Life is a Dream
Based on the play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca
Adapted by Felipe Vergara & Brenna Geffers
March 2022
Theatre Exile
A bold adaptation of a Spanish Golden Age classic.
Prince Segismundo is locked away in a tower by his father, who fears the prophecy of the destruction of his kingdom by his son’s hand. When the prince is finally freed from his prison, metaphysical questions of the conflict between free will and fate, between dream and reality, erupt in the kingdom. This philosophical Spanish Golden Age classic, considered the “Spanish Hamlet,” was brought to extraordinary life in this world premiere interdisciplinary adaptation.
Show sponsored by Drs. Lisa & Glenn George
Creative Team
Brenna Geffers … Director
Hassan Syed … Choreographer
Alondra Santos-Castillo & Thom Weaver … Set Co-Designer
Dom Chacon … Lighting Designer
Kyra Zapf … Costume Designer
Melanie Julian … Sound Design & Composer
Flannel & Hammer … Technical Director & Master Carpenter
Julia Franco … Master Electrician
Tess Mathewson … Stage Manager
Dane Eissler … Production Manager
Kylie Westerbeck … Production Photos
Cast
Vanessa Sterling … Segismundo
Keith Conallen … Basilio
Jessy Gruver … Clotaldo
Rachel O’Hanlon-Rodriguez … Estrella
Anthony Crosby … Ensemble
Lexi Thammavong … Agitator
Kishia Nixon … Ensemble
Emma Johnson … Ensemble
About Pedro Calderón de la Barca
Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Henao (17 January 1600 – 25 May 1681) was a Spanish dramatist, poet, and writer.
He is known as one of the most distinguished poets and writers of the Spanish Golden Age, especially for the many verse dramas he wrote for the theatre.
Calderón has been termed "the Spanish Shakespeare", the national poet of Spain, and one of the greatest poets and playwrights in the history of world literature.