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Fall 2021 Drama Department Newsletter

A message from Shona Tucker

Professor and Chair of the Drama Department

Well, all, we have done it!  We have successfully launched the year in person.  We are conducting classes, meeting on productions, attending rehearsals, welcoming guests, taking field trips, designing, dancing, collaborating, etc. in person!  And I thank each and every one of you that are going the extra mile to keep our spaces clean and our distances spaced and masked, ‘cause what I have learned over the past year—what I already knew, what WE already knew—is that in person is just better.  Zoom is now a necessary part of our world and it’s not going away any time soon.  But, we are built, genetically engineered even, for kinesthetic communication as a species, and I’m not talking about mere humans.  I’m talking about Theater People.  Theater People are, after all, dramatic. Give us the laughter in the room, the collective act of bodies leaning into an idea, the feel of the light on our faces and we turn on.  Zoom tension is a thing. I have conducted some amazing class work via Zoom; I have been pleasantly surprised by how effective it can be, but bodies in a room are frenetic, captivating and soothing at the same time.   So let’s cherish this gift of in-person-ness.  Since January, I have been using my personal word for the year to propel me forward (stop me when you see me and I'll tell you what it is).  So, I want to propose a word for our academic year: REFLECTION.  I know that people generally reflect at the end of a year.  I think we have already been through a lot in this past year. The images from twenty years ago this month, (partly because of all the retrospectives on television) are constantly playing in my head as I write this.  I remember exactly where I was as I watched the second plane hit. When I reflect on the unity and sense of pride and connectedness we New Yorkers, heck we Americans, experienced for months after, it uplifts me.  It was a horrific time, but our humanity and many other positives came out to pull us through.  What do you reflect on to propel you to be a better individual, and connect with  positive forward energy?  Whatever it is, tap into it and let's use that to hopefully keep us together in the rooms and together in the work.  Have a great year y’all.

The Drama Department Faculty and Staff 
photo by Parker Fairfield '24
 

bottom left to right:
Professor Kenisha Kelly, Pam Prior, (Murphy), Brandon Stirling Baker, Professor Chris Grabowski,
Professor Peter Gil-Sheridan, (Filo), James Hunting, (Bess)

top left to right:
Patience Haskell, Rose Fitz-Grabowska, Professor Shona Tucker, Professor Denise Walen, Joan Gerardi,Professor Amanda Culp

UNDER THE TENT FOR A WELCOME BACK GATHERING

The Experimental Theater Production Season
 

MERCURY by Steve Yockey

Directed by Frances Rippy ‘22

October 28, 29, & 30th, 2021

8:00pm

Powerhouse Theater

Faculty Advisor: Peter Gil-Sheridan 

Senior Project Members: Frances Rippy, Jasper Beckman, Eli Wassertzug 

Limited seating, Campus guests only

Presented through special arrangements with APA Agency

ABOUT THE PLAY:

In Steve Yockey’s Mercury, three stories cross in a pitch black comedy with an illicit affair, a couple hanging on by a thread, bears at the window, the worst curiosity shop on the west coast, and a missing dog. No one's happy, people stop being nice, and blood spills. It’s a complex tapestry of queer love, lust, revenge, humor—and a very special planet in retrograde.


 

METAMORPHOSES by Mary Zimmerman

Directed by Avi Klipfel ‘22

November 11, 12, 2021 at 8:00pm

November 13, 2021 at 5:00pm

Heinlein Stage (inside the Martel Theater)

Faculty Advisor: Kenisha Kelly 

Senior Project Members: Harmony Lindstrom, Isabella Granlund, Chelsea Sheldon, Noah Hornick, Merrick Rubinstein, Avi Klipfel, Doruk Evcim, Ben Gillard, Sloane Burling,
Elliott Hoke, Sarah Walker

Limited seating, Campus guests only

Presented through special arrangements with Bret Adams Limited Artist Agency

Sponsored in part by The E.J. Safirstein ‘83 Memorial Fund

ABOUT THE PLAY:

Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman is a play in vignettes adapted from the works of the Roman poet, Ovid. It is a play about love and compassion that examines how we relate to each other as human beings, and how we struggle to see and accept each other in the face of the world around us. As we watch these age-old stories play out in front of us–King Midas and the Gold-Touch, The Three Fates, Orpheus and Euridice–we encounter them with modern language, and modern context, and can see them in a new light. This is a story about all kinds of love, between all kinds of people.


 

OUR DEAR DEAD DRUG LORD by Alexis Scheer

Directed by Sarah Berry Pierce ‘22

December 2, 3, & 4, 2021

8:00pm

Powerhouse Theater

Faculty Advisor: Amanda Culp

Senior Project Members: Sarah Berry Pierce, Jessie Marasco, Lucy Postal

Limited seating, Campus guests only

Presented through special arrangements with ICM Partners

ABOUT THE PLAY:

Four teenage girls, a Ouija board, and a Treehouse in Miami, that’s the Dead Leader’s Club. As they gather to summon the spirit of Pablo Escobar, these young apprentices in sorcery grapple with what it means to become a woman. Are they really messing with the ghost of the infamous cartel kingpin? Or just messing with each other? This new play takes us on a rollercoaster ride through the danger and damage of girlhood- the teenage wasteland meets unbridled exploration of power.
 


Please contact the Box Office for information regarding accessibility and reservations: boxoffice@vassar.edu
Monday - Friday 
10:00am - 4:00pm
(845) 437-5599

photo by Vincent Tullo

WELCOME! Brandon Stirling Baker
 
Brandon Stirling Baker is an award-winning lighting designer working internationally in the areas of theatre, opera, and dance.  His work has been presented by many of the world’s leading performing arts venues including Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Guggenheim Bilbao, and the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris among others.
His lighting can be seen internationally in the repertories of New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, Berlin Staatsballet, Miami City Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Boston Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Houston Ballet, Semperoper Dresden, Opera Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, and many others. Since 2010, Baker has been a frequent collaborator with Tony Award winning director and choreographer Justin Peck.  In 2019, Baker received the prestigious Knight of Illumination Award and currently serves as the resident lighting designer of the Boston Ballet.
Mr.Baker trained at the California Institute of the Arts, Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland and the Yale School of Drama as a Special Research Fellow.
Prior to joining Vassar College, Baker has been a guest lecturer and visiting artist at Yale College, Boston University, New York University, California Institute of the Arts, Ramapo College, Fordham University and Kennesaw State University.
 
For more information: www.stirlingbaker.com
 

Spring 2022 Season coming soon! 
  • The Steerman New Play Festival featuring:
senior project members, student playwrights Gabriella Kimbrough, Hileena Channel,
Eric Murphy, and Charles Mangan
 
About: 

This year, the Vassar Drama Department is excited to present the 2nd Annual Steerman Festival, an expanded festival featuring 4 fully produced plays written by seniors Hileena Channell, Gabriella Kimbrough, Charles Mangan, and Eric Murphy. The Festival will also feature a reading of this year's Schwarz Seven Prize Winning play as well as readings of short plays and excerpts from Vassar’s exceptional community of playwrights. We are proud, as a Department, of the vast amount of new work being generated on campus. The Steerman will honor the creativity and ingenuity of our student writers. 

  • The Marilyn Swartz Seven '69 Annual Playwriting Award
includes a $1000 prize, staged reading, certificate and reception

About: 

The Marilyn Swartz Seven ’69 Playwriting Award was established by friends and classmates of the late Ms. Seven to support an annual playwriting competition open to all Vassar juniors and seniors. After Marilyn Swartz Seven ’69 died of leukemia in 1997 at the age of 50, her classmates, with the help of Professor Emeritus of Drama James Steerman, honored her memory by establishing a fund to support this yearly award. Although Seven was a psychology major at Vassar, she was immersed in theater. During her college years, Seven spent her summers performing in stock productions and touring as a dancer with Ann Corio’s This Was Burlesque. After graduating, she continued to dance and act, and also began to embrace her true creative lifelong passion: writing plays. To this day, Ms Seven’s classmates are dedicated to her legacy.

The awards began in 1999, making this the 22nd anniversary opportunity to Vassar College students from any discipline. Past recipients of this award went to English, Math, Science and Drama students who showed extraordinary writing skills.


 
  • A collaborated musical production with the departments of Drama and Music 
SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE by Stephen Sonheim
to perform in Skinner Hall of Music 

directed by Christopher Grabowski and Drew Minter
faculty advisor: Shona Tucker

a senior project in Drama members include:
Amanda Montgomery, Angelique Rodriguez and Gregory Calidonna


Sponsored in part by the Joan Kostick Andrews '52 Memorial Fund for Musical Theater
 
About: 

Inspired by the painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat, Sunday in the Park with George, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's stunning masterpiece, merges past and present into beautiful, poignant truths about life, love and the creation of art. One of the most acclaimed musicals of our time, this moving study of the enigmatic painter, Georges Seurat, won a Pulitzer Prize and was nominated for an astounding ten Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
 

CONGRATULATIONS TO
PROFESSOR PETER GIL-SHERIDAN !


February will see Keen's first full Off-Broadway production since closing Blues for an Alabama Sky on March 12th, 2020. Almost two years later, Keen will present the World Premiere of This Space Between Us by Peter Gil-Sheridan, directed by Keen Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein. Performances will begin February 22nd and continue through April 2nd, with Opening Night set for Wednesday March 9th. Tickets will be $60 with Premium Seats available for $85; to celebrate the return to live performance, Special First Preview tickets will be only $22 for 2-22-22! Tickets are available at the Theatre Row box office, online at https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/this-space-between-us/. Cast and design team will be announced shortly.

This Space Between Us is a new comedy about trying to change the world while admitting home could use a little change too. Keen Company is proud to present the World Premiere of This Space Between Us by Peter Gil-Sheridan (The Rafa Play). Nobody understands why Jamie wants to leave his cushy law office to work for a non-profit. His best friend is confused, his boyfriend is concerned, and his conservative Cuban-American family are sure they know what's best. As Jamie announces his plans to serve those less fortunate, one shocking afternoon at the racetrack sparks unexpected and irreversible consequences for them all. This intergenerational comedy follows a raucous attempt to reach for something more without leaving the people you love behind.

Meet the DMC! (Drama Majors Committee)


The Drama Majors Committee (DMC) serves as a resource and support system for all members of the Drama Department. Acting as a bridge between the student body and the faculty, the DMC facilitates communication throughout the department. The committee also strives to build community through programming for faculty, drama majors, and all students involved in drama courses.

Sarah Berry Pierce (she/they) is a senior double major in Drama and Women’s Studies from Mississippi. Throughout their time at Vassar, Sarah Berry has served as the Stage Management Intern for the Drama Department and has worked as a Director on multiple productions including the drama department's production of Fefu and Her Friends. She is a member of Idlewild Theatre Ensemble and is looking forward to directing her senior project Our Dear Dead Drug Lord. In their final year as Chair of the Drama Majors Committee, Sarah Berry looks forward to working with new students and engaging with faculty to promote a more inclusive and equitable department. Sarah Berry hopes to bring a little more glitter to the department for last year prior to attending graduate school. 

Jessie Marasco (she/her/hers) is a senior double major in Drama and Hispanic Studies from Amherst, MA. Jessie has stage managed several department productions and previously worked on the Electrics Crew. She is currently serving as the Production Management Intern and the DMC’s Technical Liaison. In the world of student theatre, Jessie also serves as President of the technical theatre org, VCATT (Vassar College Alliance of Theatre Technicians).

Keira DiGaetano (she/they) is a junior double major in Drama and English with a correlate sequence in Religion serving as the DMC’s Programming Director. She is primarily a director and dramaturg, but has enjoyed exploring other areas of theatre with the department. She is a member of Idlewild Theatre Ensemble, a radio show host with WVKR, and co-president of the Underground. She is currently working on dramaturgy for the department’s upcoming production of Our Dear Dead Drug Lord.

Erin Mee (she/her) is a prospective Drama and Astronomy double major from Houston. She is the sophomore representative on the Drama Majors Committee and is passionate about prop creation, lighting design, production management, and acting. She is currently lighting designer for the department’s upcoming production of Mercury, and is also the vice president of The Philaletheis Society, student fellow in Cushing house, and co-president of The Underground. She loves crafting, reading, and watching Wes Anderson movies, and is excited to spend the next three years making theatre on the Vassar campus!

Lucy Postal (she/her) is a senior Drama and History double major currently serving as the Senior Class representative. In the Drama Department, Lucy has largely focused on acting, but has also worked on several of the department’s technical crews including Electrics and Set Crew. She will next be seen in the department’s upcoming production of Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, which is also her Senior Project and was most recently seen in the Drama Department’s production of As You Like It. Lucy is from New York City, which inspired her love of theater, and is also interested in studying history and the decorative arts, traveling in the post-pandemic world, and baking in her free time.

Emma Skinner (she/her) is a sophomore prospective Drama major from Virginia, and the sophomore representative for the DMC. As an actor, stage manager, and musician, she has participated in many productions across campus, and also serves as the Tech Director for Merely Players. Currently, she is serving as stage manager for the upcoming 2021 Playwriting Festival. She enjoys spinning fire with the Barefoot Fireflies and making puns of questionable quality. 

 

Workshops and Information Sessions this Fall
SIGN UP HERE FOR THE PUPPETRY WORKSHOP WITH BRAD SHUR
SAVE THE DATES!
  • Virtual Commercial Voice Over Workshops. Featuring Sara Kapner and Emilea Wilson of VO WORKSHOP NYC. Sundays,  October 3 and October 10, 2022  12pm-2pm.
Sign up link: https://forms.gle/ZgHsjCSkVn7kcsqo9
For more information: VOWORKSHOPNYC.COM 
  • An in person Alexander Technique workshop, with Kevin Munhall of Habit Disruption. A playful and restorative class.
January 29, 2022, 12:00pm-2:00pm 
Sign up details to be announced after break
The Vassar Ticket Fund
The Vassar Drama Department has a new initiative started this year.
There are several ways in which students will be able to view theater with this initiative:
  • Through class work the drama department is excited to attach the viewing of work that expands on work done in the class room. With a goal of 6 major outings a year (3 per semester) or possibly 8 off Broadway production professors are encouraged to collaborate on shows to take multiple classes to see. 
  • Clusters of 3-5 students going together with faculty input on the shows the get to see.
  • Two “Vassar goes to the Theater” per year when students will be permitted to book solo trips through the permission of the chair. Students will submit requests in the 3rd week of the semester.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS COMING SOON!
Welcome, Frances Rippy '22 as the Vassar Ticket Fund Coordinator.
email: vassarticketfund2021@gmail.com
It's Official! 

Welcome James Hunting
Drama Department Technical Director
 
James Hunting is a scenic and special effects designer who has been working on, off, and off-off Broadway (as well as in the larger entertainment industry in general) for almost 20 years. His work includes set designs for various east coast and west coast theater companies, special effects for Cirque Du Soleil, and technical event production for major Silicon Valley tech companies. James worked with J&M Special Effects in Brooklyn for 11 years a pyrotechnican and effects coordinator and designer, designing and building effects for such broadway shows as “The Glass Menagerie” and “Romeo & Juliet”.
He has also worked on a wide variety of TV shows, films, and music videos. James has worked for years with the pyrotechnic teams for Wrestlemania and Burning Man. Most recently James was part of select production team responsible for some of the Bay Area’s biggest tech events. As a Vassar alumni, James looks forward to sharing his knowledge of the events and entreatment industry with a new generation of Vassar Students.
Meet the Box Office Staff

(left to right: Szofia, Tim, Ben, Parker; photo by Parker Fairfield '24)

PARKER FAIRFIELD ‘24 - Drama Department Photographer:  Parker Fairfield Jr. Friends and family like to call me PJ. Parker is a sophomore this year. He has been taking photos for 8 years now and actually just recently released his first photo book last year! Most likely will be majoring in Physics and Astronomy. Actually most of his personal photo work is in astrophotography. This is Parker's second year with the Drama Department and you can see his name on several images.

SZOFIA LEWIS '24 - Her major is currently undecided although she is interested in mathematics and political science. Szofia is a member of the varsity women’s swim team and plans on joining other organizations on campus as well. She was involved in theatre and box office for all of her high school career and is excited to continue down this path with her work study.

BEN MORGAN '25 - Ben is a native of Youngstown, Ohio and a prospective history major. He is excited to work in the box office as a way to connect to his lifelong love of Drama.

TIM NGUYEN '23 -  Tim Nguyen, a Junior at Vassar, is a prospective Film and Math major with a French correlate. He is involved in Vassar Filmmakers, VCTV and is involved in the Student Theater. His hobbies include filmmaking, fashion, and playing piano. This is Tim's third year with the Box Office. He will be JYA in Paris this coming Spring.
 

JOAN GERARDI has been the Box Office Specialist for the Drama Department since 2007. Joan is the House Manager for all productions and special events. She also is the publicity coordinator for the department and archivist of productions.  

 

Senior Project Proposal Process

  • Step One- Faculty Conversations 

Begin conversations with the faculty. No project will be considered unless you have had several conversations with at least three faculty members.

  • Step Two- Licensing Meeting

Set up a meeting with Joan Gerardi, our Publicity, Box Office, and Promotions Manager to discuss potential conflict in getting the rights to perform a piece. If you are considering a contemporary piece, you must consider and propose a “back-up” piece in case we cannot get the rights to your first choice.

  • Step Three- Proposal Submission and Faculty Consulting 

Once you have proposed your project, the faculty will review it and make suggestions and/or assign other like minded collaborators to your suggested projects.

  • Step Four- Project showcase 

At an assigned time, you (and your group where applicable) will generate a 5-minute, Drama- 102-style virtual presentation based on the world of the play. After this presentation you (and your group) will have a 5 minute Q&A session with the faculty on your proposed project.

The department will make a final decision based on this four-step process. 

Coming soon,
the launch of our new Drama Department website! 

A fresh look and feel to represent the work we do.
A sneak peak available shortly. 
Please remember to keep our spaces clean
Copyright © 2021 All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Drama Department at Vassar College
124 Raymond Avenue, Box 734, Poughkeepsie, New York 12604
(845) 437-5599 
boxoffice@vassar.edu

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Vassar College · 124 Raymond Avenue · Box 734 · Poughkeepsie, Ny 12604 · USA

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