Chekhov’s Seagull: Contemporizing the Pastoral I am writing a play….There are...four acts, a landscape (with the view of a lake), lots of conversation about literature, little action, and five tons of love.
—Anton Chekhov, letter to his friend Suvorin, Oct. 21, 1895 In the rural farmlands of North Carolina, an unlikely group of friends and family sits uncomfortably in stifling heat and humidity, impatiently waiting for a performance to begin. The accomplished actress clings greedily to the novelist; the novelist flirts idly with the young performer; the young performer impetuously shrugs off the love of the forlorn playwright, who is desperately adored by the farmer’s daughter. It’s a classic love hexagon. As secrets are revealed and whispered gossip feeds family drama, the members of the group anxiously bury their jealous, existential crises, and sheer boredom in aesthetic debate: What is the value of producing new dramatic forms?
Anton Chekhov admits that his play The Seagull contains “little action,” but it overflows with astute observations of a tight-knit society. He explores the full range of human behavior in four deceivingly simple acts. Chekhov uses comedy to illuminate his character’s qualities—vanity, self-doubt, inability to communicate, fear, desire, ambition—and occasionally sympathy. The Seagull is not only Chekhov’s love letter to the theater; it is a love letter to the audience, a demonstration of our potential to share, connect, and give “five tons of love” to those around us. The hardest thing might be allowing ourselves to accept love in return. —ALEX VERMILLION, PRODUCTION DRAMATURG
The
Seagull THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4 AT 8PM FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5 AT 3:30PM AND 8PM SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6 AT 4PM ISEMAN THEATER, 1156 CHAPEL STREET
2018–19 SEASON
OCTOBER 4–6, 2018
Artistic Staff
YALE SCHOOL OF DRAMA James Bundy, Dean Victoria Nolan, Deputy Dean Chantal Rodriguez, Associate Dean Kelvin Dinkins, Jr., Assistant Dean
Assistant Sound Designer and Engineer
KATHRYN RUVUNA Assistant Stage Manager
PRESENTS
AMANDA LUKE
The Seagull
Production Staff Associate Production Manager
MARTIN MONTANER V.
Anton Chekhov TRANSLATED BY Tom Stoppard DIRECTED BY Joan MacIntosh BY
Associate Safety Advisor
LATIANA (LT) GOURZONG Properties Master
FRANCESCA DeCICCO Master Electrician
Creative Team Choreographer
BRYANNA KIM
Cast
SARAH KARL Costume Designer
JESSIE CHEN Lighting Designer
SAMUEL KWAN CHI CHAN Sound Designer
in alphabetical order
DAKOTA STIPP Technical Director
JONATHAN JOLLY Production Dramaturg
ALEX VERMILLION Stage Manager
JULIA BATES
JOHN CARLIN MATTHEW R. MALONE HYEJIN SON KAT YEN
There will be one 10-minute intermission.
The Studio Series productions are designed to be learning experiences that complement classroom work, providing a medium for students at Yale School of Drama to combine their individual talents and energies toward the staging of collaboratively created works. Your attendance meaningfully completes this process.
Konstantin
The Maid
ABUBAKR ALI
DELILAH NAPIER
Shamraev
Yakov
JOHN R. COLLEY
WILL NIXON
Administration
Medvedenko
Nina
Associate Managing Director
JOSÉ ESPINOSA
ILIA ISORELÝS PAULINO
CAITLIN CROMBLEHOLME
Trigorin
LAURIE ORTEGA-MURPHY
Polina
EVELYN GIOVINE Dorn
ROBERT HART Irina Arkadina
LOUISA JACOBSON Sorin
North Carolina, Now.
Run Crew
JENNIFER ARCHIBALD Scenic Designer
Setting
JAKEEM POWELL
Assistant Managing Director
Management Assistant
SOHINA SIDHU
ESTEFANI CASTRO WILLIAM GAINES
The Cook
House Manager
LUCY TOMASSO
LAURA CORNWALL
Masha
JJ McGLONE
SUPPORTED BY THE BENJAMIN MORDECAI, JR. PRODUCTION FUND
Yale School of Drama productions are supported by the work of more than 200 faculty and staff members throughout the year.
Special Thanks
Lisa Lancaster and Lorraine Siggins
THE BENJAMIN MORDECAI, JR. PRODUCTION FUND, established by a graduate of the School, honors the memory of the Tony Award-winning producer who served as Managing Director of Yale Repertory Theatre, 1982–1993, and as Associate Dean and Chair of the Theater Management Department from 1993 until his death in 2005.
OCTOBER 4–6, 2018
Artistic Staff
YALE SCHOOL OF DRAMA James Bundy, Dean Victoria Nolan, Deputy Dean Chantal Rodriguez, Associate Dean Kelvin Dinkins, Jr., Assistant Dean
Assistant Sound Designer and Engineer
KATHRYN RUVUNA Assistant Stage Manager
PRESENTS
AMANDA LUKE
The Seagull
Production Staff Associate Production Manager
MARTIN MONTANER V.
Anton Chekhov TRANSLATED BY Tom Stoppard DIRECTED BY Joan MacIntosh BY
Associate Safety Advisor
LATIANA (LT) GOURZONG Properties Master
FRANCESCA DeCICCO Master Electrician
Creative Team Choreographer
BRYANNA KIM
Cast
SARAH KARL Costume Designer
JESSIE CHEN Lighting Designer
SAMUEL KWAN CHI CHAN Sound Designer
in alphabetical order
DAKOTA STIPP Technical Director
JONATHAN JOLLY Production Dramaturg
ALEX VERMILLION Stage Manager
JULIA BATES
JOHN CARLIN MATTHEW R. MALONE HYEJIN SON KAT YEN
There will be one 10-minute intermission.
The Studio Series productions are designed to be learning experiences that complement classroom work, providing a medium for students at Yale School of Drama to combine their individual talents and energies toward the staging of collaboratively created works. Your attendance meaningfully completes this process.
Konstantin
The Maid
ABUBAKR ALI
DELILAH NAPIER
Shamraev
Yakov
JOHN R. COLLEY
WILL NIXON
Administration
Medvedenko
Nina
Associate Managing Director
JOSÉ ESPINOSA
ILIA ISORELÝS PAULINO
CAITLIN CROMBLEHOLME
Trigorin
LAURIE ORTEGA-MURPHY
Polina
EVELYN GIOVINE Dorn
ROBERT HART Irina Arkadina
LOUISA JACOBSON Sorin
North Carolina, Now.
Run Crew
JENNIFER ARCHIBALD Scenic Designer
Setting
JAKEEM POWELL
Assistant Managing Director
Management Assistant
SOHINA SIDHU
ESTEFANI CASTRO WILLIAM GAINES
The Cook
House Manager
LUCY TOMASSO
LAURA CORNWALL
Masha
JJ McGLONE
SUPPORTED BY THE BENJAMIN MORDECAI, JR. PRODUCTION FUND
Yale School of Drama productions are supported by the work of more than 200 faculty and staff members throughout the year.
Special Thanks
Lisa Lancaster and Lorraine Siggins
THE BENJAMIN MORDECAI, JR. PRODUCTION FUND, established by a graduate of the School, honors the memory of the Tony Award-winning producer who served as Managing Director of Yale Repertory Theatre, 1982–1993, and as Associate Dean and Chair of the Theater Management Department from 1993 until his death in 2005.
Chekhov’s Seagull: Contemporizing the Pastoral I am writing a play….There are...four acts, a landscape (with the view of a lake), lots of conversation about literature, little action, and five tons of love.
—Anton Chekhov, letter to his friend Suvorin, Oct. 21, 1895 In the rural farmlands of North Carolina, an unlikely group of friends and family sits uncomfortably in stifling heat and humidity, impatiently waiting for a performance to begin. The accomplished actress clings greedily to the novelist; the novelist flirts idly with the young performer; the young performer impetuously shrugs off the love of the forlorn playwright, who is desperately adored by the farmer’s daughter. It’s a classic love hexagon. As secrets are revealed and whispered gossip feeds family drama, the members of the group anxiously bury their jealous, existential crises, and sheer boredom in aesthetic debate: What is the value of producing new dramatic forms?
Anton Chekhov admits that his play The Seagull contains “little action,” but it overflows with astute observations of a tight-knit society. He explores the full range of human behavior in four deceivingly simple acts. Chekhov uses comedy to illuminate his character’s qualities—vanity, self-doubt, inability to communicate, fear, desire, ambition—and occasionally sympathy. The Seagull is not only Chekhov’s love letter to the theater; it is a love letter to the audience, a demonstration of our potential to share, connect, and give “five tons of love” to those around us. The hardest thing might be allowing ourselves to accept love in return. —ALEX VERMILLION, PRODUCTION DRAMATURG
The
Seagull THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4 AT 8PM FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5 AT 3:30PM AND 8PM SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6 AT 4PM ISEMAN THEATER, 1156 CHAPEL STREET
2018–19 SEASON