Press Releases

January 12, 2004

Avram Theater Comes Alive Again With Eight Clever One-Acts
Southampton Players"InterAct: He Said/She Said" Features New Student Directorial Approach

Contact:
Patricia Conway
631-287-8313

Southampton, NY — With two skilled Southampton College undergraduates at the helm, the polish of student writers and the talents of both College and community actors, this year’s Southampton Players "InterAct" performances are sure to offer up some insightful, quick-witted moments to its audience. The eighth annual one-acts, this year titled "He Said/She Said," will be brought to life on the Avram Theater stage on Fridays and Saturdays, January 30 and 31 and February 6 and 7 at 8 p.m.

Student directors of "He Said/She Said,"Allison-Rose DeTemple and Derek Barbanti, have been diligently working to give the performances two distinct, unique and opposing perspectives.

DeTemple will direct four one-acts including Oliver Peterson’s "Q.C. Folly," a segment featuring Kristen Sinkel, Sarah Boes, Kristen Senese and high school student Jason Dylan Nower, which illustrates the search for respect and compassion from an unlikely subject. "The Magician," written by MFA student Dave Engledrum, examines the perception of expectations in relationships over time. It stars Rich Gardini, Andrew McClain, Deborah Schall, Felix Montas and Jimmy

Macaluso. MFA students John Capone and Brian Kelly teamed up to write "Exuent Omnes," an absurdist’s battle of intelligence and professional interpersonal conflict. DeTemple wrote and will direct her own "Quartet For Death," a display of the lengths that people will go to win. It stars Schall, McClain, Montas, Macaluso, Carol Sherman, Brenda Reed, Laura DePinto, Greg Shields, Caleb Bartlett, Jackie Townsend, Rich Gardini, Jennifer Brock, Eric Fuerderer, Josephine Teresi, Anthony DePinto and Kristen Senese.

Barbanti will direct MFA student Sophie Thall’s "Brown, Black and Blue," in which a stripper reminisces about her profession and recalls four different men she came in contact with. It features Gardini, Josephine Teresi, Jesse Sones and John Capone; "Ego Alters," written by Janine Sones, is a piece about the alter egos of a married couple through the mind game that is their love life. Eric Fuerderer, Josephine Teresi, Jesse Sones and Boes star. ﾒYou Don’t Wanna Use This Bathroom," written by undergraduate writing student Alissa Melanie LeClair, features three young people trapped in a bathroom and forced to confront issues past, present and future. "In the Middle," a piece that Barbanti wrote himself, uses a three-room apartment that serves as a battlefield inhabited by a young couple living together for the first time.

Being his first time in command of what happens on stage, Barbanti noted that he was slightly overwhelmed with all that goes into the position of director. "You need to be totally organized. There are many different personalities among the actors and writers, and it takes constant planning and a great effort to keep things on schedule and running smoothly."

Many of the plays in "InterAct" stem from Southampton College’s esteemed MFA in Writing and undergraduate writing workshops with famed cartoonist and humor writer Jules Feiffer, award-winning playwright Robert Reeves and Time magazine essayist Roger Rosenblatt. According to Avram Theater Director Michael Disher, the whole idea for the one-act performances was to provide a springboard for young talent. "Sharing the skills of Allison and Derek with the gifts of the playwrights seemed to be an obvious and natural progression to further develop all their talents."

Tickets to "He Said/She Said" are $9 each and can be reserved by calling the Avram Theater box office at (631) 287-8899.