Sock ‘n’ Buskin, Carleton’s student-run theatre company, announced Sept. 13 it will produce five plays in its 71st season.
Sock ‘n’ Buskin will perform William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Bonnie and Clyde: The Musical, Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story, It’s What Dr. Jenkins Would Have Wanted, and The Mouse That Roared. The Zoo Story and It’s What Dr. Jenkins Would Have Wanted are two one-act plays that will be performed one night in late February, while The Tempest is taking place in November as a Shakespeare in the park production, according to co-artistic director Matt Hertendy.
“I’m really excited about the volume and diversity of shows,” he said. “In the past we did the musical and the Shakespeare production . . . which are the two people get the most uncomfortable about. Now we’re opening up to people who might not be as comfortable, but who want to still be involved.”
The Tempest will be performed in the amphitheatre outside of Southam Hall, and instead of a lush tropical climate it will feature an arctic one, Hertendy said.
Despite the frigid temperatures, veteran actor Ian Gillies said the people at Sock ‘n’ Buskin are anything but cold.
“For me it’s both the people and the play, because part of me has always been interested in the plays, but if the people aren’t welcoming it is not going to be a good situation,” Gillies said. “It’s new people, and it’s some of the same people, and it’s always a great environment.”
The Tempest has been cast, but Bonnie and Clyde: The Musical auditions run Sept. 19-20. Winter term plays are set to hold auditions in November, according to Hertendy.
“It’s a really fun version of Bonnie and Clyde,” said Madison Jolliffe, director of Bonnie and Clyde: The Musical. “It has a lot of romance . . . The music is a mixture of gospel with rockabilly, folk, and classic musical [elements].”
Hertendy wrote It’s What Dr. Jenkins Would Have Wanted which is set to premiere alongside The Zoo Story.
“The night sort of juxtaposes styles of one act plays,” Kevin Nimmock, co-artistic director of Sock ‘n’ Buskin said. “There’s only seven actors between the two shows so it is . . . a chance for actors to really dig into shorter scripts that they can spend a lot more time on.”
The final play, The Mouse That Roared, is a cold war satire directed by Nimmock that premiers in mid-March. It is about a fictional European country that decides to wage war with the United States, he said.
“It’s a fairly modern play written in very accessible language for all actors of all skill levels and experience,” Nimmock said. “It will be a real treat for people to come see and to act in…I think it will be good for both new and experienced actors to get exposed to the world of theatre.”
