WT Theatre to Open Season with ‘Strange, Funny’ Comedy

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — A dark comedy about an overreliance on some ubiquitous technology will open the season for West Texas A&M University Theatre.

Students will stage “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” by Sarah Ruhl at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26 and 27 and Oct. 2 to 4, as well as 2:30 p.m. Sept. 28 and Oct. 5, in the Happy State Bank Studio Theatre in the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex in Canyon.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and students, and free for WT students, faculty and staff with a Buff Gold Card.

“It’s a look at, I would say, the pros and cons of technology,” said director Echo Sunyata Sibley, assistant professor of theatre. “Cell phones connect us and perhaps keep the lonelieness at bay, but they also create isolation and foster distance. It’s a beautiful piece—strange and funny and dark.”

As the play opens, Jean (Avery Fedele, a sophomore musical theatre major from Andrews) finds herself annoyed by the incessant ringing of a man’s cell phone in a coffee shop. When she confronts him, she finds that he has died and, impulsively, she answers his phone and finds herself drawn deeper and deeper into his life.

“More and more people keep calling, and I think she just keeps learning more about his life and gets so infatuated with it that she can’t stop,” Fedele said.

Among those she connects with is the dead man’s brother, Dwight (Ty Thompson, a senior theatre major from Fort Worth).

“I think his relationship with Jean probably goes the furthest,” Thompson said. “He wants love, sees an opportunity for that, and just throws himself completely into it.”

Not only do Jean and Dwight get totally caught up in technology, but—thanks to the set design—the audience will, too.

“We’re playing with the idea of screens in general,” Sibley said. “The scenic design includes screens for projections on stage because so many of the characters are experiencing life through the lens of their phones or just beyond the veil that separates the land of the living from the land of the dead.”

Cast members also include William Nies, a senior theatre major from Amarillo, as Gordon; Morgan Baily, a senior musical theatre major from El Paso, as Mrs. Gottlieb; Victoria Ybarra, a junior musical theatre major from Austin, as Hermia; Mackenzie Cohan, a junior theatre major from Ropesville, as the other woman and the stranger; and Daniel Baggerman, a sophomore theatre major from Corpus Christi, and Lily Greer, a freshman musical theatre major from San Antonio, as ensemble members and understudies.

Student production team members include Oliver Folger, a senior theatre major from Levelland, lighting designer; Nolan Adams, a junior theatre major from Dumas, sound designer; Scout Burrus, a sophomore theatre major from Melissa, makeup and hair designer, and assistant costume designer; Allison Miles, a junior theatre major from Artesia, New Mexico, stage manager; Bella Bailey, a senior musical theatre major from Little Elm, assistant director, fight captain and co-choreographer; Branda Barnett, a junior theatre major from Wink, assistant stage manager; Violet Greenhaw, a junior theatre major from Sundown, house electrician; Boo Weatherford, a freshman theatre major from Amarillo, scenic charge artist; Josh Hodge, a junior theatre major from Amarillo, light board operator; Yvonne Legarreta, a sophomore theatre major from Friona, wardrobe head; Hayden Hall, a freshman theatre education major from Hereford, stagehand; Avery Norman, a freshman theatre education major from St. Louis, stagehand; and Ysabella Mireles, a junior musical theatre major from Alamo, front-of-house manager.

For reservations, call 806-651-2810, email artsboxoffice@wtamu.edu or visit cur8.com/projects/17516. 

Fostering an appreciation of the arts is a key component of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign has raised more than $175 million and will continue through 2025.

About West Texas A&M University

A Regional Research University, West Texas A&M University is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. A Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The University also is home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

Photo: Jean (Avery Fidele) gets more than she's bargained for when she answers the ringing phone of Dwight's (Ty Thompson) deceased brother in "Dead Man's Cell Phone." The dark comedy runs Sept. 27 to Oct. 5 in the Happy State Bank Studio Theatre in the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex on WT's Canyon campus.

—WT—