Columbia University School of the Arts Theatre Arts Program

presents

lifetime fairytaleby Zhu Yi

Directed byMarios Theocharous

The Riverside TheatreOctober 21 - 24, 2009

On This Directing Thesis Production:

Tonight you are seeing the thesis production of a director from the Theatre Arts Program of the School of the Arts. This director has been working at Columbia for three years toward a better understanding of the theatre event, a deeper notion of action for the stage and of the potential riches in collaboration. And yet this pursuit is a lifetime endeavor and the doors that may open during these three years of training are only a premonition of what is to come.

A director’s job is a tightrope walk. Ultimately the audience should not be aware of the director and yet you are in his or her hands. Directors provide the keys for the journey of actors and audiences. They coordinate the medium through which a playwright might speak to us through time. They are party givers; they create events.

I hope that the three years at Columbia have provoked far more questions than answers. I dream that they will go forth into the theatre community with a love of the art, and enough courage to give it legs and feet.

- Anne Bogart, Head of Directing

From the Director:

We will meet and live together… .The idea of growing old with someone never crossed my mind before. It’s a beautiful idea though isn’t it? I enjoy working on plays about love, relationships, the journey of growing up, making choices and living with them. The play needed to have at least one moon scene. Moons are always very important in my plays.

In the play we are definitely not giving answers or solutions about any of the above. We are scratching the surface, raising questions for young souls regardless of real age.

We had to develop the play from scratch. Confucius check, Production Team check… We planned a reading early in May 2009 and we needed actors. We had auditions. We changed the script to have a boy as one of the maids! Actors check! Audience loved it! So, we started “climbing”….

The Greek word for acting is playing. This is what we have been doing the past month. We played to defeat our fears, anxiety and terror to confront the play. Most importantly we were part of the game because we wanted to play together! Thank you Team for your talent, energy and passion!

From the Playwright:

“Give me a moon, a lake, and a beautiful girl,” Marios asked me last winter.

So here is the play, inspired by the director’s fantasy and an old Chinese myth. The story is a young man’s journey through his lifetime. Writing it was also a journey probing into my soul.

The hero’s hesitation between the domestic world and the fairyland, glory and freedom, impulse and ethic...is an allegory of the human’s dilemma, which has never changed in thousands of years. No matter which side we stand on, we’re always somehow longing for the other side. And beneath all these struggles, the real thing is our loneliness. “We come; we stay; and we leave.” – one after another, in the history, in the universe, over and over. So what can I hold through this long trip? What can protect me from fading away? Glory, responsibility, religion, knowledge, freedom or love? You will finally find an answer in your own trip. But before you leave this house, please forget about everything else, let us tell you a beautiful fairy tale.

As a Chinese-Chinese, I never knew I could write such a play in English. But it turned out to be a very fun experience by mixing & matching all the different cultures, languages, audience’s expectations and stage elements together, and working with artists from different backgrounds. Read the names on the production team list, and you’ll find we’re so international! We’ve traveled a long way to get here, to seek our dreams. And our journey has just started. Tonight, please depart with us.

Everyone has a root, and a heart longing to fly.

- Zhu Yi

Audience, remember now we are in China, in a 12th-century village. Yes, you are! Just take a look around you. Do not forget to smile at the person next to you when lights go up. You are sharing this moment in Time and Space.

- Marios

Music SupervisorStavros Makris

Movement DesignerMaja Wampuszyc

Fight DirectorChristian T. Chan

Production Stage ManagerPisa Waikwamdee

General ManagerRegina Vorria

Set & Lighting DesignerJi-Youn Chang

Costume DesignerPaul Carey

DramaturgBecca Poccia

lifetime fairytaleby Zhu Yi

Directed byMarios Theocharous

lifetime fairytale is presented in association with

DRASTES THEATRICAL GROUP, Nicosia-Cyprus

CAST LIST (in alphabetical order)

Anita Anthonj Fairy

Mi Sun Choi Liu’s Mother, Maid Five

Manuel Fihman Men in Black #2

R. Paul Hamilton* Liu’s Great Grandson

Kirsten Hopkins* Liu’s Wife, Maid One

Caitlin Johnston Maid Three

Jose Kim Men in Black #4

Gustavo Obregon Liu’s Son, Men in Black #1

Evangeline Reilly Men in Black #3

Sarah Billington Stevens Maid Four

Andrew Taliano Maid Two

Moses Villarama* Liu

Also Featuring:

Jiasi Chen Lion Dance Performer

James Kwan Lion Dance Performer

The show runs approximately two hours including intermission.

*Appears courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association

ABOUT THE CAST:

Anita Anthonj (Fairy). NYC: Naked from the Vault (Naked Angels, Dir. Diana Basmajian), Tejas Verdes (Hudson Guild Theatre, Dir. Doug Howe), The Seven Deadly Sins (The Internationalists, Dir. Jake Witlen/The Public Theater), Widows of Troy (The Syrup Room, Dir. Kris Thorgeirsson), Guns, Shackles and Winter Coats (Where Eagles Dare, Dir. Alan Kanevsky), One Fat Day in Babylon (Columbia University, Dir. Kathryn Hamilton). Germany/France: Lysistrata, Pygmalion, Mamzel Ophelie. Film credits include: “The Tourists,” “Exodus 20:13,” “Stealing Martin Lane.” Education: Circle in the Square Theatre School.

Mi Sun Choi (Liu’s Mother/Maid Five) came to NY from Korea to pursue her academic accomplishment as a performer and received an MFA degree in Theatre from Sarah Lawrence College. Since then, she’s been involved with the political theater group Rev. Billy & The Church of Life After Shopping Gospel Choir (www.revbilly.com) and has also been an affiliate artist of The Concrete Temple Theatre (www.concretetempletheatre.com). Recently, she finished A Joke, The Musical, which was the adaptation of Chekhov’s short play and presented at La MaMa. She really thanks the director, Marios, for giving her this tremendous opportunity.

Manuel Fihman (Men in Black #2) is a native of Caracas, Venezuela. He graduated from Cornell University with a BA in Near Eastern Studies before moving to New York in order to pursue acting. He was last seen in WONDer/LuST at HERE Arts Center.

R. Paul Hamilton* (Liu’s Great Grandson). New York Stage: The Threepenny Opera (Peachum CGDP), The Cherry Orchard (Firs CGDP), As You Like It (Boomerang Theatre), Skiptime In Darkland (Jakob Holder), ebenezer (NY Premiere), NYC FringeFestival 2002-04, At Sea Between The Wars (Primary Stages), The Belles Stratagem (Prospect Theatre), The Seagull (Sorin), Napkin Plays (Tina Howe/Glen Berger), estroFest 2001-02 (MTS), Quitting/Thicker Than Water (Josh James), Henry IV/V (Falstaff / SITPL &AmGlobe), Tamburlaine (Target Margin), The Witch Of edmonton (Rev Theatre), If You Had Three Husbands (SoHoRep), Comedy Of errors, Merchant Of Venice, King Lear, Macbeth, Othello, Twelfth Night. Regional Stage: Miracle On 34th Street, Dancing At Lughnasa, Communicating Doors, Last Night At Ballyhoo, Molly Sweeney, An American Daughter, Present Laughter, Moon Over Buffalo, Shadowlands, The Foreigner, Mass Appeal, The Woman In Black, Death and The Maiden, Labor Day, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, A Funny Thing Happened... . Film/TV: “Goodfellas,” “Law and Order,” “All My Children,” “She-Devil,” “The Cowboy Way.” Other Credits: rNT england (Invited Artist), SLP (Creative Director), The Congregation (founding member).

Kirsten Hopkins* (Liu’s Wife/Maid One) is a California native, recently having moved to New York after living in Seattle for seven years. In Seattle, companies she worked with included Seattle Children’s Theatre (where her favorite role was Gertrude in Seussical), Book-It Repertory, and Strawberry Theatre Workshop. In New York she has been involved in several readings and workshops of new plays with companies such as The Management, and has performed at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital with Shifting Ground Productions.

Caitlin Johnston (Maid Three) is thrilled to be working with Marios for the fourth time! Recent New York credits include Peer Gynt and Joan of Arc with Gorilla Repertory Theatre (Company Member), As You Like It with Columbia Stages, and King O’Neil with TheatreRats. Caitlin is an alum of The National Theater Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center (Fall ’08) and holds a BA in Theater from Barnard College, Columbia University (’08). Lots of thanks to the beautiful cast, Production Team, Creative Team, Pisa, Zhu Yi, and Patrick. www.Caitlin-Johnston.com!

Jose Kim (Men in Black #4) is grateful to take part in his first play, Lifetime Fairytale. He works at the National Audubon Society as a System Admin during the daytime, with a secret desire to become a part of the greater theatre world. The time has come to answer his calling.

Gustavo Obregon (Liu’s Son/Men in Black #1) is a graduate of the Northeastern University theatre program. He has performed this summer with the Gorilla Repertory Theatre Company, Joan of Ark (Bishop Cauchon) and Peer Gynt (Mads Moen, Joker Troll, Cotton, Begriffenfeldt). Gustavo will be performing with the York Shakespeare Company in November as they perform in Rep, the Merchant of Venice and The Jew of Malta. Film Credits; “First Interview,” “The Pugilist,” “Clementine”(in production).

Evangeline Reilly (Men in Black #3) was born in the San Francisco Bay Area and is proud to say she has been in New York for one whole year. She is a founding member of Tricycle Theatre, and is the resident songstress for the Giddy Multitude Vaudeville Co. She has performed at Galapagos Art Space, Under St. Mark’s Theater, Life Cafe and the People’s Garden in Brooklyn. Television credits include “Life on Mars” (NBC) and “Ros na Roon” (TG4, Ireland.)

Sarah Billington Stevens (Maid Four) is an actor, improviser and opera singer based in Brooklyn. She is currently a member of 8 is Never Enough, an improv group performing weekly at the Time Square Arts Center. She can be seen this June in Carmen covering the role of Frasquita. Favorite roles include Hildie in Drunk (Naked Angels: Naked from the Vault), Leilah in uncommon

Women and Ramona in The Wendy Complex (Vagabond Theatre Ensemble). Heaps and heaps of love to her family, the cast and the crew.

Andrew Taliano (Maid Two) is a recent graduate of the Conservatory of the Performing Arts at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA with a BA in Theatre Arts. Most recently, Andrew was seen in Lox Atop the Lincoln Tunnel at The Player’s Theatre as part of The Shortened Attention Span Festival. Regional credits include The Visit and A View From the Bridge, directed by Robert Miller, both at the Pittsburgh Playhouse.

Moses Villarama* (Liu). Moses received his MFA in Acting from the National Theatre Conservatory at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Regional credits include Arabian Nights (Kansas City Rep); elephant Man, Working, King Lear, A Christmas Carol, Amadeus, Season’s Greetings, 1001, and The Ladies of the Camellias (Denver Center). Other Columbia productions include One Fat Day In Babylon (Dir. Kathryn Hamilton) and In The Zone (Dir. Adam Marple).

Also Featuring:

Jiasi Chen (Lion Dance Performer) has been lion dancing for 4 years as part of Columbia University Lion Dance. She has performed for Google, Princeton University, and Mayor Bloomberg. This is her first time in a live theatre show and she is excited to be part of it!

James Kwan (Lion Dance Performer) has been training in traditional kung fu for 20 years. During his training he has studied traditional lion dance. He now trains with the Columbia University Lion Dance troupe and has performed at many weddings, grand openings and Chinese New Year festivals.

Columbia University Lion Dance is a high-energy dance form based on kung fu. Lion dance is usually performed to scare away evil spirits and to summon good luck and fortune. Our goal is to promote knowledge of Chinese traditional dance for both the on-campus and off-campus community. We combine traditional elements of lion dance with a modern flair to create a unique fusion of this ancient dance form.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM:

Marios Theocharous (Director) is a Greek-Cypriot artist who is currently an MFA Candidate in Theatre Directing at Columbia University. He is a Cyprus University Alumnus with a degree in Educational Sciences in Primary Education. He is the Artistic Director of Drastes Theatrical Group who is co-producing this project with Columbia University. New York credits include a blend of Chekhov’s short plays titled Vodka Mango, A Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O’ Neill, The Wedding by Zhu Yi and The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams.

Zhu Yi (Playwright) is a Playwriting MFA candidate at Columbia University, born in Shanghai, China. The “One-Child-Policy” in her motherland brought her a lonely childhood. The way she figured out how to cheer up was by making up stories and talking to herself, which surprisingly turned out to be the starting point of her career. She finished her BA in Literature of Film & Drama at Nanjing University and Acting with Masks at Oslo University College in 2008. Other credits include Promising (Down-Stream Garage, Shanghai), Jacques or Obedience (Oslo University College), and documentary film “Scrape” (Beijing Independent Film Festival ’08).

Ji-Youn Chang (Set & Lighting Designer). Recent New York credits include: Bully You at Soho Rep (Lights); Glass Menagerie at Columbia University (Set & Lights); Durang/Durang at Gillded Balloon in Edinburgh (Set, Lights & Costumes); The Blue room at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre (Set); Turkey Day at One Act Play Festival (Set, Lights & Costumes); Illyria by Prospect Theatre Company (Lights); Ballerina meets Bboy at 37 arts (Lights); exit Cuckoo at Midtown Playwright Festival (Set & Lights). She holds an MFA in Design from Yale School of Drama ’08. Jiyounchangdesign.com

Paul Carey (Costume Designer). The Happy embalmer (NYMF); Three Days of rain (Amphibian); rock-A My Soul (Riant); The Glass Menagerie (Columbia); Der Kaiser von Atlantis (Greenwich Music Festival); Trouble in Mind (Yale Rep); Venus, richard III (Yale); Two Small Bodies, Miss Julie (Williamstown Theatre Festival Workshop); Hotel: eight rooms, A Number, An evening of Cabaret (Yale Cabaret). Assistant Costume Designer: The Toxic Avenger, Music in the Air (Off-Broadway); La Bohème (Santa Fe Opera); Sweet Bird of Youth, Demon Dreams (Williamstown).

Maja C. Wampuszyc (Movement Designer) made her Broadway Debut this year as Ida Hallar in Irena’s Vow. She has performed Off Broadway and regionally. As an actress she has trained with Robert X. Modical; Uta Hagen and BADA; studied and performed classical ballet and modern dance and is a graduate of Bikram Yoga College of India. Summa Cum Laude WSU, English

Literature. Thank you Marios. Working with you is all joy.

Christian T. Chan (Fight Director) holds a BFA from Ohio University and is an MFA Candidate at Columbia University. He has choreographed violence for several NYC productions including Wikipedia Brown and the Accidental Occidental at The Tank, The Centaur Play at Columbia University, and for Stone Soup productions. He is a proud member of Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company.

Stavros Makris (Music Supervisor) is a music producer, composer, songwriter and arranger with special interest in film and TV scoring, and composition for theater. Graduate of Berklee College of Music and currently a student of the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development at New York University. Among his notable works are the The White room, “Close to You” and “I Dare You” as a composer, arranger and producer.

Becca Poccia (Dramaturg) is an MFA candidate in Dramaturgy at Columbia. Last fall, she worked with Marios on his production of Eugene O’Neill’s A Moon for the Misbegotten. Other Columbia credits include The Waking edge and AK-47 Sing-Along by Samara Weiss, and Duchess by James Ryan Caldwell.

Regina Vorria (General Manager) is a second-year MFA candidate in Columbia University’s Theatre Management & Producing program. Originally from Greece, she received her BFA in Drama and Theatre Arts from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She has also been involved as an assistant producer in theatres across her country, including the National Theatre of Greece. Summer 2009, she worked as a Marketing/Development intern at St. Ann’s Warehouse and as a General Manager intern at HERE Art’s Center.

Pisa Waikwamdee (Production Stage Manager) is a second-year MFA candidate in Stage Management at Columbia University from Bangkok, Thailand. She has worked with Marios, Jiji and Paul last spring in The Glass Menagerie (Schapiro Theatre), and is thrilled to be reunited once again. Other New York credits, Stage Manager: Christmas is Miles Away (Connelly Theatre); Assistant Stage Manager: Baal and The Woman (Riverside Theatre). Next project: Kafka Parables December 10-13 at the Horace Mann Theatre.

Michelle Cote (Assistant Stage Manager) is a first year Columbia School of the Arts graduate student pursuing her MFA in Stage Management. Stage Managing credits include: reefer Madness: the Musical, The Cook, 1000 Homosexuals a new play by Michael Yawney, As Bees in Honey Drown, and Proof.

Natalie Qing Zhang (Assistant Stage Manager) is currently pursing an MFA at Columbia University’s School of the Arts in Stage Management. Prior to beginning her coursework, Natalie was the production assistant for Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment Shanghai Rep. in 2008, worked on AIDA and Soul of Shaolin, and just finished her first NYC Fringe show ether Steeds this August.

DRASTES THEATRICAL GROUP was founded in 2004 in Nicosia, Cyprus. The Group has been collaborating with the Experimental Workshop Creative Expression Club - CU working on theatrical projects and workshops since then. Recent credits include: The Hymn of the Impotent man (Cyprus), Travelling in Time and Space through european Myths (Joues en Josas – France - Coup de Coeur Prize at The Festival d’ Hiver, - Cyprus), On the moon Track (Cyprus/Greece), Onisilu’s Adwneia (World Premiere at the ancient port of Amathounta, Cyprus), VODKA MANGO (USA), A Moon for the Misbegotten (USA), The Glass Menagerie Astoria (USA).

Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), founded in 1913, represents more than 45,000 actors and stage managers in the United States. Equity seeks to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions, providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO, and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. The Equity emblem is our mark of excellence. www.actorsequity.org

School of the Arts Theatre Arts Program Staff:Director of Academic Administration: Julie RossiProgram Assistant: Jamie HardyDirector of Production: Ruth KreshkaProduction Manager: Camille DavisTechnical Director: Tom GilmoreAsst. TD/Shop Foreman: Anthony CerratoMaster Electrician: Nick HungShop DRAs: Erik Grathwohl and Rebbeca PocciaCarpenters: Rafael Benoit, Billy Burns, Jeb Burt, David Carter, Jeff Charles, Yve Laris Cohen, Michelle Cote, Kate Croasdale, Jessica Durdock, Sarah Eismann, Adam Lubitz, Mariaelena Morales, Luis Moreno, Christina Najera, James Mainard O’Connell, Jensen Olaya, Paul Peers, Coco Schneider, Josh Szymanowski, Esdras Toussaint,Shiva YahaghiScenic Charge: Paul PeersElectricians: Nick Hung, Chuck Lander, Dan Mullins, Matt Terry

lifetime fairytale Production Staff:Production Stage Manager: Pisa WaikwamdeeAssistant Stage Managers: Michelle Cote and Natalie ZhangGeneral Manager: Regina VorriaLight Board Operator: Evan O’BrientSound Board Operator: Daniel MitarotondoRunning Crew: Danielle Faitelson, Jimmy Maize, Melissa Pedro, Marine Sialelli, Mo ZhouCompany Manager: Seena HodgesMarketing: Erica Ruff, Linda Borregales, Corey Bright, Jesse LongmanOperations Manager: Regina Vorria

Staff of The Riverside Theatre:Executive Director of the Theatre: Jewel KinchAssistant Director of the Theatre: Russ JenningsTechnical Coordinators: Dan Mullins and Chuck LanderBox Office Manager: Johnn Demarzio

The Riverside Theatre does not condone any nudity or sexually explicit material in the productions presented by the Columbia University School of the Arts Theatre Arts Program.

SPECIAL THANKSThe Directing Class of 2010, Anne Bogart, Brian Kulick, Ruth Kreshka, Camille Davis, Tom Gilmore, Anthony Cerrato, Paul Peers, Brian Cookson, Nora Hyland, Ru Wang, Justin Gillman, Carin White, Eileen Deutsch, Corinne Beauvoir, Ye Olde Dry Cleaning & Tailoring, Timberlake Studios, our fabulous first-year crew: light board operator Evan O’Brient; sound board operator Daniel Mitarotondo; running crew: Danielle Faitelson, Jimmy Maize, Melissa Pedro, Marine Sialelli, Mo Zhou; company manager: Seena Hodges.

The School of the Arts Theatre Arts Program would like to thank the TDF Costume Collection, Materials for the

Arts, Columbia University President Lee Bollinger and the Leadership and Staff of the

Riverside Church.

Carol Becker, Dean

The Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre StudiesAndrei Serban, Director

Theatre Arts Program 2009-2010 Faculty

Arnold Aronson, Chair, Ph.D. Advisor, Head of Acting ConcentrationSteven Chaikelson, Head of Theatre Management & Producing Concentration

Anne Bogart, Head of Directing ConcentrationChristian Parker, Head of Dramaturgy Concentration

Charles Mee, Head of Playwriting ConcentrationRuth Kreshka, Head of Stage Management Concentration

Daniel Adamian, David Auster, Leslie Ayvazian, Victoria Bailey, Gigi Bolt, Chris Boneau, Deborah Brevoort, Christopher Burney, Sheila Callaghan, Carrie Casselman, Tom Connell, Nancy Coyne,

John Dias, Olympia Dukakis, Peter Entin, Robert Fried, Bernard Gersten, Barry Grove, Andrea Haring, Roy Harris, Hugh Hysell,

Jessica Jenen, Amy Kaissar, Brian Kulick, Peter Lawrence, Gideon Lester, James Leverett, Paul Libin, Kristin Linklater, Ira Mont, Gregory Mosher,

Michael Naumann, Qui Nguyen, Gene O’Donovan, Barney O’Hanlon, Frank Pugliese, Carol Rocamora, William Russo, Thomas Schumacher, Larry Singer,

Kelly Stuart, Lucy Thurber, Livia Vanaver, Donna Walker-Kuhne,Brannon Wiles, Linda Winer, Niky Wolcz, Ursula Wolcz, W. B. Worthen