By the Bog of Cats
by Marina Carr
directed by Julia Santha
Set in the ghostly, mysterious bogs of the Irish midlands, this contemporary retelling of “Medea” is penned by Marina Carr - one of Ireland's leading playwrights. Hester Swane, an Irish Traveler, is trying to come to terms with a lifetime of abandonment. Hester sets forth on a path of vengeance after discovering her love and the father of her child is set to marry another woman. Secrets, ghosts, and heartache surround Hester like a fog as she is pushed to the edge of reason to fight for the life and love she wants to deserve in this modern experience of Greek fate.
Grace Bolander (Hester Swane) is a second-year in the College majoring in TAPS and minoring in English and Creative Writing. Previous acting credits include Macbeth (Lady Macbeth) and Variations on the Death of Trotsky (Mrs. Trotsky) with UT, as well as Hamlet (Hamlet) and Romeo and Juliet (Juliet) with Actors' Theatre of Columbus. Grace currently works as the Casting/Education Intern at Court Theatre.
Joey Whitaker (Carthage) is a fourth-year English major in the College. Previous acting credits include A Midsummer Night's Dream (Demetrius), Henry VI (Edward), and 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (Giovanni). He composed an ambient electronic score for Richard II.
India Weston (Josie) is a student in the College.
Patrick McCarthy (Xavier Cassidy) is a third-year English and Linguistics major. He has previously appeared in Twelfth Night (Malvolio) and Rumors (Ken).
Livia Reiner (Caroline) is a first-year in the College with an undecided major. But, she is not undecided about proclaiming this to be her first UT show. She has performed with Overtone Industries and the Downtown Repertory Theater Company in Los Angeles, and spent a semester at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Theater Institute.
Elisabeth Del Toro (Mrs. Kilbride) is a fourth-year TAPS major. She has acted (Twelfth Night, SubURBia, This Is How It Goes, Closer, Cabaret, Godspell, Grey Gardens, House of Yes, Drowsy Chaperone, ALICES), stagehand-ed (Henry VI), assistant sound designed (Glass Menagerie), and .gif designed (Hamlion) for UT, and directed a Commedia dell’Arte musical (Cherry Poppins). Elisabeth is also a curator of the Theater[24] Festival and Chair of the University Theater Committee.
Maxine Frendel (Catwoman) is a fourth-year in the College majoring in Sociology. This is her first UT show! Previously she has performed with Commedia (Angelica) and has served as Marketing Director for The Tempest at Promontory Point Park.
Megan Philippi (Monica Murray) is a second-year in the College, prospectively majoring in TAPS and minoring in Ecology and Evolution. She assistant directed Urinetown, directed Rabbits for New Work Week, and assistant set designed Endgame.
Sam Segan (Ghost of Joseph Swane) is a student in the College.
Alex Hearn (Ghost Fancier/Young Dunne) is a third-year in the College studying Public Policy and TAPS. He is very excited for the chance to work with Julia again, after acting for her in Suburbia (Fall Pro-show 2015) and Endgame (Fall 2014). Alex mostly acts but sometimes directs, and will be directing Noises Off for the Spring 2016 season. He is the secretary of UT Committee.
Eric Kirkes (Father Willow) is a third-year in the College majoring in Music and minoring in TAPS. Previous acting credits include Godspell (Ensemble), A Little Star Quality (Ché), Closer (Props Designer), Scenes from Rabbit Hole (Director), and in several Fire Escape Films productions. Eric is a member of UT Committee.
Julia Santha (Director) is a fourth-year in the College majoring in Law, Letters and Society and minoring in Theatre and Performance Studies. This is her third UT Mainstage production. In the past, she directed Sam Shepard's Fool for Love, Samuel Beckett's Endgame, and a workshop of David Mamet's Boston Marriage. Julia is grateful for this opportunity to grow and for the amazing team and family of the Bog.
Ben Sulser (Production Manager) is a fourth-year in the College majoring in Evolutionary Biology and minoring in German. Previous credits include: Miss Julie (PM), Winter Workshops 2015 (SM), Winter Workshops 2014 (PM), Hamletmachine (SM), and Hotel Nepenthe (SM). Ben is also a member of TAPS Technical Staff, serving as the Assistant Production Manager and staff liaison to multiple productions.
Natalie Wagner (Stage Manager) is a third-year student majoring in Law, Letters, and Society. Her UChicago stage management credits include Suburbia, Endgame, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, and four mainstage shows as ASM. She serves as UT Committee's Treasurer and as a Curator for the quarterly Theater[24] festival. Additionally, she has worked on multiple summer theater festivals in NYC, including two New York Musical Theatre Festival productions: Spot on the Wall (PA) and the concert Beyond Words (SM).
Elise Kauzlaric (Dialect Coach) is a dialect coach, director, and actor who has made Chicago her professional home for 18 years. She is an ensemble member of Lifeline Theatre and is a member of the adjunct faculty of Chicago College of Performing Arts and DePaul University.
Zev Steinberg (Fight Director) is a professor of Stage Combat, Movement, and Acting at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Zev has choreographed violence in theatres all over the Midwest, and has as been recognized 11 times for his artistic achievements. Zev is a Certified Teacher, and recipient of the Paddy Crean Award with the Society of American Fight Directors. Zev is also a certified Yoga teacher. Zev holds his MFA in Acting from Michigan Stage University, after graduating with a BFA from the department of Theatre at the University of Illinois.
Charlie Lovejoy (Floor Manager) is a second-year prospective English literature and TAPS double-major. Charlie’s previous UT stage management credits include Miss Julie (SM), Context (SM), Amadeus (ASM), and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (ASM). Charlie is currently serving as a member of UT Committee. Over the past six years, Charlie has stage managed numerous productions through community, professional, and school theatre.
Emma Heras (Dramaturg) is a student in the College.
Coriander Mayer (Lighting Designer) is a second-year TAPS and English major in the College. Most recently, Cori directed The Candles for A Weekend of Workshops. Since coming to Chicago, Cori has also acted (UT, Two Brothers, Green Shirt Studio), lighting designed (UT, Commedia dell Arte, Madison Street Theater), electrician'd (UT, Mandel Hall, Apollo Theater, Mercury Theater), and improvised (Annoyance Theater, The Second City).
Sydney Purdue (Scenic Designer) is a second-year in the College most likely majoring in Statistics. Previously, she has worked on the scenic designs of Giselle, Twelfth Night, This Is How It Goes, and Macbeth and on the stage management teams of Candles, Rumors, and Amadeus.
Colin Garon (Props Designer) is a second-year in the College majoring in HIPS. Colin has previously designed props for Endgame, Amadeus, Love's Labour's Lost, and Miss Julie.
Tiffany "Tippo" Wang (Master Carpenter) is a third-year Psychology major. Tippo is a member of UT/TAPS Tech Staff, serving as Assistant Technical Director.
Alice Sheehan (Master Electrician) and is a second-year majoring in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and minoring in Theater and Performance Studies. UT credits include as lighting designer: Miss Julie and Amadeus, as ME: Love's Labours Lost, and assisting on shows including Endgame, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon Marigolds, and This Is How It Goes.
Ty Easley (Sound Designer) is a student in the College.
Omar El Sharif (Composer) is a student in the College.
Itzel Blancas (Costume Designer) is a student in the College.
Colin Garon (Props Designer) is a student in the College.
David Lovejoy (Assistant Director) is a third-year in the College majoring in TAPS and a recent graduate of the ACADEMY at Blackbox. Previous acting credits include Hamm (Endgame) and Puck (Midsummer), previous directing experience includes an independent production of The Tempest.
Ellen Wiese (Assistant Stage Manager) is a third-year in the College majoring in English and Public Policy. Previously, Ellen worked as the ASM on Miss Julie.
Sophie Downes (Assistant Sound Designer) is a third-year in the College majoring in English. She previously served as assistant sound designer for Neil Simon's Rumors. Other UT credits: production manager (A Weekend of Workshops, Apsara Presents Avalu), assistant production manager (Henry V, Fool For Love, As You Like It).
Elizabeth Ortiz (Assistant Lighting Designer) is a second-year in the College majoring in Public Policy and Political Science. She is very excited to be doing her first production as an assistant lighting designer. Former acting credits include Queenie in The Wild Party and Wind in The Tempest. Outside UT, she is on the Executive Committee of University Ballet of Chicago and has been featured in Raymonda, Le Corsaire, Giselle, and Sleeping Beauty. She is also a member of Unaccompanied Women A Cappella, where she serves as the assistant music director and choreographer.
Hannah Zinky (Assistant Costume Designer) is a student in the College.
Maya Jain (Assistant Set Designer) is a first-year in the College majoring in TAPS. She was a part of a Weekend of Workshops last quarter in The Candles (Flask). Other favorite theatre credits of hers include Medea (Medea) and Macbeth (the Third Witch).
Abi Hunter (Assistant Scenic Designer) is a student in the College.
Bobbie Sheng (Assistant Props Designer) is a first-year in the College. She has previously worked on Miss Julie.
Alex Morales (Tech Staff Liaison) is a student in the College.
Lexi Turner (Committee Liaison) is a student in the College.
Shayon Sengupta (Electrician) is a student in the College.
Michael Roy (Electrician) is a student in the College.
Gabi Mulder (Painter) is a student in the College.