Parkside Theatre at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside presents seven performances of Anton Chekhov's serious comedy "The Seagull" at the campus located at 900 Wood Rd. in Kenosha. This ironic tale of love unrequited and desires unfulfilled is staged Feb. 27-March 7, 2009.
Director Lisa Kornetsky said Chekhov described all of his plays as comedies with the humor coming from irony. In the case of "The Seagull," the irony comes from characters who are looking for love in all the wrong places.
"These people are desperately searching for understanding and love," Kornetsky said. "And yet, when one character reaches out to another, that person is usually not paying attention or is completely oblivious. That person then turns and reaches out to someone else who does the same thing to them. So, the themes are serious, the characters' struggles are serious but the way they function in the world is very comic."
While they carry on their ironic and unfulfilling relationships, the people in "The Seagull" amply fulfill one of Chekhov's recurring themes: talking about change but never actually taking the steps needed to change. Kornetsky said in this respect, "The Seagull" can help audience members change their own lives for the better.
"We have great resilience as human beings to be able to say: 'This is the path I'm on and you know what? This path is not going to work for me. And if I think about it in a different way and take a turn, maybe there's happiness for me around a different corner,'" said Kornetsky.
"The Seagull" features Amanda Tomm as Arkadina, a famous Russian actress who is unable to play the role of loving mother to her emotionally needy son Treplev, played by Chad Bay. Treplev, a playwright whose first play fails miserably, loves Nina (Cathlyn Melvin) but she is infatuated with Trigorin, played by Chris Baker. Trigorin is about to leave the Russian countryside--and Nina--to return to Moscow with his lover, Arkadina, but he arranges for Nina to secretly come to Moscow.
The cast includes Terrance Barrett at Arkadina's brother Sorin. Dylan Roberts is Ilya, the manager of Sorin's estate with Whitney Darling as Ilya's wife Polina, and Maddie Wakley as their daughter Masha. Karl Gfall plays Dr. Dorn and Ryan Shaw portrays the teacher Semyon Medvedenko with Thomas Moore, Erika Lamp, and Tracy Hoida in supporting roles. Hoida also serves as the production's properties designer.
Off stage, Kornetsky is joined by scenic designer Skelly Warren and design advisors Judith Tucker Snider and Darice Damata Geiger. Student Aaron Greenberg serves as costume and make-up designer with lighting and sound by Devin Nee and Phil Wooding, respectively. Julie Middendorf is stage manager, Amy Luebke is dramaturge with Brandon Herr and Mike Sadler as assistant and technical directors.
"The Seagull" is presented Feb. 27, 28, March 5, 6 and 7, at 7:30 p.m. with matinees Friday, March 6, at 10 a.m. and Saturday, March 7, at 2 p.m. All performances are in the August Wegner Studio Theatre.
Tickets are $16 for adults, $12 for seniors and UW-Parkside faculty and staff, and $8 for all students. Tickets can be purchased online at www.uwp.edu Keyword: tickets, by calling 262-595-2564, or at the Communication Arts box office.
For more information, call the UW-Parkside Theatre office at 262-595-2581.Publish date: 2/18/2009
