Little Women
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
Louisa May Alcott was surprised by the success of her 1865 novel 'Little Women'. How surprised she might have been to learn that the adventures of Jo March and her sisters Meg, Beth and Amy have been retold over the course of 160 years in at least four movies, multiple plays, an opera and tonight’s music theatre offering…
As a female director it is a treat to contribute to a story that mostly lives in the private creative world of the March household, a domestic canvas very familiar to me as the eldest of five daughters. Along with many individuals and groups with lived ‘outlier’ experience, I recognise Jo’s determination to move beyond this traditionally feminine domain into the traditionally masculine public creative sphere, and identify with her struggles with the lack of welcome from this sphere, while eventually reconciling herself to her own lived story as the potential source of new imaginings. Jo is an iconic and defiant boundary-crosser who lives on in our collective imagination, because, as tonight’s designer Filipe said to me early on, ‘the job isn’t finished yet’. Many thanks to Tyran and Ross at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), my superb colleagues Pete, Freya and Andy, and congratulations to the talented and open-hearted VCA production and music theatre students who have realised this telling of 'Little Women'. You are all originals contributing to a grand tradition.
CAST
This production has alternate casts appearing during the season, please see performance schedule outlined below.
MASSACHUSETTSWed 31 May, 7.30PM | Thurs 1 June, 7.30PM Amy March/Troll Aunt March/Mrs Kirk Beth March/Rodrigo 2/Dance Captain Jo March Laurie Laurence/Rodrigo Mr. Laurence/Knight Marmee March/Hag Meg March/Clarissa Mr. John Brooke/Braxton Professor Bhaer | MANHATTANTues 30 May, 7.30PM | Thurs 1 June, 2PM Amy March/Troll Aunt March/Mrs Kirk Beth March/Rodrigo 2/Dance Captain Jo March Laurie Laurence/Rodrigo Mr. Laurence/Knight Marmee March/Hag Meg March/Clarissa Mr. John Brooke/Braxton Professor Bhaer |
CREATIVE AND PRODUCTION TEAM
Director
Therèsa Borg
Music Director
Peter Rutherford
Choreographer
Freya List
Voice and Dialect Coach
Suzanne Heywood
Intimacy Coordinator
Amy Cater
Set Designer
Filipe Filihia*
Costume Designer
Mikailah Looker*
Lighting Designer
Arielle Roberts*
Assistant Set Designer
Ashley Reid
Assistant Costume Designer
Sophie Ness
Assistant Production Manager
Chloe Goldsmith*
Production Stage Manager
Lucy Anderson*
Deputy Stage Manager
Lexie Jaensch*
Assistant Stage Managers
Morgan Clyne
Jordan Smith
Workshop Head of Department (Props)
Sara Bayley*
Workshop Head of Department (Scenic)
Ranko Hong*
Workshop Head of Department (Staging)
Ingrid Muller*
Workshop Assistants
Nigel Chua
Dee Lee
Nellie Summerfield
Lokan Woerz
Senior Costumier
Xander Reichard*
Costume Manager
Miriam Clare
Costume Assistant/s
Ella Barrett
Char Lee
Head Electrician
Georgie Donnelly
Deputy Electrician
Eoin Coolahan
Lighting Programmer and Operator
Oscar McGovern
*Third year BFA (Production) student
PROFESSIONAL STAFF
Production Coordinator
Andy Turner
Stagecraft Project Coordinator
Alan Logan
Workshop Art Director
Morgan Jones
Workshop Technicians
Jeremy Ford
Yvette James
Jah Maskell
Kari McInnerny-Rae
Mungo McKenzie
Sasha Vulling
Costume Supervisor
Georgia Johnson
Costumiers
Jenni Langford
Eleanor Hutchison
Photographer
Ben Fon
ACADEMIC STAFF
Head of Music Theatre
Tyran Parke
Head of Design and Production
Richard Roberts
Music Theatre Third Year Coordinator
Ross Hannaford
Production Academic Mentors
Jacob Battista, John Ford, Jenni Langford, Rebecca Rees
VCA Production Academic Staff
Anna Cordingley, Martyn Coutts, Jo Evans, Amanda Hitten, Lisa Mibus, Lisa Osborn, Matt Scott