Variations on Falling

The South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) Theatre Collective presents the first staging of Variations on Falling at the Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts Black Box from Feb. 23 to March 3, 2024.

Variations on Falling by F.K. Jenkins follows three sisters who return to their family home after a tragedy to confront their shared past and decide how they can move forward. F.K. Jenkins is a theatre artist based in Tacoma, Wash. with playwriting credits that include Confessions at Knifepoint, Waiting for the Paint to Dry, A Thousand Ways to Be Wanted, and the upcoming Lies We Tell Our Neighbors.

The cast includes Laurice Roberts, Andrea Weston Smart, and SPSCC student Raessa Patterson.

This play will be guest-directed by Lydia Roberts Valentine, a playwright, poet, director, dramaturg, editor, and educator. Through her writing and projects, Valentine always seeks to amplify the voices of those who are often stifled, ignored, and marginalized.

Katie Vosburg, Administrative Assistant of SPSCC’s Humanities Division, will be joining the play as the Stage Manager and will be working alongside SPSCC student Alyssa Calais as the Assistant Stage Manager. Many students have helped bring the play to life by building and painting the set and working backstage including Anna Holbrook, Erica Jenkins, and students of Adam Michard’s stagecraft class.

“This is a unique opportunity for us to be involved with the first staging of a play,” said Dr. Lauren Love, Drama Professor at SPSCC. “Manifesting the world of the play with actors, set, props, costumes, and lights and bringing it to an audience for the first time exercises our imaginations and helps the playwright refine their vision. This level of collaboration emphasizes the ways production teams and casts not only interpret a playwright's script but also create a world through all of the layers and languages of theater.”

Admission is a suggested $15 donation at the door. SPSCC students, staff, and faculty are free. More information, including performance dates and times, is available on the college’s Arts & Entertainment Calendar.