Looking For Happier Times? Go See "Happy Days"

Mark McCloughan '10 encourages everyone to see Samuel Beckett's play Happy Days this Saturday at the '92 Theater.

Happy Days is a simple story of how one woman gets through her day(s). Performed by Annie Paladino '09 as part of her senior thesis, the play also features Carmen Melillo '09 and is directed by Gedney Barclay '09. Free tickets are available the day of the performance at the Usdan box office.

What: Happy Days, a play by Samuel Beckett
Where: Patricelli '92 Theater
When: Thursday at 8, Friday at 8, Saturday at 2 and 8

The Real Thing premieres this weekend

Via Joe Newman '09:

Come see The Real Thing!
A Second Stage production directed by Grace Overbeke '08.



The Real Thing: A romantic comedy with a brain.

Cast
Gabriel Fries '09 as Henry
Leah Lucid '10 as Annie
Joe Newman '09 as Max
Jordana Wolf '08 as Charlotte
Brenna Galvin '11 as Debbie

Showtimes
Date: Friday, May 2
Times: 7:00 PM and 10:00 PM
Location: Daniel Family Commons

Date: Saturday, May 3
Times: 4:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Location: Daniel Family Commons

The Daguerreotype Starring Half of Wesleyan...

Katey Rich '06 sends in this heads up for those of yous stationed for the summer in the New York area:

Students past and present, is making its New York theater debut this weekend. Their new play, "Daguerreotype," was written by Stephen Aubrey '06 and is directed by Jess Chayes '07. Edward Bauer '08, Hayley Stokar '06, and Zach LeClair '10 star.

"Daguerreotype" tells the story of Mathew Brady, a photographer from the Civil War era who became famous for his portraits of the great men of his time (Abraham Lincoln, George Custer, Ulysses S. Grant and many others) as well as the most graphic battleground images the country had ever seen. In "Daguerreotype," Mathew is at the twilight of his life, and he must choose between the life he has built and the legacy he wants to leave behind. Haunted by the ghosts of the past and the spirit of his dying, catatonic wife Juliette, Mathew must revisit his past and consider his future, as a forgotten legend from another era.

"Daguerreotype" is only one part of the Story Project's American Summer Theater Experience-- a festival with TASTE! There will also be readings of new plays-- including those by Anna Moench '06, David Haan '06, and Chris Kaminstein '05-- and performances by Wesleyan's own sketch comedy group Lunchbox. It's all happening at the Abingdon Theater in Manhattan, at 312 West 36th street.

The festival starts Thursday, August 2 and runs through Saturday, August 11 (with no shows on Monday the 6th).

Complete showtimes and dates are available here.

You can buy tickets for Daguerreotype here.

• Tickets for The Daguerreotype: $12 for students

• Tickets for Lunchbox (available at door): $5

• Tickets for the readings: Free!

There will be scores of Wesleyan students at all the shows, not to mention general New York theatergoers, who are always worth knowing. Come support some of your fellow students and alums (a full list of company members can be found here) and see historical, documentary theater that we absolutely promise is not boring or stuffy.

(*Photo by Toby Shaw '07)

It's Just Weird Now: 3 Plays about Friendship

Come to the WestCo Cafe TONIGHT at either 8 or 10 of clock to see three sweet plays.
Directed by Maya Kazan '09 , Written by Halley Feiffer '07.
Totes Free, totes the best way to spend 40 minutes of your Thursday evening.


(proper formatting of this post has temporarily been suspended pending reclamation of sanity from the Maw of Academic Hell)

Peer Gynt

Wesleyan's Theater Department Presents...

Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen
Directed by Yuriy Kordonskiy

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, March 1-3 at 8pm
Sunday, March 4 at 7pm
at the CFA Theater

Get your tickets at the box office.

Wesleyan 365

Rachel Salowitz '07 sent us some info about Suzan-Lori Parks' ambitious goal of writing a play a day for 365 days. Between February 5th through the 11th, Wesleyan will be hosting a week of her plays showcasing the daily life of everyone who calls Middletown home. For a schedule of the week's events, click here.

In addition to these festivities, the Wesleyan 365 crew will also be hosting a writing competition called Write On to give everyone a taste at their own playwriting.

For more information, check out their website, www.wesleyan365.com.

Gender, etc.

Dan Grassian '09 needs your help!

I want to create a play that encapsulates the intricacies of gender and its role in the lives of all different types of people at Wesleyan, America, and the world. The thing is, I need YOUR input, your friends' input, etc. What I want right now is monologues, skits, speeches, dialogs, etc. Anything YOU write or someone you know or vaguely know or has something written will do. And will be greatly appreciated. The play will be addressing many different sides of gender, including its overlap, co-construction, and influence over and from other societal identities, including race, class, religion, sexual orientation, etc.

The image so far:
Think similar to Vagina Monologues. Several 'actors' who will read pieces written by Wesleyan students (and likely some others). I plan on everyone looking as androgynous as possible, with hair either pulled back or under hats, etc. Face makeup, androgynous or gender-confusing clothes... The people reading the parts will NOT be trying to play a 'gender role.'

The only rules:
I do NOT want these pieces to include the words: 'gender,' 'male,' 'female,' 'feminine,' 'masculine,' 'he,' 'she,' or 'sex' (as in biological, not having sex...) If this confuses you or you have trouble with this, you can e-mail me or you can include these words and we can work with what you have...

Questions? Comments? Submissions? Want to get involved? Contact Dan at dlgrassian(at)wesleyan.edu.

Manuscript

Manuscript:

Sex, drugs, and creative writing: For David, Chris, and Elizabeth, these are the things that really light their fire as they charge through their freshman year of college. They’ll have plenty of each when they reunite, during Winter break from their respective Universities (Yale and Harvard), in David’s Brooklyn Brownstone. Gauntlets are thrown and obscure cultural references are hurled as secrets stir and motives manifest. Three students put their stake in love, lust, and literature, as they try to distinguish fact from fiction in the poetry of two wild nights.

A play by Paul Grellong
Directed by Margaux Weisman '09
Starring Chris Correa '10, Ben Smolen '10, and Caitlin Winiarski '10

Dates/Times:
Thursday Oct 5, 8pm
Friday Oct 6, 8pm
Saturday Oct 7, 2pm & 8pm

Venue: '92 Theatre

There will be an open dress rehearsal Wednesday night at 8. Contact mweisman(at)wesleyan.edu or hfreece(at)wesleyan.edu if you are interested in attending.

Life and Death in the Charity Ward

A theatrical adaptation of Bukowski's short story about an alcohol-induced stomach ulcer will be performed this weekend at Wes.

Name: Charles Bukowski's "Life and Death in the Charity Ward"
Dates/Times:

• Thursday 9/28: 8pm
• Friday 9/29: 8pm and 12am
• Saturday 9/30: 10pm

Venue: '92 Theater

Tickets are free in the box office the day of the show.

Heart Play

This weekend is Heart Play(s), the first Second Stage show of the season. Tickets are FREE!

Tickets to all ’92 shows can be obtained in person at the Davenport Campus Center box office, the day of the desired performance. Tickets are free of charge, general admission, and limited to two per person. The box office is located on the main floor of the campus center, and is open from 10:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Tuesday–Saturday. For more information see www.2ndstage.org.

Heart Play(s)
Written by Heiner Muller, directed by Jess Chayes '07, Elissa Kozlov '08, Edward Bauer '08, Chris Krovatin '07, Meredith Steinberg '06, Nick Benacerraf '08, and Kelly Klein '08

When:

• Thursday, Sep. 21, 10:30 p.m.,
• Friday, Sep. 22, 8 p.m., 9 p.m., 10 p.m.,
• Saturday, Sep. 23, 8 p.m. 9 p.m., 10 p.m.

Where: Patricelli '92 Theater