Angela Bride, left, and Dodger Kirkland rehearse the play 'Drama.'
November 13–16, 2025 @ Tusculum University
GREENEVILLE– Cast and crew members are putting the final touches on a production that will tickle the funny bone of the audience members and reinforce the caliber of theater atTusculum University.
Theatre-at-Tusculumunleashes the comedy starting Thursday, Nov. 13, when “The Sneeze” opens for a four-day run in Behan Arena Theatre. A cast of 20, backed by a behind-the-scenes crew, is ready to bring laughter to the seats with the collection of eight short plays, written by Anton Chekhov, that are part of “The Sneeze.”
“Our guests can expect to have a great time as they trade their daily life concerns for chuckles during the performance,” said Steve Schultz, director ofTusculum Arts Outreach, who also has a role in two of the plays. “Chekhov was an amazing writer, and we have assembled a tremendous cast, both of which will combine to create a top-notch theatrical experience. The community will not want to miss this show.”
All of the plays in this show except one are comedies with a satirical element, and the other is insightful. Each play within the production is five to 15 minutes long. The eight plays in this production are “Drama,” “The Alien Corn,” The Sneeze,” “The Bear,” “The Evils of Tobacco,” “The Inspector General,” “Swan Song” and “The Proposal.”
Erin Hensley Schultz, director for “The Sneeze” and Tusculum’s costume director, said the stories told in the plays will be easy to enjoy and not be over anyone’s head.
“I have a lot of veteran actors who auditioned for this production because Anton Chekhov is such a revered playwright,” she said. “Opportunities to perform in one of his works do not come up very often, so it is understandable why they are jumping at the chance. The plays are so beautifully written, and I’m really pleased to have the opportunity to work with these very talented actors.”
One of the actors in the show is Angela Bride, a Tusculum alumna, who has performed in previous productions at the university as well as in local theater. She has roles in two plays – Murashkina in “Drama” and Storyteller 3 in “The Sneeze.” She is enthused about her role in “Drama” because Murashkina contains about six characters and six voices.
“It’s been a big challenge, but it’s also been a lot of fun because I like to perform off-the-wall characters,” Bride said. “It has been enjoyable to really throw myself completely into that character. I have to be sure I make all those voices distinctly different, including from my own, but that’s also what is also so thrilling about it."
Gary Carver, who plays Smirnov in “Bear,” makes his first appearance in a standard Tusculum theatrical production. His acting portfolio consists of performing in “Edgar Allan Poe and Other Haunted Stories in the Woods” at the Doak House Museum and in local theater. He said he likes being able to perform in his one play and then watch his fellow actors in the remaining ones.
“Tusculum has a talented group,” Carver said. “Erin’s fantastic with the costumes and her vision as director, and Steve’s just a wealth of knowledge. It’s cool to get to say you did Chekhov, first of all, and that it’s a comedy is fun because I don’t think I would be very good at a drama. I’ve never been in a production that is a vignette, so that’s been an interesting infrastructure to work in. It’s kept me on my toes.”
The cast features four Tusculum students – Emme Foster, Sam Garland, James Sams and Izzy Wilson – and the remaining actors come from Newport to Johnson City. Many of them have performed and directed in Tusculum theater productions and will be recognized by people who have been regulars in the audience. People can view the entire cast list athttps://bit.ly/3KxRx7k.
Shows are Thursday, Nov. 13; Friday, Nov. 14; and Saturday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 16, at 2 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase athttps://www.onthestage.tickets/tusculum-university. The cost for anyone 18-59 years old is $15 plus an estimated $2.82 in fees. Anyone 60 or older pays $13 plus an estimated $2.74 in fees.
Theatre-at-Tusculum is part of Arts Outreach and Tusculum’sCenter for the Artsand is supported in part by a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission and many generous donors. To learn more about the Center for the Arts and Arts Outreach, visithttps://site.tusculum.edu/center-for-the-arts/. Additional information about the university is available atwww.tusculum.edu.
Category: Theatre