By Sarah Pride
April 8, 2008
Kaylyn Carlson, like college seniors across the country during their last month and a half before graduation, finds herself quite busy filling out job applications, completing final projects, and attending job interviews. She is also, however, directing a play. As she and fellow senior Anne Corda pull together final details in the two weeks before their production of Wodehouse’s Leave it to Psmith April 16-19 on the Patrick Henry College campus, both young women have assumed an air of quiet determination. (Doors open at 6:30pm for a start time of 7:00; tickets are available from the PHC Bookstore at 540-338-8804.)
But despite the hard work, Carlson, a Literature major, is thoroughly enjoying her experience as director.
“Producing Leave It to Psmith has been an amazing experience, not only because of Wodehouse’s incredibly funny script, which leaves me laughing every time I read it and see it performed in rehearsals, but because of our wonderfully talented cast,” says Carlson. “I wanted to direct a comedy in part because I knew we had a lot of great comic actors at PHC, but I really had no idea how true that is. Leave It to Psmith is a delight to watch.”
Students Nikki Georgacakis and Aidan Grano practice the Charleston
Wodehouse, the play’s author, is much better known for his novels, all of which are, like Psmith, chock-full of wry, British humor. The plot of this particular piece centers on a highly capable young man, Psmith (pronounced without the “P”), who will “handle your business . . . take the dog for a run . . . assassinate your Aunt”—in short, do anything at all, “provided it has nothing to do with fish.” The play contains a motley crew of rich, diamond-wearing relatives, greedy opportunists, lovely young ladies, and feckless British youths. Carlson and Corda promise that audience members will not leave disappointed.
Psmith will be the second play produced this semester by EdenTroupe, Patrick Henry College’s completely student-run drama group. It follows on the heels of Twelve Angry Men, an intense courtroom drama. Members of the local community are heartily invited to attend.
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