Hedda Gabler
January 19 - February 26
by Henrik Ibsen
translated from Norwegian by Paul Walsh
directed by Yury Urnov
Visionary director Yury Urnov returns to Cutting Ball, following his explosive 2014 production of Ubu Roi, to tackle one of Henrik Ibsen's most revered plays and one of theater’s most riveting protagonists.
About the Play
Hedda has returned from her honeymoon with a sigh of ennui, burdened by a husband who fails to ignite or enthrall her, and a new life that fails to impress. But when old acquaintances come knocking, Hedda discovers a direction and purpose manipulating the fates of those around her with callous abandon, resulting in deadly and disastrous ends.
Reviews
"Urnov creates gorgeous pictures of [Hedda's] entrapment." - Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle
"[Britney] had such a stage pretense. Just a half smile, or a slight turn of her head said so much." - Brittany Janis & Katie Cruz, MissionMission
"Combined with an excellent cast, fine lighting by Hamilton Guillen, beautiful costuming by Alina Bokovikova, and a stunning set design by Jacquelyn Scott, Urnov may have created the gold standard for future productions to come" - Steve Murray, For All Events
"There's a wonderful energy through the play that may spark new insights. Imagine that!" - Christine Okon, Theater & Such
"Director Yury Urnov’s decision to present this hoary masterpiece of early realism as a riotously funny comedy, is, well, unexpected and rather shocking. It is also brilliant, howlingly funny, and surprisingly true to Ibsen’s vision." - Charles Kruger, TheatreStorm
Join us for a special talk, with docent Matty Bloom, about Hedda Gabler on January 28th, February 4th and 11th.
Matty Bloom (Docent) is co-chair of Berkeley Rep's Docent Program, overseeing program content. She has been with BRT's program for six years. A theater lover, she went back to school for an MA in Drama at San Francisco State University where she also interned in Dramaturgy at Marin Theatre after decades of directing non-profits in education, aging, and women's health care in the Bay Area and on the East Coast. She is delighted to volunteer at Cutting Ball to explore some content on Ibsen and the world of Hedda Gabler with you.
Join us for a special talk with Olivia Gunn on Feburary 5th.
Olivia Gunn is Assistant Professor of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Washington. She first read plays by Henrik Ibsen there, when she was completing her BA in Norwegian language and literature. Little did she know she would eventually find her way back to Ibsen and UW, Seattle. After completing a master's degree in performance studies at NYU, she headed to southern California to phD at UC Irvine. During her second year of coursework, she took a course at UCLA to warm up her Norwegian for a translation exam, and she was hooked. Her dissertation explored Ibsen and French Symbolist Theater, as well as questions of realism and nationalism. Now in her second year at UW as a professor, she is working on a new book project titled Empty Nurseries, Queer Occupants: Reproduction in Henrik Ibsen's Late Plays.
Yury Urnov (director) Recently named one of American Theatre Magazine’s 7 Theater Workers You Should Know, A US-based, Moscow-born director. Yury graduated from the Russian Academy of Theater Art (GITIS) in 2000 and has directed over 40 productions in his home country, Europe, and Africa. His recent directing credits in the US include Ubu Roi at Cutting Ball, award-winning Thr3e Zisters at Salvage Vanguard Theater in Austin, The Pillowman at Forum Theater in DC, Marie Antoinette, and You for Me for You at Woolly Mammoth Theater Company in DC, where he is a member. Yury also teaches at Towson University in Maryland.
Britney Frazier (Hedda Gabler) - who Cutting Ball patrons may remember from 2014’s Superheroes – will take on titular role of Hedda. Britney is a Bay Area actor, director, playwright, and teaching artist who has worked at Cutting Ball, Campo Santo, Shotgun Players, Brava, Ubuntu Theater Project, Marin Theater Company, San Francisco International Arts Festival, and Berkeley Rep. As a teaching artist, Britney directs for Disney Theatrical NY and Bay Area Children's Theater as a part of their Disney Musicals in Schools Program. As a playwright, she has birthed three original plays - Obeah, Dysphoria, and Pressure High - and writes for the Playwright's Foundation's One Minute / Flash Play Festival. Most recently she performed with Campo Santo in H.O.M.E and the SF Playhouse in All of What You Love and None of What You Hate.
Francisco Arcila (Jorgen Tesman) is making his Cutting Ball debut. His past credits include: Peter and the Starcatcher (Berkeley Playhouse), Twelfth Night (SF Shakespeare Tour), Othello, The Grapes of Wrath, Waiting for Lefty (Ubuntu Theater Project), and The Ladies of The Camellias (Ross Valley Players). He was also an understudy in Berkeley Repertory Theater's most recent production of Macbeth. He is a company member of Ubuntu Theater Project and earned a BA from UCSD where he double majored in theater and economics.
Heidi Carlsen (Juliane Tesman), actor and director, creates work that investigates the border between surreal and pedestrian worlds. She is a Shawl-Anderson Dance AIR Resident, was a Fulbright Fellow in Poland and is currently creating a solo for the spring.
Michelle Drexler's (Berte) regional Credits include Jane Austen's Emma (Theatreworks), Company, Into the Woods, and Camelot (San Francisco Playhouse), Harry Thaw Hates Everybody (Shotgun Players), Spelling Bee (Berkeley Playhouse), Julius Caesar (San Francisco Shakespeare Festival on Tour), Knuffle Bunny andTales of Olympus (Bay Area Children’s Theater), Much Ado About Nothing and Romeo and Juliet (Kingsmen Shakespeare Company), Sugar (42nd St Moon), A Midsummer Night’s Dream and King Lear (Great River Shakespeare Festival), and Tonya and Nancy: The Rock Opera (American Repertory Theatre). She has also played sold out houses at Feinstein’s at the Hotel Nikko in SF and the Laurie Beechman in NYC with her identical twin sister, Lily, in A Very Drexler Cabaret. Michelle is a proud native of San Francisco. Emerson College: BFA Acting.
Carla Pauli (Thea Elstead) has worked with numerous companies around the Bay Area, including AlterTheater Ensemble (The River Bride, References To Salvador Dali Make Me Hot), Marin Shakespeare Company (All’s Well That Ends Well), Porchlight Theatre, The Pear Avenue Theatre, Golden Thread Productions, The Eugene O’Neill Foundation and Brava, among others. Carla studied drama at American Conservatory Theatre Studio. She is a teaching artist and M.A. student in Drama Therapy at CIIS. She is a company member at AlterTheater Ensemble and a winner of the 2012 TBA Titan Award.
Kunal Prasad (Ejlert Løvborg) is a Bay Area native and received an MFA in Acting from The American Repertory Theater at Harvard University. He is a long form improviser and trail runner and recently played The Poet in "A Dreamplay" here at The Cutting Ball Theater. He has performed at Berkeley Repertory Theater, City Lights Theater Company, Magic Theatre, New Conservatory Theatre Center, and Un-Scripted Theater Company. Favorite theater credits include: “HIStory” at |the claque|, “homeward” at Red Fern Theatre Company, “Julius Caesar” at Centre Dramatique National d'Orléans, “Room” and “Celebration” at The American Repertory Theater.
Steve Thomas (Commissioner Brack) is an actor and improvisor recently moved from Chicago. In the Bay he's played Tybalt and Paris in We Players' Romeo & Juliet.
Design Staff:
Scenic Designer: Jacquelyn Scott
Lighting Designer: Hamilton Guillén
Costume Designer: Alina Bokovikova
Sound Designer: Cliff Caruthers
Properties Designer: Brittany White
Associate Costume Designer: Morgan Louie
Special Thanks
48Hills
KQED