Winter One Acts to show Feb. 15, 16 & 17

Event: Winter One Acts
Date and time: Feb. 15 at 8 p.m.; Feb. 16 and 17 at 3 p.m. (ASL interpreted)
Location: Goshen College Umble Center
Cost: $3, tickets available at the door

Goshen College Theater Department’s 2013 Winter One Acts will have variety, featuring a man who believes he is Edgar Degas, a soldier returning home from Afghanistan and a stop-motion film.

The Goshen College Players will present “Degas c’est moi” by David Ives, directed by Phil Weaver-Stoesz; “Seldom is heard” by Mary Steelsmith, directed by Nathan Vader; and original film shorts directed by Jacob Landis-Eigsti and Samuel Jones. The performances will run Friday, Feb. 15 at 8 p.m., and on Saturday, Feb. 16 and Sunday, Feb. 17 at 3 p.m. (ASL interpreted) in Goshen College’s Umble Center.

David Ives’ “Degas c’est moi” is an encore performance from senior Billy Funk’s Jan. 25 theater recital. Funk, a history and theater major, plays a man who wakes up one day and decides to be Edgar Degas. The man interacts with a total of 17 characters – played by five actors – in his Degas identity. Phil Weaver-Stoesz, a 2011 GC alumnus, will direct. The play “wrestles with the theme of accepting who you are, even if you feel like that’s nobody,” Weaver-Stoesz said.

Supporting actors include senior Brook Hostetter; senior Vanessa Jones; senior Aaron Shelly; and sophomore Jordan Weaver. Angie Troyer, senior, is set designer, and Natasha Weisenbeck, junior, is costume designer.

Mary Steelmith’s “Seldom is heard” was a runner-up in the 2012 Goshen College Peace Play Contest and is about a woman named Hannah whose husband, Ivan, has returned from duty in Afghanistan following a brain injury. Ivan’s unpredictable behavior bothers their neighbor, Marilyn, the president of the local Neighborhood Restoration Association. Marilyn’s antics motivate Hannah and Ivan to reenter mainstream society.

Nathan Vader, a senior English writing major and theater minor, will direct. Supporting actors include sophomore Benjie Aquilera Brown; junior Christina Hofer; and freshman Miranda Earnhart. Brea Reimer, junior, is costume designer, and Robert Lerch, senior, is sound designer.

The concluding act will be a screening of original film shorts directed by Samuel Jones and 2012 Goshen College alumnus Jacob Landis-Eigsti. Jones’ shorts will include “Ice Fishing” and “Drift Along,” both featuring music by Takenobu. Jones’ work features a stop-motion technique. Landis-Eigsti’s shorts will include “Monopoly,” a movie trailer; “Adventure With Me,” featuring Phoebe Sharp; “Ever Romantic Comedy Ever,” a movie trailer; and “The Last Love.”

Professor of Theater Doug Liechty Caskey is the producer for the show and Assistant Professor of Theater Andrew Moeggenborg is the technical director. Other members of the production team for the Winter One Acts include: senior Levi Smucker (Winnipeg, Manitoba) as house manager, freshman Blake Shetler (Goshen) as stage manager, senior Gwen Stephan (Goshen) as light designer, freshman Natalie Hubby (Wauseon, Ohio) as props manager, freshman Hannah Sauder (Lititz, Pa.) as hair and make-up designer, freshman Ben Ganger (Goshen) as light board director, senior Robert Lerch (Spring Valley, N.Y.) as sound board operator, sophomore Alan Smith (Lodi, N.Y.) as master carpenter, junior Natasha Weisenbeck (Cliftion, Ill.) as costume shop manager, Alan Smith and Andrew Moeggenborg as set construction, senior Hannah Bartel (Iowa City, Iowa) as photographer, senior Hannah Grieser (Goshen) as poster and program designer and Dani Baugher, Anna Latasha, Keyonna McCane, Christine Stubblefield and Rosa Wyse as student ASL interpreters.

Tickets for the show cost $3, and are available through the Welcome Center by calling (574) 535-7566, emailing welcomecenter@goshen.edu, online at goshen.edu/tickets or at the Umble Center Box Office an hour before the show. There will be no intermission.