Sept. 19, 2003

Contact: Charla Jenkins, University Theatre, (785) 864-2684.

KU Theatre to stage two plays in repertory in September and October

LAWRENCE -- The University of Kansas Department of Theatre and Film and the University Theatre will open the 2003-04 William Inge Theatre Series with two workshop dramas presented in repertory in the Inge Theatre.

"This Is Our Youth" by Kenneth Lonergan will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26 and Oct. 1 and 3, and at 5 and 9 p.m. Sept. 27. "Fefu and Her Friends" by Maria Irene Fornes will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 29 and 30 and Oct. 2, and at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Oct. 4.

"We call these productions 'workshop' because the sets and costumes are meant to merely suggest time, place and action," said John Staniunas, associate professor of theatre and film and artistic director of the University Theatre. "Rather than the director's spending precious time conceptualizing with designers, they can focus more on honing their communication skills with actors and learning how to create theatre on a shoestring budget, as creative and imaginative as producing shows with extensive design elements."

"This Is Our Youth" is being directed by Michael Bradley, Concord, Mich., graduate student, with lighting by Nick Mosher, Lawrence junior. Set in March 1982, the play takes place in a one-room apartment in New York City. The plot revolves around Dennis, son of a famous painter, and his follower, Warren, who has run away from home and appears at Dennis' apartment with a suitcase full of childhood toys and $15,000 he stole from his abusive dad. The two men, lost and confused, spend the next 24 hours in the apartment, pushing cocaine and talking about their uncertain futures. When Dennis leaves with his girlfriend, Warren is stuck with her sidekick, Jessica, whom he eventually wins over with his father's money.

The drama, originally presented by the New Group and produced by Second Stage Theatre, deals with adult subject matter and contains strong language, Bradley said. The production also includes cigarette smoking and gun shots.

"Fefu and Her Friends," directed by Laura Leffler-McCabe, Shawnee graduate student, with lighting by Mosher, is a play about women, set in New England during the 1930s. Eight women come together at Fefu's house to meet about fund-raising, and the play is based on expressing each one of their unique and complex characters, and the tenderness and affection of women, Leffler-McCabe said.

Written in post-Vietnam America, "Fefu and Her Friends" employs a more feminine circular rather than linear plot structure, and the second part takes place in four locations to which the audience is taken in groups.

General admission tickets for each play are on sale at the KU ticket offices: University Theatre, (785) 864-3982; Lied Center, (785) 864-ARTS; SUA, (785) 864-7469; and online at kutheatre.com. Tickets are $12 for the public, $10 for all students and $11 for senior citizens.

Members of the cast for "This Is Our Youth" include (listed by name, year in school, parents' name and role):

DOUGLAS COUNTY
From Lawrence
Christopher Wheatley, senior, son of Ken Wheatley and Kathy Pryor and Jim Peterson; Dennis.

JOHNSON COUNTY
From Overland Park
Matthew G. Simon, senior, son of Mark and Mary Ellen Simon; Warren.

SHAWNEE COUNTY
From Topeka
Elisabeth Ahrens, junior, daughter of Martin R. Ahrens and Marsha Anderson; Jessica.

Members of the cast for "Fefu and Her Friends" include (listed by name, year in school, parents' name and role):

DOUGLAS COUNTY
From Lawrence
Julia Elise Hardin, senior, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hardin; Julia.
Ashley Lafond, senior, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Lafond; Cindy.

JOHNSON COUNTY
From Leawood
Averyn Mackey, senior, daughter of John and Becky Mackey; Emma.
Christina Schafer, senior, daughter of Bill and Kerry Schafer; Christina.

From Overland Park
Megan F. Carter, junior, daughter of Craig and Roni Carter; Fefu.

RILEY COUNTY
From Manhattan
Blake Elizabeth Bolan, junior, daughter of Jeb Bolan and Wendy Adams; Cecilia.

MISSOURI
From Kansas City
Erin Evangeline Burns, junior, daughter of Thomas and Victoria Burns; Paula.

OKLAHOMA
From Broken Arrow
Leslie Long, senior, daughter of Robert and Robin Miller; Sue.