Cheyenne Hume – Staff Writer
After five weeks of rehearsal, Present Laughter will be performed by the University of Wyoming Theatre and Dance department.
Noel Coward’s comedic classic will run Oct. 16 -19 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 20 at 2 p.m. in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts. As a special gift for the Laramie community, the program is running a ticket special, a two-for-one sale. Co-director LouAnne Wright said the ticket special is a way for the program to say thank you, as well as give the Laramie community a gift for all their support.
Present Laughter is a witty story from the perspective of a self-obsessed actor who is set to go on tour in Africa, but from adultery to blackmail, everything goes wrong. Coward wrote the play to embody his real life persona and with the intention to play the star role himself.
Wright said she and Director Lee Hodgson chose this play because of their appreciation for Coward’s in-depth comedies. They also said they liked the large number of roles it provides, which is preferred for a university.
“Primarily, it is such a joy to work on a play like this,” Wright said, “the students have brought a lot of their own humor to it.”
Behind the scenes, there is more than just rehearsal going into the play. The play was written in an English dialect, so actors also have to work on their pronunctiation with the help of Wright, a dialect professor. Wright, however, said the challenge exciting.
“It’s very difficult from the American dialect, and it’s fun to hear,” she said.
Along with the unique dialects, costumes are also a main feature for the play. Hodgson designed and created all of the costumes for the show, on top of directing it.
“People will not only get to see a funny show, but also beautiful costumes made for the show,” Wright said.
Overall, Wright said that she hopes the audience gets the sense of fun and wit, and leave feeling entertained.
For more information regarding the performance, call Kathy Kirkaldie, the UW Fine Arts coordinator, at (307) 766-6210 or email kirsk@uwyo.edu. Tickets are available at the Performing Arts box office and the Wyoming Union information desk at (307) 766-6666 or online at www.uwyo.edu/finearts.
