Goshen College One Acts about thinking for self, Jan. 29-31

Event: Goshen College's Theater Department's Winter One-Act plays, "Think For Yourself"
Date and time: Jan. 29 and 30 at 8 p.m.; Jan. 31 at 3 p.m.
Location: Umble Center
Cost: $3, tickets available at the door

GOSHEN, Ind. – This year, Goshen College's Theater Department's Winter One-Act plays were selected with the theme "Think For Yourself," to match the theme of this entire season of Goshen Theater productions. The One Acts will be performed in Umble Center, Jan. 29 and 30 at 8 p.m.; Jan. 31 at 3 p.m.

In keeping with the theme, three of the five One Acts were written by Goshen College students, and each features characters with a difficult choice to make or a serious need to think for themselves.

The five featured one-act plays are:

"Birth," writtenby sophomore Phil Stoesz (Goshen), will be directed by senior Angie Noah (Bay City, Mich.). The cast includes first-year Maryn Munley (Mundelein, Ill.) as an escort, and first-year Ben Sutter (South Bend, Ind.) as Joey, who believes he is alone in his urban apartment, but has a revelation about his life when an escort arrives to take him away.

"Business Ethics," written by Patrick Maxwell (Winchester, Mass.), will be directed by Mike Honderich. The cast includes first-year Lewis Caskey (Goshen) as White, sophomore Emily Bowman (Millersburg, Ind.) as Smith and junior Natalie Harman (Harrisonburg, Va.) as Johnson. In this play, a young man's moral compass is compromised when faced with orders to carry out an unethical marketing proposal.

"Let Me Be," written by Jacob Landis-Eigsti (Lakewood, Colo.), will be directed by Josh Hofer (Dolton, S.D.). The cast includes first-year Sammy Rosario (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) as Larry and first-year Sam Jones (Trail City, S.D.) as Brian, who is locked away and begins to realize that he has more in common with his "cellmate" Larry than he ever knew.

" I Am Not Batman," written by Marco Ramirez, will be directed by Suzanne Ehst. The cast includes junior Patrick Ressler (Lititz, Pa.) as "percussionist," and sophomore Jay Mast (Goshen) as "boy," who uses creative powers of mind to transcend the grim realities of the everyday by creating a make-believe world where he is, indeed, Batman.

"Eukiah," written by Lanford Wilson, will be directed by Vanessa Hofer (Dolton, S.D.). The cast includes first-year Sam Jones (Trail City, S.D.) as Butch and sophomore Billy Funk (Gallup, N.M.) as Eukiah, who imperils himself by listening to Butch's logic while trying to save the beloved horses of their farm.

The combined running time for the performances is about one and a half hours, with an intermission. Tickets cost $3 each and can only be purchased at the door.

– By Chase Snyder

Editors: Photographers can take play preview photos on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. during rehearsal. Call Doug Liechty Caskey, (574) 535-7393. For more information about this release or to arrange an interview, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, "Colleges of Distinction," "Making a Difference College Guide" and U.S.News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit www.goshen.edu.