School Notes: David Geffen School of Drama
May/June 2014

Yale Drama grad wins Oscar

Lupita Nyong’o ’12MFA received the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in 12 Years a Slave, which also received the Oscar for Best Picture. Meryl Streep ’75MFA was also nominated in the lead actress category for her role in August: Osage County, as was Adam Stockhausen ’99MFA in the production design category for his work on 12 Years a Slave.

Carlotta Festival of New Plays

The ninth annual Carlotta Festival of New Plays runs May 9–16 at the Iseman Theater. The festival features three new plays written and directed by members of the graduating class (all ’14MFA): Cardboard Piano by Hansol Jung is directed by Cole Lewis; Bird Fire Fly by Mary Laws is directed by Katherine McGerr; and Thunderbodies by Kate Tarker is directed by Dustin Wills. The Carlotta Festival is named for Carlotta Monterey, widow of playwright Eugene O’Neill, who designated proceeds from the publication of O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night to support playwriting at Yale.

Yale Rep rocks the Bard

These Paper Bullets!, a modish ripoff of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, adapted by Rolin Jones ’04MFA, directed by Jackson Gay ’03MFA, and featuring new songs by Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, had its world premiere at Yale Rep March 15–April 5. The new play, commissioned by Yale Rep with support from Yale’s Binger Center for New Theatre and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, featured many School of Drama alumni and current members of the community. The 19-member cast included Jabari Brisport ’14MFA, Stephen DeRosa ’95MFA, Ceci Fernandez ’14MFA, Brad Heberlee ’02MFA, Anthony Manna ’04MFA, Brian McManamon ’06MFA, Adam O’Byrne ’04MFA, James Lloyd Reynolds ’04MFA, Jeanine Serralles ’02MFA, Ariana Venturi ’15MFA, and Liz Wisan ’10MFA. The production featured scenic design by faculty member Michael Yeargan ’73MFA; costumes by Jessica Ford ’04MFA; lighting by Paul Whitaker ’02MFA; sound design and incidental music by Broken Chord (including Daniel Baker ’04MFA and Phillip Peglow ’04MFA); projections by Nicholas Hussong ’14MFA; fight direction by Michael Rossmy (faculty); dramaturgy by Ilya Khodosh ’14MFA and faculty member Catherine Sheehy ’92MFA, ’99DFA; and stage management by Robert Chikar ’14MFA.