Breakdancing Shakespeare: Macbeth

JULY 28–30, 2022

FROM THE DIRECTOR

Work on this summer’s production started back in 2010 with our first Breakdancing Shakespeare: Macbeth. Then we were trying something a little new: using the rhythm of Shakespeare’s 400 year old language to create several original songs for our production, recording the voices of that summer’s cast. For me personally, it was a particularly special production: my first artistic collaboration with my then boyfriend composer Kevin Scott, and the production featuring a stand-out young dancer/actor, seventeen-year-old Brandon Couloute, in the role of Banquo.

Fast forward a dozen years — Kevin is now my husband and our artistic collaborations include many shows, as well as parenting two beautiful children, and, Brandon’s innovative choreography has been defining our Breakdancing Shakespeare program for more than a decade. We decided the time had come to revisit our Macbeth to finish the job; this production stands on the shoulders of our 2010 rendition. Tonight you will see and hear all original music and choreography accompanying Shakespeare’s words and most famous story. Mix in this incredibly accomplished cast and crew, led by Jerry Hamilton as Macbeth and filled with seasoned Hartford Stage program alumni and some tremendously talented new faces (including stage manager/assistant director Austin Washington). I could not be prouder of all they have done in this very short and turbulent summer. Every year I feel grateful to be part of this unlikely and perfect collaboration but none more than this. What a team! What a show! The experience has been out of this world and we cannot wait to share it with you!

—Nina Pinchin

A THANK YOU TO THE PEOPLE WHO FIRST LIVED ON AND CARED FOR THESE LANDS We recognize that our theatre is built on land that was once and still is peopled by indigenous tribes, specifically territory of the Mohegan, Mashantucket Pequot, Eastern Pequot, Golden Hill Paugussett, and Schaghticoke peoples and their ancestors of these lands: the Wangunk, the Podunk, and the Tunxis.

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MELIA BENSUSSEN

CYNTHIA RIDER

Artistic Director

Managing Director

PRESENTS

By William Shakespeare Adapted and Directed by Nina Pinchin Choreographed by Brandon Couloute Music by Kevin Scott

JULY 28–30, 2022 AT 7:00 PM Scenic Design............................................................................ Tom Delgado Costume Design......................................................................... Nina Pinchin Lighting Design............................................................................. Ethan Sepa Sound Design................................................................................ Kevin Scott Fight Choreographer........................................................David McCamish Stage Manager/Assistant Director..........................Austin Washington Light Board Operator......................................................Cole River Wood Spot Light Operator..............................................................Amara McNeill Sound Board Operator............................................................... Jim Busker Lead Carpenter...........................................................................Ian Sweeney Scenic Charge.................................................................Nathalie Schlosser Crew........................................................ Sara Dorinbaum, Amara McNeil, ......................................................Megan O’Brien, Bryan McManamy Poster Design.............................................................. Liss Couch-Edwards

BREAKDANCING SHAKESPEARE SUPPORT PROVIDED BY

THE CAST (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)

Witch #1 ......................................................................... Princess-Larrine Moore Witch #2 ........................................................................................... Mekyra Frison Witch #3 ................................................................................................Jaya Pichay Macbeth .......................................................................................... Jerry Hamilton Banquo ........................................................................................... Glendale Jones King Duncan / Lady Macduff / Cyborg Army ............... ..Aaliyah Norton Macduff ....................................................................................Shawn Baskerville Malcolm / Cyborg Army .....................................................Jayvian Geronimo Donalbain / Young MacDuff / Cyborg Army.......... Ali Austin-Christopher Ross ...................................................................................................Willa Santiago Lennox / Cyborg Army ................................................................. .Ezra Mendes Lady Macbeth.............................................................................Kassandra Colón Fleance (Banquo’s Son) / Cyborg Army ...........................Ameer Cantrell First Murderer / Cyborg Army .................................................... .Ashwin Nair Siward / Second Murderer / Cyborg Army .......... Nicholas Fortenbach Porter / Cyborg Army ................................................................. Jamare Snype

Ali Austin-Christopher (Donalbain, Young Macduff, Cyborg Army) is 14 years old. This is her first year in Breakdancing Shakespeare. Ali has been a part of other projects with other companies, and this is her first time with Hartford Stage. Ali views herself as an outgoing person with a love for dancing and other arts.

Shawn Baskerville (Macduff) has participated in Hartford Stage programs for three years and this is his second year in Breakdancing Shakespeare. He will be attending the University of Hartford for music in the fall. Dancing is not his forte but he has experience in other forms of art whether it be acting, drawing, singing, and even designing clothes.

Ameer Cantrell (Fleance, Cyborg Army) is a very cheerful and fun yet respectable young man. He has dreams of becoming something big in life that involves dancing and possibly singing. He joined Breakdancing Shakespeare to experience more what the program would be like. He plays Fleance who is Banquo’s son, and he loves it.

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THE CAST

Kassandra Colón (Lady Macbeth) is an actress and model.

She is 20 and a recent graduate from Tunxis Community College and is currently working on building her resume and portfolio. Kassandra has been in a couple of featured films, but this just so happens to be her first show with BDS and she is extremely excited and honored to have been a part of this show!

Nicholas Fortenbach (Siward / Second Murderer / Cyborg Army) is 17 years old and is from Tolland. He will be a senior at Tolland High School and Greater Hartford Arts Academy half day program starting this fall. He started dancing at 8 years old. Nic is a member of the Studio 860 Dance team and United Outkast Breaking Crew. He has starred in the Emmy award-winning video While you were Gone for the Bushnell, has done many other projects such as videos and performances and is active in the breaking battle scene. He recently battled at Breaking for Gold in Brooklyn. He is passionate about dance and enjoys learning from his peers/mentors. He intends on dance being a big part of his future.

Mekyra Frison (Witch #2) is 16 years old attending two schools, including the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts. This will be her first show with Hartford stage. She has experience with dance, film, production and modeling for over 13 years. Throughout the year she has received multiple nominations and titles all over the U.S. as a professional independent artist. Mekyra has enjoyed the process and family she has made during this show.

Jayvian Geronimo (Malcolm, Cyborg Army) is 16 years old and a senior at South Windsor High School. This is his second year in BDS and he is eager to play Malcolm in this year’s play. He’s been dancing since the age of six and acting since the age of ten. He enjoys this program because it combines both of his hobbies into one and he enjoys meeting new people with the same interests as him.

Jerry Hamilton (Macbeth) is a Hartford based actor with several years of training from not only Hartford Stage but The Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, as well as The Hartt School. Recent projects he’s been involved in include a production of Head Over Heels last fall directed by Mayte Natalio where he played the role of Basilius, the king of Arcadia. He’s very excited to be participating in his third Breakdancing Shakespeare production; past productions have been Romeo & Juliet (2016) and Twelfth Night (2018). This is a role he’s incredibly proud of and he’s super excited to share it with you.

BREAKDANCING SHAKESPEARE: MACBETH

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ABOUT THE CAST

Glendale Jones (Banquo) is an 18 year old high school graduate from Impact Academy. He’s a street dance freestyler taking his dancing to more than the streets. This will be his second time dancing for Hartford Stage. He last performed in Twelfth Night as Sebastian. He really enjoys being able to learn and improve on his skills and make a very talented family. BDS made me realize how much I love acting and making a character come to life.

Ezra Mendes (Lennox, Cyborg Army) is a 14-year-old rising 9th grader at Suffield Academy. Ezra is a competitive dancer and actor with roles in tv commercials, short films, and movies for Disney+, HBO Max, and Showtime. Ezra played Costard in Breakdancing Shakespeare: Love’s Labor’s Lost (2021), young Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (2019), and participated in the virtual A Community Carol (2020), making this his fourth play at Hartford Stage. Ezra was the Nutcracker Prince in his dance studio’s 2021 production of The Nutcracker and has danced on the Hartford Yard Goats Dance team for three years.

Princess-Larrine Moore (Witch #1) is 14 years old. She is an incoming freshman and will attend Miss Porters. This is her first year in Breakdancing Shakespeare and she is very excited to be a part of the show! However, this is not her first Hartford Stage show. She was in A Christmas Carol for two years and was honored to play Spoiled Child and Fan for her years there. She was also in the cast of Cinderella and played the character of Fairy Godmother. She has been acting and modeling since the age of eight and is signed to two agencies in New York.

She has been singing since the age of three. She has also been involved in her school’s choir and select ensemble. She enjoys the styles of hip hop and ballet and is excited to further her learning with more styles of dance.

Ashwin Nair (First Murderer, Cyborg Army) is an incoming sophomore at South Windsor High School who has been an avid dancer since a young age. He has been learning various street styles from the age of 6, including breakdancing and hip hop. Breakdancing Shakespeare is his first Hartford Stage program and he is grateful for this opportunity in the show space. Ashwin has ambitious goals in the entertainment space and would like to pursue dance as a part time career in the future. Ashwin believes that Breakdancing Shakespeare is an innovative program that brings the joy of the classics to the modern age and supports dancers and performers for this day and age. Breakdancing Shakespeare has been a huge learning experience, teaching him a range of skills from acting to job experience.

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ABOUT THE CAST

Aaliyah Norton (King Duncan, Lady Macduff, Cyborg Army) is 20 years old and is from West Hartford, CT. Her favorite style of dance is hip hop. She has been dancing for 7 years and was a part of BDS in 2017. She is a junior at Eastern Connecticut State University studying digital art. She loves to paint and make clay sculptures. She hopes to work in media and advertising in New York.

Jaya Pichay (Witch #3) is 15 years old and attends South Windsor High School. She is a part of a dance crew called Kursive, where they focus on street styles of dance and have showcased at World of Dance. This is her second year in Breakdancing Shakespeare, and she is excited to play Witch #3 in this Shakespearean tragedy. The experience in the program has allowed her to hone her breakdancing skills while also expanding her knowledge in acting.

Willa Santiago (Ross) is a 15 year old incoming junior, born in Hartford, CT. She has had the opportunity to be a part of some great musicals in her school such as School of Rock, and Once on this Island, as well as a play called The Wolves.

Willa has had the pleasure of working with Breakdancing Shakespeare in the 2021 show and is excited to be back.

Jamare Snype (Porter, Cyborg Army) is a 21 year old with a dream to succeed. He has been with Breakdancing Shakespeare for 2 years and started dancing at the age of 5. He is hoping to take his arts on the main stage either working with Tyler Perry or Earl Sweatshirt.

Austin “A.K.” Washington (Assistant Director/ Stage Manager) is 26 and a recent graduate of Eastern Connecticut State University, where he studied the Performing Arts with concentrations in Acting, Directing, Cultural Performance, as well as Creative Writing/English as his minor, with a focus on poetics and script analysis. This is his first time working with BDS and working as a stage manager. Some of the more recent productions he has been involved with have been director for Lifetime Achievement… and all the shortcomings thereafter by Rhys Samuel Washington (2022 NYC Theater Festival) and co-director for Blood at the Root by Dominique Morisseau (2021 ECSU). He also acted in the Brothers Size by Tarell Alvin McCraney as Elegba (2020 ECSU). Austin does voiceover work, video editing and game design in his free time. Austin is extremely proud to be a part of this cast and crew.

BREAKDANCING SHAKESPEARE: MACBETH

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LEADERSHIP Melia Bensussen, Artistic Director Cynthia Rider, Managing Director

PRODUCTION Bryan T. Holcombe, Director of Production Kerri Lynch, Assistant Production Manager Emily MacKenzie, Company Manager

ADMINISTRATION Emily Van Scoy, General Manager Scott Bartelson, Management Associate Sara Walnum, Business Manager

Set Construction & Scenic Art Aaron D. Bleck, Technical Director Ian Sweeney, Lead Carpenter Nathalie Schlosser, Charge Scenic Artist

ARTISTIC Zoë Golub-Sass, Artistic Associate

Costumes & Wardrobe Alex Meadows, Costume Shop Director Marissa Menezes, Assistant Costume Shop Director James Weeden, Draper Amber Isaac, Wardrobe Supervisor Jack Trainor, 1st hand

Position endowed by Janet S. Suisman

DEVELOPMENT Jennifer Levine, Director of Development Shannon Kennedy, Development Associate EDUCATION Jennifer Roberts, Director of Education Nina Pinchin, Associate Director of Education Emely Larson, Studio Manager MARKETING Andrea Cuevas, Director of Marketing Todd Brandt, Associate Director of Marketing Patron Services Lindsey Hoffman, Box Office Manager Corey Welden, Box Office Supervisor Box Office Representatives: Christopher Burgos, Eddie Cruz, Lindsey Taft

Properties Gino Costabile, Interim Properties Manager Lighting Jackie Costabile, Lighting Supervisor Ethan Sepa, Assistant Electrician/Light Board Operator Sound Lucas Clopton, Audio/Visual Supervisor Jim Busker, Assistant Audio/Video Manager

House Management Scott McEver, Front of House Manager Aarron Schuelke, Assistant House Manager Bartenders: Tanya Bermudez, Nellie Caraballo, Sam Chiasson, Tracy Ann Chinnici, Karen Kudish, Loren Milledge, Kimberly Quinn, Nefris Quiterio, Erica Santa Lucia, Kerry Yerkes

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