ISSUED: 11 March 2019
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Shepherd University’s Rude Mechanicals Medieval and Renaissance Players will perform three plays written by Shepherd creative writing students and a short medieval play set in contemporary America March 30-April 7 in Reynolds Hall.
The student-written plays include “Harper and Laurel” by Claudia McCarron, an English major from Charles Town, about a daughter who tries to negotiate an uneasy relationship with her stepmother after the sudden death of her father; “Welcome to the Poetry Club” by Andrea Monsma, an English and communications major from Kearneysville, a comedy in which members of a college poetry club with very different personalities and ideas of poetry share their poems and philosophies of life; and “Charity, Cubes, and Caroline” by Lena Nunez, an English and political science major from Fayetteville, North Carolina, about a mother who tries to rescue her son from a weird cult, with mixed results.
The short medieval play is “Herod and the Slaughter of the Innocents,” the biblical story of Herod and the slaughter of the babies of Bethlehem, set in today’s America and translated from Middle English by Dr. Betty Ellzey, chair of the Department of English and Modern Languages, and alumna Allexandra Benedict.
Panel discussions are planned after two of the performances. Art and Political Protest will include panelists Thérèse Keegan, choreographer, teacher, performer, and community arts activist; Lizard Walker, founding member of Maryland-based touring aerial dance theater company Updraft; Eileen Waggoner, Shepherd alumna, writer, editor, and digital storyteller; Shepherd English majors Gabby Hersey of Delray, Alex Jones of Hagerstown, Maryland, and Lilli Sutton of Boonsboro, Maryland; and Ellzey.
The panel Page to Stage will feature the student playwrights, McCarron, Monsma, and Nunez; directors of the three student plays, Ashley Hall and Michaela Boyle, both alumnae, and Adam Wilson, community member; Dr. Carrie Messenger, associate professor of English; and Ellzey.
Performances will take place:
- Saturday, March 30, 7:30 p.m.—“Harper and Laurel” and “Charity, Cubes, and Caroline.”
- Sunday, March 31, 4:30 p.m.—“Welcome to the Poetry Club” and “Herod and the Slaughter of the Innocents.”
- Wednesday, April 3, 8:30 p.m.—”Charity, Cubes, and Caroline” and “Herod and the Slaughter of the Innocents.”
- Thursday, April 4, 8:30 p.m.—“Harper and Laurel” and “Herod and the Slaughter of the Innocents.”
- Friday, April 5, 7:30 p.m.—“Welcome to the Poetry Club” and “Herod and the Slaughter of the Innocents.”
- Saturday, April 6, 7:30 p.m.—“Herod and the Slaughter of the Innocents” followed by a panel discussion Art and Political Protest.
- Sunday, April 7, 3 p.m.—“Welcome to the Poetry Club,” “Charity, Cubes, and Caroline,” and “Harper & Laurel” followed by a panel discussion Page to Stage.
Admission is $5 general public; $2 other students; and free for Shepherd University students with a valid Rambler ID, faculty, and staff.
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