Ives Just Got To Dance

Ives Just Got to Dance: An Evening of One-Acts: May 5 & 6, 2012

Read more about the experience
in Gwangju's Art Elemento.

On May 5th and 6th, we performed a series of one-act plays, in an evening of comic genius that blew some freaking socks off. This included four short scripts by David Ives, as well as an original dance piece choreographed by Gwangju's own Angie Hartley.

The Plays, and the Playas

English Made Simple:

Travis Major - Director

Travis makes stuff sometimes. He helped create the Gwangju Performance Project for purely narcisstic reasons. One day, he will take all the souls he has harvested, and flee back to Saskatchewan. Or, he will become the King of Korea. One or the other.

Adam Hogue - "Jack"
Adam Hogue is a graduate of Keene State College. He is an English major and an Elementary Education Major. When he's not reading, writing or drawing; Adam likes to go for hikes and listen to music. Kurt Vonnegut is his favorite author. He has been teaching in Korea for the past 9 months. This is his first theater production.

Bethany Haizlett - "Jill"

Bethany Haizlett hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After twelve years of performing in local theater productions, she took a brief hiatus to complete her degree in Art Education. Now, she's thrilled to return to the stage and make her Gwangju Theatre debut as Jill in English Made Simple. Bethany sends out boundless affection to both her Gwangju family and to those dear souls living far across the Pacific.

Rupert Davenport - "Loudspeaker Voice"

Rupert Davenport was raised on the mean streets of Cereal City Michigan. When he was old enough, he journeyed to Western Michigan University so he could learn the skills necessary to shape young minds. Becoming bored with tedious life he hopped the first train he could not knowing where it was going. He somehow found himself in Gwangju South Korea. That was almost 3 years ago. As his memory fades of his once rough and tumble life, he clings to the thoughts of his mother, father and sister who miss him every day.

Variations on the Death of Trotsky
Directed by Travis Major

Bill Leech - "Trotsky"

From the Great State of Michigan, attended the University of Michigan for a major completely unrelated to teaching ESL English, and a veteran of The Real Inspector Hound.

Kelly Stavrides - "Mrs. Trotsky"

Kelly Stavrides is a 24 year old former graduate student from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She started acting 10 years ago and kept up the hobby through high school and college.

Rupert Davenport - "Ramon"

Rupert Davenport was raised on the mean streets of Cereal City Michigan. When he was old enough, he journeyed to Western Michigan University so he could learn the skills necessary to shape young minds. Becoming bored with tedious life he hopped the first train he could not knowing where it was going. He somehow found himself in Gwangju South Korea. That was almost 3 years ago. As his memory fades of his once rough and tumble life, he clings to the thoughts of his mother, father and sister who miss him every day.

Sure Thing

Amanda Koons - Director

Amanda Koons was born in the south of Chicago and has a BFA in Directing. She has been described as lovely, talented, feisty, having a very high level of awesome, and a fiery confidence. All of these things can be attributed to her amazing parents, sister, brother, family, and friends. Her favorite things include drinking coffee, laughing with her sister, children, theatre, travel, being a Ginger, and movies.

Carleigh Loster - "Betty"
Originally from Winnipeg, Canada, she's called Gwangju her home on and off for the past 2.5 years. She has a degree in Biology, so all of her acting experience has come from working at public elementary schools as an English teacher. She can otherwise generally be found playing Catan at the board game cafe. This will be her debut acting performance.

Julien Cote - "Bill"

The Universal Language

Zak Cates - Director
Zak, hailing from Waterville, Maine, USA, studied acting at a small-town University in central Maine. There, he was first introduced to David Ives's work and was fortunate enough to be involved in a performance of several of Ives's plays; acting in "A Sure Thing" and "the Philadelphia" as well as directing "Words, Words, Words" and "Time Flies". Ives remains one of Zak's favorite playwrights. Zak is very pleased to be sitting in the director's chair again, especially working with such a wonderful cast who make Unamunda so understandable. Doobly badaba?

Julien McNulty - "Don"

Once, there was a boy named Julien, who lived by the bay. In his eighth year, gypsies kidnapped him, taking him to the Winterland stench forests. Then, a dragon snapped him up and forced him to work in a fire factory. He escaped, traveling the realms for eternity. He served the Old Queen of the East; studied with Cowboys and Roughnecks of the Plains; swam with fishes among the Sea People, ending up here in Morning Calm. He’s a bard for the mountain sage, freelancing as a mandarin to those who will heed his counsel.

Lorhren-Rose Joseph - "Dawn"

On 28 February 1987, in a hospital on a hill, George, South Africa she emerged from her mother’s belly. The world could simply not be deprived of her for one more second. The Kalahari would soon follow to which she, as a young lady now, would own her Khoi San charm. After graduation, and prospects of Entropy thrusting her into the unknown world of engineering, it became less of a black box. However, Jo’burg’s conundrum of sounds, jolting corporate, concrete jungle and its cosmopolitan melting pot, started a whirlpool in her head. It rotated around one instigating point…it somehow managed to etch a message on the surface of her skull. It read, “There must be more!” She began her journey. To Asia she went.

Brittany Baker - "Old Woman"

Hello everyone! My name is Brittany Baker and I am from sunny southern California. Last year I graduated from California State University, San Marcos, where I majored in Communications. Unlike most of my costars, my acting experience is very limited. I played Mrs. Evangeline Harcourt (a haughty and arrogant old lady) in my high school’s production of Anything Goes. Ironically, I am once again being typecasted as an old lady. My one-liner in Universal Language is sure to blow you out of your seats, so don’t miss it!

May I Have This Dance?

Choreography by Angie Hartley and dancers

Music: Vivaldi recording by Shlomo Mintz, James Brown

This is our invitation to the Gwangju community, asking to consider its role in dance as art. As a form of audio-visual design, it exists everywhere and is open for participation by anybody in all ways. Thanks for the dance!

Angie Hartley - Choreographer

Angie Hartley graduated Summa Cum Laude from Keene State College with undergraduate degrees in Theater and Dance and Elementary Education. In addition to performing, her choreography has been shown in venues around the northeastern United States including the American College Dance Festivals in Orono, Maine and at Boston University. In 2011, she was the recipient of the Green Street Studios Emerging Artist award and participated in the Shared Choreographers' Concert in Boston, Massachusetts.

Amanda - Dancer

Ashli Duncan - Dancer

Ashli Duncan is a California native who graduated from Scripps College with a major in Dance and Media Studies. She started dancing when she was four and hasn't been able to stop since. After attending the 75th American Dance Festival in North Carolina where she was surrounded by dance, she was inspired to take bigger risk in dance. Since then she has received the Lucile Morrison Dance Scholarship twice to study dance with OCD Dance Group in San Francisco and Doug Varone and Dancers. Currently she teaches English at Woongjin Plus Academy.

Gail Elgersma - Dancer, Stage Manager Extraordinaire

Gail was raised on a farm to a set of very old parents. As a result, she is one of the most lovely people you will ever meet. She is a trained elementary school teacher, who likes staying very busy. When she's not making everyone's Halloween costumes (Robocop, Mr. Potato Head), she is doing at least half of the work done in this theater company. She has a lot of ghetto points (more than most Canadians anyways).

Rachel Redfern - Dancer

Rachel Redfern is a dance-lover from Sacramento, California; she danced for nine years with a Northern Californian dance troupe that performed at Disneyland, business events, festivals and schools. However, these days, her favorite kinds of dancing are swing and head-banging to a good rock band.