Romeo and Juliet

Sat, 04/12/2008 - 18:01 — wwadmin

by William Shakespeare

directed by Erin Merritt

Overview
Director's Note
Bios
Multimedia
Press

Juliet (Cassie Powell) and her Romeo (Marilet Martinez) in Woman's Will's Romeo and Juliet.

After generations of hatred breeding still more hate, an improbable, fragile, but true love springs forth. Can a society learn from its losses and emerge a better place? Woman's Will places its unique mark on Shakespeare's timeless tale.

Bay Area parks
July 7 - August 12

Click on the park name to get directions.

Be sure to note show times - most shows start at 1 pm, but some start later.

All performances are FREE (donations encouraged after the show)

Reservations are not necessary

For information, call (510) 420-0813

Wheelchair Accessible * Denotes paved seating area, all other parks have grass seating only.

Notes from the Director

There is something about Romeo and Juliet that is so obviously timeless and relevant that one has just to get out of the way and let it speak for itself, and for the most part that is just what we are doing with this production. The townspeople of Verona could be the residents of any town or region in any time in human history. They could be us, and this familiarity makes us care what happens to them.

In this production it is that timelessness (or rather, the fact that the issues of the play pop up in the real world generation after generation) that I find most interesting. As such, though we have set the play in one place, Italy, we allow the different generations of the story to exist in different time periods. There are any number of periods that would have worked--the specific year is less the point than the ethos of each generation and its degree of alienation from the other generations, the gaps in values and communication that keep this Verona at war with itself.

One generation, who are mostly the elders and the disempowered of the play, just want to live out their days in peace. They are deeply uncomfortable with the violence that enters their lives, but they have the ability to stay above the fray. Another, the youngest, has been poisoned by the violence in their environment, but they have not yet given in to it all the way--the natural energy of their youth still allows them to dream of a better future, even as their heads tell them self-destruction may be the only way out.

At the center of the piece is the middle generation--the parents, the adults, the movers and shakers, the shapers of everyone else's experiences. They seem to have started the feud, and, well meaning as they may be as parents, their lust for power and their casual instigation of violence prevents any end to the strife. Are they too deeply invested to get out, or do they just not know how?

I'm interested in all the ways this story could have gone right--all the lost opportunities for peaceful solutions, all the good intentions thwarted and all the bad that was allowed to prevail. This is a story that could have and should have ended happily, indeed that had the opportunity to transform this fictional Verona to a place where individuals can love the person they choose, a populace can live in peace, and great things could happen.

As we witness each mistake that leads to this tragedy, I hope we will remember that real life also hinges on seemingly small choices and opportunities.

Be vigilant and choose love.

- Erin Merritt

Bios

Tammy Berlin (Costume Designer)
- began her life in the theatre in Chicago where she was the Artistic Director of Heroes Inc. Ensemble and Transient Theatre, and the Managing Director of The Playwrites' Center. In the Bay Area she has designed shows for TheatreFirst, Oakland Public Theatre, Wilde Irish, Second Wind and Masquers. She is the resident costume designer for Central Works.
Holly Bradford (Lady Capulet)
- is pleased to be working with Woman's Will for the first time. Previous roles include: Dr. Lyssa Dent Hughes in An American Daughter (Ross Valley Players), Susie in Wit (Lafayette Town Hall Theatre Co.); Angelo the Goldsmith in Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare at Stinson), Martha in Strange Snow (Calaveras Rep.), Marianna in Measure for Measure (Contemporary Shakespeare Co.), Juliette in Exit the King (AmeRican Citizens Theatre), Titania & Helena in A Midsummer Nights Dream (San Francisco Shakespeare Festival) and Emily in Blue Window (Mendocino Theatre Co.). Ms. Bradford understudied the role of Mrs. Ramsay in the world premiere of To the Lighthouse at Berkeley Repertory Theatre earlier this year.
Holly Chou (Benvolio)
- A graduate of the Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance studies at UC Berkeley, Ms. Chou's most recent exploits include The Water Engine with Custom Made, Nine Crimes with Four Larks, Take Me For a Ride...Cute Girl! with Theater Rhinoceros, and various credits at UCB including The Cradle Will Rock, Three Sisters and the U.S. premiere of Tooth and Nail. When not performing, Ms. Chou can sometimes be found designing, assisting, stitching and/or dressing for companies which include UCB, Aurora Theater, and Joe Goode Performance Group.
Marjorie Crump-Shears (Prince/Ensemble)
- It has been Ms. Crump-Shears' great fortune to play challenging and intriguing characters for over thirty years of acting. Favorite past roles include: Sarah in The African Company Presents Richard III, the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, Mama/Lena Younger in A Raisin in the Sun, Georgina Williams in Trucker Rhapsody, Olivia in Twelfth Night, Mrs. Malaprop in The Rivals, the Porter (and other roles) in MacBeth, the Mother in Equus, Jenny Diver and Lucy Brown in Three Penny Opera (several productions), Madame Dubonnet in The Boyfriend, Jack's Mother in Into the Woods, and Nurse Logan in The Ride Down Mt. Morgan. While she loves drama, comedy, musical theater and satire, her true love is classical theater with Shakespeare leading "the pack." She is a long time member of Theatre Bay Area (TBA).
Stephanie Duprat (Stage Manager/Ensemble)
- has just graduated from Laney College in Theatre Arts, where she has worked both on stage and behind the scenes as a stage manager, most recently stage managing Lysistrata with Laney Fusion Theatre. She also worked as a stage management intern with the Aurora Theatre Company on their critically acclaimed production of The Birthday Party. She is now happy to be part of Woman's Will.
Scarlett Hepworth (Friar Lawrence/Ensemble)
- left her empty nest in Spokane, Washington to move to Oakland in mid-2004, and now appears regularly on Bay Area stages. She was last seen in Shotgun Players' Blood Wedding. Last September, Ms. Hepworth stepped into the title role of Mother Courage at Berkeley Rep, and this January she won the Shellie Award for her performance in Wit at Town Hall last season. She has appeared with New Conservatory, Willows, and Crossroads, and in numerous staged readings at the Magic, EXIT and the Marsh Cafe, as well as in Woman's Will's award-winning 2005 production of Happy End. She is also a private vocal music instructor.
Sharon Huff (Capulet)
- has been acting in the Bay Area for almost twenty years, starting with children's theatre in the South Bay, doing some Shakespeare in Saratoga and Lake Tahoe, going North to study at the Dell'Arte School of Physical Theatre, coming back to Oakland and San Francisco and starting and ending a theatre ensemble, even performing in Alaska for a few summers. Her last theatre role was Ethel Rosenberg in Angels in America, and she last worked with Woman's Will as Brabantio in Othello.
Jessica Kitchens (Montague/Mercutio)
- Since her arrival to the Bay Area almost two years ago, Ms. Kitchens has performed with the Shotgun Players (Blood Wedding, Love is a Dream House in Lorin, Ragnarok, Cabaret), Elastic Future (The Greek Play), and Woman's Will (Richard III). Other interesting recent work includes being part of the community outreach team that helped playwright Marcus Gardley develop his script for Love is a Dream House in Lorin, and working on a reading with director Kent Nicholson of Will Glickman Playwright Award-winner Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's newest play. Ms. Kitchens hails from UC Davis, where she performed roles such as Prospero (The Tempest), Christine (Miss Julie), and the Housewife (Rhinoceros) and from which she holds dual degrees in Theatre Arts and Political Theory.
Karen Anne Light (Tybalt/Ensemble)
- This is Ms. Light's first show with Woman's Will, and she is ecstatic to have the opportunity to work with such a devoted and awe-inspiring group of women. She has worked in community and ensemble theatre since childhood in her hometown, Chico, California. She has also trained at the British Academy of Dramatic Arts and in pursuing a degree at San Francisco State University.
Marilet Martinez (Romeo)
- is thrilled to finally get to work with Woman's Will. She was most recently seen in Teatro Vision's Dog Lady/Evening Star, directed by Wilma Bonet. Other credits include Nena in Santos and Santos, written and directed by Octavio Solis, and Lupe in Expecting Isabel at Bus Barn Theatre. A graduate of the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts who also trained with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, she has spent the last three years touring with Kaiser Permanente's Educational Theatre Programs.
Kristen Matia (Lady Montague/Paris)
- has worked internationally as a model and in independent films, but her real love is the stage. Following studies with Shotgun Players and Berkeley Repertory Theater, she quickly found herself falling in love with stage combat and is now certified as an actor/combatant in broadsword, quarterstaff, rapier and dagger, and unarmed combat. She is very excited to continue her journey of learning this craft with Woman's Will and the amazing actors that are a part of this production. She would like to thank Dave and Carla for their kickass training and for believing in her, and Josh for being so supportive and wonderful.
Erin Merritt (Director)
- With Woman's Will, Artistic Director Erin Merritt has directed eight previous productions (most recently 2005's award-winning Happy End), choreographed fights for five, and acted in five, most recently Richard III. As actor, director and theatre teacher, Ms. Merritt has 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, Washington's Interplayers Ensemble and school districts all along the West Coast. Her Logical Brecht: what he did, why he did it, how we do it has been used as a text at Reed College since 1990. Ms. Merritt is a member of Theatre Bay Area and its Theatre Services Committee.
Carla Pantoja (Fight Choreographer)
- is happy to return as a fight choreographer for Woman's Will again! A former Woman's Will company member, she has choreographed fights for Killing My Lobster, Palo Alto Players, Teatro Vision, S.F. Shakespeare Midnight Shakespeare program, as well as countless school productions in the Bay Area. She enjoys teaching children, the joys of beating each other up without getting hurt and is a member of the Society of American Fight Directors and Theatre Bay Area. Ms. Pantoja can be seen fighting this summer in The Three Musketeers with Shotgun Players at John Hinkel Park. She received her training though the British Academy of Stage & Screen Combat, Academy of the Sword, and Action Actors Society.
Cassie Powell (Juliet)
- has been thriving in the Bay Area Theatre scene for the past five years working with: No Nude Men, Custom Made, Thunderbird, and Killing My Lobster. Other Shakespeare credits include: Cordelia in King Lear at CCSF, Laertes in Hamlet, and Rosalind in Love's Labours Lost, both with NNM. In front of the camera Cassie played Lise in Lynn Hershmann's Strange Culture, a critical hit at Sundance Film Festival, and starred in United Way's "Bridging Communities" television commercial and print campaign.
Carolyn Power (Nurse)
- was most recently seen on stage as Toby in Neil Simon's The Gingerbread Lady at The Dragon Theatre in Palo Alto. Last summer she portrayed Helicanus in a production of Pericles at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art that culminated the two months Acting Shakespeare program in London. Other performances include Lady Montague in Marin Shakespeare Company's Romeo and Juliet and Mrs. Darling/Narrator in Peter and Wendy at Town Hall Theatre in Lafayette. Film work includes: "Greens," "Bust A Shalom," "Imprint," and "Planet of the Blacks." Ms. Power holds an M.A. in theatre from San Francisco State University. A member of both SAG and AFTRA, she is the voice of Long's Drugstore training program.
Lindsay Pratt (Assistant Director/Ensemble)
- is thrilled to be working with Woman's Will, which combines two of her loves: Shakespeare and the outdoors. Assistant directing credits include: As You Like It and Two Gentlemen of Verona, both at Redwood High School where she works as a guest artist. Acting credits include: Katherine in Love's Labors Lost and Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Curtain Theatre in Mill Valley, and Irina in Three Sisters with The Actor's Ensemble of Berkeley. She studied acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York and is currently a student at City College of San Francisco.
Jacquelyn Scott (Set/Prop Designer)
- is thrilled to be working with Woman's Will on this production. Previous credits include Nathan the Wise, Criminal Genius, World Music, L'Histoire du Soldat, Bat Boy The Musical, Fogtown Fables and The Doll Hospital. She also works at Brava Theater Academy teaching high school students basic stagecraft.