Viking theatre hosts student-run plays

Samanthya Amman, David Thomas and Lindsey Trettin

(4/15/11)
Students will be showcasing their directing skills in the 10-minute plays performed at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 19 and 20, in the Viking Theatre, with admission costing $3 for students and seniors and $5 for general admission.

These plays are student-directed and range from drama productions to comedy. This will be the students' final projects in the theatre department's directing class taught by Kristin Larson, department chair.

The students picked their plays at the end of February and actors were chosen through an "NFL"-like draft where the directors' names were drawn to see who had first choice on actors.

"I'm really proud of the actors in my play, they've never done theatre before and they're taking the bull by the horns," Evan Hay, theatre and education freshman and director, said.

Her play is called "The Option," which is a comedy about a mother trying to give her son "the talk" while also trying to relate it to his interest in football.

Brandon Music, junior theatre major, and director, said, "The hardest thing is getting what you want out of actors without sounding like an egocentric jerk."

His play is called "Suicide by Punch Bowl," a comedy about a man trying to divorce his wife.

Kara Fry, theatre junior, will be directing "Murder by Midnight," a comedy noir set in a 1940s hotel.

"I picked the play because by the time I got to the end of it, I was laughing on the floor," Fry said.

Bradley Roenfeld, nursing sophomore, who will be playing the lead role, Dick Piston, in Fry's play, said, "The way she's incorporating what she learns in her acting class into how she's directing is top-notch work. It's like being directed by a seasoned director, she definitely knows what she is doing."

Michael Tallman, theatre/broadcasting junior, will be directing "Ferris Wheel," which he describes as a light-hearted comedy about two strangers stuck on a Ferris wheel, having to put up with each other's anxieties.

The students in the class were responsible for producing an entire show from the ground up. They were responsible for choosing the script, casting, scheduling rehearsals, building a set and any other role that a director is responsible for.

"The purpose is for the students to experience full directing, but it also brings new people to the department who wouldn't normally be involved in theatre," Tallman said.

The directors cast their plays at a set of open auditions prior to spring break. Each of the nine plays has an average of three actors, who, with a few exceptions, have little or no previous theatre experience.

"Many of the actors have an interest in theatre, but their schedules don't allow for them to be involved in a full production," Tallman said.

Each of the nine plays varies in subject matter and genre from comedy to drama, allowing for students and faculty with varied interests and schedules to participate.

"The cool thing is that it isn't just a one-major thing. It's a good reminder that Grand View isn't just one major and everyone can be involved," Hay said.

Like any test or project, the students faced difficulties as they directed the plays. Each director had to cast, schedule rehearsals around other classes and obligations as well as provide costumes for the cast and design a set on a $50 budget.

FIVE COLLEGES TO PERFORM IN ONE-ACT PLAY FESTIVAL AT STLCC-FOREST PARK

September 13, 2011

Eight works will be performed by five college theatre programs in the 21st annual One-Act Play Festival set for Sept. 16, 17 and 18 in the Mildred E. Bastian Center for the Performing Arts at St. Louis Community College-Forest Park, 5600 Oakland Ave.

The University of Missouri-St. Louis and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville will join STLCC's Florissant Valley, Forest Park and Meramec campuses in the event. Performances will take place at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 16 and 17, and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 18. Admission is free and open to the public.

"ADWIT," directed by Katie Allison, is an original work written by SIUE student Sara Fehrman. It's about five letters (A, D, W, I and T) living in a post-apocalyptic world where they are the only thing left. The cast includes Josh Sutter, Alex Moore, Judy Gasser, Meagan O'Neill and Nicole Fielder.

"I selected this piece to do because I think that a one-act festival is a great opportunity to showcase new writer's material, and I really loved this script," Allison said.

Angelina Lahr directs "Ferris Wheel" by Mary Miller. Blake Brust plays John and Becky Champion is Dorie, who meet unintentionally on a ferris wheel. Both facing dilemmas, they must find a coping method to relax when they are trapped on the ferris wheel, which gets caught with them on top. In this comedy, they can either be rescued or the ferris wheel fixed.

"Murder by Midnight" is one of two one-acts that UMSL will perform. Director Ashley Alcomo said that in an environment filled with accidental murder and the chance of actually solving a case right - Dick Piston, hotel detective, complete with sideways head gesture, tries to figure out the plight of a hotel guest who's wearing nothing but a towel - really! Watch Dick Piston, hotel detective, try to figure out another case. His job depends on it. Sean Green stars as Dick Piston, with Rachel Lijon as Woman, and Michael Pierce as Bellboy.

UMSL's other entry, "The Pink Bedroom," is written by Tennessee Williams and directed by Kevin Hester. Two lovers rehash the past 10 years of their affair and its disintegration.

Forest Park's entry is "Eat Cake," an absurdist comedy by Jean-Claude van Itallie. Tim Daly directs the two-person production. Chris Felts and Kaylee Pierce, who appeared in last year's fall comedy "My First Time," reunite in this 1971 one-act about a housewife, absorbed in her TV, who is forced by an intruder to eat cake.

Chris Stephens directs STLCC-Florissant Valley's two short one-acts, "4 a.m. (Open All Night)" by Bob Krakower and "Arizona Anniversaries" by John Bishop, both contemporary works that premiered at the revered Humana Festival. "4 a.m." is set in an diner with a diner, waiter and salty customer trying to hook-up two new patrons destined to fall in love. "Arizona Anniversaries" demonstrates how loneliness and death will bring people together.

"The Least Offensive Play in the Whole Darn World," directed by Maggie Williams, is SIUE's other offering. Written by Jonathan Rand, the 2004 parody spoofs censorship and controversial language and content in the world's great literary works. Characters, both classic and contemporary, include Romeo and Medea to David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross" and the musical "Rent."

Ashley Newman, a student at Webster University, is the production stage manager. Webster students Lionel Christian is the assistant stage manager and Katie Stepanek is the lighting designer.

For more information, contact Tim Daly, Forest Park theater manager, at 314-644-9386.