Design Renderings and Models

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Production Photos

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Photo Credit:  Dan Myers

 

Thank you to Kickstarter donators!

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A major thank you to the following people for making Wisconsin Studio Production’s Kickstarter campaign a success and supporting 9 Circles with their generous donations.  I am so grateful for your support of me, this project, and the arts.

Anne Culver

Dawn Colla

Dawn Katte

Debra Kosup

Ellen Terrill

Gary and Andrea Behrens

George McLauglhin

James M. Hansen

Jerry Hui

Keri Atkinson

Laura Damon-Moore

Marcia Joswick

Maurice Demus

Meghan Randolph

Michele Traband

Pam Parker

Paul Timmel

Rebekah Brinner

Sandy Peterson

Sarah Hesch

Steve Berggruen

William Granger

Press Release

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Regional Premiere of 9 Circles, by Bill Cain, March 7, 8, and 9, 2013

“It happened in the middle of their war and you have scared them, Mr. Reeves. You tore the war open. You have done the unimaginable.”

Wisconsin Studio Productions presents 9 Circles, the 2010 Steinberg Award-winning play by Bill Cain, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on March 7, 8, and 9, 2013.

9 Circles is the tale of one U.S. soldier’s journey to hell and back again. After returning from combat in Iraq, Private Daniel Edward Reeves must confront the unspeakable actions he witnessed—and participated in—during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Clinging to feelings of loyalty to his comrades, Reeves resists his military discharge and begins a journey that puts him face to face with high-ranking Army brass, lawyers, clergy, and psychiatrists. Underneath the young soldier’s story lie deeper questions: how do we accept the consequences of our actions? How do we calculate the cost of war? Is the cost ever worth the fight?

Loosely based on Dante’s Inferno and inspired by the case of Steven Dale Green, an American soldier who was the first person to be charged under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, 9 Circles is a deeply human and enduring story told through a timely and contemporary lens.

9 Circles is produced by Wisconsin Studio Productions, a collaborative venture between students from University of Wisconsin-Madison and Madison-based theater professionals. The production features Stuart Mott, a senior at UW-Madison, who is playing Private Reeves as his honors thesis project.
Date: March 7, 8, and 9

Time: 7:30PM

Location:   Vilas Hall Room 4010 (Directing Lab), UW Campus
                  821 University Avenue
                  Madison, WI 53703

 

Reservations: To reserve tickets free of charge, please email 9circlestix@gmail.com and indicate the number of tickets you would like and your preferred date. Please note that tickets are limited, so we encourage early reservations.

For additional information about 9 Circles, visit stuartmott.wordpress.com.

Generous contributions from the University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Theatre and Drama and the College of Letters & Science Honors Program will help to support this production.

Thank you for your interest!

One Month and Counting!

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After a long hiatus, the 9 Circles production website is back and running!

The rehearsal process for 9 Circles is now in full swing and opening night is one short month away.  Since the last update, the design team has begun to finalize plans, the set is almost fully constructed (major thanks to Co Producer Merle Hansen & Family!!), advertising materials are falling into place, and everything is coming together in a very real way.

In December we ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise funding for the show.  The page is still active and can be found here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/262549578/wisconsin-studio-productions-presents-9-circles?ref=live

Thanks to all who donated and helped make our efforts a success!

TICKET RESERVATION INFORMATION

Tickets can be reserved by emailing 9circlestix@gmail.com.  Please specify the date and number of tickets you want reserved.  Tickets are free.

More to come soon as we get closer and closer. Stay posted!

 

Interview with Sergeant Will Thompson

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I was recently able to connect with a long time friend of mine who is currently serving in the army.  Will and I grew up together, attending the same schools from Kindergarten through 12th grade.  When I enrolled at UW Madison, Will enlisted in the Army.  Since then I have only seen him a couple times in person when he has been on leave.

I wanted to hear Will’s experience in the army to inform some of the research I am doing for the performance of 9 Circles. 

Here is a part of that conversation:

Rank: Sergeant / SGT / E-5

TIS (Time in Service): 3 years, 2 months

Why I joined the Army:
After four years of high school, I wanted something different. I didn’t want to spend four MORE years of my life in a classroom when I could learn more and faster on my own. I wanted some adventure and something that would challenge not just intellectually but physically and psychologically.

Army Culture:
It is rather difficult to describe to someone who hasn’t lived it; the best approximation is a sense of brotherhood, knowing that your fellow soldiers would lay down their lives for you and that we’re all in this together. There’s a saying, “One team, one fight”, that sums up that aspect. It’s covering your buddy while he’s taking fire so he can move, but also carrying him home when he’s had one too many at the bar. The other aspect of Army culture I would highlight is our dedication to specifically-defined doctrine: the Army values (loyalty, duty respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, & personal courage) & the Soldiers’ Creed / Warrior Ethos, our Field Manuals & Army Regulations (seewww.apd.army.mil), and most especially our Department of the Army (DA) forms, which must be filled out for everything from taking leave (DA 31) to applying for the Army Chess Tournament (DA 4878).

Most Rewarding Aspect:
For me, the most rewarding thing about the Army is chance to be a part of something greater and really accomplish things in the real world. As an intelligence warfighter, it’s my job to support the fighting men who kick in doors and capture bad guys.

 

Thank you very much to Will for sharing his thoughts and experience.

Circle 1

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In the beginning…

This entire process began in early Spring of 2012 when I spoke to Jim Stauffer, undergraduate advisor at UW-Madison, about completing an independent project in my senior year.  He recommended doing a senior thesis and set the wheels in motion.  I then contacted Norma Saldivar, a member of the UW-Madison Theatre & Drama faculty who I tremendous amount of respect for, to be my thesis advisor.  She graciously accepted.

I began my search for a thesis piece.  Frank Honts gave me a few suggestions, including 9 Circles.  After the first read, I was immediately hooked.  It is a powerful and relevant play that features a young male lead that is both challenging and different from anything I have previously done.  It made perfect sense for a thesis performance.

After deciding to move ahead with 9 Circles as my thesis project, Frank and I applied for the rights through Dramatists Play Service in addition to contacting Bill Cain, the playwright, directly.  After receiving both the rights and Mr. Cain’s blessing we began to work out the logistics of budget, production team, performance space, actors, etc. We quickly added stage management extraordinaire, Merle Hanson, to the team as a Co-Producer and Production Manager.  The three of us are currently in the midst of putting all of the production elements in place so the piece can move ahead successfully.

Moving forward…