A man spontaneously transitions into a woman, Jesus Christ makes an appearance on the Home Shopping Network and the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy will be examined this theatre season at Kent State University at Stark. In keeping with its tradition of staging contemporary and thought-provoking plays year after year, Kent State Stark Theatre ups the ante with three cutting-edge productions for the 2017-18 season.
Consider the Oyster by David MacGregor
After watching his favorite team win the Super Bowl, Gene spontaneously proposes to his longtime girlfriend Marisa, and in the midst of his excitement, breaks his leg. The oyster shell the doctor leaves in Gene’s leg to aid in healing sets off a chain reaction of odd feminine changes in Gene’s physicality, hormones and emotions. Just as an oyster changes from male to female over the course of its life, Gene is changing, too. He begins to question his feelings for his new fiancée, and his relationships with friends and family become awkward and strange. Watch as gender identity and humor explode on stage in comical yet thought-provoking ways.
Audition Dates:
September 6 & 7 at 6 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre
Performance Dates:
November 10, 11, 17 & 18 at 7:30 p.m.
November 12 & 19 (ASL interpreted) at 2 p.m.
Tickets available October 30. $10 adults; $7 students under 17 and senior citizens; Kent State students free with current ID.
Virtual Devotion by Eric Coble
It’s the end of the world as we know it; pollution, terrorism and disease have taken over humanity. Three characters, Pete, Anne and Ruth – all members of a broken family – attempt to sell their faith to nonbelievers in various, and sometimes violent, ways, as a last-ditch effort to save souls, including their own. Through a series of ironic, laughable and most unfortunate events, all of the characters, including the returned Son of God, Jesus Christ, find one another on the Home Shopping Network selling religious artifacts. But now that they are finally together, is it too late to stop the ensuing Armageddon?
Audition Dates:
November 28 & 29 at 6 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre
Performance Dates:
February 23 & 24 and March 2 & 3 at 7:30 p.m.
February 25 & March 4 (ASL interpreted) at 2 p.m.
Tickets available February 12. $10 adults; $7 students under 17 and senior citizens; Kent State students free with current ID.
26 Pebbles by Eric Ulloa
What happened to the people of Newtown, Conn., after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre after the rest of the world kept spinning and moved on? Months after the attack, Eric Ulloa held intimate interviews with members of the Newtown community and created a play that nods to Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. This docudrama is a weave of verbatim interview excerpts from many people of Newtown as they recount the ripples that were made in the aftermath of unthinkable tragedy and the resulting push forward towards healing in their community.
Audition Dates:
January 30 & 31 at 6 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre
Performance Dates:
April 13, 14, 20 & 21 at 7:30 p.m.
April 15 & 22 (ASL interpreted) at 2 p.m.
Tickets available April 2. $10 adults; $7 students under 17 and senior citizens; Kent State students free with current ID.
Directing Kent State Stark’s theatre productions is Brian Newberg, associate professor of theatre and theatre director, with scenic and lighting design by Louis Williams, sound design by Ron Jarvis and costume design by Stephen Ostertag.
All upcoming productions will be performed at the Kent State Stark Fine Arts Theatre, 6000 Frank Avenue NW in Jackson Township.
For additional information about the 2017-18 Kent State Stark theatre performances, including online ticket sales, box office hours, audition details and production team opportunities, visit www.kent.edu/stark/theatre.
The Fine Arts Theatre Box Office is staffed two weeks before a production opens and can be reached at 330-244-3348.