So…how was your break? Mine, you ask? Well, let’s just say that I broke my face. When I saw how awesome the theatre line-up for this semester is I slammed my face into the pavement and shattered my cheekbone. And that was after I peed myself. So much to see, so much to hear, so much theatre to enjoy!
Here’s a tiny taste of what’s to come in the next few weeks:
Rachel Silverman ’09 will be directing a production of Gina Gionfriddo’s “After Ashley.” Receiving some significant buzz at the 28 Annual Humana Festival of New American Plays in 2004, Gionfriddo’s play examines the media’s caustic habit of turning personal tragedy into public amusement for profit.
Elsewhere on campus, another saucy sophomore gears up for a Second Stage production. Margaux Weisman ’09 is currently holding auditions for Theresa Rebeck’s “The Family of Mann.” In a statement published on facebook.com, the play is described as, “a behind-the-scenes look at the world of sitcom television.” Auditions continue through this Sunday, so you’ve still got a shot to be part of the fun.
Rehersals are currently underway for the faculty production of Henrik Ibsen’s “Peer Gynt,” the bittersweet story of the fabled Norwegian huntsman and anti-hero. Assistant Professor of Theater Yuriy Kordonskiy directs the play, which will open on Thursday, March 1.
Meanwhile, Jess Chayes ’07 continues work on her original play, “We Can’t Reach You Hartford.” Co-written with Stephen Aubrey ’06, Chayes’s play focuses on the Hartford Circus Fire of 1944—the oft-forgotten story of the tragic blaze that killed nearly 200 people at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. “Hartford” opens on Thursday, April 6.
And now, for the next big thing to hit Wesleyan:
If you have ever heard of the Pulitzer Prize, you should be in awe of Suzan-Lori Parks because she has already scored one of them. And in 2002, she committed to writing one play every day for the entire year. When she finished—I somehow imagine her locked in an attic or a wine cellar, writing all this time—she had 365 plays. This year, she premiered her play cycle as a national extravaganza in major cities and on college campuses around the country, creating the largest theater collaboration in U.S. history. Wesleyan has been chosen to participate in this festival from Feb. 5th-11th. A campus-wide, weeklong festival has been launched, centering around Parks’s plays, which will be performed throughout the week. The festival will showcase the culture and theatre of everyday Wesleyan and Middletown life, including performances, lectures, discussions, workshops, a playwriting marathon (coordinated by Gabriel Fries ’09 and The Argus’s own Matt Connolly ’09), and more, all of which are free and open to the general public.
Some big names are coming to campus to give special speeches and performances, including poet and playwright Amiri Baraka, 365 National Producer Bonnie Metzgar, Joseph Roach of the Yale World Performance Project, 365 National Archivist Rebecca Rugg, and Stephen Sapp of UNIVERSES. Wesleyan professors Christine Mok and Gina Ulysse will also be appearing in the festival. This is a big, fat, huge deal and you should all check out the events scheduled for the week at www.wesleyan365.com.
365 is produced and directed by Jessica Posner ’09 and Nikhil Melnechuk ’07. The Wesleyan 365 cast is: Jennifer Celestin ’07. Michael Chandler ’08, Maya Kazan ’09, Garrett Larribas ’07, Jermaine Lewis ’09, and Carter Smith ’09.
Leave a Reply