News From the Festival
Barbara Jo Bednarczuk as Cindy Lou in The Marvelous Wonderettes
Barbara Jo Bednarczuk is back at the Festival for her fourth season, playing Cindy Lou in The Marvelous Wonderettes. Last season, she played Eponine in Les Mis, and she appeared in The Music Man in 2011 and Pride and Prejudice in 2010.
Bednarczuk (left, then clockwise) (Cindy Lou), Storrs (Betty Jean), Cook (Missy), Cozzens (Suzy)
Have you played this role before?
I have not. One girl in our cast who’s playing Betty Jean - her name is Natalie Storrs - played the role of Betty Jean before and Cindy Lou, so this is her third production. The rest of us are newbies.
When does it take place?
The first act is 1958 at our “super senior prom” and the second act is 10 years later in 1968 at our ten-year reunion.
Cozzens (left) as Suzy, Bednarczuk (Cindy Lou), Storrs (Betty Jean), Cook (Missy)
Tell us about characters…
There are two sets of “best friends”: Cindy Lou & Betty Jean and Missy & Suzy.
Cindy Lou - my character is the vice president or president of every club. She’s the pretty girl, and loves it. She wants nothing more than to be prom queen and thinks she will be. That’s who she’s been her whole life and that’s who she’s been groomed to be by her family.
Betty Jean is the total tom-boy. She will say inappropriate things and make inappropriate sounds at any given moment. She’s a goof ball. They’re a good balance for each other.
Missy is the teacher’s pet. She will do anything to be the biggest brown-noser but she has a good heart. She doesn’t do it out of spite, that’s just who she is.
Suzy is desperately in love with her boyfriend. And she wants everyone to be happy all the time because she’s happy. She thinks everything is funny.
How did you prepare for the role?
I’ve never done anything in this time period before. It was fun to do a little research. It’s been nice to listen to the first recordings of these songs we’re singing. That gives you the attitude of the era, what was acceptable and what wasn’t.
No matter the era, those personalities translate. That’s what’s important about the 2nd act. You see how those personalities grew up a little bit, how they changed. Everyone changes in a different way - you can still see who they are underneath.
What have you been doing since Les Mis last year?
I went back to NYC - my home base - and got on the national tour of Spamalot. It’s Monty Python and the Holy Grail in a musical. I was on the very end of the national tour. I traveled to over 30 different states in less than 5 months. I was very excited when I got to sleep in my own bed. I got to live in NYC and audition during the summer - my first summer not here in a few years. I got to spend time with my family in Ohio, which was really nice.
I’m very excited to be back here. After touring and seeing different audiences, it’s wonderful to be back here. The people here love the theatre and love the people who work at the theatre. They appreciate and respect the work.
The Marvelous Wonderettes opens September 21 and plays through October 19. You can purchase tickets online at www.bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX. You can read more about the play at http://www.bard.org/plays/wonderettes2013.html.
The Marvelous Wonderettes- Preview
Bednarczuk
Cozzens
The Marvelous Wonderettes
Written and Created by Roger Bean
Musical Arrangements by Brian William Baker
Directed by Roger Bean
Characters:
Betty Jean: The practical joker of the group, Betty Jean struggles with her relationships with her boyfriend (Act One) and husband (Act Two). Played by Natalie Storrs.
Cindy Lou: The flirt and catty girl of the group, Cindy Lou very much wants to win prom queen and believes the world revolves around her. She goes through a bit of a journey in Act Two. Played by Barbara Jo Bednarczuk.
Missy: The bossy girl of the group, Missy likes to control things; but she is also a bit socially awkward and shy about her secret crush. Played by Victoria Cook.
Bednarczuk (Cindy Lou), Storrs (Betty Jean), Cook (Missy), and Cozzens (Suzy)
Suzy: The happy-go-lucky one of the group, Suzy is positive but also a little on the ditzy side. She is continuously chewing bubble gum. Played by Cate Cozzens.
Synopsis:
Welcome to the 1958 Springfield High School prom and the Wonderettes, four girls with hopes and dreams as big as their crinoline skirts! Between belting out ’50s and ’60s favorites like “It’s My Party”, “Mr. Sandman,” and “Dream Lover,” the girls trade gossip about high school hijinks and teenage romance. Your toes will be tapping at this must-take musical trip down memory lane.
Marvelous Wonderettes at http://www.bard.org/plays/wonderettes2013.html
The Marvelous Wonderettes opens on September 21 and plays through October 19. You can purchase tickets online at www.bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX
Storrs
Cook
David Ivers as Richard II
Ivers as Richard II
David Ivers, Co-Artistic Director at the Festival, is playing the title role in Richard II for the Fall Season. He shared his thoughts about the role and the play.
Have you played this role before?
Ivers as Richard II, Bull as Bollingbrook
No. It’s my favorite Shakespeare play in the canon. I’ve always wanted to play it. There’s something that strikes a chord in me about someone who is thrust into a position because of divine right and recognizes that he doesn’t necessarily have all the faculties to do the job. That speaks to me. It’s an interesting journey - you start to see a greater kind of leader when things are stripped away from him. The more that gets stripped away, the more eloquent, the more vision oriented he becomes.
It is such an interesting dissection of leadership. I just think he’s wildly misunderstood in that - people sometimes think he can be petulant and that he has a side of him that is impetuous and makes bad decisions and all those things are true. But what else is true - how can you blame him? He was 10 years old when the throne was given to him. Advisors made decisions for him his entire life up to adulthood and finally he’s cut loose “ok you make decisions now”. There’s no training in that. He makes some horrible mistakes. He’s a politician and has to cover his tracks a bit.
But I love this notion that underneath it all, he’s remarkably human and remarkably tragic. He’s not a fighting king. He’s political, he’s intellectual, an intensely human king to me. I often say it’s the only king of Shakespeare that David could play because I’m not a Henry V kind of guy. I’m pretty excited.
Why was this play important in Elizabeth’s time?
The thing that’s so important about it for English history is that it’s the fervent, indelible reminder that there is one way you become king and it’s through divine right. Richard recognizes that what’s about to happen with Bolingbrook is the disintegration of divine right. There’s so much irony when he says “here cousin, seize the crown…” - because that’s what you have to do - you have to seize and completely disrupt, remove divine right from our understanding of the world. He doesn’t have to give up the crown. One could say he’s forced, pushed into it, whatever…he could stand his ground. And that’s part of the tragedy…he gives up the crown and then is murdered. He gives this incredible speech about the way the world is ordered and then he’s killed.
I love the political part and I love that it’s a human struggle.
Are you looking forward to working with director, Henry Woronicz?
I’ve known Henry since I was 19 years old. I’ve never worked with him. I’m really excited to work with him. I’m all the things I should be - nervous, anticipatory…really excited.
Why isn’t it produced more often?
Because it’s hard. The narrative and the action is political and based on behavior. There’s not a ton of comedy, there aren’t any sword fights, there’s no active conquering that reveals a hero. It’s the path to the characters who become heroic and non-heroic. There’s so much about it that’s sad and yet there is some heroism. Bolingbrook stands as a man that will give birth to one of the great leaders - restores England’s place. You can’t have that story without having the beginning of it.
Richard II opens on September 21 and plays through October 19. You can purchase tickets online at www.bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX. You can learn more about the play at http://www.bard.org/plays/richardII2013.html.
Richard II Preview
Richard II
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Henry Woronicz
Part of the Complete the Canon Project and the second play in the History Cycle
Ivers as Richard II, Bull as Bollingbrook, Richard II 2013
Key Characters:
KING RICHARD II, grandson of King Edward and son of Edward the Black Prince, is king of England when the play opens. Played by David Ivers
QUEEN, Richard’s wife. Played by Melissa Graves
JOHN OF GAUNT, Duke of Lancaster, Richard’s uncle and Henry Bolingbroke’s father, is an elder statesman and the epitome of honor and patriotism. Played by Dan Kremer
HENRY BOLINGBROKE, John of Gaunt’s son, duke of Hereford, claimant to his father’s dukedom of Lancaster, and later King Henry IV. Played by Larry Bull
EDMUND OF LANGLEY, Duke of York, King Richard and Bolingbroke’s uncle. Played by Dan Frezza
DUKE OF AUMERLE, York’s son and the Earl of Rutland, cousin to Richard and Bolingbroke. Played by Drew Shirley
EARL OF NORTHUMBERLAND, supporter of Bolingbroke. Played by Brian Vaughn
Synopsis:
Shining a poetic spotlight on the beginning of the War of the Roses, this tragic tale perfectly mixes Shakespeare’s lush language with the history of England. In the process, it reveals a sensitive but flawed king, Richard II, who is deposed by his efficient but passionless cousin, Henry IV, raising questions about the crown, order, and the role of government.
You can learn more about Richard II at http://www.bard.org/plays/richardII2013.html
Richard II opens on September 21 and plays through October 19. You can purchase tickets online at www.bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX.
Dan Kremer
Brian Vaughn
Festival Artistic Directors Play Rivals in Upcoming Richard II
David Ivers as Richard II
The Utah Shakespeare Festival recently announced that Artistic Directors David Ivers and Brian Vaughn will once again be appearing together this fall on the Festival stage. The pair of popular actors will be appearing in the Festival production of Richard II.
Richard II follows this summer’s successful King John as the second in the Shakespeare history cycle, the Festival’s plan to produce all of Shakespeare’s histories in chronological order.
David Ivers
Ivers appears as the title character, a cultured but disconnected king, whose mismanagement of his kingdom brings about his ultimate downfall. It marks the beginning of the War of the Roses in English history and is set in 1398.
“Richard II is my favorite Shakespeare play,” said Ivers. “I am very excited and humbled to be doing this amazing role. And, as always, it is a pleasure to be on stage with Brian.”
Brian Vaughn
Vaughn plays the Duke of Northumberland, a role he calls “the king-maker” of Richard’s rival, Bolingbroke, and the leader of the rebellion.
“This is a politically action-packed story, and I am thrilled to be playing such a strong character in such a rarely-produced play,” said Vaughn. The last time the Festival produced Richard II was in 1993.
The last time Ivers and Vaughn both appeared in a play by the Bard was The Winter’s Tale in 2011, the year they were appointed as Festival Artistic Directors. Audiences will also remember their outstanding work together in 2012’s Stones in His Pockets.
“David and I thoroughly enjoy working together on stage,” said Vaughn. “Our longtime friendship and love of Shakespeare makes it a joy to explore all the aspects of this work together.”
Richard II tells the story of a king who descended from a powerful royal heritage, but is accused of being out of touch with his kingdom. Because he assumed the throne as a boy, his influential uncles served as advisors—and, at the beginning of the play, one has been murdered. Through turmoil, wars, disputes over authority, and poor decisions, Richard’s ruthless cousin, Bolingbroke, ultimately deposes him, and ignites other nobles and commoners to his side.
It is “an interesting study of executive order and the divine right of a king,” said Ivers. “It really portrays how much has and has not changed politically throughout history.”
Vaughn added, “Shakespeare’s brilliant and astonishing poetry also shows how a king and his strong subjects can affect history for a long time.”
Richard II plays in repertory with Peter and the Starcatcher and The Marvelous Wonderettes September 6 through October 19 in the Randall L. Jones Theatre. For tickets or information, call the Festival ticket office at 1-800-PLAYTIX or visit online at bard.org.
Fall Food Drive
On September 6, the 10th annual fall food drive will kick off at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Last year the Festival was able to donate over 6,700 pounds of food to the Iron County Care and Share, which accounted for almost 20 percent of the total community food donations received during the months of September and October.
Local residents can participate by donating six items of nonperishable food per individual on the day of the performance directly to the Festival and receive a half price ticket to any Tuesday through Thursday performance. This offer is also valid to Peter and the Starcatcher on Friday and Saturday on September 6, 7, 13 and 14. Food donation barrels will be located in the Randall L. Jones Theatre lobby next to the ticket window.
“The food drive for the Iron County Care and Share is a great cause that brings awareness to the hunger problems we have here in southern Utah, “ said Sara Greener, Festival guest services manager. “Guests of the Festival enjoy participating and often come back to the theatre just to drop off food regardless of the discount we offer.”
Residents of Iron, Washington, Kane, Garfield, Sevier, Piute, and Beaver counties in Utah are eligible for the discount, as well as patrons from Lincoln County, Nevada. All residents should bring proof of residency and six non-perishable food items for each discounted ticket they wish to purchase. This offer is good Tuesday through Thursday on the day of the performance only. There is a limit of four discounted tickets per resident I.D.
“Iron County Care and Share provides hunger relief for several thousand adults and children in need each year, an effort that is made possible by the many generous donations of food we receive from the community,” said Joy Jankowiak, executive director of the Iron County Care and Share. “We are excited and honored to partner with the Utah Shakespeare Festival once again this year and look forward to another very successful Fall Food Drive.”
Tickets for the Festival’s 2013 season, which will run until October 19, are now on sale. The fall season includes Peter and the Starcatcher and The Marvelous Wonderettes, as well as Shakespeare’s Richard II. For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
The Iron County Care and Share was founded in 1984 by a group of local churches of different denominations to address the issue of hunger in our community. Working with partners in the community, neighboring counties, and in the state, the Iron County Care and Share is able to help homeless and low-income individuals and families work toward self-sufficiency. The Iron County Care and Share is located at 900 North 222 West Cedar City, Utah.
Barry Funderburg and Katie Keener- Guest Bloggers
We hope our readers are enjoying their summer and have experienced a show at the Festival this season. We’d like you to meet two company members: Barry Funderburg, a Sound Designer and Composer for the Festival and an integral player in our productions and Katie Keener, a First Hand and Costume Stitcher.
Barry Funderburg:
Have you ever worked at the Festival before? If so, for how many years and in what roles/capacity?
This is my fourth season here. I designed for the Fall of 2010, Summer and Fall of 2011, Summer of 2012, and now Summer and Fall of 2013.
Where’s your home base?
The Chicagoland area.
What’s your educational/training background?
I have a BA with a double major in Theatre and Music Theory/Composition, and an MFA in Sound Design from Purdue University.
Where were you working in the last 9 months?
Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Resident Ensemble Players in Delaware, Theatre at the Center in NW Indiana.
How will you spend your time off while here?
Sleeping. Also occasionally hiking and going to movies.
Describe what live theatre means to you.
I love being part of the storytelling process…telling stories about the universal human experience, and exploring the truths found in everyday life…telling stories that move, inform and inspire us.
Describe what the Festival means to you.
Telling great, classic stories in a community of consummate professionals, in a beautiful part of the country.
An important player in the quality of our Festival is Katie Keener.
Have you ever worked at the Festival before? If so, for how many years and in what roles/capacity?
This is my first year working at Utah Shakespeare Festival
What is your title/role?
I am the first hand, costume stitcher for The Greenshow
Where’s your home base?
I’m from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. My husband and I recently sold our house in a record of two weeks and packed everything up and moved out right before my trip out here! While I am in Utah, Wes is in North Carolina solidifying a job and a place to live. When I return to the east coast I will join him in North Carolina and start graduate school in the fall at UNC Chapel Hill for Costume Technology.
What’s your educational/training background?
I have a B.S. in Fashion Design from Philadelphia University. After graduating in 2007 I started working retail and the following year landed a stitcher position at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. Within two months I was promoted to Costume Shop Manager and Costume Designer for all PRF Productions.
Where were you working in the last 9 months?
At the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.
How will you spend your time off while here?
Exploring the area and relaxing.
Welcome to the Festival family, Katie!
Shelby Luke and Alec TerBerg- Guest Bloggers
Hello Festival friends! Please enjoy getting to know a returning company member, Shelby Luke, who helps create our wonderful costumes and Alec TerBerg, a first year House Manager
Have you ever worked at the Festival before? If so, for how many years and in what roles/capacity?
This is my third summer and fifth season with the Festival. My first summer was the Festival’s 50th and I was the costume design assistant and intern on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I worked that fall as a stitcher in the costume shop and last summer and fall as a stitcher and dresser. I dressed Scapin, Les Miserables, and Stones in His Pockets last year.
What is your title/role?
Shelby, stitching for USF’s 2012 production of Les Miserables
This year I am the Assistant Costume Shop Supervisor. I run rehearsal costume items around, help with costume shop paperwork, attend production and mini meetings, answer a lot of emails, coordinate rentals, and any and all other things I’m called upon to help with.
Where’s your home base?
My permanent address is in Lincoln, Nebraska where I grew up and where my family is, but I’ve been in and out of northern Utah, southern Utah, and Nebraska for two years since I graduated.
What’s your educational/training background?
I graduated with my BA in Theatre Arts from Brigham Young University two years ago. There I worked in the costume shop as wardrobe supervisor for three years, and as a stitcher and first hand. I also worked with BYU’s Historical Clothing Collection and returned to work there as a costume designer and project head with the dance department.
Where were you working in the last 9 months?
Since last fall season I worked as a bridal consultant at a national bridal chain in my home town of Lincoln.
How will you spend your time off while here?
My all time favorite thing to do down here is star gaze late into the night/early morning with friends. The stars out here are phenomenal.
Describe what live theatre means to you.
Live theatre is hundreds of people working for weeks so that for two hours, fifty some odd individuals can create a world for an audience to live in. For that space of time all our energies are dedicated to bringing those watching the show into our world.
Describe what the Festival means to you.
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is an opportunity for me to do the work I love with the people I love in a place I love. I look forward to coming home to Cedar City and slipping back into my family here like I never left.
Anything else you’d like us to know?
If you’d like to see some costumes I’ve built for the Festival, or if you’d to read more about my past jobs at USF visit my website,
Next, meet Alec TerBerg, who joined us for the first time this season!
Have you ever worked at the Festival before? If so, for how many years and in what roles/capacity?
I have never worked at the Festival before. But I’m super excited to be here for the first time. I had heard such amazing things and am grateful for this opportunity.
What is your title/role?
House Management
Where’s your home base?
I live in Las Vegas, Nevada.
What’s your educational/training background?
I just graduated high school in 2012 and attended SUU the past year.
How will you spend your time off while here?
I plan on doing a lot of hiking and hanging out with friends and hopefully meeting new people.
Describe what live theatre means to you.
Experiencing an adrenaline rush that is constant from when you walk into the theatre until you leave no matter what role you are playing. Live theatre is not only addicting but something that can change a life.
Ruff Yeager and Kyle Schellinger- Guest Bloggers
Meet Ruff Yeager, an actor, as he nears completion of his first season with the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and Kyle Schellinger, a draper in the Costume Department.
What is your title/role?
Actor
Where’s your home base?
San Diego, CA
What’s your educational/training background?
B.S. in Communications / M.A. in Theatre
Where were you working in the last 9 months?
Adjunct Instructor at Southwestern College in the Dept. of Theatre. In the last nine months I’ve directed The Night of the Iguana, Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge, The Laramie Project and have acted in a world premiere opera, Lear on the 2nd Floor, at University of California at San Diego and Grey Gardens at Ion Theatre in San Diego.
How will you spend your time off while here?
Visiting family - our youngest daughter and her family live in St. George. In mid-July the whole clan (many of our children and grandchildren) came to Cedar City for a family reunion of sorts.
Describe what live theatre means to you.
The primitive need to sit around the fire and share our stories - to celebrate what it means to be human.
We’re glad to have you with us!
*Next, enjoy getting to know one of our returners,*Kyle Schellinger.
Have you ever worked at the Festival before? If so, for how many years and in what roles/capacity?
This is my seventh season over 9 years. I started in 2004 as a stitcher on Henry IV part 1, and have worked since then on the wardrobe crew, and in the costume crafts department. My first season as a draper was in the fall of 2008 on Gaslight. I’ve draped the costumes for 2011’s Romeo and Juliet, and last season’s Mary Stuart.
What is your title/role?
I am the Costume Draper for King John. (the draper creates a pattern from the design.)
Where’s your home base?
I live in Knoxville, Tennessee, where I am the Staff Cutter/Draper at the Clarence Brown Theatre, the professional theatre company at the University of Tennessee.
What’s your educational/training background?
I have an MFA in Costume Design and Technology from the University of Arizona and a BAR from Truman State University. I started my training as an actor, but because of really wonderful teachers I found that my real passion was backstage in costumes.
Where were you working in the last 9 months?
I’ve been at the Clarence Brown Theatre where I draped the costumes for Sweeney Todd, The Little Prince, A Christmas Carol, A Raisin in the Sun, and On the Razzle. I also designed the costumes for a play called Will Power!, which was a collection of scenes, monologues, and songs from Shakespeare, loosely woven together.
How will you spend your time off while here?
I’ve already hiked Angel’s Landing! I hope to do more hiking in Zion and Bryce Canyon. Possibly a trip to Las Vegas, but really it’s wonderful to just see and hang out with people that I get to work with! Lots of fun dinners and coffee dates, trips to the Bit-n-Spur in Springdale.
Describe what live theatre means to you.
That’s so hard! Theatre is about collaboration and excitement; we, the artists, collaborate to make this piece of art, this production. But each performance is its own piece of art. Even if all the things people think of stay the same - the dialogue is the same; the actors are the same; the set is the same; the costumes are the same - nothing is really the same because the audience is different. That’s what makes it exciting and worth all the work
Describe what the Festival means to you.
Utah Shakespeare Festival was my first professional theatre job. It is my starting point and when I think of how far I have come and how much I have grown, I can’t help but be grateful. Whenever I come to work here, it feels like coming home.
Anything else you’d like us to know?
When Brian and David announced next year’s season to the company I realized that it will be ten years since my first season when I stitched on Henry IV part 1. Next year the Festival is doing Henry IV part 1. There’s some real beauty in that symmetry for me. I can’t wait to see what the future brings for the Festival. I’m sure it’s going to be amazing!
Roderick Peeples- Guest Blogger
Today, we’d like to introduce a returning member of the Festival Company: Roderick Peeples.
Have you ever worked at the Festival before? If so, for how many years and in what roles/capacity?
This will be my fourth season with the Festival. I’ve played Falstaff (Merry Wives), Argante (Scapin), Fr. Lawrence (Romeo and Juliet), Buckingham (Richard III), Peter Quince (Midsummer Night’s Dream), Fluellen (Henry V) and Duke Senior (As You Like It).
What is your title/role?
This year I’m playing Juror #10 in Twelve Angry Men (people don’t much relate to those numbers, but if you’ve seen the film, it’s the Ed Begley role), Hubert in King John (the second time I’ve played this role), and Trinculo in The Tempest.
Where’s your home base?
I’ve lived in Chicago for over 20 years. But about 15 of those summers have been spent at Shakespeare Festivals around the country.
What’s your educational/training background?
I graduated with a B.F.A. in Acting from the University of Texas at Austin in 1980.
Where were you working in the last 9 months?
Over the past 9 months, I’ve worked here at USF, at Syracuse Stage in New York, and shot an independent film in Chicago.
How will you spend your time off while here?
I’m looking forward to doing some hiking in the parks, and hosting some stargazing parties! I’ve worked as a sky show host at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago for the past 14 years, and I always look forward to getting a great look at the real stars in Utah.
Describe what live theatre means to you.
Live theatre has an immediacy and excitement to it that cannot be matched by any other entertainment medium, as far as I’m concerned. And the opportunity to perform it outside in the fabulous Adams Theatre just makes that experience sublime.
Describe what the Festival means to you.
There are by some accounts hundreds of Shakespeare Festivals in this country, more than in any other country in the world. And many of those festivals were inspired by someone’s experience with the Utah Shakespeare Festival. It’s one of the oldest and most respected in the world, by both audiences and artists alike.