DePauw Theatre: Iphigenia Crash Land Falls on the Neon Shell That Was Once Her Heart, by Caridad Svitch

March 7, 2023

March 16, 17, 18 at 730pm
March 19 at 3pm
Green Center for the Performing Arts
Moore Theatre

The play features talented DePauw students from many different skill sets and backgrounds.  We bring together many different aspects of our shared endeavor, including many of the disciplines that will end up sharing our future School of the Arts: Theatre, Film/video, Music, Art.  The play intersects with allied disciplines, such as Classical Studies and Latin American and Caribbean Studies.  Svitch re-tells her understanding of the Greek “Iphigenia in Aulis” story from her self-described perspective as being “born in the US of Cuban-Argentine-Spanish-Croatian parents.”

DePauw students are heading up several of the key elements of this play.  There is a substantial amount of video and photographic work being woven into this live event, and Ha Chu is the Projection Designer.  The complex costume design is ably executed by Kay Sikana, working alongside Makeup Designer Carly Hajducky.  Please see the list below for a full accounting of the large number of talented students, staff, and faculty at DePauw who are bringing this effort to fruition.

We are also welcoming three accomplished DePauw grads as Guest Artists on our production.  ’14 (Psychology) returns as Director for this production, having successfully guided our mounting of José Rivera’s Brainpeople in February of 2020 (!!). ’13 (Music) is a Composer and Sound Designer, serving both of these roles in our production.  J is finishing their PhD at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow.  And finally, studio artist and performer ’09 (Studio Art) is returning to campus to play the role of Achilles.  All pursued Theatre as a central part of their artistic life during and after DePauw, and they bring those talents back to share with our community.

While the play is produced as part of the DePauw Theatre mainstage season, support for this project has also come from The Grannon Fund, The Performing Arts Series, Academic Affairs, and the Department of Art and Art History.

As with most of our productions, we highlight student leadership in bringing our work to fruition.  Many of the students listed below will have a chance to present their work at the Kennedy Center American College Regional (Midwest) Theatre Festival next January.  This past January, several members of the production of SHOUT! Spoken Word Poetry represented DePauw at the last KCACTF Festival.  Produced through a joint endeavor with DePauw Theatre and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, Co-Directors Joseph Harris and Nathaniel Swanson traveled with performers Ashley Carrasquillo and Imani Luellen to the festival, because SHOUT! was chosen to perform as one of a handful of productions out of more than 200 entries.

Iphigenia Crash Land Falls on the Neon Shell That Was Once Her Heart
Written by Caridad Svitch
World premiere at 7 Stages in Atlanta

Personnel
Director - Felicia Santiago ‘14
Composer and Sound Design - J Diaz ‘13
Set and Lighting Design - Jaye Beetem
Costume Design - Kay Sikana
Projection Design - Ha Chu
Makeup and Hair Design - Carly Hajducky
Properties Director - Lilly VanHouten
Intimacy Choreographer - Vicki Hoskins
Tattoo Design - Nevada Buckley
Producer - Tim Good

Cast

Achilles                                   Lukas Felix Schooler ‘09
Adolfo                                     Cole Stephen
Camila                                     Carly Hajducky
Fresa 1                                     Oliver Spencer
Fresa 2                                    Madeline Humphreys
Fresa 3                                    Eli Widmer
General’s Ass                          Cheyenne Olsen
Hemophrodite Prince              Jill Sturm
Iphigenia                                 Laila Padilla
News Anchor                          Ethan Nitcher
Orestes                                    Claudio Martinez
Soldier X                                 Madeline Humphreys
Violeta Imperial                      Ashley Carrasquillo
Virgin Puta                              Rebecca Jackson
Virtual MC                             Imani Luellen

Production Stage Manager - Sarah Weeks
Assistant Director - Rhea Ali
Stage Manager - Addie Schmucker
Stage Manager - Christina Liu 

Sound/Audio Team
Nailah Lao
Eli Gray Nations

Video Team
Ha Chu
Nailah Lao
Amélie Doneff
May Crosby
Eli Nations
Rebecca Jackson

Properties Team
Lilly VanHouten
Paola Nouel

Hair/Makeup Team
Carly Hajducky
Rebecca Jackson

Publicity Team
Misti Scott
Grace Buehler
Zhandi Kabunga
Carly Hajducky
Charlie Menzel 

Run Crew
Alyvia Hogan
Kyle Cheek
Dakota Boyd
Madelyn Reinhardt

Students in Theatre Production and Design Course: Dakota Boyd, Kyle Cheek, Lauren Childs, Amélie Doneff, Emily Dumais, Cole Happel, Alyvia Hogan, Rebecca Jackson, Charlie Johnson, Sophie Kuntz, Eli Gray Nations, Paola Nouel Torres, Milo Pacheco, Madelyn Reinhardt, Jay St. John, Lilly VanHouten, Sarah Weeks, Sophia Williams

Technical Director - Jaye Beetem
Costume Director - Caroline Good
Director of Production - Joe Novak
Audio/Video Technician - Matthew Johnson
Publicity Director - Misti Scott
Director of Theatre - Susan Anthony
Chair of Department of Communication and Theatre - Jen Adams