Uncle Vanya Fall 2018

In exploring Chekhov this semester guided by Brian Kulick, we each selected a full length Chekhov production to put up in Schapiro Theatres. 

Having reread them all over the summer, I knew that Vanya was mine; this story of how, or if, we cope when we learn it’s too late for us to switch into a better life. 
And the resentment that eats us slowly when our world favors another, more “refined”, version of ourselves.
The professor is easy to hate, but he doesn’t mind it.
Yelena is wistfully destructive without harnessing any power from it.
Sonya is ferried into simple housework when she’s the most capable person in the house. 
Vanya stumbles on his own ineptitude and lurches for relief towards women, drink, & fighting.
Astrov cultivates dirt, trees, but not himself. 

These glaring misappropriations of time spent, whole decades full, and all the missed chances for love, is what chronicles our lives at the end. I had the pleasure of working with some of the finest actors and the finest team I have yet encountered in New York City on this production. 

Pictured here from left to right:
Jane Ives as Mrs. Voinítsky*  courtesy of AEA
Benjamin Dworken as Yefím
Isaac Beauchamp as Ástrov
Roger Lipson as Ványa*        courtesy of AEA
Jonathan Dauerman as Waffles
Dolly Lewis as Yeléna
​Rora Brodwin as Sónya