Written by Kira Rockwell
Directed by MFA candidate Sarah Curtis as her thesis project 
 

Wicked Bitter Beast(s) was developed in part with Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s Southern Writers Festival, and Working Title Playwrights. 

TIME 

Opening Night

SETTING

Athens, Ohio

DATES

April 2 - 3 @ 8pm, April 4 @ 2pm only, and April 8 - 11 @ 8pm, April 11 @ 2pm. The Forum Theater located in the basement of the Radio and Television Building, 35 South College Street, Athens OH 45701

Running time is approximately 2 hours with one 10-minute intermission

TICKETS

Free student rush tickets for Ohio University students with a valid OU ID will be available at the venue for every performance provided the performance is not sold out.

SYNOPSIS

Through sharp wit and raw vulnerability, the story follows Zoey, as she battles not just monsters, but the rigid expectations of purity, obedience, and forgiveness that were never meant to fit her.

CONTENT WARNING

Wicked Bitter Beast(s) includes haze and strobe effects. 

ANY TYPE OF RECORDING IS PROHIBITED DURING THIS PRODUCTION

Patrons expressly acknowledge that audio recording, video recording, photography, livestreaming, or capture of any kind is strictly prohibited during the performance, whether by phone, camera, wearable device, or any other means. Any patron found using a cell phone or other recording device during the performance will be removed immediately from the theatre, will not be permitted to re-enter, and will not receive a refund or exchange. Any unauthorized recordings must be deleted immediately at the direction of the House Manager. These conditions are non-negotiable and are enforced to protect the artists, the audience, and the integrity of the live performance.

DIRECTOR'S NOTE

When searching for my thesis show, I knew I wanted a piece that would allow me to share parts of my own story as a person while also challenging me in the areas I’ve been working to sharpen throughout graduate school. Wicked Bitter Beast(s) sits at the perfect intersection of those desires.

I grew up a music pastor’s kid in the desert of West Texas, so I guess you can say I grew up in the theatre. Sundays included big stages, theatrical lighting, and musical performances. That’s where I first learned the power of storytelling. How stories can reach into an audience and shift something inside them. At seventeen, I left the church in search of answers to many questions about the world, my place in it, and, if I’m being honest, a fountain to throw my purity ring into. This is where I found the theatre.

Much of my artistic foundation was shaped by those early experiences, though I now apply those principles in very different ways. Directing this play has felt deeply personal. In many ways, my journey through this process has mirrored Zoey’s journey in the play. It’s been a process of questioning, shedding, and redefining. This piece has challenged me and changed me, both as an artist and as a person, and I am incredibly grateful for that.

Thank you to everyone who has had a hand in bringing this to life. I couldn’t be more grateful. Kira, thank you for the opportunity to imagine what this could be for the very first time, and for your partnership in this process. To our design team, thank you for helping create what this world could be! To our cast, thank you for lending your artistry and, most importantly, your hearts to this process. Thank you for trusting both me and each other as we built this together.

This show, at its core, tells us that becoming who you are isn’t about discovering something new. It’s about setting down the things you were never meant to carry. That idea feels both personal and universal. Whether or not your story looks like Zoey’s, I believe we’ve all felt trapped by circumstance and wanted to give ourselves a way out. I hope that this play gives you that option, even for the short time we’re in the room together.

Thank you all for coming. Enjoy the show!

Sarah Curtis, Director

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Tantrum Theater, acknowledges that we perform on traditional homelands of the Shawnee people, as well as the Wahzhazhe (who are also known as the Osage). 

We are so excited to welcome you to the 2025-2026 OHIO Theater Season!

This season we feature new plays and reimagined classics that ask us to recognize our shared humanity. We aren’t Capulets and Montagues; we aren’t progressives and conservatives; we aren’t straight and queer; we’re humans struggling to make order out of chaos. And sharing stories together in a dark theater highlights our commonality and helps us connect.

Tantrum Theater investigates two vibrant historical periods: Inherit the Wind dramatizes the Scopes “monkey” trials from 1925, and HAIR celebrates the explosive 1960’s. These stories offer echoes from the past, while feeling as familiar as today’s social media newsfeed. Both productions challenge us to demand accountability in our schools, courts, and from elected officials. 

OHIO has always celebrated new plays and devised work. We need to hear stories from living playwrights who wrestle complex topics into narratives to help make sense of the world. But we also dive into Shakespeare’s texts to revisit lessons of inclusion and love, violence and heartbreak, hoping we’ll get it right this time. We long for these familiar stories as a touchstone to understanding ourselves. 

We begin the season with Steven Strafford directing Elegies: a Song Cycle, book, lyrics, and music by William Finn. A beautifully constructed, heartfelt response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, features a song cycle touching on the deaths of friends and family.

Vibrancy Theater, the School’s student-run theater “creates a playground for student theater-artists and generates a space for Black, Indigenous, Students of Color to develop artistic leadership skills.” Vibrancy presents William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Nights’ Dream directed by third-year MFA directing candidate Sarah Curtis. This beloved comedy gets a fresh, vibrant reimagining, and shows us that love will challenge all the systems that try to contain it.

Tantrum Theater, OHIO’s professional theater, brings professional directors, stage managers, designers, technicians, and actors to work side-by-side with our students. In the fall, Robby Lufty directs Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. Inspired by the infamous 1925 Scopes ‘Monkey’ trial, this is a searing courtroom drama that ignites the enduring tension between progress and tradition. 

We end the fall semester with Dennis Kelly’s DNA, directed by Evan Bergman. This chilling mystery follows a group of teenagers who bully a classmate and the consequences of their actions. 

In the spring, Tantrum Theater produces HAIR, book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, music by Galt MacDermot. This explosion of savage joy, sexual revolution, and scorched earth protest and defiance is directed by Robert Barry Fleming, with music direction by Andrew Smithson. 

Third-year MFA directing candidate Sarah Curtis directs Wicked Bitter Beast(s) by Kira Rockwell. Through sharp wit and raw vulnerability, the story follows Zoey, as she battles not just monsters, but the rigid expectations of purity, obedience, and forgiveness that were never meant to fit her.

Our studio series features Snow Angel, written by David Lindsay-Abaire, directed by Wade Elkins; Today, directed by Rebecca VerNooy; and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet reimagined by second-year MFA directing candidate Castor Kent. 

We end the year with our yearly Fringe Festival which is always an audience favorite. 

Audiences are often amazed by the high quality of student work in all aspects of our productions. By attending live productions at OHIO, you’re supporting student designs and performances on stage, and the dedicated work of playwrights, stage managers, technicians, and run crews behind the scenes. Thank you for your continued support and enjoy the show!

Merri Biechler

she/her/hers

Director, Professor of Instruction

School of Theater

****

2025

Elegies: A Song Cycle

Book, lyrics, and music by William Finn. 

Directed by Steven Strafford

October 8-12, 2025

Kantner Hall 308

VIBRANCY THEATER PRESENTS

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by Sarah Curtis

October 16-24, 2025

E.E. Baker Theater in Kantner Hall

TANTRUM THEATER PRESENTS

Inherit the Wind

Written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee

Directed by Robby Lutfy

November 6-22, 2025

Forum Theater in the RTV Building

DNA

Written by Dennis Kelly

Directed by Evan Bergman

November 19-23, 2025

Hahne Theater in Kantner Hall

2026

TANTRUM THEATER PRESENTS

HAIR

Book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, music by Galt MacDermot

Directed by Robert Barry Fleming

Music Direction by Andrew Smithson

February 26-March 7, 2026

E.E. Baker Theater in Kantner Hall

Wicked Bitter Beast(s)

Written by Kira Rockwell

Directed by Sarah Curtis

April 2-11, 2026

Forum Theater in the RTV Building

Snow Angel

Written by David Lindsay-Abaire

Directed by Wade Elkins

March 3-7, 2026

Kantner Hall 308

Today

By Charles Mee

Directed by Rebecca VerNooy

Music Direction by Rebekah Alexander

March 24-28, 2026

Kantner Hall 308

Romeo and Juliet

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by Castor Kent

April 15-18, 2026

Hahne Theater in Kantner Hall

Fringe Festival

In spaces on and around campus

April 21-25, 2026

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

The School of Theater is proud to have the support from the following sponsors, without whose support, this performance would not have been possible: The Ohio Performing Arts Series, and The Visiting Artist and Scholars Committee

HOW TO REACH US

School of Theater 

307 Kantner Hall

19 South College Street

1 Ohio University

Athens, Ohio  45701

740.593.4818

Email: [email protected]

FIRE NOTICE

Illuminated signs above each door indicate
emergency exits. Please check for the nearest
exit. In the event of an emergency, you will be
notified by theater personnel and assisted in
the evacuation of the building.

SEATING POLICY 

Everyone must have a ticket. Sorry, no
children in arms or on laps. Patrons who
leave the theater during the performance
will be reseated at the discretion of house
management. Those who become disruptive
will be asked to leave the theater.