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Aria Da Capo
By Edna St. Vincent Millay
Writers
and
Books
–
Rochester,
NY
January
2015
Produced
and
Directed
by
Melyssa
Hall
Pierrot and Columbine (right), “Pierrot and Columbine
Banners” (above) – Original screen-print by Cleo
Brengman, designed by Cleo Brengman and Melyssa
Hall. The banners were designed to exactly echo the
positions Pierrot and Columbine took at the top of the
show. The banners framed the top of the stage picture,
helping to turn the space at Writers and Books, which is
really a lecture hall with stage lights, into a theatrical
venue. Additionally the banners were lit to indicate
when we were in the world of the harlequinade.
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Poster designed by Melyssa
Hall, artichoke image
(original print) by Cleo
Brengman. As an
independent production, we
were grateful to use the WaB
logo. By lending us their
brand, WaB helped us build
an audience.
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PropertiesPierrot and Columbine’s banquet
table (above) was designed to reflect
their wealth. Everything on the table
is meant to either appear fake (like
the “peacock’s livers” located left of
the wine bottle) or sumptuous, like
the fresh grapes. None of the food is
hearty or traditionally nutritional.
The French macaroons (right) are
made of clay and were designed and
built by Melyssa Hall. All banquet
table items take their inspiration
from Millay’s text.
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Music
Live music played an integral role in
this production. Cristina Dinella, who
also worked closely with us throughout
the process, composed original music
for the show. We developed music for
transitions and also added a dance
performed by Pierrot and Columbine
(left) that was not in the original text.
Music was performed by the talented
guitar/flute duo, Julep, members
Katarina Schwarz and John Himes
(pictured below). Having live music
was vital to the design of the show, as
using pre-recorded sound would not
have been true to the time period or
concept.
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Aria Da Capoby Edna St. Vincent Millay
January 7, 2015
Contact:
melyssarhall@gmail.com
caitlinelarry@gmail.com
Hello and thanks for reading!
Dinner and a show have always made the perfect team, don’t you think? Us too.
That’s why we’re writing to you with an advertising opportunity. Aria Da Capo, a play
written by Edna St. Vincent Millay and independently directed by Melyssa Hall, will be
showing at Rochester’s own Writers and Books from January 22 to January 31, 2015.
Aria Da Capo is a beautiful and funny piece of theatre by a Pulitzer Prize winning poet
and it promises to be an enchanting experience. We would love to feature your local
business in our program.
Business Card $20
Quarter Page $35
Half Page $65
Full Page $120
By buying an ad in our program, your business will reach an intelligent, engaged,
and very active part of the Rochester community. You have the opportunity to reach
more than 300 people over seven separate performances. Your ad will show customers
and potential customers that your business cares about and supports the arts and the
local events that enrich the lives of all Rochestarians. Rochester’s citizens are
increasingly interested in supporting local businesses that are part of their community.
And since people who like good theatre generally like good food as well, what better
place to get your name out there?
If you are interested in submitting an ad please email a PDF in your chosen size
by January 16, 2015 to melyssarhall@gmail.com. Payment can be made in person or
online at http://ariadacaporochester.tumblr.com/. For further information, you can
find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ariadacaporochester.
Please feel free to contact Caitlin Larry (Development Associate) at (585) 957-
6022 or caitlinelarry@gmail.com with any questions.
Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to hearing from you
soon!
Sincerely,
The Aria Da Capo Production Team
Ad Campaign
Aria Da Capo benefited from a successful ad campaign aimed at local restaurants. The rate
card and ad invitation (above), drafted by Melyssa Hall and Development Associate, Caitlin
Larry, proved to be a fruitful approach to raising money to help offset production costs.
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Commedia dell’Arte
This production utilized two distinct styles of performance that required extra directorial
guidance because most actors are not familiar with them. The character development for
Pierrot (above right), Columbine (above, left) and Cothurnus (above, center) was based in
Commedia dell’Arte, a style of comedy dating back to the Italian Renaissance. Actors were
encouraged to build their characters from the outside, in – the gesture and the mask being
paramount. Pierrot and Columbine are traditional characters whose signature gestures were
discovered via dramaturgical research. Cothurnus is Millay’s invention, so the actor playing
him worked with the director to make strong and appropriate movement and vocal choices.
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Vaudeville
The shepherds, Corydon and Thyrsis (pictured
right), take their names from Virgil’s Eclogues,
but the style of their performance was based in the
offspring of dell’Arte and a style Millay would
have been very familiar with while writing the
play in 1919: Vaudeville. We worked to develop
“bits” – complete units of comic action that were
not in the original text but were directly motivated
by it.
We were also fortunate to have Flower City
Vaudeville, a local, immensely talented group
(pictured below) open the show every night.
They developed a sketch just for Aria and helped
audiences warm up to the unfamiliar style of the
show.
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“Featured Event”
promotional article (left)
ran in Rochester’s City
newspaper in print and
online on January 21, 2015.
Cothurnus’
Mask (left) -
Designed and built by
Melyssa Hall.
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Cow Town
By Spencer Christiano
MuCCC
–
Rochester,
NY
July
2014
Directed
by
Melyssa
Hall
Lauren and Jake stargaze (above), Denny and Amy
share their first kiss – after quite a few drinks (right).
This was the first production of Cow Town, an original
play by Rochester playwright Spencer Christiano. The
play interrogates modern dating customs including
hook-up culture and contains an intimate scene between
Amy and Denny requiring some nudity. Both the sexual
content of the scene and the vulnerable state of near
undress were handled professionally and with inspired
humanity by the actors and designers. It was an
important kind of scene to learn how to direct.
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“It’s about that time in your
life when you’ve graduated
from college and don’t
know what to do. When
you come back home, but
home no longer gets you.
All our lives we’ve been
told about our endless
possibilities. Then suddenly
we find ourselves feeling
this inertia set in – realizing
that possibilities aren’t
endless, and having no idea
what to do with our lives or
our relationships.”
“Theatre is real. It’s people
gathering in a certain place
at a certain time and paying
attention to the same thing.
It is absolutely the correct
medium in which to say
things to the community.
All theatre is community
theatre.”
Preview article (left) ran in Rochester’s City
newspaper in print and online on July 23, 2015.
The article featured an interview with Spencer
Christiano (playwright) and Melyssa Hall
(director).
“The play is partly about the
murkiness of consent… It’s about
the confusions of modern love,
informed by hook-up culture.”
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Gruesome Playground Injuries
By Rajiv Joseph
Rochester
Fringe
Festival
September
2013
Produced
and
Directed
by
Melyssa
Hall
This production featured wound make-up (pictured
above and right) designed and executed by Kristin
Leadbetter. Make-up was applied and removed onstage
during scene changes and the characters’
transformations were accompanied by live music
performed by Kate Royal.
This production ran for one evening during the 2nd
Rochester Fringe Festival and played to a completely
sold-out house.
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Poster (left) designed by
Joanna Duell.
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The Importance of Being
Earnest
By Oscar Wilde
SUNY
Geneseo
Spring
2013
Directed
by
Melyssa
Hall
Ah, yes. The all-important “Auteur” piece.
This re-imagining of Wilde’s Earnest focused
on LGBTQ subtext and it was designed in the
“camp” aesthetic. Camp is a self-aware
celebration of artifice that is particularly
interested in hyperbolized gender expression.
Therefore, it was a fitting choice for a Wilde
play.
As can be seen by the make-up and costume
design for Gwendolyn (left) and Cecily
(above), the show was not set precisely in the
Victorian era, but welcomed a revival of the
original text by adding outlandish costumes
and popular party anthems including
everything from Queen and Madonna to Lady
Gaga. This aesthetic was exceptionally
appropriate for a college campus and was also
far less expensive than trying to design the
show with period specific sets and costumes.
“Camp is generous. It wants to enjoy…Camp
taste is a kind of love, love for human nature. It
relishes, rather than judges, the little triumphs
and awkward intensities of ‘character’… Camp
is a tender feeling” – Susan Sontag, “Notes on
Camp”
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Poster (right) designed by
Joanna Duell, based on concept
by Melyssa Hall.
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www.thelamron.com/a-e/veg-s-o-u-p-earnestly-examines-contemporary-sexuality-1.3025600#.Uh5bO2TwL3Y 1/3
Ashley Holmes/Staff Photographer
Veg S.O.U.P. “earnestly” examines
contemporary sexuality
By Jessica Irwin
Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, April 11, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 11, 2013 11:04
Nearly naked butlers, steamy group make out
sessions, erogenous girl power, authoritative
drag queens, vicious food fights and a multitude
of pop culture anthems.
This is probably not what Oscar Wilde had in
mind when he wrote his play back in the
Victorian Era, but then again, this spring’s Veg
S.O.U.P. production of “The Importance of Being
Earnest” is far from traditional.
The play tells the farcical and ridiculous story
of two men who end up using the same
pseudonym while wooing their prospective
wives. While the language is the same as the
original, director senior Melyssa Hall’s version
focuses more - both subtly and visibly - on the
way modern culture sometimes forces us to
conform to norms and construct arbitrary
identities to hide ourselves.
“We wanted to celebrate being able to be whoever it is that you are and make people
realize that all of the things that we are - regardless of our sexual orientation or gender,
all of those things are socially constructed,” Hall said.
Sophomore Brodie Guinan plays the charmingly cheeky Algernon “Algy” Moncrieff
and the show begins in his apartment as he and his butler Lane, played by sophomore
Josh Feldhousen, prepare for afternoon tea.
SUNY Geneseo’s newspaper, The Lamron, reviewed the production (above and continued below). However,
the best review director Melyssa Hall has thus far received was not a written one. While sitting in the
blackbox theatre a year after this production of Earnest, an unknown student turned to her companion and
said, “I’ve seen every show at Geneseo since I started here, but my favorite was The Importance of Being
Earnest”.
Theatre is for the audience. Bottom line. End of story. They are why we’re here. And
the audience’s sincere appreciation of an artist’s work is the highest form of praise.
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8/28/13 Veg S.O.U.P. “earnestly” examines contemporary sexuality - A&E - The Lamron
www.thelamron.com/a-e/veg-s-o-u-p-earnestly-examines-contemporary-sexuality-1.3025600#.Uh5bO2TwL3Y 2/3
Ashley Holmes/Staff Photographer
Ashley Holmes/Staff Photographer
The timid and endearingly worrisome Jack
Worthing, played by senior Jonathan Mushock,
complements Guinan’s seductive Algy perfectly
and the sexual tension between them adds an
outstanding flair to the already captivating
character dynamic.
While at first the costumes and makeup
choices are a surprise, the actors blend the
modern eccentricity with the Victorian language
so flawlessly that it is difficult to imagine Wilde’s
language being performed any other way.
“The design of the show is one that is
extremely artificial and over-the-top,” Hall said.
“And it emphasizes the deliberate constructions
that we all live in every day, but maybe don’t
necessarily see.”
Hall’s production addresses multiple
sexualities, gender constructs and subcultures in
an attempt to inspire awareness about human sexuality as an abstract and nonconcrete
matter, and prove that there is no right and no wrong answer when it comes to sexuality.
“I wanted to use the show in a way that could be very entertaining, but then, for those
who are looking for it, also allow people to experience a celebration of sexuality,” Hall
said.
Senior Meaghan Castle’s portrayal of Gwendolen, Ernest’s masculine and
dangerously seductive fiancée and freshman Robyn Baun’s girlish and innocently
syrupy Cecily, also incorporate female homoerotic attraction into the mix.
“Wilde is usually a gay icon,” Hall said. “But I thought it was important to include a
female homosexual narrative as well.”
Also, while Lady Bracknell, in all her self-righteous glory, is commonly played in drag
in modern productions of “Earnest,” junior Taylor Walders puts a mesmerizing and
hilarious spin on the quintessential queen, inspiring awe in his gold sequin dress and
pouty scowl.
The BDSM couple Miss Prism and Doctor Chasuble, played by seniors Elizabeth
Sackett and Sean Endress, gives recognition to subcultures like fetishism and also
plays an important part in Hall’s mission to address multiple issues.
“I am really impressed by everyone’s ability and willingness to just go with me on this
8/28/13 Veg S.O.U.P. “earnestly” examines contemporary sexuality - A&E - The Lamron
crazy journey,” Hall said concerning the wild alterations to the show. “I’m so grateful
that they committed enough and had enough faith in me as a director to do something
this insane and powerful.”
The show will run in the Robert E. Sinclair Black Box Theatre on Thursday April 11,
Friday April 12 and April 13 at 8 p.m. with a late show at 11 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets
are $5 and available in the Brodie Box Office.
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Director Melyssa Hall during
production for Aria Da Capo.
Credits
Photos for Aria Da Capo by Annette Dragon
Photos for Cow Town by Annette Dragon
Photos for Gruesome Playground Injuries by Melyssa Hall
Photos for The Importance of Being Earnest by Melyssa Hall
Portfolio designed and created by Melyssa Hall
For additional information, contact Melyssa at
melyssarhall@gmail.com or by phone at (585) 305-0637
