Debut production of 'Forward' at Kansas State University portrays the significance of daily choices and their unintended consequences
Monday, Jan. 25, 2016
MANHATTAN — Kansas State University's theatre program will present "Forward," a new play on climate change, at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4-6 and 11-13, and at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 14, at the Purple Masque Theater in West Stadium.
Set in Norway, this new play by playwright-in-residence Chantal Bilodeau presents a poetic history of climate change from the initial passion that drove Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen to the North Pole, to the consequences of over a century of fossil fuel addiction. The play progresses backward from 2013 to 1895, and zeroes in on 40 characters whose day-to-day lives illustrate how the choices we make often have unintended consequences.
Directed by Jennifer Vellenga, associate professor of theatre and associate director-theatre for the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, "Forward" will feature a mixture of electro-pop music and drama. Events to meet the playwright and continue the dialogue will be offered, and a president's reception will follow the Feb. 12 performance.
Tickets are $15 for adults; $13 for faculty/staff, military and seniors; and $10 for students and youth, plus tax and applicable fees. Tickets can be purchased at the McCain Auditorium box office from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, or by phone at 785-532-6428. Fees apply to phone orders.
The following Kansas State University students are in the cast of "Forward":
Sam Massey, senior in applied music, Manhattan, as Nansen; Sterling Oliver, freshman in theatre, Marysville, as Sverdrup and other characters; Kristan Crawford, freshman in theatre, McPherson, as Eva and other characters; Tori Ptacek, senior in theatre, Russell, as Sigrun and other characters; and Jacob Edelman-Dolan, freshman in theatre, as Johansen and other characters, and Mark Young, senior in theatre, understudy for Nansen, both from Topeka.
From out of state: Nicole Casonhua, senior in theatre, Southlake, Texas, as Ice.
