Philip Lynch TheatreBox Office Mon. – Fri. 1 – 4:30 p.m.Phone: (815) 836-5500 Email: boxoffice@lewisu.eduWebsite: www.lewisu.edu/plt

Directed by Kevin Trudeau

Nov. 9 – 11Nov. 15 – 18

Performance show times:Thursday, Fridays, Saturdays 8 pm

Saturday, Nov. 17 4 & 8 pmSunday matinees 2:30 pm

Recommended for patrons 13 yrs. old up

PRESIDENTIAL PARODY bY ROSS REED Lewis University’s Philip Lynch Theater celebrates America’s political traditions in our production of 44 Plays for 44 Presidents. The play satirically analyzes the lives of 44 men who have held the office. In conjunction with the November 2012 election, no fewer than 44 theaters from all over the country will produce 44 Plays for 44 Presidents as part of the National Plays for Presidents Festival. The Plays for Presidents Festival was designed to create a national collaboration of artistic and educational productions leading up to the upcoming presidential election. Each theater company has submitted a video portion of the play that has been included in the festival’s online screening. The theater companies participating include professional, community, and college theatres. The original show 43 Plays for 43 Presidents, has seen several full length productions and some excerpted productions, The original show was produced by the Neo-Futurists in Chicago, which is the theatrical home of four of the five playwrights. The show opened Jan. 31, 2002 and with each presidential election the number of plays have increased. As part of the Plays for Presidents Festival, the PLT has submitted a scene satirically portraying the 27th President, William Taft. In the duration of his presidency Taft presented himself like a judge would, crossing party lines when it suited him. During the final months of his re-election, he made the decision to play a lot of golf. According to notes from playwright Andy Bayiates, “that cracked me up and made me think of him like a big, pouty baby, even though I’m sure he wasn’t.” For the PLT’s submission the scene will portray Taft as a big pouty baby, refusing to accept the presidency, which is metaphorically framed as baby food. Taft is refusing the presidency from the iconic President Teddy Roosevelt, who throws in some comedic slaps as he forces baby Taft to take and swallow the presidency. He responds by spitting back in Teddy’s face. Lewis students cast members Brian Lochner, Brianna Reidy, Matthew Dutton and Zachary Guzan, portray the characters. Dr. Kevin Trudeau of Chicago, is directing the production. “It’s exciting to be participating in a witty production such as this. Especially with an important election fast approaching us,” said Trudeau. “I’m excited for the patrons to learn about our great leaders, and to be entertained, and I believe they will be entertained.”

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offstagePHILIP LYNCH THEATRE SUBSCRIBER/ALUMNI NEWSLETTER

Volume 33, Issue 3, November 2012

The play was written for 5 actors, both men and women. However, it could be performed with a cast as big as the number of roles available in the play which is 158. The Chicago production had 2 men and 3 women. An Atlanta production divided the roles differently and used 3 men and 2 women. For the PLT production, director Kevin Trudeau has a cast of 9 Lewis student performers. There are 5 men and 4 women in the PLT production.

PLT FACULTYKeith White, Director of Theatre,

whiteke@lewisu.edu, (815) 836-5408Harold McCay, Professor of Design & Technical Theatre

mccayha@lewisu.edu, (815) 836-5413Kevin Trudeau, Professor of Theatre History

trudeake@lewisu.edu, (815) 836-5695

PLT STAFF/ADJUNCT FACULTYJo Slowik, Theatre Manager

slowikjo@lewisu.edu, (815) 836-5409Andrew Nelsen, Assistant Technical Director

Dave Pomatto, Assistant Technical DirectorCeleste Mackey, Costumer

Shirley Smith, Ballroom DanceJodi-Ann Kasky, Movement & Dance

Richard Gilbert, Stage Combat

con’t.

Back Row (left to right): Bryan Lochner, Zachary Guzan, Brendan Rook and Adam SmetanaFront Row (left to right): Matt Dutton, Victoria Vega, Rachel Tau, Teneria Douglas, and Briana Reidy

THE SET

THE TRANSITIONS The end of each “play” is marked by transition music and a slide showing a picture of the next president and the years of his term. Theatre major Sabra Thomas is designing and operating the sound for the PLT production.

In the original Chicago production the president in each play ws designated by wearing the “presidential coat.” In most plays, the coat is worn by the actor portraying that particular president. However, there are plays where the coat is worn by an inanimate object or even an audience member. Ideally, the coat should be formal, and “American” themed. Resident costume designer Celeste Mackey has designed and constructed the coat. Senior theatre major Melissa Chicola is

hand-painting the “American” theme onto the jacket designed to fit all 9 cast members.

THE CONVENTION OF THE “COAT”

THE CONVENTION OF A DIRECT QUOTE A special light device similar to a shadow box will be implemented whenever a character delivers a direct quote. The quotes were documented either by newspapers, historians, or recorded via audio or video for posterity. PLT assistant technical director Dave Pomatto is designing the lights for the production and the direct quote light device.

“Entertaining...inventive...enlightening.” -Justin Hayford, Chicago Reader

“An atomic explosion of creativity.” -Mary Houlihan, Chicago Sun Times

“[A] theatrical gem.” -Rodney Ho, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: They definitely are on to something in this zany, clever, ambitious and often surprisingly moving historical catalogue.” -Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times

WHAT THE CRITICS SAID... For the world premiere production, they had a chalkboard and a series of boxes. Each box held the props for the corresponding president. A method of prop-storage that allows quick access is being devised by scenic designer Harold McCay. He is working closely with senior theatre major Melanie Gillies who is the properties designer for the PLT production. Melanie has 3 KCACTF certificates of merit for her previous PLT properties production work on Seussical, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Rose and the Rime.

Melanie Gillies at the 2012 KC/ACTF with her props displays for Rose and the Rime and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

THE CAST

Brigid Nolan ‘04 and ‘09 married Michael Sim on September 29. In 2004, she received her undergraduate degree in Psychology. In 2009, she received her Masters degree in Counseling Psychology. The newlyweds live in La Grange Park and the new Mrs. Sim is the Chicago regional supervisor for Employment and Employer Services.

Kay Cannon ‘96 is the screenwriter for the hilarious new comedy feature film Pitch Perfect, directed by Jason Moore (Broadway’s Avenue Q). It tells the story of Beca (Anna Kendrick), a young woman who dreams of being a music producer, but who instead finds herself at Barden University in an all-female a cappella singing group. With takes on both old and new music hits, the ‘Bellas’ fight their way to the top of the cutthroat world of college

music competitions. Chicago Sun-Times film critic, Richard Roeper called it “one of the strangest and also one of the more entertaining movies of the year.”

Kay was recently interviewed on Collider.com in a feature entitled, “Writer Kay Cannon Talks PITCH PERFECT, Girl Power, Picking Out the Songs, THE BREAKFAST CLUB, and Her FOX Show.” Kay was asked the following question: “This movie has a lot of girl bonding and girl power. What was your inspiration for that?”

“Because I was an athlete growing up. That’s the sports part of me coming out. But, I was on so many competitive teams. I played volleyball and basketball, and I did track and volleyball in college. I was in relays for track where you just bonded with all these different kinds of personalities who were coming together for this one common goal of beating a rival team. A scene that was super important to me and that I really wanted to keep was the bus ride where they are singing “Party in the USA.” Someone starts singing, and then there’s all this singing. I don’t want to age myself, but I think we sang Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ‘69.” You weren’t in your headphones as much, back then, so that bonding was really important. I was super excited to be a part of something where, when I see that scene, it just reminds me of that.”

The article in it’s entirety can be found at http://co l l i de r. com/kay -cannon-pitch-perfect-interview/198296/

making news

www.lewisu.edu/pltPLT Website for links to:

Check the PLT Website for video updates!

Congratulations to Victoria Vega and Gregory Rossbach for their Irene Ryan acting nominations for the recent PLT production of The Quick-Change Room.

Victoria Vega Gregory Rossbach

Mary Elizabeth Gelezauskas ‘08 and ‘11 married Thomas Patrick O’Hara on October 26. In 2008, she received her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education, Social Work and Human Services. In 2011, she received her Masters degree in Reading and Literacy. The newlyweds live in Homer Glen and the new Mrs. O’Hara is a reading intervention teacher at Troy Crossroads Elementary School.

Alumni Profile: Todd lewis Todd Lewis ‘74 can be seen in the film 8:46 which is now downloadable from Netflix. The plot is a glimpse into the lives of an ensemble of characters leading up to the moment the world changed forever - 8:46 a.m. Tuesday, September 11, 2001. It had a successful appearance at Cannes Film Festival and has been making the rounds at other film festivals.

His other short film, Bittersweet Life appeared at the Williamsburg (or WilliFest) Film Festival and another film festival in South Korea. A third film that

Todd was featured in, Civil War is also making the film festival circuit.

Currently he’s preparing a role for a new play, Marty’s Back in Town at the Interact Theatre in Philadelphia. He has narrated two audiobooks which are available on Audible.com. The most recent is Riff Raff by Doc Macomber.

In a recent email Todd wrote about his experience with The Quick-Change Room playwright, Nagle Jackson. “Good luck with your season. I had auditioned for Nagle when the play was done at Hedgerow Theatre outside of Philly. I know Nagle through my wife Mary when she was a company member at McCarter Theater.”

Todd Lewis is a gifted singer, actor and certified massage therapist. His career of more than 30 years in theater and film includes many appearances on New York stages including the Samuel French Award winning Life in Excellence.

Todd has performed on Regional stages in everything from Little Shop of Horrors to Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew to The Fantasticks. He has guest conducted with the Greater Trenton (NJ) Symphony Orchestra for 15 years.

Heritage Theatre Company (HTC) will celebrate the season with the 8th Annual Holiday Spectacular. Performances will be Thursday through Saturday, December 6, 7 and 8 at 7:30 p.m. Due to popular demand, a 4 p.m. matinee has been added on December 8. Fun for the whole family, the show will deck the halls with 90 minutes of joyful music, skits, and merriment. The Holiday Spectacular is a non-stop sleigh ride of heartwarming moments filled with singing, dancing, and laughter. A special feature this year will be the return of the “Charlie Brown Christmas” sketch. The box office opens at 6 p.m. with holiday confections in the lobby. At 7 p.m., digital photos on stage with Santa and his holiday helpers will be available. The proceeds from concessions and the photos go to the Theatre Scholarship Fund. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for the general public, and $2 for the members of the Lewis community. Half price tickets are available with a donation of non-perishable foods going to local shelters. Seating is general admission and ticket reservations are recommended. Tickets may be purchased at the Philip Lynch Theatre box office in advance during regular box office hours Monday – Friday, 1:00 – 4:30 p.m. E-mail the box office at boxoffice@lewisu.edu or call (815) 836-5500 for your tickets today to this PLT holiday tradition.

A new parking lot is now open close to the PlT. lot GG (the old soccer field behind the recreational center) provides 270 additional parking spaces to the campus. PlT patrons can use parking lots e, f and G. we also suggest using the east entrance by the Art department and utilize parking lots C and d by the science Center. The oremus fine Arts Center is Building 2 on the campus map. Campus maps as well as more construction photos can be found on the PlT website home page www.lewisu.edu/plt

TipsA special ‘Bravo’ to our student volunteers at the 17th Annual Regional CARE AIDS Walk on Saturday, October 6. Your kindness will be remembered.

Pictured (left to right) Victoria Vega, Sabra Thomas, Jon Erickson, Adam Smetana, Kate O’Neil, Melissa Chicola

Pictured (left to right) Amanda Foresta and

Melanie Gillies

The WaiT is Over...

8th ANNUALHOLIDAY

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