Contact: Charla Jenkins, University Theatre, (785) 864-2684.
LAWRENCE - The University of Kansas Theatre for Young People opens its 2000-01 season with "Selkie," a new drama for children by Laurie Brooks.
Performances for fourth, fifth and sixth graders of the Lawrence and Douglas County schools are at 1 p.m. Sept. 18 through 22 with a public performance scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24. All performances are in the Crafton-Preyer Theatre in Murphy Hall.
The production is being directed by Jeanne Klein, associate professor of theatre and film and director of KU's Theatre for Young People, who is also designing the sound for the show. The play is based on a Scottish legend, and its title is taken from the Orcadian dialect and means "seal."
"Many legends about selkies (grey seals) and the dark selkie folk of their offspring abound around the islands of Scotland, Ireland, and Britain," Klein said. In the old tales, she said, selkies can take human form on Midsummer's Eve when they come to the water's edge, shed their seal skins and dance on the beach.
Brooks' play deals with what happens when a man steals a selkie-maid's pelt, takes her for his wife, and sires a child. Narrated by Pa, the grandfather in the play, the story tells of Ellen Jean, who is born with webbed hands and must choose between living in the sea with other selkies or on land as a human with a young gypsy lad.
"Ellen's discovery of her biological identity and her search for a social sense of belonging reminds us to think critically about bicultural differences," Klein said. "By the end of the play, the characters come to understand that belonging isn't a place, but a feeling deep inside."
The production staff for "Selkie" includes scenic designer Eric Hugunin, Spencer, Iowa, senior; costume designer Delores Ringer, associate professor of theatre and film; and lighting designer Dennis Christilles, associate professor of theatre and film. Paul Meier, professor of theatre and film, is coaching the actors on the Orcadian dialect from tapes obtained from the Orkney Sound Archive on Orkney Island in Scotland.
Marianne Kubik, assistant professor of theatre and film, is choreographing native folk dances as well as coaching actors' movements for the production.
General admission tickets are on sale in the KU box offices: Murphy Hall, (785) 864-3982; Lied Center, 864-ARTS; and SUA, 864-3477. tickets are $6 for the public, $3 for all students, and $5 for senior citizens; both VISA and MasterCard are accepted for phone and online orders.
Cast members are (listed by name, class, parents' names, home address, and role):
DOUGLAS COUNTY
From Lawrence
Bree Bruns, sophomore, daughter of David and Gayle Bruns, 6272 Ferguson Road; Black Hair, a selkie.
Rita Kronfeld, graduate student, 1724 Mississippi; Margaret.
Lisa Wilkinson, sophomore, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Wilkinson, 3120 Saddlehorn Drive; Red Hair, a selkie.
JOHNSON COUNTY
From Overland Park
Matthew G. Simon, sophomore, son of Mark and Ellen Simon, 6808 W. 101st Terrace; Pa.
SHAWNEE COUNTY
From Topeka
Andrew C. Johnson, senior, son of Alan and Kelly Johnson, 6020 Stonybrook Court; Duncan.
Alison B. Preston, senior, daughter of Larry Preston, 2511 SW Meadow Lane; Ellen Jean.
(End Kansas)
NEBRASKA
From Omaha
Patrick Pugh, senior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Pugh, 1721 S. 113th; Tam.