May features the staging of Measure for Measure
by William Shakespeare, directed by graduating MFA Candidate
Randy Symank.
Set in contemporary Vienna, the tragic/comic work highlights the
abuse of power and explores moral issues surrounding resistance
to injustice as an ethically strong political figure falls due to
sexual misconduct.
“Shakespeare’s play mirrors contemporary America,” says director
Randy Symank. “The character Angelo is a supposedly ethical
political leader who engages a woman in improper sexual relations
— a classic case of moral hypocrisy and authority abuse. These
themes resonate more loudly than ever given recent headlines
regarding Senator Larry Craig and Governor Eliot Spitzer.”
Last season Randy Symank directed Georg Büchner’s
Woyzeck and served as associate director of
Cymbeline and as assistant director of Carmen
at the Mondavi Center. Previously he was artistic director of
Unhinged Productions. Credits include: As Director: The Long
Christmas Ride Home, Our Journey, Raised in
Captivity, Laura’s Bush (Unhinged Productions);
By the Bog of Cats… (Mildred’s Umbrella Theatre
Company); Bash (Theatre Collide); Now Let Me
Fly (The Rothko Chapel); Minnesota Moon (Texas
A&M University). As Assistant Director: A Christmas
Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas (Alley Theatre);
Orange Flower Water, Polish Joke, Bright
Ideas, Recent Tragic Events (Stages Repertory
Theatre); Danse Macabre III (Bobbindoctrin Puppet
Theatre); Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing
(Houston Shakespeare Festival); Free Will and Wanton
Lust (Unhinged Productions). Randy also served as a
dramaturg for HYPE 2005 at the Alley Theatre. Randy holds a B.A.
in Theatre Arts from Texas A&M University and was a member of
Director’s Lab West at the Pasadena Playhouse in 2006.
Measure for Measure runs May 15-17 and May 22-24 in Main
Theatre.
