Please remember to dim and silence your devices. Our program is (obviously) available to view online, but we have made sure that the background is dark in order to cut down on light disturbing your co-audience members. Also note that any recordings of this performance are strictly prohibited.
April 4–April 12, 2025
- Rachel Luann Strayer | Playwright
- Dr. Lori Lind | Director
The Cast
- Sarah Daniels | Ophelia
- Jessa Whitley-Hill | Jane
- Karina Hilleard | Edmund
- Justin Meyer | Adam
Production Staff
- EJ Fultz | Stage Manager
- Tim Vinson | Assistant Stage Manager
- Laura Sage | Graphic Designer / Webmaster
Crew
- Ray Raymond | Carpenter
- Wade Smith | Carpenter
- Susan Gardiner | Wardrobe
- Gene Allen | Executive Producer
- Tammy Rogers | Associate Producer
- Wade Smith | Associate Producer
- Rick Knight | Associate Producer
Sponsors
Synopsis
A few years ago a technical director with whom I worked brought me a script to look over. It wasn’t an opera and it wasn’t Shakespeare per se, so I wasn’t immediately interested. I sat down to read it during the holidays, and found myself LAUGHING and wanting to befriend these characters. I naturally assumed a play about a brother’s mistreatment of his sister would be tragic from beginning to end, Rachel Luann Strayer’s writing and characterizations were so compelling to me, in such simple and effective ways, I was transported in and out of the past, the present and the imagined future. I got IDEAS (if you know me, you know how dangerous this is) for how we could make the play work for SOT. Having experienced family trauma of my own with an older brother who died eleven years ago, I knew I had to do this play. Not for my own healing, though it does speak to me personally of that lifelong journey. Not for a departure from our usual family friendly fare (“look at us, we’re doing something modern and edgy!”) Not for anything but the conviction that this play has to be seen, has to be realized on the stage and told, again and again. And I desperately wanted to have my own chance to tell it.
With April being Domestic Abuse Awareness month, it gave the opportunity for visibility I hoped to amplify with this play. Abuse does not always come with a shout, but most often with a whisper. It builds imperceptibly over time, and the victims become conditioned to their abuse like the proverbial frog in the slowly boiling pot of water. Recovering from such prolonged trauma causes lifelong mistrust of one’s own judgement, which is one of the most difficult mental hurdles to overcome. PTSD, ADHD and Dissociative disorders often stem from the cognitive dissonance of enduring abuse from someone who is a family member and who otherwise does love and care for you.
It’s traditional in most Shakespeare plays that the Bard will put in a song or two. Many composers have taken up the quill, pen and computer to set the songs of Ophelia’s mad scene. Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet is widely applauded as the finest operatic setting of the play, though it does take much license in adaptation. (Spoiler alert: at the end of Thomas’ Hamlet, Hamlet remains alive and is crowned king. I get the ‘icks’ just thinking about that.) Ms. Strayer asks in her instructions that no instruments accompany the snippets of vocalisms she laid out to be used throughout the play. The challenge of singing opera a cappella was one that Sarah Daniels took up with aplomb, the results of which give me goosebumps. You will hear an excerpt from the “Spring Chorus” used to set the words of Ophelia’’s Valentine song that is reprised throughout the show. You will hear an excerpt from the cavatina portion of Ophelia’s “book aria” and of course, music from her mad scene. The words are Shakespeare’s and the music is Thomas’, with tweaks to make the English words fit the original French setting. Therein, we accomplish our mission of bringing classical theater and classical music together!
But this play is modern, and this play is in some ways absurdist, and in some ways “verismo” (to borrow an operatic term in Italian meaning “true to life.”) I find myself attempting to explain this play to those to whom I am touting its excellence, and cannot find the words to truly convey its, dare I say, importance.
I will here simply use Ms. Strayer’s beautiful words: This play is a love letter to those who have suffered. There is always hope.
~ Dr. Lori Lind
Artistic and Managing Director, Shakespeare Opera Theatre
Stage Director and Production Manager, Drowning Ophelia
About SOT
Founded in 2015, Shakespeare Opera Theatre is a professional 501c(3) non-profit performing arts company specializing in classical theatre with classical music. We’ve been described as “classical mash-up,” and we think that fits us superbly! We are proud to perform at historic and beautiful St. Thomas Episcopal Church in McLean, VA, and Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains, VA. Join us again for our future productions!
Up Next
July 11-20, 2025
Romeo & Juliette
2025 marks SOT’s historic 10th year, and we are excited to continue on in our mission to provide affordable and intimate performances of classic works with a twist. Ticket sales, as with most nonprofit performing arts companies, do not begin to meet all of our expenses, and we depend on partnerships with businesses and individuals in our community to help us bridge the budgetary gap. SOT offers those with lower incomes, students, military (both active duty and veterans) and first responders tickets free of cost. We employ professional musicians, actors and singers from our region and beyond, who are vital to maintaining the high quality our audiences have come to expect. We also give opportunities to local high school and college students to learn about and participate in all areas of production. By helping us continue to bring classical perform8ng arts to our region, you become our partner in exploring the exciting, indelible works that have stood the test of time.You can help SOT introduce people of all ages to the wonders of these masterpieces in a manner both authentic and entertaining.
Please donate by cash, check or credit card at our front desk, by emailing us at info@shakespeareoperatheatre.com, or by clicking on the green donate button above to see all donation options available. Thank you for sustaining us through ten magical seasons — with your support, we look forward to many more!!
Gratefully yours — The SOT Team,
Managing Director
Associate Director
Assistant Artistic Director
Executive Producer
Executive Producer
Associate Producer
Associate Producer
Associate Producer
Associate Producer
Associate Producer
Our Mission
This is not a project one is asked to take on as a performing artist anywhere else in the world, as far as I am aware. The level of excitement from performers and audiences has grown exponentially with each production. It was most definitely not a raging success right out of the gate. You never know as a founder of a company if your ideas really are just plain hare-brained. Nevertheless, over time, some pretty fabulous artists showed up to bring it to life, and then an audience for what we do started to build. Who knew people like you would actually pay to see these unconventional presentations of the classics of Western civilization? I like to think that I did. But truly, I did not know what would happen. I think it’s a testament to my sheer stubbornness, and also to the people who supported me along the way. Indubitably, my first reaction is to thank my mother, who has always supported me no matter how crazy my ideas. Secondly, the people of Grace church and Weston Mathews, the rector there, for taking us on as a resident company back in 2018, and where we still perform, after wandering around in the wilderness for a few years. Then there is our current main rehearsal and performance venue, St. Thomas church, whose people and the rector, Fran Gardner-Smith, not only welcomed me as their organist and choir director, but enthusiastically opened their space and gave unmitigated and immediate support to Shakespeare Opera Theatre. My heartfelt thanks cannot be overstated: to our performers, our staff, our volunteers, our donors and supporters, and most especially to YOU, our devoted audience, without whom we would have no reason to do any of it.
Merci beaucoup, Grazie mille & Thank You!
Dr. Lori Lind — Managing Director
Donors
Shakespeare Opera Theatre would like to thank our donors for their generosity in supporting our season
Queen/King Donors ($1,001+)
Walter Lazear and Audrey Adair
Eugene Allen
Tricia & Skeets Meyer
Middleburg Life (in kind)
Fran Gardner Smith and David Smith
Patricia and David Smith
Katsas Family Trust
Berta and Wade Smith
Countess/Count Donors ($501-$1,000)
Jan & Chuck Grimes
Cleta and Ray Raymond
Baroness/Baron Donors ($250-$500)
Kenneth Garrett
The Hill School
Debby McCaffree
Lynne Montgomery
Lee Swallows
Isabella Umberger
Courtiers (up to $249)
Rishabh Bajekal
Will Ferris
Susan Gardiner
Carol and Duane Goddard
Grace the Plains Episcopal Church
Karen and John Knox
Jennifer Lee
Justin Meyer
Mollie Regan
Louise Rosenburg
Wade Smith
St. Thomas Episcopal Church
The Vestry of St. Thomas
The Choir of St. Thomas
Joshua Waits
Phyllis and Stephen Wickman
Thank you for your considered support of Shakespeare Opera Theatre.
Support Us
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Thanks, St. Thomas & Grace the Plains
Thanks to the generous people of St. Thomas and Grace the Plains, Shakespeare Opera Theatre is able to offer a full season of classical performing arts to our community and beyond. Please consider joining for worship, fellowship, and special events. View information about other incredible offerings, and sneak a peek at the church calendars for worship times and important dates at <a href="https://www.gracetheplains.org" target="_blank">gracetheplains.org</a> and <a href="https://www.stthomasmcleanva.org" target="_blank">stthomasmcleanva.org</a>
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- Volunteer & Mailing List: info@shakespeareoperatheatre.com
- Auditions: auditions@shakespeareoperatheatre.com
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