MSSU theatre department readies for new season

Cameron+Lopez%2C+theatre+major%2C+and+Samantha+Green%2C+communication+major%2C+rehearse+a+scene+from+The+Secret+Rapture+Sept.+15+in+Bud+Walton+Theatre.

Pablo Ortiz | The Chart

Cameron Lopez, theatre major, and Samantha Green, communication major, rehearse a scene from The Secret Rapture Sept. 15 in Bud Walton Theatre.

Missouri Southern’s theatre department kicked off the fall season this week with The Secret Rapture, showing through Saturday, Sept. 19.

The Secret Rapture, written as a political commentary on English government in the 1980s, tells the story of sisters Marion and Isobel, who are forced to work together when their father dies and leaves his widow, their alcoholic stepmother, nothing but the family home.

This production was cast last spring and has been in rehearsal since the beginning of the summer so the cast and crew could get a jumpstart on the fall season.

“We have several weeks of rehearsal for every show,” said Dr. Jim Lile, theatre department chair. “The company gets together to start putting things together,”

The fall season consists of three productions, varying in styles, cast size and genres. They include No Suicide in Springtime, running Oct. 6-10, and Christmas at the Old Toy Store, which runs Dec. 5-6.

Lile said he is pleased and excited with the individuals committed to the productions thus far. He anticipates a great entertainment-filled season.

“The faculty are generally in the role of director, but we also have faculty in the role of designers, and when they aren’t, they are usually mentoring students who do so,” said Lile, “The theatre department in general is a collaborative operation.”

“I’m excited to start a new year with some new box office staff and front house staff and see the awesome plays the department puts on,” said Emily Harris, senior public relations major and theatre front house manager.

Tickets the adult series of plays are $5 for adults, $3 for senior citizens and non-MSSU students. Adult tickets for chilTickets for musicals cost $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens, and $6 for those who are not MSSU students.

“Our hope for the campus community and the larger community is that they’ll come and enjoy, bring open minds and leave here talking and thinking about what we present,” said Lile.