Goshen College one act plays to provide winter fun Feb. 3-5
Friday, January 27, 2006
Goshen College one act plays to provide winter fun Feb. 3-5
Event: Goshen College 2006 Winter One Acts, written by Christopher Durang
Date and time: Feb. 3 and 4 at 8 p.m., Feb. 5 at 3 p.m.
Location: Umble Center
Cost: $3, tickets available at the door
GOSHEN, Ind. – With the wit of playwright Christopher Durang’s comedic plays for inspiration, the Goshen College Winter One Acts will be cleverly interpreted by two Goshen College students, one college staff member and one community member as directors, with casts of students. The four short plays will be presented Feb. 3 and 4 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 5 at 3 p.m. in Umble Center.
Durang, a graduate of both the Harvard and Yale University schools of drama, wrote each of the one-act pieces. Howard Stein, a former professor of Durang’s, said, “Whether his play is a burlesque of other playwrights or an annihilation of the myth of the happy American family, they are consistently arousing audiences with hilarity and mirth. His successes have generally been thanks to the extraordinary fertility of his imagination, inventiveness, courage and audacity.”
The featured Winter One Acts are:
“Funeral Parlor” – directed by Fritz Hartman, a reference librarian in the Goshen College Good Library – is a play that depicts a well-meaning mourner as he attempts to comfort a young widow. The actors feature Joe Hartman (Jr., Goshen) as “Marcus” and Rebecca Welty (Fr., Three Rivers, Mich.) as “Susan.”
Talashia Keim Yoder will direct “The Actor’s Nightmare,” along with assistant director Jonny Meyer (Soph., Millersburg, Ind.). Yoder is a community member who has contributed choreography and directing efforts to Goshen College in past productions. This play, perhaps Duran’s most well-known and oft-performed one act, portraying an unsuspecting young man caught in the lead role of a theater performance without a clue as to how he got there. The actors include Isaac Hooley (Sr., Goshen), Kristin Yoder (Sr., Phoenix, Ariz.), Leah Yoder (Sr., Eureka, Ill.), Ellen McCrae (Fr., Akron, Pa.) and Joe Hartman (Jr., Goshen).
The third play, “DMV Tyrant,” is self-explanatory, according to Goshen College Professor of Theater Doug Liechty Caskey who said, this play “exemplifies bureaucracy run amok when an innocent driver’s license problem escalates to unimaginable heights.” This play is directed by theater major Kyle Dean Reinford (Sr., Goshen), and features Adam Schellenberg (Fr., Clovis, Calif.) as “James” and Carolyn Stigge (Fr., Newton, Kan.) as the “DMV Lady.”
“Medea” will be directed by Dan Clouse (Jr., Goshen), a psychology major. Clouse’s show features an entertaining chorus of “serious” Greek women, who take this classic ancient tragedy and turn it on its head. Medea’s chorus includes Joanne Gallardo (Sr., Wauseon, Ohio), Sara Thogersen (Soph., Goshen), and Jessica Iverson (Sr., Evanston, Ill.). Ellen McCrae (Fr., Akron, Pa.), Fritz Hartman, Melissa MacGregor (Fr., Glen Ellyn, Ill.) and Carolyn Stigge (Fr., Newton, Kan.), are actors as well, all of whom are organized by Grace Magnon (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn.), serving as stage manager.
The combined running time for the performance as a whole is about one hour. Tickets cost $3 each and can be purchased at the door. The plays are suitable for all ages; more information is available at the college’s Welcome Center by calling (574) 535-7566.
Umble Center is accessible to wheelchairs and people with other physical limitations.
– Sheldon Good
Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.
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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.