Unprecedented Theatrical Spectacle Unfolds As North Texas Theater And University Join Forces For THE VISIT

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.