From left: Stephen Spencer, Therese Anderberg in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
From left: Therese Anderberg, Stephen Spencer in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
Graduate Ensemble of 2014 in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
Therese Anderberg in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
From left: Therese Anderberg, Stephen Spencer in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
From left: Stephen Spencer, Bernard Bygott in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
From left: Therese Anderberg, Christa Hinckley in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
Therese Anderberg in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
Stephen Spencer as Alceste in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Also pictured: Sarah Kinsey, Bernard Bygott. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
TJ Gainley as Oronte in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Also pictured: Sarah Kinsey, Christa Hinckley, Bernard Bygott. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
Christa Hinckley in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
Drew Derek as Acaste in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Also pictured: Christa Hinckley, Bernard Bygott, Joseph Dunn. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
From left: Christa Hinckley, Stephen Spencer in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
Joseph Dunn as Clitandre in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Also pictured: Christa Hinckley, Bernard Bygott, Drew Derek. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
From left: Stephen Spencer, TJ Gainley in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
From left: Bernard Bygott, Sarah Kinsey in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni
Graduate Ensemble of 2014 in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
From left: Joseph Dunn, Drew Derek in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
Bernie Bygott in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
From left: Therese Anderberg, Stephen Spencer in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
From left: Joseph Dunn, Therese Anderberg and Drew Derek in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
TJ Ganley in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
Drew Derek as Dubois in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
Sarah Kinsey in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of The Misanthrope directed by Donald Carrier, in The Helen at PlayhouseSquare, October 24 - November 3, 2012. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.
Is honesty always the best policy? Alceste, a French aristocrat, is committed to telling the absolute truth regardless of the repercussions. Unfortunately, he’s in love with the flighty young widow Célimène, who epitomizes society’s excesses, and a comedic collision course of values is inevitable. Written nearly 400 years ago, Moliere’s witty classic demonstrates once again that the more things change, plus c’est la même chose!
Bernard Bygott: (Philinte) appeared at Cleveland Play House in the world premiere of A Carol for Cleveland (as Freddy and Wino/Santa); Every Good Boy Deserves Favor with The Cleveland Orchestra; and in The Fagin Effect (reading) by Michael Bloom. For CWRU/CPH’s MFA Acting Program, he performed in The Misanthrope and In Arabia We’d All Be Kings. Bygott originated the role of Calandrino in the opera Decameron at Prince Music Theater. Additional credits include American Shakespeare Center, where he acted in, among many more, The Comedy of Errors, All’s Well That Ends Well, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet; Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival; Ohio Shakespeare Festival; Theater For The New City; Northern New England Repertory; Quintessence Theatre Group; Storybook Musical Theatre; Ko Festival of Performance; Mum Puppettheatre; Glimmerglass Opera; International Opera Theater (Italy and U.S.); and The Little Orchestra Society at Lincoln Center. His Bachelor of Arts is from Amherst College, and he is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. less appeared at Cleveland Play House in the world premiere of A Carol for Cleveland (as Freddy and Wino/Santa); Every Good Boy Deserves Favor with The Cleveland Orchestra; and in The Fagin Effect (reading) by Michael Bloom. For CWRU/CPH’s MFA Acting Program, he performed in The Misanthrope and In Arabia We’d... more
Christa Hinckley: (Arsinoé) most recently went on – with only four hours of rehearsal – as a performing understudy for the role of Gillian in Cleveland Play House’s production of Bell, Book and Candle. By all accounts her two performances were a success, having prompted a standing ovation and favorable notice (by Donald Rosenberg) in The Plain Dealer. For the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program, she appeared in The Misanthrope and In Arabia We’d All Be Kings. She was raised in Dallas, Texas and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre, English, and Linguistics from Dartmouth College. Additional theatre studies include conservatory training at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center’s National Theater Institute and London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. Favorite regional theatre roles to date are Catherine in Proof, Sheila in Hair, and Hope Cladwell in Urinetown. Other professional credits include New York Musical Theatre Festival, New York Theatre Workshop, and Disney's Theater of the Stars. less most recently went on – with only four hours of rehearsal – as a performing understudy for the role of Gillian in Cleveland Play House’s production of Bell, Book and Candle. By all accounts her two performances were a success, having prompted a standing ovation and favorable notice (by Donald... more
Donald Carrier: (Director) has appeared at Cleveland Play House in In The Next Room, or the vibrator play (2012); Ten Chimneys (2012); Noises Off (2008); and Lincolnesque (2007). Selected directing credits include Two Gentlemen of Verona, Twelfth Night, The Annex, As You Like It, Oh! What a Lovely War, Alms, Les Belles Soeurs, The Hollow, Habeas Corpus, and The Love Stories. Carrier will be directing The Crucible for the CWRU undergraduate theatre department in spring of 2013. Favorite regional acting credits include The Old Globe, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, King Lear, and The Tempest; Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, Hamlet, Twelfth Night; Great Lakes Theater, A Christmas Carol; Studio Theatre-DC, Shining City; Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Noises Off; The Shakespeare Theatre, The Duchess of Malfi, Richard III; Wilma Theater, Arcadia; Huntington and Intiman Theatres, Gross Indecency; TheatreWorks, Shakespeare in Hollywood; and Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, The School for Scandal. He spent nine seasons at Stratford Festival appearing in As You Like It, The Importance of Being Earnest, Measure for Measure, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, and Coriolanus among many others. He spent two seasons at the Shaw Festival appearing in Candida and Too True To Be Good. Television/film includes Guns, The Time Traveler’s Wife, The Passion of Ayn Rand, and Dead by Monday. Writing credits include the musical Evangeline with Anaya Farrell, Alms, Footnotes, and Transmission. Carrier is associate director of the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program. less has appeared at Cleveland Play House in In The Next Room, or the vibrator play (2012); Ten Chimneys (2012); Noises Off (2008); and Lincolnesque (2007). Selected directing credits include Two Gentlemen of Verona, Twelfth Night, The Annex, As You Like It, Oh! What a Lovely War, Alms, Les Belles Soeurs,... more
Drew Derek: (Acaste/Dubois) recently appeared in CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program productions of The Misanthrope as Acaste and Dubois and In Arabia We’d All Be Kings as Charlie, Man #2, and a Holy Roller. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from The State University of New York at Buffalo in 2008. Along with a number of acting credits in Buffalo (including Irish Classical Theatre Company) and New York City, he also performed at the International Theatre Institute in Romania. He has written and directed at Manhattan Repertory Theatre (Off-off-Broadway). less recently appeared in CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program productions of The Misanthrope as Acaste and Dubois and In Arabia We’d All Be Kings as Charlie, Man #2, and a Holy Roller. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from The State University of New York at Buffalo in 2008.... more
Joseph Dunn: (Clitandre) is honored to take the stage with the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program, class of 2014. He previously appeared at Cleveland Play House in Voices of Healing, a staged reading. He has performed in the Akron area with Actors’ Summit, A Christmas Carol; Ohio Shakespeare Festival, Taming of the Shrew and King Lear; and Porthouse Theatre, The Sunshine Boys. He has performed in Cleveland with Dobama Theatre, Tigers Be Still; Blank Canvas Theatre, Hellcab; and at Cleveland Public Theatre’s Pandemonium: House of Dreams in The Inventor’s Tea Party. Academic credits from Cuyahoga Community College include The Russian Comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Lone Star. At Kent State University, where Dunn earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies, appearances include The Grapes of Wrath, Six Characters in Search of an Author, and Waiting for Gouda. less is honored to take the stage with the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program, class of 2014. He previously appeared at Cleveland Play House in Voices of Healing, a staged reading. He has performed in the Akron area with Actors’ Summit, A Christmas Carol; Ohio Shakespeare Festival, Taming of the Shrew and... more
Sarah Kinsey: (Eliante) read the role of Nettie in The Fagin Effect for Cleveland Play House’s New Ground Theatre Festival 2012. For the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program, she performed in The Misanthrope and In Arabia We’d All Be Kings. Chicago area credits include Theatre at the Center, Theatre Wit, Bailiwick Repertory, Collaboraction, Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, Chicago College of Performing Arts, Timeline Theatre Company, Stage Left, Raven Theatre, and Tallgrass Gothic and The Typographer's Dream as actress/co-producer with Eva Gil (CWRU/CPH MFA '2012). A member of Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Acting Apprentice Company from 2003 to 2004, Kinsey appeared in Humana Festival in The Ruby Sunrise and Fast and Loose and apprentice productions of Balm in Gilead (portraying Darlene) and 22 Stories High (written in collaboration with Bronx-based performance group Universes). Kinsey has her Bachelor of Music in Voice Theatre, University of Colorado Boulder. A proud member of SAG-AFTRA, she is active in commercials and voiceover. less read the role of Nettie in The Fagin Effect for Cleveland Play House’s New Ground Theatre Festival 2012. For the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program, she performed in The Misanthrope and In Arabia We’d All Be Kings. Chicago area credits include Theatre at the Center, Theatre Wit, Bailiwick Repertory, Collaboraction, Metropolis... more
Stephen Spencer: (Alceste) recently appeared as This Guy in the world premiere of A Carol for Cleveland at Cleveland Play House where he was also seen in Every Good Boy Deserves Favor with The Cleveland Orchestra and in the first formal reading of Michael Bloom’s The Fagin Effect. CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program appearances include The Misanthrope and In Arabia We’d All Be Kings. Spencer has worked professionally with Triad Stage (Tartuffe) and North Carolina Shakespeare Festival (The Tempest) as well as on tour with North Carolina Theatre for Young People. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2011. Last summer, Spencer joined Chautauqua Theater Company for the summer conservatory program at the Chautauqua Institution, appearing in As You Like It. Together with Therese Anderberg, he is recipient of the 2012 Oldenburg MFA Scholarship. less recently appeared as This Guy in the world premiere of A Carol for Cleveland at Cleveland Play House where he was also seen in Every Good Boy Deserves Favor with The Cleveland Orchestra and in the first formal reading of Michael Bloom’s The Fagin Effect. CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program appearances... more
Therese Anderberg: (Célimène) appeared at Cleveland Play House as Sally and A Caroler in the world premiere production of A Carol for Cleveland, having also performed in CPH’s Roe Green Award-winning reading of Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Daphne’s Dive alongside such luminaries as David Zayas and Liza Colon-Zayas. For the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program, she appeared in The Misanthrope as Célimène and Stephen Adly Guirgis’ In Arabia We’d All Be Kings as Demaris. Other credits include So Far from God at Chicago Shakespeare Theater for an industry performance and Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Scotland, in the original show Good Death, created in collaboration with Tectonic Theatre Project. Anderberg received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance from Western Michigan University where she played Celia in As You Like It and Aunt Monie and The Medium in See What I Want to See. Together with Stephen Spencer, she is recipient of the 2012 Oldenburg MFA Scholarship. less appeared at Cleveland Play House as Sally and A Caroler in the world premiere production of A Carol for Cleveland, having also performed in CPH’s Roe Green Award-winning reading of Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Daphne’s Dive alongside such luminaries as David Zayas and Liza Colon-Zayas. For the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program,... more
TJ Gainley: (Oronte) appeared at Cleveland Play House in CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program productions of The Misanthrope as Oronte, In Arabia We’d All Be Kings as Sammy and Vic, Present Laughter as Fred, An Orchard as the stranger, and As You Like It as Adam and Silvius. Previous credits in Northeast Ohio, among others, are Tartuffe as Tartuffe, Much Ado About Nothing as Benedick, The Philadelphia Story, and The Cure at Troy, as well as Heracles in Alcestis at the British American Dramatic Academy in London. He also performs improvisational comedy, at venues such as Improv Olympic in Chicago and Big Dog Theater here in Cleveland. less appeared at Cleveland Play House in CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program productions of The Misanthrope as Oronte, In Arabia We’d All Be Kings as Sammy and Vic, Present Laughter as Fred, An Orchard as the stranger, and As You Like It as Adam and Silvius. Previous credits in Northeast Ohio, among... more
Beth McGee: (Voice Coach) was head voice coach of the 2011 Colorado Shakespeare Festival, and she was vocal coach for the 2011 CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of An Orchard. Additional Cleveland Play House voice and dialect coaching credits include A Christmas Story, The Grapes of Wrath, A Kiss for Cinderella, The Imaginary Invalid, The African Company Presents Richard III, Lady from the Sea, Antigone, and Dracula. She was the dialect coach for the 2002 film Welcome to Collinwood starring George Clooney and has coached and/or acted in productions at numerous Cleveland area theatres. She served as president of the International Voice and Speech Trainers Association 2008 – 2010 and is an associate professor of voice and acting at CWRU. Devotees of folk music can find her 1980 Folkways album Love is Teasing housed in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution. McGee is an active member of Actors’ Equity Association. less was head voice coach of the 2011 Colorado Shakespeare Festival, and she was vocal coach for the 2011 CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of An Orchard. Additional Cleveland Play House voice and dialect coaching credits include A Christmas Story, The Grapes of Wrath, A Kiss for Cinderella, The Imaginary Invalid,... more
Cameron Caley Michalak: (Scenic Designer) designed sets for Cleveland Play House productions of Every Good Boy Deserves Favor, A Soldier's Tale with Catch and Release, the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program’s The Winter’s Tale, and CPH Theatre for Children productions The Little Mermaid, Huck Finn, A Jewel of a Tale, Tuck Everlasting, and The Emperor's Groovy New Clothes. Local credits include Cinderella, Children of Eden, The Fantasticks, The Diary of Anne Frank, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, True North Cultural Arts; The Music Man and Les Miserables, Fairmount Performing Arts Center; She Stoops to Conquer, St. Joseph's Academy; The Masked Musketeer and Beauty and the Beast, Brush High School; Ten More Minutes from Cleveland, Dobama Theatre; and Into the Woods for the Music, Arts and Drama (M.A.D.) Factory in Oberlin. In addition to scenic design, Michalak is in his first year as associate technical director after five seasons as CPH’s assistant technical director. less designed sets for Cleveland Play House productions of Every Good Boy Deserves Favor, A Soldier's Tale with Catch and Release, the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program’s The Winter’s Tale, and CPH Theatre for Children productions The Little Mermaid, Huck Finn, A Jewel of a Tale, Tuck Everlasting, and The Emperor's Groovy... more
Catherine L. Albers: (Acting Coach) is a professional actress and teacher at Case Western Reserve University where she is head of Undergraduate Recruitment for the Department of Theater and a master teacher in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program. She has performed throughout the country. Out of her many appearances at Cleveland Play House, her most recent were in the 2011 reading of Three Voyages of The Lobotomobile; the 2008 reading of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman!; and CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program productions of All’s Well That Ends Well (2009) and Big Love (2006). Albers played Amanda in the Eldred Theater’s production of The Glass Menagerie and was seen at Dobama Theatre in Sarah Morton's Dream/Home. Recently she was the acting coach for Graduate Ensemble productions of An Orchard and Angels in America: Millennium Approaches. She is a founding member of Great Lakes Michael Chekhov Consortium, a producing and teaching organization. less is a professional actress and teacher at Case Western Reserve University where she is head of Undergraduate Recruitment for the Department of Theater and a master teacher in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program. She has performed throughout the country. Out of her many appearances at Cleveland Play House, her most... more
Cyrus C. Taylor: (Dean of CWRU College of Arts and Sciences) is the Albert A. Michelson Professor in Physics at Case Western Reserve University. He joined the CWRU faculty in 1988, and he has been a member of the Faculty Senate and served as Chair of the Senate's Budget Committee, as well as a member of the SAGES Implementation Task Force. He was a member of the Steering Committee of the Academic Careers in Engineering & Science (ACES) program at CWRU, the first private university to be funded by the National Science Foundation ADVANCE program to promote full participation of women at all levels of faculty and academic leadership. Taylor earned his Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A former Truman Scholar, Lilly Foundation Teaching Fellow, and Guggenheim Fellow, he has published more than 60 papers and given more than 70 invited talks. Taylor has worked in theoretical and experimental high-energy physics, serving as co-spokesman of the MiniMax collaboration (FNAL T-864) at Fermilab and as co-spokesperson of the FELIX collaboration at CERN. He created and directed the Physics Entrepreneurship Program (PEP), which he helped expand into the now internationally known Science Technology and Entrepreneurship Program (STEP) at CWRU. In 2002 he was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society for providing a new paradigm for graduate education in physics through creation of a Physics Entrepreneurship Master's Program and in 2003 was awarded the Price Institute Innovative Entrepreneurship Educators Award. less is the Albert A. Michelson Professor in Physics at Case Western Reserve University. He joined the CWRU faculty in 1988, and he has been a member of the Faculty Senate and served as Chair of the Senate's Budget Committee, as well as a member of the SAGES Implementation Task Force.... more
Esther M. Haberlen: (Costume Designer) has designed over 30 shows for Cleveland Public Theatre, Dobama Theatre, Cleveland Opera on Tour, Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, Cleveland Institute of Music’s Opera Theater, Willoughby Fine Arts Association, and Beck Center for the Arts. In addition to work in theatre and opera, she designed costumes and makeup for the local independent feature film Immune, directed by M. Gregor. Haberlen has also worked for Great Lakes Theater in various capacities since 2003. Most recently, she assumed the staff position of costume director for GLT and its sister festivals, Idaho Shakespeare and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare. She has also designed costumes for GLT’s Surround programming and the annual Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s All-City Musical. Haberlen holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Production Design from the State University of New York at Fredonia, and she is a native of Syracuse, New York. less has designed over 30 shows for Cleveland Public Theatre, Dobama Theatre, Cleveland Opera on Tour, Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, Cleveland Institute of Music’s Opera Theater, Willoughby Fine Arts Association, and Beck Center for the Arts. In addition to work in theatre and opera, she designed costumes and makeup for the local... more
Jessica Lucas: (Stage Manager) previously stage managed Live from New York, Something to Dance About, A Blast from the Past, and History in Motion with the Kelly Patrick Studio of Dance, and she stage managed Home for the Holidays with the Broadway Theatre League of Scranton.
Kevin Montgomery: (Sound Designer/Audio Engineer) previously designed sound for the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program productions The Winter’s Tale and In Arabia We'd All Be Kings. He has worked as a Cleveland Play House sound board operator since 2011 for the productions Pollock, Marigold Wars, Ten Chimneys and In the Next Room, or the vibrator play. Montgomery launched his audio career in the early 1990s as a musician, audio engineer, and producer working with local musicians in Miami, Florida and eventually relocating to Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 2000. After moving to Cleveland in 2007, he expanded his knowledge and experience as a student of Tri-C's Recording Arts & Technology program and is currently working with Eric Nolan Grant of the legendary O'Jays as House Engineer for Grant's label, BWR Records. less previously designed sound for the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program productions The Winter’s Tale and In Arabia We'd All Be Kings. He has worked as a Cleveland Play House sound board operator since 2011 for the productions Pollock, Marigold Wars, Ten Chimneys and In the Next Room, or the vibrator play.... more
Meghan Cvetic: (Production Assistant) was the stage manager for Lorain Community Music Theater’s summer production of Hairspray. She is a recent graduate of Michigan State University with double degrees in Theatre and Arts and Humanities. While at MSU she stage managed the collegiate première of Legally Blonde the Musical, Return to the Upright Position: The 9/11 Testimony Project, and Boom. She was also a production assistant to the stage manager for Williamston Theatre’s world premiere production of Dead Man’s Shoes in Williamston, Michigan. less was the stage manager for Lorain Community Music Theater’s summer production of Hairspray. She is a recent graduate of Michigan State University with double degrees in Theatre and Arts and Humanities. While at MSU she stage managed the collegiate première of Legally Blonde the Musical, Return to the Upright Position:... more
Michael Boll: (Lighting Designer) recently designed Cleveland Play House productions of Bell, Book and Candle; Every Good Boy Deserves Favor; In the Next Room, or the vibrator play; and Stew and the Negro Problem. CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program credits are The Misanthrope, The Winter's Tale, In Arabia We'd All Be Kings, An Orchard, Cloud 9, and Angels in America: Millennium Approaches. Cleveland lighting design work includes Cleveland Public Theatre, Cain Park, Cleveland Museum of Art, Karamu, Dobama, and Beck Center. Off-Broadway includes The Moliere Cycle, Classic Stage Company; Songs for a New World, George Street Playhouse; Dog Sees God, SoHo Playhouse; and The Moonlight Room (associate lighting designer), Beckett Theatre. His work has also been seen at New York International Fringe Festival, La Mama E.T.C., HERE Arts Center, Blue Heron Theatre, and Center Stage New York. He designed numerous Yale Cabaret shows including Say You Love Satan (Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa) and Fake (Bess Wohl). less recently designed Cleveland Play House productions of Bell, Book and Candle; Every Good Boy Deserves Favor; In the Next Room, or the vibrator play; and Stew and the Negro Problem. CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program credits are The Misanthrope, The Winter's Tale, In Arabia We'd All Be Kings, An Orchard, Cloud... more
Molière .: (Playwright) was the leading French comic actor, stage director, and dramatic theoretician of the seventeenth century. Born Jean Baptiste Poquelin on January 15, 1622, his formal education began at the prestigious College de Clermont. Although he subsequently earned a law degree, he turned from the legal profession to incorporate The Illustrious Theatre acting troupe. It was at roughly the same time that he acquired the pseudonym Molière. With this company, Molière played an unsuccessful season in Paris and went bankrupt, then left to tour the French provinces. In 1658 the troupe returned to Paris and played before Louis XIV. The king's brother became Molière's patron. In the next twenty-four years, starting with The Precious Maidens Ridiculed (1659), which established Molière as the most popular comic playwright of the day, and ending with The Imaginary Invalid (1673), Molière advanced from being a gifted adapter of Italian-derived sketches to a writer whose best plays had the lasting impact of tragedies. He made many enemies, managing to keep them at bay only through the intercession of the Sun King. The clergy believed that certain of his plays were attacks on the church. Other playwrights resented his experiments with comic forms (as in The School for Wives) and with verse (as in Amphitryon). In the late 1660s, Molière developed symptomatic pulmonary tuberculosis, although he continued to write, act, direct, and manage his troupe. He collapsed on February 17, 1673, after performing the title role in The Imaginary Invalid, and died at home several hours later. less was the leading French comic actor, stage director, and dramatic theoretician of the seventeenth century. Born Jean Baptiste Poquelin on January 15, 1622, his formal education began at the prestigious College de Clermont. Although he subsequently earned a law degree, he turned from the legal profession to incorporate The Illustrious... more
Richard Wilbur: (Translator) was born in New York City and received his Bachelor of Arts from Amherst College and a Master of Arts from Harvard. He has taught on the faculties of Harvard, Wellesley, Wesleyan, and Smith. Wilbur’s publications include six volumes of poetry and two collections of his selected verse; a volume of his collected verse; translations of Molière’s four most outstanding verse plays; the musical Candide, for which he supplied most of the lyrics; a collection of his prose, and two books for children. His highly praised verse translations of Molière’s plays The Misanthrope, Tartuffe, The School for Wives, and The Learned Ladies have all been performed in New York and are frequently presented by resident theatre companies throughout the English-speaking world. He has also completed verse translations of two of Racine’s great tragedies: Andromache and Phaedra. Among Wilbur’s numerous awards are two Pulitzer Prizes. In 1987 he was named the second Poet Laureate of the United States, succeeding Robert Penn Warren. less was born in New York City and received his Bachelor of Arts from Amherst College and a Master of Arts from Harvard. He has taught on the faculties of Harvard, Wellesley, Wesleyan, and Smith. Wilbur’s publications include six volumes of poetry and two collections of his selected verse; a volume... more
Ron Wilson: (Movement Coach) is resident production movement director and fight choreographer at Cleveland Play House. He has choreographed fights for more than 60 productions and continues to freelance as a movement coach/choreographer. Wilson is a founding board member and past president of the Association of Theatre Movement Educators. Among his many directing credits is the recent world premiere of Comp at Boston Playwrights’ Stage. He directed The Underpants, Eurydice and Picasso at the Lapin Agile at Case Western Reserve University’s Eldred Theatre and In Arabia We’d all be Kings, Cloud 9 and Arcadia for the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program where he is program director and chair of the Department of Theater. As an actor, his most recent performance on a CPH mainstage was as Dr. Glass in Room Service and before that as Klingelehoff in The Underpants. He also appeared at CPH’s Brooks Theatre in 2010 as Lavash in the MFA ensemble’s production of All’s Well that Ends Well. less is resident production movement director and fight choreographer at Cleveland Play House. He has choreographed fights for more than 60 productions and continues to freelance as a movement coach/choreographer. Wilson is a founding board member and past president of the Association of Theatre Movement Educators. Among his many directing credits... more
November 03 @ 11:00am - 1:00pm
CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program Open House
Special Halloween offer for "The Misanthrope": Need Halloween plans? Love dressing up in costume? Join us for the Halloween performance of The Misanthrope!Dress up in costume and save 50% off the cost of a ticket. Wear your favorite Halloween costume - any costume is fine! - or dress in 70s-inspired clothes in honor of the show.Are you a student 24 or under? You can see the show for FREE this night when you arrive in costume. You must bring your valid student ID and show proof of age to get a free ticket. This applies to high school students too!The Details:The Misanthrope 10/31/12 performance at 7:30 p.m.The Helen at PlayhouseSquareShow up in costume and save 50%! Students 24 & under see the show for FREE if you wear a costume.Not valid on prior purchases or with any other offer. You must wear a costume to participate. Only valid while seats remain for the performance. less Need Halloween plans? Love dressing up in costume? Join us for the Halloween performance of The Misanthrope!Dress up in costume and save 50% off the cost of a ticket. Wear your favorite Halloween costume - any costume is fine! - or dress in 70s-inspired clothes in honor of... more
Modern Day Misanthropes: Is honesty always the best policy? Should one trust anyone? The Misanthrope explores these questions with laughter and drama, starting this week in The Helen. This production by the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program is one of the most famous farces in history and written by the great French playwright Molière. The ideas of looking for truth and distrusting humanity as a whole are as old as recorded history. Of course many philosophers, like Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, were misanthropes themselves; even Jean-Paul Sartre was famous for saying, “Hell is other people.” There are also the loners of the arts, like Vincent Van Gough, J.D. Salinger, and Emily Dickenson, all of whom spent their lives trying to create truth in their craft. Even today, actors like Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Radcliffe, and Harrison Ford are self-proclaimed anchorites. But it seems people with misanthropic tendencies that resonate most deeply with others are the fictional characters of the stage. Anyone who has seen a production of Sherlock Holmes has witnessed his profound dislike of other people complimented by his quest for truth in their actions or even in Othello, with Iago’s destructive loneliness. Alceste of The Misanthrope is another great recluse of theatre, who has decided that he will only tell the complete truth, which gets him into trouble in both life and love. Though he was created almost 350 years ago by Molière, he is a relatable reflection of the introversion of humanity even today, because though time has gone by, everyone is still trying to answer these questions for themselves. less Is honesty always the best policy? Should one trust anyone? The Misanthrope explores these questions with laughter and drama, starting this week in The Helen. This production by the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program is one of the most famous farces in history and written by the... more
A Chat with Stephen Spencer: Stephen Spencer, who portrays the lead in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of Moliere's The Misanthrope, chatted with us about the tender side of his character, and which Hollywood actor he thinks should play him on the silver screen! Q: What has surprised you the most about Alceste? A: That beneath all his hatred for the dishonesty he sees in everyone and the constant railings against the world, there lies a grand passion and an enormous heart that is completely tender and vulnerable. That is what makes him an extremely complex person who is constantly at battle with himself. That’s fun stuff for an actor to navigate! Q: What are learning/doing for the first time, as an actor, in this role? A: The greatest lesson I have learned throughout this process is how to approach heightened text. To find success with a part like this requires an actor to look to technique and craft. I have put in a great deal of work towards diction and breathing. It's those basics that one has to reconnect with in order to make it through such a technically demanding part. Also, I have had the opportunity to apply a lot of the tools I am acquiring in grad school to this production. We've been in a Michael Chekhov technique class with Cathy Albers this semester and having that work along with Cathy as an acting coach through this process has allowed me to explore Alceste from a place of imagination and creativity. Overall, this process has been a complete testament to my education here and without the guidance of Don Carrier (director), Cathy Albers (acting coach), Ron Wilson (movement coach) and Beth McGee (voice coach) I wouldn't have been able to navigate this extraordinary opportunity with as much ease. I'm very thankful for all the help and encouragement we've received so far. Q: If you could cast a MISANTHROPE movie with Hollywood actors in the roles, who do you envision in each role? A: I got these suggestions with help from the cast! Alceste: the early Joaquin Phoenix; Celimene: Michelle Williams; Philinte: Patrick Wilson; Clitandre: Sasha Baron Cohen; Acaste: Dominique Monaghan; Oronte: Cary Elwes; Eliante: Marion Cotillard; Arsinoe: Julianne Moore; and DuBois: Paul Reubens less Stephen Spencer, who portrays the lead in the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program production of Moliere's The Misanthrope, chatted with us about the tender side of his character, and which Hollywood actor he thinks should play him on the silver screen! Q: What has surprised you the most about... more
The Misanthrope
October 24 - November 3, The Helen
Written by Molière
Translated by Richard Wilbur
Directed by Donald Carrier
Runtime:
Act I: 60 minutes
Intermission: 15 minutes
Act II: 45 minutes
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Total: 2 hours
- Reviews
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Fabulous! This play was entertaining and thought provoking. Acting and costumes were superb. I especially more enjoyed the translation to English.
- Anne Poirson, Cleveland Heights
A brilliant production! Held your attention! Delightfully funny!
- jmp , bflo ny
A brisk, muscular, fearless performance by a richly talented ensemble. Their sure-footed use of Moliere's more language and specific, character-rooted physicality result in a show that drives unflinchingly forward to its satisfying conclusion. If you love watching really good actors go for it, balls to the wall, you'll love The Misanthrope.
- Erin Bunting, Huron, Ohio
I thought the play was amazing. The actors were fanstatic and aptly fit their more roles. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys witty humor.
- AMD, Cleveland, OH
Wonderful acting and staging - entire production was flawless! Touching final scenes.
- R, Cleveland suburb
We attended opening night. I wasn't expecting such a polished performance. Excellent! Kudos to the more cast, crew, and CWRU.
- Robert & Mary Salomon, Mayfield Village
Fabulous! This play was entertaining and thought provoking. Acting and costumes were superb. I...
- Anne Poirson, Cleveland Heights
