Ƶ University Theatre Presents “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” April 26 to 28
The Ƶ University Theatre and Dance Program will present “Dean Man’s Cell Phone” by Sarah Ruhl, April 26 to 28 in the William Granger Ryan Theatre, Performing Arts Center, 100 Harrison Avenue, Greensburg, Pa. Tickets are $15, with student, senior citizen and group rates available. Call the Ƶ Performing Arts Center Box Office for tickets at 724-552-2929 or purchase tickets online at .
Performances: April 26 and 27: 8 p.m.; April 28: 2 p.m.
Jean thinks a man in a cafe is eyeing her. He isn’t. He’s dead. But his cell phone keeps ringing. She answers it, and finds herself on an absurd odyssey, intersecting with a strange person’s life and the meaning of her own. Winner of a MacArthur “Genius” Grant and a Pulitzer Prize finalist, Sarah Ruhl has a distinct comic voice that aches with all who are lost and living in a world where devices fail to connect us.
The 2 p.m. performance on Sunday, April 28 will feature audio description. During an Audio Described performance, patrons with vision loss are provided commentary and narration which guides the listener through the show with descriptions of scenes, settings, costumes, etc. in between dialogue or songs.
The Ƶ student cast of “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” includes Emily Vohs as Jean (a woman); Roman D’Antonio as Gordon (a dead man); Carolyn Jerz as Mrs. Gottlieb (Gordon’s Mother); Elizabeth Burns as Hermia (Gordon’s Widow); Jake Carnahan-Curcio as Dwight (Gordon’s Brother); Sofie Poborski as Other Woman/The Stranger; with Angela Kizel as understudy for Jean and Hermia and background character; Drew Minerva as understudy for Gordon and Dwight and background character; and Madisyn Faux as understudy for Mrs. Gottlieb and Other Woman/The Stranger.
The Ƶ student technical staff includes Alex Tompkins, stage manager, intimacy captain and electrician; Emma Corall, assistant stage manager, scene shop and production crew and scenic paint and props production crew assistant; Carolyn Jerz, fight captain; Tara Doughtery, properties manager and scene shop and production crew; Chris Brown, master electrician and scene shop and production crew; Kelly Long, light board operator and electrician; Colby Miller, scenic paint and props production crew assistant; Devon Young, scene shop and production crew; Mya Clay, electrician; Jake Carnahan-Curcio, costume shop crew; Peyton Corsetti, costume shop crew; Marissa Hotton, deck/run crew and costume shop crew; Penelope Zamborsky, sound/media board operator and costume shop crew; Tess Stiffler, scenic paint and props production crew lead; Taylor Humenay, scenic paint and props production crew lead; Gabriel List, scenic paint and props production crew lead; Larissa Walker, scenic paint and props production crew lead; Rachel Lamison, costume shop crew; Taylor Montalbano, costume shop crew; Sofie Poborski, costume shop crew; Lumen Roach, costume shop crew; BellaMae Stanley, costume shop crew; Sarah Wells, costume shop crew; Gianna Fleck, electrician; Roman D’Antonio, electrician and scenic paint and props production crew production lab; Savannah Kisiday, dresser; Kate Mccarty, dresser; Elaina Ciecierski, dresser; Tara Dougherty, scene shop and production crew; McKenna Yutzy, scene shop and production crew; Aaliyah Hallisey, scene shop and production crew; Andrew Minerva, scene shop and production crew; Madisyn Faux, scene shop and production crew; Theresa Gygi, scene shop and production crew; Stephanie Price, scene shop and production crew; Juliana Gorsuch, scene shop and production crew; and Saffron White.
The Ƶ University Theatre and Dance Production of “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” is directed by Daina Griffith, an actor, director and educator who also serves as choreographer for the production. Originally from South West Ohio, Daina received her BFA in Musical Theater from Point Park University and is a 20+ year member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA. After living in NYC post graduation, she decided to make Pittsburgh her permanent artistic home! Regional/NYC Acting Credits: Merrimack Rep, The Human Race Theatre, Kansas City Starlight, The Gateway Playhouse, Arizona Theatre Company, The Lion Theatre, heXtc, NYC International Fringe. Local Acting Credits: Pittsburgh Public Theater (13 productions), Quantum Theatre (7 productions), City Theatre (4 productions), PICT Classic Theatre (4 productions), Front Porch Theatricals (4 productions), barebones, off the WALL (4 productions), The REP (8 productions), Saint Vincent Summer Theatre (5 productions), PCLO (5 productions), Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center, and PMT. Film: The Dark Knight Rises, Where’d You Go, Bernadette, Hollidaysburg, Happiest Season, Mulligan, Intrusion, Tender, Pittsburgh Dad STREETLIGHT STORIES I & II (Deb), and the upcoming UNSINKABLE. TV/Streaming/Webseries: “Archive 81” (Netflix), “MANHUNT: Deadly Games” (Recurring - Netflix, CBS, Spectrum), “Outsiders” (Recurring - WGN), "[Blank] My Life" (Prime Video). Directing credits: The critically acclaimed sold out run of Merrily We Roll Along (Front Porch Theatricals), Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale (Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh), Chekov's Three Sisters (The Collective PGH). Daina was named the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Performer of the Year (2014), was nominated for the Carol R. Brown Artistic Achievement Award (2015), Named Best Actress in a Musical by BroadwayWorld for Grey Gardens (2019) and was named Arts Education of the Decade for Western Pennsylvania by BroadwayWorld (2020), for her acting studio, Griffith Coaching, LLC.
Professional Artistic and Production Staff includes Denise Pullen, artistic director; Karen Glass, set design and media coordination; lisa leibering, costume design and costume director; Ken Clothier, lighting design and projection design; Elaine Montgomery, costume shop manager and wardrobe manager; Caila Yates, technical director and production manager; Katie Borsuk, box office manager; Stacy DiPasquale, staff house manager; Lane Palmer, sound design; Michael Petyak, intimacy consultant and fight choreographer.
Venue Information: All Ƶ Theatre performances are held in the William Granger Ryan Theatre in Ƶ’s Performing Arts Center, 100 Harrison Avenue, Greensburg, Pa. The Performing Arts Center is a fully accessible and climate-controlled facility. Parking is available in four nearby Greensburg parking areas: the Bell Parking Garage on North Otterman Street (across the street from the Performing Arts Center), the Hellman-Ghrist lot on North Main Street, the Albert Grillo lot on Ƶ Drive and the Wib Albright lot off West Otterman Street.
Ticket Information: Single admission tickets are $15. Ƶ students (with valid ID) can purchase tickets for $5. Non-Ƶ students (with a valid school ID) can purchase advance tickets for $10. Students from any school can purchase rush tickets five minutes before curtain, subject to availability, for $5 (with valid school ID). Groups of six or more can purchase tickets at a rate of $11 each with a reservation and advance payment. Order tickets online at http://www.setonhill.edu/tickets by phone at 724-552-2929, or by mail at SHUPAC Box Office, Ƶ University, 1 Ƶ Drive, Greensburg, Pa., 15601-1599. Box Office Hours are Monday through Friday from 2 p.m. - 6 p.m. and three hours before a performance.
Ƶ University’s Performing Arts Center is 73,000 square feet of everything a performing arts major needs to move from student to professional. The Center houses two dedicated, flexible performance spaces, the Carol Ann Reichgut Concert Hall and the William Granger Ryan Theatre. The Center also includes a performance studio, new classrooms, rehearsal rooms and technical areas that include the best equipment for learning and performing, from Steinway pianos to the latest in lighting, sound, video and acoustics. The Center is located in downtown Greensburg, putting it squarely in the middle of the city’s cultural district yet still only minutes from Ƶ’s main hilltop campus.
The Ƶ University Theatre and Dance Program has a long history of educating performing arts majors for professional careers while playing a vital role in the educational life of the campus. Ƶ’s Theatre and Dance Program offers five full-length productions (as well as a number of shorter works) each year that generate audiences of over 3,500 and speak to topics addressed in courses across Ƶ’s curriculum. For more information on the Theatre Program at Ƶ, please visit www.setonhill.edu or call 724-552-2934.
Photo: Ƶ students Emily Vohs, Elizabeth Burns, Jake Carnahan-Curcio and Carolyn Jerz in a scene from “Dead Man’s Cell Phone.”
