Hope College Theatre will present "The Skin of Our Teeth" by Thornton Wilder in the DeWitt Center main theatre beginning Friday, Oct. 23.
Performances are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Oct. 23 and 24; and Wednesday through Saturday, Oct. 28-31, all with an 8 p.m. curtain.
Thornton Wilder's "The Skin of Our Teeth" combines modern elements and timeless human themes to create a three-act play which focuses on one family, the Antrobuses, and their maid Sabina. Though the play earned Wilder a Pulitzer Prize for drama, "The Skin of Our Teeth" includes a great deal of comedy as well.
"The Skin of Our Teeth" features the work of guest scenic designer Joseph Flauto. As a member of the faculty at the University of Evansville for 30 years, Flauto has had numerous designs appear at regional and national Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festivals, including "Anatomy of Grey," which was invited to appear at the KennedyCenter in Washington, D.C., in April 2006. His set design for the University of Evansville's production of "The Comedy of Errors" was seen as part of the city-wide Shakespeare in Washington Festival in April 2007. Flauto is a member of the United Scenic Artists and has worked at professional regional theatre designing both sets and costumes in North Carolina, England, Philadelphia and Indianapolis.
Flauto is no stranger to Michigan: for many years, he has designed for Hope Summer Repertory Theatre. He is retired from University of Evansville, but not the theatre and theatre design. Since retiring in May 2008, Flauto has designed five productions, including this production of "The Skin of Our Teeth" at Hope College. Next spring he will design the costumes for a new play, "Bud, Not Buddy," at the University of Michigan in Flint.
The production is directed by John Tammi of the college's theatre faculty. Other faculty members working on the production team are Michelle Bombe, costume designer and Perry Landes, lighting designer. Katie Terpstra, who is a 2009 Hope graduate, is the properties designer and serving as technical director is staff member Paul Anderson. Students serving on the production team are senior Ken Chamberlain of Metuchen, N.J., sound designer; and sophomore Elizabeth Dwyer of Ypsilanti, stage manager.
The cast of "The Skin of Our Teeth" includes: freshman Skyler Adams of Holland; senior Tom Bird of Baraboo, Wis.; junior Lindsey Brand of Beverly Hills; sophomore Noah Busman of Scotia, N.Y.; sophomore Kelsey Cratty of Rockford, Ill.; freshman Sophia Daly of Plymouth; freshman Skye D. Edwards of Morrison, Colo.; freshman Erik Thomas Durham of Holland; senior Joshua Headapohl of Livonia; junior Ben Hertel of New Richmond; freshman Haley Hodges of Hart; junior Katie Hoekstra of Kalamazoo; senior Carl Morrison of Pickford; senior Meghan McNamee of Hartland; junior Cassie Niespodziewanski of Clarendon Hills, Ill.; sophomore Daniel Pesch of Western Springs, Ill.; sophomore Amberlyn Scheeringa of Schererville, Ind.; freshman Jesse Swatling-Holcomb of Oakland, Calif.; junior Jenny Tremblay of Oostburg, Wis.; sophomore Madison Tustin of Plainwell; sophomore Christoff Visscher of Silver Spring, Md.; freshman Kaija von Websky of Holland; and junior Christine Worden of Midland.
Tickets for "The Skin of Our Teeth" are $7 for regular admission, $5 for Hope faculty and staff, and $4 for students and senior citizens, and are available at the Hope College ticket office located in the main lobby of the DeVos Fieldhouse, which is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition, the theatre lobby ticket office in the DeWitt Center will be open on performance nights at 7 p.m. The ticket office may be contacted at (616) 395-7890.
The DeVos Fieldhouse is located at 222 Fairbanks Avenue between Ninth and 11th streets. The DeWitt Center is located at 141 E. 12th St., on Columbia Avenue at 12th Street.