Update appended
This fall, members of No Refund Theatre have two shared goals in mind.
"Our goal is to make Penn State laugh and cry," said Matt Davidson (senior-media studies) No Refund Theater President.
No Refund Theatre (NRT), the student-run organization that performs free, full-length plays every Friday and Saturday in the Forum, has a fall lineup that includes The Hours, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.
The season will kick off on Friday, Sept. 12 and Saturday, Sept. 13 with the eccentric two-person show Laughing Wild, written by Christopher Durang and directed by Joh Kirchheimer.
This is the first of 10 NRT productions that students have to look forward to this fall. Davidson said he is anticipating this fall because of the variety of genres that are scheduled.
"There is some classic theater and even some experimental theater," he said.
Johnna Scrabis (junior-English), an NRT director this fall, said in recent years NRT has produced a diverse range of plays.
"We have been taking on challenging projects and interesting new shows that we have not yet seen onstage," Scrabis said.
Scrabis and her co- director Sarah Burton (junior-journalism) are directing Waiting for Guffman, a screenplay that was half scripted and half improvised by the actors and is scheduled to be preformed Nov. 14 and 15. Although two former Penn State students adapted the film into a script, Scrabis and Burton made even more changes for the NRT production with the goal in mind to find actors willing to take unorthodox risks on stage.
Scrabis said she is searching for student actors "who are not afraid to get onstage and improvise and who want to try singing and acting, to have fun, and if they are willing to try it makes it better."
David Barchet (junior- accounting) said the beauty of NRT is in the group's ability to let students put together really entertaining shows with limited resources and funding.
"It's basically like little kids playing dress up, only with slightly more developed bodies and greater attention to detail," Barchet said.
Barchet added one of the more entertaining shows planned for this fall semester is the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, which will conclude the first half of No Refund Theatre's fall schedule. This dark-humored musical is also a hit movie, which could potentially produce a large audience for NRT's live performance Oct. 24 and 25.
The shows in the first half of the season, ending with Sweeney Todd, have already been cast. The second half of the semester, which includes Monstrous Regiment (Oct. 31 and Nov. 1), The Butler Did It (Nov. 7 and 8), Waiting for Guffman (Nov. 14 and 15) and Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf (Dec. 5 and 6), have auditions set to take place early this semester.
"Directors are looking for people who fit the part the best," Davidson said. "They should be dynamic, speak clearly and look comfortable on stage."
Davidson said because the audition pool has grown in past years, directors are expecting a large turnout of talent.
"Except for maybe literacy, there's no prior experience necessary to audition," Barchet said. "Even for leading roles, NRT isn't afraid to give newcomers an opportunity."
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is no longer the No Refund Theaters fall schedule because of copyright restrictions. A new show is scheduled to replace Sweeney Todd titled Lady in the Dark, written by Kurt Weill, Ira Gershwin, and Moss Hart. Melissa Goldbiowski will be directing the show.
