Each year, our department offers a variety of production projects, covering a wide spectrum of genres and styles. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, our production program in Fall 2020 stretched the limits of what we understand as performance. We continue this exploration in Spring 2021 and invite the Northeastern community to experience our outstanding students, faculty and professional guest artists.
AS U LIKE IT
Written by William Shakespeare
UPDATED Streaming April 14 – 24
A Digital Theatrical Experience.
Register now to view production beginning April 14
AS YOU LIKE IT is one of Shakespeare’s most popular and most accessible comedies: a play about love, identity, and becoming your true self. The play addresses gender identity, gender expression, sexuality on a spectrum, and many aspects of human desire.
Watch our Scenic team load in the gorgeous set
A NEW WAY TO PERFORM: THEATER DEPARTMENT PRODUCES FILMED RENDITION OF ‘AS U LIKE IT’
Creative Team
Director: Melinda Lopez
Scenic & Lighting Designer: Jeffrey Petersen
Assistant Scenic & Lighting Designer: Tori Rojo (’22)
Costume Designer: Chelsea Kerl
Sound Designer: Aubrey Dube
Dramaturg: Helen Lewis
Movement & Intimacy Director: Ilya Vidrin
Combat Director: Jesse Hinson
Assistant Combat Director: Dan Lutz (’21)
Director of Photography / Lead Editor: Riley Cohen (’22)
CASt LIST:
Rosalind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peri Griffiths
Orlando . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ben Simon
Celia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sydney Maloney
Oliver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mollie Parkinson
Duke Frederick/Duke Senior . . . . . . . . . Ames Noble
Adam/Silvius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zeke D’Ascoli
Jacques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alyse Clinton
Charles/Phebe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dan Lutz
Le Beau/Amiens/Corin/Hymen . . . . . . . Tiana Mudzimurema
Production team:
Production Stage Manager: Hannah Marks
Assistant Stage Manager: Ivy Kee
Props Director: Jason Rosenthal
Assistant Props Director: Selin Yuksel
Head Electrician: Elise Piliponis
Assistant Electrician: Makenna Harnden
Assistant Electrician: Rory O’Neill
Assistant Videographer: Julia Smith
Sound Operator: Andie Weiner
Captioning: Evelyn Bauer
COMPLETED PRODUCTIONS
DOWNTOWN CROSSING
by David Valdes
Streaming October 22 – 25
A digital world premier presented by Company One Theatre in partnership with Northeastern University and Boston Public Library and with support from the Center for Humanities at Tufts University.
Downtown Crossing is the culmination of C1’s two-year Boston (un)Documented Project , during which C1 PlayLab alum David Valdes — supported by a partnership between C1 and the BPL — interviewed current and former undocumented immigrants, DACA recipients, immigrant rights advocates, community organizers, and family members of the undocumented from the Greater Boston area.
On Marathon Monday, seven undocumented Bostonians cross paths on the Orange Line. When their train is delayed due to police action at Downtown Crossing, they share their stories — both hopeful and heart wrenching — in intimate, intersecting monologues that spotlight what it’s like to build a life while holding your breath.
Company One Theatre is producing Downtown Crossing to AMPLIFY:
● the experiences and bravery of those whose voices are silenced due to immigration status or fear of deportation
● Boston’s history and position as a border city
● actions we can take to combat xenophobia and the “rising costs” of naturalization
● organizations like Agencia Alpha, MIRA and RAICES who work to support and defend immigrant rights
● institutions like the Boston Public Library and all public libraries who provide access to all, no matter their status, race, class or creed
● the fight to guarantee the right to vote as a human right
Performance Schedule
Thursday, October 22 @ 7pm EDT (PRESS OPENING)
Friday, October 23 @ 7pm EDT
Saturday, October 24 @ 7pm EDT
Sunday, October 25 @ 2pm EDT
CAST
LUPE: Venuz Delmar
JACI (JACINTA): Graciela Femenia Tully
SAROM: Eiko Yamamoto
BOLADE (BO): Jean Philippe Darang ^
ADILSON: Thomas Vorsteg
DECLAN: Ben Harris ^
ELEANOR (YINGXIA): Christina R. Chan
PRODUCTION TEAM
Playwright: David Valdes
Director: Summer L. Williams
Dramaturg: Jessica Scout Malone
Development Dramaturg: Ilana M. Brownstein
Assistant Director: Tarik Jones^
Assistant Dramaturg: Anna Birnholz^
Virtual Visual Designer: Leanna Keyes
Costume Designer: Danielle Domingue Sumi
Sound Designer: Aubrey Dube
Design Assistant: Victoria Rojo^
Props Manager: Bianca Estensen-Tijerino^
Stage Manager: Emma Nafz^
Production Manager: Mads Massey
^Northeastern Student
SHE KILLS MONSTERS
by Qui Nguyen
Streaming October 27 – November 1
A digital completion of our anticipated Spring 2020 production.
Join the world of fantasy role-playing with Agnes, who is on a quest to understand her younger sister Tilly after her tragic death. When she finds Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, Agnes enters a weird and wondrous world that was a refuge from Tilly’s “normal” life. In this high-octane, battle-filled comedy laden with demons, dragons, homicidal cheerleaders, and 90s pop culture, Nguyen creates a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all.
“Deceptively breezy and rather ingenious… It will slash and shapeshift its way into your heart.” – The New York Times
Directed by Darren Evans
Scenic Designer: JiYoung Han (Guest Artist)
Costume Designer: Marissa Wolf ’20
Lighting Designer: Connor O’Brien ’17
Sound Designer: Dewey Dellay (Guest Artist)
Monster Designer: Eric Propp (Guest Artist)
Animation Designers: Caroline Burzynski, Wendy Jia, & Emily Huang
Production Stage Manager: Emily Cornicello
Assistant Stage Managers: Julia Lee & Tim Scalzo
Props Director: Ivy Caithlin Kee
Assistant Props Director: Mollie Parkinson
Monster Artisans: Isabelle Bushkov, Fabienne Dessalines, Alexis Hill, Carla McDonough, Jason Rosenthal, & Beth Whitlow
Head Electrician: Elise Cooke
Electricians: Meredith Brown & Lara Graber-Mitchell
CAST LIST
Agnes………………………………………………………Ashley Lyon
Tilly………………………………………….………………Bea Tolan
Chuck……………………………………….……………..Dan Lutz
Miles……………………………………….………………Jupiter Le
Kaliope/Kelly…………………………………………..Marisa Lijoi
Lilith/Lilly………………………………………………..Julia Barksdale
Orcus/Ronnie……………………………….………….Donovan Holt
Vera/The Beholder……………….………………….Pavithra Rajesh
Narrator/Farrah the Faerie……….…………….Isabelle Bushkov
Steve………………………………………………………..Ben Simon
Evil Tina/Tina…………………………………………..Arielle Greenspan
Evil Gabbi/Gabbi…………………….………………..Amanda Brea
RULES OF PLAY: COLLEGE EDITION
Written and Directed by: Kate Franklin (’21)
Streaming November 16 -22
Visit the RULES OF PLAY Website
Rules of Play is a comedic, Brechtian theatre piece (filmed due to COVID) that dramatizes Greek life and hookup culture on college campuses to illuminate the harms associated with these patriarchal systems and the part they play in the pervasiveness of sexual assault on college campuses.
Playwright/Director: Kate Franklin
Production Stage Manager: Elaine Mangelinkx
Lighting Designer: Ciara McAloon
Sound Designer: Ben Harris
Graphic Designer: Sam Krot
Videographer/Editor: Artie Ghosh
Videographer: Alexis Mendelsohn
Editors: Adam Regenstrief & Hannah Wong
Choreographer: Nora Gallo
CAST:
Player 1……………………….Elise Piliponis
Player 2……………………Devon Whitney
Player 3………………………Aidan Bradley
A……………….Erin Elizabeth Devereux
Stage Hand…………Elaine Mangelinkx
SCENES FROM METAMORPHOSES
based on the Myths of Ovid
Written and originally directed by Mary Zimmerman
Streaming November 16 – 29
An episodic digital imagining.
Love, identity, and divine intervention: Mary Zimmerman’s adaptation explores Ovid’s myths through a contemporary, feminist lens. This production will highlight the unique creative problem solving of digital performance, and aims to celebrate the identities of LGBTQIA+ artists.
Directed by Desiré Bennett (’20)
Lighting & Scenic Designer: Oliver Wason (Faculty)
Costume Designer: Frances McSherry (Faculty)
Sound Designer: Jesse Timm (Guest Artist)
Digital Experience Designer: Matthew Hosking
Production Stage Manager: Erin Solomon
Props Director: Miranda Acosta
Production Assistant: Josephine Ojakli
Video Editing: Julia Chase & Riley Cohen
Costume Assistant: Rachel Erwin
CAST LIST:
1st Laundress, Narrator 1, Sailor, Lucina…………………………………………………………………………………….Alyse Clinton
Midas, Sailor, Erysichthon, Cinyras, Eros………………………………………………………………..Christian “Mish” Culbert
Alcyone, Eurydice, Erysichthon’s Mother, Nursemaid……………………………………………………………….Maddie Elsea
3rd Laundress, Narrator 3, Scientist, Hunger……………………………………………………………………………..Kaitlyn Fiery
Therapist, Poseidon, Oread, Sleep, Fate, Woman at the Door, Narrator 4………………..Ella “Pluto” Garfunkel
Midas’ Daughter, Sailor, Spirit of the Tree, Phaeton………………………………………..Catherine “KitCat” Giorgetti
2nd Laundress, Narrator 2, Narcissus………………………………………………………………………………………….Peri Griffiths
Woman at the Water, Ceres, Myrrha, A, Hermes………………………………………………………………….Sydney Maloney
Aphrodite, Fate, Baucis, Buyer……………………………………………………………………………………………Carla McDonough
Iris, Persephone, Q, Pomona, Narrator 5………………………………………………………………………………………Rory O’Neill
Servant, Ceyx/Morpheus, Orpheus, Apollo………………………………………………………………………………………Evan Penn
Bacchus, Hades, Sailor, Psyche, Philemon…………………………………………………………………………..Somaiya Rowland
Silenus, Sisyphean, Vertumnus, Zeus……………………………………………………………………………..Madi Vespa Williams
DEFERRED: An Episodic Radio Play
NOW Streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & Podbean
An auditory theatrical experience.
Inspired by Langston Hughes poem Harlem and Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun”, Deferred is an episodic radio play that follows the residents and staff of 20 Sahara Drive. A community rocked by a tragic loss and deadly virus leaving their lives and dreams changed forever. What happens when your dream is deferred? How do you move forward?
Meet the residents and staff of 20 Sahara Drive, trying to rebuild their lives after immense change due to a deadly virus that wreaked havoc on the world.
Maya gets some unsettling news and Kay confronts June about her behavior while Miles tries to comfort Adrian.
Episode 3: Secrets, Secrets, Secrets
Christine’s funeral causes tension between Maya and Charlie while Michael reveals to June the real reason their marriage fell apart.
Maya and Charlie get into a huge fight, while June, Michael and Kay begin to mend their broken relationships.
We find out how Adrian’s mother passed away, June and Michael reconcile their relationship and Kay makes a big decision about their career.
Four years later.
Created and Directed by Pascale Florestal
Written by Grace Campbell, Riley Cohen, Allegra D’Virgilio, Pascale Florestal, Kate Kelly,
Ames Noble, Rayan Perera, Adam Regenstreif, and Liddy Wade
Sound Design by Anna Drummond
Assistant Sound Designer – Grace McNamara
Podcast Manager – Hannah Marks
Characters Voiced by:
Hilary, Mom and Mrs. Kensington……………………………..Grace Campbell
Adrian…………………………………………………………………………………Riley Cohen
Cameron, Alex/Intercom, Claire………………………………Allegra D’Virgilio
Maya……………………………………………………………………………………..Kate Kelly
Kay…………………………………………………………………………………….Ames Noble
Charlie & Miles………………………………………………………………..Rayan Perera
Elevator Voice, Ronnie, Michael, 911 Operator, Radio Voice, &
Additional Narration…………………………………Adam Regenstreif
June……………………………………………………………………………………Liddy Wade
SENSITIVE GUYS
Written by MJ Kaufman
Live Streaming March 3 – 7
PERFORMANCE TIMES:
- Wednesday March 3rd at 8pm
- Thursday March 4th at 8pm (talkback following )
- Friday March 5th at 8pm (talkback following )
- Saturday March 6th at 8pm
- Sunday March 7th at 2pm (talkback following)
A Live Streamed Digital Theatrical Experience.
Sensitive Guys is a comedy where two student-led support groups work to confront and eradicate toxic masculinity and sexual violence on a small liberal arts college campus. The Men’s Peer Education Group works to challenge the norms and perspectives around male privilege, and the Survivor Support Group provides a place where survivors of assault have a place to reach out and help take action. With this comes challenges within and outside the two groups as allegations surface and each is faced with the realities of gender identity and influences of power.
Content Warning:
This play focuses on rape, sexual assault, rape culture, and sexual coercion. A member from Northeastern’s Sexual Assault Response Coalition (SARC) is available for any audience member looking for further resources, during or after the performance. SARC representatives are not licensed/medically trained professionals, but are peers that can provide further resources that may be needed.
If you have any questions, please contact the Northeastern University Department of Theatre at [email protected].
Sexual Assault Response Coalition:
- Instagram: @northeasternsarc
- Email: [email protected]
End Rape on Campus (EROC) works to end campus sexual violence through direct support for survivors and their communities; prevention through education; and policy reform at the campus, local, state, and federal levels.
We are so honored to be partnering with End Rape on Campus for their Film Friday series. Please stay after the performance on March 5th for a talkback with playwright MJ Kaufman and some members of the cast.
CREATIVE TEAM
Director: Sam Richert Boehm
Assistant Director: Megan Warshofsky (’21)
Scenic & Lighting Designer: Oliver Wason
Costume Designer: Margaret Koerber
Sound Designer: Aubrey Dube
Dramaturg: Ilya Vidrin
CAST LIST:
Diana/Danny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Madi Vespa Williams
Tracy/Tyler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christelle Girimana
Katie/Jordan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kate Kelly
Amy/Pete/Dean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lina Lahlou
Leslie/Will . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anna Macek
Admissions Officer/Understudy for Leslie/Will . . . . . . Andie Weiner
Understudy for Dianna/Danny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brenna Thornton
Jones/Understudy for Katie/Jordan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bianca Vranceanu
Production Team:
Production Stage Manager: Emily Cornicello
Assistant Stage Manager: Ashley Lyon
Props Director: Erin Fitzpatrick
Digital Board Operator: Nico Fernandez
Captioning: Shira Weiss
Northeastern Resources:
- Office of Prevention and Education (OPEN)
- Sexual Violence Resource Center
- Title IX Office (OUEC)
- Sexual Assault Response Coalition (SARC)
- NEU Too
Additional Resources: