PLEASE NOTE: While it's a comedy, this production includes discussions about and theatricalized interpretations of bird shooting and suicide.
Synopsis
Riffing on Anton Chekhov's classic "show about nothing," The Seagull, out at a dilapidated country estate populated by tortured artists, writers, and blow-hards, dreams die, hopes are dashed, and everyone loves the wrong person! What could go wrong? This brand new, hilarious, and touching piece tears away any musty old remnants of “1896” by having one actor perform all 10 characters. It's a robust 90-minute journey and a tour de force for the actor, as it also includes a "Narrator" to manage the chaos and provide snarky commentary. This fresh and witty treatment of one of the most popular and important comedies in modern drama will cause patrons to laugh, to shed a tear, to ask (as patrons have been doing for 130 years) "what is wrong with these people?!"
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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SPRING SCHEDULE (subject to change)
-Madison, WI, January 7 & 9 Residency at Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF, Region 3) -Des Moines Playhouse Studio, January 22, 23, 25, 2025; 7:30. -KCACTF Region 5, January 23, 1:00 (registration required) -Benson Theatre, Omaha, NE, March 8. -Pella, IA, April 15 (hosted by Central College) -Marshall MN, April 17 (hosted by Southwest Minnesota State University) 
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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 
NEXT PERFORMANCES:
*March 8-9, 2025, Omaha, Nebraska
Joan Korte plays all nine characters in the play, plus the wise (sometimes snarky) narrator. Here comes a whirlwind and a tour de force!
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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: Ada and the Engine; 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. |
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
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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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Chekhov, the playwright, reading *The Seagull* to the Moscow Art Theatre cast
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Korte, The Player, reading *The Gull* to the TheatreMidwest cast
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