WelcometoBU’sSOT!
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FROM THE SCHOOL OF THEATRE DIRECTOR
TheSchoolofTheatreisoverjoyedtowelcomeyoutoour2025-2026season. ThisyearallofourworkexploresthethemesofRenewandReuse,aninvitation forallofourresidenttheatrepractitionershereatSOTtopresentworkthat takesastoryorthemethatmayseemsomewhatfamiliar,usethestorytelling poweroftheatretoexaminethosethemesanew.Forsomeofourprojectssuch asDreamthisentailsadaptingaplaythathasbeenmountedperpetuallysinceits firstincarnationsandre-shapingittopushtheboundariesofliveperformance throughitsexplorationoftechnologyonstage,or,notsoperpetual,suchas Islanderanditsexplorationofsound. Forourmanyinstancesofnewwork–The Eleanors,Thumbprint,CalfScramble,FlowersforMrs.Harris,Flight,andour NextStageWorkshopsandSpringboards–thisre-envisioningtakestheformof newandemergingartistsre-consideringessentialqueriesofwhatitmeanstobe humanduringourbriefperiodoftimeonthisearthtogether.Forpiecessuchas TopGirls,FefuandHerFriends,12AngryJurors,andcontemporaryadaptations ofRoméoandJuliette,MedeaandTheOresteia,thiscanmeanrediscovering workbyplaywrightswhohavedemandedaudiencescontemplatetheforcesthat bind,orotherwisethreatentotearusapart.Wearealsodelightedtorevisit offeringsthatappeareachyearinourseason–namelyourcollaborationwith BostonUniversity'sDanceTheatreGroupAuroraBorealisandDirector’sProject. Wehope,however,thatyouwillexperienceallofourpiecesasacelebrationof communityandcollaboration,forcesthathaveproventimeagain,toinstill meaningnotonlyinourwork,buttheprocessesthatwesharetobringthatwork tolife.
KirstenGreenidge DirectoroftheSchoolofTheatre,BostonUniversity
DREAM
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
CAST
THESEUS/OBERON
DEMETRIUS/OTHERS
HELENA/OTHERS
BOTTOM/EGEUS
LYSANDER/OTHERS
PUCK/PHILOSTRATE
HIPPOLYTA/TITANIA
HERMIA/OTHERS
Jaxon Ackerman
Edward Bergham
Maia Bester
Dany Dakhlallah
Nathaniel Ryan-Kern
Emery Genga
Aleah Sebrey
Hope Spann
FACULTY MEMBERS
Faculty Project Advisor
Faculty Project Advisor
Percussionists
Clay Hopper
Jon Savage
James Grady
Gareth Smith
DESIGN & PRODUCTION TEAM
DIRECTOR
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
STAGE MANAGER
SCENE DESIGNER
PROJECTION CONTENT
DESIGNER
PROJECTIONS DESIGNER
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Clay Hopper
Gus Kim
Keira Bertram
Jon Savage
Andi Zhang
Christian Killada
Zola Gutierrez
PRODUCTION CREW
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
Amy O’Brien
Nathan Kane
Jeremy Cronenberg
PLAYWRIGHT & DIRECTOR
William Shakespeare (PLAYWRIGHT)
William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616) is often regarded as one of the greatest writers of the English language, and one of the most wellknown and renowned playwrights of our time. Also known as “The Bard”, Shakespeare’s plays have been translated into every major language, and have been performed more than any other playwright. His career spanned three decades from the 1590s to the 1610s, within which he wrote and collaborated on at least 37 plays and innovated the world of English stage drama that has resonated throughout the world over the last four centuries.
Clay Hopper (CREATOR, DIRECTOR, RANDOM ACTOR, & INTERACTIVE DESIGN COLLABORATOR)
Senior Lecturer in Directing at BU College of Fine Arts School of Theatre. Associate Artistic Director Olney Theatre Center 2019-12 Director of the National Players, Summer Shakespeare Festival at OTC 2006-12 Selected Directing credits: Two Gentlemen of Verona, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Othello, The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Ceaser, Romeo and Juliet, and Amadeus. Farragut North, Triumph of Love, The 39 Steps, Call of the Wild by Jon Lipsky. Director of Classic Repertory Company New Rep Theatre from 2012 – 2016: Great Expectations, 1984, Animal Farm, Juilius Ceasar, Midsummer, Of Mice and Men. On the Verge or The Geography of Yearning: CATF Actor’s Lab, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot: Emerson Stage, Much Ado: CSC Stage II, King Lear : College of Wooster. Off-off-Broadway: A Home Without Clarke Studio Theatre Different Zen Third Eye Rep, Earthworms The Working Group, Triage, The Interrogation The Miranda Theatre. Member SDC
MEET THE DEVELOPERS
James Grady (CREATOR, RANDOM ACTOR, & INTERACTIVE DESIGN COLLABORATOR)
is a designer, educator, and researcher whose work explores the intersections of design, performance, and computation. He is the co-creator, with director Clay Hopper, of Random Actor, an experimental design tool that connects human performance with computational systems, developed through years of collaboration with colleagues, students, and Boston University’s Spark! program. The project was recognized with the 2024 American Digital Design Award from GD USA for its innovation and impact. Over the years, Random Actor has been shaped by the contributions of countless BU students from undergraduate and graduate design students to interdisciplinary Spark! fellows—who have helped expand its creative applications in theater, music, and interactive media. Beyond this work, Grady’s research also focuses on digital product innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovative pedagogical practices. He is the Principal of Design Axl, a design studio working at the intersection of brand, digital platforms, and immersive experiences, and an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Boston University.
Jon Savage (SCENIC DESIGNER, RANDOM ACTOR, & COLLABORATOR) is the BFA Design & Production Recruitment Administrator and Assistant Professor, Scene Design at Boston University School of Theatre. Savage has designed for the Huntington Theatre Company, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Village Theatre Project, U.S. Army Community Theatre (Hawaii), and Old Lyric Repertory Theatre (Logan, Utah). He has also worked with opera and theatrical designer Franco Colavecchia on productions at the American Opera Center, Juilliard, and Academy West (Santa Barbara, California). He was Associate Designer on the Broadway musical Hot Feet with Jim Noone. He has also worked with Mr. Noone on productions at The National Theatre, Kennedy Center, and Houston Grand Opera. Jon has worked as a scenic artist for Utah Festival Opera, Tuacahn Center for the Performing Arts (Utah), as well as for HBO Films and The Discovery Channel (New Dominion Films). Jon sat on the USITT Prague Quadrennial 2007 National Student Exhibit Committee. He is a member of United Scenic Artists.
MEET THE CAST
Jaxon Ackerman (THESEUS/OBERON) (he/him/his) is from New York City and is an acting major within the class of 2027 at Boston University His previous roles within BU's School of Theater include: Mauritius (Dennis), Two Gentleman of Verona (Valentine), and The Seagull (Sorin/Trigorin/Dorn) Before going to LAMDA next semester, Jaxon is ecstatic to be part of this incredible production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. He wants to thank this incredible cast and his mom for endlessly inspiring him. Now... Hold... Or cut bowstrings! @jaxon actorman
Edward Bergham (DEMETRIUS/QUINCE/ COBWEB) is a senior acting major from North Salem New York. You may have seen them in past BU productions such as Julius Caesar (Cicero) and Hot L Baltimore (Jamie) Edward would like to thank all of the BU SOT faculty he has had the immense pleasure of working with, as well as his friends and family. He is thrilled to be part of this wonderful cast, and hopes that you enjoy some good old fashioned mischief in the woods!
Maia Bester (HELENA/SNUG/MOTH)(she/her) is an Acting Major from Washington, D C Favorite credits to date include BU’s productions of “Mercutio Loves Romeo Loves Juliet Loves” and “The Homecoming”. Thanks to Mom, Dad, Sophie, and (of course) Molly Enjoy the show!
Dany Dakhlallah (BOTTOM/EGESUS) is a senior BFA Theatre Arts Performance major at BU. Originally from Missouri, and of Bulgarian and Syrian descent, Dany most recently directed Janie McRae's new work, House Play, at BU and spent this past summer studying and working at the Prague Shakespeare Company. After graduation, they will be based in Chicago and the midwest #dream #shakespeare #STAMP #loveislove @danydakhlallah
Emery Genga (PUCK/PHILOSTRATE) is an actor and playwright from Los Angeles, CA. She is a senior acting major at Boston University in the class of 2026. She studied at LAMDA in London and had a deep passion for Shakespeare. She wants to thank her family, friends, and everyone who’s worked to bring this production to life!
Nathaniel Ryan-Kern (LYSANDER/FLUTE/MUSTARDSEED)is a Theater Arts Major from Honolulu, Hawaii. Previous Credits include Dream (Lysander/Flute/Mustardseed), Much Ado About Nothing (Benedick), Two Gentlemen of Verona (Proteus) and Significant Other (Jordan Berman) at Boston University as well as several productions with The Diamond Head Theater. He wishes you live and peace, special thanks to his mom dad brother and sister. @nathanielryankern
Aleah Sebrey (HIPPOLYTA/TITANIA)
Aleah Sebrey is a junior Acting major from rural Maine. Previous BU: The Homecoming (Ruth), Florencia en el Amazonas (Devising Ensemble), and Mauritius (Jackie). Regional Theater: Carousel (The Good Theater) Aleah is a member of counter/current collective, an immersive theater company from Belfast, Maine, where she recently Assistant Directed Duncan MacMillan’s Lungs. She would like to thank her wonderfully supportive parents and her temperamental cat, Po.
Hope Spann (HERMIA/STARVLING/ PEASEBLOSSOM)is an acting major from Wayland, Massachusetts. She thanks you very much for coming to see this show! Her past performances in the School of Theatre include Much Ado About Nothing (Beatrice) and Mauritius (Mary.) On the rare occasion that Hope is not in the CFA building, you can find her hosting game nights, calling her mother, or watching The Great British Baking Show
MEET THE PRODUCTION TEAM
Gus Kim (ASSISTANT DIRECTOR)
(He/him) is a Theatre Arts major from Chicago, enthusiastically studying directing and sound in the class of 2028. Previous highlights with the School of Theatre include mix engineering Desdemona/Emilia and sound designing Universal Mother, Sacred Soil. He thanks all the wondrous humans making his current existence possible.
Gareth Smith (PERCUSSION) is Assistant Professor of Music at Boston University. After cutting his teeth for 15 years on London’s musical theatre fringe and performing with original bands across the UK and Europe, his first love is to play drums with UK-based alt rock songwriter and guitarist Stephen Wheel and with his partner Austina Lee in their original arrangements of music by Beethoven, Mozart and Debussy. Gareth drums with next wave outfit Black Light Bastards and Blondie tribute band, Dirty Blond, along with Martin Urbach in their MUD Drums duo and Zack Moir in electro-jazz-rock outfit Build A Fort. His debut solo album (of duets), Permission Granted, was released in 2024 on Anthrophonic Records Gareth edits the Intellect book series Contemporary Music Making and Learning and the Percussive Arts Society’s journal, Percussive Notes Online Research Edition. His books include A Philosophy of Playing Drum Kit: Magical Nexus (Cambridge, 2022) I Drum, Therefore I Am: Being and Becoming a Drummer (Routledge, 2013) and Conversations at the Drums (Routledge, forthcoming).
, Keira Bertram (STAGE MANAGER) is an actress from Bainbridge Island, Washington and graduated from Idyllwild Arts Academy in 2024. She is now a Performance Core student at Boston University School of Theatre Class of 2028. Her favorite productions she’s been a part of are Amadeus, Cabaret, and Metamorphoses. She’d like to thank her mom for her constant support and love.
MEET THE DESIGNERS
Andi Zhang (MOTION GRAPHIC DESIGNER) is a Brand & Motion Graphic Designer. His work lives at the intersection of animation, graphic design, and illustration whether it’s shaping a brand’s identity, building a visual experience for an event, or crafting projects that explore culture and narrative. He has worked with agencies such as Jones Knowles Ritchie, Cowan, and Elmwood, on projects ranging from branding and packaging to advertising. He is currently pursuing an MFA in Graphic Design at Boston University and aims to bring motion graphics into interactive experiences.
Christian Killada (PROJECTION & INTERACTIVE DESIGNER) is an Egyptian designer, researcher, and technical artist passionate about interactive storytelling, developing interactive tools, the intersection of human performance and technology. He holds MFA in Projection Design from the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University and a BA in Set and Costume Design. Selected credits include De la cave au grenier (Bibliotheca Alexandrina Arts Center / French Cultural Center Theater), Gymnastics World Challenge Cup 2021 (Cairo Stadium), Falcon Girls (Yale Repertory Theatre), and Kilele (Yale University Theater), most recently, he co designed projections for maenads at The Tank. He has been a teaching fellow at Yale College, has led workshops, helped artists in Egypt and at the Yale CCAM integrate technology into their creative process
, Zola Gutierrez (LIGHTING DESIGNER) (they/she) is originally from Taos, NM but now lives in Florida They are a Lighting Design major in the DP&M class of 2028. Some of her favorite shows she has worked on includes Apple Trees and Adams Eve and American Buffalo. She would like to thank her dad and the Squad for their support
DEVELOPERS’ NOTE
This production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a faculty-led research project exploring the intersection of emerging technologies and performance, specifically in a narrative context
This line of inquiry began in 2017, when James Grady (SVA) and Clay Hopper (SoT) met by chance in Dean Young’s office and began discussing the use of projection technology in art. That conversation led to an early attempt at fully immersive projected media environments for actors in a 2019 production of Orwell’s 1984
The key discovery from that experiment was the genesis of a novel design tool, Random Actor. The tool enables designers to create generative computer graphics that are physically interactive, and to design them in real time without needing to know how to code.
Over the next three years, we collaborated with several teams of student programmers through The Duan Family Spark! Initiative in the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences at Boston University—a technology incubator and experiential learning lab for student-led computational and data-driven projects. Through many iterations, we moved closer to a truly new way of designing physically interactive projections in real time
With a generous grant from BU’s Shipley Center, we brought on Italian interactive media artist and programmer Paolo Scoppola, who worked with James and Clay to build the first beta version of Random Actor. It was first deployed in a 2021 production of Exit the King. Since then, we have continued to develop the software and expand its applications. Our project has also grown to include Jon Savage (SoT), whose work with LIDAR and VR technology merged with our research questions about the relationship between actor and image, and the possibilities that emerging technologies hold for the future of narrative form in theatre.
We began to explore how AI, machine learning, computer vision, and augmented reality might intersect with classical Aristotelian narrative and long-established principles of composition and storytelling The driving questions became: What new forms of theatrical vocabulary can be discovered? And will these technologies subvert Aristotelian narrative or affirm its enduring power?
This production of Dream represents our first fully realized attempt to step inside those questions It is the culmination of years of research and development, but we also hope it serves as a steppingstone toward deeper inquiry into the artistic applications of emerging technology. Our long-term goal is to establish a fully funded laboratory within CFA where interdisciplinary work between our three schools can continue to foster innovation and push the boundaries of Theatre, Visual Art, and Music.
- Clay Hopper, James Grady, & Jon Savage, developers
A collaboration between BU’s School of Theatre, School of Visual Arts, and Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences, this production is fully Shakespeare’s play and not an adaptation. It is also a culmination of 7 years of research and development of a novel design tool, Random Actor (random-actor.com), which uses computational vision and machine learning to create and design physically interactive projections within an immersive projected media environment for the actor. Additional technologies we hope to employ are the capturing of 3D images with LiDAR cameras and digital asset manipulation via the previsualization software, both of which was acquired with generous grants from the Shipley Foundation. These grants were written by Jorge Arroyo (DP&M) and Jon Savage.
ABOUTBOSTONUNIVERSITYCOLLEGEOFFINEARTSSCHOOLOFTHEATRE
TheSchoolofTheatreatBostonUniversityCollegeofFineArtsofferseducationforthestudyofacting,stage management,design,production,andallaspectsofthetheatreprofessionwithinthesettingofamajorresearch university TheSchoolofTheatreseekstoprovidestudentswithopportunitiesforartisticgrowththrough rigorouscurriculum,professionalconnections,andanemphasisoncollaborationandnewwork.Learnmore aboutthecurrentBUSchoolofTheatreproductionseasonatbuedu/cfa/theatre/season
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