Administration

Communications

Five C-SC students to stage one-act plays in December
Monday, November 24, 2008

CANTON, Mo. - From Thanksgiving break until Christmas break, five Culver-Stockton College theatre students will be directing one-act plays to be performed December 13 and December 15 and 16. The students are enrolled in a three-week experiential course within the EXP@CSC curriculum, which changes the academic calendar and combines traditional educational experiences with opportunities for students to learn through exploring, doing, practicing and gaining real-world, hands-on experience at C-SC.

Under the supervision of Haidee Heaton, C-SC associate professor of theatre, the undergraduate students will have the opportunity to experience directing, which will assist them in future theatrical endeavors. The student directors are Nicole Herrington, senior history and theatre major from Quincy, Ill.; Alison Schmidt, senior English major from Alton, Ill.; Nick Relic, sophomore theatre major from Kansas City, Mo.; Breanne Taylor, senior arts management and theatre major from Barnhart, Mo.; and Megan Christy, senior communications major from Vinton, Iowa.

Herrington will be directing "For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls" by Christopher Durang. The story is a light-hearted parody of Tennessee Williams’ work, "The Glass Menagerie," and follows the fading Southern Belle, Amanda, as she tries to prepare her hypochondriacal son, Lawrence, for the arrival of the feminine caller, Ginny, who is overbearingly friendly. Terrified of people, Lawrence plays with his collection of glass swizzle sticks while Tom, Amanda’s other son, just wants to go to the movies. Amanda tries to face everything with charm and vivacity, but sometimes she just wants to hit somebody. This play will feature Amanda Eisele, sophomore arts management major from Mexico, Mo., as Amanda; Patrick Parsons, sophomore criminal justice major from Memphis, Mo., as Lawrence; Beau Becraft, sophomore communications major from Memphis, Mo., as Tom; and Danielle Hauer, sophomore arts management major from Troy, Mo. The stage manager will be Samantha Kheim, sophomore arts management major from Saint Charles, Mo.

"Good Business Sense" by Emmett Lovarde will be directed by Schmidt. The play is set on the eve of businessman Bartholomew Braniff’s biggest boardroom presentation of his life: his proposal to the equally industrious Claudia. He has everything perfect: graphs, charts, projections, tables, and even the ring has been market-tested. Too bad Claudia wants flowers and violins, not charts and graphs. The cast includes Alexis Westerhausen, sophomore pre-med biological chemistry major from Girard, Ill., as Claudia; Jordan Hughes, freshman speech and theatre education major from Grant City, Mo., as Barth; and Sarah Maloney, freshman arts management major of Kansas City, Mo., as Spike, the understanding waitress. The stage manager will be Erin Carmody, freshman speech and theatre education major from Saint Louis, Mo.

The plot of Taylor’s directing project, "Rain" by Garry Williams, is described as a “homey, hard-times vignette” that is set on the porch of a farmhouse during a drought. Staff, who is confined to a wheelchair, argues with his wife and daughter about his circumstances and the accident that crippled him. The stage manager for this production will be Abby Roberts, junior arts management major from Dublin, Calif. The cast includes Sean Myers, junior arts management major of Hannibal, Mo. as Staff; Teri Terford, junior arts management major of Hamilton, Ill., as Mary; Kayla Pickel, freshman criminal justice and psychology major from Oaneco, Ill., as Lindy; Jennifer Smith, sophomore religion and philosophy major from McLeansboro, Ill., as Tammy; and Ben Abts, senior biology major from Ste. Genevieve, Mo., as Tyler.

Christy’s directing piece is entitled "Slide/Over" and was written by Melanie Marnich. It is about a group of five high school students who have formed a tight-knit, eccentric clique. Jay, who happens to be gay, throws the whole group off balance when she kisses Scott. The friends have to grapple with this event as Jay pursues an attraction that transcends labels. Realistic conversations are interspersed with wild dream sequences and a cell phone chorus, as the friends all try to come to terms with change, potential, and shifting identity. Drew Thompson, sophomore pre-med biology major from San Antonio, Texas, will play Scott; Zach Martin, sophomore arts management major from Decatur, Ill., will play David; Kristen Williams, freshman psychology major of Wyaconda, Mo., will play Jay; Michelle Lunday, freshman arts management major from Mountain Home, Ark., will portray Steph; and Lauren Dent, junior nursing major from Springfield, Ill., will play Trish. The stage manager is Joey Burbach, freshman music education major of Grant City, Mo.

Relic has chosen "The Philadelphia" from David Ives’ book “All in the Timing.” It is a comedy surrounding a simple matter of geography. Rather than taking place in different cities, however, there are different states of mind. For example, a person in a Chicago feels worse than dead, and a person in a Philadelphia gets exactly the opposite of what he asks for. Under the stage management of Dakota McKee, freshman theatre major of Pittsfield, Ill., the cast includes Ian Heath, freshman pre-law English major from Saint Louis, Mo., as Mark; Travis Dahlhauser, sophomore speech and theatre education major from Rockford, Ill., as Al; and Whitney Colston, freshman theatre major from Neosho, Mo., as the waitress.

Between the five new directors, there are three days of surefire entertainment in mid-December. The performances will be divided into two groups, and each play will be performed twice. The one-acts are scheduled December 13 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and December 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m. For more information, contact Haidee Heaton at hheaton@culver.edu or 573-288-6434.