theater
Valerie Bontrager / KANSAN
Lark Oxier, Lenexa sophomore, as Christine, reads over the shoulder of her sister Lea, played by Heather Lassman, Shawnee senior. The two are performing in the Inge Theater Series Pot Poira production of "My Sister in This House" that will start Thursday at the Inge Theater in Murphy Hall.
A house of secrets
Based on a true story, the Inge Theater Series Pot Pourri Production "My Sister in This House" portrays the bizarre struggle of two women.
By Cathleen Siechta Kansan staff writer
The play "My Sister In This House" by Wendy Kasselman has something unique about it. It's not that the performers are all females. It's not that two characters are driven to an incestuous relationship. It's not even that the play ends in two brutal murders.
What is unique about the play, which is directed by Rochester, Minn., graduate student Rodney Hehenberger, is that it is based on a true story.
"This play tells a really interesting story about everyday women thrown into extraordinary circumstances and put through extraordinary changes," Hehenberger said. "It's so interesting because this stuff really happened. The murders are insane, but if you look at the causes leading up to the murders, they make sense."
"My Sister In This House" is the first of three student-directed and performed "Pot Pourri Productions."
The play tells the true story of two young sisters who, after an abusive childhood, become maids in a French household. There, they follow the orders of two dominating women who do not allow them to speak for six years.
"In their desperation for affection, the sisters become incestuous," Hehenberger said. "That situation creates even more melodrama in the story. On top of all of their struggles, there's this pressure on the young women to quit committing incest."
Hehenberger said that the events that led up to the murder of the maids' employers depicted the empowerment of women by men in society and the ways that women find power over other women.
Pot Pourri Productions
Here are the other student-directed plays that will be presented as part of the Inge Theater Series Pot Pourier Productions. All productions will be in the Inge Theater in Murphy Hall. Admission is $6 for the general publicand $5 for senior citizens.
"Betrayal," directed by Martha Sanden, 8 p.m.
April 5-6 and 2:30 p.m. April 9.
Dinner Theater" and "Mixed Media," written and directed by Jalmie Carswell, 8 p.m. April 8-9.
"There are men's voices in the play, but you never see a man," said Heather Lassman, Shawnee senior, who plays the younger maid. "I think that men are purposely portrayed that way. It says something about the male-dominated society. The main conflict of the play is that the women are in such a structured and enclosed environment. The time period is the 1930s, the house is kind of the bourgeoisie class and all of the women are in very structured stations in society. And they are very oppressive stations at that, I think."
Hehenberger said that the play was excellent for a student director because it was well written and enabled the director to set the pace of the production. He also said that the characters were challenging for the student actresses, who bring out womens suffering and struggle for power, as well as the damage they are capable of.
Lassman said that the oppression was evident in the dialogue and that the small theater and set added to the feeling of enclosure.
"It is a very challenging part to play," Lassman said. "If you can remember what it was like from the time you were 13 to the time you were 19, you know that you go through a million emotions then. I have to take those six years and compact all those emotions into two hours. Also, my character deals with things that I have not experienced, like physical, sexual and mental abuse. Butty character has never known anything different."\
Jack Wright, professor of theater, said that the degree of difficulty in "My Sister In This House" was high for both the director and the actresses, but that the challenge was positive.
"It's a piece that has a subject that is hard to talk about, so it's good for theater," Wright said. "The more challenging it is, the more the students grow through the experience. It makes a strong, bold statement, and when that statement comes through, it's very rewarding to the director and actresses."
Although Hehenberger's production of "My Sister In This House" does not show the violence of the final confrontation between the maids and their employers, Hehenberger said that the impact of the scene was evident and strong.
"The Pot Pouri Productions are a scaled-down version of Broadway plays," he said. "We have less technical capabilities, but the performances are just as affective."
"My Sister In This House" will be performed at 8 p.m. tonight at the Inge Theater in Murphy Hall, General admission tickets are $6 public, $5 senior citizens, available through the KU box offices at Murphy Hall, 864-3982 and the Lied Center, 864-ARTS. Student tickets are $3, available through the SUA office, Kansas Union.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NIGHTLIFE CALENDAR
737 New Hampshire St.
Monterey Jack with Yard Sale, 10 tonight, $4 Mountain Clyde with Hatful of Rain, 10 p.m. tomorrow, $4
Common Ground, 10 p.m. Saturday, cover charge Yo La Tengo, 10 p.m. Monday, advanced tickets The Young Johnny Carson Story, 10 p.m. Tuesday, cover charge
Turquise Sol with No Left Stone, 10 p.m.
Wednesday, cover charge
The Hideaway
106 North Park West St
Danger Bob and Danger Prone Daphney,
10:20 p.m. tomorrow, power charge
Dali Automatic and Crutch, 10:30 tonight,
cover charge
10:30 p.m. tomorrow, cover charge
Salty lguanas, 10:30 p.m. Saturday, cover charge
Boys Life, 6 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday, cover charge
Rodan, Grifters and Panel Donor, 10:30 p.m.
Wednesday, cover charge
Ritual Device and Gobstopper, 10:30 p.m.
Thursday, cover charge
1020 Massachusetts St.
Lee McBee and the Passions, 8 p.m.
toward tomorrow. £5
Tenderloin with Ricky Dean Sinatra, 9 p.m.
Saturday, $6
Big 6 Sports Club (under the Eldridge)
709 Beachside Sh
The Blueshead Beggars, 10 tonight, $2
Full Moon Cafe
803 Massachusetts St.
Tim Cross Jazz Trio, 8 tonight, free
Tim Cross Jazz Trio, 8 tonight, free Ry Brown and Clark Jamison, 9 p.m. tomorrow, free
Mark Rasmussen, 9 p.m. Saturday, free Jazz Brunch with Michael Paull, 12 to 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, free
Tom's Tuesday Thing, 7 p.m. Tuesday, free
Bleeker Street, 8 p.m. Wednesday, free
STUDENT
THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
SENATE
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$1000 Gordon L. Woods
Leadership Scholarships
$$$$$$$$
Applications are available at the
•Student Senate Office
•Office of Student Life
Applications are due
Friday, April 8th at 5pm
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