2008 Woodie Awards
Riders to the Sea/Cathleen ni Houlihan open
Running May 1-3
Steven Collier
Issue date: 4/2/08 Section: Entertainment
This Thursday the Messiah Theater Department will unveil its final student productions of the year, Riders to the Sea by J. M. Synge and Cathleen ni Houlihan by W. B. Yeats. I was invited to attend a rehearsal for these two one-act Irish plays and was pleasantly surprised by what I saw.
Riders to the Sea tells the story of an impoverished Irish fishing family and their grief over losing the last of their men to the cruel ocean that also sustains them. Cathleen ni Houlihan tells of an impoverished Irish farming family whose eldest son is about to be wed. However, on the eve of his wedding, a strange, elderly woman with a penchant for singing visits them and changes the course of their lives forever.
Director Rena Dayton Moore says that she chose to do these two works because, "these shows explore something that is uniquely human. Each of us deals with loss and while these plays may be dark, it is through confronting that darkness that we learn to live and find hope within our own lives."
The combined length of both these two shows is only about forty-five minutes, so fitting it into your busy schedules should not prove difficult, and I highly recommend that you do.
It is a black box production, so there is limited seating. However, this allows for an intimate viewing experience.
The double bill runs May 1-3 at 8 PM in Miller Auditorium. Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for adults. There is no reserved seating.
Riders to the Sea tells the story of an impoverished Irish fishing family and their grief over losing the last of their men to the cruel ocean that also sustains them. Cathleen ni Houlihan tells of an impoverished Irish farming family whose eldest son is about to be wed. However, on the eve of his wedding, a strange, elderly woman with a penchant for singing visits them and changes the course of their lives forever.
Director Rena Dayton Moore says that she chose to do these two works because, "these shows explore something that is uniquely human. Each of us deals with loss and while these plays may be dark, it is through confronting that darkness that we learn to live and find hope within our own lives."
The combined length of both these two shows is only about forty-five minutes, so fitting it into your busy schedules should not prove difficult, and I highly recommend that you do.
It is a black box production, so there is limited seating. However, this allows for an intimate viewing experience.
The double bill runs May 1-3 at 8 PM in Miller Auditorium. Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for adults. There is no reserved seating.
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