Crimes of the Heart update

This weekend we are going into tech rehearsals for Saint Michael's College fall mainstage, Crimes of the Heart! Written by Beth Henley and set in Mississippi in the '70s, the play is a dark comedy about three sisters reuniting in the face of their grandfather's illness and a family scandal. Katelyn Brisson stars as Meg for her senior showcase; sophomore Kit Rivers and first-year Evyn Whiteley are featured as Lenny and Babe, the other sisters. The supporting cast is a great mix of students, especially first-years. I have been continually impressed so far this semester by our freshman class in the theater program!

For Crimes of the Heart, I've been working on a variety of projects. Officially I am the assistant scenic designer, the props master, and the master electrician. I have been hunting props for the most part: digging through the Klein basement, where our props storage is, shopping for the strangest combination of things, and doing small projects like outfitting my bulletin board with hooks and fixing spindles on kitchen chairs. We also have a fair amount of consumable food in the show, which means the people at Shaws have gotten very familiar with my face (or hair) and eccentric purchases. Props has definitely taken up most of my time in the past few weeks and has been pretty stressful-- if only I didn't have classes and homework to worry about as well!

This is the set about a week ago...coming along!

There are 2 classes that meet during the week to build the set and hang lights, and for the past month I've been coming in to work with all of them. The work study students have also been a huge presence in the shop this fall, which is great. Some of the projects I've been given during those times include wiring and hanging the ceiling fan, putting in wall scones and pendant lights, building walls, and helping the lab kids figure stuff out.

I had excellent help with the ceiling fan.

John Devlin is one of the most patient people I know! I can't imagine having to explain things over and over to students who sometimes only care about the credits. This semester's classes have gotten pretty invested in the process, however, which is very exciting to see. The play opens next Wednesday, Nov. 2nd at 7pm and runs through Saturday, Nov. 5th. Admission is free and open to the public, as always. Hope to see you there!