Becoming We, a Student-Choreographed Dance Concert, opens March 25th at the Sottile Theatre!

Our spring concert Becoming We features works by eight student choreographers exploring the theme of ‘me’ becoming ‘we.’ As the Department of Theatre and Dance celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the establishment of its dance major, Becoming We reflects the growth of diversity of genres represented on stage and the artistic strength of the students. Tap dancing in rain boots, Latin social dance, and a work that includes both ballet and modern are only three of the eight pieces in the concert.  

Often, we find ourselves in new relationships and new communities that challenge our sense of self. Kristin Alexander, associate professor of dance and artistic director of the concert, notes the various ways that the choreographers chose to investigate the theme, ‘becoming we.’  “The choreographic process is quite vulnerable, and I have been in awe of how open the students have been from the beginning. The audience is going to witness an eclectic concert that has moments of celebration, sorrow, curiosity, and empowerment through movement,” shares Alexander. Although they have all performed in previous concerts, many of the choreographers are presenting a work for the department for the first time.   

Performances are Saturday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 26 at 2:00 p.m. at Sottile Theatre (44 George St.)

Tickets: $20 for adults; $15 for seniors (60+), active military/veterans, and youth under 18; and $12 for CofC students, faculty, and staff.

Ticket link for the public

Ticket link for CofC students(for instructions & info click here)

Ticket link for CofC faculty/staff

orbuy tickets in person at Sottile Theatre (Tue-Fri, 10am-4pm), by emailing gsbo@cofc.edu or calling (843) 953-4726.

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Two Gentlemen of Verona – Digital Program

CofC Stages proudly presents

Two Gentlemen of Verona

by William Shakespeare

Directed by Michael Smallwood

Scenic Designer
Bristol Barnes
Costume
Designers

Brandon Alston
Molly Belle
Lighting Designer
Sara Whitehead
Sound Designer
Eli Salas
Technical Director
JD Stallings

Costume Shop Manager

Ellen Swick
Stage Manager
Mollie Davis

February 22-March 2, 2023
Chapel Theatre, 66 George Street


Jump to: Production Team | Acknowledgments | Director’s and Dramaturgical Note | Cast and Production Team Biographies


Cast

Mekhi Gaither | Valentine
Kit Fischer | Proteus
Isabella Garner | Speed
Caroline Magee | Julia
Madelyn LaBarge | Lucetta, 4th Outlaw
Bri Fabian | Antonio
Madelein Hanson | Panthino
Mia Brady | Silvia
Chris Warzynski | Launce
Mason Monti | Thurio
Lauren Evans | Duke
Max Marshall | Host
Aidan Wunderley | 1st Outlaw
Arden McNeil | 2nd Outlaw
Jazmine Brown | 3rd Outlaw
Noah Anderson | Eglamor
Jake Cisson | Understudy


Production Team

CofC Stages Artistic Director: Janine McCabe
Director of Theatre: Nakeisha Daniel
Production Manager: Miles Boinest
Stage Management Advisor: Susan Kattwinkel
Assistant Director: Madison Berry
Assistant Stage Managers: Allison Jones, Ella More
Intimacy Coordinator: Nakeisha Daniel

Scenic Design Advisor: Jonathan Wentz
Properties Lead
: Bristol Barnes
Scenic Charge: Ethan Robey
Assistant Scenic Charge: Jonathan Wentz

Lead Carpenter: AP Hart
Scenic Construction and Painting: Students of Stagecraft, Madelein Hanson, Liz Perkins
Properties Room Manager: Isabella Gardner
Scene Shop Staff (select students hired by the Department of Theatre & Dance with support from donor funding): Bristol Barnes, Madison Berry, Glenna Durbin, Isabella Gardner, Bea Lemaster, Caroline Magee, Max Marshall, Ella Moore, Ethan Robey, Eli Salas

Costume Design Advisor: Janine McCabe, Ellen Swick
Sewing & Alterations: Stef Amezcua Barrientos, Ashlyn Denham, Mattison Gaillard, Sav Griffin, Cameron Gulledge, Samantha Stinner, and students of Intro to Costuming
Wardrobe Crew: Kylie Daisey, Ashlyn Denham, Lexi Prioleau, Amari Woodard
Costume Shop Staff (select students hired by the Department of Theatre & Dance with support from donor funding): Savannah Blake, Zachary Kobylarz, Brandon Alston, Olivia Maness, Molly Belle

Lighting Design Advisor: Lauren Duffie
Head Electrician: Alex Jones
Light Board Programmer/Operator: Bootsie Baldwin
Electric Shop Staff (select students hired by the Department of Theatre & Dance with support from donor funding): Alex Jones, Chris Warzynski
Electricians: Bootsie Baldwin, Mia Bowersox, Bri Fabian, Caroline Magee, Eli Salas, Kate Yarbray

Sound Design Advisor: Caleb Garner
Sound Board Operator: Abby Israel

CofC Stages Operations Coordinator: Miles Boinest
Marketing & Communications: Nandini B. McCauley
Graphic Designer: Rob Alexander
Photography: David Mandel, Madison Berry
Publicity: Madison Berry, Zach Kobylarz

Box Office: George Street Box Office
House Managers: Emme Burleson, Kalyn Jacobs, Reagan Neilson
Office Assistant: Ngaa Magombedze


Special Thanks

Heaven Egan, Jake Cisson, Gillian Huntley, Ambernice Tolliver, Fresh Prince Fits, Ren Mummert, Anja Kelley, Carolyna Ramirez, and the George Street Box Office staff


Thank you to all of our donors!

Become an Impact Sponsor
The Department of Theatre and Dance offers opportunities to become an Impact Sponsor. Impact Sponsors have a direct financial and personal impact on individual students with whom you’ll be connected. You will be honored at special events, receive recognition in the 2022-2023 season programs and other department reports and receive updates from your student. For more information, visit theatre.cofc.edu/support and contact our office at 843.953.6306 to declare your impact.

Impact Sponsor Levels:
BENEFACTOR $2,500+ (for incoming student scholarship)
Add your name here!

GUARDIAN $750 (Clarence Student Award)
Karl & Charlene Bunch
Tap & Jean Johnson
Mindy Seltzer & Bob Lovinger
Evelynn & Bill Putnam
Sam & Nancy Stafford
Charlotte Townsend
Louis & Andrea Weinstein
Chester & Arlene Williams
Anonymous (4)

Special Gifts: (Leave a lasting legacy. Learn more: 843.953.5348 or cofclegacy.org)
Anonymous – legacy gift
Charleston Academy of Music
John Covington & Robert Lukey – legacy gift
Michael & Susan Master – legacy gift

Become a Season Sponsor
As we transitions back to live in-person audiences and mask-free performances last season, we worked hard to keep our students and audiences engaged. We preserved the student experience during these last two years, but we lost essential revenue that plays a huge role in funding our season’s productions. Your donations contribute to funding the essentials needed for scenery, lighting, sound, and costumes, but more importantly, they help support student employees, student research and travel, and other student-focused experiences. We can’t do this without your generosity!

Season Sponsor Levels:
PRODUCER $1000+
Karl & Charlene Bunch
Tap & Jean Johnson
Jenny Hane
Anthony Laneve
Anne & Allen Lyndrup
Sam & Nancy Stafford
Chester & Arlene Williams

ADVOCATE $750-999
Susan Kattwinkel
Janine McCabe
Matt & Gretchen McLaine
Susan Morrison
Evelynn & Bill Putnam
Mindy Seltzer & Bob Lovinger
Nancy & Sam Stafford
Louis & Andrea Weinstein
Jonathan & Janine Wentz

STAR $500-749
Michael & Susan Master
James McKenna
Valerie B. Morris

DIRECTOR $250-499
Kristin Alexander
Sandra N. Bumgarner
Janice and Jay Messeroff

FAN $100-249
Donnetta L. Grays
Todd McNerney
Jillian and Michael Smallwood
Emma Simmons
Justin Van Beusecum

PATRON up to $99
Mary Beth Berry, Laura C. Bayless, Stephen & Allegra Litvin, James Rozier, Laura Turner


Director’s Note

“We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and the future.”

I’ve been thinking a lot about this quote from Frederick Douglass since I started working on Two Gentlemen of Verona, likely William Shakespeare’s first play.

As we, myself and the incredible student design team, developed our approach to this play, we looked into the past a lot. We dissected the play and found the seeds of much of the rest of Shakespeare’s career. We drew inspiration from the architectural history of Verona and Milan. We mined the 1980s and 1990s for music and fashion.

But there are pieces of that past, and this play’s history, that were not useful to our present or our future, and certainly not our production. Those pieces have fallen away. Other pieces have been shifted to bring them into line with our present. The entire process has been illuminating about the way we engage with classic plays.

It has all proven to be a fertile and exciting learning opportunity for our student designers, crew members, and cast.

—Michael Smallwood
Director


Cast and Production Team Biographies

Guest Artist:
Michael Smallwood
(he/him) is an actor, writer, and director. He is an award-winning playwright whose works have been produced in Atlanta, Charleston, DC, and New York City. His award-winning short films How Many Times and What a Beautiful Wedding have played festivals across the US and Europe. Michael is also an accomplished stage and screen actor, with featured roles in The Inspectors, Halloween Kills, and the upcoming Livescreamers. He is a core member at PURE Theatre and teaches Playwriting/Screenwriting at the College of Charleston.


Brandon Alston (he/him) is a junior majoring in Theatre with a concentration in Costume Design and Technology.  This is his first mainstage costume design. His work as an assistant costume designer includes A Christmas Carol (Charleston Stage) and Mlima’s Tale (PURE Theatre)Previous acting credits include Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Pipeline, and Living Dead in Denmark. 

Noah Anderson (he/him) is a junior double majoring in History and Theatre. This is his 3rd MainStage show at the College of Charleston. He also performed in Cabaret and Violet. He was also featured in Center Stage’s The Swing of the Sea.  

Molly Belle (she/her) is a senior majoring in Theatre with a concentration in Costume Design and Technology.  This is the second mainstage production she has been a part of here at the College and is delighted to have had the opportunity to co-design such a wonderful show. Her previous assistant costume design work includes Violet (CofC), A Christmas Carol (Charleston Stage), Mlima’s Tale (PURE Theatre), and Don Giovanni (Charleston Opera Theater).

Mia Brady (she/her) is a sophomore at the College. She is very excited to be a part of Two Gentleman of Verona and would like to thank her director, cast, and parents for all their support throughout this production.

Bristol Barnes (she/they) is a junior majoring in Theatre (Scenic Design and Performance) and minoring in Film Studies. She is very excited for her first show as Scenic Designer at the College of Charleston. Their work has previously been seen as Assistant Scenic Designer on Cabaret and their directorial work has been seen in Center Stage’s Proof this January. 

Jazmine Brown (any pronouns) is a junior majoring in Theatre. This is the first mainstage production they are a part of and they are really excited to be on the stage again! 

Jake Cisson (they/he) is a sophomore at the College of Charleston, majoring in Theatre and Business.  This is their first production at the College.

Mollie Davis (she/they) is a junior majoring in Psychology and Theatre. She has been involved in many shows at the College including Violet as Stage Manager, Everybody as co-Stage Manager, and Pipeline as Assistant Stage Manager. She is so happy to have been able to work with such a wonderful cast and also would like to thank her mom for supporting her unconditionally with her adventures in theatre. 

Lauren Evans (she/her) is a sophomore Theatre major at the College of Charleston with a performance concentration. This is her second performance at the College, the first being the Fall 2022 Haunted House (The Case of the Missing Students), where she played a tour guide. Lauren is excited to be a part of this cast, and hopes you enjoy the show!

Bri Fabian (she/her) is a senior German and Arts Management major with minors in Theatre and Marketing. This is her first appearance in a main stage production, but she was previously in the Department’s Director’s Showcase as Thea Elvsted in Hedda Gabler.

Kit Fischer (he/they) is a sophomore at the College of Charleston majoring in Foreign Language Education. Previously, he has performed as Dr. Everett Scott in Center Stage’s 2022 production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Kit is delighted to be a member of such an amazing cast and would like to thank everyone for believing in him.

Mekhi Gaither (he/him) is a senior at the College majoring in Theatre (Theatre for Youth). He is beyond grateful for the cast and crew and is excited to be a part of this production. He has previously been seen in Violet, Pipeline, Everybody, and Arts under the Oaks.

Isabella Gardner (she/her) is a sophomore double majoring in Theatre (General) and Arts Management. This is her second mainstage show and she is so excited to get another opportunity to perform! When she’s not performing, she’s the properties room manager and a scene shop assistant. 

Madelein Hanson (she/her) is a sophomore majoring in Theatre Studies and French and Francophone Studies. She is very excited to be in her first show at the College of Charleston!

Madelyn LaBarge (she/her) is a freshman at CofC. This is her first show at the College and her first Shakespeare. Madelyn would like to thank Michael Smallwood for helping her break out of her shell during the rehearsal process, her castmates, the crew members for being extremely kind and welcoming, and her parents. 

Caroline Magee (she/they) is a senior at the College double-majoring in Theatre (Performance) and English (Creative Writing). She was last seen on the Mainstage as God in Everybody and as Boots for Center Stage’s production of The Swing of the Sea for the Stella di Domani Theatre Series. She is incredibly grateful to the entire Two Gents team, especially Michael Smallwood, for this opportunity. It has been filled with so much vivacity and light. What an honor + joy it is to get to share this space with you. Thank you for being here, and welcome to Shakespeare’s Italy! 

Max Marshall (he/him) is a Senior majoring in Theatre (Scenic Design and Technology Concentration). This is his fourth mainstage production with the Department of Theatre and Dance. Max was last seen on stage as Herr Schultz in Cabaret last spring. He also was the scenic designer for Violet this fall.

Arden McNeill (she/her) is a senior majoring in Theatre (performance) and minoring in Arts Management.  Her last performance with the college was Arts Under the Oaks, but this is her first official MainStage show and she’s so grateful for this opportunity! Arden has also worked behind the scenes on hair and makeup for Center Stage’s Rocky Horror Picture Show Shadow Cast (2021), and for their upcoming production of Five Women Wearing the Same Dress.

Mason Monti (he/him) is a senior majoring in Theatre with a concentration in performance. This is his fourth and final performance as a student actor in a mainstage production. He was last seen as Charles Bingley in Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. 

Eli Salas (they/he) is a junior at the college studying Theatre with a concentration in scenic and light design and technology. They are the student sound designer for College of Charleston’s 2022-2023 season. He made his sound design debut with Center Stage’s 2021 production of The Swing of the Sea by Molly Hagan. They loved getting to work on this production and with its incredible cast, crew, and director. You can see his work next in CofC’s Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet by Tarell Alvin McCraney. He hopes you thoroughly enjoy the show!

Chris Waryznski (any pronouns) is a sophomore Theatre major with a performance and lighting/scenic double concentration with a minor in Japanese Studies. He has performed with the department of theatre and Dance in Cabaret (Siegfried) and Violet (Leroy). He also was the lighting designer for several pieces of Shifting Perspectives. He would like to thank Bea Lemaster, and his Nana for not evicting him. 

Sara Whitehead (she/her) is a senior majoring in Theatre with a concentration in Lighting Design. She has previously designed many dance pieces for the department as well as Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. You can see her work in Becoming We, the student-choreographed dance concert later this semester.

Aidan Wunderley (she/they) is a sophomore Theatre major with a concentration in performance. Her other roles at the College of Charleston include Woman in A Sudden Spontaneous Event and Jess in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised]. She was last seen as Brad in Center Stage’s Rocky Horror Picture Show. Aidan is excited to work with such a talented dog on this production!


Up next!

Join us for our last two shows of the season!
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Department of Theatre and Dance presents ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’ by William Shakespeare

CofC Stages at the College of Charleston’s Department of Theatre and Dance presents the comedic treasure Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare. 

Best friends Valentine and Proteus embark on different paths in life only to run into each other again when they both fall in love in Milan. Shakespeare’s investigation of friendship, love, faithfulness, and fickleness, Two Gentlemen of Verona takes us on a journey across Northern Italy, asking us, with wit, humor, and poignancy, to question the forces that bind us together and tear us apart.

Director Michael Smallwood adds, “Two Gentlemen of Verona, perhaps Shakespeare’s first play, is the Rosetta Stone for Shakespeare’s career. So many of his themes, theatrical conventions, plot details, and locations appear in their infancy here before being built upon in later plays. It is very appropriate for our talented students at CofC to explore this play, which isn’t about fairies and great tragic figures, but instead is about youth culture, about falling in love and being problematic, and about how people change for the better and for the worse.”

Recommended for all ages, performances of Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Chapel Theatre (172 Calhoun St.) will run February 22-March 2. Individual tickets are $20 for adults; $15 for seniors (60+), active military/veterans, and youth under 18; and $12 for CofC students, faculty, and staff.

Ticket link for the public

Ticket link for CofC students (for instructions & info click here)

Ticket link for CofC faculty/staff

or buy tickets in person at Sottile Theatre (Tue-Fri, 10am-4pm), by emailing gsbo@cofc.edu or calling (843) 953-4726.

Performance Dates:
February 22nd, 7:30pm
February 23rd, 7:30pm
February 24th, 7:30pm
February 25th, 2pm
February 25th, 7:30pm
February 26th at 2pm

February 28th, 7:30pm
March 1st, 7:30pm
March 2nd, 7:30pm

Two Gentlemen of Verona features students Kit Fischer, Mekhi Gaither, Mia Brady, and Carolina Magee in the principal roles. The student design team includes scenic designer Bristol Barnes, costume designers Brandon Alston and Molly Rumph, lighting designer Sara Whitehead, and sound designer Eli Salas. 
 
Director Michael Smallwood joined the adjunct faculty at the College of Charleston this semester, teaching playwriting and screenwriting. Smallwood is a professional film and stage actor, an award-winning playwright and filmmaker, and a core ensemble member at PURE Theatre. He directed CofC Stages’ production of Pipeline in the fall of 2021.
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Student-run Center Stage Production Proof explores the impacts of mental illness and depression

David Auburn's ProofThe Department of Theatre and Dance would like to take a moment to acknowledge the hard work of our students! Center Stage at the College of Charleston opens its 2023 season with the Pulitzer Prize Winning play Proof by David Auburn.

Proof is set in the early 2000’s and follows Catherine, the brilliant daughter of a highly honored math professor at the University of Chicago. Catherine’s father, Robert, struggles with a debilitating genetic mental illness that forces her to put down her own studies and look after him. As his sole caretaker, Catherine too begins to question her own sanity. This is only made worse by the presence of her sister, Claire, who tries to push Cathrine towards seeking help. When Robert’s former grad student, Hal, finds an important proof that will revolutionize the field of mathematics in her father’s study, the question of its authorship is put to the test. This heartfelt family drama poses the question, “agency or complacency?” 

Directed by student Bristol Barnes, Proof features student actors Hunter Harrell (as Catherine), Madison Berry (as Claire), and Mitchell McHugh (as Hal), with CofC professor Todd McNerney (as Robert). The production’s design team features Ellie Ford (scenic design), students Mira Turkewitz and Katie Burns (costume design), Allison Jones (lighting design), and Joey Kirkman (sound design). Olivia Maness and Molly Crary serve as the production’s stage managers.

Center Stage is the only on campus theatre organization run entirely by students. Center Stage strives to be a place for everyone to have space to perform and express themselves through their art. From the entire board of Center Stage, thank you for attending this production and your continued support for our organization. We hope you enjoy the show!

DETAILS: Performances of Proof will take place January 27 & 28 at 7:30pm and January 29 at 2pm in the Calhoun Annex Chapel Theatre. Tickets are available at the link below and are free of charge.

Reserve your seats here

Learn more about the production

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Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley – Digital Program

CofC Stages proudly presents

Miss Bennet:
Christmas at Pemberley

by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon

Directed by Evan Parry

Scenic Designer
Ethan Robey
Costume
Designer

Savannah Blake
Lighting Designer
Sara Whitehead
Sound Designer
Caleb Garner
Technical Director
JD Stallings
Costume Shop Manager
Ellen Swick

Stage Manager

Rebecca McLeod

Dramaturg

Molly Crary

November 18-20, 2022
Sottile Theatre, 44 George Street


Jump to: Production Team | Acknowledgments | Director’s and Dramaturgical Note | Cast and Production Team Biographies


Cast

Glenna Durbin | Mary Bennet
Ben Hudd | Arthur de Bourgh
Isabella Garner| Elizabeth Bennet Darcy
Brandon Alston | Fitzwilliam Darcy
Brandi Smalls | Jane Bennet Bingley
Mason Monti | Charles Bingley
Kate Yarbray | Lydia Bennet Wickham
Cat Champlin | Anne de Bourgh
Ella Moore | Edith
Ella Moore, Riley Taylor, Sam Rhodes | Understudies


Production Team

CofC Stages Artistic Director: Janine McCabe
Director of Theatre: Nakeisha Daniel
Production Supervisor: Ellen Swick
Stage Management Advisor: Susan Kattwinkel
Assistant Director: Madison Berry
Assistant Stage Managers: Bootsie Baldwin, Riley Taylor
Dramaturg: Molly Crary

Scenic Design Advisor: Jonathan Wentz
Properties Lead
: Alex Jones
Carpenters: Josh Teal, Olivia Maness, Sam Rhodes, Mickey Kniskern, Students of Stagecraft class
Scenic Charge: Ella Moore
Assistant Scenic Charge: Jonathan Wentz
Properties Room Manager: Alex Jones
Run Crew: Abby Israel, Jacob Reiss

Scene Shop Staff (select students hired by the Department of Theatre & Dance with support from donor funding): Bristol Barnes, Madison Berry, Mia Bowersox, Glenna Durbin, Isabella Gardner, Caroline Magee, Max Marshall, Ella Moore, Ethan Robey, Eli Salas, Riley Taylor

Costume Design Advisor: Janine McCabe
Hair & Make-Up Design
: Savannah Blake

Wardrobe Crew: Katie Burns, Gianna Trimboli, Lily Lombardi, Jamiyah Witherspoon, Aidan Wunderley
Pattern Makers: Savannah Blake, Ellen Swick
Sewing & Alterations: Arden McNeill, Stef Amezcua Barrientos, and students of Costume 1 class
Costume Shop Staff (select students hired by the Department of Theatre & Dance with support from donor funding): Savannah Blake, Zachary Kobylarz, Brandon Alston, Olivia Maness

Lighting Design Advisor: Lauren Duffie
Head Electricians: Chris Warzynski
Assistant to Electrician: Heavan Egan
Light Board Programmer/Operator: Allison Jones
Electric Shop Staff (select students hired by the Department of Theatre & Dance with support from donor funding): Alex Jones, Chris Warzynski

Assistant Sound Designer: Eli Salas
Sound Engineer: Evie Palmisano
Sound Technicians: Kelsey Beckett, Aidan Wunderley
Sound Board Operator: Eli Salas
A1: Lauren Boy, Jacob Reiss

CofC Stages Operations Coordinator: Miles Boinest
Marketing & Communications: Nandini B. McCauley
Graphic Designer: Rob Alexander
Photography: David Mandel, Annie Morraye
Publicity: Madison Berry

Box Office: George Street Box Office
House Manager: Bambi Barr
Office Assistant: Ngaa Magombedze


Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York. Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley was originally produced by Northlight Theatre, Chicago, Illinois (BJ Jones, Artistic Director; Timothy Evans, Executive Director).


Special Thanks

Jonathan Sanchez/Blue Bicycle Books; Queen Street Playhouse/Footlight Players; Charleston Stage; Anja Kelley, Carolyna Ramirez, and the George Street Box Office staff


Thank you to all of our donors!

Become an Impact Sponsor
The Department of Theatre and Dance offers opportunities to become an Impact Sponsor. Impact Sponsors have a direct financial and personal impact on individual students with whom you’ll be connected. You will be honored at special events, receive recognition in the 2022-2023 season programs and other department reports and receive updates from your student. For more information, visit theatre.cofc.edu/support and contact our office at 843.953.6306 to declare your impact.

Impact Sponsor Levels:
BENEFACTOR $2,500+ (for incoming student scholarship)
Add your name here!

GUARDIAN $750 (Clarence Student Award)
Karl & Charlene Bunch
Tap & Jean Johnson
Mindy Seltzer & Bob Lovinger
Evelynn & Bill Putnam
Sam & Nancy Stafford
Charlotte Townsend
Louis & Andrea Weinstein
Chester & Arlene Williams
Anonymous (4)

Special Gifts: (Leave a lasting legacy. Learn more: 843.953.5348 or cofclegacy.org)
Anonymous – legacy gift
Charleston Academy of Music
John Covington & Robert Lukey – legacy gift
Michael & Susan Master – legacy gift

Become a Season Sponsor
As we transitions back to live in-person audiences and mask-free performances last season, we worked hard to keep our students and audiences engaged. We preserved the student experience during these last two years, but we lost essential revenue that plays a huge role in funding our season’s productions. Your donations contribute to funding the essentials needed for scenery, lighting, sound, and costumes, but more importantly, they help support student employees, student research and travel, and other student-focused experiences. We can’t do this without your generosity!

Season Sponsor Levels:
PRODUCER $1000+
Karl & Charlene Bunch
Tap & Jean Johnson
Sam & Nancy Stafford
Chester & Arlene Williams

ADVOCATE $750-999
Janine McCabe
Matt & Gretchen McLaine
Evelynn & Bill Putnam
Mindy Seltzer & Bob Lovinger
Nancy & Sam Stafford
Louis & Andrea Weinstein
Jonathan & Janine Wentz

STAR $500-749
Michael & Susan Master
James McKenna
Valerie B. Morris

DIRECTOR $250-499
Janice and Jay Messeroff

FAN $100-249
Kristin Alexander
Justin Van Beusecum

PATRON up to $99
Laura C. Bayless, Stephen & Allegra Litvin


Director’s Note

Over 12 years ago, I was asked to direct an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice here at the College of Charleston. I had read the novel as a college student, but it had little impact on me at the time. As a result, my love for all things Austen didn’t begin until our production in 2011. Working on that production caused a seismic shift in my perception of 19th-century English writers generally, and Austen in particular. I came to respect and love this writer, particularly in the context of being a female novelist in a time and culture which didn’t encourage women to make such a career for themselves. But not only did Jane Austen write successfully, she wrote about women who sought to chart a course for themselves which might include having some say in how they lived, where and with whom they lived and how they supported themselves. In addition to enjoying the elements of Pride and Prejudice which many do, most notably the oft-thwarted romance between the proud and sometimes prejudiced Elisabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, I thought “Wow, this is funny! Who knew?” I found Austen’s characters smart and witty, and their conversations hilarious. That realization infused our 2011 production of Pride and Prejudice.

Years later, I’ve been gifted the opportunity to revisit many of the same characters, in an original play by two writers, one of whom, Lauren Gunderson, I’ve loved for the past few years. She and Margot Melcon have written about the lives of four of the Bennet sisters, picking them up two years after the end of Pride and Prejudice. Like Austen’s work, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley deals with thwarted love, the idiosyncrasies of a colorful family, and the roadblocks that their society which, like ours today, places in the way of women who choose their own path. Thankfully, this play grants these women an opportunity to take ownership over their lives.

Perhaps most notable among them is the creative and brilliant Mary Bennet, possibly the least developed sister in Austen’s novel, though considered by some to have elements of JA in disguise. In this play, Mary Bennet finds what not all women at that time could even dream of: a loving and equal partnership with someone who would be attracted to her for the very things others might find off-putting, including a voracious intellect, verbal candor, and a mischievous wit. She is also someone we can root for.

Lastly, like Pride and Prejudice, I think Miss Bennet is really funny. We’ve chosen to find not only the humor in the things these characters say, but also the physical humor in the odd ways they socialize, in the things they do. They are characters who deserve to be heard today, for their huge capacities to love, for their oddness and quirks and their willingness, like Mary and Arthur, to dream a wonderful world into existence.

—Evan Parry
Director


Dramaturgical Note

The plot of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s play Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley is quite simple: nerdy main character meets fellow nerdy character, they hit it off, obstacles get in the way of their relationship, but they power through it all and kiss at the end. The play takes place after the conclusion of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and the plot line echoes that story, but it centers on one of Austen’s minor characters, and the action has been condensed significantly. Whereas the story of Pride takes place over the span of about a year, the story of Miss Bennet spans less than a week. This could be attributed to the differences in length of their medium—Pride has about 120,000 words and would take about seven hours to read, whereas Miss Bennet has a runtime of about two hours—but there are many plays of similar length that span far greater periods of time within their plots. So, how is it possible that Miss Bennet can convey such a tumultuous story in just a few in-story days? The reason for this is the same one as to why those two love interests stand out so much in the first place: they eschew social and societal norms, they value accuracy and truth over farce, and they’re not afraid to talk about their niche interests, which they (and only they) share. In other words, they’re nerds. 

The concept of the stereotypical “nerd” is actually fairly recent, its modern usage having originated in the 1960s, just as computers and other digital technologies were being developed quicker and quicker. With each decade, nerds were associated with whatever the latest technological development was, knowledgeable on it to a pathological extent, with this knowledge taking up so much room in their big brains that familiarity with social cues and conventions had no room to live. Thus, the nerd often manifests as an awkward facts-obsessed outcast, who’s often the butt of the jokes of less socially inept people. The word “nerd” didn’t exist back in Jane Austen’s day, but key aspects of the nerd concept were nonetheless present, as we see in her original depiction of Mary Bennet.

Mary in Pride and Prejudice is described as the plainest in appearance of all the Bennet sisters, with her and her parents compensating for this apparent lack of marriageability with music lessons and encyclopedias. However, all this does is make her unsociable and unclever personality all the more agitating. And so, Pride ends with three of the Bennet sisters married, the second youngest living with her aunt and uncle in London, and Mary stuck at home, continuing her unending studies. 

There’s been a cultural reclamation in recent years of nerd (and geek) culture as a cool, positive lifestyle, especially for women, who in earlier decades weren’t even considered able to be nerds—and if they were, they had to drastically change their personality and appearance in order to be acceptable to anyone, but especially potential love interests. As a product of that reclamation, Miss Bennet questions those older ideas that nerdy women couldn’t be accepted for who they were—thereby also challenging Pride’s assertions that Mary is so unlikeable. Why is Mary, the most educated and trained of all the Bennet sisters, made to be so unappealing? Her musical endeavors are shown to be in vain, performing at average or below average skills with both the pianoforte and her voice; her conversational style is generally pompous but dense; and her plain facial features are unable to make up for her lack in performance and conversational skills, and vice versa. It’s as if Austen is punishing Mary for daring to try to be more accomplished than she is, or should be.

In Christmas at Pemberley, Melcon and Gunderson subvert Austen’s characterization of Mary by having her obtuseness and awkward social behavior actually attract people, and quickly. Her straightforward and literal manner of communicating has the effect in Pride of stilting conversation, while in Miss Bennet, it forces the conversation to move on from pedantic gossip to something more constructive. What she says to alter conversations didn’t change much from the novel to the play; rather, what changes is how other people react. In accepting and respecting her thoughts and contributions, they make the effort to actively respond to what she says, and in doing that, they take in her different perspective and change their own, becoming more complex and well-rounded people in the process. And in having her thoughts and contributions respected in this way, Mary, opens herself up in ways she never thought she could. By no means does she put her heart on her sleeve, but she takes to recognizing and expressing her desires, even in stilted and guarded ways. Her plea to the love of her life to stay with her illustrates both her unique style and and a valuable lesson to all of us:

“It often seems the world would be a better place were we all to say what we mean… Which is that… you shouldn’t travel in the snow… And it will be dark soon… And it is Christmas Eve.”

—Molly Crary
Dramaturg


Cast and Production Team Biographies

Brandon Alston (Fitzwilliam Darcy) is a junior majoring in Theatre (Costume Design and Technology). This is their third mainstage show at the College of Charleston.

Madison Berry (Assistant Director) is a junior double majoring in Theatre (Performance and Scenic Design and Technology). This is her first time assistant directing for the mainstage. She would like to thank Evan Parry for the opportunity to collaborate with such a talented group!

Savannah Blake (Costume Designer) is a senior majoring in Theatre (Costume Design and Technology). This is her fifth mainstage show at the College of Charleston, having designed Pipeline, Wanderlust, Finding Home and Once More.

Cat Champlin (Anne De Bourgh) is a senior double majoring in Arts Management & Theatre (Performance) with a minor in Italian Studies. This is her fourth time acting in a mainstage show at the College of Charleston.

Molly Crary (Dramaturg) is a Theatre major (Theatre Studies). Other credits include assistant stage managing the Fall 2020 production of Antigone, and serving as dramaturg for Everybody.

Glenna Durbin (Mary Bennet) is a senior double majoring in Theatre (Performance) and History with a minor in dance.  This is her seventh mainstage show at the College of Charleston.

Ben Hudd (Arthur de Bourgh) is a sophomore majoring in Theater (Performance). This is his second main stage show at the College of Charleston.

Isabella Gardner (Lizzy) is a sophomore double majoring in Theatre and Arts Management. This is her first mainstage show at the College of Charleston, and is so excited to get an opportunity to perform! 

Rebecca McLeod (Stage Manager) graduated from CofC this past spring. She has stage managed for a number of past mainstage productions (Cabaret and A Sudden Spontaneous Event, among others).  She is most excited to work with Evan again and the wonderful cast!

Mason Monti (Charles Bingley) is a senior majoring in Theater (Performance). This is his third mainstage show at the College of Charleston. 

Ella Moore (Edith/Mary & Lydia understudy) is a junior majoring in Theatre (Performance and Scenic/Lighting Design and Technology). This is their first mainstage show at the College of Charleston.  

Ethan Robey (Scenic Designer) is a senior majoring in Theatre (Scenic/Lighting Design and Technology). This is their first experience as lead designer and has worked as an assistant on multiple shows at the College of Charleston.

Brandi Smalls (Jane) is a sophomore majoring in Theatre (Concentration). This is their second mainstage show at the College of Charleston.

Sara Whitehead (Lighting Designer) is a senior majoring in Theatre (Lighting Design and Technology). She has previously designed dance pieces from Wanderlust and Shifting Perspectives and is looking forward to designing Two Gentlemen of Verona for her senior capstone in the Spring. 

Kate Yarbray (Lydia) is a sophomore double majoring in Theatre (Performance) and English (Literature, Film, & Cultural Studies). This is her first production at the college and she is thrilled to be working with such a brilliant cast and crew. Her most recent credits include co-lighting design for The Swing of the Sea and stage management for The Cake with Center Stage. She’d like to thank Evan Parry for this wonderful opportunity.


Up next!

Join us for our end-of-semester showcases of student work!
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Coming this Spring!

Learn about our Spring mainstage productions here.


Center Stage presents Proof by David Auburn
January 2023
Learn more at Center Stage’s website.

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CofC Stages presents Miss Bennet, a continuation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

New holiday classic Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley extends storyline of Pride and Prejudice

“…an unstuffy, highly entertaining and warm-spirited work, the kind of thing multiple generations can enjoy together.” —Chicago Tribune.

CofC Stages presents the play Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, a sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Penned by Lauren Gunderson and Margo Melcon, Miss Bennet is set two years after the novel ends and continues the story, this time with middle-sister Mary as the unlikely heroine. Spending most of her time in the company of books and her piano, Mary has grown tired of her role as the obedient daughter and dreams of forging a new path. When the family gathers for Christmas at Pemberley, an unexpected guest sparks Mary’s hopes for independence, an intellectual match, and possibly even love. Carrying CofC Stages’ 2022-23 season theme, “Constructing Identity,” this witty, romantic comedy promises to captivate longtime fans of Jane Austen and newcomers alike.

Directed by veteran stage actor and Associate Professor of Theatre, Evan Parry, Miss Bennet features a cast composed of student actors. Production designers include theatre majors Savannah Blake (costume design), Ethan Robey (scenic design), Sara Whitehead (lighting design), and Eli Salas (sound design). Recent alumna Becca McLeod serves as stage manager. 

DETAILS: Performances of Miss Bennet at Sottile Theatre (44 George St.) are Nov. 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 20 at 2:00 p.m. Individual tickets are $20 adults; $15 seniors (60+), military/veteran, and youth under 18; $12 CofC students, faculty and staff. Purchase tickets ONLINE:

 

Ticket link for the public

Ticket link for CofC students (for instructions & info click here)

Ticket link for CofC faculty/staff

OR buy tickets at George Street Box Office (Tue-Fri, 10am-4pm, at Sottile Theatre), by emailing gsbo@cofc.edu, or calling (843) 953-4726.   


2022-23 CofC Stages Season 

Visit go.cofc.edu/cofcstages to learn about all six productions that center on the theme “Constructing Identity,” which explores family, love, friendship, and finding one’s place. The diverse characters and stories in the season wrestle with identity, journey, clarity and defining oneself in six productions that include musical theatre, plays and dance.

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Shifting Perspectives – Digital Program

CofC Stages proudly presents

Shifting Perspectives

Artistic Director
Gretchen McLaine
Guest Choreographer
Vincent Brosseau
Costume Shop Manager
Ellen Swick
Technical Director
Evie Palmisano
Technical Director
JD Stallings
Stage Manager
Bambi Barr

October 15-16, 2022
Sottile Theatre, 44 George Street


Jump to: Production Team | Acknowledgements | Cast and Production Team Biographies


Dance Pieces and Program Notes

Zeitgeist
Choreographer: Olga Wise
Costume Designer: Ellen Swick
Lighting Designer: Alex Jones
Music: “Paint it Black” by The Rolling Stones, performed by Absolutely Grand Orchestra and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana, performed by David Garrett; edited by Michael Wise
Projection Design: Michael Wise
Dancers: Camille Cabrera, Kaelyn Kear, Irina Moul
Understudy: Samantha Stinner

Zeitgeist means ‘time-spirit”, or the spirit of a generation. The zeitgeist of the current young generation is the confusion and uncertainty of their future and the fury that grows within. The choice of multimedia, the style of choreography, the meaning of the piece challenged me as a choreographer and allowed me to discover new ways of seeing ballet as an art form that can be thought-provoking and inspiring.

Wheels
Choreographer: Izzy Byers
Costume Designer: Mattie Davis
Costume Coordinator: Maura Peecher
Lighting Designer: Sara Whitehead
Music: Wheels Within Wheels by Penguin Cafe
Dancers: Madison Fisher, Kiley Petit, Avé-Ella Blanchette, Emily Falcone, Ava Woods, Sophie Weiss, Sophie Ketchum, Madison Vaughan, Lindsey Ferguson
Understudies: Elizabeth Vazquez

The circle of familiarity and comfort keeps us in a consistent pattern, but the ability to wander integrates the discovery of new experiences and connections to the spaces and people around us.

Excerpt from La Sylphide
Choreography: restaged by Gretchen McLaine, after August Burnonville
Costume Designer: Maura Peecher
Lighting Designer: Alex Jones
Music: La Sylphide, Act II (edited), performed by the Royal Danish Orchestra and composed by Herman Severin Løvenskjold
Dancers: Ayushi Gaur, Kailee Rafalko
Understudies: Pierson De James, Charlotte Uhlmann

Popular on the European stage throughout the 1800s, the danseuse en travesty movement afforded women the ability to assume power through playing male roles, with privileges that extended into their social spheres. Returning to this tradition allows us to better understand the gender dynamics and differences prevalent in ballet’s Romantic Era. 

No!
Choreographer: Vincent Brosseau
Rehearsal Director: Kristin Alexander
Costume Designer: Madison Roberston
Lighting Designer: Sara Whitehead
Music: 4 Romantic Pieces, Op. 75, B. 150: IV. Larghetto, composed by Antonín Dvořiyfufák
Dancers: Kaelyn Kear, Irina Moul, Claire Natiez, Alyssa Thibeault, Elizabeth Vazquez
Understudies: Leila Crane, Angela Levasseur, Kailee Rafalko

Originally choreographed as a solo 23 years ago, No! is about the struggle of a woman to be heard when she says the word “no.” 


10 MINUTE INTERMISSION


Shades of You
Choreographer: Laurel Van Beusecum
Costume Designer: Madison Robertson
Lighting Designer: Chris Warzynski
Music: “Rhapsody In Blue” (edited), composed by George Gershwin; performed by Joshua Weilerstein, London Philharmonic Orchestra & James Bartlett
Dancers: Taylor Bennett, Izzy Byers, Emily Falcone, Madison Fisher, Mary Galemmo, Angela Levasseur, Kiley Pettit, Sidney Shanahan, Cheyanne Stankiewicz, Lauren Summerville, Charlotte Uhlmann, Halle White
Understudy: Elizabeth Vazquez

As we plead for our own acceptance, and the differences in each other, what force keeps us tethered to society’s standardized exteriors? What paradigm alteration grants permission to allow the shedding of these rigid layers to reveal the vibrant beings that we are? 

In the Shadows of The Red Poppy
Choreographer: Pamela O’Briant
Costume Designer: Zachary Kobylarz
Lighting Designer: Chris Warzynski
Music: Excerpts from The Red Poppy, composed by Reinhold Glière; performed by St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra
Dancers: Avé-Ella Blanchette, Charlotte Papatheoharis
Understudy: Hailey Commodore

Premiering in 1927, The Red Poppy was the first ballet endorsed by the Soviet Union. While the ballet has been criticized for its portrayal of Chinese culture, this version focuses on a double suicide by two members of the corps de ballet that occured during a live performance.

Ode
Choreographer: Kristin Alexander
Costume Designer: Janine McCabe
Lighting Designer: Alex Jones
Music: “Blurred” and “Sparkle” by Bill Ryan; edited by Rob Alexander
Artwork: Mary Walker
Dancers: Glenna Durbin, Mary Galemmo, Destiny Humphrey, Cheyanne Stankiewicz
Understudies: Avé-Ella Blanchette, Alejandra Casco

First created in 2013, Ode is the choreographic interpretation of the visual images of Mary Walker’s artwork stemming from a theme of loss. Having experienced so much loss and unexpected isolation since 2020, the connection between the movement and the artwork has deepened in this restaging and is being performed in front of projected images of Walker’s work for the first time.

Figuratively Speaking (or not)
Choreographer: Charlie Maybee
Costume Designer: Zachary Kobylarz
Lighting Designer: Chris Warzynski
Music: “Decimation” by Charlie Maybee
Dancers: Hailey Commodore, Lindsey Ferguson, Whitney Green, Alyssa Guardino, Dani Harrell, Katie Higens, Kylee Poole

“Because a true revolution has no allies, it’s just that simple. Because true revolution – not a fast one, not a quick one, not a fashionable one – but a real f****n’ revolution is, at its core, spiritual. It is a complete decimation of one’s priorities, beliefs, and way of living…” – Colman Domingo as Ali Muhammad from Euphoria (2020)


Production Team

CofC Stages Artistic Director: Janine McCabe
Director of Dance: Gretchen McLaine
Production Supervisor: Ellen Swick
Stage Management Advisor: Susan Kattwinkel

 

Costume Design Advisor: Janine McCabe
Wardrobe Crew: Shana Lamparello, Lily Lombardi
Sewing & Alterations: Arden McNeill, Maura Peecher, Stef Amezcua Barrientos, and students of Costume 1 class
Costume Shop Staff (select students hired by the Department of Theatre & Dance with support from donor funding): Brandon Alston, Savannah Fatigante, Zachary Kobylarz

Lighting Design Advisors: Lauren Duffie, Caleb Garner
Light Board Programmer and Operator: Eddie Frye
Sound Engineers: Caleb Garner, Eli Salas
Electric Shop Staff (select students hired by the Department of Theatre & Dance with support from donor funding): Mia Bowersox, Alex Jones, Chris Warzynski

Operations Coordinator: Miles Boinest
Marketing & Communications: Nandini B. McCauley
Graphic Designer: Rob Alexander
Photography: David Mandel, Annie Morraye
Publicity: Madison Berry
Box Office: George Street Box Office
House Manager: Isabella Gardner
Office Assistant: Ngaa Magombedze


Special Thanks

Diana Brosseau; Bill Carswell College of Charleston Facilities; College of Charleston’s Office of Sustainability Anja Kelley and the Sottile Theatre staff; Carolyna Ramirez and the George Street Box Office staff


Thank you to all of our donors!

Become an Impact Sponsor
The Department of Theatre and Dance offers opportunities to become an Impact Sponsor. Impact Sponsors have a direct financial and personal impact on individual students with whom you’ll be connected. You will be honored at special events, receive recognition in the 2022-2023 season programs and other department reports and receive updates from your student. For more information, visit theatre.cofc.edu/support and contact our office at 843.953.6306 to declare your impact.

Impact Sponsor Levels:
BENEFACTOR $2,500+ (for incoming student scholarship)
Add your name here!

GUARDIAN $750 (Clarence Student Award)
Karl & Charlene Bunch
Tap & Jean Johnson
Evelynn & Bill Putnam
Mindy Seltzer & Bob Lovinger
Sam & Nancy Stafford
Charlotte Townsend
Louis & Andrea Weinstein
Chester & Arlene Williams
Anonymous (3)

Special Gifts: (Leave a lasting legacy. Learn more: 843.953.5348 or cofclegacy.org)
Anonymous – legacy gift
Charleston Academy of Music
John Covington & Robert Lukey – legacy gift
Michael & Susan Master – legacy gift

Become a Season Sponsor
As we transitions back to live in-person audiences and mask-free performances last season, we worked hard to keep our students and audiences engaged. We preserved the student experience during these last two years, but we lost essential revenue that plays a huge role in funding our season’s productions. Your donations contribute to funding the essentials needed for scenery, lighting, sound, and costumes, but more importantly, they help support student employees, student research and travel, and other student-focused experiences. We can’t do this without your generosity!

Season Sponsor Levels:
PRODUCER $1000+
Karl & Charlene Bunch
Tap & Jean Johnson
Sam & Nancy Stafford
Chester & Arlene Williams

ADVOCATE $750-999
Janine McCabe
Matt & Gretchen McLaine
Evelynn & Bill Putnam
Mindy Seltzer & Bob Lovinger
Nancy & Sam Stafford
Louis & Andrea Weinstein
Jonathan & Janine Wentz

STAR $500-749
Michael & Susan Master
James McKenna
Valerie B. Morris & Boris Bohun-Chudyniv

DIRECTOR $250-499
Janice and Jay Messeroff

FAN $100-249
Justin Van Beusecum

PATRON up to $99
Laura C. Bayless, Stephen & Allegra Litvin


Cast and Production Team Biographies

Vincent Brosseau (guest artist) was born and raised in France. He has appeared with various professional companies in the United States, South America, and France: Ballet Theatre de Tours, Opera de Nantes, Ballet Theatre d’Avignon, National Ballet of Colombia, Susan Van Pelt Dance and Repertory West. He has performed a multitude of roles and works by such renowned choreographers as José Limón, David Parson, Paul Taylor, Kurt Joss, Remy Charlip and Anna Sokolow, among others. For six years, Brosseau directed his own dance company Brosseau DanceWorks based in Charlotte, NC. The North Carolina Dance Theatre, Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, Robert Ivey Ballet and many universities have performed his work. Brosseau’s theatre credits include choreographing Evita, She Loves Me, A Christmas Festival, My Fair Lady, Guys & Dolls, and Carousel. Brosseau was awarded a Savannah College of Art and Design Presidential Fellowship to conceive and direct the film The Photographer and Silence: Dancing Through Fear. Brosseau has held faculty positions at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Kent State University; the University of North Carolina, Charlotte; DeSales University; the University of Nevada, Reno; the University of Wyoming; and Savannah College of Art and Design. He is a graduate of the Julliard School and earned his M.F.A in choreography from The Ohio State University. 

Kristin Alexander is an Associate Professor of Dance at the College of Charleston.  She is the Artistic Director of Annex Dance Company and serves on the City of Charleston’s Commission on the Arts. Kristin most recently choreographed the department’s production of Violet and will be the Artistic Director of the student dance concert Becoming We in the spring.

Bambi Barr is a senior from Beaufort, SC majoring in Biology and Theatre performance. This is her first time stage managing a Mainstage production; most recently she served as house manager and stage manager for the 2022 Piccolo Spoleto Stelle di Domani series.

Taylor Bennett is a senior from Aiken, SC majoring in Early Childhood Education and Dance. This is her seventh dance concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance. She was the Assistant Choreographer for Cabaret and her choreography was last seen in Spring 2022’s Wanderlust

Avé-Ella Blanchette is a sophomore from Nashua, NH majoring in Dance and Special Education. This is her second dance concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance. She last performed in the Spring 2022 concert Wanderlust.

Izzy Byers is a senior from Greenville, SC majoring in Accounting and Dance. This is her seventh dance concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance. She was last seen choreographing and performing in the Spring 2022 concert Wanderlust. 

Camille Cabrera is a junior from Blythewood, SC majoring in Dance and Exercise Science. This is her fourth dance concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance. She last performed and choreographed in the Spring 2022 concert Wanderlust.

Alejandra Casco is a junior from Summerville, SC majoring in Dance and minoring in Arts Management. This is her fifth dance concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance. Her choreography was last seen in the Spring 2022 concert Wanderlust.

Hailey Commodore is a transfer student from Joffrey Ballet School originally from New Jersey, majoring in Dance. This is her very first concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance. 

Leila Crane is a sophomore from Habersham, GA majoring in English and minoring in Dance. This is her second dance concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance. She was previously seen in the Fall 2021 concert Once More.  

Glenna Durbin is a senior from Raleigh, NC majoring in Theatre (Performance) and History with a minor in Dance.  This is her fourth dance concert and sixth Mainstage show with the Department of Theatre and Dance.  She will appear later this season in Miss  Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley.

Pierson DeJames is a sophomore from Columbia, SC majoring in dance. This is her third dance concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance.

Emily Falcone is a sophomore from Smithfield, RI majoring in Dance and Psychology. This is her second mainstage production with the Department of Theatre and Dance. She was last seen in the Spring 2022 dance concert Wanderlust.

Lindsey Ferguson is a freshman from Greenville, SC majoring in Psychology. This is her first dance concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance.

Madison Fisher is a sophomore from Ocean Township, NJ majoring in Dance and minoring in Finance.  This is her third Mainstage Dance Concert with the Department of Theater and Dance.  She was last seen in the Spring 2022 concert Wanderlust.

Eddie Frye is from Lexington, SC and is based in Charleston, SC. He is a recent CofC alum, having received a BA in Theatre. He recently served as lighting designer for the CofC Department of Theatre and Dance season opener Violet.

Mary Galemmo is a senior from Florence, SC majoring in Exercise Science and Dance. This is her fourth dance concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance. She was last seen in the Spring 2022 concert Wanderlust. 

Ayushi Gaur is a freshman from Memphis, TN majoring in Marine Biology and Dance. This is her first dance concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance.

Whitney Green is a junior from Annapolis, MD majoring in Arts Management and minoring in Marketing and Psychology. This is her second dance concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance. She last performed as a dancer in The Magic Flute.

Alyssa Guardino is a junior from Newburgh NY majoring in Dance and Elementary Education. This is her third dance concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance. She last performed in the Fall 2021 concert Once More.

Dani Harrell is a senior from Columbia, SC majoring in Dance and Public Health with a minor in Theatre. This is her second performance with the Department of Theatre and Dance. She was last seen in the Fall 2019 dance concert Legacy

Katie Higens is a Junior from Kiowa, CO majoring in Biology and Dance and double minoring in Neuroscience and Crime, Law, and Society. This is her third dance concert in the Department of Theatre and Dance. She last performed and choreographed in the Spring 2022 concert Wanderlust.

Destiny Humphrey is a junior from Anderson, SC majoring in Marketing and Arts Management with a minor in Entrepreneurship. This is her fourth dance concert in the Department of Theatre and Dance. She last performed in the Spring 2022 dance concert Wanderlust

Alex Jones is a sophomore from Spartanburg, SC majoring in Theatre and minoring in film studies. Recent technical credits include The Swing of the Sea (co-lighting design) and The Cake (properties designer) with Center Stage. They are currently working as the stage manager for PURE Theatre’s production of Clyde’s opening October 27th. 

Kaelyn Kear is a sophomore from Hilton Head Island, SC majoring in Dance and Biology. This is her third main stage production with the Department of Theatre and Dance. She was last seen in the spring 2022 dance concert Wanderlust. 

Sophie Ketchum is a freshman from Nashville, TN majoring in Dance and minoring in Studio Art. This is her first Mainstage production with the Department of Theatre and Dance.

Zachary Kobylarz is a Junior from Pawleys Island, SC majoring in Theatre. This is their third time designing for a mainstage dance concert with their work last being seen in the Spring 2022 dance concert Wanderlust. 

Angela Levasseur is a Freshman from Spartanburg, SC majoring in Chemistry. This is her first performance with the Department of Theatre and Dance. 

Charlie Maybee is an Adjunct Lecturer at the College of Charleston where he teaches courses in tap and modern dance technique. He also currently presents choreography with his collective, Polymath Performance Project, writes for the digital music publication Alchemical Records, and plays rhythm guitar for the local punk band Anergy.

Gretchen McLaine is an Associate Professor and Dance Program Director at the College of Charleston, where she also researches Labanotation and dance reconstruction. Dr. McLaine also serves as an Assistant Editor for the Journal of Dance Education and is the Southeast Regional Director for the American College Dance Association.  

Irina Moul is a senior from Asheville, NC majoring in Dance and minoring in Russian Studies. This is her fourth dance concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance. She was last seen performing in the fall 2021 concert Once More.

Claire Natiez is a senior from Greenville, SC majoring in Dance and Arts Management. Her choreography was presented at ACDA in March 2022. Claire last performed in the Spring 2022 concert Wanderlust. 

Pamela O’Briant is in her 11th year as an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Theatre and Dance.  In addition to teaching Ballet technique and Dance Appreciation, Pamela is a certified Pilates and Gyrotonic instructor. 

Charlotte Papatheoharis is a freshman from Philadelphia, PA majoring in Dance and Economics. This is her first Mainstage production with the Department of Theatre and Dance.

Kiley Pettit is a junior from Ocean City, NJ majoring in Communication and minoring in Marketing & Dance. This is her fourth dance concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance. She last performed in the Spring 2022 concert Wanderlust.

Kylee Poole is a sophomore from Knoxville, TN majoring in Dance and Communication. This is her third mainstage production with the Department of Theatre and Dance. She was last seen in the spring 2022 production of Cabaret. 

Kailee Rafalko is a sophomore from Hackettstown, NJ majoring in Dance and Communication. This is her third concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance. She was last seen in the spring 2022 concert Wanderlust. 

Madison Robertson is a senior from Charleston, SC majoring in Dance with a minor in Theatre. This is her first time designing costumes for a College of Charleston production.

Sidney Shanahan is a junior from Shelton, CT majoring in Business Administration and Dance, as well as minoring in Spanish. This is her fifth dance concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance. She last performed and choreographed in the spring 2022 concert Wanderlust.

Cheyanne Stankiewicz is a sophomore from Greenville, SC majoring in Business Administration and minoring in Arts Management. She last performed in the spring 2022 concert Wanderlust. 

Lauren Summerville is a freshman from Raleigh, NC majoring in English and minoring in Hospitality & Tourism and Dance. This is her first dance concert at the College of Charleston.

Alyssa Thibeault is a freshman from Annapolis, MD majoring in Biology and minoring in Dance. This is her first dance concert at College of Charleston.

Charlotte Uhlmann is a senior from Middletown, DE majoring in Psychology and minoring in Dance. This is her third show she has appeared in for the Department of Theatre and Dance. She last performed in the Fall 2021 dance concert Once More and the Mainstage production of The Magic Flute.

Laurel Van Beusecum has enjoyed nine years of dance instruction for five universities and is currently in her second year at the College of Charleston as an Adjunct Lecturer. While working with both dance majors and non-majors, she seeks to challenge and inspire all students to explore the impact and influence of the arts through studio and lecture courses. 

Elizabeth Vazquez is a freshman from Blythewood, SC majoring in Marine Biology. This is her first dance concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance.

Sophie Weiss is a senior from Charleston, SC majoring in Theatre and minoring in Dance. This is her first dance concert with the Department of Theatre and Dance; she was last seen serving on the technical crew for Everybody.

Chris Warzynski is an actor and designer from Charleston, SC. Chris has been in the Charleston theatre scene since high school and is always looking for ways to challenge audiences. Chris was seen last week in Violet.

Halle White is a sophomore from Greenville, SC majoring in Dance and Arts Management. She last performed in the Fall 2021 dance concert Once More and the Mainstage production of The Magic Flute

Sara Whitehead is a senior from Rock Hill, SC majoring in Theatre. This is her second lighting design for a MainStage production at the college. You can look forward to seeing her lighting design on the final show this semester, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. 

Olga Wise is a graduate of the Bolshoi Choreographic Institute in Moscow, Russia. This is her 5th year being an Adjunct Lecturer at the College of Charleston where she teaches ballet and pointe technique courses. In addition to teaching at the college, Olga, along with her husband, is a Co-Artistic Director of the Robert Ivey Ballet.

Ava Woods is a sophomore from Parkville, MD majoring in Dance. This is her third performance with the Department of Theatre and Dance. She was last seen in spring of 2022’s Wanderlust dance concert.


Land Acknowledgement: We would like to acknowledge that we are located on the traditional lands of the first people of Charleston: The Etiwan, Kiawah, Edisto Natchez Kusso, Santee, and Wassamassaw people (also known as Varner Town Indians). 

We acknowledge and honor all the indigenous people who lived, labored and were faithful stewards of the land. We express our deep gratitude for the land and continued faithful stewardship to the next seven generations. 

We also acknowledge the lives and labor of the Africans who were enslaved to build Charleston, South Carolina. 

On this campus and in this space, African and African-descended people used skilled labor in ornamental ironwork, historic architecture, and low country agriculture and food production. On behalf of the College of Charleston, we acknowledge the Black lives and labor that built our city and our campus.

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CofC Stages presents Shifting Perspectives, a faculty-choreographed dance concert

CofC Stages presents its fall dance concert Shifting Perspectives. Choreographed by faculty and guest artists, this collection of dances portrays our 2022-23 season theme, “Constructing Identity,” by examining dance in ways that challenge traditional conventions or perceptions. An excerpt from “La Sylphide” will be performed in the original danseuse en travesty style, a popular convention from the 1840s in which women danced both the male and female roles. “Ode” is a modern dance inspired by the work of visual artist Mary Walker. Walker’s paintings will be projected behind the performers, deepening the connection between the dancers and the artwork. 

We’re celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the establishment of our dance major, and Artistic Director Gretchen McLaine notes that the major’s growth is reflected in the concert’s diversity of genres. Three ballets, three modern works, a tap piece, and a jazz dance comprise the show, offering something for every audience member. 

DETAILS: Performances of “Shifting Perspectives” at Sottile Theatre (44 George St.) are Saturday, Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 16 at 2:00 p.m. Individual tickets are $20 adults; $15 seniors (60+), military/veteran, and youth under 18; $12 CofC students, faculty and staff. Purchase tickets ONLINE: 
 
Ticket link for CofC students (for instructions & info click here)
OR buy tickets at George Street Box Office (Tue-Fri, 10am-4pm, at Sottile Theatre), by emailing gsbo@cofc.edu, or calling (843) 953-4726.  
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‘Violet’ Program

CofC Stages proudly presents

Violet

Music by Jeanine Tesori
Book and Lyrics by Brian Crawley

Directed by Nakeisha Daniel

Music Director
Laura Turner
Choreographer
Kristin Alexander
Scenic Designer
Max Marshall
Costume Designer
Janine McCabe
Lighting Designer
Eddie Frye
Sound Designer
Caleb Garner
Technical Director
JD Stallings
Costume Shop Manager
Ellen Swick

Stage Manager

Mollie Davis

Dramaturg

Nora Gore

October 5-13, 2022
Chapel Theatre, 172 Calhoun Street

Proudly presented at KCACTF Region IV
February 10, 2023 • Statesboro, GA

Content warning: this production contains adult themes and depictions of lust, bigotry, and racism. This production also features the use of strobe lighting effects. Sequences with flashing and/or strobe lighting may affect those who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy or other photosensitivities.


Jump to: Musical Numbers | Production Team | Acknowledgments | Director’s Note | Cast and Production Team Biographies


          Cast


Gillian Huntley | Violet Karl Abbigail Lemaster | Bus Passenger, Mabel, Hotel Hooker, Choir
Skylar Huntley | Young Violet Chris Warzynski | Leroy Evans, Waiter, Radio Singer, Bus Driver, Choir
Clyde Moser | Father Brasia Jones | Bus Passenger, Gospel Trio, Landlady Almeta, Choir
Jaden Jenkins | Flick Noah Anderson | Bus Driver, Club Patron, Choir
Aidan O’Connor | Monty Lauryn Gadson | Bus Passenger, Music Hall Singer, Choir
Spencer Vinzani | Bus Driver, Preacher, Radio Trio Mekhi Gaither | Flick Understudy, Bus Passenger, Club Patron, Choir
Abby Scruggs | Old Lady, Gospel Trio, Bus Passenger, Choir Delaney Faile | Violet Understudy, Bus Passenger, Club Patron, Choir
Sam Rhodes | Bus Passenger, Virgil, Radio Trio, Billy Dean Neecie Owens | Lula Buffington (Soloist), Gospel Trio, Club Patron

Musical Numbers

1. Water in the Well 14. Anyone Would Do (Reprise)
2. Surprised 15. Hard to Say Goodbye
3. On My Way 16. Promise Me, Violet
4. M&M’s 17. Raise Me Up
5. Luck of the Draw 18. Down the Mountain
6. Question n’ Answer 19. In The Chapel
7. All to Pieces 20. Raise Me Up (Reprise)
8. Let it Sing 21. Look At Me
9. Anyone Would Do 22. That’s What I Could Do
10. Who’ll Be the One (If Not Me) 23. Surprised (Reprise)
11. Last Time I Came to Memphis 24. M&M’s (Reprise)
12. Lonely Stranger 25. Promise Me, Violet (Reprise)
13. Lay Down Your Head 26. Bring Me to Light

Original Production Team

CofC Stages Artistic Director: Janine McCabe
Director of Theatre: Nakeisha Daniel
Production Manager: Ellen Swick
Stage Management Advisor: Susan Kattwinkel
Assistant Director: Clyde Moser
Assistant Choreographer: Whitney Green
Assistant Stage Managers: Amari Woodard, Olivia Maness
Dramaturg: Nora Gore
Assistant Dramaturg: Noah Anderson

Properties Lead: Madison Berry
Properties Room Manager: Alex Jones

Carpenters: Students of Stagecraft class
Scenic Charge: Jonathan Wentz
Assistant Scenic Charge: Max Marshall
Scenic Artists: Bristol Barnes, Madison Berry
Scene Shop Staff (select students hired by the Department of Theatre & Dance with support from donor funding): Bristol Barnes, Madison Berry, Glenna Durbin, Isabella Gardner, Caroline Magee, Ella Moore, Ethan Robey, Eli Salas, Riley Taylor

Assistant Costume Designer: Molly Rumph
Costume Research Assistant: Bella Prado
Wardrobe Crew: Grace Ann Garrell, Joy Gay
Pattern Makers: Savannah Fatigante, Zachary Kobylarz
Sewing & Alterations: Arden McNeill, Maura Peecher, Stef Amezcua Barrientos, and students of Costume 1 class
Costume Shop Staff (select students hired by the Department of Theatre & Dance with support from donor funding): Savannah Fatigante, Zachary Kobylarz, Brandon Alston

Lighting Design Advisor: Lauren Duffie
Head Electricians: Alex Jones, Chris Warzynski
Electricians: Mia Bowersox, Duncan Charles, Hava Criss, Joey Kirkman, Zach Kobylarz, Caroline Magee, Jacob Reiss, Steven Witt
Light Board Programmer: Lauren Duffie
Assistant Sound Designer: Eli Salas
Electric Shop Staff (select students hired by the Department of Theatre & Dance with support from donor funding): Alex Jones, Chris Warzynski

Operations Coordinator: Miles Boinest
Marketing & Communications: Nandini B. McCauley
Graphic Designer: Rob Alexander
Photography: David Mandel, Annie Morraye
Box Office: George Street Box Office

KCACTF Production Team

Stage Manager: Mollie Davis
Assistant Stage Managers
: Olivia Maness, Amari Woodard
Technical Director
: JD Stallings

Music Director: Laura Turner
Audio Engineer
: Dustin Brause

Electrics Leads: Lauren Duffie, Eddie Frye, Chris Warzynski
Electrics Crew
: Molly Crary, Kate Yarbray, Isabella Gardner, Delaney Faile

Wardrobe Supervisor: Ellen Swick
Wardrobe Crew: Aidan Wunderley, Zach Kobylarz, Savannah Blake, Mira Turkewitz
Scenic Leads: Ethan Robey, Max Marshall, Glenna Durbin, Madison Berry
Scenic Crew: Annie Morraye, Noah Anderson, Brasia Jones, Jaden Jenkins, Gillian Huntley, Sam Rhodes, Spencer Vinzani, Abby Scruggs, Clyde Moser, Lauryn Gadson, Bea Lemaster, Aidan O’Connor, Nora Gore, Neecie Owens, Mekhi Gaither, Mason Monti, Skylar Huntley, Whitney Green


Violet is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com




Sponsored by Fox Music House Charleston

Special Thanks:

College of Charleston Facilities, College of Charleston’s Office of Sustainability, Anja Kelley, Carolyna Ramirez, the George Street Box Office staff, Fox Music House Charleston, Dustin Brause, President Andrew Hsu, Dean Edward Hart


Thank you to all of our donors!

Become an Impact Sponsor
The Department of Theatre and Dance offers opportunities to become an Impact Sponsor. Impact Sponsors have a direct financial and personal impact on individual students with whom you’ll be connected. You will be honored at special events, receive recognition in the 2022-2023 season programs and other department reports and receive updates from your student. For more information, visit theatre.cofc.edu/support and contact our office at 843.953.6306 to declare your impact.

Impact Sponsor Levels:
BENEFACTOR $2,500+ (for incoming student scholarship)
Add your name here!

GUARDIAN $750 (Clarence Student Award)
Evelynn & Bill Putnam
Mindy Seltzer & Bob Lovinger
Sam & Nancy Stafford
Louis & Andrea Weinstein
Chester & Arlene Williams
Anonymous (3)

Special Gifts: (Leave a lasting legacy. Learn more: 843.953.5348 or cofclegacy.org)
Anonymous – legacy gift
Charleston Academy of Music
John Covington & Robert Lukey – legacy gift
Michael & Susan Master – legacy gift

Become a Season Sponsor
As we transitions back to live in-person audiences and mask-free performances last season, we worked hard to keep our students and audiences engaged. We preserved the student experience during these last two years, but we lost essential revenue that plays a huge role in funding our season’s productions. Your donations contribute to funding the essentials needed for scenery, lighting, sound, and costumes, but more importantly, they help support student employees, student research and travel, and other student-focused experiences. We can’t do this without your generosity!

Season Sponsor Levels:
PRODUCER $1000+
Karl & Charlene Bunch
Sam & Nancy Stafford
Chester & Arlene Williams

ADVOCATE $750-999
Janine McCabe
Matt & Gretchen McLaine
Evelynn & Bill Putnam
Mindy Seltzer & Bob Lovinger
Nancy & Sam Stafford
Louis & Andrea Weinstein
Jonathan & Janine Wentz

STAR $500-749
Michael & Susan Master
James McKenna

DIRECTOR $250-499
Janice and Jay Messeroff

FAN $100-249
Justin Van Beusecum

PATRON up to $99
Laura C. Bayless, Stephen & Allegra Litvin


Director’s Note

Violet is a story about the scars we all wear internally and externally. In staging this production at CofC, I made the choice not to have a physical manifestation of Violet’s injury. This means at no point in the show will the audience see Violet’s scar. My decision lies in the desire to explore the intersectionality of the collective moment in the 1960s, as well as the journey each character takes to self discovery. Rather than focusing solely on Violet’s disfigurement, I hope the audience’s curiosity will expand to this country’s national scars that are slow to heal.

—Nakeisha Daniel
   Director

Dramaturgical Note

Based on the short story “The Ugliest Pilgrim” by Doris Betts, Violet takes place in 1964, after the Civil Rights Act had just been passed and the United States increased their involvement in the Vietnam War. Violet Karl takes a Greyhound bus to Tulsa, Oklahoma to embark on a journey to have her scar healed by a famous televangelist. Like Violet, the people she meets along the way are also on their own personal journeys towards something greater in life, as was American society as a whole. These characters are facing issues brought on by race, war, and religion, yet are able to come together and interact on the issues they are facing. Throughout the story we see their perceptions and responses to each other, more importantly, we get to see those perceptions evolve. Perspective and perception are an integral part of Violet because we see one woman’s limited view of the world, and especially herself. Violet believes that healing her scar and conforming to an unrealistic beauty standard will solve all of her problems and her perceptions are heavily influenced by the people she encounters.

Although this story takes place in the past, the issues and themes within the show are not as far away as we think they are. Our society has made great social progress since 1964, but we are still in a time of change and are still fighting for a better world. Like Violet, we can surround ourselves with different people that can teach us so many things about different cultures, lifestyles, and foster a community that will last a lifetime.

—Nora Gore
   Dramaturg


Cast and Production Team Bios

Jeanine Tesori (Composer) won the Tony Award for Best Original Score with Lisa Kron for the musical Fun Home. She has also written Tony-nominated scores for Twelfth Night at Lincoln Center; Thoroughly Modern Millie (lyrics, Dick Scanlan); Caroline, or Change (lyrics, Tony Kushner); and Shrek The Musical (lyrics, David Lindsay-Abaire). The production of Caroline, or Change at the National Theatre in London received the Olivier Award for Best New Musical. Her 1997 Off-Broadway musical Violet (lyrics, Brian Crawley) opened on Broadway in 2014 and garnered four Tony nominations, including Best Musical Revival. Opera: A Blizzard on Marblehead Neck (libretto, Tony Kushner; Glimmerglass) and The Lion, The Unicorn, and Me (libretto, J. D. McClatchy, Kennedy Center). Music for plays: Mother Courage (dir. George C. Wolfe, with Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline), John Guare’s A Free Man of Color (Lincoln Center Theater, dir. George C. Wolfe), and Romeo and Juliet (Delacorte Gala). Film scores: Nights in Rodanthe, Every Day, and You’re Not You. Ms. Tesori is a member of the Dramatists Guild and was cited by the ASCAP as the first female composer to have two new musicals running concurrently on Broadway. She was the founding artistic director of Encores! Off-Center at New York City Center, and a lecturer in music at Yale University. Most of all, she is the proud parent of Siena Rafter.

Brian Crawley (Book and Lyrics) is a playwright and screenwriter. He wrote the book and lyrics for A Little Princess (composer Andrew Lippa) which debuted at Theatreworks of Palo Alto in the summer of 2004. He also wrote the book and lyrics for Violet (composer Jeanine Tesori) which was mounted Off-Broadway by Playwrights Horizons in 1997, then remounted in a concert version in 2003 to help inaugurate their new theater. Other musicals he has written include Evangeline with Ted Dykstra, and Down There with composer Lewis Flinn. He appears in the documentary One Night Stand, in which he writes a short musical in 24 hours with composer Gabriel Kahane. For the libretto of Violet, Brian won the Kleban Award. Prior to the Playwrights Horizons production, and on its behalf, Violet was given the Richard Rodgers Musical Production Award and an AT&T OnStage Award. Afterwards, besides a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical, Violet received the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical over all the year’s Broadway offerings (as did Paula Vogel’s play How I Learned to Drive; the first time two off-Broadway pieces took these top awards in the Drama Critic Circle’s history). Brian’s plays have been developed or staged at Lincoln Center, New York Theater Workshop, the National Alliance of Musical Theatre, and the Eugene O’Neill summer theater conference. He majored in Theater Studies at Yale and has an MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Brian is a member of the Dramatists Guild.

Guest Artist Eddie Frye (Lighting Designer) is from Lexington, SC and is based in Charleston, SC. He is a recent CofC alum, having received a BA in Theatre (Costume Design and Technology). Eddie is excited to begin his professional career with a musical at his alma mater. He hopes to continue bringing color and light to each show in which he’s involved.

Guest Artist Caleb S. Garner (Sound Designer) is a lighting and sound designer based in Charleston, SC. A North Carolina native, he received his BA and BFA from Catawba College in Salisbury, NC, and his MFA from The University of Southern Mississippi. Caleb’s designs – ranging from concerts and ballets to musicals and straight plays – have earned him eight design awards, including second place at the National Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Washington, DC. Caleb has been a featured designer from New York to Mississippi, designing in the Northeast, Midwest, East Coast and Deep South. As a (sometimes transplanted) southerner, he is proud to come from the Southeast and champions the rich southern tradition of art and design. Caleb serves as the resident lighting designer of the Charleston Stage  Company and Artist in Residence of Lee Street Theatre in Salisbury, NC.

Noah Anderson (Bus Driver, Ensemble) is a junior double majoring in History and Theatre. This is his second mainstage show at the college. He has also been seen in Cabaret and The Swing of the Sea

Mollie Davis (Stage Manager) is a junior majoring in Psychology and a minor in Theater. She has served as an assistant stage manager for Pipeline, Everybody, and Cabaret. She is excited to serve as stage manager for the first time with an amazing cast and crew. 

Delaney Faile (Dance Captain/Ensemble/Violet Understudy) is a sophomore majoring in Arts Management and Theater (Performance). She is so excited to be in Violet for her first mainstage show. Delaney can also be seen performing with local theatre company Footlight Players.

Lauryn Gadson (Music Hall Singer/Ensemble) is a junior majoring in Theatre (Performance). She was last seen in Cabaret and Wanderlust.

Mekhi Gaither (Bus Passenger/Ensemble/Flick Understudy) is a senior majoring in Theatre (Theatre for Youth). He is beyond grateful for the cast and crew and is excited to be a part of this production. He has previously been seen in Pipeline, Everybody and The Arts under the Oaks Festival.

Nora Gore (Dramaturg) is a Junior majoring in Theatre (Performance) and this is the second mainstage show she has worked on as dramaturg. She was previously Dramaturg for Cabaret and appeared in How the Vote Was Won and Center Stage’s The Swing of the Sea.

Gillian Huntley (Violet Karl) is a senior majoring in Theatre (Performance). She has been seen previously in Living Dead in Denmark and How the Vote was Won. She is thrilled to be telling this story. She would like to thank Nakeisha Daniel and Laura Turner for giving her the chance to be on stage. She would also like to thank her voice teacher Diana for helping her with the show. 

Skylar Huntley (Young Violet) is a senior majoring in Theatre (Performance). She was seen previously in the main stage’s Antigone and Center Stage’s The Swing of the Sea. She is so excited to be a part of this show and wants to thank Nakisha and Laura for giving her this amazing opportunity.

Jaden Jenkins (Flick) is a senior majoring in Theatre (Theatre for Youth). This will be his final musical performance at CofC. He has previously been seen in Cabaret, Choir Boy, and Urinetown. He’s excited to hit the stage once again in this production of Violet

Brasia Jones (Ensemble) is a junior majoring in Theatre (Performance). This is her second show at the College of Charleston.

Abbigail Lemaster (Hotel Hooker/Bus Passenger/Ensemble) is a junior majoring in  Theatre Studies and minoring in Arts Management. She is so excited for her first role with the MainStage theatre department, having previously worked backstage and extensively with Center Stage, the student theatre group.

Max Marshall (Scenic Designer) is a Senior majoring in Theatre (Scenic Design and Technology). This is his third mainstage production with the Department of Theatre and Dance. Max was last seen on stage as Herr Schultz in Cabaret, in addition to serving as assistant scenic designer for Cabaret and The Magic Flute. Max would like to thank everyone who helped bring the design team’s vision to fruition!

Clyde Moser (Father) is currently working on his Master of Arts in Teaching in Performing Arts (Theatre). Clyde graduated from the College of Charleston in 2017 with a BS in Middle Grades Education and a BA in Theatre Performance. He has performed in multiple shows in Charleston as well as NYC such as RENT, The Addams Family, Spring Awakening, and A Chorus Line.

Aidan O’Connor (Monty) is a junior majoring in Theatre (Performance). He is extremely grateful to be a member of the Violet cast during his first semester at the College of Charleston. Recent credits include Rumors, As You Like It, Rabbit Hole, and Proof

Sam Rhodes (Virgil/Ensemble) is a sophomore majoring in Theatre (Performance). This is his first mainstage show. He has appeared in the Center Stage productions of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Cake.

Abby Scruggs (Old Lady) is a sophomore majoring in Theatre (Performance) and Political Science with a minor in Music. She is excited to make her mainstage debut in Violet

Spencer Vinzani (Preacher/Ensemble) is junior majoring in Theatre (Performance). He appeared on the mainstage last year in Cabaret. He is excited to work alongside the cast to present Violet.

Chris Warzynski (Bus Driver/Ensemble) is a junior majoring in Theatre (Scenic/Lighting Design and Technology). Chris has been in the Charleston theatre scene since high school and is always looking for ways to challenge audiences. Chris was last seen in Cabaret and will be designing three pieces in the Shifting Perspectives dance concert later this season.


Land Acknowledgement: We would like to acknowledge that we are located on the traditional lands of the first people of Charleston: The Etiwan, Kiawah, Edisto Natchez Kusso, Santee, and Wassamassaw people (also known as Varner Town Indians). 

We acknowledge and honor all the indigenous people who lived, labored and were faithful stewards of the land. We express our deep gratitude for the land and continued faithful stewardship to the next seven generations. 

We also acknowledge the lives and labor of the Africans who were enslaved to build Charleston, South Carolina. 

On this campus and in this space, African and African-descended people used skilled labor in ornamental ironwork, historic architecture, and low country agriculture and food production. On behalf of the College of Charleston, we acknowledge the Black lives and labor that built our city and our campus.

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2022-23 Season to open with Violet, a musical about self-discovery

CofC Stages’ 2022-23 season centers on the theme “Constructing Identity,” exploring family, love, friendship, and finding one’s place. The diverse characters and stories this season wrestle with identity, journey, clarity and defining oneself in six enthralling productions that include musical theatre, plays and dance.

Opening the season is award-winning musical Violet (Drama Critics’ Circle Award, Lucille Lortel Award – Best Musical), which tells the story of a young woman’s quest for beauty amidst the image-obsessed landscape of the 1960s. Facially disfigured in a childhood accident, Violet dreams of a miraculous transformation through the power of faith. Convinced that a televangelist in Oklahoma can heal her, she hops a Greyhound bus and starts the journey of a lifetime, discovering love and the true meaning of beauty along the way.

DETAILS: Performances of Violet at the Chapel Theatre (172 Calhoun St.) are Oct. 5th-8th. Curtain times are 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 5th-8th, with a 2:00 p.m. matinee on Oct. 8th. Four new performance dates have been added: Monday, October 10th, Tuesday, October 11th, Wednesday, October 12th, and Thursday, October 13th. Please contact the box office at (843) 953-4726 or gsbo@cofc.edu if you need assistance transferring or purchasing tickets. 

Discounted season ticket packages are available for all six CofC Stages productions. Individual tickets are $20 for adults; $15 for seniors (60+), military/veterans, and youth under 18; and $12 for CofC students, faculty, and staff. Purchase season packages or individual tickets ONLINE or contact the George Street Box Office by emailing gsbo@cofc.edu or calling (843) 953-4726.  

Composed by Jeanine Tesori (music) and Brian Crawley (book, lyrics), Violet premiered Off-Broadway in 1997 and debuted on Broadway in 2014, where it garnered four Tony nominations. Tesori is known for her Tony Award-winning score for Fun Home and Tony-nominated Broadway scores for Twelfth Night at Lincoln Center, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Caroline, or Change and Shrek the Musical. Crawley has written several musicals, including A Little Princess, Evangeline and Down There. He won the Kleban Award for the libretto of Violet.

Directed by Assistant Professor of African American Theatre and Performance, Nakeisha Daniel, with musical direction by fellow theatre professor Laura Turner and choreography by Associate Professor of Dance, Kristin Alexander, the College’s production is a musical gem recommended for all ages. Daniel shares, “Violet is a dynamic, witty, and heartfelt musical. There is truly something for everyone to enjoy in this compelling story. Audiences should come prepared to laugh, lament, and tap their feet to the gorgeous music.”

The cast is led by Gillian Huntley in the role of Violet, Jaden Jenkins as Flick, and Aidan O’Connor as Monty. Students of all class years comprise the cast and crew, and the show’s designers include faculty member Janine McCabe (costume design), student Max Marshall (scenic design), recent graduate Eddie Frye (lighting design), and adjunct faculty member Caleb Garner (sound design). Student Mollie Davis, a major in Psychology with a Theatre minor, serves as stage manager.


CofC Stages: 2022-23 Season 

Visit go.cofc.edu/cofcstages to learn about all six productions that center on the theme “Constructing Identity”:  

Violet by Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley 

Shifting Perspectives (faculty-choreographed dance concert) 

Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon

Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare

Becoming We (student-choreographed dance concert)

Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet by Tarell Alvin McCraney

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