Jewish mythology, and outcast solidarity,
Nov. 28 \u2013 Dec. 2 in the Studio Theatre
in Trexler Pavilion for Theatre & Dance<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n
Allentown, Pa. (Nov. 13, 2018) \u2014The \u201cNew Voices \/ New Visions\u201d theater festival returns this fall to Muhlenberg College \u2014 an evening of new and innovative short plays showcasing the talents of up-and-coming playwrights and directors, in a venue that encourages artistic risk-taking and experimentation. The festival runs in the Studio Theatre in Trexler Pavilion for Theatre & Dance, Nov. 28 \u2013 Dec. 2.<\/p>\n
The plays in this year\u2019s festival are all written and directed by women, most of whom are current Muhlenberg students or alumni. Jenna Adamek \u201919 directs \u201cStill Growing Up\u201d by Camille Seidel \u201918; Anna Ricciuti \u201919 directs \u201cThe Repair Man,\u201d by Sarah Jae Leiber \u201919; and Abigail Martz \u201919 directs \u201cAm I Blue,\u201d by Beth Henley (\u201cCrimes of the Heart\u201d).<\/p>\n
\u201cThis festival is a great showcase for women,\u201d Ricciuti says, \u201dwhich is not something we often see in the greater theater world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the plays will come across beautifully, separately and in tandem, when they\u2019re presented as a full piece,\u201d Martz says.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
In \u201cStill Growing Up,\u201d long-time best friends talk about life, love, and difference as they drive from high school to an abortion clinic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wrote this play as sort of a character study,\u201d Seidel says. \u201cI\u2019m really fascinated with how complicated and intimate female friendships are \u2014 especially in adolescent years.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur teen years are like a test run,\u201d she says. \u201cWe act ways we don\u2019t like and say things we don\u2019t mean to see what works for us, and scope out what feels right. I wrote this play because I don\u2019t think there\u2019s enough theatre that takes young girls seriously and honors their feelings and emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adamek responded to the complexity and fullness of the characters in the play.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope the play will start conversations about how to better support your friends, and how to react when they\u2019re struggling,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a play about what it means to be a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seidel is new to playwriting \u2014 she discovered that particular voice during her senior year playwriting workshop, where she wrote and rewrote \u201cStill Growing Up\u201d until she was satisfied. She was known at Muhlenberg for acting and improv comedy, but has always written, primarily poetry and sketch comedy. She also recently co-wrote a children\u2019s theatre piece.<\/p>\n
Adamek started directing in high school, and since has worked for several professional theatre companies, as well as directing such pieces as \u201cDoes this Woman Have a Name?\u201d last fall in the Studio Theatre.<\/p>\n
\u201cJenna is one of the most thoughtful and confident young directors I have had the pleasure to work with,\u201d says Matt Moore, faculty advisor and artistic director of \u201cNew Voices \/ New Visions.\u201d \u201cShe will absolutely do justice to this intimate drama.\u201d<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Repair Man\u201d centers around a young, depressed, Jewish woman named Nick who is visited by a dishwasher repairman who wants to fix more than just her dishwasher.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt sounds like a porno, but it\u2019s not,\u201d Ricciuti says with a laugh.<\/p>\n
Ricciuti and Leiber are both interested in confronting stigma about mental illness.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m hoping that this play will give people who might be struggling with mental health issues an opportunity to see themselves represented in Nick,\u201d Ricciuti says. \u201cI\u2019m hoping that it will start conversations about destigmatizing mental illness and building a community around people who are struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMedia depictions of mental illness have always disturbed me,\u201d Leiber says. \u201cDepression is not beautiful or poetic, and it is not necessarily earth-shatteringly noticeable. The truth about a lot of depression is that it\u2019s banal. People live with depression for years without knowing it because depression is not a clean list of symptoms and cures. It\u2019s different for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leiber has written several plays that have featured Off-Broadway (\u201cGrand Theft Tea Leaves\u201d) and on the Muhlenberg stage, as well as dramaturgy and editorial features for numerous theater productions. She also writes for the BroadwayWorld website.<\/p>\n
Ricciuti previously helmed Jane Anderson\u2019s \u201cTough Choices for the New Century\u201d in the Studio Theatre, and served as assistant director for the fall 2016 \u201cNew Visions\u201d production of \u201cIcarus\u2019s Mother.\u201d She also assistant directed a site-specific production of \u201cA Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream\u201d for the Shipwreck Theatre Co., in the summer of 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna is intuitive and funny, compassionate and open-hearted,\u201d Moore says. \u201cShe\u2019s led her cast to a deeply nuanced treatment of this material.\u201d<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Beth Henley\u2019s \u201cAm I Blue\u201d is the story of John Polk and Ashbe, who meet in New Orleans in 1968 against all odds.<\/p>\n
\u201cJohn Polk comes from a middle class background while Ashbe comes from a very lower class neighborhood,\u201d Martz says. \u201cThey end up finding out all these similarities between each other and realize they both view themselves as outcasts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martz was drawn to the play\u2019s vibrant female lead and meditations on friendship and intimacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHuman connection is really important to me; I like exploring those relationships that often get grazed over,\u201d she says. \u201cThis play is really a communion of souls.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martz previously directed \u201cTuesday\u201d as a Studio Production last spring, and served as assistant director on the 2016 \u201cNew Visions\u201d world-premiere production \u201cTerrible Beautiful Bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbby brings her fiery intellect and keen theatrical sensibility to this early work of Beth Henley’s, which will draw the audience into an intimate and subtly life-altering experience,\u201d Moore says.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
\u201cNew Voices | New Visions\u201d plays in the Studio Theatre, Muhlenberg College Theatre & Dance, Nov. 28 \u2013 Dec. 2. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Regular admission tickets are $15. Tickets for youth and LVAIC students and staff are $8.<\/p>\n
Tickets can be purchased online at muhlenberg.edu\/theatre<\/a> or by phone at 484-664-3333. Performances are in the Studio Theatre in Trexler Pavilion for Theatre & Dance, Muhlenberg College, 2400 West Chew St., Allentown<\/p>\n Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is a highly selective, private, four-year residential college located in Allentown, PA., approximately 90 miles west of New York City. With an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Muhlenberg College is dedicated to shaping creative, compassionate, collaborative leaders through rigorous academic programs in the arts, sciences, business, education and public health. A member of the Centennial Conference, Muhlenberg competes in 22 varsity sports. Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.<\/span><\/p>\n Muhlenberg offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in theater and dance. The Princeton Review ranked Muhlenberg\u2019s theater program in the top twelve in the nation for eight years in a row, and Fiske Guide to Colleges lists both the theater and dance programs among the top small college programs in the United States. Muhlenberg is one of only eight colleges to be listed in Fiske for both theater and dance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Information Provided By: <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\nScott Snyder
\nMarketing Manager
\nMuhlenberg College Department of Theatre & Dance<\/p>\n
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