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From the
playwright
Few
translations of Racine exist in English. The main deterrents
to transation have been two: Racine in French is considered
"perfect," and the French classical poetic form, the
alexandrine, as used by Racine, could not be translated
gracefully into another language. In any event, there is no
evidence that these translations, which made use of English
poetic forms, some in imitation of Shakespeare, brought
admiration to Racine among the English-speaking nations.
I
decided to break free of the impossible constraints of
perfection and inimitable poetry, and make an adaptation
that focused on the play's content expressed in clear
standard American English in free verse. I also took slight
liberties with the story, something Racine himself did in
his historical tragedies and Euripides-based plays. Racine
wrote, "There is a world of difference between destroying the
very foundation of a story and changing some of the
incidents. … One must not delight in quibbling (with new
playwrights of old themes) … for the few changes they
may have made in the story … but rather strive to
consider the excellent use they made of those changes, and
the ingenious way in which they adapted the story to suit
their theatre." I adapted Britannicus to make it
accessible to a general and modern English-speaking
audience.
—Howard Rubenstein
THE
CAST
Glynn Bedington (Agrippina)
Glynn
Bedington has been active in San Diuego theatre since the
early 1980s. She co-founded Ensemble Arts Theatre and
directed many of its critically acclaimed productions during
the 1990s. She spearheaded two of her company's tours to the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Her recent credits
include The Tale of the Allergist's Wife (6th@Penn/Compass);
Arcadia and Little Foxes (Craig Noel and
Robbie awards) (Cygnet Theatre); Life x Three, The
Ideal Husband, The Voysey Inheritance (Lamb's
Players); Twilight of the Gold's Diversionary
Theatre. For San Diego Junior Theatre, she directed To
Kill a Mockingbird (Billy Award) and The Diary of
Anne Frank. Rich Carrillo Jenna Selby
Neil McDonald (Burrus)
Compass Theatre: Hairdresser on Fire. Poor
Players: The Tempest (Prospero), A Midsummer
Night's Dream (Oberon, Theseus), Twelfth Night
(Sir Andrew Agucheek), Antony and Cleopatra
(Agrippa), The Merchant of Venice (Launcelot Gobbo,
Aragon, Tubal, Duke), As You Like It (Phoebe),
Macbeth (Angus, First Murderer), Merry Wives of
Windsor (Justice Shallow). New Fortune Theatre: The
Merchant of Venice (Antonio, Romeo and Juliet
(Paris), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Philostrate,
Macbeth (Caithness), Much Ado About Nothing
(Sexton). Others: The lead role of Dancer in the Scottish
premiere of Hated Nightfall, Roo in the Australian
classic Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Dead in Terry
Pratchett's Mort, Jason in Euripedes' Medea,
Hamlet in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,
General Jez in Miss Bosnia and John Doe in Deus Ex
Quanta.
Bayardo de Murguia
(Britannicus)
Bayardo is making
his Compass Theatre debut with Britannicus. Favorites
include Titus Andronicus, A Midsummer Night's Dream,
Othello, Julius Caesar (Old Globe Theatres), Besito
Pa'ti (Centro Cultural), Asesinos Al Borde de un
Ataque de Nervios (Teatro Español/NYU in Madrid),
Arcadia, Grapes of Wrath, Yerma, The Illusion (USD
Shiley Theatre). Bayardo received
his BA in Theatre Arts from the University of San Diego and
plans to attend graduate school.
Dale Morris (Narcissus)
Dale is an actor, director and playwright. He
is a members of Screen Actors Guild and Actors Equity
Association.
His play A Hundred Birds was awarded the Patté Award for Outstanding New Play in 2007. He is founder and
Executive Director of Compass Theatre (formerly 6th at Penn
Theatre) and the San Diego Theatre Scene weekly newsletter
with more than 7,000 subscribers. Recent appearances:
The Receptionist
(Backyard Productions at Cygnet),
Hysterical Blindness
(Compass Theatre);
Glengarry Glen Ross, Middle-aged White Guys
and many others at 6th at Penn/Compass.
Renee Gandola
Anthony Hamm
William Parker Shore
THE
CREATIVE TEAM
Miriam Cuperman
Director
A
New Zealand transplant now in San Diego, Miriam Cuperman is a
director,
choreographer, producer, dancer and actor for film, television and theatre. As manager of the main
dance and
talent agency in New Zealand, she has cast actors and dancers
for film, numerous televisions series, commercials and
events. She is also a drama coach specializing in monologue
preparation for auditions.
Some of her credits include
assistant choreographer for Lord of the Rings;
choreographer, dancer and actor for the television series Xena;
Hercules and Cleopatra; director of the musical
theatre productions of Arte a la Carte, Cabaret,
Les
Miserable, West Side Story, Rocky Horror Picture Show,
Chess, Jesus Christ Superstar; and choreographer of the New
Zealand tour of Evita. In Miami she directed Woody Allen's
Don't Drink the Water, choreographed Assassins, and was
assistant director and choreographber for Man of La Mancha.
Since her arrival in San Diego six months ago, she has been
assistant director, choreographer and stage manager for
Searching for Mr. Right and assistant director for
Hairdresser on Fire. She will next direct the upcoming
production of Dancing the God, opening at Compass Theatre on
March 8, 2009; and, with Josh Hyatt. will co-direct Boston Marriage by Mamet..
Brian Redfern
Set
Designer
Since
2003 Brian Redfern has been a teacher for the Theatre Department at Scripps Ranch High
School, San Diego; and, since 2006, has been Adjunct Faculty
for the Department of Communication and Theatre, Point Loma,
Nazarene University, San Diego.
Some of his design credits
include I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (Scripps Ranch
Theatre); Beyond Therapy, Poway Performing Arts Company;
The
Crucible, Onstage Playhouse; Death by Survival, Vantage
Theatre.
For photos and credits visit Brian's website: www.redfernscenicdesign.com.
Abigail Hewes
Costume
Designer
Abigal Hewes has been a professional
costume designer for the past 10 years. Her costumes have
been seen in such productions as Tony and Cleo (6th at
Penn), Twelfth Night and Bits of
the Bard (Hastily Assembled Players), and the 813 Series
(Aspire Playwrights Collective).
Mrs. Hewes also does
private costuming for historical events and Renaissance Fairs, and
has won several awards for her Roman Viking and Medieval
designs. |