2002: Artist-In-Residence Introduces World-Premiere Play

Artist-In-Residence Introduces World-Premiere Play

Friday, October 18, 2002 11:11 AM

The Muhlenberg Theatre Association presents the world premiere play "Anything's Dream" by two-time Obie award-winning dramatist Mac Wellman. Performances are scheduled for November 15, 16, 19-23 at 8 p.m., and November 17 and 24 at 2 p.m. in Trexler Pavilion's Studio Theatre. Tickets for this performance are $14, available through the Box Office at 484-664-3333, or visit http://www.muhlenberg.edu/cultural/baker/baker.htm.

Mac Wellman joins the College this year through the Baker Artist-in-Residence Program. His responsibilities include teaching playwriting, as well as collaborating with faculty and students in the production of "Anything's Dream," commissioned by Muhlenberg College through the Baker Foundation. Wellman's most recent productions include "Cat's Paw" and "The Difficulty of Crossing A Field." His poetic theatre is said to combine paradox and humor, which often results in theatrical adventure. In addition to his repertoire of individual plays and collections, Wellman is the author of two novels, has edited several play anthologies, and has published several collections of poetry. He has worked as playwright-in-residence and educator from coast to coast, and he is currently the Donald I. Fine Professor of Playwriting at Brooklyn College.

At the core of Mac Wellman's poetic theater is paradox and humor, resulting in theatrical adventures that are entertaining and culturally revealing. "Anything's Dream" merges the dizzying confusion of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with the fascination of Victorian painters for the poetic, fairy-inhabited world of the play. According to Wellman, it is anything but traditional narrative or adherence to the classical dramatic elements of structure. This thought-provoking play embraces character Nicole, a young college student faced with a dilemma in her French class, and Puck, who finds himself at the center of various catastrophic events, as it challenges and tests its audience.

Director Beth Schachter, assistant professor of theatre arts, describes the language of the piece as "lyrical-mad-musings on the unsayable." The company includes Alison Hinks '03 as Nicole, Jamie McKittrick '04 as Nicole's Alter Ego, and Stephen Soroka '03 as Puck. Other individuals joining the set are composer Cynthia Hopkins, choreographer Clare Byrne, and designers Kyle Chepulis, Liz Covey, Andrew Hill and Paul Adams.

The strong relationship between the Baker Foundation and performing arts at the College was established over twenty years ago in 1981. Beginning with scholarships in music and theatre for students, the program has developed significantly, sponsoring artists and their talents for the past ten years. In 1991, the Dexter and Dorothy Baker Foundation initiated a donation of $1 million over twenty years in order to fund these nationally recognized artists to work in extended residencies on the campus while still offering awards in theatre, music, and dance to students.