Season design by Ricky Castanedo Laredo. rickycastanedo.com
Live at Studio 58
November 21-December 1, 2024
"I do not want to look back on my life and know I held on to any shame.”
When charismatic Anastasius Linck meets Catharina Mülhahn, it’s love, and lust, at first sight. As Catharina fights against her mother’s desire for a traditional marriage in favour of her independence, Anastasius works to conceal their identity to stay alive. As the pair passionately explore gender and sexual identities, rigid 18th century society aims to tear them apart.
Creative Team
Playwright – Ruby Thomas | Director – Angelica Schwartz | Stage Manager – Rachel E. Ross | Set Design – Starlynn Chen* | Set Design Mentor – Brian G. Ball | Costume Design – Donnie Tejani | Assistant Costume Design – Najú Ururahy* and Faye W. Ludwar | Lighting Design – Christian Ching | Sound Design – Mary Jane Coomber | Props Design – Emma Knox | Intimacy Director – Melanie Yeats | Fight Directors – Nathania Bernabe and Jackie T. Hanlin | Dialect and Voice Coach – Brad Gibson | Choreographers – Ellie McCullough** and Tresha Thamilchelvan**
*Current Production Program student
**Current Acting Program student
Run Time: Approximately 2 hours plus a 15-minute intermission
Content Advisories: The story centres around the historical mistreatment of LGBTQ+ individuals, exploring themes of societal erasure, rejection, misgendering, violence and injustice. There are also depictions of consensual sex and sexuality. Language authentic to the period is used throughout, some of which may be offensive by today’s standards, including terms that were once used to demean or invalidate gender minorities. The show also includes the use haze and fog, flashing lights and mentions of r*pe.
Performance Schedule
The roles of Spinster/Ensemble Understudy are double-cast.
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Philippa Ryder |
Kathryn Kerby |
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Linck & Mülhahn was first performed at the Hampstead Theatre, London on 27 January 2023. Rights to this amateur production have been granted by Casarotto Ramsay and Associates Ltd, agents to Ruby Thomas.
Cast and Crew
Creative Team
Angelica Schwartz (they/them) is a director and creator from Treaty 1 Territory (Winnipeg, MB), now living on the unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples (Vancouver, BC). A Jessie Award winner, Schwartz focuses on community building, reimagining leadership and fostering hope in uncertain times. Their extensive portfolio includes work with The National Arts Centre, Buddies in Bad Times, Electric Company Theatre, Rumble Theatre, Bard on the Beach and Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. They are also the Community Engagement Manager at Neworld Theatre. A graduate of the National Theatre School’s Directing program and Studio 58’s Production program, Schwartz believes in the power of art to inspire hope and drive change, shaping the future we want to live in. Connect with them at angelicaschwartz.com.
Hailing from the Treaty 7 Region of the Alberta Prairies, Rachel E. Ross is a stage manager, theatre technician and classical musician. They enjoy working in a range of backstage roles for both opera and theatre.
Stage management credits include: Flight, Lucrezia, The Magic Flute (Vancouver Opera); Beneath Springhill, Forgiveness (Arts Club Theatre Company); Sanctuary and Storm (re:Naissance Opera/Vancouver Opera); The Kitchen (Studio 58); and Angel’s Bone (Sound the Alarm/re:Naissance Opera/Loose Tea Music Theatre). Rachel has also been the Assistant Head Electrician at Bard on the Beach for the past two seasons.
Rachel is a graduate of Studio 58 and the Oberlin Conservatory. They are thrilled to be returning back to the basement where it all began.
Starlynn Chen (she/her) is an emerging costume and set designer, graduating this December from the Production Program at Studio 58.
Recent credits: Assistant to the Costume Designer for Baggage (Studio 58); Apprentice Costume Designer for Twelfth Night (Bard on the Beach); Costume Designer for The Play That Goes Wrong (Metro Theatre); Design Assistant for Father Tartuffe: An Indigenous Misadventure (Arts Club, Touchstone Theatre); Apprentice Designer for Community Creates 2024 (Arts Club).
Starlynn was the recipient of 2024 BC Arts Council Scholarship, 2023 David Pritchard Stage Management Scholarship and 2023 Boca del Lupo’s SLaM Program Bursary.
Starlynn is deeply grateful for the incredible support from the faculty, creative team and crew, and extends a heartfelt thank you to everyone involved in bringing this production to life!
Brian Ball is a BC-based artist and designer. Born in Newfoundland, he completed his BFA in Visual Arts at Memorial University (Newfoundland) and his MFA in Theatre (set and costume) Design at the University of Victoria.
Recent shows include: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (CTORA); Romeo and Juliet (Set and Costumes, Capilano University Theatre Department); A Christmas Carol (Set, Capilano University Theatre Department).
Upcoming shows: One Man, Two Guv’nors (Set and Costumes, Capilano University Theatre Department); Alice by Heart (Set and Costumes, Capilano University Theatre Department); West Side Story (Set and Costumes, CTORA); and Legally Blonde (Costumes, Theatre Under the Stars).
Donnie began his career wearing many hats in the wardrobe department and has established himself in Vancouver as a dresser, wig stylist and Jessie Award winning costume designer. After a few years backstage as Head Dresser for the Arts Club learning tricks from the “front lines,” he shifted focus to design, going on to work with companies such as the Vancouver Opera, Carousel Theatre for Young People and Neworld Theatre. Donnie’s work can also be seen on screen on the runways of drag competition series such as RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars, Drag Race Canada and Call Me Mother. Recent credits: Into the Woods (Studio 58), Someone Like You (Arts Club). Upcoming: Oliver! (Gateway Theatre) @donnietejani
Najú Ururahy is a multidisciplinary artist and Production Program student at Studio 58. Born and raised in Brazil, with a background in fine arts and architecture, Najú has many passions, including set, props and costume design. After gaining experience working and leading various crews, Najú debuted her work as a designer in January 2024 with her set design for Studio 58’s Into the Woods. Following that, she had the privilege of assisting Jenn Stewart with her set design for Fat Joke (Neworld Theatre).
Having studied costume design with the iconic Mara Gottler for the past two years, Najú is looking forward to showcasing her costuming skills in the Studio 58 production, Linck & Mülhahn. For this production, Najú worked alongside the incredible Donnie Tejani as the Assistant Costume Designer.
Faye W. Ludwar (he/she/they) is a visionary artist, living and working on unceded Musqueam, Katzie and Tsleil-Waututh land. They practice performance art, playwriting, textile design and makeup artistry. As an actress, Faye has workshopped various plays by queer/trans playwrights and is developing his own one-woman show, I Am in Love With an Alien Woman. After graduating from Studio 58, Faye launched their career as a drag artist, performing for local Vancouver events while producing their own drag shows. Simultaneously, they developed their own fashion line, Gaylien's, through which they design, construct and sell their up-cycled garments. They are excited to be back at Studio 58, working on their costume design mentorship under Donnie Tejani. Their artistic practice is transformative, professional, community-focused and visually unique. @planetgaylien
Headshot by @wurld2000k
Christian Ching is a scenographer, lighting designer and production manager with a love for design and nature. They are a graduate of Simon Fraser University (2021) with a double degree in Theatre Production and Design and in the Biological Sciences. Originally from the Philippines, they are currently based in the unceded Coast Salish territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations (also known as Vancouver). Their practice aims to revolve around playful collaboration and the consideration of ecological aspects of design. In their free time, they like to write and run RPGs, draw and make music.
Mary Jane Coomber (they/them) is a collaborative music and sound artist who primarily works on the unceded, sovereign territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh people. Previously for Studio 58: The Tempest and TomorrowLove. Recent theatre credits: Eyes of the Beast (Neworld), Hamlet (Bard on the Beach), Fat Joke (Neworld), This Is How We Got Here (Firehall), CHILD-ish (Pacific), Snow White (Carousel), Hurricane Mona (Touchstone), How Black Mothers Say I Love You (Frank), Division Infinity Saves The World! (Neworld) and Rubaboo (Grand/Arts Club/Citadel). Mary Jane is a member of ADC and a graduate of the School of Contemporary Arts at SFU.
Emma Knox is a fabrication artist and props designer based out of Vancouver, BC. Before moving, she was Head of Props for Storybook Theatre and a mascot maker in Calgary, AB. She holds a BFA in Technical Theatre & Design from the University of Lethbridge and currently works as a Venue Technician for Gateway Theatre.
Props team: Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery (Gateway Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Pearl Fishers, and HMS Pinafore (Vancouver Opera). Head of Props: The Neverending Story, Curious George, Sister Act, Return to Treasure Island, The Giver, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Goosebumps The Musical, Junie B. Jones and Into the Woods (Storybook Theatre). Costumes Assistant: Waazakone, Futur/us (the frank theatre). Costume Crew: Alice in Wonderland (Theatre Replacement).
Melanie has worked in embodied, consent-based performance practices for more than 25 years and holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from SFU. Her passion for fat liberation and body neutrality is woven into all of the work she does.
As an Intimacy Director, Dramaturg, Performer and Director, Melanie has worked with Bard on the Beach, Carousel Theatre, Tara Cheyenne Performance, re:Naissance Opera, Universal Limited, Music on Main, Upintheair, Neworld, Joe Ink, Boca del Lupo, Pi Theatre and more, collaborating with theatre, dance and music artists.
As an arts administrator, Melanie is proud to serve as Creative Managing Director at Playwrights Theatre Centre.
Currently living on the unceded, stolen territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, Melanie was born on the territory of the Tsuut’ina, Siksika (Blackfoot) and Stoney (Nakoda) people (Treaty 7), a descendant of European settlers and refugees.
Nathania is a Filipino-Canadian actor, choreographer, director, writer and producer with a Bachelor of Arts in Drama and Education (Concordia University of Alberta). She is grateful for the incredible opportunities to train with such schools and companies like the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (London), SITI Company (New York), Zen Zen Zo (Melbourne), Diavolo Dance (Los Angeles), Rapier Wit (Toronto), DynamO Théâtre (Montreal) and Second City (Chicago). Nathania has a profound love for physical theatre and trains with Fight Directors Canada. Nathania is the Artistic Director of Affair of Honor, a stage combat company she created with Jackie T. Hanlin. Select fight directing credits: Medicine (Pi Theatre), Treasure Island (Project X), She Kills Monsters (Bishop’s University) and Grandma. Gangsta. Guerilla. (Ruby Slippers). www.affairofhonor.ca
Jackie T. Hanlin is an actor, fight choreographer and producer hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Since 2015 she had the pleasure of being an actor, choreographer, writer and producer within Affair of Honor, producing Qui Nguyen’s Soul Samurai (Vancouver Fringe festival 2017/18) Karen Basset’s Heroine (Edmonton Fringe Festival 2018), House of Arms: an improvised fight episodic (2018), Playthings (Edmonton Fringe Festival, 2019/Presentation House Theatre, 2021), Fairlith Harvey’s Kill the Ripper (Presentation House Theatre/Rio Theatre, 2022) and Jovanni Sy’s The Five Vengeances (Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, 2022). Jackie has also worked as a fight director for companies including Pi Theatre (Medicine), Urban Ink (Homecoming), Project X (Treasure Island), Studio 58 (Linck & Mülhahn), Ruby Slippers (Grandma. Gangsta. Guerrilla.) and PTC (God’s A Drag).