What happens when an intrepid writing professor puts together a handpicked cast of Hopkins' finest female undergraduates, assembles them onstage, and tells them to act? Find out all this weekend when the play, Talking With makes its Hopkins debut on the stage of the Merrick Barn. Sponsored by the Writing Seminars Department, the production of the 1980 Jane Martin play -- a collection of nine monologues delivered by nine memorable characters, from a rodeo cowgirl to a Midwestern baton twirler -- will run for three nights only.
The acting troupe, made up of amateur actresses and led by professor Marc Lapadula and Student Producer Karina Schumacher-Villasante calls itself "Lonely Tower Productions" after Gilman 500, the classroom in the Gilman clock tower where, as an unofficial student group, they have met to rehearse the two-act play since the beginning of the semester.
The idea to produce the play was born when Lapadula, who also teaches at Yale and the University of Pennsylvania, assigned participation to his play writing class in the fall of this school year and decided he liked it so much he wanted to see it in lights. His directorial breakthrough highlights the work of a cast diverse in its theatrical experience. Some are seasoned members of the Hopkins theatrical community while others are making their acting debuts.
The monologues all feature characters whose enthusiasms, hobbies or quirks have become obsessions for them. Their everyday personas as housewives, daughters, mothers-to-be and professional workers are all shadowed by their undeniable eccentricities, which are hilarious at times but chilling at others.
The production is sure to be a testament to the hidden talents in all Hopkins students and the star-studded cast, made up of Daisy Beatty, Popi Benisch, Rachel Dellon, Ali Fenwick, Liz Gilbert, Liz Marave Annelise Pruitt, Rebecca Pyne and Heather Warnken, invites one and all to attend their weekend-long run at the Barn. Show times are 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday March 26-28. Admission is $5 and $3 for students. Tickets are available at the door. Refreshments will be available.
