Performing arts season opens with ‘The Taming’

• . (sold out)
• Friday, Sept. 26 - 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Sept. 27 - 7:30 p.m. (limited tickets)
• Sunday, Sept. 28 - 2 p.m. (sold out)

Tickets can be purchased at SUNY Cortland's Box Office website. Discounts are available for students, faculty, staff, children and senior citizens.

Written by playwright Lauren Gunderson and directed by Deena Conley, SUNY Cortland associate professor and chair of performing arts, the plot of the two-act play sees a conservative politician's aide, a liberal activist and a beauty queen locked in a hotel room together with one mission: to rewrite the U.S. Constitution.

With a plot that lets the cast and audience take a humorous look at modern day society and some of the most famous Founding Fathers, "The Taming" promises a look at politics presented in a light-hearted manner.

From left: Performing Arts students Sidney Humes-James, Isabella Garza and Emily Reilly in "The Taming."

"Through their conversations, opposing views and occasional moments of seeing eye-to-eye, the audience is taken on a witty, smart and thought-provoking journey," said Benjamin Wells, production and publicity manager.

A smaller cast of three actors balances well with the much larger group needed for "The Rocky Horror Show," which follows in late October, according to Wells. A typical theater season at Cortland is two plays and two musicals to give students a wider skillset.

With a shorter-than-normal five weeks from the first day of classes to opening night, auditions for the roles were held last spring to give the actors more time to prepare.

The abbreviated rehearsal time for "The Taming" ahead of "Rocky Horror" is an added challenge for the cast and crew, but not one that senior Savina Janetti, assistant stage manager, has found to be too difficult.

"Watching the show come together every night has been a joy," Janetti said. "It's so refreshing to see a comedy that is centered around women and politics. Being assistant stage manager has allowed me to fully watch the whole process and see a show start from reading at table out of scripts to full set pieces, blocking and costumes."

Senior Emily Reilly, who plays political aide Patricia, said she couldn't imagine a better show for her final bow at the university.

"I have deeply enjoyed getting to bring Patricia to life and watching these three very different characters find common ground in an extremely humorous but real way," Reilly said. "Learning a new dialect - southern - for this show was a fun new challenge that I welcomed, and I think helps bring the dialogue to life."

The majority of crew members on the production are in their roles for the first time and learning new facets of what it takes to bring theater to life in front of an audience, according to Wells.

"The experiences they gain behind the scenes not only give them important knowledge and skills beyond those required for performance, it also helps our majors gain more empathy for the importance of these roles," he said.

More information on the SUNY Cortland Performing Arts Department and its upcoming productions is available online.