Crazy Eights & That Other Person by David Lindsay-Abaire

Directed by Ashleigh Happer

Director’s Concept – These two very unique one-acts are an “appetizing slice of life,”  with original dialogue and situations. They will be performed in our Studio Theatre.

Crazy Eights – When Connie comes home late one night, she finds her parole officer, Benny, waiting in her apartment with a torte and a long list of questions. The interrogation/courting dance that follows is complicated by the after-hours arrival of Connie’s charming card-playing buddy, Cliff.

Connie – (Female/late 20’s-late 30’s) loaded with personality, living in Brooklyn, and a recovering addict who gets through by playing cards on Saturday nights with her best friend, Cliff.

Benny – (Male/mid-late 30’s) a slightly awkward parole officer who came to confess he is falling for his client, Connie.  He is a good cook and very protective.

Cliff – (Male/mid-late 20’s) an outgoing, humorous friend who realize he is being mistaken for Connie’s love interest.

The Half Life of Marie Curie by Lauren Gunderson

Directed by Allison Granat and Assisted by Theresa Haus

Renowned and Nobel winning scientist, Marie Curie, tries to shelter herself and her daughters from the vicious wake of media frenzy over an alleged affair with a married man. Her dear friend, Herta Ayrton, comes to Marie’s aid and whisks her away to a cottage by the sea to escape the constant bombardment of tabloid harassment. The two women wrestle with the difficulties of pioneering their ideas in male-dominated fields, discuss their scientific discoveries and curiosities, and find solace in their friendship after losing the loves of their lives.

Director’s Vision/Concept – Curiosity and courage are two things that come to mind while reading this show. Curiosity in the vein that both these women were curious about the world around them; through science and human connection. They dug deeper into things that most left at surface value, and solved some of our most troublesome issues. Courage in the sense that they were both fiercely embedded and emboldened by their personal convictions, which shines acutely in Gunderson’s words and the relationship portrayed by these two friends. I intend to enhance these two core ideas of the show by highlighting key aspects of both women’s scientific work throughout all production aspects; and attempt to bridge the gap of discordance in the world surrounding them through the focus on their harmony.

Marie Curie – (Female/30s-50s) Polish-born, French national. Brilliant, private, shrewd, and patient. Has already won her first Nobel Prize in Physics. Polish/French accent.

Hertha Ayrton – (Female/30s-60s) British. A brazen, ambitious, fiercely intelligent engineer, inventor, and suffragist. Known for electrical experimentation and housing suffragettes running from the police.