Cast Lists for Virtual Fall Plays
10/19/2020
Bluffton University theatre will present five short plays for their fall performance collectively titled “Alone, Together,” during three virtual viewing opportunities, Oct. 29-Nov. 1. The plays will explore the challenges and surprises of social distancing during the pandemic with charm, humor, tenderness and loss.
The plays include “Looking Back,” “All the Cranes in the World,” and “Neither Here Nor There” by Arlene Hutton; “Rosebud” by Dan Castellaneta and Deb Lacusta; and “Pandemic Therapy” by Jami Brandli. Performed and recorded by student actors in separate locations, these plays explore our current realities of feeling alone, together.
Performances will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29; 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov.1. Ticket prices are $5 plus streaming fees for general admission (single device); $15 plus streaming fees for group viewing (single device); and free for Bluffton University students, faculty and staff. Tickets are available at www.bluffton.edu/fallplay
Play descriptions, roles and participating students are as follows:
“Looking Back” by Arlene Hutton
What if you were the very last person at Disney World before it closed due to COVID-19 – and your best friend wasn’t there to share the experience with you?
Shannon – Abby Bush ’24, Marion, Ohio
Keith – Hunter McCafferty ’23, Bremen, Ohio
Director – Dr. Melissa Friesen, Mary Nord and Joseph Ignat endowed chair in theatre
Stage manager – Payton Stephens ’23, Lebanon, Ohio
Assistant stage manager – Cierra Long ’23, Urbana, Ohio
“All the Cranes in the World” by Arlene Hutton
Meredith entertains her 5-year-old niece Vivi over Zoom, as they await news about Vivi’s mom from the hospital.
Meredith – Payton Stephens ’23, Lebanon, Ohio
Director – Dr. Melissa Friesen
Stage manager – Cierra Long’23, Urbana, Ohio
Assistant stage manager – Taylor Waldeck ’23, Springfield, Ohio
“Rosebud” by Dan Castellaneta and Deb Lacusta
A film buff’s obsession with “Citizen Kane” might just send his girlfriend over the edge – and off Zoom.
George – AJ Kenney ’23, Marengo, Ohio
Rene – Ally Heldman ’23, Findlay, Ohio
Director – Dr. Melissa Friesen
Stage manager – Taylor Waldeck ’23, Springfield, Ohio
Assistant stage manager – Claire Myree ’21, West Chester, Ohio
“Neither Here Nor There” by Arlene Hutton
College roommates separated over spring break by the pandemic reconnect online and discover there’s always more to learn about one another.
Katie – Kelly Bilen ’24, Archbold, Ohio
Alexandra – Luisa Rivera ’23, Yoro, Honduras
Director – Adam Shanaman ’22, Bellevue, Ohio
Stage manager – Taylor Waldeck ’23, Springfield, Ohio
Assistant stage manager – AJ Kenney ’23, Marengo, Ohio
“Pandemic Therapy” by Jami Brandli
Married couple Kim and Stephen are coping with lockdown in very different ways – can Stephen and their therapist Lori coax Kim out of her home office?
Kim – Claire Myree ’21, West Chester, Ohio
Stephen – Adam Shanaman ’22, Bellevue, Ohio
Lori – Nicole Centofanti ’21, Delaware, Ohio
Director – Dr. Melissa Friesen
Stage manager – Taylor Waldeck ’23, Springfield, Ohio
Assistant stage manager – Payton Stephens ’23, Lebanon, Ohio