Washington State Community College Players will present one well-known play and one by a local playwright this weekend at no cost.
Student and faculty members of the school's drama club will perform "Trifles," a thriller by 19th century playwright Susan Glaspell. After an intermission, the actors will delve into "Locked Room Misery" by film and composition adjunct instructor Jason Half.
"We chose plays with small casts and thrillers for the time of year," said Amanda Anderson, instructor of English and faculty director of the drama club.
Article Photos
Submitted by Amanda Anderson
Carrie Adams as Mrs. Hale and Mollie Jarrell as Mrs. Peters act out a scene from an upcoming production of “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell.
The drama club was resurrected by Anderson in the spring after she was once again bitten by the acting bug.
"I have been active in theater since I was a child and I had the opportunity to audition for 'First Night' at Mid-Ohio Valley Players (in January)," she said. "When the administration (at Washington State) saw that I was involved in theater, they asked me if I would like to start up the drama club again. We did a play last spring and we are really hoping to get the word out and to get others involved."
"Trifles" tells the story of the murder of farmer John Wright, seemingly at the hands of his wife, the timid and mournful Minnie. A closer investigation by the wife of the sheriff and a neighbor shows what the male characters overlook: Mrs. Wright was an abused woman. Loosely based on actual events, "Trifles," written in 1916, is often noted as early feminist drama. As an interesting note, the main character of Mrs. Wright never actually appears on stage.
Fact Box
If you go
What: "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell and "Locked Room Misery" by WSCC adjunct instructor Jason Half.
When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. Sunday's performances will offer American Sign Language interpretations.
Where: Graham Auditorium on the Washington State Community College campus.
Cost: Free; donations will also be accepted.
The cast of "Trifles" is made up of Carrie Adams, Mollie Jarrell, Andrew Pomerleau and Cameron Stump.
"Locked Room Misery" features Pomerleau, Stump and Anderson in the roles of Frank, Kerrigan and Lilly. It is a "spoof of film noir," as Anderson describes it, written by Half.
The local playwright is also a screenwriter who has taught composition, literature and film appreciation courses at Washington State. Half received his M.F.A. in playwriting from Ohio University and has had workshop readings of his plays presented in Chicago, Pittsburgh and Portland, Maine.
"I play Frank and I enjoy playing a character that is similar to myself," said Pomerleau, 28, a Washington State student and Marietta resident. "I really get to ham it up."
Each play will run about 40 minutes, according to Anderson, with an intermission. The play will be performed in the Graham Auditorium on the Washington State campus in Marietta at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.
"This is our second semester and we're pushing to make the community more aware (of the drama club)," Pomerleau said, adding that there has also been a lot of involvement from other departments. The Sunday performances will be interpreted in American Sign Language for the hearing impaired.
