Black Box 2023: Exploring Genre

We will be performing three short productions this year.

• Diving Hostas by Kelli Leigh-Ann Connors  directed by Noble alum Serena Lockhart
   
• Lucky Strike  by Harold Hardlyck  directed by Noble alum Griffin Gower
   
• Turn Around/ It's Constance/ Scotch…Neat:  a trio of plays by Kelli Leigh-Ann Connors (Festival Piece) directed by Kelli Connors.

A note from Kelli Connors:

The Noble Black Box shows were created with the goal of giving our students performance opportunities outside of the musical and in 

a more intimate setting. With this in mind the black box shows have always been chosen with an eye to stretching the "students’ wings,”

fostering a greater learning environment.

In the past we have explored drama as well as comedy, stylistically different material such as Commedia dell’ Arte, Shakespeare and theatre of the macabre, and recently we have done some work in the area of telling the stories of under represented populations.

This year the black box shows are exploring the question of genre. A play belongs to a particular genre because of its tone, plot, theme, setting and language. This requires different analysis skills, different approaches to the material, stylistic acting variations, and a solid understanding of the genre the play represents. We hope you enjoy our evening of popping in and out of different time periods and acting styles…and if you enjoy this sort of thing, even a little audience participation!   

“It’s Constance!”

Improbable situations that everyone onstage takes very seriously is the breeding ground for "It’s Constance!", a farcical look at psychics and psychos.

Turn Around

"I want you to turn around and tell me..." is what Bob asks of Martha. As we watch Bob and Martha’s story unfold we are struck by the things we think we understand until Martha actually turns around to enlighten us. Theirs is a story of selfless love.

Scotch…Neat

Fitting neatly into the film noir genre, Weymar narrates his own story while we watch the action unfold before us. But don’t be too quick to make judgements, in this 1950’s world of cops and femme fatales... things aren’t always as they seem.

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A note from Director Serena Lockhart:

“Dividing Hostas” by Noble’s very own beloved director, Kelli Connors, is an incredibly touching dramedy (comedic drama) that gives us a glimpse into a sliver of Estelle’s life. It is at heart, a play about relationships, both the lost and the found.  Set in August in North Carolina, we are invited Into the yard of Estelle Price, an old, bitter woman who has seemingly lost everything, including a bit of herself. She is outwardly impatient and fierce but as the play progresses, cracks in her armor begin to show.  A charming mailman, a single mother, a defensive teenager and characters of her past build an ensemble that gently guides Estelle back to herself.

 Serena Lockhart, Director

We started our school year with the musical “The Prom”. The students embraced the subject matter and the music, producing a very successful start to the year!

We continue with “Black Box 2023: Exploring Genre”. (see above)

This Spring we will produce the play “Clue”.