MU faculty to take the stage in April with new company

By Kelly Higginson

Miami faculty who moonlight as semi-professional actors and actresses have joined together as the Caroline Scott Players Company to put on a production April 9, 11 and 12 at the Oxford Community Arts Center.

The new semi-professional theater company was started by founding artistic director and Miami public relations professor Bill Brewer, who had intentions of having actors with years of experience on stage performing, directing and singing.

Brewer has directed over 80 plays and acted in more than 100 in his career.

The play, "Other Desert Cities" by Jon Robin Biatz, is an engaging family dramady.

"It's a very, very funny play, but it also will be very moving for the audience," Brewer said. "It's one of those plays where you love all the characters, and you also hate all of them."

The play consists of only five characters - three women and two men. Assistant Dean for the School of Fine Arts at Miami, Rosalyn Benson, is playing one of the major roles, along with Meggan Peters, who is the Costume Shop Supervisor at Miami.

"All of them have so much prior experience in theater," Brewer said. "It is not their first play, by any means."

Junior Hannah Curlee is one of Brewer's strategic communication students who decided to join the production as stage manager.

"It is really cool to see all the Miami faculty members form as a group with Bill and see all of the experience they have," Curlee said.

Indeed, showcasing and cultivating community talent was the idea behing the company.

"Community theaters are all about training people and we wanted an acting laboratory so I started to work with an arts center and decided to form the Caroline Scott Players," Brewer said.

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Caroline Scott was the wife of President Benjamin Harrison, who attended Miami from 1850-1852. After the group was formed, the company had an anonymous arts patron who provided funding for Brewer's first play.

In August, Brewer was given the play rights for "Other Desert Cities," and said he knew his vision for casting the production right away.

"It's so fun doing this play because we have a good script and a good cast," Brewer said. "I always say if I have a really good script - even with bad actors - the script can carry you. But here, we have such experienced actors that really understand acting and it is a real joy."

Curlee said the company is still getting supplies, but, when it does, the north parlor in the Arts Center will be transformed into a black box with curtains all around.

"There will be 80 seats and that will be set up so you can see the stage from three different angles," Curlee said.

Posters for the show will be displayed across campus next week, and tickets will be available online for $12 general admission and $10 for students and senior citizens.

"It is really special to have all this talent from Miami faculty come out of nowhere and start the Caroline Scott Players to do this play," Curlee said. "It will definitely be a hit.