Washington College Magazine
The cast of Tartuffe pose on stage on opening night.
photo: Charlie Campbell
Alumni Talent Showcased
By Jim Landskroener M'91
During the month of August, members of the Washington College community captured the stage and took over a small theater in Church Hill, MD, to produce an original, updated performance of Molière's Tartuffe. The occasion brought together a diverse group of talented people—all of whom had direct, tangible connections to the College—for a unique theatrical production.
When Professor Dale Daigle was approached to direct for Church Hill's stage—the producers were hoping for "classic" theater—Daigle decided that an updated version of Tartuffe would fit the bill. He then needed someone to take on the difficult task of transporting Molière's script from the seventeenth to the twenty-first century. He turned to one of his students, Liam Daley '07. Daley, a double major in English and drama, had written a play as his senior capstone experience. What the Cat Said showed Daigle that his student was "a terrific writer with a very good sense of comedy." (Terrific writer indeed, Daley went on to win the Sophie Kerr Prize that spring.)
The two labored to translate Molière's themes and characters, carefully dissecting the original play, into a story with the right balance between Molière's language and the ears—and tolerance—of a modern audience.
With script in hand, Daigle again turned to the WC community to assemble his talented cast. The play requires a family unit: a grandmother and her two middle-aged sons, one of whom has a wife and two teenage daughters. Age being a primary consideration, Daigle enlisted three well-seasoned local actors: his wife Polly Sommerfeld, (lecturer in the Department of Drama), Jim Landskroener M'91, and Diane Landskroener '76, M'81 (WC's Director of Creative Services). To complete the cast, Daigle gathered the remaining actors from a roster of current and former students: Liz Garrott '99, Harry Wright '07, Bobby Bangart '08, Jen Friedman '96, Heather Holiday '06, (Assistant Director of the Washington Fund); Jason Schwartz, who attended WC in the 1990s; and Michael Moore '00. For his production staff he brought in Marielle Latrick '08 to design the lighting and Melissa Maenner '04 for costume design.
The production, which ran for three weekends, was a critical and financial success for Church Hill Theater. But more than that, it was a very special showcase for the depth of palpable talent evident in WC's teachers and students, past and present.
300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, Maryland 21620 | 410-778-2800 | 800-422-1782