Press release:
Genesee Community College Forum Players Children's Theatre ensemble is pleased to present "Tales from Japan," a unique collection of traditional Japanese stories written by Patricia Montley and produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc.
Performances are at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, April 25 - 26, with a Sunday Matinee at 2 p.m. on April 27 in the Stuart Steiner Theatre at GCC's Batavia Campus.
The traditional tales presented in the show bring to life subtle and surprising aspects of Japanese culture. Treasure is discovered in unexpected places, beauty is found in all aspects of nature and even the most unassuming characters are heroes. The exciting stories feature a variety of interesting characters from an old woman using her wisdom and wit to save a kingdom from tyranny to a young girl fighting a horrific undersea dragon and a peach boy defeating the village monster.
"These tales speak to all ages. Because they are folkloric, they speak meaningfully to the spectrum of emotions and human experience," said Director Norm Gayford, English professor at GCC.
Special performances of "Tales from Japan" are also scheduled for students from area schools. Batavia, LeRoy, Geneseo, Alexander, Perry and Pavilion, and also homeschool students are being bussed or transported to GCC's Stuart Steiner Theatre in Batavia on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, April 23 - 25, for two shows, 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. each day. While most of these school group performances are sold out, there are still plenty of seats available at the public performances listed above.
"Our children's theatre program has always been very well received, and this year is no exception," said Maryanne Arena, director of Fine and Performing Arts at GCC. "Last year we performed for more than 2,000 people at our theatre and on location."
The cast of "Tales from Japan" includes: William Rupp, of Batavia, Kayli Wilson, of Canastota, Amber Lively, of Barker, Christian Hoffman, of Hilton, Kathleen Kwasniewski, of Alexander, Tony Heard, of Fillmore, Ryan McKenrick, of Rochester, Brianna Jones, of Batavia, David Wysocki, of Hamburg, Courtney Amesbury, of Bergen, Jerry Jordan, of the Bronx, Cameron Pollard, of Mount Vernon, Sania Hyatt, of NYC, Kaori Shinchi, of Japan, GCC paralegal instructor Karyn Bryson, and Jordan Griffiths, of Milford, who is also serving as stage manager for the show. Ali Scharvella of Copake Lake is assistant stage manager. William Rupp has served as Tai Chi and Katana trainer as well as mask maker, and Kaori Shinchi as language consultant.
Tickets for the show at the Batavia Campus in the Stuart Steiner Theatre are $8. GCC students with ID and children pay $3. Seniors and GCC faculty/staff are $5. GCC alumni receive $2 off with ID. Contact the Box Office for more information at (585) 345-6814 or boxoffice@genesee.edu.
For more information, visit http://www.genesee.edu/campuslife/arts/calendar.cfm.
