WCT’s ‘The Other Shore,’ March 11-13
Cast of the WCT's ‘The Other Shore’
The first show of Wagner College Theatre’s Spring 2021 season, Gao Xingjian’s “The Other Shore,” will be streamed live on Facebook on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, March 11-13, at 8 p.m. (To watch, go to www.facebook.com/WagnerCollegeTheatre/)
Written in 1986 for the Beijing People’s Art Theater, “The Other Shore” was banned by the Communist authorities, leading Gao Xingjian to immigrate to France in 1987, where he lives in exile. The play was later produced in Taiwan (1990), Hong Kong (1995), Europe and the United States.
The “other shore” referred to in the title is the Buddhist nirvana — which, as Gao Xingjian’s characters discover, does not exist. Stylistically avant-garde, the play consists of seemingly disconnected scenes with no discernible plot or character development.
Gao Xingjian, author of “The Other Shore,” has been widely acclaimed as a writer, winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2000.
“The Other Shore” is directed by Professor Theresa McCarthy (WCT’s “Our New Town,” “Mouth Pieces” and “Trojan Women: A Love Story”).
“The Other Shore” features students Greyson Riley, Angelica Velez, Josh Romeo, Claire Dempsey, Hannah Davis, Aidan Leach, Bridget Yost, Sarah Ledesma, Marvin Moser, Joshua Piper and Nick Nunez.
The creative team includes Phill Hickox (production manager), Addi Neel (lighting consultant), Aaron Frongillo (scenic consultant, props consultant), Alexander Ullian (musical score and sound design), Samantha Rose Siriani (dramaturg), Brendan Flanagan (production stage manager) and Emily Lagace (assistant director).
This is the first in WCT’s lineup for a safe, socially distanced spring season. Next up is the Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt musical “Celebration” (April 8-11), which will be performed live and simulcast on ShowTix4U. Then, Choreography II students will offer “Dance Project 2021” (May 7-9), and Directing II students will collaborate with Playwriting students to showcase original student plays (May 8 & 9), all performed live and streamed on Facebook. Following that will be the satirical musical comedy “Urinetown” (May 16-20), streamed live on ShowTix4U. Closing out the season will be a live performance of the annual senior showcase featuring the WCT’s Theatre Performance Class of 2021 (May 14 & 15).
The Wagner College Department of Performing Arts is excited to continue bringing together new technologies with the traditional outdoor stage as its faculty, staff and students safely collaborate, innovate and look forward to finishing off an unprecedented season.
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