What happens when two sets of parents meet up to deal with the unruly behavior of their children? A calm and rational debate between grown-ups? Or a hysterical night of name-calling, tantrums, and tears before bedtime? ‘Boys will be boys’, but the adults are usually worse – much worse.
Find out what happens when the NIU School of Theatre and Dance presents “God of Carnage” November 9 through 12 in the Sally Stevens Players Theatre in NIU’s Stevens Building. Performances will be staged each night during the run at 7:30 p.m. with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, November 12. Tickets may be purchased thorugh the NIU School of Theatre and Dance online box office. They are $7 for the general public and NIU students are free of charge.
“God of Carnage” was written by Yasmina Reza and premiered in London in 2008. It began a star-studded Broadway run in 2009 with Marcia Gay Harden winning a Tony Award for Best Actress and both Jeff Daniels and James Gandolfini receiving nominations for Best Actor.
NIU’s production is directed by an alumna of the School of Theatre Dance, Hannah Hamel, who earned her Master in Fine Arts degree in acting.
God of Carnage
NIU School of Theatre and Dance
Sally Stevens Players Theatre – NIU Stevens Building
Wednesday, November 9, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, November 10, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, November 11, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 12, 2 p.m.
Saturday, November 12, 7:30 p.m.
Written by Yasmina Reza
Directed by Hannah Hamel
Assistant Directors: Carmen Hernandez and Riley Scifo
Stage Manager: Jordan Boyd
Intimacy Coach: Bethany Mangum-Oles
Special Thanks: Dustin Holloway, Nancy Sills, Casey Bradley, Alexander Gelman, Kay Martinovich, Rich Grund and Jeremy Floyd.
Director’s Note
Tenth Birthday
She woke before the sun. She heard the still
Small sounds which whisper when the night is gone.
Though all the curtains of her room were drawn,
She saw the gray light creep across the sill.
This was her day. How would it help fulfil
Her destiny? She looked out at the dawn
Stepping across the velvet of the lawn,
She saw the purple of a distant hill.
In cloak and slippers, she glided through the halls
Softly — she would disturb none still asleep —
Then looked through maple branches to the sky;
Her small heart beating against its delicate walls,
The marvel of ten years too much to keep.
“What is this lovely world, and who am I?”
–Marjorie Knapp
Thumbs
Oh the thumb-sucker’s thumb
May look wrinkled and wet
And withered, and white as the snow.
But the taste of a thumb
Is the sweetest taste yet
(As only we thumb-suckers know).
–Shel Siverstein
Cast
Kayla Crispino (Annette Raleigh) is a second-year B.F.A. Acting candidate from Elgin, Illinois. This is her first show here at NIU, and she’s very excited and appreciative for this opportunity. She is thankful for her cast, director, assistant directors, stage manager and tech team for all the work and support they’ve put into this production. She hopes you enjoy the show as much as she enjoyed bringing this story to life.
Zachary Harness (Alan Raleigh) Is a fourth-year B.F.A. Acting candidate. Zachary is fresh off his first professional contract where he was seen this past summer as Betram in All’s Well That Ends Well (Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival) and Tybalt/Friar John in Romeo and Juliet (Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival). NIU credits include Resten in The Language Archive, Fedotik in Three Sisters, B in Town Hall and Fish/Gaffles in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. He hopes that you enjoy the show.
Rylan Johnson (Michael Novak) is a third-year B.F.A. Acting candidate. Previous notable performances are Tyler in YOU ARE YOU (NIU), Banquo in Macbeth (College of DuPage), Sir Sebastian in Cinderella (CYT Chicago), Santa Claus in Elf the Musical (CYT Chicago) and Mayor Shinn in The Music Man (CYT Chicago). Rylan would like to thank everyone involved in the creation of this show for making it a fun and enjoyable process. He would also like to thank his family for always supporting him. Enjoy the show.
Amanda Ranallo (Veronica Novak) is a fourth-year B.F.A. Acting candidate. Some of her past credits on the NIU stage include YOU ARE YOU (Ana) by Mathew C. Yee, Town Hall (A) by Caridad Svich and Love and Information (Ensemble) by Caryl Churchill. She recently understudied in The Winter’s Tale (Lord one u/s) at Oak Park Festival Theatre. She hopes you enjoy this wild ride.
Production Team Bios
Hannah Hammel (Director) is a Chicago-based actor, producer, director and educator. She is the co-founder and marketing and PR director of Spicy Witch Productions, a feminist theater company based in New York City. She is also the co-founder of Unnecessary Nowledge LLC, with which she produced her first feature film this past July.
As an actor, she has performed with the Walnut Street Theatre, Shakespeare in the Woods, Newnan Shakespeare in the Park, Aftershock Entertainment, Truth Be Told Productions, Ritz Theatre Company, ReVamp Collective, Ignoble Shakespeare, Family Stages, Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival, Northern Illinois University and many others. This is her first full-length directing credit.
She earned her M.F.A. degree in Acting from Northern Illinois University, and a B.A. in English from Haverford College. Hannahacts.com
“Immense gratitude to this exceptional cast and creative team for bringing bravery, playfulness and good humor to this process, and to Dustin for bringing bravery, playfulness and good humor to everything.”
Jordan Boyd (Stage Manager) is a senior with a tech emphasis, and pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Theatre Studies at Northern Illinois University. She has previously worked on run crew for Kafka’s Castle and scene crew for Troilus and Cressida. God of Carnage is her debut as a stage manager, and she hopes you enjoy the show.
Carmen Hernandez (Assistant Director) is a senior B.A. in Theatre Studies student at Northern Illinois University. God of Carnage is her debut as an assistant director. Her previous credits include: Into the Woods (internship) and Le Nozze Di Figaro at Charlottesville Opera, in Virginia as an assistant stage manager. Her previous NIU credits include: The Walk Across America for Mother Earth as a stage manager, The Importance of Being Earnest and Hamlet as an assistant stage manager. She wishes her team a happy opening and everyone a happy watching.
Riley Scifo (Assistant Director) is a fourth-year B.A. in Theatre Studies student. She is one of the assistant directors for the show. While this is her first time working on an NIU production, she’s very excited to be in the theater for the first time.
Production Team
Scenery
Scenic Coordinator – Sahin Sahinoglu
Scene Shop Supervisor – Adam Rager
Run Crew – Kayla Martin, Yuknia Nguyen
Costumes
Costume Director – Lori Hartenhoff
Costume Shop Supervisor – Clare Richey-Kaplan
Costume Design Advisor – Jeremy W. Floyd
Lighting
Lighting Design Advisor – Brandon Wardell
Resident Master Electrician – Chris Kurszewski
Lighting Shop Graduate Assistant – Kev Kolmann
Props
Properties Director – Dave Doherty
Production Management – Tracy Nunnally
Stage Management Supervisors – Kev Kollmann, Jordan Clifton
House Manager Supervisor – Cornelia Hayes
