The Misanthrope

Jean Baptiste Poquelin had a law degree at 19, founded a theater at 22 (that quickly went bankrupt), spent 13 years touring the French provinces laying the seeds to become the playwright we know as Molière.

Molière unabashedly throws darts at a range of characters whom we easily recognize from our own lives and to whom we might wish to unleash with such precision this same weaponry.

In The Misanthrope, these darts take aim at a host of characters. Most prominently, they find anchor in the title character, whose full-throated self-righteous disdain is directed toward all, all that is but her, who is the most deserving of them. She is also her, whom he loves ”more than can be said or thought.

I don’t assume to speak for you, reader, but I admit Molière’s digs might on occasion find their home in me! And certainly, in our present political culture, they echo tenfold.

I hope and believe that, as a master theater-maker – actor, director, and playwright – whom Voltaire coined the “Painter of France”, and for whom the La Comédie-Française is also known as Molière’s House, would look upon our cast, designers, and crew and applaud them their determination –– rehearsing via zoom in this Covid-19 time –– and be saddened that in our own interim House of Molière, we are only able to share with a handful of you.      -Chris McCann

About the Cast

Carson Payne Bennett is a fourth year BFA actor plucked from Blackshear, Georgia. Her past credits include Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Oompa Loompa 1), Wizard of Oz (Unnamed Munchkin) and Stone Soup (1st grade ensemble), among many others. She would like to thank Company 45, her twin John Michael, her family, friends and, as always, her hard-headed mama. xx

Dafi Cramer is a fourth year BFA actor from Tel Aviv, Israel. Purchase Rep credits include: Right Behind You (Ensemble piece), A Bright Room Called Day (Agnes), The Possibilities (Judith), and Roe versus Wade (Allison). She would like to thank her family and loved ones for their endless support and love.

Mason Forringer is a fourth year BFA actor from Flemington, NJ. Purchase Rep Credits include: Subliminal (Eamon), Marisol (Lenny), The Possibilities (Youth), Blood Wedding (Boy). Many thanks to his family and friends. He would like to dedicate this show to Chris.

Aaron Greenberg is a fourth year BFA actor from Queens with scoliosis. Past credits include A Bright Room Called Day (Baz) and The Bear (Smirnov). He’s incredibly grateful to his family for their support, and also the crew, because no one ever thanks the crew. ​

Kelsey Longwill is a fourth year BFA actor from Santa Clarita, California. Purchase rep credits include A Bright Room Called Day (Paulinka), Blood Wedding (Maiden) and Roe V Wade (Jeannie). She would like to thank her family for all their love and support, and Company 45 for changing her life for the better.

Patrick Allen Moore is a fourth year BFA actor from Salisbury, North Carolina. Purchase Rep credits include: Roe Versus Wade (Randy), Blood Wedding (The Father) and A Bright Room Called Day (Husz). Other credits include The Glass Menagerie (Tom) at UNCSA and Theogony (Chorus) at the One Year Lease Theatre company. He would also like to thank his friends and family for being such good people.

Mary Paola is a fourth year BFA actor from Bar Harbor, Maine. Purchase Rep credits include: Marisol (June), Blood Wedding (Servant), Roe versus Wade ​(Jeannie) and The Bacchae of Euripides (Vestal, Bacchante). Other credits include Pygmalion (Eliza) and The Christians ​(Jenny) at Acadia Repertory Theatre. She would like to thank her wonderfully supportive family and roommates, and as always, Company 45.

Clara Steeves is a fourth year BFA actor from Newfoundland, Canada. Previous credits with Purchase Rep include: A Bright Room Called Day (Rosa Malek), Blood Wedding (The Wife), ​Roe Versus Wade (Christine/Candy), and Right Behind You (Ensemble). She would like to dedicate this performance to the memory of Raymond Dahn for his unwavering support and belief in her.

Catherine Young is a fourth year BFA actor from Kentucky. Purchase Rep credits include: A Bright Room Called Day (Zillah), The Possibilities (Young Woman), Blood Wedding (Little Girl, Youth), and Roe V. Wade (Carla). Many loving thanks to company 45, her family and all the angels. Rebellion.

About the Production Team

Sarah Joseph (Production Stage Manager) is a fourth year BFA stage manager from Connecticut. Some of her past credits include: What To Send Up When It Goes Down (PSM), Blood Wedding (SM), Serendipity (SM), Opera Trilogy (ASM), American Theater Wing Gala (PA), Mandy Patinkin Diaries (PA), Black Top Sky (Run Crew) and Abigail 1702 (Child Wrangler/Run Crew). She would like to thank her family for being so supportive, as well as her stage management team for being wonderful.

Mary Paola (Costume Designer) is a fourth year BFA Actor from Bar Harbor, Maine. Purchase credits include The Possibilities (Costume Designer) and Roe versus Wade (Costume Designer). Special thanks to this marvelous team.

Nickolas Lambert (Lighting Designer) is a fourth Year BFA Theatre Design/Technology major from Poughkeepsie, New York. His previous design credits at Purchase include Sound Design for Mr. Burns, Exit Strategy, Helen, Bibles & Candy, Not My Place, A Bright Room Called Day, and Everything you Love. This will be Nick’s first Lighting design credit at Purchase. Nick would like to thank his family and friends for their continued support as well as Dj, Gaby and Ben for their hard work. ​

Hailey O’Leary (Sound Designer) is a third year lighting and sound designer from Stormville, NY. Credits include Right Behind You (SD), Subliminal (SD), and The Wolves (ME). She sends love to her friends, family, and to the people who entered her life and inspired her to be the best she could be.

Becca Lambert (Technical Director) is a third year technical direction student from Leominster, Massachusetts. Past credits include Bibles and Candy/Helen (Master Carpenter), and What To Send Up When It Goes Down (Production Carpenter). Thank you to her family, including Sasha and Diego for getting her this far.

Chris McCann teaches at Purchase College in Acting Program and the Film Department. He’s acted in theater, film and television for over 45 years. Among the authors whose plays he’s been privileged to première are: Caryl Churchill, Tony Kushner, Sam Shepard, David Rabe, John Guare, Charles Mee, Howard Korder, Beth Henley, Len Jenkins, and Tim Blake Nelson. Also, blessed to have appeared in productions of the works of Shakespeare, Chekov, Ibsen, Ionesco, and Brecht. He’s likewise been privileged to direct the works of Lucy Caldwell, Annie Baker, Lanford Wilson, Shakespeare, Brecht, Churchill, David Mamet, David Lindsay-Abaire, Will Eno, Jose Rivera, Quincy Long, Y. York, Jessica Goldberg, Sam Shepard and Joseph Chaikin.

In our teaching and art, the Conservatory values inclusiveness, equality, and excellence. Upholding all of our training is our aim to train and graduate citizen artists: multifaceted people with a strong sense of purpose in approaching an arts education.

What is a citizen artist? Citizen artists seek to discover how their unique voices can contribute to our world. They understand what it means to be an artist, and what they are here on earth to say and do and make.

The Conservatory trains future citizen artists in three degree programs:

+ BFA Actor Training. The BFA is an intensive professional training program offered to a highly select and diverse group of students. The professional training is anchored in four years of study in acting, voice, speech, and movement, complemented by offerings in dramatic literature and analysis, history of the theatre, stage combat, improvisation, mask work, acting for the camera, and the business of acting. As one of five schools in the Consortium of Professional Theatre Training Programs, Purchase is one of a handful of colleges in the world capable of training artists at this level—and of drawing a faculty from the ranks of professional theatre

+ BFA in Theatre Design/Technology. Emphasizing studio and classroom training, our professional training program in theatre design/technology gives students the guidance and support of established and theatre industry professionals. Many of our alumni are recognized at the top of their field, and have received Tony, Emmy, Obie, and Drama Desk Awards, among other honors. Quite literally, Purchase grads are working in or have worked in every theatre on Broadway, in all tristate venues, and with countless touring productions

+ BA program in Theatre and Performance. From traditional theatre to cutting-edge interdisciplinary work, the theatre and performance major encourages creativity, intellectual curiosity, social engagement, and critical thinking. The core requirements combine scholarship and practice to provide students with a strong foundation in theatre history and dramatic literature, with mandatory stagecraft/production courses. Theatre and Performance majors are encouraged to expand the scope of their education by studying abroad, as well as pursuing coursework in other programs of study within the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Purchase College