Synetic Theater Presents Richard iii May 15 >> June 16 @SyneticTheater CONTEMPORARY PHYSICAL THEATER Paata Tsikurishvili, Founding Artistic Director Irina Tsikurishvili, Founding Associate Artistic Director Jason Najjoum,Managing Director SYNthesis: the coming together of distinct elements to form a whole kinETIC: pertaining to or imparting motion, active, dynamic SYNETIC THEATER: a dynamic synthesis of the arts “Synetic’s novel form of physical theater is vital and revolutionary” - DC Metro Theater Arts In 2018, “Synetic is still firmly in the mesmerizing business” -The Washington Post Founded in 2001 by the husband and wife team of Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili, Synetic Theater is the region’s premier contemporary theater, dedicated to the fusion of dynamic art forms from text and drama to movement, acrobatics, dance, film and music. In the span of almost 20 years, Synetic received 134 Helen Hayes nominations and 32 Awards. BOARD OF DIRECTORS EMERITUS BOARD Rick L. Hardy, Chair Ina Milton Michael Haskett, Vice Chair Dimitri Simes Allison Foster Ruckh, Treasurer Tim Carlton, Secretary Peter W. Berk ADVISORY BOARD Daniel S. Cox Angela Fox Diane Dippold MacIntosh Sue and Amnon Golan Julianna Mahley Hanna Haskett Ryan E. Merkel Freddi Lipstein Blair Ruble Amy M. Nice Jeffrey Schragg Lloyd Rose Paata Tsikurishvili Victor Shargai Cecil Thompson Jay Zawatsky Our work is not possible without your help! Visit synetictheater.org/membership to learn how you can support great physical theater in the Washington, DC area! Richard iii Based on the play written by William Shakespeare May 15 >> June 16 Director Choreographer Paata Tsikurishvili Irina Tsikurishvili Resident Composer Adapter Konstantine Lortkipanidze Nathan Weinberger Scenic & Multimedia Designer Costume Designer Tennessee Dixon Erik Teague* Lighting Designer Sound Designer Brian S. Allard Thomas Sowers Properties Designer Video Producer & Editor Kelli L. Jones Scott Brown Resident Stage Manager Technical Director Marley Giggey Phil Charlwood Assistant Director Anne Flowers Production Manager Phill Giggey Sr. Assistant Lighting Designer Nicki Franklin Master Electrician Alex Keen Assistant Costume Designer Alexa Duimstra Audio & Video Engineer Thomas Sowers Draper Ré Teague Light Board Programmer & Operator Ian Claar Carpenters Tony Ritchie, Chris Foote, Pete Neal Electricians Ian Claar, Brittany Shemuga, Scenic Painter Tim Grant Christion Jones, Matt Lankford, Cassandra Saulski, Susannah Cai, Van Pham * Member of United Scenic Artists Our new adaptation of Richard III was made possible by the generous support of David & Claire Maklan, Hans & Helen Kaper, Sue & Amnon Golan, and Bonnie N. & Jere Broh-Kahn. The 2018/19 season is supported in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the Arlington Cultural Affairs Division of Arlington Economic Development & the Arlington Commission for the Arts, and the Crystal City Business Improvement District. Special Thanks to our friends at Flyer Monsters BEFORE YOU TAKE THAT SELFIE... We’d love you to share a photo to social media and tell us what you thought of the show! Feel free to take as many photos as you like of our set before and after the performance. What you are looking at is the work of the team of designers below, so show them some love with a shoutout. Scenic & Multimedia Designer: Tennessee Dixon Costume Designer: Erik Teague @opergeist Properties Designer: Kelli L. Jones @kellileannjones Lighting Designer: Brian S. Allard @briansallard @SyneticTheater #SyneticRichardIII Please note: Photos are not allowed during the performance for the safety of our performers and out of respect for other audience members. Please silence and put away any small screens before the performance begins. Note from the Director Our 14th “Wordless Shakespeare”—Richard III—is also one of the Bard’s most popular and frequently staged plays, so if you’re going to produce it, you’d better have something new and exciting to say. Everyone knows the familiar image of the spidery, hunchbacked king, twisted in body and soul, leering at the grieving widow and wickedly raising an eyebrow at his two young nephews, innocently and obliviously “in his way” —so what can we bring to this play that’s new? After all, for more than four centuries, Shakespeare’s legendary supervillain has limped across stages the world over and before cameras in everything from medieval tights to fascist jackboots—a timeless and universal symbol of corruption, greed, and duplicity. He has taken every conceivable shape, literally and figuratively, his ruthless opportunism fitting any era, any age. But, like Iago, we’re never given a satisfactory explanation as to the source of Richard’s evil; he simply is. To get at the root of his motivations, and exploring the notion that evil is the absence of empathy and humanity, our adaptation substitutes Richard’s infamous deformities with another kind of physical defect—an almost complete mechanical reconstruction of Richard’s physical body after he is wounded in battle. This transformation is so drastic and his dependence on technology so complete as to leave hardly anything of Richard’s old self remaining, robbing him of his humanity and enabling him to do the unthinkable to reach his goals. Scholars have referred to this play as a “moral holiday.” As inhuman as Richard is, we’re thrilled (and relieved) that he takes us into his confidence, sharing his plots and schemes through soliloquy and allowing us to accompany him on his rise to power. In spite of ourselves, we enjoy this fiendish trickster, sharing his secret fantasies of ultimate control while admiring his skill and audacity, however shocking and appalling his methods may be. I think this is why Shakespeare’s play, and why Richard himself, have endured: He repulses and fascinates all at once. Whatever else we may think of Richard, we just can’t look away, and by forcing us to like him in spite of his deeds, he manipulates us as much as he does his adversaries. The political manipulation of all available means to get what we want and attain power has always been with us, and nothing has changed—except the tools with which it is done. Our technology is an essential part of our lives, but what happens when a Pandora’s box is opened which we cannot close? What could happen when an already corrupt human is fully synched with technology? Here, our Richard is half- human and half-artificial intelligence, and his desire for absolute power, combined with his new inhuman form, corrupts his soul completely. For us, this is today’s Richard III: An individual totally warped by the unfeeling machinery that consumes him, in a terrifyingly surreal synergy of the organic and the synthetic. My thanks, as always, to our tremendous artistic and technical teams, who have been more entwined on this production than on any other in Synetic’s history. It’s been an enormous challenge bringing one of Shakespeare’s most iconic monsters to life in such unique fashion, and everyone, onstage and off, played a critical role. I’d also like to thank Crystal City BID and the Washington, DC theatre community for their ongoing support, and finally, please join me in welcoming Jason Najjoum, who is beginning his first season with us as Synetic’s new Managing Director! -Paata Tsikurishvili Cast Richard.........................................................................................................Alex Mills † Queen Elizabeth ...................................................................Irina Tsikurishvili † Buckingham......................................................................................Matt R. Stover Lady Anne..............................................................................Maryam Najafzada Clarence....................................................................................Thomas Beheler † King Edward................................................................................Philip Fletcher † Richmond............................................................................Jordan Clark Halsey Prince......................................................................................................Tim Proudkii * Younger Prince....................................................................................Aaron Kan * Princess Elizabeth.................................................................Nutsa Tediashvili Tyrell................................................................................................Ana Tsikurishvili * Ratcliffe...................................................................................................Scean Aaron † Synetic Theater Company Member * Synetic Theater Teen Company Alumni Crystal City Shops Metro Stop - Underground 703-996-4121 (On the Blue & Yellow Line) 202-333-5950 1750 Crystal Drive, Suite D-40 www.totalparty.us Arlington, Va 22202 [email protected] Cast Bios SCEAN AARON (Ratcliffe) Ensemble], Carmen (Lucas) [HH Synetic: Sleepy Hollow. Outstanding Ensemble Nominated], DC AREA: Toby’s Dinner Macbeth (Witch) [HH Outstanding Theatre: Peter Pan, Supporting Actor], and Hamlet…the rest Hairspray, Ragtime. is silence (King Hamlet’s Ghost/Player ArtsCentric: The Color King) [HH Outstanding Ensemble]. Purple, Jesus Christ Superstar, Snapshots. CCTA: Seussical JORDAN CLARK HALSEY the Musical; Alexander and the Terrible (Richmond) is delighted Horrible No Good Very Bad Day. to return to Synetic after Regional: Signature Theatre: Jelly’s appearing in Sleepy Last Jam (Swing), The Scottsboro Hollow earlier this