Directing Projects

2017

Special Thanks To:

Dan Pardo Music Director and Rehearsal Accompanist

Philip Calabro Stage Manager and Education Coordinator
Tim Pare Director of Education
Julianne Boyd Artistic Director
Branden Huldeen Artistic Producer
Taylor Tranfaglia Artistic and Literary Fellow
Presented by the
Musical Theater Conservatory Directors:
Karina Aviva, Madison Mellon, and Olivia Ragan

July 20 at 10pm
Barrington Stage Company July 21 at 12pm
Mr. Finns Cabaret

[Web Address]
 Jesus Christ Superstar Meet the Cast
Directed by Karina Aviva

Directors Note

This 1970's Rock Opera, originally composed as a Daniela Kaplun (Judas)- from Millburn New
concept album by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jersey, Daniela attends the Hartt School and
examines the events during the final week of Jesus' life leading
up to his crucifixion. In this iteration of the show the will graduate in spring 2019.
relationship between media and celebrity is highlighted and
parallels the final days of Hillary Clinton's presidential
campaign that many feel was warped with slander and
Ethan Lynch (Caiaphas)- Ethan attends
speculation. What I love about JCS in its original format is the Montclair State University and will graduate
humanization of both the characters Jesus and Judas as in 2019. He is from Randolph, New Jersey.
opposed to their romanticized personas that are often
portrayed through other mediums. By showing that neither
character is wholly good nor evil, but rather flawed, and Katie Schultz (Jesus)- currently a rising
juxtaposing them with the thematic suffering caused to the Junior at Tisch School of the Art's New
individual by the dehumanizing effects of fame and scrutiny Studio. She is from New Jersey.
we are exposed to the scarily accurate power of destruction
within the realm of misinformation in politics.
About Karina Aviva
Hanna Shykind (Mary)- originally from New
York City. Hanna attends Oberlin College
Karina Aviva Benjamin is an emerging director based
in NYC. She studied acting and directing at both the University
and will be graduating May of 2019.
of the Arts and the Moscow Art Theatre as well as having
trained with Frantic Assembly, Batsheva and The National
Theatre Institute. Recent directing credits include New Light
Shine by Shannon Murdoch (NYC Premiere), Lauren
Gunderson's The End Of All Things at the National Playwrights
"And what is "truth"? Is
Conference, and The Edwardian Salon through NYU Tisch's
Atlantic division. In the past few years Karina has also gained
truth unchanging law?
on set experience working as a production assistant in NYC. We both have truths.
She would like to send her love to her incredibly supportive Are mine the same as
family for whom she is eternally grateful. yours?"-Pontius Pilate
 Urinetown
Directed by Madison Mellon Meet the Cast

Directors Note Mitchell Gray (Bobby)- from Portage,

What initially sparked my interest in theatre was
neither directing nor acting but actually puppet building.
The idea of breathing life and personality into foam and
fabric was fascinating to me. This fascination with creating
characters and worlds quickly led to an interest in
directing. I recently graduated from Vassar College where
I directed several musicals and plays as well as continuing
to pursue my interest in puppets and design. I am
incredibly excited to be a part of Barrington Stages MTC
program and to have the opportunity to direct this excerpt
of Urinetown.
Wisconsin. Graduated from University of Wisconsin
La Crosse spring 2017.
Marie Putko (Hope)- hailing from Brooklyn, NY,
She holds her BA from Providence College and
Masters in Vocal Performance and Vocal Pedagogy
from New York University.
Joshua Roach (Lockstock)- attends Webster
Conservatory, Joshua is from San Antonio, Texas.

Urinetown is a kind of anti-musical. It takes the

foundation and tropes that make up popular musical Alex Teman (Little Sally)- originally from New
theater and lays them bare for the audience to examine. York City, Alex attends Boston University and will
This Brechtian sensibility, where the audience is very graduate in 2020.
much aware they are watching a piece of theatre, is what
ultimately attracted me to this show. I have always been
interested in subversive, dark comedy and Urinetown is a
truly excellent example of this genre. In addition to this,
the social commentary in Urinetown is incredibly relevant
given the current political climate. It is perhaps even more Love has about as much
relevant now than when it was first produced. This is a chance as a baby bunny
tale about the perils of greed, corruption, and ecological drowning in a vat of
devastation, set in a future that seems increasingly close.
boiling water.
Urinetown
 Avenue Q
Directed by Olivia Ragan
Directors Note
In the Off-Broadway production of Avenue - Q, Kate
Monster sings a song, called Theres a Fine Fine Line. While
I was studying Musical Theater Performance at Marymount
Manhattan College, this was my favorite song to perform and
use at auditions. It explores whats at stake when you pursue
the things in your life that you love. In the end, the lyrics
adamantly state that, theres a fine fine line between love and
a waste of time. And as I listened to the cast recording, I fell
in love with Avenue - Q, Ive found that many of the lyrics are
shockingly relevant. The story of Avenue - Q follows
Princeton, a recent graduate who is searching the fictional
lower east side of Manhattan New York for his purpose in
life. Unfortunately, he realizes that purpose is not
something a person can find so easily. A series of extremely
unfortunate events leads him to understand that purpose or
no purpose, everything in life is only for now. No matter
how many times I hear the lyrics of Avenue Q, I am
continually surprised at the importance of this message.
In this production, the characters explicitly explore
the idea of finding their purpose. At one time or another, they
all feel like it really just sucks to be me. And they remind
one another of this every day. As each person on Avenue Q
navigates their respectively frustrating lives, in the hopes of
finding something meaningful, they realize that the most
reliable thing they have is each other. I cannot help but
believe that this has become increasingly true of the world we
are living in today. When everything around us seems to be in
shambles, we must look at one another and see inspiration,
hope, and the reason to keep working towards our own
purpose.
Meet the Cast
Connie Bahng (Christmas Eve)- from Los Angeles
California and attends Ithaca College.
Evelyn Consolini Mahon (Brian)- from Williamstown
Massachusetts, attending Williams College and will graduate
spring 2018.
Zina Ellis (Gary Coleman)- Zina attend Yale and
graduated in 2015. She is from Moline Illinois.
Caitlin Crane- Moscowitz (Kate Monster)- originally
from Ridgewood , New Jersey. She attends Brandeis
University and will be graduating in 2020.
Carson Robinette (Rod)- from Burlingame California.
Currently, attends UCLA.
Harley Seger (Nicky)- from Nashville Tennessee.
Currently attending the Boston Conservatory
Courtney Stewart (Princeton)- from Springfield
Massachusetts, he currently a sophomore at
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
Nothing lasts, life goes on,
full of surprises. Youll be
faced with problems of all
shapes and sizes. Youre
going to have to make a few
compromises. For now
-Avenue Q