What Went On and What’s To Come, by Kimmy Golding
What went on…
This year we started our Cap & Bells season (New Generation: A Season of Student-Written Work) with Late Night At The Chat Noir. Overseen by the lovely Sarah Sanders ’14, a group of seven talented Williams Students performed short pieces of original theatre written during a September rehearsal process. It was not a sight to miss! Publicity was everywhere. We got a shout out from The Goodrich Coffee Bar, The Williams Record, and our own Cap & Bells Twitter page (that was a shout out to me right there…lol). By the time October 3rd rolled around, Chat Noir was the talk of the town! The performances were amazing! There was music, jokes, crying, swanky tablecloths, and lots of talk about nudity. What could be better than that? Nothing!
Next up? Mission: Imfroshible III (ergo… Frosh Revue 2013). “These eight frosh will blow your mind,” said The Directors, and they definitely did. The magic eight worked for two long months and came up with a brilliant show. Shout out to The Directors for leading those frosh to a Willy victory! “But… How did it happen?” you ask. You know the drill. No questions! I can only tell you what we saw, and trust me, it was amazing. There were Williams jokes, dancing to classics (Miley Cyrus anyone?), small vignettes (hello Henry David Thoreau!), and a lot of fun. It was a show that appealed to the masses. The only question is…what will they do next year? Look to Cap & Bells to find out.
Not but a week after we HI HOED to The Directing Studio for Get Written Up, overseen by Lizzie Stern’14! C&B decided to refocus its season and direct it towards the playwright. It was a chance for WILLIAMS STUDENTS to workshop new plays and hear their work performed. Many drafts were written, many readings were done, and after three weeks, the work was finally heard. The community got to hear fresh, new plays written by their fellow peers. The turn out was unbelievable. Here is the list of plays read that weekend:
WHAT A WIRE by Craig Corsi ’14, directed by Julia Juster ’14
GET LIFE by Lizzie Stern ’14, directed by Lily Riopelle ’14
QUARANTINE by Meagan Goldman ’16, directed by Quinn Solfisburg ’14
MARMA TURNS 70 by Steve Marino ’14, directed by Matthew Conway ’15
Rumor has it (ooohh… Adele alert) that one of these plays might be staged by Immediate Theatre…
Our last piece of student written work was Of One Allegiance Only, by Frank Pagliaro ’14, directed by Lily Riopelle ’14. It is a gripping historical drama surrounding the events of Ireland’s Easter Rising of 1916. At its core is a young man’s conflict between fighting for what he believes in and remaining true to the woman he loves. What a play it was. I was in tears by the end of the performance. The acting, staging, set, lighting…EVERYTHING was amazing. It could not have been done without Frank, who poured his heart and soul into his play, Lily, who brought the play to life, the actors, and the amazing design team.
In three short months, we brought New Generation to a close. It is sad to see it go, but of course… there is more.
What’s to come…
Looking to Winter Study… we are zoning in on the Immediate branch of Cap & Bells and are presenting The Fantasticks, directed by Lily Riopelle ’14, musical direction by Eric Kang ’09. Yes everyone! You heard right. The wonderful Eric Kang ’09 is coming back to Williamstown after music directing a WONDERFUL production of Cabaret. It is going to be a FANTASTIC show (hahaha…get it?)!!! Trust me, it is not a performance you want to miss. I doubt you will, however, because publicity will be EVERYWHERE. GO BECCA FALLON!
But Winter Study would not be Winter Study without Immediate Theatre’s annual 24 Hour Theater Festival. There will be writers, actors, directors… and an interesting prop that has yet to be revealed. Stay tuned for more information.
Thats it from me folks! I hope you enjoyed my small recap of this season. If you want more information, look to our Twitter page (@Cap_and_Bells) and our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/capandbells). A spring season announcement will be on its way soon 🙂
Happy Holidays!