November 7, 2005

by Kassy Skoretz

The Spring quarter LSU English and Communication Department Play, “Four Irish Plays,” will be performed November 10, 2005 through November 14, 2005 with limited seating. 

Each showing will be at 8 p.m., except for Friday, which will be at 2 p.m.  The tickets are $3 for students and $6 for general admission.“Four Irish Plays” is exactly what its title suggests: a collection of four plays of Irish origin.  Compiled by director Aarika Chilson, a contract teacher for LSU and Riverside Community College,  “to represent a wide range of elements, such as: humor, symbolism, self-reflection, and awareness.”

The four plays are “Cathleen ni Houlihan,” “Spreading the News”, “In the Shadow of the Glen,”  and “The Rising of the Moon.”  The first, “Cathleen ni Houlihan”, is the story of an old woman who comes into a home and entices the family’s son away.  However as Mary Gamiño, freshman, states “there's a lot of symbolism.” 

She explained the story’s second level.  “The old woman is Ireland.  She’s about to go to war and comes to the house asking for the help of men willing to give her everything in order to her get her land back. Gamiño plays the devastated fiancé as her young man leaves the night before their wedding. Adam Hori, who plays the young man ensnared by the old woman’s spell, believes that the play is “about taking care of your home and all the things that get left behind.”

“Spreading the News” develops in a different direction.  It is about a town full of gossips that, by retelling the “truth” through comedic errors, point out the “murderer” of a live man and yet will not betray their “murderer” to the magistrate. 

Amanda O’Reilly, LSU junior, plays a half-deaf, lonely old woman who instigates much of the misunderstanding.  O’Reilly says that the tone of “Spreading the News” is very different from the others in the kind of humor it employs.  “There’s a lot more slapstick.  It’s all out funny,” O’Reilly said.

Kelly Reed, assistant director and contract teacher for both LSU and an adjunct teacher at Riverside Community College, plays the “murderer” and describes his character as an “Irish Eeyore”.  He feels that this play is the “most wacky and mad cap of all the plays.”

“In the Shadow of the Glen” details the story of a woman and the three men she attempts to use to her advantage.  However, she is not very good at the task and the men tie her in knots as hilarity ensues.

Daniel Bermudez, LSU senior, plays the Tramp who he titles as a “jack-of-all-trades and a master of none.”

Bermudez says, “even though there are [only four] characters in our play, [the actor's] balance and blend give the play life.”

“The Rising of the Moon” takes a slightly different turn as it follows the story of an escaping convict who convincingly talks his way into a police sergeant’s friendship with amusing trickery and subsequently escapes once again.

Mike Tyler, LSU sophomore, plays the convict, whom he describes as a “genius Irish rebel.”  The play also has only four characters but Tyler says that the play has “versatility and a wide range of emotions.”  Comedy is not lacking, however, as Tyler explains “Our play has good comedy that might not jump out at you but we’re going to interpret it for some good laughs.”

“It’s theatre!  Where else can you spend an entire evening laughing at the idiosyncrasies of others, crying without feeling ashamed, or exclaiming at both heroes and villains?” says Chilson.  “Theatre is an outlet for the actors and the audience.”

For more information and ticket purchases, please call (951) 785-2241 or visit the English and Communication Department.