By Staff Writer Tighe Ratcliffe

With the second semester well under way, UMass Dartmouth’s two theatre companies, Theatre Company (TCo) and 20 Cent Fiction Productions have a lot planned in store. Whether it’s a musical, straight play without musical numbers, small time commitment shows, or watching horrible B-list movies, these two companies have something for you.
Both theatre companies will be holding auditions for their mainstage shows in the first two weeks of the semester. TCo’s auditions for the show Almost, Maine were held from January 23rd-24th. And 20 Cent held their auditions the 29th and 30th for their show Cabaret. Don’t worry if you missed auditions though, you can still have a chance to see the shows later this semester.

When asked about Almost, Maine, the director Josie Woolson, a junior psychology major and VP of TCo had this to say: “We do have some fundraiser opportunities in the works, but for now our biggest project is Almost, Maine. Almost, Maine is a straight play written by John Cariani. It’s made up of a number of short scenes dealing with love and loss, all happening on one wintry night in the fictional town of Almost, Maine. It’s full of laughter and light, with its poignant moments that will resonate with many audience members.”

The show goes up March 21st -23rd, so save the date because if it’s like any of the shows TCo’s put on in the past you won’t want to miss it. Besides Almost, Maine, TCo will also be collecting money for their Relay for Life Team later this semester. So be sure to keep an eye open for it when they have everything planned out.

If a straight play isn’t your cup of tea, and you like risqué musical theatre, 20 Cent Fiction has what you’ve been craving. As stated above, the auditions for Cabaret were the 29th and 30th. Cabaret will be directed by Trevor Faria, senior in operations management and the treasurer of 20 Cent Fiction, and the show will go up the last week of April.

The show is centered around the nightlife of the seedy Kit Kat Klub during the rise of the Nazi regime in 1931. And like with many 20 Cent shows you can expect a cast on stage showing you all they’ve got, and that’s not referring to the level of talent. Cabaret is known for its wardrobe, or rather lack of wardrobe.

So if you love what 20 Cent does with Rocky Horror Picture Show every year, you’ll love Cabaret!
20 Cent will also be doing their event Transgressive Cinema every other Thursday starting the 31st. If you are into watching terrible movies while simultaneously making fun of them, add this to your list of things to do.

Gabriella Barthe, the director of the 25th Annual Rocky Horror Picture Show and co-director of the 2018 Theatre Jam is also working on The Jack, which is a published art collection of student work from photography to poetry, short story excerpts, and other works of art.

And once again 20 Cent will be putting their second annual Theatre Jam! It was so popular during the fall semester that they’ve decided to do it again in the spring. If you’re unfamiliar with Theatre Jam, it is an intensive 24 hour event where participants write, cast, direct, rehearse, and put on a show. The dates have yet to be determined, but you can always go to one of the 20 Cent meetings that happen every other Friday (starting on the 25th) and ask.

Speaking of the bi-weekly meetings, if you ever want to join either theatre company, you can always attend their club meetings.

It’s a great way to become included in either company! TCo sends out when they have company meetings with their email address: umdtheatreco@gmail.com, in case you are interested in joining you can email them to get brought into the loop. 20 Cent, as stated above, have their meetings every other Friday at 6:00 pm in CVPA 101 starting January 25th.
And finally, it hasn’t yet been solidified, but the annual TCo/20 Cent Joint-Variety show will likely happen at the very end of the semester. It is a one night only show that the companies put on together. Students put on acts of their choosing that include singing, playing an instrument, performing a scene from a play/musical, standup comedy, and poetry. The past few years bands have even played in the show.
As you can see, there are a lot of cool things that both companies are doing this semester. So stay tuned, because you don’t want to miss any of these events!