Clockwise, from lower left: Rich Richardson, J.J. Stopyra, Leah Ruggiero and Sara Cushing

Clockwise, from lower left: Kayla Vodacek (pink gloves), Leah Ruggiero, Sara Cushing, Enjolie Levengood, J.J. Stopyra and Rich Richardson (Photos by Alex Smith '12)

3/23/12

'Dead Man's Cell Phone' To Be Performed
At St. Lawrence

CANTON - The play Dead Man's Cell Phone, by Sarah Ruhl, will be performed in St. Lawrence University's Gulick Theatre Wednesday through Saturday, March 28 through 31, at 8 p.m. each evening. Admission is free, but tickets are required. They are available at the Gulick box office Monday through Friday, beginning March 26, from 1 to 5 p.m.

Directed by Assistant Professor of Performance and Communication Arts Ann Marie Gardinier Halstead, Dead Man's Cell Phone is a non-realistic play that explores love, death, communication and grief. It begins with the sound of a phone ringing. When protagonist Jean learns that the phone belongs to a dead man, she answers it, and enters his life, getting to know the stranger by speaking with his loved ones. The simple action of answering a dead man's cell phone takes Jean on a journey that teaches her about relationships and compassion, the way she wants to live her life and be remembered after her death.

Through her characteristically quirky characters, Ruhl reflects on technology's power to both connect and isolate. For instance, Jean states, "I never had a cellphone. I didn't want to always be there, you know. Like if your phone is on you're supposed to be there. Sometimes I like to disappear. But it's like - when everyone has their cellphone on, no one is there. It's like we're all disappearing the more we're there." But Jean also offers that, "When Gordon's phone rang and rang, after he died, I thought his phone was beautiful, like it was the only thing keeping him alive, like as long as people called him he would be alive."

Visiting Assistant Professor of Performance and Communication Arts Zachary Dorsey is production dramaturg and choreographer; Drew Maciula is technical director and program manager. Ann West '13 is the assistant director and Nina Hylen '14 is stage manager. William Newman is set designer and Denise Ritz is the costume designer.

Performance & Communication Arts website