole Barton Karin Basaraba Jim & Barb Beck Lindsay Bell Carl & Doreen Betke William & Kathleen Betteridge Alan Bleviss Julia M Boberg Donna Bornhuse Richard Bowes Edward Brado Angela Breadner David Brindley Julie Brown & Joseph Piccolo Linda Bumstead Adolf & Kathleen Buse Campbell Family Foundation Rachel Christopher Brent Christopherson Classique Decor Ltd Penny Coates Faye Cohen Daniel Cunningham Anne Marie Decore Brian J. Deedrick Michelle L. Dias † Dyer Financial Strategies Ltd. Lesley Cormack & Andrew Ede W Gifford Edmonds Estate of Sheila Mary Edwards Larry Ethier John & Bunny Ferguson Shirley Gifford Sheila Gooding
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Melvina M. Gowda Derek & Mary Griffiths Kelly Handerek Bohdan & Elaine Harasymiw Murray & Pauline Hawkins Christopher Head Stephen Heatley Denise Hemmings Steven Hilton I A T S E Local 210 Pavel & Sylvia Jelen Azim & Shenaz Jeraj M A Keene Patricia Langan Hou Li Nicole E. Mallet John & Peggy Marko Robert W. McColl Sandra McFadyen Gordon & Norma McIntosh Rod & Heleen McLeod Roderick & F June Morgan Betty Moulton Les Myhr † Audrey O’Brien Dale Olausen Jack & Esther Ondrack V Porteous Leigh E. Rivenbark Bente Roed Helen J Rosta Kenneth & Joan Roy Valerie Sarty Alan & Ramona Sather Peter & Olga Savaryn Alison Scott-Prelorentzos Jan Selman & Curtis Palmer Albin Shanley Sol & Shirley Sigurdson Phillip Silver Daryl Springer
Brian & Marion Sproule St. Peter’s Anglican Church ACW Allan Stichbury Richard & Rita Taylor Isobel Thomas Thomas Usher Gilda L.F. Valli Henriette van Hees Alan and Lorraine Welch Deborah & Jerry Yee John R. Young Various Anonymous Donors In Kind David Adam & Rose Liu-Adam Erica Boetcher Jill Concannon Pamela Constable Campbell Davies Estate of Pro Rhey Mond Depro Ester Fraga Mel Geary Ron Lavoie Larry MacInnis Don Mackenzie Ann Malyj Travis & Joanna Manchur Philip & Kathleen Mulder David Plach David Prestley Ella Reidt Karen M. Swiderski Michelle Warren Donna R. Zuk Various Anonymous Donors
The list includes those who donated to various Drama funds from September 20, 2011 to September 20, 2012. List compiled October 3, 2012. Apologies for inadvertent omissions or errors. Contact 780-492-2271 for changes.
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