Muhlenberg Theatre Association Presents New Voices 2004
The Muhlenberg Theatre Association presents New Voices 2004, an event filled with short works written by Muhlenberg students.Wednesday, March 24, 2004 00:24 PM
The Muhlenberg Theatre Association presents New Voices 2004, an event filled with short works written by Muhlenberg students. The program will feature five professional-strength short plays and is artistically directed by Troy Dwyer, lecturer in theatre arts. New Voices will run March 26-April 4 in the Studio Theatre, Trexler Pavilion for Theatre and Dance. Tickets are available through the box office, 484-664-3333.
The five plays being presented are "Beyond Our Control" by Phil Haas '05 and directed by Abby Mahone '03; "The Journal" by Adam D. Pinti '06 and directed by Troy Dwyer; "What's the Story?" by M.E. Lerman '04 and directed by Amanda Ellison '04; "Holidaze" by Kevin McKeon '03 and directed by Lydia Brubaker '05; and "Stained" by Danielle Tolles '05 and directed by Rachel Roccoberton '04.
Beyond Our Control "Beyond Our Control" takes a realistic situation and presents it in a way that muddles the audience's perception of what actually occurred. " 'Beyond our Control' addresses issues ranging from sexual identity to religion to cultural bias through the eyes of four teenagers," asserts playwright Phil Haas '05. "Through their individual narratives of one given event that has inherently affected the present outcome of their lives, these characters make judgments, mistakes, and choices that will forever change the harshly realistic and unavoidable circumstances in which they are trapped."
The Journal " 'The Journal' is an outrageous comedy that chronicles a quest for true love," says director Troy Dwyer. In this play, we find a librarian named Dora, played by Annabelle Meunier '04, in pursuit of happiness amongst a zany world of characters. Everything is slightly askew when the audience is introduced to Dora's friends. Come enjoy a warped comedy in the caustic slapstick style of Charles Ludlam's Ridiculous Theatrical Company!
What's the Story? "What's the Story" is a humorous farce that disturbs the reality of the audience through its endless theatre within theatre approach. "Things don't go the way you expect them to," says director Amanda Ellison '04, and this goes for the actions onstage and for life in a broader sense. Viewers will be thrown for a loop as they are ultimately brought to questions of, "Who's really in charge of this world?" and "How much control do you really have?"
Holidaze "Holidaze" follows the choices and realizations made by college student Tony, played by Timothy Bungeroth '07, when he abruptly receives what director Lydia Brubaker '05 describes as "an introduction into the real world." Ultimately, "Holidaze" is about discovering what is important in our lives and "how we deal with the pressures of things that aren't important to us," explains Brubaker. It brings the audience in touch with the gravity of the choices we make in our lives, how we go about making those decisions, and the ways in which forces and ideas in our realities will always clash.
Stained "Stained" is about a family coping with a suicide - the reality of grief and those days after a death when reality seems unbelievably skewed, as though the survivors might wake up and find their loved one absolutely fine. The interrogation of reality in "Stained" is primarily found in the perilous quality of psychological realities. It examines confrontations and how a single action can affect multiple people in totally opposite ways. It presses the audience to see themselves in the light of the character's situations. Ultimately, "Stained" brings us to the harsh reality that as director Rachel Roccoberton '04 describes, "Nobody is completely stain-free."
Though each play is a separate entity and takes the stage in a unique way, their collective realities produce a fusion of viewpoints that examine the definitions of our world as a whole. Dwyer explains, "All of the pieces interrogate reality in some way. These playwrights are really struggling with self-definition in a world that they don't completely trust. Themes of illusion and deception loom menacingly over moments of magic and transformation, often in ways that call into question the theatrical moment itself."
Discussing the convention of the production, Dwyer states, "None of the pieces are what you'd call 'traditional theatre'…they all strive to break some performance conventions and foreground themes or politics that dare the audience to have a stake in the outcome, a style influenced by the theatre of the ridiculous. Sometimes these breaks are accomplished through slapstick, sometimes through icy drama. But all of the pieces have a fresh, close-to-the-moment feel that capitalizes upon the live performance."
New Voices 2004 will be presented in the Studio Theatre, Trexler Pavilion for Theatre and Dance and will run from March 26-April 4. Performances will be Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.; tickets (adult & senior $15, campus $5) are available through the box office, 484-664-3333. Box office hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information about the theatre program at Muhlenberg College, visit our website at www.muhlenberg.edu/depts/theatre.
