Springfest poster artwork by Elissa Harvey
by Susie Pender
Every spring, the Greeley stage bustles with the sights and sounds of new, sometimes raw, talent. For four evenings, student playwrights, like great puppet masters, get their fellow students to strut their stuff and bring their visions alive before the masses. The week is always filled with laughter (a LOT of laughter), some intrigue, romance (but, of course, this IS high school), tragedy and despair (but, of course, this is HIGH SCHOOL!), a few missed lines, Some Serious Subjects and absurdity.
Students from Theatre Director Christopher Schraufnagel’s playwriting classes supply (most of) the lines, sometimes the playwright, oft’ times, a playwright’s friend provides the direction, and any student who wants contributes to the action on stage. The tireless tech crew makes it all happen beneath the lights (rather than in the dark) and with sound (and fury, where called for.) This year, an unprecedented number of Greeley students are taking part, or rather, playing a part.
Every night, Monday through Thursday, the action gets started in the Greeley Auditorium at 7:00 p.m. and typically winds down around 9:00 p.m. Come join the fun!
The schedule of plays and a brief summary of each, well, most, follows along with cast lists, if you’re looking to see a favorite from Greeley theatre. But remember, stars are born every night!
Monday June 7:
Dennis Faces Adversity, written by Zach Ehrlich and directed by Justin Wolf.
Observe! A planet much like ours. A bluish green world teeming with life, covered by many species as lowly as the tapeworm or as mighty as the noble accountant. But our story is not one of daring acrobatic arithmetic, it is about a man. A man in a convenience store, perhaps one not unlike your own local repository of overpriced sugary treats and delicious dairy products. A man named … Dennis.
Cast:
The Narrator: Zach Ehrlich
Dennis: Cole Benack
Melvin: Christine Rae Haggerty
Gunman: Sky Jarrett
The Awkward Claw: Matt Haas
Grandma: Nick Petrillo
Inspector Kobold McDonald: Samuel Douglas Caywood
This Show Has Harpoons in It, written and directed by Luke Conley
Tiny Vessel, written and directed by Alanna Lauter
The Doctor, written and directed by Zach Ehrlich
Tuesday, June 8, 7:00 p.m.
Variations on the Death of Trotsky, directed by Cordelia Nowak, written by David Ives
All the Wrong Places, written and directed by Grace Magoun
A compelling tale of romance and betrayal, in which a badly-thought-out plot falls in on itself and nobody is quite sure how to handle the situation.
Cast: Jordyn Kaufman, Joni Kretzmer
Wednesday June 9, 7:00 p.m.
The Most Massive Woman Wins, written by Madeline George, directed by Deborah Sachare
The Most Massive Woman Wins is a challenging play about the perception of women’s bodies in society. Four women find themselves revealing their stories in the waiting room of a liposuction clinic. Each woman’s story speaks to the core of our personal feelings of inadequacy and asks why we punish ourselves for our imperfections.
Cast:
Jessica Perelman
Juliette Verrengia
Hayley Watkins
Kimia Zakerin
Crew:
Michael Forster
Doris Berman
Rockaby, directed by Hannah Cohen, written by Samuel Beckett
Schizophrenia in the Shower, written and directed by Nora Kerrich
She Had Some Horses, written by Joy Harjo, adapted for the stage and directed by Christopher Schraufnagel; Original music composed by A.J. Perlin (Greeley ’08);
Video sequences compiled and directed by Reid Antin.
Based on the poem by Joy Harjo, She Had Some Horses is an expressionistic performance art piece that explores beauty and art (represented in the horses) and a little girl’s struggle with acceptance and the lost of innocence. Incorporating music, dance, theatrical structure and form, mask work and multimedia, She Had Some Horses examines the blurry lines between theatre and performance art.
Please be advised that some material and visual images are NOT APPROPRIATE FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN. SMOKE, STROBE LIGHTS AND GUN SHOTS WILL BE USED IN THIS PERFORMANCE.
Cast:
Members of the 2009-2010 Theatre Repertory Company
Crew:
Michael Forster
Grace Magoun
Anna Ohara
Deborah Sachare
Laura Stein
Thursday, June 10, 7:00 p.m.
Loose Lips Sink Ships, written and directed by Matt Krakaur
Subconscious Feelings, written and directed by Radhika Basu
Cast: Kaitlyn Magnotte and Emerson Obus
Crew: Adam Finn
Premonition, written and directed by Alex Gold
Premonition is an original thriller that examines the strangest and most unfamiliar corner of the mind: the world of dreams. Ann’s nightmares have always upset her, but when they begin to blend with her waking life, she can’t tell the difference. Eventually her nightmares drive her to unthinkable actions and tear apart her life and her husband’s.
Cast:
Alex Young as Ann
Tim McHale as Paul
Joel Gellis as Engel
Josh Katz as Weinstein/Roy.
Technical direction by Ben Ehrlich and Elissa Harvey.
Bridges, written by Zach Ehrlich, directed by Christopher Schraufnagel
Based on a true story and actual occurrences that took place in France, Bridges is an absurdist recreation of what happens when an eclectic group of people come together for a typical bridge tour of Paris. As all bridge tours of France end, this play too ends in a full out race war. If you love penguins, ninjas, Goth girls, southern bells, trolls, robots, grandmas, and Pizza Station ... you might moderately enjoy Bridges!
Cast:
Jeremy Fuchs, Ethan Fuirst, Sycamore May, Carly Cohen, Sasha Conley, Michael Bernstein, Bryan Grover, Ben Weinstein, Jake Sussman, Henry Simon, Philip Sieverding, Cyndi Bonacum, Alexis Childs, Maile Hamilton, Emma Zander, Phylicia Ashley, Caroline Whalen, Dana Sorkin, Nicole Shimer, Jackie Seltzer, Juliette Saffer, Olivia Seligman, Ryan Santone, Jared Krosser, Jordan Grappel, Miriam Gleckman, Ali Goldberg, Sarah Greenberg, Becky Hamroff, Mary Kate McGetrick, Alexandra Medway, Sammie Nish, Julia Ohara, Bari Perlmutter, Hailey Rosenthal
Crew:
Michael Forster
Grace Magoun
Anna Ohara
Deborah Sachare
Laura Stein
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