Theatre offers multiple online performances
The Radford University Department of Theatre and Cinema opens this season with multiple student-directed, one-act plays that will be presented in alternating performances as part of the program’s Studio Series. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, all 2020 theatre productions will be streamed online. Performances will still be produced live, but will be delivered digitally so that we can provide a safe experience for both patrons and performers. Tickets are free but reservations through the ticket office are required in order to obtain a unique streaming link and its associated password. Links are good for one viewing device only and will need to be reserved at least one day prior to the selected performance. Tickets can be acquired through https://rutheatretickets.universitytickets.com/
Two sets of plays will be featured on alternating dates. Content for these performances is intended for mature audiences.
“The Liddy Plays,” by Brooke Berman, will be directed by senior theatre major Sarah Pettengill. It opens on September 30 with additional performances on October 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 4 at 2:00 p.m. The second set of plays consists of two different one-act plays written by Tony Kushner; “Terminating or Sonnet LXXV or ‘Lass meine Schmerzen nicht verloren Sein’ or Ambivalence” and “Reverse Transcription: Six Playwrights Bury a Seventh,” will be directed by senior theatre major Adian Chapman. These performances open October 1 at 7:30 p.m. with additional performances on October 3 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
“The Liddy Plays” tells the tale of a unique brother and sister, Liddy and Emerson, who spend years confronting the death of their mother while navigating relationships with dangerous people, learning to meditate, and finding a perspective on the past that will open the door to their future.
In the first of the Kushner plays, “Terminating or Sonnet LXXV or ‘Lass Meine Schmerzen Nicht Verloren Sein’ or Ambivalence,” Hendryk is forced to come to terms with his own uncertainties on love, life, and sex. It’s a somber story of a fragile man trying to work through his mental anguish. The second Kushner play “Reverse Transcription: Six Playwrights Bury a Seventh,” features a group of playwrights gathered together to bury their close friend Ding in the beautiful Abel’s Hill cemetery. Their highly illegal interment of their former colleague does not stop them from having a rousing discussion about life. Why do people write? What does success feel like? How does it change people?
The Department of Theatre and Cinema invites audiences to join us online to see these exceptional performances produced and directed by our talented students. Ticket purchases should be made at least a day in advance of a particular performance so that streaming links and codes can be sent to our patrons ahead of the show. There will be no last-minute ticket sales on the day of a performance. The streaming link and code that you will receive are unique and only good for one viewing device at a time. Patrons must also have the most recent version of ZOOM installed on their viewing device. Reservations can be made online at https://rutheatretickets.universitytickets.com/ or by contacting our box office Monday through Friday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 540-831-5289.