William Peace Theatre Presents NOISES OFF

William Peace Theatre stages Michael Frayn's wild 1982 comedy, Noises Off. This fast-paced farce takes audiences on and off stage through the tribulations and trysts of an increasingly beleaguered cast attempting to put on a play. The production runs February 16-18 and 24-26, 2017 in Leggett Theatre.

The three acts of this comedy each concern the first act of the play-within-the-play, "Nothing On." The first act of Noises Off finds the cast completely unready for opening, missing lines, cues, entrances, and hopelessly confounded by their props. The second act moves the action backstage one month into the run, with mounting jealousies and growing tensions threatening to completely derail the show. The final act finds the production at the end of its run on tour, with cast members at their wits end as the play and their personal lives devolve into total chaos.

Noises Off is particularly tricky to stage with its range of comedy from rapid-fire banter to clueless characters, broad physical comedy, and precision timing. It is a true crowd-pleaser that has achieved an almost cult status among theatre goers.

Dr. Wade Newhouse directs this production. He earned his Ph.D in English at Boston University, and at William Peace University he teaches such courses as Composition, Children's Literature, Southern Literature, Storytelling for Simulation, Critical Approaches to Film, and American Hauntings. He has published articles and book chapters on a wide variety of authors and topics, including Sir Walter Scott, William Faulkner, Neil Gaiman, and The Book of Mormon. He is the Assistant Director of Raleigh's Village Idiots and has performed with that improvisational comedy troupe for over ten years. As an actor, Dr. Newhouse has often appeared on the Peace stage, playing such roles as Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Herr Schultz in Cabaret, the Narrator/Mysterious Man in Into the Woods, and the Chairman in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. He also appeared as Laertes in Honest Pint Theatre's Hamlet, Macbeth in Bare Theatre's production of Macbeth, Birnam Wood in History Stage's production of The Maltese Bodkin, and Sidney Bruhl in Forest Moon Theater's production of Deathtrap. In 2016 he portrayed both Vincent Van Gogh and his brother Theo in Peaceability's one-man production of Vincent. He directed William Peace Theatre's 2016 production of Twelfth Night and currently serves as the Interim Program Coordinator for Peace's Theatre and Musical Theatre programs.

William Peace University's theatre department aims to develop confident, marketable, and self-assessing artists who, upon graduation, are prepared to go to graduate school or step directly into the professional arena and exciting world of theatre.

Location: Leggett Theatre, 2nd Floor Main Building, 15 E. Peace St., Raleigh

Dates: February 16 - 26, 2017

Time: February 16 - 18 and 24 - 25 at 7:30 P.M., February 26 at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets: $15 Adult, $10 Alumni/Faculty/Senior, $5 Student

Website: http://bit.ly/WPTNOweb

Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/223216358087480/

Twitter: @WPeaceUTheatre, #NoisesOff

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