Theatre Arts Students Showcase Talent

February 16, 2010

As the Visual and Performing Arts Department celebrates its tenth anniversary, several students from the Theatre Arts Program will be showcasing their work in upcoming events. Beginning Thursday, February 18, senior Allison Cirbus will present her one act play Bench at Stonehill's Hemingway Theatre. On Monday, February 22, the second annual Student 10-Minute Play Festival, 6x6x10, will be presented at the Theatre as well.

Bench follows a day in the life of a young homeless girl named Flora. "To the public, she is homeless, but in her mind the bench in Central Park she sits on everyday is her home," says Cirbus.

"The play is not a typical one," notes Cirbus (pictured below). "It's not a fantasy story. It's most certainly not a love story. It's not criminal and it's not a mystery. It's about realization. It's about the understanding that the people we come into contact with every day, whether we like it or not, affect us in some way."

A second performance of Bench will be held on Friday, February 19 as well. Both shows will start at 8:00 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

Last year Cirbus' ten-minute play, Mirror Image, was just one of six plays from New England chosen to be presented in a staged reading at the American College Theatre Festival.

"I've had a great experience with the Theatre Arts program here at Stonehill," says Cirbus. "I came in as a first-year thinking all I wanted to do was act. And then I discovered costume design, stagecraft, set design, and of course playwriting. I was able to explore every aspect of theater to find my niche."

The Student 10 minute Play Festival will feature six plays by six student playwrights, each 10 minutes in length, hence the name 6x6x10. Slated to begin at 7:30 p.m., each play will be presented in staged readings directed by playwriting teacher, Professor David Eliet. This event is also free and open to the public.

Junior T.J. Walsh will present his play Lost in the Woods prior to senior Tim Cushing's In the South They Marry Their Siblings. They will be followed by sophomore Connor Hughes' Don't Say You Don't Remember (pictured left are student actors senior Adam Zukowski and sophomore Eleanor Muirhead from the play).

Junior Frank Ficarra will also present his play, Why It's Gross to Kiss Your Sister, followed by sophomore Michael Lemme's The Pursuit of Happiness, and junior Paige MacLean's 44 Hemlock.

Eliet says the festival will be a great opportunity for the students to see how an audience reacts to their plays. "This will be an important step in the further development of the plays and for the future growth of the playwrights," says Eliet.

Contact

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