2012-2013 Season
GETTING INVOLVED: Roles are cast by audition. Backstage positions are by arrangement with design faculty and directors. Involvement in all productions is open to all ESU Students. No prior experience required. We train.
Audition information is posted on the bulletin board in the Fine Arts Building lobby. Auditions for the theatre for young audiences are generally the first or second week of school. Auditions for the winter production are generally 1 month into Fall semester. Auditions for the One Acts are mid-late Fall. Auditions for the Spring production are early Spring semester.
For young Adults:
The Diary of Anne Frank
A play by Francis Goodrich & Albert Hackett based upon Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
Newly Adapted: Wendy Kesselman
Direction: Margaret Joyce Ball
Scenic and Costume Design: Yoshinori Tanokura
Dates: October 18-19, 7:30 PM, October 20, 2:00 PM & 7:30 PM and October 21, 2:00 PM
Location: Fine and Performing Arts Building - Smith-McFarland Theatre
Description: Seventy years ago, in July, 1942, thirteen-year-old Anne Frank, together with her parents and her older sister Margot, went into hiding from the Nazis who were in the process of exterminating Jews throughout Europe.
Four other people joined the Franks in a cramped set of rooms hidden above a warehouse in Amsterdam. Anne, in her diary, chronicled the turbulence of adolescence; the drama created by the claustrophobic conditions; and, most importantly, the impact of the Holocaust on those caught by it.
Wendy Kesselman's new adaptation of the classic stage play by Goodrich & Hackett incorporates newly discovered material from Anne's diary as well as selections from survivor accounts to create a new theatrical experience of Holocaust and genocide studies for a new generation. Recommended for ages 10 and above.
Student Production:
Stage II One Act Plays
Dates: November 13-17, 8:00 PM and November 18, 2:00 PM
Location: Fine and Performing Arts Building - Dale Snow Theatre
Description: Stage II, the student theatre organization, is responsible for all aspects of the production including play selection, directing, acting, design and technical elements.
Winter Production
The Goat or Who is Sylvia?
by Edward Albee
Direction: Susan O'Hearn
Scenic and Costume Design: Yoshinori Tanokura
Dates:March 5 - 9, 2013, 8:00 PM and March 10, 2:00 PM
Location: Fine and Performing Arts Building - Dale Snow Theatre
Description: Winner of the 2002 Tony and Drama Desk awards, The Goat or Who is Sylvia? is a dark comedy that focuses on the limits of an ostensibly liberal society. In a play featuring a family in crisis, playwright Edward Albee challenges audience members to question their own morality in the face of social taboos. The piece features word games and grammatical arguments in the middle of catastrophes. New York Times critic Ben Brantley noted, "Four decades after Virginia Woolf' sent shock waves through the mainstream theater, Mr. Albee still asks questions that no other major American dramatist dares to ask." Recommended for mature adults only.
Spring Production:
Top Girls
by Caryl Churchill
Direction: Stephanie Daventry French
Scenic and Costume Design Yoshinori Tanokura
Dates: April 30 - May 4, 7:30 PM and May 5, 2:00 PM
Location: Fine and Performing Arts Building - Smith-McFarland Theatre
Description: In celebration of ESU's first woman president, Dr. Marcia Welsh, the Theatre Department presents, Top Girls, by Caryl Churchill. Set in Margaret Thatcher's 1980s England, Top Girls explores the challenges for women of balancing career and family historically and in the modern era. Characters from history, literature and painting intersect with a modern businesswoman, her sister and the children caught in the melee. Performances will be followed by discussions on Exploring the Balance - women pursuing vocations and avocations and balancing family choices. Guest speakers will include local women leaders, including one evening with President Welsh TBA. We will look at women in leadership over the last few decades, what has improved, what needs work, and where we might like to steer the ship. Recommended for ages 16 and above only because of adult language and situations.
Tickets: General admission, $12.00; Faculty/staff and senior citizens (with ID), $10.00; Students (with ID), $7.00; Youth, $5.00
Plays TBA - Student directors may submit plays early Fall semester. Check the board in the Fine Arts lobby for more information.
Designers may apply to design lighting, costumes, scenery or sound. Auditions for all roles are open to all students.
For information or ticket reservations, please call 570-422-3483, x 4 or email esuarts@esu.edu.
