FIRST DATE
FIRST DATE
FIRST DATE
FIRST DATE
THE EIGHT REINDEER MONOLOGUES (2011)
A dark reimagining of Santa and his reindeer, set in family therapy
Written by Jeff Goode
WHEN & WHERE:
January 14 & 15, 2011
The Glen Loch - Syracuse, NY
Presented by Encore Presentations
PRODUCTION TEAM:
Director – Jordan Westfall
Exec. Producer – Marguerite Beebe
Technical Director – Stephen Beebe
CAST:
Dasher – Navzad Dabu
Cupid – Roy George
Prancer aka Hollywood – Samantha Rey
Blitzen – Lauren Sageer
Comet – Joseph Manganiello
Dancer – Heather Grzasko
Donner – Gerritt Vander Werff Jr.
Vixen – Jesse Pardee
OVERVIEW:
I first encountered this daring piece of theatre during my sophomore year at Marymount. Two seniors – Zach Harrell and Michael Kinnan – directed a one-night only performance in December of '09, that to this day I vividly remember. Its advocacy for women and victims of sexual assault truly and utterly moved me – I might even go so far as to say that The Eight is one of, if not, the first MeToo play. Moreover, it offers a set of characters that actors only dream of; each of them speaking for at least seven minutes, nuanced and complex – entirely anthropomorphic.
I had to bring it to Syracuse. After pitching a proposal in the summer of 2010 and receiving the greenlight from Marguerite Beebe, I held my auditions in August. Once I found my cast (half of which were BIPOC), I began rehearsing one-on-one, online via Skype. As seven out of nine of us were far away in college, it was the only way to learn the show – and I’m thankful for it still.