Setting: A play rehearsal, somewhere between here and there, then and now. Locations include Horner’s lodging, Pinchwife’s lodging, and the New Exchange arcade.
Author’s Note
by Rachel Atkins
The intention of this adaptation is to re-imagine Wycherley’s classic Restoration comedy as inclusive and relevant to contemporary women and people of color by drawing out the themes, ideas and humor that speak to a modern audience, while retaining the essentials of the original plot and heightened language. Making the text more accessible and the social commentary more relatable, I hope to highlight the connections between the world of the play and 21st century society. Please use the direct address frame of the prologue and epilogue to contextualize those connections, as well as by having characters observe scenes in which they are not participants.
Masks do not have to be literal, but the idea of the different faces and personas that each character wears, and for whom, should be considered in the choices and concept of any production.
The goal is to give both representation and an entry point for artists and audiences who might otherwise feel alienated by this kind of classic theatre.
Director’s Note
by Hannah Ulanoski ’26 and Ren Pruis
Inspired by Rachel Atkins’ re-imaging of the original Wycherly script and her author’s note shared here, our production concept utilizes a design metaphor, taken directly from the text, “watching a play.”
To dive deeper into that concept for actors, we’ve extended the metaphor to embrace “watching a rehearsal.” The world they play in is fictional; an imaginary place, inspired by 1665 London and (1664) New Amsterdam, but not limited to neither that time nor place. Costumes are closer to rehearsal-wear, as are choices for props and furniture. Sound choices support more current, and thus more familiar connections to the aspect of “country,” as experienced here in the United States. The ambiguity of the setting paired with the combination of classical theatre and contemporary life leads to a timeless feeling around the conflicts presented in the play.
In certain moments, “characters observe scenes in which they are not participants.” Those characters are discovering information that affects their storyline, just as actors will during rehearsals. Selective mask use has been and continues to be actor driven, so that it may evolve as character work deepens.
As with any classical text for stage, these characters consciously and intentionally use their language. We have kept with tradition in this aspect of our production. The actors you will see here have been practicing that part of their craft, using their words as tools to get what they want.
As Margery says, in the play’s epilogue, “even while you [laugh] we hope our play might make you see some things a different way.”
Dramaturg’s Note
by Ryleigh Jaworski ’27
William Wycherly’s The Country Wife as revised by Rachel Atkins is designed to offer the modern audience access to William Wycherly’s historical comedy while highlighting connections between the inner world of the show and our society today. Per its authors note, this reimagining of a classic restoration comedy seeks to provide “both representation and an entry point for artists [and] audiences who might otherwise feel alienated by this kind of classic theater.” Atkins takes a play set in a man’s world and turns it on its head to allow for increased female representation and increased clarity of humorous asides and important themes relevant to a modern audience. The play is set during England’s Restoration era—a period characterized by grandeur, celebration, and the tensions of uncertainty. The period officially refers to the reinstatement of the English monarchy with King Charles II’s ascension to the throne after a decades long struggle for a constitutional government. Though our show is not set specifically in England, the context of the Restoration era is very important. This is because it set the stage for a new culture of uneasy celebration and concealed affections that is essential to the environment of the show. Not only is this unique environment essential to the show, so too is the fact that the Restoration era increased the popularity of mistresses in England. Previously, having an extra-marital partner had nowhere near as much cultural significance. This change factors heavily into the plot and explains the fascination with cheating, cuck-holding, and taking a mistress in our show. We hope that you feel welcomed into the world of Restoration comedy and enjoy the connections between our world and the world of 17th century theater.
Vocabulary from the Play
- Bawdy: Shameless or humorously indecent. The dealing with sexual matters in a comical way.
- Common: “Anything fragile, insubstantial, empty, or worthless; a deceptive show.” Or “A worthless person.” To be stupid or worthless in a predictable usual way.
- Country bumpkin: A disparaging term for someone from the country “especially [when] characterized as unsophisticated, unfashionable, or socially awkward”
- Cuckhold: A man whose wife is cheating on him. Dates back to Old French cucuault meaning a man whose wife has sex with another person.
- Cured of your last clap: Cured of a STI
- Errant French Capon: Stupid, irresponsible eunuch
- Eunuch: A man who has been castrated; From the old English via Latin and Greek. Means literally ‘Bedroom guards’ and related to an element meaning ‘to hold’
- Fidget: Late 17th century origin meaning to twitch, ‘move briskly’ or ‘be restless or eager’ usually these movements stem from nervousness or impatience.
- Foh: An exclamation of abhorrence or disgust
- Fop: An insult for a man who is overly concerned with his clothes and appearance
- France in context of becoming a eunuch: France was known for wild and unscrupulous love affairs. In some places Syphilis was historically called the French disease, so the idea of going to France and contracting a disease that would require the removal of the genitals was not as far-fetched as It would be today.
- “New postures” from France: This referred to picking up new sexual positions on the trip to France.
- Fropish: Fretful, peevish
- Gallant(s): A man who pays special and particular attention to women.
- Jades: A jade would be a bad-tempered or disreputable woman
- Jilt: In the mid 17th century to trick or deceive. Often used to describe the sudden rejection of a lover.
- Jilflirt: A highly flirtatious woman
- Libidinous: Describes individuals with a strong sexual desire
- Malady: A disease or ailment
- Maxim: A short pithy statement that expresses a general truth or a rule of conduct
- Mousled: To be rough with, or dishevel
- Munificent: Characterized by abundance
- Nangered: To have made angry
- Nine-Pins: British game like bowling, uses 9 wooden pins, and usually played in an alley. ‘To go down like ninepins’ losing with little opposition or “succumbing in large numbers”
- Orange Wench: Wench from Middle to Old English origin means “child, servant, prostitute” or “unsteady, inconstant”. In this context it would mean a “female servant or young woman of low social class.” So an orange Wench would be a woman or a girl who stood in the theater pit, back to the stage and sold oranges between acts. These girls would also deliver messages between audience and actors.
- Passe-partout: A master key. May be used in a double entendre
- Play the wag: To skip out on something
- Pox: Any of multiple viral diseases that cause a rash or pimples or pustules that fill with pus and leave scars. In this context wishing a pox on someone would be wishing a deadly disease like syphilis or smallpox on them.
- Rakehells: Someone incredibly evil or awful
- Rakish: witty and slightly disreputable, often womanizing
- Saucy beast: Saucy describes someone who is impudent or flippant, and beast used as an insult is used to call someone an inhuman or depraved person
- Wenching: The action or practice of having casual sex
- Whoremaster: a man who deals often with prostitutes and/or is sexually promiscuous
- Wretch: Someone in deep misery and sorrow
Company Member Biographies
Randa Alnaas (Wardrobe Crew): Randa is an international student from Libya, who is double majoring in Theatre Arts and Business. She did the New York Arts Program in the winter term of her sophomore year, where she was a Stage Management intern. She was the Stage Manager for our last spring’s musical production Little Shop of Horrors, and last term’s production of The Most Massive Woman Wins. This term she decided to try a different part of production. Randa is happy to be part of the theatre community here at the Festival Playhouse.
Maya Arau (Set Construction): Maya has worked on several Festival Playhouse productions as the run crew and jumped at the chance to build and hammer away. She has acted in numerous productions throughout the acting classes run by Shadowland Stages in Ellenville, NY. She is a sophomore Art and Art History major at K and has returned since studying abroad in Caceres, Spain in the fall.
Rachel Atkins (Playwright): Rachel Atkins (she/her) is a playwright and teaching artist. She is the longtime scriptwriter for Living Voices, the educational theatre partner of TheatreworksUSA, with 13 different multimedia shows in ongoing national touring repertory, all focusing on issues of history and social justice, seen by over 4 million audience members throughout North America.
Her play Black Like Us (Original Works Publishing) received the Theatre Puget Sound Gregory Award for Outstanding New Play, two Seattle Times Footlight Awards, including Top World Premiere, and was an American Theatre Critics Association Steinberg New Play Award nominee. She is a 3-time Theatre Puget Sound Gregory Award nominee for Outstanding Playwright/New Play.
Her competition one-act plays Frankenstein’s Mary Shelley, Baalzebub and The State of the Students have been produced nationally and internationally.
Literary adaptations include Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw, Jane Austen’s Emma, Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, and an updated revision of William Wycherley’s The Country Wife.
Rachel graduated from Dartmouth College and holds her Masters in Educational Theatre from New York University. As a Seattle Office of Arts & Culture’s Arts Partner, she teaches playwriting and works as a master teaching artist for teacher professional development programs. Previously, she was the Scriptwriter/Dramaturge and Director of Education for Ardeo Theatre Project in France.
Stacy Bartell (Technical Director): Stacy considers herself a lifelong student of technical theater. Over more than two decades in the industry, Stacy has been a lighting designer, a scenic designer, a carpenter and a technical director. She has built everything from Broadway scenery to trade shows to a full set of light-up magic wands and has touched more than 350 productions in 5 states in her career, giving her a thorough breadth of experience. In her free time, Stacy can be found practicing Aerial arts, reading and learning the German language.
Chloe Briggs (Set Construction): Chloe is a Junior Theatre major and Religion minor at Kalamazoo college. She enjoys partaking in the school’s Interfaith group and the North American Guild of Change Ringing. Chloe would like to thank her friends and family for all their love and support as she does theatre at Festival Playhouse.
Gracie Burnham (Assistant Costume Designer): Gracie is an award-recognized playwright and choreographer in her third year at K studying English, Theatre Arts, and History. This is her seventh production with the Festival Playhouse. She is also an Interfaith Student Leader, President’s Student Ambassador, and works in Video Production. She would like to thank her best friend Chloe Briggs for always listening to her stories and feeding her frequently.
Evelyn Calderón-Dyche (House Manager): This will be Eve’s final show with Festival Playhouse after 4 years of consistent work. She’s definitely going to miss it, but that didn’t stop her from picking a job that required minimal effort.
Derrick Chen (Wardrobe Crew): Derrick is a junior Computer Science major with a Theatre minor. He first got involved in the Festival Playhouse last spring as an usher for Little Shop of Horrors, and has continued to work backstage for subsequent productions. He would like to thank the Festival Playhouse for offering him this experience, his friends and family for their support, and the audience for attending.
Maya Davis (Electrician): Maya is a current sophomore studying Music as her major and Theatre Arts and Japanese as her minors. If she’s not roaming the catwalks, you can find her wandering the FAB Basement, coordinating student events through APISA and K Filmmakers’ Society, or serving as a co-director for ACAPOC (A Cappella People of Color)!
Jack Dewey (Sir Jasper Fidget): Dewey is a junior Theatre Arts major with an English minor at Kalamazoo College. He has acted in past Festival Playhouse productions such as Love’s Labour’s Lost, Little Shop of Horrors and Eurydice, as well as filling roles offstage for several other productions. Outside of the Playhouse, they can be found singing with the Kalamadudes A Cappella ensemble, playing Dungeons and Dragons, or not writing the short story he’s meant to be working on. Dewey would like to give immense thanks to his parents, Tim and Christina, as well as to his incredible theatre professors and to his lovely boyfriend.
Sally Eggleston (Assistant Technical Director): Sally Eggleston is a senior majoring in Classical Civilizations and Theatre. She has worked in the scene shop for the past four years and is looking forward to continuing this work at Bay View Music Festival this summer!
Evelyn Ellerbrock (Light Board Op): Evelyn is a junior Art History major and Theatre minor with a passion for both visual and performing arts. When she’s not working in the scene shop, she loves cooking, reading, and dabbles in junk journalling. Evelyn has been an avid participant in Festival Playhouse productions since her Freshman year and is thrilled to be back this term after studying abroad in London!
Francis Ernzen (Frank Harcourt): Francis is a sophomore History and Music double major. Having previously worked with the Front of House team of the Festival Playhouse, he is thrilled to make his debut on the stage as Frank Harcourt! Outside of theatre, they can be found making a ruckus with the Kalamazoo College Singers, thinking wistfully about stories they will not put into words, and writing music on a well-loved guitar.
Samuel Gladhill (Assistant Lighting Designer): Sam is a Senior Classical Civilizations major and Theatre Arts minor, who recently completed his SIP working with theatre students in Portage Public Schools. This is Sam’s final show with the Festival Playhouse, and he is incredibly grateful for the shows he has gotten to work on during his time at K such as Next to Normal, Be More Chill, and Little Shop of Horrors. But this is his first designer role during his time at K, and he is thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with Carrie Phillips. He would like to thank his fiancée, friends, family, and the staff of K’s Theatre Department for their continued support during his college career and their encouragement to go beyond.
Cecilia Gray (Properties Assistant): Cecilia is a junior Psychology and Philosophy double major with a concentration in Film and Media Studies. In her free time, she loves singing, crafting, watching movies, and cuddling with her cat Teeny Tiny. This is Cecilia’s first time engaging with the Festival Playhouse, and she is very excited to be giving a helping hand to The Country Wife’s production.
Hannah Haines (Lady Fidget): Hannah is a junior English major at Kalamazoo College. This is her second show at the Festival Playhouse, having previously been in Eurydice, and she is thrilled to be back! She returned from study abroad in Strasbourg, France for this trimester and is grateful to be in this cast. If she’s not in rehearsal, you can safely assume she’s reading or writing an essay.
James Hauke (Electrician): The Country Wife is James’s fourth and final production here at the Festival Playhouse. As an electrician this year, it’s been nice to combine the filmmaking knowledge he’s garnered over his time here at K with his passions in theatre. As he heads to USC for grad school, he looks forward to keeping up with the friends he’s made here.
Abram Haynes (Run Crew/Followspot): Abram is in the last term of his first year at Kalamazoo College. In the fall, he worked with the Festival Playhouse on Love’s Labour’s Lost, and he is very excited to be back with the company for The Country Wife. He hopes you enjoy the show!
Rex Jasper (Carpenter): This will be Rex’s ninth show with the Festival Playhouse. He is excited to work on this production, and they are looking forward to their future with the Festival Playhouse.
Ryleigh Jaworski (Dramaturg): Ryleigh is a junior History, Business, and German Studies major. She first got involved with the Festival Playhouse during her freshman year and since has worked in the costume shop, scene shop, and backstage as a part of the costume crew. She is thrilled to continue being a part of the Festival Playhouse this Spring. In her spare time, she enjoys working in the Rare Books room, knitting, crocheting, and hanging out with her friends.
Donovan Karega (Electrician/Lighting Crew): Donovan has not participated in previous Festival Playhouse productions, however he has found that this one was an overall fun experience to be apart of.
Shay Kruse (Box Office Assistant): Shay is a sophomore at K, double majoring in German and English. She has worked both backstage and onstage at the Festival Playhouse, most recently as Cast B Carly in The Most Massive Woman Wins. This time around, she was able to learn more about the Front of House, as Box Office Assistant!
Grace Helmboldt (Margery Pinchwife): Grace is a freshman Physics and Math double major. Outside of the Festival Playhouse, she works at a water park, and studies all the time. She would like to thank her friends for always helping her navigate this busy term.
Christina Lang-Deetz (Run Crew/Followspot): Christina plans on majoring in Psychology and Biology. This is her first show with the Festival Playhouse.
Bernice Mike (Lucy): Bernice is a senior at Kalamazoo College, double majoring in Psychology and Theatre Arts. This is her last, but certainly not leastshow with The Festival Playhouse. Other acting credits include Eurydice in Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice and Katherine in Love’s Labour’s Lost. She will definitely miss her time at K, but she is grateful for all the wonderful experiences and important lessons she has gathered throughout her time. Bernice would like to thank her family, friends and partner Nolan for all of their support, and she hopes that you all enjoy tonight!
Tony Mitchell (Sound Designer): Tony wears many hats, but at the core, he is a musician and filmmaker. His expertise lies in post-production sound, where he works as a sound designer, audio mixing engineer, and composer. Additionally, he is an entrepreneur and business owner, leading a team of three exceptionally talented individuals at Texture House Sound & Visuals.
Stephanie Moranko (Mistress Squeamish): Stephanie is a junior double majoring in Classical Civilizations and Business. She was the Assistant Costume Designer for The Most Massive Woman Wins and has worked in the costume shop for the past three years. Stephanie studied abroad in Rome this past fall and when released from the FAB basement, she enjoys playing Dungeons & Dragons with her friends and working on independent sewing projects.
Ella Myers (Properties): Ella is an English and Theatre Arts double major and is a Junior at Kalamazoo College. This year Ella studied abroad in South Korea and New York, and is working on her acting SIP in the theatre department that will go up next winter. Ella has acted in several productions at the Festival Playhouse, some of her favorites are in The Importance of Being Earnest, Be More Chill and Little Shop of Horrors. She would like to thank her family, friends, and partner Lena for their continual support always.
Ren Pruis (Director): As a professor of Theatre Arts, Ren specializes in performance courses. From 2000 to 2023 she was a founding member of Queen’s Company in NYC, an all-female company devoted to producing classical texts. Favorite credits there include the Cardinal in Duchess of Malfi, Gremio in Taming of the Shrew, and the title role in Macbeth. Some West Coast performance and direction credits include San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Electra Theatre Company, Central Works, Boscov Productions, Human Nature, and The Marsh. Ren also spent six years with Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Theatre Programs, as both an actor and manager of multiple shows that toured across the U.S. mainland and Hawaii. Ren holds a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from The American Conservatory in San Francisco, is a Fitzmaurice Voicework®Associate, and a member of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association. Previous directing credits for the Festival Playhouse include Othello, Well Intentioned White People, Silent Sky, Twelfth Night, Intimate Apparel, for colored girls who have considered suicide…, A Raisin in the Sun, Good Night Desdemona {Good Morning Juliet}, In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), Cloud 9, The Tempest, The Rover, Macbeth, Top Girls, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, As You Like It, Imaginary Invalid, and an all-female production of Hamlet. Locally she has directed for the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre, Whole Art, and worked as an acting coach for the Grand Rapids Opera’s production of Stinny: An American Execution.
Ben Perry (Jack Pinchwife): This is his first time participating in a K College Theater production, but he’s really excited to be in this show! Besides theater he’s also on the K Football team. Balancing athletics, academics, and theater has been difficult but absolutely worth it!
George Eric Perry (Scenic Designer): MR. Perry, a local to Kalamazoo, has designed for many theaters around the area and enjoys sharing his talents with audiences from all over. He is excited to work with the wonderful team here at Kalamazoo College all season. He has traveled the country professionally always looking for ways to build on or add to his many skill sets. As a craftsperson he enjoys experimenting with new mediums all the time but most often can be found in some combination of wood and steel working. When not working he can be found outside enjoying nature or quietly at home with his 3 favorite creatures.
Carrie Phillips (Lighting Designer): Carrie is a multidisciplinary theatre artist whose recent credits include lighting design for Young Frankenstein, electrician for Hadestown and Newsies, and production management for RENT, in addition to making her directorial debut this past winter with A Midsummer Night’s Dream. When she is not turning lights on and off or making spreadsheets, Carrie enjoys knitting sweaters, hugging trees, studying geology, and making copious amounts of lentil soup. She is grateful to the wonderful staff and students here at the Festival Playhouse for having her on their team! Thanks, too, to her amazing partner and to her students at Portage Public Schools for their humor and support.
Mauricio Posey (Usher)
Akaash Raghunath (Assistant Stage Manager): The fellow whose name you just read is an English major and Theatre Arts minor with an obscenely bloated vocabulary and no real outlet for it. He’s produced a capacious oeuvre of poetry, stories, and fanfiction, and he will not be explaining the last point further. Akaash also enjoys editing silly videos when he has time. Beyond that, he is a rapacious devourer of cheese – particularly parmesan – which he typically consumes raw, directly out of the packet.
Amelia Saxton (Stage Manager): Amelia is a first year student intending to major in biology with a minor in German. Past Festival Playhouse credits include assistant stage managing for Love’s Labor’s Lost and The Most Massive Woman Wins. Aside from theatre, Amelia is a part of KCCSR and is a member of the Equestrian Team. She would like to thank her brother Maxwell for supporting every show she has done with the Festival Playhouse whether he understands them or not, and Gracie Burnham for providing her lots of chocolatey snacks and writing this program bio.
Arden Schultz (A1 Sound Board Operator): Arden is a Junior majoring in English and Philosophy with a minor in political science and a concentration in American studies. This is their seventh production with the Festival Playhouse and they are excited to be back after studying abroad in Greece. In their spare time Arden enjoys working in the scene shop, performing with Premium Orange A Cappella, playing volleyball with friends, being involved in K Votes, and walking dogs at the SPCA.
Mo (Naamah) Sillcott (Alithea Pinchwife): Mo Silcott is a Junior Psychology and Art History double major. They made their unofficial Kalamazoo College theatricaldebut as one of the puppeteers for Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors, and has been inspired to step out of their comfort zone for future productions at the Festival Playhouse. Outside of theatre, they are active in composting, co-teaching the composting class, getting involved in volunteer work at Woodward Elementary, helping out with TV Production, and getting involved in different clubs around campus. They would like to acknowledge their wonderful family and friends, who inspire them each and every day! <3
Kirsten Sluyter (Company Manager): Kirsten is extremely grateful to be part of the team at K, and wrapping up her third season with the Playhouse! She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Arts Management from Western Michigan University in 2020. With experience working both the front and back of house, she is a lover of all things theatre, and is thankful for any opportunity to learn more. Outside of work, she loves to bake, learn about the natural world, play mermaids with her friends, and watch women’s hockey. She would like to thank her spouse Bennie for their unwavering support, her cats for making sure she never misses a sunrise, and her Grandma Steph for her good looks.
Nolan Surach (Harry Horner): Nolan is a Junior transfer student majoring in Psychology. Outside of theatre, he enjoys listening to and creating music, long-distance running and watching movies. His previous the Festival Playhouse involvement includes acting in the Fall 2025 production of Love’s Labour’s Lost. Nolan would like to thank his girlfriend Bernice for her constant encouragement and love.
Dr. Quincy Thomas (Intimacy Choreographer): Quincy’s Ph.D. in Theatre and their Performance Studies certification are both from Bowling Green State University. As an actor, director, intimacy coordinator, and playwright, their offerings focus on subjects such as counter-storytelling; Black performativity in American media; stand up and solo performance, and performative writing. As a Professor in the Kalamazoo College Theatre Arts Department, Quincy employs their passion for theatre, performance studies, and writing while speaking to issues surrounding cultural marginalization and misrepresentation in the arts, specifically of racial and ethnic minorities, women and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Asa director, their most recent offering is Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. As an actor, some of their favorite roles played include Christopher in Blue/Orange, Albert in Clybourne Park, Touchstone in As You Like It, Lord Longaville in Love’s Labours Lost, Selsdon in Noises Off, and Actor in Nassim Soleimanpour’s White Rabbit; Red Rabbit. As a writer their play, The Whites Explain It All, was selected as the full-length play for the 2023 Region III Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. When not seeing to these undertakings, Quincy is writing a novel and new play entitled, Complex Rhythms.
Jey Trebley (Sparkish): This is Jey’s second production at the Festival Playhouse after playing Berowne in Love’s Labour’s Lost. They are a freshman who plans to major in French and International Studies. Next trimester, they are going to study away in DC! They are so grateful to their friends, parents, and fellow production members for a fun production experience.
Hannah Ulanoski (Assistant Director): Hannah Ulanoski is a senior here at K College, majoring in East Asian Studies and Theatre Arts. She’s been in a variety of roles for the Festival Playhouse in the past years, but this is the first time she’s worked so closely with the actors. Outside of theatre, Hannah is a member of two A Cappella groups (ACAPOC and Premium Orange), President of Crochet Club, DSA for Japanese, and more probably! She finished her SIP on taiko drumming earlier this term. How does she do it? Who knows!
Halen Weller Sherwood (Assistant Stage Manager): Halen is a sophomore at Kalamazoo College double majoring in Theatre Arts and Religion with a concentration in American Studies. This is their fifth show with the Festival Playhouse, previously working in both stage management and lighting design. They recently returned from the New York Arts Program, where they were able to work with Heartbeat Opera on their production of Manon! Outside of theatre, they love singing in Kalamazoo College Singers and learning as much as they can.
Ian Whistler-Myers (Costume Designer): Ian Whistler-Myers is the Festival Playhouse’s Costume Shop Supervisor and Costume Designer for the 2025-2026 season. He earned his BFA in Design and Technical Production, with a focus in Costume and Scenery Design, at Western Michigan University and holds an additional concentration in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Justice. Over the past couple of years he has designed the costumes for shows like Playhouse Creatures, Next to Normal, Annie, First Date, Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic, Say Cheesecake! A Musical about Girls of a Golden Age, Witch, Lys, and many more! He hopes to continue his design work in the SW Michigan area and looks forward to another wonderful season here at the Festival Playhouse.
Jillian Whitton (Dainty Fidget): Jillian is a freshman biology major at Kalamazoo College and is very excited to be acting in her second show at the Festival Playhouse! Outside of theatre she can be found reading, writing, and riding horses on the equestrian team. She would like to thank her friends and family for supporting her.
Drew Wolford (Set Construction)
Sophia Wrzesinski (Costume Construction): Sophia is a freshman at K College, she is currently exploring multiple areas of study. She is interested in Costume Design, Art, Art History, Music and Spanish. As far as extracurriculars, she has participated in KRock and will be performing alongside a band at Quadstock. In her free time she enjoys singing, reading, drawing, rollerblading and volleyball. She is very excited to finally be participating in a production at the Festival Playhouse!<3
Character Descriptions
Margery Pinchwife: Newly married to Jack. Her mask is an innocent, guileless, obedient country bumpkin, and she presents it to almost everyone except Alithea and Lucy. She learns quickly and is smarter than she lets on. She wants to use her new role as a Town wife to her advantage, to gain the freedom and autonomy available to women in the city.
Alithea Pinchwife: Younger sister of Jack, witty, straightforward, and honorable. Margery’s ally, but she is beholden to and powerless under her controlling brother. Engaged to Sparkish out of obligation, she falls in love with Harcourt. Her mask is the dependent, submissive woman, but she fights against it with her honesty and intellect. She wants to free herself from her brother’s control without deserting Margery.
Lucy: Alithea’s sensible, intelligent, and insightful maid. Resourceful in organizing and executing a variety of schemes, she also works for others when it suits her, including Horner and Harcourt. Knows everybody, sees everything, understands how to use information to her advantage, and plays the long game. She can change her mask to suit the situation and her own needs. She wants to personally profit from assisting others in their shenanigans.
Lady Fidget: Married to Sir Jasper Fidget and the leader of the “virtuous gang” of Society ladies. Her mask is the upright and honorable Society wife, which she uses with her husband and in public, in order to enjoy herself with her friends and lovers in private. Has a secret affair with Horner. Skilled in playing the game of code-switching, she wants to act freely without getting caught, so she can maintain her reputation and standing, and assist other women in doing the same.
Mistress Squeamish: Cousin of the Fidgets, one of Lady Fidget’s sidekicks in the “virtuous gang” of Society ladies. Her mask is the upright and honorable Society woman, which she uses in public so she may enjoy herself with her friends and lovers in private. Has a secret affair with Horner. She wants to keep up with and learn from Lady Fidget, and to act freely while maintaining her reputation and standing.
Dainty Fidget: Unmarried sister of Sir Jasper Fidget, one of Lady Fidget’s sidekicks and the most innocent/inexperienced of the “virtuous gang” of Society ladies. Her mask is the upright and honorable Society woman, which she uses in public so she may enjoy herself with her friends and lovers in private. Has a secret affair with Horner. She wants to keep up with and learn from Lady Fidget and Mistress Squeamish, and to act freely while maintaining her reputation and standing.
Harry Horner: A notorious City playboy, rake and wit. He wears a variety of masks: the impotent eunuch in public and in front of the husbands whose wives he wants to sleep with; the loyal Three Musketeers buddy to his male friends; the smitten lover to his sexual conquests. His many masks make it difficult to know who the real Horner is. He wants to do as he pleases without getting caught.
Jack Pinchwife: Newly married to Margery. An aging former playboy, he is now the archetypal jealous husband: obsessive, tyrannical, suspicious and violent. He attempts to mask these qualities behind a show of strength, but does not succeed. He may have a sexual history with Horner as well as a friendship. He wants control and power.
Sparkish: A shallow, self-centered, would-be playboy who considers himself a wit, but is thought a ridiculous fool by everyone else. Believes that others think as highly of him as he does of himself. Engaged to Alithea and wears the mask of the devoted lover until he thinks she has been unfaithful to him. He wants admiration, and Alithea’s dowry.
Sir Jasper Fidget: An oblivious and gullible Society gentleman, married to Lady Fidget. Believes he is more aware and insightful than he is. Wears the mask of a devoted husband because Society expects it. He wants to keep his wife happy and (he thinks) under his control, but without having to exert too much effort.
Frank Harcourt: A witty, rakish, but honest friend of Horner’s. Falls in love with Alithea, which brings out his better nature, although he still employs trickery to attain her. His masks are temporary and primarily aimed at Sparkish (the good friend, the parson). He wants Alithea to love and marry him.
Finally, please join us in thanking our sponsors, The Dorothy U. Dalton Foundation!
Additionally, this activity is supported in part by an award from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council.