THE LOOKING GLASS THEATRE PRESENTS....
SPRING’S AWAKENING
Based on the play by Frank Wedekind
Adapted by Kenneth Nowell
Directed by Charmian Creagle
March 9 – April 2, 2006
The Looking Glass Theatre is proud to present
SPRING’S AWAKENING, an adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s
1891 tragicomedy about puberty, adapted by Kenneth Nowell and
featuring director Charmian Creagle. Spring’s Awakening opens at The Looking Glass Theatre on Thursday, March 9.
About The Show…
Depicting the onset of puberty as violent and chaotic, Spring’s Awakening is no after-school special. Reptilian impulses erupt in children terrorized by adults sunk deep in neurotic denial. One boy has suicidal tendencies as he struggles with his shock over discovering the facts of sex and the possibility of flunking. Another expresses his awakening libido in cool sadism. Masochism appears in a young girl whose mother insists that a stork delivers babies.
The staging of this production contrasts two worlds, an adolescent world depicted by the live actors and a disembodied adult world looming above on screen.
Written at the turn of the twentieth century, Frank Wedekind’s play unfolds in an absurdist atmosphere that foreshadowed Brecht and Beckett. This story of the uncomfortable nature of sexuality blooming during the teen years remains relevant still today. The play renders the devastating neglect adolescents experience when family bonds erode while puritanical elements in society grow stronger.
Cast: Melissa Coleman, Kevin Coyle, Christina DeRosier, Will Ellis, Hana Nora McGrath, Annie Reilly, Josh Silverman and Ben Sumrall.
Crew: Charmian Creagle (Director), Elizabeth Sturrus (Assistant Director), Ryan Metzler (Light Design), Jessa-Raye Court (Costume Design), Inseung Park (Set Design), Sean P. Doran (Sound Design), Amanda Boekelheide (Movement Director), Nick Monroy (Assistant Stage Manager), Christopher Romero (Film Director) and Daryl Lathon (Director of Photography/Editor).
About the Director Charmian Creagle…
Charmian Creagle hails from Southern California via Oregon where she earned her B.A. from Southern Oregon University in Theatre Arts. Ms. Creagle is a former member of the Other Side Theatre and co-founder of defunkt theatre in Portland, Ore. In addition to working with The Looking Glass Theatre, she started her own company, Pretention Co., whose inaugural production of the classic Ubu Roi at Chashama was well received. Charmian is very versed in expressionism and absurdism, exploring such plays as Ubu Roi, Machinal and The Trial. She is very excited to take on this Wedekind piece, always with a new twist.
About the Adapter Kenneth Nowell…
The New York Times said about THE FALL: "Mr Nowell’s technique is poetic, clipped, precise ... a kind of Cubist sculpturing of consciousness and event that replicates the pain and absurdity of family trauma. Think of Donald Margulies’ world skewed by a noir Thorton Wilder collaborating with a Gertrude Stein.”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
SPRING'S AWAKENING – March 9-April 2, 2006
SCHEDULE: Thurs - Sat @ 8PM, Sun @ 5PM
TICKET PRICE: $15
ADDRESS: 422 West 57th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues
This show is closed.
CHARMIAN CREAGLE, Director
Charmian Creagle hails from Southern California via Oregon, where she earned her BA from Southern Oregon University in Theatre Arts. Charmian is a former member of the Other Side Theatre and co-founder of defunkt theatre in Portland, Ore. In addition to working with Looking Glass Theatre, she started her own company, Pretention Co. whose inaugural production of the classic Ubu Roi at Chashama was well received. Charmian is very versed in expressionism and absurdism, exploring such plays as Ubu Roi, Machinal and The Trial. She is an acting and movement instructor at The Looking Glass Theatre. She is very excited to take on this piece, always with a new twist!
ELIZABETH STURRUS, Assistant Director
Elizabeth (Libby) Sturrus graduated from Hope college with a theatre major and women's studies minor in 2003 and has since sought out venes and plays that fuse these loves together. It is no suprise then, that she has found the Looking Glass Theatre. Other spaces where she has directed or assistant directed in New York city include Queens Theatre in the Park, The Abingdon Theatre and the Adobe Theatre Company. Libby is thrilled to be working at the Looking Glass Theatre with creative, inspiring women on this truely collaborative project.
RYAN METZLER, Light Design
Spring's Awakening is Ryan Metzler's second project at the Looking Glass Theatre, following the Winter 2005 Writer/Director Forum. Other recent design credits include Copito at the Midtown International Theatre Festival and the U.S. premiere of Hideki Noda's Red Demon.
INSEUNG PARK, Set Design
Inseung Park received his BFA from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and received his MFA from University of Texas at Austin, where he designed productions of The Vampires and Blood Wedding. His credits also include film - Wake screened at Cannes film festival in 2005.
JESSA-RAYE COURT, Costume Design
Jessa-Raye Court (Costume Designer) has designed for such theatres as Theatre for the New City (Rue) and The Barrow Group Theatre (A Christmas Carol). She has also worked at The Classical Theatre of Harlem (The Cherry Orchard), The Atlantic Theater Company (The Cherry Orchard, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow) and Playwrights Horizons (Fran's Bed, Manic Flight Reaction). In the near future, Jessa will be working with Cedar Lake Ensemble and Second Stage on their production of The Water's Edge.
SEAN P. DORAN, Sound Design
Sean P. Doran is an actor/designer/director from El Paso, Texas. After graduating from the College of Santa Fe with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre he moved to Portland, Ore., where he co-founded the Other Side Theatre, which enjoyed five years of critical success. Sean went on to help create defunkt theatre; another critically acclaimed company which was recently featured as one of the 12 “On the Verge” companies in the country. After moving to NYC, Sean and his wife Charmian created Land of the Lost, a solo performance piece produced in both New York and Chicago. Recent appearances include We’re All Dead, Metamorphosis, Anchorpectoris, You See Us As You Want to See Us…Reflections from The Breakfast Club, and Lady Convoy.
AMANDA BOEKELHEIDE, Movement Director
Amanda Boekelheide received her BA in theatre from Pitzer in L.A., and Marymount in London, then continued her study in physical theatre in London. Since 1997 she has been a core member of Liminal Performance Group,
working as a lead actor and the company's movement director. She currently resides in NY where she was the 2003-2004 artist in residence at the International House. She studied Suzuki/Viewpoints with SITI in 2004, and will graduate from Columbia's MFA program in Acting in 2006. Please visit http://www.amandaboekelheide.com/ for more information.
NICK MONROY, Assistant Stage Manager
A graduate of Hofstra, Nick is originally from Queens. Nick likes theater. He would like to thank The Looking Glass Theatre for this opportunity.
CHRISTOPHER ROMERO, Film Director
Christopher Romero has produced and directed commercials, corporate films, and music videos. Romero co-wrote and directed the cyber punk thriller, The Digital Prophet, which was released by Troma Entertainment. His second feature was the digital art-house drama, The Process of Creative Deception, which won Best Art Film at the New York Independent International Film and Video Festival/LA and top prize at the Fort Worth Film Festival in 2001. The Last Days of the Fast and Cool will be Romero's third feature as both writer and director.
DARYL LATHON, Director of Photography/Editor
Daryl Lathon is an actor, writer, director, and filmmaker. He has appeared in numerous plays Off-Broadway and regionally. He has also written and directed a number of short films. Daryl is also very good at being very general. Currently, Daryl can be seen performing with the Rapid Response Team monthly at Galapagos Art Space. www.rapidresponseteam.org
New York Stage Credits: Massinissa (National Black Theater of Harlem), The Fall (The Looking Glass Theatre- IT Award nomination), Macbeth (Workshop Theatre), Rock of Ages (Underground at GTT). Regional: A Vampire Tale, Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (Portfolio Awards), The Foreigner, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Joined at the Head. TV/Film: Law and Order, Special Forces, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Shooting Livien, Danny and Manny. Thanks to my family and friends; to my wife, Erin, and her ability to make me love and smile more; and to my faithful creator: Glory.
