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HATTIESBURG
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Several alumni and a retired faculty member from the Department
of Theatre and Dance at The University of Southern Mississippi are
currently taking the theater scene by storm in Asheville, N.C. Highland
Repertory Theatre, a professional theatrical company, is producing
Mississippi resident Laddy Sartin's comedy "Catfish Moon."
David Matthews
is directing the play and is joined by cast members Leon Contavesprie,
Jason Johnson and Jason Kennah, all of whom received master's of
fine arts from the university's Department of Theatre and Dance.
Retired theater faculty member R.B. Hill, who directed the premiere
production of "Catfish Moon" at Southern Miss that eventually
went on to perform at the Kennedy Center as part of the American
College Theatre Festival in 1995, is the set designer and production
consultant.
"I am
honored and thrilled to direct such a special cast and play that
has its roots at The University of Southern Mississippi," Matthews
said. "Being an alumnus, along with three of the four cast
members, the playwright and R.B. Hill, has made this experience
one I'll always cherish and remember fondly."
This charming
comedy about three fishing buddies reunites the actors after three
years. Johnson and Kennah last performed together in the Southern
Miss production of "Lonesome West" in 2001, and Contavesprie,
Kennah and Matthews were cast mates in "Of Mice and Men"
in the fall of 2000.
"The show
is kind of a reunion for the three men in the cast, since we haven't
seen each other in over two years," Contavesprie said. "And
working with Dave Matthews and R.B. Hill again makes us all feel
like we're back at Southern Miss in our 'good ol' college days.'"
"This
is exactly the kind of collaborative support system we hope our
alumni establish among themselves," said Frank Kuhn, chair
of the Department of Theatre and Dance at Southern Miss. "We
also have another group of alums working together at a summer company
in Kentucky this summer, as well as other pockets of theater alums
working together around the country."
"Catfish
Moon" runs through the end of June at the Diana Wortham Theatre
in Asheville, N.C. The show then travels to Appalachian State University
at Boone, N.C., for a brief run.
For more information,
call the Southern Miss theater office at (601) 266-4994.
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