aquila theatre company - Diana Wortham Theatre

DIANA WORTHAM THEATRE 2015/2016
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AQUILA THEATRE COMPANY
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s
The Adventures of
Sherlock Holmes February 5
William Shakespeare’s
Romeo and Juliet
Sponsored by Michael & Catty
Andry
With funding
support from:
Dr. Alan &
Suzanne Escovitz
February 6
Maureen & Frank
Hantke
Media Sponsors
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Inspired by pulp novels and comic books, artistic director Julia Rhoads, composer
Michael Caskey and video designer Liviu Pasare explore the obstacles that contemporary
do-gooders face, all in a high-octane blend of winning performance, humor and passion.
Pre-show discussions with the artists, 7 pm
in downtown Asheville
Corporate Sponsors
www.dwtheatre.com
(828)257-4530
DIANA WORTHAM THEATRE 2015/2016
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Aquila Theatre
Presents
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Adapted from the novel by Desiree Sanchez
Cast
Violet Hunter, Effie Munro, Irene Adler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kirsten Foster
Dr. Watson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peter Groom
Miss Stopper, Landlady, Bar Keeper, Mr. Toller,
Grant Munro, Norton, Elderly Woman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Rivers
Sherlock Holmes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jackie Schram
Mr. Rucastle, Woman, King of Bohemia, Cab Driver, Clergy,
Shabbily Dressed Man. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hemi Yeroham
Creative Team
Director/Adaptor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Desiree Sanchez
Composer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joe Louis Robinson
Costume Designer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clare Amos
Projection Designer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ellie Engstrom
Technical Director/Lighting Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Rogers
Company Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Augustus Jacobson
Costume Technician. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James McDaniel
Sound Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chase Duhe
Assistant Technical Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Will Newman
Assistant Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brionna Ingraham
Special thanks to The Schoolhouse Theater in Croton Falls, NY
for their help with the set and Marina Meineck for her inspiration to cast
Sherlock Holmes as a woman.
There will be one fifteen-minute intermission.
The taking of photographs or the use of any kind of recording device is strictly prohibited.
Aquila Theatre’s production is funded in part by
the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Artworks
Aquila Theatre is the Professional Company-in-Residence at
the Center for Ancient Studies, New York University
Aquila Theatre
100 Washington Square East Silver Center Room 503, New York, NY 10003
[email protected]
www.aquilatheatre.com
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SYNOPSIS
Act I: The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
Dr. Watson meets with his friend and colleague, the well-known Detective, Sherlock Holmes, at 221B
Baker Street and receives a playful lesson in the art of deduction. During Watson’s visit, a Miss Violet
Hunter appears at Sherlock’s door in desperate need of help. The young woman is unsure if she should
accept a very lucrative job offer from a Mr. Rucastle at an estate known as the Copper Beeches, as he
insisted upon some unusual requests — including the cutting of her beloved hair. Violet is determined
that, should she take the job, she would have Sherlock’s support in case something were to go wrong.
Sherlock, intrigued by Rucastle’s strange requests, agrees to back Violet up. It is not long before Sherlock
receives a panicked telegram from Violet asking that they meet at the Black Swan Inn by the Copper
Beeches. When the two arrive, a distraught Violet details her encounters with her new family and their
strange servants. Sherlock and Watson are most intrigued by the account of Mr. Rucastle insisting that
Miss Violet sit in front of a window, wear a particular electric blue dress, laugh at a series of jokes, and
then read from a book. Violet explains that she was never allowed to look out of the window during
these episodes. Determined to find what was outside the window, Violet managed to peek with a shard
of glass from a broken hand mirror and saw the figure of a man outside looking up at her. Upon noticing
Violet’s craftiness, Mrs. Rucastle quickly closed the curtains and Mr. Rucastle brought Violet to meet the
family dog —a bloodthirsty mastiff. Later that night, while unpacking her things, Violet finds a lock of hair
identical to her own inside a locked dresser. Horrified, Violet decided to investigate what sounded like
something being dragged down the hall and sees one of the servants unbolt a locked door, throw a bag
of laundry inside, and re-close the door. Seeing a suite of rooms through the door, Violet crept down the
hall to investigate until Mr. Rucastle appeared from the shadows and led Miss Hunter away. Mr. Rucastle
explained it was only his darkroom for his photography, and when she attempted to ask about the suite of
rooms she saw, Mr. Rucastle unexpectedly threatened to throw her to the dog should she enter the room
again. After hearing Violet recount her story, Sherlock Holmes springs into action. It seems that there is
some danger afoot! Sherlock and Watson agree to go the Copper Beeches with Violet Hunter and discover
what is behind the locked door. Will they arrive in time to solve the crime?
Act II: The Adventure of the Yellow Face
Sherlock Holmes, badly in need of another case, arrives back at Baker Street to find that a troubled young
man has just left. Sherlock examines the pipe which the man left behind, and deduces some interesting
information. Grant Munro, the man in question, returns to meet with Sherlock and Watson and tells them
of his concerns regarding his wife of three years, Effie Munro. Before their marriage, Effie had lived in
Atlanta where she was married to a lawyer named Mr. Hebron. Yellow fever broke out, and Mr. Hebron
and their child died. Effie left America and returned to England, where she lived comfortably on what her
husband had left her. When Effie and Grant got married, she insisted that Grant take control of her money.
Recently, Effie asked Grant for 100 pounds. Seeing as it was her money, Grant obliged, but she would not
tell him what it was for. Then, as Grant was walking by a cottage near their home, he noticed that there
were new tenants and saw a face watching him from one of the windows. Grant went to approach the
cottage and was stopped by a gruff older woman who slammed the door in his face. Later that evening,
Effie got up from bed and snuck out into the night. Grant confronted her upon her return and she responded
that she needed fresh air. Things grew tense between them and, on the following day, Grant spotted his
wife leaving the cottage! When Grant again confronted Effie, she implored him to trust her and that,
should he force his way into the cottage, things would be over between them. Grant makes Effie promise
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to not go into the cottage again. Shortly thereafter, when Grant arrived home early from town, Grant
believed his wife to be again in the cottage and forced his way inside. The cottage was deserted. However,
Grant found a large photograph of Effie that he had commissioned three months prior in the window where
he had earlier seen the face watching him. After hearing the tale, Sherlock and Watson formulate a theory.
Will their hypothesis be correct?
ACT III: A Scandal in Bohemia
Sherlock receives a golden snuff box and letter from the King of Bohemia in the hopes that Sherlock might
take on his case. Sherlock and Watson examine the letter from the King and deduce that this case will
be high profile. Immediately afterwards, Count Von Kramm, the masked envoy to the King of Bohemia,
appears at the door and swears Sherlock and Watson to secrecy before telling them of the case. Sherlock,
who sees through the disguise of Count Von Kramm, reveals him to be the King of Bohemia himself! The
King had a recent tryst with Irene Adler, an American opera singer turned adventuress, and now –as he
prepares to marry the second daughter of the King of Scandinavia—Irene is threatening to send his brideto-be a picture of Irene and the King of Bohemia in a compromising position. Sherlock takes the case and a
sizeable down payment from the King, and begins observing Irene Adler in town. Amongst Sherlock’s many
keen observations is Irene’s involvement with a young lawyer named Godfrey Norton. As Sherlock pursues
Irene and Norton, the detective finds herself standing as a witness at Irene and Godfrey’s wedding. Once
married, the couple parts ways. Sherlock devises a plan to see if Irene truly has the compromising picture
stashed somewhere. If Irene Adler is married to Godfrey Norton, then perhaps she doesn’t want the picture
to see the light of day either! Will Sherlock’s plan to find the picture work? Will he be able to fool the
American adventuress?
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Aquila Theatre
Presents
Romeo and Juliet
By William Shakespeare
Cast
Juliet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kirsten Foster
Paris/Nurse/Tybalt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peter Groom
Romeo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Rivers
Lady Capulet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jackie Schram
Mercutio/Friar Lawrence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hemi Yeroham
All other roles are played by the company.
Director/Adaptor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Desiree Sanchez
Composer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joe Louis Robinson
Costume Designer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clare Amos
Fight Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rick Sordelet
Technical Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Rogers
Company Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Augustus Jacobson
Lighting Designer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alberto Segarra
Sound Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chase Duhe
Costume Technician/Designer for Capulet Dress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James McDaniel
Assistant Technical Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Will Newman
Assistant Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brionna Ingraham
“Lost Day” by Brian Eno
Special thanks to Robert Ingraham for his help with the set.
There will be one fifteen-minute intermission.
The taking of photographs or the use of any kind of recording device is strictly prohibited.
Aquila Theatre’s production is part of Shakespeare in American Communities, a national
program of the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest.
Aquila Theatre is the Professional Company-in-Residence at
the Center for Ancient Studies, New York University
Aquila Theatre
100 Washington Square East Silver Center Room 503, New York, NY 10003
[email protected]
www.aquilatheatre.com
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SYNOPSIS
Prologue: The people of Verona feud with each other and are stopped by a decree from the Prince.
Act I:
Mercutio listens to his lovesick friend Romeo pine after Rosaline. Lady Capulet and Paris discuss whether
Juliet, Lady Capulet’s daughter, is old enough to be married. Lady Capulet then invites Paris to a Ball so
that he may court Juliet. Romeo and Mercutio find an invitation to the very same Ball, which is being
hosted by the Capulets, enemies of Romeo’s family. Mercutio decides they should crash the party so that
Romeo can meet other females, and convinces a reluctant Romeo to attend. Juliet’s mother offers Paris
as a match to her daughter and a hesitant Juliet agrees to follow her mother’s wishes. Upon arrival at the
ball, Romeo and Juliet immediately fall in love, throwing a wrench in Lady Capulet and Paris’ plans. Tybalt,
discovering that Romeo has crashed the party, wants to kill him, but Lady Capulet stops Tybalt for the sake
of the Ball. Romeo and Mercutio make their exit before trouble sets in. While Mercutio searches for his
friend Romeo, Romeo and Juliet secretly meet at her balcony. They agree to set aside their family names
for their love and be married quickly. Romeo asks Friar Lawrence to perform the ceremony and he agrees
to help in hopes that it might end the feud between the two families. Romeo tells Mercutio that he is in
love, but not with Rosaline. Romeo meets with the Nurse to ask her to send Juliet to him the following day,
and the Nurse returns to Juliet and reluctantly tells her of Romeo’s plan for their marriage. The following
morning, Romeo and Juliet meet with Friar Laurence and set off to be married. Mercutio and Tybalt fight
in the streets. Romeo attempts to intervene, but Mercutio is slain. Romeo then attacks and kills Tybalt.
Act II:
Juliet is preparing to meet with Romeo when the Nurse tells her that Tybalt is dead and Romeo banished
as punishment. Deeply upset, Juliet passes her ring to the Nurse, and asks her to deliver it along with
a message to Romeo, asking him to meet before he leaves. The Nurse speaks with Romeo and passes
him Juliet’s ring and message. Paris attempts to visit Juliet, but she won’t come out of her bedchamber.
In Juliet’s absence, Lady Capulet settles that Paris and Juliet will be married in a few days’ time. Lady
Capulet informs Juliet that she will be married to Paris and Juliet refuses. Enraged, Lady Capulet tells
Juliet to wed Paris or never come home again. Juliet decides to visit Friar Laurence for confession and
absolution. Meanwhile, Paris visits Friar Laurence to discuss his upcoming wedding to Juliet. When Juliet
arrives at the Friar’s, their paths cross and Paris confronts her. After Paris leaves, she begs the Friar to
stop her wedding with Paris. Friar Laurence gives her a very strong sleep potion and tells her to drink it
later when she’s alone. Juliet returns home and apologizes to Lady Capulet and bids her tell Paris that she
is happy to be wed. Juliet then retires to her room to sleep, where she takes the Friar’s potion and falls
onto her bed. Early the following morning, the Nurse goes to fetch Juliet but finds what she presumes
to be Juliet’s corpse. Lady Capulet is called up to behold the dead body of her daughter and Paris arrives
to the scene and discovers his marriage is not to be. Romeo, banished and in Mantua, learns that Juliet
is dead and vows to return so that he may see her again. He buys a potent poison from the Apothecary
before leaving for Verona and for his beloved Juliet. Later, Paris sneaks into the Capulet’s monument so
he can see Juliet’s body. Rome discovers Paris in the monument. They fight and Paris is killed. Romeo
reunites with the deeply slumbering Juliet. Presuming that she is dead, he drinks his poison so he may
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die alongside his beloved. Juliet wakes from her sleep. Friar Laurence, running in, bids her run away with
him so she may escape arrest for Romeo and Paris’ deaths. Juliet sends Friar Laurence away and stabs
herself with a dagger, dying alongside Romeo. Lady Capulet finds Paris, Romeo and Juliet dead. She sits
and embraces Romeo and Juliet together.
AQUILA BIOS
Kirsten Foster trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She was born and grew up in Hong Kong
and received a Bachelors degree in Drama and Theatre Studies from Royal Holloway, University of
London. Recent theatre credits include: Pig Girl (Finborough Theatre), Lennon (Royal Court Liverpool)
and Around the World in 80 Days (New Vic). Recent television credits include: ITV’s Jekyll and Hyde, Law
and Order: UK and Lewis; Sky’s Critical and BBC’s Eastenders.
Peter Groom trained at the Guildford School of Acting. Theatre credits include: Meat (Schaubuhne,
Berlin), Ring of Fire (Courtyard Rep Company), Talking Heads (Triple C Theatre). Dance credits include: The
Taming of the Shrew (Stuttgart Ballet), Nur Du (Tanztheater Wuppertal) and One Side To The Other (Akram
Khan Company).
Michael Rivers trained at East 15 Acting School. In 2011 he founded the acclaimed theatre company
d’Animate. Recent theatre credits include: Continental Fist Fight (Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre), Dear
Darwin (National Theatre Madrid), Samuel Beckett’s Roughs (The Phoenix Theatre), Bitesize Chekhov
(The Courtyard Theatre), Super Tramp (One Man Show at Edinburgh Fringe), A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(Shakespeare RSC), and The Green Room (The Mill Arts Centre). Television Credits include Casualty (BBC),
Doctors (BBC), Shameless (Channel Four), The Cafe (Sky One), Locked Up Abroad (National Geographic /
Raw TV), and Of Gods And Mortals (Sky Pilot). Commercials include: Oral b, HTC and UBS. Michael is also
a freelance Director and Writer. He is currently working on The Land Doth Sing And Cry with d’Animate.
Jackie Schram trained at The New School for Drama in New York. Originally from outside Boston, she
is now based out of New York City. Theatre Credits include ‘Woman’ in The 39 Steps (US Tour), Queen
Elizabeth I in The Lost Colony (Waterside Theatre), Essie in You Can’t Take It With You (Florida Repertory
Theatre), Princess of France in Love’s Labour’s Lost (New School for Drama), and Skriker in Caryl Churchill’s
The Skriker (New School for Drama).
Hemi Yeroham was born in Istanbul and trained at the Guildford School of Acting. Highlights from his
Stage work include: Farid, the Genie, in Operation Magic Carpet (Polka Theatre), David in Single (UK
Tour), Jester in Arabian Nights (Tricycle Theatre), Caliban in The Tempest and Quince in A Midsummer
Night’s Dream (Cambridge Shakespeare Festival), Sirwan in 66 Minutes in Damascus (LIFT Festival &
Sao Paolo Biennal, Brazil), Prince Khalifa (Best Actor Award) inYo Valet! (New Diorama), Sayid in Mathieu
Kassovitz’s La Haine (Netherlands Tour), Gus in Cradle Will Rock (Arcola Theatre), Orhan in Shadow
Language (Theatre 503), Ahmad in The Container (site-specific regional tour), Tranio in The Taming of the
Shrew (Bridewell Theatre). Television and film credits include: Ramy in Tyrant (FX, US), Salim inCommon
People (Sky Atlantic), Emin in Closed Circuit (Working Title) and Dimitri in Mamma Mia (Universal). Radio
credits include: Turnpike Lane (Urban Scrawl), The Long View, Ambridge Extra, Forgiving, The Cool Bag
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Baby and Poppyseeds (all for BBC). Hemi can be seen in the latest global campaign for Turkish Airlines. He
also regularly works as a voiceover artist, recording a wide range of work from in-flight announcements
for major airlines to video games. Desiree Sanchez (Director) has been Aquila’s Artistic Director since 2012 and has directed this
season’s productions of Romeo & Juliet and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Past productions
directed for Aquila include: Tempest and Wuthering Heights (2014/2015); A Female Philoctetes
(2015) at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation in Athens, Greece and BAM Fisher’s Hillman Studio in
Brooklyn, NY; Twelfth Night and Fahrenheit 451 (2013/2014), The Taming of the Shrew and Cyrano de
Bergerac (2012/2013); Herakles (2012) at BAM Fisher -Brooklyn NY, Festival of the Aegean in Syros,
Greece and the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation in Athens, Greece; Macbeth (at the Gym at Judson,
NYC and national tour) and The Importance of Being Earnest (2011/2012); Six Characters in Search of an
Author (at Skirball, NYC and national tour 2010/2011). She choreographed for Aquila’s A Very Naughty
Greek Play (Aristophanes’ Wasps), Catch-22, Julius Caesar, The Iliad: Book One and The Comedy
of Errors; performed in Iliad: Book One in Syros, Greece and was the lead teaching artist for Aquila’s
Shakespeare Leaders program in Harlem. Desiree had a twenty-year dancing career including working as
a principal dancer for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet where she worked under the direction of numerous
directors and choreographers that included Francesca Zambello, Mark Lamos, Doug Varone, John Dexter,
Franco Zeffirelli, Julie Taymor, and Andrei Konchalovsky. Other companies and choreographers she has
worked with include the Boston Ballet, Neo Labos Dancetheatre, Donald Bryd/The Group, Sean Curran,
Gelsey Kirkland, Bill T. Jones, Heidy Latsky, Eun Me Ahn, and Robert La Fosse. She thanks her husband and
her two daughters for their inspiration, love and support.
Joe Louis Robinson (Composer) creates scores and arrangements for a range of projects across live
and recorded media. Recently he devised and composed Step One - a new bilingual musical playing in
Beijing, China. As an arranger and orchestrator, his credits include Fings Aint Wot They Used T’Be (London)
Christina Bianco: Party of One (international tour), and Been On Broadway (London). Discography includes
arrangements/music supervision of Julie Atherton - Rush of Life, Been On Broadway and The Songs
Of Joe Louis Robinson. Current projects include an adaptation of A Dolls House as a chamber musical,
workshopping in London. Although multifaceted in style, particular areas of interest include verbatim
music theatre and procedurally generated music. He currently holds a lecturing post at the Institute of the
Arts, Barcelona.
Clare Amos (Costume Designer) trained at London College of Fashion. She has previously designed the
costumes for Aquila Theatre for Twelfth Night, Fahrenheit 451, and The Taming of the Shrew. Previous
Costume Design includes: Lovesong of an Electric Bear (The Hope Theatre, London) The Firebird (Corbett
Theatre), Once Upon A Nightmare (Courtyard Theatre, and Edinburgh Festival), Enduring Song (Southwark
Playhouse), The Day Shall Declare It (Marylebone Gardens/Los Angeles Performance Practice), The Shape
of Things (Associate Costume Design, Arcola Theatre), The Door (Park Theatre), A Scent of Flowers (The
Brockley Jack), Early Days (Finborough Theatre), The 8th Continent and Microwave (Tristan Bates Theatre),
Top Girls and Victory (Waterloo East), Celebrity Night at Cafe Red (Trafalgar Studios - Revival), The
Hit (Set and Costume Co-design, Hotel Indigo), Translunar Paradise, The Big Smoke and Odyssey (Theatre
Ad Infinitum, Edinburgh Festival and International Tours), Dido & Aeneas (Associate Costume Design,
Coming Up Festival/Silent Opera), Emperor Self (Arcola Theatre), Women of Manhattan (The Old Red Lion
Theatre), ‘Dentity Crisis and 2+2+2 (Kings Head Theatre). Nerea Villares worked as Costume Maker on this
production. Special thanks to Anett Black and Victoria Smart, for their assistance
continued
with the design.
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Ellie Engstrom (Projections Designer) is a freelancing theater designer in New York City. Along with
projection design, she dabbles in scenic, lighting, and props design and currently works as a carpenter
at Playwrights Horizons in New York. Most recent credits include: Props Master at Central City Opera
for their 2015 summer season, Scenic Designer for In Flight (Turn To Flesh Productions, The Workshop
Theater), Projection Design for Macbeth (Kent State University Trumbull Campus), Lighting Design
for Cedars (Mirage Theater Co., La Mama), Props Coordinator for Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings (Bucks County
Playhouse), and Scenic Designer and Props Master for Back: A Tragedy Party (Poetic Theater Productions,
The Cell Theater). To see more of Ellie’s work visit www.ellieengstrom.com. Robert Rogers (Technical Director/ Lighting Designer) is also Aquila Theatre’s Production Manager.
Bob has been involved in Technical Theatre for 10+ years, however, his most recent endeavors include
Production Manager/Technical Director for Penobscot Theatre, Technical Director for Gretna Theatre,
and Technical Director for Aquila’s 2014-15 tour season. He has also been involved with everything
from Assistant Tent Boss for the Zerbini Circus or a Chief Pilot of Maintenance at a $2.5 million dollar
helium balloon in TN. Bob’s also been to Qinhuangdao, China where he was the Technical Director for an
international cooperation project for the theme park show: Snow White’s Birthday Adventure!
Augustus Jacobson (Company Stage Manager) is also Aquila Theatre’s Company Manager. Gus has
a Bachelors in Educational Theatre from NYU with a focus on performance and dramatic literature. He
performs with The Yellow Finch Project, a company devoted to creating theatre for young audiences with
Autism.
Alberto Segarra (Lighting Designer) Recent credits include: Seed, choreography by Megan MorseJans; Way, choreography by Jessie Laurita-Spanglet; Under the Mountain, choreography by Sarah Beth
Oppenheimer; The Only Thing is Itself and Wrestling with the WIP, choreography by Nicole McClam; Insert
[ ] Here, choreography by Sharon Mansur; My Tempest, choreography by Ana Patricia Farfan; Twilight
LA; 1992, directed by Caroline Clay; Good Kids, directed by Seret Scott; and the Maryland Opera
Studio’s Magic Flute and L’ocassione fa il ladro, directed by Nick Olcott. Other credits include: El indio
en América (Exhibition, 2006) at Museo de las Américas; One on this Island; Celia... Vida y música; Hair;
Cabaret; La Charca; Boeing Boeing, Dangerous Liaisons; Glass Menagerie; El Josco; La llamarada; La Cage
aux Folles; Evita and La Mina de Oro at Teatro Repertorio, University of Puerto Rico; Oedipus, directed by
Orion Jones (Catholic University, Washington DC); the opera Carmen, directed Megan Morse-Jans; and
Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico’s Festival de Coreógrafos and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Mr. Segarra
has been a Lighting Designer for Compañía de Danza 21 (CODA 21), and Resident Lighting Designer and
Technical Director for Andanza Compañía de Danza Contemporánea. He is a founding member of Teatro
Repertorio de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. Mr. Segarra holds a BA from the University of Puerto Rico and
a MFA from the University of Maryland - College Park. Mr. Segarra is a member of the American Scenic
Artist Local 829.
Chase Duhe (Sound Design) is also Production Stage Manager for Access Broadway Theatre Competition.
Credits include 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Old Haunts, The Universe of Matt Jennings.
James McDaniel (Costume Technician/ Designer Capulet Dress) graduated from the University of
Houston with an MFA in costume design and technology. At U of H he designed Our Lady of 121st
Street, Mother Courage and Her Children, Philadelphia Story, The Narrator, Brick Wall, and two faculty
choreographed dance pieces. Other Houston designs include MacBeth (Stark Naked Theatre Company)
and Tea and Sympathy (Back Porch Players). James has also designed costumes for two full-length modern
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dance productions, Regifting Lions choreographed by Toni Valle and Catalina Molnari and Shifting Spaces
choreographed by Theresa Chapman.
Will Newman (Assistant Technical Director) spent 8 years with the Penobscot Theatre Company in
northern Maine where he was Master Carpenter and Assistant Technical Director. In that time, he was
involved in over 50 productions. Will earned his BFA from Pennsylvania State University in 1986. His
background is varied and includes work for Education Logistics, a software company in Montana, where he
lived for over 15 years, custom concrete fabrication, and work for Harry Kahn Associates, Inc., a technical
writing company
Brionna Ingraham (Assistant Stage Manager) is a current student at WCSU, where she is completing
her BA in Theatre Arts with a focus on Design/Tech Management. She has been Stage Manager for many
productions at WCSU, Madison Lyric Stage and Community Theatre: East Haven Arts Commission.
AQUILA THEATRE
Aquila Theatre’s mission is to make classical works accessible to the greatest number. A play becomes
‘classical’ because we recognize that after a time it transcends the original culture it was created for. It
retains the power to provoke the central question of what it means to be human. As a company dedicated
to the classics, we feel a responsibility to acknowledge and explore newfound classical works. Aquila was
founded in London in 1991 by Peter Meineck. In 1997 Aquila became a U.S. non-for-profit organization and
is currently based in New York. Aquila’s programs include:
PRODUCTIONS IN NEW YORK CITY: Aquila is a major part of New York’s theatrical landscape, producing a
regular season of plays. Aquila recently produced a staged workshop production of A Female Philoctetes at
BAM Fisher’s Hillman Studio as part of their YouStories program, Euripides’ Herakles at BAM, Shakespeare’s
Macbeth at the GYM at Judson, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Pirandello’s Six Characters
in Search of an Author, Shakespeare’s As You Like It and Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People at the Skirball
Center for the Performing Arts at New York University, and Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 and Homer’s The
Iliad: Book One Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. We are very excited to announce Aquila’s New
York City season at the epic GK ArtsCenter [former home of Saint Ann’s Warehouse] in DUMBO Brooklyn,
April 2016: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Arthur Conon Doyle’s Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a new
staged reading of The Suppliants, and The Warrior Chorus.
A MAJOR ANNUAL NATIONAL TOUR: Aquila is the foremost producer of touring classical theatre in the
United States, visiting 50-60 American cities per year. Aquila’s most recent past touring seasons include:
The Tempest and Brontë’s Wuthering Heights (2014/2015); Twelfth Night and Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451
(2013/2014); Taming of the Shrew and Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac (2012/2013); Macbeth and Oscar
Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest (2011/2012); A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Pirandello’s
Six Characters in Search of an Author (2010/2011); As You Like It and Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People
(2009/2010); Aquila’s 2016/2017 season will be Aquila’s Silver Jubilee, with productions of Shakespeare’s
Much Ado About Nothing, Christie’s Murder on the Nile and a new play The Trojan War: Our Warrior
Chorus, based on the writings of Homer, Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles and reimagined through the
experiences of modern day military veterans.
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INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCES: Aquila has appeared in numerous festivals and at venues around the
world including performances in London, Holland, Germany, Greece, Scotland, Canada, Bermuda and at
the Festival of the Aegean in Syros, Greece and the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation in Athens. Most
recently Aquila performed A Female Philoctetes in Athens, Greece and Shakespeare’s The Tempest at New
York University’s campus, La Pietra, in Florence, Italy as part of their summer event series.
EDUCATION PROGRAMS: Aquila is dedicated to theatre arts education and produces three major
initiatives: Workshop America, a nationwide program that provides an opportunity for people to share in
the art of Aquila; Theatre Breakthrough, which brings America’s schools to the stage; and Shakespeare
Leaders, an after-school program that enables inner-city students to perform the classics at Frederick
Douglas Academy in Harlem, NYC.
WARRIOR CHORUS: Aquila’s Warrior Chorus program and its predecessor, YouStories, are presented
in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities. www.WarriorChorus.org and www.
YouStories.com.
AQUILA STAFF:
Artistic Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Desiree Sanchez
Founder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peter Meineck
General Manager/ Arts Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erika Pierce
Production Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Rogers
Company Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gus Jacobson
Accountants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lutz & Carr, Martin Berkowitz
Lawyers . . . . . Jacob Medinger & Finnegan, LLP, Don Farber, Allen B. Breslow, Esq
Follow Aquila Theatre on Facebook!
More information at www.aquilatheatre.com, www.warriorchorus.org
and www.youstories.com
These performances are funded in part by a grant from South Arts
in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts
and the North Carolina Arts Council.