Theatre meet, greet unveils new school year’s productions

By Aaron Smullin

Theater students and faculty gathered on Aug. 31 to kick off the new school year, and release the 09-10 theater and cinema schedule.

The schedule included the line up for the fall and spring semesters. “Uncle Vanya,” which is a tragicomedy by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, is the main stage production scheduled for the fall semester. It will be held in Potter Hall on the main stage Nov. 4-8. All productions will start at 8 p.m. Auditions were held from Sept. 9-10, in Potter Hall. Professor Alan Arrivee will be the director for the production. Tickets range from $6-$8 for the general public, and are free for students with I.D.

“I’m excited about this year because for the first time we will let students lead the plays through the final performance,” Arrivee said. Junior theater student, Josh Zufelt, said he is looking forward to the first play “Uncle Vanya.”

In the spring semester the main stage production will be “The Illusion,” which is a comedic play by Pierre Corneille as adapted from Tony Kushner. Auditions will be held Jan. 27-28, 2010 at 7 p.m. in Potter Hall on the main stage. The show dates are set to be April 7-11, 2010 at the main stage starting at 8 p.m. Tickets will be $6-$8 for the public and free for students with I.D. Professor Kevin Brown will be the director.

“I’m really excited about the play ‘The Illusion’,” Brown said. “It should be a lot of fun for actors and the audience.”
Along with the main stage productions there will be various other events going on. There will be two Black Box Theatre performances which will be led by student directors. For the fall Black Box it will be an established play and it will be held Nov. 18-22, at 8 p.m. For anyone interested auditions will be held on Oct. 5, at 7 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre.

In the spring the second Black Box Theatre production will be one-acts written by students and directed by students. The shows will be held April 15-18, 2010 at 8 p.m. Auditions for all who are interested will be held Feb. 3-4, 2010 at 7 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre. Also going on will be a film screening competition on April 22, 2010 at 8 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre ,and a Directing the Actor Showcase April 29-30, 2010 also in the Black Box Theatre at 8 p.m.
The sixth annual Griffon International Film Festival will be held March 1-5, 2010. There will be various times and venues which will be announced as the date gets closer. Professor Kelly Wittenberg will be the director for this.

“Attendance is about 50-60 people a night,” Wittenberg said. “I would like to double our attendance this year.”Students looking for something to get involved in can find many opportunities in the Communication Studies, Theatre and Cinema department.

“People should come and be involved,” Wittenberg said. “It is a time commitment, but you’ll make friends that will defiantly last a lifetime.