Caitlin V. Arndt
Directing
2023
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Co-Directed by Brett Elliott and Caitlin Arndt
Produced by Kingsmen Shakespeare Company
Costume Design by Hilary Hayes
Scenic Design by Joshua Christ
Lighting Design by Leigh Allen
Music Composition by Doug LeBow
Stage Management by Daniel Trostler
Assistant Stage Management by Brayden Galante
Prop Design by Clayton Curry
Choreography by Jules Weiss
Cast: Seta Wainiquolo; Charlotte Munson; Dane Oliver; Marc Silver; Michael Faulkner; Luke Wizniewski; Erica Malachowski; Bianca Akbiyik; Jillian Henry; Jason Rennie; Taylor Marr; Sara Wisner; Cassie Martin; Abby Cardenas, Shireen Heidari; Joey Grimaldi; Emma Mansfield; Grant Hill; Riley Thompson; Dani Tran; Hadley Julca
In our rendition of Two Gentlemen, we altered the ending by rearranging and adding text from Shakespeare's other plays. This allowed us to achieve an ending that felt more satisfying and empowered while also leaving audiences a bit conflicted. Forgiveness is only given after the women abused deem it so.
Director's Note:
Our play is a wild ride from the Catskills to Hollywood, from a sleepy small town to the glitz and glamor of the big city. Simple boys with big dreams heading off to find themselves and not liking what they find. This early work of Shakespeare is about young love and a lifelong male friendship. Often lost in the tapestry are the perspectives of his women. The Two Gentlemen of Verona is arguably one of the most joke-heavy plays in Shakespeare’s canon. It’s unrivaled comic soliloquies and tightly woven webs of dramatic irony are some of his most finely-tuned bits of stagecraft. However, the treatment of the women in the play’s final scenes have puzzled and troubled scholars and audiences for centuries, earning this comedy a reputation as one of the Bard’s “problem plays.” Wanting to highlight the joy and fun of Two Gents while not minimizing the erasure of women’s voices, we’ve set our production in 1930’s Hollywood. The entertainment industry has consistently reflected society’s habit to idolize women but not listen to them. Sylvia is one of the play’s integral characters, a paragon of virtue and an object of desire. Yet, she loses her voice at pivotal moments of the story. We decided we wanted better for her. In our rendering, Shakespeare’s women connect with and support each other, and pave the way toward reconciliation, healing, and hopefully, love. Through this, the story isn’t just about the boys but also about the women who love them.
Something Else by Tomantha Sylvester
Leo Rising Company Short Play Festival
Something Else is a short play about an incarcerated indigenous woman on death row, named Lucy. Instead of a last meal, she decides to have an audience as her last request. Lucy discusses her life and her view on topics such as love, music, colorism, being indigenous, the rich, being mixed race and many more. The play has some audience participation and music throughout.
Something Else
by Tomantha Sylvester
Directed by Caitlin Arndt
Lucy played by Tomantha Sylvester
Peter played by Zach Doyle
Produced by Leo Rising Co.
Costumes by Caitlin Arndt
2021
Music copyrighted -- Chris Hoag
2022
Macbeth
Directed by Brett Elliott
Assistant Directed by Caitlin Arndt
Costume Design by Chris Allen
Stage Management by Daniel Trostler
Assistant Stage Management by Hannah Nguyen
My responsibility as assistant director was to be a second pair of eyes and help with split scene work. My primary focus was on the witches-- helping with movement, choreography and character development.
Cast: Amanda Pajer, Caroline Kinsolving, Chloe Baldwin, Jason D. Rennie, Matt Orduña, Michael Faulkner, Seta Wainiqolo, Ted Barton, David Newcomer, Benjamin White, Shyendra Chandasena, Martha Thatcher, Elissa Wolf, Ja'el Thomas, Jules Weiss, Naomi Kalter, Rylee Smith,Timothy Frangos, Kaila Pelton- Flavin, Kiki Ragland, Taylor Marr, Logan Chase, Will Peña, Zach Hessmer, Anna Demaria, Clayton Currie, Dale Adrian, Grace Phenicie, Bianca Akbiyik, Hadley Julca
Produced by Kingsmen Shakespeare Company
Composed by Christopher Hoag
Scenic Design by Erik Diaz
Lighting Design by Leigh Allen
Footage by Zach Hessmer and Emmalee Villafonte
As You Like It
Directed by Warren Bowles
Assistant Directed by Caitlin Arndt
Costume Design by Noelle Raffy-Porter
Stage Management by Heather Bennett
Assistant Stage Management by Kira Daehlin
I acted as text support for the actors, giving them clarity in what they are saying and what the words meant.
2022
Titanic by Christopher Durang
Directed by Caitlin Arndt
Stage Management by Teya Duncan
The Raven Theatre, Los Angeles
I started this production as an actor, but halfway through rehearsals one of our actors dropped the play. The solution we came up with was to have me fill in for the role of Victoria. It was a deeply challenging and rewarding experience to direct and act with very talented improvisation based artists.
2018
Director's Note:
What do you think of when you hear Titanic? Do you have it in your brain? Well, get rid of it because this is the titanic like you’ve never seen before. Our play centers around a, to put it lightly, dysfunctional family aboard the Titanic. Through the course of the play we see just how terrible Victoria and Richard are at being parents to their son Teddy. They are constantly distracted by their own dramas and desires, neglecting their grown son and perhaps a daughter?? A woman of different identities interacts with the family while waiting for the ship to sink. Meanwhile, Sailor Higgins keeps telling the Captain that they are going to sink, which the Captain ignores completely.
It is a tale of bad parenting and longing for better. Teddy, Lidia and the Sailor approach the ridiculous world of the play with their different coping mechanisms, all hoping to end up in a happier place. We as a cast found similarities to our current world, trying to cope in an unfathomable reality.
That being said, this play is not meant to be taken too seriously. Allow yourself to laugh at the vulgarity and obscene reality. We hope you have as much fun watching it as we did making it!
