I had intended to take a hiatus from the Independent from 9/23 – 10/3. There were plenty of things that were diversional on my plate, such as homework, rehearsals and more homework. Associate Editor, Jon Gronli had kindly (shhh… don’t tell him I used kindly and his name in the same sentence. We don’t want to ruin his macabre reputation) said that he would edit the section for me this issue. Other people were going to step up and do the production stuff that I usually work on as well.
Alas, random flotsam from the universe seemed to all converge in the basement office that we at the paper all too often call home. Several staff changes were made, positions vacated and not filled, for various reasons, and the Associate Editor got the load dumped on him. Being the wonderful, thoughtful (not to mention modest) person that I am, I forgo my break, so as not to add to said Mr. Gronli’s insanity.
Since I had not planned on not working on this issue, I had not thought about a topic for discourse. What to write about? This can oftentimes be a difficult decision. It isn’t like a paper due for class, where I am told what I have to write about, or at least given a general idea. Of course, this is part of the charm of having a column. I can write about what I want. On the other hand, when schoolwork and Stage Center take up all my time, I don’t really have much to chat about besides these things. Somehow, I have the feeling that readers are not really very interested in my schoolwork, so that leaves Stage Center.
The current play, as you might have seen in the last issue, is Charley’s Aunt. We have been working our tails off to bring this production to the stage here. The first play of the semester is oftentimes a grueling experience. There are usually around 28 days from the time of auditions until opening night. Four weeks is not really that long of a time, when you take into consideration all the other aspects of the actor’s lives. The cast of Charley’s Aunt mostly consists of NEIU students; students who are going to school full time, with all the homework this entails. Even the actors who are not taking a full schedule still have homework, jobs and families.
Granted, the actors choose to audition; they choose to spend their time memorizing lines, learning blocking and rehearsing. The obvious love of the theater keeps them coming back, despite the hard schedules. Without the commitment to do this, the show would fail. I’ve worked with many people in the past year or so at Stage Center, and I’ve made many friends. The theater people at NEIU are great. They are friendly, considerate and hard working. (Alright, we do know that there are exceptions to every rule.) I’m proud to be able to work with these people, so I’ll take my little section of the chaotic, flotsam filled universe, and say “Thank you for your hard work and dedication. Thanks for being part of one of my favorite diversions in life.”
Cast in order of appearance:
Jack Chesney: Kyle Young
Brassett: Mike Jando
Charley Wykeham: David Mitchell
Lord Fancourt Babberly: Andrew Berlien
Kitty Verdun: Erin O’Shea
Amy Spettigue: Whitney Behr
Sir Francis Chesney: Mark Heard
Stephen Spettigue: Tom Camacho
Donna Lucia D’Alvadorez: Cheryl Lyman
Ela Delahay: Gail Wittenstein
I would like to invite everyone to come out and see the productions at Stage Center. Charley’s Aunt will be playing 10/9-11 and 16-18 (that’s Thursday, Friday and Saturday) at 7:30 p.m. It is FREE for NEIU students.