CCM s Studio Series Continues Oct. 20-22: Welcome to 'Middletown'

In the next installment of

UC College-Conservatory of Music’s 2016-17 Studio Series

, the Acting Department introduces audiences to the residents of a small town as they search for life’s meaning. Directed by CCM Acting Professor and Department Chair

Richard Hess

, Will Eno’s

Middletown

runs

Thursday, Oct. 20-Saturday, Oct. 22

in the

Cohen Family Studio Theater

.

Middletown

, which won the 2010 Horton Foote Prize for Promising New American Play, was praised by the

New York Times

for its “tart, funny, gorgeous little comments on the big things: the need for love and forgiveness, the search for meaning in life, the long lonely ache of disappointment.”

Will Eno veers toward the avant-garde with his approach to stark realism in

Middletown

. His influences include playwrights Samuel Beckett and Don DeLillo, and the recently deceased Edward Albee was a mentor to him. The play was inspired by Thorton Wilder's

Our Town,

which was last seen on CCM's Mainstage in April 2011.

One of the central characters in

Our Town

is the local milkman, while

Middletown

gives the spotlight to the town’s celebrity, an astronaut in orbit around Earth. Both plays concern the passing seasons of life and are unapologetically frank and sentimental, according to Hess.

“

Middletown

is about nothing except life and death and everything in between,” Hess says. “With a wry and unexpectedly profound touch, Will Eno has written one of the wisest plays I have ever worked on. Its simplicity is monumental.”

The show will be presented in thrust theater configuration, with set design by CCM student

Theron Wineinger

. Audience members will be seated close to the action of the play in this intimate setting.

“

Middletown

might make the audience both laugh and cry,” Hess says. “It will hit home for everyone in a deeply personal way. Its wisdom is universal, and in our crazy world, human to human contact that is sane, rational and open might be a welcome tonic.”

Admission is free for

Middletown

, but tickets are required. Tickets will be available through the CCM Box Office on

Monday, Oct. 17

. They often sell out quickly, so visit our

guide to Studio Series tickets

for tips and tricks to secure your seats.

Cast List

Sydney Ashe

as Mary Swanson

Lauren Carter

as Tour Guide/Aunt/Female Doctor

Kenzie Clark

as Tourist/Woman on Date/Attendant 2

Mafer Del Real

as Librarian

Nick Heffelfinger

as Tourist/Astronaut Greg/Freelancer/Male Doctor

Isaac Hickox Young

as Cop

Meg Olson

as Public Speaker/Cop’s Radio Voice/Ground Control/Hospital Intercom Voice/Science Radio Host/Music Radio Host

Maddie Page-Schmit

as Sweetheart

Andrew Ramsey

as Mechanic

Graham Rogers

as Landscaper/Man on Date/Hospital Attendant

Rupert Spraul

as John Dodge

Performance Times

• 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20
• 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21
• 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22

Location

Cohen Family Studio Theater, CCM Village

University of Cincinnati

Admission

Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Oct. 17. 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 information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit

uc.edu/visitors

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

For directions to CCM Village, visit

ccm.uc.edu/about/directions

.

____________________

CCM Season Presenting Sponsor & Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation