Department of Theatre and Dance
The Rover by Aphra Behn
November 7–10, 2019 Alexander Kasser Theater
Dr. Susan A. Cole, President Daniel Gurskis, Dean, College of the Arts Jedediah Wheeler, Executive Director, Arts + Cultural Programming Department of Theatre and Dance Randy Mugleston, Chair
The Rover by Aphra Behn
Director Jean Randich Choreographer Ciara Chanel Allen Scenic Designer Madison Sawula Costume Designer Christina Gillespie Lighting Designer Michael Esposito Sound Designer Prince Bawuah Hair/Makeup Designer Teofilia Valencia Projection Designer Joey Messana Fight Choreographers Collin Kelly-Sordelet, Rick Sordelet Production Stage Manager Katie Miller
Cast (in order of appearance) Florinda.......................................................................................................Isabel Lagana Hellena...........................................................................................................Eve Brescia Don Pedro...........................................................................................................Joe Baez Stefano........................................................................................................ Dean Blizzard Callis...........................................................................................................Connie Curme Frederick.................................................................................................Fox Leon Postier Belvile...............................................................................................................Jack Rose Blunt..............................................................................................................Conor Shaw Willmore......................................................................................................... Alex Reitter Carnival Masquerader........................................................................ Gwendolyn Torrence Carnival Masquerader.................................................................................... Ava Rendina Lucetta................................................................................................Mary Blair Duncan Sancho, Officer, Carnival Masquerader...........................................................David Zarish II Valeria/Carnival Masquerader..................................................................Ciara Chanel Allen Sebastian................................................................................................... Sarah Gagarin Angellica................................................................................................. Jackie McCarthy Biskey........................................................................................................Michael Lozano Moretta.......................................................................................................Leah DeCecco Don Antonio...........................................................................................Jesse Castellanos Phillipo, Carnival Masquerader..................................................................Bradley Satchell Carnival Masquerader/Guitarist....................................................Michael De Los Angeles Duration: Two hours 30 minutes, including one 10-minute intermission In consideration of both audiences and performers, please turn off all electronic devices. The taking of photographs or videos and the use of recording equipment are not permitted. No food or drink is permitted in the theater.
Time and Place Naples, in carnival time Act I
Scene 1: A chamber Scene 2: A long street
Act II
Scene 1: A long street Scene 2: A fine chamber
Act III
Scene 1: A street Scene 2: Lucetta’s house Scene 3: Lucetta’s chamber Scene 4: Sewer Scene 5: The Garden Scene 6: A street
Act IV
Scene 1: A fine room Scene 2: The Molo Scene 3: A street Scene 4: Another street Scene 5: Blunt’s chamber
Act V
Scene 1: Blunt’s chamber
Director’s Note Carnival in Naples, 1650s. A trio of rebellious women and boisterous men flout society’s rules, swapping out identities more often than clothes. Aphra Behn, hailed as the feminist playwright of the English Restoration, sets many masked rovers in motion. Willmore, the title character, a classic rake, chases every woman he sees. Meanwhile, three young women, Hellena, Florinda, and Valeria, each condemned to a fate decided by their male guardians, opt to don carnival disguise instead, sneak out, and seek their fortune. Shucking off class privilege, but also its protection, they mix it up in the streets with the men, putting themselves at high risk. Further, a bumbling Englishman, Blunt, and a commanding but emotionally vulnerable courtesan, Angellica Bianca, are both duped by illusions of love, one comically, one tragically. A comedy rippling with episodes of sudden violence, Behn’s Rover offers us whip-smart societal farce and critique: How do women fight for agency in a world arbitrated by men? When the English theaters reopened after the Puritan Interregnum with the restoration of the monarch, Charles II in 1660, the stage needed fresh blood, fresh air. Aphra Behn blew in like a cyclone. In her 1677 Rover, she took male tropes, male plot lines, and turned them on their heads. Behn creates a topsy-turvy Carnival world in Naples where, in disguise, females also roam, hunt, and bag their prey. Musically, our world spans from Bach and Purcell to contemporary pop divas like Billie Eilish and Cardi B. These women are hell bent, in an era long before anyone imagined it possible, to live self-determined lives in which they can love whom they choose. Like their creator, Aphra Behn, they reject the role of precious vessel through which family property and male privilege is passed down. They help each other. They rove. They love. And through the sheer power of their brilliant, bold imagination, they forge a brave, new world. I thank the generous, fun-loving, and wildly creative cast, crew, and design team of The Rover. If you, gentle audience, laugh half as much as we did in rehearsal, we will have acquitted ourselves well. We share this revelry, devilry, intrigue, and delight with heartfelt love. ..................................................................... —Jean Randich
Acknowledgments MGSA at Rutgers University, Theatre Development Fund Costume Collection. Further program content, including artist bios, may be found at peakperfs.org/programs.
Staff Office of Arts + Cultural Programming
College of the Arts
Jedediah Wheeler, Executive Director Stephanie Haggerstone, Managing Director Jill Dombrowski, Producing Director J. Ryan Graves, Director of Production Chrissy D’Aleo Fels, Cultural Engagement Director Camille Spaccavento, Marketing & Media Director Robert Hermida, Audience Services Director Regina Vorria, Associate Producer Andy Dickerson, Production Coordinator Colin Van Horn, Technical Director Andrew R. Wilsey, Master Stage Electrician Jeff Lambert Wingfield, Box Office Manager Patrick Flood/Flood Design, Art Director Blake Zidell Associates, Media Representatives Natalie Marx, Media Creator Martin Halo, Webmaster Susan R. Case, Copy Editor Bart Solenthaler, Program Layout Design Maureen Grimaldi, House Manager Nickie Delva, Eliza Dumas, Student Assistants
Daniel Gurskis, Dean Ronald L. Sharps, Associate Dean Linda D. Davidson, Assistant Dean Marie Sparks, Director of Administration Zacrah S. Battle, College Administrator Abby Lillethun, Art and Design Thomas McCauley, John J. Cali School of Music Keith Strudler, School of Communication and Media Randy Mugleston, Theatre and Dance Patricia Piroh, Broadcast and Media Operations
Production Staff
Staff for The Rover
Heather Benton, Coordinator of Acting Peter J. Davis, Production Manager Cyndi Kumor, Production Associate Nicholas Zaccario, Production Office Assistant Erhard Rom, Scenic Supervisor Ben Merrick, Technical Director Daniel Graham, Assistant Technical Director Matthew Gallo, Student Technical Assistant Jason Audette, Master Carpenter Olivia Joyce, Scenic Charge Alison Merrick, Props Supervisor Debra Otte, Costume Supervisor Judith Evans, Costume Shop Supervisor Jeanette Aultz, Assistant Costume Shop Supervisor Tilly Adams, Amanda Phillips-Balingit, Katie Pippin, Drapers Taylor Pico, Wardrobe Mentor Cecilia Durbin, Lighting Supervisor Daniel Huston, Production Master Electrician Michelle Tobias, Studio Master Electrician Daryl Bornstein, Sound Supervisor Mysti Stay, Stage Management Supervisor
Melody Appel, Assistant Director Ciara Chanel Allen Dance Captain Ethan Arcaroli, Assistant Set Designer Montana Fucci, Assistant Costume Designer Justin Stuart, Assistant Lighting Designer Sydney Caprio, Kyrah Michael, Assistant Stage Managers Chris Ferranti, Master Electrician Emily Gocon, Assistant Master Electrician Rachel Klemovitch, Flyman Ethan Arcaroli, Props Master Austin Reza, Assistant Props Master/Props Runner Ryan Cutler, Light Board Operator Hannah Szarko, Sound A1 Rachel Sandbeck, Hair/Makeup Assistant Lillian Schweikert, Wardrobe Head Haley Amann, Elizabetta Bracer, Jordan Conklin-Yousef, Jessica Pace, Wardrobe Crew Kyralee Berg, Alyssa Casini, Catherine Cooper, Catherine Knight-Diaz, Abigail Lyon, Eponine Myles, Valerie Pellington, Caroline Quinn, Julyzza Santiago, Jason Wells, Run Crew
Programs in this season are made possible in part by funds from: The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts Discover Jersey Arts New England Foundation for the Arts–National Dance Project Peak Performances is in partnership with WNET’s All Arts. Peak Patrons: Susan Campbell; Yong Chang; Joanna Conrad; Bob Fisher/Monroe Denton; Paul Horowitz; Eric Levin; Karen Lundry; Michael Peroff; Gerard Piserchia, Jr. To view our complete season and for more information, visit peakperfs.org. @peakperfs
@peakperfs
Production Biographies Jean Randich (Director) is a director/writer who has been directing emerging work and new looks at classic plays and musical theater for over 30 years. Recent work includes The Secret Life of Seaweed by Julie McKee (Collider Theater and HB Studio Theater), The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (Connecticut Repertory Theatre), An Octoroon by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Schaeberle Studio, Pace), Love, Sex, and Death in the Amazon by Robert Murphy (Collider Theater, NYC); Six Characters Looking for an Author by Pirandello (Nevada Conservatory Theatre); Antigone by Sophocles (NAATCO); The Floating Box, an opera by Hwang/Filloux (Asia Society); Drawn to Death by Art Spiegelman and Phillip Johnston (St. Ann’s, NYC); Girl Under Grain by Karen Hartman (Winner: Best Drama, NY International Fringe Festival 2000); and J.P. Morgan Saves the Nation by Jeffrey M. Jones and Jonathan Larson (En Garde Arts). Randich is the winner of the NEA/TCG Director Fellowship and a Fox Foundation Grant to work in Norway and has served as the George Abbott Resident Director at New Dramatists. As a writer, Randich, her collaborators, and Page 73 Productions were awarded a 2002 Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation grant for their musical, The Unknown. Randich co-adapted and directed Paloma Bravo’s Mica’s Skin for the 2013 United Solo Festival at Theatre Row, NYC, where it won the Best Adaptation Award. Randich writes reviews for truthdig.com and was a finalist for the 2013 LA Press Club’s National Entertainment Journalism Award for Best Online Critic. With Robert Murphy, Randich is co-founder and artistic director of Collider Theater. She received a master’s degree in Creative Writing from Brown University and an MFA in Directing from the Yale School of Drama. jeanrandich.com Madison Sawula (Scenic Designer) is a junior at Montclair State University pursuing her BFA in Theatre Production/Design. Sawula has also worked on Civics and Humanities for Non-Majors (prop master), An Ideal Husband (lighting designer), Daughters of the Rebellion (projection designer), and the upcoming The Wolves (scenic designer) at MSU. Instagram: @sawulaaa
Christina Gillespie (Costume Designer) is a junior at Montclair State University and is majoring in Costume Design. During her time at MSU she has been an assistant costume designer on Civics and Humanities for Non-Majors, The Full Monty, and Guy and Dolls. She has also worked as an assistant hair and makeup designer on Anything Goes and Civics and Humanities for Non-Majors. The Rover is her costume design debut at MSU. She will be continuing her design experience as the costume designer for The Wolves in the spring. Michael Esposito (Lighting Designer) is a senior and extremely excited to help bring The Rover to MSU. The Rover is his fourth lighting design at MSU. Last fall he was one of the lighting designers for Works-A-Foot. In the spring he was the designer for Orlando and Dance Works. Over the past few summers he has had the pleasure to travel for work while not in school, working as an electrics intern for Opera Steamboat (2018) and as a lighting intern at Hope Summer Repertory Theatre (2019), where he got to perform many different job titles for summer season. Prince Bawuah (Sound Designer) is a BFA Theatre Production/Design major concentrating in sound design. Recent technical credits include sound designing Dance Collage (a spring dance showcase) and Lysistrata at MSU; A1 for Wedding Band at MSU; and A2 for the Plays in the Park 2019 summer season, Guys and Dolls at MSU, and Urinetown at MSU. Katie Miller (Production Stage Manager) is a senior at MSU, studying under the BFA Theatre Production/Design program with a concentration in stage management. Miller’s past experience at MSU includes stage managing The Mystery of Edwin Drood and A White House Cantata. Other stage credits include assistant stage managing Rising Star Awards 2019 with Paper Mill Playhouse, stage management apprentice at the California Shakespeare Theater, and a stage management intern with Paper Mill Playhouse during their Summer Conservatory.
Cast Biographies Ciara Chanel Allen (Choreographer/Valeria/Carnival Masquerader) is a sophomore BFA Theatre major and in her third year at MSU. Two of her most recent works include Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black and White by Alice Childress and a developing play, A Tragedy in Flux: How to Mourn the Dead by Eric Marlin. Allen has been acting since the age of seven and has always been passionate about theater and film. Joe Baez (Don Pedro) is excited to debut at MSU in The Rover as Don Pedro. His belief is experiencing life itself is the study of theater, living in the high stakes, and feeling the ups/downs. He partakes in writing plays and portrait photography. Recent credits include Beast in Beauty and The Beast, member of MSU’s Theatre on the Move, and more. Baez is fluent in Spanish and an excellent balloon animal maker. He is not your average Joe! Dean Blizzard (Stephano) is currently a sophomore Television Production major at MSU and sadly does not receive free blizzards from Dairy Queen. Previous roles include Geezer (MSU Lysistrata), Lieutenant Frank Cioffi (MHS Curtains), Comte De Guiche (MHS Cyrano De Bergerac), Bill Calhoun/Lucentio (MHS Kiss Me, Kate). Eve Brescia (Hellena) is a senior in the BFA Acting program at MSU. Her past MSU credits include Orlando in Orlando and Olivia in Twelfth Night. She has competed in several international theater festivals, winning best actress of the state in 2015. Brescia is excited to be a part of this production as she is graduating this semester. Jesse Castellanos (Don Antonio) is a senior BFA Acting major at MSU. Castellanos recently spent his summer performing in a series of staged reading at Fantasy Theater Factory in Miami, FL. His previous MSU credits include Presidente Burgos in Daughters of the Rebellion, Toma/Dog in Mad Forest, and Andrew Aguecheeck in Twelfth Night. @thejessecastellanos Connie Curme (Callis) is pursuing a BFA in Acting and is delighted to be performing in her first show on the Alexander Kasser Theater stage. Some of her favorite roles include Mrs. Bumbrake in Peter and the Starcatcher, Nora in A Doll’s House and Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Leah DeCecco (Moretta) is a junior in the BFA Acting program. Michael De Los Angeles (Carnival Masquerader/Guitarist) is a junior in the BFA Acting program at MSU. The Rover is his first show in the Alexander Kasser Theater. Mary Blair Duncan (Lucetta) is a junior BFA Acting major at MSU. Some of her past credits include Zerbinette in Scapin the Schemer and Chorus in A Tragedy in Flux with the New Works Initiative at MSU. This past summer, she worked as the Movement intern at George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, NJ. @Maryblairduncan Sarah Gagarin (Sebastian) is a senior BFA Acting major at MSU. Previous credits include Civics and Humanities for Non-Majors (Libby), Three Sisters (Vershinin), and Twelfth Night. Be sure to check them out in these upcoming projects: We Victorians (New Jersey Theatre Lab) and A Tragedy in Flux (MSU). Isabel Lagana (Florinda) is in her third year of the BFA Acting program. Her previous MSU credits include Lysistrata (Ismenia), Wedding Band (Annabelle), and Theatre on the Move (Ensemble). She will be a part of the New Works Initiative project, A Tragedy in Flux, this coming spring. Michael Lozano (Biskey) is a junior BFA Acting major at MSU. Past credits include Homeward LA (Greg), Lord of the Flies (Percival), and Better (Andrew). Jackie McCarthy (Angellica) is a senior in the BFA Acting program. Past credits at MSU include Mary in Michigan Murders, Gertrude in An Ideal Husband, and Orlando. McCarthy was also a part of MSU’s devised theater exchange with Santiago, Chile, in 2017 and 2018. Fox Leon Postier (Frederick) is delighted to be making his Alexander Kasser Theater debut in The Rover. Postier is a current sophomore in the BFA Acting major with an Entrepreneurship minor. Some of his past credits include Into the Woods (Baker) and Orlando (Russian Seaman). Alex Reitter (Willmore) is honored to perform once again on the Alexander Kasser stage during his last year at MSU. He will be graduating in May with a BFA in Acting. Reitter will continue his career outside of school, pursuing opportunities in fields such as film, voice-over, or onstage. He plans to remain in the New York City area
during his search. His most notable roles within the program include the Bully Tour, Twelfth Night, Wedding Band, and Lysistrata. Ava Rendina (Carnival Masquerader) is a junior BFA Acting major at MSU. Previous works include Angel in Mad Forest and Chris in Carrie: The Musical. Upcoming works include A Tragedy in Flux directed by Ilana Khanin. @avarendina Jack Rose (Belvile) is a junior in the Acting program. He is from Phoenix, AZ. Bradley Satchell (Philippo/Carnival Masquerader) is a senior Acting major from Port Saint Lucie, FL. His recent credits are Daughters of the Rebellion by GuadalĂs Del Carmen and Wedding Band by Alice Childress. He has received training from the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York and the Rutgers Summer Acting Conservatory in New Brunswick, NJ. @bradsatch Conor Shaw (Blunt) is a senior in the BFA Acting program. Gwendolyn Torrence (Carnival Masquerader) is a senior BFA Acting major at MSU. Previous works include Matsukaze, directed by Mercedes Murphy. Upcoming projects include A Tragedy in Flux, directed by Ilana Khanin. @gw3ng3r David Zarish II (Sancho/Officer/Carnival Masquerader) is a junior BFA Actor at MSU. Some of his credits include Elmer in Newsies (CDC Theatre), Arron in They Call it Gravy; WE Call it Sauce (Music Jar Productions), and Roger in Lord of The Flies (MSU). He is ready to see where this show and his career take him. @atdave