Museum (2019)
USE THIS LINK TO SEE THE
MUSEUM REHEARSAL AND TECH SCHEDULE
MUSEUM by Tina Howe
(Includes Ticket Information below)
WHAT: Museum by Tina Howe
WHO: State College Area High School Thespians www.scasd.org/Domain/1104
WHEN: November 22 & 23 at 7:30 pm and November 24 at 2:00 pm
WHERE: State College Area High Performance Hall
DESCRIPTION: This fall State High Thespians will open their season with Museum by Tina Howe, a contemporary comedy. “Museum takes place on the final day of a group show, of three fictional contemporary American artists being exhibited in a major museum of modern art. Over the course of the day some forty people walk through the show: art lovers, skeptics, foreigners, students, lost souls, fellow artists, and of course, museum guards. The play is about the movement and yearning of these people.” The audience will be invited on stage prior to the show and during intermission to tour the gallery on the last day of the show entitled, “Breaking the Silence.”
COST: Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for youth (18 and younger). Tickets can be reserved online beginning November 4 at https://tinyurl.com/museumshow OR visit the box office to purchase tickets one hour before each performance.
MORE ABOUT THE PLAY AND PLAYWRIGHT:
MUSEUM, by Tina Howe, is a contemporary comedy that takes a rather sophisticated look at modern art from all angles, bringing all types of folk, and the audience too, to the last day of the show, “The Broken Silence. Tina Howe is known for her situational pieces and with “MUSEUM” she has created a real ‘artistic’ experience for the audience. Watching ‘MUSEUM” we get to observe folk observing art and they are just like us. We all see ‘art’ differently and respond to it differently. In an interview for the William Inge Center for the Arts, Tina Howe explains why exactly a museum, more specifically a single exhibition, was chosen as the setting, "They [the audience] didn't want a kitchen, they didn't want a living room. But they wanted a seascape, they wanted a beach, they wanted a locker room. And so I tried to think of an environment that had never been put on the stage that would be a very unlikely place to put onstage, and I thought of a museum". Howe goes on to explain that the artists in the play, Zachary Moe, Agnes Vaag, and Steve Williams were based on the actual artists Robert Ryman, Nancy Graves, and Duane Hanson who all differed in their style of art; themes she successfully incorporated in her play. When asked about the visitors to the gallery she stated, “Well, I try to have the real rabid art lovers and the skeptics. Hopefully in MUSEUM I covered all the bases.” In the play everyone has a very different reaction to ‘modern art.’ From those who stand in awe of: life size bodies hanging on a wash line, sculptures of found items of bones and fur or 4 large white canvases, to those who pretend they ‘get’ them or those who have to laugh at them, there is so much of all of us to laugh at in this play. “So there are moments, hopefully, of real beauty and awe in the play, and I’ve tried to mix it up so that there’s total chaos and Vaudeville, but then I think there are moments of beauty and worldliness.”
Although the play premiered in 1976, we are encouraged by the playwright to change the dates and other relevant references in the script to reflect the current year and time of our production and we will.
Cast List
Recorded Voices:
Broadcaster Tynan Butler
Guided Tour Isabelle Snyder
Museum Host Layla Thornton
Cast in Order of Appearance:
Guard Dylan Henderson
Michael Wall Lucas Monroe
Jean-Claude John Michael Rosenblum
Francoise Nora Goudie
Annette Froebel Emily Stoller
Liz Mariele Wassom
Carol Nicole McFadden-Derer
Blakey Mia Cornali
Mr. Hollingsford Avery Jones
Elizabeth Sorrow Sarah Cook
Peter Ziff Elijah Snyder
Mr. Salt Joe Peters
Mrs. Salt Madi Hunter
Maggie Snow Emma Walker
Bob Lamb Tynan Butler
Will Willard Christopher Cole
Freddie Izumi Caylee Thompson
Mira Zadal Becca Zeigler
People Passing Kate Horn & Alexis Pupo
Barbara Castle Demanie Redhead
Barbara Zimmer Anna Farris
Mr. Gregory Avery Jones
Chloe Trapp Isabelle Snyder
Ada Bilditsky Emily Stoller
Gilda Norris Sarah Cook
Tink Solheim Cecil Querry Goncalves
Kate Siv Cassidy Brown
Bill Plaid Elijah Snyder
Lillian Layla Thornton
Harriet April Staab
May Jacqui Torrez
Giorgio TBA
Zoe Madi Christopher
Julie Jenkins Alexis Pupo
1st Guard Avery Jones
2nd Guard Kate Horn
Steve Williams John Michael Rosenblum
Elderly Couple Christopher Cole (Mr. Moe) & Sage Castro (Mrs. Moe)
PRODUCTION TEAM
Mitchell Case Assistant Director/Dramaturg
Madi Christopher Production Coordinator
Auden Yurman Production Stage Manager
Kate Leous Deck Manager
Georgia Weaver & Maitlyn Poduszlo Assistant Stage Managers
Sofia Micci Assistant to the Scenic Designer/Artist
Laura Cahoy Master Carpenter
Lucy Chang Paint Charge
Layla Thornton Assistant to the Costume Designer
Anna Farris Wardrobe Master
Layla Thornton Hair/Make-Up Designer
Jessica Gondak Assistant to the Lighting Designer
April Staab Master Electrician
Sydney Fitzgerald Assistant to the Sound Designer
Ainsley Glaze Props Deviser
Emma Walker Props Master
Sage Castro Assistant to the Producer
Molly Richendorfer House Manager
Anabelle Walters Publicity Director
Anabelle Walters Videographer