6/20/97
CHATHAM, Mass. -- This summer marks the 40th season that Monomoy Theatre in Chatham, Mass., has played host to the Ohio University Players, a group of undergraduate and graduate students who annually spend their summers on Cape Cod at one of the country's few remaining university-run seasonal theaters.
Ohio University officials and alumni are planning a weekend of festivities June 27-29 in celebration of the 40th season.
Among the Ohio University alumni who have spent summers at Monomoy are MichaelJohn McGann, who currently is performing in "Annie" on Broadway, and actor Matthew Glave, who has appeared on the hit drama "ER." Fred Duer, who was a designer for the program "Fresh Prince of Bel Air," also was a designer at Monomoy.
Approximately 20 or so Ohio University School of Theater students travel to Chatham each year to gain professional experience in acting, directing, set designing, technical work and box office management. The process by which students are selected is extremely competitive, said Toni Dorfman, director of Ohio University's School of Theater on the Athens, Ohio, campus.
"It's a coup to go to Monomoy," Dorfman said. The New England summer stock theater experience provides valuable professional training to supplement the practical and academic work students complete at the university, she added.
"First of all, the fact they do eight shows in 10 weeks at Monomoy is unbelievable. It means they have two weeks of rehearsal for each show, and they're rehearsing one show while another show is running. It insists that everyone work quickly and skillfully," Dorfman said. "It's one of the most intense theatrical opportunities that exists in the United States today. They take no artistic shortcuts. No stones are left unturned to make these jewels. These shows are jewels."
During the weekend of June 27-29, Dorfman, former Ohio University presidents, President Robert Glidden and current administrators, the Board of Trustees, College of Fine Arts and School of Theater representatives, University Relations and Alumni Association representatives and Ohio University Foundation Board members will join New England alumni to mark the 40th season with receptions and attendance of the musical "Oklahoma."
The shows for the celebration weekend begin at 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 27-28. The season opens Monday (June 23).
The summer stock experience provides students an opportunity to perform classic works before a demanding audience, said Alan Rust, artistic director at Monomoy Theatre and a recipient of an MFA from Ohio University in 1973.
"The thing that makes this so valuable for Ohio University is that it's sort of the birthplace for summer theater. The repertoire over the years has been classical, and that's the type of material that is best for training -- as is true with any art form," Rust said. "The students practice the skills they learned at Ohio University on good material because the audience asks for that material. It solidifies what the students have been taught."
Among the former university presidents expected to attend the weekend festivities is John Baker, whose wife, Elizabeth, founded the Ohio University program at Monomoy in the 1950s. Elizabeth Baker purchased the Monomoy Theatre property in the spring of 1958 and leased it to the university for use as an educational training site. John Baker was president of Ohio University from 1945 through 1961. Mrs. Baker died in 1990.
Before the purchase, Monomoy Theatre had been a community arts center in the 1930s and home to a highly regarded professional company under owner Mary Winslow's oversight during the 1940s and '50s. Winslow's death in 1957 left the theater's future in doubt until Mrs. Baker revived Monomoy a year later, according to A History of the Monomoy Theatre by Robert Hannon Davis, a 1984 graduate of Ohio University.
Since their inaugural season in 1958, the Ohio University Players have performed productions every summer at Monomoy Theatre. The Ohio University participants are joined by guest artists and, on occasion, students from other universities.
Monomoy's 1997 season also includes performances of "The Crucible," "Life with Father," "The Odd Couple," "She Stoops to Conquer," "Angel Street," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," and "Romeo and Juliet." The season runs through Aug. 30. For reservations and other information, call 508/945-1589.
Editors and news directors: Media representatives are welcome to attend a pre-theatre reception Saturday, June 28, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. in the Monomoy Theatre garden on 776 Main St. in Chatham. Please contact the theater at 508/945-5985.