A Room in the Castle
By Lauren M. Gunderson
Directed by Kaja Dunn+
Scenic Designer: Samantha Reno
Costume Designer: Nicky Smith ¶
Lighting Designer: Max Doolittle ¶
Sound Designer: Sarah O’Halloran ¶
Projections Designer: Robert Carlton Stimmel^
Associate Projections Designer: Rainy Edwards
Casting Director: Daryl Eisenberg
Assistant Director and Dramaturg: Shana Laski
Stage Manager: Hope Villanueva*
Assistant Stage Manager: Rowan Rozzi
Cast
Anna: Burgess Byrd*
Gertrude: Oneika Phillips*
Ophelia: Sabrina Lynne Sawyer*
Production Staff
Master Carpenter: Bryce Carson
Wardrobe Supervisor & Wig Designer: Kayla Cieslinski
Lighting Supervisor & Scenic Associate: Jared Earland
Stitcher: Rainy Edwards
Technical Director: Chris Holloway
Production Technician: Brad Hopper
Costume Shop Manager: Lindsey Jones
Charge Artist: Samantha Reno
Production Manager: Robert Carlton Stimmel^
Resident Stage Manager and Production Coordinator: Cole Sweasy*
Co-Produced with Folger Theatre
Design Sponsors
Judge Mark and Sue Ann Painter
New Play Development Sponsor
The McElroy Family
+ Member of SDC
¶ Members of USA 829
^Artist Sponsored by Judge Mark Painter
*Appearing through an Agreement between this theatre, the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
(She/They) 6th Season
Cincinnati: Fat Ham, A Raisin In The Sun, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, The Importance of Being Earnest, Living Dead, Wrecking Ball, The Amen Corner (favorite CSC); School Girls; Or The African Means GirlsPlay, A Christmas Carol (Playhouse In The Park); Sweat, Skeleton Crew, Detroit '67, This Random World (Ensemble Theatre); Flyin' West (Falcon Theatre) Music Man (Carnegie), Harry And The Thief (Know Theatre) Regional: Gloria: A Life, Barbeque (Human Race Theatre); The Merchant of Venice (UT Austin); Fences (UW Madison) TV/FILM: Inconceivable, Bones and All, Challengers, After The Hunt (upcoming). burgessbyrd.com
Debut
Broadway: 1776 (American Airlines Theatre), FELA! (Eugene O'Neill Theatre), SpongeBob SquarePants The Musical (Palace Theatre), Amazing Grace (Nederlander Theatre), Violet (Asst. Choreographer - American Airlines Theatre). Off-Broadway: Black No More (Signature Theatre), Watch Night (Perelman Arts Center NYC). Regional: In Your Arms (NYSAF/Powerhouse Theatre). National Tours: 1776, FELA!. International Tours: FELA!, West Side Story. Television: The Tony Awards, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, SpongeBob SquarePants The Musical, Good Morning America. Companies: Forces of Nature Dance Theatre. IG: @DragonPassionFruit
(She/Her) Debut
Regional: The Winter’s Tale, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Folger Theatre), Exception to the Rule (Studio Theatre), The Sensational Sea Mink-ettes (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company), Henry IV Pt 2, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival), Inside Out and Backwards (Imagination Stage), Chicken & Biscuits (Front Porch Arts Collective). National Tour: A Raisin in the Sun, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Olney Theatre Center’s National Players). Education: University of Southern California, B.A. Theatre (Acting).
Kaja Dunn. Folger Theatre: Resident Intimacy Director: Romeo and Juliet, Metamorphoses, The Winter’s Tale, Our Verse In Time To Come (The Reading Room Festival); Arena Stage: American Prophet; Denver Center for the Arts: Choir Boy, 5thAve; ACT Theatre (Seattle): Choir Boy; St. Louis Rep.: Private Lives, Confederates; Two River Theatre: Wine In The Wilderness; Penumbra Theatre: Sugar In Our Wounds; Broadway: A Strange Loop (Assoc. Intimacy Director); Television: The Best Man, Final Chapters, Harlem, The Equalizer; Awards: Kennedy Center American Theatre Award, Playwrights Project Excellence in Arts Education; Publications: Arden Contemporary Shakespeare, Intimacy Direction For Theatre, Theatre Symposium, HowlRound. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training (UK). Carnegie Mellon University: Associate Professor.
Samantha Reno (She/Her) (5th Season). Cincinnati: Much Ado About Nothing (favorite CSC); Kindred Spirits; The Play That Goes Wrong; A Midsummer Night's Dream; The Importance of Being Earnest; The Living Dead; Fierce (Cincinnati Opera); Our Story: Bold Moves Festival (Cincinnati Ballet); Noises Off! (Northern Kentucky University). Regional: The Newlywed Game (B Street Theatre, Sacramento); Gaslight (Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Lowell, MA); Peter and the Starcatcher (University of California, Davis). New York: The Rewards of Being Frank (New York Classical Theatre). Education: Northern Kentucky University (BFA). Website: www.samanthareno.com
Nicole Jescinth Smith. Red Bank Theatre: Gem of the Ocean; The Old Globe: Trouble in Mind; Jerry Herman Ring Theatre: The Three Penny Opera; Clarence Brown Theatre: A Raisin in the Sun. Television: The Chair Company (pilot), Up Here, Ramy Season 3, POSE Season 2 (assistant costume designer) Emmy nomination for Period
Max Doolittle NYC design credits include The Apollo Theatre, Signature Theatre Center, Ars Nova, Juilliard School, New Ohio Theatre, New World Stages. Regional: Ford’s Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, Santa Fe Playhouse, Kitchen Theatre Company, Fulton Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Great Lakes Center for the Arts, Folger Shakespeare Theatre, Signature Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Mosaic Theatre Company of DC, Theatre Alliance, Theatre J, Rep Stage, The Kennedy Center, The Second City, Imagination Stage, Forum Theatre, Adventure Theatre, Constellation Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Pointless Theatre Co, NextStop Theatre. Lighting direction for television includes Anderson Cooper 360, Piers Morgan Live. Aboard Cruise Ships: Wine Lovers, The Musical. BFA: Ithaca College. MFA: University of Maryland.
Sarah O’Halloran. Folger Theatre: Nathan the Wise, in association with Theater J. Ford’s Theatre: Mr. Lincoln; Everyman Theatre: Queens Girl: Black in the Green Mountains, Sense and Sensibility, Be Here Now, Proof, Dinner with Friends; Theater J: Prayer for the French Republic, The Hatmaker’s Wife, This Much I Know, The Chameleon, Gloria: A Life, Two Jews Walk into a War, Compulsion, Talley’s Folly; Olney Theater Center: The Brothers Paranormal, The Humans, Our Town, Labour of Love; 1st Stage: The Phlebotomist, The Brothers Size, Swimming with Whales, Trevor, When the Rain Stops Falling; Studio Theatre: Cry it Out; Rep Stage: The Glass Menagerie; E2: The 39 Steps, The Heidi Chronicles, Things That Are Round; Mosaic Theater: In His Hands, The Return; Theater Alliance: A Chorus Within Her.
Robert Carlton Stimmel (He/Him) (6th Season) is thrilled to be returning to Cincinnati Shakespeare Company! He is a Cincinnati area native, hailing from Fairfield, Ohio. After receiving his BA in Theatre at Miami University, he has worked with various theatre including Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Alliance Theatre, Short North Stage, and Tantrum Theatre. In addition to his technician and design work, he is also a performer and producer and is always looking to expand his artistic abilities! Robert is the Artistic Director of Impaired Vision Productions, a local theatre organization that produces new works. He would like to thank his wife Kayla for her constant support of his artistic aspirations and her unconditional love.
Rainy Edwards (She/Her) (6th Season) is from Llano, Texas, and received her MFA in Costume Design at Florida State University. She has been with the company since 2018. Rainy has had the pleasure of designing many shows here including, The Winter’s Tale, Titus Andronicus, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and All The Way, to name a few. Her work has been seen at Utah Shakespeare Festival, The Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, Triad Stage, and Lexington Children’s Theatre. Rainey is excited to be back and making art with her colleagues and friends. She is forever thankful for the support of Chris and their dog Obi.
Daryl Eisenberg/Eisenberg Casting (She/Her) - BROADWAY: Gettin’ the Band Back Together. OFF-BROADWAY: Bedlam, That Parenting Musical, White Rose, and more. CINCINNATI: Rutka (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), DC: Countless Folger Theatre productions since 2013. Hester Street (Theater J), Voices Festival Productions, Spells of the Sea (The Kennedy Center). REGIONAL THEATRE: Dallas Theater Center, Florida Georgia Line's May We All (TPAC), Heartbreak Hotel (Broadway in Chicago), Cape Cod Theatre Project, and countless developmental works. FILM/TELEVISION: The Cathedral (MUBI); Menorah in the Middle (Hulu); The MisEducation of Bindu (Peacock); Shadows (HBO); Angry Neighbors (Lionsgate); Hey, Viktor. AUDIO: Limetown; The Callisto Protocol: Helix Station; Shipworm; City of Ghosts; Falling in Love with Mr. Dellamort; Verdict; High-Risers and Chutzpah. Artios-nominated Member of Casting Society of America. www.ebcastingco.com. IG: @EBCastingCo.
Shana Laski (She/Her) is thrilled to be working with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company for the first time and returning to work with The Folger. She is based in Washington DC where her work as an assistant director, dramaturg, and actor has been seen at Arena Stage, Round House Theater, Theater J, Mosaic Theater, Spooky Action, and many others. She is an Artistic Associate with Theatre Prometheus and a proud alum of Wesleyan University. A million thanks to her fiance Sam and dog Pearl for supporting her work across the country and her loving family back home in Chicago!
Hope Villanueva. CSC and Folger Theatre debut. Recently: PSM on Mexodus (Berkeley Rep & Baltimore Center Stage), The Fires (SoHo Rep). DC Area: King of the Yees (Signature Theatre), A Nice Indian Boy and Our Town (Olney Theatre Center), BLKS (Woolly Mammoth), The Dragon King’s Daughter and The Day You Begin (Kennedy Center), Twist Your Dickens (The Second City/Kennedy Center), Private, Marie and Rosetta, The Vagrant Trilogy, Paper Dolls, Queens Girl in Africa (Mosaic Theatre), Hand to God and Choir Boy (Studio Theatre). Regional: Romy & Michele: The Musical (NYC Wksp), Rock of Ages Hollywood, Blues for an Alabama Sky (Barrington Stage), WILD: A Musical Becoming (A.R.T., feat. Idina Menzel, Javier Muñoz). Honolulu Theatre for Youth, Resident PSM. Off-Broadway: Who’s Your Baghdaddy? National Tour: Rock of Ages, Young Frankenstein, My Fair Lady, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s Bellobration.
Rowan Rozzi (He/Him) (1st Season) is ecstatic to be joining CSC as an Assistant Stage Manager! Rowan's previous stage management credits include Beauty and the Beast Jr, The Prom, Heathers The Musical, POTUS, etc. Rowan received his Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a Specialization in Design/Technical Theatre from Bowling Green State University this past April. Outside of work, you can find Rowan either reading a book or playing with his cat Persie.
Lauren is one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015 topping the list thrice including this year. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I and You and The Book of Will; the winner of the William Inge Distinguished Achievement in Theater Award, Lanford Wilson Award, The Jeff Award for New Plays, and the Otis Guernsey New Voices Award; and finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the Arthur L. Weissberger Award, and John Gassner Award for Playwriting. Revolutionary Women, her new anthology of five plays, is published by Bloomsbury along with I and You, The Catastrophist and anthropology, which recently premiered at Hampstead Theatre. She co-authored the popular Miss Bennet trilogy with Margot Melcon. The Half-Life of Marie Curie was commissioned by Audible Theatre, premiered off-Broadway and can be heard at Audible.com. She just finished her first novel, The Fervor Witch, and will soon premiere several new musicals including Sinister (with Joriah Kwamé), I and You: A Musical (with Ari Afsar) and Built for This (with Kira Stone), as well as another musical with the incredible Dave Stewart. LaurenGunderson.com
Welcome to Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s production of "A Room in the Castle," the culminating installment of our ambitious PROJECT Hamlet—a highlight of the 2024–2025 season. PROJECT Hamlet brings Shakespeare’s renowned tragedy to life in three distinct and innovative ways, offering fresh perspectives on this timeless story.
Last summer, local audiences were treated to a contemporary production of Hamlet, directed by CSC’s Associate Artistic Director Candice Handy as part of our FREE Shakespeare in the Park tour. This accessible performance reached nearly 5,000 people across 30 different parks, introducing many to Shakespeare for the first time.
The second installment of PROJECT Hamlet, Fat Ham by James Ijames and directed by Darnell Pierre Benjamin, took place in September. A Broadway and Pulitzer Prize–winning sensation, this bold, contemporary reimagining of Hamlet offered a fresh twist on the tale and surprised and delighted local audiences!
Now, we invite you to experience the grand finale of PROJECT Hamlet with the world-premiere of A Room in the Castle by Lauren M. Gunderson, directed by Kaja Dunn. Commissioned by CSC and penned by the acclaimed playwright, A Room in the Castle reinterprets Hamlet through the perspectives of Ophelia and Gertrude.
Lauren M. Gunderson shares:
“I’m terrifically excited to finally bring A Room in the Castle to Cincy Shakes. Since they boldly commissioned the idea years ago, I’ve been filled with gratitude and eagerness to tell this untold part of the most iconic Shakespearean play and bring the women of Hamlet out from the shadows and into their own truths. What a gift to be trusted, commissioned, and—now—produced at Cincinnati Shakespeare!”
Co-produced with Folger Theatre, a part of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., this production represents a significant collaborative effort and will move to Washington, D.C., after its Cincinnati premiere—a milestone marking CSC’s first expansion into the D.C. area!
Our Producing Artistic Director and CEO, Brian Isaac Phillips, said:
“I hope audiences experienced as many of the productions in PROJECT Hamlet as they could, as each provided new insights into the Danish prince and his family’s story and showcases the versatility and enduring appeal of Shakespeare’s work.”
We thank you for joining us on this journey and for being part of PROJECT Hamlet. Enjoy A Room in the Castle!
Get a refresher on Hamlet before you see A Room in the Castle!
THE PLOT OF HAMLET
Young Hamlet returns home from university to discover the world-shattering news that, not only is his father (Old Hamlet) newly dead, but that his mother, Gertrude, has married Old Hamlet's brother, Claudius, and that Claudius is now king. The resultant instability has also led to threats of invasion by a soldier from a neighboring state, Fortinbras.
GHOSTLY ENCOUNTER
Late one night, the ghost of Hamlet's father appears to him, accusing Claudius of his murder and urging Hamlet to revenge. This sets in motion a train of events that destroys both family and state.
MADNESS
No longer able to trust his own senses, the loyalty of his old friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, or even the affections of his young love, Ophelia, Hamlet fakes madness in an attempt to provide himself with proof that the ghost is telling the truth. Aided only by his most loyal companion, Horatio, he persuades a traveling band of actors to re-enact the story of his father's murder in front of Claudius and Gertrude, hoping that Claudius will be so stirred by remorse that he will confess his crime.
During an intense meeting with his mother, Hamlet hears a noise and realizes that they are being spied upon. In rage, he stabs the hidden eavesdropper, believing it to be Claudius. Instead, he discovers it is the King's adviser, Polonius, father to both Ophelia and her brother, Laertes. Polonius dies.
REVENGE
Afraid of what Hamlet might do next, Claudius has him arrested and dispatched to England under guard, where he has arranged to have Hamlet murdered. Hamlet escapes, returns to his homeland, and finally achieves his revenge.
The psychological effects of these upheavals on Hamlet lead to some of the greatest soliloquies in the English language and take the audience deep into the mind of Shakespeare's most famous protagonist.
Ophelia, having been violently rejected by Hamlet, hears that her father has been murdered. She loses her mind and eventually drowns herself. Her brother, Laertes, returns to court at the head of an angry mob, determined to find out the truth. Claudius convinces him that Hamlet is the only guilty party and agrees to help Laertes gain revenge.
DEATH
On learning of Hamlet's escape and return to his homeland, Claudius convinces Laertes to challenge Hamlet to a fencing match and advises Laertes on how to kill Hamlet during the duel without arousing suspicion. As a backup plan, Claudius also poisons a glass of wine which he intends to offer to Hamlet. Gertrude, however, drinks from the glass first and dies.
During the duel, Hamlet is slightly wounded by Laertes, who has tipped his sword with a deadly poison. In the ensuing tussle, the swords get switched and Hamlet wounds Laertes with the poisoned one. Realizing that he is about to die, and that Claudius has manipulated the situation, Laertes confesses everything, forgives Hamlet and dies.
As the poison takes hold and he realises that he too is about to die, Hamlet finally carries through his dead father's wish for revenge. He forces Claudius to drink the remaining poisoned wine, which quickly takes effect.
With his dying breath, Hamlet asks Horatio to ensure that his story is told accurately.
Young Fortinbras arrives at the head of his army, ready to assume control of a state whose royal family has been destroyed by betrayal, murder, and revenge.
Synopsis sourced from the Royal Shakespeare Company
FRIENDS OF THE COMPANY
“With one ‘we thank you,’ many millions more…”
The Winter’s Tale, Act I, Scene ii
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company extends thanks to the following individuals and organizations for their generous support. The following gifts were received by Cincinnati Shakespeare Company July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024 or pledged to the 2023 – 2024 Season. Giving Levels are exclusive of Capital Campaign donations. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy. If you see an error, please accept our sincere apology and contact Sara Clark at 513-381-2273, ext. 3208.
Illustrious and Inspiring, $50,000+
ArtsWave
The Estate of Dava Lynn Biehl
John Bridgeland and Maureen Fallon Bridgeland
The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation
Cynthia Crilley
Fifth Third Foundation
Patricia and Calvin Linnemann
Debby and Jim Mason
Ohio Arts Council
Robert & Adele Schiff Family Foundation
Alice Scovell
Benevolent and Bold, $25,000-49,000
Anonymous, in memory of our mom Kathy
Mrs. L.L. Browning
Charles H. Dater Foundation
Martin Chavez
Eleanora C. U. Alms Trust, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee
Johnson Investment Counsel, Inc.
The Limestone Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts in Partnership with Arts Midwest
P&G Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Cass and Glenn Plott
Shubert Foundation
Don and Linda Tecklenburg
Donna and Robert Welch
Gallant and Glamorous, $10,000 - $24,999
Diane Adamec
Andrew Jergens Foundation
BlankRome/Monteverdi Tuscany
Foster and Motley
Johnson Charitable Gift Fund
Marcie and Jim Kinney
John and Betsy LaMacchia
Martha Holden Jennings Foundation
The McElroy Family
Judge Mark and Mrs. Sue Ann Painter
PNC Bank
Vicky and Rick Reynolds
Ruth J. and Robert A. Conway Foundation
Rosemary and Mark Schlachter
The Thomas J. Emery Memorial
Laura and Tayfun Tuzun
Western & Southern Financial Group
Richard and Debbie Westheimer
Avowed and Audacious, $5,000 - $9,999
Brian and Elizabeth Coley
Sally and Joel Davenport
David and Kelley Downing
Rance and Marilyn Duke
Rick and Melissa Eder
Eva Jane Romaine Coombe Fund for Cincinnati Shakespeare Company of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation
EY
Fifth Third Bank
Frost Brown Todd LLC
The Gumbleton Family
Mark and Marcy Kanter
Key Bank
Jean and Charles Lauterbach
Messer Construction Co.
Chris Nare and Lori Rappold