File - Alison Jane Bowie

CASANOVA
CONSTANCE CONGDON
A Note From the Director
1725
1733
Casanova
Born
Casanova’s
Father Dies
& Meets
Sorceress
~ Brianna Sloane, Director
Casanova finally settled down in Dux, Bohemia in 1785, where he worked as
a librarian for the wealthy Count Josef von Waldstein. He began writing his
12-volume memoir in 1790 at the age of sixty-five. His memoir was not published
in full until 1966. After years of incontinence, in the spring of 1798 Casanova
contracted a urinary tract infection and died only two months later.
~ Alison Bowie, Dramaturg
1742-43
1744-45
Bach dies
(1750)
It is not just Casanova’s voice telling this story. As
theater artists, we are forever reinterpreting and
responding to the stories of one another’s lives
and our own. Playwright Connie Congden has
fractured and re-membered Casanova’s story, asking
her own questions of him and writing back. My
task as director was to find my way in and add my own voice. Each of the actors
in this wonderful ensemble does the same as they step into the bones of their
characters, whether they were real or fictional. One by one, we add our voices to
the tale. This story is like a river filled with currents. We can’t wait to play it for you.
Several years later, Casanova returned to Venice, where he promptly caught the
attention of the Inquisition. In 1755 Casanova was incarcerated in the infamous
Leads Prison in Venice for depravity and blasphemy. After serving little more than
a year of a five-year sentence, Casanova did the impossible: he escaped. He fled
to Paris, participated in the creation of the French state lottery and found himself,
once again, wealthy and fêted.
Battle of
Culloden (1746)
In our story, Casanova’s young companion states,
“it doesn’t have to be written down to have
happened.” In this story, we watch a man reliving his life through the act of remembering.
We explore the power of the rememberer to color
the past, and the alienation that comes from not
recognizing yourself anymore. In this world, time
is a fluid place where you can literally lose yourself.
Casanova fell in love with many women
along his journeys across Europe. He even
fell in love with Bellino, a woman masquarading as a castrato. His relationships,
however, never lasted. Casanova became enraptured with a woman named
Henriette, who is said to be one of the greatest loves of his life, but the love faded
away as she was forced to leave him and return to her family. He then moved
to Paris, became a Freemason and published his first major literary work, a play
entitled La Molucheide.
Meets Bellino
& Home from
Seminary
Voltaire wrote, “pleasure is the object, duty and the goal of all rational creatures,” and surely
Casanova was a man of his age who took this to heart. He understood how to live fully and
consciously pursued pleasure at every turn. He treated life like an artful performance, writing
of his time in France, Casanova said, “nothing is real here; everything is mere appearance.”
Wear the right clothing, eat the beautiful meal, gamble against your debts, fall in love, marry
off your mistress when you are done, wipe your hands, take a bow. At the end of his days,
living in a post-revolutionary world that was utterly unrecognizable to a man who had lived
in the seat of culture, Casanova obsessively wrote down the story of his life. But memoir,
like any history, always raises questions. Who remembers and who does the remembering?
Novitiate,
Old Count
& Meets
Young Therese
O
nce upon a time, in a voluptuous land of beauty, cunning and wit, there lived a
generation of men and women who dined on cakes, dressed in ribbons and lived a life
of pleasure. A young Venetian of low origin, the child of actors, had great dreams to live
among them. Though he began life as a neglected child with a mushy mind and chronic
nosebleeds, he would grow to discover his own voracious hunger for life and knowledge.
He learned to ply his excellent intellect and work his charms to re-create himself as a man of
importance. He would hobnob with kings, queens, courtesans, statesmen and many others.
He would become writer, priest, philosopher, prisoner, spy, magician, adventurer and an
eager partner in the practiced art of seduction. And he always knew exactly what to wear.
Giacomo Girolamo Casanova was born in Venice on April 2, 1725 to Gaetano
Giuseppe Casanova and Zanetta Farussi. As his parents were actors and were
seldom present in his life, he was raised primarily by his grandmother. Casanova
was a weak child and suffered chronic nosebleeds, a misery he later claimed was
healed by magic. At the age of eight
Casanova’s father died and his mother
sent him to seminary. As a robust
intellectual, Casanova graduated from
a university in Padua with a degree in
canon and civil law. Although he initially
chose to pursue a life in the church,
that career was short lived. A talented
rhetorician, Casanova was able to talk
his way into (and out of) many positions,
including priest, soldier, violinist, spy,
entrepreneur, businessman, novelist, and
librarian.
Handel’s
Messiah (1740)
“Consider the eternal presence of the past…”
Casanova The Man
Assistant Director
Assistant Costume Designer
Assistant Lighting Designer
Assistant Stage Manager
Monica Giordano
Erin Mabee, Ethan Berube
Dana DeLise
Kari Collins, Jessica Gill,
Alex Oms
Directing Advisor
Scenic Design Advisor
Costume Design Advisor
Lighting Design Advisor
Stage Management Advisor
Milan Dragicevich
Miguel Romero
June Gaeke
Margo Caddell
Julie Fife
Boston Tea
Party (1773)
1770
Steam engine
patented (1769)
Handel dies
(1759)
Meets
Mme. D’Urfe
Brianna Sloane
Alison Bowie
Devon Drohan
Elizabeth Pangburn
Michael Blagys
Amy Altadonna
Annelise Nielsen
Zachary J. Smith
Mollie Cook
1763
1757
Mozart Born
(1756)
Director
Dramaturg
Scenic Designer
Costume Designer
Lighting Designer
Sound Designer
Choreographer
Fight Coordinator
Stage Manager
Napoleon
Bonaparte
born (1769)
1755-56
Thrown in jail
then escapes!
Meets & Falls
in love with
Caterina
Benjamin
Franklin’s
lightning rod
experiment
(1752)
1753-54
Elaine K. Stoneham
Gracie Baker
Julia Piker
Zachary J. Smith
Samuel L. Warton
Beth Codey
Erin Mabee
Lila West
Gregory Boover
Cassandra Spadory
Meaghan Morris
Peter Staley
Kevin Murphy
Cameron Manderfield
Alexander Stravinski
Clayton Luopa
Meets Marcoline,
Mme. D’Urfe
bathtub magic,
meets daughter
Sophie & meets
Charpillon
Rousseau’s Girl, Ens.
Therese Imer
Sophie
Bobo
Casanova
Uta
Young Therese, Ens.
Girl Sophie, Ens.
Young Casanova
Zanetta, Ens.
Grandmama, Ens.
Priest, Ens.
Old Count, Ens.
Lady at Seminary, Ens.
Salembini, Ens.
Monsignor, Ens.
~ PRODUCTION CREW ~
Meets
Guillelmine
& Jacomine
~ CAST ~
Julie Fife
Michael Cottom
Kristin Jensen
Michael Dubin
Amy Altadonna
Special thanks:
PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT
Production Management Asst.: Glenn Proud
Scenic Department
Scenic Construction Director: Brandon Hall
Scene Shop Teaching Assistants: Thom Barry,
Patrick Kitzmiller
Scene Shop Staff: Katherine Fontes, Jessica
Braccia, Ben Katz, Anna Engelsman, Luke
Haskell, Emily Berge, Devon Drohan
Props Master: Sean Buenaventura
Props Assistant: Katie Prendella
Deck Crew: Jacob Dodson, Alexander Masters, Edward Flannery, Casey May
Scenic Construction Crew: Jennifer Chan,
Victoria Clough, Alan Couture,
Erica Davignon, Alyssa Gallo, Arielle Herold,
Alissa Mesibov, Shaelyn McGrory, Chris
Faria, Devyn Yurko, Julie DiGiusto, Beth
Codey, Nick Cline
Lighting Department
Production Master Electrician: Jared Beaulieu
Console Operator: Michael Seavey
Console Programmer: Evan Kerr
Electrics Shop Grad Asst.: Michael Blagys,
James Horban
Electrics Shop Assistants: Jared Beaulieu,
Dan Bersano-Hayes, Axel Cruz, Dana DeLise,
Cassandra Eaton, Evan Kerr, Annelise Nielsen, Zachary Smith, Slava Tchoul
Lighting Work: Theater 361 Class members
Sound Department
Sound Engineer: Toney Brown
Board Operator: Conor Dennin
Sound Crew: Theater 393S Class members
Costume and Make-up Department
Assist. Costume Shop Manager: Felicia
Malachite
Drapers: Felicia Malachite, Kristin Jensen
First Hands: Ethan Berube, Evan Laux,
Sarah Nelson, Sofia Rivera, Sarah Strong,
Juniper Talbot
Costume Build Crew: Alex Bilodeau,
Colleen Fitzgibbons, Sean Buenaventura,
Mollie Cook, Christopher Hynds, Nate
Murphy, Hannah Paul, Caroline Phinney,
Anni Reffsin, Slava Tchoul, Theater 362
Costume Crew Chief: Becca Griffing
Costume Run Crew: Victoria Clough,
Alex Dunn, Colleen Fitzgibbons, Marie
Noga, Ian Olney
Make-up Crew Chief: Tiahna Harris,
Emily Taradash
Make-Up Run Crew: Katherine Gerathy,
Alyssa Giambanco, Brandy Robidoux,
Chelsea Thiboutot
Wig Master Emily Taradash
Publicity, House and Business Staff
Public Relations Director: Anna-Maria
Goossens
Public Relations Assistants: Alissa
Mesibov, Julia Lisa, Sam Warton
Poster Design: Rob Kimmel Design
Casanova Program Design: Alison Bowie
Photography: Jon Crispin
House Manager: Derek Johnson
Assistant House Manager: Christina
Mailer
Ushers: Ivy Ebanks, Sara Apple, Axel
Cruz, Ben Finn, Shaelyn McGrory, Julia
Piker, Elaine Stoneham, Erin Mabee,
Clayton Luopa, Elizabeth Cody, Dillon
Crocket, Pamela McCaddin, Meghan
Ryan, Daniel Squizzero
Box Office Manager: Glenn Proud
Business Manager: Joanne
Corbeil-Harper
Administrative Assistant: Bethany
Sherwood
Office Assistants: Jackson Alexander,
Ruby Sangha
Department Chair: Penny Remsen
General Manager: Willow Cohen
The Old World:
Social Hierarchy
THE KING
THE FIRST
ESTATE
THE SECOND
ESTATE
The Clergy
- 130,000 (0.5 %
of the pop.)
- part of the
royal entourage
- exempt from
all taxes
- palaces and
land
The Aristocracy
- 400,000 (2 % of
the pop.)
- part of the
royal entourage
- exempt from
some taxes
- palaces and
land
- Made up of
artisans, laborers,
peasants, etc. and
the bourgeoisie
(middle class made
up of merchants,
shopkeepers,
lawyers, writers,
doctors…)
THE THIRD
ESTATE
EVERYONE ELSE
- 24 million
people
- Very little land
- Paid all taxes
Napoleon
Bonaparte
in power
& creates
elected
Directory
(1795)
Robespierre
executed
(1794)
Robespierre
& Reign of
Terror (1793)
Louis XVI
executed
(1793)
Mozart dies
(1791)
Jacobins
abolish French
Monarchy
(1792)
French
Revolution
begins (1789)
George
Washington
inaugurated
(1789)
Treaty of Paris
ends
American
Revolution
(1783)
Kant’s Critique
of Reason
published (1781)
American
Declaration of
Independence
signed (1776)
Louis XVI ascends
the throne (1774)
FRENCH REVOLUTION
1798
Casanova dies
Production Manager
Technical Director Costume Shop Manager
Lighting Supervisor Resient Sound Engineer
Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner has called
Constance Congdon “one of the best playwrights this language has produced.” Congdon received her M.F.A. from the University
of Massachusetts Amherst in 1982. Her play
Tales of the Lost Formicans has had more than
200 productions world-wide. Congdon’s plays
include Casanova (published in 1994) and Dog
Opera, both produced at the Public Theatre;
Losing Father’s Body, (Portland Stage, Maine);
and Lips, (Primary Stages); and A Mother,
starring Olympia Dukakis. Congdon has been
commissioned to write several plays including
Moontel Six, which was commissioned by the
A.C.T. Young Conservatory and subsequently performed at London’s National Theatre,
followed by another production of the two-act
version at San Francisco’s Zeum. She has also
written a number of opera libretti and seven
plays for the Children’s Theatre Company of
Minneapolis. Congdon’s plays have been
produced across the United States and throughout the world, including Cairo and
Berlin. A collection of four of her plays, called Tales of the Last Formicans and Other
Plays - which includes Casanova - has been published by TCG, Inc. Her new verse
version of Tartuffe is included in the current edition Norton Anthology of Drama.
ongdon has won grants and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts,
the W. Alton Jones Foundation and the Guggenheim Foundation. A strong believer
in America’s academic and nonprofit theaters, which she says play a crucial role
in “keeping new work alive,” Congdon is currently the playwright-in-residence at
Amherst College where she has been teaching playwriting since 1993.
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