Becky Shaw at the Lab Theatre
April 10, 2013
COLUMBIA, SC – April 25-28, 2013 – The University of South Carolina theatre program will perform Gina Gionfriddo’s razor-tongued comedy Becky Shaw at the Lab Theatre, April 25-28, 2013.
Performances are at 8pm nightly. Tickets are $5 and are available at the door on a first-come, first-served basis. The Lab Theatre, the university’s intimate “black box” performance space, is located in the Booker T. Washington building at 1400 Wheat Street, across form Blatt PE center. Becky Shaw contains adult themes which may not be suitable for children.
A 2009 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Becky Shaw tells the tale of a blind date (from hell) that opens a Pandora’s box of familial and romantic entanglements. Newlyweds Andrew and Suzanna fix up two romantically challenged friends, but when scathing Max meets anxious Becky, it’s obvious that the evening will not go according to plan. “Blithely cynical and devastatingly funny…witty observations on the emotional damage inflicted by neurotic people in the name of love…Gionfriddo is some kind of genius.” – Variety
Director David Britt, a USC Theatre Instructor and Production Manager of the Lab Theatre, was inspired to stage Becky Shaw after seeing the play in New York a few years ago. He recalls that after seeing the play he and his friends got into a heated discussion about dating and what they were willing to tolerate in terms of “baggage.” Britt says, “It was a wonderful discussion that was sparked by a wonderful play…I hope that audiences who see this show will have similar conversations.”
Britt has assembled an exceptional cast of actors whose challenge is to portray the subtle nuances in Gionfriddo’s characters. “I needed intelligent and sensitive actors who would enjoy the raw humor of these characters but would also be able to play their vulnerabilities.”
Playing the title role of Becky is sophomore theatre major Grace Stewart. Also starring are undergraduate students Katie Atkinson, Stephen Canada, Hunter Bolton, and graduate acting student Catherine Friesen. Undergraduates Amanda Alston and Kasey Beard are the stage manager and assistant director, respectively.
“Most of our neurotic behavior is fairly common,” says the director, “we just don’t know it. I want the actors working on this show, as well as our audiences, to discover how much alike we all are. If you are an individual who thinks you are isolated in your problems…well, you aren’t.”
For more information on Becky Shaw or the theatre program at the University of South Carolina, please contact Kevin Bush by phone at 803-777-9353 or via email at [email protected].
