UWG Theatre Presents: Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley

Students, staff and the local community are encouraged to come out and support the University of West Georgia theatre department this month as they present “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley”just in time for the upcoming holiday season. The play, written by Lauren Gunderson & Margot Melcon and directed by Amy Cuomo is a sequel to Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”and isset two years after the novel ends.

            In the play, the Bennet family comes together to celebrate Christmas at Pemberley, as it follows Mary Bennet, the unmarried, obedient middle sister of the family who has grown tired of her role. As the play progresses and events unfold, Mary begins to discover her sense of self and even embraces true love. Audience members can expect notes of comedy, drama and romance in this rendition of the play.

            “The day in the life of a director is sort of on a timeline,” said Amy Cuomo, director and professor of Theatre-Playwriting at UWG. “The concept for the show is set early and the goal is to figure out the approach for the show. The design team usually gathers and talks through ideas for the show, which later leads to casting, rehearsals, and overall preparation for the play.

“For this specific show, we actually had a dialect coach because the story is set in 1815 England and there was also movement coaching in place for the actors,” continued Cuomo. Usually we work about five weeks out but for this show we started working back in August because of the dialect and went into full rehearsals by October.”

            The show is set out for opening night on Wednesday, Nov. 10. The following dates are the upcoming performance dates; Nov. 10-13 and Nov. 16-19 starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Richard Dangle Black Box Theatre. There is also a matinee showing for Nov. 14 at 2:30 p.m. as well. Tickets can be purchased for $5 dollars by students at the Townsend Center box office or purchased online. The Townsend Center Box office is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

            “I’ve been a director for the UWG theatre department for 21 years,” said Cuomo. “The experience has been great. I love working with my students, and watching them grow and discover themselves. It really is a lot of fun.”

Auditions for the next show “Heathers: The Musical” is set to begin Nov. 29 at 6:30 p.m. in the Black Box at the Townsend Center. Those interested in participating are encouraged to audition.