MAC Theatre Guild to Present “Oleanna”

Power, political correctness, miscommunication and sexual harassment are the themes of Mineral Area College’s next Little Theatre Guild production, a drama called “Oleanna.” The play, by David Mamet, was originally produced in 1992.
 
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and performances are at 7 p.m. nightly, June 23-25, in the Fine Arts Theatre at the Park Hills Campus. Tickets are available at the MAC Bookstore or at the door on the night of the performances and are $7 general admission or $3 for MAC students and senior citizens.
 
The play follows Carol and her college experience with one particular professor. Frustrated with her grade in a college class, Carol stops by her professor’s office to get help.  The professor, John, is inattentive and condescending but offers Carol an A if she regularly comes to his office to discuss the material. Carol feels powerless as the meetings continue, and eventually accuses him of sexual harassment. From there, the conflict only increases.
 
The role of John will be played by Wyatt Nickelson of Potosi. The role of Carol will be performed by Caitlyn Emert of Pilot Knob. It’s being directed by Farmington High School Theater Instructor Diana Mays-Nielson, who said the play’s all about “the power of language, and the language of power.”
 
“It’s a topical subject, even today,” Mays-Nielson said. “And it’s a very staccato play—the lines are difficult to deliver, the actors are constantly interrupting each other, cutting each other off.”
 
Emert observed that when it came to the two characters and their conflict, it was hard to pick a side. “They’re both wrong, but they’re both right.” Nickelson added, “It could have all been avoided if they’d talked things through.”
 
Auditions for the Little Theatre Guild’s next performance, Noel Coward’s “Private Lives” (to be performed Oct. 6-8) will take place Aug. 22, 6 p.m., in the Fine Arts Theatre at MAC in Park Hills. Roles are available for 2 men and 2 women.