‘House of Cards’ opens at North Central College

“House of Cards,” a student-written and -directed drama about relationships, takes center stage this weekend at Naperville’s North Central College.The show will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 6, 7 and 8, at Meiley-Swallow Hall, 31 S. Ellsworth St. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens, and are available by calling (630) 637-SHOW or visiting northcentralcollege.edu/showtix.

Senior Ali Ledbetter of Coal Valley directs the production as part of the college#146;s Student Director Series in which members of the theater faculty invite students to submit proposals to direct their own productions and the best are chosen.

As a first-time director, Ledbetter was particularly intrigued by the casting process, when dozens of actors would perform short scenes from the play during auditions.

#147;Seeing so many performances from the show helped me define what I, as a director, wanted from my actors,#148; she says. #147;In fact, a few auditions changed the direction of a certain passage from how I originally saw it in my head.#148;

An original piece compiled by Ledbetter, #147;House of Cards,#148; is a visual story that follows two lovers, Natalie and Aaron, as they fall in and out of love.

Four human shadows accompany Natalie and Aaron during the show to convey the inner thoughts, emotions and pasts of the main characters. As all six characters become entangled in their relationships, the audience watches how love alters their identities.

Ledbetter says writing and directing the show was among her most rewarding experiences as a theater student at North Central.

#147;Writing involved quite a bit of collaboration,#148; she says. #147;The play has come a long way since the early writing stages and is sure to showcase the creative efforts of the North Central team behind it.#148;

The cast includes junior Kevin Williams of Nashville, Tenn.; freshman Olivia Crary of New Glarus, Wis.; senior Ross McIntire of Galva; junior Jessica Martin on Madison, Wis.; sophomore Patrick Loftus of Elk Grove Village; and sophomore Bethany Schick of Yorkville.