Marshall University’s theatre program will open the semester Wednesday, Feb. 17, with “Mauritius,” a dramatic tale about stamp collecting.
After their mother’s death, two estranged half-sisters, Jackie, played by Story Moosa, and Mary, played by Mandy Harper, discover a book of rare stamps that may include the crown jewel for collectors. A masculine trio (Ethan Lyvers, Remy Sylvain and M.G. Dalton) willing to do anything to claim the rare find as their own further complicates the struggle between the sisters.
Nicole Perrone, “Mauritius” director and associate professor of acting and movement at Marshall, said the struggle between characters manifests in violence and adult language throughout the play.
“There are numerous examples of combat interwoven throughout this story,” Perrone said. “Really, every single actor participates in the stage combat in some way.”
Perrone said students and graduates have lent their skills to the combat facet of the production. Recent Marshall theatre graduate Ryan Cardwell serves as the fight choreographer, and current theatre student and “Mauritius” actor Ethan Lyvers has been serving as the fight captain.
Lang Reynolds, Marshall’s professor of lighting and design, worked with Perrone to develop a flexible, more abstract space.
“When we work in our Francis-Booth Experimental Theatre, it gives us the opportunity to use the floor of the stage as a design element,” Perrone said. “I sent him a picture early on of a collage of stamps that were pasted over and overlapping, and that was a texture I was hoping he could incorporate in his scenic design, and he did just that. The entire story plays out on top of this stamp collage that anchors us.”