The “sometimes-annual” Student Bi-Co Theater Festival will take place April 7, 8, 9 and April 14, 15, 16. This season’s festival features a scintillating array of plays, readings, film screenings, workshops, stand-up comedy and more. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, call the Office for the Arts at (610) 526-5210.
Plays
Stop Kiss
April 7, 8, and 9 at 7 p.m.
McPherson Auditorium, Goodhart Hall, Bryn Mawr College
Stop Kiss is a poignant and funny play about the ways our lives can forever change when we risk living fully. Written by Diana Son, Stop Kiss tells the story of two women who meet in New York City and fall unexpectedly in love. Their first kiss provokes a violent attack that transforms their lives in a way they could never anticipate. With a narrative that moves back and forth in time and a surface ease that belies its emotional depth, Stop Kiss suggests that making choices and falling in love can carry serious costs, but simultaneously asks, what is the alternative?
Speakeasy
April 7, 8, and 9 at 8:30 p.m.
Hepburn Teaching Theater, Goodhart Hall, Bryn Mawr College
Speakeasy is an original work created collaboratively by Bryn Mawr students. Presented by People In Color, a student performance troupe that creates original, socially engaged work, the piece explores concepts of modern language in a cabaret-style setting. Get a glimpse of the interactions between the workers of a nightclub lounge as they play with facets of communication, or the lack thereof.
An Act of Courage
April 14, 15, and 16 at 8 p.m.
Common Room, Goodhart Hall, Bryn Mawr College
In this thesis work written and performed by Kati Zaylor, the audience discovers the inner life of Hedda Gabler.
Girlandboyland
April 14, 15, and 16 at 8:30 p.m.
Hepburn Teaching Theater, Goodhart Hall, Bryn Mawr College
Boy meets toy. Hijinks ensue.
Readings
Vision by Mary Zaborskis
Friday, April 8 at 6 p.m.
Music Room, Goodhart Hall, Bryn Mawr College
A one-act play written by Mary Zaborkis ’12 in Amy Herzog’s Fall 2009 playwriting class, Vision features two friends, Maggie and Genevieve, who are dealing with the aftermath of the death of Maggie’s sister. The play examines attitudes about death, religion, drugs, and relationships.
A post-reading discussion will follow.
View by Allison Keefe
Saturday, April 9 at 6 p.m.
Music Room, Goodhart Hall, Bryn Mawr College
Darren is an astronomer feeling stuck in the universe. Madi is his assistant wondering if she’ll ever be doing anything else. Serena plays Rapunzel at Fantasy Land. All three are joined by a cosmic event, in this comedic one-act by Allison Keefe ’11 about viewing the universe.
Workshops
First Person Arts: Word Craft Life Raft
Saturday, April 9, 2-5 p.m.
Arnecliffe Studio, Bryn Mawr College
Join cardboard constructionist Beth Nixon and poet Emily Abendroth for an afternoon of genre-busting collaboration. Participants will sculpt with words, write with cardboard, and create an interactive installation of original text and corrugated forms to be shared with the public upon completion of this two hands-on workshop. Contribute to this cooperative, imaginative experiment in the interdisciplinary. Tools and materials provided. Space is limited, so reservations are required.
Beth Nixon is a Philadelphia-based artist whose puppets, masks, parades, pageants, and spectacles have been featured around the world. Notable recent work includes a stage set and costumes made entirely out of cardboard for Pig Iron Theatre Company’s Cankerblossom, which premiered at the 2011 Philadelphia Live Arts Festival.
Emily Abendroth is a poet, artist, and photographer living and working in Philadelphia. She teaches literature and poetry at Temple University and is co-curator of the Moles Not Molar Reading and Performance Series, which aims to put writers and artists pursuing exciting, innovative and experimental textual projects into contact and dialogue with each other and their diverse audiences.
Café Events
Hepburn Teaching Theater lobby, Goodhart
Thursday, April 14, at 9:30 p.m.
Creative Writing Night
Readings and recitations from some of the Bi-Co’s finest writers and poets.
Comedy Night: The Bi-Co Is a Joke
A night of comic relief, featuring stand-up by Lily Scott ’12, and a variety of other amusements, for enjoyment and participation.