Henry IV
Director's Message

I love Shakespeare, so it makes sense for me to be a part of Chickspeare. I love beer, so doing Shakespeare at Johnson Beer Co. follows. In fact, I originally chose to direct Henry IV because it includes a lot of scenes that take place in a bar! But as I began to look at the play, I began to find so many other images worth exploring. Having spent seven years working for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, I got to know politicians and their need to be seen as symbols of power. Whether the year 1500 or 2000, King or president…it's politics as usual…it's image and power and honor and lies. It's real life people versus the privileged few. What has fascinated me the most is this consuming need for image and power, and how it affects us as human beings with as strong a need for connection with one another. The play you're seeing is actually a compilation from segments of Shakespeare's Henry IV, parts one and two. I've re-edited the plays into one story, in an attempt to see a King become a father - as a son becomes a King.

Last summer, my life (both on and offstage) was changed when I attended an actor training intensive with Shakespeare & Company. If there is one goal I hope to reach with this play, it is an attempt to share the Shakes & Co. aesthetic: to discover the resonance of Shakespeare's truths in our everyday world and in our selves, and to allow for a true connection among actors and audience that is real for each person.

JOANNA GERDY has the Tarradiddle Players, Children's Theatre (CT), Chickspeare, East West Elevators Improv Comedy troupe, Theatre Charlotte, Vision Stages, and Abbey Players to thank for giving her a theatre life in this town. She has been a Chick since playing Jaques in Chickspeare's innaugural production of As You Like It. Joanna adapted and directed last season's ensemble show, "Chickspeare presents Quickspeare", and then grooved with the Weird Sisters in MacBeth. Favorite onstage roles include Annie Sullivan (The Miracle Worker), Queen Elizabeth (Richard III), and the Stinky Cheese Man (Teenie Tiny Tales)! Joanna directed the Tarradiddle Players in this season's "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", and has been given the opportunity to write script adaptations for the company (come see "The Red Rose" at CT this weekend and "The Prince and the Pauper" next season). She thanks everyone who contributed to this play, and acknowledges those cast members who pulled double duty - Amy, Kristen, and Anne. Finally, huge thanks to Meredith McBride, for stepping into the cast with three days of rehearsal!!