Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Programs to Present IN THE ROOM, OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY

The Brown University/Trinity Repertory MFA Program is thrilled to present Brown alum Sarah Ruhl's Tony Award-nominated play. In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play, directed by Flordelino Lagundino ('15), which opens December 4th. The play explores the way late-nineteenth century society viewed sexuality, femininity and technology. In the Next Room will run from December 4-13 at the Pell Chafee Performance Center, 87 Empire Street, Providence, RI. General admission is $12 with a discounted price of $6 for students and seniors. Tickets are on sale now at Trinity Rep's box office, by phone (401) 351-4242, or online at trinityrep.com. Audiences should note this production contains mature subject matter and adult language.

At the center of The Vibrator Play is Mrs. Givings, a sheltered yet passionate woman who is married to Dr. Givings, a gynecologist. While her husband alleviates his patients of hysteria with the vibrator, Mrs. Givings listens from behind the door of his home practice, eventually making her way into the next room when Dr. Givings is not there. She discovers that this unusual electronic device can only provide temporary relief to his patients, and that even the latest technological advances cannot satisfy the basic human need for intimacy.

"It is funny, heartfelt, entertaining and tremendously current in the issues that it speaks about," says director Flordelino Lagundino. "For me, this play is about our voice as individuals and how Catherine, the protagonist of this play, finds hers. She has been living under the dictates of her husband and society, and, through trial and error and through the pitfalls of life, she figures out who she is-or the beginnings of who she is-as a woman, as a wife, as a mother and as a human."

Flordelino Lagundino holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Texas, Austin and has performed with The Shakespeare Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, and Perseverance Theatre, where he also directed Animals Out of Paper, Doubt, Yellowman, Topdog/Underdog, and several world premieres. His other directing credits include productions with Generator Theater Company, Tsunami Theatre Company, and Juneau Symphony. At Brown/Trinity, Flordelino directed In The Blood by Suzan-Lori Parks, Much Ado About Nothing, and Stone Cold Dead Serious by Adam Rapp.

Performances for In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play run Thursday, December 4th; Friday, December 5th; Saturday, December 6th; Wednesday, December 10th; Thursday, December 11th; Friday, December 12th; and Saturday, December 13th at 7:30 PM with additional matinee performances at 2:00 PM on Saturday, December 6th; Sunday, December 7th; and Saturday, December 13th.

Brown University/Trinity Rep MFA Programs provide a three-year professional training program for eighteen students under the auspices of an Ivy League University and Rhode Island's Tony Award-winning theater company. Brown University's Department of Theatre, Speech and Dance is internationally recognized for the quality of its faculty and instruction. Trinity Rep, with its deep tradition of resident artists, provides powerful artistic assets and creates a firm foundation for a new generation of theater artists.