THE PAVILION Opens at USC Lab Theatre, 8/29

Full Circle Productions, in conjunction with the University of SC Department of Theatre and Dance, will present The Pavilion, by award-winning playwright Craig Wright, August 29 - September 2, 2017 at the UofSC Lab Theatre.

Show times are 8pm nightly. Admission is $10 and available only at the door. The Lab Theatre is located at 1400 Wheat St. on the first floor of the Booker T. Washington Building

Hailed by critics as "an Our Town for our time," The Pavilion is by turns poetic and comic, romantic and philosophical. A twenty-year high school reunion reunites Peter and Kari, whose teenage relationship ended after an unexpected pregnancy. As the night progresses, a virtuosic Narrator, playing a host of characters, leads Peter and Kari to face the consequences of choices made long ago.

The Pavilion received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Play in 2005-2006, as well as a nomination for Best New Play by the American Theatre Critics Association. In addition to an extensive theatre writing career, Craig Wright is known for screenwriting for such television shows as Six Feet Under, Lost and Dirty Sexy Money.

"It's a play about time, showing a collision of the past, present and future," says show director Robert Richmond. "It encapsulates the message that the decisions and actions we take in our youth affect us for the rest of our lives, and, moreover, that other people's actions and decisions can affect the entire universe."

Richmond says that it's not all about lofty philosophical notions, however; at its heart, The Pavilion is a cleverly conceived tragic comedy.

"One of the most engaging aspects of the script," says Richmond, "is that it employs a great meta-theatrical device in the role of The Narrator, who plays sixteen different attendees at this high school reunion. We also have quite a bit of fun with the fact that the reunion is celebrating the year 1997. There's a lot of late-90s nostalgia for the audience to indulge in."

Cast in the production are Full Circle actors Jennifer Moody Sanchez (The Narrator), Andrew Schwartz (Peter) and Lindsay Rae Taylor (Kari). Nate Terracio is the show's Production Designer. UofSC students will fill technical and crew roles for the production.

Founded in 2016, Full Circle Productions is made up of theatre artists united in the goal of establishing a new professional theatre company in Columbia, SC. The company's mission is to present live theatre performance that is accessible for the entire community, educate the next generation of theatre artists, and facilitate the creation of professional opportunities for theatre artists in the Midlands.

For more information on The Pavilion, contact Kevin Bush in the UofSC Department of Theatre and Dance via phone at 803-777-9353 or by email at bushk@mailbox.sc.edu.

For more information on Full Circle Productions, visit fullcircletheatrecompany.com.

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