Posted July 3, 2018
Forty local citizen actors to take the stage this Labor Day Weekend alongside professional actors and designers in Seth Bockley’s newly-commissioned adaptation.
Hudson Valley Shakespeare (HVSF) has announced complete casting for Seth Bockley’s RIP VAN WINKLE; OR, CUT THE OLD MOON INTO STARS. The production – the Festival’s first-ever mainstage commission – will feature forty citizen actors drawn from towns and cities in four counties throughout the Hudson Valley alongside four professional actors, and will open for four free performances over Labor Day Weekend 2018.
This joyful, hilarious, music-filled celebration combines classic Hudson Valley/Catskills lore (including content from two additional Washington Irving texts) with other tall tales of the region, and features the voices and handiwork of today’s Hudson Valley residents. Community participation has been incorporated at nearly every stage of development, including storytelling and design workshops for all held earlier this spring, scenic materials sourced from local neighborhoods, a community design/build team constructing sets, props, and costumes, and countless volunteers lending a hand backstage.
Our RIP VAN WINKLE Cast By Hometown…
Beacon, NY: Philip Condyles, David Kupras, Emma Myers, Celia Reissig, Sarah Ristine, Bernadette Humphrey-Nicol, Michele Humphrey-Nicol
Cold Spring, NY: Alison Anthoine, Alex Danilov, Laura Danilov, Lourdes Laifer, John Lane, Sean McNall*, Tara Vamos, Sophia Catalina, Carolyn Llewellyn
Cornwall, NY: Sally Sirota
Croton, NY: Adam Auslander
Croton on Hudson, NY: Brody Marcus, Lindsey Marcus, Melissa Shawcross, Julie Smith
Hopewell Junction, NY: Scarlett Ricker
Mohegan Lake, NY: Joe Merriam
Newburgh, NY: Roger Acevedo, Dante De Leo, Yudy Gomez
Ossining, NY: Gretchen Craig
Peekskill, NY: Leilani Bridgewater, Jim Cairl, Christian Urbina
Poughkeepsie, NY: Jess Lyke
Salt Point, NY: Ellen O’Neill, Jim O’Neill
Tuxedo Park, NY: Bill Lemanski
Verplanck, NY: Suzanne Johnson
Yorktown Heights, NY: Christine Kelly
New York, NY: Liam Craig*, Robyn Kerr*, Maribel Martinez
This large-scale, citizen-driven production is part of FULL CIRCLE, HVSF’s year-round programming initiative focused on community engagement within the Hudson Valley. Inspired by the success of its 2016 production of OUR TOWN, and energized by similar initiatives at other national theaters, such as The Public Theater’s PublicWorks program, HVSF established FULL CIRCLE to build and sustain community through radically participatory art-making, featuring workshops, community gatherings, and performance opportunities.
RIP VAN WINKLE begins rehearsal on July 8, with free performances taking place at the HVSF Theater Tent at Boscobel House and Gardens (Garrison, NY) on August 31, September 1, and September 3 at 7pm; and one performance at University Settlement Camp (Beacon, NY) on September 2 at 4pm.
Free tickets for all performances will be made available online starting August 1, and in-person via HVSF’s Traveling Box Office in select locations at the end of August. Ticket distribution details will be announced in the coming weeks.
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.