Melisa Pereyra in The Tempest

Melisa Pereyra is at the Festival for her second season. Last year she played Lavinia in Titus Andronicus and Zerbinette in Scapin. She also played Juliet in this year’s Educational Tour production of Romeo and Juliet. We are very excited to have her with us again and spent some time getting to know her.

The Tempest 2013, Pereyra, Woronicz, Burris

Where’s your home base?

Originally, I’m from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I moved to the States when I was almost 15 and lived in Idaho Falls, Idaho through high school. I then got a full ride to attend Utah State University. Currently, I don’t have a home base. Jeb Burris (my fiancé) and I graduated last May from Illinois State University with our MFA in classical acting, where I had the privilege to study Shakespeare under Henry Woronicz. Once we graduated, we sold our furniture and traded our tiny little car for a Jeep, packed up our car and said, “Let’s do this acting thing!”  We’ve been lucky enough to find employment over the past year traveling all over the country, and we couldn’t be more grateful.  

The Tempest 2013, Pereyra, Woronicz

Tell us about playing Miranda.

There’s something so surreal about discovering this role with the person that I actually love and with somebody who has taught me how to speak Shakespeare playing my father…on that level it’s emotionally overwhelming. (Jeb Burris is playing Ferdinand and Henry Woronicz is playing Prospero). Whenever we get on stage, Jeb and I can’t stop crying from happiness. It’s just so great to be able to bring that kind of life onto the stage. There is a life experience that you can’t fabricate, from the heart,that we actually get to experience and share with our audiences. That in itself has been one of the greatest things about playing this role.

Miranda is so strong, and she’s incredibly open and in touch with her heart and what she feels. I think that she is a survivor. Her father, Prospero, has prepared her to be strong and be able to survive whether he’s with her or not. I hope that people do not expect just a girly girl in love. She knows what she wants when she sees it. When she sees Ferdinand, she feels so much for him. Although she may not fully understand how to ‘properly’ express herself according to the ways of the world, she knows that what she feels is real and true and has no qualms saying exactly how she feels to his face. It’s important that people know she’s not just a little girl that’s lost and naive. She is her father’s daughter and you can’t separate the two. Prospero’s strength, determination, and anger–as well as his compassion and love– live within her as much as within him. That’s what we’ve been working toward over the last couple of months.

What are your thoughts about the Festival?

I love it here. There is something very special about making theatre under the stars. The people who work here are exceptional. And I think that Brian and David do such a great job about bringing the right personalities together. It’s not just about the work we do on the stage; but also about the kind of people we are off the stage.

Why do you think live theatre is important?

As storytellers, we carry such great responsibility. As a child, I didn’t grow up with much but I always had my imagination. As an adult, I was lucky to study with another wonderful man, Paul Dennhardt, in graduate school who helped me remember that my imagination can be alive no matter how old I am. That I can always play hide and seek. That I can giggle until my stomach hurts. And that no matter what you’ve lost, you’ll always gain something by clinging onto your imagination. I want to pass this on to our audiences thru every play I do, to old and young alike. I want everyone that comes to see our shows this summer to cling on to their imagination. Live theatre is a great place for that and that’s why it’s important.  

Now, why it is important for me…I don’t have any other thing I love to do more, and I don’t have any other thing that challenges me as much as this and that keeps me honest as much as this. I’m a better person because of theatre, the way it has pushed my personality and my insecurities as a human being, I don’t think I could have found anywhere else. The people we’re surrounded by are so wonderful and so open, so welcoming. I found the love of my life and dear, dear friends on my journey as an artist. At the same time, I left–and continue to leave–a lot of my family behind on another continent and all over the U.S because of the kind of work I do. However,  because of live theatre, I have a new family wherever I go. For those reasons, I can’t think of a more important thing for me to do and continue doing.

You can see Melisa in The Tempest beginning July 2 through August 31. You can purchase tickets online at *www.bard.org*and by calling 800-PLAYTIX. You can learn more about The Tempest at http://www.bard.org/plays/tempest2013.html

Photos by Karl Hugh, copyright Utah Shakespeare Festival

Brooke Redler and Aaron Galligan-Stierle- Guest Bloggers

The Utah Shakespeare Festival is excited to present the regional premiere of Peter and the Starcatcher during its 2013 season.  Here on the blog we’d like to introduce two people integral to the success of the production.

Meet Brooke Redler, Stage Manager for Peter and the Starcatcher

Have you ever worked at the Festival before?

No- This is my first time, but it is a place I have wanted to work since college. So happy to be here!

Where’s your home base?

Kansas City, Missouri

What’s your educational/training background?

I went to Johnson County Community College. I have had great training with places like Santa Fe Opera, Heart of America Shakespeare Festival and Kansas City Repertory theatre where I started 9 years ago as a Production Assistant and am now a Production Stage Manager. 

Where were you working in the last 9 months?

In NYC with a new company called Fault Line Theatre on an Off Broadway premiere, in Kansas City at Starlight Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre and in Creede, Colorado and Arvada, Colorado with Creede Repertory Theatre.

How will you spend your time off while here?

Looking forward to some gardening- I haven’t gotten to plant flowers in the summer for years! Also some hiking and rafting. 

Describe what live theatre means to you in one or two sentences…

Theatre allows us as a society to connect and tell our stories. It can be entertaining, cathartic, beautiful, silly and meaningful all at the same time. 

Anything else you’d like us to know?

I am so excited to be involved in the regional premiere of Peter and the Starcatcher!

Good luck with your garden, Brooke!

Meet Aaron Galligan-Stierle, playing the role of Smee

Have you ever worked at the Festival before? If so, for how many years and in what roles/capacity?

The 2013 season is my fifth season at the Festival. I was here in 2004 (Frankie in Forever Plaid and Zoltan Karpathy in My Fair Lady), 2005 (Flute in Midsummer and Mordred in Camelot), 2006 (Leo Davis in Room Service and Slender in Merry Wives) and 2010 (Clown #2 in 39 Steps and Laucelot Gobbo in Merchant.) 

Where’s your home base?

I live in NYC.

What’s your educational/training background?

I received a BFA from Shenandoah University in Musical Theater and a MFA from Penn State in Acting.

Where were you working in the last 9 months?

I was working in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway as Monsieur Andre.

How will you spend your time off while here?

Definitely hiking as much as possible and having some family time with my wife and son.

Describe what the Festival means to you in one or two sentences…

The Festival is my artistic home. It is my favorite theater company to work with and is a constant source of inspiration.

As well as playing Smee, Aaron will appear as**Sir Evelyn Oakleigh in Anything Goes.

Looking forward to it, Aaron!

Peter and the Starcatcher Preview

Mugavero & Guter, Peter & the Starcatcher 2013

Utah Shakespeare Festival Blog - Peter and the Starcatcher Preview

A Play by Rick Elice, based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Music by Wayne Barker

Directed by Brian Vaughn

Key Characters:

**Boy:**A nameless, homeless, and friendless boy at the beginning of the play who earns the name Peter and hero by the end. Peter is brave and competitive, a survivor, and someone the other boys come to look up to. Played by Rhett Guter.

Mattfeld

**Lord Leonard Aster:**The very model of a Victorian English gentleman, Lord Aster is a loyal subject of the queen, devoted father, and faithful friend. Played by Larry Bull.

**Molly Aster:**A thirteen-year old girl and a natural leader, Molly was raised to believe females can do anything males can. She is fearless, curious, passionate, and devoted to her father, her country, her Queen, and the cause of the Starcatchers. Played by Betsy Mugavero.

Bull

**Black Stache:**A ruthless, heartless pirate captain who captures The Wasp, Black Stache started shaving at age ten. He is proud of his magnificent facial hair and is partial to the poetical and the theatrical. Played by Quinn Mattfeld.

**Smee:**First mate to Black Stache, Smee is simple-minded and single-minded to his captain’s every whim. Played by Aaron Galligan-Stierle.

Synopsis:

Discover the Neverland you never knew in this regional premiere, straight from Broadway and five Tony Awards. It is a wildly theatrical, hilarious, and imaginative story of how an orphan boy came to be Peter Pan, the captain got his hook, and a young girl inspired everyone to believe. You won’t want to miss this epic tale of one of the world’s most enduring and beloved characters.

You can learn more about Peter and the Starcatcher at http://www.bard.org/plays/peter2013.html.

Peter and the Starcatcher opens on June 25 and plays through October 18. You can purchase tickets online at www.bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX.

B.J. Jones and The Tempest

B.J. Jones is the director for The Tempest. Previously at the Festival, he has directed Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing. He has spent fifteen years as artistic director at Northlight Theatre in Chicago, where he directed the world premiere of Stella and Lou with Rhea Perlman and has worked at numerous other theatres.

He shared his thoughts during the first dress rehearsal of The Tempest*.*

Storm scene from The Tempest, 2013

As I await my first dress rehearsal for The Tempest at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, I have been working on Animal Crackers for Baltimore Center Stage which will start rehearsal August 6th.

I’ve already reviewed my notes for our next rehearsal tomorrow, and in those 10 hours we will have to review our work from last Friday night, run as much of the piece technically as we can in the 90 degree Cedar City sun. After a brief dinner break, the cast will put on their costumes and in some cases extensive make up, and we will run the play with all the bells and whistles. There are a lot of bells and whistles in our Tempest. A little magic, a little illusion, monsters and sprites, royalty and soused servants, and a pair of fathers yearning for the best for their children.

Parrett (Ariel) & Woronicz (Prospero) 2013

Today is the day after Father’s Day so perhaps it’s touching me a little more deeply today. Most importantly for me this play is about forgiveness and looking ahead to the future with hope.

The cast is marvelous. All of them are doing double and triple duty playing other roles in the repertory and understudying as well. It is a strenuous season of work for any actor and they are amazing to watch and admire. I give them pick up notes and they include the adjustments as we press through the scenes grasping at every precious moment to get the play into their bones. They are ravenous in their work and seemingly tireless and while I await our next time together, they are performing another play! It’s really a miracle of professionalism and finely tuned skills.

We also will be throwing some new props and tricks at them tomorrow and like the pros they are I expect them to include them as effortlessly as they have all rehearsal. We only have 2 dress rehearsals, and then 2 previews, so we have to work fast and shrewdly deciding what works and what doesn’t, scaling the work for our audience and inviting them into the process as our scene partners.

Tracy Letts who won the Tony for Best Actor this year, said in his acceptance speech that “this is the greatest job on earth, we are the ones who say it to their faces, a unique responsibility.” Tracy was of course talking about truth and we are charged with that task. There is such searing truth in The Tempest and in the next two weeks before you join us we will continue to strip away at the artifice in order to expose Shakespeare’s truth, through poignancy, hilarity, and gorgeous language.

I have fallen in love with the cast and of course the Festival. I would love to stay on a week or so and luxuriate in the artistry of these fine artists. But there is work to be done, and gratefully other audiences to serve.

It is a remarkably busy stretch for me and I am privileged to work on these wonderful pieces and to execute them with such gifted artists.

The Tempest opens on July 2 and runs through August 31. You can purchase tickets online at www.bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX. You can learn more about the play and cast at http://www.bard.org/plays/tempest2013.html.

Donna Ruzika and Kaitlin Mills- Guest Bloggers

The Adams Theatre has long been a cornerstone of the Utah Shakespeare Festival.  Meet two people who will, in one way or another, bring patrons quality entertainment on the Adams stage this 2013 season.

Meet Donna Ruzika, Lighting Designer for the Adams Theatre

Have you ever worked at the Festival before? If so, for how many years and in what roles/capacity?

1998-2005, 2007-2013: in the Adams as Lighting Designer and four fall seasons in the Randall as Lighting Designer.

1973: Box Office Manager

1974 & 1975: First Company Manager

1973: actor, Lady Norfolk in Henry VIII

Where’s your home base?

Orange County, California

What’s your educational/training background?

Theatre, Bachelor of Science, California State University, Pomona

Lighting Design & Theatre Management MA, Cal State Fullerton

Spanish Language Studies in Quito, Ecuador

Where were you working in the last 9 months?

Freelance Lighting Designer…International City Theatre in Long Beach, South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, Hollywood Bowl in LA & Utah

How will you spend your time off while here?

Exploring the small dirt roads of Utah in my All Wheel Subaru

Describe what live theatre means to you in one or two sentences…

Collaboration, Enlightenment & Entertainment.

Describe what the Festival means to you in one or two sentences…

It’s like coming home.

Meet Kaitlin Mills, actor

Have you ever worked at the Festival before? If so, for how many years and in what roles/capacity?

I worked for three years in Concessions. 

Where’s your home base?

Cedar City, UT

What’s your educational/training background?

Bachelor of Fine Arts from Southern Utah University

Where were you working in the last 9 months?

The Grind Coffeehouse

How will you spend your time off while here?

Hiking, biking, walks, reading. 

Describe what live theatre means to you in one or two sentences…

Nowhere else can you achieve such a strong connection with a group of strangers. The connection you make with your fellow actors and the audience is a deep and lasting one.  

Describe what the Festival means to you in one or two sentences…

It’s such a magical place to work. The environment and vibe is so alive and it brings the town to life. 

We hope you have the opportunity to witness the work of Donna and Kaitlin this season!

Utah Shakespeare Festival Blog - Love’s Labour’s Lost Preview

Zambrano

Graves

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by Laura Gordon

Part of the “Complete the Canon” Project

Key Characters:

Ferdinand: The king of Navarre, Ferdinand wishes to turn his court into “a little Academe” and elicits an immature vow from his closest followers to remain with him for three years as celibate scholars. Played by Quinn Mattfeld.

Berowne: A lord attending the king, Berowne is the most outspoken of the four friends. Played by Matt Mueller.

Longaville: A lord attending the king, Longaville quickly forsakes the oath of chastity. Played by Robert Adelman Hancock.

Dumaine: A lord attending the king, Dumaine rounds out the group of four friends. Played by Jeb Burris.

Don Adriano de Armado: “A fantastical Spaniard”, Don Armado is a parody of a courtly lover. Played by Matt Zambrano.

The Princess of France: Sent by her father the king, the princess is high-spirited and witty, a perfect match for King Ferdinand. Played by Melissa Graves.

Rosaline: A lady attending the princess, Rosaline is nearest in seniority to the princess herself. Played by Melinda Pfundstein.

**Maria:**A lady attending the princess, played by Elizabeth Telford.

Katherine: A lady attending the princess, played by Siobhan Doherty.

Synopsis:

All is peaceful in King Ferdinand’s court, where he and his idealistic friends have resolved to dedicate themselves to three years of fasting, study—and no women. Peaceful, that is, until the beautiful princess of France and her ladies arrive. Could the lesson of this, one of Shakespeare’s most delightful comedies, be that “young blood doth not obey an old degree?”

You can learn more about Love’s Labour’s Lost at http://www.bard.org/plays/loveslabours2013.html.

Love’s Labour’s Lost opens June 24 and plays through August 31. You can purchase tickets online at www.bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX.

Mattfeld

Mueller & Pfundstein 2013, Love’s Labour’s Lost

Jeb Burris and Shay Garber- Guest Bloggers

Meet two returning members of the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

 Jeb Burris, member of the Festival’s acting company:

Have you ever worked at the Festival before? If so, for how many years and in what roles/capacity?

Yes! This is my third year as a member of the acting company.

Where’s your home base?

Well, I don’t have one.  I have been lucky enough to just follow the work where it leads me.

What’s your educational/training background?

I have a Bachelors Degree in Acting from Ball State University and a Masters of Fine Arts from Illinois State University.  I have also studied with Shakespeare’s Globe and the Royal Shakespeare Company in the UK.

Where were you working in the last 9 months?

I was at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre playing Mercutio.

How will you spend your time off while here?

Going hiking and hanging with Melisa!

Describe what live theatre means to you in one or two sentences…

To me, the theatre is all about the shared experience, and the exchange of energy from the actors and production crew to the audience.

Describe what the Festival means to you in one or two sentences…

The Festival, to me, represents tradition.  It has this beautifully rich history that means so much to everyone and at the same time, they are constantly finding ways to reinvent themselves.

Shay Garber, member of company management

Have you ever worked at the Festival before? If so, for how many years and in what roles/capacity?

Yes, this is my second season! Last season, I was the Company Management Assistant; and in the Spring, I was the Tour Stage Manager for Romeo and Juliet.

What is your title/role? (e.g. actor, costume stitcher, stage crew)

Assistant Company Manager.

Where’s your home base?

Since last June, I have called my home Cedar City. However, my home town is Mission Viejo, CA.

What’s your educational/training background?

I have a BFA in Stage Management from Syracuse University and an AA in Theatre from Saddleback College.

How will you spend your time off while here?

I am hoping to spend more time this summer exploring the surrounding state parks. But also, taking time to relax and appreciate being in one beautiful place for an extended period of time. 

Describe what live theatre means to you in one or two sentences…

Live theatre, for me, is so powerful because it has the ability to affect change, inspire, and bring people from diverse backgrounds together.

Describe what the Festival means to you in one or two sentences…

The Festival isn’t just a workplace for me, but has become a home and a family. I feel a strong sense of support and belonging from the friendships I have formed over the past year.

Anything Goes Preview

Hancock

Rehearsal

Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter

Directed by Brad Carroll

Key Characters:

**Reno Sweeney:**A sexy evangelist turned nightclub dancer, played by Melinda Parrett

Hope Harcourt: A beautiful debutante, played by Elizabeth Telford

Evangeline Harcourt: Hope’s mother, a widow, played by Mindy B. Young

Lord Evelyn Oakleigh: A wealthy Englishman, played by Aaron Galligan-Stierle

Elisha Whitney: A goggle-eyed tycoon, played by Joe Vincent

Billy Crocker: Whitney’s young assistant, played by Robert Adelman Hancock

Moonface Martin: A hapless gangster, Public Enemy #13, played by Max Robinson

Synopsis:

When this ship heads out to sea, convention heads out the portholes as two unlikely pairs set off on the course to true love, with a little help from singing sailors, an exotic disguise, and good old-fashioned blackmail. Peppering this hilariously bumpy ride is a songbook of Cole Porter’s biggest hits, including “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “It’s De-lovely,” and, of course, “Anything Goes.”

You can learn more about Anything Goes at http://www.bard.org/plays/anything2013.html.

Anything Goes opens on June 26 and plays through August 30. You can purchase tickets online at www.bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX.

Telford

Dance Rehearsal

New Production Manager Announced

After an extensive search and interview process, the Utah Shakespeare Festival recently announced the hiring of Tim Schroepfer as production manager.

“We had a great committee that spent months combing through applicants until we found the right candidate,” said Ben Hohman, interim production manager and properties director. “Tim Schroepfer was the right person with experience, determination, and an excitement about the Festival and its future.” 

A California native, Schroepfer brings a wealth of knowledge and professional experience to the position. Prior to joining the Festival, Schroepfer was a production manager for the University of California, Los Angeles in the School of Theater, Film and Television, where he oversaw student and professional productions. Schroepfer also worked as a stage manager at Universal Studios Hollywood managing large stunt spectaculars. He has offered consultation on construction and equipping of new theaters and has served as a technical director for a midsize professional theater.

Mr. Schroepfer holds a BA in musical theatre from the University of the Pacific and an MFA in producing and production management from California Institute of the Arts. 

Hohman continued, “We are looking forward to working with him to move the Festival forward with improvements in the production department leading to more exciting and dynamic productions, while being mindful of the Festival’s unique heritage and it’s commitment to classical theater.”

“The Utah Shakespeare Festival is one of the nation’s premier destination theater companies and with the announcement of the

Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts the company is poised for growth in the coming years,” said Schroepfer. “I am thrilled to join the team at this exciting time and look forward to getting to know the entire Festival family.”

The Tempest Preview

Pereyra

Parrett

Rehearsal, Pereyra, Burris, Woronicz

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by B.J. Jones

Part of the “Complete the Canon” Project

Key Characters:

Prospero: The rightful duke of Milan, Prospero has been exiled with his daughter, Miranda, on a magical island for twelve years. He is intelligent, has studied magic for many years, and has achieved a far-reaching power. Played by Henry Woronicz.

Miranda: The daughter of Prospero, Miranda was exiled with her father twelve years ago. Since that time she has seen no other human being and has now matured into a young woman. Played by Melisa Pereyra.

Antonio: The brother of Prospero, Antonio usurped his brother’s dukedom and set Prospero and Miranda adrift in a leaky boat. Played by Martin Kildare.

Alonso: The king of Naples and father of Ferdinand, Alonso plotted in the past with Antonio to take over Prospero’s dukedom, but is now struck with deep remorse. Played by Fredric Stone.

Ferdinand: The son of Alonso, Ferdinand is both pure himself and appreciative of the innocence and purity of Miranda. Played by Jeb Burris.

Caliban: A savage and deformed slave, Caliban is a creature of the earth but not honored with a human shape. Prospero tells us that Caliban’s father was the devil himself, and his mother was Sycorax, a wicked witch. Played by Corey Jones.

Ariel: An airy spirit, Ariel is not human, and yet is endowed with personality and intelligence. Played by Melinda Parrett.

Synopsis:

Teeming with fairies, monsters, shipwrecks, and magic, The Tempest is Shakespeare’s last and most mature romance. The deposed Duke Prospero and his lovely daughter, Miranda, are shipwrecked on a small island where nothing is quite as it seems. But as they separate fantasy from authenticity, they eventually discover a “brave new world” of love, harmony, and redemption.

You can learn more about The Tempest at http://www.bard.org/plays/tempest2013.html.

The Tempest opens on June 25 and plays through August 31. You can purchase tickets online at www.bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX.

Woronicz

Stone

Rehearsal, Pereyra, Burris