PLEASE NOTE: While it's a comedy, this production includes discussions about and theatricalized interpretations of bird shooting and suicide.
NOW SEEKING AND ACCEPTING INQUIRIES FROM HOSTS/VENUES FOR PERFORMANCES AND FROM COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES FOR EDUCATIONAL RESIDENCIES.
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WORLD PREMIERE TOUR
NEXT PERFORMANCES:
SEPTEMBER 27, 28 @7:30 PM Davis Studio Theatre, Gundersen Hall, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK FREE ADMISSION
•Donations accepted online or at the door—($10+ recommended.) •This is a fundraiser for Oklahoma State University Theatre. Your donation will be much appreciated. •Due to limited seating, pre-reservations are strongly advised. |
Joan Korte plays all nine characters in the play, plus the wise (sometimes snarky) narrator. Here comes a whirlwind and a tour de force!
Synopsis
Riffing on Anton Chekhov's classic "show about nothing," The Seagull, a young woman is desperate for fame and a way out. A young man is pining after the woman of his dreams. A successful writer longs for a sense of achievement. An actress wants to fight the changing of the times. In an isolated home in the countryside, dreams lie in tatters, hopes are dashed, and hearts broken. With nowhere left to turn, the only option is to turn on each other (ntlive.com). In this brand new, hilarious, and touching piece, Zachary Cohn tears away any musty old remnants of Anton Chekhov's *The Seagull* by having all 10 characters performed by one actor. It's a robust 90 minute journey and includes a "Narrator" to manage the chaos and provide snarky commentary. Join us for this fresh treatment of one of the most popular and important plays in modern drama. You'll laugh, you'll shed a tear, you'll ask (as people have been doing for 130 years) "what is wrong with these people?!"
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On Chekhov and Seinfeld
Since its premiere in 1896, The Seagull has been one of the most beloved, read, and performed plays in the modern era. In today's parlance, (hat-tip Jerry Seinfeld), Anton Chekhov may have been the O.G. creator of "a show about nothing." As in Seinfeld, we find a group of maladjusted (but surprisingly likeable) middle class folks with way too much time on their hands--time they use for arguments and pontifications about love, lust, "art", actors, clothes, and other "What's the deal with(s)...."
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The Company
ACTING - TheatreMidwest: Atlas of Mud, When the Messenger is Hot. Fair Assembly, Dallas TX: Romeo and Juliet. Texas Shakespeare Festival: King John, Tartuffe, 110 in the Shade. Wesleyan Theatre Company: August: Osage County, The Lion in Winter, The Glass Menagerie. BUSINESS: Current--Director of Performance and Professor, Oklahoma State University Theatre. Previous--Midland University (NE), Nebraska Wesleyan University. DIRECTING: ACADEMIC Oklahoma State University: Anna and the Machine; Nebraska Wesleyan University: A Doll’s House Part 2, The Book of Will, A Christmas Carol, Dancing at Lughnasa, The Bridges of Madison County, 12th Night, Nell Gwynn, Mamma Mia, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Noises Off, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Learned Ladies, Mother Courage and Her Children, The Clean House.
Designer: Kate Kanne
SCENIC DESIGN – Atlas of Mud (TheatreMidwest) Young Frankenstein, Last Five Years, The Hobbit, HMS Pinafore, Illusions, Rumors, (Anon)ymous, Les Liaisons Dangereuse.
COMPANIES/VENUES: TheatreMidwest, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Prairie Repertory Theatre (SD), Highland Theatre (MN), George Daly Theatre (IA) BUSINESS: Central College - Theatrical Design Faculty Member; USITT Northern Boundaries-Board Member. EDUCATION - Minnesota State University, Mankato – MFA Design. South Dakota State University, Brookings - BA Theatre. |
THE GULL; A Tragicomedy for One, After Chekhov by Zachary Cohn ******************************** The Player-(and narrator) ------- Joan Korte Characters: -Irina Arkadina - An actress, mid-40s. -Pete Sorin - Her older brother, 50s. A former civil servant, in poor health. -Constantine “Connie” Treplyev - Her son, early 20s, a young and unsuccessful writer. Loves Nina. -Boris Trigorin - Her lover, 50s, a successful writer -Nina Zarechnaya - An aspiring actress, early 20s. -Masha - A woman not at home in life, early 30s. Loves Connie. -Pauline - Masha's mother and Arkadina's maid, late 50s. -Dorn - A local doctor, late 50s. -Simon - A schoolteacher. early 30s. Loves Masha. Time: Now Place: The stage ******************************** Production Team: Director ------- Tom Woldt Designer/Props/Graphics -------Kate Kanne DIRECTING TheatreMidwest: The Thanksgiving Play, Brilliant Traces, The Friendly Hour. Repertory Theatre of Iowa: The Diary of Anne Frank, That Championship Season; Des Moines Playhouse: A Streetcar Named Desire; Duluth Playhouse: Singin' In the Rain; Yellow Tree (MN): Expecting Isabel; Williamston (MI): Five-Course Love; Guthrie Theatre (Studio): Hopscotch; Other Professional: Seven Year Itch, Jesus Christ Superstar, I Do! I Do!, Noises Off, Lysistrata the Bluegrass Musical!, Mother Courage, Night at the Carlton With Ray Charles; Guest Residencies; The 39 Steps, One Man-Two Guvnors, On The Razzle, As You Like It, Antigone; Simpson College: Peer Gynt, Learned Ladies, Henry 5, Into the Woods, Trojan Women, Godspell, Quilters, The Woman in Black, Twelfth Night; Other Academic: Machinal, Flow My Tears The Policeman Said, The Winter's Tale, The Marriage of Figaro, The Bacchae; ACTING Goldfinch Theatre: Macbeth; Stagewest: Time Stands Still; Other: Taming of the Shrew, The Glass Menagerie, Brigadoon, Carousel, My Fair Lady, Equus, A Flea In Her Ear. Homepage tomwoldt.com
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Zachary Cohn, Playwright
Zachary Cohn is a writer and performer based in New York City. He works in the written word, the spoken word, and various areas in between. His plays examine literary and narrative voice onstage, including adaptations of literary works and reconsidering traditional plays as storytelling, among other motifs. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in theatre from Skidmore College, and has studied poetry at NYU and UMass Amherst. His poetry has appeared in Red Door Magazine. Zachary also possesses management and administrative skills, and has applied them at some of the major theatrical institutions in NYC and nationally: The Public Theatre (Marketing), Actors Equity Association (Membership Management), and currently the Library for the Performing Arts (Theatre on Film/Tape Archives.) TheatreMidwest's The Gull marks his professional playwriting premiere as the first production of his work.
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