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Cast
and crew aim to bring life to new romantic comedy
A
story written and directed by theatre faculty member T.J.
Walsh will debut this week.
By
Lori Russell
Theatre
students are laughing, learning and bringing a vision
to the stage Wednesday in “Melrose Stories.”
Clint Gage, a senior radio-TV-film major, has the lead
in his first on-stage role with Theatre TCU. He plays
Tom Kellogg, a New York writer who inherits a bookstore
on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles.
Tom visits the store after the reading of the will and
is pulled into the lives of the workers at the store.
He also discovers the store has a life and mystery of
its own, Walsh said.
“It’s a romantic comedy,” said T.J. Walsh,
the writer and director of the play. “It is a genre
I’m drawn to because it asks that both the writer
and audience view the world as a cup half full.”
Performances will be 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday
and 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in Hays Theatre in the
Walsh Center for Performing Arts.
Walsh said students have added a lot to the play by suggesting
lines and character revealing action.
Michelle Martinez, a junior theatre major, plays Rose
Cisneros. She said she really enjoys having the writer
as director. “It’s been fabulous. It’s
like being part of the writing process; like creating
a whole new play,” Martinez said.
C.J. Meeks, a sophmore radio-TV-film and theatre major,
plays the part of Walter Streiby.
“He’s the guy who doesn’t work in the bookstore,
but he’s always there. The goofy guy with the big
mouth,” Meeks said.
Meeks said he’s glad he has a chance to be part of
the production and enjoys working with both new and old
faces.
“We find ways to change the lines a little and work
on timing. It’s a comedy, so we’re always laughing,”
Meeks said.
Jaclyn Napier, a senior radio-TV-film and theatre major,
has performed in several productions with Theatre TCU,
including “On the Town” and “Twelve Angry
Women.” She also directs Assault Prevention Theater.
“There is more pressure when your director is also
the writer,” Napier said. “We want to understand
his vision, and want the final product to be something
he is proud of.”
“Working on the play has been thoroughly engaging,”
Walsh said. “The students have been insightful and
energetic and have brought depth to their roles.”
Walsh said the cast includes 15 undergraduate students
and 30 more students work on sets, lights and stage crew.
“All the designers have been very creative in finding
the unique world of this play, this bookstore and the
world it inhabits,” Walsh said.
Although the play is a comedy, it touches on some adult
themes, and is recommended for audiences 13 and over,
Walsh said.
Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors.
For tickets, call (817) 257-5770. |
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Stephen
Spillman/Staff Photographer
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| Seniors
Clint Gage, a radio-TV-film major, and Jaclyn Napier,
a radio-TV-film and theatre major, star in the TCU
production of “Melrose Stories.” |
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CORRECTION
Junior
theater major Michelle Martinez was misidentified as senior
theatre and radio-TV-film major Jaclyn Napier in a front
page picture Tuesday of the actors in “Melrose Stories.” |
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