The Radford University Department of Theatre and Cinema opens this season with two sets of student-directed, one-act plays that will be presented in alternating performances as part of the program’s Studio Series.
Two sets of plays will be featured on alternating dates. Content for these performances is intended for mature audiences.
“The Liddy Plays,” by Brooke Berman, will be directed by senior theatre major Sarah Pettengill. It opens today, Sept. 30, at 7:30 p.m. with additional performances on Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 4 at 2:00 p.m.
The second set of plays consists of two different one-act plays written by Tony Kushner.“Terminating or Sonnet LXXV or ‘Lass meine Schmerzen nicht verloren Sein’ or Ambivalence” and “Reverse Transcription: Six Playwrights Bury a Seventh” will be directed by senior theatre major Adian Chapman. These performances open Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m. with additional performances on Oct. 3 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, all 2020 theatre productions will be streamed online. Performances will still be produced live, but will be delivered digitally to provide a safe experience for both patrons and performers.
Tickets are free, but reservations through the ticket office are required to obtain a unique streaming link and its associated password. Links are good for one viewing device only and will need to be reserved at least one day prior to the selected performance. Tickets can be acquired through https://rutheatretickets.universitytickets.com/
“The Liddy Plays” tells the tale of a unique brother and sister, Liddy and Emerson, who spend years confronting the death of their mother while navigating relationships with dangerous people, learning to meditate and finding a perspective on the past that will open the door to their future.
In the first of the Kushner plays, “Terminating or Sonnet LXXV or ‘Lass Meine Schmerzen Nicht Verloren Sein’ or Ambivalence,” Hendryk is forced to come to terms with his own uncertainties on love, life and sex. It’s a somber story of a fragile man trying to work through his mental anguish.
The second Kushner play “Reverse Transcription: Six Playwrights Bury a Seventh,” features a group of playwrights gathered together to bury their close friend Ding in the beautiful Abel’s Hill cemetery. Their highly illegal interment of their former colleague does not stop them from having a rousing discussion about life. Why do people write? What does success feel like? How does it change people?
