Christopher Haliskoe, Online Managing Editor
Shakespeare returns to Pierce College with a twist in the theater arts department’s latest production, “Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet).”
The comedy, by Canadian playwright
Ann-Marie MacDonald, is the story of a literature professor who is sucked into the works of Shakespeare, learning insights about the Bard’s genius and about herself.
The play has had a long gestation
period at the theater arts department.
“We first read the play a year ago,” said Jonica Patella, who plays the lead character, Constance Ledbelly.
“We’ve been planning it since then.”
The play centers around Constance,
an assistant professor of English at Queen’s University in Canada, where she is studying a manuscript that may hold the answers
to Shakespeare’s tragedies.
A personal tragedy throws her into her own subconscious mind, where she becomes a character in two of Shakespeare’s plays (Desdemona
from “Othello” and Juliet from “Romeo and Juliet”).
About 50 percent of the play’s
James Domine, the music director
at Pierce College and the leader of the San Fernando Valley Symphony
Orchestra, will unveil his latest composition, “Legend for Orchestra,”
Saturday at 7 p.m. on the Performing Arts Mainstage.
The composition is based on “The Romance of Taliesin” and is composed of 12 episodes, called “tableaux,” which are continuous musical sequences. Each of the 12 episodes tells a different part of the story.
Domine has studied piano, violin
and music composition. He attended
rival schools, the University of Southern California and the University
of California, Los Angeles. It was at USC where he earned his master’s degree in music and he received his Bachelor of Arts from UCLA.
Other than “Legend for Orchestra,”
Domine has produced many compositions. Piano Concerto No. 2, Bassoon Concerto and Alto Saxophone
Concerto are some of the many pieces he has under his belt.
For more information on “Legend
for Orchestra,” please visit www.sfvsymphony.com.
The Master Chorale
dialogue is Shakespeare, either directly
quoted or referenced.
“Its appeal lies in its combination
of highbrow and lowbrow humor,”
said assistant director Mark Hein.
“There are some jokes that everyone
will understand and jokes that only seasoned Shakespeare buffs will understand.”
Patella, a 33-year-old Pierce student
well-versed in Shakespeare, was struck by the play’s wit.
“It was the smartest, funniest play I’d ever read,” she said.
The first performance takes place Nov. 30 at 8 p.m. at the Dow Arena Theater in Pierce’s Performing Arts building. It will run from Nov. 30 to Dec. 10.
Patella, who also works with ASL students, said there will be one performance with an ASL interpretation
during the second week.
Binnae Bridwell
Staff Writer
bbridwell_roundupnews@hotmail.com
Christopher Howell
Staff Writer
chowell_roundupnews@hotmail.com