A NOTE FROM THE SCHOOL OF THEATRE DIRECTOR
Welcome to our Season!
The School of Theatre at Boston University is delighted and honored for you to join us as we present our work to the world–all of the rehearsal hours, production meetings, technical rehearsals culminate in an experience that is not complete without you, our audience. The theatre is one of the only spaces in our lives where we gather in witness together, be it in joy, grief, curiosity, or even anger. In this, the theatre is a special space, a sacred space, and we invite your imagination to take flight with us during these performances, and hope you will return again (and again) to witness all of what makes us human as it is expressed on our stages.
With warmth and gratitude,
Kirsten Greenidge Director, BU College of Fine Arts School of Theatre
MERCUTIO LOVES ROMEO LOVES JULIET LOVES
Written by
GINA FEMIA
MAE COLE MAULEÓN
MARCH 5-7, 2025
CAST AMBER
ELLIE BRITT
Star Crane Maia Bester
Gerloff
Thalia
DESIGN & PRODUCTION TEAM
DRAMATURG
STAGE MANAGER
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
SCENE DESIGNER
LIGHTING DESIGNER
SOUND DESIGNER
COSTUME DESIGNER
INTIMACY AND MOVEMENT
COORDINATOR
Catherine Hampp
Alix Petz
Renee Ruihan Yang
Khushi Chavda
India Silverman
Tianle Shen
Joice Caldeira Simao
Emma Weller
PRODUCTION CREW
LIGHTING CREW/LIGHT BOARD OP.
SOUND CREW
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
Lucy Braudis
Nirah Michel
Jakob Baur
Erika Knebel
DIRECTOR & PLAYWRIGHT
Shalee Mae Cole Mauleón (DIRECTOR)
Shalee Mae Cole Mauleón is a theatre director and dramaturg specializing in new work. She has previously directed work with Playwrights' Center, 20% Theatre Company, Freshwater Theatre, Theatre Unbound, Uprising Theatre Company, and more. Her writing has been produced by Hedge Theatre Company and St. Catherine University. She is an alumnus of Hamline University, the National Theater Institute, and Directors Lab West. Shalee was an associate at Playwrights' Center for almost 4 years, producing the Core Apprentice Program among others. BA: Hamline University, Directing MFA Candidate: Boston University
Gina Femia (PLAYWRIGHT)
Gina Femia is an award-winning playwright and performer whose work has been seen/developed at The Goodman Theater, MCC Theater, Playwrights Horizons, EST, Page 73, New Georges, The Playwrights Center, CTG, Theater of NOTE, Rivendell Theater, Cape Cod Theater Project, Bag&Baggage, Mirrorbox Theater, among others. Selected honors include The Kilroys List, Leah Ryan Prize, Doric Wilson Award, the Otis Guernsey New Voices Award and the Neukom Award in Playwriting, nominations for Drama League and NYIT. Gina is a former Core Writer with the Playwrights Center, and an Alum of EST Youngblood, Page73's Interstate 73, Pipeline Theatre’s PlayLab, New Georges' Audrey Residency, the Ingram New Play Lab at Nashville Rep and Parsnip Ship's Radio Roots Writer's Group. Gina’s a New Georges Affiliated Artist and has received residencies with Page73, Powerhouse, NTI at the O’Neill, SPACE on Ryder Farm, and Fresh Ground Pepper. As a teacher, Gina has worked with The Playwrights Center, Primary Stages ESPA, and TDF in addition to running independent classes that focus on writing your first novel as well as writing autobiographical stories for the stage. Gina's debut YA novel, Alondra was named a Best Book for Teens in 2023 and is a Finalist for a Golden Kite award. Learn more: www.femiagina.com.
DRAMATURGY NOTE
Being a teenager SUCKS. Just on the verge of adulthood, full of strong feelings and dreams that often defy what society expects. And yet there is little to no power or opportunity to use your voice. And it SUCKS to be a Montague in love with a Capulet. “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare explores a world where two teenagers fall in love amidst societal feuds and familiar expectations. Romeo, a romancer constantly falling in unrequited love, Juliet who experiences being in love for the first time, and Mercutio, a jokester friend of Romeo who is swept up in the family drama. Romeo and Juliet fail to escape a community who would not accept their love, and in the wake comes a series of young deaths including their own. It is from these tragedies that their families finally end the feud and begin to heal as a society.
Hundreds of years separate the timelines between Romeo and Juliet and “Mercutio Loves Romeo Loves Juliet” Loves by Gina Femia. Yet, the societal pressures that cursed the original star-crossed lovers still impact Amber, Britt, and Ellie in similar ways. The trio’s world is filled with just as much miscommunication, turmoil, and strict expectations for how to act and love. Set in an all-girls catholic high school twenty years ago, the characters are exploring their identities with limited access to the language we have today about sexuality and gender. This means being a teenager in 2005 also SUCKS!
What can we gain from looking back at our formative relationships? How do you explain the impact of a high school friend or first love? It can be difficult to explain the importance of a person, who you have not talked to in twenty years. Nonetheless, we still remember how their hair smells, their favorite song, and their strong opinion on oh versus O’. Most of the time all we can do is learn from our mistakes and try again with a better understanding of ourselves.
At its core, theatre is a community which provides the opportunity to better understand each other. We create stories to express who we are and where we came from, and to quote Amber, “There’s not a lot of places you could use your voice, your whole voice”. It’s important to continue to cultivate communities that encourage and accept teenagers when they use their whole voice. Because without that community, being a teenager SUCKS.
-- Catherine Hampp, Dramaturg
Ellie and Britt have been lifelong friends, lifelong haters of cheerleaders and lifelong drama geeks so when their All Girls Catholic School's drama club does Romeo and Juliet, obviously they'll be a part of it. But when Amber, a cheerleader with an injury unexpectedly gets the lead across from Britt, Ellie's heart is turned upside down. Actually, all their hearts are. A new queer kinda adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
ABOUTBOSTONUNIVERSITYCOLLEGEOFFINEARTSSCHOOLOFTHEATRE
TheSchoolofTheatreatBostonUniversityCollegeofFineArtsofferseducationforthestudyofacting,stage management,design,production,andallaspectsofthetheatreprofessionwithinthesettingofamajorresearch university TheSchoolofTheatreseekstoprovidestudentswithopportunitiesforartisticgrowththrough rigorouscurriculum,professionalconnections,andanemphasisoncollaborationandnewwork Learnmore aboutthecurrentBUSchoolofTheatreproductionseasonatbu.edu/cfa/theatre/season.
Learnmoreatbuedu/cfa/theatre
Andfindusonsocialmedia@buarts,@bu schooloftheatre