BSC winter play tells not-so-typical love story

Post Date: Dec 03 2018
BSC winter play tells not-so-typical love story
Bismarck State College presents “Gruesome Playground Injuries” Dec. 6-9 under the direction of BSC alum Amber Rae Bernhardt. Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. Sunday in Sidney J. Lee Auditorium.
 
With a cast of only two, “Gruesome Playground Injuries” tells a different type of love story. Doug and Kayleen meet at the nurse’s office in their elementary school – she’s got a painful stomach ache and he’s banged up­­ from a running dive off the roof of the school. Over the next 30 years, these scar-crossed lovers meet again and again, brought together by injury, heartbreak and their own self-destructive tendencies. With great compassion and humor, playwright and 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph crafts a compelling and unconventional love story about the intimacy between two people when they allow their defenses to drop and their wounds to show.
 
The role of Kayleen is played by first-year BSC student Naomi Chaffee (Bismarck). No stranger to the stage, Chaffee has played lead roles in the Shade Tree Players productions of “Anything Goes” and “Guys and Dolls” as well as numerous Bismarck Public Schools musical and theater productions. The role of Doug is played by first-year BSC student Stephen Loftesnes (Bismarck). A member of the BSC Drama Club, Loftesness has also been involved in the Kubasaki High School productions of “And Then There Where None” and “A Doll’s House” and the Pacific Okinawa Players productions of “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” and “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.”

This play is produced by BSC Assistant Professor of Theatre Dr. Danny Devlin. Dean Bellin, assistant professor of theatre, is the show’s scenic/lighting designer as well as the technical director. Light board operator Nick Winistorfer (Bismarck), sound designer and sound board operator Drew Pengilly (Bismarck), stage manager Samantha Brady (Bismarck) and assistant stage managers Isaac Fettig (Bismarck) and Trey Zent (Bismarck) round out the crew.
 
Reserved seat tickets can be purchased in advance at bsctheatre.com, by calling the box office at 224-5677 or visiting the BSC Campus Information Center in the Student Union on campus. Tickets also can be purchased on performance days at the box office in Schafer Hall.