Artificial Woman

Abi Coomes is a third-year Theatre Arts major returning (finally!) from a fruitful semester at the American Conservatory Theater in S.F. The last time she was on campus, she appeared in The Frankenstein Project — written and directed by none other than Kirsten Brandt — and is exhilarated to be back working with her. In the meantime, she traveled the Zoomverse here and there, including a virtual Shakes to Go production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Abi would especially like to thank the creators of this show for their faith in the cast, and for the incredible opportunity to become The Artificial Woman for a moment in time. Playing this entity that is equally human and godly meant a very unique approach to character work! I enjoyed the challenge of discovering just who and what she is. In that, I had to find and decide when she would be the all-knowing narrator, too wise for their human struggles, and when she would be caught in the moment alongside them, victim to these very mortal emotions. The conclusion I found was that she is capable of being all of it; she is infinitely wise, yet she is curious like a child and continues to learn from the humans in her own story. TAW can see all the good and all the bad, and the process of creating her has certainly taught me a thing or two about life. :’)

 

Alma Mahler

Gabriela Anger is a third-year literature major in the Creative Writing concentration and a History of Art and Visual Culture minor here on campus. After taking a break from the theater for the past two years, she has felt nothing but gratitude for her return to the stage with the UCSC Theater Department as Alma Mahler. Past roles include Mimi Marquez in Rent and Vanessa in Into The Heights. Having the opportunity to play Alma and inhabit the many facets of her brilliant mind has been a source of great personal and professional growth for her as an actress. As a writer and student of art history, she has also relished the chance to be in the company of such remarkable art (and artists!) every day at rehearsal. Biggest and most grateful thank you to Amy and Steve for their everlasting genius, Kirsten and Michael for their direction, the cast and crew for all their hard work, and her family and friends for their support. She feels so lucky to have so many wonderful people to thank!

Oskar Kokoschka 

Drew Downs is a fourth-year theater major and education minor from Oakland, California. This is his fifth show (and first musical!) at UC Santa Cruz. At UCSC he has appeared in The Vibrator Play (2019), American Night (2019), Smokefall (2020), and Macbeth (2021). After two years of theater being confined to the zoom universe, this show has helped him rediscover his love of performance and theater arts culture. Playing Oskar has been an incredibly fun and challenging process for him, and he is grateful to have had the opportunity to inhabit this complicated character – and help bring this fascinating piece of history to life! He would love to thank Steve, Amy, Michael, Kirsten, and all of the incredibly talented people involved with this production for their dedication and hard work. Theater has been his biggest passion since middle school and he hopes to continue acting long after he graduates. Most importantly, he feels blessed and incredibly lucky to have been a part of this incredible department over the last four years!

Georg Trackl/As Cast

Louis Santia (Georg Trakl) is a third-year Molecular & Cell Development Biology and Theater Arts double major pursuing a multifaceted education to define the intersection between performance storytelling and the philosophy/function of human biology. He previously played Georg Trakl in the remote Zoom workshop through UCSC in Spring 2021 and is delighted to further explore and attempt to understand the role of this burdened poet. This is his mainstage production debut with the UCSC Theater Arts department but has performed extensively with the Rubicon Theater Company in his hometown of Ventura, CA. Notable performances include Macbeth in Macbeth: A-Zoom Play (Rubicon Theater Company, 2020), Baker in Into the Woods (Rubicon Theater Company, 2019), Sonny in Grease (Rubicon Theater Company, 2018), and others. He also performed in the recurring student-directed variety show Musical Theater Scene last quarter, and greatly looks forward to working with his banana slug peers again!

Anna Mahler/As Cast

Celeste Lagrange is a first-year Theatre Arts major at UC Santa Cruz and has been doing theatre since her freshman year of high school at San Dieguito High School Academy. A few of her most notable roles include Nelly Fail in Failure: A Love Story, Eleanor Vance in The Haunting of Hill House, and Vera in She Kills Monsters. In her first quarter at UCSC, she played the role of Lady Macbeth in the Barn Theater’s production of Macbeth: I Want It Frat Way. Celeste would like to thank her family and friends for always supporting her and her career, and she would also like to thank the cast and crew of The Artificial Woman for all of the fantastic work that they have put towards this production. Lastly, Celeste is thrilled to be performing the part of Anna Mahler, and she is beyond grateful to be a part of such a brilliant show. She hopes that the audience enjoys The Artificial Woman!

Hermine Moos/As Cast 

Maddy Khachadoorian is playing Hermine Moos, the creator of The Artificial Woman (or, The Alma Doll). Throughout the process, Maddy has thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the intricacies of the period (the early 1900s). Her education scratched the surface of historical topics, like war and the state it left people in. However, through her research, and from the resources provided by the Dramaturgy team, she feels much more informed about these subjects. For Maddy, Hermine is the most special character she has ever had the honor of portraying on stage. Being a queer Jewish woman, she is incredibly honored to be playing a powerful artist, who is aware and proud of her identity, despite the hardships she may have faced. Although the information on Hermine Moos is scarce, she was able to view the social, political, and economical views of the era and apply them to her character study.
The show has been unlike anything else she has ever worked on. It is musically brilliant, poetically genius, and directed fantastically. One of her favorite parts of learning the character was her line-by-line analysis of I’ve Touched Her, Too, a truly heartwrenching solo that details some of the “secrets” Hermine is keeping. Since there was not much information about Hermine, as history almost completely erased her and her artwork (excluding the four photos of the Doll), seeing these insights and speculations about who she was, what she was, and what she was trying to accomplish, guided her character choices throughout the process. The biggest hardship through the process is recognizing how deeply wronged Hermine was. She deserved so much more and was done incredibly dirty. Learning about this has been hard, but motivating. It has pushed her to tell her story, and bring a better perspective to who she was, and the eccentric artwork she crafted.

Lili Leiser/As Cast

Ensemble/Celeste (ALMA understudy)

Anael Sun is a fourth-year Theatre Arts major and Dance minor at UC Santa Cruz. Trained in classical, Stanislavski, and Meisner, they have acted in a variety of roles in film and theatre productions for the past 10 years. Most recently, they played Albryn in Disputes & Demurrals by Justin Hammer. They have also entertained audiences as Amiens in As You Like It, and Janet in Rocky Horror Picture Show. Anael moonlights as a costume designer and seamstress, and recently designed their first show, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and plan to continue honing their crafts as a dual designer and actor. Anael is absolutely elated to be a part of The Artificial Woman. They would like to thank their partner Emma for all of the love and support, and the cast and crew of The Artificial Woman for the wonderful energy and commitment they have all brought to the show.

Ensemble/Henriette (Anna/Lili understudy) 

Artis Anderson is a fourth-year Ecology and Evolutionary Biology student with a Theater Arts and STEM-Education minor. Artis is very grateful for her theater experience here at UCSC. She would like to thank the Theater Arts Department for cultivating her love for theater, without Dr. Michael Chemer’s ‘Monsters’ class she would never have discovered this passion. Usually occupying the role of Dramaturg, ‘The Artificial Woman’ is her first acting performance with the UCSC Theater Arts department. She previously was involved in the remote Zoom workshop through UCSC in Spring 2021 and is very grateful to be a part of this live production. Artis is constantly in awe of the hardworking individuals in the Theater Arts department. She is very thankful for this experience and the amazing cast and crew. This will be a core memory for her.

Ensemble/Mover/Medic/Man 1 (Oskar understudy)

 

I’m Angus Leslie playing medic, mover, and man and also Oskar understudy. Most importantly I’m playing Prosciutto Brotman. Prosciutto Brotman is the son of a CEO of a very prolific cured meats company in Europe. He tried to do art when he was young but due to his lack of talent, he was heavily criticized. Now he is an art collector for his father and enjoys being snooty and mean as a form of revenge for those artists who once shamed him. 

 

Ensemble/Man2/Mover (Georg understudy)

Drew Vander is thrilled to be a part of The Artificial Woman cast. Drew is a first-year proposed theater arts major, from San Luis Obispo. Drew started acting at his local repertory theater, SLO Rep, and since his sophomore year, he has attended Stagedoor Manor. A few of Drew’s notable roles include; Will Parker in Oklahoma, Will Bloom in Big Fish, Danny in In the Wake, Chuck in She Kills Monsters, and Macduff in Macbeth. Last quarter Drew appeared in Musical Theater Scenes and Barnstorm’s Macbeth; I Want it Frat Way. Drew would like to thank his family for always supporting him in his theatrical pursuits. Approaching character work for this show was a really enjoyable and enlightening process. As an ensemble member, there is a lot of room to create a character’s history. I had the opportunity to explore both sides of Vienna; from the aristocracy to the impoverished. There are so many thematic layers woven into this production, and I approached much of my character development by filling pieces of the story we are telling as a whole. One of the most challenging acting moments for me during this rehearsal process was developing the character of the drunken man who assaults the Artificial Woman. I had to remind myself that by performing these heinous acts on stage I am engaging in a form of ally-ship. These stories and experiences are important to draw attention to, and by creating a space where these issues can be talked about I am creating change. It is also important to mention that when working on a piece that is newly devised, the production is in a constant state of flux. As a company we made discoveries at almost every rehearsal, finding new themes and choices to create this beautiful piece.