What Dreams May Come “There is no such figure of the first chaos [where from] the world was [derived] as our dreams in the night. In them, all states, all sexes, all places are confounded and meet together.” —THOMAS NASHE, ON THE TERRORS OF THE NIGHT, 1594
Although historians call the forty-five year reign of Elizabeth I a “Golden Age,” the era was not without its confusions and strife. As the medieval gave way to the modern, old and new lines of division emerged: Protestant or Catholic; science or superstition; urban or rural; male or female. Many of these oppositions played out not only during her reign but upon the person of Elizabeth herself. After more than 700 years of almost exclusively male rule, Elizabeth I became England’s second recognized female ruler, succeeding her half-sister Mary in 1558. To legitimize her rule, Parliament had to declare that a monarch has two bodies—one natural, the other political. While Elizabeth was biologically a woman, in government she was a king. Elizabeth used this tension to her advantage. Throughout her reign, she styled herself as a courtly ingénue, a chivalric heroine, a general, a prince, and even classical deities, like the chaste goddess of the Moon, Diana, and king of the gods, Jupiter. Such allusions to old supernatural forces still held sway during the English Renaissance. What’s more, despite the era’s predominantly Christian worldview and emphasis on humanist philosophy and early scientific analysis, ancient pagan beliefs in magic persisted. Nighttime was still considered the domain of malevolent forces—incubi, succubi, fairies, witches, hobgoblins, and spirits—who visited harm upon humans, asleep or awake. The era’s thinkers viewed sleep as an attenuated form of death, a vulnerable time in which the body and the spirit separate. Cut off from external stimuli and the five senses, the mind becomes a playground for the imagination. Sleep liberates deep-seated fantasies, which merge with more quotidian concerns to create a sublime blend of the real and the astonishing in the slumbering mind. In the words of the mischievous Puck, “Night and silence. Who is here?” Is it an unruly spirit looking to do us harm? Or is it our wildest dreams, come out to play before the pacifying light of day?
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S
DREAM
Thursday, February 23 at 4PM Friday, February 24 at 4PM and 8PM Saturday, February 25 at 4PM Iseman Theater, 1156 Chapel Street
—CHAD KINSMAN, PRODUCTION DRAMATURG
<<0>>
The Studio Series productions are designed to be learning experiences that complement classroom work, providing a medium for students at Yale School of Drama to combine their individual talents and energies toward the staging of collaboratively created works. Your attendance meaningfully completes this process.
2016–17 SEASON
FEBRUARY 23â&#x20AC;&#x201C;25, 2017 YALE SCHOOL OF DRAMA James Bundy, Dean Victoria Nolan, Deputy Dean Joan Channick, Associate Dean Chantal Rodriguez, Assistant Dean
PRESENTS
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Directed by LUCIE DAWKINS
By
CREATIVE TEAM
CAST
ARTISTIC STAFF
ADMINISTRATION
Assistant Lighting Designer ERIN EARLE FLEMING
Associate Managing Director FLO LOW
in alphabetical order
Choreographer GWYNETH MULLER Scenic Designer FUFAN ZHANG Costume Designer SOPHIA CHOI Lighting Designer NIC VINCENT Sound Designer FAN ZHANG Projection Designer WLADIMIRO A. WOYNO R. Production Dramaturg CHAD KINSMAN Stage Manager CHRISTINA FONTANA
Demetrius, Snug, Mustardseed SEBASTIAN ARBOLEDA Philostrate, Puck/Robin JULIANA CANFIELD Hippolyta, Oberon ANTOINETTE CROWE-LEGACY Bottom LELAND FOWLER Lysander, Flute, Moth ESTON J. FUNG Theseus, Titiana JONATHAN HIGGINBOTHAM Quince, Cobweb STEVEN LEE JOHNSON Helena SYDNEY LEMMON Hermia STEPHANIE MACHADO Egeus, Snout, Peaseblossom JAMES UDOM
Assistant Sound Designer and Engineer KATHY RUVUNA Assistant Projection Designer MICHAEL COMMENDATORE
Assistant Managing Director and House Manager SYLVIA XIAOMENG ZHANG Management Assistants JAMIE TOTTI LEANDRO A. ZANETI
PRODUCTION STAFF Associate Production Manager KELLY PURSLEY
Yale School of Drama productions are supported by the work of more than 200 faculty and staff members throughout the year.
Technical Director KEVIN BELCHER Assistant Technical Director L.T. GOURZONG Master Electrician ALEX WORTHINGTON Supervisor Stage Manager BIANCA A. HOOI Crew MATT DAVIS MEGUMI KATAYAMA CAITLIN O'ROURKE VALERIE TU
SPECIAL THANKS
Jonathan Bate, Les Smith, Lucas van Lierop ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE MATERIAL FROM FENCES BY AUGUST WILSON, AND 1989 BY TAYLOR SWIFT. A MIDSUMER NIGHT'S DREAM IS PERFORMED WITHOUT AN INTERMISSION.
FEBRUARY 23â&#x20AC;&#x201C;25, 2017 YALE SCHOOL OF DRAMA James Bundy, Dean Victoria Nolan, Deputy Dean Joan Channick, Associate Dean Chantal Rodriguez, Assistant Dean
PRESENTS
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Directed by LUCIE DAWKINS
By
CREATIVE TEAM
CAST
ARTISTIC STAFF
ADMINISTRATION
Assistant Lighting Designer ERIN EARLE FLEMING
Associate Managing Director FLO LOW
in alphabetical order
Choreographer GWYNETH MULLER Scenic Designer FUFAN ZHANG Costume Designer SOPHIA CHOI Lighting Designer NIC VINCENT Sound Designer FAN ZHANG Projection Designer WLADIMIRO A. WOYNO R. Production Dramaturg CHAD KINSMAN Stage Manager CHRISTINA FONTANA
Demetrius, Snug, Mustardseed SEBASTIAN ARBOLEDA Philostrate, Puck/Robin JULIANA CANFIELD Hippolyta, Oberon ANTOINETTE CROWE-LEGACY Bottom LELAND FOWLER Lysander, Flute, Moth ESTON J. FUNG Theseus, Titiana JONATHAN HIGGINBOTHAM Quince, Cobweb STEVEN LEE JOHNSON Helena SYDNEY LEMMON Hermia STEPHANIE MACHADO Egeus, Snout, Peaseblossom JAMES UDOM
Assistant Sound Designer and Engineer KATHY RUVUNA Assistant Projection Designer MICHAEL COMMENDATORE
Assistant Managing Director and House Manager SYLVIA XIAOMENG ZHANG Management Assistants JAMIE TOTTI LEANDRO A. ZANETI
PRODUCTION STAFF Associate Production Manager KELLY PURSLEY
Yale School of Drama productions are supported by the work of more than 200 faculty and staff members throughout the year.
Technical Director KEVIN BELCHER Assistant Technical Director L.T. GOURZONG Master Electrician ALEX WORTHINGTON Supervisor Stage Manager BIANCA A. HOOI Crew MATT DAVIS MEGUMI KATAYAMA CAITLIN O'ROURKE VALERIE TU
SPECIAL THANKS
Jonathan Bate, Les Smith, Lucas van Lierop ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE MATERIAL FROM FENCES BY AUGUST WILSON, AND 1989 BY TAYLOR SWIFT. A MIDSUMER NIGHT'S DREAM IS PERFORMED WITHOUT AN INTERMISSION.
What Dreams May Come “There is no such figure of the first chaos [where from] the world was [derived] as our dreams in the night. In them, all states, all sexes, all places are confounded and meet together.” —THOMAS NASHE, ON THE TERRORS OF THE NIGHT, 1594
Although historians call the forty-five year reign of Elizabeth I a “Golden Age,” the era was not without its confusions and strife. As the medieval gave way to the modern, old and new lines of division emerged: Protestant or Catholic; science or superstition; urban or rural; male or female. Many of these oppositions played out not only during her reign but upon the person of Elizabeth herself. After more than 700 years of almost exclusively male rule, Elizabeth I became England’s second recognized female ruler, succeeding her half-sister Mary in 1558. To legitimize her rule, Parliament had to declare that a monarch has two bodies—one natural, the other political. While Elizabeth was biologically a woman, in government she was a king. Elizabeth used this tension to her advantage. Throughout her reign, she styled herself as a courtly ingénue, a chivalric heroine, a general, a prince, and even classical deities, like the chaste goddess of the Moon, Diana, and king of the gods, Jupiter. Such allusions to old supernatural forces still held sway during the English Renaissance. What’s more, despite the era’s predominantly Christian worldview and emphasis on humanist philosophy and early scientific analysis, ancient pagan beliefs in magic persisted. Nighttime was still considered the domain of malevolent forces—incubi, succubi, fairies, witches, hobgoblins, and spirits—who visited harm upon humans, asleep or awake. The era’s thinkers viewed sleep as an attenuated form of death, a vulnerable time in which the body and the spirit separate. Cut off from external stimuli and the five senses, the mind becomes a playground for the imagination. Sleep liberates deep-seated fantasies, which merge with more quotidian concerns to create a sublime blend of the real and the astonishing in the slumbering mind. In the words of the mischievous Puck, “Night and silence. Who is here?” Is it an unruly spirit looking to do us harm? Or is it our wildest dreams, come out to play before the pacifying light of day?
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S
DREAM
Thursday, February 23 at 4PM Friday, February 24 at 4PM and 8PM Saturday, February 25 at 4PM Iseman Theater, 1156 Chapel Street
—CHAD KINSMAN, PRODUCTION DRAMATURG
<<0>>
The Studio Series productions are designed to be learning experiences that complement classroom work, providing a medium for students at Yale School of Drama to combine their individual talents and energies toward the staging of collaboratively created works. Your attendance meaningfully completes this process.
2016–17 SEASON