The Drama Department at Paris Junior College has announced “Raise Your Voice!” as the theme for the 2021-22 season.
“It is just a fun season,” said PJC Drama Instructor Will Walker. “We know everyone will enjoy the shows we have chosen – and maybe find a little courage to ‘Raise their own Voice!’”
After a year’s hiatus for in-person performances due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Drama Department is looking for students who will enjoy carrying on the College’s long dramatic tradition on the Duane Allen Stage in the Ray E. Karrer Theater.
“I have never looked forward to a season this much! We’ve looked forward to this one for two years and it’s going to be great,” said PJC Drama Instructor Robyn Huizinga. “I am thrilled to be directing ‘Puffs,’ which had a completely sold-out Off-Broadway run. It is hilarious and heartwarming, and is our first show for teens since ‘Fahrenheit 451.’ ‘These Shining Lives’ is beautiful, and I can’t wait to share that story with Paris. Directing that one has been on my heart for many years.”
Fall 2021 Productions:
- Oct. 7-10, 2021: “Puffs,” by Matt Cox, is a one-act comedy/farce for families of tweens and teens.
- This fast-paced romp through “Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic” will be familiar to those who grew up alongside Harry Potter and are eager to revisit that world. Puffs are a group of well-meaning, loyal outsiders with a thing for badgers. The play is not authorized, sanctioned, licensed or endorsed by J.K Rowling, Warner Bros., or any person or company associated with the Harry Potter books, films or play.
- Dec. 2-5, 2021: “1776: The Musical”
- The story of this musical is based on the events surrounding the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It dramatizes the efforts of John Adams to persuade his colleagues to vote for American independence and to sign the document.
Spring 2022 Productions:
- March 3-6, 2022: “These Shining Lives,” by Melanie Marnich
- Based on the true story of four women who worked in a watch factory in Ottawa, Illinois, the play dramatizes the danger women faced in the workforce in the 1920s, and the lack of concern by companies for protecting the health of its employees.
- April 28-May 1, 2022: Eighth Annual New Works Festival, Pyro PlayFest: Raise Your Voice!
- Pyro Playfest is a festival of 10-20 minute one-act plays in the theme of “Raise Your Voice!” The slate of plays is TBA, as a call for plays will go out in the fall of 2021. Playwrights will be asked to submit short one-act plays with minimal settings and props for two to eight actors. The chosen plays will be fully-produced during Pyro Playfest.
Ticket Prices for all productions will be: General Admission – $15; Seniors and High School Students with ID – $10; With Donation of a Children’s Book or Teen Novel – $5; and PJC Students, Faculty, and Staff with ID get in free.
Drama scholarships are still available for students in the fall and spring semesters. For more information, email rhuizinga@parisjc.edu or wwalker@parisjc.edu, or go to www.parisjc.edu/scholarships.
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