Theater department premieres first play of fall season

A man’s cell phone rings in a restaurant, but he can’t answer it.

Because he’s dead.

This is the opening scene of “Dead Man’s Cell Phone,” the next play in the CSB+SJU theater department’s fall season. The cast of six students will bring the play to life in the Colman Theater at CSB on Oct. 12, 13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 14 and 15 at 2 p.m.

Theater professor Kaarin Johnston is directing the play, written by Sarah Ruhla in 2008.

“I would say it’s a love story,” Johnston said. “It’s about waking up; it’s about committing yourself to being alive. . . You find a dead man every day, maybe you’ll live your life a little differently.”

Johnston says the play toys with magical realism and audiences shouldn’t expect things to seem realistic. The show is using the Colman Theater to create a space with seats all around the stage.

“I like to work in the round—audiences all the way around the actors. It’s very intimate. It’s a really good experience for the actors. The audience is close. And so, because it’s a black box and the floor is black and the curtains are black, it’s a lot easier to make it be imaginary than if you have to have a lot of scenery,” Johnston said.

Because of the large scale of the other fall play, “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Johnston chose a smaller play to direct. She had read the script for “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” before and thought it would be a good option to perform.

The play, though it starts with a dramatic first scene, is really about the relationship between the characters that are still alive, Johnston said. The choices the characters make center around the theme of the play.

“I think theater is a beautiful way to help people feel human and think about what it means to be human,” Johnston said.

CSB senior Kiki Frederick plays lead woman Jean, who finds the dead man’s cell phone. She is very excited for the play and feels as prepared as she can be, even though the rehearsal time has been shortened to three weeks.

“It’s a surreal play, so don’t go into it expecting it to be realistic,” Frederick said. “It’s a comedy about love.”

Because the play begins and centers around a cell phone, Frederick believes technology plays a large role in the themes of the play. The importance, she said, lies in the relationships we make outside of our cell phones.

“We’re able to connect with humans all the time through cell phones, but we’re also so disconnected from humans constantly because of cell phones,” Frederick said. “So just taking that away and thinking, ‘there’s a whole life outside of your phone, and that’s worth exploring, and it’s worth connecting and it’s worth being there.’”

This production marks the last fall play Johnston will direct with her retirement in May. Johnston grew up backstage of theaters and has been directing plays since she was 12. She says that directing work is really behind the scenes but can change the entire feel of a production.

“The playwright makes up a world when they write the play, and then the director is sort of like a middle person that helps to make the words on the page turn into a world that is alive,” Johnston said. “And that’s why every production is so different. . . A lot of the arts feel something that you don’t get if you just read it in a book.”

Both Johnston and Frederick hope people will come to the show to support the arts.

“The arts need a little loving right now,” Frederick said.

Johnston agrees, especially since administration recently cut the theater major from the department.

“I feel like if all our performances were full of students and they all went, ‘this is kind of cool,’ maybe we’d still have our major,” Johnston said.

Ticket information for “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” can be found through CSB+SJU Fine Arts Programming.