Daughters of God and Man
Honors Playwriting Thesis, Patrick Ross ’15

Directed by Jill Harrison
Written by Patrick Ross ’15
with
Stage Manager: Madeline Charne ’14

DAUGHTERS OF GOD AND MAN is the story of the three daughters of poet John Milton: Deborah, Mary, and Anne. Scenes from the poem are adapted within the play, which is otherwise a work of historical fiction. 1660s London life is intercut with sweeping scenes of Heaven and Hell, and we find ourselves facing the temptation of another Eve— or three.

6PM
November 22, 2014
LPAC Frear Ensemble Theater
5:30PM
November 23, 2014
Headlong Studios, 1170 S Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA

Caryl Churchill’s remarkable play, MAD FOREST takes place before and after the revolutionary events of December 1989 in Romania that marked the end of a Communist dictatorship. The title, which alludes to a Romania of the past, a Romania populated with forests and horseman warriors, simultaneously evokes the surreal nature, the euphoria, and the devastation of a revolution.. The play puts a human face on the turning point of a people and of a nation – two families under scrutiny from the secret police, one rich, one poor. Blending stark realism and uneasy fantasy, Churchill achieves a look into the belly of the revolutionary beast as the characters succumb to and rebel against the shifting realities of a world in transition.

With a stark and simple set by Matt Saunders, costumes by Laila Swanson and lighting by James P. Murphy, and sound by Liz Atkinson, director Alex Torra takes the ensemble cast of eleven (Sarah Branch, Rex Chang, Avni Fatehpuria, Makayla Portley, Htet Win, Nina Serbedzija, Kate Wiseman, Katy Montoya, Jaime Maseda, Thomas Butler and Oliva Jorgenson) on a supple journey into the tumultuous times of the late 80s in Bucharest.

Alex Torra is a Philadelphia-based director, performer, producer, and educator. He is a Company Member with Pig Iron Theatre Company, where he has worked as a Performer in Twelfth Night, Zero Cost House, Cankerblossom, Welcome to Yuba City, Pay Up, 365 Days/365 Plays, and Anodyne; as Director of Come to my Awesome Fiesta, it’s Going to be Awesome, Okay?; and as Creative Producer for PAY UP 2013 and I Promised Myself to Live Faster. He also serves as Co-Founder and Resident Director for Team Sunshine Performance Corporation, where he has directed Punchkapow and JapanAmerica Wonderwave, and the upcoming production ofThe Sincerity Project in December at FringeArts. Alex has received fellowships from the Independence Foundation, the Philadelphia Live Arts Brewery, the Princess Grace Foundation, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and NY’s Drama League, and last year was a finalist for the F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and his M.F.A. in Directing from Brown University.

LPAC Pearson-Hall Theater (Mainstage)

November 14, 2014  – 8PM

November 15, 2014 – 2PM &  8PM

November 16, 2014 – 2PM

“Mad Forest” is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.

For more information about these and other events in the Theater Department contact lpacevents@swarthmore.edu or call 610-328-8260.

https://www.facebook.com/events/314715605379534/

There are two great chances to see this staged reading adapted from interviews at the Imperial House apartment building, in Pittsburgh, PA.

Throughout the spring of 2014, Nathan Siegel ’15 conducted interviews with residents of the Imperial House–an apartment building largely, but not entirely, populated by senior citizens, many of them Jewish. The most compelling pieces of these interviews have been adapted, added to, and mixed together to create several characters: sisters, brothers, friends, husbands, wives, rivals, and neighbors. The Imperial House tells their collective and individual stories. What does it mean to grow old in a community like this? What will happen if someone tries to put flowers in the lobby? If a new resident runs for the board? If someone slices the challah instead of ripping it? The Imperial House seeks to create a hilarious and poignant portrait of what it means to live, and grow old, in a communal space.

Dramaturgical adaptation by Nathan Siegel
Advising and direction by Rebecca Dizzy Wright

LPAC Frear Ensemble Theater
November 8, 2014
1PM

Church of the Crucifixion
(620 S 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA)
November 9, 2014
1PM

https://www.facebook.com/events/762351120479884

AUDITION for Directing I Night of Scenes!

Please spread the word: Auditions will take place on Sunday, Oct. 5, from 7-9 pm, in the Frear Ensemble Theater (Room 1 LPAC, Lower Lobby Level).

NO PREPARED MONOLOGUE IS REQUIRED (but you are welcome to bring one). No sign up sheet, just drop in!

Students directors who will be casting from the auditions include Anita Castillo-Halvorssen, Cooper Harrington-Fei, Eileen Hou, Michelle Johnson, Aaron Matis, and Michaela Shuchman.

Questions? Please feel free to contact Allen Kuharski (x7794 or email akuhars1@swarthmore.edu) or any of the directors in the class. More info is available in the RSD

We still have on-call opportunities in the LPAC for backstage crew! Training provided, no experience necessary.

Please contact Allie Emmerich (in LPAC 5 or aemmeri1@swarthmore.edu) or Tara Webb  (in LPAC 4 or twebb1@swarthmore.edu) for more information.

We have a great group of first years in the class of ’18!  Looking forward to seeing you around the LPAC!

http://daily.swarthmore.edu/2014/05/02/peter-pan-captures-the-joy-of-childhood/