Bethany College presents Skinflint

The Bethany College Theatre Department announces its 2022 fall production of Skinflint by Smoky Valley native Majkin Holmquist '07. The show will be a staged reading in Burnett Center for the Performing Arts on the Bethany College Campus, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 28-29, at 7:30 p.m. 

Holmquist graduated from Smoky Valley High School and received a bachelor's degree from Bethany College in English Education in 2006. In 2018, she received an M.F.A. in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama, where she is an adjunct instructor in playwriting. She resides in New York City with her husband, Cody Whetstone '08. 

"It was in the Bethany Theatre Department that I found the passion and the opportunity to start writing plays. It is such a joy for me to have one of my plays presented on the Burnett stage, directed by my first playwriting teacher, mentor, and friend Greg LeGault, Associate Professor of Theatre. I've had hints along the way of the beautiful work the theatre department is doing on Skinflint, and I think it's going to be something special," says Holmquist. 

Skinflint takes place "in a land destroyed by unfettered capitalism, rugged individualism, and toxic masculinity, where a person's worth is literally a person's worth. It is a nihilistic fairy tale about surviving a world that values a person only for the coins in her pocket and the meat on her bones." 

"I started writing Skinflint in response to the political crisis we've been experiencing these last few years—specifically, the erosion of human empathy in service to capitalistic greed. I wanted to express the deep angst I was feeling, but also had the itch to write a kind of dark fairy tale that was funny, absurd, and (I hope) extremely entertaining," said Holmquist from her Brooklyn apartment. 

Greg LeGault, Associate Professor of Theatre, admitted that when he first read the play, "I remember thinking, 'What is going on here?' because it is such a different and difficult world to go into. But as I read on, I realized that I was fascinated by the world and by the characters. Even the characters I was not terribly fond of ended up affecting me in ways that surprised me. Not an easy thing to do as a playwright." He continued, "The play is dark—I mean, it's a fairy tale but, as Majkin states, a nihilistic one. That said, it is also funny—in a dark kind of way. What really amazed me when I read it was how much I genuinely cared for the characters by the end. I think it speaks to Majkin's talents as a playwright." 

Four actors will be making their Bethany College Theatre debut, including Morgan Hiebert (Elementary Education, Newton, KS), Grace Ladner (Music Performance, Lawrence, KS), Riley Nickel (Music, Colwich, KS), and Emily Rude, Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology. Rounding out the cast are Maya Herrera (Vocal Music Education, Brighton, CO), Caleb Hildebrand (History-Political Science, Sapulpa, OK), and Ben Turner (Secondary Education and Social Science, Peyton, CO). "To put it quite simply, I'm having a ball working with this cast," said Legault. 

Eric Johnson and Indigo Guise (Digital Art, Salina, KS) oversee lighting and sound designs. 

Because the performance is a staged reading, the actors will have scripts, and there is minimal movement and elements of the set, costumes, and props. Skinflint will be performed "in the round"—actors and audience share the Burnett stage requiring limited seating of 45 to 50 per night. 

"I love theatre in the round because it takes what is so unique and wonderful about theatre, the actor-audience relationship, and heightens it, puts it in a sort of dramatic crucible in which, to borrow from one definition, these two essential elements—audience and performers—are put together in this intimate space, and something new and quite wonderful is created," says LeGault 

Tyler Atkinson, Associate Professor of Religion, has composed an original score to accompany the performance. The music will serve as a thematic bridge between scenes and underscore the action. 

"Having never composed a score of any kind, I was both excited and honored to be entrusted with the task of developing musical themes to accompany the staged reading of this gripping and timely play," explains Atkinson. "Having previously written songs with lyrics as well as some instrumental pieces, I had to enter a different mode here, one that required me to capture the post-apocalyptic mood without getting in the way of the drama. Thankfully, the pedal steel guitar is well suited for conjuring the eerie and the ethereal, sitting comfortably in the background even as it gives listeners all the 'feels.' I hope these simple ideas enhance and deepen the audience's experience of Skinflint." 

There will be a talkback session following both performances, during which audience members may engage with the playwright and performers. 

Due to mature themes and subject matter, Skinflint is recommended for audiences aged 14 and older. 

General admission tickets are $5.00 at the performance. There is no admission charge for Bethany College students, staff, and faculty. Seating is limited to 45 to 50 per performance, so those wishing to attend are urged to arrive at Burnett Center early. 

For further information, contact Prof. Greg LeGault at 785-227-3380 x. 8257 or legaultg@bethanylb.edu 

Bethany College, established by Swedish Lutheran immigrants in 1881, is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The mission of Bethany College is to educate, develop, and challenge individuals to reach for truth and excellence as they lead lives of faith, learning, and service. At Bethany, students join a community of dedicated educators and caring mentors who walk alongside them as they discover, explore, and navigate the path to their purpose. Bethany College is online at bethanylb.edu and is located in Lindsborg, Kansas, the fine arts and crafts capital of the state. 

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