Stay With Me
Story byMark Colson and CJ Valle
Writers Stuart Heinlein, CJ Valle, Katherine Schooler, Mykayla Smith,
Bethany Heinlein, Amy Wagenaar, Jeff Wray, Mark Colson
EAST LANSING, February 6, 2017 – Michigan State University embarks on its 3rd Initiative of Theatre2Film in this production of Stay With Me, which runs Friday February 17-26. All performances will be held in the Fairchild Theatre at the MSU Auditorium, ticket information can be found below.
Four years ago, Mark Colson, Assistant Professor of Media Acting, proposed the idea of writing an original work for the stage and then shooting it as a feature film. The focus of the project would hinge on MSU students as writers, editors, producers, actors, musicians, stage crew, film crew, location scouts, etc. etc. etc. You get the picture: hundreds of students from across campus are working together to create and explore the application and transition of an art form. Colson made multiple connections between the colleges of Arts and Letters, Communication Arts and Sciences, and Music, which expanded Theatre2Film far beyond just the Department of Theatre and into a University project. Now producing its 3rd project, performances of Stay With Me will begin on the stage of the Fairchild, and then go into film production to create a fully-produced feature film version that will appear at the Traverse City Film Festival in July 2017. (by the way, the 4th script for Theatre2Film is already underway and plans to be produced this Fall)
Stay With Me begins as a drama surrounding family and the struggles of farm-life, then quickly descends into a classic psychological thriller using modern day depictions of a vanishing and dilapidated America. It explores broken dreams, the disintegration of the American family, and the loss of tradition. The story acts as a psychological exploration of what happens to people when they cling too closely to the past, and of the emotional cost involved in breaking free from the established boundaries of family and heritage. As the story escalates, the characters are drawn into a manufactured reality, and the intense delusion that accompanies it, when the mind is pushed to its furthest, ‘go-no-more’ extreme.
Directed by John Lepard (Guest Artist from Williamston Theatre)
Performances held in the Fairchild Theatre at MSU Auditorium Building.
Friday, February 17, 2017 at 8:00pm
Saturday, February 18, 2017 at 8:00pm
*Sunday, February 19, 2017 at 2:00pm
Tuesday, February 21, 2017 at 7:30pm
Wednesday, February 22, 2017 at 7:30pm
**Thursday, February 23, 2017 at 7:30pm
Friday, February 24, 2017 at 8:00pm
Saturday, February 25, 2017 at 2:00pm
Saturday, February 25, 2017 at 8:00pm
Sunday, February 26, 2017 at 2:00pm
* Director Pre-Show Discussion Sunday, February 19, 2017 at 1:15pm
** Post-Show Discussion on Thursday, February 23, 2017 (Following the Performance)
General Admission $17. Seniors and Faculty $15. Students $12. (Plus a $3 facility fee for Wharton Center)
Tickets are available from the Wharton Center Box Office; 1.800.WHARTON; www.whartoncenter.com.
The ticket office at the Fairchild Theatre opens one hour prior to the show with doors opening 30 minutes prior to the show
Fairchild Theatre at MSU Auditorium Building
Michigan State University, 542 Auditorium RD, East Lansing, MI 48824.
For more information and the entire 2016-2017 season, “REBELLION & REVOLUTION” visit theatre.msu.edu