Albany, NY - The University at Albany’s Theatre Program is pleased to announce its upcoming production of Mary Shelley Meets Frankenstein by Kate Alice Walat, Associate Professor and Resident Playwright. This will be the inaugural production of this new play; it will be performed by UAlbany students and directed by Visiting Assistant Professor of Acting Ryan Garbayo, who directed Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew last spring. The play will feature the work of Theatre Program faculty members Nora Marlow Smith, designing sets; and Anne Croteau, designing costumes, with a punk rock influence; as well as visiting lighting designer Evan Anderson, in his first production at UAlbany.

There will be six public performances at the UAlbany Performing Arts Center on the uptown University at Albany campus from November 20 to 24, 2024. The schedule includes shows on Wednesday & Thursday, November 20 & 21 at 8pm; Friday, November 22 at 3pm; Saturday, November 23 at 2pm & 8pm; and Sunday, November 24 at 2pm.

Mary Shelley was just 18 years old when she began writing Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus as part of a competition between friends, creating one of the most enduring creatures of all time and giving rise to the science fiction genre. This play tells the story of Mary and her companions Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, Claire Clairemont, and John Polidori-capturing their youth, vitality, obsession with science, and hunger for life-as Mary works to complete her masterpiece of Gothic horror.

“These historical characters are all young people in their teens and 20s, fired up about writing and ideas, and refusing to live by society’s rules. Their passion, creativity, and desire to change the world was something that really resonated with me and reminded me of my own students here at UAlbany,” says playwright Kate Walat.

“Getting to work on the very first production of this play here with my inspiring students and talented colleagues is an amazing experience, with so many opportunities for crossover between classroom learning and the laboratory learning that our productions provide,” says Walat. “This is what our Theatre Program is all about.”

Mary Shelley Meets Frankenstein features an ensemble cast of five UAlbany Theatre students, including senior Amanda Springer, a double-major in Theatre and Africana Studies, in the role of Mary Shelley. Student Nate Cooper-a Theatre major and Theatrical Design and Technology minor-has taken on sound design for the play, working alongside faculty designers. Other cast members include Jared Lewis-Holliday as Percy Shelley, Hazel Chaudoir as Claire Clairemont, David Espinal as Lord Byron, and Bryan Antinore playing John Polidori.

Director Ryan Garbayo explains that he was “drawn to Mary and her need to finish writing her novel at all costs, and the obsession that overtakes writers during the creative process.” He added: “So many of our audience members will be young artists. Hopefully understanding Mary’s life and artistic process can inspire them to finish that novel or screenplay, or take that class, or whatever it might be that sparks their creativity and imagination.”

In fall 2018, the Theatre Program also mounted the first production of Kate Walat’s play Six Scenes in a Theater, written especially for the Performing Art Center’s Arena Theatre “in the round” space. Mary Shelley Meets Frankenstein will be performed in the PAC’s Studio Theatre, an intimate proscenium space, ideal for new plays.

Next up in the Theatre Program’s season will be the ever-popular musical The Rocky Horror Show directed by Shaun Patrick Tubbs, Visiting Assistant Professor of Directing, in the Main Theatre and featuring a live band. That will be followed by our spring FRESH ACTS festival of new plays, written and directed by students in collaboration.

Advance tickets are $20 for the general public and $15 for students, senior citizens and UAlbany faculty-staff.  Tickets purchased on the day of the show are $25 for the general public and $20 for students, seniors and UAlbany faculty-staff.  All tickets must be purchased on-line from the UAlbany Performing Arts Center’s site at www.albany.edu/pac.  Information and assistance can be obtained by contacting the UAlbany Performing Arts Center’s main office at (518) 442-3995 or [email protected].