Shakespeare's R&J at Cygnet Theatre

Show Description

After curfew, four repressed students in a parochial school for boys discover in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet a forbidden text that becomes more dangerous as they explore their pent-up energy and adolescent passion boiling under the surface. A hot-blooded and unique take on R&J.

"A vibrant new adaptation... pulsates with adolescent abandon..." -NEW YORK TIMES

Cast

Dave Thomas Brown Student 3 (Mercutio)

Dave suffers from full blown Peter Pan syndrome and has absolutely no interest in a cure. He works with a variety of NYC theatre companies including; New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights Horizons, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and The Flea Theatre. Recent credits include Romeo & Juliet (The Flea), Blogologues (Lively), At Loon Lake (American Globe), You're Sadder Than You Realize (Calliope Company). Dave is a voiceover actor for early education software programs and animated film. He is a proud graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts, as well as a prime file member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre and company member of The Flea Theatre.

Christian Daly Student 1 (Romeo)

Christian Daly is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts and is proud to return to Cygnet Theatre for a second time having previously appeared in Man of La Mancha. He is thrilled to be joined by three other NCSA alumni whom he has watched and looked up to since he was a freshmen. Off Broadway: Sex Tips for Straight Woman from a Gay Man, Tauris. Regional: Two Gentlemen of Verona, Much Ado About Nothing, Loves Labour's Lost, A Street Car Named Desire. TV; One Life to Live, All My Children. Directed: Brothers Size, Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train.

Tyler Lea Student 2 (Juliet)

Having made his New York depute in Emmy Award nominee Aron Eli Coleite’s The Family Room, Tyler is pleased to be making his west coast premiere at Cygnet Theatre. Additional credits include: Leo in The Little Foxes, Ed in You Can’t Take it with You, and Robin Starveling in the W-S Symphony Orchestra and Gerald Freedman's A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Tyler is a graduate from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. www.tylerlea.com

John Evans Reese Student 4 (Nurse/Tybalt)

Cygnet debut. Regional: Lord of the Flies (Barrington Stage Company), The Way of the World (Franklin Stage Compay), Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers (NRTC, Kennedy Center PTSF). New York: Way to Heaven (NYTimes Critic's Pick). Theatre: Master Harold...and the Boys, St. Joan, On the Razzle, Hamlet, Happy's Funeral, Twelfth Night, The Importance of Being Earnest. Film: Do Not Disturb (score by Danny Elfman), House. Training: NCSA, SCGSAH. Proud member of AEA.

The Team

Joe Calarco Playwright
Joe Calarco is an award-winning Playwright and Director whose other works include: Walter Cronkite is Dead, ...in the absence of spring..., The Audience (contributing book writer) and The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. He is an Artistic Associate at Signature Theatre in Virginia where his credits there include: Walter Cronkite is Dead (writer/director), Assassins (director-Helen Hayes Award), Urinetown (director-Helen Hayes Award), Sideshow (director-Helen Hayes Award), Nijinsky’s Last Dance (director-Helen Hayes Award). OFF-BROADWAY The Burnt Part Boys, Floyd and Clea Under the Western Sky, In Transit (Drama Desk Award nomination), Boy, ...in the absence of spring... (writer/director), Bury The Dead, The Audience (contributing book writer), Shakespeare’s R&J (adaptor/director, Lucille Lortel Award). NATIONAL TOUR: Ring of Fire. REGIONAL: The Old Globe: Lincolnesque, The Glass Menagerie; Barrington Stage Company: The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (book writer/director), The Memory Show; 11th Hour Theatre Company: Ordinary Days (Barrymore Award); Philadelphia Theatre Co.: The Light in the Piazza (Barrymore Award), The Last Five Years, Elegies, M. Butterfly. joecalarco.blogspot.com

George Ye Director
Resident Artist. George’s long-time association with Cygnet Theatre dates back to 2005. Previously he directed a production of Copenhagen at the Rolando Theatre and has designed sound for numerous Cygnet Theatre productions. His design for Escanaba in da Moonlight earned him a Patte Award for Theatre Excellence. He is currently a faculty member at USD and Mesa College, and will serve as fight director for the 2013 Summer Shakespeare Festival at the Old Globe Theatre. George has numerous local credits at the Old Globe and La Jolla Playhouse with such hit shows as Allegiance, God of Carnage and Peter and the Starcatcher. He is also an Associate Artistic Director at Cygnet Theatre.

Sean Fanning Set Designer
Resident Artist. Sean is a San Diego based set designer, with a career spanning over thirty productions across local stages. At Cygnet: Mistakes Were Made, Man of La Mancha, Parade, Dirty Blonde, Little Shop of Horrors, Cabaret, Sweeney Todd, The Tragedy of the Commons (World Premiere), The Norman Conquests, Noises Off, Mauritius, A Christmas Carol, A Little Night Music, The Receptionist, and The Matchmaker. The Old Globe: A Doll's House, Plaid Tidings, KINGDOM. Elsewhere: Walter Cronkite is Dead (San Diego Repertory); A Raisin in the Sun (Moxie Theatre); Hamlet (Intrepid Shakespeare); Birds of a Feather, Pippin, Harmony Kansas (Diversionary Theatre); Measure for Measure, Twelfth Night, The Winter’s Tale, Two Gentlemen of Verona, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Old Globe/USD); Das Barbecu (Theatre in Old Town); Zombie Prom (2008 Patte Award) and The Grapes of Wrath (San Diego State University). Sean is in his fifth season as the Resident Design Assistant at the Old Globe, where he has assisted designers on over sixty productions. He holds a B.A. in Technical Theatre from Sonoma State University and an M.F.A. in Scene Design from San Diego State University. See more of his work at www.seanfanningdesigns.com

Peter Herman Costume Designer
Cygnet Resident Artist. Cygnet Theatre: Costumes and Wig/Makeup Design for Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Wigs/Makeup for A Christmas Carol, Gem of the Ocean, Mistakes Were Made, Man of La Mancha, Dirty Blonde, Parade, A Behanding in Spokane, The Glass Menagerie, Little Shop of Horrors, Our Town, Cabaret, The Norman Conquests, Private Lives, Sweeney Todd, The Piano Lesson, It’s a Wonderful Life, Noises Off, Bed and Sofa, The History Boys, The Receptionist, A Little Night Music, Fences, The Turn of the Screw, Communicating Doors, Arcadia, The Matchmaker. Elsewhere: Peter has designed hair and wigs for over 300 productions, including the La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego Rep, San Diego Opera, Disneyland, and various film and television projects. Film: Costume design for Ready? OK! Peter currently teaches wigs and makeup at SDSU.

Ross Glanc Lighting Designer
Ross is happy to make his return to Cygnet. Previous designs include Mistakes Were Made(Cygnet); In the Wake, Walter Cronkite is Dead, Road to Mecca, A Weekend with Pablo Picasso, Storyville (projections), Rick Najera's Daddy Diaries (San Diego REP); Speed the Plow (ion); Mira Costa Dance; San Diego Ballet; Malashock Dance. He is the resident Lighting Designer for the annual San Diego Kuumbafest and the Lipinsky San Diego Jewish Arts Festival. He is a husband to one and a father to almost three and would like to dedicate his work on this show to them.

Kevin Anthenill Sound Designer, Original Music
Previouly at Cygnet Theatre: Gem of the Ocean. Sound designed USD/Old Globe’s Measure for Measure, Winters Tale, Twelfth Night, and Fathers and Sons, and San Diego Repertory Theatre’s Zoot Suit, as well as composed the music for Boom, and In the Next Room. Other sound design credits include San Diego Asian American Repertory Theater’s BFE, and Flower Drum Song (at the La Jolla Playhouse), Diversionary Theatre’s Edward II, Learn to be Latina, Next Fall, Harmony Kansas, Pippin, and Scrooge in Rouge, and Moxie Theatre’s A Raisin in the Sun and The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek. He has assistant sound designed The Old Globe’s Summer Shakespeare Festival twice, and worked with The Old Globe’s education department, sound designing their Summer Shakespeare Intensive three times. He holds a B.A. in Theater Design from San Diego State University.

Marie Jahelka Stage Manager
Resident Artist. Previously at Cygnet: Assassins, Mistakes Were Made, Parade, Cabaret, and Love Song. Elsewhere: Somewhere, The Last Romance, The Whipping Man, Romeo y Julieta, Back Back Back, Opus, The American Plan, In This Corner, Oscar and The Pink Lady, How The Grinch Stole Christmas! (’05, ‘07), 2006 Shakespeare Festival, and Hayfever (The Old Globe Theatre); Who You See Here (Staged Reading - La Jolla Playhouse); miXtape (Lamb’s Players Theatre); Theatre Smash, Marat/Sade, The Crucible, Songs For A New World, Woody Guthrie’s American Song, Sylvia, and Arcadia (University of San Diego). Marie received her bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts from the University of San Diego and is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association. Marie would like to thank her husband, Robert, for his support.

Taylor Wycoff Dramaturg
Taylor is excited to be returning as the dramaturg for her third production with Cygnet Theatre. Previous dramaturgical work includes Assassins, Gem of the Ocean (Cygnet); Kita y Fernanda, Yellow Face (Mo'olelo). Taylor specializes in the relationship between minority performance art and the social sphere, and has had the privilege of presenting her research at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education Annual Conference and the Philadelphia Theatre Research Symposium. She also teaches for San Diego Playwrights Project and Kids Act. Taylor holds a BA in Theatre Arts and International Relations from the University of San Diego and is a member of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the America's.