A performance by a fox, a spider and a raven will grace the stage of the McComas Hall Theatre Thursday and Friday as the Mississippi State University theatre program introduces “The Mischief Makers.”The play, written by Lowell Swortzell, involves characters Reynard the fox, Anansi the spider, the Raven and several other animals.
“It’s a story about working as a team,” theater coordinator Sue Hinton said. “The play also contains a good deal of multiculturalism, and it should be very visually interesting with the addition of the handmade animal costumes.”
The story revolves around the three animals who, after discovering each other on the same totem pole, decide to compete for the title of the world’s greatest trickster.
Senior theater major Patricia Morgan will direct the play. Morgan, who is recognized for costuming a number of successful plays including “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” has also directed a one-act play while at MSU.
Fellow theater student Madeline Siggins will assist Morgan in directing “The Mischief Makers.”
Hinton said the story is geared toward children, but all audiences can benefit from attending.
Although the upcoming performances will be the first time the theater department has performed this particular play, the department has performed plays for children for the past eight years.
“we’ve done children’s plays for about the past eight years, and schools from around the area bring their kids in especially to see the show,” Hinton said.
The entire cast will consist entirely of MSU theater students. Wilson Boyd will play Reynard the Fox, Olivia Bounds will star as Anansi the spider and Dawn Fowler will play the role of the Raven. Other cast members are Amanda Lopez, Ignatius Weddington, Thomas LaFoe, Javaris McKinney and Geribeth Anderson.
The theater program has been working on the play for a month, and Hinton said a lot of hard work goes into every performance.
“Any of these plays takes a month to six weeks, rehearsing every night, to prepare for them,” Hinton said.
The play will be performed early in the week exclusively to elementary children, and the Thursday and Friday productions remain open to everyone.
Ticket prices are $5 for children, students, faculty, staff and general public tickets are $10. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m.