October 1, 2002
Contact: Tower Theatre Box Office (509) 963-1774
ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Despite a major renovation of McConnell
Auditorium beginning this winter, Central Washington University will
present a full season of theatrical productions in the Tower Theatre.
“The main focus of the $2.1 million project will be to
address safety concerns, then to create additional classroom and office
space,” says George Bellah, department chair.
The theatre arts season begins with Noel Coward’s “Hay
Fever.” Each member of the Bohemian Bliss family has invited an
unsuspecting romantic prospect for the weekend, without informing the
others. The guests and the rain arrive right on schedule, leaving the
group trapped inside with all the chaos expected in a witty Coward
comedy. Directed by CWU theatre arts professor Brenda Hubbard with set
design by guest artist Tim Stapleton, “Hay Fever” runs Nov. 14 through
17 and 21 through 23.
In December, CWU students will direct a set of micro-plays
from “Independent Eye” productions. “Rash Acts,” will be presented
Dec. 4 through 7. Guest artists Elizabeth Bishop and Conrad Fuller,
producing directors of the Independent Eye, will be on hand for the
shows.
Winter quarter features “The Laramie Project,” by Moises
Kaufman and the Tectonic Theatre Project, directed by CWU theatre arts
professor Michael J. Smith. Four years ago, Matthew Sheppard, a
University of Wyoming student, was kidnapped, beaten, tied to a fence
and left to die outside Laramie, Wyo. Sheppard was the victim of this
assault because he was gay.
During the trial of the two young men accused of killing
Shepard, Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project conducted
more than 200 interviews with the people in Laramie. Based on those
interviews, Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater constructed a theatrical
collage that explores the depths to which humanity can sink, and its
heights of compassion. “The Laramie Project” runs from Feb. 27 to
March 8.
Winter quarter wraps up with the Original 10-Minute Play
Festival, written and directed by CWU students. The 10-Minute Play
Festival runs March 12 to 15.
In the spring, three shows will be featured.
The annual Youth Theatre Tour will feature “Pinocchio,” by
Madge Miller and directed by special guest artist Patrick
Elkins-Zeglarski, with set design by Stapleton. The Italian fairytale
is about a puppet that becomes a boy when he learns, through a series
of journeys and mistakes, that honesty and loyalty matter most. After
a limited engagement in Ellensburg, April 25 through 27, “Pinocchio”
will tour to schools and theatres throughout the Pacific Northwest.
In May the department offers its first Faculty Showcase, a
production designed, starring, and, in this case, written by theatre
arts department faculty and staff. “Concrete Dreams,” an original play
by Hubbard, was presented last season as a staged reading and will be
fully produced this season. The play is set in rural Ohio, in 1968, as
a new Interstate is going in. While this is good news for the folks on
the Interstate, it is not for the Kemp family, who run a SOHIO gas
station on the old freeway.
“The play is really about what happens to folks who spend
their whole lives hoping and dreaming for something that never
happens,” says Hubbard.
The season closes with more original work in the “Dr. Betty
Evans Original One-Act Play Festival,” produced by CWU theatre arts
professor Wesley Van Tassel. Now in its fifth season, the festival
features plays written, directed and starring CWU students. Subjects
range from hilarious comedies to thoughtful dramas. The Festival runs
June 3 through 7, and four plays will be presented each evening.
The Tower Theatre box office will open in mid-October.
Although season passes are not available at this time, patrons can
purchase tickets for any production at any time throughout the year.
Tickets can also be purchased by phone with a VISA or MasterCard.
Advance tickets are recommended to ensure seating. For
tickets, more information, or for persons of disability to arrange for
reasonable accommodation, call (509) 963-1774, or (for the hearing
impaired) TDD (509) 963-3323. Additional information is also available
through the theatre arts department Web site at www.cwu.edu/~theatre.
