Department of Theatre and Cinema presents Melissa James Gibon's play 'This'
The Department of Theatre and Cinema at Virginia Tech presents "This," a new play by the award-winning playwright Melissa James Gibson.
"This," directed by Susanna Rinehart, will run Sept. 21 through 24; Sept. 27 through 30; and Oct. 2 through 5 at 7:30 p.m. with matinee performances on Sept. 24 and 25 and on Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. All performances will be at Squires Studio Theatre in Squires Student Center on the university's Blacksburg campus.
"This" offers a humorous and compassionate examination of love, hurt, and loss in contemporary life and relationships. Set in a converted loft space in New York City, the play centers around five friends and their somewhat desperate, often hilarious attempts to keep from going insane in the face of death, parenthood, adultery, and middle age.
Gibson is a graduate of Columbia University and the Yale School of Drama with an M.F.A. in playwriting. she has worked on commissions from the La Jolla Playhouse, Steppenwolf Theatre company, and The Adirondack Theatre Festival. She has received fellowships from the Jerome Foundation and the MacDowell Colony, and grants from the New York State Council on the Arts and the Greenwall Foundation. She received the 2002 Obie Award for her play "[sic]."
Rinehart joined the Virginia Tech Theatre faculty in 1999. She has directed "Anton in Show Business;" Moises Kaufman's "The Laramie Project," which was selected by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival to appear in Savannah, Ga. for the regional festival; and Moliere's "The Imaginary Cuckold." She directed and acted in Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" for the national V-Day Initiative campaign in 2002, 2003, and 2005 helping to raise over $40,000 for the New River Valley Women's Resource Center and multiple international aid organizations.
Tickets are $10 general, $8 senior and student, and are available at the Student Centers and Activities Ticket Office in Squires Student Center. To order tickets, call 540-231-5615, order online, or purchase tickets at the ticket office. Tickets will also be sold at the door beginning one hour prior to the performance.
Free parking is available in the Squires Lot, located at the corner of College Avenue and Otey Streets, in the Architecture Annex Lot on Otey Street, and the Perry Street/Prices Fork lots. Find more parking information online or call 540-231-3200. Alternative parking is available in the Kent Square parking garage or the Farmers Market metered parking lot, both located on Draper Road. Additional Downtown Blacksburg parking information can be found online.
