Orlando Program

Orlando

By Sarah Ruhl
Adapted from Virginia Woolf
Directed by Claudia René Wier

The performance runs two hours with a 10-minute intermission.

Cast

Orlando
Ansley Wilson

Chorus/Ensemble

Sasha
Marta Minarik

Marmaduke
Maverick Aranas-Armstrong

Queen
Sam Hicks-Jirkans

Arch Duke/Duchess
Luke Kleeman

Shakespeare
Milkias Damenu

Eurphrosyne
Ashley Gildenblatt

Clorinda; Washer Woman
Sarah London

Favilla; Elevator Person
Kalee Sribanditmongkol

Captain; Russian Sea Man
Persis Yoder

Penelope
Mae Neighbor

Rosalind
Maddie Green

As You Like It Orlando
Fé Beatty

Salesperson; Priest
Darrian Ippolito

Dupper; Spanish Dancer
Alison Lohr

Grimsditch
Erin Rowland

Understudies/Ensemble

Orlando
Ashley Gildenblatt

Sasha
Maddie Green

Marmaduke Understudy and Chorus 1
Craig Foulkrod

Queen
Darrian Ippolito

Arch Duke/Duchess
Fé Beatty

Special Thanks

Dr. Maria Ignatieva
Amy Schofield

Produced by special arrangement with and all authorized performance materials supplied by William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, LLC.

Orlando was commissioned by Joyce Piven and was first produced at the Piven Theater Workshop, directed by Joyce Piven.

It was subsequently produced at the Actor's Gang in Los Angeles, produced by Tim Robbins and directed by Joyce Piven.

It was produced in New York at Classic Stage Company, produced by Brian Kulick, directed by Rebecca Taichman.

The use of any recording device, either audio or video, and the taking of photographs, either with or without flash, is strictly prohibited. Please silence your cell phones and pagers prior to the beginning of the performance. In consideration of those seated around you, please refrain from texting during the performance.

Fé Beatty (Arch Duke/Arch Duchess understudy; As You Like It Orlando), first-year student
Pronouns: they/them
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
Major(s): composition; English
Minor(s): dance; theatre
Department Productions: Debut

Milkias Damenu (Shakespeare), junior
Hometown: Columbus
Major(s): psychology
Minor(s): theatre
Department Productions: Debut

Craig Foulkrod (Marmaduke understudy), first-year student
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Houston, TX
Major(s): accounting
Minor(s): music; musical theatre
Department Productions: Debut

Ashley Gildenblatt (Euphrosyne; Orlando understudy), first-year student
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
Major(s): theatre
Minor(s): American Sign Language Studies
Department Productions: Debut

Maddie Green (Rosalind), junior
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Springboro, OH
Major(s): communication
Minor(s): voice acting
Department Productions: Silent Sky; The Moors

Sam Hicks-Jirkans (Queen), sophomore
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
Major(s): economics
Minor(s): theatre
Department Productions: Debut

Darrian Ippolito (Salesperson; Priest), sophomore
Hometown: Taylorville, IL
Major(s): theatre
Department Productions: Debut

Luke Kleeman (Arch Duke/Arch Duchess), first-year student
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
Major(s): theatre
Minor(s): American Sign Language Studies
Department Productions: The Moors

Alison Lohr (Dupper; Spanish Dancer), senior
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Akron, OH
Major(s): sociology
Minor(s): theatre
Department Productions: Debut

Sarah London (Clorinda; Washer Woman), junior
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Aurora, OH
Major(s): English
Minor(s): theatre
Department Productions: The Moors

Mae Neighbor (Penelope), sophomore
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Lancaster, OH
Major(s): English; theatre
Minor(s): game studies; voice acting
Department Productions: Debut

Kalee Sribanditmongkol (Favilla; Elevator Person), sophomore
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Gahanna, OH
Major(s): theatre
Minor(s): musical theatre
Department Productions: Silent Sky

Gabriela Trigo-McIntyre (asst. director; movement choreographer), graduate student
Pronouns: she/they
Hometown: Columbus
Major(s): theatre
Minor(s): women's, gender, and sexuality studies
Department Productions: The Country Wife

Ansley Wilson (Orlando), junior
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Johnson City, TN
Major(s): theatre
Minor(s): film studies; hospitality management
Department Productions: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Oak trees, the national tree of the United States, can have lifespans of up to 1,000 years, ultimately growing to be up to 70 feet tall with a tree line of nearly 150 feet wide. You can make ink from them; in fact, oak gall ink has been used to write some of the most important documents in history, including the U.S. Constitution. Oak wood is a popular choice for whiskey distillers and winemakers, whose labors are aged to perfection in large oak barrels. Ancient Greeks believed that oaks were favored by the god Zeus, and the trees were locations where priests believed they could communicate with the divine.

In our production, an adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s 1928 novel Orlando: A Biography, the oak tree serves as a symbol and physical space that our main character cherishes and returns to regularly in times of flux. Our setting has a real-world precedent: the action of Woolf’s novel is set on a real estate, Knole House, which has had little change in over 400 years. Nonetheless, the Great Storm of 1987 saw the loss of over 70% of its trees in the estate’s deer park. Those that still stand are primarily oaks, a testament to the strength and integrity of these remarkable trees.

The use of Knole House as a space for our play’s setting stems from Virginia Woolf’s relationship with someone who lived there, Vita Sackville-West. A world traveler and iconoclast, Sackville-West was also a well-respected author in her own right as well as an intimate lover of Woolf’s. Due to the customs of the time and as a means of survival, both women were married to men, though their deep love for one another was recognized (Woolf’s husband notified Sackville-West of Woolf’s death before anyone else). Sackville-West defied gender norms in both her writing and in her personal life: when with female lovers, Sackville-West often cross-dressed as a character she lovingly called Julian. Above all, Sackville-West’s upbringing and her later work were shaped by the romantic and aristocratic atmosphere of the Knole estate where she spent her childhood, and she was devastated upon realizing that, as a woman in a patriarchal society, she could never inherit the estate.

Our production utilizes a turntable to signify movement through time, space, and experience, yet through it all, the oak tree, a symbol of Sackville-West’s beloved Knole estate, offers a space where Orlando can remain grounded. The tree remains stable at the front of the stage. Like the audience, the oak witnesses turbulence, parties, ice skating, years of learning, and Orlando’s personal growth. Throughout the play, as you spin through time and watch Orlando grapple with identity, social hierarchy, and their dreams and desires, you can see that they keep returning to the oak as a place of reflection and security.

As Orlando basks under the tree’s beauty, takes in the world as it comes, and asks big questions, audiences can note that the great oak stays constant in their life. Much like Orlando, the oak grows stronger with time. As life’s challenges throw new adventures and struggles Orlando’s way, the tree offers a space to recenter. The large tree’s stability makes it the perfect space for Orlando’s grappling with their identity and pursuit of finding truth amidst a bustling world, as it changes and ages like Orlando but is constant in its environment. The oak tree allows them to challenge what they know to be true, find comfort and stability, and, most importantly, rest.

We hope you enjoy Orlando, a small glimpse at a soul trying to find peace and understanding within themselves and this big world we call home.