Download King Lear Program

THEATRE SOUTH CAROLINA PRESENTS
APRIL 19-27, 2013
DRAYTON HALL
THEATRE
1214 COLLEGE ST.
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THEATRE SOUTH CAROLINA PRESENTS
Scenic Design.................................................................Nic Ularu and William Love
Costume Design.....................................................................................................Sean Smith
Lighting Design...................................................................................................Todd Wren**
Sound Design.................................................................................................Danielle Wilson
Hair/Wig/Make-Up Design....................................................................Valerie Pruett
Dance Choreographer................................................................................Cynthia Flach
FightChoreographer.........................................................................................PaulSavas*+
Stage Manager.................................................................................................Becky Koeller
CAST
King Lear...........................................................................................................James Keegan*
Goneril...................................................................................................................Leeanna Rubin
Regan ......................................................................................................................Melissa Peters
Cordelia.................................................................................................................Laurie Roberts
Gloucester...............................................................................................................Terry Snead*
Edgar...........................................................................................................Josiah Laubenstein
Edmund.....................................................................................................................Cory Lipman
Duke of Albany.......................................................................................................Trey Hobbs
Oswald..........................................................................................................Chandler Walpole
Duke of Cornwall ................................................................................................Park Bucker
King of France................................................................................................Paul Kaufmann
Duke of Burgundy.........................................................................................Dennis Lopez
Earl of Kent......................................................................................................James Costello
1st Fool.......................................................................................................................Kate Dzvonik
2nd Fool........................................................................................................................John Floyd
3rd Fool................................................................................................Kristina Montgomery
4th Fool...........................................................................................................................Alex Jones
Ensemble..............................................................................................................Kelsea Woods
Ensemble......................................................................................................................John Dixon
Ensemble...............................................................................................................Daniel Ziegler
Ensemble.....................................................................................................Taiyen Stevenson
Ensemble......................................................................................................Nicholas Jackson
There will be one intermission.
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association. This theatre operates under an agreement between the Uni­versity Resident Theatre
management program and Actors Equity, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.
**Member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829
+Member of The Society of American Fight Directors
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
FROM THE CHAIR
Jim Hunter
Spring is here! So, too, is King Lear, our last main stage
production of the season. We started the year with our
“swinging sixties” take on Oscar Wilde’s comic masterpiece,
The Importance of Being Earnest. Next was Compleat
Female Stage Beauty, a darkly comedic exploration of
artistic freedom. First up this spring was the high flying
farce Boeing, Boeing and we have finally arrived at our
final show, tonight’s production of Shakespeare’s tragic
masterpiece King Lear. This production season was made possible by
the dedication and hard work of our faculty, staff, guest artists, and at
the very core of all of our efforts, our students.
Our final show is a good time to reflect upon those students with whom
we have journeyed this year. Many of the students who our audiences
have come to know through their production efforts, either on stage
or behind the scenes, will be graduating this May. For our soon-to-be
graduates, this year’s final curtain is really just the start of the next act.
Our theatre arts program here at USC has strived to provide our
graduating students with the right set of competencies to empower
their futures. Our goal is to provide quality experiences based on
real intellectual rigor, expert craft and impassioned imagination. Our
productions, like tonight’s performance of King Lear, are critical to
creating the authentic real-world experiences where our students can
apply their knowledge and then learn how to transfer what is learned
to new, future situations. This is why we take on the big plays, the big
themes, and then mount these productions under the guidance of our
top-notch faculty and guest artists.
We are fortunate to have so many students motivated by their love of life
and the arts. These emerging artists and scholars are driven to observe,
to understand, to express and to make a difference. While we will miss
those who will be moving on, we celebrate their accomplishments past, present and future.
To our graduates…We hope that your careers will encompass all that
your ambition, talents and industry will allow!
Enjoy the show!
Jim Hunter
Artistic Director, Theatre South Carolina
Chair, Department of Theatre and Dance
FROM THE DIRECTOR
Cristian Hadji-Culea
A rich man becomes poor. A strong man becomes a pariah.
A man of many houses, villas and palaces cannot find a roof
to protect himself from the rain. A man learns to see beauty
by the loss of his sight. Daughters and sons conspire to ruin
their fathers. Sisters come to hate, then kill. What happens
once these horrors unfold, whether in the mythical time of
a fairytale or a time of British prehistory? In Shakespeare’s time? In our
time?
Unfortunately adversity happens to people and between people
regardless of their place in history. In the Elizabethan world, the stage
actors were of their time. In a similar way, we have chosen to use our time
for our telling of this universal story of a family today. A loving family
that is completely destroyed and destroys everything, just because a
father decides to share what cannot be divided and ask for a love which
cannot be expected.
The rest is on stage, thanks to our team of actors and technicians, almost
all young, who are passionate about what they do. I hope this production
succeeds in giving you what we in the theater are best suited to give: in
spite of crime and horror, joy.
Cristian Hadji-Culea
Director
A BRIEF HISTORY OF KING LEAR
By Associate Professor Amy Lehman
The first recorded production
of Shakespeare’s King Lear was
on December 26, 1606. It was
performed at court for King
James I by the King’s Men, who
had probably done it previously at
their public theatre, the Globe. The
part of Lear was most likely played
by James Burbage for whom
Shakespeare wrote several leading
tragic roles. Popular comic actor
Robert Armin probably played the
Fool, and may also have doubled
in the role of Cordelia.
King Lear is often regarded as the
most powerful but also the most
difficult of Shakespeare’s tragedies
-- a masterpiece whose profound
and terrible beauty is matched
only by its unrelenting cruelty and
bleakness. Directors, actors and
audiences have been daunted by
the play. In 1810, critic Charles Lamb
wrote that the genius of the play
was so sublime that no “corporal”
production could do it justice.
“Lear,” he declared, “is essentially
impossible to be represented on
the stage.” Modern director Peter
Brook, who produced the play with
a harsh minimalist setting, called
Lear “a mountain whose summit
had never been reached” with
the path strewn by the shattered
bodies of earlier visitors – the
great actors who had attempted it
(including the legendary Laurence
Olivier in the 20th century).
Fortunately, there have been
actors, directors and designers
throughout history willing to take
up the challenge, and to create
memorable and even transcendent
theatrical experiences. It has
been said that every age rewrites
Shakespeare to reflect its own
obsessions.
The variety of
approaches to Lear bear this out,
reflecting the changing aesthetic
and philosophical concerns of
every generation that has wrestled
with it.
The play was not frequently
performed in the 17th century.
Most productions in the 18th
and early 19th centuries used a
bowdlerized 1681 text which had
been altered by Nahum Tate to
suit the more “refined” audiences
of the times. In Tate’s version,
some of the rougher language was
altered, the role of the Fool was cut
entirely, and the play was rewritten
with a happy ending in which
Cordelia lived to marry Edgar and
Lear regained his kingdom. This
version was supposed to satisfy
the audience’s desire to see poetic
justice and virtue prevail.
English actor/manager David
Garrick played Lear with great
success many times in the
mid- 18th century, in a version
that combined parts of Nahum
Tate’s text with his own revised
text.
Garrick’s interpretation
emphasized the heart wrenching
pathos of a pitiable old man with
a degree of realism and subtlety
(relative to previous acting styles)
which brought the audience
to tears and perfectly suited
the sentimental early Romantic
era audience. Garrick’s skill at
conveying the onset of Lear’s
madness was credited to a degree
of preparation for the role unusual
at the time – Garrick is said to
have visited the infamous London
madhouse “Bedlam” to study the
insane. Lear’s insanity became
an issue too close for comfort in
England in 1810 when the play
was forbidden to be performed
because of the madness of King
George III. King Lear did not appear
on the stage in England again until
after George III’s death in 1820.
19th century productions of Lear
emphasized
spectacle,
with
stunning thunder and lightning
effects in the storm scene; or took
a scholarly approach, producing
the play in a precise Anglo
Saxon setting with historically
accurate sets and costumes to
capitalize on the Victorian taste
for antiquarianism. The English
actor Macready restored the
original text and ending of the
play in 1838 (though Tate’s version
with a happy ending continued
to be preferred in American
theatres until almost the end of the
century.) Macready’s production
was also one of the first to have a
woman play the role of the Fool,
and the tradition continues in
some productions today.
One
of
the
most
iconic
productions in modern times was
directed by Peter Brook for the
Royal Shakespeare Company in
1962. Brook’s interpretation was
influenced by scholar Jan Kott’s
analysis of the play in the light
of Samuel Beckett’s Theatre of
the Absurd (in Shakespeare Our
Contemporary by Jan Kott). Paul
Scofield portrayed a Lear who was
unsentimental and tough though
beaten down.
This existential
production did particularly well
in post-war Europe, where the
battered king was seen as a
metaphor for all that had been
suffered and endured.
An
influential 1971 film version of King
Lear directed by Russian Grigori
Kozintsev (with text adapted by
Boris Pasternak and a score by
Dmitri Shostakovich) gave the play
a socialist interpretation. Perhaps
the best known film adaptation of
the play is Akira Kurosawa’s 1985
epic Ran, set in feudal Japan. On
stage or on screen, every new
production, version or adaptation
of King Lear has the potential to
thrill, entertain, and illuminate us
again, as it has done for over 400
years.
CAST
James Costello
Earl of Kent
Park Bucker
Duke of Cornwall
Park Bucker is an
Associate Professor
of English at USC
Sumter.
He has
published books on F. Scott
Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe, and
Joseph Heller. His essay “Wearing
down the Edge of Boldness:
Thornton Wilder’s Evolving Values
and Stagecraft as Revealed by
a Collation and Concordance of
the Three Published Versions and
Original Prompt Script of Our Town”
will be published later this year in
Thornton Wilder: New Perspectives
(Northwestern University Press).
He also serves on the Board of
Directors for the Thornton Wilder
Society.
He recently directed
Up2D8, a new play by Laura
Shamas for the Lab Theatre on
the USC main campus. He has
acted in many USC productions
including King Lear (Oswald) , The
Cherry Orchard (Pischik), Love’s
Labour’s Lost (Sir Nathaniel),
The Country Wife (Quack), The
Tempest (Alonso), The Winter’s
Tale (Antigonus), and Compleat
Female Stage Beauty (Hyde).
He also appeared as Gregory in
Workshop Theatre’s production
of Love! Valour! Compassion! Last
year he performed in the world
premiere of Hieronymus (written
and directed by Nic Ularu) at La
Mama Theatre in New York City.
James is in his first
year as an MFA
candidate here at
USC. Recent credits
include: Black Snow, Away,
Compleate Female Stage Beauty,
The Lion in Winter, Timon of Athens,
and The Full Monty. He would like
to thank Katie and his parents, Paul
(Mr. Bond with an English accent)
and Carole (not a Christmas Carol),
for all their love and support.
John Dixon
Ensemble
John Dixon has
been acting since
high school and
has been active in Columbia area
community theatre primarily with
Theatre Rowe. King Lear is his first
USC production.
Kate Dzvonik
1st Fool
Kate is a first
year MFA Acting
candidate.
She’s
an International student from
Kazakhstan. Recent credits: The
Hour We Knew Nothing Of Each
Other (Center for Performance
Experiment); Margaret Hughes,
Compleat Female Stage Beauty
(Longstreet
Theatre);
Gwen,
Away (Center for Performance
Experiment); Gabriella, Boeing
Boeing (Longstreet Theatre).
John Floyd
2nd Fool
John Floyd is a
sophomore theatre
major at USC, and
is thrilled to be in
this main stage production. He
was most recently seen in 12
Angry Jurors in the Lab theatre.
His other USC credits include The
Importance of Being Earnest and
Compleat Female Stage Beauty.
John would like to thank Cristian,
the cast, crew, and his family. Enjoy
the show!
Trey Hobbs
Duke of Albany
Trey Hobbs is in his
second
semester
as a first year MFA
candidate in acting at USC. He
graduated with a BA in theatre from
USC in 2009 and has spent time
doing shows with Trustus Theatre,
NiA Company and Theatre South
Carolina as an actor and a lighting
designer. Some of Trey’s acting
credits include Greg in Reasons
to be Pretty at Trustus, Pinky in
the NiA Company’s Our Lady of
121st Street and Quince/Demetrius
in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
with P3East, among others. USC
credits include The Hour We Knew
Nothing of Each Other (Ensemble),
Compleat Female Stage Beauty
(George Villiars), Away (Jim) and
Boeing Boeing (Bernard). Trey
would like to thank this program
and above all his wife Katie.
Nicholas Jackson
Ensemble
Nicholas Jackson is
a sophomore premed/biology major
at USC. I hope to
one day graduate from medical
school to complete my dream as
a child. This is my first production
to be involved with and I am
very grateful for the chance and
the experience of a lifetime. My
only prior experience to acting
was a 170-theater course, which
was at first only to gain an arts
credit. However while in that class
I learned that I really enjoyed
acting and wanted to pursue this
newfound passion further. So I’m
currently minoring in theater and it
is now going to be one of my life
hobbies.
Alex Jones
4th Fool
Alex Jones is a
first
year
USC
undergraduate,
intending to pursue an English
major. He was in the theater
throughout high school, where he
performed in two of Shakespeare’s
plays:
as
the
Porter/Third
Murderer/Seyton in Macbeth, and,
most recently, as Hamlet in Hamlet.
He is grateful for the chance to be
in King Lear, and welcomes the
opportunity to improve upon his
talents through this experience.
Paul Kaufmann
King of France
Paul Kaufmann (King
of France) recently
performed all 35 roles
in I Am My Own Wife
at Trustus Theatre. Just before
that, he played Dan in Next to
Normal on the Trustus mainstage.
In January of 2012, he created the
title role in Nic Ularu’s Hieronymus
in LaMaMa E.T.C.’s 50th season in
NYC. He then played Egeus and
Bottom in Pacific Performance
Project/east’s
A
Midsummer
Night’s Dream. In July, he acted
with his fiance, Eric Bultman, in
One Night Stand 5 at The Studios
of Key West (TSKW), his third
in the series. Other La MaMa
credits: The Cherry Orchard Sequel
(NY Times Critic’s Pick) and The
System. He created the role of Jed
in Dean Poynor’s H. apocalyptus
and played the role at TSKW, at
the Cairns Festival in Queensland,
Australia, here at Trustus and at
the 2011 Piccolo Spoleto Festival
in Charleston. Also with Pacific
Performance Project/east: The
Water Station (Mizu No Eki). Paul
has also performed onstage in
Italy and Romania. Paul has acted
for most of his life in Columbia at
Trustus (including August: Osage
County, Assassins, When Pigs Fly,
The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told,
Dirty Blonde, How I Learned to
Drive, The Last Night of Ballyhoo,
and many more), SC Shakespeare
Company (including Iago opposite
Greg Leevy’s Othello), Theatre
South Carolina (The Real Thing,
The Illusion, The Country Wife,
Twelfth Night), Workshop (Les
Liaisons
Dangereuses,
Love!
Valour! Compassion!, The Will
Rogers Follies, Sordid Lives, A
Streetcar Named Desire, Later Life,
and more) and elsewhere. Recent
film credits include Junk Palace, by
Lyon Forrest Hill. He is Principal of
his own acting company, which
contracts with the FBI and other
agencies across the country for
scenario-based training. He just
performed his original work, The
Dirty Birds Redux in the Spork in
Hand Puppet Slam, his second
“object theatre” piece. In May, he’s
filming Third Reel, an independent
film by Jason Stokes.
James Keegan
King Lear
James
Keegan
has most recently
played Pistol in a
critically acclaimed production of
Shakespeare’s Henry V directed
by Robert Richmond at The Folger
Theater in Washington D.C. As a
member of the Resident Company
at the American Shakespeare
Center’s Blackfriars Playhouse
for 13 repertory seasons, James
has played more than 85 roles in
over 60 productions, including
the title roles in Shakespeare’s
Titus Andronicus and King Lear,
and
Christopher
Marlowe’s
Tamburlaine the Great and The
Jew of Malta. At ASC, James has
played many of the great roles in
Shakespeare’s plays: Shylock in The
Merchant of Venice, Iago in Othello;
Falstaff in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2
and The Merry Wives of Windsor;
Prospero in The Tempest; Fluellen
in Henry V; and Claudius in Hamlet.
Some favorite non-Shakespearean
roles include Lady Bracknell in
The Importance of Being Earnest,
Daniel de Bosala in The Duchess of
Malfi, and King Henry II in The Lion
in Winter. His work as Prospero
in ASC’s 2011 production of The
Tempest was featured in the 2012
BBC documentary Shakespeare
Uncovered that recently aired on
PBS. He can be seen this coming
September as Mick Dowd in Martin
McDonagh’s A Skull in Connemara
at Pittsburgh Irish and Classical
Theater. James is an Associate
Professor of English and Theater
at the University of Delaware on
their Georgetown campus. He has
also taught masters classes in the
professional training program at
ASC and graduate classes in verse
and text for The Master of Letters/
Master of Arts in Shakespeare and
Performance Program at Mary
Baldwin College.
most especially his wife Rachel.
Cory Lipman
Edmund
Cory is thrilled to be
in his second main
stage
production
at USC. A first year M.F.A acting
candidate, Cory has recently
appeared as Sergei in Black Snow,
Tom in Away, and Charles II in
Compleat Female Stage Beauty.
You can also see him perform
a number of roles in The Center
For Performance Experiment’s
production of Twelfth Night at
the end of April. He would like
to thank everyone involved with
this production, as well as Steven
Pearson, Robyn Hunt, Erica
Tobolski, and Richard Jennings, for
their contribution to Cory’s growth
as an actor.
Dennis Lopez
Duke of Burgundy
Josiah Laubenstein
Edgar
Josiah Laubenstein
is a first year MFA
acting candidate at
USC. His recent credits here include
Robert in Boeing, Boeing, Roy in
Away, Samuel Pepys in Compleat
Female Stage Beauty, and various
roles in The Hour We Knew Nothing
of Each Other. Thanks to Robyn
and Steve, his fellow MFA class,
everyone involved in the show, and
Dennis is a theatre
major and a senior.
This is his 2nd
performance at USC. He played
Killigrew/Ruffian in Compleat
Female Stage Beauty last fall. Once
graduated, he will be attending the
American Academy of Dramatic
Arts in New York City to further
his acting education. Dennis is
very grateful for being a part of
this production and would like to
thank the theatre department, the
cast, the crew, and Cristian for the
opportunity.
Kristina
Montgomery
3rd Fool
Kristina Montgomery
is a sophomore
theater and fashion merchandising
major. This is her second time on
the mainstage, the first being an
ensemble role in Compleat Female
Stage Beauty. She has also been in
12 Angry Jurors in the Lab Theater,
three Grindhouse productions,
the Overreactors Improv, and a
short student film. She would like
to thank her friends and family
for their support and the cast and
crew of King Lear for a great show
experience!
Melissa Peters
Regan
Melissa Peters is a first
year MFA candidate.
Departmental
credits include Boeing-Boeing
(Gloria), Compleat Female Stage
Beauty
(Edward
Kynaston),
Away, the surrealist The Hour
We Knew Nothing of Each Other,
and an original clown piece with
The Rigamarole Family Band.
Professional stage and opera
credits include productions with
Pacific Performance Project/east,
Opera Carolina, The Warehouse
Theatre, Theater Emory, Out of
Hand Theater, and The Atlanta
Opera. She has contracted as
an actor to the FBI and the
Department of Homeland Security,
and manages an actor-based
training program run by the State
of Georgia. For Bougie.
Laurie Roberts
Cordelia
Laurie Roberts is a
first year MFA Acting
candidate at USC.
Originally from San Francisco,
Laurie received her BA from the
University of Washington in Seattle
where she studied theatre and
dance. Her most notable work
includes two collaborative theatre
pieces that each debuted at the
Edinburgh International Festival
Fringe, The Grind Show and Ithaca,
I’ll Never See. USC credits: The Hour
We Knew Nothing of Each Other,
Compleat Female Stage Beauty,
Away, and Boeing Boeing. Other
credits in theatre: Romeo and Juliet,
The Miracle Worker, Our Town,
and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
are Dead. Dance: Original works
Sakura Rising and Nobody, both
premiered in new works festivals
in Seattle. Film: 100% Off: A
Recession Era Romance (feature),
Gone Again (short). She would like
to dedicate this performance to
Mom and Dad, who support her
through all of life’s storms.
Leeanna Rubin
Goneril
Leeanna Rubin is a
first year MFA Acting
Candidate.
Other
USC credits include: Boeing, Boeing
(Berthe), Compleat Female Stage
Beauty (Nell), Away (Coral Baker),
The Hour (Ensemble), and she
developed a Clown named Marsha
Mellow which was part of the MFA
Actor Clown Showcase. Leeanna
has performed at The Walnut
Street
Theatre,
Montgomery
Theater, The Jewish Ensemble
Theatre of Detroit, Society Hill
Playhouse,
Hedgerow
Rep,
Adventure Theatre and the Folger
Shakespeare Theatre. Leeanna is a
graduate of American University
with a BA in Musical Theatre. She
thanks Cristian Hadji-Culea, her
loving parents, and her amazing
boyfriend Robert Carter.
of SC where he is a Computer
Science and Theater major. He
began acting when he was 14
and loved it ever since. His recent
credits in theater include: Woyzeck
, Night of the Living Dead, and
the film, The Devil’s In the Detail
(which is his first leading role). He
would like to thank K. Dale and
the people from USC Theatre
for giving him an opportunity to
work with the talented cast and
crew from King Lear and most
importantly, he would like to thank
his family for giving him love and
encouragement. To the cast of
King Lear, “Break-a-leg.”
Chandler Walpole
Oswald
Terry Snead
Gloucester
For Terry Snead
playing
Glouster
in this production
is a homecoming. A native of
Greenville, he last appeared on a
USC stage as a graduate school
student.
Since then he has
appeared in television, stage and
film productions for nearly thirty
years. A proud member of Actor’s
Equity he thanks USC’s Robert
Richmond, Jim Hunter and his wife
Jennifer for the chance to come
home to SC.
Taiyen Stevenson
Ensemble
Taiyen is in his junior
year at University
Chandler
Walpole
is a senior theatre
undergraduate
at USC and will
graduate in May. Originally from
Boone, North Carolina, he has
trained in Columbia in both acting
and scenic carpentry. He has a
great love of Shakespeare, and has
greatly enjoyed being a part of last
year’s Macbeth and King Lear this
spring. He was last seen in How
I Learned to Drive at USC’s Lab
Theatre. It has been such a privilege
working with the phenomenal cast
and crew of Lear, and he wishes
his best to everyone at USC. It just
won’t be the same without you
guys!
Kelsea Woods
Ensemble
Kelsea is a sophomore
Theatre major at USC.
She was last seen in the
Lab Theatre production
of 12 Angry Jurors as Juror #4. Prior to
that, She was seen on the Mainstage
as Mrs. Barry in Compleat Female
Stage Beauty. Kelsea has previously
stage managed Good Mourning and
assistant stage managed Twelfth
Night in the Lab Theatre. Some of her
favorite acting credits to date include
The Threepenny Opera, Orestes, and
A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Kelsea
would like to thank her family and
friends for their continued support
as well as the cast and crew for all of
their hard work.
Daniel Ziegler
Ensemble
Daniel Ziegler is a
young writer living in
Columbia. I am not an
undergraduate, though I did once go
to the university. I am thankful to USC,
specifically the Theatre Program, as
well as the director, Cristian HadjiCulea, for the opportunity to be in
King Lear.
ARTISTIC COMPANY Cristian Hadji-Culea
Director
Since 2006, Cristian
has been the Director
General of the National
Theater of Iasi in his home country of
Romania. He has received numerous
awards through his career. Notably,
in 2011, he was awarded the Lifetime
Achievement Award from the Union
of Theatre Romania. Between 1998
and 2002, he was the Chairman of
the Board and Director General of
the Romanian National Television
Company. From 1991-2009, Cristian
was a professor of theatre direction
at the National University of Theatre
and Film, “I. L. Cargiale.” He has
worked or collaborated as a director
with Romanian professional theatre
companies such as Teatrul Mic,
Teatrul Bulandra, Odeon Theatre and
Hebrew Bucharest.
Nic Ularu
Co-Scenic Designer
Professor Ularu has
extensive design credits
in USA and Europe,
including theatres in Sweden,
Northern Ireland and Romania. Nic
Ularu was the head of scenography
at the National Theatre of Bucharest
- Romania, and served for four
years as a board member of The
European League of the Institutes
of the Arts (ELIA), Amsterdam,
The Netherlands. He has taught
scene and/or costume design in
Romania, Germany, Sweden, UK,
Italy, Denmark and Hong Kong. Prior
to USC, he taught at Smith College,
National Theatre School of Denmark
and The University of Theatre and
Film, Romania. In 2003, Professor
Ularu received an OBIE award for
outstanding achievement in OffBroadway theater. Ularu’s designs
appeared in the USA entries at the
Prague Quadrennial International
Exhibitions of scenography in 2007,
2003 and 1998. In 2005, Nic codesigned the exhibit and designed
the poster of the World Stage Design
Exhibition, Toronto - Canada, and
was appointed by the United States
Institute of Theatre Technology as the
leading designer and curator of the
USA National Exhibit at the Prague
Quadrennial International Exhibition
of 2007. Besides his national and
international design activity Nic
Ularu is a playwright and director. His
recent freelance work as playwright
and director includes several
acclaimed productions at LaMaMa
ETC - New York, Sibiu International
Theatre Festival - Romania, Teatrul
Foarte Mic, Bucharest - Romania,
“O” Teatret - Sweden, National
Theatre of Constanta - Romania, and
National Theatre of Cluj - Romania.
Nic recently received the Grand
Prix award for Best Production for
a show he designed and directed at
the Belgrade International Theatre
Featival.
William Love
Co-Scenic Designer
Billy Love is an M.F.A.
candidate in Scenic
Design at the University
of South Carolina Department of
Theatre and Dance. A South Carolina
native, Billy has worked as a muralist
and art educator in the region for
many years, and is excited to be back
in Columbia exploring a challenging
new creative endeavor in the Theatre
Arts.
Sean Smith
Costume Designer
Sean Smith is a secondyear Costume Design
MFA student and is
pleased to have worked
on this production of King Lear. Sean
is a graduate of Ashland University in
Ashland, Ohio where he received his
BA in Theatre and English. Previous
costume designs at the University
of South Carolina include Present
Laughter, The Pretty Trap, and The
Rose Tattoo. He thanks the USC
Theatre Department for this unique
opportunity and his parents for
driving all the way from Ohio to see it.
Todd Wren
Lighting Designer
Todd
Wren
has
designed the lighting for
more than 300 theatrical
productions across the
country. His national credits include;
The Coconut Grove Playhouse, Casa
Manana, Goodspeed Opera House,
Florida Repertory Theatre, Riverside
Theatre, Gainesville Theatre Alliance,
and Tennessee Repertory Theatre.
Regionally he has designed for North
Carolina Shakespeare Festival, Cape
Fear Regional Theatre, Flat Rock
Playhouse, and Charlotte Repertory
Theatre. Todd received his MFA from
Carnegie Mellon University School
of Drama and is an active member
of United Scenic Artists, Local 829.
For more information visit www.
toddwren.com.
Danielle Wilson
Sound Design
Danielle
is
always
pleased
to
return
to
Theater
South
Carolina. She graduated from the
MFA lighting design program at USC
in 2003. She worked as the house
lighting designer for the Blumenthal
Performing Arts Center’s Spirit
Square where she lit Derek Trucks,
The Avett Brothers, Arlo Guthrie,
and Eve Ensler, among others. She
returned to USC and worked for
four years as the Assistant Technical
Director for lighting and sound.
Danielle is currently a freelance
lighting and sound designer. She
would like to thank her (growing!)
family.
Valerie Pruett
Hair/Wigs/Makeup
Valerie
has
been
working
as
a
professional hair and
makeup artist for over fourteen years.
Before returning to the University
of South Carolina ten years ago,
she free-lanced and designed for
regional theatres across the country,
including: Milwaukee Repertory
Theatre, Utah Shakespeare Festival,
American Players Theatre, New
American Theatre, Dallas Theatre
Center, American Folklore Theatre
and the Madison Repertory Theatre.
Valerie also worked as a guest
lecturer and adjunct faculty at
Lawrence University in Appleton,
WI and the Professional Theatre
Training Program at the University
of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In addition
to teaching and designing at Theatre
SC, Valerie maintains an active
professional career as a Hair and
Make-up artist in the tri-state areas
with film and media productions.
She firmly believes that a successful
portrayal of any character must
include
the
complete
visual
transformation of that character in
order to have a true balance and
silhouette.
Cynthia Flach
Dance Choreographer
Cynthia Flach, is a
nationally
known
choreographer
of
stage musicals. She is a graduate of
Webster University and has worked
extensively in the South and MidWest. With over 125 stage musicals
to her choreographic credit, she
has worked with summer stock,
universities and community theatres.
She has been on the dance faculty
at USC since 1988. Ms. Flach has
staged Pop Concerts and full stage
productions for the South Carolina
Philharmonic. Cindy specializes in
Jazz, Musical Theatre, West African
and Tap instruction, and is the
coordinator and director for the
Student Choreography Showcase.
Paul Savas
Fight Choreographer
Paul is the Executive
and Artistic Director of
The Warehouse Theatre in Greenville
South Carolina. He is a member of
AEA, SAG, SDC and has taught
and performed all over the country.
He was a voicing actor with The
National Theatre of The Deaf for
two-and-a-half years, a founding
member of Hopeful Monsters (based
in New York City) and has performed
with The Boston and Philadelphia
Symphony Orchestras.
Becky Koeller
Stage Manager
Becky
Koeller
is
extremely grateful to
be working with the
cast and crew of King
Lear. She has had the pleasure of
previously working on many shows
here at USC, including assistant
stage managing Big Love, and stage
managing The Suicide, A Streetcar
Named Desire, A Midsummer
Night’s Dream, and Black Snow. A
huge thanks to K. Dale White, Steve
Pearson, and Robyn Hunt for always
encouraging and pushing her to
continue to follow her passion in the
theatre!
Jamie Boller
Assistant Stage
Manager
Jamie
Boller,
a
freshman
theatre
major, is thrilled to be working on
her first production in Drayton
Hall. She has recently been seen
onstage at the Lab Theatre in How
I Learned to Drive (Female Greek
Chorus), The Rose Tattoo (Flora),
and August Snow (Taw). Some of
her other favorite roles include Millie
Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern
Millie, Belle in Beauty and the Beast,
and Millie Owens in Picnic. Jamie is
so glad to have been part of such a
wonderful cast and crew for her first
Shakespearean experience!
Sam Gross
Assistant Technical
Director
Sam Gross is a
graduate of Indiana
University where he earned an MFA
in Theatre Technology. He specializes
in mechanized scenery, computercontrolled systems, electronics, set
construction, and rigging. He has
overseen the construction of USC
productions since 2005. Mr. Gross
received his Bachelor of Science
degree from the University of North
Alabama where he also worked as
a sound designer, lighting designer,
sound engineer, carpenter, and actor.
In his position as Assistant Technical
Director, Sam supervises graduate
and undergraduate students in
the construction of scenery and
props for USC Theatre and Dance
productions.
Spencer Henderson
Costume Studio
Supervisor
M.
Spencer
Henderson
is
a
graduate of the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill where he
received an MFA in Costume
Shop Management and Costume
Technology. He received his BA in
theatre from Florida State University.
His costuming credits include
Playmakers Repertory Company,
The Utah Shakespearean Festival,
and Glimmerglass Opera. Recently,
he spent the three summers (‘09’11) at the Williamstown Theatre
Festival as the Costume Shop
Manager. Spencer supervises the
USC costume shop, assists with the
pattern-making and construction
of costumes, and teaches costume
construction classes.
Jim Hunter
Chair/Artistic Director
Jim’s
scene
and
lighting designs have
been seen at such
theatres as Florida Stage, Arkansas
Rep, Charlotte Rep, Playhouse on the
Square, Drury Lane Theatre, Theatre
Virginia, the World Stage Exposition
in Toronto, Heritage Rep, Orlando
Shakespeare Theatre, Flat Rock
Playhouse, Veggie Tales Live! National
Tour, Wall Street Danceworks and
others. Recent projects include
the scene designs for A Christmas
Story at Phoenix Theatre in Arizona
and Rumors at Florida Rep. Jim is
a member of the national designers
union, United Scenic Artists, Local
829, in scene and lighting design.
He serves as an accreditation team
leader for the National Association
of Schools of Theatre and was
recently elected for his second
term on the NAST Commission for
Accreditation. Visit his website at
www.jimhunterdesigns.com.
Christine Jacky
Assistant Technical
Director
Christine
Jacky
received her MFA
from Southern Illinois University in
Theater with emphasis in lighting
design and theatrical management.
She specializes in stage electrics,
sound
technology,
production
management, and photography for
the stage. She has worked at Central
Piedmont Summer Theater, Long
Lake Camp for the Arts, McLeod
Summer Playhouse, New York City
International Fringe Festival, and
Lookingglass Theater in Chicago.
Lisa Martin-Stuart
Costume Design
Advisor
Professor Martin-Stuart
has served as the Head
of the Costume Design Program at
the University of South Carolina for
the past 17 years. Her training is in
costume design, historical costume
research, and costume technology.
She has contributed on over 60
productions for Theatre South
Carolina, including the recent Cyrano
de Bergerac and Gravity, which
performed in 2008 at the Connelly
Theatre in New York City and the
2008 production of The Violet
Hour. Design credits in film include:
Ruby in Paradise, winner of the 1993
Sundance Film Festival starring
Ashley Judd; Ulee’s Gold (1997)
starring Peter Fonda, winner of the
Best Actor Golden Globe Award;
and, Coastlines (2002) starring Josh
Brolin and Timothy Olyphant. She
has designed costumes for several
regional theatres including American
Folklore Theatre, Asolo State
Theatre, Aquila Theatre Company of
London, Charlotte Repertory Theatre
and Hippodrome State Theatre. Lisa
continues to work as the wardrobe
stylist for Mad M o n k e y ,
a
nationally
recognized
media
production company, and has
collaborated on numerous national
and regional award winning television
commercials including University
of South Carolina’s Bicentennial
Campaign and Cheerleader from the
USC 2004 recruitment campaign.
Professor Martin-Stuart also serves
as the Director of Undergraduate
Studies for the Department of
Theatre and Dance.
Andy Mills
Technical Director
Andy has designed
professionally
at
Shakespeare Theatre’s
Young
Company
(Washington,
DC),
Charlotte
Repertory Theatre, Carolina Opera,
USC Opera, and Trustus. Andy
currently teaches Intro to Theatre
Design and Theatre Laboratory. He
specializes in the area of properties,
finding or building the most obscure
of items. Andy is a Member of USITT.
Michelle Ouhl
Assistant Stage
Manager
Michelle Ouhl is a Junior
Theatre and English
major at USC, and is
excited to be returning to Drayton Hall
for her fifteenth college production.
She has served in many different roles
backstage, but her favorites so far
have been stage managing August
Snow in the Lab Theater last fall, and
assistant stage managing/sound
designing for Romeo and Juliet last
year. She has enjoyed getting back
into Shakespeare this semester, as
he is one of her favorite playwrights.
Michelle is an aspiring stage manager
and hopes to get a job at a regional
theatre after graduation.
Rocco Thompson
Assistant to the
Director
Rocco Thompson is a
senior theater major.
He has appeared in
many productions at USC and most
recently played Lady Bracknell in The
Importance of Being Earnest. He has
directed various full length shows
including Gruesome Playground
Injuries and The Clean House. Most
recently, he staged Tennessee
Williams’ The Rose Tattoo in the lab
theatre featuring a cast of fourteen
undergraduates. He was also a
part of Berkshire Theatre Group’s
Directing Assistantship Program in
the Summer of 2012. He hopes to
pursue a career as a director after he
graduates.
K. Dale White
Stage & Company
Manager/ Stage
Manager Advisor
K. Dale is a proud
member of Actors’ Equity. He has
worked on Broadway, Off Broadway,
regionally and has toured. He has
worked with David Rabe, Richard
Greenberg, Anna Deavere Smith,
George C. Wolfe, Tony Kushner and
John Rando, among others. Other
credits include: The Berkshire Theatre
Festival, Shakespeare and Company,
Playwrights Horizons, The Public
Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, La
Mama, Cambridge Theatre Company,
Available Light, Opera Theatre St.
Louis, the Repertory Theatre of St.
Louis and The Alley Theatre. He
teaches Stage Management at the
University of South Carolina. He has
taught at Emerson College, Boston,
Old Dominion University, Norfolk,
VA and Bard College at Simon’s
Rock, Great Barrington, MA. K. Dale
is a graduate of the Conservatory of
Theatre Arts, Webster University, St.
Louis, MO.
Victoria Wilson
Assistant Stage
Manager
Victoria Wilson (ASM)
is thrilled to be involved
in her first mainstage
show at USC. She last appeared
onstage in Plan 9 from Outer Space as
Tana and backstage in Motherf***er
With a Hat, both at Trustus Theatre.
She has also participated onstage
and backstage at many other
theaters around Columbia including
Dreher High School, Town Theatre,
Workshop Theatre, and the South
Carolina Shakespeare Company.
She is delighted as always to share
this amazing and often underappreciated art form with others.
CMA Chamber Music on Main
Featuring Artistic Director Edward Arron
2012 - 2013 Season
Tuesday, October 30
Wednesday, December 5
Internationally acclaimed artistic director
Edward Arron and world-renowned musicians
perform in the Museum’s gorgeous
DuBose-Poston Reception Hall.
Thursday, February 14
Thursday, March 21
Tuesday, April 30
Season pass: $175 or $130 for museum members
Single concert: $40 or $30 for members
Students: $5 the day of the concert
Presenting Sponsor
For tickets: columbiamuseum.org or 803.799.2810
BEHIND THE SCENES
Technical Director
Assistant Technical Directors
Assistant Stage Manager
Assistant Stage Manager
Assistant Stage Manager
Properties Master
Andy Mills
Sam Gross, Christine Jacky
Michelle Ouhl
Jamie Boller
Victoria Wilson
Andy Mills
Scenic Graduate Students/Scenic Artists
Scenic Undergraduate Assistants
Electrics Crew
Meredith Paysinger, Cao Xuemei,
Billy Love
Matthew Burcham, Chandler Walpole,
Jane Hearn
Lizzie Johnson
Courtney Bickley
Lauren Grier
Light Board Operator
Sound Board Operator
Projections Operator
Ashley Pittman, Jack Wood,
Katie Middleton, Nicole Bellas,
Alexander Bush, Dave Stancik,
Seth Kahn
Fly Crew Kamille Hayes, Katie Mobley, Matthew Burcham, James Isgett
Running Crew Bakari Lebby
Costume Graduate Students April Andrew, Vera DuBose,
Caitlin Moraska, Sean Smith
Undergraduate Assistants Elizabeth Coffin, Clarissa Felima,
Christine Parham, Justine Shelton-
Poole and the students of the theatre Lab Program
Dressers Amber Middleton, Sarah Hearn,
Rendell Stokes, Lauren Grier
Costume Studio Supervisor M. Spencer Henderson
Artistic Director/Chair Jim Hunter
Stage and Company Manager K. Dale White
Financial Manager Ray Jones
Administrative Assistants Charlotte Denniston, Leigh Cowart
Student Coordinator Lakesha Campbell
Marketing/Promotions Kevin Bush
Promotions Assistants Ashley Bruner, Octavius Galloway,
Eldren Keys, Michelle Ouhl,
Kiera Walker, Olander Wilson
Russell House Suite 227U | Columbia, SC 29208
710 Pulaski Street | Columbia, SC 29201
4480 Rosewood Dr. | Columbia, SC 29209
803.227.5555
Carolina Collegiate
Federal Credit Union
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BANKING TRADITION
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UPCOMING EVENTS
USC DANCE CONSERVATORY presents
May
24-25, 2013
6pm May 24 | 2pm May 25
RIGAMAROLE
directed by richard jennings
MAY 3 & 4 | 7pm
lab theatre
freeadmission
Drayton Hall
Theatre
1214 College St.
Longstreet Theatre, 1300 Greene St. | Columbia, SC 29208
803.777.5208 | [email protected] | [email protected]/thea