Whistler in the Dark: The Bacchae

May 1st-16th, 2009
Rehearsal Hall A at the Calderwood Pavilion at
The Boston Center for the Arts
527-551 Tremont Street
South End, Boston MA

"This is theater at once returned to its ancient roots and rejuvenated with modern artistry. Somewhere, Euripides is smiling. ... Go. See. Feel. And take your children. Show them what theater can be." - The Boston Globe

"a troupe that doesn’t need fancy props, elaborate staging, or even a theater space in which to mount a spellbinding performance" - EDGEBoston

"an almost hypnotic pull…a pull that builds to a humdinger snap of an ending that sends us reeling back to the land of the mortals." - Boston Theatre Examiner

When Gods and mortals spar the results set both a king and a city on a path to tragedy.

When the citizens of Thebes deny the divinity of Dionysos, he punishes them by inciting the women into a frenzy – driving them from their homes into the mountains where they enact the wild rituals of worship to Bacchus. The young king Pentheus wrestles the god for control of his city, but will his lack of understanding lead to his ruination?

An undeniable masterpiece, Euripides’ The Bacchae is a primal and powerful play that has remained relevant for 2500 years.

the company
	Melissa Barker studied theatre at Suffolk University for far too many years. She has performed with local companies National Theatre of Allston and imaginary beasts, and most recently performed in imaginary beasts annual winter panto. Melissa is very excited to be joining Whistler in their fourth season as an Artistic Associate.
	Curt Klump is very excited to make his Whistler debut with The Bacchae. He has most recently appeared in Coriolanus with Actors Shakespeare project, New Rep's Lieutenant of Innishmore, How Shakespeare Won The West at The Huntington Theatre Company, The X-Mas Project's Reindeer Monologues, and The Kentucky Cycle (Elliot Norton Award winner: Best Production) with Zeitgeist Stage Co. and Way Theatre Artists. He has also performed in various shows in and around Boston with Zeitgeist Stage Co., Way Theatre Artists, 11:11 Productions, Shakespeare Now!, and Shakespeare East. Curt is the host of NewEngland.com's New England TV. Klump trained at Shakespeare & Company in western Massachusetts and spent several years there acting, teaching, and directing in their award winning education programs, and has also taught for the New York Film Academy's summer training programs at Harvard University.
	Phil Crumrine makes his official Whistler debut with The Bacchae, although he was seen last summer in Orfeo Group's contribution to FeverFest08. Phil is a junior at the Boston Conservatory pursuing a degree in Musical Theatre and has worked with an impressive array of Boston theatres, including Lyric Stage, Wheelock and The Nora, among others. Phil is an Artistic Associate with Whistler.
	Jennifer O'Connor holds a B.F.A. in theatre performance from Salem State. Joining Whistler for their inaugural production of The Possibilities, she has been with the company ever since. For three seasons she was the company manager and an acting member of imaginary beasts. Other Boston area collaborations include Chelsea Theatre Zone (now Apollinaire Theatre) and Insomouth Productions.
	Elizabeth Rimar is very excited to be making her Whistler in the Dark debut! Elizabeth is a recent graduate of Boston University with a BFA in Acting. At BU, she played many people, her favorite being Rosencrantz, herself and Polonius. She recently worked with Company One in ARTiculation as an understudy and as Sara Jane Moore in their production of Assassins. She was also Cathy in the IRNE nominated play, The Boys of Winter. Thanks to mom, dad, budge and my beautiful poet.
the playwright
	Euripides was born sometime between 485 and 480 BC in Macedonia, and is the third of the three major tragedians whose work survives to today. He presented his first set of tragedies in Athens in 455, won his first victory (of only five that he would win in his lifetime) in 441 and died in 406 (the same year as Sophocles), at the court of King Archelous of Macedon where he was either a guest or an exile. He wrote between 88-92 plays during the course of his life, nineteen of which survive. The year following his death, his son brought his final three plays – The Bacchae, Iphigenia at Aulis and Alcmaeon at Corinth – to Athens, where they were produced and garnered the playwright his final victory.
	Francis Blessington (translator) In addition to translating The Bacchae of Euripides, Francis Blessington has translated The Frogs of Aristophanes and published a play, Lorenzo de’ Medici. He has published two books of poems, Lantskip and Wolf Howl, as well a novel, The Last Witch of Dogtown. He is a Milton specialist, the author of Paradise Lost and the Classical Epic and Paradise Lost: Ideal and Tragic Epic (A Student’s Companion to the Poem). His essays, poems, and short stories have appeared in the Harvard Magazine, The Sewanee Review, The Southern Review, and many other journals. A Ph.D. from Brown, he teaches at Northeastern University in Boston and lives with his wife, the poet Ann Taylor, and their two children. He also works part-time on a farm in Spain.
the artistic team
	Ariana Goterch (Stage Manager) is returning to Whistler after serving as Stage Manager for Mary's Wedding. She graduated from Roger William's University in 2007 with a BA in theater and moved to Boston soon after. She has stage managed for the Brown/Trinity Consortium in Providence, Island Moving Company in Newport, Star Players in Taunton and imaginary beasts in Boston. She is excited to find her niche here and to be a part of such a dynamic play.
	John Herndon (Dramaturg) holds an MFA in Dramaturgy from the American Repertory Theatre/Moscow Art Theatre Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University. Productions there included Island of Slaves and Three Sisters during the 2005-2006 season. Previously with Whistler, he has served as dramaturg for Mary's Wedding, Vampire and All This Flying, All This Tumbling Down. He lives in Somerville.
	Melissa Smith (Production Manager) is a graduate of SUNY Potsdam where she earned a BA in Drama with an Acting Minor. While her love lies with acting, her history of working with meager budgets has had her wearing many hats. In 2001 Melissa co-founded The Bunbury Theatre Company in Jamestown, NY, where she filled the roles of actor, Production Manager, Artistic Director, designer, carpenter and general Jill of all trades. After many years away, she is thrilled to have found a new home with Whistler in the Dark.
	PJ Strachman (Lighting Designer) rejoins Whistler after designing FeverFest '08. She has recently designed Blue Spruce Theatre's Portraits and The Last 5 Years, Way Theatre's The Memory of Water and Love-Lies-Bleeding, and several shows for Boston TheatreWorks and Worcester Foothills. She is the regular designer for Chamber Repertory Theatre and Stonehill College, and her designs have also been seen with several smaller companies and schools. PJ has been a guest lecturer at high schools and colleges, and is also the Master Electrician for Gloucester Stage. Photos of her work and upcoming projects can be seen at www.pjelex.com.
	Meg Taintor holds a B.A. in Theatre and Women & Gender Studies from Middlebury College. For Whistler, she has directed Mary's Wedding, Vampire, All This Flying, All This Tumbling Down, The B File, and The Possibilities and performed in Howard Barker's A Hard Heart, Don't Exaggerate (FeverFest 06), and in The Psyche Project (FeverFest 07). Some of her regional theatre credits include the National Players, Rorschach Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, the Potomac Theatre Project and Washington Shakespeare Company.