Brevard College’s theatre program has a 2015-2016 season loaded with comedy, drama and classic theatre for the local community.
The season begins with “The Diviners” written by Jim Leonard, Jr. This play is set in the 1930’s Great Depression era in Zion, Indiana (population 40). The large cast is well suited for the growing theatre program that has nearly doubled in size from the 2014-15 season. Brandon Smith will direct the show, which runs Oct. 22-25. He fondly describes Leonard’s work as “some of the most poetic and thought-provoking plays in recent memory.”
The season continues in the spring of 2016 with “Crimes of the Heart” by Beth Henley. Catherine Barricklow returns to Brevard College to direct a show she feels passionately about after seeing students’ reactions to the script in a directing class last spring. The show runs Feb. 11-14. This comedy will also be performed in Morrison Playhouse, giving it the freedom to offer an intimate connection between the audience and actors.
The final show of the season is William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” which runs April 7-10. Smith will direct and collaborate with Andrea Boccanfuso, students, and the newest member of the theatre faculty, Technical Director Andrew Maciula. To prepare for the formidable endeavor, there will be a month-long workshop this fall for theatre students and faculty. The experiential research project will work to develop modes of storytelling using innovative forms of style and spectacle.
“We hope this collaboration will allow us to bring something to our local audiences they’ve never seen before!” Smith said.
Two senior theatre students will be working with local area teachers to decide the nature of this year’s Senior Showcase. Dates will be released soon. Students are in the process of receiving teacher certification and are working to shape their project capstone around their theatre education skills and the needs of educators in our community.
Tickets for each performance cost $5 and will be available at Southern Comfort Records, online at Etix.com and at the Porter Center Box Office an hour before the show.
Brevard College is committed to an experiential liberal arts education that encourages personal growth and inspires artistic, intellectual, and social action.
(PHOTO: Brandon Smith, assistant professor of theatre and coordinator of the theatre studies major at BC, directs former student Molly Ledford in a rehearsal during the College’s 2014-15 theatre season.)