MOORPARK — The Moorpark College Theatre Arts Department is proud to announce its upcoming production of Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov. This production will take place through Oct. 21. Additionally, as an extension of its ongoing youth outreach program, the Moorpark College Theatre Arts Department will also feature two free matinees for local high schools on Oct. 16 and Oct. 17th. This translation of Three Sisters was crafted with care by Libby Appel, who served as the fourth Artistic Director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival from 1995 until 2007.
Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters brings the hopeful yet heartbreaking story of missed opportunity to the stage. Set in a small Russian town during the turn of the twentieth-century, Chekov’s tale follows three sisters who desperately hope to return to their hometown in Moscow. While the sisters pine for their past, they lose sight of the present as their lives move forward, passing them by. “Despite the story’s apparent melancholy, Anton Chekhov always saw this play as a comedy,” director and professor Suzanne Fagan explains. “In fact, Chekhov was rather upset that one of the production’s first directors—the great acting teacher Konstantin Stanislavski—presented the play as a drama. But that earliest presentation is probably why Three Sisters was so well received—because it contained both the drama of real life and the comedy we all use to make the drama in our own lives less painful.”
The fall production is a continuation of the comprehensive theatre education program provided at Moorpark College’s Theatre department. Theatre Department Chair John Loprieno shares, “Our program’s goal for students who hope to finish and move on in two-years is to expose them to drama, musical, comedy, and classical productions during their time here. Of course, there is a trove of excellent material—new and old—to choose from for our productions. Moorpark College’s Theatre Department has never done a play by Anton Chekhov, who is considered the champion of realism in theatre. We felt it was about time we produced one of his shows.”
Tickets can be purchased online to save 20%. Group discounts are also available. For more information regardingThree Sisters, visit www.moorparkcollege.edu/PAC or call the Box Office at (805) 378-1485. For additional background regarding the Moorpark College Theatre Arts department, please contact Suzanne Fagan at (310) 367-5136 or sfagan@vcccd.edu. Moorpark College is located at 7075 Campus Road in Moorpark, 93021.
Performance dates and locations include:
- Friday, October 12th8:00 p.m., Moorpark College Performing Arts Center (7075 Campus Road Moorpark, California)
- Saturday, October 13th, 8:00 p.m., Moorpark College Performing Arts Center(7075 Campus Road Moorpark, California)
- Sunday, October 14th, 2:00 p.m., Moorpark College Performing Arts Center(7075 Campus Road Moorpark, California)
- Tuesday, October 16th, 10:00 a.m., a free production for local high schools, Moorpark College Performing Arts Center(7075 Campus Road Moorpark, California)
- Wednesday, October 17th, 10:00 a.m., a free production for local high schools Moorpark College Performing Arts Center(7075 Campus Road Moorpark, California)
- Thursday, October 18th, 8:00 p.m., Moorpark College Performing Arts Center(7075 Campus Road Moorpark, California)
- Friday, October 19th, 8:00 p.m., Moorpark College Performing Arts Center(7075 Campus Road Moorpark, California)
- Saturday, October 20th, 8:00 p.m., Moorpark College Performing Arts Center(7075 Campus Road Moorpark, California)
- Sunday, October 21st, 2:00 p.m., Moorpark College Performing Arts Center(7075 Campus Road Moorpark, California)
MOORPARK COLLEGE, one of three colleges in the Ventura County Community College District, was founded in 1967. It is set on 150 beautiful acres, nestled in the foothills on the southeastern flank of Ventura County, about 40 miles from UCLA, and approximately 75 miles from UC Santa Barbara. It is also a short drive from CSU Northridge, CSU Channel Islands, and California Lutheran University. Moorpark College was recognized in the Huffington Post in March of 2015 as the fourth-best community college in the nation. It has an excellent reputation for university transfer preparation, and its signature career/technical programs include nursing, radiation technology, biotechnology, and exotic animal training, which incorporates the world-renowned America’s Teaching Zoo. The college also offers a dynamic range of classes and programs in the visual and performing arts, and its pristine athletic fields and mild climate provide an excellent home for student athletes.