Casting Announced for Haven's TITUS ANDRONICUS at The Den Theatre

Haven has announced casting for its production of William Shakespeare's revenge-tragedy TITUS ANDRONICUS, promising a thrilling, bloody marathon - centering on the voices of marginalized people too often excluded from classical theater performance.

The cast includes Trevor Bates (Demetrius), Brian Bradford (Mutius/Young Lucius), Tarina Bradshaw (Lavinia), Jemima Charles (Ensemble), Charles Glenn (Clown), LaKecia Harris (Bassianus), Gregory D. Hicks (Lucius), Benjamin T. Jenkins (Quintus), Christopher Wayland Jones (Saturninus), Colin Jones (Titus), Morgan Lavenstein (Chiron), James Lewis (Martius), Gabrielle Lott-Rogers (Marcus), Danyelle Monson (Nurse), Andrew Neftalí Perez (Aaron), Michaela Petro (Tamora), Shane Richlen (Alarbus) and Christopher Vizurraga (Ensemble).

Directed by Artistic Director Ian Damont Martin, TITUS ANDRONICUS will play February 13 - March 14, 2020 at The Den Theatre's Heath Main Stage, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. Tickets go on sale Monday, December 2 at havenchi.org. The press opening is Tuesday, February 18 at 7:30 pm.

In a society that seems increasingly plagued by senseless violence, Shakespeare's bloodiest play Titus Andronicus feels increasingly germane. When Titus returns home from a 10-year war against the Goths with their Queen as his prisoner, a bloody cycle of violence ensues across familial and political lines. Is revenge ever justifiable? What if there is no justice? These questions remain surprisingly relevant some 400 years later. Titus Andronicus explores the impact of vengeance across the intersections of family, power and race.

Comments Haven Artistic Director Ian Damont Martin, "It means something in today's U.S./Western context to bring these often marginalized identities to the center of this work, considering its (and our) rich history of excluding and subjugating people of color. When a Black person embodies a text and world wherein characters say exactly what they think and feel, ultimately in an effort to harvest empathy and understanding - it is a ripe and refreshing piece of catharsis. And to do that with this canonized text and form (aka a dead white guy's poetry that he mostly appropriated), THAT feels particularly subversive. We're recasting narrative and reimagining canon. And personally in my work, I'm deep in this moment of needing to figure out my relationship to the anxiety of trauma. The crossroads of justice and politics, nationhood and class, race and family - that's a centuries-old six corner intersection with no traffic lights that I am (and we are) still very much trying to navigate and survive."

The production team includes Sydney Lynne Thomas (scenic design), Lily Walls (costume design), Adrienne Johnson (lighting design), Sarah Espinoza (sound design), Emily Boyd (props design), R&D Choreography (violence design), Micah Figueroa (intimacy design), Leon Evans (movement design), NIkolaj Sorensen (production manager), Emily Marrazzo (stage manager) and Angela Matera (assistant stage manager).

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Title: TITUS ANDRONICUS

Playwright: William Shakespeare

Director: Artistic Director Ian Damont Martin

Cast (in alphabetical order): Trevor Bates (Demetrius), Brian Bradford (Mutius/Young Lucius), Tarina Bradshaw (Lavinia), Jemima Charles (Ensemble), Charles Glenn (Clown), LaKecia Harris (Bassianus), Gregory D. Hicks (Lucius), Benjamin T. Jenkins (Quintus), Christopher Wayland Jones (Saturninus), Colin Jones (Titus), Morgan Lavenstein (Chiron), James Lewis (Martius), Gabrielle Lott-Rogers (Marcus), Danyelle Monson (Nurse), Andrew Neftalí Perez (Aaron), Michaela Petro (Tamora), Shane Richlen (Alarbus) and Christopher Vizurraga (Ensemble).

Understudies:

Felisha McNeal.

Location:

The Den Theatre's Heath Main Stage, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago

Dates:

Previews:

Thursday, February 13 at 7:30 pm, Friday, February 14 at 7:30 pm, Saturday, February 15 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, February 16 at 3 pm

Press performance:

Tuesday, February 18 at 7:30 pm

Regular run:

Thursday, February 20 - Saturday, March 14, 2020

Curtain Times:

Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm. Please note: there will be an added performance on Saturday, March 14 at 3 pm; there will not be a performance on Saturday, March 14 at 7:30 pm.

Tickets:

Previews: pay-what-you-can. Regular run $35. Ticket go on sale Monday, December 2 at havenchi.org.

Industry Night: Monday, March 2 at 8 pm

Open-Captioned Performance: Sunday, March 8 at 3 pm

About the Director

Ian Damont Martin (Director, Titus Andronicus) is a theatre/filmmaker based in Chicago. He is the Artistic Director of Haven and the Program Manager of Enrich Chicago. Recent directing credits include The Ridiculous Darkness at Sideshow Theatre Company, Twelfth Night at Midsommer Flight and The Toilet at Haven, as part of the Directors Haven 3. Ian has also worked with Goodman Theatre, Middle Coast Film Festival, the Gift Theatre, Jackalope Theatre, the DuSable Museum, the National Society of Arts and Letters, Indiana University, Ivy Tech Community College, Bloomington Playwrights Project, Youth Theatre Journal and the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati. He received his BA in theatre and drama from Indiana University and his diploma in drama from the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati, OH. Ian gives love and thanks to the women of color who made him the man he is today.

About Haven:

NEXT GENERATION. NEW CANON. SOCIAL PROFIT.

We exist to be a Haven for The Future. We achieve this through championing the next generation of playwrights, directors and actors by producing and promoting plays and performances that are staking their claim as the immediate future of this art form, and by investing in those at the very beginning of their professional journeys. Through this inspiration, we seek to ignite in each audience member a hope for the Future - the Future of theatre and performance, the Future of each other, the Future of our community.