Baylor Theatre Presents "Six Characters in Search of an Author"

April 24, 2006

by Allison Deily, student newswriter

Baylor Theatre will put on "Six Characters in Search of an Author" beginning at 7:30 p.m. April 25-29. Matinees will be presented at 2:00 p.m. April 29-30 at the Mabee Theater at the Hooper-Schaeffer Fine Arts Center.

The cast of "Six Characters in Search of an Author" includes Sky Bennett, Noel Collins, Jared Eaton, Brad Harris, Sam Hough, Trey Jackson, Kevin Lee, Jean McCarthy, Joey Melcher, Molly Milbradt, Sarah Pais, Drew Wall, Natalie Whatley and Laura Youngkin.

The play was a 20th century masterpiece of Luigi Pirandello and has been adapted by Robert Brustein. The plot follows Baylor students who are rehearsing for their next play, and an interruption by "six strangers claiming to be fictitious creations of a careless author," according to the Baylor department of theater arts website. The characters need their story to be told, and since the author abandoned them, leaving them unfinished, they want to find a stage on which to perform their stories. The play is an "exploration of reality versus illusion, truth versus artifice, and the mysterious workings of the creative process."

Natalie Whatley, an Arlington senior, is cast as the stage manager within the play. "(The play) goes through their lives and teaches us the importance of family, life and being heard," she said, "I really love this play because it relates to the audience and tests the limits of honesty and our ability to truly captivate the audience enough for them to get caught up in our story and truly believe it." This is Whatley's final mainstage production at Baylor, and she also said that during the play there are "quite a few surprises and shocking moments" in the production.

The play is directed by Mike Schraeder, a lecturer of Theater Arts. As a new professor at Baylor, this is his first mainstage to direct at the university.

Tickets are $10 for the general public, and students receive a $2 discount with a student ID. Tickets are available in the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center box office, and group ticket rates are available. For more information, contact the department of theater arts at 710-1861 or visit the website at http://www3.baylor.edu/Theatre_Arts/.