Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance

IU Theatre & Dance will present new works from the three MFA playwrights in the upcoming 7^th annual At First Sight Festival. This year the festival will culminate in two productions of new plays by Aaron Ricciardi and Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin, and will include a staged reading of a new play by the 1^st Year MFA playwright, Christin Eve Cato. The festival will also showcase Undergrad Shorts featuring short plays, scenes, and songs written by undergraduate playwrights.

Only Child, 3^rd year playwright Aaron Ricciardi’s thesis play, brings us into a landscape of distorted and fractured memories. The story follows a teenage prince who meets a lonely schoolteacher and becomes deeply intertwined in her home, her marriage, and her fantasies. As their relationship intensifies, boundaries crumble, changing the Prince's life forever. The production is directed by Jenny McKnight, Professor of Practice in Acting and Directing.

Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin’s Haus of Mirth, from the novel by Edith Wharton, begins after the second Civil War is over and the all-female revolution has taken hold. Ethnically ambiguous Lily Bart, who was born into great privilege but not great bitcoin, must navigate a dangerous world: New York's high society. Joseph D’Ambrosi, Ph.D. graduate student in Theatre History, Theory and Literature, directs this production.

What’s Up With Marjorie, written by Christin Eve Cato, is a slice of the everyday life of a young Latina woman adulting in New York City. Marjorie struggles to find herself amidst her dysfunctional family, emotionally unstable friends, and a compromised career. When she starts falling in love with a new guy she meets, Marjorie is inevitably faced with the task of introspection and self-love. RJ Hodde, MFA directing candidate, directs this staged reading.

Details

WHAT: At First Sight Festival of New Plays, featuring:
Only Child  by Aaron Ricciardi
Haus of Mirth by Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin
Undergrad Shorts by our undergraduate playwrights
What’s Up With Marjorie? by Christin Eve Cato

WHEN: February 22 – March 2  
Only Child – February 22-23 at 7:30pm; February 26-28 at 7:30pm; March 1-2 at 7:30pm; March 2 at 2pm (in the Wells-Metz Theatre)
Haus of Mirth – February 27-28 at 7:30pm; March 1 at 7:30pm; March 2 at 2pm (in the Studio Theatre)
Undergrad Shorts – March 1 at 5pm (in the Director’s Studio, Rm A200)
What’s Up With Marjorie – March 2 at 5:30pm (in the Studio Theatre)

WHERE: Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center, 275 North Jordan Avenue

TICKETS: Only Child and Haus of Mirth: Regular admission is $20 for adults, $10 for students. The Undergrad Shorts event and What’s Up With Marjorie? staged reading are free of charge.

To contact the box office, call 812.855.1103 or email theatre.indiana.edu. For more info and interview requests, please email Madison Colquette at mcolquet@indiana.edu.