By Jamison Wagner, Staff Reporter | Photo by Jonathan Gamboa
The Student Theatre group has created a variety of comedic sketches for two weekends, said production Director and full-time Theater instructor Susan Erickson.
“Sketchy 2,” which will run on Feb. 21 to 23 and March 1 to3 in portable building ST-17B, will be an hour of comedic shorts written by and starring students, she said.
“Most of the pieces you will enjoy were created by CNM students. Ask writing students to put famous people who live in different eras in a scene together, and you get Jimi Hendrix hanging out with Mother Teresa,” said Erickson.
Theater major Cheri Lynn Mascarenas said she started acting shortly after she completed a two-year tour of duty in the military.
“I had just gotten out of the Army when I started my first acting class and was very much in my shell still. I’d be quiet and just observe and my acting teacher was like, ‘Try this’ and I was like ‘No you need to tell me exactly what to do,’” said Mascarenas.
Her teacher insisted that she was a guide and it was up to her to create the role, said Mascarenas. She said she was later grateful for this as it helped her to grow as an actor as well as a person.
“You’ve got to make time in your life for what you’re passionate about, otherwise you aren’t really living,” said Mascarenas.
The teachers involved in creating these skits said the production is exciting, despite some difficulties involved with getting 12 students with wildly varying class and work schedules together to rehearse.
“Because CNM students have very busy and full lives, I have not been able to get all the students in the room together at the same time,” said Erickson.
Erickson is confident that the production would come together beautifully, regardless of the challenges faced in getting a complete rehearsal, she said.
P r o d u c t i o n Coordinator and part-time Theater instructor Joe Damour said the play is worthwhile for the actors as well.
“We want to tell the world one way or another, ‘Here I am.’ You have someone come in who talks real quiet and they find they can express themselves through a role, and it’s like ‘hallelujah.’ Ours is to allow people the joy and maybe see the need for self-expression,” said Damour.
The production “Sketchy 2” will run from Feb. 21 through March 3 at ST-17B, south of the Student Resource Center on Main Campus, at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, 2:30 p.m. on Sundays and is free.
