Past Productions

Past Productions 2023 - 2024

• Caboosh Directed by Emmanuelle Delpech, as the world wrestles with questions of self expression, freedom of speech, and use of language, CABOOSH—a clown cabaret of the boosh—reflects on how one uses the mouth as a tool to express a variety of emotions and perform a variety of actions. After 30 years touring the USA, this family has a lot to say about it. You’ll delight in these naïve characters as they explore ways of using their bouches while singing, tapping, rapping, and more in this special show they’ve made as an amuse bouche for your own reflections and explorations. This show was written and created by the performers in collaboration with the Director.
• The Moors Directed by Emmanuelle Delpech, written by playwright Jen Silverman, is a dark comedy about two sisters living in a large old house on the moors with their maid and a mastiff. When a governess and a moorhen arrive, the balance of power in the household shifts and everything begins to change. The Moors was presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

Past Productions 2022 - 2023

• Spring Awakening: Directed by MK Tuomanen Spring Awakening, the 2006 Broadway musical adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s 1891 play of the same title, is the story of a group of teenagers doomed by their lack of information about their own emerging sexuality, the authoritarian culture in which they live, and the refusal of the adults in their lives to overcome their own repression to help the teens understand the events that are happening to them.
• Media/Medea: Written by Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwright James Ijames, this exciting new adaptation of the classic Greek tragedy was written specifically for us by Pulitzer Prize winning local playwright James Ijames. Directed by internationally recognized director and founder of local Philadelphia company Azuka Theatre, Raelle Myrick-Hodges, and featured Barrymore Award and Haas Award winning actor Akeem Davis working alongside the student actors. This production included students from Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, and the Community College of Philadelphia, in a rich and exciting collaboration between the schools. 
   

Past Productions 2021- 2022

• Gruesome Playground Injuries: Directed by Akeem Davis, a poignantly turbulent story of Kayleen and Doug, two characters whose intertwined histories and romantic tension play out over scenes that span different ages in their lives. The work explores the intermingled qualities of love, codependency, self-image and—ultimately—our tolerance for pain.
• Romeo and Juliet: Directed by Catharine Slusar, this production of Shakespeare’s classic tale of two young lovers is informed by the reactions and responses of Director Catharine Slusar and the young cast members to the COVID-19 pandemic of their own time. 

Past Productions 2020 - 2021

• The Okada Project: students worked with project director Mallory Catlett and designer Maiko Matsushima both remotely and in-person to investigate the works of Japanese playwright and director Toshiki Okada, resulting in a gallery show and a blog to share interdisciplinary works. 
• Groundwork Cabaret and Exhibition: presentation of students' work created in or inspired by "Groundwork" workshops included short film screenings, live performances, and visual arts and design gallery exhibition.

Past Productions 2019 - 2020

• Deathbed Edition: video installations, online content, and a cast of fifteen brought Walt Whitman’s poems into the 21st century, directed by Mark Lord, with costumes and set design by Maiko Matsushima.
• Emperor of the Moon, Aphra Behn’s deliciously satirical farce is a 17th Century slapstick rom-com complete with astronomy, astrology, and pseudo-science. The live performances of the production were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Past Productions 2018 - 2019

• The Government Inspector, a modern take on 19th-century Russian farce exploring themes of government bureaucracy, deception, and corruption was directed by Adrienne Mackey, with costumes and set design by Maiko Matsushima.

• The Wolves, an award-winning play about the rich, complex world of teenage girls follows an elite high school soccer team, was directed by Catharine Slusar, with costumes and set design by Maiko Matsushima. 

Past Productions 2017- 2018

• Riot Antigone: directed by Seonjae Kim with music direction by Dorie Bryne, this Riot Grrrl musical adaptation of the Greek tragedy delivered rebellious song, dance, projections, and poetry performed by a diverse cast.
• Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play: lit only by fire, homemade batteries, and bicycle-powered lights, the production meditated on what might happen to our favorite stories if the lights went out.

Past Productions 2016 - 2017

• Particular Risk directed by Sam Tower, script by Jeremy Gable, with an original score by electronic artist Rachel Ishikawa, and live vocal performance throughout
• Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Catharine Slusar—Barrymore Award-winning actor, director, and assistant professor, with an diverse design team

Past Productions 2015 - 2016

• Shakespeare's King Lear directed by Mark Lord: production inspired by work with Philadelphia middle-school students and a cast trip to Iceland as part of the College’s 360° Program
• Crooked by Catherine Trieschmann, directed by Kristin Kury '16 for her senior theater thesis
• The Saint Plays directed by Catharine Slusar​

Past Productions 2014 - 2015

• Home is Where: senior theater theses, which included This Side Up, a solo performance created and performed by Camilla Dely, and B-Side You created by Amelia Couderc, Erica Rice, and Christina Stella
• Crossing Bryn Mawr, a collaboratively created play about the Bryn Mawr College experience, directed by Adrienne Mackey
• Caryl Churchill's Love and Information directed by Catharine Slusar

Past Productions 2013 - 2014

• The Serpent Woman, a new adaptation of a classic Commedia Dell'arte play, directed by Aaron Cromie
• A very modern take on Sophocles' Antigone directed by Catharine Slusar

Past Productions 2012 - 2013

• A Play of Hours directed by Mark Lord
• The Nina Variations by Steven Dietz: An Explosion of the Final Scene of Chekhov’s The Seagull, directed by Catharine Slusar

Past Productions 2011 - 2012

• BANG!
• Listen to Me
• Workshop with Performance Artist Tim Miller

Past Productions 2006 - 2011

• Student Theater Festival: An Act of Courage, Girlandboyland
• Alice Underground
• Student Theater Festival: Reduced Shakespeare Company, ​The Good Body, ​The Night Nurse- a Staged Reading, ​Blessed Among Women, ​The Haircut, ​Ohio Impromptu
• Artists' Cafe
• Offending the Audience
• Faith, Hope, and Charity
• Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights by Gertrude Stein
• Bryn Mawr at the Fringe Festival
• The Love for Three Oranges
• "Midsummer Night's Dream"
• Student Theater Festival: Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Back and Forth, ​Puppet Love, ​First Love, ​Cowboy Mouth, ​Come Little Children: Voices of Poe, ​Sure Thing and Philadelphia, ​Last Night, ​Not I, ​Midsummer Night's Dream

The Theater Program of Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges strives to foster creative collaboration between students and faculty, and its productions have won accolades from area critics for years.