The Art of Burning
January 13–February 12, 2023
A play by Kate Snodgrass
Directed by Melia Bensussen
In association with Hartford Stage
The Huntington
@ Calderwood/BCA
527 Tremont St. Boston, MA 02216
This event has passed
Not ready to return to in-person performances? Want to watch it again at home? We’ve got you covered! Buy tickets to our high-quality digital stream below.
Also available digitally in American Sign Language and with Audio Description.
Approximate run time: 85 minutes no intermission
Content advisory: For content advisories regarding this production, click here.
Show Synopsis:
Mid-negotiation, modernist painter Patricia changes the terms of her ‘conscious uncoupling’ with Jason. She wants full custody of their 15-year-old daughter Beth. Jason demands that their daughter decide, but mysteriously Beth didn’t show up for school. Has Patricia hidden her away to protect her, or is there something more sinister afoot? Crafted with humor and insight by acclaimed Boston playwright Kate Snodgrass and director Melia Bensussen, The Art of Burning explores the love, rage, and responsibility that come with marriage and parenting in America.
Masked Matinees & Masks-Encouraged Evenings
In recognition of fluctuating trends in COVID transmission and varying levels of comfort among our patrons, The Huntington is continuing to offer two different masking experiences for The Art of Burning.
“Masked Matinees” – Masks are required inside the theater unless actively eating/drinking concessions. Masks remain optional in the restrooms and lobbies.
Matinees were chosen in order to offer multiple masked-experiences per week, some weekdays and some weekends.
Masks-Encouraged Evenings – Masks are encouraged but not required.
Anyone who feels uncomfortable can ask the House Manager about alternative options which may include:
• a better quality mask
• a new seat further distanced from other patrons
• re-scheduling for a different performance, such as a “masked matinee”
• a shift to the at-home Digital Streaming option.
Any patron interested in attending a different performance will be able to exchange their tickets by contacting our ticketing services staff.
IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING ANY COVID SYMPTOMS, STAY HOME.
Tickets for most Huntington productions through June 2023 come with digital insurance, and any ticketholders who would rather not see a performance in person for any reason can easily exchange their in-person tickets for a home viewing opportunity of a specially recorded version of the play, if available. Digital Insurance is currently available for The Art of Burning, K-I-S-S-I-N-G and Joy & Pandemic.
These COVID policies will be in place through February 13, 2023, and we will continue to evaluate and update these policies as the situation evolves. For the most up-to-date information on our health and safety policies and season shows, please visit this page. If you have any questions, please email covidsafety@huntingtontheatre.org.
The Huntington @ Calderwood/BCA, 527 Tremont St
The Calderwood Pavilion contains the Wimberly Theatre, the Roberts Studio Theatre, the Carol G. Deane Hall, and the Nicholas Martin Hall. You should navigate to the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA if you are seeing a show in any of those aforementioned spaces.
Directions and parking for the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA
Google Maps directions to 527 Tremont St, Boston MA 02116
Cast and Crew:
Adrianne Krstansky
Patricia
Adrianne Krstansky
Adrianne Krstansky The Huntington: The Art of Burning, Doll’s House, Come Back Little Sheba (Eliot Norton Award). Off Broadway: Luck, Pluck and Virtue (Atlantic Theater Company); 365 Days/365 Plays (Public Theater). Regional: The Art of Burning (Hartford Stage); Paradise Lost, Britannicus, Ubu Rock (ART); A Clockwork Orange, Twelfth Night (Steppenwolf Theater); Tribes (Kitchen Theater).
Rom Barkhordar
Jason
Rom Barkhordar
Rom Barkhordar previously appeared at The Huntington in The Who and the What, (IRNE Award nomination, Best Supporting Actor).
Clio Contogenis
Beth
Clio Contogenis
Clio Contogenis is a New York based theatre and film actor.
Michael Kaye
Mark
Michael Kaye
Michael Kaye The Huntington: Common Ground Revisited, Dead End, and Two Lives. Boston area credits include: Admissions, Mothers and Sons, and Clybourne Park (SpeakEasy Stage); Ears on a Beatle and Book of Days (Lyric Stage); Good, Broken Glass, Opus, Amadeus, Straight White Men, Lonely Planet, The Elephant Man, and Silence (New Rep Theatre); and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Actors’ Shakespeare Project).
Laura Latreille
Charlene
Laura Latreille
Laura Latreille previously appeared in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, Ripcord, Ryan Landry’s M, and Mauritius at The Huntington.
Vivia Font
Katya
Vivia Font
Vivia Font Off-Broadway credits include PlayOn! (CSC), villa (PlayCo-Wild Project), Recent Alien Abductions (PlayCo– SoHo Rep), underneathmybed (Rattlestick), and Romeo & Juliet (NY Classical). Regional: Native Gardens (Merrimack Rep); Mutual Philanthropy (NJ Rep), The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Tenth Muse (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Richard III, As You Like It, Inherit the Wind, Six Degrees of Separation (The Old Globe), Mariela in the Desert, and Map of Heaven (Denver Center).
(As of December 2022)
Sarah Newhouse
Understudy for Patricia
Sarah Newhouse
Sarah Newhouse The Huntington: We All Fall Down. Off Off Broadway: Mr. Sandman (Kraine Theater); King Lear (LaMama ETC)
Steven Barkhimer
Understudy for Jason/Mark
Steven Barkhimer
Steven Barkhimer last appeared at The Huntington in Tartuffe. Recent roles include Hercule Poirot in Black Coffee at the Barnstormers Theatre and Casca in Hanover Theatre’s Julius Caesar.
Sandra Seoane-Serí
Understudy for Beth
Sandra Seoane-Serí
Sandra Seoane-Serí The Huntington: The Art of Burning and Arbor in the 2022 Breaking Ground Festival of New Work. Truth or Consequences by Andrew Siañez–De La O (FreshInk Theatre). BLKS (SpeakEasy Stage). SandraSeoaneSeri.com
Samantha Richert
Understudy for Katya/Charlene
Samantha Richert
Samantha Richert The Huntington: Ryan Landry’s ‘M’. Regional: Be Here Now, Hold These Truths, City of Angels, Becky’s New Car (Lyric Stage Company); Twelfth Night, The Tempest (Actor’s Shakespeare Project); Dancing At Lughnasa(Gloucester Stage Company); Elemeno Pea (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre); Ripe Frenzy (New Repertory Theatre); Lucky Stiff (Greater Boston Stage Company); Gooney Bird Greene (Wheelock Family Theatre); The How and the Why (Central Square Theater); Jesus Christ! It’s Christmas! (Gold Dust Orphans); Moonchildren, Candide, Babes in Arms, A Christmas Carol (Berkshire Theatre Group).
Kate Snodgrass
Playwright
Kate Snodgrass
Kate Snodgrass The Huntington: radio play Overture in “Dream Boston.” Author of the Heideman Award-winning, much-anthologized play Haiku.
Melia Bensussen
Director
Melia Bensussen
Melia Bensussen The Huntington: Common Ground Revisited, We All Fall Down, Yerma, A Doll’s House, Awake and Sing!, Luck of the Irish, and Circle Transformation.
Luciana Stecconi
Scenic Designer
Luciana Stecconi
Luciana Stecconi The Huntington: The Art of Burning, Witch. Regional: Faith Healer, Waiting for Godot (Barrington Stage); Antonio’s Song (Goodman Theatre); Anna in the Tropics (Bay Street Theatre); Murder on the Orient Express, Antonio’s Song (Milwaukee Rep); Macbeth (Merrimack Repertory Theatre); John Proctor is the Villain (Studio Theatre); Private (Mosaic Theatre Company); A Wind in the Door (Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences).
Kara Harmon
Costume Designer
Kara Harmon
Kara Harmon The Huntington: The Niceties, The Purists, A Guide for the Homesick. Off-Broadway: Cullud Wattah (Public Theater); Lockdown (Rattlestick Playwrights); The Niceties (Manhattan Theatre Club); Dot (Vineyard Theatre).
Aja M. Jackson
Lighting Designer
Aja M. Jackson
Aja M. Jackson The Huntington: John Proctor is the Villain, The Band’s Visit, The Art of Burning. Broadway: Fat Ham*, Lempicka*. Off Broadway: A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet, Rock and Roll Man, Monsoon Wedding*. Regional: Hear Word (ART / The Public Theater Under the Radar Festival); Lost In Yonkers, The Art of Burning, Pride and Prejudice, Simona’s Search (Hartford Stage); The Nerd (Alley Theatre); A Doll’s House, Harvey, World Goes Round, Behold, A Negress, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Everyman Theatre); Fences (Shakespeare and Company); World Goes Round (Olney Theatre); Pimpinone and Ino (Boston Early Music Festival); Goddess* (Berkeley Rep).
Jane Shaw
Sound Design and Original Music
Jane Shaw
Jane Shaw The Huntington: The Art of Burning, Our Daughters Like Pillars. New York: Roundabout, Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, Theatre for a New Audience, Mint Theater Company, National Black Theatre, Repertorio Español, NYTW, Cherry Lane Theatre, The COOP, Bedlam. Regional: The Alley, The Guthrie, Hartford Stage, Cleveland Play House, The Old Globe, Mark Taper Forum, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Two River Theater, Seattle Rep, Milwaukee Rep, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Dorset Theatre Festival, ACT, ART, Theatreworks Silicon Valley, Capital Rep, Northern Stage.
J. Jared Janas
Hair and Wig Design
J. Jared Janas
J. Jared Janas The Huntington: Common Ground Revisited, The Bluest Eye, Indecent, and Man in the Ring. Broadway: Ohio State Murders, & Juliet, Kimberly Akimbo, Topdog/Underdog, How I Learned to Drive, American Buffalo, Jagged Little Pill, Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, Gettin’ the Band Back Together, Bandstand, Indecent, Sunset Boulevard, The Visit, The Real Thing, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, Motown, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, and All about Me.
Ted Hewlett
Fight Director
Ted Hewlett
Ted HewlettThe Huntington: The Art of Burning, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Witch, Sweat, Quixote Nuevo, Yerma, Sherlock’s Last Case, Tartuffe, Merrily We Roll Along, Ripcord, Topdog/Underdog, A Doll’s House, Bedroom Farce, I Was Most Alive with You, A Confederacy of Dunces, The Colored Museum.
Charles Haugland
Dramaturg
Charles Haugland
Charles Haugland is the Director of New Work for The Huntington, and is currently in his fifteenth season with the company. His dramaturgical credits at The Huntington include world premiere productions by Kirsten Greenidge, Craig Lucas, Gina Gionfriddo, Lydia Diamond, and Melinda Lopez, along with co-creating the audio play series Dream Boston.
Sondra R. Katz
General Manager
Sondra R. Katz
Sondra Katz is in her twenty-first season at The Huntington. She has worked on Broadway, Off Broadway, and regionally as a stage manager, company manager, production manager and general manager.
Alaine Alldaffer
Casting
Alaine Alldaffer
Alaine Alldaffer, she/her (Casting) Huntington: numerous credits since 2000. New York: casting director for Playwrights Horizons, where credits include Grey Gardens (also for Broadway), Clybourne Park (also for Broadway), Circle Mirror Transformation (Drama Desk and Obie awards for Best Ensemble and an Artios Award for casting), The Flick (Playwrights Horizons and Barrow Street Theatre)
Rosalind Bevan
Local Casting
Rosalind Bevan
Rosalind Bevan The Huntington: Joy & Pandemic, Clyde’s, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Common Ground Revisited, Our Daughters, Like Pillars, The Bluest Eye, (Line Producer); Witch (Assistant Director); Dream Boston audio plays: Echoes and The 54th in ‘22 (Director).
Kelly Hardy
Production Stage Manager
Kelly Hardy
Kelly Hardy Broadway: Anastasia, The Real Thing. Off-Broadway: 2nd Stage, Fiasco Theatre, Lincoln Center – LCT3, The Public, Vineyard Theatre, Red Bull Theatre, NYMF, Theatre for a New Audience, Working Theatre, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, The Actors Company Theatre.
Deirdre Benson
Stage Manager
Deirdre Benson
Deirdre Benson The Huntington: The Band’s Visit, The Art of Burning. Regional: Blue Man Group (Boston), American Repertory Theater, The Barnstormers, SpeakEasy Stage, Greater Boston Stage Company, Boston Circus Guild. Touring: Pretty Woman, the Musical.
ADDITIONAL STAFFING FOR THE ART OF BURNING
Assistant Director- Luz Lopez
Intimacy Consultant- Ted Hewlett
Fight Captain- Kelly Hardy
Production Assistants- Winnie Chiang, Olivia Tighe
Carpenters- Steven Asaro, Hannah Ashe, Jay Graniss, Dawn Morningstar, JP Pizzuti, Kalika Reece
Costume Design Assistant- Zoë Sundra
Stitchers- Ana-Ayanna Escalante
Wardrobe Swing- Jennie Fuchs
Wig Run- Kathleen Shanahan
Season Electrician- Anna Brevetti
Electricians- Kevin Barnett, Dean Covert, Violet Gayzagian, Piper Phillips, Eliott Purcell
Brighter Boston Intern- Dillon Brooks
Voice Coach- Lee Nishri-Howitt