By: Victoria Roach
With Thanksgiving break rapidly approaching, students are looking for things to do on campus outside of homework and classes. The HSU Theatre Department is preparing for their next show, “An Experiment with an Air Pump,” written by Shelagh Stephenson and directed by Dr. Victoria Spangler. This show takes a different turn from the last show the theatre department produced, “Little Shop Of Horrors,” as it questions philosophy and science, as opposed to just morals like in the previous production. The actors and actresses in this show are excited to present it to you as they have been working very hard to open before the break.
In an email from Jess Westman, an HSU student and HSU’s very own Theatre Promotion Director, he describes the show as, “center[ed] around one grand house that is occupied by two families both teetering on the edge of century change: New Year’s Eve 1799 and New Year’s Eve 1999. The 200-years apart storylines overlap as a set of unusual bones is uncovered, and action is propelled forward in each time frame by a character’s quest for scientific achievement. Stephenson was inspired in part by the 1768 painting, ‘An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump’ by Joseph Wright of Derby.”
The show opens Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. and runs through Nov. 22 with a 2:00 p.m. matinee. This will be the first show in Van Ellis Theatre of the year. General admissions start at $10, and military, senior, alumni and student tickets are $5. For HSU faculty, staff and students, entrance is free, but seating is limited due to social distancing for COVID 19. Be sure that you reserve your ticket by calling the Box Office at (325) 670-1405 or by emailing boxoffice@hsutx.edu.