Theatre

Sarah Lawrence springs into the 2007 theater season

by Anna Thorn

Thursday February 15, 2007

This semester, the theater season will begin with Lions and end with Labyrinths, with everything from a white rabbit pressed for time to a haunted novelist pressed for cash in between. The seven plays selected are all student proposals, and most were written by Sarah Lawrence students.

Lions, written by Sarah Lawrence graduate student Neil Knox and directed by John Dillon. Lions won the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Award (K.C.A.C.T.F.A. for short), a nationwide competition for more than 600 academic institutions that recognizes “The finest and most diverse works produced in university and college theater programs.” Auditions and rehearsals for Lions began before winter break. The production will take place in the Cannon Theater on February 15, 16, and 17.

The Alice Project, conceived and directed by artist Ted Sod, a professional director who came to Sarah Lawrence in October and agreed to work with students on this adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Each year, an artist in residence works with theater students on a production, last year’s being The Trojan Women with the help of Josh Fox. The Alice Project is a workshop production in which fifteen undergraduate students are given Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland, which they use to create a script through improv and discussion. Lights, props, music, and costume are all developed bit by bit by students as the production evolved. Rehearsals for The Alice Project began in late January. The final product will be shown in the Cannon Theater on March 1, 2, and 3.

Lessen, written by Sarah Lawrence graduate student Lori Leigh and directed by Nina Pinchin. ??Lessen? is a three character play set in a small, unnamed, liberal arts university. Performed in Open Space, the quirky, intimate theater which seats only 40 people, allows for great creativity in set design. Kevin Confoy, the Sarah Lawrence theater producer, explains that with “so many talented writers and submissions by directors, it became clear that we needed more theaters”. This extra theater allows two productions, Lessen and The Alice Project, to run on the same weekend, March 1, 2, and 3.

The War Bride, written by Lauren Wilson and directed by Rene Migliacclo. Although the 13 actors will be provided with a script, like The Alice Project, Rene Migliaccio hopes to allow creative evolution of the play during rehearsals. It will be shown in the Wright Theater on April 19, 20, and 21.

Class presentations for the spring of 2007 include, Directing Workshop One-Act Plays directed by Dave McRee and Kym Moore (March 29 – 31); Graduate Actors and Directors Workshop One-Act Plays directed by Paul Austin (April 5 – 8); Song Night, directed by Shirley Kaplan (May 5 – 7); Comedy Night directed by Christine Farrell (May 7 and 8 ); Puppetry Presentation directed by Tom Lee (May 7 and 8); Lampoon, directed by Christine Farrell (May 9); and Directing with Media, directed by Bob McGrath (performance date TBA).