Presented by the Lewis Center for the Arts’ Program in Theater & Music Theater
Act 3 of Vanya by Simon Stephens, after Anton Chekhov
Performed by Vincent Gerardi ’25
Run Time
Approximately 45 minutes
Content Advisory
There will be one simulated gunshot.
Program Notes
Characters
- Ivan
- Alexander—Ivan’s brother in law.
- Sonya—Ivan’s niece and Alexander’s daughter by his late wife, Anna.
- Helena—Alexander’s new wife.
- Michael—The local doctor. Ivan’s friend.
- Elizabeth—Ivan’s Mother.
- Liam—Works on the estate.
- Anna (unseen)—Ivan’s sister and Alexander’s first wife. Deceased.
Backstory
Ivan’s brother-in-law, Alexander, has been called a “generational defining filmmaker,” but hasn’t had success in years. Alexander’s artistic career has been financially supported by Ivan, his mother (Elizabeth), and his niece (Sonya), who work on the family estate owned by Ivan’s sister, Anna…until she died. Now, Alexander has married a new, young wife (Helena), and has moved onto the estate; he’s too poor and too sick to live in the city these days. Alexander’s illness is looked after by the local doctor, Michael, who visits the house more often than he’s needed. So, the play begins.
Special Notes
Video recording, audio recording, photography, and use of flash photography are prohibited. Please silence all electronic devices including cellular phones and watches, and refrain from text messaging for the duration of the performance.
Accessibility
The Drapkin Studio is an accessible venue with an assistive listening system. Visit our Venues and Studios section for accessibility information about our various locations.
Cast
All Roles: Vincent Gerardi ’25*
Production Team
Director: Vincent Gerardi ’25*
Stage Manager and Run Crew: Joe McLean ’27*
Soup Manager: Donna Gerardi
*denotes a student minoring in the Program in Theater & Music Theater
Faculty Advisors
Yuval Boim, Faculty Advisor
Note from the Project Proposer
This performance would not be possible without the generous support of Yuval Boim, Joe McLean, and Jane Cox. Thank you for your continued trust, guidance, and reassurance.
—Vincent Gerardi
Land Acknowledgement
An estimated 10 million Native Americans lived in North America before the arrival of European colonizers. Many thousands lived in Lenapehoking, the vast homeland of the Lenni-Lenape, who were the first inhabitants of what is now called eastern Pennsylvania and parts of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware.
Princeton stands on part of the ancient homeland and traditional territory of the Lenape people. In 1756, the College of New Jersey erected Nassau Hall with no recorded consultation with the Lenni-Lenape peoples.
Treaties and forced relocation dispersed Lenape-Delaware to Ohio, Kansas, and Oklahoma. We acknowledge the violence of settler colonialism and pay respect to Lenape peoples past, present, and future and their continuing presence in the homeland and throughout the Lenape diaspora.
For more information about ways you can engage with and support the Indigenous community on campus please visit the website of Native American and Indigenous studies (NAI), Natives at Princeton and Princeton Indigenous Advocacy Coalition.
Lewis Center for the Arts
Chair: Judith Hamera
Executive Director: Marion Friedman Young
Director of Program in Theater and Music Theater: Jane Cox
View a list of Program in Theater & Music Theater faculty & guest artists
For a look at all the people working behind the scenes to bring you this event, view a list of LCA staff members.
The programs of the Peter B. Lewis Center for the Arts are made possible through the generous support of many alumni and other donors. View a list of LCA Supporters
