The Seagull
Written by Anton Chekhov
Translated by Paul Schmidt
Directed by Genevieve Bennett
On October 21st, 1895, Chekhov wrote to a friend about The Seagull: "The comedy has four female roles, seven male roles, four acts, a landscape (a view of a lake), much conversation about literature, little action and five tons of love." Featuring a stellar cast and design team, lead by up-and-coming director Genevieve Bennett, this production takes a fresh and lively look at one of Chekhov's most beautiful and timely stories.
Anna Lawrence (scenic designer) is delighted to be working with Genevieve once again. Anna spent three seasons at Theatre de la Jeune Lune working in all areas of production and design. She has also worked with, among other, Chantal Pavageaux, Justin Jones, and Deborah Stein. Most recently, Anna was the assistant lighting designer for The Sound of Music and was the scenic designer for Ship Side at the Playwright's Center. Upcoming projects include scenic design for God Save Gertrude at the Playwright's Center in January. Anna attended New York University and holds a BA from The George Washington University.
Bryan Bevell (Dorn) is an award winning actor and director. Since relocating to Minnesota in 2002, Bryan has performed at Park Square Theatre, and directed plays for the Jungle Theater, Hardcover, Illusion, StartingGate, and The Playwrights' Center, in addition to producing, directing and acting in several acclaimed shows with his own theatrical companies, ESC and crabapple. Before arriving in Minneapolis, Bryan worked for many years in San Diego, performing and directing for such companies as La Jolla Playhouse, Sledgehammer, San Diego Rep, San Diego Children's Theatre, and most notably, the Fritz Theater where he served for several years as artistic director. Bryan has received wide acclaim for staging contemporary and classic works by such noted dramatists as Suzan-Lori Parks, Naomi Wallace, Nicky Silver, Paula Vogel, Mac Wellman, David Mamet, Maria Fornes, Eric Bogosian, Kenneth Lonergan, Wallace Shawn, Harold Pinter and, of course, William Shakespeare. Favorite works include The America Play, King Lear, Fat Men in Skirts, In the Heart of America, Sincerity Forever, Lobby Hero, The Fever, Gangster No. 1, The Comedy of Errors, Good Clown / Bad Clown, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Third Voice of the Nightjar, Glengarry Glen Ross, Fnu Lnu, The Caretaker, and the world premiere of Nicky Silver's My Marriage to Ernest Borgnine. Among his many awards, Bryan owns a highly coveted Craig Noel Award for Excellence in Theater from the San Diego Drama Critics' Circle, along with various awards for outstanding performance and direction.
Charles Numrich (Sorin) Director of Creative Theatre Unlimited, St. Paul, MN since 1981, promoting community building through the arts. Produced and directed hundreds of residencies, workshops, classes and performances. Recipient of The Twin Cities Mayors’ Public Art Award, "In appreciation of outstanding contribution enhancing the general welfare of the Twin Cities through the arts." On stage in one capacity or another for over 40 years.
Dylan Fresco (Medvedenko) has appeared in Chekhov at the BLB before. Last winter, he portrayed Smirnoff in the production of The Bear that was the inspiration for this year's Chekhov Festival. An actor, singer, and teacher, Dylan has worked with the Penumbra Theatre, the Guthrie, Ten Thousand Things, Childrens' Theatre, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, among others. In addition, he performs classic Russian songs at different venues around town. He is a graduate of the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre, and of Carleton College, where he was a Russian Major. In addition to The Seagull, Dylan is hosting SLAVIC LOVE! An evening of Romantic Russian Song as part of the Festival's late night series, on February 28th.
Genevieve Bennett, (Twin Cities Chekhov Festival Curator/Producer/Director), is a free-lance director and teacher based in Minneapolis. Credits include The Bear (Bryant Lake Bowl, MPLS); Camille (Old Arizona, MPLS); Franny and Zooey (Tribeca Playhouse, NYC); Iowa (Charlie Pineapple Factory, NYC); Pippin (The Theatre at Riverside Church, NYC); A Stroll in the Air; Recollect (Shapiro Theatre, NYC); as well as numerous production by and for young audiences. She received an MFA in Directing from Columbia University and a BFA with Honors in Theatre from the Experimental Theatre Wing/Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. While at Columbia she worked extensively with Anne Bogart and Robert Woodruff, and studied Chekhov with scholar and Artistic Director of Classic Stage Company, Brian Kulick. Genevieve is on the Theatre faculty at St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists and is a Teaching Artist at Children’s Theatre Company. Upcoming productions include Goodnight Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet (Theatre Unbound.)
Jaime Kleiman (Masha) is an actor, writer, and voiceover artist who moved to Minneapolis from New York City five years ago. Since that time, she has co-produced, written, and directed the Fringe hit, The Sugar Daddy Project, starred in the feature-length film Gigi 12 x 5 (dir: Eric Tretbar), and worked on numerous other projects. Recent credits include Lucy in Mr. Marmalade (Walking Shadow Theatre Company) and Camille in Camille (dir: Genevieve Bennett). BFA with honors, New York University-Tisch School of the Arts. www.jaimekleiman.com.
John Catron (Trigorin) performed most recently in All Is Calm (Theater Latte Da) and in Of Mice and Men (Park Square Theatre). Other representative theatre includes Vengeance Can Wait (Guthrie Theater & Playwrights Center), Bug (Pillsbury House Theater), Or The White Whale (Civic Stage), Six Lives, Von Rollo (Illusion Theater), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Theatre Mu), and a number of premieres as part of Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival of New American Plays. John’s visual art can be seen at www.johncatron.com.
Michael Ooms (Yakov) is a native Minnesotan who, believe it or not, doesn't live here for the snow. In the past year he has appeared in Chekhov's The Bear at the Bryant Lake Bowl; Love's Prick by local playwright Matthew Everett; Measure for Measure with NightPath Theatre Co.; and most recently A Klingon Christmas Carol with Commedia Beauregard. He can also be seen in tres bitches, another part of this fantabulous Chekhov Festival.
Michelle Myers (Arkadina) has worked locally with Frank Theatre (Venus) Theatre Unbound (Shattered) and is currently appearing in the Actors' Theatre of Minnesota production We Gotta Bingo. She has also appeared at the Cricket Theatre (Savage In Limbo) History Theatre (Cowgirls) and Theatre in the Round (The Philanderer and Heartbreak House). Most recently, she was a part of the 2007 Minnesota Fringe Festival, where her one woman show Blue Collar Diaries, was selected as a “Must See” by St. Paul Pioneer Press. She received a BFA in theatre from the University of Minnesota-Mpls. and is a graduate of the American Conservatory Theatre Advanced Training Program. She has done extensive voiceover work for radio and television, is a teaching artist at the Children's Theatre School and happily volunteers to read weekly to school children as a part of the Screen Actors Guild Literacy Program BookPALS. She is the proud mother of three lovely and patient children.
Sasha Andreev (Konstantin) is very pleased to put his Russian broodiness to use as part of the first Twin Cities Chekhov Festival. Theater credits include: Theatre de la Jeune Lune (Don Juan Giovanni, Figaro, Lettice & Lovage); Guthrie (Edgardo Mine); Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (West Side Story, Grease at the Pantages); Mixed Blood (The Mad Dancers); Emigrant Theater (A Corner of the World), MN Orchestra, Hennepin Stages, Bryant Lake Bowl, Stages, & MN Fringe. Sasha is a graduate of Vassar College and former apprentice at Actors Theatre of Louisville ('03-'04) where he performed in the 2004 Humana Festival. He has appeared in several independent features, and can be seen on HGTV as the "Trash to Treasure" guy on Decorating Cents and this spring, as host of Curb Appeal.
Sara Richardson (Nina) is very pleased to be working with Genevieve Bennett again, after having appeared in last year’s Camille. Other local performance credits include Workhaus Collective (A Short Play About Globalization), Jon Ferguson (We Are Ugly But We Have the Music), Theatre de la Jeune Lune (Ballroom, Maria de Buenos Aires, Miser), Minnesota Orchestra (Peer Gynt), Burning House Group (What the Butler Saw), Three Sticks, Playwright Center, Illusion Theatre, Brave New Workshop Corporate, among others. Upcoming: You’re My Favorite Kind of Pretty (with Jon Ferguson, Southern Theater, Feb-Mar). Sara trained at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY and Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris, France.
Stepehn Houtz (Shamrayev) is a native of New Mexico, and currently resides in the Twin Cities. He is active as a composer, pianist, vocal coach and performer, serving in that capacity for a variety of theaters, schools, opera companies and studios. His compositions have been performed throughout the United States. As an actor, Houtz has been seen as Miles in The First Noble Truth with Ebullient Theater, in a variety of roles in Cole Porter's Can-Can and Oklahoma! at Chanhassen Theaters, as Melchior Feydak in Biography, Mr. Kraler in Diary of Anne Frank and the Earl of Shrewsbury in Mary Stuart, all at Park Square Theatre; and as Cervantes/Quixote in Man of la Mancha, Albert in A Thousand Clowns, Buffalo Bill in Annie Get Your Gun, Clemment Musgrove in The Robber Bridegroom, Adolph in The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Greg in Sylvia, Robert in Proof, and Malvolio in Twelfth Night, all at Paul Bunyan Playhouse; as Vic Schoen in Sisters of Swing at the Great American History Theatre and as John in David Mamet's Oleanna at Circle of Dionysus Theatre, and as Kovalyov in Hardcover Theatre's The Nose, and as the Judge in Nightpath Theatre's The Balcony. Most recently he played Serebryakov in Uncle Vanya at Commonweal Theatre Company in Lanesboro, MN.
