LAB Series - The Fall: A New Musical
Creative Team
Director/Choreographer: Cindy Hansen
Stage Manager: Maryn Cruser
Fight Choreographer: Matthew Olsen
Faculty Advisor: Lauren Roth
Poster Design: Carlos Roqués
Lighting Design: Cindy Hansen
Special Thanks: Thomas Jacobsen, Jacob Steen, Olivia Zastrow, Curtis Phillips & the UMD Scene Shop
Synopsis
The Fall is the story of Cain and Cole, two similar boys living in different stories. One, a folk musical, and the other a contemporary play. Both boys examine life through the avenue of logical questions, desperately looking for something solid to stand on. They find themselves and the world unreliable, and are looking for something beyond. Throughout, both find that every question doesn’t need one answer, and that usually, multiple answers are pointing to a truth that is both logical and emotional. A truth that requires not just a leap, but a walk of faith.
*CONTENT WARNING* The Fall Contains strong language, mild hate speech, stage violence, mentions of gun violence and suicide
Run Time: 2 hours, 25 minutes with one 15-minute intermission
Note: Every word spoken by the computer voices that appear in Act 2 is a direct quote from either Reddit or 4chan. This should be horrifying.
Acknowledgments
The University of Minnesota-Duluth's Department of Theatre acknowledges that the Marshall Performing Arts Centeris located on the traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of Indigenous people. The Marshall Center resides on land that was cared for and called home by the Ojibwe people. Ceded in an 1854 treaty, this land holds great historical, spiritual, and personal significance for its original
stewards, the Native nations of this region.
Cast & Creative Team
Abby Aune (she/they)
D/Dean
Maryn Cruser (they/he)
Stage Manager
Lou Divine (they/them)
Eve/Ellen
Cindy Hansen (she/her)
Director/Choreographer
Jordan Kueng (he/they)
Abel/Alex
Jonathan Lake (he/him)
Adam/Paul
Heidi Mintz (she/her)
Marigold/Maddie
Emerson Spencer (he/him)
Cain/Cole
Playwright's Note
Charlie LaBerge (he/him)
Writer/Composer
It was in an incredibly confused state of mind that the idea for The Fall originated. I was personally plagued by the idea of belief. Philosophy and religion and all these high and lofty ideas. They’re nice, but what are they really doing? Surely, it is action that betters the world. Yet to say this was to state that some action is “better” than others. And surely my morals were biased. Who am I to say that my justice is right? And anyway, wasn’t it true that anything I put worth into would eventually slip away into nothing? All the people I loved could leave me. I could change, once again, what I wanted my identity to be. I could never do a good think in my life. I was going in circles, a hopeless downward spiral.
A shift in thought, and the reason this show has a second act, came in a simple change of perspective. I had been thinking of belief, of good in the world, as hope. I realized that belief isn't as much hope, as it is faith. Hope is believing in a better and richer future, faith is believing in a better and richer now. I saw opposing ideas connecting to a bigger picture. I saw that my circular thinking did not have to spiral downward. It could spiral upward! It could fly, but not without faith in something beyond my own view here on the ground.
It took me tripping over my own pride in logical reasoning to finally fall. From there, I was presented with the beautiful opportunity to begin again. Once I stood back up, I found that after a leap of faith, there is a long hard walk of faith. The things you walk in faith with are gifts. Grace, love, justice, forgiveness. The wonderful gifts of God that never slip away.
Ironically, I had no faith that this show would ever be performed again after its original run in Chicago. I have to give a huge thank you to the director, Cindy Hansen, for being an incredible artist and a dear friend. I’d also like to thank Jonathan Grommesh, Ani Tonoyan, Anmarie D’Ortenzio, and the Workshop and DePaul Cast’s, without you there would be no show. My parents, Andre and Laura, for loving and encouraging me endlessly in my journey of art and faith. And of course, most of all, Jesus Christ, in whom my hope and faith so peacefully rest.
Two notes. One, The Fall is able to be done without a pit, but is designed with characters playing their own instruments in mind. If you’re interested in this, or in learning or commenting about anything in the show, I’d love to hear from you at labergecharlie@gmail.com. Two, every character in this show, like us all, are flawed in multiple ways. Do not think that any one character represents the “perfect” perspective. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to every soul who made this show possible, and to you, for viewing this part of me. I love you all.
Charlie LaBerge
Director's Note
There are so many aspects of us, our lives, that make us who we are. It's what we do, it's what we believe, it's how we choose to move throughout our lives. It can be so easy to dive so deep into the philosophical, into why we're all here in the first place. It's what we ultimately choose to do with our lives and how we share it with others that matters more than anything. You always have the power to continue write your own story. Even if you fall, you have the power to begin again.
It's not every day that one of your good friends writes a musical. The Fall is such a unique piece that has continue to stick with me ever since Charlie showed me the first draft of Act 1 back in the spring of 2022. In the summer of 2022, I had the opportunity to be a part of the show's initial workshop in the Twin Cities, playing the role of Eve. A few months later, I got to see the first full production of it at DePaul University in Chicago. Like Charlie, I too thought that I would never interact with The Fall again. It was not until the announcement of the Lab Series last spring, when I realized that this new area of focus within the Mainstage season could be the perfect place to produce a new production of The Fall. I was revisiting the show, but this time I was on the other side of it, in the director's chair. Throughout this process, I've been discovering what this show means to me. What's always stuck out to me the most is Marigold's line:
"What you do is just what you believe, and what you believe is just what you have experienced. They don’t contradict, they compliment."
I'd like to thank my incredible cast for being willing to take this leap of faith with me, and helping bring this story to life. To Maryn Cruser, our wonderful stage manager and friend. A massive thank you to Charlie. Without you, there'd be no show. I also extend my gratitude and thanks to the UMD Theatre Faculty & Staff. Thank you for encouraging and believing in me, even when I didn't fully believe in myself. Finally, thank you to my support system; my friends, Luke, and my incredible parents. I am so grateful for everybody's ongoing support as we navigated something that was new for all of us.
Thank you for being here tonight, for supporting the Lab Series, and for supporting student-driven work. I am forever grateful for all of you.
Know, try, grow, fly, and begin again. Don't forget your song.
Enjoy the show!
Cindy Hansen, Director
Song/Scenic Breakdown
ACT 1
"Prologue" - Company
"I'm Living" - Abel, Company
"Brother's Bold" - Abel, Cain
"Slipping Away" - Cain, Company
"Slipping Away" (Reprise) - Cain
"Beanpole" - D
"The Fall" - Margold, Abel
"Me and This Tree" - Marigold, Cain
"What You Do" - D, Cain, Company
"One Day" - Eve, Adam
"Believe Quartet" - Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel
"What You Do" (Reprise) - D
"Fondest Memories" - Abel
"Finale" - Cain, Company
ACT 2
Scene 1: The Dining Room
Scene 2: The Dining Room
Scene 3: The Classroom
Scene 4: The Dining Room
Scene 5: The Dining Room
Scene 6: The Bedroom
Scene 7: The Classroom
Scene 8: The Dining Room
Scene 9: The Dining Room
"Finale 2" - Cole, Company
UMD Theatre's Lab Series
The UMD Theatre Lab Series offers a platform for student artists to conceptualize and innovate theatrical opportunities in various stages of realization. Artists are challenged to step into new roles, go outside of their comfort zones, and commit to a process of learning through creative risk-taking. The Lab Series serves as an extension of the artist’s creative training and development, with the intention of cultivating opportunities for collaboration, discovery, and learning through doing.
Thank you for joining us in this inaugural season!