Cloud 9 at Cornell

Mount Vernon - "The Department of Theatre at Cornell College is proud to announce the upcoming production of Caryl Churchill’s comedy Cloud 9. Directed by Janeve West, Cloud 9 reveals the ties of colonial oppression and the bindings of post-colonial identities through cross-dressing, gender switching, and uproarious laughter.

Cloud 9 opens April 26th at 7:30 pm in the Plumb-Fleming Studio Theatre at Cornell College. The production will run April 27th and May 3rd and 4th at 7:30 pm. In addition, there will be an afternoon performance on May 5th at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for non-Cornell students. Faculty, staff, and students of Cornell are admitted without charge with a Cornell ID, but encouraged to reserve their tickets in advance. Seating is limited so early arrival and ticket reservations are strongly recommended.

Written in 1979 and filled with time jumps, cross-dressing, gender switching, biting humor, double-casting and age-defiance, Cloud 9 offers an opportunity for British playwright Caryl Churchill to deploy painful satire in questioning preconceived notions of family status, gender constructs, social norms, and sexual roles. Drawing a parallel between colonial and sexual repression, Churchill sets her play first in the exploitative atmosphere of Colonial Africa during the Victorian Era, and then asks the audience to jump to present day London. Though over one hundred years pass between acts, the same characters continue their struggles to define, maintain, or suppress their true identities under the social codes and constructs of their times. Due to adult language and situations, viewer discretion advised.

Cloud 9 is performed by an ensemble cast of Cornell students which includes Felix Amanor-Boadu, Nolan Breard, Luke Brooks, Mallory DeForest, Fiona Flynn, Alec Hynes, Haley Karlson, and Lydia Meece. In addition, the production has been theatrically expressed through the collaborative talents of Costume Designers Jenny Nutting Kelchen and Sharon Somers, Scenic/Props Designer and Director Janeve West, Technical Director Don Schneider, Hair and Makeup Designer Tessa Cacek, Lighting Designer Tanner Stirrat, and Sound Designer Tessa Morgan.

  The public is also invited to attend a Talk Back for the production on Monday April 29th from 3:30-5:00 pm in the Bowman Formal Lounge on Cornell’s campus. Join the cast and crew of Cloud 9 along with Dr. Shannon Reed, Professor Janeve West, and members of Cornell’s Third Wave Resource Group for a discussion about Gender and Colonialism! There is no fee for admission and refreshments will be provided.

Come support Cornell Theatre as they end their 2012-2013 main stage season with a bang! Literally!

Tickets can be purchased at the box office by calling in advance at (319) 895-4293, email at boxoffice@cornellcollege.edu, or at the door.