Translations
Theater for Community will perform the award-winning Irish play, "Translations," Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 25-27, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 28, at 2 p.m. at the Long Wharf Theatre, Stage II, in New Haven.
"Translations," written by internationally acclaimed playwright Brian Friel, is a powerful story about community, identity and the power of language to both unite and divide. The story takes place in 1833 in the village of Baile Beag, an Irish-speaking community in Donegal, Ireland. British military engineers come into this quiet, rural village with orders to map the area and translate the original Gaelic place names into English. The eradication of this community's history, language and familiar landscape forces the Irish-speaking inhabitants to make a dangerous choice: conform to the new order or fight. As tensions rise, a British officer and a young woman from the village recklessly begin a romance.
Quinnipiac students will perform all 10 characters in the play, which will be directed by Drew Scott, a part-time faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences.
"The play presents some wonderful and demanding challenges for the actors: from learning about day-to-day life in a rural Irish community in 1833 and bringing that to life on stage, to researching the historical background of the political strife between Ireland and Great Britain, to mastering convincing Irish and British accents," said Scott.
General admission tickets are $10 and $5 for Quinnipiac students and senior citizens. To reserve tickets, call 203-582-3500 and leave a name, the requested performance, the number of tickets and a contact phone number. Tickets can be picked up and paid for at the box office.
Gathering Shells
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The play examined the emotional impact and the trauma of war on soldiers who fight, as well as their family and friends at home. The production was part of a growing partnership between the professional theater and the University.
"Developing original plays concerned with social issues is a primary focus of the Theater for Community," said Crystal Brian, theater professor and chair of visual and performing arts.
"Providing our students with the opportunity to participate in the ongoing development process of a new work that explores the profound impact of post traumatic stress disorder on our veterans and their families furthers the mission of our theater program."
Brian and Vietnam veteran and poet Allan Garry co-wrote the original play, which Theater for Community first performed in 2007 at the Long Wharf Theatre, Stage II, in New Haven.
Vinegar Tom and Seven Jewish Children
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The first show, "Seven Jewish Children," recalled the bloody Israeli-Palestinian dispute over the past 70 years. The 10-minute play debuted earlier this year in London. Part of the box office proceeds went to a foundation that supports the children of Gaza.
The second play, "Vinegar Tom," is a powerful exploration of current issues of persecution, prejudice and torture viewed through the lens of the witchcraft trials in 18th century England. The production was directed by theater professor Crystal Brian and designed by Tricia Thelen, associate professor of theater.
"They really resonate and compliment each other," said Brian. "Both deal with the fears people have about change--and is very much what is going on now."
"The things we often work with in Theater for the Community are how we are sometimes afraid to work with people who are different than us," said Brian. "It's a tragic cycle. There has to be a way to stop looking at everyone as a threat or a challenge to your well-being."
Brian says the show provided a forum to examine issues that affect society. "It's to create a place for people to think and share ideas," she said. "Through conversation and sitting in a room together and looking at things as a community, maybe we could find a way to deal with them."
"We have a lot of problems to solve and these plays address what can happen when people can't find a way to identify their common concerns and solve the problems, but instead focus on their fears and differences," Brian said. "It's a good time to be talking about all of this, and these shows put a resonant historical perspective on it all."
The Laramie Project
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A celebration of the 2002 production which inaugurated Theater for Community, the event featured panel discussions with theater alumni who performed in the original production and traveled to Laramie, Wyo., to research the actual events that inspired the play, which was based on the murder of Matthew Shepard.
Performances were held Oct. 2-4, 2009, at the Clarice L. Buckman Theater on the Mount Carmel Campus. The Tectonic Theater Project production was directed by Mark Hoffner '10 and designed by Tricia Thelen, associate professor of theater.
Whitewashed: In the (Neighbor) 'Hood
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"We are creating an original piece of theater that explores and articulates the experiences we have as humans, the struggles and hardships we endure, and our universal search for strength, hope and transcendence in overcoming those struggles," said Brian, chairwoman of visual and performing arts. "Gun violence, violence prevention, childhood trauma, memory, dreams and empowerment are all motifs we will explore."
Quinnipiac students wrote the script with youths from the New Haven Family Alliance's Juvenile Review Board. "Whitewashed" is a multimedia production with music, dance, video and theatrical scenes.
"We're exploring what unites us as human beings, even when our backgrounds and experiences are different," Brian said. "The New Haven Family Alliance has a gun violence and trauma prevention program. This project is inspired by the same concern which inspired the original 'Whitewashed' - the desire to find a way to heal the divides which lead to racially, ethnically and economically motivated prejudice, insensitivity and violence, both on-campus and in the Greater New Haven community."
Love's Labour's Lost
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"Love's Labour's Lost" is about the King of Navarre and his three companions taking a public oath to study together and renounce women for three years. Their honor is then tested by the arrival of the princess of France and her three lovely companions. The men discover love at first sight followed by their entertaining but hopeless efforts to disguise their feelings.
The Girls Next Door
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Theater for Community presented "The Girls Next Door" Nov. 5 to 9, 2008, on the main stage of the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Conn.
"The Girls Next Door" is the women's version of the play "The Boys Next Door" written by Tom Griffin. Set in a group home in New England, four mentally-challenged women live under the supervision of an earnest but burned-out young social worker. The play offers vignettes from their daily lives, where little things can become poignant, funny and memorable.
Professional actress Mary Vreeland, who is deaf, directed. She performed in "Children of Lesser God" on Broadway and on a national tour. She also appeared in the CBS television movie "Have You Tried Talking to Patty?" and starred in "Medea," performed by Theater for Community in February at Long Wharf.
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Theater for Community presented the original play "Whitewashed: The Rough Draft" April 17 to 20, 2008, at the Long Wharf Theatre, Stage II, in New Haven.
"Whitewashed" is a multimedia production with documentary videos, images, theatrical scenes and monologues. "We'll explore why, as human beings, we seem hardwired to focus on our differences rather than our commonalities," said Crystal Brian, chair of the visual and performing arts department and director of the play.
"We'll examine prejudice, privilege, community and diversity from different perspectives by conducting interviews with people in the Quinnipiac and New Haven communities and examining our own experiences, ideas and feelings," Brian said.
Students from the department of theater and the School of Communications, along with communications professor Rebecca Abbott, created the multimedia play with help from West Haven Veterans Affairs, the New Haven police department, the New Haven homeless shelter Columbus House and other groups in New Haven.
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Written by Euripides, "Medea" is an ancient Greek tragedy of jealousy and revenge by a woman, Medea, betrayed by her husband after he abandons her to marry the beautiful young daughter of Creon, King of Corinth.
Mary Vreeland starred in the title role with acting professionals James Murphy and PeggyRae Johnson and Quinnipiac students. Vreeland, who is deaf, incorporated sign language into the play as an aspect of the cultural clashes between deaf and hearing cultures.
Vreeland performed in "Children of Lesser God" on Broadway and on a national tour. She also appeared in the CBS television movie "Have You Tried Talking to Patty?" She has a master of fine arts degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.