Faculty Advisor: Jeffrey Bracco
Fess Parker Studio Theatre
February 13–14, 2016
Theatre arts majors direct a diverse collection of one-act plays.
Directed by Daniel Stahlnecker
A Life With No Joy In It
By David Mamet
Director's artistic statement
There is a moment when words begin to fail, when love begins to wander, when happiness begins to fade. In this moment, we stumble over our words and search through our shattered memories. In this moment, the broken fragments form the undeniable answer to the un-askable question. In this moment, we blame others for their failures, for their disloyalty, for their absence in our time of pain. In this moment, the silence of the innocent is filled with the cries of our pain. In this moment, we seek redemption for the death of those who were born out of our love. A and B live inside this moment.
Directed by Patrick Idleman
The Man In A Case
By Wendy Wasserstein
Director's artistic statement
What is love? You are watching The Man In A Case on or near Valentine's Day. In our public consciousness, this day is considered to be a day about love, but it is also highly commercialized. Valentine's Day advertisements encourage us to part with our money to show our affections. Is Valentine's Day about love or is it about capitalism? Similarly, is marriage about love? We would like to think so. Yet, as we go back in history, marriage was more often about ensuring the stability of life for its participants and their offspring. The roots of marriage were about social obligation rather than romantic love. So is marriage about love or is it about fitting into society? Varinka and Byelinkov are about to engage in a “contract” at a time when marriage was important to social success. The two of them make the decision to tie their futures together to benefit both their lives. Do they love each other? Then again, what is love?
Directed by Christy Chow
The Latest News from the Primordial Ooze
By Rich Orloff
Director's artistic statement
Take a leap of breath... and come with us into the swamp! Together we'll swim through Rich Orloff's The Latest News from the Primordial Ooze and discover that, while life can often appear to be all fun and games on the surface, when we submerge ourselves more deeply, we unearth important truths which help us make sense of our own unique journeys. I hope you not only find yourself entertained by this wonderful little story, but challenged to contemplate what it means to be true to self, to be open to change, to be able to let go, and to follow one's own path.