Hamlet Lost/Found Program Details

The Department of Performing Arts and Humanities
of the School of Liberal Arts at CCBC

presents

HAMLET Lost/Found

By William Shakespeare
Adapted by Julie Lewis, Tatiana Fish and The Ensemble

Director
Julie Lewis

Technical Director
Set & Lighting Designer
G. Maurice “Moe” Conn

Costume Designer
James J. Fasching

Composer
Daniel Lewis

Stage Manager
Aris Hines

November 3 at 11:10 am
November 4, 5 at 8pm
November 6 at 3 pm
November 7 at 10am

THE COMPANY

Who’s Who

ELIZABETH ARMOUR
(Polonia)

has been doing theater in Baltimore for more than fifteen years. Recently, Liz just completed her tenth year with the Maryland Renaissance Festival where she directed, stage managed, and performed in varying capacities; she truly is a renaissance woman. Notable acting credits include: Angela Warren in Go Back for Murder, Malvolio in Twelfth Night, and Nurse in Titus Andronicus. Liz is very proud to be hitting the stage with such an energetic and wonderful cast and she can’t wait to add another great show to her portfolio. She would like to thank her fearless director, the stellar production team, and her on-top-of-things stage manager for making this show possible. “Now, let’s go delve into some decay!”

TIRRELL BETHEL
(King Hamlet’s Ghost)

makes his return to CCBC’s Academic stage this semester. A second year Theatre and Nursing major, Tirrell made his stage debut in last semester’s production of Rashomon where he played the priest. He has also appeared in a series of improv shows with CCBC’s student run theatre club, Barnstormers. Tirrell is ecstatic about playing the Ghost and he would like to give a special thanks to his family, who have supported him up to this point in his life, as well as to the cast and crew for being awesome and hardworking individuals. Tirrell plans on transferring to Towson and has high hopes of being in movies someday.

NATALIE DENT
(Marcellus/Ensemble)

was born and raised in Baltimore, MD. She has been acting all her life but first graced the stage after joining her church’s Fine Arts Ministry. A declared Theatre major, Natalie has attended Alabama State University and has served as an assistant director in many productions. Notable roles include: An Ensemble member in Dreamgirls and Sophia in The Color Purple. Natalie wants to continue her theatrical training at Towson University in the spring.

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LLOYD EKPE
(Claudius/Ensemble)

is ecstatic to be performing in his very first theatrical production. He is currently a Biology major at CCBC but he would like to stress that “that may change in the near future”. Lloyd is a dedicated artist with a remarkable passion for acting, and he’s proud to have experienced his first show with CCBC. He would like to thank Julie Lewis, Aris Hines, and the rest of the cast and crew for making this experience worthwhile.

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JOEY HERNANDEZ
(Barnardo/Ensemble)

is an aspiring film actor, and North American nomad. Joey has traveled and acted all across the United States, most notably in Michigan. There he performed in a handful of productions at the LCC Theatre. He’s performed in a one act as Bryan the Sexy Bartender, as Abu al Hasan in The Arabian Nights, as Michael in The Dining Room, and as the male lead in Stephanie Hero; Leopold the Great Sorcerer. This is Joey’s first experience with Shakespeare, and he’s very excited to be involved in this dark and twisted interpretation of Hamlet.

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ALEJANDRO MENDEZ
(Hamlet)

comes back to the stage after a 5-year hiatus. Alejandro acted in many productions at Lansdowne High School, such as The Mouse That Roared, Murder at The Orient Express, The Beggar and The Wolf, Anne of Green Gables, and Once On This Island. Alejandro is more than excited to do his first show at CCBC and he hopes to give a great performance. When not acting on stage, Alejandro can be found acting on camera or even operating one at CCBC Catonsville’s Film Society. He has a deep love and appreciation of the performing arts and looks to pursue a career in acting or film. Alejandro would like to thank all of his friends and teachers for the love throughout the years and he also would like to thank his parents for always believing in him. More importantly, he would finally like to like thank his cat, Cookie and his dog, Queequeg.

ALYSSIA MAYHEUGH
(Ophelia/Ensemble)

makes her stage debut at CCBC, as she travels through her personal journey of being a Theatre Major. Alyssia has thoroughly enjoyed transforming into Ophelia and she wants to send a special shout out to Zachary Hartley for encouraging her to audition. She would also like to send a shout out to Julie Lewis, for continuously encouraging her to pursue her dreams. Alyssia believes that there is so much more to come and she hopes this will not be the last time you see her in a CCBC production.

MOLLY PRUNTY
(Guildenstern/Ensemble)

makes her CCBC stage debut after a few years of technical work at the Carroll Arts Center and other Theatre companies. Some of her favorite acting credits include Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Pat Devine in Stage Door, and Betsy Cratchit in A Christmas Carol. Molly would like to thank Aris for being the BEST stage manager ever, Julie for being an awesome director and visionary, James for the wonderful costumes, the cast for their talent and friendship, and all of the staff and crew for making the show come together.

RANDI SEEPERSAD
(Rosencrantz/Ensemble)

is a CCBC graduate and is honored to be performing her last show here at CCBC. Randi is very proud of her accomplishments here, and is thankful for her experiences. Her CCBC credits include: The Wife in Rashomon and an Ensemble member in All in the Timing. Other notable roles include Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Hermia & Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland. Randi would like to thank the cast and crew for great memories, and she wishes everyone the best in their future endeavors.

SHIRVITTA UPCHURCH
(Gertrude/Ensemble)

makes her stage debut as Queen Gertrude in CCBC’S production of Hamlet Lost/ Found; this is her first year as a theatre major. After serving 12 years in the Army Shirvitta, better known as Church, left the military and moved from Texas to Maryland to attend school, network, and find opportunities. She thanks CCBC faculty and students for, “Helping me to build confidence in myself and my craft.” When Shirvitta is not acting you can find her modeling or writing short stories for one of the many magazines she is featured in. She intends to attend Towson University next fall.

JAKE URTES
(Horatio/Ensemble)

is making his return to the stage for the first time since high school. Jake has previously served as sound designer for CCBC Essex’s Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre, but this is Jake’s first time performing with CCBC. Jake would like to thank Theresa Spencer for her excellent instruction and guidance, and Aris Hines for his hard work as stage manager. He’d also like to thank Moe, Hayden, Sam, Emily, and the rest of the crew for their dedication to creating an immersive aesthetic.

JA’MIN WILLIAMS
(Laertes/Ensemble)

is returning to CCBC theatre after a yearlong departure. A declared Theatre major, Ja’min has previously acted in two CCBC productions: A Raisin in the Sun as Joseph Asagai and Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom as Steve. Other notable roles include Armand (Once on this Island), Javert (Les Miserables), and Doctor Moreland (Slasrever Neves). Ja’min loves the theatre and is excited to hit the stage.

Director’s Note

Written sometime between 1599 and 1602, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark has proven to be one of Shakespeare’s, and world literature’s, most enduring plays. Chronicling the story of a young prince’s effort to avenge his father’s murder, the play has spoken to over 400 years of audiences. So what is it that makes this play one of the most universally recognized and appreciated stories in world theatre? It depends on when and where you ask the question. Hamlet’s relevance to the communities in which it is produced depends on what is happening in that community at that given moment in time.

As theatre artists, we always ask ourselves, “Why tell this story now?” What resonates in Hamlet here, in Baltimore 2016, and how are we going to explore that connection? As the title of our production – Hamlet Lost/Found – suggests, we have decided to take considerable liberties with Shakespeare’s play – a practice called ‘adaptation’ in which artists have been engaged since theatre began. Shakespeare’s own text of Hamlet was likely an adaptation of at least two different sources: Life of Amleth and the Ur-Hamlet. Dozens of other adaptations, versions, imitations, and pastiches have derived from Hamlet in order to make the story more relevant and specific to their creators’ time and place, and our production is a part of that tradition.

Hamlet Lost/Found takes King Hamlet’s charge to his son Hamlet (to avenge his death) as the catalyst to tear away at the surface tapestry of the play. Simultaneously, this deconstruction reveals the underbelly of decay, while destroying everything in its path. It mirrors King Hamlet’s singular focus to unveil hypocrisy and bring justice to his murdering brother, regardless of the consequences to his son or his kingdom. As the kingdom falls apart, so do the conventional storytelling methods used to carry the plot. As linear language, architecture, and time is lost, we find new meanings in Hamlet. Our production explores the limits of power, patriarchy, movement, and form, to create a world that slowly devolves into a representation of the rotting core inside the social and political structures in which we live. You don’t need to dig too far to see that the systems of “justice” in Baltimore and the United States are broken, and that the state has blood on its hands.

Julie Lewis, Director
Cohen Ambrose, Production Dramaturg

Production Staff

Production Staff Bios

JULIE LEWIS (Director) is a playwright, director and teacher. She received her BA in Writing Arts and Theatre from SUNY Oswego and her MFA in Playwriting from Brooklyn College. Her original plays include Henry’s Holiday (Winner of the Perishable Theatre’s Women’s Playwriting Festival), Obituary Mambo (Abingdon Theatre, NYC), Plastic Haircut, Three Hundred Out of Hades, Quiver and Sink (Mohawk Valley Community College), Smolder The Strand Theatre) and Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (CCBC Essex). Her works have been produced in the Samuel French New Play Festival, Manhattan Theatre Source’s Estrogenius Festival, NYC’s Ensemble Theatre’s Opal Series, and Fitchburg State’s Americulture Festival. Locally, her plays have been produced at The Strand, Glass Mind Theatre, Vagabonds, The Kennedy Center (staged reading) and Fells Point Corner Theatre. Julie’s directing credits include Lysistrata, The Skin of Our Teeth, Marco Polo Sings a Solo, Blithe Spirit, The Maids, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Metamorphoses, Kid Simple: A Radio Play in the Flesh, M. Butterfly, Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom and Pullman, WA. Julie is most proud of the devised work she has created with her students, including War Stories Staged (Winner of the League of Innovations Award) and The Consumables (performed at the KCACTF Region 2 Fringe and Baltimore’s ArtScape). Julie is a 2012 recipient of a Maryland State Arts Council Grant in Playwriting and English Writing Arts Alumni Award in Playwriting, SUNY Oswego, 2013. She directs annually in the CCBC Academic Theatre Program and teaches Script Analysis, Introduction to Theatre and Writing for the Stage.

G. MAURICE “MOE” CONN (Technical Director/Scenic/Lighting Designer) is the full-time Technical Director and Designer at CCBC Catonsville Center for the Arts Theatre. He has an MFA in Scene Design and Technical Theatre. Moe has been doing technical theatre since 1993, as a Designer, Technician, Technical Director, and Educator. Moe had also served as the Technical Director and Designer for Cockpit in Court Theatre, Maryland’s Oldest Summer theatre, for 4 summers. Moe has received multiple nominations for Best Scene Design from Broadway World.com and Received Best Scenic Design from the MD Theatre Guide’s Readers’ Choice Awards. When not backstage, Moe volunteers with the ESTA foundation’s “Behind the Scenes”. He also helps coordinate the Long Reach Long Riders charity motorcycle ride, (www.LRLR.org ) to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity fights AIDS and ESTA’s Behind the Scenes, two theatre based charities.

JAMES J. FASCHING (Costume Designer) is the resident costumer in the Performing Arts and Humanities Department at CCBC. His career in design has taken him from designing for the Miss America Pageant, to having his own television spot on KDKA-TV for interior design tips, to designing hundreds of productions for Cockpit-in-Court Summer Theatre, Dundalk Community Theatre, Peabody Opera Company, Theatre Hopkins, and The School for the Arts in Philadelphia, to name a few. Mr. Fasching teaches Makeup Design for the Theatre program.

DAN LEWIS (Composer/Musician) Praised for playing with “a very nice sense of inevitability to the musical intent throughout,” classical guitarist Daniel Lewis is known for very expressive phrasing and a commitment to unique programming, regularly performing music ranging from Renaissance Lute masterpieces to lesser-known 21^st century works. Equally at home in many musical styles, Mr. Lewis’ recent performance schedule has included original compositions on classical guitar, diverse music for the electric guitar in contemporary musical theater, and traditional American folk music on acoustic guitar and banjo. As a composer, he has contributed music for projects produced by Tim Corbin Films, scored CCBC’s 2015 production of The Elephant Man, as well as frequently writing for River’s Edge Community Church. Mr. Lewis holds a Master’s Degree from Mannes College the New School for Music and is currently on the music faculty of the Community College of Baltimore County, where he directs the Music Theory and Ear Training sequence.

ARIS HINES (Stage Manager) has been an Actor, Stage Manager, Playwright, Director, and renaissance man in Maryland since 2011. Aris’ credits include Mash, Once Upon a Mattress, American Theatre Festival, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Little Shop of Horrors, Shakespeare Theatre Festival, Aida, All in The Timing, A Raisin In the Sun, Intersections, Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom, House of Macabre, Rashomon, Frank Talk, and Net Worth. He has appeared in a Music Video for City Line Kids, two short films, and he’s a commentator on MTV’s Video Love. Mr. Hines has an A.A Degree in Theatre Performance from CCBC and he plans to graduate from Towson University in 2018 with a B.A in Theatre Studies.

Special Thanks

Dr. Sandra Kurtinitis | President, CCBC
Dr. Mark McColloch | Vice President of Instruction
Dr. Rich Lilley | Vice President of Enrollment & Student Services
Dr. William Watson | Dean of Liberal Arts
Patti Crossman, Chair | Performing Arts & Humanities
Jacqueline Lucy | Media Relations Coordinator
Jacqueline McTear | Graphic Designer