Here are the CRAFTSBURY FUNNERY collaborating artists:
PETER GOULD is our founder. He has directed nearly ninety youth theatre productions. His Young Adult novel, WRITE NAKED, published by Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, won the 2009 National Green Earth Book Award for its ecological content. Peter is on the faculty of New England Youth Theatre; and at Brandeis University, where he is a Professor of meditation in the Peace & Justice & Coexistence Program. Peter keeps "Get Thee to the Funnery" alive all year long, prepares the script, the concept and the whole crew of campers and directors. His passion is Arts-in-Education. (He was the Vermont Arts Council 2016 Arts Educator of the Year.) Peter is always ready to explain Shakespeare's metaphors and most outrageous jokes. "I'm not making this up; it's right here in the text! "he says.
Years ago, Peter was a member of the "back-to-the-land" migration to Vermont, and a performing partner of Stephen Stearns in "Gould & Stearns," a physical comedy duet with more than 3000 shows under their belts. Peter's two latest books are published by Green Writers Press and set in Vermont. MARLY is about a young professor who fights an industrial wind development in her wilderness. HORSE- DRAWN YOGURT is a collection of true stories about his years on the commune at TOTAL LOSS FARM.
Years ago, Peter was a member of the "back-to-the-land" migration to Vermont, and a performing partner of Stephen Stearns in "Gould & Stearns," a physical comedy duet with more than 3000 shows under their belts. Peter's two latest books are published by Green Writers Press and set in Vermont. MARLY is about a young professor who fights an industrial wind development in her wilderness. HORSE- DRAWN YOGURT is a collection of true stories about his years on the commune at TOTAL LOSS FARM.
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JONNY FLOOD studied secondary English education at Boston University. Born and raised in the wetlands of Woodbury, Vermont, Jonny has directed Funneries all over, from Barre to Brattleboro to Craftsbury to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He has never missed a summer with the Funnery since he was twelve. Jonny loves music and theater and maple creemees. He also loves thinking about education reform, and enjoys working with young people of all ages. He works in early childhood education in Montpelier.
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ZOE GUTTENPLAN has performed amazing Shakespearean characters at the Funnery since 2009. In 2013 she transitioned to lifetime staff member, specializing in one-on-one monologue work and child wrangling. Zoe is comfortable on both sides of the camera and both sides of the Atlantic, too. She is a book designer working in NYC most of the time, and looking for new adventures all of the time. Zoe's portrayal of Pyramus in Midsummer 2013 will NEVER BE FORGOTTEN. By anyone. Ever. Even if you are hearing about it here for the first time.
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ROSA PALMERI was raised in Putney and Brattleboro, Vermont. She has been doing Shakespeare with Peter, with New England Youth Theatre, and with the Funnery since 2004! She has worked at Craftsbury, Brattleboro, and Barre Highgate. Rosa is a serious actor and a gifted clown. She channeled the role of Harpo Marx in Peter's NEYT production of "Night at the Opera," and did a moving portrayal of Helen Keller's teacher, Annie Sullivan, at NEYT in 2006. Rosa graduated from Evansville, Indiana conservatory in 2013; later, she earned her MFA in Acting from American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. Rosa is a gifted painter and writer, and a political activist fully involved in the issue of mass incarceration.
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CHARLOTTE THORNLEY has been coming to the Center of the Universe since she was 13, when she quite literally found her voice. She’s played many parts over the years – among them actor, audience member, and intern. When she’s not wrangling children or running monologues over her tongue, she loves the challenge of cooking from an empty fridge. Charlotte will be finishing her acting training in France later this summer.
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BROOK GENTRY is an NEK local who started working with Peter in 2014 when he visited her middle school. She went to the Funnery as a camper for 4 years and is about to be on her 3rd year as staff. Brook has also played a large part in her school's productions from acting through high school and taking on the stage manager position in college. She is currently studying to become a high school English teacher with hopes to spread the joy that Shakespeare can bring to new generations.
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SOPHIE LYON is from Massachusetts, but has made the journey up to the Funnery every summer since 2013. While her roots are in comedy and improvisation, Sophie has played a range of characters at The Funnery and beyond. Her most notable achievements include becoming the poster child for learning to juggle in two weeks while playing Feste in Twelfth Night. When not in the fresh air of Vermont, Sophie can be found working in the lab, or at Oberlin College, where she studies chemistry, writes science fiction, and plays rugby.
DUCKY hails from Castleton, Vermont. He worked for ten years at the Governor's Institute on the Arts, and is still on board at Craftsbury,and Brattleboro Funneries. As the METAPHOR DUCK, he quacks to alert us to Shakespearean language that needs more than passing notice. In his super-hero disguise, the "DUCK OF DOOM" is the number-one disciplinarian at the Funnery. Ducky unfortunately missed one entire season after he was locked in a suitcase at the end of Peter and Rosa's production of Twelfth Night at the New England Youth Theatre. Ducky has had recent supporting roles in Robin Hood and Treasure Island at NEYT, where his stage life and overall health have improved since the hiring of a stunt-double Duck.
~We also owe a lot to the folks who have supported us over the years, like the Vermont Community Foundation, the Monteverdi Artists Collaborative, Concept 2, the The Hardwick Gazette, Craftsbury Academy, Sterling College, Heartbeet Lifesharing, and lots of faithful anonymous friends who love their Shakespeare.