University Theatre Oct. 21, 1997 Contact Karen Scheeland (541) 346-4190 or John R. Crosiar 346-3135 EDITORS NOTE: Photo call for "Design for Living" is at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27, at Robinson Theatre, 1109 Old Campus Lane. EUGENE--Noel Coward's classic and risqué romp, "Design for Living," will open University Theatre's 1997-98 Robinson Theatre Season on Friday, Nov. 7. The production will continue Nov. 8, 13-15 and 21-22. All performances begin at 8 p.m. in the Robinson Theatre at Villard Hall, 1109 Old Campus Lane on the University of Oregon campus. Scandalous in its time, "Design for Living" is a delightfully comic look at the nature of love, desire and sexual fidelity. The play's story revolves around an on-again, off-again romance involving Gilda, a designer, Otto, a painter, and Leo, a playwright. "Love amongst the artists" is what brings this "three-sided, erotic hotchpotch" to a boil. Set in Paris, London and New York, "Design for Living offers Coward's titillating wit at its scintillating and sophisticated best. "Comedies make us laugh; great comedies also make us think," says Craig Willis, "Design for Living" guest director. "Theater appeals to me most when it's entertaining and provocative, and that's exactly how I would describe `Design for Living'--entertaining and provocative." Now a Seattle resident, Willis last directed at the University of Oregon a delightfully stimulating production of Moliere's "The Learned Ladies." "Design for Living" features costumes by Alexandra Bonds, a UO theater arts faculty member; sets by Greg Hoffart, a theater arts master of fine arts degree candidate of 3352 S.W. Woodward St., Apt. 1, Portland; lights by Janet Rose, a UO theater arts faculty member; and sound design by Anjelica Singer, a junior theater arts major of 2035 S.E. Troutdale Rd., Troutdale. The cast includes UO students Megan P. Smith, a junior music major of 1309 Aspen Place, Davis, Calif., as Gilda; John Sanders, a junior theater arts major of 7620 Haley Dr., Granite Bay, Calif., as Otto; and Mark Hayes, a senior theater arts major of 5428 N. Yale, Portland, as Leo. Other cast members are Joshua Favale, a freshman physics major of 5460 S.W. 208th Court, Aloha, as Henry; Elisa Morrison, a junior music major of 1210 N.W. Fernwood Dr., Corvallis, as Grace; Luke Hamilton, a freshman theater arts major of 2491 Blackburn, Eugene, as Ernest; and Rene Ragan, a junior theater arts and humanities major of 2706 Sorrel Way, Eugene, as Miss Hodge. Also in the cast of "Design for Living" are Greg Thorson, a freshman theater arts major of 211 Stanford Ave., Medford, as Matthew; Brian Henderson, a freshman philosophy major of 4751 Hillcrest Ave., Fair Oaks, Calif., as Birnbeck; and Rhaetia Hanscum, a sophomore theater arts and pre-psychology major of P.O. Box 3449, Jackson, Wyo., as Helen. Liz Sunde, a senior theater arts major of 27131 S.E. Haley Dr., Boring, is stage manager. Robinson Theatre is fully accessible for wheelchairs and also has a hearing assistance system for patrons. Free parking is available nearby in the lot at East 11th Avenue and Kincaid Street. Tickets prices for "Design for Living" are $9 for the general public; $7 for UO faculty and staff, senior citizens and non-UO students; and $4.50 for UO students. For tickets and more information, visit the University Theatre box office in Robinson Theatre or call (541) 346-4191. Box office hours are noon-6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Tickets also are available through the EMU ticket office at 346-4363. A taped message about current University Theatre productions and activities is available 24 hours a day by calling GuardLine from a Touch-Tone phone at 485-2000, ext. 2287, or visit University Theatre's Internet website at <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~theatre/>. -30- #P-2091/A&E