St. Joseph, Mo. – April 25, 2012 – The cinema and theatre program at Missouri Western State University will present “Tabula Rasa,” the 2012 student directing showcase, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 1 and 2 in the Black Box Theater located in Potter Hall. The showcase will feature 15 original ten-minute plays, written and directed by Missouri Western students and performed by students and members of the community. Admission is free but donations to Alpha Psi Omega, Missouri Western’s chapter of the National Honorary Theatre Fraternity, are welcome. Seating is limited and reservations will not be accepted.
The plays were written last fall in the playwriting course taught by Dallas Henry, assistant professor of theatre and cinema. Each play was entered in the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival Region VI 10-Minute Play Competition. A play by Jesse Frazier, senior theatre and cinema major from St. Joseph, was one of only six plays from the entire region to be presented at the regional festival. The region includes universities from Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas and New Mexico.
This spring, the plays were passed on to the directing course taught by Tee Quillin, assistant professor of theatre and cinema. Each student was assigned one of the plays to produce throughout the course of the semester, including pre-production, casting, rehearsing and producing the play for performance. The directors collaborated with students in the stage lighting course taught by Don McBride, technical director, on the lighting design for the productions.
Please note some plays contain mature content which is unsuitable for young audiences. Parental guidance is strongly recommended.
For more information, contact Quillin at 816-271-4441 or quillin@missouriwestern.edu.
Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.
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