EUGENE–University Theatre will open its Second Season series on Oct. 28 with Marguerite Duras’ "India Song" in a production that will stimulate all the senses.

Performances, all at 8 p.m., will continue on Oct. 29—31 and Nov. 5—7, at the Arena Theatre in Room 104 of Villard Hall, 1109 Old Campus Lane on the University of Oregon campus. There will be no late seating. Free parking is available nearby in the lot at East 11th Avenue and Kincaid Street.

Director Melanie Moseley, a master’s degree student in theater arts from Palo Alto, Calif., has planned a sumptuous staging of the 1973 play that includes a heavy focus on dance and visual imagery as well as evocative scents and even tastes for the audience.

The story, set against a backdrop of famine, is of a love affair that takes place in India in the 1930s during the summer monsoon season. Moseley chose this play because it "appealed to her on personal and artistic levels by combining musicality, movement and dream imagery with social and class issues from a woman’s perspective."

Moseley says that she hopes to "entwine the elements of text, music, dance, sound and smell to create a unique theatrical environment, and to provide the audience with a total sensory experience through live theater."

In addition to stimulating the senses, this production will have non-traditional seating. Half of the seating will be on pillows on the floor.

Jennifer Knight-Dills, a graduate student in dance from San Luis Obispo, Calif., is choreographing the production as a thesis project. The collaboration of Moseley and Knight-Dills is especially exciting, as the departments of dance and theater do not often overlap in productions. The music in the play, some of it composed specifically for this production, will be performed live.

The artistic staff includes set designer Chris Wooten, a graduate student in theater arts from Columbia, Mo.; costume designers Dave Royer, a senior theater arts student from Portland, and Jessica Grindell, a junior theater arts major from Portland; and sound designer Megan Smith, a senior majoring in music and theater arts from Davis, Calif.

Stage manager is Jackie Jocobus, a sophomore in theater arts from Walnut Creek, Calif.; assistant stage manager is Rob Stockton, a senior in theater arts from Klamath Falls; and properties manager is Sabrina Bernasconi, a senior in theater arts from San Bruno, Calif.

The cast features Luke Hamilton, a junior in theater arts from Eugene; Scott Vogel, a junior in theater arts and psychology from Grants Pass; Bridie Harrington a senior in theater arts from Lake Oswego; Jeff Gilbert, a junior pre-medicine student from Portland; Celeste Towner, a sophomore in international studies from Portland; and Minnie Goode, a sophomore in theater arts from Tigard.

Others in the cast are Holly Thomas, a senior in theater arts from Eagle River, Alaska; Paige McKinney a senior in dance from Juneau, Alaska; John Sanders, a senior in theater arts from Granite Bay, Calif.; Michael Blomgren, a sophomore in theater arts from Los Angeles, Calif.; Dave Royer, a junior in theater arts from Lynnwood, Calif.; and Rachel Aanestad, a senior in theater arts and architecture from Ketchum, Idaho.

Ticket prices for "India Song" are $6 for the general public; $5 for UO faculty and staff, senior citizens and non-UO students; and $3 for UO students. All seats are general admission.

For tickets and more information, visit the University Theatre box office in the lobby of Robinson Theatre at Villard Hall, or call (541) 346-4191. Box office hours are noon—6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon—8:15 p.m. on performance days. Tickets also are available at the Erb Memorial Union ticket office, 346-4363.

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