CCM's Studio Series Closes its Season with the Drama 'You're Welcome (A Cycle of Bad Plays)'

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM)’s Studio Series concludes this month with a production of Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen and Oliver Butler’s

You’re Welcome (A Cycle of Bad Plays)

, running April 23 – 25 in the intimate Cohen Family Studio Theater. Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available through the CCM Box Office at noon on Monday, April 20.

First produced by Bos, Thureen and Butler’s Brooklyn-based theatre company, the

Debate Society

,

You’re Welcome

makes its CCM debut under the direction of

Assistant Professor of Drama Brant Russell

, who also performs in the play. This marks the first time that Russell has both directed and acted in a production.

Russell explains that

You’re Welcome

is

loosely about why people pursue theatre and why we love it. He says it’s a “raucous comedy and a damning critique of theatre as an art form.”

Comprised of five short plays, including a farce, an anti-drunk driving PSA, a staged reading of a play called “Monsters Trucks,” a 15-minute improvised piece and a “wheels come off” piece,

You’re Welcome

is theatre at its best, making fun of itself while maintaining its truthfulness.

Amidst the comedy and silliness, there are also moments of emotional honesty. Russell recently directed CCM’s Mainstage Drama

Macbeth

this past October and wanted to do something different. He chose

You’re Welcome

because he wanted to find the “smartest, stupidest thing… a play that was self-effacing, intelligent but not heady, goofy but with integrity.”

With a cast of only nine composed mostly of juniors and a few sophomores, the students have been able to work closely together. Recently, the members of the Debate Society came to CCM for a workshop and got the students into teams for writing and acting exercises.

Junior Drama major

Alison Sluiter

says she plays herself in this production. She explains, “There's a lot of give and take amongst my fellow cast mates. Creativity is in the air constantly whenever we are in the space, especially during a scene where we have incorporated improvisation. It has been both challenging and joyous during these rehearsals, pushing my scene partners without breaking character. When working with people you've known for the past three years, we know each others' buttons and it's fun to play and explore possibilities.”

Performance Times

• 8 p.m. Thursday, April 23
• 8 p.m. Friday, April 24
• 2 & 8 p.m. Saturday, April 25

Location

Cohen Family Studio Theater, CCM Village

University of Cincinnati

Reserving Tickets

Admission to

You're Welcome (A Cycle of Bad Plays)

is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, April 20.

Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Parking and Directions

Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit

uc.edu/parking

for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit

uc.edu/visitors

. Additional parking is available off-campus at the new U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit

ccm.uc.edu/about/directions

.

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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Drama Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman and Margaret Straub

Community Partner: ArtsWave