Unprecedented Theatrical Spectacle Unfolds As North Texas Theater And University Join Forces For THE VISIT
Bolstered by the University of Texas at Arlington, Amphibian Stage welcomes the largest cast and creative team ever seen in their 24-year history.
By: A.A. Cristi Sep. 29, 2023
Just in time for Fall, Amphibian Stage Will Close their Main Stage season with a darkly comic tale from prolific Swiss writer, Friedrich Dürrenmatt.
The Visit tells the story of a wealthy philanthropist returning to her hometown to save it from financial ruin…but the money comes with a deadly request that will test the morals of the town's inhabitants. This larger-than-life classic will be brought to the stage in partnership with the University of Texas at Arlington's Theatre faculty and students.
“We've had the opportunity over the last several years to have Amphibian's Co-Artistic Director Jay Duffer share his directing expertise with UTA's junior and senior theatre majors in the Directing I course. The opportunity to now further collaborate with this professional union theatre is a critical next-step for both faculty and students. Working in partnership with Amphibian on The Visit will provide a conduit for real-world application where students will work alongside area professionals (including our design faculty) towards a commercial production. We are thrilled!” -Dr. Anne Healy, Former Interim Chair of Department of Theatre Arts & Dance at the University of Texas at Arlington
Jay Duffer, Co-Artistic Director, is known for his direction of best-selling Amphibian Stage productions like Spaceman, Marie Antoinette, and Babette's Feast. Duffer has teamed up with UTA Faculty Member Leah Mazur to realize the visual world of the play. Mazur will act as both scenic designer and costume designer (a feat considering 13 actors play 36 roles). Duffer says "this script is captivating to me. To relay such powerful and serious messages through the lens of comedy is a difficult task for any writer, but Dürrenmatt masterfully crafts his story so that the audience has no option but to laugh. We laugh either because the absurdity of our human weaknesses are exposed or because we need a release from the discomfort of the metaphorical mirror reflecting back on us. My approach to directing this play is to find and expose every foible presented and push it to either its most dramatic or comedic limit. With Dürrenmatt, this means it is sometimes simultaneously both."
The Visit
October 20 - November 12
By Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Adapted by Maurice Valency*
Directed by Jay Duffer
In partnership with University of Texas at Arlington Department of Theatre and Dance
PROFESSIONAL CAST:
Claire Zachanassian: *Elly Lindsay
Anton Schill: *Malcolm Stephenson
Mayor & Others: *Patrick Bynane
Teacher & Others: Amanda Reyes
Pastor & Others: *Michael Anthony Page
Policeman & Others: Laurel Whitsett
Mathilde Schill & Others: *Melissa Duffer
Bobby & Others: Jovane Caamaño
Station Master & Others: Johanna Nchekwube
Pedro & Others: Caleb De La Torre
UTA STUDENT CAST:
Sacristan & Others: Gwen Mowdy
Karl Schill & Others: Tanner Mobly
Ottilie Schill & Others: Kimberly Turner
PROFESSIONAL CREATIVE TEAM
Director: Jay Duffer
Scenic and Costume Designer: Leah Mazur
Sound Designer: David Lanza
Lighting Designer: Adam Chamberlin
Props Designer and Scenic Artist: Isabella Barnett
Technical Director: Jeff Stanfield
Production Stage Manager: *Hailey Green
Research Consultant: Dr. Scott Williams
Assistant to Costume Designer and Seamstress: Susan Austin
Vocal Music Instructor: Melissa Duffer
Head Dramaturg and UTA Department Chair: Dr. Jeanmarie Higgins
UTA Faculty Liaison to Student Actors: Felicia Bertch
PROFESSIONAL CREW
Wardrobe Supervisor: Susan Austin
Production Assistant and Crew Lead: Levi Richey
Master Electrician: Landry Strickland
Lighting Assistant: Brent Scoggins
Scenic Carpenter: Ryan Riley
UTA STUDENT CREW
Dramaturgs: Claire Dunne, Saul Martinez Ortiz and Benjamin Shelton
SM Shadow: Maddy Vokes
Amphibian Stage, a non-profit theater company founded in Fort Worth in 2000, strives to produce innovative and engaging theater that inspires new ideas, opens new doors and increases understanding of the vast world around us. Now in its 23rd season, Amphibian has produced numerous groundbreaking and challenging plays that foster a deeper understanding of ourselves as members of the global community. The company is widely recognized for its stylistically and thematically varied scripts.
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