In Brief: October 30

Firelands Theatre opens season with drama by Pulitzer playwright

BGSU Firelands Theatre begins its 47th season next month with the presentation of Pulitzer Prize winner Rajiv Joseph’s “Gruesome Playground Injuries,” directed by Grechen Lynne Wingerter.

The play chronicles the lives of Kayleen and Doug, two friends who meet time and time again at various intervals in their lives to share and compare their injuries, both physical and emotional, with one another. It examines why people often hurt themselves and each other through snippets of time in the characters’ lives. 

Playwright Joseph is a Cleveland native whose plays include “The North Pool,” “Animals Out of Paper,” and “The Lake Effect.” Joseph won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo,” which starred the late Robin Williams in the title role on Broadway. “Gruesome Playground Injuries” received its world premiere at the Alley Theatre in Houston, in 2009. Its New York premiere was at the Second Stage Theatre in 2011.

Performances are scheduled for at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 6-8, 14 and 15, and at 2 p.m. Nov. 8, 9 and 16 in Firelands’ McBride Auditorium. The Nov. 8 matinee is a “pay-what-you-can” performance and tickets are only available at the door.

Tickets are available to purchase from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, through the Sandusky State Theatre Box Office. Call 419-626-1950 or visit the theatre website to reserve seats.

Regular admissions are $14 for adults, $12 for senior citizens and BGSU Firelands faculty/staff, $10 for children under 17, and $6 for BGSU Firelands students. Groups of 15 or more are $10 per person.

“Gruesome Playground Injuries” contains adult language and situations and is suitable for ages 16 and up.

For more information, contact Wingerter at 419-372-0868 or grechlw@bgsu.edu.

Celebrate all things literary at Winter Wheat Festival of Writing

The 14th annual Winter Wheat Festival of Writing will take place Nov. 13-15. The event is a time for writers at all levels to hone their craft through workshops with accomplished teachers, share their work with their fellow writers, and be inspired by readings from published authors.

This year’s line-up of author readings includes Dr. Sharona Muir, creative writing faculty member and most recently author of the acclaimed “Invisible Beasts,” her first novel. She has previously written nonfiction and has been widely published. Her reading is at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 in Prout Chapel.

Anne Valente, a short story writer whose essays have appeared in the Washington Post, will read from her work at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14, also in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union Theater.

Award-winning poet Allison Joseph, author of six books of poetry and the editor of Crab Orchard Review, is also the director of the MFA program in creative writing at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She will give a reading at 4 p.m. Nov. 15 also in in the Union Theater.

Marcus Wicker, whose “Maybe the Saddest Thing,” was selected for the National Poetry Series, is the poetry editor of Southern Indiana Review and a faculty member in English at the University of Southern Indiana. He will read his poetry at 4 p.m. Nov. 15 in the Union Theater.

Winter Wheat is hosted by the Creative Writing Program and Mid-American Review, with support from the Ethnic Cultural Arts Program.

Questions may be directed to this year’s coordinators, Laura Walter (lauwalt@bgsu.edu) and Abigail Cloud (clouda@bgsu.edu).

Volunteers needed for Falcon BEST robotics competition

Volunteers are needed when BGSU hosts the second annual Falcon BEST Robotics Competition on Nov. 8 in the Stroh Center. Currently, 13 area middle and high school teams are registered to participate.

Dr. Wayne Unsell, construction management and director of the Falcon BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology) Hub, said the committee is looking for more than 60 volunteers to help with the event.

 “We are looking for faculty, staff and students; clubs or organizations from the University or community, and area professionals and retirees to volunteer for the Falcon BEST robotics event that invites middle and high school teams to compete,” Unsell said. “The need for volunteers is significant because of the phenomenal response we’ve had from the schools.”

This year’s game is “Bladerunner”; teams’ robots are challenged to determine how to best transport and assemble wind turbines without negatively affecting the transportation system and environmentally sensitive areas.

Volunteers do not need to have experience at robotics or technology, only an interest in being part of the event that encourages students to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. In addition to the robotics component, the competition also involves a marketing component, displays and team spirit.

Many volunteers are needed to help throughout the day Nov. 8. Volunteers may serve as greeters, registrars, judges (for the robot contests and marketing competition), referees, runners, crowd control, and to set up and tear down. View the volunteer opportunities. For more information, visit Falcon BEST or email falconbest@bgsu.edu.