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From workplace mischief to young adult sentimentalism, the Blinn College-Bryan Campus Theatre Arts Program has no shortage of compelling drama in store for its 2018-19 theatre season.
The upcoming season features one production each semester, as well as the addition of the Blinn-Bryan Theatre Troupe, an extension of the Blinn-Bryan Theatre Arts Program that engages in educational outreach opportunities in the Brazos Valley.
“This upcoming season features two unique productions that are very dissimilar in time period, characters, and conflicts,” Blinn-Bryan Theatre Director Greg Wise says. “However, both contain very significant undertones that will be relevant to our audiences. We are thrilled to spotlight our students’ talents with extended performance schedules and special guests.”
The season begins with John van Druten’s recently revived 1930s production, London Wall, from Nov. 2-8. This wily comedy follows the lives and relationships of four single women working as typists at a London law firm, where they encounter employee exploitation and gender discrimination in the workforce.
After falling into obscurity for more than eight decades, London Wall was rediscovered by London’s Finborough Theatre in 2013 and made its American debut the following year.
The season will continue in the Spring semester with I and You, a crafty drama by Lauren Gunderson set to run April 5-11, 2019. A bedridden teenager and her high school’s golden boy collaborate for a class assignment, only to find the two share a deep connection beyond anything they could imagine.
Directed by Theatre Instructor Jean Daniels, I and You is the winner of the 2014 American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award and a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, an annual award that recognizes female playwrights.
All performances are hosted in the Blinn-Bryan Student Center Theatre (map). Curtain times are 7:30pm for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday shows, and 2pm for Sunday performances.
Friday performances are followed by Friday Night Talkbacks, in which the director and actors return to the stage to discuss the production and answer questions from the audience. Both productions contain adult language and themes.
Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for the general public. All theatre performances are open seating. Tickets can be purchased at www.blinn.edu/vpa/bryan-schedule.html. For questions regarding ticket reservations, contact the Box Office at (979) 209-8100 or bryanboxoffice@blinn.edu. Tickets are also available at the door.
To complement its 2018-19 performances, the Blinn-Bryan Theatre Arts Program is launching an interactive educational outreach program that brings live theatre and educational tools and exercises into local schools, community centers, libraries, and retirement communities. Consisting of Blinn theatre students, the Blinn-Bryan Theatre Troupe will create short, interactive theatre experiences to encourage cultural and interactive exchange in the community.
“We are really excited to introduce the outreach program,” Wise says. “The Blinn-Bryan Theatre Troupe will allow us to forge relationships with local schools and organizations, so the community can learn more about our program and what we can offer to prospective students.”
As part of the outreach initiative, students from schools in and around the Bryan College Station area are invited to Blinn for a private viewing of each theatre production.
For more information or to reserve the Blinn-Bryan Theatre Troupe, contact Wise at greg.wise@blinn.edu.
About the Blinn College District With an enrollment of 18,977 students, Blinn ranks among the nation’s leaders in transferring students to leading four-year universities and has received national recognition for affordable educational excellence. For more information, visit www.blinn.edu.
