Theatre and dance students produce two comedies

During the spring semester, the University of Richmond campus will have the opportunity to witness two distinctly different theatrical performances.

The first brings dark comedy to life in Martin McDonagh's "The Pillowman." The play will be produced entirely by members of the Department of Theatre and Dance's Production Studies III class, in which students form a production company, choose a play to produce and are responsible for all elements of production, from casting actors to designing costumes and set.

The play follows Katurian, an author who writes disturbing stories with graphic depictions of murdered children. Katurian will be played by freshman Mark Ferguson.

"This is not a play for the faint of heart," said Schuyler Swartout, a sophomore who plays the role of Ariel -- the "bad cop" of the totalitarian regime during which the play takes place.

"It's like an action movie mixed with a court drama," he said.

The cast consists of eight student actors, who were cast just before winter break. The actors have been on a tight schedule to get the play ready, with two to four hour rehearsals, five to seven days a week, Swartout said.

"This play is a departure from plays that have been picked for production in the past due to its very graphic, dark but humorous nature," said junior Veronica Seguin, the play's director.

Tickets for "The Pillowman" are currently available at the Modlin Center box office. Tickets are free, but are required for admission. Performances will be held on Thursday, Feb. 12 through Saturday, Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the Cousins Studio Theater, with an additional performance on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 2 p.m.

In April, the Department of Theatre and Dance will perform the musical comedy, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."

The show, which first became a Broadway hit in 1961, is based on a window washer named J. Pierrepont Finch who wants to make a big splash in the business world and ends up in the executive suite.

"It's completely ridiculous, but it's also a ton of fun," said Amy Szerlong, a junior who plays Smitty.

"When we watch Finch get so intensely focused on his future and landing even better jobs, we feel for him," said Kelly Landers, a sophomore who plays Rosemary Pilkington, the female romantic lead. "We want him to slow down, to fall in love, to define himself by something other than a job title."

The actors were cast after going through two days of singing and dancing auditions followed by callbacks. The show is full of a variety of song and dance routines that will entertain and captivate the audience with themes that are still prevalent in the working world.

"There's this incredible pressure in the show to 'succeed,'" Landers said. "Not just to make it, but to make it big, and that seems scarier and harder every day with the state of the economy."

Tickets will go on sale to the campus community beginning Feb. 27, and ticket sales will open to the public on March 16. Prices are: $18 adults, $15 seniors, students, Richmond alumni and employees, $6 children, $10 Richmond students.

Contact reporter Sharon Tully at sharon.tully@richmond.edu