BLINN THEATRE PRESENTS DRAMATIC FANTASY

  

The Blinn College Theatre Arts Program will take audiences back to the 1800s, when women battled for equal rights and feminist Alice James struggled to cope with her role in a male-dominated society.

Blinn will present “Alice In Bed” Feb. 20-23 at the Dr. W.W. O’Donnell Performing Arts Center, located on the College’s Brenham campus (map). Performances will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 20-22 and 2 p.m. Feb. 23. High school performances, provided free of charge through the College’s Service Learning Program, will be held at 1 p.m. Feb. 20-21.

Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the Blinn Box Office, by calling 979-830-4024 or emailing boxoffice@blinn.edu.

Advanced tickets can be purchased online at www.blinn.edu/boxoffice, by calling 979-830-4024 or by emailing boxoffice@blinn.edu.

A dramatic fantasy written by Susan Sontag, “Alice in Bed” is based on the real life story of Alice James, the daughter of wealthy businessman Henry James Sr., and her diary, which details her descent into depression. Though a very smart and strong individual, James convinces herself she has become an invalid who must spend her days bedridden.

“The play looks at her life as if it were both the men in her life and society that were stifling her creativity,” said Brenham campus Theatre Director Bradley Nies.

James grew up in a male-dominated household with her father, four brothers and no mother, who passed away when she was young. Her family believed women should perform household chores rather than be active members of society. James wrote extensively in her diary about her struggles in accepting that lifestyle.

“Since Alice James was suffering from depression and taking many medicines, she hallucinated, which made her diary very strange,” Nies said. “She felt like she was Alice in Wonderland.”

One of the major scenes of the play includes a tea party that resembles the mad tea party in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice In Wonderland.” In James’ version, renowned feminist writers such as poet Emily Dickinson and author Margaret Fuller join James to help advise her through her struggles.

The cast includes Liesl Hardin (Deer Park) as Alice James, Jericka Gaskamp (Brenham) as the nurse, Will O’Dell (Austin) as a young man, Christopher Frey (Hempstead) as Henry, Nora Hunt (Sugar Land) as Margaret Fuller, Kayla Kelly (Houston) as Kundry, Colleen Dougan (Brenham) as Emily Dickinson, Karen Rush (Houston) as Myrtha.

The technical crew includes Cristian Daigle (Hempstead) as the sound designer, Cole Matlock (The Woodlands) as the lighting designer, Nathan Maler (Houston) as the technical director, Dallas Gonzalez (Brenham) as the lighting crew, Gabriel Arias (Hempstead) as the costume crew,  Michelle Hallard (Cypress) as the scenery crew, Corrine Booth (Austin) as the costume designer and Zachary Yoke (Leander) with projections.

The play will be entered into the Texas Community College Speech and Theatre Association Festival on Feb. 26 – March 1, held on the Blinn – Brenham campus. The festival will welcome theatre students from 13 colleges across the state. Each college will present a play to a panel of judges, and an awards ceremony will be held March 1.

Blinn’s Theatre Program, part of the Division of Visual & Performing Arts, hosts at least eight performances each year in Brenham and Bryan and offers a quality educational foundation through study, application and experience. For more information, visit: www.blinn.edu/finearts/theatre.

Story and photo courtesy of Blinn College.

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