Playshop Theatre

Feb. 16, 2016 — The Allegheny College Playshop Theatre presents “Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play” February 25-28, with shows at 8 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday in the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts. Tickets can be purchased by calling 814-332-3414.

Anne Washburn’s “Mr. Burns” is an audacious and dark comedy about survival and mythology, set amidst the detritus of popular culture. The play premises that U.S. nuclear power facilities have gone belly-up, unleashing radioactive waste into the environment and decimating the populace. A band of survivors comfort themselves by retelling an episode from “The Simpsons.”

By the second act, as a new society and economy emerge, a traveling theater company performs live-action episodes of “The Simpsons,” including the commercials. By the third act, 75 years after the radioactive disaster and with the electric grid still not replaced, “The Simpsons” has morphed into a musical about good and evil, love and hate, and the continuation of humanity.

The show’s music is composed by Michael Friedman, whose credits include “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” and “Pretty Filthy.” “Mr. Burns” is a mash-up of original music, alongside chart hits by artists including Britney Spears, Gloria Gaynor and Eminem, television theme songs and Gilbert and Sullivan.

The Playshop Theatre production is directed by Mark Cosdon, with music direction by Aimee Reash, scenery by Patrick Rizzotti, costumes by Miriam Patterson and a lighting design by Michael Mehler. The show features Alison Celigoi, Daniel Keitel, Mary Lyon, Bolan Marshall-Hallmark, Karina Mena, Aleäa Rae, Rachael Robertson and Benjamin Thomas. The play is stage managed by Stephanie Engel and choreographed by Leah Kelly.

“‘Mr. Burns’ is a play about the apocalypse, the primacy of storytelling, environmental catastrophe, the immediacy of technology, and the fall of civilization as we know it,” says Cosdon. “And from the ashes of that civilization comes a new form of performance, one which celebrates our determination to survive.”

Critic Ben Brantley, in the New York Times, called the play “downright brilliant” and asked, “When was the last time you met a new play that was so smart it made your head spin?”

Across its remarkable 27-year history, “The Simpsons” has satirized and illuminated basic truths about the United States, the family, popular culture and our institutions. “Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play” builds from a famous Simpsons episode called “Cape Feare,” spoofing Martin Scorsese’s film “Cape Fear,” the original 1962 film, and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.

First produced in 2012, “Mr. Burns” is one of the 10 most produced plays in the United States this year.

The Playshop Theatre production contains theatrical prop firearms, recorded gunfire, fog effects and some strong language.

Tickets for “Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play” 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.

Photo by Bill Owen. Left to right: Alison Celigoi, Rachael Robertson, Benjamin Thomas and Bolan Marshall-Hallmark

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Feb. 16, 2016 — The Allegheny College Playshop Theatre presents “Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play” February 25-28, with shows at 8 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday in the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts. Tickets can be purchased by calling 814-332-3414.

Anne Washburn’s “Mr. Burns” is an audacious and dark comedy about survival and mythology, set amidst the detritus of popular culture. The play premises that U.S. nuclear power facilities have gone belly-up, unleashing radioactive waste into the environment and decimating the populace. A band of survivors comfort themselves by retelling an episode from “The Simpsons.”

By the second act, as a new society and economy emerge, a traveling theater company performs live-action episodes of “The Simpsons,” including the commercials. By the third act, 75 years after the radioactive disaster and with the electric grid still not replaced, “The Simpsons” has morphed into a musical about good and evil, love and hate, and the continuation of humanity.

The show’s music is composed by Michael Friedman, whose credits include “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” and “Pretty Filthy.” “Mr. Burns” is a mash-up of original music, alongside chart hits by artists including Britney Spears, Gloria Gaynor and Eminem, television theme songs and Gilbert and Sullivan.

The Playshop Theatre production is directed by Mark Cosdon, with music direction by Aimee Reash, scenery by Patrick Rizzotti, costumes by Miriam Patterson and a lighting design by Michael Mehler. The show features Alison Celigoi, Daniel Keitel, Mary Lyon, Bolan Marshall-Hallmark, Karina Mena, Aleäa Rae, Rachael Robertson and Benjamin Thomas. The play is stage managed by Stephanie Engel and choreographed by Leah Kelly.

“‘Mr. Burns’ is a play about the apocalypse, the primacy of storytelling, environmental catastrophe, the immediacy of technology, and the fall of civilization as we know it,” says Cosdon. “And from the ashes of that civilization comes a new form of performance, one which celebrates our determination to survive.”

Critic Ben Brantley, in the New York Times, called the play “downright brilliant” and asked, “When was the last time you met a new play that was so smart it made your head spin?”

Across its remarkable 27-year history, “The Simpsons” has satirized and illuminated basic truths about the United States, the family, popular culture and our institutions. “Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play” builds from a famous Simpsons episode called “Cape Feare,” spoofing Martin Scorsese’s film “Cape Fear,” the original 1962 film, and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.

First produced in 2012, “Mr. Burns” is one of the 10 most produced plays in the United States this year.

The Playshop Theatre production contains theatrical prop firearms, recorded gunfire, fog effects and some strong language.

Tickets for “Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play” 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.

Photo by Bill Owen. Left to right: Alison Celigoi, Rachael Robertson, Benjamin Thomas and Bolan Marshall-Hallmark

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Nov. 16, 2015 – The Playshop Theatre at Allegheny College continues its 2015-16 season with Bertolt Brecht’s iconic “A Life of Galileo,” in a translation by Mark Ravenhill. Four performances will be given in the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts: at 8 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday, November 19-21, and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 22.

Professor of Theatre Dan Crozier directs, and Jim Hollerman, who teaches mathematics at Allegheny College, portrays Galileo.

“‘A Life of Galileo’ is a play about revolutions,” Crozier notes, “revolutions in the heavens and on earth. It’s about the orbits of the planets, the paradigm shift in cosmology proved by Galileo and the social revolution that springs from Brecht’s long study of and adherence to Marxist principles. The word revolution is also defined as consideration or reflection. ‘A Life of Galileo’ invites us to reflect on the spirit of critical inquiry as we celebrate Allegheny’s bicentennial.”

Performing in the production, in addition to Hollerman, are Simon Brown, Elizabeth Colarte, Matthias Copeland, David Crozier, Luke Davis, Rachael Ellis, Hayley Johnson, Daniel Keitel, Lee Scandinaro, Mary Lyon, Karina Mena, Christopher J. Schuchert, Nia Shuler, Chloe Spadafora, Kai Van Rosendaal, Daniel Wightkin and Emily Wilson.

Michael Mehler designed the sets and lighting, and Miriam Patterson designed the costumes.

Tickets for “A Life of Galileo” 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

Nov. 16, 2015 – The Playshop Theatre at Allegheny College continues its 2015-16 season with Bertolt Brecht’s iconic “A Life of Galileo,” in a translation by Mark Ravenhill. Four performances will be given in the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts: at 8 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday, November 19-21, and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 22.

Professor of Theatre Dan Crozier directs, and Jim Hollerman, who teaches mathematics at Allegheny College, portrays Galileo.

“‘A Life of Galileo’ is a play about revolutions,” Crozier notes, “revolutions in the heavens and on earth. It’s about the orbits of the planets, the paradigm shift in cosmology proved by Galileo and the social revolution that springs from Brecht’s long study of and adherence to Marxist principles. The word revolution is also defined as consideration or reflection. ‘A Life of Galileo’ invites us to reflect on the spirit of critical inquiry as we celebrate Allegheny’s bicentennial.”

Performing in the production, in addition to Hollerman, are Simon Brown, Elizabeth Colarte, Matthias Copeland, David Crozier, Luke Davis, Rachael Ellis, Hayley Johnson, Daniel Keitel, Lee Scandinaro, Mary Lyon, Karina Mena, Christopher J. Schuchert, Nia Shuler, Chloe Spadafora, Kai Van Rosendaal, Daniel Wightkin and Emily Wilson.

Michael Mehler designed the sets and lighting, and Miriam Patterson designed the costumes.

Tickets for “A Life of Galileo” 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

May 6, 2015 – Allegheny College’s Karina Mena, a junior communication arts major with minors in Latin American/Caribbean studies and theater, has made the list of “110 Students to Watch” in Variety magazine.

Mena, from Portland, Ore., was named to the list, which features upcoming movers and shakers in the entertainment industry. She is a lead technician in Allegheny’s Playshop Theatre and will attend the 2015 United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) Conference in Cincinnati, the leading professional conference for theater technology and production. 

“I feel very honored and surprised to be considered one of Variety’s ‘110 Students to Watch,’” Mena says. “It was really cool to hear that I was a part of this list, though I definitely was not expecting this news.”

“Karina embodies the unique spirit and possibilities of communication arts at Allegheny,” says Julie Wilson, assistant professor of communication arts/theater. “She is a talented artist, both on and off stage, as well as a sharp and passionate critic of our media culture. I have no doubt that Karina will spend her life creating images, sets, characters and stories that will challenge and inspire all of us!”

Mena is heavily involved in Allegheny’s theater program. In addition to working as a lead technician for the Playshop Theatre, she also has been an actor in the shows, the properties master (who is in charge of collecting, purchasing and/or building all pieces that are placed on a stage set) and an assistant stage manager. In addition, she designed and constructed/welded a main set piece for a Student Experimental Theatre performance this year.

Additionally, Mena is a volunteer at the student-run coffeehouse Grounds for Change. She also is a member of the executive board for the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, where she serves as the historian who helps manage the fraternity’s social media accounts.

In the future, Mena would like to help create theater in a small company in a community where she can involve people with a variety of backgrounds, cultures and races.

See the full list of Variety “110 Students to Watch” winners.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Watch out Hollywood … one of Allegheny’s own recently made the list of “110 Students to Watch” in Variety magazine.

Karina Mena ’16 was named to the list, which features upcoming movers and shakers in the entertainment industry. Karina, from Portland, Ore., is a lead technician in Allegheny’s Playshop Theatre and will attend the 2015 United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) Conference in Cincinnati, the leading professional conference for theater technology and production.

“I feel very honored and surprised to be considered one of Variety’s ‘110 Students to Watch,’” says Karina, who is a communication arts major with minors in Latin American/Caribbean studies and theater. “It was really cool to hear that I was a part of this list, though I definitely was not expecting this news.”

“Karina embodies the unique spirit and possibilities of communication arts at Allegheny,” says Julie Wilson, assistant professor of communication arts/theater. “She is a talented artist, both on and off stage, as well as a sharp and passionate critic of our media culture. I have no doubt that Karina will spend her life creating images, sets, characters and stories that will challenge and inspire all of us!”

Karina says she decided to major in communication arts at Allegheny because she loves how the classes and the themes she and her classmates are learning relate to society and culture today. “It makes me feel like I can make, if anything, a small difference in the world and my community by being understanding and aware of myself and others,” she says.

She adds that one of the biggest takeaways from her communication arts major so far has been looking at her day-to-day life and actions, and the lives and actions of others, and “seeing and learning what we do based on societal norms or traditions.”

“I have learned how to critique myself and about the way I think based on society, and have really enjoyed looking into the reasons why we do what we do, and how and if we can change that,” she says.

Karina is heavily involved in Allegheny’s theater program. In addition to working as a lead technician for the Playshop Theatre, she also has been an actor in the shows, the properties master (who is in charge of collecting, purchasing and/or building all pieces that are placed on a stage set) and an assistant stage manager. In addition, she designed and constructed/welded a main set piece for a Student Experimental Theatre comp performance this year.

Additionally, Karina is a volunteer at the student-run coffeehouse Grounds for Change. She also is a member of the executive board for the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, where she serves as the historian who helps manage the fraternity’s social media accounts.

In the future, Karina would like to help create theater in a small company in a community where she can involve people with a variety of backgrounds, cultures and races. “Within this type of theater, we would celebrate these differences, but also make audiences and communities aware of them,” she says. “I would hope that this could start discussions of race and difference that are not always talked about, while creating a safe and creative space for these discussions.”

See the full list of Variety “110 Students to Watch” winners.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Watch out Hollywood … one of Allegheny’s own recently made the list of “110 Students to Watch” in Variety magazine.

Karina Mena ’16 was named to the list, which features upcoming movers and shakers in the entertainment industry. Karina, from Portland, Ore., is a lead technician in Allegheny’s Playshop Theatre and will attend the 2015 United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) Conference in Cincinnati, the leading professional conference for theater technology and production.

“I feel very honored and surprised to be considered one of Variety’s ‘110 Students to Watch,’” says Karina, who is a communication arts major with minors in Latin American/Caribbean studies and theater. “It was really cool to hear that I was a part of this list, though I definitely was not expecting this news.”

“Karina embodies the unique spirit and possibilities of communication arts at Allegheny,” says Julie Wilson, assistant professor of communication arts/theater. “She is a talented artist, both on and off stage, as well as a sharp and passionate critic of our media culture. I have no doubt that Karina will spend her life creating images, sets, characters and stories that will challenge and inspire all of us!”

Karina says she decided to major in communication arts at Allegheny because she loves how the classes and the themes she and her classmates are learning relate to society and culture today. “It makes me feel like I can make, if anything, a small difference in the world and my community by being understanding and aware of myself and others,” she says.

She adds that one of the biggest takeaways from her communication arts major so far has been looking at her day-to-day life and actions, and the lives and actions of others, and “seeing and learning what we do based on societal norms or traditions.”

“I have learned how to critique myself and about the way I think based on society, and have really enjoyed looking into the reasons why we do what we do, and how and if we can change that,” she says.

Karina is heavily involved in Allegheny’s theater program. In addition to working as a lead technician for the Playshop Theatre, she also has been an actor in the shows, the properties master (who is in charge of collecting, purchasing and/or building all pieces that are placed on a stage set) and an assistant stage manager. In addition, she designed and constructed/welded a main set piece for a Student Experimental Theatre comp performance this year.

Additionally, Karina is a volunteer at the student-run coffeehouse Grounds for Change. She also is a member of the executive board for the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, where she serves as the historian who helps manage the fraternity’s social media accounts.

In the future, Karina would like to help create theater in a small company in a community where she can involve people with a variety of backgrounds, cultures and races. “Within this type of theater, we would celebrate these differences, but also make audiences and communities aware of them,” she says. “I would hope that this could start discussions of race and difference that are not always talked about, while creating a safe and creative space for these discussions.”

See the full list of Variety “110 Students to Watch” winners.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

April 20, 2015 — The Allegheny College Playshop Theatre closes its 85th season with August Strindberg’s “A Dream Play,” in a new version by Caryl Churchill in which she re-imagines Strindberg’s surrealist exploration of human suffering. Katherine McGerr directs. Four performances will be given in the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts: at 8 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday, April 23-25, and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 26.

“With its contrasting scenes of beauty and terror, ‘A Dream Play’ reminds audiences both to bear witness to larger situations of inequity and injustice, as well as to appreciate the startling, wonderful things the world can do,” dramaturg Leanne Siwicki notes. “The play doesn’t offer solutions, but begins by asking us to be conscious.”

Director Katherine McGerr calls the play “both a glimpse of the world as it is and a celebration of the human imagination. It has a unique combination of serious ideas and delightful theatricality that we hope audiences will enjoy.”

Performing in the production are Itzel Ayala, Bailey Blashford, Mario Buffalini, Liz Colarte, Luke Aslanian Davis, Alexis Eldridge, Sean Gannon, Daniel Keitel, Matt Lis, Christian Lombino, Mary Lyon, Karina Mena, Lee Scandinaro, Lizzie Thompson, Audrey Trotta, Danny Wightkin and Dan Crozier.

Samantha Hoderlein designed the set, Michael Mehler designed the costumes and lighting and Jeremy Loewer is the production’s sound designer and musical arranger.

Tickets for “A Dream Play” are $10 for adults and $7.50 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.

Photo: clockwise from left, Alexis Eldridge, Audrey Trotta, Danny Wightkin, Itzel Ayala, Lizzie Thompson and Luke Davis. Photo by Bill Owen

Source: Academics, Publications & Research