OCC Rep gets ‘Earnest’ about its productions

Tom Titus

It seemed like a good idea at the time, and it’s gotten even

better. Eighteen years ago, Orange Coast College’s Theatre Department

came up with the concept of a student repertory company, in which

students would run the show under faculty advisement, handling all

the directing, designing, costuming, technical and producing

assignments.

In the beginning, this project was limited to one-acts and,

occasionally, a full-length play staged by one of OCC’s advanced

students. The current season is barely two months old and the OCC

Repertory Theatre Company is putting its second full-length

production on the boards with the opening this weekend of Oscar

Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

Earlier this season, students Angel Correa and Angela Lopez teamed

up to co-direct and co-star in Jane Martin’s “Jack and Jill,” a

bittersweet comedy about romance. And not long ago there was David

Mamet’s “Oleanna,” another two-character play skillfully presented.

“The Rep has become the proving ground for many up-and-coming

professional theater people,” faculty advisor Rick Golson says. “In

its 18 years of existence, the company has become a respected

educational theater force that allows students to be completely

creative. Students regularly have an opportunity to try their wings

in all aspects of theater.”

Many of the Repertory shows, Golson adds, are not only directed by

students but written by them. The upcoming “Ten or Less” series of

student-directed short plays, each running no longer than 10 minutes,

fall into that category. The one-acts open Nov. 1 for two weekends.

“The Importance of Being Earnest,” directed by OCC student Andrew

Vonderschmitt, is more than a century old, first presented in 1895 at

the St. James Theater in London. It’s become one of the most

performed works ever written in the English language.

Wilde himself once wrote of the play, “It is exquisitely trivial,

a delicate bubble of fancy, and it has its philosophy -- that we

should treat all the trivial things of life seriously and all the

serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality.”

The OCC cast includes Sen Engard, Nancy Troia, Emily Rued, Raine

Hambly, Travis Woods, Michael Cavinder, Sean F. Gray, Ann Gray,

Justin Ross and David Reider.

“Earnest” opened Friday evening in the college’s Drama Lab Studio

and will be presented tonight at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m. and

next weekend on the same schedule. The show was originally ticketed

only for one weekend, but has been extended to the normal OCC

two-weekend engagement.

As for the “Ten or Less” series, those playlets will be staged

Nov. 1 to 3 and 8 to 10 in the Studio. Some are original, others were

penned by recognized playwrights. All will be student directed.

Ticket sales alone can’t completely support the OCC theater

projects, which is why the college’s Theatre Department will be

holding a costume sale Monday and Tuesday to raise money to support

the OCC Repertory Theatre Company. The sale is scheduled from 11:30

a.m. to 4 p.m. in the courtyard between OCC’s Music Building and the

Robert B. Moore Theatre.

“Prices will be extremely cheap,” promises Cynthia Corley, OCC’s

costumer and assistant theater arts professor. “We have lots of

wonderful costumes that have been used over the years in many

different Orange Coast College productions.”

For details on “The Importance of Being Earnest,” the “Ten or

Less” one-acts or the costume sale, call OCC at (714) 432-5640. Dial

ext. 1 for ticket reservations.

* TOM TITUS writes about and reviews local theater for the Daily

Pilot. His reviews appear Thursdays and Saturdays.