Introducing the 2016 TRANSMIGRATION Festival’s New Works

Running March 10-12, this year’s TRANSMIGRATION festival will feature six original dramas: A Brief Eternity, Colony Collapse Disorder, The Elephant in the Room, Vices, Elliot Popkin and The Home.

Audience members will have the opportunity to customize their theater-going experience by choosing to watch up to four different productions, which are performed simultaneously and in non-traditional spaces throughout CCM’s Corbett Center for the Performing Arts.

____

A Brief Eternity, TRANSMIGRATION 2016.

A BRIEF ETERNITY
History repeats itself. History repeats. History.
Highly dangerous and experimental technology has provided us (and you) the opportunity of a lifetime: to visit the past, future and perhaps even the alternate present. From the comfort of our transporter you’ll be able to safely observe dinosaurs, historical events happening in the flesh and perhaps even your own birth. Why wonder, when you can see it with your own eyes? You’re sure to lose your senses and you just might find yourself along the way. Warning: possible side effects include dizziness, time radiation and general incidents. Must be at least 40 inches tall to ride.
Featuring: Ethan Finder, Alison Sluiter, Madeleine Page-Schmit, Isaac Hickox-Young, Rupert Spraul, Ryan Garrett, Michaela Tropeano, Colleen Ladrick
Location: Corbett Center 4735

____

Colony Collapse Disorder, TRANSMIGRATION 2016.

COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER
Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
Bees are an intrinsic and beautiful part of our environment. However, these bees are not immune to danger. Spores from a parasitic fungus called cordyceps may infiltrate their bodies, and their minds. It’s infected brain directs the bee back to the hive to spread the infection further. Those afflicted, if they’re discovered by the worker bees, are quickly taken and dumped far away from the hive. It may seem extreme, but if they are unable to stop the infected bee, the hive may collapse.
Featuring: Sarah Durham, Jacqueline Daaleman, Landon Hawkins, James Egbert, Clare Combest, Sydney Ashe, Hannah Kornfeld, Bartley Booz, and Devan Pruitt.
Location: Corbett Center 4735

____

The Elephant in the Room, TRANSMIGRATION 2016.

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
It’s a play about an elephant ghost.
A young, bright-eyed actor trying to make it in the big city—Milwaukee is the big city—has booked the dream job of a part on long-running local children’s show, Oofa Moobooz. Entering the jungle-themed studio with nervous excitement, he joins an endearing cast of local stars, all with their own funny quirks… and secrets.
Featuring: Colin Edgar, Andrew Iannacci, Spencer Lackey, Katie McDonald, Andrew Ramsey, Joshua Reiter, Graham Rogers, Sara Haverty
Location: Corbett Center 3705

____ 

Vices, TRANSMIGRATION 2016.

VICES
The freaks come out at night.
Cocaine. Neon. Drag. Rum. A dirty women’s bathroom and a crime gone wrong. Welcome to 1990 South Beach, Miami, where the days are full of sun and sand, and the nights are full of energy and excess. Another day, another deal, but what happens when “just another night out” could be your last?
Featuring: Rachel Baumgarten, Arielle de Versterre, Emily Walton, Julia Netzer, Carissa Cardy, Mafer Del Real, Derek Kastner, Jabari Carter
Location: Corbett Center 3705

____

Elliot Popkin, TRANSMIGRATION 2016.

ELLIOT POPKIN
The best friends I never had
An 8-year-old boy has some classmates over for a play date. When it comes to third graders, you never know what you’re gonna get.
Featuring: Alice Skok, Keisha Kemper, Katie Langham, Olivia Passafiume, Nicholas Heffelfinger, Meg Olson, Gabriella DiVincenzo
Location: Corbett Center 4755

____

The Home, TRANSMIGRATION 2016.

THE HOME
Who wants it more?
When Tod and Karen Fazzari learn of their grandfather’s sudden death, they each see a promising opportunity to change their fate. But conflict arises when the siblings realize they aren’t alone in their endeavors. Trapped between a rock and a hard place, the Fazzari kids have a difficult choice to make. Sure, family is great, but diamonds are forever.
Featuring: Lauren Carter, Laura McCarthy, Kenzie Clark, Owen Alderson, Carter LaCava, and Sydney Martin, Annie Grove
Location: Corbett Center 4755

____

Performance Times

• 7 p.m. Thursday, March 10
• 7 p.m. Friday, March 11
• 7 p.m. Saturday, March 12

Location
Various locations around CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Reserving Tickets
Admission to CCM’s TRANSMIGRATION Festival is free, but reservations are required. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the new U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.

____

CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Community Partner: ArtsWave

Drama Studio Series Sponsors: Neil Artman & Margaret Straub

CCM Drama Presents Bittersweet Production of Eugene O’Neill’s Comedy ‘Ah, Wilderness!’ Feb. 10-14

CCM resumes its Mainstage Series with Eugene O’Neill’s Ah, Wilderness!: A Comedy of Recollection in Three Acts, playing Feb. 11-14 with a special preview performance on Wednesday, Feb. 10. The show also bids a fond farewell to its director, and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Graduate Studies, R. Terrell Finney as he retires from fulltime status at CCM.

The words “Eugene O’Neill” and “comedy” are rarely used in the same sentence unless that sentence is “Eugene O’Neill does NOT write comedy.” The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of Long Day’s Journey into Night and Mourning Becomes Electra is primarily known for his semi-autobiographical plays about characters who struggle to maintain their hopes and aspirations but ultimately slide into despair and disillusionment. Ah, Wilderness! is not one of those plays.

Set in an idyllic Connecticut town (presumably New London, O’Neill’s hometown) on the Fourth of July weekend of 1906, the play focuses on the Miller family and their 16-year-old son Richard, whose coming of age story offers a tender portrait of small town family values, teenage growing pains, and young love.

“It’s really quite the opposite of a typical O’Neill family story,” says director R. Terrell Finney. “The subtitle of the play is ‘A Comedy of Recollection,’ so my take on it is this is the family unit that O’Neill wishes he had.”

Even though it’s a comedy, the show still has plenty of the classic O’Neill depth-of-character for which he is known, “If it were written by a playwright of lesser skill, it could verge on the sentimental, but [O’Neill] brings elements that his other plays deal with: alcoholism, squandered love, intolerance and political strife. So, although it is a very loving and romantic portrait of a family, it has some depth as well,” explains Finney.

CCM’s production will be very true to the original look and feel of the play as written. “We’ve tried to create a world that’s going to let us live in 1906, so everything on stage is very period-specific,” says Finney. For example, it was important to obtain the exact music requested by O’Neill for various parts of the play, “I have to thank Dr. bruce mcclung from the Department of Musicology; he really helped us locate the music and source material so we could stay true to the original script,” Finney adds.

Ah! Wilderness!’s tender feel makes it a fitting farewell for it’s director, R. Terrell Finney. Finney’s tenure as a fulltime faculty member will come to an end this semester after 33 years of service as a member of the Department of Drama and head of CCM’s Division of Opera, Musical Theatre, Dramatic Arts and Arts Administration (now known as the Division of Theatre Arts, Production and Arts Administration, or TAPAA). Finney has most recently served as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Graduate Studies at CCM.

R. Terrell Finney directs this beloved classic by Eugene O’Neill.

Over his time at CCM, Finney’s approach to directing has changed, he says, for the better, “I’d like to think I’m more relaxed than when I started! Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches in the theater. I’ve also really come to respect and trust actor instinct. If a director can open a door to the creativity the actor can bring, he’s done his job.”

Finney says directing Ah Wilderness! has reinvigorated his love for the creative process and, even though he’s entering a much-deserved retirement, he hopes to stay involved in the future, “I’ve had a ball directing this show. It’s been six years since I’ve directed and it’s been so liberating. It’s amazing to be involved in the creative process, so if you had asked me, without having done this show, what I wanted to do in retirement I may have just said, ‘Oh, tend my garden,’ but now I would hope that I can continue to direct. I’m not quite ready to be put out to pasture!”

The Company

• Jonah Sorscher as Tommy Miller
• Olivia Passafiume as Mildred Miller
• Owen Alderson as Arthur Miller
• Katie Langham as Essie Miller
• Rachel Baumgarten as Lily Miller
• Devan Pruitt as Nat Miller
• Andrew Iannacci as Sid Davis
• Andrew Huyler Ramsey as Richard Miller
• Spencer Lackey as David McComber
• Mickey Tropeano as Norah
• Isaac Hickox-Young as Went Selby
• Annie Grove as Belle
• James Egbert as Bartender
• Ryan Garrett as Salesman
• Emily Walton as Muriel McComber

The Creative Team

• R. Terrell Finney, director
• Thomas C. Umfrid and Whitney Glover, scenic designers
• Adam Ditzel, lighting designer
• Mathew D. Birchmeier, sound designer
• Maria Lenn, costume designer
• Missy White, wig & make-up designer
• k. Jenny Jones, fight choreographer
• Scott Slucher, stage manager

Performance Times

• 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10 (preview)
• 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11
• 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12
• 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13
• 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14

Location
Patricia Corbett Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to Ah, Wilderness! are $27-31 for adults, $17-20 for non-UC students and $15-18 UC students with a valid ID. Tickets to the Feb. 10 preview performance are just $15.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/mainstage/ah-wilderness.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the new U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.

____

CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s

Community Partner: ArtsWave

Ah, Wilderness!: A Comedy of Recollection in Three Acts is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.

CCM E-Media Students Receive Top Honors at National Broadcasting Society Convention

CCM alumnus Tim Neumann.

Frequent readers of The Village News are likely already familiar with the work of alumnus Tim Neumann (BFA Electronic Media, 2014), as Neumann produced several memorable promotional videos for CCM’s Mainstage and Studio Dramas with his colleague Dan Marque (BFA Electronic Media, 2014), including a stunning “trailer” for CCM’s 2013 production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible (which you can view here).

We are delighted to report that Neumann won a grand prize in the “Video Instructional/ Industrial/ Promotional Production” category at last month’s National Broadcasting Society national convention in Atlanta for a promotional video he created about CCM Drama! You can watch his award winning video below.

Current E-Media major Josh Hamester also took home a top award within the category of “Video Sports Segment” at the convention! Congrats, Tim and Josh!

Learn more about CCM’s Department of Drama by visiting ccm.uc.edu/drama.

Learn more about CCM’s Division of Electronic Media by visiting ccm.uc.edu/emedia.

CCM Drama Students Present New Works in TRANSMIGRATION Festival This Week

CCM’s Drama students flex their writing, editing, designing and directing muscles to produce the 2015 TRANSMIGRATION Festival of Student-Created New Works taking place March 11-13 in non-traditional performances spaces throughout CCM Village. Admission is free, but reservations are required.

Brant Russell, Assistant Professor of Drama and producer of this year’s TRANSMIGRATION Festival describes how the students begin their projects. “The groups are chosen at random at the beginning of each school year. The only thing we do is make sure that there is representation from each grade level in every group.”

The students are given freedom to explore what they want to do for their productions, and the instructors typically don’t see the pieces until about a week before opening night.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Because of the intense schedule of productions in the fall, the student groups meet after UC’s winter break and come up with concepts. Senior AC Horton says that this year her group “sat down and created a list of things we want to have in the play or the process: a fantastical element, poetic language, to begin the production by moving and not sitting down. On the don’t-wants list we had things like domestic violence and drugs. We like to establish values at the top of the process.” The final idea “shows up one day at rehearsal,” she says, describing the process as very organic.

“Each group has a different way they like to work. Figuring out the needs of each group is the most difficult part, but it’s also the best part. We rehearse every day by doing a song with choreography. We pull open the mirrors and sing and do cartwheels. It’s our own process,” laughs Horton.

These unique methods have helped all of the students grow as artists. Junior Colleen Ladrick says, “you learn where you’re needed. I saw a need and was able to bring that to a collaborative situation… and it lifted a pressure off of the other people in my group.” This year Ladrick took on a lot of the scripting; something she had never considered doing previously. “You discover your tack as a result of filling a necessity,” adds Russell.

Horton recalls filling the role of TRANSMIGRATION electrician. “You have 85 extension cords, two power strips and a half an hour to set up, perform and tear down. It’s my goal to short out a TRANSMIGRATION classroom,” she jokes.

Ladrick agrees that “the process never stops. The challenges keep happening and you have to keep improvising. There’s never enough time to get comfortable. That’s what makes it so fun. You never know what’s going to happen.”

Russell feels that TRANSMIGRATION is an important activity for CCM drama students. “It would be very irresponsible [for this program] to turn out students who did not know how to produce their own work. We want to create actors who are technically proficient and also have something to say. Transmigration empowers them.”

After all of the insanity and fun surrounding TRANSMIGRATION has come to a close, each of the participants will be required to turn in a paper. This is still school, after all.

TRANSMIGRATION 2015 will feature the original works Coulter Cliffs Inn, Neutral and Non-Partisan, [cult]ured, A Fool’s Paradise, Seven Feet Under and Mandatory Fun. Audience members will have the opportunity to customize their evening of theater experiences by choosing to watch as many as four different productions, which are performed simultaneously in non-traditional spaces throughout CCM’s Corbett Center for the Performing Arts.

Performance Times

• 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 11
• 7 p.m. Thursday, March 12
• 7 p.m. Friday, March 13

Locations
Various locations throughout CCM Village, including:

• Room 3705, Corbett Center for the Performing Arts
• Room 4735, Corbett Center for the Performing Arts
• Room 4755, Corbett Center for the Performing Arts

Festival Schedule

7 p.m.

• Coulter Cliffs Inn, Room 4755
• Seven Feet Under, Room 4735
• Neutral and Nonpartisan, Room 3705

7:45 p.m.

• Coulter Cliffs Inn, Room 4755
• cult[ured], Room 4735
• Mandatory Fun, Room 3705

  8:30 p.m.

• A Fool’s Paradise, Room 4755
• cult[ured], Room 4735
• Neutral and Nonpartisan, Room 3705

 9:15 p.m.

• A Fool’s Paradise, Room 4755
• Seven Feet Under, Room 4735
• Mandatory Fun, Room 3705

Reserving Tickets
Admission to TRANSMIGRATION is free, but reservations are required. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the new U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
____________________

TRANSMIGRATION 2015 PRODUCTION SYNOPSES AND CAST LISTS

Coulter Cliffs Inn
There are no secrets that time does not reveal.

Established in 1852 by the Jospeh L. Coulter family, the Coulter Cliffs In has been revered for its antique charm and timeless atmosphere. Nestled in the misty cliffs of Northern Maine, the Coulter Cliffs Inn has attracted a diverse array of curious travelers for generations. Let us take you back to a simpler time with our cozy rooms, full bar and nighttime entertainment. But be advised, once you step foot into your new serene home, you may never want to leave.

Cast: Trey Wright, Alison Sluiter, Colin Edgar, Clare Combest, Annie Grove, Kenzie Clark and Rupert Spraul
____

Neutral and Non-Partisan
Capture their minds, and hearts and souls will follow.

Operation [BLANK] has been compromised. Indoctrination tactics, regarding GREY PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS (PSYOP), implemented to “Leave it to Beaver” have been breached. Target [BLANK] detected an abnormality resulting in an imminent threat of exposure. Joint staffer, [BLANK], has declined to give a statement in order to maintain plausible deniability for the US government. Sector [BLANK] running operation [BLANK] sanctioned “the six” to fabricate authenticity in order to enhance productivity to the effect of [BLANK], which would dissolve variables concerning gross domestic product and quality of life. It is advised, and therefore essential, to dispose all records of incrimination and proceed by code [BLANK].

Cast: Connor Lawrence, Rachel Baumgarten, Laura McCarthy, Ryan Garrett, Katie McDonald, Lauren Carter and Meg Olson
____

[cult]ured
Fresh yogurt. Fresh ideas.

An unsuspecting reporter serendipitously stumbles upon a mystical frozen yogurt stand in rural Oregon. The charming characters that populate the stand catalyze a spritiual journey and raise more questions than expected. What does it mean to be part of a community? The reporter is forced to confrontsocial norms and societal constraints, and is left forever wondering: Are we all homogenized, or are we… cultured?

Cast: Anna Stapleton, Carli Rhoades, Keisha Kemper, Alice Skok, Sydney Ashe, Christian Thomason, Landon Hawkins, Mafer Del Real and Andrew Ramsey
____

A Fool’s Paradise
Death was never more full of life.

When the Boca Raton Community Theatre Players notice their subscriptions taking a drastic drop, Peaches Montgomery and her cast of actors ban together to mount one of Shakespeare’s classic tales, directed at her least subscribed audience – urban youth.

Cast: Spencer House, Fabiola Rodriguez, Devan Pruitt, Spencer Lackey, Katie Langham, Isaac Hickox-Young and Olivia Passfiume
____

Seven Feet Under
How low would you go before you’re buried alive?

This twisted depression-era fairy tale follows an eccentric family of seven miners as they pursue a legendary treasure for their mistress. In a story of adventure, obsession and greed, they must figure out how low they are willing to go to attain a better life.

Cast: Arielle De Versterre, Bartley Booz, Emily Walton, Owen Alderson, Nicholas Heffelfinger, Eliza Lore and Joshua Reiter
____

Mandatory Fun
A good time is required.

In a futuristic dystopia where robots hold all the cards, six humans are forced to participate in “Mandatory Fun.” This gameshow pits contestants against each other to provide entertainment for humans and robots alike. Integrity, Alliances and Plot Structure will be tested – but who will take home The Grand Prize?

Cast: AC Horton, Colleen Ladrick, Andrew Iannacci, Julia Netzer, Michaela, Tropeano, James Egbert and Carissa Cardy

____________________

CCM Season Presenting Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Drama Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman and Margaret Straub

Community Partner: ArtsWave

CCM Video: Imagine the Possibilities with CCM Drama

Graduating CCM E-Media student Tim Neumann (BFA, 2014) has created a stunning video exploration of CCM’s acclaimed Department of Drama.

Described by Backstage magazine as a “first-rate BFA program in acting, ” CCM Drama creates graduates who go on to careers in theatre, film, television and national media. Watch the video above and imagine the possibilities.

With programs like E-Media and Drama living side-by-side, it’s easy to see why CCM is considered a preeminent institution for the performing and media arts!

Learn more about CCM’s Department of Drama by visiting ccm.uc.edu/theatre/drama.

Learn more about CCM’s Division of Electronic Media by visiting ccm.uc.edu/emedia.

LCT Awards ‘PO 11259: Sincerely Yours’ Top Prize in CCM’s TRANSMIGRATION Festival

Six teams of student actors craft and perform original 30-minute shows during the 2014 TRANSMIGRATION Festival.

Panelists for the League of Cincinnati Theatres (LCT) have recognized PO 11259: Sincerely Yours as the best production at CCM’s 2014 TRANSMIGRATION Festival, CCM Drama’s annual presentation of student written and produced work. Congratulations to that show’s creative team of Jaclyn Chantel, Hannah Halvorson, Spencer Lackey, Laura McCarthy, Fabiola Rodriguez and Anna Stapleton!

Panelists awarded second place to The 17th Annual Snipes, Arkansas, Harvest Festival, and honorable mentions to Dreams R Us: Tonight’s Answers to Tomorrow’s Questions and Complex: A Structure of Sound, An Organism of Vibrations.

The sixth-annual festival allows the audience to experience half-hour works produced by small groups of Drama majors, who create and design all aspects of their productions from start to finish. The festival is an exciting event for both guests and the presenters, as audiences get the opportunity to see up to four very different pieces of new theatre in a single night and the students premiere works that are entirely their own. This year, six shows were presented.

PO 11259 was praised for being “funny and poignant” and “a cool concept,”while The Snipes, Arkansas, Harvest Festival allowed its actors to show “a lot of dimensions in a short play.”

CCM Drama Students Present New Works in Sixth Annual TRANSMIGRATION Festival This Week

CCM TRANSMIGRATION 2014 logo.

Students in CCM’s Department of Drama flex their writing, editing, designing, directing and acting muscles with the 2014 TRANSMIGRATION Festival of Student-Created New Works, taking place March 6-8 throughout CCM Village. Admission is free, but reservations are required.

The sixth-annual festival allows audiences to experience half-hour works produced by small groups of drama majors, who create all aspects of their productions from start to finish.

“As a faculty member, I’m making an active effort to stay out of their way,” says Brant Russell, Assistant Professor of Drama and producer of this year’s TRANSMIGRATION Festival. “The audience will get a real sense of what our students are reacting to in their world, and we want that rawness to come through in each show.”

TRANSMIGRATION came into being in response to the dynamic careers of today’s professional actors. “There are two very important lessons TRANSMIGRATION gives us the opportunity to learn,” asserts Shaun Sutton, senior drama major from Overland Park, Kansas. “First, we don’t choose our groups – they’re assigned. It’s important for us to learn how to negotiate and work with new people in a medium we’re all so passionate about. Second, in the world of YouTube and Vine where anyone can be an actor, we need to develop our skills to tell a more powerful story. TRANSMIGRATION is our time to play with an unprecedented lack of structure in an intense professional training program.”

Each year, TRANSMIGRATION is different. This year’s shows include a soundscape in a dark room, a piece about dream creation, the story of a cosmic post office box and a work about community and sticking to your roots. See below for more information on this year’s original works.

CCM’s ‘The Crucible’ Earns Four Star Rating by the League of Cincinnati Theatres

CCM’s proudly presents Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible,’ running through Sunday, Oct. 6. Photography by Mark Lyons.

We are delighted to report that panelists for the League of Cincinnati Theatres (LCT) have recognized CCM’s Mainstage Series production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible with a four star rating!

Written in 1953  as a parable for McCarthyism by American playwright Arthur Miller, The Crucible tells a story of hysteria and witchcraft in colonial Salem.

Panelists praised The Crucible as “a skillful, intense, heartfelt, and nearly perfect production of The Crucible. I truly watched in wonder as the story unfolded.”

“The ensemble acting was terrific…this cast was admirable in its portrayal of a wide range of ages, young to middle-age to elderly.”

As one panelist noted: “I would recommend the production because it is a classic play that still resonates today.”

League of Cincinnati Theatre panelists evaluate productions on a five star scale and recommend shows at either a four star or five star level. Nominations for LCT awards will be determined and announced at the end of the season and winners awarded at the annual LCT gala in the spring. Learn more about The Crucible‘s four star rating here.

CCM’s 2013-14 Mainstage Series resumes at the end of this month with a joyous, graceful stage adaptation of the classic film musical Singin’ in the Rain! Learn more about that production and the rest of our current season here.

CCM Slideshows: The Crucible

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

CCM’s highly anticipated 2013-14 Mainstage Series opens this week with a bold new production of the American classic The Crucible, running tonight through Sunday, Oct. 6, in Patricia Corbett Theater.

You can enjoy a preview of the Tony Award-winning play, courtesy of photographer Mark Lyons. Tickets and subscription packages are on sale now.

CCM’s 2013-14 Mainstage Series Opens Next Week With ‘The Crucible’

Joe Markesbery is “John Proctor” and Laura McCarthy is “Abigail Williams” in CCM’s ‘The Crucible.’ Photography by Mark Lyons.

CCM opens its 2013-14 Mainstage Series with an intensely physical retelling of the American classic The Crucible. This epic drama of morality and justice runs Oct. 3 through 6 in CCM’s Patricia Corbett Theater, with a preview performance at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 2.

Under the direction of Richard Hess, Professor and Chair of CCM’s Department of Drama, this production of The Crucible “is a post-modern expression” of the world we live in, says Hess. “There’s no fanciness; it doesn’t need to be tampered with. The Crucible was powerful when it was presented in a time and place where it resonated beyond the Salem witch trials.”

Audience members will be surprised by the amount of physicality on stage. “This Crucible will not be stuffy people standing and talking and arguing. They’re going to be running, tearing at each other, moving. It’s pretty down and dirty,” explains Hess. The physicality of the characters embodies the conflicts and moral dilemmas that they face. “It’s not a pretty costume drama.” Even the recognizable setting of Salem may feel different. The scenic design by Dana Hall, second-year scenic design graduate student, will be stark and very clean with a three-story motorized wall that moves throughout the performance.

Joe Markesbery, senior, plays the role of John Proctor, while Abigail Williams is brought to life by sophomore Laura McCarthy. Anna Stapleton plays Elizabeth Proctor. “What I love so much about Richard’s direction of this show is that one really gets a sense of the hysteria, betrayal and selfish ambition that John Proctor fights so hard against,” says Markesbery of his portrayal of John Proctor. “Proctor is a man who, because of his affair with Abigail, truly isn’t sure if he is good or evil. Ultimately, every action he commits in the play is to defend the truth and bring evil to the light, but still he thinks himself a fraud. From peace and simplicity to betrayal and the destruction of a man and his good name: there’s the tragedy for me.”

View the official trailer for CCM’s Mainstage Series production of The Crucible here.