News | Bates College

Menu Search

Sophie Hafter ’25 of Brooklyn, N.Y., crafts faux birch trees for upcoming performance of ‘The Seagull’ by Anton Chekov Serene but surreal: Sophie Hafter ’25 and the art of making theatrical magic How magic is made: Sophie Hafter ’25 crafts faux birch trees for upcoming performance of ‘The Seagull’ The magic touch: Sophie Hafter ’25 brings theater to life with scenic arts creations Shown in the set shop where she paints the paper that will be wrapped around cardboard to make birch trees for the Schaeffer Theatre stage; shown on Alumni Walk with her paper trees amidst the real birch trees; and then back in Schaeffer Theatre where she continues fashioning trees. Shown with Professor of French and Francophone Studies Kirk Read who performs in the play, and with director Joshua N Hsu. Konstantin is a young playwright struggling with his artistic identity and complicated relationship with his famous actor mother, Arkadina. Konstantin’s also in love with Nina, a naive aspiring actor, who’s also infatuated with the more successful writer Trigorin, Arkadina’s lover. Aspirations, family, and romantic entanglements inevitably collide, testing Konstantin and Nina’s sense of worth and purpose. Chekhov’s wry classic skillfully intertwines the ordinary with the poetic, illustrating the duality of human existence: an existence where our dreams give us the drive to move forward, but our decisions haunt us at every turn. “The Seagull” is a darkly comedic exploration of unfulfilled ambitions, unrequited love, and the bittersweet nature of artistic success. Content Warning This production includes strong sexual content, mental illness, self-harm, intentional self-injury, discussion of suicide, alcohol abuse, offstage gunshots, simulations of using tobacco, and a realistic-looking firearm prop.

As the multitalented stage manager for ‘The Seagull,’ Sophie Hafter ’25 barks up the right trees

March 5, 2025

It’s winter, but birch trees have sprouted in Schaeffer Theatre — crafted by stage manager Sophie Hafter '25, whose scenic artistry helps "The Seagull" glide between realism and the avant-garde.

#batescollege

#batescollege

March 14, 2025

Picture Story: Chekhov’s ‘The Seagull,’ between avant-garde and traditional

March 14, 2025

CatFacts: Celebrating ‘Great Day’ success with fun facts, like a Muhammad Ali statue for Lewiston

March 13, 2025

Remembering Thomas Moser, the debate coach turned world-renowned furniture maker

February 28, 2025

Bates Faculty in the News: Feb. 28, 2025

February 28, 2025

Let’s get reel: A sampler of Bates campus life

February 28, 2025

Bates College transitions endowment management to Investure

February 25, 2025

Bates named a Fulbright Top Producer for 14th straight year

February 21, 2025

Picture Story: The Puddle Jump’s 50th anniversary edition

February 21, 2025

Bates Bazaar: Online deals for Feb. 21, 2025

February 20, 2025

Bates Alumni in the News: Feb. 20, 2025

February 13, 2025

Love, actually? Bates students revisit a 1920s professor’s take on romance

February 7, 2025

Picture Story: Bates students deliver on National Girls & Women in Sports Day

February 7, 2025

An incomplete 50-year history of the Puddle Jump

February 7, 2025

Bates at Night: A visit to the historic Stephens Telescope

Ryan Bavis, Bates Helen A. Papaioanou Professor of Biological Sciences, posing in his Bonney Science Center laboratory and office. Bavis is collaborating with his friend and colleague Peter MacFarlane, assistant professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine on their discovery of a novel animal model mimicking sudden infant death syndrome. Last year, the National Institutes of Health awarded the scientists a $2.8 million grant to study the model over five years. MacFarlane is the project’s principal investigator, and $307,495 is allocated to Bates. Dr. Richard Martin of Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital and professor at CWRU’s School of Medicine is also a co-investigator on the project.

February 5, 2025

Two scientists, a friendship, and a problem to solve: Ryan Bavis, Peter MacFarlane receive $2.8 million NIH grant to study sudden infant death syndrome

February 4, 2025

Slideshow: This Month at Bates

January 24, 2025

Picture Story: MLK Day at Bates, and the arc toward justice

January 24, 2025

MLK Day keynote: Why nonviolent protest has become less successful (when it might be needed most)

Associate Professor of Education Mara Tieken, winner of the 2024 Kroepsch Teaching Award, teaches students in her course “EDUC 231 - Perspectives on Education” in Pettigrew 30 on January 16, 2025. EDUC 231 - Perspectives on Education This course introduces students to foundational perspectives (anthropological, historical, philosophical, psychological, and sociological) on education and helps students apply these perspectives to contemporary schools and classrooms. The course considers several large questions: What should be the purpose of education in a democratic society? What should be the role of the school? Who should participate in making decisions about schools? In what ways do schools reflect and perpetuate larger social inequities, and, alternately, how can they contribute to a more just and inclusive society? Students must complete at least thirty hours of fieldwork.

January 24, 2025

Teaching teachers: Associate Professor of Education Mara Tieken receives 2024 Kroepsch Award for excellence in teaching

7–8pm | MLK Day Spoken Word Festival Presentation: The Multifaith Chaplaincy celebrates the voices that propelled the work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with performances from poets, spoken word artists, and musicians. The second annual MLK Day Spoken Word festival brings together powerful poetry and soulful song around the theme “Bending Toward Justice: Peace and Nonviolence.” Featured artists for the evening are acclaimed poet and co-executive director of Maine Inside Out, Joseph Jackson, and beloved singer Kenya Hall whom Rolling Stone dubbed a “soul powerhouse.” Students Misaki Fukushima ’25, Ahmednoor Hassan ’27, Bora Lugunda ’25, and Oleksii Sverbyvus ’28 will also perform pieces at the festival. Location: Gomes Chapel Program Welcome: Raymond Clothier Spoken Word: Joseph Jackson Music Kenya Hall Poetry: Oleksii Sverbyvus ’28 Poetry/Dance Misaki Fukushima ’25 Spoken Word: Ahmednoor Hassan ’27 Poetry: Bora Laguna ’25 Spoken Word: Joseph Jackson Music: Kenya Hall

January 24, 2025

Slideshow: Hour by hour on MLK Day 2025 with Bates faculty, staff, students, and friends