NEWS RELEASE

Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

9/27/2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES-The NSU Theatre will open its 2002-2003 season with Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" Oct. 17-19 at 7:30 p.m. in the A.A. Fredericks Auditorium. Tickets are $5. Admission is free for NSU students. The cast for "Twelfth Night" has been announced by director Dr. Jack Wann.

Members of the cast are Jessica Marasco of New Orleans as Viola, Caroline Bolter of Baton Rouge as Olivia, Joshuah Laird of Oakdale as Orsino, Kerry Lambert of Gonzales as Sebastian, Levi Petree of Lake Charles as Toby, Kristin Jones of Vero Beach, Fla. as Maria and Alicia Schulz of Metairie as Valeria.

The cast for "Twelfth Night" and also features Michael Batusac of Hobe Sound, Fla. as Andrew, Meghan Shea of Covington as Constance, Guy Miller of Pineville as the captain, James Palmer of Mansfield as Feste, Harvard Taylor of Shreveport as Fabian, Chris Ware of Natchitoches as Sailor One and Amanda Ward of Lake Charles as Sailor Two.

Also in the cast are Thea Richard of Arnaudville as Katherine, Sarah Jessica Rhodes of Rusk, Texas as Nell, Larry Soileau of Lake Charles as Antonio, Adam Louis Breaux of Harahan as Malvolio, Alaine Claire of Ruston as the First Officer, Robin Rose of Natchitoches as Celia, Kyle Lemaire of Abbeville as a priest, Bryan Lee of Cochran, Ga., as Officer Two and Joe Naples of West Palm Beach, Fla. as Officer Three.

Kimberly Longmire of Houston is the stage manager while Justin Gutierrez of Slidell is the assistant stage manager and Karen Burns of Alexandria is the assistant to the director.

Wann has set the play somewhere outside a major English city on the twelfth night after Christmas.

"The Twelfth Night is a time of celebration and misrule," said Wann. "I decided to begin the play with a group of revelers who were going to put on a play and they were too noisy. So they wandered into the country where they found a rundown barn where they could put on their play. Once that is established, we go into the world of the play."

Wann said the characters were pearlys or costermongers, street sellers of fruit and vegetables or buskers, who were itinerant entertainers who often sang and recited in the streets or in pubs.

"These are poor people like you would see in "Mary Poppins" or the street scenes from "My Fair Lady," said Wann. "They are very poor people, but are colorful characters."

Outreach performances for area school children will be Oct. 17-18 at 9:30 a.m. For more information, call (318) 357-6891.

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