This quirky one-act play by playwright Adam Szymkowicz, performed in this audio recording by a talented group of actors, responds to the book of Titus as a whole.
Read the script here: Berbert
Cast Members in Order of Appearance:
Anna O’Donoghue is an actor, writer, and literary manager based in New York City. She has appeared on, off, and off-off-Broadway, and has worked regionally in Maine, Massachusetts, Minneapolis, Missouri, Kansas, New Jersey, New Mexico, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School.
Nandita Shenoy is an actor-writer living in New York. Previous Adam Szymkowicz plays that she has acted in are Marian, or The True Tale of Robin Hood produced by Flux Theatre Ensemble and Mercy at the New Jersey Repertory Theater. When not acting in plays by Adam, she writes plays and occasionally stars in them, like her Off-Broadway play, Washer/Dryer, produced by Ma-Yi Theater Company. Nandita holds a BA in English literature from Yale University. AEA/SAG-AFTRA www.nanditashenoy.com
Robert Manning, Jr. is a graduate of the University of Washington’s MFA Professional Acting Training Program. Working on Broadway and Off; working in television and film; Rob is honored to lend his voice to this wonderful project. 2008 NAACP Theatre Award Nomination - Best Lead Actor. 2010 NAACP Best Supporting nomination. 2012 NAACP Best Ensemble win. He would like to thank his parents and his lovely family for their continued love and support. For more information on Robert, please visit robertmanningjr.com.
Michael Markham — NY Credits: "The Spectacular Demise of Platonov"; "christopher marlowe’s chloroform dreams"; "Mother Courage and Her Children" and "Macbeth" at The Public. Film & TV: Law & Order; The Decades of Mason Carroll; Black Card (HBO); When Things Fall Apart; Home Office; Fumes; Lies. Owner - KiteMonkey Productions. Training: The Juilliard School. SAG-AFTRA, AEA: www.MichaelMarkhamOnline.com
Details
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CAST: T
CAST: Angie
CAST: Paul
CAST: Berbert
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Scripture
Titus 1:1–4
1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; 2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; 3 But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour; 4 To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Titus 1:15–2: 8
15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. 16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him , being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
1 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: 2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. 3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; 4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. 6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. 7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, 8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
Titus 3:1–7
1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, 2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. 3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. 4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Titus 3:15
15 All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.
Adam Szymkowicz
In my play, I reset Titus in a corporate setting-- Instead of setting up churches in Crete, “T” is tasked with hiring a new staff at an unnamed office. To me, Titus is about figuring out how to build human organizations correctly and I thought that was apt as in offices all over the country people are aligning mission statements and figuring out best practices. But we are human, and we do not always succeed in the ways we want, as “T” shows us. And it’s also possible to fail when you lead with love. But we try all the same to do good, don’t we?
Adam Szymkowic's plays have been produced throughout the U.S., and in Canada, England, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Greece, Mexico, Turkey, South Korea, Slovenia and Lithuania. His work has been presented or developed at such places as Portland Center Stage, MCC Theater, Ars Nova, South Coast Rep, Playwrights Horizons, LCT3, LAByrinth Theater Company, The Lark, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Primary Stages and The New Group, among others.
Published plays include Deflowering Waldo, Pretty Theft, Food For Fish, Hearts Like Fists, Incendiary, Clown Bar, The Why Overhead, Adventures of Super Margaret, 7 Ways To Say I Love You, Rare Birds, Marian Or The True Tale of Robin Hood, and Nerve. His plays are published by Dramatists Play Service, Samuel French, Playscripts, Broadway Play Publishing, Original Works Publishing, and featured in New York Theatre Review, the Dionysian, NYTE’s Cino Nights, Geek Theater, and numerous Smith and Kraus books.
He was the premiere Resident Playwright at The Chance Theater in Anaheim, CA and the first playwright to participate in Bloomington Playwrights Projects’ Square One Series. He has been to The Orchard Project and to JAW at Portland Center Stage, served twice as Playwright in Residence at the William Inge Center, and took part in The Dramatists Guild Fund’s Traveling Masters program. Szymkowicz received a grant from the CT Commission on Culture & Tourism, and has been commissioned by South Coast Rep, Rising Phoenix Rep, Texas State University, The NOLA Project, Single Carrot Theater, and Flux Theater Ensemble.
Adam received a Playwright’s Diploma from The Juilliard School's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program and an MFA from Columbia University where he was the Dean’s Fellow. Szymkowicz is a two-time Lecomte du Nouy Prize winner, a member of the Dramatists Guild, Writer’s Guild of America, and was a member of Primary Stages’ Dorothy Strelsin New American Writer’s Group, the MCC Playwright’s Coalition and of the first Ars Nova Play Group.
He has interviewed 1000 playwrights on his blog. Szymkowicz is the Literary Manager at The Juilliard School, supporting the playwriting program there.
For more, go to www.adamszymkowicz.com.
Reactions
Here is a thing I wrote. on @sparkandechoart #berbert https://t.co/dlHlq99Olj
— Adam Szymkowicz (@AdamSzymkowicz) November 5, 2018