Somniterum takes its name from Shakespeare’s The Tempest:
“Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open and show riches
Ready to drop upon me that, when I waked,
I cried to dream again.”
(Caliban in act 3, scene 2)
“Somniterum” (pronounced “som-nih-TARE-um”) is a Latin translation of the final phrase, “dream again”: somni (dream) + iterum (again). Unlike the original, we use the imperative, which makes it a command, request, or challenge.
Our name expresses our mission as a company. We endeavor to follow Caliban’s admonition and “be not afeard”, to set aside our reservations and attempt what doesn’t seem entirely possible. We endeavor to dream again and open ourselves up to the sounds, sweet airs, voices, and riches present within us.
The cornerstones of our activities are community and artistry. Community made the founding of Somniterum possible, and we seek to further establish community through our work. Artistry is the means by which we explore the human condition together, and we aspire to audacious and rigorous artistry that makes our exploration as comprehensive and fulfilling as possible.
Team
Hannah Preisinger (Founder, Executive Director – she/her)
Hannah directed the first Shakespeare in Ten in 2015 and founded Somniterum with Karl in 2016 to prepare for the second installment. She graduated from the University of Washington Bothell with a BA in Culture, Literature & the Arts and a minor in Consciousness Studies. Her theatrical interests include directing, acting, and sound design; by day she works as a Production Engineer for game studio Bungie. She is an avid investigator of all things strange and unexplained and has made a warlock pact with coffee.
Karl Divoky (Founder, Executive Director – he/him)
Karl assisted with aspects of the first Shakespeare in Ten and founded Somniterum with Hannah the following year. He has an MFA in Actor Training and Coaching from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London. Originally an actor, his practice includes directing, education, and stage combat choreography. He also conducts performance laboratories for his practice-as-research, which has recently centered on exploratory rehearsal methods.
Calen Winn (Social Media Marketing Director – they/them)
Calen first met Karl at Western Washington University and was brought on as a member of Somniterum in 2019. They hold a B.A. in Theatre from WWU and is slowly working their way into the Seattle theatre scene. They strive to live through a lens of social justice and are really a dreamer working in the theatrical idiom as an actor and director. Musical Theatre is their first love, and they look forward to Somniterum growing to support producing a musical someday.
Somniterum Productions 