ISHKODE
Co-Produced by Double Edge Theatre and Ohketeau Cultural Center

Written, created, and performed by Tomantha Sylvester
Directed and designed by Travis Coe

Research Technicians:
Adam Bright
Travis Coe

Ishkode unearths (or perhaps re-earths) and retells the Seven Fire Prophecies of the Anishinaabek. The Prophets spoke of a time when humanity would face a critical decision: to choose the path of destruction and malice or the path of life and unity. All that was prophesied has come to pass, and we are said to be living in the time of the last fire, where a “New People” will emerge to lead us into harmony and balance. Set in a technologically advanced research facility, we are taken on an unexpected journey through time by a whimsical, ever-evolving human… and robot?

The Heron’s Flight

Double Edge Theatre’s 2024 Summer Spectacle
Directed, Original Writing & Text Adaptation by Jennifer Johnson and Travis Coe

A new performance which travels through the gardens, barns, and waterways of DE’s Farm Center. A great blue heron perches silently in a tree, then breaks the surface of the cool green water. Familiar and mythological creatures gather for a Midsummer Feast – an explosive celebration of love, dance, and flight. Walk with us toward transformation in an impossible world as we embrace the knowledge of the land – that each season of life is beloved.

CREATED WITH THE DOUBLE EDGE ENSEMBLE AND COMPANY

Heron: Cariel Klein, Hannah Jarrell, and Jennifer Johnson
Zmeitsa: Milena Dabova
Chiron: Carlos Uriona
Spirit Bear: Tomantha Sylvester
Minos: Karol Matuszak
Phoinix: Victor Rafael Figueroa
Deer: Daina Robins

Luna Moth: Amanda Miller
Goat: John Peitso
Fish: Dylan Young
Rooster: Manuel Uriona
Rabbit: Ewa Timingeriu

Producer: Cariel Klein
Co-Producer: Dylan Young
Executive Director: Adam Bright
Music Composition: John Peitso with Amanda Miller, Dylan Young, Manuel Uriona, and Ewa Timingeriu
Choreography: Milena Dabova and Victor Rafael Figueroa
Aerial Choreography: Stacy Klein and Cariel Klein
Dramaturgy: Amrita Ramanan, Morgan Jenness, and Stacy Klein
Kitchen Staff: Robert Carlton, Karol Matuszak, and Bean Kulp
Overall Design: Stacy Klein
Costume Designer: Tadea Klein
Technical Design and Direction: Andrew Todd
Landscape Design and Wood Features: Silas Riemer
Structural Costume and Flower Design: Amanda Miller
Puppet and Mask Design: Michal Kuriata (Heron Wings & Centaur) and
Cynthia Parker-Houghton (Minotaur) Lighting Designer: John Peitso
Scenic Painting: Michal Kuriata
Puppet Construction: Weaver, Sarah Bluestein, and Sadie Shurberg
Rigging: Adam Bright and Andrew Todd
Production & Carpentry: Ewa Timingeriu, G. BeNu Caldwell, Parker Tey, Eliot Johnson Peitso
Electrician: Weaver
Costume Intern & Dresser: Ash Buckeridge

Production / Lighting Intern & Light Operation: Parker Tey Assistant to the Directors: Samuel Gibbs

Box Office Management: Sylvie Cove
House Management: Cariel Klein, Tadea Klein,
Deb Clapp, Eliot Johnson Peitso, Kelly Shannon, Silas Riemer, and Robert Carlton

Thanks to Kim Pevia, Arlie Hart, and Sam Carpentieri

The Hidden Territories of the Bacchae

Directed by Stacy Klein
Created with the Double Edge Theatre Ensemble

A response to Euripides’ The Bacchae in which women’s rites are no longer in hidden territories but freely able to express their deeply held desires.

Co-created (text adaptation, acting and choreography) with Ensemble members Travis Coe, Milena Dabova, Jennifer Johnson, and Carlos Uriona,
Music composed by Amanda Miller
Aerials by Cariel Klein

Rounding out the Ensemble/Company team are Adam Bright (rigging, producing), Jeremy Louise Eaton (design), Michael Fitzgerald (technical director), Hannah Jarrell (objects), Tadea Klein (costumes), John Peitso (music, lighting), Silas Riemer (stone/tree design), and Tomantha Sylvester (music, acting). 

Long-term collaborators Jeff Bird (designer), Mary Louise Geiger (lighting design), Morgan Jenness (dramaturgy), Walton Wilson (acting)
Guest artist/performers Graceson Abreu Nunez, Micaela Farias Gomez, Nicole Garneau, Lydia Lai, and Vanessa Ogbuehi. 

RAINBOW EXODUS

Conceived, Co-Created, and Performed by Karol Matuszak
Directed, Co-Created, and Overall Design by Travis Coe

Rainbow Exodus is one man’s journey to escape the confines of his conservative upbringing in Poland where people are increasingly hostile towards the LGBTQ+ community. Following each performance, there will be a respondency with Barbara Lanciers, Executive Director of the Trust for Mutual Understanding, a funding agency focussed on art and environmental exchange between the US and 29 countries of the regions of Central and Eastern Europe, and Harold Steward, Executive Director and Cultural Strategist of Boston’s The Theater Offensive, a company that presents liberating art by, for, and about queer and trans people of color.

Text inspired by queer letters and novels from:
Frédéric Chopin’s love letters to Tytus Woyciechowski; Damned Strong Love: The True Story of Willi G. and Stefan K. by Lutz van Dijk; Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski; Who Killed My Father by Édouard Louis; Boy Erased by Garrard Conley

Video and Sound Design by Travis Coe
Lighting by Travis Coe, John Peitso, and Andrew Todd
Bus Stop Design by Michael Fitzgerald and Andrew Todd
Scenic Painting and Decorations by Jeremy Louise Eaton
Scenic Construction and Building by Andrew Todd, Ewa Timingeriu, BeNu, Anoki Mann, and Nantai Mann
Costume by Amanda Miller
Mask by Phoebe Hiltermann

Subtitle Operation and Support by Ewa Timingeriu

Coaching: Carlos Uriona (Acting) and John Peitso (Singing)
Post-Show Respondents: Barbara Lanciers (Trust for Mutual Understanding) and Harold Steward (The Theater Offensive)

“In the recent uneasy years, even stronger than before, our world has experienced another Exodus, the rainbow exodus of queer folks from their home countries - like in the instance of me and my country - Poland. Hateful rhetoric of political language fueled by the most important politicians, public figures and Church hierarchs in Poland has caused already the deaths of many young queer people who could not withstand the pressure of hatred and social rejection. Their words and actions are always against everything and everyone who dares to think differently.

My performance Rainbow Exodus is not only a performance, it is my personal fight and rebellion, it is my celebration and my dance. Created together with my life partner Travis Coe, it is a testimony of our lives, gay lives, and our love that can never be erased from history. It is me and all the colors of my life. It is rainbow and Polish at the same time. It is an attempt to bridge between both crucial identities.”

Karol Matuszak, Co-Creator and Performer

“I want to extend my gratitude to the whole Double Edge Theatre community. I am proud to call Ashfield my home and to be surrounded by people who support me through thick and thin. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to fulfill my dream of directing in our magical barn. Special Thanks to Stacy Klein for your directing mentorship, Milena Dabova for your choreographic consultancy, Gregory Thorpe for letting us rehearse in the South Ashfield Library, to our Polish friends Ewa Timingeriu and Michalina Staniszewska for letting us use your voices in the performance. Thank you to our audience who came out tonight to see this show and your endless support of DE. I invite you into this intimate and queer space of exploration with our performance Rainbow Exodus. This show lives in-between the space of arrival and departure / heaven and hell — where everything can be discovered and everything is possible. Welcome to our inner universe and our fight.”

Travis Coe, Co-Creator and Director

MEMORIES AND DREAMS

DIRECTED AND DESIGNED BY JEREMY LOUISE EATON AND STACY KLEIN

DE’s 20th Summer Spectacle Memories and Dreams, was another performance created for the time of Covid, safe, and with all of DE’s traveling adventures and epic imagination. The spectacle invited visitors to journey through a mosaic of myths and imaginative flight on DE’s Farm as we reinvigorated our memories and dreamed all possible futures together.

Created with the Double Edge Ensemble
Producers: Adam Bright and Cariel Klein
Composers: Amanda Miller,
Deidra Montgomery and John Peitso
Choreography: Milena Dabova

Aerial Choreography: Cariel Klein
Dramaturgy: Morgan Jenness and Jennifer Johnson
Costume Designer: Tadea Klein Lighting Designer: John Peitso Technical Design and Direction: Michael Fitzgerald, with Jeff Bird Grounds Design: Silas Riemer Rigging Design: Adam Bright

PART ONE
Directed and designed by Jeremy Louise Eaton
Created with Matthew Glassman, Hannah Jarrell, John Peitso, Carlos Uriona
Music composed by John Peitso
Poetry by Fukao Sumako, Octavio Paz, Rebecca Elson, Nikita Gill, Nikki Giovanni
Dreamer text by Matthew Glassman
Puppets created by Jeremy Louise Eaton with Phoebe Hiltermann
Carlos Uriona as The Magician
Matthew Glassman as The Dreamer
Hannah Jarrell as The Moon
Travis Coe and Milena Dabova as The Travelers
Cariel Klein as The MoonBird
John Peitso as The Conductor
Musicians: Robert Carlton, Amanda Miller, Ewa Timingeriu, Dylan Young, with Noah Hornick
Moon Guide: Elaine Vaan Hogue
Past Self: Karol Matuszak
Dream Figures and Creatures: Sara Becker, Joey Cosio-Mercado, Angelique Motunrayo Folasade A. C’Dina, Noah Hornick, Rachel Hoy, Mireia Juanals, Caila Katz, Miguel Angel Pacheco

PART TWO
Directed, created and designed by Stacy Klein

The Past Is The Present: Inspired by W. E. B. Du Bois’ Story of “The Princess Steel” and his poem “The Song of Smoke”
Imagery inspired by Kara Walker and Mary Sibande
Created, adapted and performed by Travis Coe

With Angelique C’Dina (Princess Steel), Cariel Klein (Aerial Shadow), Deidra Montgomery (Smoke Queen), Carlos Uriona (Knight)
Composed by Deidra Montgomery

Instrumentation by John Peitso
Shadows: Amanda Miller with Rachel Hoy, Caila Katz
Puppets and instruments: Karol Matuszak, Joey Cosio-Mercado, Noah Hornick
Shadow Light Operator: Catherine Kennedy
Gobo Design: Phoebe Hiltermann

Remaining Memories: Inspired by Once a Blue Moon (Cada Luna Azul)

Written, created and performed by Carlos Uriona
With Travis Coe, Milena Dabova, Matthew Glassman, Hannah Jarrell
Composed by John Peitso and Robert Carlton
Villagers Of The Past and The Now: Sara Becker, Joey Cosio-Mercado, Mireia Juanals, Karol Matuszak, Miguel Angel Pacheco
Musicians: Robert Carlton, John Peitso, Dylan Young, with Noah Hornick
Original house design by Michal Kuriata

Bacchantes’ Ode to Dreams: Inspired by and in respondence to The Bacchae by Euripides
Created and performed by Milena Dabova and Jennifer Johnson
Composed by and musical direction by Amanda Miller and Deidra Montgomery
Aerial Bacchante: Cariel Klein
The Bacchantes: Hannah Jarrell and Ewa Timingeriu, with Sara Becker, Angelique C’Dina, Rachel Hoy, Mireia Juanals, Caila Katz, Elaine Vaan Hogue

In early June 2021, Double Edge Theatre experimented with an evening performance "Howling at the Moon" directed by Stacy Klein. Our first performance collaboration with the Ohketeau Cultural Center. Ohketeau's Co-Director and author Larry Spotted Crow Mann led the way in with a segment of his performance "Freedom in Season," and then four DE Ensemble Members (Travis Coe, Milena Dabova, Jennifer Johnson, and Carlos Uriona) shared fireside, intimate performances around the Farm.

I am the Baron

INSPIRED BY THE SURPRISING TRAVELS & ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN

Created by the Double Edge Ensemble
Directed by Matthew Glassman and Jeremy Louise Eaton Produced by Adam Bright, Cariel Klein, and Stacy Klein Designed by Jeremy Louise Eaton
Written by Matthew Glassman and Mitchell Polin Musical direction by John Peitso

CAST: Carlos Uriona, Milena Dabova, Travis Coe, Adam Bright, Amanda Miller, Hannah Jarrell with Andrew Todd

Jennifer Johnson

John Peitso, Robert Carlton,
Marie Comuzzo, Persephone Sarantidis

Bíborka Béres, Brhiannon Yumei, Csaba Kedves, Lena Wanitsch, Magdalena Bednarek, Michael Valladares, Will Edelson, Xinbei Lin and Springfield Conservatory of the Arts participant Bella Olivera

Poem excerpt from A Map to the Next World by Joy Harjo

Costume Design by Tadea Klein, with Amanda Miller
Rigging Design by Adam Bright
Aerial Choreography by Cariel Klein
Choreography by Milena Dabova

Lighting Design by John Peitso and Zoë Batson
Mural Painting by Michaelangelo Aurello
Shadow Puppet Show Design by Magdalena Bednarek & Csaba Kedves Moon Heads originated by Michal Kuriata

Dramaturgy: Mitchell Polin and Morgan Jenness, with Will MacAdams and Nina Mankin

Vocal Coach: Walton Wilson Vaudeville Advisor: Liza Bielby

Technical Director: Michael Fitzgerald
Production Manager: Andrew Todd
Additional Design and Build: Michael Fitzgerald & Jeff Bird Costumiere: Amanda Miller with Dylan Young Landskeeper: Silas Riemer
Assistant to the Directors: Melissa MacDonald
Production: Camilo Quiroz-Vazquez
Painting: Maxwell Pollard
Running Crew: Owen Kuttner & Eliot Peitso

Directorial and Design Mentor: Stacy Klein, Artistic Director

SUGA

Conceived, Created and Performed by Travis Coe In Conversation with James Baldwin

DIRECTION, DESIGN, AND LIGHTING BY STACY KLEIN

Sound Design by John Peitso
Sound Engineering by Robert Carlton Figures Design by Michal Kuriata
Ladder Design by Michael Fitzgerald Costume Design by Tadea Klein Choreography by Milena Dabova Creative Consultants: Morgan Jenness, Nina Mankin, Baraka Sele, Harold Steward

Respondents to SUGA: Ebony Noelle Golden, Sage Crump, Carlos Uriona, Victor Figueroa, Amrita Ramanan and Desiré Graham
SUGA Exhibit designed by Travis Coe and Jeremy Louise Eaton

Producers/Aerial Rigging & Training by Adam Bright and Cariel Klein
Technical Direction by Andrew Todd
Costumiere: Amanda Miller

Sound Operation by Victor Figueroa
Box Office by Dylan Young and Sylvie Cove

Special thanks to Ebony Noelle Golden, Micaela Farias Gomez, Manuel Uriona, Joe Hill, Sage Crump, muthi reed.

———

Welcome to SUGA, a ritual performance/life ritual which began with research into my ancestry spanning Puerto Rico, Belize, Nicaragua and beyond. A path that would lead me to discover my ancestors through many different forms — such as stories, history, movement, dance, rituals and song. In the development, I found myself on a path of re-membering them which is my process of acquiring ancestral research and discovering in the moment self-made rituals, bringing them into the studio and letting them out into the universe. Eventually, I would start to sew together objects, memories, intentions, with meaning and importance as a way to honor my ancestors by re-membering them and create important tools for centuries of healing, freedom and love.

What soon became most essential to SUGA was a deep process of rediscovering the vibrant kaleidoscope of myself and identity. What I work to garner is a true sense of daily freedoms and love which is essential to this ritual. The performance begins and ends with the sharing of a dream. I dream that I can be any color flower I want to be. I dream of being everything. As a queer, colored man born and raised in America that dream at times feels distant. I have been conditioned to believe that I am really only the sum total of my class, race and sexual orientation in comparison to my white heterosexual peers. This complex conversation I am eternally grateful to have with my spiritual father James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987). I look to him for wisdom and inspiration and he is a huge part of this performance. So I ask you to join me in welcoming him into the space today.

There are many people to thank in this process including my ancestors, my warrior/mentor/great friend Stacy Klein, and all who have embarked on this voyage with me for these current discoveries. I would like to give thanks and love for all those who were/are on a similar journey of garnering the courage to keep finding flight and letting our imaginations and dreams penetrate the universe.

Travis Coe

———

“A solo performance, and particularly Travis Coe’s process,
reaches into the depths of himself and his acting exploration-- to celebrate and sometimes to cry, as he undertakes to break down the personal (and socio-political) walls that inhibit the imagery of his imagination and to allow the full breadth of his body, mind, soul. Thank you for sharing this moment in a journey.”

Stacy Klein

Leonora’s World

INSPIRED BY THE PAINTINGS AND ARTWORK OF LEONORA CARRINGTON

CONCEIVED, DIRECTED AND CREATED BY
Stacy Klein
Co-Created with Jennifer Johnson
All Texts excerpted from Stone Door and Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington

Composed and Arranged by

John Peitso

Designed by

Jeremy Louise Eaton and Stacy Klein

Costume Designs by

Tadea Klein and Amanda Miller

Created and Developed with

Carlos Uriona, Adam Bright, Travis Coe, Milena Dabova, Amanda Miller, Cariel Klein

Produced by Adam Bright and Cariel Klein
Maze, Terrace, and Stone Designs by Silas Riemer
Environmental, Wood and Owl Designs by Michael Fitzgerald
Barn Interior by Michael Fitzgerald and Andrew Todd
Scenic Painting by Michaelangelo Aurello
Choreography by Milena Dabova
Aerial Design & Choreography by Cariel Klein and Adam Bright Creative Consultants: Morgan Jenness, Susan Aberth, Nina Mankin

Double Edge Performing Artists: Jennifer Johnson
Carlos Uriona
Milena Dabova

Hannah Jarrell Travis Coe Amanda Miller Andrew Todd Cariel Klein Matthew Glassman John Peitso Robert Carlton Dylan Young

Collaborating Groups: Open Flame Theatre:

Walken Schweigert, Katie Burgess,

Erica Fladeland, Sea Thomas, Arlo Sombor

One Whale’s Tale:

Ellpetha Tsivicos, Camilo Quiroz-Vazquez,

Michaelangelo Aurello

Collaborating Artists:

Marina Goldman, Jasmine Goodspeed, Joanna Caplan, Ali Bianchi, Graceson Abreu Nunez, Tristan Cameron, Rachel Rees, and dancers Michelle Renée Erard, Molly McBride, Katherine Hreib

Collaborating Musicians:

Deb Reed, Hollie Marron, Rosemarie Caine

Emerging Artists:

Kelly Shannon, Samantha Squires, Jackson Levengood, Persephone Sarantidis, Solly Chase, Bella Oliviera

Technical Direction by Michael Fitzgerald
Production Management and Lead Carpentry by Andrew Todd Master Electrics by Zoe Batson
Video Direction by Travis Coe, Photography by Kim Chin-Gibbons

Designs and compositions adapted from the indoor Leonora & Alejandro performance:
Musical Selections by Alexander Bakshi • Arch and Column Design by Michal Kuriata • Tables by Jeff Bird Giantess Mask Design by Jana Zeller • Bird Mask by Beckie Kravetz • Egg by Ed Branson

Permanent Farm Designs by Cynthia Fisher(mosaic); Jim & Bill Vieira (stone cairns); Harry Dodson (ornamental garden); Nancy Milliken (horse)

Leonora, la maga y la maestra

Direction, Overall Design, and Creation by Stacy Klein

Inspired by Leonora Carrington’s writing The Stone Door, The Hearing Trumpet, The Oval Lady, and Down Below.

COMPOSED BY ALEXANDER BAKSHI
CO-CREATED WITH JENNIFER JOHNSON AND CARLOS URIONA

Leonora - Jennifer Johnson
Adán - Carlos Uriona
Hyena - Travis Coe
Pajaro - Milena Dabova
The Cook - Amanda Miller
The Giantess - Hannah Jarrell Gnome - Desiré Graham
Leonora’s flight - Cariel Klein

Musicians — John Peitso Manuel Uriona

Musical Director: Ludmila Bakshi Dramaturgy: Morgan Jenness and Susan Aberth
Costume Design: Tadea Klein
Lighting Design: M.L Geiger, adapted by John Peitso and Stacy Klein
Overall Scenic Design: Stacy Klein and Michal Kuriata

Additional Set Design: Jeff Bird and Jeremy Louise Eaton
Apparatus Design and Rigging: Adam Bright and Cariel Klein

Mask and Egg Designers: Beckie Kravetz, Jana Zeller and Ed Branson
Technical Director: Andrew Todd Costumiere: Amanda Miller

Set and Painting: Andrew Todd and Ewa Timingeiru
Original Technical Director and Lighting Associate: Michael Fitzgerald and Bailey Rosa

Light Operation and Electrician: Weaver
Assistants: Victor Rafael Figueroa and Tricia Trinh

The Ashfield Town Spectacle began as an Ode to Ashfield and our surrounding community. We conceived of performances and tributes to our way of life, built around
the aerial flight, stilt imaginings, image, and puppetry which allows our group to make a spectacle worthy of a living culture. To our delight and awe, the community has not only joined us, but has brought their own life to the Town Spectacle, imbuing the music, dance, art, and values of the region, allowing us to share a unique way of participating together in a celebration for all times.

Stacy Klein

——

Produced by Stacy Klein and Adam Bright

Directed and curated by the Double Edge Ensemble:
Matthew Glassman (Town Meeting, White Face Figures), Jennifer Johnson
(Historical Ashfield & Oral History), John Peitso (Musical Direction), Milena Dabova (Choreography), Jeremy Louise Eaton (Calder’s Circus), Hannah Jarrell (Stilt Choreography), Carlos Uriona (Acting), Stacy Klein (History, Parade, Lake), Adam Bright (Aerials), with Design Director Michal Kuriata (Visual arts) and Children of the Wild Director Walken Schweigert (Ballad of Shays’ Rebellion)

Performed and created with the Double Edge Company:

Carlos Uriona, Jennifer Johnson, Hannah Jarrell, Matthew Glassman, Amanda Miller, John Peitso, Evan Barth, Jeremy Louise Eaton, Andrew Todd, Travis Coe, Robert Carlton, Carroll Durand, Tadea Klein, and DE Emerging Artists Melissa MacDonald, Hannah Burt, Paola Pilnik, with Vanessa Ogbuehi, and C.O.W.’s Walken Schweigert and Katie Burgess

Music selected, directed and performed by John Peitso, with Amanda Miller, Robert Carlton, and Walken Schweigert (Shays’ composition)

Aerials performed by

Associate Producer: Cariel Klein
Company Manager: Milena Dabova Documentation: Travis Coe, John Peitso, with Lilian White and Kim Chin-Gibbons Graphic Designer & Program:
Jose Neustadt
Poster & Map Art: Michal Kuriata Development Director: Jeff Freeman Chef: Rob Lizotte; Operations: David Flaxman; Interns: Demitri Payne (administration), John Mulholland (production), Gregory Waite (music) Project Collaborators: Ray Gray, Morgan Jenness, Ilan Stavans, Nina Mankin, Josh Platt, Rhonda Anderson, Don Robinson, Thom Griffin, Lizhi Chen, Victoria Masteller, Alexus Maxam-Micciche, John Doyle, Michael Duffy, Ronald Meck, Ben Bowen
Special Thanks: Ray Gray, Harris & Gray; Grace Lesure, Lindlay Wilson, Ashfield Historical Society; April Wesley, Springfield Conservatory of the Arts; Institute of Musical Arts; Ashfield News

Jasmine Rochelle Goodspeed and Rhonda Anderson, Iñupiaq Athabaskan

Historical Musings: Suzi Kingsley Day, Marina Goldman, Chris Rawlings, Betty Stewart, Delta Carney, Hannah Harvester, Kermit Dunkelberg, Michael Hulburt, Richard Warner, Phil Pless

Town Meeting: Buz Eisenberg, Don Robinson, Tom Carter, Lynn Dole, Judy Haupt, Aaron Nelson

Ashfield Plain Cemetery: Tour led by Nancy Gray Garvin and Richard Lilly; Phoebe Lilly and members of the Lilly family remembered by Richard Lilly; Fessenden family reading written by Anna Fessenden; Emerson Conzelman tribute sung by Thom Griffin; William Fitzgerald’s writing read by Michael Fitzgerald; Ruth Craft remembered in story by Susan Craft; Dr. Charles Knowlton’s life spoken about by Nancy Gray Garvin and Richard Lilly; Vera Knowlton Ranous poem read by Jennifer Johnson; the Snow family story told by Mary Snow

Voice and Instruments: Kermit Dunkelberg, Kim Chin-Gibbons, Dan Frank, Thom Griffin, Norma Jean Haynes, David Kulp, Lilly Kulp, Tobias LaMontagne, Zoe Lemos, Hollie Maron, Ronald Meck, Adrian Meck, Christa Mountain, Michael Hulburt, Alexandra Osterman, Joe Osterman, Hannah Harvester, Deb Reed, Gene Hall, Hetty Startup, Jane Willis, Katherine First, Hiro Itoh, Elliott Smolensky

Contra Choreography: Alexandra Osterman, Joe Osterman, Jane Willis, Stephen Taranto, Christa Mountain, Hannah Harvester, Liz Spilsbury

Parade & Lake:
Stilters: Dan Pease, Heather Gray, Noah Cunningham, Lilly Kulp, Zoe Lemos, Melina Taranto; Aerials: Cyrus Cranston, Oliver Cranston, Charlotte Curtis, Sonya Dodson, Naomi Kulp, Abbi Osterman, Katie Osterman, Rachel Pease, Owen Stewart, Eli Stewart, Melina Taranto; Springfield Conservatory of the Arts Parade Performers: Yulissa Aquino, Alexa Connors, Keishany Cruzado, Dascha Darden, Victor Figueroa, Ajiel M. Gonzalez, Precious Montgomery, Brianna Nortez, Elaine Ortiz, Reon Price, Araselie Soto; Horse drawn cart: Roy Nielson; Canoes: Chris Rawlings

Visual Artist Banners: Marcine Appel, Carol Duke, Hannah Harvester, Robert Markey, Jim Murphy, Jim Rosenthal, Susan Halpern Jamie Young, Heather Gray Jennifer Scott, and the Mohawk Art Class Contributors Alex Shippee, Daniel Miner, Chris Graves, Nyah Forth, Angelic Jiminez, Sarah Vight, Lucy Carr, Emma Gougeon, and their teacher Rachel Silverman

Cariel Klein and Evan Barth
Guest Artists: Micaela Farias Gómez & Manuel Uriona, Liza Bielby & Richard Newman (The Hinterlands), Nick Slie (Mondo Bizarro), Will MacAdams Costume Designers: Tadea Klein, Amanda Miller, and Liz Spilsbury Designers: Michal Kuriata (Puppets, Wagons, Heron), Jeremy Louise Eaton (Calder’s Circus), Jeff Bird (Stage boat), John Peitso (Lighting, Sound)
Technical Director: Michael Fitzgerald Carpentry & Construction:
Zoe Batson and Andrew Todd
Rigging: Adam Bright,
Arlie Hart (Pathfinder Rigging),
Ray Gray (Harris and Gray)
Puppet Fabrication & Design:
Mary Plaster
Puppet Fabrication: Jane Bright

We The People

CONCEPTION, DIRECTION, AND OVERALL DESIGN BY

Stacy Klein

CREATED WITH

Carlos Uriona, Jennifer Johnson, Matthew Glassman, Travis Coe,

Adam Bright and Amanda Miller

Texts for Henry Ranney, Giuseppe, & Samuel Nightingale written by Matthew Glassman

Text for Lucy Stone adapted by Jennifer Johnson

Text for W.E.B. Dubois adapted by Travis Coe

Poetry by Walt Whitman, Wendell Berry & Elizabeth Stewart

Musical direction & arrangements by John Peitso, with Robert Carlton and Amanda Miller

Wood designs by Michael Fitzgerald

Natural World designs by Jeremy Louise Eaton

Costume designs by Tada Klein & Amanda Miller

Shaker choreography: Milena Dabova

Dramaturgy & text editing: Morgan Jenness & Nina Mankin

Voice direction: Walton Wilson

Lighting design: John Peitso

Giuseppe The Cobbler: Carlos Uriona

Lucy Stone: Jennifer Johnson

Henry S. Ranney: Matthew Glassman

Samuel Nightingale: Adam Bright

W.E.B. Dubois: Travis Coe

The Songbird: Amanda Miller

Stilters: Hannah Jarrell, Evan Barth, Kean Haunt,

Graceson Abreau Nunez

Aerialists: Cariel Klein & Adam Bright

Shakers: Melissa McDonald, Jessica Debolt,

Emma Sykes, Danny Miller, Persephone Sarantidis

Chorus: Bárbara Casseb (Farmer), Ajiell Gonzalez

(Princess), Alexa Connors (Princess), Zoe Batson (Chinese Pole)

Musicians: John Peitso, Robert Carlton, Kean Haunt, Graceson Abreau Nunez, Alexa Connors, Ajiell Gonzalez, Persephone Sarantidis, Danny Miller

Produced by Adam Bright & Cariel Klein • Production Manager Andrew Todd • Technical Director Michael

Fitzgerald • Farming Equipment & Advisor Ray Gray• Electrician & Lighting Operator Zoe Batson.

Production & Front of House Interns: Cheyenne McCarthy, Demitri Payne, Elizabeth Spindler

The Few

By Samuel D. Hunter, directed by Brad Akin

Four years ago, Bryan walked away from his life, his lover, and his labor of love: a newspaper for long haul truck drivers. Now he’s back, without any answers and looking to finish what he couldn’t on the road. In the middle of nowhere, at the edge of the millennium, The Few pulls together the pieces of lives filled with loss.

CAST: 
Peter Moore*
Dana Black
Travis Coe

PRODUCTION TEAM:
Director – Brad Akin*
Set Design – Lauren Nigri
Lighting Design – Becca Jeffords
Sound Design – Matthew Chapman**
Costume Design – Emily McConnell**
Prop Design – Maria DeFabo**
Assistant Director – Lexi Saunders
Stage Manager - Lauren Lassus**
Dramaturg – Maggie Rogers
Production Manager – Catherine Allen
Technical Director – Alex Rhyan

*Denotes Steep Company Member
**Denotes Steep Artistic Associate

Martyr
A U.S. Premiere

Written by Marius von Mayenburg
Directed by Joanie Schultz

Benjamin's mother and teachers are alarmed when he begins espousing Fundamentalist Christian beliefs. Is it a ploy to ditch swimming class, or is it something more? 
Steep brings one of Germany's most widely produced playwrights to its audiences.

April 16 - May 23, 2015

United States of Amnesia was created by the Room | 916 Collective for the Spring 2014 Chicago Home Theater Festival, which sponsors transformative art presentations in individuals’ homes and nontraditional performance spaces.

The work was originally presented in the home of Chicago professor and activist William Ayers. Taking inspiration from his life and activism, the piece was created as a response to growing up in an uncertain American society, examining “what it means to be, among other things; a servant, a child, a soldier, a consumer, and an intellectual in an increasingly violent, paranoid and uncertain American society.” The performance incorporated dance, improv, Plastique work, and original writing.

The work is developed and performed by Hannah Burt, Travis Coe, Will Green, Will Greenburg, Charles Ha, Dior J. Stephens, Emma Ladji, and Rachel Minkoff.

The Tempest
November 12-22, 2014
Getz Theater

Directed By Tom Mula

SURROUNDED 2.0 was a collaboration hosted by The Unexpected Laboratory between students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Carnegie Mellon University, and Columbia College Chicago. The collaboration took place during a two week residency in Glasgow. This video premiered at TEDx Glasgow before a short excerpt was performed from the original performance.

DIRECTOR: JOE HILL

CHOREOGRAPHER: MOLLY GRIGGS

MEDIA: MICHAEL JAMES

COMPOSERS: MATTHEW POWELL-PALM AND EUAN TAYLOR

CO-CREATORS & PERFORMERS: TRAVIS COE (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR), WILL GREENBURG, ALEX KAMPFNER, NICHOLAS BARTON-WINES, CHARLOTTE DRIESSLER, BOBBY PATRICK GINTY, REBEKAH LUMSDEN

COMING SOON…

SURROUNDED
by The Unexpected Laboratory

Following one boy as he navigates from imagination to being pushed over the edge, Surrounded explores the expanding cultural trend of "unprovoked" violence in a "civilized" world. This killer extravaganza makes stops along the way for everything from grotesque dinner parties to live human testing.

In its world premiere, this production is born at the crossroads of theatre, film, and dance and is strongly influenced by a world in which there have been over 70 school shootings since the Newtown tragedy. Surrounded has been built from the ground up by an ensemble of young artists from eight states and two countries seeking to explore the monstrosities that define the current generation.

The Unexpected Laboratory's first touring production offers a fresh take on the possibilities of creating original theatre. It features live media interaction and a diverse palette of actors stepping into the universal role of Connor.
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This production is directed by Joe Hill, The Unexpected Laboratory's executive director with design and management by Chris Behrendt and Michael James and media design by Mida Chu and Jordan Sucher. The ensemble features Bartley Booz, Travis Coe (Artistic Director), Samie Johnson, Shaun Sutton, and Caleb Wimbrow.

Created, Directed, and Performed by Travis Coe

Adapted from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth

GrimmFest was First Floor Theater's first annual literary festival, and showcased eight short plays inspired by the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm. Attendees of FFT's Launch Party in the fall of 2013 were given the opportunity to help shape the season by casting a vote for which author the literary festival would center around. Over five months, playwrights were approached, drafts work­shopped, directors signed on, shows cast and rehearsed. All eight pieces had one design team, at the crux of which were two visual artists who illustrated projections for each show. Nearly 50 artists  writers, directors, actors, puppeteers, musicians, designers, visual artists, and more collaborated to bring GrimmFest to life!

Festival Staff:

Curators - Will Bishop*, Andrew Cutler*, and Hutch Pimentel* 
Production Management - Eleanor Davis* and Amanda Fink* 
Front of House - Markie Gray* 
Stage Manager - David Federman 
Assistant Stage Manager - Niki Dreistadt 
Scenic Design - Claire Stone* 
Illustration/Projection - Claire Stone* and Briana Finegan 
Sound Design - Bobby Huggins*

The 2013 GrimmFest Line Up:
The Thief and His Master
By Greg Allen
Directed by James Palmer

Clementine
By Calamity West
Directed by Will Bishop*

Better
By Sid Branca*
Directed by Kellen Walker

Putin­-in-­Boots
By Bonnie Metzgar
Directed by Hutch Pimentel*

Steinau
By Emmett Rensin*
Directed by Gus Menary

Yes to Everything 2, Son of Everything
By Philip Dawkins
Directed by Devon de Mayo

Hansel and Gretel: A Cautionary Confection
By Seth Bockley
Music by Jeff Thomas
Directed by Will Bishop*

The Fisherman and His Wife and
Written and Performed by Mitch Salm*

*denotes First Floor Theater company member

Marcus; or The Secret of Sweet Written by Terell Alvin McCraney
Directed by Philip Lewis

Columbia College Chicago (’13)

The Shadow Box
Written by Michael Cristofer
Directed by Alec Schiff

Columbia College Chicago (’13)

@ntigone
A new devised play after Sophocles
Co-Directed by Travis Coe and Joe Hill

"Thebes, a city ruined by war and drug addiction is about to be rescued. Security cameras on every corner and guards on patrol will prevent any moves toward rebellion. How do you function when every move you make is watched? When your brother hangs for his treason, how deep will you dig in the dirt to hold your ground? When your dreams are stained from the residue of family, what will it take to convince you to look away? One girl will rise from the devastation to stand up for her brother. The question is, when your king is too high, how far can you fall?"

On August 15th, a modernized version of the famous Greek tragedy, "Antigone," will be opening at The Dairy Center for the Arts. And one of the many things that makes it a unique production is that it's being produced by young, ambitious college students rather than older, hardened thespians.

It has taken The Unexpected Laboratory’s Travis Coe (Artistic Director) and Joe Hill (Executive Director) over a year to put this production together and along the way they've faced age discrimination, fundraising hurdles, and have burst successfully through the miles of red tape it took to incorporate their production company, "The Unexpected Laboratory."