Production History!!!

University of Washington - School of Drama

The Glenn Hughes Penthouse Theatre
Seattle, Washington
December 2008
Director: Mark Jenkins
Set Designer: Lucian Connole
Costume Designer: Lucian Connole





The cast doesn't go out of their way to persuade you they're Russian--by and large they stick with American accents--but the closest thing we have to the maternal bosom of a state bureaucracy-sponsored theatre is a state university drama department, so the actors have firsthand observation of how precious guaranteed lifetime employment is.
-Michael van Baker, Seattlest
http://seattlest.com/2008/12/08/uws_quick_change_room_asks_what_pri_1.php


The cast features the MFA Acting Class of 2010. The play paints the crumbling Soviet Union as an ever present backdrop to the inner workings of the struggling Kuzlov Theatre of Leningrad (soon to be St. Petersburg).
-Joel Schwarz, University Week
http://uwnews.org/uweek/article.aspx?id=45426

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Creede Repertory Theatre

CRT Black Box Theatre
Creede, Colorado
July 2004
Director: Cynthia Levin
Scenic Designer: Ryan Wentworth
Costume Designer: Georgianna Londre
Lighting Designer: Jeff Cady
Propmaster: Bonnie Franks
Sound Designer: Tristan Wilson



This work by Nagle Jackson highlights the absurdity of politics, greed, and American musicals, in a simultaneously serious and laugh-out-loud funny play about a Russian theater company which decides to convert Chekhov's The Three Sisters into a musical called O My Sister!.
-Marcia Darnell, Colorado Central Magazine

http://www.cozine.com/archive/cc2004/01240291.html

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University of Michigan

Mendelssohn Theatre
Ann Arbor, Michigan
February 2004
Director: Philip Kerr
Scenic/Lighting Designer: Gary Decker
Costume Designer: Sheila McClear
Sound Designer: Christopher Konovaliv


Director Philip Kerr, a professor, describes it as a bittersweet comedy..... The play was chosen not only because of the St. Petersburg themesemester in the fall. “Since September 11, we’re more sensitive to change in our society right here.”.... As ticket prices climb and the new social structure in Russia leaves many hungry and without material goods, the public’s desire for Western entertainment increases. So (the acting group) compromises and shifts Chekhov’s play into a rather tacky musical.... Sound is consequently an important part of the production, and there are even live musicians on stage in several scenes. The play provides strong acting roles, said Kerr of the 10 leading characters, and “the cast is superb.”
-Katie Marie Gates, The Michigan Daily
http://www.michigandaily.com/content/russian-heritage-honored-theater

Sounds like the perfect backdrop for a comedy, right? Indeed, this is the thought-provoking setting for Nagle Jackson's wry comedy "The Quick-Change Room," a play which shows how perestroika was both a blessing and a curse on the international stage ... and on some smaller stages as well.

-Joel Aalberts, Newsletter

http://www.music.umich.edu/performances_events/productions/past/03-04/uprod-qcroom.html#newsletter

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RJeneration (in association with 14th Street Y and The York Shakespeare Company)

14th Street Y Theatre
New York, NY
July 2007
Director/Choreographer: Seth Duerr
Costume Designer: Sean Sullivan
Set Design: Company collaboration

Director and choreographer Seth Duerr does an outstanding job moving the play through its many scenes, onstage in Chekhov's play, offstage in Jackson's, highlighting how the quick-change room is the playwright's metaphor for the sudden transformation of Russia from a communist economy to free-for-all capitalism. Funny and sad, "The Quick-Change Room" is filled with Russian irony and fatalism. Chekhov would have loved it.

-Paulanne Simmons, The New York Theatre Wire

http://www.nytheatre-wire.com/ps07075t.htm

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Whitman College

Harper Joy Theatre
Walla Walla, Washington
Fall, 1994

Director: Nancy Simon
Costume Designer: Aurora Stowell
Set and Lighting Designer: Tom Hines


http://www.whitman.edu/theatre/tech/productions.html

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Lab Theater Company and Pacific Resident Theatre

Pacific Resident Theatre
Venice, California
October 1997
Director: Orson Bean
Set designer Eric Lowell Renschler
Lighting designer Deborah E. Constantine
Sound Designer: Peter Stenshoel
Lighting Designer: Kathi O’Donohue

Jackson is able to garner more mileage from this conceit than one might have thought possible, and also displays a gift for clever scene construction, incisive characterizations and sharp comic dialog. He is aided by Bean's precise direction and excellent performances from the entire cast. But ultimately, "The Quick Change Room" is overlong and confused in its direction; there's nothing as good for the theater, it practically seems to be telling us, as a healthy dose of communism.
- Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

http://www.allbusiness.com/services/motion-pictures/4919153-1.html

Shaped around a production of Chekhov's ''Three Sisters'' that will evolve in alarming ways, Mr. Jackson's script is neatly constructed, for sure. And there's no missing its points. But as directed by Orson Bean (yes, the actor and television personality), the work only seldom achieves the breakneck timing it needs to keep you from pondering its obviousness. And the play's piety about Chekhov's masterpiece is actually more annoying than the characters' mutilation of it.
BEN BRANTLEY, The New York Times

http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?pagewanted=print&html_title=&tols_title=QUICK-CHANGE%20ROOM,%20THE%20(PLAY)&pdate=19971013&byline=By%20BEN%20BRANTLEY&id=1077011432738

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Denver Center Theater Company(Original Production)

The Ricketson Theater
Director:Paul Weidner
Set Designer: Michael Ganio
Costume Designer: David Kay Mickelsen
Lighting Designer: Charles R. McLeod
Sound Designer: Don Tindall

Jackson's commendable take on this transition of power skillfully blends farce with a sympathetic regard for the faithful who have lived for art and find themselves adrift in a dangerously material world. His humor sometimes carries the whiff of '40s comedies, which underscores the nostalgia for grand theater that brims over in his writing.

Paul Weidner's direction succeeds in unifying a multicharacter play into hard-hitting satire. Michael Ganio's evocative setting establishes a faded elegance. Special praise should go to David Kay Mickelsen for the brilliance of his costuming, garments that are seen only for a moment in this striking backstage commentary on the work out in front.

-Allen Young, Variety Magazine

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117909708.html?categoryid=31&cs=

Capitalism doesn't always equal freedom, especially in the arts. That's the bitter pill served up by Nagle Jackson's The Quick-Change Room at the Denver Center Theatre Company. The message goes down easily--sweetened by Jackson's piquant humor--but it burns in the belly.
David Kay Mickelsen's admirable set, though not ragged enough to convey the Kuzlov's deteriorating condition, has a comfortable integrity as the characters move from one spot to another. The effect is like movie editing, really: Lights go down on one scene and instantly come up on another part of the stage. The brisk pace perfectly suits the play, and Paul Weidner's direction is as crisp as crackers.
-Unknown, Westworld
http://www.westword.com/1995-02-01/culture/russian-dressing/

How to make your own rose water!

*This recipe is the more traditional way to prepare rose water. Though it’s a little more involved, its fun to do and the results are outstanding. You can make a quart of excellent-quality rose water in about 40 minutes. However, if you simmer the water too long, you will continue to produce distilled water but the rose essence will become diluted. Your rose water will smell more like plain distilled water, rather than the heavenly scent of roses.

Be sure you have a brick and heat-safe stainless steel or glass quart bowl ready before you begin.

Ingredients:
2-3 quarts fresh roses or rose petals
Water
Ice cubes or crushed ice

1. In the center of a large pot (the speckled blue canning pots are ideal) with an inverted lid (a rounded lid), place a fireplace brick. On top of the brick place the bowl. Put the roses in the pot; add enough flowers to reach the top of the brick. Pour in just enough water to cover the roses. The water should be just above the top of the brick.

2. Place the lid upside down on the pot. Turn on the stove and bring the water to a rolling boil, then lower heat to a slow steady simmer. As soon as the water begins to boil, toss two or three trays of ice cubes (or a bag of ice) on top of the lid.

3. You’ve now created a home still! As the water boils the steam rises, hits the top of the cold lid, and condenses. As it condenses it flows to the center of the lid and drops into the bowl. Every 20 minutes, quickly lift the lid and take out a tablespoon or two of the rose water. It’s time to stop when you have between a pint and a quart of water that smells and tastes strongly like roses.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/rose-water-how-to-make-your-own.html

Micro View: The World of the Play

Place: St. Petersburg, Russia(previously Leningrad)
Time: 1991-1992

1.Russian revolution/October Revolution
"Disorders broke out in Petrograd (renamed Leningrad and now St. Petersburg) in March 1917, and defection of the Petrograd garrison launched the revolution."

http://www.studyrussian.com/history/history.html

-Most locals were still aware and prideful of their city's major historical importance as the starting point for their great revolution that helped end the corruption of tsar rule even though it took place many years ago.

2.The change of the city's name: Leningrad to St. Petersburg
"St. Petersburg(for St. Peter), which is Russia's second largest urban area, was founded in 1703 by the czar Peter the Great. In 1914, the German sounding name was changed to Petrograd(by Peter the Great who liked Dutch culture). Then, after the death of Vladimir Lenin in 1924, the Soviet Union changed the city's name to Leningrad. Leningrad became St. Petersburg again 67 years later when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991."

http://geography.about.com/library/faq/blqzstpetersburg.htm

-Some would argue a year later since some people were trying to hold on the name Leningrad like they were trying to hold on to the "old ways".


3.The Kirov Theater(now again The Mariinsky Theatre)
"A historic theatre of opera and ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimxky-Korsakov received their premieres. The Mariinsky Theatre is home to the Mariinsky Ballet, Mariinsky Opera and Mariinsky Orchestra."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariinsky_Theatre

-The Mariinsky Theatre holds great historical signficance in St. Petersburg's history of their art, culture, and heritege. It was one of the great theatres that was affected by the Unions fall, but still managed to survive.

4.Vyborg, Russia
"NW European Russia, NW of St. Petersburg and near the Finnish border, on Vyborg Bay and the Gulf of Finland. A Baltic port and railroad junction, it is an export center for lumber. It also has shipyards and industries producing farm machinery, electrical equipment, furniture, and paper. Vyborg was a trading point for Novgorod in the 12th cent. but actually grew around a Swedish castle built there in 1293. Vyborg became a port for the Hanseatic League and was chartered in the 15th cent. In 1710 Peter the Great seized Vyborg, and it was incorporated with Finland (then under Russian sovereignty) in 1812. Before 1917, it was a key transit point for revolutionary literature, arms, and agitators going into Russia."

http://www.answers.com/topic/vyborg

-A crossing point for many people of Russia and Finland. People even came from that far to see performances in St. Petersburg.

5.Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Pathétique
"Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's final symphony, written between February and the end of August 1893. The composer led the first performance in St. Petersburg on October 28 of that year, nine days before his death. The second performance took place 20 days later at a memorial concert. It included some minor corrections that Tchaikovsky had made after the premiere, and was thus the first performance of the work in the form in which it is known today."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._6_(Tchaikovsky)

-This song is a dramatic and historically significant musical composition for Russia and specifically St. Petersburg, and it was played as a sign of the government covering up the tragedy of a coup on Gorbachev. "Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony has proved a popular choice with filmmakers..."

6.Rose Water
"Rose water is the hydrosol portion of the distillate of rose petals. Rose water, itself a by-product of the production of rose oil for use in perfume, is used to flavour food, as a component in some cosmetic and medical preparations, and for religious purposes throughout Europe and Asia."

http://www.foodista.com/food/WPCS86D8/rose-water

"....the weather in Russia is not very favorable to grow them. Flowers are expensive, and still people love to give flowers to express their admiration, their friendship, their love. Even when it’s snowing, I see people carrying flowers."

http://www.diplomatrus.com/article.php?id=1790&PHPSESSID=dd4548f38d6c0fb95&l=eng

-Roses were probably not readily available in Russia and definately not affordable at the time of my plays setting, so this would have been a pretty nice gift.

7.Komsomol (Russian Kommunisticheskiy Soyuz Molodyozhi)
"Komsomol served as the youth wing of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), the youngest members being fourteen years old, the upper limit for an age of rank and file being 28, while Komsomol functionaries could be older. Younger children could join the allied Pioneers organisation. Komsomol had little direct influence on the Communist Party, and on the government of the Soviet Union. But Komsomol played an important role as a mechanism for teaching the values of the CPSU in the young, and as an organ for introducing the young to the political domain."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komsomol

-Sasha is refered to as a "Komsomol brat" at one point and I think it might show a litttle bit about where he's coming from politically and emotionally as he was probably brought up to stay dedicated to the Party.

8.Rubles
"The ruble or rouble is a unit of currency. It is currently the currency unit of Belarus, Russia, and Transnistria, and was the currency unit of several other countries, notably countries influenced by Russia and the Soviet Union. One ruble is divided into 100 kopecks."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruble

-Since this is what a lot of the theatre's are all about it seemed appropriate that this Russian currency be mentioned.

9.Brezhnev
"Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; 19 December 1906 [O.S. 6 December 1906] – 10 November 1982 was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (and thus political leader of the Soviet Union) from 1964 to 1982, serving in that position longer than anyone except Joseph Stalin. He was twice Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (head of state), from 7 May 1960 to 15 July 1964, then from 16 June 1977 to his death on 10 November 1982."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Brezhnev
http://countrystudies.us/russia/14.htm

-Another negative political power that shows again how Marya was a little more interested in the new ways(before things went wrong) because of the olds ways having a history of being unpleasant.

10.The Great Patriotic War
"Moscow and Leningrad (now Saint-Petersburg). The two Great Russian cities were to have a key role in this devastating war, but the initial German plans concentrated on the destruction of the Red Army, and the offensive against Moscow. By the beginning of December some German Nazi formations were only about forty km North West of the Moscow Kremlin. By early September 1941 Leningrad was sealed off from the Soviet "mainland" due to German Nazi tanks rapid progress through the Baltic republics. Hitler decided not to take the city by storm but to starve it into submission, and the result of the "900 Days" was the death of nearly 600000 Leningraders."
http://www.infohub.com/vacation_packages/4376.html

"The term Great Patriotic War is used in Russia and some other states of the former Soviet Union to describe their portion of the Second World War from June 22, 1941, to May 9, 1945, against Nazi Germany and its allies. The term is not generally used outside the former Soviet Union."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Patriotic_War_(term)

-The Great Patriotic War proved to be detrimental to the citizens of St. Petersburg, Russia and obviously they show historically infamous to their city and nation as a whole.

Images of the Micro World

Flag of St. Petersburg!















The Leningrad flag!













Russia!!!
















The Marrinksy(Kirov) Theatre St. Petersburg, Russia


-I couldn't figure out how to put the sound byte on this blog but here is a link to the 4 movements of Tchaikovsky's Symphony Pathétique. http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/pcorecordings#link82










Rose Water Sorbet!!!!

Macro View - The World of the Play

1.Russian revolution/October Revolution
"World War I demonstrated tsarist corruption and inefficiency and only patriotism held the poorly equipped army together for a time. Nicholas II was forced to abdicate on March 15, 1917, and he and his family were killed by revolutionists on July 16, 1918. A provisional government under the successive premierships of Prince Lvov and a moderate, Alexander Kerensky, lost ground to the radical, or Bolshevik, wing of the Socialist Democratic Labor Party. On Nov. 7, 1917, the Bolshevik revolution, engineered by N. Lenin (Lenin was the pseudonym taken by Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov) and Leon Trotsky, overthrew the Kerensky government and authority was vested in a Council of People's Commissars, with Lenin as premier. The series of events leading to the revolution was from now on as October Revolution, since Nov 7 was actually Oct 25 under the Old Russian Calendar."

http://www.studyrussian.com/history/history.html

-After the Revolution(though it was many years ago) the Russian citizens were still not interested in being lead by one person again.

2.Fall of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
"Formerly the dominant republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. Russia is now an independent country.... since the Union's dissolution in December 1991. By the end of the 1980s, severe shortages of basic food supplies (meat, sugar).... the democratisation of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe had irreparably undermined the power of the CPSU and Gorbachev himself. The relaxation of censorship and attempts to create more political openness had the unintended effect of re-awakening long-suppressed nationalist and anti-Russian feelings in the Soviet republics.

http://www.canadiancontent.net/profiles/Russia.html http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Mikhail_Gorbachev#encyclopedia

With the countries abrupt change from socialism/communisim to an attempt at capitalism articles like this one, Russia and Eastern Europe in the 90s: Capitalism kills – concludes study of privatisation era at the link http://socialistworld.net/eng/2009/01/2006.html, were made to express the toll it took on the population."

-When the Soviet Union fell it took a big chunk of Russian art and lifestyle with it, because everything became about money instead of culture.

3.Glasnost
"The policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of 1980s. The word is a transliteration from a Russian word and was frequently used by Gorbachev to specify the policies he believed might help reduce the corruption at the top of the Communist Party and the Soviet government, and moderate the abuse of administrative power in the Central Committee."

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Glasnost

- This was a term that most Russians became familiar with as a new change, whether it be for better, as a "new beginning", or for worse as it was scary for some to change from "the old ways." Seeing things in a new light.

4.Mikhail Gorbachev
(born 2 March 1931) "He is a Russian politician. He was the last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until 1991, and also the last head of state of the USSR, serving from 1988 until its collapse in 1991. Gorbachev's attempts at reforms as well as summit conferences with United States President Ronald Reagan, contributed to the end of the Cold War and also ended the political supremacy of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union."

"While Gorbachev's political initiatives were positive for freedom and democracy in the Soviet Union and its Eastern bloc allies, the economic policy of his government gradually brought the country close to disaster."

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Mikhail_Gorbachev#encyclopedia

-He was the politician who coined glasnost so, likewise, some saw him as a good change for the country and others saw him as a threat to communism. Of course some Russians, even though they were once members of the Party, felt that the Party was over and were just along for the ride. They saw him as the only hope of the changes going smoothly.

5.Language
"Russian, (not surprisingly!), is the country's official language. It uses the Cyrillic alphabet (rather than the Latin one used by most Western countries), and contains 33 letters. However, the 120 or so nationalities of the Commonwealth of Independent States speak about 48 other languages. Those of Slavic origin (i.e. Russians, Ukrainians and Belorussians) account for approximately 75% of the total population."

http://www.russoft.org/docs/?doc=752

-Yes, though most people in Russia did in fact speak Russian, it wasn't unlikely for people to adopt some certain phrases of another language.

6. Location
"It shares land borders with the following countries (counter-clockwise from NW to SE): Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland (only through Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. It is also close to the United States and Japan across stretches of water."

http://www.canadiancontent.net/profiles/Russia.html

-Since they were surrounded by other countries, some Russians could try to import some goods from those neighboring nations... for a price.

7.Culture/Social Life
"Theatre, cinema, music and arts are important parts of Russian life; as with other countries funding has fallen for these, and private sponsorship is emerging. Features of Russian culture, which are at the highest of international standards, include the Bolshoi Theatre, Pushkin Art Gallery in Moscow and Mariinsky (Kirov) Theatre and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. Russians also spend a considerable amount of their leisure time at the homes of friends and relatives - they place much importance on friendship and family. Consequently anniversaries and birthdays are celebrated with more gusto than expatriates may be used to at home."

http://www.stranslation.com/Russian_Translation/general_facts_about_russia.htm

-At the time of the government's fall the theatres in Russia were seriously affected. Theatres were changing their artistic views and beliefs to try and keep patrons coming because money had beome a lot less leisure. They were throwing out their old styles and traditions to please an ever changing and more critical audience.

8.Soviet coup attempt of 1991
"In 1991, the Soviet Union was dissolved following a failed coup by conservative elements who were opposed to Gorbachev's reforms.The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt (19 August - 21 August 1991), also known as the August Putsch or August Coup, was an attempt by a group of members of the Soviet Union's government to take control of the country from Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev. The coup leaders were hard-line members of the Communist Party (CPSU) who felt that Gorbachev's reform program had gone too far and that a new union treaty that he had negotiated dispersed too much of the central government's power to the republics."

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Glasnost
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Soviet_coup_attempt_of_1991

-The coup attempt was a serious thing. For a group to have been so opposed to the changes that the president of Russia was making that they try to over throw him was not only bothersome to those who were accepting the changes in hope for a better government, but worrisome to the nation as a whole.

9.Living Standards
"The Soviet system provided accommodation with very low rents, free social services, subsidized vacations, assisted factory canteens, shops and sports facilities. Few of these remain. Prior to price liberalization, food, drink, cigarettes, public transport and utilities were also very cheap.
Today the recent reforms have forced a significant share of the population (especially pensioners) below the poverty line as inflation has outstripped increases in state benefits. There is a developing middle/commercial class involved in legitimate business. Only a very small proportion have become extremely wealthy, commonly known as 'novye Russkie'."

http://www.stranslation.com/Russian_Translation/general_facts_about_russia.htm

-The living conditions were cheaper in old Russia, but not neccessarily better. They were sharing apartments with whoever and whenever and it was decided by someone else.

10.Boris Yeltsin
"The first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999. Yeltsin came to power with a wave of high expectations. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, Yeltsin, vowing to transform Russia's socialist command economy into a free market economy, endorsed price liberalization and privatization programs. ... he was elected president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic with 57% of the vote, becoming the first popularly elected president. But Yeltsin never recovered his popularity after a series of economic and political crises in Russia in the 1990s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Yeltsin

-The early 90s were economically.... a wreck after the dissolution of the USSR and Yeltsin came to power with all these promises of the new government but it wasn't, in any way, a smooth transition. It lead to a lot of corruption through out the country and huge political, social, and economic problems.