This fall, Fir Acres Theatre will be putting on “Into The Woods” as its mainstage performance. Cristi Miles, Adjunct Instructor in the Theatre department, will be directing the production. She has been on staff at Lewis & Clark since 2021 and this is the first time she will be directing a show at LC.
“I am a reluctant director. I identify as an actor. That’s how I came into the theatre — by being an actor. But I have directed, at Reed, George Fox, PETE (Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble) and Third Rail (Repertory Theatre),” Miles said.
Miles is taking a particular stylistic approach to the show: undermining expectations. She kept her description broad, not wanting to spoil the twists and turns that the show has in store.
“It’s not your typical ‘Into The Woods.’ I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but our woods are not realistic woods,” Miles said. “It was written in the 1980s, so there are some gender roles and binaries, old narratives around women and beauty and youth, that we’re just tired of. They’re boring.”
Jenny Ampersand, costume shop Manager and Instructor, took a unique approach to the color palette she chose for the show. She was inspired by the concept of synesthesia — a condition where, in some circumstances, people can see images or colors when listening to something.
“She was inspired by the witch’s rap. That’s our color palette — it’s very bright and colorful,” said Miles.
Miles did not take gender into consideration when casting the show. To her, choosing her actors is much more based on the person who is playing the role than the role itself.
“We have two women playing the princes, and they’re killing it,” said Miles. “The person playing Granny has found a masculine, hunter vibe, subverting the archetype of a grandmother. I found a way to get everybody who wanted to be in the room into the room.”
Miles was ecstatic about her choice for the role of Cinderella: Bryn Bollimpalli ’25, a trans woman.
“Bryn auditioned for Cinderella and the Witch. There was something about her passion and the way she spoke about being cast as Cinderella as a trans woman — how that role is trans-coded. It was so beautiful, and so moving to me. I was like ‘Clearly you have to play Cinderella,’” Miles said.
The musical score of “Into The Woods” was devised by Stephen Sondheim, the legendary theatrical composer known for his complex and challenging musicals. Learning the music will be a feat, but Miles and her cast are prepared.
“The challenge is the play itself. It’s very fast. The music is so complicated. (The cast members) are bloody brilliant. They have to be really facile musicians. Sondheim is no easy thing, it’s a lot of work,” Miles said.
“Into The Woods” will run Nov. 1, 2, 7, 8, 9 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. Tickets are on sale now online and at the Box Office, so be sure to support friends who are on tech crew or cast — they are working long hours.
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