Playshop Theatre

The Allegheny College Playshop Theatre will present “Luna Gale” from February 23-26 in the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts.

“Luna Gale,” written by Rebecca Gilman and directed by Mark Cosdon, centers on a social worker who is confronted with an unforgiving dilemma — what to do with a child born to drug-addicted teens. Family secrets, moral ambiguities, faith, biases, and the beleaguered welfare system collide in this contemporary drama.  A play that The New York Times called “smart and absorbing,”  “Luna Gale” is sure to provoke questions of how we care for the most vulnerable and at-risk.

Performances are at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 23-25, and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 26.

The cast features theatre majors Mary Lyon ’17 as Caroline, the social worker; Ada Zech ’19 as Karlie, the mother, and Simon Brown ’19 as Peter, the father, as well as Alyssa Johnson ’20, Daniel Keitel ’17, Sam Richardson ’20, and Eddie Glass ’18.  The production is stage managed by Johanna Stanley ’18.  Michael Mehler is the scenic designer, Miriam Patterson designed the costumes, and William Kenyon designed the lights.

“Luna Gale” includes strong language and subject matter that some might find upsetting.  The play is recommended for mature audiences only.

Tickets for all productions are $10 for adults and $8 for non-Allegheny students, senior citizens and Allegheny employees. Admission is free for Allegheny students with identification, but they are asked to make reservations.

For more information or to order tickets, contact the Playshop Theatre box office at (814) 332-3414.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

The Allegheny College Playshop Theatre will present “Luna Gale” from February 23-26 in the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts.

“Luna Gale,” written by Rebecca Gilman and directed by Mark Cosdon, centers on a social worker who is confronted with an unforgiving dilemma — what to do with a child born to drug-addicted teens. Family secrets, moral ambiguities, faith, biases, and the beleaguered welfare system collide in this contemporary drama.  A play that The New York Times called “smart and absorbing,”  “Luna Gale” is sure to provoke questions of how we care for the most vulnerable and at-risk.

“Rebecca Gilman is a very contemporary playwright,” said Cosdon, associate professor of communication arts and theatre. “Her most well known plays are dramas without clear antagonists and storylines that don’t have easier answers. ‘Luna Gale’ follows this pattern. What Gilman consistently returns to are situations that never resolve themselves easily … and there’s never an easy solution when it comes to the welfare of a child.”

The play “asks us to consider our biases, and it also, I think, encourages us to think about where and how each of us takes responsibility for ultimately the most fragile of beings in society,” Cosdon said.

Performances are at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 23-25, and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 26.

The cast features theatre majors Mary Lyon ’17 as Caroline, the social worker; Ada Zech ’19 as Karlie, the mother, and Simon Brown ’19 as Peter, the father, as well as Alyssa Johnson ’20, Daniel Keitel ’17, Sam Richardson ’20, and Eddie Glass ’18.  The production is stage managed by Johanna Stanley ’18.  Michael Mehler is the scenic designer, Miriam Patterson designed the costumes, and William Kenyon designed the lights.

“Luna Gale” includes strong language and subject matter that some might find upsetting.  The play is recommended for mature audiences only.

Tickets for all productions are $10 for adults and $8 for non-Allegheny students, senior citizens and Allegheny employees. Admission is free for Allegheny students with identification, but they are asked to make reservations.

For more information or to order tickets, contact the Playshop Theatre box office at (814) 332-3414.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

The Allegheny College Playshop Theatre will present “Luna Gale” from February 23-26 in the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts.

“Luna Gale,” written by Rebecca Gilman and directed by Mark Cosdon, centers on a social worker who is confronted with an unforgiving dilemma — what to do with a child born to drug-addicted teens. Family secrets, moral ambiguities, faith, biases, and the beleaguered welfare system collide in this contemporary drama.  A play that The New York Times called “smart and absorbing,”  “Luna Gale” is sure to provoke questions of how we care for the most vulnerable and at-risk.

“Rebecca Gilman is a very contemporary playwright,” said Cosdon, associate professor of communication arts and theatre. “Her most well known plays are dramas without clear antagonists and storylines that don’t have easier answers. ‘Luna Gale’ follows this pattern. What Gilman consistently returns to are situations that never resolve themselves easily … and there’s never an easy solution when it comes to the welfare of a child.”

The play “asks us to consider our biases, and it also, I think, encourages us to think about where and how each of us takes responsibility for ultimately the most fragile of beings in society,” Cosdon said.

Performances are at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 23-25, and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 26.

The cast features theatre majors Mary Lyon ’17 as Caroline, the social worker; Ada Zech ’19 as Karlie, the mother, and Simon Brown ’19 as Peter, the father, as well as Alyssa Johnson ’20, Daniel Keitel ’17, Sam Richardson ’20, and Eddie Glass ’18.  The production is stage managed by Johanna Stanley ’18.  Michael Mehler is the scenic designer, Miriam Patterson designed the costumes, and William Kenyon designed the lights.

“Luna Gale” includes strong language and subject matter that some might find upsetting.  The play is recommended for mature audiences only.

Tickets for all productions are $10 for adults and $8 for non-Allegheny students, senior citizens and Allegheny employees. Admission is free for Allegheny students with identification, but they are asked to make reservations.

For more information or to order tickets, contact the Playshop Theatre box office at (814) 332-3414.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

At this summer’s meeting of the American Theatre and Drama Society, Associate Professor of Communication Arts/Theatre Mark Cosdon co-led sessions for graduate students dedicated to teaching in a liberal arts college and the tenure/promotion process. Cosdon serves on the board of the American Theatre and Drama Society. Recently, he joined the advisory board of the Harvard Theatre Collection.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

The Playshop Theatre at Allegheny College opens its 87th season Friday with “Rejoice!”— an original production written and performed by Dan Crozier and directed by Roberta Levine. Performances will be held at 8 p.m. on Sept. 9 and 10 in the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts.

The 2016–17 lineup also includes “A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration,” written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel and directed by Beth Watkins, on Nov. 17–20; “Luna Gale,” written by Rebecca Gilman and directed by Mark Cosdon, Feb. 23–26; and “Baby with the Bathwater,” written by Tony award-winning author Christopher Durang and directed by Crozier, April 20–23.

“A Civil War Christmas,” “Luna Gale,” and “Baby with the Bathwater” are examinations of the American character, said Watkins, professor of communication arts at Allegheny College and managing director of the Playshop Theatre.

“We’re trying to look at the American character and we’re doing it in different kinds of ways,” Watkins said. “‘A Civil War Christmas’ is looking at a historical moment and how it resonates with the present day, whereas ‘Luna Gale’ is a play taking place in the present and it’s looking at some very current kinds of social conflicts.” “Baby with the Bathwater” is an “outrageous satire of the American family,” Watkins said.

The goal of the Playshop is to educate students about all aspects of the theatre, from acting to technical work. But it also seeks to be a catalyst, Watkins said.

“We want to entertain our audiences, but we also want to provoke them into conversation and into reflecting on the world around us,” she said.

The 2016–17 season will do just that, she said.

Tickets for all productions are $10 for adults and $8 for non-Allegheny students, senior citizens and Allegheny employees. Although admission is free for Allegheny students with identification, they are asked to make reservations.

For more information or to order tickets, contact the Playshop Theatre box office at (814) 332-3414.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

A number of theatre students will complete internships this summer. Karina Mena ’16 will intern in marketing at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Amanda Fallon ’18 will intern in production at the Ko Festival of Performance at Amherst College. Itzel Ayala ’17 will be in the apprentice acting company at the Williamstown Theater Festival at Williams College. Mary Lyon ’17, Liz Colarte ’17, and Simon Brown ’19 will intern at the New York Classical Theater.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Associate Professor of Communication Arts and Theatre Mark Cosdon has chapters titled “Joseph Papp and the Public Theater” and “Making Musicals that Matter: George C. Wolfe and Oskar Eustis at the Public Theatre” forthcoming in the Routledge Handbook of Musical Theatre Producers. This past year Professor Cosdon served on tenure boards at the University of North Carolina and at Knox College. In March, he hosted the sixth annual “Brilliance of the American Theatre” reading series at the Drama Book Shop in New York City, bringing together authors of new works in American theatre history. He serves on the board of the American Theatre and Drama Society and has been appointed to the editorial boards of Theatre History Studies and Southern Illinois University Press’s Theatre in the Americas Series.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Associate Professor of Communication Arts and Theatre Mark Cosdon has chapters titled “Joseph Papp and the Public Theater” and “Making Musicals that Matter: George C. Wolfe and Oskar Eustis at the Public Theatre” forthcoming in the Routledge Handbook of Musical Theatre Producers. This past year Professor Cosdon served on tenure boards at the University of North Carolina and at Knox College. In March, he hosted the sixth annual “Brilliance of the American Theatre” reading series at the Drama Book Shop in New York City, bringing together authors of new works in American theatre history. He serves on the board of the American Theatre and Drama Society and has been appointed to the editorial boards of Theatre History Studies and Southern Illinois University Press’s Theatre in the Americas Series.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research