THE BOOK OF WILL Production Photography with Promethean Theatre Ensemble

A couple weeks back, we took a look at the key art and poster design for Promethean Theatre Ensemble’s production of The Book of Will, by Lauren Gunderson, directed by Beth Wolf. The show opened two nights ago, on Saturday, September 20, at the Den Theatre in Chicago, and it runs through October 25. (Check this page for performance details and tickets.) This week on The All Worlds Traveller, we’ll show some images from the production, which it was our great honor to make.

Once again, here’s a brief synopsis of the story setup, as summarized on the Promethean Theatre Ensemble website:

Without William Shakespeare, we wouldn’t have literary masterpieces like Romeo and Juliet. But without Henry Condell and John Heminges, we would have lost half of Shakespeare’s plays forever! After the death of their friend and mentor, the two actors are determined to compile the First Folio and preserve the words that shaped their lives. They’ll just have to borrow, beg, and band together to get it done. Amidst the noise and color of Elizabethan London, The Book of Will finds an unforgettable true story of love, loss, and laughter, and sheds new light on a man you may think you know.
Synopsis from the Promethean Theatre Ensemble website

Photography

We captured the photographs for The Book of Will during a technical run, so the following images represent the show in action as I roved, dove, and strove to get catch every character and moment.

Portraits

We also made some portraits for the production, similar in style to those we did for the show poster. This way, we could show off costume designer Rachel M. Sypniewski’s beautiful work and give each actor a memento of their character.

Cast and Creative

A thunderous round of applause for the people who made Promethean Theatre Ensemble’s production of The Book of Will happen.

The lists of cast and creatives below comes from the Promethean Theatre Ensemble website.

Take a look at Promethean’s awesome digital program for the show to read up on these artists.

Creatives

Director: Beth Wolf
Assistant Director: Chase Wheaton-Werle
Scenic Designer: Trevor Dotson
Assistant Scenic Designer: Devin Meseke
Costume Designer: Rachel M. Sypniewski
Lighting Designer: Jackson Mikkelsen
Sound Designer: Alex Trinh
Intimacy Director: Courtney Abbott
Dramaturg: Kevin Sheehan*
Casting Director: Becca Holloway
Technical Director/Props Designer: Jeremiah Barr*
Production Manager: Samantha K. Barr
Stage Manager: Erin Galvin

Cast

Marcus/Boy Hamlet/Crier/Bernardo: Jesús Barajas
John Heminges: Jared Dennis*
Richard Burbage/William Jaggard/Sir Edward Dering: Brendan Hutt*
Ben Johnson/Barman/Horatio: James Lewis
Ralph Crane/Barman/Compositor/Francisco: Jonathan Perkins
Ed Knight/Isaac Jaggard: Kevin Sheehan* 
Rebecca Heminges/Anne Hathaway Shakespeare: Anne Sheridan Smith
Henry Condell: Ben Veatch
Elizabeth Condell/Emilia Bassano Lanier/Fruit Seller: Sabine Wan
Alice Heminges/Susannah Shakespeare: Brittani Yawn

Understudies

Understudy Ed Knight/Isaac Jaggard/Ben Johnson: Andre Colin
Understudy Alice Heminges: Andie Dae
Understudy Marcus/Ralph Crane: Alexander P. Garza
Understudy Richard Burbage/William Jaggard/Sir Edward Dering: Rory Jobst
Understudy John Heminges/Henry Condell: Chris Lysy
 Understudy Elizabeth Condell/Rebecca Heminges: Michelle Perry

*Indicates PTE Ensemble Member

Preserving the Work

At intermission, I reconnected with costume designer Rachel M. Sypniewski. We first met doing Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Will Act for Food in 2003. I played the part of Oberon in this Twilight-Zone-themed production, which Rachel costumed. Perhaps one photo exists of me as Oberon. So far as I know, a handful of physical photos are all that remain of that production.

Which is to say photographing The Book of Will put me in a nostalgic frame of mind, thinking about the people who compiled, preserved, and published Shakespeare’s work before it was lost to time. It’s not exactly the same; nevertheless, preserving the memory of theatrical production is what I do as a theatre photographer. So photographing The Book of Will felt meaningful. I am grateful to Promethean Theatre Ensemble for having me along on this journey from poster to production to portraits. I wish them the greatest success in their run.

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Steven Townshend is a fine art/portrait photographer and writer with a background in theatre, written narrative, and award-winning game design. As a young artist, Steven toured the US and Canada performing in Shakespeare companies while journaling their moments on paper and film. In his transition from stage to page, Steven continued to work as a theatre photographer, capturing dramatic scenes while incorporating elements of costume, makeup, and theatrical lighting in his work. Drawn to stories set in other times and places, Steven creates works through which fellow dreamers and time travelers might examine their own humanity or find familiar comfort in the reflections of the people and places of a distant era.