\t\t\t\t\t\t [aesop_image force_fullwidth=”off” lightbox=”off” captionposition=”left” credit=”photo by Michael Bailey” captionsrc=”custom” align=”center” imgwidth=”80%” img=”https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/warnerrichard\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/275\/2023\/01\/Hedda-Gabler_Stoessel_3-scaled.jpg” panorama=”off”]\n
<\/span>I\u2019ve directed Henrik Ibsen\u2019s Hedda Gabler<\/em> twice. Once in the mid 1990s and a second production in 2008. The second time I believe I had a better grasp on Ibsen\u2019s intentions. The character of Hedda has taken on an iconoclastic dimension. My conception of her story in the 2008 production was that Hedda has escaped her own play and an ill wind has blown her into a theater space to relive her morbid story. I told my cast that, whether we like it or not, there is a little Hedda in all of us. It\u2019s that part of us that doesn\u2019t want to accept responsibility, that doesn\u2019t want to accept commitments, that is looking for pleasure and doesn\u2019t know how to find it, that is afraid of scandal.<\/p>\n My team of designers was exceptional:<\/p>\n Set Design by Lisi Stoessel I also had a very talented company of actors to help me fathom the characters\u2019 complexities. <\/span><\/p>\n CAST OF CHARACTERS <\/span><\/p>\n Hedda Gabler \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026 Kate Brennan I will always remember this production as the project where I had the opportunity to work with my wife, Jude, and our son, Ben.<\/span><\/p>\n FROM IBSEN\u2019S HEDDA GABLER<\/em> NOTEBOOKS<\/span><\/p>\n \u2026Very few true parents are to be found in the world\u2026Most people grow up neglected and misunderstood or else spoiled\u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n \u2026Hedda feels herself demonically attracted by the tendencies of the times but she lacks courage. Her thoughts remain theories, ineffective dreams\u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n \u2026Why should I conform to social morals that I know won\u2019t last more than half a generation. When I run wild, as they call it, it\u2019s my escape from the present. Not that I find any joy in my excesses. I\u2019m up to my neck in the established order! <\/span><\/p>\n \u2026Men and women don\u2019t belong in the same century\u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n \u2026They are not all made to be mothers\u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n \u2026She really wants to live a man\u2019s life wholly. But then she has misgivings\u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n \u2026Buried deep within Hedda is a level of poetry. But the environment frightens her. Suppose she were to make herself ridiculous! <\/span><\/p>\n \u2026Hedda\u2019s despair is that there are so many chances of happiness in the world, but she cannot discover them\u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n \u2026Life becomes for Hedda a ridiculous affair that isn\u2019t worth seeing through to the end\u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n \u2026The greatest misery in this world is that so many have nothing to do but pursue happiness without being able to find it..<\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s a sample of Lisi Stoessel\u2019s scenic design (early images, \u201crough\u201d sketches, ground plan and several production photos). Lisi\u2019s design concept and execution beautifully captured the nightmarish atmosphere that we had envisioned for Hedda\u2019s home. What an amazing world Lisi offered us\u2026.truly a director\u2019s staging delight.<\/span><\/p>\n[aesop_gallery pslightbox=”on” transition=”crossfade” galleryType=”thumbnail” id=”508″]\n All photos by Michael Bailey <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [aesop_image force_fullwidth=”off” lightbox=”off” captionposition=”left” credit=”photo by Michael Bailey” captionsrc=”custom” align=”center” imgwidth=”80%” img=”https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/warnerrichard\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/275\/2023\/01\/Hedda-Gabler_Stoessel_3-scaled.jpg” panorama=”off”] I\u2019ve directed Henrik Ibsen\u2019s Hedda Gabler twice. Once in the mid 1990s and a second production in 2008. The second time I believe I had a better grasp on Ibsen\u2019s intentions. The character of Hedda has taken on an iconoclastic dimension. My conception […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-highlight"],"metadata":{"_edit_last":["276"],"_wpac_members_redirect_to":[""],"_wpac_show_in_search":["0"],"_wpac_show_excerpt_in_search":["0"],"_wpac_nonmembers_redirect_to":[""],"ase_chapter_enable_timeline":["off"],"ase_map_component_start_point":["a:2:{s:3:\"lat\";d:29.76;s:3:\"lng\";d:-95.38;}"],"_wp_old_date":["2022-10-26"]},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nCostume Design by Rachel Schuldenfrei
\nLighting Design by Ryan Bauer
\nSound Design by Ben Warner<\/p>\n
\nGeorge Tesman \u2026\u2026\u2026 Ryan Stinnett
\nThea Elvsted \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026. Molly Coyle
\nJudge Brack \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.. Joel Grothe
\nEilert Lovborg \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026 Alex Campbell
\nMiss Juliana Tesman \u2026 Judith Reagan
\nBerta \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026 Caroline Ryon<\/p>\n