Spirits to Enforceby Mickle Maher
Performances
Dec 10, 2008 -
Dec 20, 2008
Cast & Personnel
Director
Cast
- Wayne Barnhill
- Noel Bowers
- Tamarie Cooper
- John DeLoach
- Miki Johnson
- Karina Pal Montaño-Bowers
- Cathy Power
- Charlesanne Rabensburg
- Kyle Sturdivant
- Michael Switzer
- Tek Wilson
- Walt Zipprian
Scenic Design
Sound Design
Stage Manager
Assistant Stage Manager
Booth Crew
The Play
Here’s the scenario: superheroes are holed up in a submarine where they are conducting a telethon to raise money to put on a production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Times are tough for this pack of thespian crusaders. All are fearless defenders of the island of Fathom Town, a place they keep safe and tidy with their oddball traits. The Intoxicator gets the bad guys buzzed, Memory Lass remembers the future, and The Pleaser, well you can figure that out. Then there’s Snow Heavy Branch guy who can’t stop talking about a gondola. Of course, there’s an evil doer (gotta have one), Dr. Cannibal (as in Caliban), who has his own sordid history with The Tempest. Turns out they all do, as the gang discovers they are all remnant spirits of Prospero’s Isle. Snippets of their literary legacies come through in various phone conversations. They also find that fundraising and putting on a show may be a way harder job than fighting evil. Bard wonks should pay close attention to choice Tempest-isms cleverly tucked into phone chats.The Playwright
MICKLE MAHER ’s plays have appeared Off-Broadway and around the world, and have been supported by grants from the NEA, the Rockefeller MAP fund, and Creative Capital. They include There is a Happiness That Morning Is; Song About Himself; An Apology for the Course and Outcome of Certain Events Delivered by Doctor John Faustus on This His Final Evening; The Hunchback Variations; The Strangerer; Spirits to Enforce; Cyrano (translator), The Cabinet; Lady Madeline; The Pine; An Actor Prepares (an adaptation of Stanislavsky’s seminal book); and Small Ball. He is a cofounder of Chicago’s Theater Oobleck, and has taught playwriting and related subjects at the University of Chicago, Columbia College, and Northwestern University. His plays are published by Hope and Nonthings.
It Is Magic marks the 11th of Maher’s plays to be produced by Catastrophic, making him the company’s most oft-produced playwright.
In the Media
Capsule Stage Reviews: Spirits to Enforce
December 18, 2008 |
Houston Press
| Lee Williams
Spirits dares to be inventive
December 12, 2008 |
Houston Chronicle
| Everett Evans
REVIEW: The Catastrophic Theatre’s Spirits to Enforce
December 12, 2008 |
Dancehunter
| Nancy Wozny