Shakespeare Set Free Independent Shakespeare Co

SHAKESPEARE SET FREE INDEPENDENT SHAKESPEARE CO. GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL 2017 We are delighted to welcome you to Griffith Park for another summer of Shakespeare! Over the past months, we’ve been thinking about what it means to be part of the Los Angeles community. What do we give to our fellow Angelenos? What do we receive? The “receiving” part is easy. We gain so much from being part of your lives. You give us the gift of your attention, you share your stories with us, you support us with donations and with cookies. When we’ve needed it, you’ve given us the benefit of the doubt. This season, audience members have volunteered to help sew trim on the costumes you’ll see to- night, set up the stage, and distribute flyers. If you buy a coffee at intermission, you will likely be served by an audience volunteer. But what do we give back? What should we give back? We bring you professional theater in a lovely setting (not that we can take credit for the treasure that is Griffith Park). We bring you plays that reflect our times and make you think. An evening at the Festival is a great date night, or a chance to take a breath and be with friends. We offer performances that can include everyone in our community regardless of income level. This year, you will be able to register to vote at a performance, and write your elected officials about what- ever’s on your mind (we’ll pick up the stamp). These are some of the things we do. Should we be doing more? There are many answers to the question, “What is the role of theater in a community?” They range from being an agent for social change, to encouraging tough contemplation of current events, to binding us together in shared storytelling. But as we planned this season, we asked ourselves, what is the role of this specific theater, during this specific summer, in this specific city? In the end, our answer was joy. So many of Shakespeare’s plays end with unlikely celebrations, and the two plays we are presenting this year, MEASURE FOR MEASURE and THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, are prime examples. Against all odds, love wins, our better natures triumph, and joy bursts through the shadows infusing the world with a sense of balance. This season, we are embracing this unlikely joy. We hope you will join us, and that this ephemeral moment will provide a sense of peace. And one more thought? Why not say hello to the person on the blanket next to you? After all, we’re in this together. Melissa Chalsma, Artistic Director Council District Four THE COMPANY DUKE VINCENTIO, later in disguise as Friar Lodovico �� David Melville* ANGELO, his chosen deputy ��William Elsman* ISABELLA, a novitiate of the church ��Kalean Ung* CLAUDIO, her brother ��Evan Lewis Smith* JULIET, his beloved �� Donna Zadeh LUCIO, a nobleman of Vienna �� Nikhil Pai* GENTLEMAN & WOMEN ...............................................................................Bukola Ogunmola, April Fritz, Nathan Nonhof MISTRESS OVERDONE, a local businesswoman ��Xavi Moreno* POMPEY BUM, her bawd ��Lorenzo González* FRANCISCA, a nun ��Bukola Ogunmola FRIAR PETER ..................................................................................................................................................... Patrick Batiste PROVOST, in command of the prison �� Joseph Culliton* ELBOW, a constable �� Richard Azurdia* FROTH, a gentleman of Vienna �� Patrick Batiste ABHORSON, an executioner ��Nathan Nonhof BARNARDINE, a murderer ��Xavi Moreno* MARIANA, a gentlewoman of Vienna �� April Fritz A MUSICIAN ....................................................................................................................................................... Donna Zadeh PLAYWRIGHT ..........................................................................................................................................William Shakespeare DIRECTOR ..................................................................................................................................................... Melissa Chalsma COSTUME DESIGNER........................................................................................................................................Elizabeth Cox ASSISTANT COSTUME DESIGNER ��Matthew Kesner SCENIC DESIGNER ��Caitlin Lainoff ASSISTANT SCENIC DESIGNER ��Natalie Morales LIGHTING DESIGNER �� Bosco Flannagan COMPOSER .................................................................................................................................................... David Melville* STAGE MANAGER ��Jenny Park* ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER ��Giselle Vega REHEARSAL ASSISTANT �� Raven Robledo *member, Actors’ Equity Association, the professional union of actors and stage managers in the United States The play takes place in the city of Vienna, where the party never stops. There is one intermission. Notes on the Play by Melissa Chalsma When the play opens, Vienna is a place where decadence reigns, and law has fallen by the way side. It is a city in need of a shake up, and Duke Vincentio thinks he has the answer. For years he has turned a blind eye to the behavior of his citi- zens. Rather than confront his lax leadership head on, the Duke devises a means to replace himself with the strictest deputy he can find: the pious and unyielding Angelo. The Duke hopes this deputy will mete out punishment with such igorr that the people of Vienna will fall in line. Indeed, as soon as the Duke leaves the city on mysterious and sudden business, Angelo brings down the iron fist of the law: Claudio and his betrothed, Juliet, have committed the sin of premartial sex, and she is pregnant. Despite the fact that they are engaged, Angelo sentences Claudio to death. What’s more, all the brothels in Vienna (which have thrived under the rule of the Duke) are being torn down, setting the shadowy underbelly of Vienna into an uproar, and people of all stripes are being thrown in prison. But all is not as it appears: the Duke does not leave the city. Rather, he disguises himself as a Friar to walk among the people. And when Claudio’s sister, Isabella (a novice nun), hears of her brother’s fate, she rushes to plead for his life to Angelo, and in so doing, forces Angelo to reveal his true character. As the action of the play unfolds, the lives of Isabella, the Duke, and Angelo become intertwined in surprising ways. Thoughout the play, disguise plays a central role. Not simply the act of putting on a costume, but what we do to obscure truths about ourselves. Shakespeare of- fers no moral judgment of disguise. In fact, “seeming” plays both a positive and a negative role in the lives of the characters. Nor does he pass judgment on the central conflict of the play, between puritinism and he- donism. In the end, the characters are left to confront the moral and emotional complexity of their lives with their faults intact and their eyes open. As was written many

Load more