Amy-Joy..........................Nicole Kresch Amy-Beth.......................Melissa Fajardo Kip...................................Tom Kane Jinx..........................Karen M. Manasco Hank.............................Gordon HolmesProduced with special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
Nell.................................Amy Hires Louise, her younger daughter....Jaime L. Oakes Billie, Nell's older daughter.......Cody StoweProduced with special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
10-Minute Intermission
Intermission music and Act II songs composed by Jeremy dePrisco
The Man............... .......David A. Scopinich Time: In the present year, late at night.Place: A farmhouse somewhere in Pennsylvania.
Sister Mary Ignatius...........Trisha Ann Museousky Thomas, a 7 year old boy..................John Lazo Diane Symonds......................Andrea Lynn Levy Gary Sullivan...........................Jose Lugaro Philomena Rostovitch.................Toni Englehart Aloysius Benheim..........................Jeff Hagy
Produced by special arrangement with Dramatist's Play Service, Inc.
Stage Managers....................Michael Fuller, Dave Brecher Composer.......................................Jeremy dePrisco Light Board Operator...............................Brian Green Set Running Crew.....................Phil Musico, Kelly Lenard Costume Running Crew.................Lindsey Spado, Lela Mertz Props Running Crew...............Tonya Smith, Catherine Forero Make-up Crew.......................................Jana Kaplan Box Office.........................................Rich Barone
Most of the students involved in this production receive credit for Theatre 298, Theatre in production.
Melissa Fajardo (Amy-Beth) is a freshman Communications/ Journalism major from Elizabeth, NJ. Previously, Melissa appeared in her high school productions as the Ballerina in On Your Toes, Claudine in Can-Can, and Marty in Grease. She was also a member of the Dance Community Theatre in Elizabeth, and a member of The Performing Arts Club in high school where she served as the Choreographer for Can-Can and Fame.
Jeff Hagy (Aloysius Benheim) is sophomore majoring in Pre-Law. A native of Wyckoff, NJ, and a 1st degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, Jeff is making his theatrical debut with this production.
Amy Cathleen Hires (Nell) is a Human Development and Family Studies major. Previous experience includes such legendary roles as Queen Eleanor in the Avon Grove High School production of Robin Hood, and Davy Crockett in the Spring 94 acting class final presentation. Amy is a sophomore from New London, PA.
Gordon Holmes (Hank) is another freshman making his Hazleton stage debut, though he performed in his West Lawn, PA high school. Some of Gordon's past roles include: Mike Depki in Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?, Billy Crocker in Anything Goes, Bud Frump in How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Saul in As Is. Gordon is majoring in Advertising.
Nicole Kresch (Amy-Joy) appeared in three of her high school plays, including A Midsummer Night's Dream and Don't Drink the Water, and student-directed Little Shop of Horrors in her senior year in Easton, PA, as well as being in chorus, cheerleading, and other activities. Now a freshman Communications/ Journalism major, she is making her Hazleton campus debut.
Tom Kane (Kip) is a freshman Electrical Engineering major. In his high school in Shamokin, PA, Tom played Bernardo in West Side Story. Tom is making his PSU Hazleton debut with Life Under Water.
John Lazo (Thomas) is a sophomore Administration of Justice major from Sugarloaf, PA. John was seen previously on campus in last fall's Evening Of One Acts, as the President in Witness and as the Bellboy in The Still Alarm.
Andrea Lynn Levy (Diane Symonds) is currently DUS, but intends to major in Theatre Arts. From Roxbury, NJ, Andrea was a lead dancer in Annie Get Your Gun and co-directed and acted in a student-written, student-directed, student-acted one act plays called The Night Of Playoffs. She has also worked backstage on costume, scenery, and make-up crews.
Jose Lugaro (Gary Sullivan) is a freshman Business Administration major. Previous credits include the roles of Vernon Hines in The Pajama Game and Piglet in a production of The House At Pooh Corner at the Pocono Mountain Children's Theatre.
Karen M. Manasco (Jinx) is majoring in Political Science, and in fact worked for two summers as a Congressional page. Theatrically, Karen has been on stage since the eighth grade in such plays as Once Upon A Mattress, Fiddler on the Roof, Ring Round the Moon, and Our Town. Karen lists her hometown as Fairport, NY.
Trisha Ann Museousky (Sister Mary Ignatius) is currently an English major, but will be auditioning for the department of Theatre Arts in the spring. In high school, Trisha had the leading role in Forty-Second Street, and also appeared in Fiddler on the Roof, besides being a lead performer in Broadway Varieties and Cougars Follies. Most recently she performed with the Nuremburg Community players as Esther in Meet Me In St. Louis. In her senior year Trisha was selected for the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association All-State Chorus.
Jaime L. Oakes (Louise) is a freshman Communication/Film and Video major. Previously, she performed at the Hazleton Area High School, and is making her Penn State Hazleton debut with this production.
David A. Scopinich (The Man) is very active here on the Hazleton Campus. He is the President of Student Government Association, Vice President of the United Campus Interfaith, and Sports Editor of the Highacres Collegian. A Journalism/Broadcasting major from Philadelphia, Dave has appeared in several campus productions: as the Window Washer in Witness and the Executioner in The Actor's Nightmare, both in Fall '93, and as Nicky Paradise in On the Verge in Spring '94.
Cody Stowe (Billie) is a freshman Film/Video Production major from Landisville Pa. In high school theatre she appeared in Midsummer Night's Dream, Theatre of the Absurd, and God. She also stage managed and student directed several shows, including Romeo and Juliet and Death. This is Cody's first appearance here at Hazleton.
Dave Brecher (Stage Manager) is a freshman Film and Television major from Livingston, NJ. Though he has experience in other media (president of his radio club in high school, and anchor/director/technician for live television morning announcements), this is his first time working on a live theatre production.
Jeremy J. dePrisco (Composer) is a Business Administration major. In addition to being a performing musician & songwriter, he has also been a sound designer and musical director for The Rainbow's End Theatre Company of Nesquehoning, and has appeared in Comedy of Errorz with Bloomsburg Players. Hazleton audiences may remember Jeremy as a member of The Outpatients, the live band who played for What The Butler Saw here on campus in Spring '93.
Anthony J. Dragotta III (Set Running Crew) is a freshman Mechanical Engineering major from Easton, PA.
Michael Fuller (Stage Manager) is a Film and Video major. Though this is his first production at Hazleton, Mike has a great deal of experience from his high school in Hershey, PA, where he worked on the stage crew, as a lighting tech, and as stage manager.
Brian Stephen Green (Light Board Operator) is a Sophomore Computer Science major from East Brunswick, NJ. This is Brian's first theatrical experience.
Jana Kaplan (Make-up Crew) is freshman Film and Video major from Suffern, NY. In high school, Jana worked as a lighting technician on The 1940s Radio Hour, and appeared as Anita in West Side Story, Jack's Mother in Into The Woods, Nancy in Oliver, and Go-Ping in The Mikado.
Kelly Lenard (Costume Running Crew) is a Pre-Law/Administration of Justice major from Pottsville, PA. In high school, Kelly worked on The King and I, Little Shop of Horrors, Once Upon a Mattress, and The Wizard of Oz. She also sang with the County Chorus in grades 10 -12.
Lela Mertz (Costume Running Crew) is working part-time on this production between performances in Stroudsberg's Diary of Anne Frank. Last semester Lela played Mary Baltimore in On The Verge.
Phil Musico (Set Running Crew) is a Liberal Arts major from Staten Island, NY. Campus sports fans will recognize Phil from his performances earlier this semester on the baseball team. This is Phil's first experience in theatre.
Tonya Smith (Props Running Crew) is a Psychology major from Allentown, PA. In high school, Lindsey appeared in a production of M*A*S*H.
Lindsey Spado (Costume Running Crew) is a freshman majoring in International Politics. Previous theatre experience includes working on sets for a production of Odyssey of the Mind. Lindsey is a freshman from Milford, PA.
Robin M. Williams (Director, Life Under Water) is a sophomore Liberal Arts major. In addition to directing in high school, Robin apprenticed as the assistant director for last year's Evening of One Acts (Fall 93) and On The Verge (Spring 94). Robin is also a Lion Ambassador on campus, and off-campus is a member of the Youth Ministry for St. Mary's Byzantine Catholic Church.
First, I would like to apologize for some of the offensive language
in this one-act that you will see tonight. I chose this one-act because
it related to me, my actors, and a large part of my future audience. I
did not want to re-write these parts because this is how people in their
early 20's talk to each other. The meaning of this play is that there are
going to be problems in everyone's life and that sex is not the answer.
I hope you find your own meaning in this play and I hope you enjoy the
young talent that is developing here.
Secondly, I would like to thank Steve Schrum for allowing me this great
opportunity to direct my own play. I have learned a lot and really enjoyed
it. I would also like to thank my great cast and crew for all their help;
I could never have done it without them. Lastly, I would like to thank my
family and friends for all their love and support. I hope everyone enjoys
tonight's presentations and appreciates all the talent here.
--Robin M. Williams
As we proceeded along in the read-through for these one-acts in September,
I began idly doodling while listening to the actors' reading. My unconscious,
automatic doodle resembled an angel or some type of UFO flying over a barren
landscape that held only barbed wire and a discarded Nazi helmet.
This has become for me the central image for this evening of one-acts,
a cosmos explained by Sister Mary Ignatius: there is Heaven, Hell and
Purgatory. Within this landscape, there is torture, by self or by others,
but there is also hope and salvation from elsewhere. Whether we look
outward to the skies and watch for angels, or powerful extraterrestrial
beings, or divine intervention, or whether we look inside ourselves and
to each other as fellow humans, we can find guidance, help and love.
These four plays are not simple comedies with cut-and-dried happy endings,
and with everyone living happily ever after. They portray our world as a
bitter-sweet place, where positive and negative events occur side by side.
In these plays, we see family members reunited, but others' lives shattered.
Some hopes are rewarded, others thwarted. In one case, the promise of future
repression and enslavement is headed for a downfall. With every ending, there
is a new beginning.
These plays do not, as Sister Mary Ignatius does, ignore the question of
why there is evil in the world. But in some cases, they do offer some hope.
Some audience members may question my selection of the play Sister Mary
Ignatius Explains It All for You for production on this campus. With
this play, Durang is using his own Catholic background to create his satire.
For me, however, what is important about this play is not any satire of the
Catholic Church or of religious beliefs; this play is less a play about
religion than it is about fascism, and about the tendency of absolute power
to corrupt. Sister Mary is a victim of her childhood; she is given power over
children, and these two ingredients‹her heredity and her sudden rise to
authority‹place her in the same position as Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin.
These men did not allow anyone to question their supreme power. Yet we must
question authority constantly; if authority is just, it will stand up to our
scrutiny. Our failure to maintain vigilance can bring an end to our personal
liberty.
As for the Dedication, I would like to dedicate this production of
Sister Mary to someone who made a positive difference in my life:
Sister Francis Borgia, who taught my English class in my sophomore year in
high school. I had just found myself adrift with no future plans. In my
freshman year, I had had an uninspiring Biology teacher who could not
teach me the Kreb Cycle, and I no longer wanted to do science; but with her
enthusiasm for literature and for teaching, Sr. F. inspired me to look closer
at the arts, and I soon found a direction for myself. I often wonder how
much my own teaching style resembles hers; and I wonder if she knows how
much a difference she made in my life.