As a student at Quinnipiac University I feel the need to report on theater close to home: our school’s theatre department!
I am a theatre studies minor at Quinnipiac, and I love it very much. The professors are excellent, and the plays put on by the faculty are always wonderful.
I had the pleasure of being in two shows last year, and I loved every minute of it. This year I decided to take a break from doing the plays and be an audience member. While I like being an audience member, I must admit, I miss being on stage!
Today marks the opening night of what I think is a groundbreaking play at Quinnipiac. New professor to campus Kelly Morgan (pictured at left) is directing Euripides‘ “Medea” on the Long Wharf Theatre Mainstage in New Haven, CT.
Now you may ask, why is this so groundbreaking?
Here’s why.
For the past few years I have been at Quinnipiac, I have been to plays QU has produced at the Long Wharf Theatre, and they’ve been amazing. But they’ve always been on Stage II , which is the smaller theatre at Long Wharf. While this theatre is actually gorgeous and cozy enough for a small QU audience, now certain plays will be in a larger theatre space and actors will get to work with bigger audiences. I think this is amazing!
What I have also recently learned through the Quinnipiac website is that Quinnipiac actually made an official five-year agreement with the Long Wharf Theatre this past Monday.
According to the website, Quinnipiac will produce 3-4 productions per year at this prestiged theatre AND the university is allowed to used the technical shops backstage!
With our newly created Theater major, this will also help the theater majors (and well, minors too) to immerse themselves in theater through working on professional stages.
The play opening tonight revolves around the self-titled character, Medea. It is a Greek tragedy about her jealousy and revenge because she was betrayed by her husband.
This sounds exciting! But there are a few other great twists to add to the play too:
Kelly Morgan is taking a different twist on the show by incorporating sign language into the play. According to the Quinnipiac website, this is an “aspect of the cultural clashes between deaf and hearing cultures.”
Another exciting twist is the addition of professional actors in the play to the QU students already in the show.
Mary Vreeland is playing the title role of Medea. She is a professional deaf actress who’s performed in “Children of a Lesser God” on Broadway and a national tour, and has appeared in the CBS TV movie “Have You Tried Talking to Patty?“
Here’s when the play will be performing this week:
Wednesday Feb. 27th: 8pm
Thursday Feb. 28th: 8pm
Friday Feb. 29th: 8pm
Saturday March 1: 8pm
Saturday March 2: 2pm
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. If you’d like to reserve tickets to the show you can call (203) 582-3500….or you can buy your tickets at the door.
If you’re in the tri-state area this is definitely a play you don’t want to miss out on!
Fellow Bloggers: Would you be interested in seeing this show?
For more of an understanding on what “Medea” is about, here’s a clip from Virginia Commonwealth University’s production of the show that actually starred Mary as well…This video is a behind-the-scenes look at THEIR show and how sign language is incorporated.
You made me care about this story. I too read the blurb on the QU website and didn’t really think much about the story after I finished reading it. But your blog post made the story come alive. You are an excellent multimedia storyteller. Keep working at it and keep trying to expand your blog audience.
[...] season has had a large variety of shows, including Quinnipiac’s own “Medea “and “Whitewashed” on both the first and second stages… The next play coming [...]