As the spring semester has begun for all students, so have rehearsals for theater students.
The theater department is set to host three shows throughout the spring semester for anyone to attend.
To challenge themselves, students will perform the shows “References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot,” “Stop Kiss” and “The Skin of Our Teeth,” which have completely different make-ups from one another.
The theater department’s first show is “Stop Kiss,” which will run from late February to early March, followed by “The Skin of Our Teeth,” which will run during mid-March, and finally “References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot,” which will run from late April to early May.
“All three shows have relevance to current events and cultural issues affecting the world,” said Bernardo Solano, chair of the theater department and director of “The Skin of Our Teeth.”
As Solano puts it, “Stop Kiss” deals with LGBTQ relationships and how the tolerance for them has been put to the test. The second show, “The Skin of Our Teeth,” looks at how humanity responds to natural catastrophes and cataclysmic events, and the third show, “References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot,” speaks to the Latinx experience, as well as what it is like to be in the military and return home.
Although the shows’ plots and messages are different from one another, all shows are unified in the set designs and outfits of the casts.
Sarah Krainin, the head of design at the theater department, said all three plays have set designs that relate to the message of each play and these design choices communicate it to the audience.
“‘The Skin of Our Teeth’ deals with big themes, so the set is going to be big and spectacular,” Krainin said.
Costume designs are similar to set designs as well.
Mauricio Gutierrez, a fifth-year general theater student said that for each show, people meet and discuss a way to find a coherent way of designing each costume to fit each specific show.
Solano hopes the cast gains something from all three plays.
“I hope they understand how theater can speak to the audiences about their own lives and provide answers to everyday questions we all have,” Solano said. “If they can do that, then I consider it a great success.”
Solano also wishes that the audience can come to theater as a place of refuge, yet be challenged by what they take away from the plays.
Like television or film, live theater is its own powerful medium, according to Solano.
More information about the upcoming shows can be found online on CPP’s Department of Theatre and New Dance webpage, www.cpp.edu/~class/theatre-new-dance/index.shtml.
