USI Theatre Presents: Molière’s Tartuffe

Looking for something to do next weekend? Why not stop by USI's new Performance Center for some giggles as the USI Theatre Department performs Molière's comedic play "Tartuffe".

Tartuffe (pronounced "Tar-too-ff") is essentially a play about a mom that comes to check up on her son, but uses this check-up to criticize anything and everything she can find. You know, like a real mom would do. But in the midst of her complaining she finds something to actually have a true reason to complain about: Tartuffe. But when she tries to warn the people of the house about Tartuffe's deceitful ways no one believes her complaints! Hilarity ensues.

I personally have helped with the costuming of this show and, let me tell you, it has been doozy. What many people don't realize when going to a performance like this is that, even though the focus is the actors, there are so many people behind the scenes that have worked their butts off to put this together too.

The sets? We (the students) build all of those. We paint them. Which almost always involves mixing our own paints to make a very specific shade. Sometimes we even have to paint a foam board to make it look like wood. We even make/paint the floor tiles you see. We set them up and assemble all of them too.

The lights? We position every single one of those stage lights. And I don't mean that we press a button and it adjusts the lights to point at a certain angle. No. We carry those big clunky stop light looking things up there and have to physically go up and position them and put them in place. Every. Single. One. We put the color filters in them, and program them to activate accordingly as well.

The costumes? We make all of those. Sure, if the character is wearing jeans and a t-shirt we'll pull jeans and a t-shirt out of our stock. Simple. But period plays, like Tartuffe? Everything has been made. Every single dress and vest you see has had weeks to months of work done on it. (One of our dresses is made of 30 yards of material.) Every hoop that goes under the skirts, every butt bustle and corset, every piece of trim you see has been put together by costuming.

The shoes? We painted those.
The wigs? We styled those and added extensions.
The jewelry? Also painted by us.

Long story longer, we put all of this effort into these plays for you, the audience, and it would be a shame for you to miss it.

Did I just guilt trip you into seeing a play? Maybe. But regardless of how you end up at the show, you're going to have a great time if you go. Guaranteed.

The Cast:
Ashleigh Lane Dulik, Andrew Duvall, Enjoli Drake, Maximilian Spears, Taylor McKee, Craig Bryant Belwood, Cameron Ward, Austin Tenbarge, Aimee Grace, Nolan Spinks, Samuel Garrison and Grace Craft.

Director: Eric Altheide
Stage Manager: Cassandra Weiss
Costume Designer: AJ Jones
Lighting Design: Eric Cope
Scenic Design: Paul Weimer
Sound Design: Kevin Gray

SHOW TIMES:
(please show up AT LEAST a half hour before the show to anticipate the time it takes to park, get your tickets (sometimes the line is long), and find a seat.)
THURSDAY, NOV. 19th @ 7:30p
FRIDAY, NOV. 20th @ 7:30p
SATURDAY, NOV. 21st @ 7:30p
SUNDAY, NOV. 22nd @ 2p

Ticket Prices:
USI Students: $7
Non-USI Students, USI Employees, and Seniors (+60): $10
Adults: $12

You may purchase your tickets HERE, or call the box office at 812-465-1668.
You can also purchase tickets at the door. (But FYI, that line is usually longer than the Will Call line on the night of shows. So if you purchase your tickets in advance you won't have to stand in line for a super long time. Just saying.)

*All performances will take place in the USI Performance Center, attached to UC East on USI's campus.