Playwright Brian Friel’s “Dancing at Lughnasa” will open the fall semester of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre’s student-directed plays.
Directed by Longview senior Bethany Trauger, the full-length play will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, in the Downstage Theatre on the SFA campus.
“Dancing at Lughnasa” tells the story of the five unmarried Mundy sisters who live in a small cottage in Ireland. The action of the play is told through the memory of the illegitimate son of one of the sisters as he remembers the events that finally broke his family apart: the return of his missionary uncle from Uganda, the small radio that turns the house on its head with its music, and the sudden appearance of his father, a charming Welsh man who sweeps his mother off her feet. These small occurrences cause the cracks that destroy the foundation of the family.
The cast includes Kingwood freshman Blayn Larson as Michael: Palestine senior Corie Mason as Kate; Nacogdoches junior Shyla Driver as Maggie; Edinburg sophomore Makayla Moreno as Agnes; Spring junior Johana Lenington as Rose; Winnsboro sophomore Sarah Anne Ramsey as Chris; Kerrville senior Richard Rogers as Gerry; and Houston senior Matthew Kilgore as Jack.
The production staff includes Yanelly Vargas, Dallas junior, stage manager; Holden Guinn, Tyler senior, assistant director; Carson Cook, McKinney sophomore, scenic designer; Erinn St. Clair, Bastrop sophomore, costume designer; Mando Chavez, Corpus Christi junior; lighting designer; Myah Mallory, Victoria sophomore, sound designer; Kaitlyn McDearmont, Sulphur Springs junior, properties master; and Brendan Ryan, Cedar Park freshman, assistant properties master.
Trauger has previously directed “Hanging On” and “Postponing the Heat Death of the Universe,” and she was assistant director for “Three One-Act Plays by Asian Authors.” She has also worked as dramaturg for “Oklahoma!” and “Three One-Act Plays by Asian Authors.”
Faculty production advisor is Dr. Slade Billew.
Tickets are $6. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit theatre.sfasu.edu. The Downstage Theatre is located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive.
