By Hannah Lathen
Photos by Kaylee Jensen/The Collegian
South Campus’ theater department will present Chekhov Tonight!, a compilation of Anton Chekhov stories performed by students.
Drama adjunct instructor Richie Haratine structured the different short stories and is directing them. He says he has always been fascinated with Chekhov’s stories.
“I just wanted to bring a short story form to the stage and see if it could be done and how we could stage it with actors and costumes and the whole deal,” he said. “I really wanted to play around with that.”
Student Scott Wild says the play is almost like reader’s theater. Some of it will be acted out, and some read narrative style.
“They funny thing about Chekhov is that all his stuff borders on the mundane,” he said. “It’s kind of like an episode of Seinfeld, where it’s so plain it almost ends up funny or awkward or weird. Each one of those stories kind of touches on that.”
Student Cheyane Hammel plays several different characters throughout the play.
“I feel like it’s a big storybook,” she said. “When you read stories to kids, you try to make each character have a different voice. So it’s kind of just like a real-life storybook.”
Student Victoria Nearn says Chekhov Tonight! is different from other plays because she is not just telling a story through acting but instead literally acting out a story.
“I like that it’s really challenging, and I like that the stories are very unique and really interesting,” she said. “I think we are giving them a lot of life.”
The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and will run Nov. 17-19 in the Joe B. Rushing Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are free for TCC students, faculty and staff, $3 for senior citizens and other students and $6 for the general public. They will be sold starting at 7 p.m. on the day of the performance at the box office. There is no late seating.
