<p class="MsoTitle" style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;

mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Robert Brustein's</span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:

12.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoTitle" style="line-height:normal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:

normal"><span style="font-size:24.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">The English

Channel</span></span></i></p>

<p class="MsoTitle" style="line-height:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">in Oberlin College's Little

Theater</span></p>

<p class="MsoTitle" style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;

mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">November 12-16, 2008</span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:

normal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:

normal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">OBERLIN,

OH</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">— </span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">"Shakespeare was a naughty schoolboy," comments

renowned critic and playwright Robert Brustein on the central character in his

play, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">The English Channel</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Brunstein eschews unnecessary reverence

in this play, toying with the idea that Shakespeare and his peers were

unfaithful, promiscuous, and completely open about it. In a review of the

original production, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">The Boston Globe</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">

referred to</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"> Channel </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">as "Shakespeare

in Lust."</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">While this lewd comedy

never fails to shock, it simultaneously explores the artistic process, and

raises questions about the importance of originality versus quality.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Does it matter if Shakespeare's ideas

were stolen from a less able playwright?</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"> 

</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Set in 1593, when "Will" was still caught up in writing history plays,

Brunstein's script insinuates that Shakespeare's ideas and a great number of

his celebrated texts were plucked from the bawdily poetic ramblings of his

friend and artistic rival, Christopher Marlowe.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:

yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">The English Channel </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">bolsters

another theory:</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">that Shakespeare's

sonnets were written to the first published female poet, Emilia Lanier, the

seductive catalyst for tension and betrayal among Shakespeare's friends.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Brustein approaches such potentially

esoteric academic theories with quick, playful dialogue and, of course, bounteous

pillow talk.</span></span></span></span></b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in"><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">The English Channel </span></span></i><span style="font-size:

10.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">will be performed at Oberlin College's Little Theater Wednesday,

Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday November 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 at 8

pm.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">There will be no matinee

performances. Seating in Little Theater is limited and there is no late

seating. This production is sponsored by the Oberlin College Theater and Dance

Program.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">The production will coincide with a visit to campus

and lecture by Robert Brustein on Friday November 14.</span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Production Notes</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size: 10pt; "><span style="mso-tab-count:1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">When asked

to sum up </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">English Channel </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">in three

words, director Matthew Wright provides "creativity, intrigue and sex."</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Concerning creativity, Wright explains,

this play covers a "National Enquirer branch of academia." Among

Shakespearean-versed intelligentsia, the question of whether Shakespeare

created his own works or whether he had a ghostwriter often arises and

according to many, a plausible candidate has always been Christopher

Marlowe.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">This play takes the term

ghostwriter to new extremes, with Marlowe appearing, quite literally, as a

ghost in the beginning of the play.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"> 

</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Though Brustein is considered by many the "Dean of American Theatre

Criticism," his script fights the notion that theatre criticism and historical

exploration are heady endeavors; verbose though it may be, this play is just as

playful as it is cerebral.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size: 10pt; "><span style="mso-tab-count:1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"> </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">The English Channel </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">features honors

candidates Annika Franklin '09 (Emiliana Lanier), Alex Huntsburger '09

(Christopher Marlowe) and Andrew Mooney '09 (William Shakespeare).</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Joining them to play the Third Earl of

Southampton- heartbreaker, muckraker, etc., is Kevin Carr. The play was

initially submitted to Mathew Wright by veteran critic and Oberlin professor

Roger Copeland, who received it from Brustein himself.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Brustein, a professor of English at

Harvard, has graciously accepted an invitation to lecture at Oberlin in

conjunction with the performance.</span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size: 10pt; "><span style="mso-tab-count:1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Wright

makes it clear that there is nothing conceptual about the play- it is a "comedy

of manners," and is "all about the language."</span><span style="mso-spacerun:

yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Abstract or modernized interpretations of set or costume would

distract from the purpose and historical nature of the play, he asserts. The

show will thus take place in its intended setting, transforming the Little

Theatre into a room above the Mermaid Tavern, a well known hangout for "wits

gathered to outwit one another," aided, of course, by an abundance of</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">alcohol. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="mso-tab-count:

1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">            </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Wright

further emphasizes that a certain level of authenticity must be maintained due

to the play's many historical references regarding the incredible political

upheaval at the time.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Just as the characters

in the show seem unable to avoid romantic drama and deceit, these literary

deities, dandies, and adulteresses are likewise entrenched in the political

milieu.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Expanding on this notion,

Brustein brings issues of espionage and treason into the spotlight.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="mso-tab-count:

1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">            </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Brustein

quashes the stereotype of historical drama as stuffy, and instills the script

with buoyant vernacular dialogue.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"> 

</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">When questioned whether the script's often informal, sexually charged

banter is historically accurate, Wright replies that "the characters in

Shakespeare's plays speak to one another in the vernacular all the time."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">He speculates that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Channel<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">,

Christopher Marlowe speaks in a manner highly reminiscent of Mercutio in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Romeo and Juliet<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">A long line of criticism exists, in fact,

linking Mercutio to Marlowe for their flaunted crassness.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">This, coupled with the fact that "</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Channel's </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">characters speak to each other

like people," Wright concludes, "is completely accurate."</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Shakespeare's firm and humorous grasp

on slang has sustained his plays throughout the ages, and Brustein's work both

captures the nuances and the sheds light on the origins of that style.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Cast</span></span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Annika Franklin '09 (Emelia

Lanier), Alex Huntsberger '09 (Christopher Marlowe), Kevin Carr '09 (Henry

Wriothsley, Third Earl of Southampton),</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"> 

</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Andrew Mooney '09 (William Shakespeare).</span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Production Staff </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"></span></span></b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Matthew

Wright (Director), Holland Hamilton '11 (Stage Manager), Laura Cornwall '12

(Assistant Stage Manager), Kate Ettinger '11 (Music Coordinator), Matthew

Wright and Chris Flaherty (Costume Coordinators), Read Tuddenham '12(Technical

Cordinator), Barbara Kessler (Box Office), Moze Halperin '11, Alexander Birnie

'10 and Emma Louise Rodriguez '11 (Publicity).</span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:

none;text-autospace:none"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Matthew Wright</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">(Director) </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">is an actor, director,

voice </span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:15.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">and dialect

coach and theatre educator whose work has taken him across the United States.

He has directed numerous plays for colleges and universities including

significant productions of: </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Vieux Carre,

A Bright Room Called Day, Dancing At Lughnasa, Three Sisters </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">(at Oberlin

College); <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Ivanov, Brand, Hedda Gabler,

Holy</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Ghosts, Harvey, Misalliance, </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">and

</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">1940s Radio Hour </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">(all at Florida

Atlantic University). Professionally, Matthew has cocreated and directed three

performance projects with The Core Ensemble, a new music chamber orchestra. One

of these productions (</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Tres Vidas) </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">continues

to tour internationally since it's debut in 2001. Other professional directing

projects include work at City Theatre </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">(Summer

Shorts, </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">1998 and 1999</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">), </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">FloridaStage

(staged readings of </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Fish or Cut Bait </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">and

</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Beeluther-</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:

normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">hatchee), </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">the Caldwell Theatre Company (staged reading of </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Fanny and Walt</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">) and The Miami

International Book Fair (reduced version of </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">The

Cherry Orchard). </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Matthew has served on the faculties of The Ohio State

University, Wright State University and Florida Atlantic University where he

headed the graduate actor-training program for ten years. He currently serves

as Associate Professor of Theater at Oberlin College where he teaches a variety

of acting studios. Matthew has been a proud member of Actors' Equity

Association since</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:15.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">1988.</span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:

1.0pt;margin-left:0in;mso-add-space:auto;text-align:justify;text-indent:0in;

mso-text-indent-alt:0in;mso-pagination:none;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:

0in 11.0pt .25in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Robert

Brustein (Playwright),</span></span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"> is a venerated

American theatrical critic who founded the illustrious Yale Repertory</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">and American Repertory theatres during

his time as Dean of the Yale School of Drama then as professor of English at

Harvard.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Some of his more recent

critical writings include </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Millenial

Stages: Essays and Reviews 2001-2005, </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">an examination of theatre in the

aftermath of 9/11 and </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Dumbocracy in America:

Studies in the Theatre of Guilt, 1987-1994, <span style="font-size:

10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">a study of the governmental stifling of the

arts in favor of political correctness.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"> 

</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">His extensive works include adaptations of Ibsen (one of which was

directed by Robert Wilson), Chekhov and Aristophanes.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:

yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Apart from the </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">English

Channel<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">, his latest original work, Brustein's other plays include <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Demons<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:

normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Nobody Dies on Friday</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">The

Face Lift</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">, and </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Spring Forward, Fall

Back.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Brustein is set to

attend this production of </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">The English

Channel, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">and will be holding lectures during his visit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif;">  <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:

normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"></span></b></p>

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" align="center" style="margin-bottom:1.0pt;

mso-add-space:auto;text-align:center;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:0in 11.0pt .25in;

mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:

normal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;

font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span></span></u></i></b></p>