Denison University Theatre will open its 80th season on Friday, Oct. 1, with the dramatic comedy “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” by Sarah Ruhl. Performances will continue on Saturday, Oct. 2, and Tuesday through Saturday, Oct. 5-9. All performances are at 8 p.m. in Ace Morgan Theatre in the Theatre Arts Building (211 West College Street). For ticket information call 740-587-6527 or visit www.denison.edu.

The play opens in a quiet café where an incessantly ringing cell phone is ignored by its owner. Jean, at the next table, feels compelled to answer it, both before and after she discovers that the man is dead. With his cell phone in her possession, she is inevitably connected to his quirky relatives and the bizarre circumstances of his life.

“ ‘Dead Man’s Cell Phone’ is a darkly funny and poignant contemporary play about the way technology both destroys and creates human connections,” writes Melissa Huber ’11 (Brookfield, Ohio), theatre major and dramaturg. “Fantastical, yet sharply written, Sarah Ruhl’s play navigates secrets, lies, memories, regrets, work, family, love, the afterlife—and everything else a man carries in a little machine in his pocket.”

Directing the play is Mark Seamon, assistant professor of theatre. Designers for the production are associate professors Cynthia Turnbull for costumes and Peter Pauzé for scenery and lighting. Theatre major Jennifer Messner ’11 (Aurora, Ohio) is assistant director, and theatre major Breanna Gordon ’12 (Mission Viejo, Calif.) is assistant costume designer. Vail Artist-in-Residence Chad Weddle, of Cincinnati, serves as fight choreographer.

Seamon notes that “Sarah Ruhl, in her distinctly peculiar way, ponders the connections we do and do not make with each other by weaving a delightful story filled to the brim with love, humor, and tenderness. This is a witty, intelligent comedy and a poignant drama all in the same breath. It’s a meditation on how we live our lives—and how we remember those who have passed on—in this age of technological obsession. What does it mean that voicemail, text, and e-mail messages have displaced face-to-face conversation as our primary means of interpersonal communication? How has technology changed our values, relationships and memories?”

Sarah Ruhl is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and is a Pulitzer Prize finalist for her plays, “The Clean House” and “In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play).”

The role of Jean is played by Elisabeth Giffin ’12 (Indianapolis). Others in the cast are Marjorie Kimball ’11 (Fort Thomas, Ky.), Christopher Kozlowski ’12 (Wilton, Conn.), Hillary Maloney ’13 (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Eric Stachura ’12 (Perrysburg, Ohio), and Laura Wilson ’14 (Bakersfield, Calif.). Mariann Bostic ’13 (Norwood, Ohio) is the stage manager.

Tickets are $8 for general admission, $5 for senior citizens, and $4 for non-Denison students. All performances are open to the public. Reservations may be made by calling the Theatre Box Office at 740-587-6527.

Calendar Listing:

CALENDAR LISTING, Denison University, Granville — Denison University Theatre’s 2010-11 season opener “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” by Sarah Ruhl at 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1, at the Ace Morgan Theatre, Theatre Arts Building (211 West College Street), with additional performances at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2, and Tuesday through Saturday, Oct. 5-9. Tickets are $8 for general admission, $5 for senior citizens, and $4 for non-Denison students. All performances are open to the public. Reservations may be made at the Theatre Box Office: 740-587-6527. For more information, visit www.denison.edu.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

Position Title

Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

Business Phone

(740) 587-8575