A prayer in a dark forest,
a demanding and desperate stranger,
and a transformation that defies explanation.

Thirst: a spell for Christabel retells Coleridge's gothic story in an abandoned forest suffering from an apocalyptic drought. Christabel and her father, stubborn hold-outs in the dying woods, are visited by a mysterious and opportunistic woman who quickly transforms their quiet world. Soon they must choose between her frightening, seductive promises and the quickly diminishing safety of the life they’ve always known.

Thirst: a spell for Christabel, written by Monika Bustamante, directed by Elena Araoz and produced by David Davoli, will feature Matthew Cowles (Veronika Decides to Die, Life on Mars, Oz), Lori Funk, and Elizabeth Gross as Christabel, with set by Susan Zeeman Rogers, lighting by Justin Townsend, costumes by Chloe Chapin, and sound design by Arielle Edwards.  

This exciting new commission brings back the writer and director team having just come off the success of Io: A Myth About You, a rock opera adapted from multiple Greek myths, (four nominations for the upcoming 2008 Austin Critics’ Table Awards including Best Production of a Musical and the David Mark Cohen New Play Award).  Christabel modernizes, completes, and explodes this unfinished English Romantic poem, bringing the mystery of Christabel's silence to the forefront. Is a victim a victim if she doesn't fight back?  

Thought by many to be one of literature's earliest references to vampirism, Christabel is an unfinished enigma. Telling the story of a young maiden visited and ravished by a fantastical stranger, Coleridge dangles references to lesbianism and gothic terror before leaving his audience in endless suspense. In Bustamante’s retelling of Christabel's tale, her innocence is no longer assumed. As the dark story unfolds, Christabel's carefully constructed image unravels, and with it, any preconceived ideas of a helpless damsel in distress and the male-protector/royal father, medieval model of fairy tale.

Best known for her exceedingly complex female characters, Bustamante will explore the duel natures of these once only stereotypical leading ladies. The supernaturalism inherent both in the original poem and in our adaptation will be best served by Araoz’s highly stylized and dance-like aesthetic. By keeping the set simple, she hopes to evoke the audience’s imagination by what they cannot see.  In preparation for this piece, she asks, "What is it about the actors’ basic tools, body and voice, that can illustrate for us the difference between marble hallways and lush gardens?  How can we move seamlessly and cleanly through the fast-paced shifts in this developing script?"