SCC's Center Stage Theatre Announces Productions for 2010-11

Published: 07/21/2010

Unless otherwise noted, all shows will be presented at 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sundays in the theater of the Donald D. Shook Fine Arts Building (FAB) on the SCC campus, located at 4601 Mid Rivers Mall Drive in Cottleville.
 
Tickets for the general public are $7; $5 for senior citizens and students; and free for SCC students with a valid I.D. High school matinees are $5 per student, and one free chaperone ticket is provided for every 15 students in attendance.  High school matinee shows are at 10 a.m.
 
Center Stage Theatre will continue its special offer from last year, “Budget Wednesdays.”  For Wednesday night productions, all tickets will be $4. SCC student tickets will remain free with valid I.D.
 
The first play of the season is Philip King’s “See How They Run,” directed by SCC theater professor Pamela Cilek. This is a rib-tickling farce that was a smash hit in London. Set during World War II, this lively comedy is filled with mistaken identities, including an American actress and actor turned military. There is also a cockney maid obsessed with movies and men and an old maid who touches alcohol for the first time. Don’t forget the four mysterious men dressed in clergymen’s suits, including an escaped prisoner and a sedate bishop aghast at the trumped-up stories and wild behavior. Recommended for audiences ninth grade and above. Auditions will be 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21, and 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24, with callbacks at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 25. Performances will be Sept. 29-Oct. 3 with a matinee performance for high school students at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 30.
 
Actor and screenwriter Steve Martin follows up with an absurd comedy of his own, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” which will be directed by Lynne Snyder. Picture this: Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso share a table at a Parisian café in 1904, just before the renowned scientist transformed physics with his theory of relativity and the celebrated painter set the art world afire with Cubism. These two geniuses muse on the 20th century’s achievements and future prospects as well as other fanciful topics with infectious dizziness. Bystanders at the café include Picasso’s agent, a bartender and his mistress, Picasso’s date, an elderly philosopher and an idiot inventor – all of whom introduce additional flourishes of humor. A surprise visitor from another era will also come into play. Recommended for audiences ninth grade and above. Auditions will be 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2, and 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 4, with callbacks at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5. Performances will be Nov. 17-21 with a matinee performance for high school students at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 18.
 
The next show will shift directions and take on a more dramatic approach with Shirley Lauro’s “A Piece of my Heart,” directed by Hal Berry, SCC professor of history and theater. This play follows the stories of six women who served in Vietnam and went to the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., only to be forced to reevaluate their traumatic past. The stories about their lives commemorate the service of an estimated 11,000 women who were irrevocably transformed by the Vietnam War. Recommended audiences ninth grade and above. Auditions will be 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15 and 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18, with callbacks at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 19. Performances will be Mar. 2-6 with a matinee performance for high school students at 10 a.m. Thursday, Mar. 3.
 
Lonna Wilke, SCC associate professor of theater, will direct “Four Room Asylum,” a manifestation of original work spawned from literary adaptation and collaborative writing. Presented by the SCC English Department, the psychological dramas of “Four Room Asylum” are the centerpiece of a new course that explores adaptations in dramatic literature. The plays were co-written by SCC student Ashton Jaymz in collaboration with professional playwrights Richard Haase and Anthony Charles Kleber. After studying the tradition and practice of adaptation, members of the class will engage in staged readings and acting workshops. The process culminates with a formal staging of the production. Recommended for audiences ninth grade and above. Auditions will be 7 p.m. Monday-Tuesday, Dec. 6-7. Performances will be April 13-17 with a matinee performance for high school students at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 14.
 
The final show of the season will be “The Drowsy Chaperone,” written by Bob Martin and Don McKeller with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. The musical will be directed by SCC adjunct theater professor Lynne Snyder, with musical direction by Gene Ditch, SCC professor of music. “The Drowsy Chaperone” is an infectious musical that pays tribute to the jazz-age shows of the 1920s and the power those shows had to transport us into a dazzling fantasy and lift our spirits in times of sadness. It all begins when a die-hard musical fan plays his favorite cast album on his turntable (a 1928 smash hit called “The Drowsy Chaperone”) and the show literally bursts to life in his living room. The audience is instantly immersed in the glamorous, hilarious tale of a celebrity bride and her uproarious wedding day, complete with thrills and surprises that take both the cast and the audience soaring into the rafters. Recommended for ages 10 and above. Vocal/acting auditions will be 7 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, May 17-18, dance auditions will be 6 p.m. Thursday, May 19, and callbacks will be 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 19. Performances will be July 26-31.
 
Center Stage Theatre shows are selected for mature audiences. Children under 10 years of age will not be admitted unless the play is specifically labeled “suitable for children.”  Theater patrons should contact the SCC Young People’s Theatre for performances geared toward younger audiences.
 
For more information about Center Stage Theatre, contact Vicky Teson at 636-922-8255. For tickets, call 636-922-8050.