Arin Thompson and Jack Piatt
Daily Egyptian
All the hard work will finally pay off.
After months of writing, planning and preparing, graduates in the Theater Department will get the chance this week to showcase their thesis plays in full production for the first time as part of the Playwrights Workshop.
The annual workshop presents three plays every summer written by graduate students studying theater.
Fully staged in the Christian H. Moe Laboratory Theater in the Communications Building, three productions as a part of graduate thesis work will premier at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 25, Friday, July 26 and Saturday, July 27.
Tickets can be purchased for $5 at the box office in the Communications Building. For more ticket information, contact the box office at 453-3001.
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"Guilt Comes After"
Deckhead: Play examines darker side of human sexuality
(By Arin Thompson)
When a man spends his whole life lying to himself, his life just might spin out of control.
"Guilt Comes After," a play by Marc Herb, will try to expose those tender feelings on July 26 for the Playwrights Workshop at the Moe Laboratory Theater.
"This is my first full-length play," Herb said. "I've had a couple of one-act plays produced."
Ken Bright, a graduate student from Makanda working on his doctorate in theater history, is directing the play.
"I like it because it's actor-centered," Bright said. "It's simple sets, simple production and a small cast."
The play follows a married man, Alex, who is secretly gay and has an affair that could stand to destroy his whole life. The man with whom Alex has the affair, a mysterious stranger named Chris, turns out to be his sister Drew's fiance.
Melissa Albertario, a junior in theater and speech communication from Deerfield, plays Drew.
"This is a great script, so I was lucky to be cast in this one," Albertario said. "It's abstract; it's not necessarily dead-on realism."
"Guilt Comes After" focuses hard on interpersonal relationships and how people treat each other and themselves.
"This is about a man who ends up alienating himself from everyone he loves because he can't be honest with himself," Bright said. "The play deals with the traps that people get into if they don't accept who they are."
"Guilt Comes After" is a play with a message, but it's not said outright. According to playwright Marc Herb, it can't be put into words, and the play will do that on its own.
"It's a good dose of drama if you're looking for your fix," Albertario said.
The play is not recommended for children. "Guilt Comes After" is slated for opening on Friday, July 26, and it will also show again in the Moe Laboratory Theatre on Aug. 3.
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"Virtual Roses"
Internet Love hits the theatre
(By Arin Thompson)
Emily wants to write, but she can't seem to harness her male voice. So she ventures to that place where no one would know - the Internet, where she beefs up her writing skills as a man.
"Virtual Roses" was work-shopped as part of last summer's script camp and has now been developed for full production. One of the actors in it when it was only a first draft was Don Barnett, the current director.
"Virtual Roses" has only two scenes, and the rest of the play is executed through the use of computers. There are five computers set up on stage.
"It goes through all aspects of an Internet romance," Barnett said. "From flirtation to courtship to becoming intimate to when the time comes to finally meet."
Emily is a fiction writer and doesn't feel that she can write believable male characters. To combat her problem, she goes online and poses as a male in chat rooms and, as a he, falls in love.
"The male part of her persona starts to clash with her female persona and tries to take over her life," Barnett said.
Margie Pignataro, a graduate student in playwriting, wrote "Virtual Roses" last year. Pignataro came across the idea when she was doing research on the Internet. She ran across chat rooms and instant message programs and thought it was a dramatic way to tell a story.
"It's a world that doesn't exist," Pignataro said. "I like the paradox of that."
Barnett and Pignataro made the decision to cast no males in this play to further enforce the confusing ideas of gender switching and cross-dressing that goes on over the Internet.
"Virtual Roses" is not a play suitable for children to attend. It will open at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 25 at Moe Laboratory Theater, and it will be performed again on Aug. 2.
"Even though the Internet offers anonymous intimacy, there is still the emotional attachment of a real relationship," Barnett said. "Emotions aren't to be trifled with."
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Burke and Hare Resurrected
(By Jack Piatt)
"Resurrection Men" digs deep into the lives of two infamous grave robbers, William Burke and William Hare, compelling the audience to sympathize with the ill-fated duo.
The play explores the darker side of early 19th century medicine. It is a true story that mixes comedy and horror to bring to life the clumsy pair as they procure corpses for medical autopsies.
It features Chris Marcum as William Burke, Arlin Peebles as William Hare, Michael Gonzalez as Dr. Knox and Joseph Martinez as Detective Evanrude. The play will be performed July 27 and Aug. 1 in the Christian H. Moe Laboratory Theater.
"Resurrection Men" was written by Jody Price and is directed by Blair Beasely, who also directed last fall's production of "Dracula."
Price began working on "Resurrection Men" in September 2001. The play is still in the workshop stage, and this production will be a step towards improving and finishing the final product.
This play is the latest work from Price, who is also known for plays such as "Lights on the Acre" and "Hapless Hearts."
He graduated from Ball State University and is working as a graduate student at SIU in the Theater Department.
Price spent 10 years in Minnesota performing in commercials and local television shows before coming to SIU. He teaches Acting 217 in the Theater Department and hopes to continue teaching college after he graduates.
"My main goal is to write professional plays and continue to teach at a university," Price said.
Reporter Jack Piatt can be reached at jpiatt@dailyegyptian.com
and Reporter Arin Thompson can be reached at athompson@dailyegyptian.com
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
