JOHNSON CITY, TN – A scandalous memoir, a presentation of dance, a story of an unfinished story and a journey into the world of stock car racing will take the stage during the East Tennessee State University Division of Theatre and Dance's 2013-14 season.
The season will open with Other Desert Cities, written by Jon Robin Baitz. The show tells the story of author Brooke Wyeth, who joins her brother and affluent parents to celebrate the holidays but breaks the news that she has penned a tell-all book about an event in the family's past. Other Desert Cities opened Off-Broadway in 2011 and later transferred to Broadway, where it captured several Tony nominations as well as a Tony award for actress Judith Light. Pat Cronin, professor of theatre and dance, will direct the ETSU production, which will run Oct. 17-20.
The checkered flag will wave when Tradin' Paint, written by Barter Theatre's Playwright-in-Residence Catherine Bush, roars in Nov. 21-24. The plot involves Darla Frye, an insecure young woman whose quest to find her destiny takes her into the world of stock car racing, a journey that includes an unexpected friendship with a gay college professor, a head-on collision with a car battery and a heavenly visit with the late Dale Earnhardt.
Tradin' Paint made its world premiere at Barter Theatre in 2007 and will be directed by ETSU student Brock Cooley in collaboration with Bobby Funk, professor of theatre and dance. Cooley recently was selected for the SDC Student Director Fellowship Program and to participate in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C.
In Six Characters in Search of an Author, a group of people appearing to be a family arrive at a theater and tell the director they are unfinished characters in search of an author to help complete their story. From there begins a voyage between truth and reality and a question of whether a person is truly in control of his or her own fate. Written by Luigi Pirandello, Six Characters in Search of an Author will run Feb. 26 through March 2, 2014 and will be directed by Herb Parker, associate professor of theatre and dance.
The ETSU Dance Concert will return in the spring and will include contemporary, jazz and aerial dance. Cara Harker, associate professor of theatre and dance, will direct the concert, which will be held April 10-13, 2014.
Lighting design for these productions will be provided by Melissa Shafer and the scenic designer will be Dr. Delbert Hall. Both are professors in the Division of Theatre and Dance.
All productions will be performed in the Bud Frank Theatre.
Auditions for Tradin' Paint will be held Wednesday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m.
Those wishing to audition for Other Desert Cities may do so Thursday, Aug. 29. For more information on the 2013-14 season, visit http://www.etsu.edu/cas/comm/theatre/default.aspx or call (423) 439-6511.
