HEDDATRONBy Elizabeth Meriwether Directed by Ron May
7:30 p.m. March 19-20 2 p.m. March 21
Virtual Performance via Broadway on Demand School of Music, Dance and Theatre Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts Arizona State University Director’s Note I’ve always been a lover of big, messy plays. Plays that seem impossible to stage. Plays that wrestle with huge ideas but manage to find intimate truths shining through those ideas. Plays that make their own rules. Plays like HEDDATRON.
I slated and directed a production at my company - Stray Cat Theatre - back in 2012. Back then, the big hill to climb was the robots. Sourcing them, building them, controlling them, directing them, on and on. Of all of the shows I have ever done, I rarely have a desire to revisit any of them. but this one - simply because of the robot learning curve - I swore I would do again if given the chance. And that chance finally showed up courtesy of ASU.
Little did I know my home court advantage would barely matter as the entire thing was soon turned upside-down and inside-out and forced into a virtual scenario because of the stupid zombie plague.
This return to rehearsals with HEDDATRON has been like oxygen for me. It’s been weird as hell rehearsing a show where until very recently I had yet to actually meet anyone working on the project. As of this writing I still haven’t shared a room with many of them even though I want to hug the living hell out of ALL of them. and will. some day.
Rehearsals shifted from finding how people best shared space to finding a visual language for the actors to appear to be sharing space when they’re never in the same room. Plus...dealing with a whole new cast of robots.
What you see will be almost 100% live every performance. All of it live mixed/edited by our astounding tech crew. Every show. Only that one scene - the one with the robots - and yes, those are real robots - is full blown on a stage in a real theatre with a handful of our actors masked up on a huge set with a full light plot, robot operators - the whole 9 yards.
If you need a high-brow answer about what the hell this thing is, HEDDATRON is a show that traffics in the idea that Ibsen is often misread. That his REAL central issue in most of his plays has actually been the female trajectory from object to subject. From an institution of male service to authentic self. From instrumentality to autonomy.
Very similar to the theory of singularity.
Where toasters gain agency and learn they’re toasters. From an institution of service to authentic self. From instrumentality...to autonomy.You take all that, marinate it, season it with an abundance of dick jokes, let it simmer...and serve it up piping hot for three performances. May it satisfy your hunger for the real thing half as much as it did ours. Thanks for watching!
Ron May Dramaturg’s Note Heddatron, Elizabeth Meriwether’s gleefully anarchic deconstruction of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, is unlike any play even a regular theatregoer has likely encountered. There are robots. There are three simultaneous timelines. And there is Nugget. This precocious ten-year-old girl discusses abduction, suicide, and other matters that would be considered dark and disturbing, even for grownups. She narrates a play that is strenuously, aggressively weird in what seems like every possible way, a play that mocks both Ibsen’s original and Ibsen himself; as Nugget asserts, these sorts of works are “lame.” Thus Heddatron takes on the well-made play, with its adherence to realism and a linear plot and suggests that in the 21st century, when theatre needs more than ever to offer what television and film cannot, the well-made play is no longer welcome.
Despite the obvious and enormous differences between Ibsen’s well-made play and Meriwether’s purposely not well-made play, both authors share two similar goals: to shock the audience, and to move the theatre art form forward. As he did with A Doll’s House and An Enemy of the People, Ibsen used Hedda Gabler to criticize society— specifically middle- and upper-class Norwegian social structures in the late 19th century—and to give voice to women trapped and impatient to achieve power and independence in a male-dominated society. Similarly, Meriwether critiques American society and its appetite for works of classic literature that we are told we must enjoy because they are “timeless” and “still relevant.” Heddatron’s central character, Jane Gordon, is like Hedda herself: pregnant, unhappy in her marriage, and desperate to escape the confines of her dull, domestic, male-centered life. Across differences of time and place, these two characters—and therefore, these two plays—illustrate how little progress has actually been made since Hedda Gabler’s premiere in 1891. As Heddatron subtly suggests, perhaps it is our regard for classic, well-made forms that prevents us from achieving social change.
After the 2006 premiere of Heddatron, Meriwether went on to become a highly successful sitcom writer with New Girl, and has become a prolific feminist voice in Hollywood through her continued work as a writer and producer. With Heddatron, she wants us to laugh, and to reconsider the modern value of the white, patriarchal “classics” that have perhaps received too much attention. Critical reviews of past productions indicate that she has succeeded in both of these likely intentions with Heddatron, and the work continues to be strange little gem of a play that gets produced by theatre companies similar to Les Freres Corbusier, the avant-garde Off-Off-Broadway troupe that premiered it. The play is also ripe for academic institutions, where the analysis of such canonical works as Hedda Gabler is standard practice. Those who saw ASU’s virtual production of Hedda Gabler last year will likely especially enjoy this production of Heddatron, and surely many post-show conversations will be sparked about how theatre has changed in the last one-hundred and thirty years, and how it must continue to evolve.
By Clay Sanderson HEDDATRON Artistic Team Director Ron May Dramaturg Clay Sanderson Stage Manager Lucy Primiano Calling Stage Manager Maximilliano Zamorano Assistant Stage Managers Lauryn Buchanan-Camacho, Solomon Milburn Scenic Designer Se Hyon Uh Costume Designer Constance Furr Lighting Designer Leah Zweig Sound Designer/Composer Troy Jansen Media Designer David Novoa ASL Consultant Michelle Chin Dialect/Vocal Coach Rachel Finley
Acting Company Jane Gordon Bronwyn Doebbling Rick Gordon Cory Drozdowski Nugget Gordon Eleanor Field Cubby Gordon Axel Adams Engineer Rishabh Bansal Film Student Alex Parra Henrik Ibsen Hugo Crick-Furman Mrs. Ibsen Ausette Anderies Else Ann Ethington August Strindberg John Maynes Hans(Voice Actor)/ Else Body Double Nick Devor
Biographies Axel Adams (Cubby)(head carpenter) is a freshman theatre major in the design and production concentration at ASU. This is his first show as a performer with the School of Music, Dance, and Theatre. This is also his first show working as a carpenter in the scene shop. In the past he has done multiple productions including “A Midsummer Night’s dream” as Theseus and “Peter and the Starcatcher’’ as Lord Aster with Buena Fine Arts Productions.
Ausette Anderies (Mrs. Ibsen) is a senior studying theatre and political science here at ASU. Some of her previous stage credits include Desdemona in “Othello,” Irina in “Three Sisters,” Woman Head in “Trade Trade Love” and Aunt Juliane in “Hedda Gabler.” And she recently studied with the Prague Shakespeare Company and performed as Margaret in “Much Ado About Nothing” at the Estates Theatre. Rishabh Bansal (Engineer) is a student at ASU studying materials science. Previous stage credits include Spacesuit Man in “If it’s any constellation”, Charlie in “Human Nature” at ASU. Apart from this, he has also worked in several short films and has been a part of various stage and street plays in India. This is his 1st production with the School of Music, Dance and Theatre.
Lauryn Buchanan-Camacho (assistant stage manager) is a junior theatre major with a concentration in stage management and lighting design. She has previously been an assistant stage manager on ASU’s production of “The Crucible” in Spring of 2020. This is her second ASU Music, Dance and Theatre production being a part of the stage management team. Camacho is ready to be a part of her first virtual production and is excited for the show to open.
Chloe Cobb (props master) is a third-year student majoring in theatre design and production. She has previously worked as assistant props master on “Hedda Gabler” (ASU), co-props master on “An Unsettled Supper” (Binary), and has dipped her toe in filmmaking as production designer on Isabel Walker’s student film “LoveLie.” Chloe is excited to have the opportunity to continue making theatre during a pandemic, and is grateful for the learning experiences that it has provided.
Hugo A. L. M. Crick-Furman (Henrik Ibsen) is a student at ASU, majoring in culinary geology with a minor in horse fashion. Their previous theatre work can be found squirreled away behind family bathroom sign in Denver International Airport. When not busy creating Iconic Theatre Moments™, they spend their time forcing ants to stare at the sun to test their theories about Ant Blindness.
Giovanni Curtiss (coms manager) is a sophomore at ASU within the theatre design and production concentration. This is his second production as coms manager within the School of Music, Dance, and Theatre, and he’s excited to be exploring the new ways in which theatre can be brought to life in a post-pandemic world.
Bronwyn Elizabeth (JANE) is a sophomore studying civic and economic thought and leadership. She is unbelievably thrilled to continue exploring Hedda through a new lens in HEDDATRON! after having played Hedda in Hedda Gabler last November. She recently portrayed Juliet (“Romeo and Juliet”) and Hermia (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”) with Southwest Shakespeare Company. She is so thankful to be a part of the MDT community, and will continue with Southwest Shakespeare as a company member. Portraying Jane has been an incredible journey, and she cannot thank Ron May enough for his precision, skill, and vision. Nick Devor (voice of Hans and Billy) is a sophomore majoring in Journalism & Mass Communications, with a focus in PR and minors in Fashion and Digital Audiences. He has been recently been seen in ASU SoMDT’s production of “Lightswitch” (Roggie) and “Hedda Gabler” (Ejlert Lovborg).
Elle Doster (sound and media systems engineer) is a junior here at asu majoring in design and production with a concentration in lighting and system engineering. They have previously worked on “Kiss of the Spider Woman”(assistant master electrician), “The Snow”(sound system engineer), “Machos”(sound designer), and other ASU SoMDT shows as an electrician. They are also the Binary Theatre Company Lighting representative.
Cory Drozdowski (RICK GORDON) is a junior theatre and philosophy major. Last fall, he played Bill in the ASU TheatreLab zoom reading of Professor David Barker’s play “From Tidworth With Love.” In Spring of 2019 he was also the light board operator for the ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre season production of “Ajax.” This is Cory’s first performance in a School of Music, Dance and Theatre season production.
Ann Ethington (Else) is in her senior year at ASU as a theatre major and is very excited to be performing again with the School of Music, Dance and Theatre. Her previous roles include Berte in ASU’s production of “Hedda Gabler”, Evil Gabby in “She Kills Monsters”, Catherine in “Pippin” (Phoenix College Theatre), Ann in “Subhumane”, Our Girl in “Bacon Brits”, Annie in “Dead West” (LooKitt Productions) and Violinist Steamer in “Theo’s Blues (Lemonade Acre).
Eleanor Field (NUGGET) is a sixth grade theater student at Arizona School for the Arts. After three years in Childsplay Theater Academy, she was invited to join Childsplay’s conservatory program in 2018. The child of a Bolivian mother and an American father, Field is bicultural, trilingual, and proud of her Aymara and Quechua roots. She is in the blue rank of Taekwondo, a retired gymnast, and she acted in her first lead, “Snow Girl”, as a preschooler in Prescott, Arizona.
Connie Furr, (costume designer) is a professor in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre. Work includes: Playwrights Horizon: The Christians; Mark Taper Forum: The Christians, Brooklyn Academy of Music: Glory to the World; Actors Theatre of Louisville: fourteen productions including six Humana Festivals. Fabulous Palm Springs Follies: Seven seasons. Locally Connie has worked extensively with Childsplay and Phoenix Theatre. Additional Credits: Design Exhibitions: 2003, 2007 Prague Quadrennial, 2005 USITT World Stage Design, 2017 Bakhrushin Museum, Russia. Connie is the author of Liberace, Extravaganza!. She is a member of USA 829. Troy Jansen (sound designer/composer) is a senior theatre design and production major at ASU. His work for this show is his design and production capstone, and senior thesis project for Barrett Honors College. He Previously worked on “Hedda Gabler” as the sound and media systems engineer and “The Crucible” as assistant sound designer, both at ASU. He is excited to share his original score with the audience, and would like to thank Dan, Max, and Steve for their guidance.
Ron May (Director) is a proud ASU alum and the founding Artistic Director for local Stray Cat Theatre (http://straycattheatre.org) - currently in residence at Tempe Center for the Arts. This is his second time directing HEDDATRON after tackling the show with Stray Cat back in 2012. As a director, he has been honored 9 times by the local AriZoni awards for Best Director and once for Best Supporting Actor. Outside the kitty condo, Ron has directed for Phoenix Theatre, Actors Theatre, Nearly Naked Theatre, Mesa Community College, Black Theatre Troupe, ASU’s Mainstage, and Planet Earth Theatre. During the summer of 2001, he spent time in New York as a fellow in The Lincoln Center Theatre Director’s Lab. He was named a finalist for the 2018 Zelda Fichandler Award recognizing an individual who has made, and who continues to make, a significant contribution to their community through extraordinary work in theatre in the Western region of the United States (defined as Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming). He was also nominated as an Artist for the 2019 Governor’s Arts Award.
John Maynes (August Strindberg) is a senior majoring in theatre with a concentration in acting. He has appeared previously in the School of Music, Dance, and Theatre’s production of “The Snow”. He has also appeared in various short films, both through ASU and outside productions.
Abrielle “Abby” Myers (she/her) is a sophomore film and theater double major studying cinematography and design & production with a focus on media at ASU. Heddatron was her first show where she worked as the assistant media designer to David Novoa and she hopes to work on many more productions while in the program. Abby would like to thank Professors’ Max Bernstein and Chris Winneman for helping to encourage her every step of the way since showing interest in the concentration.
Krystalynn Newbury (assistant master electrician) is a junior in the theatre design and production major. She recently transferred from Mesa Community College where she served as a light designer for the production of “Scapino”. Then, was the associate lighting designer for “Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter” (MCC). David Novoa (Media Designer) is a senior in theatre design and production concentration. His work for this production consists of merging new media technologies with film. He previously worked on “Machos” as an assistant media designer at ASU. He is thankful for this experience which allowed him to take his work outside of his comfort zone. He would like to thank Max Bernstein for his mentorship.
Alex Parra (Film Student) is a junior theatre major in the acting concentration at ASU. He appeared in ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre season productions of “Kiss of the Spider Woman” as Prison Guard, “The Snow” as Oliver, and was a backstage crew member for “This is Modern Art.” He’s excited to participate in his first virtual production!
Lucy Primiano (she/they, stage manager) is a fourth-year theatre design and production concentration student and purveyor of play doh. Previous credits include stage manager for Esther Almázan’s “Indian School” (ASU), recipient of the Kennedy Center Latinx Playwrighting Award and “C A E S A R”, Ethan Fox’s and Claire K. Redfield’s virtual EDM-inspired take on the Shakespeare classic; assistant props master for John J. Caswell, Jr.’s delightfully queer satire “CREAM!” (ASU) and co-props master for Nikki Rosengren’s devised youth theatre piece “Between Two Worlds” (DogEar Theatre Co.). Curiosity hath killed this cat many times, yet Primiano continues to emerge typically satisfied, relatively unscathed, and immensely caffeinated.
Max Zamorano (calling stage manager) is a third year design and production student at ASU’s School of Music, Dance, and Theatre with a focus in stage management. While working on “HEDDATRON”, he additionally took on the role of production stage manager for “Mouthful of Marbles: Transitions Projects”, a mix of live and virtual dance performance at ASU. He has held other positions recently such as master electrician on a virtual production of “Machos” and assistant stage manager on “Indian School”. In addition to stage managing, he is a scenic carpenter / theatrical technician for the Lyric Opera Theatre department. He is thrilled to be at the forefront of theatrical innovation, working through the unique circumstances of a pandemic.
Leah Zweig (lighting designer) is a senior in the theatre design and production concentration. This is her seventh and final show with the school of music dance and theatre. Her previous work includes SoMDT’s “Hedda Gabler” , “The Snow”, and “Kiss of the Spider Woman” as the lighting designer, “The Flick” as an electrician, “Trade Trade Love” as assistant master electrician and “Spring Dance Fest” as master electrician. She is beyond thankful for her friends, family, and everyone she has had the pleasure of working with throughout her time here at ASU, and looks forward to starting her career after graduation. HEDDATRON Production Team Technical Director Valeria Stutterheim Assistant Technical Director Annalise Hulbert Properties Master Chloe Cobb Assistant Properties Master Jenna Jacobsen Master Carpenter Donita Chang Charge Artist Sam Duran Asst. to the Costume Designer Savvanah Schoenfeld, Emil Mendoza First Hand Sierra Woodward Wardrobe Supervisor Emil Mendoza Master Electrician Ian Irizarry Assistant Master Electrician Krystalynn Newbury Electrician (Media Shoot) Wade Yorke Sound/Media Systems Engineer Elle Doster Sound Technicians Savannah Gunton, Zak Gutzwiler Sound Mixer Kyra Weaver Assistant Media Designer Abby Myers Media Technician Savannah Gunton
School of Music, Dance and Theatre Production Faculty and Staff School Director Heather Landes Associate Director Karen Schupp Assistant Director of Theatre Constance Furr Artistic Director Bill Partlan Production Manager Carolyn Koch Dramaturg Faculty Karen Jean Martinson Faculty Technical Director Chris Winnemann Staff Technical Director Andrew Steele
Design & Production Advisors Max Bernstein, Stephen Christensen, Danielle Deutschmann, Constance Furr, Daniel P. Jaquette, William Kirkham, Julia Lee Rogge, Chris Winnemann, Laura Winnemann Sound and Media Supervisor Stephen Christensen Props and Paint Supervisor Julia Lee Rogge Lighting Supervisor Danielle Deustchmann Costume Shop Coordinator Cari Smith Senior Costume Technician Lois Myers, Gwendolyn Basala Marketing Coordinator Danielle Munoz Videography Rebekah Cheyne Facilities Patti Jones Poster Design Brunella Provvidente