Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Programs to Present CYMBELINE & HAMLET this Fall

The Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Programs open their season with two of Shakespeare's finest, most dynamic works. Cymbeline, under the direction of Caitlin Ryan O'Connell ('16), opens October 16 and Hamlet, directed by James D Palmer ('16) opens October 29, 2014. Cymbeline, a romantic comedy that focuses on rebellion, justice and reconciliation runs October 16-19. Next up, Hamlet, running October 29-November 2, follows a young man searching for truth while avenging his father's mysterious death. All performances take place at the Pell Chafee Performance Center, 87 Empire Street, Downtown Providence. General admission $10 with a discounted price of $5 for students and seniors. Tickets on sale now at Trinity Rep's box office, by phone (401) 351-4242, or online at www.trinityrep.com.

Cymbeline tells the story of fair princess Imogen, the only child of King Cymbeline, who weds the court's orphan, Posthumus, against her father's wishes, making her new husband the heir to the British throne. The king's fury provokes Posthumus' flight to Italy, the first of many obstacles the newlyweds encounter. Imogen's marriage ignites the many "dizzying dilemmas" found around every corner of this play, including her cross-dressing disguise.

"I've always been attracted to this crazy play," says director Caitlin Ryan O'Connell. "Cymbeline's multitude of juicy characters and the chaotic plot prompt ever-changing relationships between characters. It is about how we see ourselves and how our outward persona is often at odds with our inner desires," she adds.

Following the run of Cymbeline, Shakespeare's Hamlet presents the ultimate mousetrap. Hamlet returns home from school to mourn the loss of his father, the King of Denmark, only to discover his mother has married his uncle, his girlfriend has turned against him and nothing is as he remembers.

"This play takes great joy in watching you grapple with its characters and ideas," says director James D Palmer. "It has the most rich and complex characters Shakespeare ever penned and he allows them full reign of their ambitions and emotions. Hamlet is an eternal howl, a heated attack on the unknowability of our purpose for being here," he continues. "It is a constant reminder that the heart of another person will always be a mystery to us.

Caitlin Ryan O'Connell is a director and theatre maker who has worked at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, LCT3, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Trinity Repertory Company and Clubbed Thumb. Caitlin trained with the National Theater Institute, St. Petersburg Theatre Arts Academy, The Royal Shakespeare Company, Simon McBurney's Complicite and The NY Neofuturists. She is an alumna of Wellesley College and is in the midst of her second year of Brown/Trinity's MFA Directing Program.

James D Palmer is a Brown/Trinity MFA Directing student in the class of 2016. He hails from Chicago, IL where, for ten years, he ran the experimental theatre troupe Red Tape Theatre. In Chicago, James directed dozens of shows including The Love of the Nightingale in 2010 for which he was awarded the Joseph Jefferson award for Best Direction. James has directed at The Goodman Theatre, Victory Gardens, American Theatre Company, and Chicago Dramatists, among others. For five years he was the assistant to the Artistic Director at Steppenwolf Theatre and he has served on the Board of Directors for the League of Chicago Theaters.

Performances for Cymbeline run Thursday, October 16th; Friday, October 17th; and Saturday, October 18th at 7:30PM, with an additional 2:00 PM matinee performance on Sunday, October 19th. Performances for Hamlet run Wednesday, October 29th and Thursday, October 30th at 7:30 PM; and Saturday, November 1st and Sunday, November 2nd at 2:00 PM.

The Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Programs provide a three-year professional training program for eighteen students under the auspices of an Ivy League University and Rhode Island's Tony Award-winning theater company. Brown University's Department of Theatre, Speech and Dance is internationally recognized for the quality of its faculty and instruction. Trinity Rep, with its deep tradition of resident artists, provides powerful artistic assets and creates a firm foundation for a new generation of theater artists.?

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