McDaniel Theatre Students Perform Original Work Next Month

McDaniel College theatre arts students present the world premiere of "In order to form a MORE PERFECT UNION," an original ensemble-devised work. Free and open to the public, performances are Wednesday, April 12-Saturday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m., in WMC Alumni Hall at McDaniel College, 2 College Hill, Westminster, Md.

The play, which examines the current division in America, has been created by students in the "Devised Theatre" course under the direction of theatre arts lecturer Gené Fouché. The course is a collaborative, group-oriented approach to theatre making and uses various creation techniques, including composition, viewpoints, improvisation, found text, adaptation and group writing.

According to Fouché, "Walls have been erected between the oppressed populations and those empowered; between immigrants and 'Americans;' between millennials and the older generations. The show takes a closer look at this divide and ponders the steps we can take to lead to healing."

"It has been a real pleasure working with this group of theatre artists. They're all talented in many different areas and there is no lack of material being mined. It's more a matter of what not to use. I view myself as an editor in this process. However, the bulk of the material has been created and staged by the cast and our assistant director, senior Jennifer Shillingburg of Oakland, Md."

In addition to Shillingburg, other McDaniel Students involved in the performance are senior Antoinette Martin of Cape Coral, Fla.; juniors Bryan Bowen of North Beach, Md., Torreke Evans of Atlanta, Joseph Fox of Hurlock, Md., BranDon Richards of Huntingtown, Md., Megan Smith of Federalsburg, Md., and Alex Tolle of Woodstock, Md.; sophomore Jennifer Willard of North Potomac, Md., and freshman Olivia Michel of New York.

For more information, call 410-857-2448. Visit www.mcdaniel.edu/theatre for more information about the college and the theatre arts department.