Theater Coordinator Ronald Watson critiques actors on their roles for ”Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” March 25 in McAllister. Watson said he wanted to direct this play because it’s funny and the other productions this year were dramas. Deandra Gonzalez
Audiences should look forward to a contemporary comedy, the director said.
By Sarah F. Morgan
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
The theater program will open “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” at 7:30 p.m. April 4 in the auditorium of McAllister Fine Arts Center.
The show will continue at 7:30 p.m. April 5-6 and 11-13 and at 2:30 p.m. April 7 and 14.
Masha, played by biology sophomore Saphire Mendez, tells her siblings Sonia, drama sophomore Alexa Garza, and Vanya, drama freshman Ernesto Dominguez, that she wants to sell the family home during practice for the play ”Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” March 25 in McAllister. The comedy revolves around three middle-aged siblings, two who live together and the third who visits them at the family home. They argue, discuss new relationships and talk about selling the house they grew up in. Deandra Gonzalez
Theater Coordinator Ronald Watson is directing the comedy.
The play written by American playwright Christopher Durang premiered in 2012 and won a Tony Award for Best Play in 2013.
The play is about three siblings: Vanya, played by drama freshman Ernesto Dominguez; Sonia, played by drama sophomore Alexa Garza; and Masha, played by biology sophomore
Saphire Mendez.
Vanya and Sonia are the two older siblings who, after spending most of their adult lives nursing their ailing parents, sit at home in boredom.
Their lives are thrown in the air when their actress sister, Masha, decides to visit with her companion Spike, played by drama sophomore Greg Sokol, and sell their home.
Other characters are the maid Cassandra, played by drama sophomore Sabrina Polanco; and Nina, played by drama sophomore
Alyssa-Erika Gomez.
Watson and the On-Stage Drama Club attended a performance of this play May 2014 in Houston and appreciated the references to Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, he said.
“(The play is) just really emblematic of people who like to complain a lot but never really do anything about (their problems). And that’s what happens in most of Chekhov’s plays,” Watson said March 25.
The play has a lot of modern jokes and references that keep it fresh, Watson explained.
Vanya, played by drama freshman Ernesto Dominguez, argues with Sonia, played by drama sophomore Alexa Garza, about who should make coffee in the opening scene of “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” March 25 in McAllister. Deandra Gonzalez
There should be no issues with language as the play is set in modern times, Watson said.
“I just think this play is about human nature and how easy it is to be complacent … (We) accept life the way it is and do not take charge of our lives and create the lives that we want,” Watson said. “Although the characters are older, I think a lot of people can relate to that.”
Tickets are $5 with an Alamo Colleges ID; $8 for other colleges, military, or senior; $10 for general admissions; and $5 with a high school ID.
Tickets can be purchased only at the door.
For more information on the theater program, call Watson at 210-486-0491.
