Sonoma State University Presents Free Outdoor Performances of BAD PENNY, 10/3-14

Sonoma State University Department of Theatre Arts & Dance presents "Bad Penny" by Mac Wellman, directed by Judy Navas.

"Bad Penny" is a sharply satiric comedy and outdoor performance event offering a whimsical, mind-bending theatrical experience where characters interact across a lake and engage the audience as they share encounters with bad luck and gruesome pasts.

The SSU Department of Theatre Arts & Dance presents a rare and unusual opportunity for audiences to experience this beautiful, one-act Mac Wellman play about the mythic and metaphorical power of water. Admission is free and open to the students, faculty, staff and the general public for this site specific performance presented at The University Lake near the Art Building.

"Bad Penny," a site-specific theater piece originally written for presentation at New York City's Central Park Bow Bridge location. It will translate perfectly to the stunning lakes and park-like surroundings of SSU’s campus environment. The production features Dylan Waite as Man 1, Elise Siegle as Woman 1 and Max Reiner as Boatman.

This production is part of "Water Works," is Sonoma State University campus wide project including fine arts and academics drawing on the theme of inland water flow as resource, theme and metaphor. The "Water Works" project features a variety of events and performances presented across the SSU campus in indoor theaters, classrooms, art galleries and outdoor site-specific events at bodies of water.

The show plays Oct. 3 to Oct. 14, 2012 according to the following schedule:
12 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3 and Wednesday, Oct. 10
2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 7 (includes post show discussion)
5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5 (Faculty-Staff show. Includes pre-show of "A Little Tea and Apathy")
5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6; Friday, Oct. 12; and Saturday, Oct. 13
11 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 14 (Includes pre-show of "a Little Tea and Apathy")

Performances take place at the University Lake near the Art Building, Sonoma State University
1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park, Calif. Evert B. Person Theatre is accessed through the main entrance to Sonoma State University.

For parking, after entering the main entrance of Sonoma State University, turn right. Use LOT E to the left. Walk from the main parking lot using the ramp to the theater which is to the left of the parking lot. Parking permits are required for all cars during posted hours Monday through Friday. Permits may be purchased daily from the vending machines located at the entrance to the general parking lots. Daily parking fee is $2.50. Visitor parking is only permitted in lots marked as ‘Non-Reserved.’

The cost is free for students, faculty, staff and the general public. Call the box office at 707-664-2353, Monday thru Friday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Ives Hall on SSU Campus for more information, or visit www.sonoma.edu/waterworks.

Playwright Mac Wellman has written some forty plays. He teaches play writing at Brooklyn College in New York City. He began his career as a poet. He has a love of language and the rare gift for creating plays that take the shape of language as it is used in the American Colloquial vernacular, reinvigorating meaning through tweaking the syntax. Everyday speech brings his plays closer to its audience while and elevates it to a post-modern Lyricism. Wellman’s work challenges the actor to reach farther into their creative reservoir to express intangibles of life against the very real struggles that characters are undergoing. Wellman allows the audience to experience theater outside the traditional indoor theater space with plays that expand and explore boundaries and character development.

PRE-SHOW DETAILS: On Friday, Oct. 5 and Sunday, Oct. 14 the will be a 15-minute pre-show performance of "A Little Tea and Apathy," featuring about 20 dancers performing while drenched in “slip” (liquefied clay). As the dance progresses, water evaporates from the slip, so the dancers’ appearance transforms from that of glistening statuary to chalky ghost figures.

Photo credit: Linnea Mullins

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