Connecticut Repertory Theatre, the professional theater company run by the University of Connecticut’s School of Dramatic Arts, will return to live performances at the end of this month.
CT Rep announced its fall 2021 season last week. All three shows will be cast with UConn theater students.
“It is a challenge,” says Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s Interim Managing Director Mike Beasley. “In many ways, this was more difficult than making the decision to do a streaming season,” as the theater did this past school year. “We decided in the spring that we could proceed with a live season, but even two months ago things were different.”
The first show, “She Kills Monsters,” will be staged outdoors Sept. 30 through Oct. 2. The production will run for just one weekend and is intended for the UConn community rather than the general public. Qui Nguyen’s dark comedy, about fantasy gamers whose real life traumas become entangled with a Dungeons & Dragons-type quest, was staged by CT Rep in March of 2018. This rendition will have a different director (Beth Gardiner, who helmed the virtual production of “Men on Boats” last year) and cast, and will also be performed outside the UConn Student Center.
“From where I sit,” says Beasley, “season planning means what can we do in terms of licensing, of opportunities for the students, whether we can stream… With ‘She Kills Monsters,’ it was a safe bet to do it outdoors.”
The first live indoor show of the season, and the first to be offered to the general public, will be the comedy “The 39 Steps,” Oct. 28 through Nov. 7. The play is a fast-paced, parodic version of the classic Alfred Hitchcock film based on the equally classic John Buchan mystery thriller novel. It is often performed with a minimal cast, but is “adaptable,” Beasley says, and he sees it as an opportunity for many students to participate. He also likes that it is an escapist comedy.
Helen T. Clark, an assistant professor in residence at UConn’s undergraduate Theatre Studies department, will direct “The 39 Steps.” It will be performed in UConn’s intimate Studio Theater, where the capacity will be further reduced due to COVID concerns, so the number of tickets available to the general public will be limited. A streaming version was hoped for, Beasley says, but won’t be able to happen due to copyright restrictions.
The final show of the fall semester, “Food for the Gods,” described by its original producers as “a multimedia performance installation about ‘human value'” and “a three-part expression of rage, indifference, and celestial knowing.” It concerns the shooting deaths of Black people by police officers and security guards.
“Food for the Gods” had a celebrated run at New York City’s La Mama Experimental Theatre in 2018. The show’s creator, Nehprii Amenii, who has been a guest professor at the School of Dramatic Arts, will direct the CT Rep production. It will be staged in the school’s Nafe Katter Theatre, another intimate space, meaning that audience seating will again be limited. This time, a streaming alternative may be possible.
“Food for the Gods” will involve puppets. So will “She Kills Monsters,” with altered versions of the puppets used in the 2018 production, Beardsley says. UConn boasts one of the highest regarded puppetry programs in the country.
For the live performances, in line with UConn COVID safety protocols, audience members are to wear masks “in all venues at all times, regardless of vaccination status,” practice “social distancing and hand hygiene protocols,” and enter and leave the auditorium promptly. Seating times will be staggered to avoid crowds in the lobby. Vaccination against COVID-19 is encouraged.
The theater’s new artistic director, Megan Monaghan Rivas, began on Aug. 23. Planning for the season had begun before Rivas’ appointment, and she will not be directing any shows this season.
The spring semester shows may be announced in a few weeks, Beasley says. “We’re announcing our plans term by term, based on what we can expect to be able to do.”
Christopher Arnott can be reached at carnott@courant.com.
