The Theatre Department at West Virginia University at Parkersburg will perform "Sound and Beauty: Two One-Act Plays by David Henry Hwang" at 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 18, and Saturday, Feb. 19, as well as a 2 p.m. matinee performance on Sunday, Feb. 20. 

 

To be presented in the college theatre, the two plays are "The Sound of a Voice" and "The Dance and the Railroad."

 

Both plays are short, two-person character studies. Hwang may be best know for his Tony award winning work, "M. Butterfly," filmed in 1993. In addition to several other plays, Hwang also wrote the screenplay for "Seven Years in Tibet."  Poetic and moving, "The Sound of a Voice" uses Japanese mythology to unveil the “fragility of love and beauty in a world filled with loneliness.”

 

“In this short, haunting tragedy, two beautifully crafted characters struggle to dominate and control one another at the same time they seek to unite," according to Andrew Clovis, production director. 

 

The play centers around the relationship between the Woman, who local legend has defined as a witch, and the Man, who has come to rid the rural province of her alleged evil.  Theatre veteran Tessa Smith of Parkersburg, plays the role of the woman.  WVU Parkersburg student Chad Goode performs the role of the Man.

Hwang's second short work, "The Dance and the Railroad," also explores issues of control, exploitation and union. Set in a Chinese labor camp along the American transcontinental railroad in 1867, the play examines two young men, Lone and Ma, who use the exacting disciplines of the Chinese opera as a means of finding dignity and control in a world filled with "dead and enslaved" men.

 

The play "cleverly explores issues of cultural identity," Clovis said. 

 

WVU Parkersburg students, Richard Elliott and Robert Walling, play the immigrant workers.  The crew for the production includes several WVU Parkersburg students. Patrick Garvey functions as technical assistant. Deborah Hall, Vicki Patterson, Jolene Venham, Robert Walling, Libby Wyatt, and W.W. Wyatt comprise the set and costume construction crews.

 

Tickets for “Sound and Beauty” are $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for students. WVU Parkersburg students, staff, and faculty may purchase tickets in advance for $1. Tickets may be purchased at the College Business (424-8223) between 8 am and 4 pm, Monday through Friday.  Both plays are recommended for mature audiences only.