Performing arts living room

Take a break from finals this weekend and grab a seat on the stage of McInnis auditorium to become an audience member of a performance you will never forget.

The 14th annual Performing Arts Living Room will be at 8pm on Friday, May 4th and Saturday May 5th. There will be a cast of students and alumni performing ten minute plays, spoken word poetry, dance theater and “surprises.”

Back in 1995, Performing Arts Living Room was created so students could have a venue to showcase, perform or direct their creative work. The coffee house set-up allows for the experience to be rewarding and intimate for the performers. In addition, only shows worth seeing will be performed for the audience. Taking into account previous collaboration with the Dance department, this popular event will be dedicated to Dr. Karen Clemente.

In order to get the student plays into the Performance Arts Living Room, the students and alumnae need to be willing to develop the plays with the faculty in the Theater department.
The two hour string of performances will showcase some of the Theater Department’s best work, according to Mark Hallen, Eastern University’s Director of Theater. Some of the pieces will “safely push the boundary between art and real life,” Hallen says. “The domestic abuse piece that Jazmine [Bailey] is doing is very powerful.”

Another appealing aspect of the performance is that all of the pieces are relatively short. “The good thing about them is that if you don’t like them, they will be over soon. Ya know. But if you do like them, you will be wanting more,” Hallen says.

So come, grab a cookie and a cup of joe and enjoy the shows.