TRIALSTHE STORY OF JOAN OF ARC (AND BETH)by James DeVitaTrials: The Story of Joan of Arc (and Beth)is produced by special permission with Stage Partners. (www.yourstagepartners.com)
The videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited.
**************************************WILD HEART
“Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken” David Charles Biral; Rivers Cuomo Kobalt Music Publishing, Wixen Music Publishing OBO E.O. Smith Music (BMI) WILD HEART is presented through special arrangement with and all authorized performance materials are supplied by Theatrical Rights Worldwide 1180 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 640, New York, NY 10036. www.theatricalrights.com |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Caitlyn Picone Ellie McCrossen |
|
Charli Slaughter Aislynn Neil |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notes from the Dramaturg
Notes from the Dramaturg
The story of Joan of Arc (January 1412 - May 1431) takes place in a politically turbulent time in Europe. The Hundred Years War, which actually took place over 116 years (from 1337 to 1453) overshadowed the reigns of five English kings and five French kings, lasted through the devastation of the Black Death (1346-1353), and was the backdrop for six of William Shakespeare’s plays. The cause of the war originated from a dispute over English-held land in France dating all the way back to 1066 when William, Duke of Normandy in France, conquered England, retaining his hold on the French territory while still reigning as King of England. Over the years, England kept the territory through inheritance while adding more land through marriages. Legally, the kings of England held the French lands by the grace of the French crown, but the presence of the English on French soil was a constant source of irritation for France. With intermittent battles that moved control back and forth over the decades, the English finally seized control over the entire country of France with their triumph at the Battle of Agincourt (immortalized in Shakespeare’s Henry V), disinheriting the French Dauphin (crown prince). Thirteen years later in 1428, English forces surrounded the strategic city of Orleans and kept it under siege for the next seven months. Inspired by the Maid of Orleans, Jeanne d’Arc, French soldiers drove out the English army and their Burgundian (French) allies. The war would continue over the next 24 years.
Historical details in both Trials and Wild Heart are accurate, including the so-called Battle of the Herrings, Joan’s interrogation by the clergy, identification and coronation of the Dauphin of France, and ultimate martyrdom by fire in1431. In 1455, her mother’s testimony, as well as the testimonies of her brothers Jean and Pierre, before Pope Callixtus III in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris overturned Joan’s conviction as a heretic.
Joan was ultimately canonized as a saint in 1920.
Sponsors
