4
June 5,1997
Tan and Cardinal
‘Marcus is Walking’ takes audience on road trip through daily life
by Aaron Maitin
STAFF WRITER
For people who dance and
sing around their car, vow to
never drive again after running
over a squirrel or want to cause
physical harm to a inconsiderate
driver, the theatre department's
current show has all the
elements.
"Marcus is Walking," written
by Joan Ackerman, was
commissioned by Otterbein.
The script is a series of vignettes,
with each scene centering
around the characters'
relationship to the car they
drive.
According to Christina Kirk,
the show's director, "Marcus" is
about how people get from here
to there.
'Tt's a little examination of
our own lives," Kirk said. "How
we deal with the challenges of
everyday living."
Ackerman, who lives in LoS
Angeles and writes for the HBO
series "Arlen," has been
involved wifti the Otterbein
prcxluction since auditions.
Kirk has directed rrrostly
classical plays, and enjoyed the
. ___ . , . ,
An we tnen jetf 1 he six-member cast of Marcus is 'Walking* goes for a joy ride during one of
the play’s nine scenes.
opportunity to work with a
living writer, she said.
"It was exciting," Kirk said.
"We got a really strong feeling
about the characters from Joan.
She and I did a lot of
communicating by fax."
' Kirk said she received a
revised and new act by fax one
week before the show's opening.
"The actor got a chance to
work with new material on the
spot which prepared them for
what may happen later in their
careers," Kirk said.
The actors performing in
"Marcus" said they enjoyed
working with the writer,
someftung tiiat does not usually
happen, according to Kirk.
"We felt like we were
building the characters because
she was open to our input,"
junior Michael Faber said.
Faber, who has been in such
productions as "A Few Good
Men," 'To KiU A Mockingbini"
and "Catnap Alligence," sees the
play as dealing with differences
that don't exist.
"The play is letting people
kr»ow how simUar we are,"
Faber said. "I think everyone
/•<«»»
Arts
can relate to the scenes and the
characters. All the stupid
neurotic things they do aren't so
stupid and neurotic."
Senior Kathryn Felsenthal,
who also played in "Hamlet,"
"Trojan Women" and "A Chorus
Line," sees the play as being
about memories.
"It's about personal
experience," Felsenthal said.
"It's a look at all the trials and
tribulations of your time in a
car."
"Marcus is Walking" is
sophomore Amber Mellott's first
mainstage play at Otterbein. She
said the play's message is more
individualistic.
"I would say it's about
enjoying life, slowing down and
not letting it pass you by,"
Mellott said.
"Marcus" is also the first
mainstage play for sophomore
Nicole Hersh who wanted to be
in the cast because ttie script was
new.
"I had nothing to go on
becuase no one had played tfie
characters before me," said
Hersh. "I was setting the
precedence for my roles."
photo by Lor* WMhIp
Wild tide. One of the few moments the cast is out of the car.
“Marcus is Walking” continues to run June 5-8.
One of the interesting points
about the play is that there are 24
characters, artd six performers,
which presented challenges.
"Distinction betweai
characters was one of the biggest
issues of the production," Kirk
said. "We asked ourselves how
do we make this character
different without making it a
characture."
"I had been waiting for a
challaige like this," Hersh said.
"I took the challenge to heart. It
was hard digging into so many
characters, but the experence
helped me a lot."
The set also provided the cast
with .'idditiL>r.a! challenges.
"The difficulty and challenge
in 'Marcus' is that it is a new
play," stage manager Mike Foley
said. "There is no blueprint to
this play so we have to figure
out how to tell the story."
Foley, a senior, was stage
manager for winter quarter's
"Noises Off."
"I'he two plays are
opposties— 'Noises Off' was
tightly scripted, where in this
play the audience has never
met the characters," Foley said.
"'Noises Off' was a classic and
'Marcus' has no rules, which
allowed for us to keep our
photo by Lori WlmNp
minds open and room for
change."
Another aspect the show
that he enjoyed was the
attention to detail, Foley said.
The performers create a
different car for each scene
from a sled with a steering
wheel.
The keychains each
character has reveals his or her
personality, according to Foley.
For example, a librarian has 40
keys on her keychain, whereas
a confident man as a lucky
rabbits ftxit attached to his key
ring.
Music is another element
that was explored in detail.
Songs referred to driving,
ranging fmm "Highwax' to
Hell" to "Everydav is a
Winding Road," are played
during every intermission. The
songs related to the scene
before them, Foley said.
"The cast worked really
hartl to loine up with the
details of tlu' kinds of car their
characters would be driving,"
Kirk said. "Even down to the
color of the car."
"Marcus is Walking" opened
last weekend and will show
June 5-8.
 OHIO
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routiT mm hews
rOUHT UERHOH. OH,
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MfiY-29-97
OttMbein closes season with J
world premiere tradition
WESTERVILLE — Otterbein
College Theater continues its
four-year tradition of closing the
season with a world premiere
production. This year Otterbein
will present the commissioned
work “Marcus Is Walking” by
Joan Ackermann on Thursday
through Sunday and June 4
through 8 in the Campus Center
Theater, 100 W, Home St.
. The opening night perfor­
mance begins at 7:30 p.m. All
other evening performances are
at 8 p.m. and the Sunday mati­
nee begins at 2 p.m. Reserve tick­
ets by calling the Otterbein Col­
lege Theater box office at 823-
1109.
Written specifically for Otter-
bein’s audience, this new comedy
brings a fresh quality and fresh
ideas to the final play in Otter-
bein’s 1996-97 season.
Three actors and three ac­
tresses play all the roles and
there are different characters in
every scene. All the scenes in
Marcus Is Walking” revolve
around issues surrounding cars.
Coincidentally, Otterbein is pre­
senting this play just as the au­
tomobile industry celebrates the
100th anniversary of the inven­
tion of the car.
“It’s a wonderful comedy,” said
Director Christine Kirk, “but it
also resonates with issues on
how we view our cars in terms of
time and transportation and how
quickly we speed through life.”
John Ackermann’s writing career
began with poetry studies at
Boston University and parlayed
into work as an assistant editor
at Little, Brown and Company
and numerous journalist assign­
ments.
Ackermann began writing for
the stage in 1988. Her plays in­
clude “Zara Spook and Other
Lures,” “Stanton’s Garage” and
“Off the Map.” In 1996 Actors
Theater of Louisville commis­
sioned her to write, “The Batting
Cage” for the 1996 Humana Fes­
tival.
Ackermann also has written a
television pilot for Steven Spiel­
berg and two screenplays under
contract. A special contributor to
Sports Illustrated for six years,
she also written for Time, the At­
lantic, Esquire, GQ, Audubon,
New York magazine and many
others.
Sbe is the co-artistic director
of Mixed Company in Great Bar­
rington, Mass., a year-round the­
ater now in its 14th year.
In “Marcus Is Walking,” Ack­
ermann has created scenes that
involve almost every imaginable
circumstance focusing on cars in­
cluding people on trips and oth­
ers returning from family events.
Part of the energy of the play
comes from the romantic associa?/
tions surrounding such rcr^ ]
trips. A soundtrack of “road •
tunes” will accompany the play
adding to the comedy’s young,
contemporary feel.
In one scene, a man is talking
on his car phone to his wife as he ;
drives their son from house to '
house for Halloween trick-or- i
treating. Another scene will ad­
dress the issue of “road rage” in I
which minor traffic mishaps es­
calate into violence. ’
This is the first time Kirk has
directed the new play at Otter- i
bein. Her earlier directing efforts
at Otterbein include “The Royal !
Family,” “King Lear,” “The Tro- ’
jan Women” and the reader’s the- '
ater production “Otterbein Voic­
es.” She has also directed shows
at Actor’s Summer Theater in
Columbus, The Living Theater in
New York and the Arena Stage if
Washington, D.C.
 OHIO
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CLEVELAND, OHIO 44115
216/241-0675
COLUMBUS DISPATCH
COLUMBUS. OH
CIRC, 299.881
.SEPT-5-9G
«
}
TSy Michael Grossberjig
Dispatch Theater Critic , The script
tterbein College
O
Theatre has '
commissioned
playwright Joan
Ackermann to write a
.full-length comedy for its 1996-97
season finale.
. The Massachusetts writer has
had t^e comedies produced to
^claim in the Humana Festival of
American Plays at the Actors
•Th^^ of Louisville, Ky.
• “I’m looking forward to it,”
■ Ackemann said of the prospect of
working on a new play in an
iacademic setting with student actors.
. ‘To get a phone call out of the
blue, and find out someone wants to
pay you $5,000 to write a play, is
great People don’t usus^y give you
TOoney until after you write a play.”
Four women and three men will
play multiple roles in the comedy,
■whose action centers on a car.
1 not yet have a
title. bringing Acl rmanntothe-^ mostly positive^” Jlomer said.
A former s) journalist who college’s atte ion. “Some people are still worried
' has written ei) plays, Ackermann ■ - "V^tewo ed with the when they go to see something
nins a 60-seat .playwright a1 leff Daniels’ Purple that they know nothing about, but
iter company in
Great Barrini , Mass., and R(»e Theatre n Michigan. most people have embraced these
performs occ: bnally as an actress, V In the pas three years, the plays and are happy to support
new plays thi served as new work.”
Her three tumana Festival
Otterbein sea in finales were
premieres wej Zara Spook and
Other Lures f] "O), Stanton’s Anthony Clar le’s The Brothers
Ed Vaughan directed the first
three premieres; Christina Kirk,
Karamazov, 1 a Corthrcin’s an assistant theater professor who
Garage (1993 id this year’s
Catnap Allegi nee and Otterbein directed last season’s
crowd-pleasii The Batting Cage,
about two disi rate sisters who graduate Cart r Lewis’ Picasso controversial update of The
DoesMyMaf. . Trojan Women, will stage the
visit a HoKda: Inn in Florida to
'The new-pl y program has Ackermann comedy.
mourn the dt of another sister
but find reju' lation. begun to deve p a track record Romer expects a first draft by
for launching i orks good enough Oct. 1, with rewrites due by late
Cage is bt ig prepared for an
to thrive elsew ere: Revised winter.
off-Broadwa’ production and a film
adaptation. ■ "Versions of the illarvoe play have The Theater Department will
been staged at he Cincinnati have an invitation-only staged
“We are tj edtohave j
Playhouse in ti i Park and St. reading in early March and start
someone of reputation fot our
Louis Repertoiw Theatre.
fourth world miere,” said rehearsals in mid-April.
Dennis Rom. •, artistic director of Meanwhile, the Lewis play has Performances will be given
drawn the interest of five or sbe
the Otterbeii eater program, May 28-June 8 in the Campus
regional theaters.
Romer cr its Dana W^te, Center Theatre on the Westerville
resident lighj g designer, for “Most important to us is that campus. For more information,
crvi^ory Simpson OUT audience response has been call 823-^209. '
 •J5. in wruaiw •' .
' MarcuglgWalkingiOtbsrSfSn'&ifless 1 :
OHIO .w
Theatre, 8 p.m., Campus Cent^Theatr^ ' ;
NEWS BUREAU INC. 100 W. Home St Tickets; $104l^CM glsi^
CLEVELAND, OHIO 44115 in 823-1109. ',r 1}^ ^ULUyNSlkS ijp^ATOl
216/241-0675

DELflWfiRE GAZETTE
DELAWARE; OH.
Ftl CIRC. 7;900

Otterbein troupe closing out season

otterbein College Theatre is winding up its
season with Joan Ackermann’s comedy “Mar­
cus Is Walking.” The cast of six students play
multiple roles in the 12 scenes which all take
\pplace in and around cars. The play opens
onight and will be repeated Friday, Saturday,
and Sunday, and June 5-8 in Otterbein’s Cam­
pus Center Theatre. The opening performance
begins at 7:30 p.m.; all other evening shows
start at 8 p.m. Tne Sunday performance begins
at 2 p.m. Call 823-1109, between 1 apd 4 p.m.
week days for ticket information.
 NEWS & PUBLIC OPINION
June 4,1997

‘Marcus is Walking’
a scene from Marcus l! Walking -^r ^ *"
duction of Joan Ackermann^”®' Pf^emiere pro-
. of auto-centered sketches win ® ‘^o“®ct'on
' P.m. Thursday through SaturWal .P^^s®®ted at 8 ,
in the^^Cbfiip Campus CeS VeSre a '
St. A performance previouslv i ^onie j
been canceled. For tickets^cIS 823“flo2!''/
 OHIO
NEWS BUREAU INC.
CLEVELAND, OHIO 44115
216/241-0675

mm oispeicH
C0LUHBU3, OH.
Ph CIRC. 299,881

MRY-29-97

Contemporary American Theatre Com- ;

pany, 512 N. Park St. —j.Table Manners.;
through Jurie 8, $6-$2t;; for times.^and,
res0r;atlon8,-481^1O.
Living the Dream Theatre — A -
Peace, 8 tonIght-Saturday, $15/$20: Z2^'
’^^aln Course productions--^ the Wilf*th
Kill, 7. p.m.; Tuesday. $19.95 Includes _
t-' dinner and show; Spaghetti Warehouse,;
% 3800 W.';Broad \St.L resenratlons,
^0143 ^ ‘ ^
OtterbelnjCflliaoA.- Campuaf Center.
TheilFi, 100 W. Home SL, Westerville
Marcus Is Walking, 7:30 tonight. 8 p.m.
Friday-Sunday. June 4-8. $10 Thursdays, ^
$12 Fridays. Saturdays; 823-1109. " ” ■
Saunders Productions’ Cloak & Dagger.
Dinner Theatre, 1048 Morse Rd. — Holly->
wood Homicide, show and dinner, 8 p.m.
•.Fridays. Saturdays; $31.95; 523-9347..-■..
’ Shadowtxix Cabaret, 232 E. Spring St. ~
"Blockbusters'al t/te VBox, 8 p.m. Friday-
(sold out), Saturday; $15, $7.M senior
citizens, students; 341-7448. ; 7-
VI
 OHIO
NEWS BUREAU INC.
CLEVELAND, OHIO 44115
216/241-0675

PUBLIC OPINION
I^ESTERUILLE. OH,
W CIRC, 6,386

MRY-21-97
Otterbemfplannmgi/MarcuV’-yebutfS'*^
College Theatre-will present the,.commissioned
xj^^omedic work Marcus ls.]yalking by Joan,Ackermann!jyiay
29, June 1 and June 4-9 in the Campus Center'Theatre,*TOO
W. Home St. - ■ ' ’ ' ‘
«. i the opening night per(otThance begins at 7:30 p,m. Other
___8 j).m,,'with Sunday matinees aLr2 p.m,
^ To reserve tickets call siS-l l59^ ' *
 OHIO
NEWS BUREAU INC.
CLEVELAND, OHIO 44115
216/241-0675

PUBLIC OPINION
LESTERUILLE. OH.
W CIRC, 6,386

MnY-28-97
^ --7 ■ A ■ ' A 7 '“T —
ihme 4 ‘Marcus^ show u
Otterbein '• C6liege^haS.^,Canceled Jits ^'JuijieMl^h^ateiv^