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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">KENT STATE UNIVERSITY AT STARK ANNOUNCES 2017-18 THEATRE SEASON</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Three groundbreaking productions featured this academic year</span></i><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">NORTH CANTON, OHIO, Aug. 3, 2017</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> – A man spontaneously transitions into a woman, Jesus Christ makes an appearance on the Home Shopping Network and the aftermath
of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy will be examined this theatre season at Kent State University at Stark.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">In keeping with its tradition of staging contemporary and thought-provoking plays year after year, Kent State Stark Theatre ups the ante with three cutting-edge productions for the 2017-18 season:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Consider the Oyster</span></i></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">By David MacGregor<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Auditions: Sept. 6 & 7 at 6 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Performances: Nov. 10, 11, 17 & 18 at 7:30 p.m.; Nov. 12 & 19 (American Sign Language performance) at 2 p.m.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Tickets: $10 adults; $7 students under 17 and senior citizens; Kent State students free with current ID.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Tickets will be available online and at the Fine Arts Theatre Box Office beginning October 30.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">After watching his favorite team win the Super Bowl, Gene spontaneously proposes to his longtime girlfriend Marisa, and in the midst of his excitement, breaks his leg. The oyster shell the doctor leaves in
Gene’s leg to aid in healing sets off a chain reaction of odd feminine changes in Gene’s physicality, hormones and emotions. Just as an oyster changes from male to female over the course of its life, Gene is changing, too. He begins to question his feelings
for his new fiancée, and his relationships with friends and family become awkward and strange. Watch as gender identity and humor explode on stage in comical, yet thought-provoking, ways.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Virtual Devotion</span></i></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">By Eric Coble<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Auditions: November 28 & 29 at 6 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Performances: Feb. 23 & 24; March 2 & 3 at 7:30 p.m.; Feb. 25 & March 4 (American Sign Language performance) at 2 p.m.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Tickets: $10 adults; $7 students under 17 and senior citizens; Kent State students free with current ID.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Tickets will be available online and at the Fine Arts Theatre Box Office beginning February 12.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">It’s the end of the world as we know it; pollution, terrorism and disease have taken over humanity. Pete, Anne and Ruth attempt to sell their faith to nonbelievers in various, and sometimes violent, ways,
as a last-ditch effort to save souls, including their own. Through a series of ironic, laughable and most unfortunate events, all of the characters, including the returned Son of God, Jesus Christ, find one another on the Home Shopping Network selling religious
artifacts. But now that they are finally together, is it too late to stop the ensuing Armageddon?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">26 Pebbles</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">By Eric Ulloa<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Auditions: January 30 & 31 at 6 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Performances: April 13, 14, 20 & 21 at 7:30 p.m.; April 15 & 22 (American Sign Language performance) at 2 p.m.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Tickets: $10 adults; $7 students under 17 and senior citizens; Kent State students free with current ID.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Tickets will be available online and at the Fine Arts Theatre Box Office beginning April 2.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">What happened to the people of Newtown, Conn., after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre? Months after the attack, Eric Ulloa held intimate interviews with members of the Newtown community, and
created a play that nods to Thornton Wilder’s <i>Our Town</i>. This docudrama is a weave of verbatim interview excerpts from many people of Newtown as they recount the ripples that were made in the aftermath of unthinkable tragedy, and the resulting push forward
towards healing in their community.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">************<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Directing Kent State Stark’s theatre productions is Brian Newberg, associate professor of theatre and theatre director with scenic and lighting design by Louis Williams, sound design by Ron Jarvis and costume
design by Stephen Ostertag.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">All upcoming productions will be performed at the Kent State Stark Fine Arts Theatre, 6000 Frank Avenue NW in Jackson Township.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">For additional information about the 2017-18 Kent State Stark theatre performances, including online ticket sales, box office hours, audition details and production team opportunities, visit
<a href="http://www.kent.edu/stark/theatre">www.kent.edu/stark/theatre</a>. The Fine Arts Theatre Box Office phone number is 330-244-3348 and is staffed two weeks before a production opens.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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