Cast of 'The Seagull' Announced
St. Bonaventure University’s theater program will be taking a chance on love in Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull” for its spring production.
The play is about a young, struggling writer named Konstantin who wants his stories to be told and his mother, Arkadina, is a famous actress who is uninterested in her son’s life and dream to be a writer. He is in love with Nina, a woman who is in love with Arkadina’s love interest, Trigorin. The play tells their story and how people have the tendency to reject love that is freely given and seek it where it is withheld.
“The play is about people struggling to find love and the mistakes they make on the way,” said Dr. Ed. Simone, chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts and director of St. Bonaventure’s Theater Program. Simone said this is the first full-length Chekhov play produced at SBU in more than 40 years.
“It’s long overdue,” he said. “Chekhov is one of the cornerstones of our theater and he’s an absolute gem for students to use for emotion and character work.”
Auditions for the show were open to all students and the cast is a veritable cross-section of the university, including theater majors and students from many other disciplines. The play is a true ensemble piece; while Konstantin, Arkadina, Nina and Trigorin could be called the main characters, everyone in the cast has a significant part.
Playing the roles of Konstantin, Arkadina and Nina are students Adam Sorokes,’09, of Olean, a political science major; Ashley Waterman, ’12, of Dunkirk, a double major in theater and English; and Brittany Henry, ’09, a journalism and mass communication major from Little Egg Harbor, N.J.
Even though this is Waterman’s first appearance with SBU Theater, she has experience with the program; she was an assistant stage manager in last fall’s production of “Dead Man Walking.” Sorokes and Henry have both appeared in numerous SBU Theater productions including “Reckless,” “Dead Man Walking,” and the popular one-act festivals.
In preparing for their roles, the cast does some unusual things to develop character and to ensure a detailed performance.
Waterman is wearing high-heeled shoes every day because her character is “a little bit of a diva.”
“I’m taking inspiration from Meryl Streep in her role in ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ and Ann Bancroft in “The Turning Point,’” Waterman said.
Adam Sorokes finds a personal resonance in the role of Konstantin.
“I find Konstantin to be really interesting and I see myself like him, an artist starving to do something that he thinks can’t be done,” said Sorokes. Sorokes said it’s the actor’s absolute mastery of the text that allows him to develop a successful character. “Know your lines early and cold,” he said.
“The Seagull” will be Sorokes’ final appearance with SBU Theater.
Brittany Henry, also making her farewell SBU Theater appearance, focuses on the greatness of Chekhov and his ability to move audiences.
“I hope the audience understands why this is considered a classic piece, and that they’ll get involved in the lives of the characters in the show,” said Henry.
The production is designed by Becky Misenheimer, assistant professor of theater at SBU. The set will contain very painterly elements that utilize skills taught in her scene painting class and also reflect the “dreamy” nature of the play’s setting — a farm on a lake in the Russian countryside.
“One of the characters refers to the lake as ‘magic’ because everyone falls in love when they’re near it,” Misenheimer said. “We’re using that and artistic influences like Maxfield Parish and period portraiture to create our show environment.”
“The Seagull” will run Wednesday through Saturday, March 25-28, at 7:30 p.m. in The Garret Theater on the SBU campus. An audience talkback, a regular feature of SBU Theater productions since 2005, is scheduled after the Friday, March 27,
perormance.
Tickets for “The Seagull” are available by calling (716) 375-2492. They are $8 for the public, $6 for subscribers, seniors and employees, and free student rush seats are available at the box office beginning at 6:30 p.m. the night of the show with a valid student I.D.
Other cast members and the technical crew, whom Simone calls “techtors,” include:
Trigorin — Karim Troncelliti, ’11, Brooklyn
Masha — Liz Mohun, ’10, Cowlesville
Sorin — Ryan Kasperski, ’10, Olean
Dorn — Joe O’Halloran, ’09, East Islip
Paulina — Erin Lowry, ’11, Shanghai, China
Shamareyev — Jason Pagliaccio, ’09, Depew
Olga, the Cook — Shannon Gawel, ’12, Hamburg
Medviedenko — Clint Lienau, ’10, Pittsboro, N.C.
Oona, the Maid — Maria Hayes, ’12, Akron
Yakov — Chris Britten, ’11, Schenectedy
Gregor, the Butler — Alex Sanders, ’09, Howell, N.J.
Techtors:
Catherine Turner, ’12, Barnstable, Mass.
Katie Reusch, ’12, Depew
Mickey Geary, ’10, Dunkirk
Mary Puusalu, ’12, Chemung
Monica Edwards, ’12, stage manager, Binghamton
The play is about a young, struggling writer named Konstantin who wants his stories to be told and his mother, Arkadina, is a famous actress who is uninterested in her son’s life and dream to be a writer. He is in love with Nina, a woman who is in love with Arkadina’s love interest, Trigorin. The play tells their story and how people have the tendency to reject love that is freely given and seek it where it is withheld.
“The play is about people struggling to find love and the mistakes they make on the way,” said Dr. Ed. Simone, chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts and director of St. Bonaventure’s Theater Program. Simone said this is the first full-length Chekhov play produced at SBU in more than 40 years.
“It’s long overdue,” he said. “Chekhov is one of the cornerstones of our theater and he’s an absolute gem for students to use for emotion and character work.”
Auditions for the show were open to all students and the cast is a veritable cross-section of the university, including theater majors and students from many other disciplines. The play is a true ensemble piece; while Konstantin, Arkadina, Nina and Trigorin could be called the main characters, everyone in the cast has a significant part.
Playing the roles of Konstantin, Arkadina and Nina are students Adam Sorokes,’09, of Olean, a political science major; Ashley Waterman, ’12, of Dunkirk, a double major in theater and English; and Brittany Henry, ’09, a journalism and mass communication major from Little Egg Harbor, N.J.
Even though this is Waterman’s first appearance with SBU Theater, she has experience with the program; she was an assistant stage manager in last fall’s production of “Dead Man Walking.” Sorokes and Henry have both appeared in numerous SBU Theater productions including “Reckless,” “Dead Man Walking,” and the popular one-act festivals.
In preparing for their roles, the cast does some unusual things to develop character and to ensure a detailed performance.
Waterman is wearing high-heeled shoes every day because her character is “a little bit of a diva.”
“I’m taking inspiration from Meryl Streep in her role in ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ and Ann Bancroft in “The Turning Point,’” Waterman said.
Adam Sorokes finds a personal resonance in the role of Konstantin.
“I find Konstantin to be really interesting and I see myself like him, an artist starving to do something that he thinks can’t be done,” said Sorokes. Sorokes said it’s the actor’s absolute mastery of the text that allows him to develop a successful character. “Know your lines early and cold,” he said.
“The Seagull” will be Sorokes’ final appearance with SBU Theater.
Brittany Henry, also making her farewell SBU Theater appearance, focuses on the greatness of Chekhov and his ability to move audiences.
“I hope the audience understands why this is considered a classic piece, and that they’ll get involved in the lives of the characters in the show,” said Henry.
The production is designed by Becky Misenheimer, assistant professor of theater at SBU. The set will contain very painterly elements that utilize skills taught in her scene painting class and also reflect the “dreamy” nature of the play’s setting — a farm on a lake in the Russian countryside.
“One of the characters refers to the lake as ‘magic’ because everyone falls in love when they’re near it,” Misenheimer said. “We’re using that and artistic influences like Maxfield Parish and period portraiture to create our show environment.”
“The Seagull” will run Wednesday through Saturday, March 25-28, at 7:30 p.m. in The Garret Theater on the SBU campus. An audience talkback, a regular feature of SBU Theater productions since 2005, is scheduled after the Friday, March 27,
perormance.
Tickets for “The Seagull” are available by calling (716) 375-2492. They are $8 for the public, $6 for subscribers, seniors and employees, and free student rush seats are available at the box office beginning at 6:30 p.m. the night of the show with a valid student I.D.
Other cast members and the technical crew, whom Simone calls “techtors,” include:
Trigorin — Karim Troncelliti, ’11, Brooklyn
Masha — Liz Mohun, ’10, Cowlesville
Sorin — Ryan Kasperski, ’10, Olean
Dorn — Joe O’Halloran, ’09, East Islip
Paulina — Erin Lowry, ’11, Shanghai, China
Shamareyev — Jason Pagliaccio, ’09, Depew
Olga, the Cook — Shannon Gawel, ’12, Hamburg
Medviedenko — Clint Lienau, ’10, Pittsboro, N.C.
Oona, the Maid — Maria Hayes, ’12, Akron
Yakov — Chris Britten, ’11, Schenectedy
Gregor, the Butler — Alex Sanders, ’09, Howell, N.J.
Techtors:
Catherine Turner, ’12, Barnstable, Mass.
Katie Reusch, ’12, Depew
Mickey Geary, ’10, Dunkirk
Mary Puusalu, ’12, Chemung
Monica Edwards, ’12, stage manager, Binghamton
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