Southeastern Louisiana University

Southeastern Theatre presents 'Oleanna' April 1-4

Contact: Tonya Lowentritt

3/25/09

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Caption ...

OLEANNA CAST – Jovetta White, left, and Jaren Mitchell, two of the cast members of Southeastern Louisiana University Theatre’s production of “Oleanna,” rehearse for the April 1-4 production at 7:30 p.m. in Vonnie Borden Theatre. With multiple actors cast in both lead roles, theater-goers can expect to see a fresh perspective on the production, as the actors weave in and out of the play. Tickets are available at the theater box office in D Vickers Hall. For more information, contact director Jim Winter at (985) 549-3546.

     The play is really about perspective, said Jim Winter, Southeastern theater instructor and director of “Oleanna.” Since the two-character play would require a “tour de force” performance from undergraduate actors, Winter has cast three actors in each role.

     “They shift in and out throughout the play, giving the audience a different ‘perspective’ every few minutes,” Winter said.

     “Oleanna” premiered in 1992, shortly after the infamous United States Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas brought the term “sexual harassment” into the national spotlight.

     “The play deals with a male professor and a female student who are arguing over her grade in his class,” Winter added. “By the play’s end, both of their lives have changed forever – and not for the better.”

     Winter conducted his master of fine arts thesis work on Mamet and has been waiting for the opportunity to apply his research to a Southeastern Theatre production.

     “Every time I have seen ‘Oleanna,’ the audience members are arguing about it in the lobby after the show,” Winter said. “It really pushes some buttons.”

     Winters has cast Aaron Griffin of New Roads, Jaren Mitchell of New Orleans, and Drew Zeringue of Pearlington, Miss., as the tenured professor John, and Naomi Howard of Gonzales, Rachael Johnson of Mandeville, and Jovetta White of New Orleans as his student Carol.

     Tickets -- $10, adults; $5, senior citizens, faculty, staff, alumni, and non-Southeastern students – will be available at the theater box office in D Vickers Hall. Southeastern students are admitted free with their university I.D.

     For ticket information or reservations, contact Chad Winters at (985) 549-2115. For additional information contact Winter at (985) 549-3546 or James.Winter@selu.edu.