Twelfth Night

Partial nudity. Sequences of flashing and strobing lights, and loud popping noise.

The title Twelfth Night refers to three celebration: the Eve of Epiphany, Feast of Fools, and the Saturnalia (a Roman Pagan festival). All three were often celebrated with a temporary suspension of rules and social orders. A last party before the hard work of the start of the new harvest.

This research was the genesis for my direction of this production of Twelfth Night. I was inspired with the idea of creating a final “crazy party” for these graduating students before they enter the “real world” and start pounding the pavement in-order to start their careers. My designers and I set out to create a world that would host this final party. Shakespeare sets the play in the far away land of Illyria, which gives the play a feel of a fairy tale or an exotic place with wonders. This inspired me to build a “FABULOUS” place to have the students’ final party in.

My research led me to Tim Walker, a high fashion photographer, whose photos are often whimsical with a mixture of contemporary and classical aesthetics. Tim Walker’s artwork and other influences, led us to creating the concept of “a super curated whimsical bedazzled party room/world for the actors to party in.” A place where time is blurred, lines are crossed and fun is expected.

Finally, I want dedicate this production to my friend and mentor, Andrei Belgrader, who passed last year. He was a teacher and director who knew how to celebrate all of the young artists he encountered and taught. Blessed Be Andrei, I hope this production makes you smile.

I hope you all enjoy all the hard work these students have put into creating this final project. Join me in celebrating the actors, designers, and production team that are about to have their final Purchase Artistic Party.

Thanks, Alex Correia

Cast

Devyn Akers hails from the nation’s capital Washington DC! He has played the role of Pozzo in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. He is very excited about this production and wants to thank his amazing company, the crew and stage management team. And special thanks to the director Alex Correia for his collaboration and wise and in depth conversations about the Knicks and Wizards - he’s the best!

Noelle Backman is a fourth year BFA Actor from California. Purchase Reps include Babettes Feast (Martine), Barbecue (Adlean), The Conduct of Life (Olimpia); she will now be playing Maria in Twelfth Night. Many thanks to her family for their continual love and support.

Keymer Cuesta

Max Garfin is a fourth year BFA actor from Manhattan, New York. Purchase Rep. credits include Waiting For Godot (Lucky/Boy), and Christian in Cyrano De Bergerac. He’s proud to play Andrew Aguecheek in this production of Twelfth Night, or his preferred title, What You Will. Thank you!

Sanise Lebron is a fourth-year acting major in Purchase’s Theatre Conservatory program. She is from the Bronx, NY, and has the pleasure of being Valentine and Officer #1 in Twelfth Night. Past Purchase credits include Truth and Reconciliation (Wife), Babette’s Feast (Young Lowenheilm & Leif), Pirandello Party (Lignota), Barbecue (Marie), The Conduct of Life (Nena), and Cyrano de Bergerac (Roxane). Other credits include: The Bennett Academy of Performing Arts, and King of the Rodeo (Bobby Lynn). She would like to thank her family and friends for their constant love and support. Play on!! 

Arielle Moore is a fourth year in the BFA Acting program and hails from Harlem, NY. Purchase Rep credits include: Truth & Reconciliation (Mama/Man), Babette’s Feast (Mrs. Lowenhielm/Lady of the Court/Ensemble), Barbecue (Lillie Anne) and Serious Money (Jacinta Condor/Joanne). She wants to thank her teachers, company members, crew, family and friends for all of the endless support.

Ndeye Daro Niang is a fourth year BFA actor from Harlem, New York. Purchase Rep credits include: Truth and Reconciliation (Daughter/Woman), Babettes Feast (Babette), Barbecue (Alden) and Serious Money (TK, Nigel and Merrison). Other credits include the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, and placing in the National Shakespeare Competition in New York. Many thanks to all her close friends and companions who support and uplift her!

Daija North is a Brooklyn native, in her senior year at purchase conservatory of theatre arts. Her Past Purchase credits include Truth and Reconciliation (Widow), Babette’s Feast as Erna, Barbecue as Marie and The Conduct of Life as Leticia. She sends love and hugs for all the support.

Precious Omigie is a fourth year BFA actor from Brooklyn, New York. Purchase Rep credits include: Truth and Reconciliation (Child/Grandma), Babette’s Feast (Astrid), Barbecue (Barbara), Serious Money (Scilla Todd & Biddulph), Cyrano de Bergerac (Leila Ragueneau), Good Goods (Patricia). Thank you to her family and friends for their love and support!

Katie Parkinson is a fourth year BFA actor from Seattle, Washington. Past credits include: Babette’s Feast (Philippa), Barbecue (Lillie Anne), Serious Money (Marylou Baines/Mrs.Etherington/Dolcie Starr), and Cyrano de Bergerac (Le Bret). She is so grateful for everything Purchase has given her and for her family, who have supported her through it all. 

Justin Parrish is a fourth year BFA actor from Los Angeles, California. His Purchase Reps include: Waiting For Godot (Estragon), Cyrano De Bergerac (De Guiche), Babette’s Feast (Papin). Many thanks to his parents and his fellow Company 47 members!

Eklan Singh is a senior BFA actor at SUNY Purchase College. He is from Rochester, NY and has been in shows such as Waiting For Godot (Vladimir), Conduct Of Life (Alejo), and Cyrano De Bergerac (Cyrano). He thanks all those who have supported him over the years and is grateful to have this final show with his company. Enjoy!

Eli Gardner Stiewing is a fourth year BFA actor from Annapolis, Maryland and Brooklyn, New York. Purchase credits include Lignière (Cyrano De Bergerac), James T (Barbecue), and Corman and Grimes (Serious Money). Some outside credits include Adam (DNA) with Piper Theatre and Judas Iscariot (The Last Days of Judas Iscariot) with LaGuardia High School. Eli would like to give special thanks to his family, his friends, his teachers, and everyone who’s supported him along the way!

Creative & Production

Kaitlyn DiDomenico

Sabrina Ehrnstein (They/Them) is a Senior BFA Dual Concentration Costume Major in Design & Technology. Past Purchase credits include Cyrano and We Are Proud to Present (Costume Designer) and Purgatorio Wonderland (Costume Design Assistant/Wardrobe Supervisor). Professional credits include Administrative & Wardrobe Apprentice to Santa Fe Opera and Costume Designer for scenes from Suor Angelica and Der Rosenkavalier. Berkshire Theatre Group (Wardrobe/Stitcher/Costume Crafts). Art is how we open our eyes to wonder.

Ana Karen Esparza Aguilar is a third year Stage Management student in the D/T program. Purchase credits include: For the People (PSM), Eclipse (SM), Our Town (SM), We Are Proud to Present (ASM). Ella le quiere agradecer a su Abuelo Miguel QDEP, familia, gatos, amigues y cualquiera que apoye este sueño.

David Fitzpatrick is a third year lighting and sound designer from Bronx, NY. Purchase credits include The Attic (Assistant Lighting Designer), Barbecue and Waiting for Godot (Production Electrician), and Babette’s Feast (Lighting Programmer). Thanks to his family, his many friends in DT for their constant support, and the wonderful sound team for Twelfth Night, without whom none of his work would’ve been possible.

Anthony Marinaro is a fourth year lighting design student from New Jersey. Credits Include The Colored Museum (Projection Designer), Everybody (Assistant Lighting Designer), Wolves Eat Elk/Passage (Master Electrician), and Cheat Day (Programmer). Anthony also has worked on numerous projects with the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase, design credits include; Hidden Alchemy, Tableau, Ethereal, and Fin. Anthony would like to thank his friends and family for all of their support.

Jessie Marr is a fourth year Scenic Designer from Ridgewood, NJ. Purchase Rep credits include Dance Nation and Fefu and Her Friends (Assistant Scenic Designer), As You Like It and Blood Wedding (Props Charge). Eternal gratitude to her friends and family for unconditional support and answering the phone at 3am.

Nina Schatell is a fourth year Stage Manager from Manhattan. Purchase credits include Make It Play, New Plays Now (Production Stage Manager), Barbecue, Everybody (Stage Manager), Dialogues of the Carmelites, The Colored Museum (Assistant Stage Manager). Other credits include The World Is Not Silent (Stage Management Apprentice) at New York Stage and Film and Emmet Cohen Trio and Friends (Production Assistant) at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and King Lear (Production Assistant) at New York Classical Theatre. Nina is a proud recipient of the Cody Renard Richard Scholarship. She is grateful for her amazing production team and Company 47 for their hard work and dedication. Enjoy the show!

Alex Correia is a director, actor, and educator. He is a graduate of the Directing Program at the Juilliard School where he received the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship, and holds a BFA in Acting from Marymount Manhattan College. He served as Resident Director for INTAR Theatre during the 2008/09 Season and the Director of INTAR’s Actors Collective from 2006 to 2009. Alex has been a guest director at NYU’s MFA Dramatic Writing Program, Hunter College, Lee Strasberg Institute and at the LARK Play Development Center in NYC.

NY Directing Credits include: Coriolanus and Julius Caesar at the Juilliard School, Adults Only by Dean Imperial, Song for the Disappeared by Tanya Saracho, The Leak by Fernanda Coppel, and Where’s My Money by John Patrick Shanley. Assisting Directing Credits include Heart of Robin Hood directed by Joel Sass (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), The Cherry Orchard directed by Andrei Belgrader (Classic Stage Company 2011), Scapin by Moliere directed by Christopher Bayes at the Intiman Theater (Seattle) & The Court Theater (Chicago), and Lysistrata by Aristophanes directed by Andrei Serban at A.R.T. (Boston).

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