Fear and Trembling
Fear and Trembling
Three professors attempt to understand the story of Abraham’s call to sacrifice his son upon Mount Moriah. Fear and Trembling is an original dramatic adaptation of Søren Kierkegaard’s 1843 treatise by the same name, which the father of existential philosophy prized as his most perfect work. Split between the modern academic scene and the land of Canaan, 2000 B.C., the tragicomedy contends with faith and the absurd by telling and retelling scripture’s most harrowing legend. The play is performed in The Dome in collaboration with Yale Schwarzman Center.
Director’s Note
“Let’s be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.” Julius Caesar, II.i.179
Søren Kierkegaard begins Fear and Trembling, his 1843 treatise on faith and the absurd, with a proverb about a boy who, having heard the story of Abraham’s call to sacrifice his son upon Mount Moriah, became inexplicably obsessed with the venerable father. This obsession led the boy, and Kierkegaard with him, to tell and retell the story, to examine its patriarch and, if he failed to emulate him, then in the very least to keep in awe of him and to embark on a similar journey toward faith.
When I first encountered the book, I must admit I did not understand it at all. Yet it inspired an obsession of my own, and I found myself invoking it so frequently in conversation that a return to the book was inevitable. My journey to understand it brought forth this play, in hope that the dramatic form might shed some light on the ancient tale, over which we all have passed too swiftly.
I owe my profound gratitude to the Yale Schwarzman Center, to Trumbull College, to Undergraduate Production, to my friends and family, and to the brilliant cast and crew of Fear and Trembling for breathing life into this journey and this play.
Brennan Columbia-Walsh '26
Playwright & Director
Cast
Dr. Ezekiel Young
Ishmael
Abraham
José Sarmiento '25
Fr. Caesar Malone
Eleazar
Abraham
Agamemnon
Brennan Columbia-Walsh '26
Prof. Arnold Spengler
Lot
Abraham
Lucius Brutus
Alex Glotzer
Hagar
Matilda
The Angel
Emma Fusco '26
Isaac
Titus Brutus
Cuatro Villareal '26
Sarah
Alika Osadolor Hernandez '25
Mary Young
Hemmeter
The Angel
Iphigenia
Cassandra
Nneka Moweta '27
Nehrod
Insomniac
Heraclitus
Lictor
Dancing Tax-Collector
Jack Vaughn '27
Production Team
Director
Brennan Columbia-Walsh '26
Producer
Emma Fusco '26
Stage Manager
Nneka Moweta '27
Assistant Director
Cuatro Villareal '26
Technical Director
Ryan Shea '25
Lighting Designer
Ryan Shea '25
Lighting Programmer
Riley Allsop
Sets Designer
Leela Mukherjee-Sze '27
Sound Designer
Ryan Shea '25
Props Designer
Leela Mukherjee-Sze '27
Costume Designer
Helen Huynh '26
Makeup & Hair Designer
Zoë Halaban '26
Assistant Stage Manager
Rena Kawasaki '27
Graphic Designer
Willa Hawthorne '26
Assistant Producer
Aengus Cox '26
About CPA Award Projects
Administered by the Council of Heads of College, the Creative and Performing Arts (CPA) Awards support on-campus dramatic, musical, dance, video or film productions, literary publications, and exhibitions in each residential college. These projects are supported by the Sudler Fund, the Welch Art Fund, and the Bates Fund.
Two Yale student recipients of of this award receive a residency to realize their dream project in The Dome, with the support of Yale Schwarzman Center staff and resources.