World Premiere
A new play by T. Adamson
Directed by Will Detlefsen
In T. Adamson’s scorcher of a road trip, best friends Phoebe and Nina navigate hitchhikers, shoplifting, drugs, and a flood of selfies as they hurtle through the heart and heartlessness of America. A kaleidoscopic new play with unlimited mileage.
JACK
Brooklyn, NY
December, 2019
A new play by T. Adamson
Directed by Will Detlefsen
In T. Adamson’s scorcher of a road trip, best friends Phoebe and Nina navigate hitchhikers, shoplifting, drugs, and a flood of selfies as they hurtle through the heart and heartlessness of America. A kaleidoscopic new play with unlimited mileage.
JACK
Brooklyn, NY
December, 2019
|
Phoebe: Jennifer Paredes
Nina: Mary Glen Fredrick Ari: Neo Cihi Clare: William Hodgson Mexico: Emily Shain Teri: Lisa Ramirez Hombre: Tony Castellanos Pearl: Cat Crowley Cabbage: Boscoe Barles |
Scenic Design: Corey Umlauf
Costume Design: Sarah Lawrence Lighting Design: Marika Kent Video Design: Tyler Isaacson Sound Design: Steven Leffue Associate Director: Michael-Anthony Souza Assistant Director: Kalina Ko Production Stage Manager: Sara Minisquero Stage Manager: Morgan Rielly Photos by Mary Glen Fredrick, Corey Umlauf, and Ed Forti |
U.S. Premiere
A new adaptation by Simon Stephens
Directed by Will Detlefsen
Based on the play "Kasimir and Karoline" by Ödön Von Horváth
Ödön Von Horváth is a great Austro-Hungarian playwright who wrote in German. Kasimir and Karoline is one of his best-known plays. It’s an early absurd, the atmosphere of Octoberfest in Münich predicting the War and Nazi times. It is a play about heartbreak, desire, and longing for something greater. It is a play about power: the power of race, the power of sex, and the power of money.
California Repertory Company
CSULB Studio Theater
Long Beach, CA
November, 2018
A new adaptation by Simon Stephens
Directed by Will Detlefsen
Based on the play "Kasimir and Karoline" by Ödön Von Horváth
Ödön Von Horváth is a great Austro-Hungarian playwright who wrote in German. Kasimir and Karoline is one of his best-known plays. It’s an early absurd, the atmosphere of Octoberfest in Münich predicting the War and Nazi times. It is a play about heartbreak, desire, and longing for something greater. It is a play about power: the power of race, the power of sex, and the power of money.
California Repertory Company
CSULB Studio Theater
Long Beach, CA
November, 2018
|
Caroline: Rachel Post
Cash: Malachi Beasley John Chase: Charles Denton Esther: Carolina Xique Frankie: Adriano Brown Billy Smoke: Erin Galloway David Spear: Zachary Roberts Maria: Souritha Stoutamrie Elli: Olivia Davis Nurse / Ensemble: Megan McKane Doctor / Ensemble: Alyssa Hall |
Scenic Design: Ulyana Chava
Costume Design: Lesley Su Hair & Makeup Design: Haley Fenninger Lighting Design: Szu-Yun Wang Projection Design: Anna Robinson Sound Design: Steven Leffue Associate Sound Design: Stephen Jensen Production Stage Manager: Sabrina Loe Photos by California Repertory, Yonathan Wezeli, & Anna Robinson |
A new play by Kelsey Torstveit
Directed by Will Detlefsen
In this absurdist rendering of the Adam and Eve story, two larvae have just hatched from a perfect pearly-white egg. Their first moments are spent with simple joys: the sound of a heartbeat, the sun, the discovery of legs. But no matter the momentary gratitude, appetites creep in, secrets creep out, and compromise is a bird of prey. The Man needs to eat, and soon. The Woman needs to make a baby, her body keeps telling her so. Together the larvae learn the mysteries of food, sex, and fear, as they take on the ultimate unknown on the other side of the chrysalis: the future.
The Alchemical Theater
New York, NY
August 2018
Directed by Will Detlefsen
In this absurdist rendering of the Adam and Eve story, two larvae have just hatched from a perfect pearly-white egg. Their first moments are spent with simple joys: the sound of a heartbeat, the sun, the discovery of legs. But no matter the momentary gratitude, appetites creep in, secrets creep out, and compromise is a bird of prey. The Man needs to eat, and soon. The Woman needs to make a baby, her body keeps telling her so. Together the larvae learn the mysteries of food, sex, and fear, as they take on the ultimate unknown on the other side of the chrysalis: the future.
The Alchemical Theater
New York, NY
August 2018
|
Woman: Kelsey Torstveit
Man: Joe Pietropaolo |
Associate Director: Jenny Grober
Music & Sound: David Bird Lighting Design: Stoli Stolnack |
A new adaptation by Steph Joy Del Rosso
Directed by Will Detlefsen
Machinal is a play originally written by Sophie Treadwell in 1928 about the real life case of Ruth Snyder, the first women sentenced to death for murdering her husband. Stephanie Joy Del Rosso’s fresh and fast-paced adaptation, Machinalia, brings this narrative into a contemporary setting. In a time when our nation’s leader encourages misogyny and nasty language against women, what can women do to fight back. Machinalia tells the story of that fight.
Calit-2 Black Box Theatre
University of California, San Diego
2016-2017 IDEAS Festival
January, 2017
Ubuntu Theatre Project
Oakland, CA
June, 2017
JACK
Brooklyn, NY
August, 2017
Directed by Will Detlefsen
Machinal is a play originally written by Sophie Treadwell in 1928 about the real life case of Ruth Snyder, the first women sentenced to death for murdering her husband. Stephanie Joy Del Rosso’s fresh and fast-paced adaptation, Machinalia, brings this narrative into a contemporary setting. In a time when our nation’s leader encourages misogyny and nasty language against women, what can women do to fight back. Machinalia tells the story of that fight.
Calit-2 Black Box Theatre
University of California, San Diego
2016-2017 IDEAS Festival
January, 2017
Ubuntu Theatre Project
Oakland, CA
June, 2017
JACK
Brooklyn, NY
August, 2017
|
Young Woman: Mary Glen Fredrick
Man: Enrico Nassi *In Oakland, the Man was played by Francisco Arcila |
Scenic Design: Anna Robinson
Costume Design: Annie Le Lighting Design: Brandon Rosen Sound Design: Steven Leffue Media Design: Grady Kestler Dramaturgy: Kristen Tregar Production Stage Manager: Kasson Marroquin Photos by Jim Carmody & Anna Robinson *In Oakland, the Stage Manager was Deanna Gee |
A new play by Will Snider
Directed by Will Detlefsen
Haamid lives a modest life running a restaurant in a small market town in Uganda. A member of the minority Indian population, he is estranged from his family for reasons he prefers not to discuss. At night he cooks elaborate dinners that he eats alone. When an openly gay Peace Corps volunteer comes to town looking for more than a good meal, Haamid's comfortable routine is broken, and his life is put in danger. Strange Men explores the limits of good intentions and the uneven stakes for Americans living abroad and the people whose lives they touch.
Theodore & Adele Shank Theatre
University of California, San Diego
2017 Wagner New Play Festival
May, 2017
Directed by Will Detlefsen
Haamid lives a modest life running a restaurant in a small market town in Uganda. A member of the minority Indian population, he is estranged from his family for reasons he prefers not to discuss. At night he cooks elaborate dinners that he eats alone. When an openly gay Peace Corps volunteer comes to town looking for more than a good meal, Haamid's comfortable routine is broken, and his life is put in danger. Strange Men explores the limits of good intentions and the uneven stakes for Americans living abroad and the people whose lives they touch.
Theodore & Adele Shank Theatre
University of California, San Diego
2017 Wagner New Play Festival
May, 2017
|
Haamid: Yonatan Gebeyehu
Michael: DeLeon Dallas Peter: Kyle Hester |
Scenic Design: Anna Robinson
Costume Design: Evan Kwong Lighting Design: Joel Britt Sound Design: Carren Wang Dramaturgy: Shirley Fishman Production Stage Manager: Tyler Larson Photos by Anna Robinson & Joel Britt |
By Tennessee Williams
Adapted & Directed by Will Detlefsen
Vieux Carré is about eight tragically lonely outsiders, vagrants and artists who find solace and support in one another's company. It follows the journey of a young, gay writer searching for love and artistic inspiration in the people and environment around him. He finds himself in a dilapidated boarding house filled with beautiful dying souls. It is there that he discovers how to live a life in which he can be as weird and gay and as promiscuous and experimental as he desires.
Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre
University of California, San Diego
November, 2016
UC San Diego Thesis Production
Adapted & Directed by Will Detlefsen
Vieux Carré is about eight tragically lonely outsiders, vagrants and artists who find solace and support in one another's company. It follows the journey of a young, gay writer searching for love and artistic inspiration in the people and environment around him. He finds himself in a dilapidated boarding house filled with beautiful dying souls. It is there that he discovers how to live a life in which he can be as weird and gay and as promiscuous and experimental as he desires.
Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre
University of California, San Diego
November, 2016
UC San Diego Thesis Production
|
The Writer: Andrew Gallop
Jane: Mary Glen Fredrick Mrs. Wire: Mo Rodvanich Nightingale: Sean McIntyre Tye / Sky: Hunter Spangler Mary Maude: Katherine Ko Miss Carrie: Martin Meccouri |
Scenic & Projection Design: Anna Robinson
|
A new play by Emily Feldman
Directed by Will Detlefsen
A couple decides: This isn’t working. He says he’ll leave, and then he doesn’t. He stays and stays and stays. Through seventy years of marriages, bar mitzvahs, baptisms, and funerals, he stays. People get drunk. People get sober. People plan vacations. People die. Somebody wins the lottery. A baby grows up. Everybody dances. GO. PLEASE. GO. asks what it means to love somebody for a lifetime, and what a lifetime even means.
Theodore & Adele Shank Theatre
University of California, San Diego
2016 Wagner New Play Festival
May, 2016
|
Jeremy: Sean McIntyre
Emily: Zora Howard Andrew / Howard: Kyle Hester Andrea / Jeremy's Mother: Sarah Gray Sage / Emily's Mother: Claire Roberson Janet / Andrew's Mother: Heather O'Sullivan Babysitter / Andreas: Wylie Simpson Woman: Sophia Oberg |
Scenic & Media Design: Charlie Jicha
Costume Design: Annie Le Lighting Design: Alex Miller-Long Sound Design: Steven Leffue Choreography: Katherine Ko Dramaturgy: Shirley Fishman Production Stage Manager: Kasson Marroquin Assistant Stage Manager: Bryan Clements Photos: Jim Carmody & Charlie Jicha |
By Eugéne Ionesco
Directed by Will Detlefsen
RHINOCEROS tells the story of ordinary people from a small town who suddenly find themselves threatened by a terrifying epidemic. One by one, good people transform into dangerous animals, stampeding through town and destroying all semblance of humanity. Yet one among them rebels: Bérenger, Ionesco's iconic anti-hero. Only he resists the contagion of mindless conformity, mediocrity, and senseless violence.
At times absurdist farce, at times existential thriller, RHINOCEROS is undeniably one of the great genre-defying classics of the 20th century. The ambivalent Bérenger, leaves us wrestling with timely questions about how an individual fights against the power of a collective ideology in order to preserve the necessity of human connection.
Theodore & Adele Shank Theatre
University of California, San Diego, CA
November, 2015
Directed by Will Detlefsen
RHINOCEROS tells the story of ordinary people from a small town who suddenly find themselves threatened by a terrifying epidemic. One by one, good people transform into dangerous animals, stampeding through town and destroying all semblance of humanity. Yet one among them rebels: Bérenger, Ionesco's iconic anti-hero. Only he resists the contagion of mindless conformity, mediocrity, and senseless violence.
At times absurdist farce, at times existential thriller, RHINOCEROS is undeniably one of the great genre-defying classics of the 20th century. The ambivalent Bérenger, leaves us wrestling with timely questions about how an individual fights against the power of a collective ideology in order to preserve the necessity of human connection.
Theodore & Adele Shank Theatre
University of California, San Diego, CA
November, 2015
|
Bérenger: Michael Turner
Jean: Luis Vega Daisy: Lorena Martinez Gentleman / Dudard: Hunter Spangler Housewife / Mrs. Boeuf: Katherine Ko Waitress / Botard: Sarah Gray Cafe Boss / Papillon: Caleb Kneip Logician / Firefighter: Wylie Simpson Grocer Woman / Firefighter: Hailey Shneider Old Man / Saxophonist: Steven Leffue Old Woman / Percussionist: Leah Bowden |
Scenic Design: Raphael Zhao
Costume Design: Jaymee Ngernwichit Lighting Design: Chao-Yu Tsai Sound & Music: Steven Leffue Percussion: Leah Bowden Media Design: Justin Humphres Choreography: Anne Gehman Dramaturgy: Emily Feldman Production Stage Manager: Kamra Jacobs Photos: Jim Carmody, Manuel Rotenberg & Raphael Zhao |
A new play by Will Snider
Directed by Will Detlefsen
An American engineer moves to Kenya to build a road, and befriends her charismatic African driver. When a dispute over a local election lands her driver in jail, she questions the integrity of their alliance and wonders how well she knows the man she thought was her friend. Death of a Driver is a bracing examination of “doing good” abroad, the limits of understanding another person, and what happens when personal and political obligations collide.
Arthur & Molli Wagner Theatre
University of California, San Diego
2015 Wagner New Play Festival
May, 2015
|
Sarah: Emily Shain
Kennedy: Keith Wallace Production Stage Manager: Abraham Marlett Assistant Stage Manager / Assistant Director: Mona Gutierrez |
Scenic Design: Justin Humphres
Costume Design: Dominique Hill Lighting Design: Alex Miller-Long Sound Design: Steven Leffue Dramaturgy: Shirley Fishman Photos: Jim Carmody |
By Young Jean Lee
Directed by Will Detlefsen
LEAR is Young Jean Lee’s own version of Shakespeare’s tragedy, focusing on the king’s three daughters. A production in which Lear himself never appears, this LEAR is about the loss of a father. Therefore it is in his absence that he attains pervasive presence. He is nowhere and yet he looms large over the landscape of the play. And just as each of the characters wrestles with impending fatherlessness, we can see this as an updated version of existential angst about the absence of God.
Arthur & Molli Wagner Theatre
University of California, San Diego
February, 2015
Directed by Will Detlefsen
LEAR is Young Jean Lee’s own version of Shakespeare’s tragedy, focusing on the king’s three daughters. A production in which Lear himself never appears, this LEAR is about the loss of a father. Therefore it is in his absence that he attains pervasive presence. He is nowhere and yet he looms large over the landscape of the play. And just as each of the characters wrestles with impending fatherlessness, we can see this as an updated version of existential angst about the absence of God.
Arthur & Molli Wagner Theatre
University of California, San Diego
February, 2015
|
Goneril: Mary Glen Fredrick
Regan: Kim Blanck Cordelia: Zora Howard Edmund: MacGregor Arney Edgar: Mohammad Shehata |
Scenic Design: Justin Humphres
Costume Design: Janet O'Neill Lighting Design: Alex Miller-Long Sound Design: Grady Kestler Choreography: Anne Gehman Production Stage Manager: Jessie Medofer Photos: Jim Carmody |
By T. Adamson
Directed by Will Detlefsen
When burgeoning playwright Tee Adamson comes out to his family on the bright Autumn afternoon before Thanksgiving Day, things hardly go as he expected. Likely because he didn’t expect to be caught in a maelstrom of swapping identities, slapstick, show tunes, cannibalism, puppets, murder, talking animals, angels, fried chicken, tragedy, sexual transgression, sexual regression, family history, pills, and some very hefty doses of seventeenth-century British philosophy. House & Variations explores coming out as perhaps no other play can, examining through multiple lenses of identity and theatricality what it means to exist and belong in a family.
Dixon Place, NYC
July, 2014
Directed by Will Detlefsen
When burgeoning playwright Tee Adamson comes out to his family on the bright Autumn afternoon before Thanksgiving Day, things hardly go as he expected. Likely because he didn’t expect to be caught in a maelstrom of swapping identities, slapstick, show tunes, cannibalism, puppets, murder, talking animals, angels, fried chicken, tragedy, sexual transgression, sexual regression, family history, pills, and some very hefty doses of seventeenth-century British philosophy. House & Variations explores coming out as perhaps no other play can, examining through multiple lenses of identity and theatricality what it means to exist and belong in a family.
Dixon Place, NYC
July, 2014
|
Tee Adamson & others: Connor Johnston
See Adamson & others: Heather Thiry Ma Adamson & others: Jeena Yi Dad Adamson & others: Nathaniel Peart Doglet & others: Carolyn Cutillo Professor Ambrose Cuneiform & others:: Carl Fengler |
Assistant Director/Production Stage Manager: Bailey Jordan Koch
Composer/Musical Director: Michael Lapinsky Sound Designer: Michael Norton |
By Sarah Kane
Directed by Will Detlefsen
The play is set in lavish hotel room with an apocalyptic war raging outside — Ian and his ex-lover Cate struggle to reconstruct the fragments of a romantic connection they once shared. When their attempt fails, Ian rapes Cate, escalating her need to escape and revealing his deteriorating humanity. In the next act, the play explodes, revealing a horrific warzone having erupted outside. A soldier invades the room, terrorizing Ian, manipulating him psychologically and inflicting all forms of emotional and physical abuse. Kane's controversial play ruptures preconceptions and pushes the limits of theater beyond its confines, forcing us to face our own humanity and consider how a devastating world of brutality can be caused by a mere idea, a moment of anger.
Duo Theatre, NYC
September, 2013
Directed by Will Detlefsen
The play is set in lavish hotel room with an apocalyptic war raging outside — Ian and his ex-lover Cate struggle to reconstruct the fragments of a romantic connection they once shared. When their attempt fails, Ian rapes Cate, escalating her need to escape and revealing his deteriorating humanity. In the next act, the play explodes, revealing a horrific warzone having erupted outside. A soldier invades the room, terrorizing Ian, manipulating him psychologically and inflicting all forms of emotional and physical abuse. Kane's controversial play ruptures preconceptions and pushes the limits of theater beyond its confines, forcing us to face our own humanity and consider how a devastating world of brutality can be caused by a mere idea, a moment of anger.
Duo Theatre, NYC
September, 2013
|
Ian: Jason De Beer
Cate: Marie Botha Soldier: Logan George |
Scenic Design: Jason Sherwood
Costume Design / Special Effects: Olivia Hunt Lighting Design: Marika Kent Sound Design: Aiden Zev Meyer Fight Choreography: Dan O'Driscoll Production Stage Manager: Skyler Gallun Photos: Corey Melton |
Based on the film Breathless by Jean-Luc Godard
Adapted & Directed by Will Detlefsen
Breathless is a 1960 French film written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard about a wandering criminal and his American girlfriend.
It was Godard's first feature-length work and represented Belmondo's breakthrough as an actor. Breathless was one of the earliest, most influential examples of French New Wave cinema. It brought international acclaim to this new style of French filmmaking. At the time, the film attracted much attention for its bold visual style, which included unconventional use of jump cuts.
Hangar Theatre, NY
August, 2013
Adapted & Directed by Will Detlefsen
Breathless is a 1960 French film written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard about a wandering criminal and his American girlfriend.
It was Godard's first feature-length work and represented Belmondo's breakthrough as an actor. Breathless was one of the earliest, most influential examples of French New Wave cinema. It brought international acclaim to this new style of French filmmaking. At the time, the film attracted much attention for its bold visual style, which included unconventional use of jump cuts.
Hangar Theatre, NY
August, 2013
|
Michel Poiccard: Nevin Edmundson
Patricia Franchini: Eliza Martin Antonio: Eric Dann The Inspector: Jeremiah Light The Writer: Sienna Burnett The Publisher: Samantha Ricchiuti Ensemble: Meredith Ginsburg & Hannah Richter |
Scenic Design: Marthe Hoffman
Costume Design: Meghan Boehmer Lighting Design: Jane Chan Sound Design: Ryan Hopper Media Design: Will Detlefsen Production Stage Manager: Jessica Noones Photos: Rachel Philipson |
Book, Music & Lyrics by Robert & Willie Reale
Directed by Will Detlefsen
A Year With Frog and Toad is a musical written by brothers Robert (music) and Willie Reale (book and lyrics), based on the Frog and Toad children's stories written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel. The musical follows the woodland adventures of two amphibious friends, a worrywart toad and a perky frog, with their assorted colorful hopping, crawling and flying companions, over the course of a year.
Hangar Theatre, NY
July, 2013
Directed by Will Detlefsen
A Year With Frog and Toad is a musical written by brothers Robert (music) and Willie Reale (book and lyrics), based on the Frog and Toad children's stories written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel. The musical follows the woodland adventures of two amphibious friends, a worrywart toad and a perky frog, with their assorted colorful hopping, crawling and flying companions, over the course of a year.
Hangar Theatre, NY
July, 2013
|
Frog: James Edwards
Toad: Hannah Richter Snail: Eric Dann Birds: Meredith Ginsburg, Jeremiah Light, & Heather Baisley Turtle / Squirrel / Mole / Mother Frog: Samantha Ricchiuti Mouse / Squirrel / Mole / Young Frog: Eliza Martin Lizard / Squirrel / Mole / Father Frog: Olivia Washington |
Scenic Design: Marthe Hoffman
Costume Design: Meghan Boehmer Lighting Design: Jane Chan Sound Design: Ryan Hopper Choreography: Cody Smith Musical Director: Max Grossman Production Stage Manager: Julie Ann Arbiter Photos: Rachel Philipson |
By Harold Pinter
Directed by Will Detlefsen
This play is a series of games. It is a play about Stanley Webber living in a boarding house (of a sort) with Meg and Petey, a normal married couple (well, more or less normal). Then two men show up who may or may not be Stanley's worst nightmare. Meg decides it is Stanley's birthday against his will, and naturally there will be a party. The audience and the characters are led up a garden path of possibilities and the lines between reality and fiction blur as the party continues.
14th Street Y, NYC
February, 2012
Directed by Will Detlefsen
This play is a series of games. It is a play about Stanley Webber living in a boarding house (of a sort) with Meg and Petey, a normal married couple (well, more or less normal). Then two men show up who may or may not be Stanley's worst nightmare. Meg decides it is Stanley's birthday against his will, and naturally there will be a party. The audience and the characters are led up a garden path of possibilities and the lines between reality and fiction blur as the party continues.
14th Street Y, NYC
February, 2012
|
Stanley: Logan George
Meg: Alexandra Milak Petey: Nick Smerkanich Goldberg: Noah Shalom McCann: Peter Graham Lulu: Molly Gillis Assistant Director: Teri Madonna Production Stage Manager: Carolyn Cutillo |
Scenic Design: Charlie Gaidica
Costume Design: Ramsey Scott Lighting Design: Sarah Lurie Sound Design: Ryan Maeker Props Design: Michael Norton Fight Choreography: Mitchell McCoy Dramaturgy: A.P. Andrews Photos: Michael George |
A new play by Jess Almasy
Directed by Will Detlefsen
Of the show, Jessica writes:
this is a play
that I wrote
out of order.
Will put it in
order.
this is a play
that lets time be some razor blades stuck in
somebody else's hand.
this is.
a love story?
if you ever stood alone
as a little kid
staring into a puddle
near the gutter
that pooled along the outside of your house
at the curb
for far too long
and if you like British people
then this is the play for you.
440 Studios White Box
New York University Thesis Directing Project
May, 2011
Directed by Will Detlefsen
Of the show, Jessica writes:
this is a play
that I wrote
out of order.
Will put it in
order.
this is a play
that lets time be some razor blades stuck in
somebody else's hand.
this is.
a love story?
if you ever stood alone
as a little kid
staring into a puddle
near the gutter
that pooled along the outside of your house
at the curb
for far too long
and if you like British people
then this is the play for you.
440 Studios White Box
New York University Thesis Directing Project
May, 2011
|
19: Candace Scholz
GF: Amanda Shechtman Gary: Taylor Adamson Man: Jake Brown Michael: Stephen LaConte Jarvis: William Vaughn Roos: Patrick Foley Stranger: Pat Scott Old Scottish Woman: Daniel Rosen |
Scenic Design: Jason Sherwood
Costume Design: Scarlet Moreno Lighting Design: Will Noguchi Sound Design: Michael Finke Media Design: Grant McDonald Dramaturgy: Barbara Begley Production Stage Manager: Tyler Mercer Produced by: The Lightbulb Factory |
