October 24–November 3, 2019
The Cherry artists’ Collective presented Listen to Her, a mini-festival of solo shows about women.
Asylum, written and performed by Cherry Collective Member Elizabeth Mozer, is based on stunning true events connected to the deserted Binghamton psychiatric hospital known as “The Castle.” In a work that she has performed across the US, Mozer weaves together over six decades the lives of a Polish immigrant, three hospital inmates, and a woman following the clues to her past. This original movement-infused drama draws from personal accounts, historical documents, and imaginings to explore the shifting definitions of mental health and to bring marginalized voices to life. The Cherry Artists Collective presents Asylum on the heels of a sold-out, held-over run at the United Solo Theatre Festival in New York City.
The Belle of Amherst is a beloved classic about the iconic, reclusive poet Emily Dickinson. The play draws from Dickinson’s letters, diaries and poetry to paint a complex and joyful portrait of one of the great American women artists. Ithaca College acting professor Kathleen Mulligan performs an indelible Emily in a vibrant reimagining by director Norm Johnson. The Belle of Amherst will perform at the Cherry Artspace directly from a run at the American University in Beirut.
The English-language and US Premiere of The Saint brings the work of beloved Argentine playwright Santiago Loza back to the Cherry stage, starring Jennifer Herzog under the direction of Amina Omari. Currently in the eighth year of its hit run in Buenos Aires, this funny, strange, and powerful story follows the spiritual journey of an unforgettable young woman.
(Content warning: adult / potentially triggering material. More information available upon request.)
Over two thrilling weekends, Listen To Her fully encompassed the Cherry Collective mission: radically local, radically global, formally innovative. Don’t miss a single one!
2019 Show times
Thurs Oct 24 – 7:30 The Belle of Amherst
Fri Oct 25 – 7:30 The Saint
Sat Oct 26 – 3:30 Asylum
Sat Oct 26 -7:30 The Saint
(followed by talkback with playwright Santiago Loza)
Fri Nov 1 – 7:30 The Belle of Amherst
Sat Nov 2 – 3:30 The Saint
Sat Nov 2 – 7:30 Asylum
(followed by talkback with playwright/performer, Elizabeth Mozer)
Sun Nov 3 – 3:30 The Belle of Amherst
(followed by talkback with director, Norm Johnson)
Sun Nov 3 – 7:30 Asylum
Listen to Her Artist Bios
Gabrielle Button (festival lighting designer) is a theatrical lighting designer based in Upstate NY. She is a recent graduate of Binghamton University with a BA in Theatre and a concentration in Design and Technical Theatre, focusing her studies on Stage Lighting. Most recently her work has been seen at the United Solo Theatre Festival at Theatre Row in NYC. She currently freelances as a designer, assistant, and electrician around the northeast and NYC. gabriellebuttonlighting.com
Jennifer Herzog* (performer, The Saint) Cherry Collective member. Previous Cherry: world premieres of What Happens Next (SALT Award nominee, Best Actress), The Missing Chapter, Storm Country, A Cherry Timedive. Other local credits include August: Osage County at the Hangar Theatre, and Circle Mirror Transformation and First Day: Suite for Four Actors and Percussionist at the Kitchen Theatre Company. NYC credits include The Merchant Of Venice (Jessica), The Cradle Will Rock (Sister Mister), The Misanthrope (Eliante) all w/ Taylor Mac at the Jean Cocteau Repertory; Yentl (Finkl) w/ National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, directed by Bob Kalfin; The House Of Bernarda Alba (Martirio) w/ Prospect Theatre Company; Theatre for the New City, Jewish Rep, Expanded Arts, and others. Jennifer has taught acting in the Department of Theatre Arts at Ithaca College since 2010. She is also a producer who served as founding Associate Artistic Director for two Ithaca-area non-profit theatre companies: Civic Ensemble and The Cherry Arts. She hails from NYC; her parents were Broadway actors. As always, for Renee & Ci.
Norm Johnson (director, The Belle of Amherst) Previous Cherry: director, Nothing to do with Love by Santiago Loza. Norm is a recent retiree from the Department of Theatre Arts at Ithaca College where he taught acting and directed for 28 years. He directed last season’s Opera Ithaca New Year’s Eve gala, A Little Night Music and will direct this year’s gala, Cendrillon, as well. He also directed the Menotti one-acts last season at Ithaca College and is already preparing their winter 2020 production of Dido and Aeneas. He is thrilled to have directed The Belle of Amherst with his colleague Kathleen Mulligan which recently toured to Beirut, Lebanon. He is delighted with his many opportunities to remain active in the theatre while still having more time to train and compete with his Andalusian dressage horses.
Elizabeth Mozer* (creator and performer, Asylum) Cherry Collective member. Previous Cherry: George Kaplan. Elizabeth most recently performed her original play Asylum at the United Solo Theatre Festival in NYC. She conceived and wrote Castle on the Hill (a full-length play based on Asylum) which she directed and premiered at Binghamton University (BU) where she is an Associate Professor of Theatre. At BU her directing credits include The Burial At Thebes, A Chorus Line, and Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone. Elizabeth was in the original Broadway casts of Teddy & Alice, Dangerous Games and Victor/Victoria. Additional performance credits include Tamara (Park Avenue Armory), Up Against It (The Public), Foirades/Fizzles (La MaMa), and Doubt, Ashes to Ashes and Afterplay (The Garage). Elizabeth is the founding artistic director of the movement theatre company Theatre in the Flesh, originating such works as Blood & Honey and The August 9th Project.
Kathleen Mary Mulligan* (performer, The Belle of Amherst) Cherry Collective member. Previous Cherry: White Rabbit, Red Rabbit; Storm Country. Kathleen is a Professor of Voice and Speech at Ithaca College. Acting credits include The Acting Company (national tour), American Repertory Theater, Fort Worth Shakespeare in the Park, and seven years as a resident actor at PCPA Theatrefest in Santa Maria, CA. In 2010, she was a Fulbright Scholar to Kerala, India with her project “Finding Women’s Voices”, focused on the empowerment of women through voice. She spent the spring of 2015 in Pakistan collaborating on her project Voices of Partition (based on interviews with survivors of the Partition of 1947) with husband David Studwell and Islamabad’s Theatre Wallay. In 2017, she worked on her second collaboration with Theatre Wallay: an exploration of public space entitled On Common Ground. Kathleen is a graduate of Boston University (BFA) and Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX (MFA). She dedicates this performance to her beloved father, William Dunning Mulligan, whose love of poetry lit “the light [that] goes on and on.”
Dean Robinson* (performer, The Saint) Cherry Collective member. Previous Cherry: Storm Country, The Missing Chapter, George Kaplan, Santiago Loza’s Winter Animals.
Samuel Buggeln (cherry arts artistic director; co-translator, The Saint) is the co-founder and Artistic Director of The Cherry Arts, where over the last few years he has produced, directed, translated, and/or commissioned a dozen productions from Ithaca and international writers. Before founding the Cherry, Sam directed over 20 productions at regional theatres; in NYC he has developed new work extensively at the Lark and other venues and is an Artistic Associate at the New Ohio Theatre. Among numerous works directed at the Ohio are the Drama Desk-nominated Cressida Among the Greeks and Hater, his unconventional translation of Le Misanthrope, which has since been published and produced twice more. A volume of his co-translations of Santiago Loza’s plays is forthcoming from Seagull Books.
Sarah Chaneles (cherry arts marketing and box-office manager) is a graduate of Ithaca College’s Park School of Communications and spends her time outside of the Cherry planning, marketing, and performing in Ithaca’s arts and nightlife scenes. Some notable examples of Sarah’s work include directing The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Ithaca’s State Theatre, managing marketing for an online literary arts magazine, performing as a Drag King at Pop’d at The Cherry, teaching drag workshops at Cornell University and around the Finger Lakes Region, and ongoing collaborations with Whiskey Tango Sideshow.
Rose Howard (cherry arts operations manager) has a BFA in Theatrical Design, Ithaca College ’04. After living in and around NYC, she has returned to Ithaca. Highlights from NYC include working props on the Broadway shows South Pacific, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Sunday in the Park with George, American Buffalo, and Cyrano de Bergerac. She has designed for theatres in New York and Seattle including SecondStory Rep, The Ohio Theatre, and The Zipper. She has done additional work at The Vineyard Theatre, The Signature Theatre, and at Williamstown Theatre Festival, the New School for Drama and The Actors Studio.
Santiago Loza (writer, The Saint)
Aoise Stratford (festival dramaturg) is a playwright and dramaturg and teaches at Cornell University. She is the co-author of two headphone walking plays for The Cherry Arts: Storm Country (with Nick Salvato) and The Missing Chapter (with Katie Marks), and served as dramaturg for The Snow Queen. She is also the playwright behind The Hangar Theatre’s A Christmas Carol.