Photo Flash: Meet the Stars of UofSC Theatre's COSI at Longstreet Theatre

Set in the shadow of the Vietnam War, Louis Nowra's endearing autobiographical story begins as Lewis, a young Australian director, lands a job handling a group of inexperienced but colorful performers, all patients in a mental institution. Against surprising and touching odds, a motley band of players emerges ready to perform Mozart's Così Fan Tutte. But can they sing? And who speaks Italian? A madcap look at theatre behind the scenes, Così is ultimately a fresh, startling play about personal dreams, madness, ambition, disappointment, creativity and transformation. Così was adapted into a major motion picture starring Toni Collette in 1996, for which Nowra received an Australian Film Institute award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Although director Steven Pearson has staged the play twice before as a studio production, this will be its first full production at the University. Pearson says it's the script's strong sense of humanity that has made it such a favorite. "It's about the possibilities of the human spirit in a way," he says, "and it's uplifting in that regard. It has great humor, great sadness, and great understanding about how people work."

To help create the institutional setting of the story, Pearson has enlisted the artistry of third-year MFA in Design students Baxter Engle (scenic design) and Neda Spalajkovic (costume design), as well as guest artist Jeremy Winchester (lighting design). Currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Winchester has been a theatrical designer and director for productions across the country for two decades. He has worked with Pearson's independent Production Company, Pacific Performance Project/east, on New York City-based productions of the plays Flight, Gravity and The Water Station. "He's really good," says Pearson. "He has a wonderful eye and a wonderful sense for the dramaturgical core of the play and how light relates to that, but he's also sensitive to the dramatic action of what's going on in a particular environment."

Appearing in Così are first-year MFA in Acting students Donavon St. Andre, Kimberly Braun, Gabriela Castillo, Kaleb Edley, Kimberly Gaughan, Libby Hawkins, Darrell Johnston and Nick Stewart, third-year MFA in Acting student Matt Cavender, and undergraduate student Brooke Smith.

Show times for Così are 8pm, Wednesdays through Saturdays, with additional 3pm matinees on Sunday, November 13 and Saturday, November 19. Tickets for the production are $12 for students, $16 for USC faculty/staff, military personnel and seniors (60+) and $18 for the general public. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling 803-777-2551 or by visiting the Longstreet Theatre box office, which is open Monday-Friday, 12:30pm-5:30pm, beginning Friday, November 4. Longstreet Theater is located at 1300 Greene St.