Things as They Are 

THINGS AS THEY ARE

Written by David Todd
Original score composed by Ben Chasny
Directed by Anjanette Hall

May 12 – 28, 2017
Friday – Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 2:30 pm
Industry Night: Monday, May 15 at 7:30 pm

Special Venue:
Reinberger Auditorium (Upstairs Loft)
5209 Detroit Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44102

Things as They Are is a dramatic exploration of American poet Wallace Stevens (1879-1955), a stoic visionary whose titanic imagination and confounding duality have lent him an unwavering mystique. This all-new multimedia work combines a script by David Todd, an original score performed by Ben Chasny, and licensed works by Stevens himself with movement, commedia dell’arte, and projections. Fusing these elements, Things as They Are looks past the stock image of its subject as an aloof executive with avant-garde leanings. From run-ins with Marcel Duchamp to Ernest Hemingway, and from crises with wife Elsie to daughter Holly, the play reveals the “real” Wallace Stevens to be a man of great insight, contradictions, whimsy, and desire.

Run Time: Approximately 2:30, with one fifteen-minute intermission.


Livestream

HowlRound Theatre Commons | Friday, May 26, 2017


Awards & Recognition

Best Projection Design / Script by a Local Writer (Superior Achievement)
Cleveland Critics Circle, 18 December 2017

Best Portrayal of Real-Life Geniuses / Best Risks
Scene Magazine, 27 December 2017

Outstanding Projection Design
Broadway World-Cleveland, 24 December 2017


Press

“There’s a play going on now that you should pay attention to…This risk-taking production is worth a look.”
Scene Magazine, 17 May 2017

Things as They Are brings some wonderful things…This staged biography sears the audience with the problems in Stevens’ life.”
Talkin’ Broadway, May 2017

“[Ben Chasny’s] most recent project is an interesting one…performing live music for a new work by playwright David Todd.”
Dangerous Minds, May 2017


Cast

Robert Hawkes……….Mature Wallace Stevens

Jason Markouc……….Young Wallace Stevens

Laura Starnik……….Elsie Stevens

Tessa Hager……….Holly Stevens

Robert Branch……….Garrett Stevens, W. C. Williams, and Ensemble

Kenzie Critzer……….Sybil Gage, Marianne Moore, and Ensemble

Jeanne Task……….Kate Stevens, Mrs. Baldwin, and Ensemble

Marco Liguori……….Robert Frost, Walter Arensburg, and Ensemble

Liam Stilson……….Crispin, Ed Livingood, and Ernest Hemingway


Musicians

Ben Chasny……….Guitar

John Elliott……….Synthesizer/Electronics


Creative Team

Inda Blatch-Geib……….Costume Designer

Nora Jeanne DeMilta……….Assistant Director & Marketing Coordinator

Cleo DeOrio……….Commedia dell’arte Choreographer

Tom Hayes……….Carpenter

Michael Hinton……….Dance/Movement Choreographer

Emily Kovalcik……….Prop Designer

T. Paul Lowry……….Set & Projection Designer

Jonathan Maag……….Lighting Designer

Francesca Mamlin……….Stage Manager

Elizabeth Tofig……….Dramaturg

Kelly Tomko……….Production Manager

Dusten Welch……….Fight Choreographer


Photos

Credit: Steve Wagner Photography. Click for complete gallery.


Program