THE TRAGEDIE OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS
by Christopher Marlowe
August 27–30, 2020
4 FREE Live-Streamed Audio Premieres:
Acts 1 & 2: Thursday, August 27 @ 4:00 PM PST
Act 3: Friday, August 28, 6:30 PM PST
Act 4: Saturday, August 29 @ 4:00 PM PST
Act 5: Sunday, August 30 @ 4:00 PM PST
Live premieres presented on YouTube
CLICK HERE to reserve admission and receive channel link!
Recordings will be permanently available after each premiere on DSF’s Soundcloud Page.
Prepare your ears for a tumultuous tale of human folly, now innovatively reinterpreted into a podcast audio drama.
Let us transport you back in time to when demons and angels were not fairy tale creatures but beings that walked amongst us waiting to snap up any soul whose ego brought them too close to the sun. Now through the magic of modern technology this text is summoned forth, brought to life in an audio/podcast format.
FAUSTUS FOR BLACK LIVES MATTER
Enjoy free admission and please consider donating to Black Lives Matter. As a group of diverse artists, it is both a privilege to come together to present this project, and also a moment to reflect on the ways in which we can use our resources and platform to inspire greater social change. As we’ve embarked on this project, we have sought to decenter the traditional structures of power that have produced Doctor Faustus as a canonical work. We acknowledge the ways in which Black people have been left out of the construct of “the canon” and how this construct has in turn been used to dehumanize and disenfranchise Black Americans in particular. Collecting donations for Black Lives Matter is a chance for us to provide monetary aid to an organization fueling a national conversation about combating anti-Blackness. Our hope is to use this platform to further encourage our audience and peers to help fight White Supremacy and to promote justice, reform, and equality. Please consider donating to our fundraiser using the link below!
CAST
Dr. Faustus | Pablo Lopez |
Mephistophilis | Kyle Stoner |
Wagner/Lucifer/Others | Ernesto Bustos |
Robin/Clown/Others | Leah Daugherty |
Angels/Others | Amandine Edwards⌃ |
Valdes/Others | Guinevere Govea⌃ |
Cornelius/Others | Arden Siadek⌃ |
Beelzebub/Others | Cade Smith⌃ |
⌃DSF Digital Internship Participant
Pablo Lopez
Dr. Faustus
PABLO LOPEZ (he/him/his) is a storyteller-performer from Los Angeles. He performed at the American High School Theatre Festival in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with his high school performance of The Crucible in 2011. He placed second and first several times for the English Speaking Union. He was awarded the Herb Alpert Emerging Young Artist Award in 2012 by the California State Summer School for the Arts. He participated in the Los Angeles Regional August Wilson Monologue Competition in 2012 and 2013, and took second place for the National AWMC in 2013. After attending UC Davis for a year, Pablo joined the wonderful DSE community for four seasons in 2014-2017, performing and Associate Producing for the shows She Loves Me, Twelfth Night, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Cyrano de Bergerac and Bells Are Ringing. He went on to earn a BFA in Theatre Original Works at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, WA from 2015-2018. In Seattle, he has premiered many new plays, like The Journey of the Saint and querencia: an imagined autobiography about forbidden fruits with ESE Teatro 2017 & 2018. He also performed at 12th Avenue Arts with The Strawberry Theatre Workshop in their 2016 production of Lydia. He fostered conversation as a dramaturg for the Cornish production of Wild Kate, and is a budding playwright and poet. He hopes you enjoy the show!
Kyle Stoner
Mephistophilis
Kyle (he/him/his) used to work in the theater when the theater still existed (remember February?). Recent regional work: Created the role of David Copperfield in the world premiere of David Copperfield: A New Musical with the Jewel Theater Company. Scotty, Ripcord (Cinnabar Theatre). The Entirety of The D’Ysquith Family (May They Rest In Peace), A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder; Jacques, As You Like It; Puck, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Romeo, Romeo & Juliet, Sebastian,12th Night; Edwin Drood (Davis Shakespeare Festival). Les Miserables, Macbeth (Sierra Repertory Theater); Zorba, Carnival!, Snoopy!!! (42nd Street Moon); Bud Davenport, Gutenberg! the Musical! (Bike City Theater Co.); Innkeeper, O Wondrous Night! (SeaWorld); Princeton/Rod, Avenue Q (NCTC); Fabrizio, Light in the Piazza (Altarena Playhouse); J.P. Finch, How to $ucceed (BAM!); F-WORD aka Frodo aka Francis, The Fellowship (AlterTheater); Jaques/Silvius/Oliver/Charles, As You Like It (SF Shakespeare Festival); Jesus, Jesus Christ Superstar (Bay Area Stage); Kyle, Ultimate Xmas Show (abridged), Complete Works u/s (Reduced Shakespeare Company).
Ernesto Bustos
Wagner, Bishop, Lucifer, Bruno, Benvolio, Duke, and Emperor
Ernesto Bustos (he/him/his) is an actor from the Sacramento area. A graduate of Sacramento State’s theatre department, he has performed in numerous productions on stage and screen. He has lent his voice talents to animated cartoons, recruiting materials, educational programs, and serial podcasts. Some recent credits include One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Balm in Gilead, and Frida. Davis Shakespeare Festival credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream and As You Like It.
Leah Daugherty
Robin-Clown, Angel, Scholar 1, Martino, Horse, and Servant
Leah (she/her/hers) is excited to be working with Davis Shakespeare again after having last appeared as Robin Starveling in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. More recent local credits include Dorothea Puente Tells All! with Janis Stevens at the California Stage Theatre Company, The Wolves at Capital Stage, and Bachelorette at Big Idea Theatre. A graduate of both UC Davis’s Theatre & Dance Department and the Capital Stage Apprenticeship Program, Leah is now a proud company member at Big Idea Theatre in Sacramento. Many thanks to Rob and Gia for having her back at DSF and big love to Thomas and her support system.
Amandine Edwards
Good/Bad angels, Dick, Hostess, Duchess, Meditation, and Friars
Amandine Edwards is a German-born American operatic mezzo-soprano, hailing from a military family. She is currently completing her Masters in Vocal Performance at Sacramento State University, before that she studied and received her Bachelors in Music at the Crane School of Music in New York. Her most recent ventures have led to an award for Best Short Screenplay at the l’Age d’Or International Arthouse Film Festival for Partycrasher, for which she was co-creator and screenwriter, Partycrasher is also a finalist at the Madras Independent Film Festival.
She has performed in the Savannah Voice Festival, with the Paradise Symphony Orchestra, North State Symphony, Camilla Symphony Orchestra, and at Carnegie Hall. She will be joining Light Opera Theatre of Sacramento in their upcoming virtual performance of The Gitanos, where she’ll be in the role of Christina. She will be making her debut with Opera in the Ozarks in 2021, playing Dorothée in Cendrillon, and Tituba and Rebecca Nurse in The Crucible.
Her work with the Davis Shakespeare Festival 2020 Digital Internship allows her to spread her creative and collaborative wings further, into the realms of dramaturgy, directing, voice-acting, producing, and sound engineering.
When she isn’t working on new repertoire or preparing an opera role, Amandine can often be found reading, playing the piano, spending time with her cats, weightlifting, running, archery, and contortion.
Guinevere Govea
Valdes, Scholar 2, Cardinal, and Carter
Guinevere Govea is an Austin-based actor, songwriter, and playwright currently pursuing degrees in Theatre and Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. She has acted in several short films, commercials, and plays, including Matawan at UT Austin, which she received a B. Iden Payne Award for. She has also worked under the direction of Laura Gordon of the American Players Theatre in Sense and Sensibility. This fall, you can see her as “Desamaya” in UT Theatre and Dance’s remote main stage performance of La Ruta.
Arden Siadek
Cornelius, Pope, Raymond, and Vinter
Arden Siadek (she/her/hers) is a current undergraduate student at UC Davis, with a major in Theatre and Dance. She loves instrumental and vocal music (and theatre) and has been performing for over ten years in various conservatories and ensembles. Arden is particularly interested in the intersectionality of theatre and activism. At UC Davis, she recently appeared in the virtual Theatre and Dance Dept. spring production, AntigoneNOW. Currently, she is on the board of the new organization, Theatre for Social Change, and is also an ensemble member of Catalyst: A Theatre Think Tank. In quarantine, Arden has successfully and socially-distantly learned how to solve a Rubik’s cube. Arden also enjoys slacklining, rock climbing, and baton twirling. As a baton twirler, Arden has won multiple competitive titles, and performed in Disneyland parades. She is thrilled to be a part of this exciting production, work with artists across the country, and participate from her home in Los Angeles! In this virtual festival, Arden is also on the creative team of Everybody.
Cade Smith
Beelzebub, Old Man, Scholar 3, Soldier, and Frederick
Cade Smith (they/them or he/him) is an artist, educator, and performer co-directing acts I and III of what we are affectionately calling the Faustus Podcastus. They are also working on sound editing, logo design, and voice acting within this production. Having recently completed his Bachelor’s degree in Art & Design Education at Pratt Institute (with a concentration in Painting and an Art History minor), Cade is gearing up to return to Pratt (virtually for now) to pursue a Master’s in Art & Design Education, focusing on Community and Museum Education, as well as continuing to work towards NYS Visual Arts teaching certification. As a fan of audio dramas and horror podcasts, they are excited to explore the potential for theatrical production in a purely audio format!
CREATIVE TEAM
Camilla Dwyer
Camilla Dwyer (she/her/hers) is a fourth-year African-Black Diaspora Studies and Playwriting major at DePaul University by way of San Francisco. She most recently participated in the inaugural Exquisite Corpse Playwriting Project in Chicago and received DePaul’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fund for her project, “Wearing Her Skin: The Tragic Mulatta and the Rise of Blackfishing.” You can catch her waiting for public transportation or hiding from local weather in various cafes.
Amandine Edwards
Amandine Edwards is a German-born American operatic mezzo-soprano, hailing from a military family. She is currently completing her Masters in Vocal Performance at Sacramento State University, before that she studied and received her Bachelors in Music at the Crane School of Music in New York. Her most recent ventures have led to an award for Best Short Screenplay at the l’Age d’Or International Arthouse Film Festival for Partycrasher, for which she was co-creator and screenwriter, Partycrasher is also a finalist at the Madras Independent Film Festival.
She has performed in the Savannah Voice Festival, with the Paradise Symphony Orchestra, North State Symphony, Camilla Symphony Orchestra, and at Carnegie Hall. She will be joining Light Opera Theatre of Sacramento in their upcoming virtual performance of The Gitanos, where she’ll be in the role of Christina. She will be making her debut with Opera in the Ozarks in 2021, playing Dorothée in Cendrillon, and Tituba and Rebecca Nurse in The Crucible.
Her work with the Davis Shakespeare Festival 2020 Digital Internship allows her to spread her creative and collaborative wings further, into the realms of dramaturgy, directing, voice-acting, producing, and sound engineering.
When she isn’t working on new repertoire or preparing an opera role, Amandine can often be found reading, playing the piano, spending time with her cats, weightlifting, running, archery, and contortion.
Jessica Lai
Hi, my name is Jessica (she/her/hers), a Cinema and Digital Media student at UC Davis. I’m working with sound and marketing/communications for Faustus. What I find most interesting about this play is how flippantly Faustus throws away his eternal destiny for immediate pleasures. We don’t see many people trading their souls for demonic powers today, but the world is full of people losing their humanity in the chase for power, wealth, and status. But what good is it if someone gains the whole world, yet loses their soul?
Sara Ramsawak
Sara Ramsawak (she/her/hers) is a Trinidadian-American playwright, producer and arts manager from New York. She also works as a Visitor Experience Team Leader at The Shed. Sara has been studying theater for most of her life and is excited for this opportunity to work with DSF this summer! She is a graduate student at CUNY Baruch College studying Arts Administration. She previously completed her Bachelor’s degree at SUNY Purchase College studied Playwriting and Screenwriting and Arts Management. She has written and self-produced plays while studying at Purchase (I Am Parvati Patel and The Women of El Dorado), and also co-founded and produced a theater and film festival (P.O.V. Fest 2018). She hopes in her career to go on to start her own arts organization dedicated to showcasing and celebrating the work and culture of the Caribbean diaspora.
Alyssa Rodriguez
Alyssa (she/her/hers) is currently majoring in Arts Management and Studio Composition at SUNY Purchase. This past semester she achieved a 4.0 GPA, making the Dean’s List for Spring 2020. Prior to college, Alyssa attended notable art schools in New York City including Mark Twain Middle School and LaGuardia High School where she studied vocal music and performance. While in high school, she volunteered as an assistant dance teacher at her former local dance school in Brooklyn. At this moment, she is involved in two art internships. The first involves working with her professor, Kate Scorza Ingram, as a research intern for a project associated with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, Alyssa is in the Davis Shakespeare Festival Digital Internship Program, which rotates through three different pods of various areas of theatre management and production.
Cade Smith
Cade Smith (they/them or he/him) is an artist, educator, performer, student, and pisces co-directing acts I and III of what we are affectionately calling the Faustus Podcastus. They are also working on sound editing, logo design, and voice acting within this production. As a fan of audio dramas and horror podcasts, they are excited to explore the potential for theatrical production in a purely audio format, as well as ways to make the medium more accessible!
Curtain Speech for Act I and Act II
As participants affiliated with Davis Shakespeare Festival, we acknowledge the ways in which we as a creative team benefit from the violence of settler colonialism in the area we now refer to as "Davis, California." As an institution DSF operates on the traditional, occupied, unceded lands of the Patwin people. Furthermore, we acknowledge the continued efforts of Patwin groups to reclaim, protect, and indigenize their ancestral lands, history, culture, and language. We affirm our solidarity with local groups fighting to decolonize their ancestral lands and implore our audience and peers to do the same. While these acknowledgements represent only a small step on the long road towards restoring Indigenous Sovereignty, we see ...
Notes on Act II
Directors’ Statement Engaging with the canon means engaging with the institutional powers of colonialism and White supremacy. As a group of diverse artists, it is both a privilege to come together to present this project, and also a moment to reflect on the ways in which we can use our resources and platform to inspire greater social change. As we’ve embarked on this project, we have sought to decenter the traditional structures of power that have produced Dr. Faustus as a canonical work. While this project has sought to take the first steps towards disarticulating itself from these institutions of power, these steps are by no means expansive nor complete. Part of ...
Act I and Act II Are Out!
It’s here! It’s finally here! The Faustus Team would like to present to you Act I and Act II of “The Tragedie of Doctor Faustus”! We have been hard at work all month preparing this podcast/audio play for you all! After months of learning about theater-making, running a theater company, and collaborating with fellow theater students from all over the country, the Faustus Team is proud to present you with our production! While it is free to listen to this podcast/audio play, please consider donating to our fundraiser for Black Lives Matter. We are grateful for all donations we receive and hope to continue to support the fight for equality and justice, ...
Intro to Doctor Faustus
August 27-30, DSF's Digital Internship Program will present an Online Theatre Festival featuring three exciting projects. One project will be based on Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe -- here is a post introducing the text: Christopher Marlowe was the great tragedian of Elizabethan England. He was, of course, the rival to Shakespeare, who was even born in the same year. The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus has been retold and reimagined numerous times over the span of several centuries, but Marlowe’s Faustus was the first big incarnation of the classic tale since the earliest known Wolfenbüttler manuscript. It plays with the nature of human curiosity, arrogance, superiority complexes, and even boredom… we ...