a note from the leadership collective...
Welcome to the season opener for Development Studio 49 @ Yale Summer Cabaret! DS49 has been a labor of love for all four members of the leadership collective since the winter of 2022, and we are so thrilled that you're here to share in this special moment with us. We're especially excited that the first of our three productions this summer is the betrayal project. Stefani, Jisun, and Bobbin have spent countless hours gathering actors, designers, and interviewees to make this show come to life, and we could not be more proud for DS49 to serve as the first home for this beautiful, funny, poignant piece. One of the most special things about this show is that it's a devised work, meaning that each person whose name you see on the next page worked to make decisions about how these interviews turned into a piece of live theater that's entertaining and meaningful, while still maintaining the integrity of each story. It's a LOT of work, and we can't wait for you to experience it all. Enjoy the show!
– Adrian, Maya, Mikayla, and Sarah a note from the co-creators...
“You can tell me whatever stories you want. You can tell me what your experience was. You can tell me the life lesson you learned.”
We began working on this project to better understand what betrayal really means. So much of art concerns itself around love and heartbreak. We craft narratives out of love and turn them into movies and books, tv shows and poetry. But instead of crafting a singular narrative, we wanted to explore what betrayal meant to a multitude of people – real people, who were generous enough to speak to us and articulate their stories of betrayal, past and present, as the betrayed or the betrayer. Where does betrayal come from? Why is the experience so isolating, when so many others have experienced it as well? What compels us to betray those we love? And what comes in the aftermath? In this first iteration of our project, we spoke to 25 different interviewees about their experiences of betrayal in a romantic context, and out of almost 500 pages of transcript, we gathered as a collective of artists: creators, performers, designers, and producers alike, and began to piece together the arc of this piece. From the depths of pain and beauty of healing in these stories, we gathered to ask ourselves: what is the story that these people have told us? And how can we create and gather community to share in the overwhelming feeling we ourselves experienced: that we are not alone. As one of our interviewees said, “You give something of yourself every time you are in a relationship with someone.” And simultaneously, as another asked, “Is it ever hard to reconcile the person you knew and loved, in this deep way, who is so good in these ways, with the feeling you had at the end?” Each of the stories on this stage tonight are unique, heartbreaking, humorous, inspiring in their own ways, and deeply true. In each of them, we learned more about ourselves and what love and betrayal mean to us. In every one of them, we saw some of ourselves and felt less alone. We hope you will too.
–
Bobbin, Jisun, and Stefani
presents:
the betrayal project
co-created by Bobbin Ramsey
Jisun Kim
Stefani Kuo 郭佳怡
produced by Chloe Knight
creative team
technical director director
sound designer
projections designer
stage manager
dramaturg
scenic and props designer
lighting designer
costume designer
production manager
Bennet Goldberg ☀
Bobbin Ramsey
Colleen Rooney ☀
Doaa Ouf ☀
Hannah Louise Jones ☀
Jisun Kim ☀
KIMKIM ☀
Kyle Stamm ☀
T.F. Dubois ☀
Twaha Abdul Majeed ☀
actors + devisers
Amelia Windom
Grayson Richmond☀
Sam Douglas☀
Stefani Kuo 郭佳怡
Shimali De Silva
Tyler Cruz
the betrayal project runs ~1 hour and 50 minutes, including a 10-minute intermission.
DEVELOPMENT STUDIO 49 @ YALE SUMMER CABARET
☀denotes Yale Summer Cabaret debut
our mission + vision
Development Studio 49 (DS49) curates a joyful space for people at DGSD, Yale, and within the New Haven area to create artistically brave experiences. We are a temporary theater company, and above all we prioritize ethical practices that value process and relationships over product. By the end of the summer, DS49 will be synonymous with joy, care, and growth. We imagine a group of artists who are not just proud of the work that they created at the Summer Cabaret, but feel equally respected by the way they were compensated and treated during their tenure. Through our intentional community partnerships and service, we will have successfully contributed one tight stitch in the patch that aims to strengthen the relationship between New Haven and Yale University.
our values
☀ artistry: Artistic excellence is born out of creative experimentation. We are committed to acting as a playground where artists feel as safe to fail and grow with us as they do to succeed beautifully.
☀ inclusion: We create the conditions for all to feel welcome by actively and intentionally centering voices that are historically silenced–especially voices of the racial global majority, the LGBTQ+ community, low-income individuals, and marginalized genders. When people share about their past or present experiences with Yale, the New Haven community, YSC, or anything else, we believe them.
☀ responsibility: DS49 is committed to financial, mental, and environmental sustainability. We resolve to pay a livable wage for all who work with the Yale Summer Cabaret. We make technical and artistic decisions that prioritize rest, provide time for a life outside of YSC, do the least harm to our ecosystem, and are aligned with the amount of money that each person is getting paid. We responsibly create and maintain meaningful partnerships and seek ways to remain connected with the people and organizations that we encounter this summer outside of the YSC space.
☀ service: Everything we do is in service of our artists and the New Haven community. Just like the campsite rule, we leave spaces and relationships better than we found them.
☀ fun: If it’s not fun, we’re not doing it. It is summer, after all!
what is development studio 49?
leadership collective
Adrian Alexander Hernandez - executive artistic director, operations
Maya Louise Shed - executive artistic director, community
Mikayla Michelle Stanley - executive artistic director, people + culture
Sarah Machiko Haber - executive artistic director, innovation + strategy
full-time staff
Allyse Corbin - marketing associate
Bennet Goldberg - technical director
Hannah Louise Jones - season stage manager
Twaha Abdul Majeed - production manager
advisory cabinet
Anna Glover + Kelly O'Loughlin
Brandon Fuller + Nadir Balan
C. Nikki Mills
Daniel Cress + Steven Padla
George Tinari
Laura Kirk
Martha Boateng + Moriah Clarke
Sue Clark
safety facilities student employment + production marketing + communications web development audience services business + finance development
board of directors
Audrey Conrad
Bobbin Ramsey
Bill Reynolds, co-chair
Carl Holvick
Casey Grambo, co-chair
Chloe Knight
Claudia Groisman
our support squad, including...
Cynthia Santos DeCure
Eileen Mydosh
Eric Lin
Jane Nowosadko
Matthew Tanico
Mia Sara Haiman
Natalie King
Audrey Conrad, Bill + Sharon Reynolds, the Haber/Moriuchi Family, House of Naan, Joan Channick, Lee + Abby Stump, Mamoun's Falafel Restaurant, Margaret Ann Judd and Bennett Pudlin, Nina Adams + Moreson Kaplan, Patrick Seaver + Sonja Berggren, and Traci Shed.
"the
Adrian Hernandez, Angelica Dawson, Bryn Scharenberg, Casey Scott Leach, Dara Willmarth, Elizabeth Barrett, Eileen Mydosh, Eric Lin, Hannah Jones, Hannah Tran, Joe Krempetz, Regina Carson, Soup Group, Xi (Zoey) Lin, and all the people who told us their stories.❤
is development studio 49?
who
betrayal project" cast + creative team sends special thanks to...
thank you, House of Naan, for being a season-long sponsor of DS49!
UP NEXT @ DS49
pride365: a cabaret @ the cab
august 3-5
play @ the cab: a 6 x 10 new work festival
august 24-26
purchase your passes + single tickets online at summercabaret.org.
SUBSCRIPTIONS ON SALE NOW! YALEREP.ORG 203.432.1234 YALEREP @YALE.EDU 2023-24 SEASON
Art and design by Paul Evan Jeffrey
October 5—28 WISH YOU WERE HERE By Sanaz Toossi Directed by Sivan Battat November 24—December 16 WORLD PREMIERE THE SALVAGERS By Harrison David Rivers Directed by Mikael Burke March 8—30 ESCAPED ALONE By Caryl Churchill Directed by Liz Diamond April 26—May 18 THE FAR COUNTRY By Lloyd Suh Directed by Eric Ting
Photo Credit: Chalia La Tour and Jennean Farmer in the ripple, the wave that carried me home by Christina Anderson, directed by Tamilla Woodard. Yale Repertory Theatre, 2023. Photo © Joan Marcus.
welcome to the betrayal projectyour experience begins now.
scan the QR code or visit the website above for your thoughts on betrayal to become a part of the show!
all responses are anonymous :)
