HAMILL
Christopher V. Edwards, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Jen Babcock Davis, MANAGING DIRECTOR
Lindsay Williams, DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
EMMA
BASED ON THE NOVEL BY Jane Austen DIRECTED BY Regine Vital
FEATURING
Alex Bowden*, Fady Demian*, Josephine Moshiri Elwood*, Liza Giangrande, Jennie Israel*, Lorraine Victoria Kanyike, Dev Luthra, AND Mara Sidmore*
PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER
Lisette van den Boogaard*
SCENIC DESIGN
Saskia Martínez
SOUND DESIGNER Anna Drummond
INTIMACY DIRECTOR Olivia Dumaine
CHOREOGRAPHER Taavon Gamble* BY Kate Hamill
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Jenny S. Lee
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER Jake Mariño*
COSTUME DESIGN Nia Safarr Banks^
PROPS MANAGER Isaac West
FIGHT COORDINATOR Christopher V. Edwards*
VOICE COACH Ashleigh Reade
LIGHTING DESIGN Deb Sullivan^
DRAMATURG Kristin Leahey
PRODUCTION ELECTRICIAN Matt Pierce
ASSISTANT INTIMACY DIRECTOR Ts Burnham
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
^Member IATSE United Scenic Artists Local 829
Originally commissioned and produced by Guthrie Theater Joesph Haj, Director
EMMA is presented through special arrangement with TRW PLAYS 1180 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 640, New York, NY 10036 www.trwplays.com
MULTICULTURAL ARTS CENTER
41 Second St, East Cambridge, MA 02141 MulticulturalArtsCenter.org
ACTORS' SHAKESPEARE PROJECT 321 Arsenal St, Watertown, MA 02472 ActorsShakespeareProject.org • @aspbostontheatre
FROM THE DIRECTOR
Of her fourth published novel’s titular character, Austen said, “I’m going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.” And if the first lines are any indication, she did try:
"Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her."
Beautiful, smart, and rich with not a care in the world…seriously? Even I’d hate that bitch. And for a long time, I kinda did.
I first read Austen in college, when I finally experienced the romance and sparkle of Pride & Prejudice; I immediately endeavored to devour every bit of Austen material I could get my hands on. I read the novels in order of publication, which meant Emma was adventure #4. I was very underwhelmed. Not by the writing, no— even then I understood that Austen had found a new artistic gear in Emma, that her narrative style and skill had thoroughly leveled up. But the novel fell flat for me; the smiles I was left with after Sense and Pride—even after Mansfield Park!—didn’t manifest with Emma.
Years later, in a Romanticism course in grad school, I told my professor Emma was my least favorite Austen, that it didn’t do for me what the other novels did, that I didn’t understand how the feminist author I so revered could write that character and make her the heroine of her best literary work.
“But you know why that is,” she said. “It’s because of all her novels, Emma is the most masculine.”
And something clicked. What I was chafing against wasn’t the novel—not its tone, its language, its subject, or its heroine. It was the fact that Jane Austen, three successful titles into her writing career, still had to prove that she was good—really good—at what she did. And the only way to do that, was to do it like a man.
Since that moment, I’ve been searching for an opportunity to discover if my connection to the novel had shifted, if it could shift at all. I’d watched film/TV adaptations, some of which I enjoyed (Clueless is by far the best); read academic and pop culture articles; talked ad nauseum to folks who adored the book, but nothing swayed me—not until this play.
Like Austen, Kate Hamill has found her own new gear with this adaptation. Her Emma contains the same wit, sharpness, and irreverence of her other works, but somehow speaks louder and more clearly in her own voice. And it is her voice that finally gave me an Emma I knew and wanted to root for, an Emma I wanted to lift up and live with. Hamill's Emma is the feminist I believe Austen tried to be, that we all try to be—yes, she’s beautiful, smart, and rich; but also flawed, confused, passionate, persistent, fallible, resilient, clumsy, determined, and forever progressing forward. Committed to sisterhood, friendship, and true community.
Maybe I’m putting all that on a play that’s meant to just be screwball comedy at its best. But I don’t think so. Art speaks loudest when it's most honest. Having written this adaptation at a time when the world we thought we knew was—and still is—in perpetual flux, when we have been compelled over and over to reconsider and recalibrate how we exist in our worlds, as individuals and as a collective, Kate has given us an Emma which compels us to keep moving forward, onward, and upward.
Forward. Onward. Upward. We continue, we endure, we rise—together. Emma could not evolve to “be more” without the engagement and love of her community, especially the women. This is also true for us, sitting in community here in this beautiful space, to share some laughs, some tea, and a whole lot of joy.
I am so glad you’re here with us, and I hope you enjoy yourselves. And remember: Always forward. Ever onward. Together upward
REGINE VITAL
ALEX BOWDEN* HE/HIM
GEORGE KNIGHTLEY
LIZA GIANGRANDE
SHE/HER HARRIET SMITH
DEV
LUTHRA HE/HIM
MR. WESTON/ MR. WOODHOUSE
FADY
DEMIAN* HE/HIM
MR. ELTON/ FRANK CHURCHILL
JENNIE ISRAEL* SHE/HER MISS BATES
MARA SIDMORE* SHE/HER MRS. WESTON/ MRS. BATES
JOSEPHINE
MOSHIRI ELWOOD* SHE/HER EMMA WOODHOUSE
LORRAINE VICTORIA KANYIKE SHE/HER
JANE FAIRFAX/ MRS. ELTON
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
WHO’S WHO
NAMES IN BLUE represent members of Actors' Shakespeare Project's Resident Artist Company
ALEX BOWDEN* (George Knightley )
Actors' Shakespeare Project: debut. Boston theater: Chekhov's A Marriage Proposal (Ashland Farmer's Market). Other: Director, Writer, and Actor in OSBOS: A Documentary Series (ATX Short Film Showcase Official Selection); Sunday Night Weirdos (Austin TX Public Television); Tartuffe, The Importance of Being Earnest, and The Mandrake (Roger Williams University Theatre). Education: BA in Theatre and Communications from Roger Williams University. Alex would like to thank his family including his mother, father and his brother Dylan for their endless support and love. (he/him)
FADY DEMIAN* (Mr. Elton/Frank Churchill/Robert Martin) Actors
Shakespeare Project: As You Like It New York: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) (revised). Regional: Someone Will Remember Us (Trinity Repertory); The Band’s Visit (Huntington/SpeakEasy); Prayer for the French Republic (Huntington); Wild Goose Dreams (SpeakEasy); Lorena: Tabloid Epic and Incels & Other Myths (Boston Playwrights); Romeo and Juliet (Prague Shakespeare Company). Film and Television: “Terminal List: Dark Wolf” (Amazon Prime/dir. Fred Toye); “The Perfect Couple” (Netflix/ dir. Suzanne Bier); “The New Tenant” (dir. Youssef Hesham); “Roses and Red Noses” (dir. Zac Vujnov). Education: Boston University (BFA Acting/musical theatre concentration) and LAMDA
(Classical Acting Certificate). Fady won the SpeakEasy Thomas Derrah Artist Award in 2024. Represented by Engage Artists Agency and Lohne/Graham Management. Instagram: @fadyd5, www.fadydemian.com (he/him)
JOSEPHINE
MOSHIRI ELWOOD* ( Emma Woodhouse) Actors’ Shakespeare Project: Othello, God’s Ear Regional: Wish You Were Here (Gloucester Stage Company); The Band's Visit (Huntington/ SpeakEasy); Prayer for the French Republic (Huntington Theatre Company); English, People Places & Things, Hand to God, The Whale (SpeakEasy Stage); Vanity Fair (Central Square Theater); Onegin, Gabriel (Greater Boston Stage Company); Old Money (Commonwealth Shakespeare); Long Ago and Far Away, The Cherry Orchard (Walking the Dog Theatre). Film/TV: "Nos4A2," “The Immigrant”. Education: BFA in Acting from Emerson College. (she/her)
LIZA
GIANGRANDE (Harriet Smith/ Dance Captain) is thrilled to be making her Actors’ Shakespeare Project debut! Off Broadway: Girls Who Walked On Glass (Gordon Farrell). Regional: Jo March in Little Women [Elliot Norton Award nomination — Outstanding Leading Performance in a Musical] (Greater Boston Stage Company); Joan of Arc in Born To Do This (The Company Theatre - World Premiere); Lizzie (Umbrella Stage Company); Late, The Manic Monologues (Moonbox
Productions); You're A Good Man Charlie Brown (Actor’s Company of Natick and Firehouse Center for the Arts). Film & TV: "Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman" on PBS Kids Go, and "Wish I Was There" (Best Actress, NYIFAwards Recipient).
Education: BA in Music from Fairfield University, Meisner Foundational Training from the Michael Chekhov Actor’s Studio. Thank you to Regine and Chris, Scott, Noel, Spencer and Darlene, and Mom and Dad for all believing in me. This one is for my Emma, Marcela–I love you so. To connect with Liza on social media, she can be found on Instagram @lizagiangrande and TikTok @lizarookangaroo! (she/her)
JENNIE ISRAEL* ( Miss Bates) Actors’ Shakespeare Project (Founder): Medea, The Duchess of Malfi, Edward II, Richard III, Henry VI part 1, and 10 other productions Regional: Cyrano (Lincoln Center Theatre); The Marriage of Figaro, The Beaux Stratagem (Yale Repertory Theatre); Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Leopoldstadt (Huntington Theatre); Guernica, King Lear (Actors’ Theatre of Louisville); Antigone (Chautauqua Theatre); Living in Exile, The Heidi Chronicles (Vineyard Playhouse); King Lear (La Mama); Scarlet Letter, Macbeth (Shakespeare & Company); Macbeth, As You Like It (Commonwealth Shakespeare); Dancing at Lughnasa, Living Together, Table Manners (Gloucester Stage); Boston Marriage, Dollhouse, Tartuffe (New Rep); Twelfth Night (Lyric Stage); Molly Maguire (Sugan Theatre). Film/TV: “Rudy” (Tristar); “Darkling Plain” (Trinity Pictures); “Miss Julie” (PBS/BBC); “Guiding Light” (CBS). Education: MFA Yale School of Drama. (she/her)
LORRAINE VICTORIA KANYIKE ( Jane Fairfax/Mrs. Elton ) Actors' Shakespeare Project: debut. Regional: Clyde’s (The Huntington); A Raisin in the Sun, DIASPORA! (New Repertory Theater); Chicken & Biscuits (The Front
Porch Arts Collective); BLKS (Speakeasy Stage Company); JOHN DESERVES TO DIE (Fresh Ink Theater Company); The Colored Museum (The Umbrella Stage Company); Young Nerds of Color, Splash Hatch on the E Going Down (Central Square Theater/The Nora Theatre Company). Film: “Something Beautiful in the Daylight” (directed by Dylan Ricci), “Petunia” (directed by Miriam Olken). Education: B.A. in Theatre Arts and African Studies from The University of Massachusetts - Boston. Instagram: @lorrainevictoria.kanyike (she/her)
DEV
LUTHRA (Mr. Weston/ Mr. Woodhouse) Actors’ Shakespeare Project: Henry IV, Parts 1&2. Regional: The Book of Will (Hub Theatre Company); The Seagull, The Gaaga (Arlekin Players); Othello (DreamRole Players); The Winter’s Tale, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bay Colony Shakespeare Company); Dance Nation, Brilliant Adventures, Caucasian Chalk Circle (Apollinaire Theatre Company); N. Bonaparte (Pilgrim Theatre). Dev serves as a teaching artist at Wheelock Family Theatre and Company One. His courses focus on Shakespeare, devised theatre, acting, and playwrighting. He has taught at Boston College, Emerson College, and at Boston University’s Prison Education Program. Dev served as the Artistic Director of And Still We Rise Productions, a theatre company committed to the advocacy of the rights of people impacted by the prison system. Macbeth’s Children, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, co-written with Michael Bettencourt, won an AATE New Play award. His play Secret Asian Man focuses on the experience of being raised in two cultures. Other produced works include Peeling the Onion (AAPC) and Weighting the Wait (devised/OTP). Of Anglo-Indian parentage, he has lived and worked in the Northeast since 1978. (he/him)
MARA SIDMORE* ( Mrs. Weston/ Mrs. Bates) Actors’ Shakespeare
Project: The Merchant of Venice, Pride & Prejudice, Richard III, The Tempest, The Winter’s Tale, As You Like It, Phedre, Lady Macbeth, Twelfth Night, Antony & Cleopatra, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Regional: Donnie Darko, Romeo and Juliet (American Repertory Theatre); Macbeth (Commonwealth Shakespeare), The Cherry Orchard, Van Gogh in Japan, Smelling a Rat (Nora Theatre). Education: MFA Acting, Moscow Art Theatre School/American Repertory Theatre’s Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University. Mara was on staff at ASP for a decade, serving first as the Director of Education and later as the Managing Director. She is currently a Visiting Associate Professor in the Theatre Department at Northeastern University and works with the Ariel Group as a facilitator/executive coach. (she/her)
CREATIVE TEAM
REGINE VITAL (Director) is a storyteller, theatre artist, educator and current Associate Producer at Actors’ Shakespeare Project. Most recently, she directed Wheelock Family Theatre’s A Wrinkle in Time, and she has appeared onstage in ASP’s productions of As You Like It (Celia) and Seven Guitars (Louise).
As an actor, director, dramaturg, teaching artist, and coach, she has worked with several theatre companies, programs, and schools. She teaches performance studies, composition, literature, and public speaking at Boston area universities; text and performance to high school and middle school students; and has taught continuing adult education classes in literature. A hometown girl
from Somerville, MA, she is the previous Manager of Curriculum and Instruction at The Huntington.
Other regional credits: The Huntington, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, American Repertory Theater, ArtsEmerson, Company One, SpeakEasy Stage, Central Square Theatre. Fringe/ Local: Fresh Ink Theatre, Boston University School of Theatre, Moonbox Productions, Plays In Place, Flat Earth Theatre, Hub Theatre, Open Theatre Project, Concord Players, Birch Tree Productions, Green Door Labs. NYC/Podcasts/Film: Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, Broadway Podcast Network, The Penumbra Podcast, Revolutionary Spaces. Education: BA, Boston University; MA, University of Massachusetts, Boston; MA candidate, King’s College London/Shakespeare’s Globe. (she/her)
TS BURNHAM (Assistant Intimacy Director) Actors’ Shakespeare Project: debut. Regional (Intimacy): All Shook Up (Reagle Music Theatre). Greater Boston theater (Acting): All Shook Up (Reagle Music Theatre); Legally Blonde (Moonbox Productions); Carnival (Gloucester Stage). TV: “Spirited,” “Olive Kittridge.” Education: Dean College: B.A. Theatre, concentrations in Acting, Musical Theatre, Directing. Love to the family, Myles, and everyone at ASP. @_tsburnham_
NIA SAFARR BANKS^ (Costumes Designer) (she/her) is a costume designer and educator. Her design work has been seen in various productions, including William Shakespeare’s Hamlet at American Shakespeare Center, August Wilson’s Fences at Shakespeare and Company, and Self Portrait (Deluxe) at The Bushwick Starr. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Costume Design from Boston University in 2023, and her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2019. She has been nominated for two Richmond
Critic Awards for her outstanding work in Costume Design, for both An Octoroon (2019) and A Christmas Kaddish (2022). Her upcoming credits include William Shakespeare’s Macbeth (Cincinnati Shakespeare Company) and Fat Ham (Virginia Stage Company).
ANNA DRUMMOND (Sound Designer)
Actors’ Shakespeare Project: debut! Regional: Chicken & Biscuits, Exception to the Rule (Front Porch Arts Collective); Dream Boston: 3 Miles, K-I-S-S-I-N-G (Huntington Theatre Company); Pass Over, BLKS, Cost of Living, Laughs in Spanish (SpeakEasy Stage Company); A Deal, The Ghost of Keelung, Nüwa In Fairyland (Chuang Stage); Leftovers, can i touch it?, The Interrobangers, HOOPS (Company One); Black Super Hero Magic Mama (Company One/ American Repertory Theatre); Prowess, Eurydice, Soul Tapes, The Book of Lucy (Trinity Repertory/Brown University); Shrike, Truth Or Consequences (Fresh Ink Theatre); Break Break (The Legion Project); The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Beyond Words (Central Square Theater); Mermaid Hour (Moonbox Productions). Education: Emerson College. (they/ them)
OLIVIA DUMAINE (Intimacy Director)
Actors’ Shakespeare Project: Romeo and Juliet, King Hedley II, How I Learned To Drive, The Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It Regional Intimacy Credits: The Hombres (Gloucester Stage Company/ Teatro Chelsea); All Shook Up (Reagle Music Theatre); Fade (Teatro Chelsea); Beyond Words, Ada and the Engine (Central Square Theater); The Normal Heart (New Repertory Theatre); Holy Chicken Sandwich, The House of Ramón Iglesia, Passing Strange (Moonbox Productions); Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare & Company); and Everyday Life and Other Odds and Ends (Sleeping Weazel). Education: Salem State University; Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, Theatrical Intimacy
Education, Intimacy for the Stage and Screen. www.oliviadumaine.com (she/ her)
CHRISTOPHER V. EDWARDS* (Fight Coordinator) is currently the Artistic Director of Actors’ Shakespeare Project. Actors’ Shakespeare Project (Acting): Romeo and Juliet. Actors' Shakespeare Project (Directing): The Taming of the Shrew, Let The Right One In, The Bombitty of Errors, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), Pride & Prejudice, Equivocation, Much Ado About Nothing Selected Regional (Directing): Fences [2023 Berkshire Theatre Critic Award Winner — Outstanding Production], ‘ART’ (Shakespeare & Company); Hamlet (Gloucester Stage Company); Fences, A Raisin in the Sun (Cincinnati Shakespeare Company); How I Learned What I Learned, Fences (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival). Education: MFA, University of Minnesota. (he/him)
TAAVON GAMBLE* (Choreographer) Actors’ Shakespeare Project: debut! Off-Broadway: Movement Director for Pericles (Classic Stage/Fiasco Theater). Directing/Choreography: La Cage aux Folles (Trinity Rep); Boulevard of Bold Dreams (Greater Boston Stage Company); The Little Mermaid (Reagle Music Theatre); Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Peach State Summer Theatre); Pippin (Jean’s Playhouse); Seussical (Pittsburgh Playhouse); A Chorus Line (Arundel Barn Playhouse). Choreography: A Christmas Carol (Trinity Rep); The Prom [2024 Elliot Norton Nominee – Outstanding Choreography], A Strange Loop (SpeakEasy Stage Company); Legally Blonde (Moonbox Productions); Alice By Heart, Something Rotten! (Boston Conservatory); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Gamm Theatre); The Color Purple, Hair (WPPAC); Airness (University of California Santa Barbara); Kiss of the Spider Woman (Brown University); West Side Story, Chicago (Bigfork Summer
Theatre). Taavon is a resident artist at Trinity Repertory Theatre Company and is part of the physical theater faculty in Brown/Trinity Rep's MFA program. Next, Taavon directs the Off-Broadway premiere of the new musical Upside Down opening March 2025. www.taavongamble.com. (he/him)
KRISTIN LEAHEY, PH.D (Dramaturg) is an Assistant Professor at Boston University. She has freelanced as an artist with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, O’Neill Theater Center, Trinity Repertory Theatre, Primary Stages, Classical Stage Company, Playwrights’ Center, Dallas Theater Center, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Guthrie Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre, The Goodman Theatre, The Kennedy Center, The Old Globe, the Indiana Repertory Theatre, Cleveland Play House, American Theatre Company, Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Hartford Stage, People’s Light, Ireland’s Galway Arts Festival, Teatro Vista (artistic associate), Steep Theatre (ensemble
member), and A Red Orchid Theatre, among others. She holds a Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin, earned her MA in Theatre from Northwestern University, and her BA in Drama and History from Tufts University. Her publications include articles in Theatre Topics, Journal of American Drama, and New England Theatre Journal, as well as in the anthologies Teaching Performance Practices in Remote, Routledge Companion to Dramaturgy Anthology, and the Routledge Companion to Latine Theatre and Performance. Leahey is the Co-Editor of LMDA’s Review and is the Editor for a Special Issues Section of Theatre History Studies on Queer and Transgender Performance and Theatre. She recently completed a research grant from the Harry Ransom Center. She served as the Literary Manager of Wolly Mammoth Theatre, Literary Director of Seattle Rep, and was a producer with the WP 2020-22 Lab. She is a recipient of a Fulbright and will be in collaboration with
the Abbey Theatre. (she/her)
JENNY S. LEE (Assistant Director)
Actors’ Shakespeare Project: debut. Regional (Directing): The Heart Sellers (AD, Huntington Theatre); Luz & Urduja (CHUANG Stage); Volt Lab Directing fellow (Company One); John Deserves to Die (AD, Fresh Ink Theatre). Boston theater (Acting): The Hounds of the Baskervilles (Central Square Theatre); Yellowface (Lyric Stage); Stir Frying Mahjong (Mass Coalition for Suicide Prevention); Troublemaker, Takeover (Asian American Playwrights Collective). Associate Producer (CHUANG Stage). Instagram: @_jennyslee_ (she/her)
JAKE MARIÑO (Assistant Stage Manager)
Actors’ Shakespeare Project: King Hedley II, Coriolanus (Production Stage Manager), The Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It, Nat Turner in Jerusalem (Assistant Stage Manager), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Stage Management Intern). Select Boston theater: Yellow Face (Lyric Stage Company of Boston); Revolution’s Edge (Plays in Place); Black Super Hero Magic Mama, Wolf Play, Greater Good (Company One). Jake is a graduate of Suffolk University with his BA in Theatre. Find him on all social media for any and all DJing/Bartending needs and more: @jakefromoregon. He would like to thank his partner, Jess, for their neverending love and support. Enjoy! (he/him)
SASKIA MARTÍNEZ (Scenic Designer)
Actors’ Shakespeare Project (Scenic): Romeo and Juliet. Actors’ Shakespeare Project (Props): King Hedley II, How I Learned To Drive, The Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It, Coriolanus, Seven Guitars. Boston theater: The Spongebob Musical, A Wrinkle in Time, Little Women: The Musical (Wheelock Family Theatre); HER|alive.un.dead (Guerilla Opera); Twelfth Night (Brandeis University). Education: Boston University. Saskia is also a scenic charge artist working in
the Boston area and a teaching artist at Wheelock Family Theatre. (they/them)
ASHLEIGH READE* (Voice Coach)
Selected Regional: The Light Princess (ART); Sweeney Todd (Moonbox); Always, Patsy Cline (Delaware Theater Company); A Christmas Carol (Hanover Theater); Anonymous Lover (Boston Lyric Opera), Driving in Circles [Elliot Norton Award Winner, Best Solo Performance] (Boston Playwrights' Theatre). Assistant Professor of Voice and Speech, Boston University School of Theater, Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice VoiceworkTM, Certified Vocal Combat TechniqueTM Trainer. Member, National Alliance of Acting Teachers, AEA, VASTA, ATHE. Education: BFA, Boston Conservatory, MFA, Harvard University/ M.X.A.T., Certificate in Classical Acting, LAMDA. (she/her)
DEB SULLIVAN^ (Lighting Designer) (she/her) is a Boston-based lighting designer with Off-Broadway, regional, local and educational credits. Design work has been seen on stages with Actors’ Theatre of Louisville, Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Alliance Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Brandeis University, Cleveland Playhouse, Dorset Playhouse, Gloucester Stage Company, Greater Boston Stage Company, Harbor Stage Company, The Huntington, New Repertory Theatre, The Public Theater/ NYSF, Shakespeare and Company, SpeakEasy Stage Company, Trinity Repertory Company, Two River Theatre, WP Theatre and many others. Member IATSE United Scenic Artists Local 829. www.dlsullivanld.com.
LISETTE VAN DEN BOOGAARD* (Stage Manager) Actors' Shakespeare Project: Romeo and Juliet, How I Learned to Drive, The Taming of the Shrew Boston theater: The Winter’s Tale, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet (Commonwealth Shakespeare
Company); Machine Learning (Central Square Theatre). Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, Marry Me A Little (Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre); Library Lion (Adam Theatre); Metamorphoses (Suffolk University). (she/they)
ISAAC WEST (Props Manager) (he/him) is a highly skilled technician working within the Boston Theatre scene. He has experience in a wide range of disciplines including props, scenic painting, carpentry, electrics, and jewelry. Isaac has a bachelor’s degree from UMass Boston. Since he got his degree he has worked on various productions all over the country. Tartuffe (BCA Plaza); The Importance of Being Earnest, Macbeth (Blackfriars Playhouse); Rent (Robsham Theatre); Legally Blonde (Roberts Studio Theatre), West Side Story (Reagle Theatre).
Founded in 1913, AEA represents 45,000 actors, singers, dancers and stage managers across the United States and seeks to advance, promote and foster the art of live theater as an essential component of our society. AEA negotiates wages and working conditions and provides a wide range of benefits including health and pension plans. AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. For more information, visit www.actorsequity.org.
^ Member IATSE United Scenic Artists Local 829.
MOONBOX AD
As we actively challenge how we produce our work on stage and in the classroom, the Community Access Initiative serves to simultaneously challenge the makeup of our audiences and program participants to ensure that underrepresented people and stories have equitable presence not only on the stage but also in our seats.
The Community Access Initiative ensures ASP can achieve its vision of:
• A more unified Greater Boston that can embrace differences
• An inclusive community where theatre artists of all ages and identities are empowered to express themselves
• A theatre landscape that offers audiences exposure to a wide range of powerful writing in intimate, accessible settings
• A more sustainable, diverse, and inclusive space for our community, with clear pathways for theatre artists to advance their careers.
The Community Access Initiative directly sponsors:
• 20 seats for $20 at every performance
• Pay-What-You-Will performances starting at $10
• Full and partial scholarships and stipended positions for all youth and adult programs
• Deepened access to in-school programs for schools that can’t afford workshops or residencies
• $0-25 tickets to student matinees and transportation assistance when necessary
• Paid internship positions on all productions and a yearround co-op position
• Fair compensation and reasonable expectations for all who work for ASP
• And more.
DONORS
Actors’ Shakespeare Project is deeply grateful to the donors listed here for their generosity and support. The following list reflects donations received Nov 1, 2023 through Nov 1, 2024.
For questions concerning donations, please email our Development Manager at kelsey@actorsshakespeareproject.org
$25,000–$49,999
Jean Cummings
$2,500–$9,999
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Jerry Wheelock and Elizabeth Wood
Stone Soup Fund
$1,000–$2,499
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Ben and Carlyn Bassham
Bruce Herrmann & Erin Hoffer
Kathleen A Crowley
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Richard Davies
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$100 - $249
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Alice Laramore and Adam Paltrineri
Andrea Kunst
borab
Brian Pingree
Carles R. Carr
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David Chosiad and Paula Thompson
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Hon. Stephen P. Driscoll
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Bidin
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McCabe
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Stewart and Rhonda Lassner
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Dana Ortegón
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Eileen and Brian MacDougall
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Eunice Charles
Gail Guerra
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James Pelrine
Jane Jackson
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Jeff Theis
Jenn Brandel
Jennie Israel and Steve Curtis
Jesse Lipson
Jim Madigan
Joel Rosenberg
John Gribos
Joseph and Harriette Carlin
Judith L. Berman
Judy Braha and Rich Fisher
Julie Koo
Kelly Cook
Kristy Bykowski
Kyle and Valerie Brown
Lee Warren
Marg-e Kelley
Margie McKenna and Steve Mirin
Mark Bourbeau
Marsha Hunter
Michael Maso
Olive Cotton
Omar Robinson
Pandora Berman and Alan Bawden
Paul Feiss/Peg McKenna
Paula Chasan
Peter Laramore
Powell Family Fund
Richard Ransohoff
Rita Gehrenbeck-Shim
Robert Jampol
Robert Patten
Robert Saoud
Sandra Cullison and Jim Annis
Shawn Paul
Skylar Fitzgerald
Steve Lilly-Weber
Steven Bloom & Margie Mitlin
Susan Bringola
Susan Walsh and Steve Harvey
Viven Ramirez
Zelda Gamson
“Santa
“Winter
“What
FOUNDATIONAL SUPPORT
Blue Piano Fund
Boston Cultural Council
BPS Arts Expansion Fund at EdVestors
Cambridge Community Foundation
Community Charity Lodge of St. Andrew
Deborah Munroe Noonan Memorial Fund
Edvestors Arts Internship Program
Hamilton Company Charitable Foundation
Liberty Mutual
Mabel Louise Riley Foundation
Mass Cultural Council
National Endowment for the Arts
Nellie Leaman Taft Foundation
Ramsey McCluskey Family Foundation
Parker Clare Family Foundation
Parker Family Foundation
Shakespeare in American Communities: National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest
Shubert Foundation
Theatre League of Kansas City
COMMUNITY ACCESS INITIATIVE
A special thank you to everyone who has helped us start funding our new Community Access Initiative, which serves to simultaneously challenge the makeup of our audiences and program participants to ensure that underrepresented people and stories have equitable presence not only on the stage but also in our seats.
Anonymous (11)
Austin and Sarah deBesche
Barbara Brescia
Carly Dreme Calbreath
Gregory B. Nash
Jean E. Walsh & Graham Davies
Julia Hendrix
Karl & Chris Johnson
Liz Cremens
Mabel Louise Riley Foundation
Maxine B Peck
Nancy Buck
R. Lynn Rardin & Lynne A. O'Connell
Rabbi Lori Shaller and Matt Pelikan
William Miniscalco and Sarah M. Guilford
ABOUT ACTORS' SHAKESPEARE PROJECT
Actors' Shakespeare Project is an award-winning professional theater company with a Resident Acting Company and extensive education, youth and community programs. ASP works and performs in found spaces, schools, and theaters in Boston neighborhoods. We present and explore the robust language, resonant stories, and deeply human characters in Shakespeare's plays and in other language-based contemporary playwrights. Our work is focused on intimacy, storytelling, language, relationships, voice, risk and artistry within and throughout the Boston area.
For more information, visit www.ActorsShakespeareProject.org.
STAFF
Christopher V. Edwards
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Jen Babcock Davis
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Lindsay Williams
DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
Evan Turissini
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Kelsey Tidball
DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Regine Vital
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Danielle Ibrahim
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Jules Talbot
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Victoria Omoregie
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
ASSOCIATE
Emily Thibodeau
LEAD TEACHING ARTIST
Louise Croteau
BOOKKEEPER
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jean Cummings PRESIDENT
David Sandberg
TREASURER
John Affleck CLERK
Carolina Cardillo
Jeremy Gooden
Bruce Herrmann
Jean Dany Joachim
Omar Robinson
Luke Salisbury
Sheryl White
RESIDENT ACTING COMPANY
Esme Allen*
Lydia Barnett-Mulligan*
Marianna Bassham*
Allyn Burrows*
Paige Clark*
Jade Guerra*
Brooke Hardman*
Jesse Hinson*
Jennie Israel*
Doug Lockwood*
Marya Lowry*
Johnnie Mack
Jake Mariño*
Nael Nacer*
Sarah Newhouse*
Maurice Emmanuel Parent*
Paula Plum*
Omar Robinson*
Jon Savage
Mara Sidmore*
Alejandro Simoes*
Richard Snee*
Bobbie Steinbach*
Adele Nadine Traub*
Lisette van den Boogaard*
Shanelle Chloe Villegas*
Walsh*
