April 10-18: CLC Theatre presents three one-act comedies
A trio of comedic one-act plays by three popular playwrights will be presented by the College of Lake County Theatre Department April 10-12 and 16-18 as part of Play On!, the 2015 Theatre Student Showcase.
The plays are "Mary Just Broke Up With This Guy" by Garth Wingfield, "Soap Opera" by David Ives and "Wanda's Visit" by Christopher Durang.
The productions are student run, with CLC students working as actors, directors, stage managers, designers and technicians under the direction of faculty and staff mentors. The shows will be presented April 10, 11, 16, 17, 18 at 7:30 p.m. and April 12 at 2 p.m. in the Studio Theatre at the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts at the CLC Grayslake campus. The plays contain adult language and subject matter.
"This is our fifth year presenting "Play On," and we are incredibly proud of our students' dedication, achievement and artistry," said Craig Rich, co-chair of the Theatre department. "'Play On' allows them the opportunity to develop the skills they are learning in their classes, collaborate within a production team and realize their overall artistic vision. This invaluable theatre training prepares our students to transfer to four-year theatre programs and helps them succeed as future theatre professionals."
"Mary Just Broke Up With This Guy" tells the story of Mary, who just broke up with a guy she'd been seeing for six years and experiences the ups and downs of dating. Variety called the play "Brilliant! A hilarious excursion into the dating dilemmas of a needy but oh-so-choosy newcomer to the dating scene." Student director Moisés Diaz (Waukegan) is a sophomore theatre major who is also costume designer for "Wanda's Visit." He was assistant director for CLC's "The Miser," on wardrobe crew for "Crimes of the Heart" and played Mr. Blossom in "Doctor Doolittle." Riccarda Eickenberg (Long Grove) plays Mary and Trevor Herden (Wadsworth) plays Mary's Dates.
"Soap Opera" concerns a washing-machine repairman who falls in love with a picture-perfect washer and then has to tell his girlfriend Mabel. But is the washer two-timing him with a dryer? "The play is humorous and serious at the same time," according to an essay by Gwendolyn Contos. "While depicting a ridiculous situation which is unlikely to happen, Ives touches upon a number of important issues such as romantic relationships, imperfection of human beings and essence of human existence." The play is being directed by Kyle Perry (Round Lake), a theatre
performance major. He was assistant director for CLC's "Crimes of the Heart," played Bjorn in "Snow White and the Seven Fairy Godmothers" for the Round Lake Area Park District and was part of the ensemble for CLC's "Young Frankenstein." The cast includes North Homeward (Gurnee) as Repairman, Jack Kelly (Lake Villa) as Loudspeaker Voice/Friend, John Stergiou (Gurnee) as Maitre d,' Emily Schneider (Lindenhurst) as Mother/Mabel, Jennifer Nelson (Lindenhurst) as The Machine and Alex Levin (Lake Forest) as Madman.
"Wanda's Visit" features the saga of Jim and Marsha, a bored and unhappy couple who have been married 13 years. When Wanda, Jim's old girlfriend, shows up for a visit and they all go out for dinner, hilarity ensues as a waiter tries to cope with the confused threesome on his first day on the job. Director Jazmine Tamayo (Antioch) is a theatre major whose recent CLC Theatre roles include Elise in "The Miser," Sasha/Ensemble in "Young Frankenstein" and Gretchen in "1-900-DESPERATE." The cast features Phil Bartnicki (Wauconda) as Jim, Amanda Platt (Round Lake) as Marsha, Amanda Barth (Trevor, Wisc.) as Wanda, Jack Kelly (Lake Villa) as Waiter, Alex Levin (Lake Forest) as Man 1 and Trevor Herden (Wadsworth) as Man 2. Playwright Christopher Durang won on a Tony Award for best play in 2013 for "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2006 for "Miss Witherspoon."
Tickets: Regular: $9; CLC/Senior/Teen/JLC Subscribers: $7 (does not include $2 JLC facility fee). Other fees may apply to Internet purchases. A special buy one, get one free ticket offer is available for the April 10 and 16 performances. The Box Office is open Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 90 minutes prior to each performance. Call (847) 543-2300 or visit www.clcillinois.edu/tickets. Groups of six or more people are eligible for discounted ticket prices. Call group sales at (847) 543-2431 or email JLCgroupsales@clcillinois.edu for more information. To request sign language interpreting, contact the Box Office two to three weeks in advance.