Presents
The
Beard of Avon
by
Amy Freed
Director Norman
Blumensaadt
Set
Design Ann
Marie Gordon
Lighting
Design Bill
Peeler
Costume
Design Marann
Faget
Composer/Sound Kyle Sigrest
Assistant
Costume Designer Telena Martinez
Stage
Manager Jessica
Cohen
CHARACTERS
AND CAST
William
Shakespeare Scott Tesh
Old Colin/Lord
Burleigh William
Holliman
Anne Hathaway Bobbie Oliver
Geoff
Dunderbread/Lady Lettice Tyler Jones
Richard
Burbage/Sir Francis Walsingham William Rene
Henry
Condel/Sir Francis Bacon Steven
Fay
John
Heminge/Lucy Craig Kanne
Walter
Fitch/Earl of Derby Dustin
Doering
Edward De Vere Marc Balester
Henry
Wriothesley/Player Joe
Hartmen
Queen
Elizabeth Jennifer
Underwood
Location:
Stratford and London
Time:
The Elizabethan Era
There
will be one intermission.
“The Beard of Avon” is
produced by special arrangement
with Samuel French, Inc.
“The Beard of Avon” was
originally produced in New York City
by New York Theatre
Workshop.
Commissioned and first
produced by South Coast Repertory.
THE
PRODUCTION COMPANY
MARC BALESTER (Edward De
Vere) has appeared for Different Stages as Edmund Tyrone in “Long Day's Journey
into Night” and Ganesh in “A Perfect Ganesh.”
He has also been seen in “Noises Off,” “Run for Your Wife,” “Speed the
Plow,” “Lust Supper,” and “The Cherry Orchard.” He is happiest as Nora's husband and Bud's dad.
NORMAN BLUMENSAADT
(Director) is the Producing Artistic
Director for Different Stages. Among
the numerous shows that he has directed, a selection of just some of the more recent
are “Summer and Smoke,” “The Cripple of Inishmaan,” “All My Sons,” “Arcadia,”
“The Wild Duck,” “The House of Bernarda Alba,” and “Pericles, Prince of
Tyre.” Memorable leading roles that he
has portrayed include Aunt Augusta/Henry Pulling in “Travels with my Aunt” and
Vanya in “Uncle Vanya.” In celebration
of his long and outstanding work in the Austin theater scene, the Austin Circle
of Theaters bestowed upon Norman the 1998 Deacon Crain/John Bustin Award.
DUSTIN DOERING (Walter
Fitch/Earl of Derby), ah yes, the handsome and intelligent Dustin, became a
resident of Austin a year ago, by way of the booming metropolis of Greeley,
Colorado. Everyone knew his name there,
which is what he hopes to achieve here.
He dabbles in music and film, but his passion lies on the stage. So far, he has been in a handful of
productions at Openstage Theatre, The Little Theatre of the Rockies, and Austin
Community College.
MARANN FAGET (Costume Designer) is excited to be working with Different
Stages for the third time. AUSTIN
CREDITS: Pro-arts Collective, Austin Lyric Opera, Sam Bass Theater, Storie
Productions, Refraction Arts’ critically acclaimed “Philomel Project,” One
World Theatre: “Groucho” (starring Gabe Kaplan), Zachary Scott Theater, and
Oracle Theater REGIONAL
CREDITS: Colorado: Windsor Community
Playhouse: “A Delicate Balance,” “Ten Little Indians,” “Relatively
Speaking.” Bas Bleu Theatre: “The Caretaker,”
“Trifles.” Minnesota: Resident Costume Designer (1989-1995) at Rochester
Community College: “Spoon River Anthology,” “Veronica's Room,” “Lunacy,”
“Tobacco Road,” “Luv.” Rochester Civic
Theater: “A Shayna Maidel.” Rochester
Repertory Theatre: “Lone-star,” “Laundry and Bourbon,” “Agnes of God,” “Private
Wars.” Feast and Footlights Theater:
“Steel Magnolia.” INTERNATIONAL
CREDITS: Greece: Chios Civic Theater: “Kidnapping of the Pope,” “Arsenic and
Old Lace.” Marann has four children and one granddaughter, resides in
Austin, and loves to play poker.
STEVEN FAY (Henry
Condel/Sir Francis Bacon) doth appear in his 15th
Different Stages production. He was
seen most recently in “The Playboy of the Western World” and “Appointment with
Death.” His role in “Appointment with
Death” earned him a B. Iden Payne Award nomination.
ANN
MARIE GORDON (Set Designer) is the resident designer at The Vortex. Her designs
for “St. Enid and the Black Hand” won an B. Iden Payne Award. Other designs for
The Vortex include “The Deluge” and “Despair’s Book of Dreams”. She has also
designed for Ariel Dance Theater and The Rude Mechanicals. For Different Stages
she designed “Life and Limb”.
JOE HARTMAN (Henry
Wriothesley/Player) moved back to Austin six months ago after a few years in
Los Angeles. Since returning he debuted,
“The Meditation” a short piece from his one-man show at Hyde-Park Frontera
Fest, he has performed in the musical revue “When Pigs Fly,” and
worked with the Violet Crown Radio Players in their dramas “The Hurler,” and “A
Myriad of Swords.” While in Los
Angeles, Joe was featured in the independent film “Able Edwards,” on
television in Showtime's short film “The Great Commission,” and, just prior to
the move, completed the TV pilot “The Tunetimers.” Other shows include “1940's Radio Hour,” the
national tour of “Babes in Toyland,” and “Guys and Dolls” at Zilker (as
Nicely-Nicely). He writes as well, and
his comedy “Superchicks” debuted at The Los Angeles Internation Short Film
Festival last fall.
WILLIAM
HOLLIMAN (Old Colin/Lord Burleigh)
is an actor, screenwriter and filmmaker.
This is my third production for Different Stages (and
hopefully not my last). Previously I
appeared as Alderman Higgs in “Appointment with Death” and as Philly Cullen in
“Playboy of the Western World,” both in 2005. Doing this play was a great excuse to do
research into Elizabethan times. Boy did they have fun—plague, pox, the occasional
trip to the Tower, and, oh yes, the French disease. I hope everyone enjoys the show, and please tell all your friends
to come see us. 'Tis really, really
good. I go, I go.
TYLER JONES (Geoff Dunderbread/Lady Lettice)
recently returned to his hometown of Austin after living in New York City for 5
years. Some New York credits include
“Rosencranz and Guildenstern are Dead,” “A Winter's Tale,” “A Midsummer Nights
Dream,” “In My Dreams,” “Swing Out Bernadette,” “Gold Rush!” (national
tour). At Sam Houston State University:
“Sweeney Todd,” “Assassins,” “A Chorus Line,” “Forever Plaid,” “The World Goes
Round,” “The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild,” and “Die! Mommy! Die!” (TheatreLab
Houston). Thanks to all involved for a
fun, wild experience.
CRAIG KANNE (John
Heminge/Lucy) last appeared with Different Stages in
“Appointment with Death” at the last minute.
His most recent stage work was in the premiere at the University of Texas
of Robert Schenkan's play “The Marriage of Miss Hollywood and King
Neptune.” By day, he is a mild mannered
employee of the City of Austin's water utility.
BOBBIE OLIVER (Anne
Hathaway) has appeared as Bessie in “Marvin’s Room,” Jillian in “Birth,” and
Gertrude in “An Ideal Husband.” She
lives with the talented actor and Police Commander Larry Oliver and is very
proud and happy to be a part of this production. This show is dedicated to her mother.
WILLIAM (BILL)
PEELER (Lighting Designer) has over 20
years experience as a lighting designer, holding both national and
international credits. From his work with the National Theatre Company of Costa
Rica to a four-year tenure in lighting the International Bluegrass Music Awards
Show, his work is varied and extensive.
He is a Professor and member of the design faculty in the Southwest
Texas State University Department of Theatre and Dance, where he oversees the
areas of lighting design and sound production.
This is Bill's seventh collaboration with Different Stages, having
previously designed the lighting for “Dangerous Corner”, “Madame X”, “The House
of Bernada Alba”, “An Ideal Husband” and “Molly Sweeney”.
WILLIAM RENE (Richard
Burbage/Sir Francis Walsingham) migrated to Austin
six years ago from a far-away island in the middle of the sea, where the men go
about only in their mighty beards, and the women are clad only in their lovely
hair. He has since domesticated
himself, learned to wear clothes, and act like a civilized person. If it is indeed civilized to wear costumes,
and pretend to be someone else, in the case of this show, many someone
else’s. This is Bill’s third time on
stage with Different Stages. You might
remember seeing his bald head painted silver in “Betty’s Summer Vacation,” and
his bold beard in “Appointment with Death.”
Bill is also a member of a band of wily outlaws who enjoy putting on
plays; they call themselves Loaded Gun Theory.
KYLE SIGREST
(Composer) holds a Master of Music from the University of Texas at Austin in
piano performance and also focused on choral music, conducting, and music
theory. Kyle is the composer of music
for other Different Stages productions such as “Marriage is Forever,” “Pericles,
Prince of Tyre,” “The House of Bernarda Alba,” and Ann Ciccolella's “Madame X,”
for which he received a B. lden Payne nomination. As an actor, Kyle received a B. Iden Payne nomination for his
role as Manny in “Masterclass” at Zachary Scott Theatre. He has also served as musical director/pianist/conductor
for numerous musicals such as Zilker Theatre’s “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Secret
Garden,” and “Westside Story “and Silverstar Theatre’s “You’re a Good Man
Charlie Brown” and “Fame!,” for which he received an Austin Critic’s Table
nomination for Musical Director.
SCOTT TESH
(William Shakespeare) Scott) is thrilled to make his
third appearance with Different Stages in this role. Recently, he played
Gerry Evans in “Dancing at Lughnasa” (at Sam Bass), Christy Mahon in “Playboy
of the Western World” (for Different Stages), and Pericles in “Pericles” (for
Different Stages). Favorite previous roles
include Jess in “The Complete Works of Wllm Shakespeare Abridged” (New Heights
Theatre), Theseus in “A Midsummer Night's Dream” (Barter Theatre), Trent Conway
in “Six Degrees of Separation” (Main Street Theatre), and Jack in “The Witlings”
(Main Street Theatre). He has
been blessed with three wonderful families—in the theatre, at work, and at
home. He thanks all three for their support and encouragement.
JENNIFER UNDERWOOD (Queen Elizabeth) last appeared in Different Stages’ production of “Arms and the Man” as Catherine Petkoff. Other Different Stages appearances include “Betty’s Summer Vacation” as Mrs. Siezmagraff (for which she won the B. Iden Payne Award as Outstanding Actress in a Comedy), the title role in “The House of Bernarda Alba,” Gertie in “Fuddy Meers,” Mrs. Dudgeon in “The Devil’s Disciple,” Kate in “The Cripple of Inishmann,” Kate in “All My Sons,” and Norma in “The Misses Overbeck.” Other Austin area appearances include Kate Mundy in “Dancing at Lughnasa,” Bessie in “Marvin’s Room,” Elizabeth in “The Petition,” Betty in “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon-Marigolds,” Evie in “The Gingerbread Lady,” and Big Mama in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”
PRODUCTION
STAFF
Rehearsal Assistants Christina Frankenfield, Carol Ginn
Light Operator Rocky Hopson
Sound Operator Larry
Oliver
Set Construction Ann Marie Gordon, Scott Tesh,
Steve Fay, Bruce Holliman, Christina Frankenfield
Properties Norman
Blumensaadt, Ann Marie Gordon
Cutter/Draper Marann Faget
Stitchers Linda Wilson, Rebecca Skelton, Nikki Zook,
Jennifer
McKenna, Buffy Manners,
Trinka
Withers, Talena Martinez,
Dresser Nicole Marosis
Graphic Artist Sarah Seaton
Photographer Brett Brookshire
Program Norman Blumensaadt, Royce Gehrels
Properties Norman Blumensaadt
Publicity Carol Ginn, Norman Blumensaadt, Karen Jambon
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND
SPECIAL THANKS
Russ Wiseman & Dougherty Arts Center, Austin
Circle of Theaters, Craig Kanne for providing his house to rehearse,
Scott Schroeder for the electric candle, Meredith Ginn for curling iron and
picnic blanket, Jennifer Underwood & Karen Jambon, Bonnie Cullum and the staff of The Vortex, Phil Judah and
Universal Publishers
Different
Stages, Inc. has been a
community-based organization since its inception in 1981 and incorporation in
1984. It produces works by playwrights
whom we believe to be defining forces in theatre. We seek to entertain with performances that reveal life in all
its comedy, tragedy and intensity; and we hope to educate by choosing plays
that provide exceptional insight into the human condition. By challenging ourselves as artists and our
audiences as participants, we endeavor to provide the community with vigorous
and exciting live theatre.
Board of Directors: Karen Jambon Henry
V. Fitzgerald, Jr., and Randolph Stripling.
Operating
Board: Norman E. Blumensaadt, Mike Groblewski,
Royce Gehrels, and Paula Ruth Gilbert.
In Memoriam
Wilson
Wade, minister and actor passed away in March. For Different Stages he played
five roles James Tyrone in “Long Day’s Journey into Night”, Captain Boyle in
“Juno and the Paycock”, Joe Keller in “All My Sons”. Mr. Werle in “The Wild
Duck” and Sir George Crofts in “Mrs. Warren’s Profession”. Skip you will be
missed.
DONATIONS
Director
Level
$5000+
The City of Austin
Actor
Level
$1000 - $5000
Karen Jambon & Jennifer Underwood
Stage Manager Level $500-$999
Tera Quest Metrics, Inc. Norman S.
Blumensaadt
Designer Level $250-$499
Royce Gehrels, Bruce McCann, Emily Erington, Don Howell
Stage Hand Level $100-$249
Connie McMillan, Kathleen Lawson, Ann
Blumensaadt, Janie Hayes & Jimmy Bisese, Karen Kuykendall, Irene Dubberley,
Suzanne Winkelman, Mary Margaret Farabee, Richard A. Muscat, Tom White, David
Smith, Harvey Guion, Karen Sneed, Ann Bower
Audience Level $20-$99
Carl Anderson & Peyton Hayslip, Paul G. Minor & Erin Ochel, Rodolfo R. Alamia, M.D., Helen M. Mrasek, Rebecca Robinson, Courtney Dial, Reba Gillman, Patricia Bennett,
Charles Ramirez Berg, William L. Cohagan, Ronald Seeliger,
Bobbie & Larry Oliver, Bill Johnson & Elota Patton,
Marvela Pritchett-Paschall, Richard & Marcia Kinsey, Andrea Smith
IN-KIND
DONATIONS
Mary Alice Carnes, Sarah Seaton
DIFFERENT STAGES’ REPERTORY
Begun as Small
Potatoes Theatrical Company
1981: August Strindberg’s Creditors and The
Stronger. 1982: William Shakespeare’s The Tempest and
A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
1983: George Bernard Shaw’s Candida;
Anton Chekhov’s The Brute, Swan Song, and Celebration. 1984:
Luigi Pirandello’s Right You Are (If You Think You Are); Jane
Martin’s Talking With…
1985: Caryl Churchill’s Cloud
9; William Shakespeare’s As You Like It; Carl Sternheim’s The
Underpants; Michael Weller’s Moonchildren. 1986: Amlin Gray’s How
I Got That Story; William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale; Eugene
O’Neill’s Beyond the Horizon.
1987: Michael Weller’s Loose
Ends; Aristophanes’ The Wasps; Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart;
Arthur Schnitzler’s Anatol.
1988: Wallace Shawn’s Aunt
Dan and Lemon; Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood; Moss Hart’s Light
Up the Sky; Jean Racine’s Phaedra; Jean-Baptiste Molière’s The
Misanthrope. 1989: Caryl Churchill’s Fen; Charles
Ludlam’s The Artificial Jungle; William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of
Venice. 1990: Eric Overmeyer’s On the Verge; Eugene
O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night; Milan Kundera’s Jacques and
His Master; Tom White’s The Trouble with Tofu; William Shakespeare’s
Titus Andronicus. 1991: George Kelly’s The Show-Off; George
Bernard Shaw’s Mrs. Warren’s Profession; Keith Reddin’s Life and Limb;
Mozart/Lorenzo da Ponte’s Così fan Tutte; Jean-Baptiste Molière’s The
Learnèd Ladies. 1992: Alan Ayckbourn’s Woman in Mind; Carlo
Gozzi’s The Raven; Henrik Ibsen’s The Wild Duck; Charles
MacArthur’s Johnny on a Spot; George Farquhar’s The Recruiting
Officer. 1993: Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s
Good; Charles Ludlam’s The Secret Lives of the Sexists; Tennessee
Williams’ Orpheus Descending.
1994: Constance Congdon’s Tales
of the Lost Formicans; William Shakespeare’s Cymbeline; George M.
Cohan’s The Tavern; Marlayne Meyer’s Etta Jenks. 1995:
Pierre Marivaux’s The Triumph of Love; Tom Stoppard’s Travesties;
Larry Kramer’s The Destiny of Me; Alexander Ostrovsky’s The Diary of
a Scoundrel. 1996: Caryl Churchill’s Mad Forest; Agatha
Christie’s Black Coffee; William Congreve’s The Way of the World. 1997:
Terrence McNally’s A Perfect Ganesh; Dorothy Parker’s Here We
Are; Alan Ayckbourn’s Drinking Companion; Terrence McNally’s Noon;
George M. Cohan’s Seven Keys to Baldpate; Sean O’Casey’s Juno and the
Paycock. 1998: Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia; Aeschylus’ Agamemnon;
Giles Havergal’s Travels with my Aunt; Arthur Miller’s All My Sons. 1999:
Edit Villareal’s My Visits with MGM; Jean-Baptiste Molière’s The
Hypochondriac (tr. Martin Sorrel); Edward Percy and Reginald Denham’s Ladies
in Retirement; Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. 2000:
Peter Parnell’s The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket; Ann
Ciccolella’s Fruits and Vegetables; George S. Kaufman and Marc
Connelly’s Merton of the Movies; Martin McDonagh’s The Cripple of
Inishmaan. 2001: Milcha
Sanchez-Scott’s Roosters; George Bernard Shaw’s The Devil’s Disciple;
J. B. Priestly’s Dangerous Corner; Tennessee Williams’ Summer and
Smoke. 2002: Ann Ciccolella’s Madame X; David
Linsay-Abaire’s Fuddy Meers; Agatha Christie’s The Unexpected Guest;
Federico Garcia Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba. 2003: Christopher Durang’s Betty’s Summer
Vacation; Horton Foote’s The Traveling Lady, William Shakespeare’s
Two Gentlemen of Verona; Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband. 2004: John Patrick’s The Hasty Heart;
Tom White’s The Misses Overbeck; Brian Friel’s Molly Sweeney,
George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man.
2005: William Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre; Edit
Villareal’s Marriage is Forever; Agatha Christie’s Appointment with
Death; John Millington Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World.
2006: Two into War (The Gifts of War and The Retreating World);
Amy Freed’s The Beard of Avon; Agatha Christie’s The Hollow.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Amy Freed
Amy James Freed, lecturer in acting in
the drama department, was nominated as a finalist in the drama category of the
1998 Pulitzer Prizes for her play “Freedomland.”
The 39-year-old San Francisco playwright
is a former actor who has written four plays since 1991. “Still Warm” was based on the life of
journalist Jessica Savitch, “Claustrophilia” examined the relationship between
Edgar Allan Poe and his teen bride, “The Ghoul of Amherst” focused on Emily
Dickinson, and “The Psychic Life of Savages” looked at the lives of poets Sylvia
Plath, Anne Sexton, and Robert Lowell. Her most recent plays are “Safe in
Hell”, a comedy about Cotton Mather and the Salem witch trials and “Restoration
Comedy”, a salvage of two of the English stage’s greatest hits of 1696, Love’s
last Shift by Colly Cibber and The Relapse by John Vanbrugh.
Freed, who holds a Master of Fine Arts
from the American Conservatory Theater and a bachelor’s degree in acting from
Southern Methodist University, has been at Stanford since last spring.
In real life, conspiracy
theorists—called the Oxfordians—claim that de Vere, who was in fact a
well-educated earl, wrote the 37 plays and 154 sonnets attributed to the Bard.
Is it possible that the balding man who stares coyly at us from that famous
portrait by Martin Droeshout—the one silk-screened onto about 90 percent of all
Shakespeare-festival T-shirts—actually was abetting an elaborate conspiracy?
“I began by wanting to write a comedy
about people who are obsessed by conspiracies, and I became obsessed with this
conspiracy,” she said. This is not to
say that, in the spirit of Oliver Stone, Freed boldly steamrollers one theory
to erect another. “My play is not a vote for de Vere; it's a mystery,” she
said. “On the surface, it's a spoof or parody about authorship issues, but on a
deeper level it's about what makes a writer like Shakespeare. Is it talent? Is
it access? Can you do it just by genius alone? When you have a desperate desire
to achieve something important in the art world—and let's say in the writing
world -- what lengths do you go to get there?”
Freed began by researching the subject
of Shakespeare's language use, which is phenomenal. He employs a vocabulary
that is the richest and most varied of any author, alive or dead. Milton, for example,
wrote using about 8,000 words; Shakespeare used in excess of 20,000. How, Freed
wonders, could someone with only a grammar-school education have become the
standard against which all playwrights are now judged? “He's successful at so many different
levels, in his marriage of intricate thought and accessible delivery,” she
said. “If he came from this illiterate family and went to school for only about
six years, it doesn't add up for me. So who did he meet? What metamorphosed him
into a person who could write that way? Some people say he was an idiot savant,
but you don't acquire that kind of vocabulary being an idiot savant.”
Freed said she also was intrigued by the
dearth of information about his life. There are about 100 references to him and
his family in parish, municipal and commercial documents, but not much else.
There are only six surviving signatures (each one spelled differently), and his
will is hilariously devoid of any mention of books, plays or poetry. Even his
epitaph doesn't seem right for poet and dramatist of his supposed stature. “It's a little bit of graveyard doggerel,”
Freed explained. But she added that she has not yet joined the ranks of the
true Shakespeare conspiracy theorists.
ABOUT THE PLAY
Shakespearean conspiracy theory inspires new play by Amy Freed
BY JOHN SANFORD
Conspiracy theorists are a tortured lot.
Teased by scant yet compelling evidence, many have ended their investigations,
unfulfilled, in mental institutions. The Shakespeare doubters are among the
most literary and devoted of this subculture. They contend that the man from
Stratford, whom most people credit with having written all those magnificent
plays between about 1590 and 1611, was a stooge—a front man for the real
author. Whether or not you buy into this theory, drama lecturer Amy Freed has
discovered that it makes for some entertaining theater.
Her
latest play, “The Beard of Avon,” is a comedy predicated on the authorship
controversy. “There's something about it that has the attractiveness of a good
mystery,” Freed said during a recent telephone interview from her San Francisco
home. “You just can't leave it alone.”
In the play, Shakespeare is a (deceptively) simple bumpkin with a talent
for rhyme and a vivid imagination. He leaves his wife and home in
Stratford-upon-Avon to join a company of actors traveling to London, where he
is chosen as a beard—front man—for plays written by Edward de Vere, the 17th
Earl of Oxford, a libertine and closet dramatist.
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