The Marriage of Figaro
Written by: Beaumarchais, adapted by I.E. Clark
Published by: I.E. Clark
Setting: 17th Century, the villa of Count Almaviva in Spain
Cast (in order
of appearance)
Figaro: Zach Fowler
Suzanna: Kori Kinney
Bartolo: Seth Doughty
Marceline: Melissa Morrison
Cherubin: Rich Flora
Count Almaviva: Matt Flora
Basilio: Dustin Graham
Rosina: Madelyn Carson
Barbarina: Caroline Thibodeau
Fanchette: Katy Schneider
Doblemana: Mimi Smith
Usher: Kevin Coppola
Production Staff (asterisks designate adults)
Director: Jennifer Bourassa *
Asst. Director: Pam Willette *
Tech Director: Zach Powers *
Stage Manager: Katelynn Hartt
Set Design: Zach Powers *
Costume Design: Elaine Sipe * and Pam Willette *
Lighting: Bruce Bechard
Sound: Sam Corey
Makeup: Crew
Crew: Jake Buob, Christina Hallowell, Liana Cao, Melissa Carson, Jared Escobar, Mariah Hanning, Sophie Willette, Justin Lewin, Dan Sipe, Hillary Albert and Maddasin Willette.
Photo courtesy of Dave Allen
THE PRESQUE ISLE HIGH SCHOOL SHIPMATES’ PLAYHOUSE will be representing Maine at the New England Drama Festival April 18-20 in Storrs, Conn. They will perform a one-act adaptation of Beaumarchais’ “The Marriage of Figaro.”
Photo courtesy of Jeremiah Sjoberg
MELISSA MORRISON (Marceline) and Seth Doughty (Bartolo) are among the many talented cast and crew members of the Presque Isle High School Shipmates’ Playhouse performing “The Marriage of Figaro.”
Photo courtesy of Jeremiah Sjoberg
ACTING OUT A SCENE from “The Marriage of Figaro” are, from left, Katy Schneider (Fanchette), Rich Flora (Cherubin) and Caroline Thibodeau (Barbarina).
Photo courtesy of Dave Allen
KORI KINNEY (Suzanna) and Zach Fowler (Figaro) share the stage in a scene from “The Marriage of Figaro.”
Photo courtesy of Dave Allen
PERFORMING A SCENE from “The Marriage of Figaro” are, from left: Mimi Smith (Doblemana), Madelyn Carson (Rosina), Kevin Coppola (Usher), Matt Flora (Count Almaviva), Dustin Graham (Basilio) and Zach Fowler (Figaro).
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
ALL-FESTIVAL CAST – Named to the All-Festival Cast at the 2009 Maine Drama Festival were, from left: Zach Fowler and Matt Flora, members of the Presque Isle High School Shipmates’ Playhouse, which performed a one-act adaptation of Beaumarchais’ “The Marriage of Figaro.” In the play, Fowler portrayed Figaro, while Flora played Count Almaviva.
Jennifer Bourassa
Director
“The State Drama Festival was held in Bangor, and Presque Isle had an excellent crowd in attendance for our Saturday performance. The performance at the State competition was one of their [PIHS Shipmates] best. They were energetic and bright and funny – everything a farce should be. They made me very proud of the work we did to bring this performance to the stage.”
Photo courtesy of Jeremiah Sjoberg
SHOWCASING THEIR ACTING TALENTS in “The Marriage of Figaro” are, from left: Matt Flora (Count Almaviva) and Zach Fowler (Figaro). Their performances not only landed them being named to the All-Festival Cast at the Regional Drama Festival, but the Maine Drama Festival, as well.
Melissa Morrison
Character: Marcelina
Senior
“The worst part [for me] is right before I go on stage because I haven’t quite seen the audience yet and don’t know how they’re reacting … especially since I come on in the beginning. I kind of play off how the audience is reacting to Figaro and Susanna.When I first get on stage and see the crowd,I try not to look at them, but I get a feel for it. It’s a rush of energy and a sense of calmness. It’s like, ‘OK, I’m here now’ and I’m good to go.”
Dusty Graham
Character: Basilio
Senior
“My character gets into a lot of mischief and is usually up to no good. He’s one that pretty much causes a lot of problems and he likes to spread rumors and gossip, and listen in on others’ conversations. He also tries to chase after Marcelina. It was a very fun character to play. Basilio is also really slobby, and I’ve never played a character like that before. I don’t think it was me, so it was fun to play a different character.”
Katelynn Hartt
Stage Manager
Senior
“Being stage manager is a lot of work. The majority of my crew is freshmen, so they don’t really understand the importance of it, so I had to help keep them in line. We do a scene change right in the middle of the play and the curtain is closed but there is a marriage going on in front of the curtain. It’s a big part of the play, and we have to be really quiet. We can’t shuffle our feet and when the judges hear us, they comment on it. That was the biggest thing I had to keep in mind … making sure that the set change went
smoothly.”
Zach Fowler
Character: Figaro
Senior
“Figaro isn’t really so much a man of action; he’s a man of reaction. Throughout the entire play, he’s constantly reacting to what’s going on around him. He’s a very devious character … using a social slight of hand to always try to get an edge and be ahead of the curve that’s going on. Most of it is reacting to Matt Flora’s character, the Count, and the ongoing, subtle rivalry that they both have, while on the surface they’re both master and servant. It was a very fun character to play. If you look deep enough you can have fun playing absolutely any character. It allows you to come up with your own interpretation mixed with the script.”
Caroline Thibodeau
Character: Barbarina
Senior
“While I’ve been in the fall musicals, this was my first year in the One-Act Play competition, and to move onto the state level was so neat. It was fun seeing all the other people perform, and being able to go on that stage which is so much different from ours. It was a great experience. I get really nervous before I go out on stage, but once I’m out there, I go through the motions. You’re not yourself when you’re out there, which makes it a lot easier for me. I like acting like somebody else on stage. I try not to look out at the audience, and just try to focus. It’s like I’m in a zone.”
Matt Flora
Character: Count Almaviva
Senior
“Count Almaviva is a very powerful guy. He owns a castle and all these people are his servants. Really everybody is afraid to stand up to him except for Figaro when he’s alone with him. The Count is pretty perverted and greedy … always gets what he wants and finds any way to do it. It was fun to play. I’ve never used the accent that I had to for this character before. That was pretty fun to develop and maintain throughout the performances. I don’t think I’ve ever played a person of power before, so that was kind of fun. In this play I got to boss everybody around.”
Save the date! There will be a benefit performance of “The Marriage of Figaro” at the Presque Isle High School auditorium at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 11. Tickets will be $5 and will help support the students in their trip to Connecticut for the festival.
The parents of the drama students are making Easter themed desserts for purchase following the benefit performance to raise funds, as well.
Did you know?
The Presque Isle High School Shipmates’ Playhouse won the New England Drama Festival in 1990 with their performance of “The Voices of Aldenville,” written by former PIHS English teacher Glenna Johnson Smith.
