Theatre Department Announces 2012-2013 Season
Stories of love on a winter's night in Maine, a Greek Tragedy, and a Broadway hit all come to Midwestern State University's Fain Fine Arts Theatre for the 2012-2013 season.
MSU Department of Theatre Chair Laura Jefferson said that the diversity of the productions will give students the opportunities to participate in a wide range of theatre genres. "The variety runs from pure entertainment to the Greek classics to musical theatre."
Tickets are now on sale for the performances, which begin with the winter love story Almost, Maine, Oct. 4-7. Bundle up with the people of Almost, Maine as they struggle to find light and love in a cold part of the country. The outcomes may not be the expected ones, but the genuine sentiments of the characters will touch everyone. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, with a matinee performance at 2:30 p.m.
Euripides' The Bacchae follows the Greek god Dionysus through an earthly battle with King Pentheus of Thebes - a battle with grisly and cataclysmic consequences. The Bacchae runs Nov. 15-18.
Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street was a Broadway hit, winning numerous Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Best Musical when it debuted in 1979 and in 2006 when it was revived. Todd and pie shop owner Mrs. Lovett cook up a scheme to take revenge on those who sent Todd into exile years ago. Jefferson said Sweeney Todd was chosen because it has never been performed in Wichita Falls. Performances of Sweeney Todd are Feb. 28-March 3.
Those attending Friday night performances of the three plays are invited to stay after the show for Friday Night Talkbacks. Audience members can discuss any aspect of the production with the director, actors, designers, and technicians.
Student-produced One-Act plays will close out the 2012-2013 season in the spring, when different plays run the weekends of April 12-13, 19-20, 26-27 and May 3-4. The plays are directed by seniors with set design and all other aspects run by students.
"This year's record number of one-acts in the Student-Produced One-Act Festival is evidence of a thriving theatre department," Jefferson said. "I've been teaching the class for 28 years, and this is the greatest number of one-acts produced."
MSU is still one of the few four-year institutions in the state that does not charge admission for MSU faculty, staff, and students, though it receives no funds from Student Allocations or student fees.
Season tickets are $30 for general admission, or $25 for senior citizens, military, and pre-college students. Individual performance tickets are $10 for general admission, $8 for senior citizens, military personnel and students, and $7 for groups of 10 or more. Jefferson encouraged those buying season tickets to consider the group rate of $7 per ticket for groups of 10 or more, with two complimentary tickets.
The box office is open 1-5 p.m. Monday-Friday two weeks before opening night. For more information, call the box office at (940) 397-4393, the publicity office at (940) 397-4399, or the Department of Theatre secretary at (940) 397-4670.
The Fain Fine Arts Theatre and the Bea Wood Studio Theatre are located in the Fain Fine Arts Center on Louis J. Rodriguez Drive.