AUBURN, NY – Harlequin Productions, Cayuga Community College’s student theatre troupe, will return to the stage this fall with a series of comedic one-act plays.
Back on stage for the first time since the spring of 2020, Harlequin Productions will perform “A Five-Pack of Frivolity,” which features five one-act plays. Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. October 21-23, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 24, in the College’s Irene A. Bisgrove Theatre on the Auburn Campus.
Director Robert Frame said the show features five comedies, and believes audience members will enjoy a night of light-hearted entertainment.
“After the challenges of the past year-and-a-half, I think all of us could use a night of laughter, and these plays offer that opportunity,” said Frame. “It’s great to see the students back on the stage this semester. We’re all excited to have this opportunity to perform again, and we’re looking forward to this semester’s show.”
Four of the plays are by playwright Brett Hursey: “Stand-In,” “Tough Cookies,” “Kung-Foolery,” and “Pumps.” “Stand-In” features an aspiring actress auditioning for a role while battling a difficult director and an overdramatic sock, while “Kung Foolery” showcases a man’s transition to a ninja whenever a certain family member visits.
Hursey’s “Tough Cookies” tells the story of a disastrous date, while “Pumps” shows a complicated relationship between a character and a pair of shoes.
The fifth play, “A Case of Anxiety,” is by playwright Mark Harvey Levine and showcases a man whose repeated death features a bear and a trio of pirates.
“Some of the days take everyday situations — a bad date, an audition — and turn them into something extreme. Other plays will start with an absurd situation,” said Frame. “But all of them capture the weird, funny ways people can act. They’ve each been written that way, and will be performed to highlight that absurdity.”
The shows will feature Cayuga students Dylan Bianco, Laurel Elliott, Tessa Higgins, Allison Smith, Logan Tomaszewski, and Grace Wiseman. Most of the plays will feature two or three cast members, with all six students only appearing in one play, “A Case of Anxiety.”
Tickets are available for purchase at the door, with a reduced fee for students. Audience members will be required to follow the College’s COVID-19 protocols. Facial coverings are required.
For more information about Harlequin Productions, visit https://www.cayuga-cc.edu/students/student-life/harlequin/.
