BabsonARTS Presents ALTERED STATES, a Curated Series of Digitally Presented, 21st Century Monologues

BabsonARTS has announced the Fall 2020 production from The Empty Space Theater Company (TEST) a curated series of 21st century monologues by Christina Anderson, Sam Chanse, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Idris Goodwin, Jen Silverman, and James Still, titled Altered States presented digitally on Vimeo, November 1-7, 2020.

Performance dates: Premiere Performance: Sunday, November 1 at 7:00 P.M. Available for streaming anytime November 2-7.

Access: FREE with registration at www.babsonarts.org. Link provided on reserved performance day.

We are living through a moment of great change right now: the social, political, and national states are being altered all around us; our personal, mental, and emotional states are being altered within us. Altered States takes on this moment of transformative potential and offers a curated series of digitally presented, 21st-century monologues to demonstrate the complexity, creativity, and resilience of the human spirit when faced with extraordinary challenges. Both individually and together, these works deepen and enrich the ways we might think about change as we work our way through the altered states we live in right now.

Featuring performances by student members of The Empty Space Theater, Charlie Coxon, Aarushi Dhan, Kellen Harrison, Hannah Klein, Nicollette Phillips, Emily Sanders, and Abby Tjie.

Production Design, Video Design, and Cinematography by Seághan McKay, costume design by Brooke Stanton, and sound design by Dewey Dellay.

ABOUT The Acting Company and THE CREATIVE TEAM:

Charlie Coxon is a sophomore at Babson, where he has acted in several theatrical productions. This includes playing Todd in The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow and Mr. Strong in Catch Me If You Can. He would like to thank Beth Wynstra, Blake Samper, and the entire cast and crew for this wonderful opportunity!

Aarushi Dhan is a first-year student at Babson College, and this is her first time partaking in a theater production. It was a great experience for her to learn about and express her complex character in this New Medium.

Kellen Harrison is a sophomore at Babson and a dedicated storyteller. He is an active member in Students Against Gravity, Babson Radio, TEST, and Babson Players. To learn more about Kellen check out his Instagram @kellen_harrison or his podcast Gravity's Not Real.

Hannah Klein is a senior at Wellesley College majoring in English and creative writing. In recent years, she's gotten involved in a range of theatre companies including the Babson Players, the Young American's Theatre Company, Upstage, the Cambridge University Footlights, and the Amateur Dramatics Club. Her favorite acting credits include Guildenstern (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead), Nina (Women and Wallace), and Dottore (A Company of Wayward Saints).

Nicollette Phillips is a sophomore at Babson College where she plans on majoring in Business Law. She has participated in many theatrical productions over the years but this will be her first with The Empty Space Theater. During her free time, Nicollette loves to play the piano and try different foods.

Emily Sanders is thrilled to be performing in her first ever TEST show! She is a senior at Babson and has been performing since she was 10 years old. Emily would like to thank her parents for always supporting her outlandish artistic endeavors and her brother for introducing her to theatre in the first place.

Abby Tjie is a first-year student at Babson and is from Bedford, New Hampshire. Altered States is Abby's very first theatre production. However, as a singer-songwriter, she is not a stranger to performing. Impacted by her insightful exploration in this production, Abby intends to continue her involvement in theatre through future TEST and Babson Players performances.

Dewey Dellay (Composer/Sound Designer) is very happy to be invited back to work at Babson. He has won an Elliot Norton award and also an IRNE award for his past theatre work in the Boston area. He has also composed music and sound design for television shows, national commercials, small films, internet productions, and digital children's books.

Seághan McKay (Production Design, Video Design, and Cinematography) is a Boston-based projection designer. Seághan's designs have earned him six IRNE award nominations in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 and two awards in 2017 and 2018. Highlights include The Boston Ballet Swan Lake, The Boston Lyric Opera La Boheme, The Flying Dutchman, The Boston Pops Gershwin Spectacular: Promenade, SpeakEasy Stage Company Big Fish, Carrie: the Musical, Next To Normal, Nine, Striking 12, [title of show], and Jerry Springer: The Opera, Florida Rep Best of Enemies, TheatreSquared All The Way, Merrimack Repertory Theater The Heath, Little Orphan Danny, Memory House. For more information, visit www.seaghanmckay.com.

Blake Samper (Co-Director) is a Senior at Babson College, where he has been a part of numerous theatre productions. His freshman year he played the role of Russ/Dan in TEST's Clybourne Park and since then has participated in many productions with the Babson Players, where he now holds the position of President. He is ecstatic to be making his directorial debut on such a unique and relevant project. He would like to thank Beth for giving him this opportunity and entrusting him to do this production the justice it deserves.

Brooke Stanton (Costume Designer) is a costumer who has worked in theatre, film, and television. During her five years with George Lucas' ILM, she built creatures for the Star Wars Special Edition Trilogy and The Phantom Menace. She has toured internationally and nationally designing for Peter Sellars. Other clients include Disney, Columbia Pictures, CBS, American Repertory Theatre, American Conservatory Theatre, Aspen Music Festival, Boston Symphony Youth Orchestra, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, New England Conservatory, and Odyssey Opera. She studied Costume Design at NYU and Textiles at California College of the Arts. www.brookestanton.com

Beth Wynstra (Director) is an Assistant Professor of English at Babson College. She holds a Ph.D. in Theatre Studies from the University of California at Sana??ta Barbara and a certificate in Directing from the Yale School of Drama. Beth is working on a book manuscript titled "I Only Act a Part You've Created": The Performance of Marriage in the Plays of Eugene O'Neill. She has written extensively on the life and plays of Eugene O'Neill, has lectured on O'Neill at prominent regional and professional theatres including The Huntington Theatre and Lyric Stage, and she currently serves on the board of the Eugene O'Neill International Society. Beth regularly directs plays and musicals at Babson and is the Founding Artistic Director of The Empty Space Theater (TEST). Recent directorial work at Babson includes Storying Our Selves, Clybourne Park, Dead Man's Cellphone, Urinetown, and Avenue Q.

Altered States is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Services and Jackie Sibblies Drury; Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. (www.concordtheatricals.com); Dramatic Publishing, Idris Goodwin, and James Still; and by special permission of Christina Anderson and Sam Chanse.

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