A weekly news report for Slippery Rock University
A weekly news report for Slippery Rock University
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Kaleidoscope debuts 'Brave New Plays'
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - Student and community plays will take center stage when Slippery Rock University presents the “Brave New Plays” series April 20 and April 22-26 in Miller Auditorium. The program features winning submissions from the first Kaleidoscope Arts Festival Playwriting Competition.
Twelve plays by SRU students and two from playwrights at-large will be premiered.
“We are promoting diversity and creating a forum for community and student thought to be presented,” said Colleen Reilly, assistant professor of theatre and Kaleidoscope director. “Brave New Plays is a series for world premiere works, and this is a way to incorporate voices from western Pennsylvania.”
Kaleidoscope, which SRU launched 11 years ago, takes place April 15-29 and includes a Bob Dylan tribute presentation, film festival, student art exhibition, Taiko Japanese drummers, concerts and a Children’s Day program, among other events.
Reilly said SRU received 20 submissions for the at-large component of the playwright competition. The winning plays, selected by a committee of SRU faculty, are “Acts of Contrition” by Patricia Montley and “Raw” by Eion Carney. Montley, who has taught playwriting at colleges and universities in Pittsburgh and Baltimore, has placed in more than 20 playwriting contests. Carney, originally from Ireland, is an assistant professor of radiology at the University of Pittsburgh.
“Acts of Contrition” will join the SRU theatre tour to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland in August. Laura Smiley, associate professor of theatre, will direct “Acts of Contrition” and “Raw.”
More than 25 SRU students submitted plays for the student component of the competition, Reilly said. The entries had to be one act, less than an hour and appropriate for college-age audiences, Reilly said.
“There are a lot of opinions expressed on campus,” she said. “Students are finding their voice, and playwriting is a powerful forum for them.”
Students wrote and will direct and act in the student productions, she said. The plays are “Lieutenant Governor,” by Shasheena Carroll, a communication major from New Castle; “The Bench” by Nora Connlain, an English major from Easton; Battlefield Blues” and “Broken Hearts and Bourbon” by James David, a secondary education major from Mercer; “When Drugs Deals Go Bad” by Timothy Hogg, an English major from Seneca; “Brotherly Love” by Aaron Mild, an art major from West Middlesex; “The (Happy) Ending” by Zach Nading, a theatre major from East Brady; “Aliqua Fuh” by Albert Patricca, a theatre major from Slippery Rock; “The Red Dress” by Jennifer Reeher, an English major from Slippery Rock; “The Diver’s Dream” by Ron Steiner, a English major from Butler; and “The Heretic’s Agony and Picnic of Love by Jason Wolfe, a philosophy major from New Oxford.
“Acts of Contrition” and “Raw” will be presented in repertory at 7:30 p.m. April 20 and at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. April 24. Student plays will be presented at 7:30 p.m. April 22, 23, 25 and 26.
Tickets are $7 for SRU students, $12 for the public. For more information, call 724.738.2645.
Many Kaleidoscope events are free. Tickets for other shows and concerts will be available at the door or at the University Union Information Desk. The complete schedule of events is at http://www.sru.edu/academics/colleges/chfpa/kaleidoscope/Pages/ScheduleofEvents.aspx.
For more information, call 724.738.4586.
