Theater at Monmouth Announces 2022 Summer Repertory Season

This summer, give yourself a break and journey to the lakes region of Central Maine to experience live theater again! Join in for Theater at Monmouth's It's Greek (and Roman) to Me! Season. For 2022 Theater at Monmouth digs into the roots of classic theater with plays by and about the Greeks and Romans. Through modern adaptations and classic takes on the original plays and myths; TAM's 53rd Season will feature gods, demigods, heroes, and heroines, and every satyr in-between.

The 2022 Summer Repertory Season includes Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra directed by Charlene V. Smith, and Comedy of Errors directed by Hannah Cordes; Aristophanes' Lysistrata directed by Danielle Drakes; Molière's Amphitryon directed by Carol Ann Tan; and Sarah Ruhl's heartwarming Eurydice directed by Dawn McAndrews. The Family Show is a workshop production of Sarah Bierstock's Pandora and Her Top Secret and Exceptionally Important Scientific Mission directed by Lindsey Higgins. For the Fall Show TAM will produce Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Adam P. Blais.

Performances take place in two venues this year. Historic Cumston Hall, a 250-seat Victorian opera house designed by Harry Cochrane, will be the main performance space. For audience members looking to be outside for performances there will be a tent at WillowsAwake in Leeds, a short drive from Cumston Hall, on Wednesday evenings. Since its founding TAM has rehearsed and performed in rotating repertory, inviting audiences to see the actors in different roles in different shows in one weekend.

Lysistrata | June 25 - August 18

By Aristophanes | directed by Danielle Drakes

On a mission to end the Peloponnesian War, Lysistrata bands together the women of Greece to withhold sex until the men declare peace. As the women tantalize and tease their way to a cease-fire, a timeless story emerges of sexual politics, political power struggles, and the battle between the sexes. Funny, poignant, and just a little dirty, Lysistrata is a comic romp of more than adequate proportions.

"Lysistrata is a funny and very bawdy anti-war comedy that proves once again [that] the old saying is true: 'If women ruled the world, there would be no war." - Rick Walters, Viterbo University

Danielle A. Drakes (She/Her) is a multi-faceted theatre professional with extensive experience in performance, directing, and arts administration. She has dedicated her career to using theatre as a tool for envisioning a more empathetic and equitable society. Directing credits include: Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea; Kill Move Paradise (Rep Stage); Klytmnestra: An Epic Slam Poem (World Premiere). Her work on Klytmnestra earned her a Helen Hayes nod for Outstanding Direction. Ms. Drakes is a two-time recipient of the Theatre Communications Group Leaders of Color Award. Ms. Drakes is a proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. She holds a BA from Goucher College and MFA from The Catholic University of America.

Antony and Cleopatra | July 7- August 20

by William Shakespeare | directed by Charlene V. Smith

Reason and judgement prove no match for the tsunami of mutual passion engulfing Mark Antony, one of the three joint rulers of the Roman Republic, and Cleopatra, the powerful Queen of Egypt. Surrendering everything to their desires, they open the floodgates to a civil conflict that will shake the very foundations of their world. Shakespeare's dark and intimate portrait of this storied affair features some of the most transcendent poetry on love and loss in the cannon.

"The tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra is Shakespeare on a grand scale and it is impressive to take in." - Jeffery Walker, National Theatre Live

Charlene V. Smith (She/Her) is a director, actor, and scholar with an MLitt and MFA in Shakespeare and Performance from Mary Baldwin University. Formerly the artistic director of Brave Spirits Theatre, her directing credits include the four plays of the Henriad, The Changeling, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, Coriolanus, The Two Noble Kinsmen, and the first modern professional production of The Bloody Banquet. She has essays published in The Palgrave Handbook of Shakespeare's Queens and Arden Shakespeare's The Changeling: The State of Play.

Amphitryon | July 14 - August 19

Adapted by Molière | directed by Carol Ann Tan

Jupiter, the king of the gods, is in love again, this time with the beautiful and faithful Alcmena, wife of Amphitryon, Theban general. As the victorious general is on his way home from battle, Jupiter disguises himself as Amphitryon in order to win Alcmena's favors. The blend of high comedy and slapstick antics that follow unlocks a Pandora's box of ideas about love, marriage, and power.

"A comical, anachronistic, and witty retelling of the Greek myth. The story of Jupiter's cuckolding of Amphitryon has come in a variety of theatrical styles over the centuries. Plautus had great success with it as a burlesque for the Romans; Moliere turned it into a farce, of course; Kleist made a romance of it; and Giraudoux fashioned it into a fantasy.." -Wilborn Hampton, The New York Times

Carol Ann Tan (Cat) (She/Her) is a Singapore-born director, writer, and dramaturg. Recent Directing credits include Constellations, Much Ado About Nothing, A View from the Bridge (Brown/Trinity); Warrior Class (The Comrades); Apartment Complex, Domestic Departure (University of Chicago). As a writer, Cat's plays include: Trump Card, Apartment Complex, and Domestic Departure. As a dramaturg, Cat has worked with Writers Theatre, Silk Road Rising, TimeLine Theatre, Sideshow Theatre, First Floor Theater, The Comrades, SoloChicago Theatre, Three Cat Productions, and Genesis Theatrical Productions. She is an MFA Directing candidate at Brown/Trinity (Class of 22/23), an artistic associate with Silk Road Rising, and a 2017/18 Directors Inclusion Initiate at Victory Gardens. carolanntan.com

Comedy of Errors | July 21 - August 21

by William Shakespeare | directed by Hannah Cordes

Two sets of twins, each with the same name-what could go wrong? Everything, apparently. Leave logic behind and delight in the mayhem of Shakespeare's slapstick comedy. Chaos and confusion reign when two sets of identical twins, separated at birth, end up in the same town on the same day. The blunders double, triple, and quadruple until everyone is pretty sure that everyone else is completely insane.

"Comedy of Errors is an amalgamation of the very best farcical tropes; puns, slapstick humor, and mistaken identities abound."- Kristen Waagner, Maryland Theatre Guide

Hannah Cordes (She/Her) is a director and educator with a focus on physical storytelling, ensemble-driven work, consent-based practices, and radically playful processes. In addition to her work as Education Director at Portland Stage, Hannah has had the privilege of working with a variety of companies and organizations, including Fenix Theatre, The Gamm Theatre, Mad Horse Theatre Company, Dramatic Repertory Company, Maine Playwrights Festival, The Basement Theatre Collective, The Space (London, England), and the Maine Educational Theatre Association.

Eurydice | July 28- August 19

by Sarah Ruhl | directed by Dawn McAndrews

On her wedding day, Eurydice falls victim to a tragic accident that sends her hurtling into the Underworld, erasing her memory and reuniting her with her long-dead father. When Orpheus arrives to save his bride, Eurydice is torn between her desire to return to the real world and the tender relationship she rediscovers with her father in the afterlife. Brimming with lyrical beauty, and Ruhl's trademark wit, Eurydice is a visceral and surreal mediation on love worth grieving for.

"Eloquent, haunting, and heartbreaking, Eurydice meditates on death, memory, loss, love, and nostalgia in one beautiful ninety-minute story." - Jesse Bond, Splash Magazine

Dawn McAndrews (She/Her) has worked at theatres across the country including Shakespeare Theatre Company, Steppenwolf Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Arena Stage, Portland Stage Company, and Shakespeare Festival St. Louis. Directing credits: The Pajama Game and Love's Labour's Lost (UMO); Haroun and the Sea of Stories (Colby); The Language Archive (Public Theatre); Sofonisba (World Premiere), Sense & Sensibility, Richard III, The Winter's Tale, Peter & the Starcatcher, The Mousetrap, Of Thee I Sing (TAM); The Glass Menagerie, Holiday, and Three Days of Rain (1st Stage); Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice (The Orange Girls), Timberlake Wertenbaker's Antigone (St. Louis University), as well as adapting and directing A Christmas Carol at Portland Stage.

FAMILY SHOW

Pandora | July 2 - August 18

By Sarah Bierstock | directed by Lindsey Higgins
A Workshop Production

Pandora is Seriously Curious about all things Global Warming. When the kids at school call her Teacher's Pet one too many times, she decides to try out life at Dad's house, and enrolls in the gifted and talented school, Smarty Pants Elementary. She just has this one, Exceptionally Important Scientific Experiment she must complete before leaving. It involves a large suitcase she lugs around with her. What could be inside there?? And why is she dragging it to the river?

Lindsey Higgins (She/Her) received her MFA in Theatre Directing from East 15 in London. She served as Artistic Director for both 60 Grit and Seoul Shakespeare Company (SSC). She is a devisor/director interested in bold/contemporary stories that push boundaries of comfort. Notable directing credits include Adam Rapp's Blackbird, Tracey Lett's Bug and Sarah Kane's Blasted (60 Grit), Monica Wood's Papermaker (Footlights), Macbeth, and Tempest (SSC) Lindsey is thrilled to be directing for TAM for the first time!

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