Basement Arts presents Faith: March 7-9, 2002
FAITH, at the insistance of UM, Ann Arbor student and Players’ Club charter member Nathaniel Wright, was a first-ever opportunity for UM-Dearborn students to fully participate in a theatrical production at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. UM-Dearborn Players’ Club members, therefore, held positions in both the cast and crew of FAITH.
Nathaniel Wright received a 2002 Hopwood Award for Drama and a 2002 Dennis McIntyre Prize for Distinction in Undergraduate Playwriting
for FAITH.
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
presents
FAITH
a new play
by Nathaniel Wright
World Premiere: March 7-9, 2002
The Arena Stage, Ann Arbor, Michigan
starring
Eric Veit Craig Van Kempen
Alexander Robinson Logan Rich
Valerie Ogbonnaya James Poisson
&
Michelle Alizabeth Roberts
as "Faith"
propmaster
Maureen McEachern (UM-D)
electricians
Will Cooper-Daub
Andrew Fritsch
lighting
Ian Hyatt
Dave Garcia
stage manager
Amy Duffy
directed by
Brandon Hayes (UM-D)
CAST
Faith Armstrong - Michelle Alizabeth Roberts
John Armstrong, her husband - Eric Veit
Jedediah Armstrong, their son - Craig Van Kempen
Shawn Jackson, his boyfriend - Alexander Robinson
Josephine Carnaghi, Faith's mother - Logan Rich
Delia Jackson, Shawn's mother - Valerie Ogbonnaya
The Corpse - James Poisson (UM-D)
SETTING
Dining room.
Middle America.
Christmas Eve.
Thank you...
The Basement Arts Board
Dave Garcia
Katie Banks
Teh Henning
Blair Preiser
Taryn Fixel
The UM-Dearborn Campus Writing Center
The UM-Dearborn Wellness Center
Rebecca Valentino
Wendy Hammond
Ken Shaw
Elaine Hayes-Shaw
Bethany Bray
The Dark Lord
The Golden Lord
Filario
Philomel
Tadzio
Live Production Photos
by Brandon Hayes
James Poisson as the Corpse
~
Craig Van Kempen as Jedediah, Eric Veit as John
~
Valerie Ogbonnaya as Delia, Eric Veit as John
~
Craig Van Kempen as Jedediah
~
Michelle Alizabeth Roberts as Faith, Logan Rich as Josephine
~
Michelle Alizabeth Roberts as Faith, Logan Rich as Josephine
~
Alex Robinson as Shawn, Valerie Ogbonnaya as Delia,
Michelle Alizabeth Roberts as Faith, Eric Veit as John,
Logan Rich as Josephine, Craig Van Kempen as Jedediah
~
Alex Robinson as Shawn, Craig Van Kempen as Jedediah
~
Michelle Alizabeth Roberts as Faith
~
James Poisson as the Corpse, Michelle Alizabeth Roberts as Faith
presents
FAITH
a new play
by Nathaniel Wright
World Premiere: March 7-9, 2002
The Arena Stage, Ann Arbor, Michigan
starring
Eric Veit Craig Van Kempen
Alexander Robinson Logan Rich
Valerie Ogbonnaya James Poisson
&
Michelle Alizabeth Roberts
as "Faith"
propmaster
Maureen McEachern (UM-D)
electricians
Will Cooper-Daub
Andrew Fritsch
lighting
Ian Hyatt
Dave Garcia
stage manager
Amy Duffy
directed by
Brandon Hayes (UM-D)
CAST
Faith Armstrong - Michelle Alizabeth Roberts
John Armstrong, her husband - Eric Veit
Jedediah Armstrong, their son - Craig Van Kempen
Shawn Jackson, his boyfriend - Alexander Robinson
Josephine Carnaghi, Faith's mother - Logan Rich
Delia Jackson, Shawn's mother - Valerie Ogbonnaya
The Corpse - James Poisson (UM-D)
SETTING
Dining room.
Middle America.
Christmas Eve.
Thank you...
The Basement Arts Board
Dave Garcia
Katie Banks
Teh Henning
Blair Preiser
Taryn Fixel
The UM-Dearborn Campus Writing Center
The UM-Dearborn Wellness Center
Rebecca Valentino
Wendy Hammond
Ken Shaw
Elaine Hayes-Shaw
Bethany Bray
The Dark Lord
The Golden Lord
Filario
Philomel
Tadzio
Live Production Photos
by Brandon Hayes
James Poisson as the Corpse
~
Craig Van Kempen as Jedediah, Eric Veit as John
~
Valerie Ogbonnaya as Delia, Eric Veit as John
~
Craig Van Kempen as Jedediah
~
Michelle Alizabeth Roberts as Faith, Logan Rich as Josephine
~
Michelle Alizabeth Roberts as Faith, Logan Rich as Josephine
~
Alex Robinson as Shawn, Valerie Ogbonnaya as Delia,
Michelle Alizabeth Roberts as Faith, Eric Veit as John,
Logan Rich as Josephine, Craig Van Kempen as Jedediah
~
Alex Robinson as Shawn, Craig Van Kempen as Jedediah
~
Michelle Alizabeth Roberts as Faith
~
James Poisson as the Corpse, Michelle Alizabeth Roberts as Faith
Faith is beautiful because it connects us to the world outside of our inner selves. A skeptic lives without a friend in nature or fellowship, trusting neither and afraid of both. From the dawn of consciousness, humans have striven to place ourselves on some sort of continuum with the universe in which we are forced to eat, sleep, reproduce and enjoy ourselves. We learn to trust first in our parents, then in our heritages, our institutions, our governments, and our gods. It is through faith that we connect our personal stories to those grander, epic struggles of tribe, nation and universe. It is faith that gives us art, culture, communion and the most elusive of all existential truths – love.
However, the blade has two edges. The faith that gives our lives meaning is eternally at loggerheads with the reasoning by which we arrive at faith – understanding. It is this dynamic tension – my will to believe in the historical singularity of my existence versus overwhelming pressure to give in to the logical chaos of life’s pointlessness – that fuels the ambition to learn, explore, experience and savor. When my belief outruns my reality, I substitute rationalization for rationale. Expectations lead to disappointment and adversity breeds fear, which is the ruination of all things pleasant and worthwhile.
Someone said life is a comedy to those who think, and a tragedy to those who feel. I tend to see it as an inseparable blend of both – like the mixture of faith and reason that flows through our brains, telling us all how to live, whom to love and when to die. My play is about faith and its evil twin, self-deception. My play is also about Faith, a woman who lives in my head and does not exist anywhere else in reality. Those who think life is a comedy might regard her as foolish. Those inclined to the tragic view will, I trust, be more sympathetic. To venture my own very humble (and in a postmodern sense utterly irrelevant) opinion, I stand in complete admiration of her for who she is, and I lament what she could have been but never was. Be your own judge.
Nathaniel Wright
Basement Arts, the producing group for Faith, is a completely student-run theatre group housed within and subsidized by the U-M Department of Theatre and Drama. Our goal is to produce high-quality, free theatre for the U-M and Ann Arbor communities. Called "Ann Arbor's best kept secret" by the Ann Arbor News, Basement Arts produces a different show most every weekend of the school year - about 10-12 shows a semester! Founded in the mid '80s, Basement Arts has been a training ground for hundreds of aspiring actors, writers, directors, and designers, and our alum include Lucy Liu (Ally McBeal), Matt Letscher (Mask of Zorro), Jessica Cauffiel (Legally Blonde), and Miriam Shor (Hedwig and the Angry Inch). Basement Arts is currently run by senior Dave Garcia and junior Katherine Banks.
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