It is 1833, and change is coming to rural County Donegal: While a hodgepodge group gather at an Irish-language hedge school to study classics of Greek and Latin literature, British army engineers arrive to map the country, draw new borders, and translate local place names into the King’s English. Languages and histories collide, kindling romance and inciting violence. A modern classic from an Irish master, directed by Studio’s Belfast-born Associate Artistic Director, Translations reminds us how personal the political can be.
Runtime: This performance will run approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes with one 10-minute intermission.
Translations is generously underwritten
by Joan and David Maxwell.
Brian Friel wrote THE ENEMY WITHIN (1962); PHILADELPHIA, HERE I COME! (1964); THE LOVES OF CASS MCGUIRE (1966); LOVERS (1967); CRYSTAL AND FOX (1968); THE MUNDY SCHEME (1969); THE GENTLE ISLAND (1971); THE FREEDOM OF THE CITY (1973); VOLUNTEERS (1975); LIVING QUARTERS (1977); ARISTOCRATS (1979); FAITH HEALER (1979); TRANSLATIONS (1980); a translation of THREE SISTERS (1981); THE COMMUNICATION CORD (1982); an adaptation of Turgenev’s NOVEL FATHERS AND SONS (1987); MAKING HISTORY (1988); DANCING AT LUGHNASA (1990); THE LONDON VERTIGO (1991); an adaptation of A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY (1992); WONDERFUL TENNESSEE (1993); and MOLLY SWEENEY (1994). DANCING AT LUGHNASA premiered at the Abbey Theatre, transferred to London’s West End, and then went on to Broadway, where it won three 1992 Tony Awards, including Best Play. The play has been performed around the world, including national tours in Ireland, England, and Australia. His plays have been performed extensively in Dublin at the Abbey, Gate, and Olympia theatres, and in many West End theatres in London.
New York productions include PHILADELPHIA, HERE I COME! (Helen Hayes, 1965); THE LOVES OF CASS MCGUIRE (Helen Hayes, 1966); THE MUNDY SCHEME (Royale, 1969); THE FREEDOM OF THE CITY (Alvin, 1974); FAITH HEALER (Longacre, 1979); LOVERS (Lincoln Center, 1986); ARISTOCRATS (MTC, 1989); DANCING AT LUGHNASA (Plymouth, 1991); WONDERFUL TENNESSEE (Plymouth, 1993); PHILADELPHIA, HERE I COME! (Roundabout, 1994), and TRANSLATIONS (Plymouth, 1995). In 1992 FAITH HEALER was revived by King’s Head Theatre, London, and transferred to the Wyndham in the West End; and A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY opened at the Gate Theatre in Dublin. MOLLY SWEENEY opened at the Gate Theatre and transferred to the Almeida Theatre in London.
Born in Omagh, County Tyrone, in Ireland in 1929, Mr. Friel began writing short stories for "The New Yorker" in 1959 and subsequently published two collections: "The Saucer of Larks" and "The Gold in the Sea." His first radio plays were produced by the BBC, Belfast, in 1958. In 1989, BBC Radio devoted a six-play season to his work, the first living playwright to be so distinguished. In 1980 Mr. Friel joined Stephen Rea in founding the Field Day Theatre Company, where they first staged the Ewart-Biggs Peace Prize-winning TRANSLATIONS. The Company’s productions explored the middle ground between the secular culture of Northern Ireland and the more traditional rural world. Field Day also premiered his adaptation of THREE SISTERS, THE COMMUNICATION CORD, and MAKING HISTORY.
Matt Torney is entering his fifth season as Associate Artistic Director at Studio, where he has previously directed If I Forget, Translations, The Hard Problem, MotherStruck!, Hedda Gabler, Jumpers for Goalposts, The New Electric Ballroom, and The Walworth Farce. Prior to his work at Studio, Matt served as the Director of Programming for Origin Theatre in New York, an Off Broadway company that specializes in European new writing. His New York credits include Stop the Tempo and Tiny Dynamite at Origin Theatre (Drama Desk Award nominee), The Twelfth Labor at Loading Dock, The Dudleys at Theatre for the New City, The Angel of History at HERE Arts, and Three Sisters and A Bright Room Called Day at the Atlantic Theatre School. Regional credits include Brighton Beach Memoirs at Theatre J (nominated for two Helen Hayes Awards), Sherlock Holmes and the Crucifer of Blood and Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme at Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, and Improbable Frequency at Solas Nua (Helen Hayes Award nominee for Best Choreography). International credits include Digging for Fire and Plaza Suite with Rough Magic (National Tour), Angola workshop at the Abbey Theatre, Paisley and Me at the Grand Opera House Belfast, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at Making Strange (Irish Theatre Award nominee for Best Director), and Woyzeck at Rough Magic (Best Production nominee at the Dublin Fringe Festival). Originally from Belfast, Matt holds an MFA from Columbia University.
(As of August 2019)
Caroline Dubberly returns to Studio Theatre after appearing in The Father. Select regional credits include Baby Screams Miracle at Woolly Mammoth; Top Girls, An Irish Carol, and Next to Normal (Helen Hayes Award: Outstanding Production) at Keegan Theatre; The Talented Mr. Ripley at Monumental Theatre Company; Titus Andronicus at Shakespeare in the Pub; Blood Wedding at Cara Mia Theatre Company; and Mr. Burns, a post-electric play at Stage West. Ms. Dubberly holds a BA in Theatre Arts from the University of North Texas.
Erin Gann has appeared Off Broadway in productions including I’m Not The Stranger You Think I Am at Theatre for One, Ping Pong at The Public Theater, Scenes from a Marriage at New York Theatre Workshop, The Vaults at New Georges, We Are Proud to Present… and Stars at Soho Rep., Apple Cove at The Women’s Project, The Aliens at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, and The Cherry Orchard at Atlantic Theatre Company. His film credits include the Academy Award-winning film The Hurt Locker and he has appeared in BrainDead (CBS), Alpha House (Amazon), and Law & Order (NBC). Mr. Gann holds a BFA in acting from The Juilliard School.
Brad Armacost makes his Studio Theatre debut. Based in Chicago, his credits include Oedipus Complex, The Zoo Story, The Trip To Bountiful, Touch of the Poet and Chicago Boys at Goodman Theatre; Playboy of the Western World, Maria Arndt, The Seafarer, and Faith Healer at Steppenwolf; and The Merchant of Venice, Comedy of Errors, Timon of Athens, Antony & Cleopatra, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Elizabeth Rex, and Madness of King George at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. He is an Artistic Associate at Provision Theatre (Shadowlands, C. S. Lewis – Onstage, Tuesdays With Morrie) and Irish Theatre of Chicago (The Weir, Moon for the Misbegotten, Seafarer, Hughie, Shining City). He has received four Joseph Jefferson Awards and numerous nominations. Additional Friel productions include Aristocrats, Wonderful Tennessee and Dancing at Lughnasa. Television credits include Bishop Eagan in The Exorcist, Empire, Chicago Fire, Mind Games, Missing Persons, Untouchables and Early Edition. Film credits include Patriot, Warren, The Company, Barbershop 2, Repetition, and Eight Men Out. Mr. Armacost is the Narrator with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Megan Graves makes her Studio Theatre debut. Recent DC and regional credits include The Great Society and The Little Foxes at Arena Stage; A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Second Shepherd's Play at Folger Theatre; Peter and the Starcatcher at Constellation Theatre Company (Helen Hayes Award Nomination, Best Actress); Love and Information, Passion Play, and Clementine in the Lower 9 with Forum Theatre; and performances with Imagination Stage, Adventure Theatre MTC, Virginia Shakespeare Festival, and Virginia Repertory Theatre, among others. Ms. Graves is a company member of Only Make Believe and received her BFA in Acting from Shenandoah Conservatory.
Martin Giles is an actor and director based in Pittsburgh, PA. He returns to Studio Theatre after playing Leo in The Hard Problem last season. His most recent work includes playing Joseph Stalin in Collaborators for Quantum Theatre, and Pats Bocock in Sive and Capulet in Romeo And Juliet, both for Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre. He has taught acting and directing at the schools of drama of Point Park University, Ohio University, and Carnegie-Mellon University.
Molly Carden's New York credits include Emotional Creature at Signature Theatre, Please Continue at Ensemble Studio Theater, Downtown Race Riot at New York Stage and Film (Mainstage Production), Cherry Smoke at the Working Theater, and Pressing Matters at the Clurman Theatre. Regional credits include Frankenstein at Denver Center, Emotional Creature at Berkeley Rep, The Night Alive at Guild Hall, On Clover Road at CATF, and The Great Immensity with The Civilians at Kansas City Repertory Theatre. Ms. Carden is a proud member of Colt Coeur, the Ensemble Studio Theater, and the 52nd Street Project. She holds a BFA from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
Matthew Aldwin McGee was last seen at Studio as Riff Raff in Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show. Other local credits include Arabian Nights, Urinetown, Scapin, Taking Steps (Helen Hayes Award, Best Supporting Actor) at Constellation Theatre Company; Wonderland: Alice’s Rock & Roll Adventure and The BFG at Imagination Stage; King Charles III, King Henry the IV (parts 1 & 2), Merry Wives of Windsor, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Much Ado About Nothing at the Shakespeare Theatre Company; as well as Flying V, Avant Bard, LiveArt DC, No Rules, and others. Mr. McGee also works as a freelance props and puppet designer and is a graduate of CSU Fresno.
Cary Donaldson returns to Studio Theatre after appearing in Translations in 2018. He has appeared on Broadway in Straight White Men and Mrs. Warren’s Profession, and Off Broadway in The Winter’s Tale and The Merchant of Venice (The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park), Timon of Athens (The Public Theater), The Rivals and Major Barbara (The Pearl Theatre Company), The Old Boy (Keen Company), Hamlet (Waterwell), and Romeo and Juliet (Wheelhouse Theater Company). Regionally, Cary has performed at Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Old Globe, Barrington Stage Company, The Contemporary American Theater Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Pioneer Theatre Company, and Georgia Shakespeare. His television credits include The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Blue Bloods, Elementary, and History’s The Men Who Built America. He received a BA from Wake Forest University and a MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
(As of February 2020)
Jeff Keogh makes his Studio Theatre debut. Regional credits include As You Like It and Mary Stuart at Folger Theatre; Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night's Dream at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company; Hamlet and Macbeth at Round Table Theatre Company. Mr. Keogh holds an MFA from the Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University
Joe Mallon was last seen at Ford's Theatre in Death of a Salesman. Select regional credits include Hamlet at Virginia Shakespeare Festival; Kiss at Woolly Mammoth; Elephant and Piggie at Kennedy Center as well as the first and second international tours; Fiddler on the Roof at Arena Stage; Romeo and Juliet at Folger Theatre; Beauty Queen of Leenane at Round House Theatre; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Wallenstein, and Coriolanus at Shakespeare Theatre; Shear Madness at Kennedy Center; and The Fantasticks at the Kimmel Center. He will next be seen as Snoopy in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown at Imagination Stage. Mr. Mallon has a BFA from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and an MFA from University of South Carolina.
Adrien-Alice Hansel is the Literary Director at Studio, where she has dramaturged the world premieres of Queen of Basel, The Remains, No Sisters, I Wanna Fucking Tear You Apart, Animal, Laugh, Red Speedo, Dirt, Lungs, and The History of Kisses as well as productions of Cry It Out,Translations, Curve of Departure, The Effect, Wig Out!, Straight White Men, Cloud 9, Hedda Gabler, Constellations, Jumpers for Goalposts, Bad Jews (twice), The Apple Family Plays, Invisible Man, Sucker Punch, The Golden Dragon, and The New Electric Ballroom, among others. Prior to joining Studio, she spent eight seasons at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, where she headed the literary department and coordinated project scouting, selection, and development for the Humana Festival of New American Plays. She also served as production dramaturg on roughly 50 new, contemporary, and classic plays there, including premieres by Naomi Wallace, Gina Gionfriddo, Kirk Lynn and Rude Mechs, Rinne Groff, The Civilians, Anne Bogart and SITI Company, Jordan Harrison, and John Belluso. She is the co-editor of eight anthologies of plays from Actors Theatre and editor of eight editions of plays through Studio. Adrien-Alice holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.
(As of April 2019)
Debra Booth is Director of Design at Studio Theatre, where she has designed If I Forget, Translations, The Wolves, The Father, The Hard Problem, Moment, Constellations, The Apple Family Cycle, Jumpers for Goalposts, Belleville, Cock, Edgar & Annabel, Bachelorette, Moonlight, Blackbird, My Children! My Africa!, The Pillowman, and many others. Her international work includes premiere opera Marco Polo (Tan Dun/Martha Clarke) in Munich, Hong Kong, and New York. Regionally, Debra’s credits include Small Mouth Sounds at Round House Theatre; Richard III, The Collection, and The Lover at the Shakespeare Theatre Company; Marisol at Hartford Stage and The Public Theatre; Trying, The Illusion, and Happy Days at Portland Stage Company; the New York premiere of Angels in America at The Juilliard School; Broken Glass at Philadelphia Theatre Company (Barrymore Award nomination); and Moon for the Misbegotten at Yale Repertory Theatre. Debra is the recipient of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Artist Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts Design Grant, and a graduate of the Yale School of Drama.
(As of October 2019)
Manna-Symone Middlebrooks is Studio's Artistic Apprentice this season. Her directing credits include Assistant Director for Studio's productions of Translations, The Wolves, Curve of Departure, and Skeleton Crew; Broken Glass at Theater J; Scarred for Life at American University; and The Ruiners: A Modern Romance at Keegan Theatre. Ms. Middlebrooks holds a BA in Theatre Arts and Literature from American University and is an alumna of The British American Drama Academy.
(As of April 2018)
Nancy Krebs returns to Studio Theatre, where she previously served as Dialect/Vocal Coach for Constellations (Helen Hayes Award-winning production), Animal (world premiere), The Habit of Art (American Premiere), and The Enda Walsh Festival: The New Electric Ballroom and The Walworth Farce. She has been the Resident Dialect/Vocal Coach for the Annapolis Shakespeare Company for the past five years, coaching over 35 productions during her tenure at ASC. Her most recent credits are The Glass Menagerie, Blithe Spirit, A Christmas Carol, Much Ado About Nothing, Alice and the Book of Wonderland, The Tempest, and Richard III. Ms. Krebs has served in this capacity for hundreds of professional productions in the region since 1994, working with other notable companies as Theater J, Baltimore Center Stage, Olney Theatre Center, Everyman Theatre, and Rep Stage in Columbia. Ms. Krebs teaches the Lessac Voice & Body Training at the Baltimore School for the Arts, operates her own voice studio The Voiceworks, is an accomplished musician/singer/songwriter, and belongs to AEA, AFTRA, SAG, and VASTA.
(As of March 2018)
Keith Parham returns to Studio Theatre, where he previously designed Hand to God and The Father. He designed Therese Raquin on Broadway for Roundabout Theatre Company. His Off Broadway credits include Man From Nebraska at Second Stage; The Purple Lights of Joppa Illinois and Between Riverside and Crazy at Atlantic Theater Company; The Model Apartment at Primary Stages; Tribes, Mistakes Were Made, and Red Light Winter at Barrow Street Theatre; Stop the Virgens with Karen O at St. Ann's Warehouse and Sydney Opera House; Ivanov and Three Sisters at CSC; A Minister's Wife at Lincoln Center Theatre; and Adding Machine: A Musical at Minetta Lane. Recent regional credits include Father Comes Home from the Wars, The Wolves, and Uncle Vanya at the Goodman Theatre; Wild Goose Dreams at La Jolla Playhouse; Carousel at Arena Stage; and The Edge of Our Bodies, Gentle, Music Hall, and The Anyway Cabaret at TUTA Theatre. International work includes Homebody/Kabul at National Theatre of Belgrade in Serbia. He is the recipient of an Obie Award and a Lucille Lortel Award.
(As of March 2018)
Allie Roy returns to Studio after last stage managing If I Forget. Other Studio credits include Translations, Curve of Departure, Straight White Men, Murder Ballad, Silence! The Musical, and the world premiere of Animal for the Women’s Voices Theater Festival. Regional credits include West Side Story in concert with the NSO as well as Love, Factually at The Kennedy Center; the world premieres of Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing and Diner as well as The Scottsboro Boys, West Side Story, and Elmer Gantry at Signature Theatre; the world premiere of After the War as well as When January Feels Like Summer and Ulysses on Bottles at Mosaic Theater Company; and The Originalist at Arena Stage. Upcoming regional projects include Grand Hotel at Signature Theatre and Describe the Night at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.
(As of January 2019)
Kate Kilbane makes her Studio Theatre debut. She recently stage managed The Last Night of Ballyhoo at Theater J along with twelve other productions. Other DC area credits include Unexplored Interior, the inaugural production at Mosaic Theater; American Utopias, The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, and Arias with a Twist at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. As assistant stage manager, she worked on The Tempest Free for All at the Shakespeare Theatre Company; thirteen productions at Ford’s Theatre, including The Laramie Project, Fly, and Parade; and four productions at The Kennedy Center including Follies and Ragtime
Palmer Hefferan returns to Studio Theatre after previously designing Moment, Sorry, Regular Singing, Bad Jews, and Edgar & Annabel. Other select DC credits include Baby Screams Miracle (Helen Hayes nomination), Guards at the Taj (Helen Hayes nomination), Women Laughing Alone With Salad, and Cherokee at Woolly Mammoth; Urinetown, Equus (Helen Hayes nomination), Absolutely! {Perhaps}, and 36 Views at Constellation Theatre Company; and Everything Is Illuminated, The Call, and Yentl at Theater J. Select Off Broadway credits include Charm and School Girls at MCC; Orange Julius (Henry Hewes nomination) at Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre; The Death of the Last Black Man… at Signature Theatre; Friend Art at Second Stage; Samara and Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again (Henry Hewes nomination) at Soho Rep; and Important Hats of the Twentieth Century at Manhattan Theatre Club. Select regional credits include Henry V and Henry IV, Part One at Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Romance Novels for Dummies at Williamstown Theatre Festival, Tiger Style! at Alliance Theatre and Huntington Theatre, peerless at Marin Theatre Company, Twelfth Night at Baltimore Center Stage. She has her MFA from Yale School of Drama.
(As of March 2018)
Wade Laboissonniere last designed Translations at Studio Theatre. His Broadway credits include The Story of My Life. His Off Broadway credits include An Octoroon; The Outgoing Tide; Side Effects; Zanna, Don’t!; and Shakespeare’s R&J. His regional credits include productions at Ford’s Theatre (where he is an Associate Artist), Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Baltimore Center Stage, Portland Center Stage, Goodspeed Opera House, Fifth Avenue Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Group, Delaware Theatre Company, Hangar Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Alliance Theatre, Paper Mill Playhouse, Westport Country Playhouse, and Pasadena Playhouse. His tours include Disney’s High School Musical (US, Australia, Spain, West End) and White Christmas. Additionally, Wade has published two volumes of Blueprints of Fashion. He holds a degree from the Yale School of Drama.
(As of August 2019)
