Happy New Year! I wanted you to know about a very special comedy we’re producing this month, in partnership with Bennington College!

From January 24th through February 2nd, we present Stupid F*%king Bird – a new adaptation of Chekhov’s The Seagull – by Aaron Posner.  Directed by Kirk Jackson (A Walk in the Woods, The Book Club Play, Rigoletto, Gianni Schicci). Produced in partnership with Bennington College. Sponsored by Bennington College and M&M Digital Printing.

Stupid F*%king Bird is a hilarious explosion and adaptation of Chekhov’s The Seagull. “…an accessible and unfailingly delightful jaunt into misery (or maybe we should say compromised happiness). It’s absorbing in its every glance and revealing in its every sigh.” —Washington City Paper. Appropriate for ages 15 and up due to adult language and content. David Andrew Snider, Executive & Artistic Director

Presented by Hubbard Hall Center for the Arts and Education, in partnership with

“I am so happy to have this new, exciting and funny adaptation of The Seagull here at Hubbard Hall. I’ve known the playwright Aaron Posner for years and have wanted to produce this play since I saw its world premiere in Washington, DC seven years ago. It’s fresh and so funny and moving,” said David Snider, Executive & Artistic Director of Hubbard Hall.  “The cast is a wonderful mix of artists from New York City and around the country. They will blow you away. The creative team are all top notch and bringing their A game to this wonderful show. We have five Bennington College students working on this show as part of their Field Work Term, with Kirk Jackson and Richard MacPike from their faculty directing and designing. The entire production deepens and extends our relationship with Bennington College. We are very grateful for their collaborative support.”

“We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with Hubbard Hall, a long-standing Field Work Term employer, and to offer our students another opportunity that layers professional work and educational experience,” said Paige Bartels, Senior Vice President for Strategy, Philanthropy, and Partnerships at Bennington College. “Our students are working alongside theatre professionals, with the same high expectations of them as anyone in the room — notably from director and faculty member Kirk Jackson. At the same time, through the cohort of peers, faculty members in the production, and the Field Work Term staff, students have maximum opportunity to reflect on what they’re learning and to use this experience for growth to shape their path moving forward.”

Featuring Jesse Pennington as Trigorin, Kim Stauffer as Emma Arkadina, David Snider as Sorn, as well as Evan McFarland as Con, Amrita Newton as Nina, Annabel Hoffman as Mash, and Louis Celt as Dev. Directed by Kirk Jackson. Scenic design by Andy Nice. Costume design by Richard MacPike. Lighting design by Dan Salzer. Assistant director Paul Birtwistle. Technical director Alan Del Vecchio. Stage manager Margaret Yassky. See below for more information about this amazing company!

We’ve added two more shows due to popular demand. Saturdays at 2 pm!

Running January 24th through February 2nd, 2020.

Fridays-Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Saturdays-Sundays at 2 pm.

$25 Adult/$10 Students 21 and under.

Contains adult themes and language.

About the Cast
JESSE PENNINGTON (Trigorin) was seen this past summer Off Broadway in The Mountains Look Different at the Mint Theater. Other Off-Broadway: Astrov in Uncle Vanya directed and translated by Richard Nelson (Hunter Theater Project), Bootycandy (Obie Award, Lucille Lortel nomination), Franny’s Way,Rodney’s Wife (Playwrights Horizons), The False Servant (Classic Stage Company), The General from America (Theatre for a New Audience), A Place at the Table (MCC Theater), The Winter’s Tale (The Public Theater). Regional: Uncle Vanya (Old Globe), Macbeth (Denver Theater Center), Major Barbara (Guthrie Theater), Maple and Vine (Humana Festival), Goodnight Children Everywhere (American Conservatory Theater), James Joyce’s “The Dead” (Huntington), as well as work at the Geffen Playhouse, Alley Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, New York Stage and Film. Europe: American tour of Richard Nelson’s The Apple Family Plays in Berlin, Brighton, Vienna. Film: American Gun, When Zachary Beaver Came to Town. M.F.A. from NYU.
KIM STAUFFER (Emma Arkadina)is grateful to be a performing at Hubbard Hall for the first time. Her credits include NEW YORK: Much Ado About Nothing, Mary Stuart, Macbeth (New York Classical Theatre) REGIONAL: Lady Windermere’s Fan, The Tempest, Macbeth, Pericles, Lorenzaccio (Shakespeare Theatre Company, DC); Circle Mirror Transformation (Kansas City Repertory Theatre);  Gaslight, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Crucible (Barrington Stage); Dracula (Actors Theatre of Louisville); Othello (Shakespeare Festival St. Louis); Outside Mullingar, Taming of the Shrew,(Capital Repertory Theatre); Disgraced, Madagascar, Crime and Punishment (Chester Theatre); Emilie: La Marquise du Chatelet Defends her Life Tonight (WAM Theatre); Proof (Triad Stage); A Christmas Carol (Virginia Stage Company) FILM/TV: Hence the Stars, Pearl Divers, Small Shots: The Amish Matrix Education: MFA, UNC-Greensboro
EVAN MAKEEVER MCFARLAND (Conrad) A Saint Louis native, he now lives in Brooklyn, New York, and has trained at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film institute and the Upright Citizens Brigade. Evan has recently played Eddie in Fool for Love, as apart of the iTSeLF international theater festival in Warsaw, Poland, as well as performing lead and supporting roles in several short films. Also a comedian, Evan has appeared at Gotham Comedy Club and performs on improv teams appearing live and on film. Evan wishes to thank his mother and father for their support . He is grateful for the opportunity to work with the producer, director, technical staff and spirited performers of this production.
AMRITA LI NEWTON (Nina) is a senior at Bennington College, studying character development through fashion, photography, and drama. Recently, she has appeared in numerous shows at Bennington College including Everybody (Kinship), The Place We Built (Szuszanna), and The Wolves (#46). Her film work includes Kings (Rose), and an award for Best Actress at Tampa Bay Film Festival in Dreams that Transcend All Boundaries (Elissa/Ella). Previously, she has sung back up vocals for artists such as Watsky and Kwaye and placed third at ICCA with the UCLA a cappella group, The Scattertones. While attending Interlochen Arts Academy, she performed in shows such as Coriolanus (Sicinia), Midsummer Jersey (Nikki Bottom), Spring Awakening (Ilse), and Into the Woods (Witch). She is looking forward to performing with this wonderful cast and crew and would like to thank everyone involved!
ANNABEL HOFFMAN (Mash) is so excited to be playing Mash with such a wonderful cast and crew of people! She is in her second year at Bennington College, and studies drama, music, and incarceration policy. Her work in theater includes Lewiston (Alice), Your Hands Feel Heavy In My Pockets (Laura), Of The Woman Came The Beginning of Sin and Through Her We All Die (Bluebell), and The Gallery (Alice). Her film work includes Italian Studies (Lucinda), Experiment One (Noel), and Running Wild (Parker). She thanks her supportive family, friends, and pets!
LOUIS CELT (Dev) is currently a junior at Bennington College studying acting and environmental politics/activism. Louis has previously acted at Bennington College in Everybody (God), The Place We Built (Ben), The Seagull(Medvedenko), and East Coast Curriculum (Henry). Louis Celt is thrilled to be making his professional theater debut at Hubbard Hall and would like to thank Kirk Jackson and David Snider for the opportunity.
DAVID SNIDER (Sorn) David’s regional credits include Chandler Tillsbury in the world premiere of Water, Water Everywhere (dir. Eric Peterson, Oldcastle Theatre), John Honeyman in A Walk in the Woods (dir. Kirk Jackson), Tom in The Glass Menagerie (dir. Roger Danforth), and John Proctor in The Crucible (dir. Jeannine Haas, all at Hubbard Hall); Macbeth, Twelfth Night, The Importance of Being Earnest, Ah, Wilderness! (Theatre at Monmouth), Ambition Facing West (dir. Mark Ramont, Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble), Much Ado About Nothing (dir. Patrick Torres, Upstart Crow). Off-Broadway: Cymbeline (dir. Andrei Serban, New York Shakespeare Festival), The Cherry Orchard, The Country Wife, Hamlet, and Napoli Milionaria (U.S. premiere) (all at Jean Cocteau Repertory); International work includes The Merry Wives of Windsor, Julius Caesar, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Revenger’s Tragedy, and Cowboy Mouth, amongst others, at the Maddermarket Theater in Norwich, England, and Chekhov’s The Bear at the Mendeleev Institute in Moscow, USSR. MFA from the NYU Graduate Acting Program, Tisch School of the Arts, where he performed in Macbeth, Many Colors Make the Thunderking (both with dir. Bart Sher), Uncle Vanya, Andorra (both with Liviu Ciulei), The Reluctant Doctor of Love and Awake and Sing! David is also the Executive & Artistic Director of Hubbard Hall (www.hubbardhall.org), and has served on the faculty at Skidmore College in the Arts Administration Program since 2016. Thanks to Alex, Henry, and Della for their never-ending love and patience.
KIRK JACKSON (Director) for Hubbard Hall has directed A Walk in the Woods, The Tarnation of Russell Colvin, The Book Club Play, and three operas: Rigoletto, Gianni Schicchi, and La Pizza con Funghi. For Dorset Theatre Festival, The Adventure of Tom Sawyer, and he played Sherlock in Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily. Last summer he appeared as the matriarch in Lucy’s Wedding at Living Room Theatre in North Bennington, and in the Irish Three Sisters the previous summer.He has performed on Broadway and regionally from Maine to California. He has assisted Tony-award winning director Ivo van Hove on many productions including Scenes from a Marriage, The Little Foxes, The Misanthrope, Hedda Gabler, and More Stately Mansions. Kirk was a founding member of the Obie Award-winning Cucaracha Theatre in New York, and has taught at Princeton, NYU, CalArts, the University of San Diego, Binghamton University, and Bennington College (faculty since 2001). He holds an MFA in Acting from the Yale School of Drama.

Thank you so much for your participation and support! We could not do what we do without you!