Project Description
“Let death be what takes us, not a lack of imagination.” – BJ Miller
BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE | DIRECTED BY KYLER TAUSTIN
Free Outdoor Shakespeare returns with Brown Box’s most ambitious production yet. Hamlet, Shakespeare’s pivotal work, delves deep into the recesses of human consciousness in a raw and unforgiving examination of a treacherous political landscape and one Prince’s struggle with the weighty consequences of action, inaction, pain, numbness, and the ever-terrifying unknown. Murder, treason, intrigue, and betrayal culminate to form this harrowing and timeless theatrical masterpiece.
Click the town name for more information and exact addresses
Cast
Jesse Garlick (Hamlet)
Jesse Garlick (Hamlet) is thrilled to be making his debut with Brown Box Theatre Company in Hamlet. Off-Broadway credits include Good (PTP/NYC). Regional credits include Journey To The West, Arcadia (Central Square Theatre), Good, Assassins (New Repertory Theatre), Salome (Bridge Rep), Beowulf (Poets Theatre), A Midsummer Nights Dream (Classical Repertory Company), Who Would Be King, Yellow Bird Chase, Talk to Strangers (Liars&Believers). Jesse is a faculty member at Boston Ballet’s ECI Department as well as a freshman drama director at Newton South High School. He is also a co-founder of 360 Dance Ensemble. Jesse graduated from Boston University with a BFA in Acting as well as having attended the Academia Dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy.
Gigi Watson (Ophelia)
Gigi Watson (Ophelia) is grateful to be appearing in her third Brown Box summer Shakespeare production after Lady MacDuff in Macbeth and Kate in The Taming of the Shrew. Boston credits include Billy Elliot (Wheelock Family Theatre), The Gypsy Machine (Theatre On Fire), The T Party (Company One), Finish Line (Boston Theater Company), Rent, Jesus Christ Superstar (Fiddlehead Theatre Company), Meet Me In St. Louis (Stoneham Theatre), Coriolanus (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company), and Café Variations (ArtsEmerson/SITI Company). Gigi also works with various types of clients as a commercial actor, voiceover artist, and yoga teacher. BFA Musical Theatre, Emerson College. www.gigiwatson.com
Cam Torres (Claudius)
Cam Torres (Claudius) is thrilled to be back with Brown Box Theatre Project! He was seen last year as Belarius in Brown Box Theatre Project’s touring production of Cymbeline. Regional credits include Cape Rep Theater (Jerusalem), Bay Colony Shakespeare Company (Winter’s Tale/Midsummer Nights Dream), Salem Theater Company (Angels in America), and Epic Theater in the premier run of James Franco and Me, as James Franco. He would like to thank his family and Ashley for constant love and never ending support.
Jade Guerra (Gertrude)
Jade Guerra (Gertrude) is very excited to be part of her first production with Brown Box. Recent credits include The Real Inspector Hound and How Soft The Lining with Bad Habit Productions and Orlando with Stonington Opera House. She is a company member of Theatre Espresso, an educational theatre group that performs all over New England. She is grateful for the constant support of her family and James.
Ben Heath (Horatio)
Ben Heath (Horatio) graduated from Emerson College with a degree in Acting. He has since been working in Boston as an Actor and Fight Choreographer and is thrilled to be working with Brown Box again. Recent area credits include Cymbeline (Brown Box Theatre Project), Six Degrees of Separation (Bad Habit Productions), and Much Ado about Nothing (Boston Theater Company).
James Wechsler (Polonius)
James Wechsler (Polonius) earned his B.F.A. degree in theatre performance at Salem State University. Recent credits include D in Company One’s Peerless; Cloten in Brown Box’s Cymbeline; Skylar/Dreaming Man in Gloucester Stage’s The Flick; and Franz Kafka in Salem State’s original production, Kafka in Tel Aviv, for which he received a national Outstanding Performance award from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. James is also the winner of KCACTF’s Region 1 Irene Ryan Fellowship competition in 2014.
Felix Teich (Laertes)
Felix Teich (Laertes) is overjoyed to be working with Brown Box again after playing Posthumus in Cymbeline last summer. Boston Credits include The Winter’s Tale (Actors’ Shakespeare Project), Lobster Girl and Meet Me in St. Louis (Stoneham Theatre), In the Summer House (Fort Point Theatre Channel), Invasion! and ¡Bocon! (Apollinaire Theatre Company) 27 Tips for Banishing the Blues and In the Wake of the Graybow Riots (Sleeping Weazel) and Two Gentlemen of Verona (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company). He graduated from Emerson College with a BFA in Acting in 2016. In the spring, he can be seen in Franklin at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, and he’ll be performing in Brown Box’s first musical endeavor: Songs for a New World.
Emily Elmore (Rosencrantz)
Emily Elmore (Rosencrantz) is thrilled to work on her first production with Brown Box Theater Company! She will earn her BFA in Acting with a Minor in Hearing and Deafness at Emerson College in the Spring of 2017. Her undergrad credits include Arlene in Getting Out, Richmond in Richard III, and Girl in Mother Hicks, all with Emerson Stage. After studying at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA she is eager to continue her passion for Shakespeare in her first professional production post-grad.
Nick Osborne (Guildenstern)
Nick Osborne (Guildenstern) is thrilled and grateful to make his debut with Brown Box. Boston area credits: Amadeus (Moonbox Productions); A Man of No Importance (Bad Habit Productions); Urinetown (The Longwood Players); Medea, The Rocky Horror Show (Salem Theatre Company); The Shepherds’ Singularity (Come On Over Ensemble); The Last Five Years, The Seagull (Northeastern University). Nick trained at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and currently works for the Boston Globe editorial board.
Spencer Parli Tew (Player King/Ghost/Osric)
Spencer Parli Tew (Player King/Ghost/Osric) is exceptionally overjoyed to be working on his second production with Brown Box, having previously played Henry Harry in Brilliant Traces. Spencer obtained his BFA in Theatre Arts from Boston University in May of 2015. Select BU credits include Shining City (John), Machinal (George H. Jones), and The Castle of Perseverance (Mankind). Regional credits include Classic Repertory Company’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bottom), Arts After Hours’ production of The Texas Chainsaw Musical (Eddy Gee) for which the cast was chosen to record the official cast recording, and Anthem Theatre Company’s The Merry Way (Maelgwyn) and Twelfth Night of the Living Dead (Malvolio).
Margaret Clark (Player Queen/Marcellus/Gravedigger)
Margaret Clark (Player Queen/Marcellus/Gravedigger) is thrilled to return to Brown Box, having previously appeared as Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew. Recent credits include Katharine in Love’s Labour’s Lost and Hermia in Midsummer Night’s Dream (Commonwealth Shakespeare), Carol in Oleanna (Umbrella Arts), Miss Plum in Trumpet of the Swan (Wheelock Family Theater) and Elizabeth in How Soft the Lining (Bad Habit Productions). She’s like to thank Kyler for this opportunity and Rachel and her family for their endless support.
Crew
Kyler Taustin – DIRECTOR
Hannah Pryfogle – ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Hannah Pryfogle (Producer): Hannah is a Boston transplant from the Bay Area of California. She is a proud alum of Emerson College, where she studied musical theatre and arts management. Hannah has worked in various positions at Lyric Stage Company of Boston, SpeakEasy Stage, and American Repertory Theater. She is also the Patron Relations Coordinator at Fresh Ink Theatre Company and directs throughout the city.
Alex Lonati – PRODUCER
Alex Lonati (Associate Producer): Alex holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies and Journalism from Emerson College, where she spent four years hosting Standing Room Only, the Best of Broadway and Beyond, on 88.9 WERS. She is currently on the administrative staff at SpeakEasy Stage Company on the board of the Theatre Community Benevolent Fund, and in the Arts Administration Masters program at Boston University. Alex was named the Greater Boston Theatre Community Member of the Year by ArtsImpulse in 2016.
Erica Paige Brown – STAGE MANAGER
Erica Brown (Stage Manager): Previous Brown Box credits: Cymbeline, Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Songs For A New World, Echoes, Lab Rats, Blue Window, Boxer Shorts I. Other Boston area credits: Cherry Orchard (ASP), Two Gentlemen of Verona (ASP), Magic Mirror (Juventas New Music Ensemble), She Kills Monsters (Company One). DC area credits: Rameau’s Nephew (Spooky Action), Coolatully (Solas Nua). Erica splits her time between Boston and DC, where she can be found working as a stage manager and house manager for a variety of theatre and independent projects.
Jeremy Stein – PRODUCTION MANAGER
Jeremy Stein (Production Manager): Jeremy will be a graduate of Emerson College as of May where he earned his BFA in Theatre Design and Technology concentrating in Lighting Design. Jeremy has filled many roles since coming to Boston such as Lighting Designer, Sound Designer, Master Electrician, and Props Master and is excited to now be filling the role of Production Manger. He currently does freelance design work around Boston and has done a lot of work with ArtsEmerson and Hub Theatre Company. He is thrilled to be involved with this production and looks forward to the experience. Jeremysteindesigns.com
Matthew Williams – TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Matthew Williams (Technical Director): Matthew is a graduate of Emerson College where he studied Theatrical Design and Technology concentrating in Technical Direction. He is currently employed as the Assistant Technical Director at Boston Conservatory at Berkeley. His most recent credits include The Ouroboros Trilogy with Beth Morison Productions (Rail Chief and Deck Crew), The Birds and The Bees with Sleeping Weasel (Technical Director), and Il Campanello and L’Amico Fritz with Boston Midsummer Opera (Technical Director).
Joey Guthman – LIGHTING DESIGNER
Joey Guthman (Lighting Designer): Joey is elated to return to Brown Box Theatre Project for a sixth time with Hamlet. Previous Lighting Designs at BBTP include: Cymbeline, Taming of the Shrew, Songs For A New World, Blue Window and Macbeth. Elsewhere, Joey has designed up and down both coasts: credits including BloodSugar (Highways); What Happened to Where I’ve Been (Attic Theatre Collective); Sisters Three (Inkwell Theatre); Ajax in Iraq (Not Man Apart Theatre), Stray (Bootleg Theatre), Infidelity in Pieces (Greenway Court Theatre), Neva (Shock Pulse Theatre), The Wong Street Journal (REDCAT, Miami Light Project, Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts), Tell Me I’m Pretty (Greenway Court Theatre, REDCAT, Bootleg Theatre), Death Play (Circle X Theatre), and Swarm Cell (Greenway Court Theatre). He is a teaching artist at the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts in Los Angeles, CA. He has had the pleasure of working alongside esteemed designers at Center Theatre Group, Geffen Playhouse, Wooly Mammoth, Long Wharf Theatre, South Coast Rep, Music Academy of the West, ArtsEmerson, UCSD, USC, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, and Matrix Theatre. Huge thank you to the hardest working Artistic Director and Stage Manager in the world: Kyler and Erica. Emerson College, BFA. JoeyGuthmanDesign.com
Chelsea Kerl – COSTUME DESIGNER
Chelsea Kerl (Costume Design) is pleased to be back with Brown Box for her seventh show, having previously designed Cymbeline, Brilliant Traces, The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Romeo and Juliet. Chelsea has been a freelance costume designer in the Boston area since receiving her MFA in Costume Design from Boston University in 2014; she previously attended the University of Maryland, where she received degrees in both Theatre and English. Select recent credits include Grand Concourse (SpeakEasy Stage Company), Emilie: The Marquise du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight (Wellesley Repertory Theatre), Intimate Exchanges (Nora Theatre Company), Warrior Class (Lyric Stage Company of Boston), Luna Gale (Stoneham Theatre), Big Love (Brandeis University), and Assassins (New Repertory Theatre). Chelsea is also the costume shop manager, resident costume designer, and adjunct costume professor at Wellesley College. More of her work can be seen at www.chelseakerl.com.
Megan Kineen – PROPERTIES DESIGNER
Megan F. Kinneen (Properties Designer) Megan is excited to be back with Brown Box Theatre, previous credits include From Water to Dust and Blue Window (set design). Other Boston area design credits in Boston include Measure for Measure (Actor’s Shakespeare Project), Meet Me in St. Louis and Christmas on the Air (Stoneham Theatre), Silent Rage (A.R.T. Institute), The Love of the Nightingale (Hub Theatre), Translations (Bad Habit Productions), Stupid F***ing Bird and Caucasian Chalk Circle (Apollinaire Theatre), and A Streetcar Named Desire (Wax Wings Theatre Productions). In addition to her work in theatre as a set designer and scenic artist, Megan is currently a Master’s of Architecture candidate at the Boston Architectural College. Her portfolio can be found online at mfkdesign.com.
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven.
-Ophelia, The Tragedy of Hamlet