For Immediate release: May 3, 2018
Contact: Kati Mitchell kmitchell@commshakes.org
CSC Stage2 For Young Audiences
presents
SHAKESPEARE’S MACBETH
Directed by David R. Gammons
May 24‑June 1
Carling-Sorenson Center at Babson College
Students from 23 local schools will be attending performances
Wellesley, MA — Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s Stage2 Series for Young Audiences presents Shakespeare’s Macbeth for students from 23 local schools at six Student Matinees and one Public Performance, from May 24-June 1 at the Carling-Sorenson Center at Babson College, 19 Babson College Drive, Wellesley, MA. Stage2 Performances are presented with support from BabsonARTS.
Performance dates: Student Matinee performances May 24, 29, 30, 31,
June 1 at 10AM;
May 25 at 11AM; Public performance June 1 at 7:00PM
Ticket prices: $8 per person (student or chaperone) for AM performances;
$20 adult; Babson faculty/staff and non-Babson students $15 student for 7:00PM performance
Grade recommendation: 9-12
For more information visit www.commshakes.org or call 781.239.5660
Set in the indulgent world of 1980s Wall Street, Macbeth dramatizes the damaging effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. Supernatural influences stir in the land, spurring Macbeth and his wife to climb a violent ladder to power. Ambition, fear and guilt collide as they struggle to maintain their grasp and dire consequences for their bloody deeds loom ever closer.
Directed by David R. Gammons, the cast includes (in alphabetical order) Claire Alexander (Witch/Murderer), Ross Barron (Ross), Tyshon Boone (Malcolm), Marge Buckley (Witch/Murderer), Bailie deLacy(Lady MacDuff/Gentlewoman), Kody Grasset (Lenox), Michael Mansour (Fleance, Young Macduff), Stephanie Resnick (Lady Macbeth), Billy Saunders, Jr. (Macbeth), Felix Teich (Donalbain/Doctor), Michael Underhill (Macduff/Duncan), Susannah Wilson (Banquo/Seyton), and Jayne Ye (Witch/Murderer).
Co-Set Design is by David R. Gammons and Jeff Adelberg, Costume Design by Miranda Giurleo, Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg, and Sound Design by Nathan Leigh. Fight Choreography by Christopher Webb.
Following each student matinee of Macbeth there will be a short post-show discussion in the theater with members of the cast and led by a representative of the show’s artistic team. Students will have the opportunity to ask questions of the actors and learn about their process in preparing the show. We’ll also discuss themes from the play, encouraging feedback and reactions about the work from the audience, tying this discussion into their own lives. These talkbacks are offered free of charge directly following each student matinee and are optional for all attendees.
CSC’s Stage2 productions are primarily presented for school groups and will be seen by over two thousand high school and middle school students from over twenty schools in cities and towns that include Boston, Natick, Wellesley, Belmont, Hudson, Grafton, Leominster, Mansfield, Melrose, Newton, Framingham, Wilmington, Middleboro and Lawrence.
In addition to the Stage2 performances, CSC is also partnering with a local school for an extended in-school residency. Actors from Macbeth will be visiting with Boston Collegiate Charter School in Dorchester, MA for the third year in a row. Students are working to prepare their own monologues and scenes from the play. The residency will culminate with students attending the CSC2’s performance of Macbeth at Babson College and performing some of their monologues before the show. In addition, CSC will be welcoming Lawrence High School to the June 1st performance and providing a supplemental workshop led by Babson College faculty and actors from Macbeth.
About the Creative Team:
David R. Gammons (Director, Co-Set Designer) is a director, designer, visual artist, and theatre educator. He is currently an Associate Professor at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee and is on the Music and Theatre Arts faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Recent directing projects include Edward II. The Comedy of Errors, Medea, The Hotel Nepenthe, The Duchess of Malfi, and Titus Andronicus for Actors’ Shakespeare Project; and the New England premieres of Hand to God, Necessary Monsters, The Whale, The Motherfucker with the Hat (2013 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Production), Red (2012 Norton Award for Outstanding Production), and Blackbird at SpeakEasy Stage Company. He helmed the world premieres of The Farm by Walt McGough and The Salt Girl by John Kuntz at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre and the New England premieres of Cherry Docs, The Lieutenant of Inishmore and My Name is Rachel Corrie at New Repertory Theater. He was awarded the 2007 and 2017 Elliot Norton Awards for Outstanding Director. He has served as a guest artist at Emerson College, Harvard University, Northeastern University, Boston College, Brandeis University, and Suffolk University, among others. Mr. Gammons is a graduate of the Directing Program of the ART Institute and of the Visual and Environmental Studies Department of Harvard University. For more information, please visit davidrgammons.com.
Jeff Adelberg (Co-Set Designer, Lighting Designer) returns to Commonwealth Shakespeare after designing Julius Caesar last season. Other recent work: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the NightTime, Hand to God, Dogfight (SpeakEasy Stage Company); Man of La Mancha (New Repertory Theatre); Rhinoceros (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre); Beckett Women: Ceremonies of Departure (Poets’ Theatre at the MAC Belfast, Northern Ireland); Edward II, God’s Ear (Actors’ Shakespeare Project); Constellations, When January Feels Like Summer, mr. g (Underground Railway Theater); She Loves Me, Altar Boyz, Mame (Greater Boston Stage Co.); Finish Line (Boston Theatre Co.); The Importance of Being Earnest, Arcadia and The Children’s Hour (The Gamm Theatre); and Boston’s Christmas Revels since 2010. A graduate of the University of Connecticut, Mr. Adelberg teaches at Boston College and Brandeis University. www.jeffadelberg.com
Miranda Kau Giurleo (Costume Designer) has previously designed Julius Caesar and Midsummer Night’s Dream for Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s Second Stage. Regional credits include: The Royale, A Christmas Carol, Chill (Merrimack Repertory Theatre), The Scottsboro Boys (SpeakEasy Stage Company), Dry Land, Shockheaded Peter, She Kills Monsters, Neighbors (Company One), Richard III,Measure for Measure, As You Like It (Actor’s Shakespeare Project), The Convert, Matchless & The Happy Prince, Roots of Liberty (Underground Railway Theatre), The Effect, The New Electric Ballroom,Totalitarians (Gloucester Stage Company). Miranda is also on the faculty at Bridgewater State University where designs include Gypsy, Assassins, and Young Frankenstein.
Nathan Leigh (Sound Designer) has designed sound and composed original music for over 300 plays at theatres including New York Theatre Workshop (Nat Turner In Jerusalem), Red Bull Theatre (The Duchess of Malfi),Huntington Theatre (Skeleton Crew), American Repertory Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Group, The Debate Society (Gothamist: Best Sound Design 2007 for The Eaten Heart), Stoneham Theatre (IRNE Best Sound Design 2009 for Strangers On A Train), and Central Square Theatre (IRNE Best Sound Design 2010 for The Hound of the Baskervilles). With Kyle Jarrow, Nathan co-created the musicals Big Money (WTF Boris Segall Fellowship 2008) and The Consequences (World Premiere 2012 at WHAT). With the Liars and Believers ensemble, Nathan Leigh composed scores for adaptations of Song of Songs and Icarus. With Megan Sass, he is the composer and lyricist for The Mad Scientist’s Guide (NYC Fringe 2015). Nathan’s latest solo album is Ordinary Eternal Machinery.
Christopher Webb’s previous fight choreography includes: Skin and Bones, Little Murders, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Sons of the Prophet, Alice at War, Jesus Christ Superstar, Noises Off!, Mercury Fur, Extremities, Coriolanus, Big Love and Trojan Women: A Love Story (Boston Conservatory at Berklee); and Romeo and Juliet and Dog Sees God (Off The Grid). He is an Elliot Norton Award winning actor and also directs professionally around Boston. He is an Associate Professor of Theatre at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee College, where he teaches Viewpoints/Movement for the Actor and Acting, in both the BFA and MFA Musical Theatre programs. He holds a Bachelor of Arts In Theatre Performance from Western Michigan University a Certificate of Completion from the Marymount London Drama Conservatory and a Masters of Fine Arts in Acting from the National Theatre Conservatory.
About the Stage2 Performances Series and CSC2 Acting Company:
CSC2 is a young company of actors that works with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company on an extended basis. The ensemble is built of twelve, non-equity, early-career actors with some professional experience. CSC2 actors work both as a cohort, learning from a diverse cast of their peers, alongside CSC’s professional company in a variety of productions. CSC Academy faculty will also work with CSC2 to help brush up on fundamentals and extend the learning from the rehearsal room. CSC’s Stage2 Series provides the opportunity for students and their teachers to attend high-quality live theater created with them in mind. These productions use Shakespeare’s original text and are performed by the CSC2 Company. Previous productions include Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet.
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC), best known for its annual free performances on Boston Common, is a non-profit theater company founded in 1996, dedicated to artistic excellence, accessibility, and education. CSC’s Free Shakespeare on the Common has served over one million audience members over its 23-year history and has become a beloved summer tradition enjoyed by nearly 75,000 people annually, including last summer’s highly acclaimed production of Romeo and Juliet. In 2013, CSC became the Theatre-in-Residence at Babson College in Wellesley, MA. In addition to the annual Boston Common production, CSC now presents fully staged productions at the Sorenson Center for the Arts at Babson, including the recent Old Money, Death and the Maiden, the world premiere of Our American Hamlet and Becket in Brief; “Theatre in the Rough,” semi- staged readings including Fear and Misery in the Third Reich featuring Tony Shalhoub, Brooke Adams and local actors; as well as “Shakespeare & the Law,” and “Shakespeare & Leadership.” CSC fulfills its educational mission with actor-training programs for pre-professional and professional actors through the summer Apprentice program and CSC2. To learn more about these programs, visit www.commshakes.org.
BabsonARTS presents visual and performing arts events and exhibitions at the Carling-Sorenson Center for the Arts and other venues on the campus of Babson College in Wellesley, MA. Program offerings include works produced by Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Babson’s theater-in-residence; visiting artists, performers, and speakers; and the activities of Babson’s faculty-directed student groups. The mission of BabsonARTS is to serve the educational needs of students, to provide cultural avenues to the residents of communities surrounding the campus, and to explore the connections among entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity through the arts.
