ACTIVITY PLACEMATS To Have State Premiere At USC Lab Theatre
Running February 27 – March 2 at the Lab Theatre.
By: A.A. Cristi Feb. 13, 2025
Witness a wacky wedding gone wrong in SC premiere of Activity Placemats at USC Lab Theatre, running February 27 - March. 2.
Kirk McGee's sharp-witted comedy takes us into the frantic backdrop of a wedding-gone-hilariously-wrong, as four members of the wedding party, led by a hyper-neurotic Maid of Honor, struggle against overwhelming obstacles to ensure the bride and groom's special day is perfect while dealing with their own messy histories.
“It reminds me of The Big Chill,” says director Lyle Browne, an instructor in the theatre program. “Four friends who haven't seen each other for quite some time reunite, and all the issues between them come back up amid the extreme pressure of trying to put on this wedding.”
“Some comedies are based on witty language or pratfalls,” Browne says. “This is comedy based more on relationships and misunderstandings. And even though it's an intense situation for these characters with the stress of the wedding, we're seeing relationship issues everybody deals with, whether you're in college or have been married for 20 years.”
Kirk McGee is a professional actor and playwright who has appeared Off-Broadway and on regional theatre stages around the country, as well as film and television roles in, among others, Are We There Yet?, Law & Order and Sesame Street. Among his other original works is the one-man “#MeToo Comedy” The Honorable Herbert Peabody, which performed Off-Broadway in 2022. This production will mark the South Carolina premiere of Activity Placemats.
In an interview with HollywoodSoapbox.com, McGee said his plays “present fallible fools who attempt to preserve their dignity while desperately struggling to overcome insurmountable circumstances... I always have a secret wish that after the show, perhaps over drinks, the audience debates over the thought-provoking questions, recounts the comedic twists, laughs their socks off at zippy lines, all the while declaring, quote: ‘That was hysterical. I learned something about myself and feel inspired to change the world. … But where are my socks?'”
The production's all-undergraduate cast and artistic team include actors Ben Doub, Maximillian Francis, Aza Nyberg, Rachel Vanek and MichaelMykkel Wright, and designers Will Barr (lighting), Peyton Fowler (sound), Melina Matthews (costume), Liam O'Donnell (lighting), Ricky Russo (lighting), and Olivia Wamai (costume). Jacob Groetsch is the show's stage manager.
“I think comedies transcend theatre,” says Browne. “They give us the ability to have a cathartic laugh with a group of people.”
“We watch videos about weddings going horribly wrong all the time,” he adds. “With this play, we see one happening in real time in the Lab Theatre.”
Show times are at 7:30pm February 27 – March 1, and 3pm on Sunday, March 2. Tickets are $10 and are available online at sc.universitytickets.com or at the door. The Lab Theatre is located at 1400 Wheat St. on the first floor of the Booker T. Washington building.
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