Hope College Theatre will present William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" on Wednesday-Saturday, April 2-5, in the DeWitt Center main theatre.
Hope College Theatre will present William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" on Wednesday-Saturday, April 2-5, in the DeWitt Center main theatre.
The show will run on Wednesday-Friday, April 2-4, with an 8 p.m. curtain; and on Saturday, April 5, with 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. curtains.
"Twelfth Night" is a comedy of mistaken identities. Leading lady Viola and her twin brother Sebastian are shipwrecked, and each believes the other to be dead. Posing as a man and masquerading as a young page under the name Cesario, Viola enters the service of Duke Orsino. Orsino is in love with the bereaved Lady Olivia, and sends his new page as a messenger to her. Olivia, believing Viola to be a man, falls in love with this handsome and eloquent messenger. Viola, in turn, has fallen in love with the Duke, who also believes Viola is a man, and who regards her as his confidant. By the end of the five-act play, all is revealed and love prevails.
"Twelfth Night" is directed by guest director Patricia Daniels. A native of Albuquerque, N.M., Daniels received her Master of Fine Arts degree in acting from CaseWestern ReserveUniversity in Cleveland, Ohio. She has performed for various theatre companies across the nation, including Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, Mass.; The Asolo Conservatory Theatre in Sarasota, Fla.; Kentucky Repertory Theatre; Missouri Shakespeare Festival; Tibbets Opera House; and The Pennsylvania Center stage. Her directing credits include productions such as "Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean," "The Comedy of Errors" and "Trojan Women" for KalamazooCollege. For Western Michigan University she directed "Good Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)" and "Antigone." Daniels also directed "To Kill A Mockingbird," "Romeo and Juliet," "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "The Merry Wives of Windsor" for the Kalamazoo Civic as well as "Hamlet," "The Tempest" and "Twelfth Night" for the Michigan Shakespeare Festival. She has also directed "The Rainmaker" for The Wagon Wheel Theatre. In 2006 Daniels directed "A Midsummer Night's Dream," co-produced by the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra and the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre. She is an adjunct professor at WesternMichiganUniversity and has taught all levels of acting for Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo College. Her audio credits for the Brilliance Corporation include Nora Roberts's "Jewels of the Sun," "Tears of the Moon" and "Heart of the Sea."
Hope's production of "Twelfth Night" features designs by two senior students: Sarah Watkins, scenic designer from Detroit, and Amanda Spaanstra, costume designer from Grandville. Both Spaanstra and Watkins have designed and worked on numerous productions at HopeCollege and spent summers working in the professional world at such companies as the Hope Summer Repertory Theatre, Kentucky Shakespeare Festival and the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival.
Spaanstra received a KCACTF Region III Certificate of Merit in Costume Design for "Rose and the Rime." This fall she will enter the three-year MFA costume design program at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Watkins received awards that include: the Hope College Distinguished Artist Award, Hope Sophomore and Junior Theatre Department Awards, and KCACTF Certificates of Merit for Scenic Design ("Perfect Pie" and"Rose and the Rime"). She was the 2008 KCACTF Region III Scenic Design Project Award Winner for her design of "A Flea in Her Ear," and this fall will enter NorthwesternUniversity in Evanston for the three-year MFA program for scenic design.
When asked why she is passionate about design, Watkins replied, "I find the dialogue shared between director and fellow designers both invigorating and inspiring. I love the creative energy; I'm kind of addicted to it. I love being a part of a team that is challenging our audiences to think freely."
The remaining designers on the project include faculty members Perry Landes as lighting and sound designer and Richard Smith as properties master; sophomore Jeri Frederickson of Wheaton, Ill., as assistant costume designer; senior Rachel Wells of West Bend, Wis., as assistant sound designer and musical director; and freshman Lauren Zeldenrust of Lansing, Ill., as assistant scenic designer.
Technicians for "Twelfth Night"include: Paul Anderson, staff technical director; freshman Brianna Cooney of Waterford, assistant stage manager; senior Stephanie Lawson of Mount Vernon, Ohio, stage manager; freshman Cassie Niespodziewanski of Clarendon Hills, Ill., assistant stage manager; junior Katie Terpstra of Zeeland, properties assistant; and freshman Christine Worden of Midland, assistant stage manager.
Cast members include: junior Justin Barigian of Coarsegold, Calif., as Officer 2; freshman Chris Billquist of St. Charles, Ill., as Valentine; junior John Bruinsma of South Bend, Ind., as Sir Andrew; junior Isaac Bush of Muskegon as Feste; senior Isaac Droscha of Mason as Orsino; senior Jon Kay of Three Rivers as Fabian; junior Luc Leavenworth of Naperville, Ill., as Sir Toby; sophomore Alex Martin of Saugatuck as Officer 1; junior Meghan McNamee of Hartland as Lady Servant; senior Sam Mirto of Saugatuck as Antonio; senior Brandon Ruiter of Grand Rapids as Sebastian; senior Kelly Sina of Watertown, Wis., as Olivia; senior Jon Sprik of Grand Rapids as Malvolio; sophomore Josh Teusink of Zeeland as Priest; senior Jeremiah Vipond of Traverse City as Ship Captain; senior Rachel Wells of West Bend, Wis., as Viola; freshman Jon Weppler of Libertyville, Ill., as Curio; and freshman Alexa Westley of Kalamazoo as Maria.
Tickets for "Twelfth Night"are $7 for regular admission, $5 for Hope faculty and staff, and $4 for students and senior citizens, and are available in the ticket office inside the main entrance of the DeVos Fieldhouse, which is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition, the theatre lobby ticket office in the DeWitt Center will be open on performance nights shortly before the curtain rises. The ticket office may be called at (616) 395-7890.
The DeVos Fieldhouse is located at 222 Fairbanks Ave. between Ninth and 11th streets. The DeWitt Center is located 141 E. 12th St., facing Columbia Avenue at 12th Street.
"Twelfth Night" had originally been scheduled to run later in the month, but has been moved to April 2-5 as a result of Hope College Theatre's production of "Rose and the Rime" having been chosen to be featured during the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (ACTF) National Festival in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, April 17. Only three full-length college- or university-staged plays were chosen for this year's national festival from among the best productions highlighted during the eight ACTF regional festivals held around the U.S. in January and February.