CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program Ensemble Returns in Romantic Comedy of Manners She Stoops to Conquer
Posted March 7, 2017 in Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Elizabeth Eader
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Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program Ensemble Returns in Romantic Comedy of Manners She Stoops to Conquer
Mar. 15 – 25 in The Helen Theatre
CLEVELAND, OH (Mar. 7, 2017) The Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program will close its 2016–17 season with one of the most popular British comedies of all time: She Stoops to Conquer. Written by Oliver Goldsmith in 1773, She Stoops is a romantic comedy of manners that has endured the test of time. When two young city gentlemen pursue romance in the country they come up against more than they bargained for in this insightful and witty romantic romp. It’s city vs. country, men vs. women, and parents vs. children — with love conquering all. As the New York Times sums it up, “all in all, this is a comedy of its time, for all time.” Jerrold Scott, chair of the Case Western Reserve University Department of Theater, will direct this production, which showcases the talented CWRU/CPH MFA Class of 2018.
Scott states: “[She Stoops to Conquer is] one of the most produced English comedies of all time, and I think that's because it speaks to both the recognizable and the ridiculous. The three couples in the play represent different aspects of love, as defined by the Greeks: agape (love of the soul, or unconditional love), eros (romantic love), and pragma (mature love). The fun for the audience is watching the characters figure that out for themselves.”
She Stoops to Conquer Cast
LAVOUR ADDISON (Sir Charles Marlow/Junkeep) graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a double major in Psychology and Theatre. He also holds a certificate from the Stella Adler Acting Conservatory in NYC. CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program credits include: Clybourne Park, Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses and a cameo in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. At Cleveland Play House he has performed in The CPH Centennial Plays, the world premier of Quiara Alegría Hudes' The Good Peaches in collaboration with the Cleveland Orchestra, and the world premier reading of FEED by Eric Coble. Other credits include serving as the Acting Captain of the Hawaii Pirate Ship Adventures and working as a full time member of the Professional Acting Company with the Honolulu Theatre for Youth. He recently played Macbeth with Oberlin Summer Theatre Festival. Favorite credits include The Wild Party, The Genteel Sabai, and Bug. I love you Brittni!
PAUL BUGALLO (Mr. Hardcastle) was raised in Seattle where he discovered his passion for the performing arts. He attended Central Washington University where he earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatrical Performance. Paul has performed in many of Seattle's professional spaces, including the Seattle Repertory and Center House Theatres as well as improvisational theatres such as Unexpected Productions and Jet City Improv. Now residing in the proud city of Cleveland, Paul is absolutely ecstatic about continuing his second year at the Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program. You may have seen him last December in CWRU/CPH’s production of Clybourne Park as well as several of Cleveland Play House’s productions last season including The Good Peaches and FEED during his first year in the MFA Program.
MARIAH BURKS (Mrs. Hardcastle) graduated from Bowling Green State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a specialization in Musical Theatre. She is beyond thrilled to be performing this show with her amazing classmates. Credits include: Legally Blonde, Book of Days, Urinetown: The Musical, Toxic Avenger, and Clybourne Park. She's was the 2015 National Irene Ryan Scholarship Acting Award recipient at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Washington, DC. CPH credits include: The CPH Centennial Plays during Cleveland Play House’s Centennial Celebration Weekend and scenes during CPH’s Season Announcement. World Premieres include: The Good Peaches and NGTF reading of Eric Coble’s adaptation of FEED. CWRU/CPH MFA Program credits include: Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses and Clybourne Park. She couldn’t be more happy and humbled by this opportunity! Shout out to her mother for being a Wonder Woman! Enjoy the show!
KYLE CHERRY (Mr. Lumpkin) hails from Sacramento, California by way of Boston and New York. At Cleveland Play House, Kyle has appeared in the world premiere of The Good Peaches with the Cleveland Orchestra, The CPH Centennial Plays, and the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting program’s productions of Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses and Clybourne Park. Other credits include The Seagull (Huntington Theatre Company), Gross Indecency (Bad Habit Productions), Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Brown Box Theatre Project), Romeo and Juliet and To Kill a Mockingbird (New Repertory Theatre), as well as readings and workshops with the Cherry Lane Theatre, Red Bull Theater, and Theatre Now New York. You can catch him in the German made-for-TV movie, Katie Fforde: Martha tanzt (ZDF). He is a company member at The Middle Voice Theater Company in New York, for whom he has acted, written, and stage-managed. Kyle holds a B.A. in English from Tufts University.
SARAH CUNEO (Miss Hardcastle) a New Jersey native, Sarah graduated from Princeton University with a major in Psychology and certificates in Theater and Neuroscience. Since beginning the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program, Sarah has performed in Clybourne Park (Bev/Kathy), Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses (Alcyone/various), The CPH Centennial Plays, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. She also performed at last year’s New Ground Theatre Festival in the world premiere of Quiara Alegría Hudes' The Good Peaches and in a staged reading of Kirsten Greenidge's Little Row Boat, as well as at the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival as Lady Macbeth. Much love and appreciation to the entire CWRU/CPH family.
RANDY DIERKES (Mr. Marlow) hails from Nashville, Tennessee and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Florida State University in Music Theatre. He is thrilled to be in his second year with the Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program. Some recent credits include CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program's pruduction of Clybourne Park, Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses, a world premiere of The Good Peaches by Quiara Alegría Hudes at CPH, and La Cage Aux Folles at The Lake Dillon Theatre Company in Colorado. Randy also appeared as Ken in the original cast and International/Asia tour of Barbie Live! The Musical produced by Mattel. He would like to thank his family, friends, and the faculty and staff at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Play House for their guidance and support.
DEREK GREEN (Ensemble) is thrilled to work with the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting class of 2018. Most recently, Derek has appeared in The Phantom Tollbooth (Ensemble Theatre), The Tempest and Richard II (Cleveland Shakespeare Festival). Other favorite credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Demetrius), Hair (Tribe), and Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge (Bob Cratchit). He currently works in the Education Department at CPH, and does freelance theatre design. Derek has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Integrated Language Arts and Theatre Arts from Hiram College.
PETER HARGRAVE (Mr. Hastings) holds his BFA from Abilene Christian University and is a graduate of Syracuse University’s Tepper Semester. Peter most recently appeared as Russ/Dan in CWRU/CPH MFA production of Clybourne Park. Other CPH credits include: The Good Peaches and The CPH Centennial Plays. New Ground Play Festival: Titus in FEED by Eric Coble. CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program credits include: The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses. Regional: Gateway Playhouse, Musical Theatre West, Texas Shakespeare Festival, and Disney Cruise Line. Film: Rush (DH Productions). Love to my incredible family, especially Kat. John 3:30.
MEGAN MEDLEY (Miss Neville) Megan is grateful to be a part of this ensemble, working alongside classmates which make her smile everyday. Since joining the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting program she has performed alongside her classmates in Clybourne Park, Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses and the world premiere of The Good Peaches as well as the reading of FEED at the New Ground Theatre Festival. Other credits include: Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and Giselle (NoExit Performance); The Rocky Horror Show (Zach Rosing Productions); and Rapture, Blister, Burn (Theatre on the Square). Prepare to enjoy some corseted and wigged hijinks.
SAMANTHA RICHARDS (Ensemble) was recently an understudy in Cleveland Play House’s KeyBank ClassMAT Touring Program. Prior to joining the Education staff at Cleveland Play House she graduated with her B.A. in Theatre Arts from Clark Atlanta University. Samantha’s stage credits include her Off- Broadway debut in the musical showcase First You Dream (York Theatre Company!); her role as Bluiah Daniels in Ramona King’s Steal Away; a supporting role in Amiri Baraka’s The Dutchman, under the direction of Woodie King Jr. (Atlanta Black Theatre Festival); and more. She is originally from Brooklyn, New York and is excited about this endeavor.
EVAN THOMPSON (Ensemble) is pleased to be appearing with the CWRU/CPH class of 2018. Evan graduated from Princeton University in 2014 with a degree in Philosophy and a minor in Theater, and has been living in Cleveland for the last year. Recent Cleveland credits include Ensemble Theatre’s The Phantom Tollbooth; Cleveland Public Theatre's Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play; and Mamaí Theatre's The Woman Hater.
She Stoops to Conquer Creative Team
JERROLD SCOTT (Director, Chair of CWRU Department of Theater) is professor of theater at Case Western Reserve University where he teaches directing, classical acting and speech and dialects, and also serves as artistic director of the Eldred Theater. For the CWRU/CPH MFA training program, he has directed The Philadelphia Story, Present Laughter, Heartbreak House, The Real Thing and performed in As You Like It. He also serves as resident dialect coach at CPH. Jerrold has directed 15 productions at Eldred Theater including The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Other local directing credits include A Doll’s House, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Polish Joke, Beck Center for the Arts; As You Like It, Cleveland Shakespeare Festival; and A Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Weathervane Playhouse in Akron. Prior to his CWRU appointment, he worked as a director, actor and educator in Washington, DC. He has taught at George Mason University, The Catholic University of America and served a visiting lectureship at The Ohio State University. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre from the University of South Carolina/The Shakespeare Theatre, a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pittsburgh and pursued further study in classical performance at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Jerrold is a member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA and an associate member of SDC.
CAMERON MICHALAK (Scenic Designer) is thrilled to be returning to Cleveland Play House! Previous design credits include Cleveland Play House productions of Venus in Fur, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour and A Soldier’s Tale with Catch and Release. CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program’s design credits include A Philadelphia Story, The Three Sisters, The Misanthrope, and The Winter’s Tale. Selected local credits include The Night Alive, Ten More Minutes from Cleveland and Becky Shaw (Dobama Theatre); Assassins, Urinetown and Joseph... (Near West Theatre); Young Frankenstein and Seminar (Beck Center); Sunday in the Park and Of Mice and Men (True North Cultural Arts); and Sweeney Todd and Hairspray (among many others) for the Music, Arts and Drama (M.A.D.) Factory in Oberlin. By day Cameron acts as Technical Director for Cleveland State University. He couldn’t do any of this without the amazing support from his incredible wife Amber, and all his family and friends.
JEFFREY VAN CURTIS (Costume Designer) is Cleveland Play House’s costume shop manager. CPH design credits include A Carol for Cleveland, My Name is Asher Lev, Bill W. and Dr. Bob, Doubt, I Am My Own Wife, Rounding Third, Proof, Dinner with Friends, and Art. CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program design credits include A Philadelphia Story, Twelfth Night, The Winter’s Tale, An Orchard, All’s Well That Ends Well, and others; along with several CPH Theatre for Children productions. Other design credits include Singin’ on the Ohio and The Goblins will Git You at The Lantern Theatre, productions at Coconut Grove Playhouse and Studio Arena Theatre, and work on the film Kansas City. He has also created wigs for a number of CPH productions. He holds his Master of Fine Arts, Costume Design and Technology from University of Missouri–Kansas City. Jeffrey thanks CPH's Costume, Wardrobe and Wigs staff for their creativity, enthusiasm and support.
KEVIN FRAZIER (Lighting & Sound Designer) regional credits include Merrimack Rep and Stoneham Theatre (MA); The Peterborough Players (NH); Serenbe Playhouse, Synchronicity Theatre, Aurora Theatre, and Actors Express (GA); The Warehouse Theatre and Glow Lyric Theatre (SC); and the DC and NY Fringe Festivals. Educational credits include Case Western Reserve University, The Gainesville Theatre Alliance, Furman University, Lafayette College and Wake Forest University. Kevin is a recipient of the 2011 NH Theatre Award in Sound Design, and has been nominated for 8 Suzi Bass Awards for excellence in Atlanta theatre. He thanks Jerry for his friendship and support, as well as his family. www.kevinfrazier.net
WIGS AND WHISKERS (Wig Master) owned and operated by Mary Schilling-Martin and Caitie Martin, provides wig, hair and specialty makeup services to performing arts organizations, entertainment companies and educational institutions around the country. Their motto is: “To hair is human, to wig divine.” Regional credits include Cleveland Play House, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Goodman Theatre, The Old Globe Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Arizona Theatre Company, Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Victory Gardens, Theatre at the Center, American Theatre Company, Chicago Theatre for Young Audiences, Light Opera Works, Northwestern University, Roosevelt University in Chicago, University of California at San Diego, San Diego State University, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Denver Center Theatre Company, Opera Colorado and Arizona Opera Company.
AUSTIN KILPATRICK (Stage Manager) is a Cleveland-based stage manager. He received his education from Case Western Reserve University with a B.S. in Accounting and a B.A. in Technical Theatre. Previously he worked with the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program as a Production Assistant on Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses. Recent stage management credits include 44 Plays for 44 presidents (Cleveland Public Theatre); The Addams Family Musical, Measure for Measure, and Fifth of July (Eldred Theatre). He has worked previously at the Des Moines Metro Opera, Bard Summerscape Festival, and Theatre West Summer Repertory.
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. 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. Dr. 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.
RON WILSON (Director of CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program) returned to Cleveland in 1999 to serve as the Chairman of the Department of Theater at Case Western Reserve University and serves as the Director of the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting program. He has been the Resident Fight Choreographer with CPH since 1999. He has directed over 60 productions throughout his career so far. Directing credits for the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program include Metamorphoses, In Arabia We’d all Be Kings, Arcadia, Hurlyburly, Bus Stop, Hay Fever and The Real Inspector Hound. Other directing credits include The Triumph of Love, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; and The Comedy of Errors, Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Other credits include musical theater, opera, mime and movement theater. Acting credits include The Guardsman, Room Service and The Underpants, Cleveland Play House; and All’s Well That Ends Well, CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program.
DONALD CARRIER (Producing Liaison, Associate Director of CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program) recently directed Clybourne Park, The Misanthrope, Shaw’s Too True to Be Good, and The Violins of Hope for the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program; as well as Seminar (Beck Center for the Arts), and Becky Shaw (Dobama Theatre). Selected directing credits include: The Crucible, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Alms, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Habeas Corpus, The Pirates of Penzance, and Oh! What a Lovely War. He has appeared at Cleveland Play House in All the Way; Luna Gale; The Crucible; The Little Foxes; Yentl; In the Next Room, or the vibrator play; Ten Chimneys; Noises Off; and Lincolnesque. Regional credits include: The Old Globe, Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Theater, The Studio Theatre, The Shakespeare Theatre, The Wilma Theater, The Huntington Theatre, The Intiman Theatre, and Chicago Shakespeare Theater. He spent nine seasons at the Stratford Festival and two seasons at the Shaw Festival. Television/film: Guns, The Time Traveler’s Wife, The Passion of Ayn Rand, and Dead by Monday. He will be directing a remount of The Violins of Hope with The Cleveland Orchestra and Really Really at the Beck Center for the Arts in 2017. Donald is Associate Director of the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program.
She Stoops to Conquer Events – All FREE
Pre-Show Conversations begin 45 minutes prior to the start of every performance — no RSVP required.
TalkBacks
Friday, March 17 from 9:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Friday, March 24 from 9:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.
TalkBacks are regularly scheduled for patrons as an opportunity to delve deeper into the experience of the play. No RSVP required.
Ticket Information
She Stoops to Conquer will take place in The Helen Theatre from March 15 – 25. Tickets are $15 for Wednesday and Thursday performances; Friday and Saturday performances are $20. Students are half off! To order single tickets please call (216) 241-6000 or visit clevelandplayhouse.com. Groups of 10+ receive a discount—call (216) 400-7027 or email groups@clevelandplayhouse.com today.
Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program
Every two years, the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program accepts a class of eight actors into its three-year program. The intimate class size, and the fact that students are accepted only every other year, enables the program to tailor curriculum and performance experiences to suit the specific training needs of each class. This intense physical and language-based conservatory program is designed to train a theatre artist capable of performing skillfully in a variety of roles from contemporary to classical genres. The program provides both technical skills and an aesthetic sensibility for a successful and sustained career in the professional theatre. Throughout the three years of training, the acting, voice, speech, and movement instructors work in concert to assess the individual student's progress and integrate the various disciplines in ways that will create maximum flexibility, freedom of expression, and dynamic range. The program’s goal is to instill the skills, discipline, and craft that will produce a distinctive and effective actor able to encompass the full range of professional demands. These training objectives are pursued in an environment that integrates the educational, artistic, and professional resources of one of the oldest academic theatre programs in the United States (Case Western Reserve University) and the nation's first regional theatre (Cleveland Play House).
Cleveland Play House, recipient of the 2015 Regional Theatre Tony Award® and founded in 1915, is America's first professional regional theatre. Throughout its rich history, CPH has remained dedicated to its mission to inspire, stimulate, and entertain diverse audiences in Northeast Ohio by producing plays and theatre education programs of the highest professional standards. CPH has produced more than 100 world and/or American premieres, and over its long history more than 12 million people have attended over 1,600 productions. Today, Cleveland Play House celebrates the beginning of its second century of service while performing in three state-of-the art venues at Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland.
The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Cleveland Play House with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. We also thank the residents of Cuyahoga County for supporting Cleveland Play House through Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.
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