Central Theatre Ensemble 2009-2010 series line up

October 7, 2009

ELLENSBURG, Wash. — The 2009-2010 series for Central Washington University’s Central Theatre Ensemble (CTE) is set to get underway. This year’s line up features free staged readings of original new plays, edgy modern dramas and classic family favorites sure to please all theatre tastes.

The season opens with a staged reading of a new play for children based on a 15th century Japanese fairy tale. This premiere presentation, “The Pearl Diver,” by CWU Professor Elise Forier, is Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. in Hertz Auditorium. The story is about the daughter of a samurai warrior who must use her wits and skill as a diver to prove the innocence of her wrongly imprisoned father. The reading is free and open to the public.

Powerful themes and questions are posed in “Stop Kiss,” by playwright Diana Son. Opening Nov. 5 in Central’s Milo Smith Tower Theatre, the play follows the relationship of Callie, a seasoned New Yorker, and Sara, a St. Louis girl new to the big city. The two develop an unlikely friendship, which grows into an unexpected and unspoken attraction. Their first tentative kiss leads to a shocking act of violence. With a shifting timeline of past and present, the story unfolds in a manner that is heartbreaking and comical. “Stop Kiss” performs Nov. 5-7 and 12-15 at 7 p.m.

Fall quarter also marks the return of the family friendly holiday favorite “Scrooge’s Christmas,” by Ken Jones, and featuring CWU Professor Michael J. Smith in the title role. Filled with fun and magical surprises for the whole family, this presentation features traditional Dickensian settings and costumes, mixed with some modern-day special effects and a large dose of feel-good holiday music. “Scrooge’s Christmas” will be in McConnell Auditorium on Nov. 20-21 and Dec. 4-5 at 7 p.m., with matinee performances Nov. 21 and Dec. 5-6 at 2 p.m.

In January CTE will present a staged reading of the original musical “Rebel Girls,” with book by CWU Professor Elise Forier, music by Tina Lear and lyrics by Lear and Forier. The story is set in Lawrence, Mass., January 1912, the coldest day of the year, when a desperate, ragged band of immigrant textile workers launched one of the most historic strikes in American history. With management and labor both fighting for their version of the American Dream, and the balance of a nation at stake, two sisters caught in the turmoil are forced to choose side and decide what’s more important, their love for one another or their determination to build a better life. “Rebel Girls” is free to the public and runs Jan. 21-23 at 7 p.m. in the Milo Smith Tower Theatre.

CTE will also workshop a new play “Luna,” by Seattle-based teacher and nationally renowned playwright Ramon Esquivel. “Luna” is the story of a young girl who has trouble making friends because her family is always moving on to the next seasonal job. In an effort to find a lasting bond, she befriends the moon. This stirring story touches on the isolation that often plagues children of migrant workers. Free to the public, a staged reading of the play will be Jan. 30 at 2 p.m. in CWU’s Hertz Auditorium.

In CTE’s next performance, the characters may seem vaguely familiar, but “Dog Sees God,” by Bert V. Royal, is not quite the lovable gang you might remember from a popular comic strip. Performing Feb. 4-6 at 7 p.m. in Hertz Auditorium, “Dog Sees God” ponders what might have happened if things went horribly awry when these memorable characters left the playground and hit puberty? The answers are funny and disturbing.

Winter concludes with the perennial favorite “Dr. Betty Evans Original One Act Festival,” featuring plays written, directed and designed by CWU students. Often irreverent, sometimes hysterically funny and always surprising, this annual bill of short plays pinpoints the pulse of current students and their emerging views of the world. Festival performances are Feb. 25-27 at 7 p.m. in the Milo Smith Tower Theatre.

Everyone’s favorite pig returns by popular demand for the 2010 Youth Theatre Tour. “Charlotte’s Web,” adapted by Joseph Robinette from the book by E. B. White, is the charming story of a young girl who loves a pig named Wilbur. The little pig grows larger and happier, in his idyllic barnyard life, until he discovers his destiny is to become Christmas dinner. It is the love and devotion of an unlikely ally that saves Wilbur’s life. After a limited engagement in Ellensburg, this play will hit the road and tour schools and theatres through the Northwest, including stops at Central’s six university centers and four Olympia Junior Programs at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. Performances in Ellensburg are April 16-17 at 7 p.m. and April 17-18 at 2 p.m. in the Milo Smith Tower Theatre.

CTE concludes its season with “The Secret Garden,” a musical by Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon adapted from the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. When a cholera epidemic takes her family, spoiled and self-absorbed 11-year-old Mary Lennox is transplanted from India to Yorkshire to live with her bitter uncle and his invalid son. When Mary finds a magical locked garden, her own personality begins to bloom and she helps her broken family heal. Norman and Simon retell Burnett’s classic story with the help of a chorus of ghosts and hauntingly beautiful music. Performances are May 14-15 and May 20-22 at 7 p.m. and May 16 at 2 p.m. in McConnell Auditorium.

For ticket prices and parental advisories, visit www.cwu.edu/~theatre. For information on school matinees on campus, or to bring “Charlotte’s Web” to your school, please call 509-963-1760.

The success of the 2009-2010 CTE series is due in part to support from following sponsors: Fairpoint Communications, the Hampton Inn of Ellensburg, the Yellow Church Café, Ellensburg WineWorks and the Valley Mall of Union Gap.

Media Contact: Leslee Caul, Central Theatre Ensemble, 509-963-1760, caull@cwu.edu

Teri Olin, CWU Public Relations & Marketing, 509-963-1416, olint@cwu.edu

Central Washington University is a master's degree-granting institution with approximately 10,000 students and 1,500 faculty and staff. More than 160 undergraduate and master's degrees are offered. Founded in 1891, the Ellensburg campus is located in the heart of Washington State, nestled between the Cascade Mountains and the Columbia River. Since 1975, CWU has served the needs of placebound students at six university centers throughout the state. CWU is an AA/EEO Title IX Institution.