Program Information for Adamandi

November 11, 12, 17, 18 + 19, 2022, in Berlind Theatre

Presented by the Lewis Center for the Arts’ Programs in Theater and Music Theater

Adamandi

Book and lyrics by Elliot Valentine Lee and Mel Hornyak
Music by Elliot Valentine Lee

 

Run Time

2 hours, 45 minutes with one 10-minute intermission

Content Warnings

Please be advised that the production discusses self-harm, body/corpse mutilation, murder, gender dysphoria, stalking, Catholic guilt, lying, manipulation, student death, internalized transphobia and homophobia, and mentions of suicide. It contains loud noises. Please prioritize your own comfort when deciding whether to engage with this production.

View more detailed content warnings (please note these warnings contain spoilers about the production)

Special Notes

Please silence all electronic devices including cellular phones and watches, and refrain from text messaging for the duration of the performance. No video/audio recording, photography or flash photography permitted.

Cast

Beatrix: Miel Escamilla ’25*
Ambrose: Lana Gaige ’24*
Ensemble/Administration: Raphaela Gold ’26
Portia/Administration: Addele Hargenrader ’24
St. Jude/Administration/Quincy Understudy: Kyle Ikuma ’23
Preston/Ambrose Understudy: Teddy Leane ’24
Adrian: Andrew Matos ’23
Vincent: Tobias Nguyen ’24
Roswell/Saint Cassian: River Reynolds ’24
Saint Lucy: Ayanna Smith ’25
St. Lawrence: John Venegas Juarez ’25*
Quincy: Matthew Weatherhead ’23*

Musicians

Violin: Jare Bozinko ’24
Drums: AJ Comsti ’23
Bass: Jay White ’24*
Keyboard: Vince DiMura

Production Team

Director: Georgina Escobar
Book/Lyrics/Music, Thesis Proposer: Elliot Valentine Lee ’23*
Book/Lyrics/Thesis Proposer: Mel Hornyak ’23*
Music Director: Vince DiMura
Choreographer: Kate Stewart ’25
Set Designer: Raul Abrego
Costume Designer: Hahnji Jang
Lighting Designer: Magdalena Poost ’23*
Production/Design Mentor: Tess James
Sound Designer: Matt Otto
Fight/Intimacy Coordinator: Jacqueline Holloway
Student Assistant to Fight/Intimacy Coordinator: Kat McLaughlin ’25*
Dramaturg: Kaelani Burja ’23*
Stage Manager: Aleena Brown ’25*
Stage Management Mentor: Anna Allport ’23*
Assistant Director: Kaelani Burja ’23*
Assistant Music Director: Jare Bozinko ’24
Assistant Stage Manager: Eslem Saka ‘26, Milan Eldridge
Wardrobe Supervisor: Kasey Gillette
Stitchers: Wyatt Kim, Denise Carr, Gaea Lawton ’23*, Anne Xu ’26
Berlind Run Crew: Phoenix Edmond, Dylan Harris, Michelle Poulaille
Follow spot operator/s: Jessica Lopez ’24
A2: Neil Jernigan
Sound Engineer: Kay Richardson

*denotes a certificate student in the Program in Theater

 

Faculty Advisors

Georgina Escobar
Elena Araoz
Tamsen Wolff

 

Note from the Senior Thesis Proposers

We began this project more than a year ago, looking to both explore and critique the dark academia aesthetic (a subculture focused on 1920s-1940s prep school luxury and the study of the arts and humanities (e.g., Dead Poets Society or Kill Your Darlings) and usually focuses on cis, white, upper-class men.) As folks who, to outward appearances, lead lives like the ones dark academia romanticizes, we wanted to explore the unique pressure on marginalized students to earn their place in elite, predominantly white institutions. We also wanted to explore the horror of old institutions, of prioritizing independence over interdependence, and of intellectualizing and manipulating marginalized bodies. Moreover, we wanted to write a story that would allow trans and nonbinary actors, actors of color, and queer actors to play roles that reflected and refracted their emotional realities, especially when such roles didn’t yet exist in the musical canon. The marriage of these impulses produced the story of Adamandi. Through this process, we have learned so much about what it means to make theater reflecting these experiences, to make trans theater, to advocate for our artistic vision, and to collaborate with the many talented theatermakers who shaped the show you’re about to see.

We are immensely proud of and thankful for our exceptional team—We’d like to thank our intrepid director Georgina, for pouring her love, time, and talent into this project, and leading us all through it with her infectious energy and true belief in our work. We give special thanks to our writing advisor, Tamsen Wolff, for her valuable critiques and the excitement she brought to the project. Our cast has been a constant source of joy throughout this whirlwind rehearsal process, and we cannot thank you enough for your thoughtful engagement with the show and your characters. Our inimitable designers were kind enough to include us in their creative processes, and we learned so much from watching you all do what you do best. Our fearless SM team led us through thick and thin, keeping us on track and helping keep all the pieces of this huge puzzle together. Our choreographer, intimacy directors, and student designers brought their unmatched skill, patience, and care into our rehearsal room, to guide and build upon our project. Elena Araoz and everyone at the LCA—thank you for believing in our project and connecting us to all of these wonderful people. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you—Adamandi would not exist without your efforts.

We hope you enjoy the show!

Best,
Mel and Elliot

 

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, see the websites of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative at Princeton (NAISIP), Natives at Princeton and Princeton Indigenous Advocacy Coalition.

 


Lewis Center for the Arts

Chair: Judith Hamera
Executive Director: Marion Friedman Young

Interim Director of Program in Theater: Brian Herrera
Producing Artistic Director, Theater And Music Theater Season: Elena Araoz

View a full list of the Program in Theater Faculty & Guest Artists

For a look at all the people working behind the scenes to bring you this event, view a full 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 full list of LCA Supporters »

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