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Date 4-12-06
Contact Angela Kilcrease (601) 266-4988
Hattiesburg—In
Fefu and Her Friends, the last main stage production by
the University of Southern Mississippi Department of Theatre and
Dance for 2005-06, the audience is invited to follow eight women
throughout the rooms of a house on a single day in 1935.
The play, running
April 20-23 and 27-30 at the Martha R. Tatum Theatre, comes courtesy
of Cuban-American playwright Maria Irene Fornes, nine-time winner
of the coveted Obie Award.
Eight bright,
unique women—played by a strong, all-female Southern Miss cast—gather
to plan a program for the educational society to which they belong.
Along the way, they explore with frivolity and anguish their relationships
with men, other women and, most importantly, each other.
Mid-play, the
audience is divided and each group rotates from room to room in
FeFu's house, viewing scenes featuring the party's individual guests;
the audience will travel to other spaces in the Theatre and Dance
Building, including the Gilbert F. Hartwig Theatre.
“You can think
of it as if you are in an art gallery on a guided tour from painting
to painting, except this time the painting is live,” said show director
Katie McCrary, a second-year Master of Fine Arts directing student
from Hendersonville, N.C.
McCrary recently
directed a Graduate Directing Studio production of Samuel Beckett’s
End Game in December 2005. FeFu will be her first main
stage production to direct.
Feminist and
engaging, delicate and visceral, Fornes’ works have paved the way
for a new language of dramatic realism, garnering her reputation
as "one of America's most significant playwrights."
“Being a part
of this show has opened my eyes to the work done by those before
us, in order to make our quality of life better,” said Dori Garziano
of Pass Christian, a third-year graduate student in the show. “They
need to be remembered and applauded for that. It is about being
a significant part of a community of individuals working toward
a common goal.”
The production
will be presented at 7:30 p.m. each evening April 20-22 and 27-29
and at 2 p.m. on April 23 and 30; performances will begin in the
Martha R. Tatum Theatre. Tickets are $12 for adults; $10 for Southern
Miss faculty and staff, senior citizens and military; and $6 for
students. Order tickets online at www.usm.edu/tickets
or call the Southern Miss Ticket Office at 601.266.5418 or 800.844.8425.
Click to enlarge
Cast members
Kacey Musick of Vancleave (gesturing with her hand) and Robin Aronson,
assistant professor of voice/acting at Southern Miss, rehearse their
scene for the April 20-23, 27-30 production of FeFu and Her
Friends.
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