LOVELY, DARK, DEEP
A PLAY ADAPTED FROM JOYCE CAROL OATES’S EPONYMOUS STORY FRIDAY 6 DECEMBER at 7:30pm; CAM, corso Garibaldi 27 A rehearsed reading of Sal Cabras’s two act play taken from the short story by celebrated American writer Joyce Carol Oates
Dramaturgical advisor Maggie Rose
Actors: David Wayne Callahan, Madeline Wolf Schulman
Alessandro Ravagnati, Manfredi Conti, Angeline Bryant
Joyce C. Oates will attend the reading and will take part in the post-performance discussion, led by Prof. Itala Vivan
ONLY 99 SEATS – FREE ENTRANCE – DONATION WELCOME RESERVATION REQUIRED info@EnglishTheatreMilan.org
In the summer of 1951, Evangeline Fife drove to the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference to interview the sacred monument of American poetry. Robert Frost, then in his mid-seventies, for a special issue of her Poetry bulletin. She introduces herself: “At the time, I was a promising poet, and teacher at an elementary school in Marblehood, Massachusetts. However, I also hoped to advance myself in some way, if only by improving my teaching credentials.” For the Poet, meetings of the kind were a sort of nuisance, but he accepts: “Unfortunately, it can happen that an interviewer puts the same boring questions. In this case I have a batch of well-polished answers to satisfy him or her, and to startle the reader – who includes all my own supporters. This is because I intend these interviewers to convey a well-polished image of me. It helps to increase my readership – and boost my book sales. They should know this is their real task – if they don’t, it’s all the worse for them.” Still, Evangeline Fife isn’t willing to be sidelined by the poet’s “well-polished answers”; what’s more: she has an astonishing knowledge of his work – and of his personal story as a husband and father: she engages in an all-out battle with the elderly poet, staging a real corrida: “As he behaves as a bull, I will be his torero”. Some embarrassing details, therefore, emerge concerning the happenings that shot Frost to the top of the ladder, as well as his sometimes shady relationships with various exponents of American culture between the two World Wars. Especially significant is the literary critic and cultural organizer Louis Untermeyer. He appears on the scene revealing, the hidden implications behind Frost’s success story. At the end of Fife’s interview, this literary icon has fallen off his pedestal.
THE CAST
MISS FIFE: Madeline Wolf Schulman is an American actress who has been living in Milan since 2019. She has a BFA in acting from Carnegie Mellon University and studied Shakespeare at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford. Selected acting credits: s/b Joan in Fun Home (Circle in the Square on Broadway), Cassius in Julius Caesar (Pocket Universe, New York), Rosannah in Brilliant Traces (Factory32, Milano) Emily in Normativity (New York Musical Festival), Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (Hamlet Isn’t Dead, New York).
ROBERT FROST: David Wayne Callahan is an American actor, voice actor and coach who has lived and worked in Milan since 2002. He earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in acting from the Moscow Art Theater in Russia and has since worked professionally throughout Europe. In Italy he has acted in film and TV alongside actors such as Giancarlo Giannini, Christopher Lambert, Pierfrancesco Favino, and Oscar winners Marcia Gay Harden and Richard Dreyfuss. The short film Moths to Flame, in which he plays astronaut Buzz Aldrin, received numerous international awards, including the Italian Nastro d’Argento and the Universal Studios award for best short film. David co-stars as Professor Callahan in the popular Italian Reality show Il Collegio and is the TV, radio and social media face for many brands including Fiat, Acer, Vodafone and Luxottica. Since 2007, he has taught acting and directed theatrical productions in Milan in theatres including Menotti, Binario 7 and Campo Teatrale. David also coaches professionals in Presence and Public Speaking. He is a guest lecturer at Bocconi University and has coached Bocconi faculty, including speakers at the prestigious TEDxBOCCONIU event. He is host of the Bocconi Podcast Clarity in a Messy World and his voice can be heard in documentaries, cartoons, and TV and radio commercials around the world.
LOUIS UNTERMEYER: Alessandro Ravagnati is an actor based in Milan, specializing in theatre. He has performed extensively in both English and Italian. His latest work, Brilliant Traces, by Cindy Lou Johnson, is staged by British director Justin Butcher.
CARROLL, Frost’s son: Manfredi Conti is an English teacher based in Milan with an international background and experience in the creative industries; he is passionate about education, language and literature. He is a member of ETM’s Shakespeare workshop.
LESLIE, Frost’ daughter: Angeline Bryant is an American actress and graduate of the New York Performing Arts Academy who recently moved to Milan, bringing her lifelong passion for the stage to Italy. In the U.S., she was deeply involved in community theatre, with favourite roles including Cinderella in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Maria in The Sound of Music, Ariel in The Little Mermaid, and Mayzie La Bird in Seussical. She is thrilled to join Milan’s vibrant theatre community and continue her journey as a performer.
THE VENUE: The beautiful CAM Garibaldi hall has its own entrance on corso Garibaldi. For this event, Milan City Council granted English Theatre Milan use of the premises, as a sign of their appreciation of the innovative and vibrant cultural activities organised by our Association. The original story by J.C.Oates appeared in HARPER’S MAGAZINE / November2013,