EDWARD ALBEE'S
THE GOAT OR, WHO IS SYLVIA?
(Notes Toward a Definition of Tragedy)
Director | Makaylee Secrest
Director's Note
In our production of The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? the question of “Who is Sylvia?” becomes the question of “Who are we?” What makes us humans human? Are we truly as evolved from our most primal chemical instincts as we believe we may be? Why is morality necessary for us and how do we create moral lines? What are the limits to our empathy for others when these lines are crossed? Is exposing the truth always a fundamentally, objective good? Albee does not give us any answers but he certainly leaves us with many valuable questions. Questions that become even more valuable when put in a historical context. For most of humanity’s history, homosexuality and bestiality have existed on the same moral plane. The hypocrisy of Martin’s homophobia allows us to examine the absurdity of this history. In the spirit of Greek tragedy, The Goat presents unimaginable circumstances and forces one to imagine them, to simply think newly and freshly about what we have buried deep as intolerable. The play is also about how we go about coping when things are shattered and cannot be pieced back together. I urge you all to let the laughter in so that the more serious issues can flow in as well. In today’s world, I feel that this idea of imagining the unimaginable is ever so present. Much like Stevie, I find that I have become accustomed to having moral conversations, specifically on politics in this country, in which the truth seems so clear to me but others are somehow able to wholly deny it. How do we make progress in a world of such unwavering certainty? For me, the only answer is a complete collapse of what we have long held as true and a rebuild from the ground up.
THE GOAT OR, WHO IS SYLVIA? is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing,
LLC,
servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection. (www.dramatists.com)
Originally produced on Broadway by
Elizabeth Ireland McCann, Daryl Roth,
Carole Shorenstein Hays, Terry Allen Kramer, Scott Rudin,
Bob Boyett, Scott Nederlander, Sine/ZPI.
Adam Gothreaux
Ross
Adam Gothreaux is a junior Theater (performance) major. He has been in multiple LSU sponsored productions, such as GOD GUN!, Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, and Dream Logos, a physical theater show that was brought to Edinburgh, Scotland as part of the Fringe Festival. He is also president of the LSU improv club. In the future, you can see him on Ziggy's Arts Adventure, presented by Louisiana Public Broadcasting and written and directed by Clay Achee.
Eric Rhode
Billy
Eric Rhode is a freshman Theatre (performance) major. Credits include: The Crucible, On Your Feet!, Fahrenheit 451, and Chicago. This will be his debut performance at LSU.
Sarah Short
Stevie
Sarah Short is a junior Theatre (performance) major. Previous credits include LSU Theatre Mainstage’s Airness and Anon(ymous), and LSU Theatre Lab’s Other Desert Cities. She will also be acting in Delta Rouge’s upcoming Geaux Film, The Dream List. Other previous credits include Theatre Baton Rouge’s Rocky Horror Show and LSU UTA’s Clown Bar.
Ansel Wilder
Martin Grey
Ansel Wilder is a Junior Theatre (Performance) major and a member of the Ogden Honors College. Previously, he has appeared in LSU UTA’s performance of Too Much Light Makes the Baby go Blind, and he has been a member of the LSU Improv Club since his Freshman year, currently serving as the club’s Member-at-Large.
Director | Makaylee Secrest |
Stage Manager | Sarah Statham |
Scenic Designer | Ashley Nguyen |
Costume Designer | Liz Leblanc |
Lighting Designer | Ray Carroway |
Sound Designer | Kaleb Giroir |
Prop Master | Lexi Rhodes |
Prop Assistant | Rayne Garcia |
Set and Prop Assistant | Amechi Obodoechina |
Poster Design | William Stark |
Videography | Macknzie Andrews and Deja Verdin |
Faculty Advisors | Jenny Ballard and George Judy |
Jeremy Barnadoni | Assistant Professor (Costume Design) |
Joe Chrest | Adjunct (Film and TV) |
Sonya Cooke | Assistant Professor (Acting; Head, Undergraduate Performace) |
Bea Cole | Office Coordinator, Box Office Manager |
John Michael Eddy | Professional-in-Residence (Properties) |
Nick Erickson | Associate Professor (Movement; Head, M.F.A. Acting) |
Femi Euba | Louise & Kenneth Kinney Professor (Black Drama and Playwriting) |
Melissa Fay | Theatre Business Manager |
John Fletcher | Billy J. Harbin Associate Professor (Theatre History) |
Tara A Houston | Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Assistant Professor (Scene Design) |
George Judy | Gresdna A. Doty Professor (Acting and Directing) |
Kyla Kazuschyk | Associate Professor (Costume Technology) |
James L. Murphy | Professor (Technology; Production Manager; Head, M.F.A. Technology/Design) |
Susan Perlis | (Co-Head Dance) |
Isaac Pletcher | Assistant Professor (Film and TV) |
Claudio Ribeiro | (Co-Head Dance) |
Rockford Sansom | Assistant Professor (Voice) |
Alan Sikes | Associate Professor (Literature, Theory, and Criticism) |
Amy Smith | Assistant Dean, Office of Student Success |
Kristin Sosnowsky | Interim Dean CMDA, Department Chair, Professor (Arts Administration; Producer, Swine Palace) |
Vastine Stabler | Managing Artistic Director |
C. Archer Touchet | Instructor of Entertainment Lighting and Media Production |
Shannon Walsh | Associate Professor (Theatre History: Head, Ph.D. Program) |
Chris Wood | Professional-in-Residence (Scene Shop Supervisor) |
Nick Erickson | M.F.A. Acting Program Head |
Alana Johnson | Student |
Justin Newell | Student |
LaDonna Ouedraogo | Student |
Carolina Queiroz Couto | Student |
Adam Seeholzer | Student |
Douglas Streater | Student |
Alice Wilkinson | Student |
James L. Murphy | M.F.A. Technical Design Program Head |
Amara Copeland | Student |
Bethany Sassen | Student |
John Fletcher | Ph.D. Program Head |
Rachel Aker | Student |
Simi Fadirepo | Student |
Lucy Knight | Student |
Heyjin Kwon | Student |
Rowan Jalso | Student |
Dori Leeman | Student |
Ben Munise | Student |
Katie Morris | Student |
Sarah Nanusbuga | Student |
Kyra Smith | Student |
Taren WIlson | Student |
Arron Wood | Student |