Current and Upcoming Productions
.jpg)
2012-2013 Season
Theatrical production in the college setting is the quintessential learning community in its intensity of interaction. It fosters a genuine and productive collaborative spirit among the participants, both artists and audiences. Aristotle believed that the entertainment theatre provides involves the enjoyment of audiences learning about themselves and the world around them. Theatre at Penn State Berks aims to activate and inspire students and audiences by producing works that provide a range of perspectives on the human experience.
For more information call the box office at 610-396-6371 or email us at BerksTheatre@psu.edu
Savage in Limbo
by John Patrick Shanley
Directed by DayDay Robinson (Senior Theatre major)
September 20 & 21, 2012
Perkins Auditorium at 8pm
Synopsis: The setting is a slightly seedy neighborhood bar in the Bronx, where a group of regulars (who all happen to be the same age - thirty-two) seek relief from the disappointments and tedium of the outside world. The NY Daily News reports, "Conceived with sharp insight into the lives of losers, conveyed with a frisky and often hilarious wit..."
Black Ice
A new play by Penn State Berks Professor Cleo House, Jr.
***WORLD PREMIERE***
Directed by Radhica Ganapathy
November 1-4, 8-11, 2012
Perkins Auditorium at 8 pm, Sunday matinee at 2 pm
Tickets: $10 General Admission, $7 Faculty/Staff, $5 PSU Students w/ ID
Synopsis: BLACK ICE is a full-length dramatic thriller that takes place during the blizzard of the decade in a small East Texas town. A stranger (Jacob) bangs on the door of a worn trailer home owned by Alice, an elderly woman. He pleads for her to let him in from the freezing weather outside. Jacob is in town on a mission to find his missing father and Alice has every intention to help the tattooed stranger until what she learns about Jacob's past appears to connect with her own. As they get to know each other the audience begins to realize that Jacob's arrival was no accident, clues and other characters help to unravel this mystery. A thriller that proves you can't always judge a book by its cover.
Theatre Insomnia
Produced by the PENN PLAYERS
3rd annual devised theatre event
December 8, 2012
Free Admission
What is THEATRE INSOMNIA? Glad you asked. Students get together and create NEW work in 24 HOURS!! The showcase may take the form of dance, song, plays, poetry, performance art...you name it. Audiences never know what may await them when the doors open. Exciting! All current PSU Berks students who have previously participated in the Theatre at Penn State Berks program are eligible to participate. Contact the student liason Steff Thomas at set5144@psu.edu for more information.
N.O.W. at Berks (New Original Works)
Produced by Radhica Ganapathy
5th Annual Student One-Act Play Festival
February 18-22, 2013
Perkins Auditorium at 8 pm
Ticket Prices: $10 general admission, $7 faculty/staff, $5 PSU students with ID
Synopsis: In order to encourage and celebrate original writing, the Theatre at Berks produces N.O.W at Berks, a one-act play festival. N.O.W. (New Original Works) is representative of our current students at Penn State Berks and promises to showcase amazing on-campus collaborations between student producer, stage manager, playwrights, directors, and actors! We encourage all students to participate regardless of their major. This is an exciting opportunity to write and be produced! Join us for our fifth annual production of N.O.W. and support student written works. Interested students should contact Professor Ganapathy at rzg3@psu.edu for information including Call For Scripts, submission guidelines, selection and production process.
Treasure Island
by Ken Ludwig
Directed by Cleo House, Jr.
April 11-14, 18-21, 2013
Perkins Auditorium at 8 pm, Sunday matinee at 2 pm
Ticket Prices: $10 general admission, $7 Faculty/Staff, $5 PSU students with ID
Synopsis: Based on the masterful adventure novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island is a stunning yarn of piracy on the tropical seas. It begins at an inn on the Devon coast of England in 1775 and quickly becomes an unforgettable tale of treachery and mayhem featuring a host of legendary swashbucklers. At the center of it all are Jim Hawkins, a 14-year-old boy who longs for adventure, and the infamous Long John Silver, who is a complex study of good and evil, perhaps the most famous hero-villain of all time. Silver is an unscrupulous buccaneer-rogue whose greedy quest for gold, coupled with his affection for Jim, cannot help but win the heart of every soul who has ever longed for romance, treasure, and adventure.