Theatre Fairfield

Fairfield cherishes and celebrates the arts in various ways throughout the school year. This fall, there are some riveting plays and activities that you should take advantage of.

Recently, the auditions for “Once Upon a Mattress” were held at Pepsico Theatre on Sept. 12. “Once Upon a Mattress” is a fictional play that follows the storyline of the famous fairytale “Princess and the Pea.” The plot centers around the Queen trying to find a fit princess for her son to marry and doing what she can to make sure he chooses the right girl.

Production intern Michael Maio ‘13 says that the show is the perfect production for everyone. “There’s a classic love story, Broadway-style musical numbers, and a real message that people take away and feel really good about,” said Maio. One of Fairfield’s alumni, Ryan McKinney, will be guest director of the production. The play will be performed October 26-29 at 8 p.m. and October 29-30 at 2 p.m. at the Wien Theatre.

In the future, there will also be an exciting project called “Theatre in the Raw: The Lucille Lortel Festival of New Plays.” Theatre Fairfield will commission professional playwrights to create new plays.

Maio is excited about this program. “It will give our students the opportunity to understand the process of developing a new play and the various stages in which it goes through before its that full-scale production that the audience goes and sees,” he said.

In addition, Fairfield has a Live! On stage series beginning with an Emmy award-winning actor John Malkovich. You might recognize this well-distinguished actor from films such as “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” “Secretariat,” “Dangerous Liaisons,” “Of Mice & Men,” or “Being John Malkovich.” He will be the star of the one man drama “The Infernal Comedy: Confessions of a Serial Killer.” The story is based on the real-life serial killer Jack Unterweger.

This is a show you do not want to miss. It takes place on November 15 at 10 p.m. at the Kelley theatre.

Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” will be performed by the Aquila Theatre Company this November. The New Yorker has described it as “beautifully spoken, dramatically revealing and crystalline in effect.” The story follows the characters Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff who are bored with their lives and begin to stretch the truth. The play is imaginative, romantic, and proves to the audience that it is better to be honest with yourself to others.

Fairfield’s department of modern languages and literature are introducing the play “Perpetual Peace,” which is written by Spanish playwright Juan Mayorga. On a blog post detailing the play, Jerelyn Johnson, a Fairfield assistant professor of modern languages and literatures, says, “The play is not a propaganda piece against the use of torture; instead it raises several arguments for and against its use by the state in the war against terror.”

This event is part of the Jesuit idea of “global citizenship” and learning about other people’s culture and way of life. The event will take place October 5-8 at the Wien Theatre and tickets are on sale now.

Arts are an integral part of learning that helps you to view life from a different perspective. Hopefully, something in this article will encourage you to go see Fairfield productions.