Browse Exhibit Items
JOCASTA from King Oedipus
Creator: PLAYWRIGHT: Sophocles; adapted by William Butler Yeats
Director: Orion D. Jones, M.F.A. Directing Candidate
Contributors:
Set Designer: Klyph Sanford
Costume Designer: Gail Stewart Beach
Lighting Designer: Alberto Segarra
Sound Designer: Phillip Carluzzo
Mask Artist: Tara Cariaso
Date: October 9-12, 2014
Abstract: This new production of Sophocles’ most famous play about the rise and fall of King Oedipus, translated by W.B. Yeats, tells the story of a man’s ambition to learn a truth that may condemn his own life but save his realm. As the play progresses, it also explores the emergence of Christianity and its roots in Greek polytheism, provoking questions of reason and faith.
Description: DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS: Mask work was integral to this production. The lead’s mask were designed by Tara Cariaso, using colors reflective of each character & their costume. She also taught a few workshops because the use of the body in space is completely different with a mask. The chorus masks had to have a similar look as the leads while costing less than $5 each. [Gail Beach, email dated 9/5/18]
KITTY from Pride and Prejudice
Creator: PLAYWRIGHT: Jon Jory
Director: Joseph Ritsch
Contributors:
Set Designer: Magdalena Schutzler
Costume Designer: Gail Stewart Beach
Lighting Designer: Tom Donahue
Sound Designer: Roc Lee
Date: April 21-24, 2016
Abstract: At more than 200 years old Pride and Prejudice couldn’t feel more modern in Jon Jory’s fast-paced and highly entertaining theatrical adaptation of Jane Austen’s famous tale of social class and moral virtue. Considered one of the most popular pieces of literature worldwide, the story of the Bennet sisters leaps off the stage and into the hearts of audiences with Jory’s keen and clever reworking of this romantic comedy of manners.
Description: DC Metro Theater Arts review, April 22, 2016: “…Darcy and Elizabeth get a brand new Pop Art twist in this refreshing adaptation, adapted by Jon Jory from Jane Austen’s classic novel. The set. Lights, and sound… are a Lichtenstein masterpiece brought to life, with minimalist, primary color walls…The costumes, however, are period accurate by Gail Beach, with only the bright colors, particularly the rainbow of dresses on the Bennet girls, as a nod to the theme.”
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS: Jury’s script calls for instantaneous changes from day wear to fancy dress clothes. Each daughter had a base dress of a primary or secondary color and a white dress for the balls. The lines were all true to the period (1810-12) with the colors reflective of Roy Lichtenstein’s art, at the request of the director. [Gail Beach, email dated 9/5/18]
PHILOMELE from The Love of the Nightingale
Creator: PLAYWRIGHT: Timberlake Wertenbaker
Director: Shirley Serotsky, M.F.A. Directing Candidate
Contributors:
Set Designer: Jonathan Dahm Robertson
Costume Designer: Gail Stewart Beach
Lighting Designer: Tom Donahue
Sound Designer: Evan Cook
Date: November 16-19, 2017
Abstract: A timely and timeless update of the ancient Greek myth of Philomel. Sisters Procne and Philomel –separated by marriage and miles—until terrible circumstances finally bring them back together. In a shocking act of retribution the sisters exact revenge on the man who abused them both, continuing a tragic cycle of violence that can only be interrupted by the gods.
Description: PHILOMEL MYTH: With Greek and Roman variations, Philomela was mutilated and raped by her sister’s husband, King Tereus. The sisters exact revenge and the gods transformed them into birds.
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS: The three main characters (Procne, Philomele, and Tereas) all turn into birds at the end of the myth in about 15-20 seconds. Our choice was to make them kites, each of which reflected the bird they represented and their last costume of the show. Philomele’s “kite” became a puppet because it needed to talk to the young boy more intimately. [Gail Beach, emailed dated 9/5/18]
THYONA from Big Love
Creator: PLAYWRIGHT: Charles L. Mee
Director: Randy Baker
Contributors:
Set Designer: Paige Hathaway
Costume Designer: Julie Cray-Leong
Lighting Designer: Brian S. Allard
Sound Designer: Thomas Sowers
Date: November 19-22, 2015
Abstract: Fifty brides seek refuge from their fifty grooms, doing whatever it takes to stop the wedding. Seeking asylum in a beautiful Italian villa, they experience threats of suicide, pacts of murderous revenge, and maybe – accidently – acts of love. Charles Mee’s explosive and poetic retelling of the world’s oldest play – Aeschylus’s The Suppliants – is equal parts comedy and tragedy, exploring themes of sex, revenge, and justice. And cake. Lots and lots of cake.
Description: DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS: [The director] is inspired by Asian culture...He knows wedding dresses as being red, so we’re going with that…There are three feature wedding dresses. One of the red dress is a real showstopper, lacey, beaded, and with a va-va-voom vibe. [Julie Cray-Leong, The Tower, November 20, 2015]
This script calls for a large amount of stage blood, which gets on everything. The dress is designed for the blood to wash out, (but nothing is perfect). Because the clean-up took 4 hours, we had to build 2 of each dress since there wasn’t enough time between shows to accomplish the task. [Gail Beach, email dated 9/5/18]
GABRIEL from Preggers, or Parenthood for Virgins
Creator: PLAYWRIGHT: Rebecca Dzida, M.F.A. Playwriting Candidate
Director: Linda Lombardi, Part of CUA Drama’s M.F.A. Playwriting Repertory
Contributors:
Set Designer: Brian Gillick
Costume Designer: Gail Stewart Beach
Lighting Designer: Katie McCreary
Sound Designer: Frank DiSalvo, Jr.
Date: February 18-25, 2017
Abstract: Newlyweds Mary and Joseph learn that they’re going to raise the Son of God. Along with a little guidance from the angel Gabriel, they attempt to navigate the absurdities and challenges of being new parents.
Description: PLAYWRIGHT’S DESCRIPTION OF GABRIEL: ...angel, ageless and genderless, a messenger of God who’s super stoked about the job and sometimes forgets how to relate to mere humans
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS: We wanted to find a way to represent Gabriel that reflected a traditional look from church iconography that would also be able to have a more contemporary feel for some of the scenes. Sheer fabrics were used so the lights could play through the fabrics. -Gail Beach, email dated 9/5/18