Whistler in the Dark: Tales from Ovid

A bear and a man flare up into stars.
A guilt-wracked daughter grows roots and becomes a tree.
Two struggling bodies meld and fuse into one.

Ovid's Metamorphoses shapes the myths that have been the basis for countless contemporary stories: stories of transformation, of transcendent passion, of gods and mortals locked in combat until that entanglement combusts into a new state of being. In Ted Hughes's muscular and robust re-telling, which was awarded the Whitbread Prize in 1997, these myths are explored and exploded outward, and are here embodied in a vibrant new adaptation.

Whistler in the Dark reaches for new heights with a bold staging that combines our signature pared-down aesthetic with dizzying aerial feats in an explosive combination of movement and poetry. Join us as we re-imagine and, in our turn, transform these amazing stories of metamorphoses.

"Brilliantly succeeds at bringing Ovid's passionate and disturbing stories to life.
One of the many pleasures offered ... is discovering that 'the sweet witty soul of Ovid'
now lives in Ted Hughes."
-The Boston Globe

the company
	Erin Brehm is delighted to be working with Whistler in The Dark Theatre for the first time. She has earned a B.A. in theatre from Westmont College in Santa Barbara. After graduating Erin acted and traveled internationally as a member of Lit Moon Theatre Company for 3 years. Since moving to Boston in Dec. 09 she has been working on many various commercials and films as well as keeping an active theatre life. She has worked with Shakespeare Now! Imaginary Beasts, Kidstage! Makeshift Theatre Co. and SlamBoston.
	Danny Bryck is thrilled to return to Whistler after performing in Family Stories in May. Boston credits include the title role in Cyrano de Bergerac in both English and Spanish with Apollinaire Theatre Company, The Real Inspector Hound with Publick Theatre Boston, The Corn is Green with The Huntington Theatre Company, The Donkey Show with American Repertory Theater, Animal Farm with New Repertory Theatre, Carny Knowledge with Fort Point Theatre Channel, and the title role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch with Blue Spruce Theatre, which earned him an IRNE award nomination. Danny works as a dialect coach, an acting teacher with the Huntington Theatre Company, and a writer for ImprovBoston’s sketch troupe “The Ruckus,” and has also performed in New York and around Western Massachusetts. He can be seen in a small handful of independent films and recently appeared on As the World Turns. He holds a BFA from Boston University’s School of Theatre and studied at LAMDA. To join Danny’s mailing list, email dpbryck@gmail.com.
	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), Insomouth Productions, Mill 6 Collaborative, and staged readings with Catalyst Collaborative@MIT and New Voices @ New Rep.
	Aimee Rose Ranger is a local actress, storyteller, and clown who performs frequently with imaginary beasts theatre company. She has created two solo perfomances, what happened pink clouds and My Heart a Jester which premiered at the New England Fringe Festival. She recently performed an original short piece at the Medicine Show Theatre off-off Broadway. Aimee Rose performed in FeverFest 2009 in the show Would You Meet Me with Veronica Barron and Adam Kassim, and was in the production 47 Ways to Die at Club Oberon. She is a ghost tour guide for Ghosts and Gravestones of Boston, and also hosts a once-a-month storytelling potluck called SOOP in her home in Jamaica Plain.
	Mac Young holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts and Theatre from Bennington College. His recent appearances include Imaginary Beast's Moliére Squared, Holland Production's Aloha, Say The Pretty Girls, Zeitgeist Stage's Bad Jazz, and ArtFarm Production's premiere, Kim and Delia. He has numerous credits from the Vineyard Playhouse, and makes frequent appearances in their Shakespeare for the Masses series, for which he serves as fight director. He has contributed prop and set designs for Siamsa Theatre Co. (Thirst, A Pound on Demand), Holland Productions (Kid Simple, Melancholy Play), and Imaginary Beasts (Moliére Squared). Mac is delighted to be working for Whistler in the Dark for the first time, and looks forward to appearing in their February production of Howard Barker's The Europeans.
the writers
	Ted Hughes was born in an English coal-mining town in 1930. He attended Cambridge University on scholarship where he studied English and Anthropology. He held the title of British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death in 1998. One of his most famous works is the collection of poems, Birthday Letters which explored his relationship with Sylvia Plath, to whom he was married from 1956 until her death in 1963. In October 2010 the last letter in this collection, a specific reflection on Plath’s suicide, was published posthumously. “Poetry is the voice of spirit and imagination and all that is potential, as well as of healing benevolence that used to be the privilege of the gods” –Ted Hughes
	Ovid was born on March 20, 43 B.C.E. about ninety miles from Rome. His education included training with rhetoricians, under whose guidance he learned skills of oration. Though this training was initially for a career as a lawyer, Ovid preferred poetry. His early works, Amores and Heroides focused on the theme of love and more specifically absent or imaginary love. Soon after publishing Amores, and subsequently offending Emperor Augustus, Ovid was sentenced to live in exile in what is now Romania. His exile lasted until his death. Metamorphoses is considered to be his greatest work. The epic poem consists of fifteen books with the first twelve stories derived from Greek mythology and the last three from Roman history. Since his time, Ovid’s works have undergone many of their own metamorphoses through the process of translation and adaptation as well as the multitude of sculptures and paintings inspired by the myths.
the artistic team
	Kelley Leigh David (Set and Costume Design) has been collaborating with Whistler since their inaugural production of The Possibilities, and has worked on a total of 10 productions with the company. Her favorite designs include Family Stories, The Bacchae, and two original works in her hometown of Grand Rapids: Spider’s Bazaar and The Cradle. She is currently preparing for her biggest production yet - tying the knot next month with her lovely H.!
	Molly Haas-Hooven (Dramaturg) is excited to continue working with the Whistler team after last spring's production of Family Stories. She recently played Poppy in Noises Off at New Century Theatre. Boston credits include performances with the Actors Choice Reading Series, Makeshift Theatre and SLAM Boston. She has trained with Double Edge Theatre, Roy Hart Theatre and studied dance and Suzuki at Brandeis University. She received her B.A. in Theatre Arts with a minor in Peace, Conflict and Coexistence Studies at Brandeis and continues to explore the intersection of peace-building and theater in everyday life. This December she will perform with the GAN-e-meed Theater Project in Silence.
	David McMullin (Soundscape Designer) is a recipient of the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, the Aaron Copland Award, and MacDowell Colony Fellowship, among other honors. He is Director of the American Composers Forum of New England, teaches music theory at New England Conservatory, and serves on the Executive Committee of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM). He holds a Ph.D. in music theory and composition from New York University and a Bachelor’s degree in music from Yale University.
	Sarah Simons (Stage Manager) is honored to be part of this Whistler production. She’s filled various technical roles for theaters in New Jersey, New Hampshire and Massachusetts over the past twenty years. Her favorites include Mudd (The Factory Theatre), By the Bog of Cats and [sic] (Devanaughn Theatre), Serving His Master and Red Noses (The Players Ring), My Sister in this House (Black Sheep Theatre Company). She’d like to thank Meg for giving her the opportunity to work with this tremendous cast.
	PJ Strachman has recently designed Blue Spruce's Once on This Island, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and World Premiere of Portraits, Whistler in the Dark's Family Stories, One Flea Spare, and new translation of The Bacchae, F.U.D.G.E.’s Violet, Glory Days and Nevermore, the World Premiere of Phoenix Theatre's The Superheroine Monologues, and many other area shows. She is the regular designer for Chamber Repertory Theatre, Gann Academy, and Stonehill College, including two ACTF regional selections. PJ has been a guest lecturer with the Boston Arts Academy, the Gann Academy, the Cambridge School of Weston, and Stonehill College. Her next show will be Fort Point Theatre Channel's Codes of Conduct. Photos of her work can be seen at www.pjelex.com.
	Meg Taintor (Director) is the Artistic Director at Whistler, for whom she has directed Family Stories, One Flea Spare, In On It, The Bacchae, Mary's Wedding, Vampire, All This Flying, All This Tumbling Down, The B File, and The Possibilities, and performed in A Hard Heart, Don't Exaggerate (FeverFest 06), and in The Psyche Project (FeverFest 07). Meg has also directed for Mill6 Theatre and New Voices @ New Rep. Her regional theatre credits include the National Players, Rorschach Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, the Potomac Theatre Project and Washington Shakespeare Company. She holds a B.A. in Theatre and Women & Gender Studies from Middlebury College.