Richard III

Notes from the Director

A civil war has raged for 30 years between the House of York and the House of Lancaster. The warring factions are of one family and brother fights against brother: the White Rose against the Red. When peace is declared, the House of York claims the throne of England and makes Edward IV their King. But there is blood on everyone's hands and vindictiveness in everyone's hearts.

During the War of the Roses, most involved manipulated their way to a position of power. Peace is declared but several nobles hold a grudge and many seek vengeance. Characters smile with one face and spit daggers with another. Like a bunch of children fighting over a toy, they curse, taunt, jeer, and insult each other. Into this enmity leaps Richard, a man spoiling for a good fight.

When most people think of Shakespeare's Richard III they have an image of the bard's "bottled spider" or "bunch-backed toad." Richard is the great, deformed, Machiavellian villain; the devil incarnate. But what if Richard is not simply a "bad apple" but the worst in a barrel of rotten ones? What if Richard is only the biggest bully amongst a pack of fighting kids?

When Richard takes action, he invites us along for the ride. We love Richard because he tells us the truth even while he lies to others. He expertly charms the snakes while letting us in on his plans. He seduces us with his devilish wit and cunning machinations. While the rest of the aristocracy denies culpability, Richard invites us to revel in his successes.

The women, children, and common citizens of the play entreat with us to listen --to notice his monstrous acts -- but the other characters hitch their wagons onto Richard's and we, the audience, are too entertained by his wiliness to stop the show.

By the time Richard has become King and has moved on to slaughtering the innocent (the two princes locked in the Tower) it is too late to halt the runaway train. We change our minds about our alliance with Richard because he kills children, becomes irrational, paranoid, and hasty in his decisions, and, most importantly, he no longer confides in us. But why didn't we stop him earlier?

Richard III is an example of what happens when we allow terrible deeds to flourish because they seem to serve our ends. When our own quest for power or safety allows a man to become a tyrant. The acts that Richard commits are transparently corrupt and immoral, yet the other characters sit by and say nothing. And neither do we.

- Susannah Martin

Bios

• KAREN ALDRIDGE (Queen Margaret, Sir Robert Brakenbury, Lord Mayor, Duke of Norfolk)
  • Karen Aldridge recently finished work on Alabama Shakespeare Festival's world premiere of The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove written & directed by Regina Taylor. In 2002, she completed a seventeen country year-long tour as Matilda in Le Costume directed by Peter Brook. Her Chicago credits include Nina in Seagull at Writers' Theatre; Catherine in Proof at The Goodman Theatre (Black Theatre Alliance Award for best actress); Tamyra in the world premiere of Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize nominated Man From Nebraska at Steppenwolf Theatre; Far Away, In The Blood (Joseph Jefferson Award nomination for best actress, After Dark Award) at Next Theatre; and Love's Labours Lost at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. Karen holds an MFA in acting from The Theatre School, DePaul University and a BA in sociology from UCLA.
• J. RACHEL ANDERSON (Assistant Director)
  • J. Rachel Anderson is pleased to be involved in her first production with Woman's Will. A Theatre Studies major at Wellesley College, she is a member of the college's all-female Shakespeare Society. Roles there have included Bardolph in 1 Henry IV, Fabian in Twelfth Night, Banquo in Macbeth, and Berowne in Love's Labours Lost. December will bring her directing debut with M. Butterfly.
• ERIN BADILLO (Assistant Stage Manager)
  • Erin Badillo has just finished her second year at UC Davis pursuing degrees in Theatre and History. At UC Davis she has worked on various productions, in the past year stage managing the Main Stage Dance/Theatre Festival 2005 and Pantheon, assistant costume designing for the Rocky Horror Show and ASMing The Laramie Project. After Richard III, she will be heading to New York City to intern with David Grenke's Thingsezisee'm Dance/Theatre Company.
• DIANA BOOS (Duke of Clarence, Lord Stanley, Berkeley, Citizen)
  • Bay Area: Playboy of the Western World (Cinnabar Theater), Oklahoma! (N.D.N.U. theatre), Julius Caesar (San Leandro Players). Regional credits include roles at: Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival, The Artistic Home (Chicago), Free Associates (Chicago). Ms. Boos has a B.F.A. in Theatre and has studied at the Royal National Theatre in London.
• JENNY DEBEVEC (Queen Elizabeth, Messenger, A Scrivener)
  • is honored to be working with Woman's Will, as both a new associate member and in production for the third time. Previously she played Jack in Lord of the Flies and Celia in As You Like It. Other favorite Shakespearean roles in the Bay Area and Oregon include Juliet in Measure for Measure, Rosaline in Love's Labor's Lost and Bianca in Taming of the Shrew. Musical roles include Marty in Grease, Lily in The Secret Garden and Cinderella in Cinderella. She has studied voice and acting for many years, most recently with A.C.T.'s Summer Congress. She will also play Bill in Woman's Will's upcoming production of Happy End. When not on stage, Ms. Debevec teaches with S.F. Shakespeare Festival and Pinnacle Schools. To Silvari: "Not as much as tomorrow."
• CAROLYN DOYLE (King Edward, Duchess of York, Tressel, Citizen, Messenger, Sir Walter Herbert)
  • is pleased to be making her first appearance with Woman's Will. Locally, she has worked with San Jose Repertory's Red Ladder Theatre Co., Marin Theatre Co., Willows Theatre Co., Encore Theatre Co., Shotgun Players, Kaliyuga Arts, The Western Stage, Signal Theatre Co. and the California and San Francisco Shakespeare Festivals. Television credits include Nash Bridges and a pilot for ABC.
• ELISSA DUNN (Lady Anne, Lord Grey, Sir Richard Ratcliffe, Archbishop of York, Messenger)
  • is excited to be making her first appearance in Bay Area theatre with Woman's Will. She recently moved to Oakland from Ashland, Oregon, where she received her BFA in Theatre with a minor in Shakespeare Studies. Recent credits include Anna in Closer (Artattack Theatre Ensemble, Ashland OR), Ensemble, U/S for Constance in She Stoops to Conquer (Shakespeare Santa Cruz) and Proof, Cabaret, House of Blue Leaves, Parallel Lives and The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail at Southern Oregon University. Ms. Dunn also attended the BADA Shakespeare Summer Session at Oxford University.
• QUINN HABERMAN (Daughter of Clarence, Duke of York)
  • is excited to be starting her freshman year at Carondelet High School in Concord. In 2004, she played Theo in the Willows Conservatory Theatre production of Pippin and was ensemble in Phantom in 2003. Ms. Haberman also enjoys Irish Dance and basketball, and last year wrote her school's Christmas play.
• EMILY JORDAN (Richard III)
  • Northern California theatre credits include Taming of the Shrew (Kate), Twelfth Night (Maria), Elizabeth Rex (Stanley) and Henry VI; Parts 1-3 (Queen Margaret) at Pacific Repertory Theatre. Ms. Jordan has also appeared locally in The Miser and Troilus and Cressida with Shotgun Players, Strangers in Paradox at Theatre Rhinoceros, The Bacchae with Actors Ensemble of Berkeley and was seen earlier this year in the FoolsFURY/Shotgun Lab collaboration Monster in the Dark.
• JESSICA KITCHENS (Sir William Catesby, Murderer, Messenger)
  • is a recent graduate of U.C. Davis and is beginning to discover life outside of academia. Recent roles have included Christine in Strindberg's Miss Julie, Prospero in The Tempest, and Lucy/Marguerite in Havel's Largo Desolato. She would like to thank Susannah for this phenomenal experience and her loved ones for feeding her heart.
• CLAIRE MARTIN (Prince Edward, Son of Clarence, Page)
  • This is Ms. Martin's first production with Woman's Will. She has done over fifty shows with other companies, including Ruthless (Tina), Far Away (Young Joan), and Henry and Ramona (Ramona). In the fall, she will be a junior at Menlo-Atherton High School. She does tap and hip-hop and performs with her school's improv troupe and choir.
• SUSANNAH MARTIN (Director)
  • is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. For five years she served as the Joint Artistic Director of Paducah Mining Co., a San Francisco-based theatre ensemble that produced acclaimed work by established playwrights and devised original pieces on such complex matters as domestic terrorism, spousal abuse, and poverty in America. Ms. Martin has been honored to receive two Dean Goodman Choice Awards for directing in 1999 and 2002. Most recently she assistant directed for London-based theatre artist Irina Brown on Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author, and directed a critically acclaimed production of Strindberg's Miss Julie at UC Davis, where she is currently pursuing an MFA in Directing. Next for Susannah: directing Othello for Cal Shakes' Summer Theatre Lab and re-mounting her critically lauded Shotgun Theatre Lab production of The Faith Project, a new piece exploring faith and religion in America.
• LEONTYNE MBELE-MBONG (Duke of Buckingham)
  • is pleased to be joining Woman's Will for the first time. Having appeared regularly with the Lamplighters, most recently as Paquette in Candide, she is delighted for this opportunity to sink her teeth into Shakespeare once more. Favorite roles include Juliet; Egeus/Puck/Snout; Mistress Quickly; and Fefu in Fefu and her Friends. She obtained her BA in Dramatic Arts from Macalester College.
• AMANDA MELTON (Stage Manager)
  • graduated in 2004 from San Francisco State University (Bachelor of Arts, Theatre Arts; Minor, English Language Studies) where some of her production credits included Kurisumasu Karoru, God's Country, Uncle Vanya, Street Scene, Unexpected Song, Multiplex, and Baby. Richard III marks Ms. Melton's second show with Woman's Will; her first was as lighting designer for the Fall 2004 production of Lord of the Flies. She is also now a company member of Woman's Will.
• ERIN MERRITT (Lord Hastings, Citizen, Sir James Tyrrel, Messenger, Sir James Blunt)
  • With Woman's Will, Artistic Director Erin Merritt has directed seven productions (most recently 2004's Lord of the Flies), choreographed fights for five, and acted in four, most recently As You Like It. Ms. Merritt has also worked in the Bay Area and beyond with such companies as Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Shotgun Players, Center REPertory Company, Pacific Repertory Theatre, Willows Theatre Company, Unconditional Theatre, and Washington's Interplayers Ensemble. Favorite past roles include The Woman in Scotland Road, Li'l Bit in How I Learned to Drive, and the title role in Sylvia. Ms. Merritt is also a member of Theatre Bay Area and its Theatre Services Committee.
• BERNADETTE QUATTRONE (Earl of Rivers, Earl of Richmond, Murderer, Lord Cardinal Bouchier, Messenger)
  • is a proud company member of Woman's Will. Last summer she Assistant Directed As You Like It and was last seen acting with the company as Angelica Bianca in The Rover. Recent work includes Emilia in Impact Theatre's hit production of Othello and the role of the last woman left on earth in Sarah McKereghan's Ambivalent Genesis for Exit Theatre's Divafest. Ms. Quattrone has also worked with local companies Golden Thread Productions, Word for Word, New Conservatory Theatre Center, Willows Theatre Company, Emerald Rain Productions and Broken Buddha Productions.
• REBECCA REDMOND (Costume Designer)
  • has just graduated with her MFA in costume design from UC Davis. Her Davis productions include Miss Julie, directed by Susannah Martin; Six Characters in Search of an Author, directed by Irina Brown; and CORE, a collaborative project. In Sacramento, she has also designed for Beyond the Proscenium Productions and Garbeau's Dinner Theater.
• RON REISNER (Set Designer)
  • is a set and lighting designer based in Sacramento. He is currently pursuing his MFA in scenic and lighting design at UC Davis.
• ERIC ROTH (Composer)
  • (b. 1977, Chicago, USA) is a composer, performer (voice, percussion, conductor), and writer of poetry and papers. Mr. Roth completed his Master of Arts in music composition at Mills College, Oakland in May and will begin Doctoral studies at the City University of New York, Fall 2005.
• CARLA PANTOJA (FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHER)
  • is one of the resident fight choreographers for Woman's Will. She also choreographs fights for the film "Monsters Don't Get to Cry", Teatro Visión, S.F. Shakespeare Midnight Shakespeare program, as well as countless schools in the Bay Area. Ms. Pantoja received her training though the British Academy of Stage & Screen Combat, Academy of the Sword, and Action Actors Society, is a member of the Society of American Fight Directors and Theatre Bay Area.
• PELEUS UHLEY (Set Constructor)
  • has worked as a lighting and set designer for numerous productions in the San Diego area as well as assisting Susannah Martin's local production of The Faith Project for Shotgun Players. Peleus obtained his BA in Drama from SDSU.

Multimedia

Photos

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Photographer: Elizabeth Allen

4X6 print
8x10 print

Press

• Press Release (Word Document)
• San Francisco Chronicle Review
• The East Bay Express Review