EUGENE–"New Voices," a pair of student-written plays, will open University Theatre’s
2000-2001 Second Season on Nov. 16 at the University of Oregon.

Written by UO students Rowan Morrison and Jenni Hellesto, the plays will continue
Nov. 17—18. Curtain time will be 8 p.m. with no late seating allowed.

All performances will be in the Arena Theatre at Villard Hall, 1109 Old Campus Lane. Free parking is available nearby in the UO lot at East 11th Avenue and Kincaid Street.

According to Morrison, a junior theater arts major from Seattle, Wash., "Ewen" is a play that refuses to solve itself and asks as much of the audience as it gives.

Ewen, the title character, is a cynical man of unusual perception, searching in spite of himself for a new hope. Dr. Jansen, the model psychiatrist, occupies himself with the careful suppression of questions that mid-life brings to everyone. The two fight a duel of wills to an unlikely end.

Rich Brown, a doctoral degree candidate in theater arts from Lenox, Iowa, is director of "Ewen." He is intrigued by the script’s themes of identity and how we create our own realities and life roles.

The play, Brown explains, "examines the boxes we all create for ourselves in order to exist through everyday life. It asks the never-ending questions: Is ignorance bliss? Or is it death?"

He says the scenic, lighting and sound designs combine to incorporate the theatricality and mysticism found throughout the character’s lives.

In contrast, Hellesto’s "Speaking Through the Flowers" is the story of an newly wed couple who have married within one week of their initial meeting. As their wedding night progresses, dark secrets are revealed that bring up doubts about their "perfect union."

Hellesto, a summer 1999 graduate in magazine journalism from Keizer, interweaves an interesting blend of secret pasts into the lives of the characters in "Speaking Through the Flowers."

"This show will appeal to most audiences because the characters are imperfect, and most of us have experienced love for someone, even though the individual may have unexpected flaws," says director Elizabeth Helman, a first-year master’s degree student in theater arts from South Lake Tahoe, Calif.

Also directing the dual production is Eric Lewis, a first-year doctoral degree candidate in theater arts from Springfield.

The production team working with all three directors includes scenic designer Ritch Ainsworth, a senior theater arts major from Salem; costume designer Beth Christensen, a Master of Fine Arts design student from Georgetown, Texas; lighting designer Tomoaki Sasamori, a senior theater arts major from Tokyo, Japan; sound designer Maiya Salazar, a junior theater arts major from Denver, Colo.; technical director Glenn Calkins, a senior mathematics major from Alpine; and properties manager Sam A. Super, a junior theater arts major from Clackamas.

Jamie Cannon, a senior theater arts major from Central Point, is the stage manager while Justin Love, a sophomore theater arts major from McMinnville, is the assistant stage manager.

The cast for "Ewen" is comprised of Andrew Beck, a sophomore theater arts major from Corvallis, as Dr. Jansen, and Cameron Carlisle, a law student from Eugene, as the title character, Ewen.

The cast for "Speaking Through the Flowers" includes Windy Barman, a junior journalism and theater arts major from Eugene; Daniele Ozymandias, a senior theater arts major from Ashland; Phillip M. Meyer, a sophomore theater arts major from Corvallis; Bethany Furzl, a junior English major from Eugene; Mitra Anoushiravani, a junior theater arts and political science major from Milwaukie; and Eli Levine, a freshman theater arts major from Portland.

Tickets for the show are $6 each for the general public; $5 for UO faculty and staff members, senior citizens, and non-UO students; and $4 for UO students.

Tickets are available now on campus at the Ticket Office in the Erb Memorial Union,
1222 E. 13th Ave., (541) 346-4363. New this year, tickets will be sold only on days of performances at the University Theatre Box Office in Robinson Theatre at Villard Hall, 346-4191.

For more information, browse http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~theatre or call the University Theatre Development Office, 346-4190. A taped message about University Theatre productions and activities also is available 24 hours a day by calling GuardLine from a Touch-Tone phone at 485-2000, ext. 2287.

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