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December 5, 2007
Maedgen Theatre Back In Business
Faculty, students get the "Jitters" for a homecoming performance weekend.
Written by Christy Hammett and John Davis
The cast huddles around Phil Mastorakis (Shane Roberie) opening night. L - R: Amber Renee' Ward, Troy Matthew Lescher, Shane Roberie, Therese Louise Haiduk, China Young and Daniel Ballard.
Nearly a year after the first fire that closed Texas Tech’s Charles E. Maedgen Theatre, students brought the Canadian comedy “Jitters” back to the main stage for a homecoming performance weekend.
The farcical comedy follows a provincial theatre company and its ensuing domino-like disasters. A hysterical playwright, a diva-esque leading lady, a leading man with an easily bruised ego, a faulty bathroom door and a director trying to hold it all together, add to the mayhem in this funny and sophisticated comedy. The show ran Nov. 29 to Dec. 2.
A fire near the Main stage in January forced the theater to close temporarily. A second fire in June was ruled arson by the State Fire Marshall’s office. No one was injured in either fire, but classes have not been held in the building since January.
Equipment damaged or destroyed by the fires was repaired or replaced by a $1 million budget approved by the Board of Regents, said Fredrick Christoffel, chairman of the Department of Theatre and Dance.
“Repairing and replacing the old equipment destroyed in the fires represents a step forward,” Christoffel said. “It’s nice to again play in the friendly confines of the Maedgen Theatre.”
A fire in January 2007 destroyed equipment and forced the theater to temporarily close. A second fire in June was ruled arson.
Laurin Mann, an assistant professor of acting and director of the show, said she and the cast felt glad to be home in the old space after the theatre company took last year’s season from venue to venue.
“It felt like going home,” Mann said. “One of the nice things for this play was we were able to rehearse in the space as well as perform there. Since this play is a play-within-a-play, I was able to use the auditorium of the theatre as an acting space. The characters were able to come and go from the box office. The director comes down the aisle from the audience to speak to the actors on stage. We were able to feel the space out and use more than just the stage this way.
“Now that we’re back, we can enjoy the facilities we have. I think we’re more thankful now for what we do have.”
Story produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing,
806-742-2136. Photos by Cole Cantleberry.