The Washington College Drama Department will bring Harold Pinter’s challenging domestic drama Old Times to the intimate Tawes Theatre stage October 2 through 5. Directed by Assistant Professor of Drama Brendon Fox, student actors will explore the fraught dynamics of a couple’s shaky marriage, wife Kate’s glamorous best friend, and secrets from their shared past.
“Pinter’s take on relationships can be applied to nearly everyone,” says Michele Volansky, chair of the Drama Department. “This is a tight, tense play that asks, ‘How well can you trust your significant other? Your best friend? Your own memory of the past?’ Old Times is stylistically engaging and thematically dangerous. We become drawn into the sexy, mysterious tug of war between husband
and best friend as they vie for Kate’s body and soul.”
Junior Liza Conover portrays Kate, senior Austin Lewis plays her husband, Deeley, and sophomore Olivia Serio is the provocative friend, Anna.
Director Fox, who led the Drama Department’s highly praised spring 2014 production of Tom Stoppards’ Arcadia, has worked in numerous theaters around the country, primarily in Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Diego. He holds a bachelor’s degree in performance studies from Northwestern University and a master of fine arts degree from the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television.
Fox’s colleague Laura Eckelman, assistant professor of drama, is lighting designer for Old Times. Eckelman’s theatrical lighting has enhanced projects that range from classical drama to contemporary performance art in theaters all over the country, including Yale Repertory Theatre, Connecticut College, and Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska.
The design team also includes costume and set designer Lindsey Vandevier. She holds a master of fine arts degree from Carnegie Mellon and has designed for theater and ballet productions in Pittsburgh, New York and Florence, Italy. a B.F.A. from Syracuse. The sound designer is Zach Weidner, a 2014 graduate of Washington College who earned his bachelor’s degree in drama. Professor Volansky (’90) and Alex Foxwell ’16 serve as dramaturgs. The stage manager is Nicole Capobianco ’16, assisted by Sean Symes ’16. The assistant director is Ashley Warfield ’16.
Old Times will be offered Thursday and Friday, October 2 and 3, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, October 4, at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, October 5, at 2:00 p.m. Admission is free, but reservations are recommended; email [email protected] or call 410-778-7800 ext. 7835. Tawes Theater is located on the ground floor of the Gibson Center for the Arts on the College campus, 300 Washington Avenue. For more information about this and other upcoming productions, visit www.washcoll.edu/departments/drama/.
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