University Theater opens 2017-2018 season with ‘Dead Man’s Cell Phone’

Youngstown State University Theatre opens the 2017-18 season with the comedy “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” by Sarah Ruhl, September 29 – October 1 and October 6 – 8 in Bliss Hall’s Spotlight Theater on campus.

Friday and Saturday performances begin at 7:30 p.m. while the Sunday matinee performances are at 2:00 p.m.

Adult tickets are $16. Special rate tickets are: $8 for non-YSU students, YSU faculty and staff with valid ID, senior citizens, Penguin Club members and groups of eight (8) or more. YSU student tickets are free with a valid ID.

Directed by Matthew Mazuroski, associate professor of Acting and Directing and chair of the department of Theatre and Dance, the show’s centers around the odyssey of a woman forced to confront her own assumptions about morality, redemption, and the need to connect in a technologically obsessed world.

The cast includes Mason Edmunds, senior, BA Film/Video, Poland, Ohio; Abigail Kremm, sophomore, Communications, Sharpsville, Pennsylvania; Theresa Leonard, senior, BFA Theater, Youngstown, Ohio; Elena Loedding, senior, BA English and Theatre minor, Sharpsville, Pennsylvania; Molly Lukehart, senior, BFA Theater, Mineral Ridge, Ohio; and Jack Rusk, senior, BA Theatre Studies, West Chester, Ohio.

In addition, Department of Theatre and Dance professional staff includes Scenic Designer, Todd Dicken; Lighting Designers, Dicken and Jon Zelezniak; Production Manager, Chuck Kettering; Costume Designer, Katherine N. Garlick; and Costume Shop Supervisor, Wendy Akers.

“This production will also showcase a major upgrade in the lighting system in the Spotlight Theatre that allows us a far greater artistic use of light and gives our students the opportunity to learn about this state of the art equipment,” noted Mazuroski. “We are also using a student projection designer who is helping to create the imaginative, visual-landscape for this production. Audiences will be in for a real treat with these quirky characters and delightful world we are creating!"

Season tickets are available in advance of the show and will be available for purchase during the run of the show. Season tickets offer a better value than per ticket prices. Call 330-941-3105 or go to www.ysu.tix.com to purchase show tickets.

Parking is available in the M30 Wick Avenue parking deck via Walnut Street for a nominal fee. GPS directions are 100 Wade Street, Youngstown OH 44502. More information is available by calling the Office of Community Engagement and Events at 330-941-2307.