News Release

IWV Campus

Cerro Coso Announces Auditions for "Picnic"

August 18, 2008

The Cerro Coso Theatre Department is gearing up for a busy fall semester which begins August 25! Auditions are fast approaching for the fall production of William Inge's Pulitzer Prize winning play Picnic. The play takes place on Labor Day Weekend in a small Midwestern town. As the residents prepare for their traditional Labor Day picnic, Hal Carter arrives on the scene. Hal is a most interesting character, a child of parents who ignored him, self-conscious of his failings and his position behind the eight ball. Handsome and animalistic, Hal disrupts the group's plans and stirs each character to think about love and the extremes they would go to for love. Picnic is a theatrical masterpiece, sometimes amusing, sometimes heartbreaking, with characters that will continue to haunt the audience long after the performance. Sign up for Theatre Production (THEA C121 - CRN#70620) to be a part of the cast. Auditions will be held the first week of classes. There are many parts available! No experience is necessary. Sign up for Technical Theatre (THEA C131 - CRN#70621) to help out behind the scenes on Picnic. Performances will take place on December 5th, 6th, and 7th in the College's Lecture Center.

Cerro Coso is also offering a number of additional Theatre courses. Sign up for Improvisation (THEA C118 - CRN# 70619) to learn the basics of improvisation and be a part of Cerro Coso's "Who Said What Now?" Improv Troupe. Improve your acting skills in one of the college's four levels of acting courses. Cerro Coso's Acting courses include Fundamentals of Acting (THEA C111 - CRN#70617), Beginning Acting (THEA C112 - CRN#70618), Intermediate Acting (THEA C211 - CRN#70623), and Advanced Acting (THEA C212 - CRN#70624). Students in the Acting courses will develop their skills in the performance of theatre exercises, improvisations, cold readings, monologues, and scenes. The Acting courses culminate in a public showcase. Sign up for Voice for the Actor (THEA C145 - CRN#70622) to learn relaxation, breathing, and vocal production techniques to enhance vocal clarity and expressiveness for performance. Students in the Voice course will develop their skills in vocal characterization and the use of dialects. Cerro Coso Community College now offers a degree in Theatre. For more information about the Theatre courses or degree, contact Melinda Fogle Oliver in the Cerro Coso Theatre Department at 384-6114.

Fall classes begin Monday, August 25. Register online or in person at the Admissions and Records Office. On-campus regular registration is currently being conducted now through the week of August 25.

A full listing of Cerro Coso classes can be found through the College website - www.cerrocoso.edu/documents/schedule/. For more information on registration, financial aid, placement exams and academic advising services call 384-6100.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Joann Clark, Director of Public Information (760) 384-6230