Concordia University, Nebraska’s theatre department will present a wide range of performances during the spring semester, including a full-length feature production, a one-act play festival, a variety of improv shows and more.  

This semester’s mainstage is “Wit” by Margaret Edson. The show is centered around English professor Vivian Bearer who is diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer and agrees to undergo experiential treatment. The work follows her journey through that process with medical staff who showcase varying degrees of care and consideration of her both as a human being and as research for their scientific study. It also follows her personal journey as she learns that it is okay for her to feel and express emotion, which is something she has avoided for most of her life because she has been so caught up in work that doesn’t ask her to feel, only to observe.  

Director and Professor of Communication and Theatre Arts Bryan Moore said, “It’s a heavy show, but I felt that it was important to look at these stories that talk about how we should treat each other in moments like this, as well as how we should care for ourselves and to allow ourselves to feel and to reflect while we can.” 

The work is Edson’s first and only work, and it won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1999. The show will be presented in the Black Box Theatre in the Borland Center for Music and Theatre from March 27-29. Showtimes are 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. on Sunday.  

Senior Andrew Ring is William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” as his senior capstone project. The show will be performed April 22 – April 25 in the quad in front of the “Son of Man Be Free” statue. Performances will start at 5 p.m. 

Ring is directing the show, building the stage, working with costumes and dealing with the literature.  

“I am incorporating everything that is taught here – basic acting, basic character, etc. into my capstone. It’s kind of like figuring it all out and applying everything that I know,” he said.  

“I am incorporating everything that is taught here – basic acting, basic character, etc. into my capstone. It’s kind of like figuring it all out and applying everything that I know.”

Ring chose a Shakespeare play because he has been working with his works since middle school and loves it.  

“’Much Ado About Nothing’ is such a timeless classic,” he said. “If you’ve seen ‘The Parent Trap,’ it’s a very close representation where two former lovers who kind of hate each other now are thrown into these scenarios where they fall in love again. They are fun characters that really let the actors have so much fun with them and go in directions that they wouldn’t get to go in other shows.” 

The One-Act Play Festival will take place from Thursday, April 16 through Saturday, April 18 in the Borland Black Box Theatre.  

Director of “First Impressions” Sara Erikson said, “As a participant in the last three One-Act Play Festivals here at Concordia, I am thrilled by the opportunity to be directing my first one act play. My favorite part of the One-Act Festival is working with people who have never been involved in theatre before or have little previous experience in theatre. I love being able to work alongside them and expand their horizons while they also offer me opportunities to learn from them.” 

The IMPROVables held their annual 24-hour IMPROVathon in Janzow Campus Center on Friday, February 23. They will continue to meet throughout the spring on Tuesday and Thursday nights 8:30 – 10 p.m. Rehearsals are open to the campus communituy to observe or to join. The IMPROVables final spring performance will be the annual long-form show on May 1. The long-form show is a 45-minute improv game, where the cast must improvise a continuous story line with various scenes until the timer runs out and the scene comes to an end.  

“I am so incredibly excited for the long-form show,” said IMPROVable member Jason Church. “The long form practices we do leading up to it are so much fun. It’s probably my favorite time to be in improv.” 

Student Involvement 

Wit 

Vivian Bearing: Mary Pieper, Algonquin, Illinois 

Dr. Kelekian: Duncan Carrasco, Sidney, Nebraska 

Jason Posner: Aydan Toth, Surprise, Arizona 

Susie Monahan: Mackenzie Schepmann, Macomb, Michigan 

E.M. Ashford: Sarah Stepp, Lincoln, Nebraska 

Mr. Bearing: Duncan Carrasco 

Ensemble: Delaney Baker, Lincoln, Nebraska; Emily Hunt, Gig Harbor, Washington; Madeline Kearns, St. Charles, Missouri; Paige Schuster, Gervais, Oregon; Kristen Welling, Atkinson, Nebraska; Mi-Ree Zwick, Minden, Nebraska 

Director: Prof. Bryan Moore 

Assistant Director: Claire Horacek, Papillion, Nebraska 

Stage Manager: Abigail Braun, Ypsilanti, Michigan 

Scenery: Natasha Tupper (designer, staff), Andrew Ring (crew), Bismarck, North Dakota 

Costume: Becky Snyder (staff), Claire Horacek, Mary Pieper, Paige Schuster 

Lighting: Emma Fiala, Herculaneum, Missouri; Vaclav Fiala, Herculaneum, Missouri 

Sound: Daniel Ascher, Sioux Falls, South Dakota 

Much Ado About Nothing 

Don Pedro: Cayden Carrasco, Sidney, Nebraska 

Don John: Mason Lockwood, Palmer, Nebraska 

Claudio: Jason Church, Auburn, Washington 

Benedick: Joshua Nikodym, Grand Island, Nebraska 

Leonata: Catherine Vyhlidal, Morse Bluff, Nebraska 

Hero: Aubrey Burmeister, Albuquerque, New Mexico 

Beatrice: Claire Horacek 

Margaret/Sexton: Marieka Kaufman, Milwaukie, Oregon 

Ursula/First Watchman: Andrea Dugan, Omaha, Nebraska 

Borachio: Nathan Sievert, Norfolk, Nebraska 

Conrade/Friar Francis: Sam Olson, Overland Park, Kansas 

Messenger/Seacoal: Meadow Burk, Parker, Texas 

Dogberry: Morgan Davis, Andover, Kansas 

Verges: Duncan Carrasco 

Director: Andrew Ring 

Tech: Joshua Hendrickson ‘20, Daniel Ascher 

One-Act Play Festival 

First Impressions  

Jessica: Aubrey Burmeister 

Jason: Josiah Edwards, Elk Grove, California 

Sam: Cayden Carrasco 

Director: Sara Erickson, Omaha, Nebraska 

Assistant Director: Cayden Carrasco 

Revoting Characters 

Tamara: Meadow Burk 

Jill: Michal Black, Amarillo, Texas 

Dexter: Nathan Sievert 

Jeeves: Aaron Spivey, Smithfield, Virginia 

Hunter: Sam Olson 

Director: Olivia Pyle, Blaine, Minnesota 

Assistant Director: Evan Moloney, Fort Wayne, Indiana 

A Murdered Mystery 

John: Jack Hagan, St. Charles, Missouri 

Steve: Aiden Jenik, Colorado Springs, Colorado 

Jennifer: Rebecca Duerr, Joplin, Missouri 

Lydia: Emma Wakley, Milton, New York  

Betty: Michal Black 

Preston: Andrew Brosius, North Platte, Nebraska 

Director: Sarah Stepp 

Fourteen Fourteenths 

Sam: Mi-Ree Zwick 

Kai: David Rodriguez 

Director: Claire Horacek 

Sherlock Homes Hates You 

Holmes: Andrew Brosius 

Dr. Watson: Sam Olson 

Rebecca: April Abbett, Platte City, Missouri 

Lady Benson: Madeline Kearns 

Director: Joshua Nikodym 

Assistant Director: Mary Pieper 

The Statue in the Light 

Finneas: Morgan Davis 

Melvin: Nathan Sollberger, Louisville, Nebraska 

Brielle: Kristen Welling 

Mr. Thompson: Mason Lockwood 

Adelaide: Mary Pieper 

Ensemble: Kerria Wright, Madison, Nebraska; David Rodriguez, Norfolk, Nebraska; Paige Schuster, Onyx Stone, Aurora, Colorado; Aydan Toth 

Director: Marieka Kaufman 

IMPROVables 

Jason Church 

Claire Horacek 

Sarah Stepp 

Marieka Kaufman 

Mason Lockwood 

Aydan Toth 

Joshua Nikodym 

David Rodriguez 

Ellen Klintworth, Seward, Nebraska 

Onyx Stone 

Theatre at Concordia University, Nebraska is an active part of campus life. Full-length productions and a variety of student-directed one acts bring together students from all disciplines to offer the campus and surrounding communities excellent theatre. Learn more about Concordia’s theatre program here.