SUNY Fredonia’s student-run Performing Arts Company ( PAC) will present “4.48 Psychosis,” a theatrical experience performed and produced by students. The dramatic vision will be presented Friday and Saturday, March 26 and 27, at 6 p.m. and Sunday, March 28 at 2 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of Dods Hall.
Amanda Foreman, a senior completing her B.A. in theatre from Rochester, N.Y., will be directing the production.
 Will Reilly |
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The production, intended for mature audiences due to strong language, violence, and self abuse, will be performed free of charge; donations to support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention are welcomed.
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"4.48 Psychosis,” written by British playwright Sarah Kane, revolves around a patient suffering from severe clinical depression, and a sick obsession with suicide.
As her mind begins to deteriorate, sanity and illness take on human form fighting for control over her mind and body in reality.
The performance takes the audience through these stages, and people involved in her life include the deadly Illness, a weakened Sanity, her healthy Counterpart, the hopeful Psychiatrist, the loving Friend, and two rambunctious Doctors.
“This play is different from most other plays, particularly in the way it is written,” says Foreman, student director. “It requires some kind of interpretation on the director's part so I was drawn to the challenge of the script.
But mostly, the subject is one that is very close to me. I really wanted to tell a story about a person being literally destroyed by an illness. Depression and mental illness in general, is surrounded by stigma. I'm hoping that this play will give people a different understanding of what happens to a person when they suffer from a mental illness.”
As part of the PAC’s curriculum, experimental theatre pieces such as “4.48 Pyschosis” allow students to expand their horizons of theatrical work.
According to the PAC’s promotional literature, participants of the program of encouraged to go beyond the standard musical or dramatic piece. This kind of work creates a large window of interpretation and added personality.
“PAC gives us an opportunity to push what we think of as typical theater,” comments Shannon Mann , who plays the main character.
“Our script is different from any other I've seen. There were no assigned lines when we received it. Kane's writing is poetic, darkly humorous and dramatic. Bringing the raw emotion and interpretation has made me have to extend beyond my experiences.”
PAC is a student organization supported by the Faculty Student Association (FSA) of SUNY Fredonia, and was founded to stimulate interest and development of students in the performing arts. The organization provides an opportunity for students to be creative and produce innovative performances that expand their realm of theatrical arts.
