My dramaturgy projects

Musical by Dave Malloy

Directed by Madeleine Brigman

Music Directed by Avery Duer

Produced February 2024 by Vassar's Future Waitstaff of America

Produced in the Vassar Mug

The musical is a direct adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's classic Russian novel "War and Peace". As a result, I spent much of my time as dramaturg conducting research into the original novel, in order to place the characters and the world of Malloy's musical into context for myself and my collaborators. I collected extensive notes which were shared with the actors and production team, including general context, information about what happened to each character prior to the section of "War and Peace" which Malloy adapts (which occurs several hundred pages into Tolstoy's novel), and a list of exact passages which are quoted (in English translation) in Malloy's work. I also designed a program insert, which condensed my character research into basic, digestible information for the audience to peruse before they enter the world of the show.

Through Vassar's Ford Scholars program, I was selected to be the research assistant to playwriting professor Peter Gil-Sheridan, who was beginning a new adaptation of the ancient Greek tragedy Medea by Euripides. I researched 22 different translations and adaptations of the original 431 BC play, gained a general understanding of the historical context of ancient Greece, read scholarly theories on themes and characters in the play, and looked at extant primary sources dated before Euripides which mention "Medea" in order to understand possible ways in which Euripides’ version may have fit in with widespread or popularized versions of the myth.

After conducting this research for a month, thanks to funding from the Ford Scholars program, in conjunction with Vassar's Creative Arts Across Disciplines, I was given the opportunity to travel to Greece and participate in One Year Lease’s Apprentice Program, in which we developed and performed a new adaptation of Medea written in Greek by Meropi Papastergiou and performed in five villages around Zagorohoria: Vikos, Ano Pedina, Agios Minas, Aristi and Megalo Papingo. I also met with Professor Gil-Sheridan in Papingo, where we discussed what I had learned through both my earlier research, and my participation as an actor in Medea.

In Greece, I was able to connect my textual understanding of Greek tragedy to both the remaining historical sites of ancient Greek theater which we visited, as well as modern Greek theater practices and adaptation. Working with OYL and being in community with the residents of Mikro Papingo, where we lived and rehearsed for a month, I also gained experience community building and working in a highly collaborative and driven environment.

A summary of my work was presented at the Ford Symposium at Vassar on September 20, 2023.