Constellation Theatre Company kicks off Season 14: Electric Impulses with Sue Jin Song’s powerful one-woman show, Children of Medea. The production will be fully staged and filmed at CulturalDC’s Source Theatre using a dynamic multi-camera setup and streamed online to audiences across the DC area and beyond. Both Live Stream Opening Night and Video On Demand viewing options are available. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (202) 204-7741 or online.
ABOUT CHILDREN OF MEDEA
After Cynthia’s mother disappears without a trace, the 17-year-old Korean-American struggles to excel in school, raise her younger sister Julianne, and meet the expectations of her emotionally absent, immigrant father. Soon Cynthia begins to retreat into the surreal universe of her own psyche, where she encounters familiar figures like Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. Presiding over it all is Medea, at long last reclaiming her infamous role within Greek mythology. With playwright and performer Song masterfully embodying all of the characters in a tour-de-force solo performance, Children of Medea is a raw and visceral coming-of-age story that balances haunting lyricism with youthful wonder.
Children of Medea premiered at the 2008 DC Fringe Festival in a production starring Song and directed by Craig Wallace. With critics praising Song’s dynamic and vulnerable performance as well as the play’s chilling conclusion, Children of Medea won the Best of Fringe Award. When Song reprised the show at Fringe the following year, DC Theatre Scene said, “What a thrill it is to see a fresh-faced, talented actress evoke Greek myth to such poignant and personal ends. Through Song, the children of Medea live again. Touched by the gods, indeed.”
CAST & CREATIVE TEAM
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Sue Jin Song Constellation is thrilled to welcome back playwright and actor Sue Jin Song, last seen at Source in our 2013 production of 36 Views. Song’s extensive acting resume includes Off-Broadway productions of The World of Extreme Happiness at Manhattan Theatre Club (NYC premiere) and Iphigenia at Aulis and Exit the King at Pearl Theater. Locally, she has been seen in Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s productions of The Arsonists and Marie Antoinette, Smart People at Arena Stage, and The Jewish Queen Lear, Yellow Face, and The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism, With a Key to the Scriptures at Theater J.
- Constellation’s Founding Artistic Director Allison Arkell Stockman directs Song’s vivid tale. Stockman won the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical (Helen Production) in 2016 for her work on Avenue Q. She has directed 29 Constellation productions including The White Snake, The Master and Margarita, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Wild Party, The Arabian Nights, Urinetown, Journey to the West, The Fire and The Rain, The Love of the Nightingale, and 36 Views.
- A.J. Guban, Constellation’s Managing Director and resident Scenic & Lighting Designer, will bring his experienced eye for vivid colors and rich detail to Children of Medea. Guban has created 40 scenic designs and 38 lighting designs for Constellation, receiving seven Helen Hayes nominations for Outstanding Lighting Design (The Wild Party, Avenue Q, 36 Views) and Set Design (Little Shop of Horrors, The Arabian Nights, Journey to the West, 36 Views).
- Choreographer Tori Tolentino returns to Constellation after having both choreographed and performed in our 2019 production of The Master and Margarita. She is a company member, director, and choreographer at Virginia’s acclaimed Synetic Theater. Selected local credits include Synetic: Treasure Island (Director/Adapter), My Father’s Dragon (Director/Choreographer), The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Co-Adaptor/Choreographer), Hansel and Gretel (Co-Director/Co-Choreographer/
Co-Adaptor), Peter Pan (Starkey/Co-Adapter); relEASE physical theatre: straight on til mourning (Director/Choreographer/ Playwright), SELF (Co-Director/Co-Choreographer) - Known throughout the DC area for her whimsical creations, Costume Designer Kendra Rai is a nine-time nominee and three-time Helen Hayes Award winner for Outstanding Costume Design. At Constellation, Rai has designed costumes for A Flea in Her Ear, The Ramayana, Women Beware Women, On the Razzle, The Green Bird (Helen Hayes Award winner), Arms and the Man, Blood Wedding, Metamorphoses, Taking Steps, Zorro, Gilgamesh, 36 Views, Scapin, The Love of the Nightingale, ABSOLUTELY! {perhaps}, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, and The Fire and the Rain. Associate Costume Designer Courtney Wood will help bring Rai’s vision to life.
- Constellation audiences have enjoyed Sound Designer Justin Schmitz’s work in Little Shop of Horrors, The Skin of Our Teeth, and The Wild Party (2018 Helen Hayes Nomination, Outstanding Sound Design). Schmitz has also designed for productions at The Kennedy Center, Signature Theatre, Round House Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Theater J, Studio Theatre, Theatre Alliance, Olney Theatre Company, Imagination Stage, Rorschach Theatre, and WSC Avant Bard. Gordon Nimmo-Smith will serve as Audio Engineer.
- Constellation welcomes Properties Designer George “Tommy” Wang, whose work has been seen on stages across the DC area including Signature Theatre, Folger Theatre, Theater J, and Round House Theatre.
ABOUT ELECTRIC IMPULSES
Constellation Theatre Company invites audiences to embark on an epic adventure from the comfort of home! Season 14: Electric Impulses will use a dynamic multi-camera setup to film four full-scale productions in the company’s intimate black box theatrer. Audiences will be able to tune in for the Live Stream Opening Night of each production, which will feature additional content such as a special welcome from Constellation’s leadership and a post-show reception on Zoom with the cast and creative team. Alternatively, patrons may purchase a Video On Demand ticket to watch the filmed performance within a 72-hour window during a limited three-week run. Subscriptions begin at $69 plus fees and include tickets to both Live Stream Opening Night and Video On Demand viewing options for two, three, or all four shows in the season.
Season 14 will capture the electrifying energy, striking visual design, and intimate performances of a live Constellation production while keeping audiences and artists safe. Other shows in the season include:
The Last Five Years
written and composed by Jason Robert Brown
directed by Kathryn Chase Bryer
music direction by Marika Countouris
Live Stream Opening Night: June 12, 2021, at 8 PM
Video On Demand Available June 22 – July 11, 2021
A richly detailed portrait of a young couple’s tumultuous romance comes to life in this beloved two-person musical by Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown. Sparks fly when Cathy, a struggling actress, and Jamie, a novelist on the brink of wild success, meet as 20-somethings in New York – but growing ambition, egotism, and betrayal threaten to drive them apart. They each retrace their relationship from opposite ends, with Jamie moving forwards and Cathy backwards over the span of five years. Full of catchy, poignant songs performed by a five-piece orchestra, The Last Five Years captures some of the most intimate highs and lows of modern romance.
Title to Be Announced (rights pending)
directed by Angelisa Gillyard
Live Stream Opening Night: Saturday, August 21, 2021, at 8 PM
Video On Demand Available August 31 – September 19, 2021
Angelisa Gillyard (Day of Absence, Theater Alliance) directs a powerful drama examining the deep-rooted and transformative forces that connect us to our past, present, and future.
Mysticism & Music
an original story created by Tom Teasley, Chao Tian, Allison Arkell Stockman and A.J. Guban
Live Stream Opening Night: Saturday, October 23, 2021, at 8 PM
Video On Demand Available November 2 – 23, 2021
Music, movement, and spoken word merge in this world premiere piece inspired by sacred texts from around the world. Following their Helen Hayes Award-nominated collaboration on 2019’s The White Snake, the award-winning musical duo of Teasley and Tian will compose and perform a propulsive new soundscape powered by a cross-cultural fusion of exuberant percussion and Chinese dulcimer. Singers and dancers join this multidisciplinary group of collaborators to take you on a transcendent journey, awakening your senses with spectacular sound, imagery, and light.
Video for the filmed productions will be captured and edited by Blue Land Media, based in Arlington, VA. Founded in 2000, Blue Land Media works to make a difference by connecting people, sharing ideas, and telling stories through the power of video and digital media.
ABOUT CONSTELLATION THEATRE COMPANY
Constellation Theatre Company tells big, powerful stories in an intimate space. Constellation sparks the curiosity and imagination of the people of greater Washington, DC, with world-class entertainment that features visual spectacle, dynamic movement, live music, and passionate acting ensembles. Drawing from the genres of fantasy, farce, and epic adventure, Constellation transports audiences to new and exciting worlds where the action is larger than life.
