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Articles by Kee-Yoon Nahm
Beyond the Stage: Fathers, sons, and ghosts
The first act of Hamlet mixes grief with anger as the titular Danish prince mourns the death of his father and resents his mother’s hasty remarriage—to the former King’s brother of all people. While Shakespeare’s acclaimed tragedy speaks volumes about society, politics, and philosophy, it is also a family drama about a son working out his complex feelings about his parents.
Beyond the Stage interview: From revenge to public justice
Illinois Shakespeare Festival (ISF) Dramaturg Kee-Yoon Nahm spoke with Director Vanessa Stalling, M.F.A. ’14, about the festival’s upcoming production of Hamlet. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Kee-Yoon Nahm (KYN): Before we talk about Hamlet, could you first tell me about your background as a director? Vanessa Stalling (VS): This will be my first time working at ISF, which I am super-excited about. It is lovely for things to come full circle.
Beyond the Stage interview: A call to action to find joy
Illinois Shakespeare Festival (ISF) Dramaturg Kee-Yoon Nahm spoke with director Kim McKean about the Festival’s upcoming production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Kee-Yoon Nahm (KYN): This is your first season with ISF. I want to start by welcoming you to the Festival! Kim McKean (KM): Thank you. This opportunity to direct at the Festival is special for me because I am originally from Bloomington-Normal.
Beyond the Stage: Shakespeare’s summer festivities
The literary scholar C. L. Barber called Shakespeare’s mid-career comedies from the late-1590s “festive comedies,” which includes Love Labour’s Lost, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night.
Beyond the Stage interview: A perfectly constructed comedy
Illinois Shakespeare Festival (ISF) Dramaturg Kee-Yoon Nahm spoke with director Robert Quinlan, who is the artistic director of ISF and associate professor of directing in the School of Theatre, Dance, and Film, about the Festival’s upcoming production of The Importance of Being Earnest. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Beyond the Stage: ‘Isn’t That Dandy’
“One should either be a work of Art, or wear a work of Art,” according to Oscar Wilde in one of his many famous aphorisms. Associated with the Aesthetic Movement during the height of his literary celebrity, Wilde was preoccupied with art, beauty, and the pursuit of pleasure as fundamental aspects of life. His dazzling characters in The Importance of Being Earnest reflect that ideal.
Beyond the Stage interview: Adapting Jane Austen’s voice
Festival dramaturg Kee-Yoon Nahm spoke with director and adapter Quetta Carpenter about the upcoming production of Sense and Sensibility at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival (ISF). This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Kee-Yoon Nahm (KN): Before we talk about Sense and Sensibility, would you walk me through your history with ISF? Quetta Carpenter (QC): I was in Love’s Labour’s Lost and Richard II in 2015.
Beyond the Stage: On the picturesque
In Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, characters occasionally talk about “the picturesque” in relation to natural landscapes and painting. The most detailed account appears in chapter 18 of the novel, which director Quetta Carpenter also includes in her stage adaptation for ISF. Edward Ferrars visits the Dashwoods at their new home at Barton Cottage, where he rehashes a previous debate about the picturesque with Marianne.
Beyond the Stage Interview: The other side of a leader
Festival Dramaturg Kee-Yoon Nahm spoke with director Corey Allen about the upcoming production of Macbeth at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival (ISF). This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Kee-Yoon Nahm (KN): This is your first season at ISF, right? Welcome to Illinois State University and Bloomington-Normal! Before we talk about Macbeth, would you tell me about your experiences with Shakespeare? Corey Allen (CA): Sure.
Beyond the Stage: The goddess of witchcraft
“Double, double, toil and trouble; / Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.” These lines from Macbeth have become as famous as the three witches who chant them. But what is the context? In Act 4 Scene 1, the three witches are casting some kind of spell while dropping bizarre ingredients into a boiling cauldron. But they are not the only supernatural figures in the scene. Toward the end of their incantation, Hecate enters with three other witches, who do not have lines.
Beyond the Stage: If music be the food of love, play on
Twelfth Night is considered one of Shakespeare’s most musical plays, with Feste the fool singing many songs throughout the play. For the Illinois Shakespeare Festival’s 2024 production, ISF alum Jordan Coughtry will compose and perform original music inspired by the lyrics included in the text, in addition to performing the role of Feste.
Beyond the Stage Interview: Love from many different angles
Illinois Shakespeare Festival Dramaturg Kee-Yoon Nahm spoke with director Robert Quinlan, who is also associate professor of directing in the School of Theatre and Dance, about the festival’s upcoming production of Twelfth Night. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Staged reading of The Life You Gave Me, April 26
The Crossroads Project will present a staged reading of The Life You Gave Me by Novid Parsi, winner of the 2024 Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative. The event will take place in person on Friday, April 26, at 7:30 p.m. in Stevenson Hall, Room 401. Following the staged reading will be a talkback with the playwright. The staged reading is directed by Dr. Kee-Yoon Nahm, chair of the Crossroads Project and faculty in the School of Theatre and Dance.
Looks can be deceiving: exploring misunderstanding, hidden motives, deception, and disguise in the 2024 Illinois Shakespeare Festival season
The 2024 season for the Illinois Shakespeare Festival (ISF) offers a breadth of well-known stories beloved by readers and theatre audiences alike. Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most frequently produced tragedies, the lead roles played just in the past few years by star actors such as Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Daniel Craig, and Ruth Negga. Twelfth Night is a favorite among Shakespeare’s romantic comedies, recently adapted into a dazzling musical by Kwame Kwei-Armah and Shaina Taub.
The Crossroads Project announces winner of the 2024 Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative
The Crossroads Project has selected Novid Parsi’s The Life You Gave Me as the winner of the 2024 Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative, a new play development program for BIPOC playwrights organized by the Illinois State University School of Theatre and Dance. A group of volunteer readers comprising students, faculty, staff, and community members evaluated over 100 excellent submissions this year.
Beyond the Stage: Britain’s first literary celebrity
In the character list for Lauren Gunderson’s play The Book of Will, Ben Jonson is described as “Poet laureate of England” and a “friend/rival of Shakespeare.” The first label reflects Jonson’s status as a celebrated writer with connections to the royal court and social elite—“Britain’s first literary celebrity,” as biographer Ian Donaldson puts it. But despite enjoying prestige and success during his lifetime, Jonson’s reputation is now overshadowed by his contemporary William Shakespeare.
Meet the Artists: Pink Man, or, The Only Indian in the Room
Crossroads Project Chair Kee-Yoon Nahm spoke with playwright Marty Strenczewilk and director Dr. Shannon Epplett about the upcoming staged reading of Pink Man, Or, the Only Indian in the Room, winner of the 2023 Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative. The staged reading will take place on Friday, April 14, at 7:30 p.m. Use the link below to register for this in-person event. Marty Strenczewilk is an Ojibwe theatre artist and storyteller, enrolled with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
Staged reading of Pink Man, or The Only Indian in the Room, April 14
The Crossroads Project will present a staged reading of Pink Man, or, The Only Indian in the Room by Marty Strenczewilk, winner of the 2023 Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative. The event will take place in person on Friday, April 14, at 7:30 p.m. in Milner Library, Room 122. Following the staged reading will be a talkback with the playwright. The staged reading is directed by Dr. Shannon Epplett, faculty in the School of Theatre and Dance.
Beyond the Stage: Time’s up
William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors opens with an ultimatum that seems out of place for what is supposed to be a comedic romp. Egeon, an elderly merchant from Syracuse, is sentenced to death for entering Ephesus despite a decree barring travel between the two cities. Hearing Egeon’s sad tale about his separated family, however, the Duke offers a lifeline: If Egeon can find someone to pay his fine by the end of the day, his sentence will be lifted.
The Crossroads Project announces winner of the 2023 Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative
The Crossroads Project has selected Marty Strenczewilk’s play Pink Man, or, The Only Indian in the Room as the winner of the 2023 Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative, a new play development program for BIPOC playwrights organized by the Illinois State University School of Theatre and Dance. A group of volunteer readers comprising students, faculty, staff, and community members evaluated over 90 submissions this year.
Beyond the Stage: Lost and Found
The three titles in the Illinois Shakespeare Festival’s 2023 season cover the breadth of Shakespeare’s remarkable career. On one end of the timeline, we have The Comedy of Errors, one of his earliest plays that is heavily influenced by the ancient Roman comedies that Shakespeare probably studied as a schoolboy. On the other end is The Tempest, where the main character Prospero overlaps with the image of a world-weary Shakespeare looking toward retirement and old age.
Daily Life under State Violence: Interview with South Korean Playwright Yun Mi Hyun, Part 2
To read Part 1 of this interview, click here. Nahm: Let’s talk now about Texas Aunt. I said earlier that The Wooden Boat is a great Korean play to introduce to international audiences. But Texas Aunt already feels like an international play. I don’t think I’ve read another Korean play that has such a racially diverse cast of characters. Frankly, I was a little shocked when I read the character list. How did you come to write this play?
Daily Life under State Violence: Interview with South Korean Playwright Yun Mi Hyun, Part 1
Interview and translation by Kee-Yoon Nahm. Yun Mi Hyun is a playwright based in South Korea. After writing fiction and poetry in her early career, she debuted as a playwright in 2012 with the one-act play Can We Meet?, which won the Korean Playwright Association new play award. Her major works include The Vegetable Garden Killer (2012), Young Husidin: A Love Story (2014), Chulsoo’s Rebellion (2015), Texas Aunt (2017), and The Wooden Boat (2019).
Staged reading of Dear Mr. C, April 22
Dear Mr. C: A memory play with music by Tidtaya Sinutoke. The Crossroads Project will present a staged reading of Dear Mr. C by Tidtaya Sinutoke, winner of the 2022 Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative. The event will take place in person on Friday, April 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for the Visual Arts (CVA), room 110. The evening will begin with a pre-show conversation with the playwright, followed by a presentation of the play, including musical performances of the songs.
The Crossroads Project announces winner of the 2022 Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative
The Crossroads Project has selected Tidtaya Sinutoke’s play Dear Mr. C as the winner of the 2022 Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative, a new play development program for BIPOC playwrights organized by the Illinois State University School of Theatre and Dance. A group of volunteer readers comprising students, faculty, staff, and community members evaluated over 90 excellent submissions this year.
The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus
Saturday, August 1, 2015 Performances run July 23- Aug. 1. All shows are at 8 p.m. except for July 31 when the shows are at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. July 25 and 28 have a 7 p.m. show only. There is no show July 27. By Christopher Marlowe Adapted by Kee-Yoon Nahm and Andrej Visky Directed by Andrej Visky Doctor Faustus is the perpetual grad student who signs away his soul in exchange for knowledge and experience in Christopher Marlowe’s classic play.
The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus
Friday, July 31, 2015 Performances run July 23- Aug. 1. All shows are at 8 p.m. except for July 31 when the shows are at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. July 25 and 28 have a 7 p.m. show only. There is no show July 27. By Christopher Marlowe Adapted by Kee-Yoon Nahm and Andrej Visky Directed by Andrej Visky Doctor Faustus is the perpetual grad student who signs away his soul in exchange for knowledge and experience in Christopher Marlowe’s classic play.
The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus
Friday, July 31, 2015 Performances run July 23- Aug. 1. All shows are at 8 p.m. except for July 31 when the shows are at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. July 25 and 28 have a 7 p.m. show only. There is no show July 27. By Christopher Marlowe Adapted by Kee-Yoon Nahm and Andrej Visky Directed by Andrej Visky Doctor Faustus is the perpetual grad student who signs away his soul in exchange for knowledge and experience in Christopher Marlowe’s classic play.
The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus
Thursday, July 30, 2015 Performances run July 23- Aug. 1. All shows are at 8 p.m. except for July 31 when the shows are at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. July 25 and 28 have a 7 p.m. show only. There is no show July 27. By Christopher Marlowe Adapted by Kee-Yoon Nahm and Andrej Visky Directed by Andrej Visky Doctor Faustus is the perpetual grad student who signs away his soul in exchange for knowledge and experience in Christopher Marlowe’s classic play.
The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus
Wednesday, July 29, 2015 Performances run July 23- Aug. 1. All shows are at 8 p.m. except for July 31 when the shows are at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. July 25 and 28 have a 7 p.m. show only. There is no show July 27. By Christopher Marlowe Adapted by Kee-Yoon Nahm and Andrej Visky Directed by Andrej Visky Doctor Faustus is the perpetual grad student who signs away his soul in exchange for knowledge and experience in Christopher Marlowe’s classic play.
The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus
Tuesday, July 28, 2015 Performances run July 23- Aug. 1. All shows are at 8 p.m. except for July 31 when the shows are at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. July 25 and 28 have a 7 p.m. show only. There is no show July 27. By Christopher Marlowe Adapted by Kee-Yoon Nahm and Andrej Visky Directed by Andrej Visky Doctor Faustus is the perpetual grad student who signs away his soul in exchange for knowledge and experience in Christopher Marlowe’s classic play.
The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus
Sunday, July 26, 2015 Performances run July 23- Aug. 1. All shows are at 8 p.m. except for July 31 when the shows are at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. July 25 and 28 have a 7 p.m. show only. There is no show July 27. By Christopher Marlowe Adapted by Kee-Yoon Nahm and Andrej Visky Directed by Andrej Visky Doctor Faustus is the perpetual grad student who signs away his soul in exchange for knowledge and experience in Christopher Marlowe’s classic play.
The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus
Saturday, July 25, 2015 Performances run July 23- Aug. 1. All shows are at 8 p.m. except for July 31 when the shows are at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. July 25 and 28 have a 7 p.m. show only. There is no show July 27. By Christopher Marlowe Adapted by Kee-Yoon Nahm and Andrej Visky Directed by Andrej Visky Doctor Faustus is the perpetual grad student who signs away his soul in exchange for knowledge and experience in Christopher Marlowe’s classic play.
The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus
Friday, July 24, 2015 Performances run July 23- Aug. 1. All shows are at 8 p.m. except for July 31 when the shows are at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. July 25 and 28 have a 7 p.m. show only. There is no show July 27. By Christopher Marlowe Adapted by Kee-Yoon Nahm and Andrej Visky Directed by Andrej Visky Doctor Faustus is the perpetual grad student who signs away his soul in exchange for knowledge and experience in Christopher Marlowe’s classic play.
The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus
Thursday, July 23, 2015 Performances run July 23- Aug. 1. All shows are at 8 p.m. except for July 31 when the shows are at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. July 25 and 28 have a 7 p.m. show only. There is no show July 27. By Christopher Marlowe Adapted by Kee-Yoon Nahm and Andrej Visky Directed by Andrej Visky Doctor Faustus is the perpetual grad student who signs away his soul in exchange for knowledge and experience in Christopher Marlowe’s classic play.
The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus
By Christopher Marlowe Adapted by Kee-Yoon Nahm, Rachel Carpman, and Andrej Visky Directed by Andrej Visky Doctor Faustus is the perpetual grad student who signs away his soul in exchange for knowledge and experience in Christopher Marlowe’s classic play. Director Andrej Visky leads the Rough Magic ensemble in a radical new adaptation—employing both actors and puppets—to create an epic, fantastical, constantly shifting stage-space.
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