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CCSU, Maloney Hall
1615 Stanley Street
New Britain CT, 06050
860-832-3150

for website issues:
delventhal_zac@ccsu.edu


© 2009 CCSU Department of Theatre
To purchase tickets call CENtix (860-832-1989)

2009 - 2010 Season

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

What's Your Stop?



The Seagull
Anton Chekov's classic comedy
directed by Thom Delventhal

October 13-17 @ 7:30 PM
Maloney Hall, Black Box Theatre
-CLOSED-

The yearning of the creative spirit
and every day life collide!

At the end of the 19th century in Russia, the same fertile soil that brought us Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, the inspiration and will of three artists created a revolution in World Theatre. The Moscow Art Theatre produced its first play: Anton Chekov's The Seagull. The style of design, acting, analysis and direction pioneered in there became a model that is still in use today. Chekov has influenced modern writers of amazingly varied styles and nationalities because of his gentle insight to the human spirit. His characters create a delicate, but pathetic and charming, demand that their desire and dignity be recognized.



Under Construction
by Charles Mee
directed by Josh Perlstein

December 1-5 @ 7:30 PM
Maloney Hall, Black Box Theatre
$10 Admission, $5 Students

This experimental piece shows how American culture has been "assembled" over the last 50 years. Using all conceivable performance techniques as well as multimedia and sound collages, the evening rips the veneer off of the post-war 1950's and exposes the raw underbelly of American culture.



Sweeney Todd

Further information
to be announced.


Excerpt from Wikipedia:
Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1979 Tony Award–winning musical thriller with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is based on 1973 play Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Christopher Bond.

Sweeney Todd opened on Broadway at the Uris Theatre on March 1, 1979 and ran for 557 performances.[1] It was directed by Harold Prince with musical staging by Larry Fuller. It starred Len Cariou as Sweeney Todd and Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett. The musical tells the story of Benjamin Barker, alias Sweeney Todd, who returns to London after 15 years' transportation on false charges. When he learns from his former landlady Mrs. Lovett that his wife poisoned herself after being raped by the judge who wrongly transported him (Judge Turpin by name), he vows revenge.



As You Like It
by William Shakespeare
directed by Sheila Siragusa


May 4-8 @ 7:30 PM
Maloney Hall, Black Box Theatre
$10 Admission, $5 for Students

Join Rosalind and her cousin Celia in a romp through the Forest of Arden in CCSU Theatre's bold new retelling of William Shakespeare's As You Like It. Banished from court and disguised for safety, the two cousins encounter a wild cast of characters and find surprising contentment in a world governed by love.




Second Stage Productions
Many regional and community theatres have a second stage or Stage II where they will perform lesser shows to compliment their mainstage season. Here at CCSU we are blessed with an entire college campus full of performance spaces and an eager student body bursting with ideas and innovation. This allows us to fill our schedule to the brim with a variety of plays and performances, including new plays, experimental pieces, and traditional student directed work. Far from being secondary, our Second Stage Prouctions are a key part of CCSU Theatre and well worth seeing.


All Second Stage Productions are FREE
no tickets necessary


Lorca
an original play by
Marissa Ann Grande and
Gabbi Mendelsohn

directed by Gabbi Mendelsohn

September 18, 19 @ 7:30pm
Welte Auditorium
- CLOSED -

Federico Garcia Lorca was one of Spain's most famous poet and playwright. Tragically, he was also one of the first victim's of Spain's fascist regime. This original play entwines his final hours in a state prison with scenes from his most famous work, The House of Bernarda Alba.

Congratulations to Annie Capobianco and Kate Bunce for being selected from among the cast of Lorca to compete for the Irene Ryan scholarship at the New England region Kennedy Center Theatre Festival in January!



Human Museum
A Moving Installation asking...

What is the Role of Theatre
in the Creative Arts?

arranged by Sheila Siragusa

September 24 @ 5pm
September 25 @ 7:30pm
Maloney Hall, Black Box Theatre
-CLOSED-

What defines theatre as distinct from the other arts?  Everything?  Nothing?
In a swiftly changing and growing community of arts at CCSU, this piece
takes a look at the lenses through which we pour our creative presentation.



Lear's Daughters
by The Women's Theatre Group
and Elaine Feinstein

adapted and directed by
Laura Hawksley

October 1st @ 5pm, 2nd @ 7:30pm
Welte Auditorium
-CLOSED-


The humorous and compelling prequel to Shakespeare's King Lear, Lear's Daughters tells the story of five indomitable women and their struggle for an independent identity in a world where the course of their lives are set out before birth. Their attempts to escape the trap is sometimes moving, sometimes funny, but never expected.



* * * * * *

Confined Spaces
directed by Ally Brown

the week of October 5th
located all around the CCSU campus
-CLOSED-

Pay attention to the conversation that your neighbor is
having on their cell. It could be real or . . .




A Night at the Cabaret
directed by Nicole Carrano


October 22nd, 23rd @ 1:00pm
Black Box Theatre, Maloney Hall
and broadcast around campus!
-CLOSED-
Watch the music video here!

This trip back to old Hollywood will be sure to get your blood pumping! Experience a night of talent, laughter and unexpected surprises!






Haunted Hallways:
The Ghosts of Students Past
directed by Bryan Kopp

the week of October 26th
Davidson Hall and beyond!
-CLOSED-

The ghosts of students unable to complete their degree requirements will invade campus during Halloween week. Will they finally be released from of balcony of Torp where they are held?



Nick Danger: Third Eye
by The Firesign Theater
directed by Ben McLaughlin

October 29th @ 5pm, 30th @ 7:30pm
live on the air, 107.7FM  WFCS
-CLOSED-

In true film noir fashion, the story of the dark and courageous Nick Danger, Third Eye, begins in Los Angeles, but quickly takes the audience on a roller coaster ride forwards into the past and then back to whatever may have passed along the way. The story's hero takes the case of his lost love, who, for reasons unknown, is in terrible danger. Nick must battle against the shadows, the cranky butlers, and against his own passion to get to the bottom of it all.

 

30 Minutes of Old-Fashioned
Russian Laughter
by Anton Chekov
directed and performed by
the CCSU Theatre faculty

November 6th @ 7:30pm
Black Box Theatre, Maloney Hall
-CLOSED-

Anton Chekov is recognized as the writer that opened a place for the actor's inner life in modern drama. Many people think of his work as dark and foreboding and don't realize what a sweet ironic sense of humor he really has. But in his short sketches it can't be missed! Many of them are subtitled "A joke in one act," and they are delicious little character driven farces. The Theatre Department is pleased to offer two of these to round out the mainstage production of The Seagull, starring faculty Josh Perlstein and Thom Delventhal.

The artwork for 30 Minutes of Russian Laughter
was done by Stephen Manchester



Early Stages
original story-telling based
theatre for young audiences

November 7th @ 1pm and 6pm
Torp Theatre, Davidson Hall
-CLOSED-

CCSU Theatre's annual celebration of storytelling provides our students a chance to invent new works of "Theatre for Young Audiences." Last year's theme, "The Elements" yielded four 15-minute pieces that delighted children here and at their schools. This year the focus will be on storytelling as a communal resource for facing our fears.



a special double-bill performance:

The Unseen
by Craig Wright
directed by Eve Galanis


-and-

Feeding the Moonfish
by Barbara Wiechman
directed by Ashley Carvalho


November 12th @ 5pm, 13th @ 7:30pm
Black Box Theatre, Maloney Hall
-CLOSED-

The Unseen: Two men are in a prison for years, being tortured and questioned and they have no idea why. They can't see each other but they talk to keep one another sane. Wallace is logical and uses reason on everything, including how to escape, almost succeeding. Valdez is hopeful and uses his faith to keep himself alive. Smash, the prison guard, is evil and relishes in murder and torture. The two inmates soon hear a knocking coming from a wall, which seems to indicate that they have company somewhere nearby . . .

Feeding the Moonfish:
Destiny is not easy to spot. Several things in life, like memories and death, often keep us from ever realizing our true potential, from actualizing our possible futures. But when the pain has dug a hole so deep and the memories have drowned you, and you prefer this, what is left? When lonlieness is your only companion and violence the only downfall to your dreams, is hanging on worth the pain? Is sacrificing your own life and denying what could be worth the few moments of what's left of a father's love? Feeding the Moonfish asks these very questions as we learn the relationship between the moon and the moonfish can be just as real and strong for people.

The artwork for this double-bill
was done by Lukasz Pikora




Cirque du Fantasia

featuring:

Commedia dell'Arte Shorts
created and performed
as an ensemble

- and -

Circus

directed and arranged by
Kimberly Carvalho

November 19th @ 5pm, 20th @ 7:30pm
Torp Theatre, Davidson Hall

Commedia dell’Arte: Come witness the genre of comedic theatre that inspired Charlie Chaplin, The Three Stooges, and Wall-E, as it was meant to be seen: fast, physical, and in italian! These three comedic shorts were produced by the ensemble based on scenarios used by commedia troupes in reniscance italy, and include seduction, rejection, erections, farts, and large heaping of dumb people in awkward situations.

Circus: We are in Europe, during the late 1800's. The night has inevitably arrived and so have its players. At night, the entertainment begins! The players get ready for their unsuspecting audience until the doors finally open, the curtain rises, and the show begins . . . . WELCOME! To The Circus! Where all of your dreams come true . . . and then some. We have in store for you a show that will certainly keep you entertained and on the edge of your seats. So, come in! You are all welcome, especially the little kiddies! You won't be dissapointed, and trust me, neither will we.

The artwork for Cirque du Fantasia
was done by Brian Jacobson



Turkey-schlock

Novevember 19 @ 7:30pm
Black Box Theatre, Maloney Hall

Mobiloxyschlock is back part-time this year. Fall 2009 is busier than ever here at CCSU Theatre, and with our ambitious goal of 16 Shows in 16 Weeks, the usual plan of one schlock a month has had to be pared back. But despair not! A single super-schlock has moved in to fill the void, and it's here in time to celebrate everybody's favorite secular holiday. Gobble gobble gobble.





Dog Sees God:
Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead
by Bert V. Royal
directed by Kyle Mencel

December 10th, 11th @ 7:30pm
Black Box Theatre, Maloney Hall

Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead is a long way from the original comic strip Charles M. Shultz created back in the 1940's. This is the story of the Peanuts characters growing up, in modern times, with all the issues of the modern age. Drug use, suicide, eating disorders, teen violence, and rebellion all collide together speeding inevitably towards an end that is both haunting and hopeful.



All Second Stage Productions are FREE
no tickets necessary