Cast
Melchior Gabor
Sam Morel
Wendla Bergmann
Amanda Schmidt
Moritz Stiefel
Zac Thriffiley
Hanschen Rilow/Diethelm
Andrew Niemann
Ernst Robel/Reinhold
James Chapman
Ilse/Dancer
Hilary Klein
Thea/Ina Muller/Dancer
Erin Hildebrand
Martha Bessel
Kelle Landix
George Zirschnitz/Rupert
Josh Parham
Otto/Helmuth
Ben Dickinson
Robert/Gaston
Alex Dickinson
Mrs. Bergmann/Dancer
Shannon Meyer
Mrs. Gabor/Dancer
Noelle Wilcox
Mr. Gabor/Brockenbohn
Matthew Rigdon
Harts-Payne/Dr. Seltzer
Karel Sloane-Boekbinder
Mr. Stiefel/Fitztounge/Masked Man
Chris Bohnstengel
Starver/Bleekhead/ Procrustes
Carlos Gonzalez
Killaflye/Probst
Dennis McCann
Blodgett/Ziegenmelker
Richard Mayer
Fetch/Locksmith
Justin Guidroz
Spring Awakening (2012)
by Frank Wedekind
Translation by Jonathan Franzen
May 31st - June 16th, 2012
The shadowbox Theatre
new orleans, Louisiana
A *NU* Theatre Production
Presented by Special Arrangement with Dramatists Play Service Inc., New York.
Director’s Note
Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening: A Children’s Tragedy, though held as a classic piece of German theatre, is still scarily relevant to today’s society. Wedekind tackled many taboos of provincial Germany in the late 1800s, including homosexuality, the faulty educational; system, suicide, abortion, bullying, and child sexuality. But at it’s heart, Spring Awakening is a tale of maturing, and the effects of ignorance and withheld knowledge on children.
It has been a challenge bringing this work to life, but luckily, I had a very talented cast and crew, totaling 23 people working on this production. And the show you will see tonight is the result of months of hard work, on and off stage, by a group of both new and seasoned artists working together to bring you this wonderfully complex piece of theatre.
I would like to thank my cast and crew for being constantly vigilant and crazily talented; my stage manager, Abbie, for steering this ship with me. I’d also like to thank the wonderful people at Michealopolis for housing our rehearsals, as well as Richard Mayer for housing us now.
Again, thank you for coming out tonight, and enjoy the show!
Justin Guidroz Director/Founder *NU* Theatre
The Program
Production Team
Director
Justin Guidroz
Assistant Director
Zac Thriffiley
Stage Manager
Abbie Graffeo
Set Design
Shannon Meyer
Assistant Set Design
Ben Dickinson
Costume Design
PAtrice Loar
Light Design
Josh Courtney
Special Thanks
Richard Mayer and the Shadowbox
Carlos Gonzalez
Jennifer Goodwin
Michael Martin
Michealopolis Studios
Shannon Meyer
Ben and Alex Dickinson
Josh Courtney
And Lastly . . .
Our Wonderful Cast and Crew!
Bios
Sam Morel (Melchior) is super excited to be here! He is currently studying theatre at Loyola University New Orleans, where he is sometimes known for his wily hair flip. He has recently been seen in All’s Well That Ends Well (Clown) and The American Century (Stranger). He enjoys enthusiastically singing along to pop hits, impromptu cast bonding, and coordinating patterns for colorblind kittens. He would like to thank his family and friends for being incredibly supportive, the cast for welcoming him and pretending not to notice his awkwardness, and Justin, Abbie, and Zac for the opportunity to play one of his biggest dream roles. He will not forget this moment.
Amanda Schmidt (Wendla) is currently a Theatre Performance major at Louisiana State University. She recently played Nicky in the LSU Lab production of Smell of the Kill. She is very excited to be playing Wendla. Her hobbies include dragging her cast mates on crazy adventures, laughing at inappropriate moments, and bursting into dance on set. She loves looking for primroses along the river, getting lost in the woods, and getting hit with random tree branches. Amanda would like to thank her family and friends for all their support and the haters of the world for all the laughs.
Zac Thriffiley (Moritz Stiefel) is thrilled to be a part of the *NU* Theatre Troupe’s premiere production of Spring Awakening. Whenever he is not studying Psychopathology at LSU, Zac can be found performing on the Baton Rouge Little Theatre stage in such shows as Hairspray (Fender), It Runs in the Family (Leslie - Best Supporting Actor in a Play), and Auntie Mame (Patrick Dennis Age 20). Other credits include RENT (Roger), The Music Man (Marcellus Washburn), and Twelfth Night (Clown). His performance in this show is dedicated to the memory of Jace Kirkpatrick. Thank you. Thank you, dear one.
Christopher Bohnstengel (Fitztounge/Mr. Stiefel/Masked Man) is an actor and barista/sandwich master. He attended Loyola University New Orleans where he received a B.A. in Theatre Arts in 2010. Previous roles include Sebastian in Twelfth Night: The Drinking Game and, most recently, Cowboy in The Boys in the Band. He would like to thank all of his friends and family for their love and support, which he couldn’t have done without.
James Anthony Chapman (Ernst/Reinhold) is a native of South Carolina, but moved to Northern Louisiana in 2010 from Ithaca, New York. He is 23 years old and holds a B.S. in Mass Communications and Theatre-Dance from Lander University and a Masters of Arts in Speech-Theatre from Louisiana Tech University. Most recently, James was the Assistant Director for the production of Our Town and The Adventures of Robin Hood for Stone Theatre. He was also the choreographer for The Adventures of Robin Hood and the leading dancer for Pippin the Musical for Stone Theatre. He has trained professionally with Cherrie Sciro, Mark D. Guinn, Bess Park, Rachel Lampert, Dianne Maroney-Grisby, and many others in the professional realm of dance and theatre. Some of his favorite performances include Footloose, The Sunshine Boys, A Wonderful Life, The Laramie Project, and Everyman. He has trained in modern, jazz, hip-hop, musical theatre dance, and lyrical. In 2010, he developed the dance and theatre program for The Methodist Children’s Home of Louisiana in efforts to assist the young people with therapy through the arts. James Anthony would like to develop a non-profit organization that assists young people who are affected by HIV/AIDS, cancer, and various other diseases and those who have suffered from abuse develop passion for living through the arts. jamesnathonychapman@yahoo.com
Ben Dickinson (Otto/Helmuth) is a recent graduate of UNO’s theater program. Outside of that, he’s been Claudius in Hamlet and Long John Silver in Treasure Island. He’s been active both on the stage and behind the scenes of this production and is also the Assistant Set Designer for this production of Spring Awakening.
Carlos M. Gonzalez (Starver/Bleekhead/Procrustus) is humbled to share the stage with such a talented cast. A late bloomer, Carlos discovered his passion for theater only ten years ago. His favorite roles include Kippy in Take Me Out, Judge Taylor in To Kill a Mockingbird, and most recently G Man Steve Lane in The Good Negro at ABCT. Carlos is a New Orleans original and works as an engineer in the oil patch.
Erin Hildebrand (Thea/Ina Muller) is an English major at Loyola University New Orleans. Last summer she produced and starred in [title of show] as the ravishing Susan Blackwell. Erin was also a member of the Jesuit Philatelic Society, appearing in sublime shows such as Kiss Me Kate (Lois/Blanca), The Taming of the Shrew (Katherina), and Evita (Mistress). She is ecstatic to be working with everyone in the *NU* Theatre Troupe and hopes to do more with them in the coming year! A shout out to all her Phils, past and present. She’d also like to thank her family for the support and the lovely cast for their kindness, open arms, and ceaseless talent. Break many legs, all ya!
Hilary Klien (Ilse) is a native New Orleanian, and currently a Theatre Major at Delgado Community College. She plans to earn a Masters Degree one day in the not so far off future! She has been an aspiring performer since middle school, and has taken various acting workshops and performed with Crescent City Lights Youth Theater when she was a teenager. Her most recent roles are: Harriet in Boy Gets Girl, and Ilse in the musical Spring Awakening, both of which were presented by Delgado’s theatre department. She is thrilled to be a part of this production *NU* Theatre Troupe and the very talented cast of this show!
Dennis McCann (Killaflye/Uncle Probst) With Spring Awakening, Dennis continues his post-Katrina (unintentional) tradition of playing less-than-sympathetic characters, as he had in Waiting for Lefty, An Enemy of the People, and most recently, as the vile Warden in Angola 3. Ensemble casting has allowed him to be nice and nasty in The Exonerated and Mother Courage and Her Children. He did get to be semi-sympathetic in Bury the Dead and displayed a comic side in The Ransom of Red Chief, The Inspector General, and Erik the Fourteenth (comic relief).
Andrew Niemann (Hanschen/Diethelm) is thrilled to be making his acting debut at the Shadowbox Theatre. He is a recent graduate from Loyola University New Orleans and has worked with many theatrical organizations around town such as JPAS and Southern Rep. He considers himself a theatre “everyman” having dipped his hand into acting, directing, set construction, stage management, production, and sound design. He would like to thank his family, his friends, and the cast and crew for all the joy and dedication that they bring me.
Matthew Rigdon (Mr. Gabor/Brokenbohn) is a senior theatre major at UNO. He was recently seen acting in the production of Holy Ghosts at UNO as Carl. He has enjoyed working with the cast and crew and is looking forward to other plays with *NU* Theatre. A big thanks goes out to his friends and family for all their support, without them, he wouldn’t have made it this far.
Noelle Wilcox (Mrs. Gabor) was born and raised in Alaska and has recently relocated to New Orleans from Seattle, WA. Noelle studied theatre at the University of Alaska, Anchorage and also at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, WA. She has worked with Seattle Children’s Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Book-It Repertory Theatre, New Century Theatre Company and Annex Theatre while in Seattle. When not working in the theatre, Noelle can be found cycling, gardening, cooking, or enjoying a glass of wine. Thank you to all who came to support this lovely cast and young theatre artists. Noelle is represented by Ken C. del Corral with SAM Agency.
Justin Guidroz (Director) is the founder of NU Theatre. Spring Awakening: A Children’s Tragedy marks his directorial debut for both *NU* and in the city. A theatre major at UNO, Justin was last seen on stage as Kent in Talk Radio (2011). His next directorial endeavor will be Urban Hades in November. Justin would like to thank his amazing cast and crew, as well as family and friends for supporting his dreams. Summa cum laude!
Karel Sloane-Boekbinder (Harts-Payne/Dr. Seltzer) is delighted to be working with *name undetermined* Theatre Troupe on this production. Karel was recently seen on the JPAS stage in Flanagan’s Wake. KArel has performed with JPAS in other productions (Fiddler on the Roof, The Wizard of Oz) and in The International Festival of the Arts and Ideas (Connecticut), New Orleans’ DramaRama, The Cassandra Project in Portland, Maine, “6X6” at Southern Rep and with companies such as Niles Creative Group (at the Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway), Grumbling Gryphons Traveling Children’s Theater, NOLA Playback Theatre, the Ashè Cultural Arts Center and NEw England Academy of Theater.
Josh Parham (George/Rupert) is a 2012 Brother Martin graduate. He was previously seen as Sonny in Grease, and will be seen back here in the Shadowbox in a few months in The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged). I would like to thank Abbie and Justin for writing this for me, and I really hope you enjoy my “show”, *wink*. I’ma. lovable scamp!
Alex Dickinson (Robert/Gaston) is a UNO student. He has previously played Horatio in Hamlet, and Redruth in Treasure Island. He like taking long walks on the beach and has many leather bound books. I would like to thank Abbie and Justin, and warn everyone reading this: this is what happens when you let them write your bio. Now I’m off to play hopscotch with orphans! Enjoy the show!
Kelle Landix (Martha) is a 2010 Mount Carmel graduate, as was previously seen as Nancy Faulkner in The Night of January 16th. She enjoys breakdancing and does so often, as well as looking at James Franco for hours on end. She also loves casts. Telemundo!
Abbie Graffeo (Stage Manager) is a theatre major at the University of New Orleans, and stage managed NU’s Spring Awakening: A Children’s Tragedy. Abbie looks forward to writing original works for the troupe, as well as direct in the near future. She will be stage managing NU’s next production, Urban Hades, in fall 2012.
Richard Mayer (Blodgett/Ziegenmelker) is the Top Hat at The Shadowbox Theatre. He has been in numerous productions, and most recently was the title role in The Clifton Monroe Chronicles: The Case of the Scarlet G. He can be seen back here in the Shadowbox in Red Light Winter as Matt. I would like to thank Fivel, you’re a cool cat.
Shannon Meyer (Mrs. Bergmann/Set Designer) is a 2012 graduate of Loyola University as a Vocal Performance Major. This spring at Loyola, she performed the title role in Offenbach’s The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein with Loyola Opera Theatre. In 2011, she appeared in Loyola Opera Theatre’s production of Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah as Mrs. McLean and Les mamelles de Tirésias as Une Grosse Dame. In 2010, Shannon sand the role of Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance, and also appeared as Maman in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortileges. She was a soloist with the Loyola Chorale and Chorus in their performance of Handel’s Messiah and Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. Shannon appeared with the New Orleans Opera Chorus for productions of Les Pêcheurs de peries, Il Trovatore, and Turandot. She has also been a featured singer with the company’s popular “Opera on Tap” series. This fall, Shannon will move to Chicago in order to continue her vocal training at DePaul University.
Patrice Loar (Costume Designer) is an English major at UNO. She has been a seamstress on Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Treasure Island, and King and I. This is her first show designing costumes, and she thanks the cast and crew for everything. Winter is coming.
BTS Photos
